Randomize

Words intrigue me.  In linguistic studies, one learns that language does not stagnate:  it changes over time.  Words are lost, words change, and words are rediscovered or newly created.  The word ‘camera’ isn’t used much anymore since it’s our phone.  ‘Google’ is a verb that was nonexistent 30 years ago.  ‘Transformative’ has replaced ‘transformational’ in popularity, though their meanings may be distinct.

I recently heard a new use of a familiar word:  random > randomize.  ‘Randomize’ describes how researchers randomly select participants for the experiment variable or for the control group.  To keep the results unbiased, the experimental assignments are made with, another new term we have –  AI!  Randomizing might select a traveler for additional security checks or determine the order of questions in an online exam.  A patient might be told they were ‘randomized’ for a treatment in a clinical trial.

But is anything really randomized?  Are our lives left to chance?  I believe that God is in control of all things.  Scripture tells us that God knows when a lowly sparrow falls (Matthew 10:29), that God sends elements like rain and fire, (Matthew 5 v 45, 2 Kings 1 v 10), and that He saw us forming in the womb and has numbered the days of our lifetime! (Psalm 139 v 15 – 16).  God’s plans supersede the adage “right place at the right time.”

But what about “wrong place at the wrong time?”  Yes, in God’s sovereignty, we face terrible things sometimes, yet we are promised God’s guidance and help when we walk the path He’s planned for us (Psalm 37 v 23 below).  In other instances, one might have strayed to the wrong place and face consequences (Psalm 119 v 9, Proverbs 7 v 25).

Here, in conclusion, I admit that these are hard truths.  Followers of Jesus boldly give God credit for His provision and blessings, or cling to His strength in crisis; it is a day-by-day surrender to do so, only through Holy Spirit power.  AMEN

 

Musings on a Saturday

I have been mulling over a podcast I listened to last week.  Following the news story of the Lakewood Church shooting in Houston, TX, “The World and Everything In It” (wng.org/podcasts) contributor John Stonestreet discussed some of the issues related to the event.  Stonestreet spoke of “deaths of despair” and “acts of desperation,” terms I was not familiar with. These are increasing at “skyrocketing rates,”  he said, and he rightly attributes that to the logical outcome of a secular worldview.  He explains that the “expressive, individualistic secular culture (that) gives them no strong resources of a stable family, a stable sense of identity or anything else” leaves people “grasping for a cause, grasping for hope.”  But Stonestreet lands the interview on hope, and it is the hope the church has to offer:  “Christianity grounds (us in) dignity and value and purpose.”  For the church, “this is a mission moment,” he concludes.

Here is a place I often arrive at:  the unique role of the church for you and me.  The Church is the God-given structure for bonding believers to Biblical truths and to each other.  As we gather and grow, what we know fills our lives and the lives of others we touch.  That does not mean that there will never be a searching, confused soul like the woman at Lakewood Church, but more of us will be grounded and confident in God’s design and purpose for our lives and this will have a ripple effect around us.

Each Friday, “The World and Everything In It” podcast ends with a blessing and a charge for the weekend.  It is my closing today for you as well:  “the Psalmist writes: “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.” (Psalm 43 v 5)  Worship with brothers and sisters in Christ in Church this weekend, and Lord willing, we’ll meet you right back here on Monday.  Go now in grace and peace.”

The extensive quotes in this blog post are all from this source:

Brown, Myrna, Lindsay Mast, and John Stonestreet.  “The World and Everything In It.”  February 16, 2024  https://wng.org/podcasts/culture-friday-jesus-and-super-bowl-commercials-1708027228

This is the Church of St John the Baptist in Burford, England. It is not just a beautiful relic in The Cotswolds, it is a functioning church. We were touring on a Sunday and the usher asked us not to come in if we couldn’t stay for the whole worship service. A praise team with guitars were leading upbeat music and a mother had to leave the sanctuary with her fussy toddler. Real church!