The God Delusion - Richard Dawkins
I have wanted to write about Richard Dawkins for a while now, ever since I read parts of his book, heard him interviewed, and read rebuttals of his thoughts by Allistar McGrath.
As Shakespeare has said "Thou dost protest to much." Dawkins anti-God arguments are so vile, forceful, and strong, that I believe he may be hiding a mustard seed of faith. Most people simply have an apathetic view of God, no opinion one way or the other. But to have such anti-God ideas and print them in a book for millions to read is another matter.
I have been praying for Mr. Dawkins that he would have a "road to Damascus moment." and have an encounter with the one true God. Can you imagine the intensity of his words if this were to happen?
We can only hope he would be as ferverent in his writings as he is now
References
The Dawkins Delusion - Allistar McGrath
Movie - Expelled - by Ben Stein, especially the Richard Dawkins interview. This movie is a great example of the pro-intelligent design idea. Stein doesn't go as far as I would like into the Deity of Jesus, but he does present a compelling argument for intelligent design.
Coming Soon - Randy Alcorn - The Goodness of God
Putting a Face On Grace - Henry Blackaby
Some quotes from the book and my comments:
"We need Gods (amazing) grace every day, and amazingly every day He freely provides it."
It is amazing that God provides His grace to us, sometimes so we will know that no other was is possible,
so we will know that it is God providing for us, like He promises. He has promised to take care of all our needs, not just some of them but all of them. Grace is a free gift, it can't be earned. We can never be good enough for God. We need to come to Him just as we are.
"Does is ever bother you that God sees everything you do? He never sleeps. He is always alert. He is omniscient. He is fully aware of every sin you commit. He knows of shortcomings in your life even those you don't see. Yet, He looks at us through the eyes of grace. But God does not focus on what is but on what could be. Grace is not fixated on the past, but looks toward the future."
God's grace is so amazing to me. It's amazing that God does see everything we do, every thought we think, and every thing we say, yet He chooses to love us anyway. I am so thankful that He has chosen grace to extend to me, and that He cares enough to provide for me.
"God uses His people as messengers to deliver His words of grace to those in need."
So often I forget that. How often I forget that what I say to someone may be remembered for a long time, and to really think about what I am saying, and how I say it. The kind things you or I say to someone, may be the only kind words they hear all day or all week. God does use His people to deliver His word and His grace. We are His hands and feet to a watching world desperate to hear the Good News of the Gospel.
Thoughts on Jeremiah 29:11
"For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future."
God will take care of us. In this passage, God was speaking to Israel while in exile in Babylon. And the same words are for us now. God is the plan. Trust in Him.
It's enough to know that God knows the plans, we dont have to know. God knows and that should be enough. Words like hope and future are so important to us as humans. We need the security, and some people look to so many other things, and all kinds of places for it. We need hope and assurance of a future. We will not find it in this world. God knows how insecure we can be about the future. thats why he is preparing a place for us, and not to worry about tomorrow. This is easy to just say and so incredibly hard to put into practice. We need to reminded of this everyday. I used to think how many times must I go through this up and down until I learn this. But, the idea is we need to learn this everyday, to trust in God for all of our needs.
Job
Thoughts on the book of Job. I was recently reading through this book and noticed most people only know about the very beginning and the very end. But, there is an incredible conversation between Job, his friends, and God.
