Review: The Grand Weaver
I enjoyed “The Grand Weaver” immensely. Written by Ravi Zacharias, he describes our almighty God has the weaver who holds all the threads of our lives and weaves them into a grand purpose. From our perspective, we only see the individual threads, and sometimes the colors or textures we see don’t make sense. Trusting in God for His perfect will, though, doesn’t require us to see the finished product.
The best illustration comes from the title of the book; the master weaver in India sits on a ledge with multiple threads of fabric, weaving them with expert care to his son down below. His son, his apprentice, has the job of pushing the shuttlecock to and from. When he reaches the end of the row, he looks up at his father. When his father nods, the son reverses the shuttlecock and pushes it to the other side.
What does the son see? A variety of threads in a multitude of color that individually make little sense. What does the son control? Nothing; the father is in control. If the son doesn’t wait on the father, he will weave a tangled mess. The father is the grand weaver – but the son has an important role to play. It make look easy, but it requires looking to his father for timing for the father’s will to be done.
What a wonderful illustration of waiting on God and doing God’s will. The threads of our lives can be so very confusing. Where does this one go? What’s it for? Why is it this color? But if we trust in God and wait on Him, God will be able to use us in creative ways.
Will you trust in God to use you this way?
Michael Vick: Where is Jesus?
Michael Vick, the Atlanta Falcons quarterback, has been all over the news recently. Indicted for dog-fighting, his friends turning witness against him, loss of his quarterback position and the millions of dollars in signing bonuses and advertising deals, Michael Vick has certainly learned a hard and probably one-way lesson. And given the atrocious stories about how the losing dogs were killed, Michael Vick has few supporters anywhere standing up for him.
So Michael Vick pled guilty. The first news snippets indicated that perhaps the Lord was working in Vick’s life – and those of us that have had the Lord work on us know that the Lord does not discriminate on the basis of wealth, race, upbringing, whatever. If the Lord is going to use you in a powerful way, first He will break you from your dependence on anything except Him. Moses, David, Jesus… everybody goes through it. So when I first started hearing that Michael Vick had “found Jesus,” I started to pay attention.
But the Houston Chronicle makes absolutely no mention of Michael Vick turning his life over to Christ. Did I imagine it? Were they just rumors? The Chronicle captures the guilty plea, the apology, the full acceptance of his actions and the negative effect he’s had on those who followed him as a role model. What happened to the “Jesus” reference?
I searched for the full text of Michael Vick’s statement and found it on USA Today. It includes this –
I’m upset with myself, and, you know, through this situation I found Jesus and asked him for forgiveness and turned my life over to God. And I think that’s the right thing to do as of right now.
For Christians, this is the most redeeming part of the Michael Vick story. Why does the Houston Chronicle delete this reference? Is it because they think it’s unimportant? Then they do not understand the bible belt they publish in. Or worse, did the Houston Chronicle intentionally leave it out?
Why is the fact that Michael Vick said he’s given his life to Jesus left out of the Houston Chronicle’s story?
Christian Carnival CLXXXVI
Christian Carnival #186 is up… here! Chasing the Wind is humbled to host the Carnival this week. Without further ado, here are this week’s best Christian blogging.
Oh wait, here’s a little more ado. I’ve divided this week’s post in sections with a brief description about how this relates to Christian living. Ok, *now* we’re out of ado…
CHRIST. No Christian blogging would be complete without pondering our Lord and Savior and what He means to us. Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
Doug presents Christ at Creation posted at Bounded Irrationality. Doug examines how Jesus could be present as man and God before creation.
This week at Light Along the Journey John considers what is exactly The Right Thing to Say.
JR Madill presents The Public Spectacle posted at Theology for the Masses.
CHRISTIAN LIFE. It’s one thing to study and pray (well, ok, that was two things), but it’s another thing entirely to live the Christian life. How do you apply and think and live as a Christian?
Patricia presents 30 Ways to Instantly be a Better Parent posted at A Better You Blog.
Stretch Mark Mama presents Passing on Perspective posted at Stretch Mark Mama.
Chad Dalton at The Minor Prophet considers Abraham’s Tradition. Thoughts on Abraham’s burial of his wife Sarah.
Jody Neufeld presents The John Webb Winter Golf Tournament posted at Jody Along the Path. Reflecting on the experience of coordinating this event that raises money for children hospitalized with serious illnesses.
blue skelton presents Simpsons Porn, Funny or Immoral? posted at Production Blog. An article that asks, Is it still a sin to watch pornography if it is a cartoon. We are looking for a other Christian’s Viewpoint on this issue.
BIBLE STUDY AND PRAYER. While the glory of the cosmos practically scream out the power and majesty of a creator, to truly know *the* Creator requires study so that God’s Word can speak to you, and it requires prayer so that you can speak to God.
