Find God in an Interview with Rick Warren (Saddleback Church) on ABC

By Dianne E. Butts:

 


Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

A few weeks ago on Easter, Jake Tapper, sitting in for George Stephanopoulos on ABC’s “This Week,” talked with Pastor Rick Warren about the Christian faith, politics, and more. You may find God in this interview with Rick Warren on ABC (embedded below).

Rick Warren is pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California, and author of The Purpose Driven Life: What On Earth Am I Here For? which has sold more than 30 million copies and been translated into more than 50 languages.

When asked about when he has felt unable to trust God, Warren said, “I think a lot of times God takes away your feelings so you have to depend on faith. And faith is kind of like a tide: it rolls in, it rolls out. You keep on going.”

On Mitt Romney’s Mormonism: A ChristianPost.com article recapped Warren’s thoughts: “The ‘key sticking point,’ for many Christians regarding whether Mormons share their faith is the trinity, according to Warren. ‘That’s the historic doctrine of the Church. That God is three-in-one. Not three Gods. One God in Father, son and Holy Spirit. Mormonism denies that.’”

Warren gave the invocation at President Obama’s inauguration.  Tapper asked what’s the state of the union spiritually? Warren said the coarsening of our culture and the loss of civility in our civilization concern him most.

On politics, the Christian Post.com article said Warren “believes in the separation of church and state, but does not believe in the separation of faith and politics.”

“Faith is simply a worldview,” Warren said in the interview. “Everybody has a world view. So we’re saying that only those with religious worldviews aren’t welcome at the table? …I’m in favor of everybody being able to come to the table with a worldview. I do not believe in imposing what I believe on everybody else.”

About  Tim Tebow? “The fact that Tebow would get criticized for kneeling and praying? I could give you 15, or 50, other things you should be more worried about in that coliseum than a kid kneeling down to thank God that he played good.”

Asked by a viewer via Twitter if Warren believes faith in Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven, the pastor said, “I do believe that… Jesus said, ‘I am the way. He didn’t say, ‘I’m one of the ways… I don’t think any of us deserve to go to heaven. I think the only way any of us get into heaven is God’s grace… The fact is, it’s available to everybody.”

Listen to the whole interview. You may find God in this  interview with Rick Warren.

Rick Warren from Saddleback Church on ‘This Week With George Stephanopoulos’ interviewed by Jake Tapper

Video interview:

© Dianne E. Butts. Dianne is a freelance writer, author, and screenwriter. Her latest book is Deliver Me, for those in an unplanned pregnancy or with one in their past, just won a “Book of the Year” award. Her first book Dear America has just been republished for Kindle. Follow her writing at www.DeliverMeBook.blogspot.com

 

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Find God in Prophecies of Chaotic Weather

By Dianne E. Butts:


Image by Salvatore Vuono: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

It’s April and storm season, the time for violent weather. If we look into Scripture, it’s possible we can find God in prophecies of chaotic weather.

In Luke 21:25-26, Jesus was talking about the Signs that would come before His second coming when He comes to judge the world. He said,

“There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken.”

Some people think this Bible verse could refer to increased intensity in chaotic weather patterns on earth.

We’ve certainly seen a lot of intense weather in the United States in recent years. The National Weather Service sent out strong warnings prior to and during the weekend of April 14 – 15, 2012. And tornadoes did form across the Midwest, tearing up towns like Woodward, Oklahoma.

The largest tornado outbreak ever recorded occurred just a year ago.  According to Wikipedia, the 2011 Super Outbreak, occurred from April 25 to 28, 2011 when destructive tornadoes hit Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Virginia.

The Wikipedia article says, regarding that 2011 outbreak, “In total, 353 tornadoes were confirmed by the National Weather Service in 21 states from Texas to New York and even isolated tornadoes in Canada. Widespread and destructive tornadoes occurred on each day of the outbreak, with April 27 being among the most prolific and destructive tornado days in United States history with a record 208 tornadoes touching down that day. Four of the tornadoes were destructive enough to be rated EF5 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, which is the highest ranking possible; typically these tornadoes are only recorded about once each year or less.”

The number killed as a result of those tornadoes: 346 people.

Less than a month later, on Sunday afternoon, May 22, 2011, Joplin, Missouri, was struck by an EF5 multiple-vortex tornado. “It was part of a larger late-May tornado outbreak sequence and reached a maximum width of in excess of 1 mile (1.6 km) during its path through the southern part of the city,” Wikipedia says. The number of deaths directly linked to the tornado: 160.

Jesus also mentioned “the roaring and tossing of the sea.” If you’re curious about earthquakes and tsunamis, I wrote about those in these two articles: “Find God in Prophecy about Earthquakes” and “Signs of the End Times? – Earthquakes and Tsunamis.”

Throughout the Bible we can see that, because of His great love for all people, God always sends warnings before He sends His judgments (which are disasters meant to put a stop to or slow down increased sin. His ultimate judgment will be His second coming.). But people don’t always listen. They say, “It’s not God. It’s global warming.” Do you think God is warning us through tornadoes and other disasters? If yes, are you listening? If you are, then you might find God in prophecies of chaotic weather.

© Dianne E. Butts. Dianne is a freelance writer, author, and screenwriter. Her latest book is Deliver Me is for those in an unplanned pregnancy or with one in their past, and just won “Book of the Year” at Christian Small Publisher’s Association. Her first book Dear America is now available on Kindle. Follow her writing at www.DeliverMeBook.blogspot.com.

April 2012 Tornado Videos

At TornadoVideos.net, see: Update from the April 14, 2012 tornado outbreak.)

Also see this video below, showing what an amazing creator we have:

From YouTube: Top 20 Amazing Weather Phenomena

 

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Finding God in Technology

by Karen O’Connor:

 Finding God in technology was as much a surprise to me as it was to my husband. It all started the day our printer and copy machine crashed. Time to make a Staples run! So off we went with debit card in hand and not a clue about which brand to buy. The salesman was polite and informative. He spoke our language—that of a white-haired couple who hadn’t kept up with the latest innovations. We looked at a machine that could Fax, copy, scan and print! Such a deal. But who would set it up?

“No problem.” The clerk told me about the tech guy whose job it is to help folks like us—and for only $79.99. I gulped hard but then, what choice did I have? I could not possibly do this on my own, and my husband, a tech expert during the 1950s, was no help.

However, we faced an obstacle. The tech man was out with the flu and would be down for several days, at least. Sigh! We bought the machine while it was on sale and stowed the box in our office, willing to wait. But that night I lay in bed wondering if I should give it a whirl. I awakened the next morning with the distinct impression that God was nudging me to go for it and he’d guide me. So I crept out of bed while my husband was still sleeping, followed the instructions to the letter and then took a deep breath, turned on the machine, and printed out a copy. We were in business—God and me!

Finding God in technology was pure joy. His words from the Bible came true once again. Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” Hebrews 13:5).

Enjoy this inspiring You Tube video from the Maranatha Singers on the blessings of God in all things.

  ©Karen O’Connor. Karen is a multi-book author, writing mentor, and a lifelong learner. You can visit Karen at www.karenoconnor.com

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