So, I'm not very good at regular blogging. I guess it is what it is.
I was watching one of my favorite movies recently - "Chariots of Fire" - about Eric Liddell's journey to the Olympics, and his win there. The thing I love about that movie, though, is how it portrays Liddell's godly character, his zeal for the Lord's glory and his desire to honor God. I have 3 favorite scenes. The first is when Liddell is called before the Prince of Wales and several other gentlemen, who are trying to persuade him to run on Sunday, because he's refused to in order to honor the Sabbath. They tell him that his king and country should come first, and he replies that God sets up kings and countries, and the rules by which they are governed, and His commandment says to honor the Sabbath, and he (Liddell) for one will keep it. The second scene I love is when, before his 3rd race (which he wins), an American Olympic runner hands him a piece of paper, which says on it that God will honor those who honor him. The last scene that is one of my favorites, is when Liddell preaches in the Church of Scotland in Paris, on the day that he was supposed to run but didn't in order to honor the Sabbath. He preaches on Isaiah 40...and this time around I had to rewind and watch it again a couple of times, and then read that chapter in Isaiah, because it really resonates with some things I've been thinking about lately.
Here are verses 9 through 31:
"Get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news;
lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news;
lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah, 'Behold your God!'
Behold, the Lord God comes with might, and his arm rules for him;
behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.
He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms;
he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.
Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span,
enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance?
Who has measured the Spirit of the Lord, or what man shows him his counsel?
Whom did he consult, and who made him understand?
Who taught him the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding?
Behold the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as the dust on the scales;
behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust.
Lebanon would not suffice for fuel, nor are its beasts enought for a burnt offering.
All the nations are as nothing before him, they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness.
To whom then will you liken God, or what likeness compare with him?
An idol! A craftsman casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and casts for it silver chains.
He who is too impoverished for an offering chooses wood that will not rot;
he seeks out a skillful craftsman to set up an idol that will not move.
Do you not know? Do you not hear?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers;
who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to dwell in;
who brings princes to nothing, and makes rulers of the earth as emptiness.
Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth,
when he blows on them, and they wither, and the tempest carries them off like stubble.
To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him? says the Holy One.
Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these?
He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name,
by the greatness of his might, and because he is strong in power not one is missing.
Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel,
'My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God'?
Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.
Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted;
but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint."
I have heard so much despair from friends and in the public since the election, and apart from that, have found myself complaining a lot about little things. We forget that the Lord is in control. We forget how great God is. He created and controls the universe, and still cares for us, and gives us life and the strength we need. Nate and I have begun leading a career/young marrieds group at our church through a book called "The Hole in our Holiness" by Keving DeYoung. It has truly been convicting to read through it and see how we care very little for our own personal holiness. We have been commanded to be holy as He is holy, and we have been called to be set apart. We should care very much for our holiness, and for the holiness of His name, which we bear. In this Christmas season, these are the things I want to be focused on - the glory and greatness of God, and His holiness. Let us remember what an AWESOME God we serve - this God who humbled Himself and came to earth as a baby, to bear our sins and save our souls.
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