How to Reach Them

Today I was listening to a podcast about how Christians are being martyred in other countries.  The same week that the attack on Paris took place, there was another terrorist attack.   Very few newscasts gave it more than a passing byword.  12 people were killed in Paris, in Nigeria the bodies were too many to count.  Why did the one in Paris get all the publicity and Nigeria got none?  Both are tragic events.
It is sad that the world doesn't care about the slaughter in Nigeria.  What is downright despicable is that the church in the USA is not rising to the task of helping the refugees.  The churches aren't talking about this.  The church is asleep.  Not a little catnap, but a deep slumber.
My mind cries out to God, "If the church will not help, what can we do?"  I felt like God said, then you take it to the people.  For those of us who have empathy for the plight of our fellow humans, it is time to take action.
I know that we can pray and that is always the best course of action.
I believe there are other things we can do as well.
I will be praying about this and will do an update to this post soon.

Day 12: Genesis 1:1-1:2 gap?

Is there a gap between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2?  Many theologians believe that there is.  In Genesis 1:1 God created the heavens and the earth.  In verse 1:2, the earth is without form and void and darkness was on the face of the deep.  The word for form is tohuw (Strongs hebrew 8414).  It means lie waste, desolate, worthless.  It can also mean vain, confusion, nothing or wilderness.
Void is from bohuw (Strongs 922).  It means empty, a vacuity, empty or void.
This poses the question, did God create something so undesirable?  Perhaps the question is could He create something that was worthless?  God can do anything, so He could.  But would He?  I think the argument could be made that it is presented in an order.  If this were the case verse 2 should come before verse 1.  However, if that were the case then where did the formless and void place come from?
I believe that God is a God of order.  So perhaps verse 1 is a statement of what happened and verse 2 begins the description of how it happened. 
No matter which way you believe, you have to deal with something worthless being there.
If there is a gap, what happened during that time?  How long was the gap?  Why didn't God intervene?  I do not believe we will ever know this side of eternity. 
If there was a gap, it may help to bridge the distance between the age of the world, as seen by the world and the church view.  It could be a day or millions of years. 
As this is not something that I consider as a doctrinal issue, I mention it.  I tend to subscribe to the gap theory.  I think it is likely that the fall of satan and 1/3 of the angels happened during this time.  When he was cast out of heaven, Isaiah states that lucifer did weaken the nations.  (Isaiah 14:12)   He was cast out into the earth (Revelation 12:9).  Revelation 12:12 says 'woe to the inhabitants of the earth and of the sea!  For the devil is come down unto you having great wrath, because he knows he has a short time.'

Forgetting:  That I think I know about God.  That I think I know all His ways and wisdom.

Remembering:   God's ways are higher than my ways, His thoughts are not my thoughts.  He promises to give me all things pertaining to life and godliness.

Day 8: It may look the same, but it's new

Forgetting: Sameness.   Thinking that every day is the same, one after another.  That life resembles a line of zombies monotonously plodding one behind another.

Remembering:   Each morning brings new mercies from God the Father.   Each day He releases the thing that I need to get through that day.   Every day can be an adventure with God.  My part is invite Him, and to follow where He leads, and do what I see Him do.

Update 11/11/17
In June of 2017, there were people painting rocks and leaving them places.  A co-worker gave me a rock that said "And so the adventure begins" or something like that.  Well, the adventure needs to end.  Sameness is looking really good now.  Everyday with God is an adventure to some degree.  The joy is there if we choose to tap into it.

Day 6: Pleasing God First

Forgetting:  the ideas that come to my brain that people don't like me.

Remembering:  people can only like me to the extent I love myself.  I was not put on earth to please people, but to please God.

Update:  11/11/17:
This one is almost funny.  The Bible teaches us that we can capture our thoughts and bring them into submission to the truth of scripture.  I am learning it does not really matter if people like me or not.  I'm here to do my job, regardless of what I am doing.