William Chong

It’s obviously a sombre and grief-stricken time for many in the Samoan and Pacific Island community. There’s a sizeable Samoan community in Auckland and Manukau that have been reeling from news and effects of the recent earthquake and tsunami.

In light of events like this, DesiringGod.org has a clear and concise explanation of where God is in all of this (written following the aftermath of the 2004 Boxing Day earthquake and tsunami). Some excerpts:

1. Satan is not ultimate, God is.

Satan had a hand in Job’s misery, but not the decisive hand. God gave Satan permission to afflict Job (Job 1:12; 2:10). But Job and the writer of this book treat God as the ultimate and decisive cause. When Satan afflicts Job with sores, Job says to his wife, “Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” (Job 2:10), and the writer calls these satanic sores “the evil that the Lord had brought upon him” (Job 42:11). So Satan is real. Satan brings misery. But Satan is not ultimate or decisive. He is on a leash. He goes no farther than God decisively permits.

Mmm.

For children, who are too young to process mentally the revelation of God in nature or Scripture, death is not the final word of judgment. God’s commitment to display his justice publicly means that he does not finally condemn sinful people who could not physically construe natural or special revelation (Romans 1:20). There is a difference between suppressing revelation that one can mentally comprehend (Romans 1:18), and not having a brain sufficient to comprehend it at all. Therefore, when small children suffer and die, we may not assume they are being punished or judged. No matter how horrible the suffering or death, God can turn it for their greater good.

That’s reassuring to know.

5. Christ calls us to show mercy to those who suffer, even if they do not deserve it.

That is the meaning of mercy—undeserved help. “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you” (Luke 6:27).

Indeed, faith without deeds is dead.

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Aid appeals:
Habitat for Humanity NZ
NZ Red Cross
Tear Fund NZ

Driving to work after a good Bible study, I (and the rest of East Auckland commuters) was greeted with the sight of a rainbow that arched across the sky, and across the motorway entrance.

It felt like I was driving under a chromatone bridge that was ordained by the Creator Himself.

O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder
Consider all the works Thy hands have made,
I see the stars, I hear the rolling/mighty thunder,
Thy pow’r thru-out the universe displayed!

Have a good day everyone!

I think the best justification I’ve discovered for singing, writing, recording and worshipping with songs can be summed up below:

“The LORD your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing. (Zeph 3:17, NKJV)

All the good guys sing: the angels (Luke 2:10), the saved people (Rev 15:2-4) and God – isn’t that something? If we were made in God’s image, then I’m looking forward to the day when our glorification might just include a vocal-cord upgrade. At this point I’m trying to imagine what God’s singing voice would sound like. Basso profundo? Frank Sinatra? Mary J Blige? David Caruso? Or maybe it’s a vocal mesh that’s somewhere between Clay Aiken, Brooke Fraser, John Mayer and the Vienna Boy’s Choir.

Here’s another point: in the Bible, there’s no mention of Satan, or his associated cronies singing. It’s not immediately obvious whether they are tonedeaf or musically broke, but here’s the sobering possibility: sin takes away the desire to sing, and to sing happily.

I think I need to sing more.

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