Care-Casting; and Obama’s Speech


This coming Sunday at The Donelson Fellowship, our pulpit study will focus on twin verses in the Bible:

  • Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous fall—Psalm 55:22
  • Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you—1 Peter 5:7

During the sermon, I’m going to quote one of my favorite hymnists, Paul Gerhardt, who could be called the “Charles Wesley of Germany” (Read more about him in Then Sings My Soul:  Book 2).  His beautiful poem on this theme says: 

Commit whatever grieves thee
Into the gracious hands
Of Him Who never leaves thee,
Who Heav’n and earth commands.
Who points the clouds their courses,
Whom winds and waves obey,
He will direct thy footsteps
And find for thee a way.

If you’re in Nashville, join us at 8:45 and 10:15.  Or you can watch on-line or listen by podcast at www.donelson.org.

PS – My last post was a letter of President Obama, asking him to bring up the subject of persecution of Christias by Muslims during his speech in Egypt this week.  While the President didn’t address the subject exactly as I would have liked, I do want to give him credit for at least bringing up the subject of religious freedom during his highly-publicized speech.  In case you missed it, here is that section:

The fifth issue that we must address together is religious freedom.  Islam has a proud tradition of tolerance. We see it in the history of Andalusia and Cordoba during the Inquisition. I saw it firsthand as a child in Indonesia, where devout Christians worshiped freely in an overwhelmingly Muslim country. That is the spirit we need today. People in every country should be free to choose and live their faith based upon the persuasion of the mind, heart, and soul. This tolerance is essential for religion to thrive, but it is being challenged in many different ways.

Among some Muslims, there is a disturbing tendency to measure one’s own faith by the rejection of another’s. The richness of religious diversity must be upheld – whether it is for Maronites in Lebanon or the Copts in Egypt. And fault lines must be closed among Muslims as well, as the divisions between Sunni and Shia have led to tragic violence, particularly in Iraq.

Freedom of religion is central to the ability of peoples to live together. We must always examine the ways in which we protect it. For instance, in the United States, rules on charitable giving have made it harder for Muslims to fulfill their religious obligation. That is why I am committed to working with American Muslims to ensure that they can fulfill zakat.

Likewise, it is important for Western countries to avoid impeding Muslim citizens from practicing religion as they see fit – for instance, by dictating what clothes a Muslim woman should wear. We cannot disguise hostility towards any religion behind the pretence of liberalism.