There is a small room in my grandparents’ basement, built by two brothers. My mom’s two cousins needed housing while they attended Dunwoody Institute the year of the Armistice Day Blizzard. That November 11th day in 1940 was unseasonably warm, but ended with a two-day snowstorm that caught many off guard, even freezing some to death. As the storm hit, the two brothers walked approximately five and a half miles from school to home. By the time they walked through the back door of the house, the ear of one was frozen and covered with snow.
Later on that little room served various uses, but what I remember about it is that it had a small framed statement, maybe 6 x 8 inches, that said, Stop Worrying. You’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive.
I loved that sign. It brought a wry smile to my face the first time I saw it and every time afterward. From time to time that admonition has returned to me with its whimsical truth. It certainly echos these days in which our country is facing not one, but three (or more) challenges.
As we continue to endure the corona virus pandemic and shut down, some feel great concern over what could happen when folks begin to venture again into normal life. They are worried about catching this virus and what it can do to their health or the health of a loved one. We hear concerns about it mutating, though a highly respected doctor asserts the parts of it that mutate don’t affect the parts that respond to treatment. We have treatment for it, but not everyone agrees whether hydroxochloroquine + azithromycin (+ zinc) is effective. There are even disagreements about why people agree or don’t agree with its effectiveness. We have unanswered questions: do or did I have it and not know it, if people get it and have some or no symptoms how can they avoid giving it to someone else, what if I get it and am one of the few who suffer and die? Scott Kesterson wrote something that gave me pause: Reflect. Our time on earth is finite. When we die is unknown. What is certain is that we will die. Some will die tonight. I hope it’s not a new thing for people to think about their own death, but maybe it is. Some US citizens these days are only for the first time facing a mortal challenge.
Others feel great concern over their rights being taken away. Shouldn’t there have at least been a war before someone dropped the hammer and decided when and where citizens can go, who they can visit, and what they are allowed to purchase? Those with power are revealing who they are: concerned and focused or controlling and oppressive. Even Hollywood stars are getting into the act by parroting whatever script they are given. Not all of them, but some. (Those some, I would add, have probably been bought by someone unseen and powerful. It’s very sad to think someone gained fame and fortune at such a steep price.) Those who know the history of communism and those who only think they do have opposing perspectives.
The majority of us are probably somewhere in between; caring about public health, yet also caring about freedom; caring about the vulnerable, yet also caring about restricting government orders and the destabilizing nature of an economy in its death throes.
Yes, we have a load of trouble on our hands. We have pestilence. We have threats of war. And thirdly, we have the kingdom of darkness right here. We are only now waking up to the widespread practice of satanism among the wealthy and powerful. It walked into our house and poured its black, evil, vile presence all over the place. And whether we’re ready or not, we must fight it. We must banish it from our home and vanquish it as well as we can. And we must do so whether we’re scared or worried or weak.
These are worrisome times, but we have a God whose mighty hand can part seas, heal those who are sick, fight battles, and calm storms. That hand can even raise the dead! Why do we dismiss His power so easily? We are walking through our own Armistice Day blizzard of sorts. It took us by surprise! It’s difficult to see the path in front of us! Yet we know we must persevere in order to get to a place of safety and warmth.
Finally, let’s bring to mind not just worrisome things, but lovely things, too; because they are part of what strengthens us. As we walk this beautiful, weary world, it will do more good to let go of the things that weigh our journey down: hate, past troubles, worry, than to carry their sorry carcasses on our backs. There’s a lot to love and appreciate. Always. Even during troubled times.
Stop worrying. You’ll never get out of this world alive.
Bards of War, Scott Kesterson, https://www.Youtube.com/channel/UCOtB_qcFywPqu0uVwf6RPpw; Image: pexels.com; https://www.facebook.com/TippingPointonOAN/videos/282333452762416/?t=3
Things have already been strange. Very strange. Ever since Moses returned to his hometown in Egypt from his adopted desert home, unbelievable events have taken place. For one thing the Nile turned from water to blood for awhile. No, it wasn’t some weird algae thing. It was blood. You don’t believe me? Ask anyone. The stench was terrible and, of course, no one – not even the animals – could drink from it. Then frogs. Frogs! Really! They were all over the place. They’re slippery when you step on them. Did you know that? Not after they’re dead and dried up under the sun. No. When they’re alive and hopping all over the place and you can’t walk anywhere without stepping on them. I won’t even talk about the gnats that flew up our noses. But we at least got a reprieve from the flies – swarms of them – that were all over the place in Egypt. It was the same with the plague on the livestock. What a loss! Oh, not in Goshen. No, we Israelites were prevented that trouble here. And the boils, hail, locusts, and darkness. I kid you not. I almost, almost, began to feel sorry for the people who had enslaved us for hundreds of years – until I remembered how we were treated by them.
