"For the LORD spoke thus to me with his strong hand upon me, and warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying: 'Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. But the LORD of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. And he will become a sanctuary and a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem'." Isaiah 8:11-14
He had secured a place on the world's stage....with various summits....both economic and diplomatic....even garnering a small measure of respect in the process....but all of that is gone. Bold outright lies is what he gave the world leading up to the invasion....then lies on some forces withdrawing....then lies on going in as a peacekeeper. In perusing the Israeli newspapers over the past few days it is apparent that Israel is struggling with how to stand up to Putin. They need Russia's help in Syria....and they....particularly the Netanyahu wing....wants nothing to take their focus away from Iran. One tidbit of information was disturbing as Netanyahu seems to be relying on past agreements that he had made with Putin. Agreements? That means promises....from Putin. That means a secret covenant of some sort....with a man who has shown that he has no problem with telling lies.....and no problems with butchering thousands of people....and no problem with threatening death to tens of millions....even hundreds of millions of people
Who or what changed us? The first evidence of our change....on compassion anyway....came as we dealt with illegal immigration. We had the law on our side....there is no doubt about that....and our motives were initially compassionate towards all parties involved....but then we changed....and these were no longer people involved.....but statistics.....worse then that actually.....enemies. Then our nominee for president came to us with promises like this....that he would keep low-income housing away from the suburbs where we live....and we rallied in our golf cart and boat parades. Once again these were not people....but demographics. Then came the virus....and the deaths mounted up....and we had to find an excuse for not caring. We found it with the word....premorbid....'they were going to die anyway'....and....'they died with Covid-19....not from Covid-19. And now we can see the change on the issue of Putin and the Ukraine. Once again these aren't real people involved.....but just a corrupt 'client-state' population. So who changed us? How did we come to the point where we are morally outraged over a Canadian truck driver who is forced to get a communicable disease vaccination....but have stone-cold hearts as human beings die in war?
ICHABOD....Personal freedoms and liberty have become our god. The reason for this is that we lost the essence of the gospel of Jesus Christ in our churches and evangelicalism on the whole. With that great hope no longer within us....at least no longer in the forefront of our minds.....our discernment atrophied to almost non-existence....our pulpits having buckled to the rantings of a false prophet....and chaos ruling everywhere in America.....we tried to assuage our guilt at no longer glorying in Christ by grabbing on to something to make us appear relevant. Thus we think that we are great patriots....still fighting the great enemy of a simple vaccine....and defending religious liberty....keeping churches open at all costs....in spite of the fact that they are mostly social gatherings….(the cross being replaced with the flag pin)....but we are as Hophni and Phinehas....who after a defeat to the Philistines....ran to get the Ark of the Covenant.....for surely God would give victory with that on the front line....but we were unaware that God had already departed from us.....Ichabod.....the glory has departed....as the child was named.
Here's but one thing that changed us....I'll put no names to this....just about all of them are cookie cutouts anyway....talk radio hosts.....formerly conservative talk radio hosts but now Trump talk radio hosts.....who I've pleaded with Christians for years to flee from these people.....flee from these people....they are taking you away from Christ! They mention God all the time....they will even use scripture....but they haven't a clue!
Thursday.....2/24/22....7:00 PM.....or 1900 hours military time: As of today there has been no public mention of reinstating the draft.....but expect talk of it before too long.....for they have no choice....as a two-front global war is definitely a possibility. The next draft will have no college deferments.....other than finishing out the semester that a draftee would be in. I doubt that the readers here would like hearing of this.....but we have had two decades and more to see where this world was heading....and what God's Word said about it....and to turn our attention back to where it should have been....on the God that planted this nation.....and sustained it for almost 250 years.....for His purposes.....not ours. We might want to keep this Bible verse in mind from 1 Thessalonians 5:3...."While people are saying,'There is peace and security,' then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape." I bring this verse up because we are in the habit of at least thinking about God when wars look to possibly be on the horizon....but just as quickly forget God and go back to our entertainments when war tremors subside....and our pulpits go back to telling us how much God loves us just the way we are....as if the pastors never imagined that we might in fact be like rebellious Israel or Judah.....oblivious apparently to Jeremiah's warning in 7:4...."Do not trust in these deceptive words: 'This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD'.".....thinking God would never bring judgment upon His people.
John Piper....there have been a half dozen times or so over the past year when John Piper.....in one of the daily sermons available on his ministry website desiringgod.org.....made me laugh....either out loud or in my mind....for he expressed an opinion of concern on something that also bothered me....and I thought I was the only one....(a problem in itself)….so I laughed.....or at least smiled. I have never encountered a pastor such as he who so often and purposely as he does....voluntarily displays vulnerability. He lays it all out there....for the benefit of us the hearers....letting God protect him if God would so will it....whereas the rest of us.....although we can be humble at times....must first.....even before being humble....protect ourselves. Today's daily sermon is maybe the best example of this that I have heard from him. If you choose to do so....go to desiringgod.org....hit on the menu at the top right....hit on podcasts....scroll down to Sermon of the Day....or if you want....Google....John Piper, I Act The Miracle. I'll tell you this much of it....the topic is sanctification....and I don't know about you....but that is something that I have so often questioned God with....'Yes God....but how?" Piper lays himself open here....in order to try to answer that question,
CPAC....Conservative Political Action Conference....has been around a long time....and is going on right now in Orlando, Florida. Trump will be the main speaker of course....and according to the website there will be about fifty main speakers and close to one-hundred and fifty who will in some way speak. I just read the headline where in the speech from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis....he told the audience to "put on the whole armor of God' so that the 'shield of faith' will stop the arrows of the Left. Pastors.....do you have anything to say about this?
