Praying for Present and Eternal Comfort for Japan

Heartbreaking.

All of us watched in horror as scenes of tragedy in Japan unfolded this past week. Technology may bring suffering into our living rooms but it does little to help us grapple with the reality of people dying and a nation suffering. Most of us with a sense of helplessness. In fact, our limited capacity to help against the backdrop of such immense suffering can lead us beyond helplessness to hopelessness.

With that in mind, here are a few thoughts that I've found helpful -

Suffering is inevitable... but it is not arbitrary or purposeless. We can't always understand it but God is neither absent in suffering nor unaffected by it. Instead, God is at work to draw sufferers to Himself and to bring comfort to those who call on Him.

"...call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you and your will glorify me" (Psalm 50:15)

Suffering is great... but our compassion is meaningful. Through the common grace of technology, God grants us the privilege to help those who are suffering across the world. Though our efforts may seem small, yet by extending practical help to those who cannot help themselves, we become channels of God's compassion.

Suffering calls us to prayer. We can do nothing greater than to pray for the people of Japan. We can bring their needs before the throne of God. We can pray for present comfort for all who are suffering - for mothers who mourn for lost children, for children orphaned by this tragedy, for those maimed and injured, for the hundreds of thousands who have lost homes.

We can also pray for the eternal comfort for those in Japan who do not know Jesus Christ. C.S. Lewis is quoted as saying "God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world". Oh, that this tragedy would awaken in them a longing for the eternal God. Here is a prayer for Japan from the Desiring God blog that could serve you in your prayers for this nation -

Father in heaven, you are the absolute Sovereign over the shaking of the earth, the rising of the sea, and the raging of the waves. We tremble at your power and bow before your unsearchable judgments and inscrutable ways. We cover our faces and kiss your omnipotent hand. We fall helpless to the floor in prayer and feel how fragile the very ground is beneath our knees.

O God, we humble ourselves under your holy majesty and repent. In a moment—in the twinkling of an eye—we too could be swept away. We are not more deserving of firm ground than our fellowmen in Japan. We too are flesh. We have bodies and homes and cars and family and precious places. We know that if we were treated according to our sins, who could stand? All of it would be gone in a moment. So in this dark hour we turn against our sins, not against you.

And we cry for mercy for Japan. Mercy, Father. Not for what they or we deserve. But mercy.

Read the rest of the prayer here

Sanctity of Life

This coming Sunday, January 18, 2009 is Sanctity of Human Life Sunday. Since Roe v. Wade, the landmark decision legalizing abortions, there have been over 49 million abortions performed.

We've become so accustom to these kinds of statistics that it's easy to overlook of the scope of this atrocity. Even today, we're still horrified by the 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center as we should be - 2,752 deaths in a single day is terrible indeed. But in 2003, there were over 3500 abortions performed every single day. Somehow as a nation, we're not as troubled by this.

We're sympathetic to the tsunami victims - approximately 169,000 lives were lost in this natural disaster. Yet, 49 million deaths since 1973 doesn't seem to affect us quite as much. 49 million is about the size of South Korea or Spain - an entire nation of babies has been lost.

As a nation, we no longer view life from a biblically informed perspective and we are lost because of it. The high value of a human life is ascribed by God himself in Genesis 1 -"Then God said, 'let us make man in our image, after our likeness". Imago dei -the image of God in us means that every life has value outside of our utility or function or viability. It means that human life is sacred.

This week, especially this Sunday, pray for God to be actively at work in our courts, our homes and our hearts so that life is regarded as holy and the wicked practices of abortion might be no more. Let's also pray for National Right to Life and other newer groups like Abort73 as they continue to labor on behalf of the unborn.

Is This Why They Call It Black Friday?

The day after Thanksgiving, Black Friday, signals the start of Christmas shopping season and is the biggest shopping day of the year.  Some stores open as early as 4 am and hordes of people gather even earlier to get a great deal.   

This year, Black Friday turned fatal.   In Long Island, NY, Jdimytai Damour, a 34 year old Walmart worker was trampled to death by frenzied shoppers.    Unfortunately, this was followed by a tragic shooting at a Toys R Us in Palm Desert, California where two men were killed in a dispute.   Apparently, a heated argument escalated to the point where both men pulled firearms and started shooting.   

It's just sad.   Think about it - a person is trampled to death over the pursuit of a big discount... two men are killed over a shopping dispute.    

What does it say about us as a society?   Are these big chain retailers responsible in any way or are these just random tragic events?   What is wrong with this picture and what can be done about it?  

Eliot Spitzer, Us and the Grace of God

I've held off blogging about Eliot Spitzer, in part because much of the initial reaction from the mass media was unprofitable and salacious. However, when a number of men gathered at my home for an accountability meeting last week, we took opportunity to briefly discuss it.

Unlike what was communicated on news channels all week long, at our meeting there was no gloating over a powerful, arrogant man who simply "got what he deserved". There was no self righteous musing over how someone so smart could "self destruct" so publicly. We didn't wonder how the former crusading governor known as "Mr Clean", could have lived a double life.

We didn't do that because we simply know better - we know ourselves and we know the nature of sin. We understand that we're more like Eliot Spitzer than we'd like to acknowledge. We're aware of the deceitfulness of sin and our propensity as fallen men to wander from the grace of God. We know that it's the grace of God that keeps us from self destructing. As one of the men in our group said - "That could be me, it could be any of us...it's God's mercy that He rescued us from the penalty and power of sin...it's God's grace that keeps us in Him and keeps us from falling..."

The meeting gave me much to think about. I'm grateful for men who speak words of gospel truth to me - reminding me of how the grace of Jesus Christ has shed light upon my darkened heart. It is also evidence of God's kindness to us as Christians. When God places us in the community of a church, He does so to protect us and care for us.

Don't you wonder how different it might have been for Eliot Spitzer if he had the benefit of such grace? Last week, amidst much of the news about Spitzer, this is what I read from Psalm 32:1

Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity,
and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

Eliot Spitzer had so much - power, career, fame, wealth. However, as far as we know, he didn't possess what was most important - he didn't have sins covered, a clean conscience and peace with God. Perhaps we should pray for him, that through this trial, he might be drawn to the One who offers these priceless mercies.

Tragedy at Virginia Tech

By now, we all know - the tragic shooting at Virginia Tech this morning has left as many as 33 dead, including the gunman. Some have called it the deadliest shooting in modern US history. For the friends and family of the deceased, it's an especially a sad day. May the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, comfort them in their grief and trouble.

Even for the rest of us, it is difficult not to be affected by such tragedy and senseless killing. It's a harsh reminder that we live in a fallen world, tainted by our rebellion against God. How can we make sense of this? I suggest reading this perspective on the Virginia Tech shooting from the Desiring God blog. It offers a view on how to care for those in suffering as well as a biblical perspective on suffering, evil and God's sovereignty.

Another good reference point on how to speak about this tragedy with non-Christians is the speech by Tim Keller, delivered at the 9/11 remembrance service last year in NYC. Great takeaways on how to identify with suffering (as we rightly should) and yet introduce the hope of the gospel.