Refractions and Reflections

A few weeks ago I had a discussion with someone on Twitter about whether or not President Bush should be prosecuted for his role in Guantanamo. My stance was "no" and my friend's stance was "yes". I have been rethinking my general opinion of it ever since. The fact that terrorists were tortured with the intent of gaining information from them does not trouble me. I "get it" that people who are willing to absolutely sacrifice themselves - go down with the ship and take as many people (often Americans) with them as possible - are not going to willingly offer up helpful information in an American court. There seems to me to be no other way of getting any information from these people who obviously could give us a little. However, that said, it does bother me that those who administered torture to the prisoners at Gitmo in many cases seem to have actually enjoyed doing it! Even if a person "deserves" it (in one's opinion), it is NEVER justif...

Hebrews 4:12 says, "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." The "Word of God" is living, powerful, eternal and invisible. God saw fit to provide us with a readable version of His Word in the Bible, but the Word of God is not contained within the binding of any book. All the Bibles in the world could be destroyed, and God's Word would not be affected in the least - it would still stand, still exist and still be true. We call the Bible "God's Word," and it is. But God's Word is not limited to just what is printed in the Bible. Sometimes God speaks into our current situation in life. Throughout the Bible we can read of individuals who besought God on their own behalf or on the behalf of someone else, to change His mind about something He had decided, or else ...

I find it interesting how, no matter where you go or with whom you talk, God always seems to speak the same message until you "get it". I was in Ohio for the last 3 weeks, and attended church there several times, plus a couple of Bible studies, and even preached myself a couple of times. Then I got back to Joplin and my pastor preached on the same things Sunday, and today we spent the day at the same little Memorial Day get-together, and talked about the SAME THINGS some more. It's like several different aspects of a single subject come to light over a period of time. God must have a message for this time that He wants His people to know. I've recognized this pattern in the past, too - God will speak something to me while I'm studying or praying, and pretty soon I'll hear other people start preaching on the same thing. I love it how God's Spirit is a unifying force in His Church, leading people to the same truth at the same time, even though they seem to b...