William Meisheid presents Wholistic Salvation posted at Beyond The Rim…. An attempt to look at salvation in a more wholistic [sic] manner.
Ian Spencer presents Dispensationalism and the Interpretation of Scripture Part 2: Prophetic Literature posted at Philosophical Orthodoxy. The second part of a continuing series critiquing dispensationalist methods of interpreting Scripture.
Richard H. Anderson presents Assembly of Yahweh posted at dokeo kago grapho soi kratistos Theophilos.
Tom presents The Remarkable 19th Psalm posted at Thinking Christian. With our modern Christian and scientific viewpoints, we might easily fail to notice what this psalm does not say. It’s an appreciation of the sun, a joyful one at that. And yet–there is not a hint of sun-worship in it. Remarkable.
Ann Shorb presents GOD HAS ME posted at Christian Counseling & Educational Services.
Henry Neufeld presents St. John Chrysostom on Hebrews 6 posted at Participatory Bible Study Blog. St. John Chrysostom gives a comprehensive and interesting view of Hebrews 6:4-6 and the impossibility of restoration for the apostate.
Lingamish: The Lord of
Rage Somebody’s knocking at the door. But it’s not who you think.
Lingamish looks at Nahum’s vision of an angry God and finds a hidden place of
safety.
CHURCH. When two or more are gathered in His name, He is there. As a group of Christians, we are the bride of Christ, His church. What do we believe and how to we implement it?
FMF presents How'd You Like to Be Taxed for Going to Church? posted at Free Money Finance. How would you like to pay a tax to go to church?
Steven Krager presents Have you lost faith? | faithdoubt posted at faithdoubt. This is a posting in response to an article about an LA Times writer and his Christian faith journey. It is about problems in the Church and losing faith.
Diane R presents Deacons posted at Crossroads: Where Faith and Inquiry Meet. What are deacons exactly? And why don’t most churches have them? What are they supposed to do? In my church we have one of the best deacon structures I’ve ever seen so our church members won’t fall through the cracks when in need.
Brian Russell of the Real Meal blog
wrote Thinking about
Natural Disasters. In the middle of another hurricane season, it is critical for clear theological reflection on natural disasters and the preparation for a missional response to those who suffer.
RELIGION. Sometimes we study what a Christian is. How does it differ from other religions? How do we see it in public, in politics, in others?
Sammy Benoit presents Islamic Hatred of anything Christian posted at YID With LID.
thomas robey presents “Christian Faith and Reason” posted at Hope for Pandora. “Christian Faith and Reason” is a new magazine that seeks to engage Christians and skeptics on topics of science, politics and faith. The Christian blogging community should check it out and consider contributing a piece for publication.
Ali presents An alternate solution to the American Civil War? posted at Kiwi and an Emu.. Considering, many years too late, how Christians in Northern and Southern parts of the United States could have agreed on the subject of slavery.
Weekend Fisher at Heart, Mind, Soul, and Strength discusses Security, Apostasy, and Knowing Christ. A Lutheran’s-eye view of the debates over eternal security and whether apostasy is real, and how Christ is often left out of the debate.
John presents Richard Land and Moral Agency posted at Brain Cramps for God. There’s a new meme in the abortion argument.
Jeremy Pierce presents Barack Obama on faith and politics posted at Parableman. A look at Barack Obama’s thoughts on faith and politics, Part III of a three-part series (the first two looked at John Edwards and Joe Biden).
Mark Olson presents Western Eyes posted at Pseudo-Polymath. Religious toleration, a artifact of the Enlightenment, or might it not be from much earlier.
Llama Llama Duck
Just because I thought it was funny. If there’s a socially (or theologically) redeeming quality to this, I don’t know what it is.
Engineering Quiz Answers
1. What planet is the only planet that rotates clockwise? Venus
2. Approximately how many bricks were used to build the Empire State Building? 10 million
3. What is the brightest man-made place that can be seen from space? Las Vegas, Nevada
4. Which dam holds the largest volume of water? Sycrude Tailings Dam, Canada
5. Isotopes of the same element all have the same..? Atomic Number
6. Which tunnel is the longest? Seikan Tunnel, Japan
7. How long would it take for someone on Earth to realize the sun had stopped shining? 8 min
8. What is the correct composition of gases in the atmosphere? 78% N2, 21% O2, 1%Ar, 0.04% CO2
9. What make of car broke the record for driving the equivalent of 4 times around the world non stop? Mercedes
10. Approximately what percentage of worldwide oil reserves does the Middle East have? 66%
11. If you traveled at a constant speed of 30 miles per hour, how many days would it take you to reach the center of the earth from the equator? 5.5
12. What is the maximum power you could achieve from a wind turbine that has a blade radius of 7 meters in a wind velocity of 5 m/s? 9620 W
