revivedwriter – Poetry, Short Prose and Walking

Sunday Walk 81 – The God Who Sees

But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.
Luke 12:7 King James Version

Hagar, Sarah’s Egyptian slave, was the one who told us our God is the God who sees (Genesis 16). That may not seem like much, but the blind idols we construct to imitate God have no interest in us.

Those who think they can get by on their own might prefer blind gods, but it doesn’t matter what any of us prefer. All we have, given our experiences of bliss or despair in this wonderful universe, is whether we will choose to serve God or not. Those who are blessed to realize that they can’t get by on their own yearn for Him with repentance, praise and thanksgiving.

God sees you. God sees me. God sees.

I am grateful to Kathie Lee Gifford and Nicole C. Mullen whose oratorio The God Who Sees presented Hagar and to revivedwriter whose poem Call Me Hagar brought Hagar to mind.

Weekly Parashah Readings
Parashah: Vayachel 25 Adar, 5782 – February 26, 2022
Torah: Exodus 35:1-38:20
Haftarah: Kings II 11:17 – 12:17
Brit Chadashah: 2 Corinthians 9:6-11; 3:7-18
Resources: Chabad, Hebrew4Christians, Weekly Torah Readings, Calendar

Sunday Walk 75 – Amoral Sexual Behavior As A Strong Delusion

Of men aged 18 to 49, 67 percent say pornography is morally acceptable. And of all Americans who say religion is not very important, more than two-thirds (76 percent) find pornography morally acceptable.
Joe Carter, Fact Checker: Do Christian Men Watch More Pornography?, June 8, 2020

But I want to argue that the sexual revolution is not actually about expanding the bounds of sexual behavior. It’s about fundamentally challenging the notion that there is such a thing as wrong or right sexual behavior. It’s about blowing apart the whole notion of sexual morality.
Carl R. Trueman, The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self, Lecture 1, starting about 21:55, May 1, 2021

Paul wrote in Romans 1:28 that God gives the disobedient over to a depraved mind. He wrote in 2 Thessalonians 2:11 that God sends a strong delusion so the disobedient will believe the lie.

What lie might that be? Perhaps the lie is that there is nothing morally right or wrong with our sexual behavior nor how we deal with the consequences of it such as abortion or divorce. That means we don’t think we have to repent. That suggests that we don’t believe that there is any God to Whom we owe repentance. And all of that makes us forget about the “pursuit of holiness” that Jerry Bridges rightly pointed out is not an option.

The lie confuses us about repentance, God and holiness. The lie affects our beliefs and our beliefs affect our behavior.

If you don’t behave as you believe, you will end by believing as you behave.
Ven. Archbishop Fulton Sheen, quoted by revivedwriter

I am grateful to Michael Wilson for the link to the statistics source on moral attitudes towards pornography. I am grateful to Jim Lee and Mandy Sweigart-Quinn for calling my attention to Carl R. Trueman and Jerry Bridges. I am grateful to Jenna at revivedwriter for the quote from Fulton Sheen.

Weekly Bible Reading: John and Acts
Commentaries:
David Pawson, John, Part 6, Acts, Part 7, Unlocking the Bible
Bible Project, John 1-12, John 13-21, Acts 1-12, Acts 13-28
Weekly Torah Readings
13 Shevat, 5782, Beshalach: Parashat Exodus 13:17-17:16; Haftarat Judges 4:4-5:3