Assignment 6: Remembering the Prophets of the 8th Century

I think that the 8^th century prophets had a great influence on the social justice of that time. These prophets (the ones chosen by God) are the speakers of God. These prophets seem to be the last chance for the Israelites each time they turn away from God. It looks though that the prophets had little effect on the Israelites though because their lessons never really stick for a long period of time before they start to turn their backs on God again. I don’t really get why Israel is so stubborn to get away from God though. He even showed his power through some of these prophets and the Israelites act like these acts never even happened. I think that by sending the prophets shows that God has given up talking directly to the rulers of Israel. This shows that God is starting to give up (or at least getting severely frustrated) on His chosen people. I think all of these stories of the prophets show that God really cares about not getting ignored. The prophets also show brutal determination to try to spread the word of God. I think God really cares that the prophets (and people today for that matter) do what He tells them to even if there is a chance of punishment and torment. I think this implies that the proper worship of God requires determination and continuing faith. One thing that I think we can learn from the Israelites is that God cares about a lasting relationship instead of a being fickle and switching back and forth for personal gain. I think that if a prophet showed up today, I think that he would be disappointed with our lack of social justice. I think that he or she would say to the majority of America that they need to repent and stop being fickle like the Israelites. I also think that this prophet would say that our dedication needs a good stoking or reminder. I think that the prophet would also point out that many Americans have erected (even non-intentional) false gods like television and the people seen on them that we sometimes “worship.” Another thing that is wrong with our society that he or she would point out is that we sometimes take worship in vain and turn it into a social get-together instead of treating it as a time to be with God. I think that I need to remember these lessons that these prophets taught. It is hard for me to remember lessons like these in my everyday life let alone practice them. I do need to take these lessons and make them second nature in my life so that I will never forget them in spirit. Aside just remembering their lessons, I think that I can practice their lessons by letting go of some of my “gods” and “idols” like television, the internet, and even my friends sometimes. I always need to remember God is first in my life so that I don’t fall into the same problems the Israelites had with forgetting what and who is really important.

Assignment 3 - God and Prayer

I do not have many life experiences where I have asked God for something in prayer; or at least none that are really life changing that I would want to reflect on. I do believe in the power of prayer though. I almost think that my requests of God are always petty. For instance, I ask God to help me find things such as my keys and or my wallet. These conversations go something like this: "God, please help me find my keys in the next 10 minutes so that I am not late for work." Sometimes it goes a bit deeper than that though. I sometimes feel lonely and ask God to help me find a girlfriend. This request is still pending so there is not much to reflect on now. I have come to the realization that God has a bigger plan for me than just the day to day "requests," so I try to go with the flow and when I pray, I normally just try to talk to Him about things that happened previously in my life. I like to see God as my big dad that I can just pour out to. This lesson reminds me of the song by Garth Brooks (one of my favorite by him) called "Unanswered Prayers." The song basically tells a story about how "he" once asked God for his "old flame" or girlfriend but winds up with his wife and he thanks God that He didn't answer that prayer. Anyway, I think there is one prayer (or lack there of) that was a hard lesson from God. In my old youth group we had a tradition that we put our names in a hat and drew each others names to be prayed for by that person for the next week. Well, I pulled one of my new friends names and shoved that signed paper into my pants pocket to be forgotten. A couple of days later, I hear on the news and from my family that he died in a car accident. I of course then remember that slip of paper crumpled at the bottom of my pocket and was hit in the stomach with the hard lesson straight from God's righteous fist. My faith was challenged that day and it really got me thinking of the importance and power that the act of prayer can have. Though it was a hard lesson to swallow, my faith is stronger now for it. I think this can be compared to Abraham's story when God told him to sacrifice his son. Abraham must not have liked this yet he still went on and was going to go through with killing his son. God sometimes shows himself in hard lessons of faith such as this and my story, even if it's the last possible moment. These stories help me know that even though God may not answer, he will always keep his promises and my best interest in mind according to His ultimate plan.