Now this. Moses and Aaron got us all together and said we’re supposed to take a year-old male lamb without any defects into our homes for two weeks. We’re supposed to make sure there are enough lambs to feed every family member. Then – slaughter! Yes. Just when we were starting to like the little thing. My brother even named it. He eats out of my hand, you know; his little tongue licking every last bit. But we can’t make excuses. He has to be slaughtered at twilight. Then my parents are supposed to take some of his blood and smear it on the sides and tops of the door frame. Every family in this town is supposed to do it. We won’t be the only ones crying over our little lamb.
We wonder what will happen at midnight, and everyone in the neighborhood has their own idea. But we all agree the Egyptians won’t do this. Oh! What if we can hear the wailing clear over here when every Egyptian household loses their firstborn: the Egyptians in prison clear up to the Egyptians in the palace. Horror! And Moses says be ready. After everything else that’s happened since he returned, we will do what he says. Don’t take time to let your bread rise. Eat lamb roasted over fire, along with bitter herbs and the bread that didn’t have time to rise. Pack a go bag because the Pharaoh will call for Moses and tell him he will finally grant his request to let us out of slavery. But we must hurry, hurry, hurry! Grab what we can and go! Go fast! And if some Egyptians give us some of their stuff to make us leave, well I won’t stop them. Plunder can be done in a variety of ways, can it not?
It’s twilight. Oh! The lamb! The bleating! The blood spatter! We cry, but we do what we’re told. We follow the instructions. Death will pass because of the lamb’s blood. We shut the door.
We’ve watched some folks from the entertainment business post strange videos on Instagram and Twitter, wondering what in the world they’re trying to communicate or what feelings they’re attempting to elicit.
Slowly masks are being peeled back during this time of pandemic. Truth is showing itself. We’ve watched this reveal, if you will, for awhile as some reporters seemed more hateful and biased and politicians more divided. Now we see entertainers crumbling. At least it appears that way, but with actors you can never tell. We hear things out of the Vatican that in the past we would never have dreamed of hearing. But we also see businesses stepping into the gap and citizens doing the necessary thing, the kind thing.
I think we might view this as a Sabbath rest. We didn’t ask for it. Boy, did we not ask for this. And some in the medical community or those who find themselves figuring out new ways to do their jobs or those who are battling illness don’t feel rested at all. But many of us are at home more. Together more. Without the distraction of extra things. It is unfamiliar territory, but there are good things peeking out from behind the curtain of our usually busy lives.
Around four or five months ago, I began celebrating the Sabbath. No, I am not Jewish and I don’t do the things our Jewish friends do for their Shabbat. I was raised to regard Sunday as the Sabbath and did so all of my life. Except church responsibilities made it a bit busy. So now I have a day every week – the original day God set aside in the Ten Commandments – to rest. This is what I have found:
In order to get everything done before Friday sundown, I hurry up and do the things I used to put off. I get grocery shopping done, the gas tank filled, the house cleaned, laundry done, the bills paid, meals and desserts cooked, my usual writing work attended to, piano practiced, Sunday School lesson studied, and yard work done on another day.
It was hard at first and I still have slip-ups from time to time. But I have found a new sense of order in my life. I’ve found that I get more done. It’s true! With a Sabbath deadline, it’s amazing what you can accomplish ahead of time. My life gets a weekly reset! Saturday is my mini vacation every week now. I have more time to read, to pray, to enjoy nature, and to do nothing. The week as a whole has an extra bit of peace injected into it.
While I fully intended to write a blog on the wonders of the Sabbath, I’m led just now to post this little bit because our dear world needs comfort and peace (stat!); and that’s one of the gifts of the Sabbath rest.
When placed in God’s hands, every bad, hard, and evil thing in this world can be flipped. In fact, Joseph said: You meant to do me harm, but God meant it for good -so that it would come about as it is today, with many people’s lives being saved. While we are collectively shut down all over this world, we might just take the opportunity to gain a new understanding of what a slower pace adds to life. By subtracting, we find more! I wish you a peaceful Sabbath rest.
We’ve heard that we are fighting an invisible enemy. We certainly can’t see the Corona virus with which the world is contending. Who knows what else around us needs our alertness, our discernment, our will to fight? Maybe the personal things that pester us need more than a glance from us. Maybe troubles in this world that call silently need more than our helpless hope that someday things will be different. There are other things, people, and forces that have been invisible to us throughout history, as well. I alluded to it in the post https://www.myfiresidechat.com/2017/05/17/living-in-our-time/ .
So as we face something new to us and old to the world, let’s recall again words given to us many years ago.
