Sitting here tonight, marveling once again about how easily we can put away a headline of "Nearly 200 People in Iraq Died in Bomb Attacks in Baghdad Yesterday", but it hits us in the gut when we see faces and read stories of those who died.

I don't want to be less touched over 198 Iraqi lives than I am over 33 lives here in America at Virginia Tech.

God is touched. He is definitely touched. But sin reigns in this world, and sin is causing what we see every day.

To God, the people who died in Iraq were no less His creation than the Americans who died. He created all men. He wants all men to know Him and to have a relationship with Him.

He loves so much that He doesn't even desire the death of the wicked.

Ezekiel 33:11 says "Say to them, 'As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways!".

He even created and loved Cho Heung-Sui, which probably is the hardest to comprehend today. He loved him so much He sent His Son to die for him.

It is truly a shame Cho Heung-Sui didn't see that. And it's truly a shame Muqtada al-Sadr and Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad cannot or could not see the love their Creator has for them.

What can I do to change that?

I was looking at missions trips tonight, but they all look so "organized".

I really want to go and share the love of God and His invitation to a relationship with Him with the nations, but I am afraid. Not sure of what...other than not knowing what would be coming my way.

The Casting Crowns sang about this feeling in The Voice of Truth. Great song! Below are some of the lyrics.

":

Oh what I would do to have
The kind of faith it takes
To climb out of this boat I'm in
Onto the crashing waves

To step out of my comfort zone
Into the realm of the unknown where Jesus is
And He's holding out His hand.

Maybe it's really time I stepped out of my comfort zone boat and grabbed hold of THE HAND.

Lord, help me understand where You want me to go, not where I want to go, and then help me GO!
posted by Elke at 10:21 PM