PERILOUS TIMES

It’s easy to get caught up in a couple of ideas that are not true. The first is that our situation of lawlessness & turmoil hasn't happened before. But such conditions are nothing new. Human history is filled with seasons like we’re facing.

The other idea is that God has nothing to do with the solutions to the problems we’re facing.

Martin Luther (1483-1546) is known as a powerful Christian reformer. But did you know that he also lived during a time of deep societal & political upheaval? As a pastor & spiritual leader whose influence had spread over a considerable geographical region, he recognized his responsibility to guide & counsel the people he led to reconciliation & peace.

Luther was not perfect by any stretch of the imagination. He also acknowledged many of his mistakes. But with all his flaws, he got one thing exactly right. It was expressed in this hymn.

We are in a similar time of upheaval. There are political forces from all over the spectrum vying for power & influence. People are resorting to violence, lawlessness, intimidation, & disinformation. Hate abounds.

This is also a time of spiritual upheaval. Whatever you believe about spiritual warfare, all serious Christians should be able to agree on one thing – we are in the midst of it. We can also agree that unless we call on the Lord as this hymn, we are headed for disaster.

Please take time over the next week to pray. Ask God to pour His undeserved mercy & to heal our land. Pray for the Church to repent of our sins, including apathy. Pray for those involved in the lawlessness & expressions of hatred, & for those affected by them.

Our God IS our mighty fortress. Let’s take refuge in Him & bring many others under His protection!

POLITICAL SIGNS

I’ve been thinking about the difference between the political slogans appearing on some the yard signs in our neighborhood. Many say “Make America Great Again” & others say “Take Back America.” I believe that each of these phrases unveils diametrically opposed ways of thinking about the election & the final result.

To “make” something is to create or construct something, or to exercise an ability to innovate & make improvements on something already constituted. We all know that Trump is a builder & innovator. We also know that he can be caustic & vulgar. But he is a man who lives to build, innovate, improve, sharpen, & empower people to fulfill their dreams. This is a large part of the traditional, historical greatness of America. Much of that heritage has been lost over the last 50-100 years.

Biden is what in the Philippines is called a TRAPO – traditional politician. To “take back” something means you feel that your place has been usurped or taken from you. Coming from a TRAPO, this is an important factor. It reflects several things we see happening.

One is the savage counterattacks of the DC “swamp dwellers.” If there is one person who embodies this, it is Biden, who has been in DC for nearly 5 decades.

Another factor is the militant, aggressive, no-hold-barred “resistance” movement that has morphed into a revolutionary street violence network. These are the “revolutionaries” who are the foot soldiers whose aim is to “take back” something. And that something is the thing that is “my precious” to people like Biden & Harris – raw political power.

Remember – This revolutionary movement seeks not to reform the existing institutions, but to destroy them. It’s part of what in their minds is “taking back” America.