MAYDAY!

        Some news sources picked up on a commentary that Billy Graham recently published. In it he wrote "America is just as wicked as Sodom and Gomorrah ever were." He wrote also that today prayer has become just a formality in our nation. If you read the news with more then just casual interest you are familiar with what is transpiring in the Vatican on the issue of homosexuality, you would also be aware of the mayor of Houston, Texas and what is going on there. If you are not aware of these news reports then maybe you have a very good reason. If not you may be one of who Billy Graham was alluding to when he also wrote that "We (America) have no sense of coming to grips with God."       
        I have used a fair amount of naval terminology in these posts over the years, "all hands on deck" would be one..."battle stations" would be another." I did a whole post on 'Don't give up the ship,' the words of James Lawrence as he was dying aboard the USS Chesapeake in the Battle of Lake Erie and the words that Oliver Hazard Perry had stitched on the battle flag of the USS Niagara in the same battle. I have never used the phrase 'abandon ship' but this ship of state is indeed going down.
          Have you even pondered for more than a few moments the inaction of this our 'stand-down president' on issues of national security as he fritters the days away on the golf course, or his usurping powers not enumerated in our Constitution when he does act, or his seeming ambivalence towards the people of Iraq or the Kurds or the Israelis, or Christians anywhere, or even Americans
or really anybody outside of those who support him for their own private gain?  Have you noticed how many people he appointed to important positions because of some perceived political advantage irregardless of whether they have any ability or experience? And have you noticed the ensuing disasters from these appointments? I'll choose a different naval distress signal today.....'MAYDAY!'
          Whether you are in college or working tons of overtime to secure your family's financial future.....MAYDAY! Whether you are 65 years old and trying to retire or 25 years old and buying your first house.....MAYDAY! Whether you are Republican or Democrat.....MAYDAY! Whether you are black or white or brown or yellow or red.....MAYDAY! Whether you are union or supervision.....MAYDAY! Whether you are male or female.....MAYDAY! And whether you are American or not.....MAYDAY!
           Prayer is our only answer.....intense, perspiratory, humble, pleading prayer!

The following was posted six weeks ago:

         Franklin Graham, son of Evangelist Billy Graham, made some comments on the deteriorating conditions of this world and the possible nearness of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, comments that made the Drudge Report because of their extreme candor. He said in part "As I read the news, I can't help but wonder if we are in the last... hours... before our Lord Jesus Christ returns......"
         Have you ever been involved in some activity or exercise that was so robust that you felt the immediate need to rest for a few minutes just to get your bearings? Well, that is what it feels like to me as I read the news of the day. Fifteen years ago I and many others recognized that America was beginning to spiral out of control. Five years ago I wrote about the imminent dangers we faced as a nation and a free people and within the last few years my words became warnings on the incipient collapse in just about every area of our society and the world.
         There is a big difference between resting for a few minutes to regain one's bearings and sticking one's head in the sand to temporarily eliminate the clamor of the crowd as they search for exits from this horror movie being played out on the front pages of our news sources.
         Martin Luther once answered when asked what he would do if he knew that the Lord was coming back the next day, "I would plant a tree." That indeed is what we must do but even there we need tranquility enough to guide our hands.
         Franklin Graham knows it, other Christians know it, and I know it.....the only true peace of mind that comes amidst the howlings of the tempests that are shaking every pillar of justice in our country, damming up every fount of blessings and ripping asunder every document holding any truths that limit our own self-autonomy is at the foot of the Cross on Calvary, the empty tomb and the mount upon which Jesus ascended and will one day return, whether it be, as Graham added, hours, days, months or years.