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Bilious and bloated, they gas, "God is gone." Their words are poison gas, fouling the air; they poison Rivers and skies; thistles are their cash crop. God sticks his head out of heaven. He looks around. He's looking for someone not stupid - one man, even, God-expectant, just one God-ready woman. He comes up empty. A string of zeros. Useless, unshepherded Sheep, taking turns pretending to be Shepherd. The ninety and nine follow their fellow. Don't they know anything, all these impostors? Don't they know they can't get away with this - Treating people like a fast-food meal over which they're too busy to pray? Night is coming for them, and nightmares, for God takes the side of victims. Do you think you can mess with the dreams of the poor? You can't, for God makes their dreams come true.Is there anyone around to save Israel? Yes. God is around; God turns life around. Turned-around Jacob skips rope, turned-around Israel sings laughter. (Psalm 14 The Message)
The Lost think there is no God or that God no longer cares. I remember the time the New York Times or one newsmagazine quoted, "GOD IS DEAD." John Lennon infamously declared The Beatles bigger than Jesus. And one person, maybe even in one of your church pews or church chairs is silently thinking things along that line. It could be a girl who has yet to see a good father in the biological one she has. It could be an adult man who has lost everything, or so he thinks, and God is to blame. Something or someone poisoned them and now they are poisoning others. I've been bing watching a TV show where one of the story lines is this very imperfect preacher who inherited precious land where his church sits and bet an angry man who has long wanted to raze the church. You see that angry man lost all his family while they were skiing, the gondola fell, killing them all. When the father of the preacher went to visit him, the only thing the angry man wanted was for the preacher to denounce God from the pulpit. "DENOUNCE HIM AND END THE BIGGEST LIE EVER TOLD!" You may have felt like that at one time yourself.
The psalmist says that even in spite of our ways and our thoughts, God still loves us, so much so that this version of this psalm says, "God is around, God turns life around. Turned-around Jacob skips rope, turned-around Israel sings laughter." I love that imagery. God is so powerful and yet so merciful He can turn our lives around and give us new hope; so much so the old man Jacob picks up a rope and starts jumping like those happy kids laughing and screaming for joy as they master the art of jumping rope. And the adults of Israel are so happy seeing the old man jump, they can't help but start singing laughter out of the joy that only God can provide.
Our job, our joy should be to find the Lost and tell them all about it. Then sit back and enjoy the rope-jumping and the singing in whatever forms they may take. God is good. God is awesome. God is right here.
PRAYER: Wow, Lord, You are good! You are awesome,and more importantly, You are right here! Amen and thank You. Now let me go forth in joy to find the Lost and tell them all about it. If I am one of the Lost, help me find You in the real way, so that I can start jumping rope and singing laughter. I pray this in Christ Jesus' precious and powerful name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Jump rope if you can. Don't get hurt. But do find the Lost!
Eradio Valverde
