Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Where is the Awe? Where is Our God?

Acts 2:43, And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.

Note that this feeling of wonder did not come about because of the miracles performed by the apostles (as the NIV translation would lead us to believe). Rather, looking back to verse 42, this sense of the presence of a worthy God within the early church was the result of sitting under the apostles teaching and delighting in each other's fellowship.

Where is the awe today, Father? We perform our religious duties perfunctorily and wonder that Your presence is nowhere to be found in our midst. Therefore we see none of Your mighty power surging through Your people for we have lost our first love. But how can we stand in awe of a God who means so little to us and whose worth and omnipotence we assent to intellectually but do not embrace with our hearts? We need a bigger God in the West, a deity that is more sovereign and more Godlike than our material-bound culture is willing to accept. We need our eyes unveiled to see the real Yahweh that we may tremble and stand in awe-full wonder of Him! Desvele nossos olhos, ó Pai, para que tenhamos corações que maravilham a Ti, atitudes dignos dum Rei tão potente. "Unveil our eyes, oh Father, that we might have hearts that wonder at You, attitudes worthy of so majestic a King."

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Christ, Our Authority on Eternity

Ecclesiastes 3:11b, He has set eternity on [man’s] heart.

How true! Even those who deny there is a life after this spend much of their time defending their position. Every human thinks on eternity and most of us admit we have to take into account life after death. And Christianity is the only religion has authority on such a subject for we have God who has told us what to expect. Moreover we have the testimony of the God-man, the first fruit of the resurrection and our surety that there is a life after death and that, for we who believe, it will be wonderful! No other religion has one who has tasted death and life after it and therefore can speak with authority on what will happen.