39, 4-9, SHOW NOTES & COPYRIGHTS (Scheduled 1/14/2022)
Today we are going to read poems that I believe are about the Christian’s life today and tomorrow. The first three are from God Still Rhymes)
AFTER READING HABAKKUK (God Still Rhymes, pg. 90)
God will punish those who oppose him,
Those who worship false idols as gods,
Gods of wood, silver and gold,
Those who oppress his holy people.
But at the same time the people of God
Will also suffer at the hands of their oppressors,
Those who do not believe that he is
The God of Heaven above, the earth
And the universe around us,
The God who breathed life into the first man Adam.
It is by his breath we find our strength
Through his Holy Spirit.
Because we live among unbelievers
We will suffer their hate for us
And their hate for God Almighty.
Through this suffering we pray
And through our prayer we come closer to God.
He hears our petitions, our fears.
He knows our weaknesses.
Becoming closer to God, by seeking him out,
We know his will for us and can stand firm
In strength, his love for us.
Knowing that in the end
When the battle no longer rages
We will be with him for eternity,
Not in the burning flames of Hell.
Though living in an adulterous world,
A world that forsakes the one
Whose image we were made in,
We do not reflect the failings of man.
We will grow in strength,
We will grow in faith,
We will grow in love.
We will not be the destruction of this world.
We will live to see the face of God
And forever be with him
Because he is our God,
The one and only God of the universe.
You may fight God, you may run from God,
But that path will lead you astray,
Lead you to where you may forever stay.
While there is time seek God, his ways are true.
Reflection on After Reading Habakkuk
Over a week or so I read the book of Habakkuk in the Old Testament. I wanted to reread the Minor Prophets since I knew so little about them. After my first reread I knew that I wanted to write about this book. It seemed like something that continuously happened throughout history. God’s chosen people defeated and suffering at the hands of worshipers of pagan idols. And there is Habakkuk asking God why evil prospered. Then God’s explanation and Habakkuk’s final prayer. Today we need to pray for God’s strength as we face a world that wants to marginalize Christians and God. Though it may seem that evil prospers, our prosperity for eternity has been secured by our faith in Jesus, his death on the cross as payment for our sins, all by the grace of God.
This may not be very poetic. After my second reading of Habakkuk, I tried to get up from my desk, but couldn’t. I knew why. So I wrote down the words that were given to me. That was all that mattered. Yes, I have tried to put the words into poetic form.
On an earlier podcast I read a prayer I was asked to submit for consideration of reading at church that came as a result of reading the Book of Habakkuk. I’d like to read it again.
MY PRAYER
Dear Father in Heaven. We come to You today in prayer praising You for Your just ways, your timing in the events of this world, your love for those who believe in Your Son, Jesus. Your word in the Old Testament and the New Testament proclaim the ways of the world of yesterday and...