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
We fight an invisible enemy suited, ourselves, with invisible armor. We fight an invisible enemy by being unyielding in our stand against it. We persevere. And the very best way to fight – the most powerful way to fight – is with constant contact with our Supreme Commander, Jesus. Amor up and fight on!
We come before you as a nation – one nation under God despite what some desire. Yes, this nation is still Yours. And we acknowledge all You’ve done for this nation in your love and might. You influenced the Framers in its design. You’ve called people from many nations to come together with all of their gifts and perspectives and molded us together as one. E pluribus unum. You’ve given us freedom in which art, invention, business, and a multitude of other blessings have thrived; in which hometown parades are enjoyed; in which each one in a family is valued; in which we are free to say what we think regardless of how silly or wise. We know You have protected us individually and as a nation, and we are so very grateful to You.
But we must pray for forgiveness. We’ve become despicable with what we’ve allowed: course speech, perversion, selfishness, cowardice, laziness, gluttony. If there was way to break one of your commandments, we found it and did so or turned a blind eye to keep the peace. Oh Dear Lord, cleanse us. We are sick of sin. We are appalled at wickedness. Drive it out from among us! Purify this nation, we pray.
And now we ask You to heal us. Heal us of this flu. Heal the folks who have it and keep it from the folks who don’t. Heal us, too, of the fear that embraces us just now. Take it away, far away. Descend on us with Your peace and the knowledge of Your presence. If someone spreads fear intentionally, this is what we ask: we ask that every word will produce not fear, but faith; not cowardice, but courage. And we ask that those whose intentions are to destabilize us with fear – we ask that every word they speak will bring fear to them, that every effort to tear down will reduce them to dust. For we are not just sick from a germ. We are sick of lies and we are sick of deception and we are sick of corruption. So as we ask for healing from sickness, we ask for a clean sweep of evil in whatever form it takes. And we give you all the honor and glory.
On June 6th of 1944 175,000 soldiers heard or read a speech from the Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force, Dwight D. Eisenhower. It was the eve of the invasion of Normandy Beach in France. The assault was code-named Operation Overlord.
Boys, some barely past high school and all who had their whole lives ahead of them, jumped into the unknown to save ordinary people from unspeakable evil.
We’ve seen a lot of wickedness, ourselves, of late. The more we find out, the darker it becomes. If you’re confused about that statement, you need to start doing some research in your spare time. Mainstream reporters won’t tell you. They have become untrustworthy and contribute to the problem. They will lie to you as smoothly as a crooning lothario. It’s time for you to take responsibility for your own knowledge.
And now we’re facing a panic over a type of flu. The virus spreads easily and unnoticeably and, though most people recover just fine, people with compromised immune systems are a bit more at risk for trouble. It’s always that way with the flu, by the way. What’s a puzzle is the panic. I’ll admit, early videos from China were very unsettling. They were awful not because of the sickness, but because of the way it was handled. But now schools, businesses, and churches are shutting down. This predictably affects the world economy. Yes, panic is affecting the world economy.
Don’t let words scare you. The word pandemic comes from the Greek pandemos, meaning “pertaining to all people”. Pan means “all” and Demos means “people.” Pandemic simply means the flu isn’t limited to one nation, but has traveled; in this case, worldwide. We might expect this because travel is very accessible these days.
No, getting sick is no reason for fear. But we are watching what we might call pandemonium. Would you like another lesson in etymology? You already know what pan means. Actually, Milton coined the term when he wrote Paradise Lost. He wanted to illustrate a place that was Satan’s Capitol, and he called it Pandaemonium. So pandemonium is literally the place of all demons. And that’s what you get when you allow chaos, confusion, and turmoil to fill up your world.
We have some idea of the people who are spreading the fear and can hypothesize some reasons for it. But it’s a strange state of affairs. And I believe that there is more behind this pandemonium than concern for health.
We have a choice. We can hide and quake and buy obnoxious amounts of whatever we believe we need to survive a long period of time. Or we can do our best to behave rationally, think logically, and live righteously.
Perhaps, should we be facing something yet unknown and just a little scary, we can read Eisenhower’s speech. C’mon now. If those young soldiers could act bravely, so can you. The eyes of the world are upon you.
Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force!
You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have
striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The
hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you.
In company with our brave Allies and brothers-in-arms on
other Fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war
machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world.
Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well
equipped and battle hardened. He will fight savagely.
But this is the year 1944! Much has happened since the Nazi triumphs of 1940-41. The United Nations have inflicted upon the Germans great defeats, in open battle, man-to-man. Our air offensive has seriously reduced their strength in the air and their capacity to wage war on the ground. Our Home Fronts have given us an overwhelming superiority in weapons and munitions of war, and placed at our disposal great reserves of trained fighting men. The tide has turned! The free men of the world are marching together to Victory!
I have full confidence in your courage and devotion to duty and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full Victory!
Good luck! And let us beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking.
SIGNED: Dwight D. Eisenhower
Last week we saw clips of the Congressional Prayer Breakfast. What most of us didn’t see were the remarks in context and in their entirety. As with snatches of incomplete news that are so prevalent these days, it led to people calling our President to the carpet for holding up a newspaper telling of the Senate’s vote and saying he didn’t like it when someone used their religion as an excuse to do something they know is wrong or who said, “I’m praying for you” when they really aren’t doing any such thing. Someone claimed the President’s words were a “missed opportunity”.
Arthur Brooks spoke before him with a theme of Jesus teaching us to love our enemies. He noted that marriages can be saved but for one thing: contempt by one partner. I refer you to the last State Of The Union Address.
President Trump, a relatively new Christian, remarked, I don’t know if I agree with you. . . I’m sorry. I apologize. I’m trying to learn. It’s not easy. When they impeach you for nothing and then you’re suppose to actually like them? I don’t think it’s that easy, folks. I’m doing my best. I find such honesty refreshing! For tucked into his honesty is confrontation of wrong.
That’s what we, as Christians, have been stumbling over for nearly half a century now. Keeping our mouths shut, thinking it’s better to ignore evil. (Perhaps if we don’t say anything the other person will realize the error of their ways on their own.) Thinking evil will be overcome with silence. (No harm, no foul.) Closing our eyes and saying love wins. I agree. Love wins, but, to borrow from Inigo Montoya, You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means. It certainly doesn’t mean sidling up to workers of evil and pretending all is well. Thank heavens there’s finally a leader who calls out hypocrisy no matter where it lies. I don’t like people who use their faith as justification for doing what they know is wrong. Nor do I like people who say, ‘I pray for you,’ when they (don’t). Is it possible the new Christian in the White House is doing what the rest of us should have been doing all along and haven’t? I don’t know about you, but it puts me to shame. Blame for the moral mess of our nation lies at the feet of the church.
And instead of encouraging this courageous man, some Christians find it easier to back bite him. Maybe, they think, if I criticize something, it will show I’m fair-minded. It relieves them of having his six. Of doing their best to fight for this country on the brink. All in the name of . . . what? When you’re in a battle is not the time to find fault with the guy fighting next to you.
The U.S.Army Creed says: I am an American Soldier. I am a Warrior and a member of a team. I serve the people of the United States, and live the Army Values. I will always place the mission first. I will never accept defeat. I will never quit. I will never leave a fallen comrade. I am disciplined, physically and mentally tough, trained and proficient in my warrior tasks and drills. I always maintain my arms, my equipment and myself. I am an expert and I am a professional. I stand ready to deploy, engage, and destroy the enemies of the United States of America in close combat.
We might not all be soldiers, but we must be warriors of another kind or this country will continue to descend into a hell the likes of which none of us has imagined. Is that the Christian’s job? You bet your salt and light it is.
Today’s political left doesn’t stand on scripture, it exploits it. It uses scripture to promote a twisted sort of love that accepts evil. And over the years, some Christians have not only not said anything, they’ve encouraged it. Jeremiah 23 has something to say about that. Read it if you dare, and weep if you must.
Christians who don’t recognize the difference between good and evil, can’t draw the important line at hypocrisy. Evil isn’t something to love, but to expose. Jesus looks for repentance from sin. (Not to continue sinning that grace may abound. – Romans 6:1) Scripture confronts us with this question: What communion does light have with darkness? (II Corinthians 6:14)
We also read in the scriptures of how God commanded kings to completely annihilate the enemy. When I was young, that seemed pretty extreme to me. Then I learned about things like cancer.
In fact, we bear witness to plenty of situations during the early life of Israel where things get pretty brutal. I think of the time Gideon told his son, Jether, to kill the two kings who were in front of them. They had killed much of Gideon’s family. But Jether was only a boy and was afraid, so Gideon carried out the judgment. You can read about it in Judges 8.
Is it possible (gasp) that God’s love does not tolerate evil?
Besides telling us to be forgiving and loving, Jesus also says, So, because you are lukewarm – neither hot nor cold – I am about to spit you out of my mouth. (Rev. 3:16) That’s right. If we don’t stand on the side of truth and righteousness we’re as good as spit.
The President of our nation has been bullied for over three years without even one day off. Over. Three. Years. That wounds.
Maybe the new Christian in our midst, the one people love to hate and criticize because he defends what is good and fights like a street-fighter, has something to teach the rest of us.
