What Now? Going Forwrd.

 How do you feel about the past months? There are few places where the events of CoVid19 has not had an impact and if you are in the USA you can add the joy of a national election. Much of life has been disrupted. The question for all of us, and especially believers, is, "What now?" How do we move forward from where we are to where we need to be. For some it is a time of great distress. It seems the powers of darkness have gained more than a foothold and the future is uncertain in the midst of a growing darkness. Should the USA, indeed, be guided by a new administration things are likely to change. 

For some it is a time of rejoicing with the potential removal of an arrogant and un-presidential tyrant. Then there is the promise of free healthcare, free education, forgiven student loans, a guaranteed income with the government taking care of them. The government only wants what is best for us. We just need to be compliant. 

For others it will be the codification of the "right" to kill babies and to progressively move toward the elimination of those who lack the quality of life that would prove to be a drain on society. They see an expansion of government control that tells us religious practice is "nonessential" and religious conviction is disallowed as "hate speech". The pandemic has been an effective tool to limit worship meetings and penalize people of faith. Numerous governors has become lush with new powers that control the lives of the masses. All in the name of keeping us safe. The proposed plan is to regulate what you drive, where you live, how much energy you can use and how to protect yourself and your family. A false security with the price tag being your freedom and liberty. Either view leaves you wondering what to do from here.

It occurred to me that we, as followers of Messiah Jesus, have been given a plan, a guideline, to follow from the Word of God. That should not be unexpected. However, the truth that most of us have already memorized the directions might come as a surprise. In this, and a followup post or two, I want to give a possible answer that God impressed upon my heart in the quiet of the night while I recovered from some mild food poisoning. Yes, sometimes the LORD has to put me on the recliner looking up to see what He has for me. This is not a vision wrought from indigestion but just some thoughts that rolled over me when the silence outweighed the usual conflagration of my overactive midnight brain. Matthew and Luke give variations of the direction from the Lord. It is a simple answer given by the Lord as a response to a simple "How" question brought by His disciples. We will use Matthew's account but either gives us an answer to give us hope and remind us that. perhaps, nothing has really changed.

Mathew gives us this message in Matthew 6:9-13. I invite you to give voice to these familiar verses with me, "Our Father, Who art in heaven, holy is Your name, Your kingdom come Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive our debts as we forgive our debtors, lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one, for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen" (a slightly modified version of the NKJV). These verses can serve both as a reminder and a map to follow as we continue our journey with the God of all creation and His Son, Messiah Jesus, empowered by His Holy Spirit. It helps keep my mind straight and it helps that I learned this through simple repetition as a child never thinking, "Oh, this comes from Matthew 6". Childhood memories to the rescue.

"Our Father, Who art in heaven". Turning our attention to our heavenly Father in times of foggy reality is never a bad place to begin. He is the personal God and Father Who invites us to call Him, Abba. The intimate name from a child to their daddy. He is the Father Who hears and understands. He is the Father that has a heavenly perspective. One Who sees beyond our limited existence and experience. He has worked in the past, through every difficulty we can imagine. He is not unaware of our situation or the thoughts that may bring unrest and discomfort to our thoughts and emotions. He is not bound by politics or elections. He was not absent through four hundred years of slavery or the forty years of wilderness wanderings. He did not forsake David as he cowered in the caves or Daniel as he stood, in faith, among the lions. He was not absent at the cross nor did He abandon the women at the empty tomb. I can trust my Heavenly Father to be with me today. Perhaps, I just need to hear His words to David and "Be still and know He is God" (Psalm 46:10). Like Elijah, I wait for the mighty wind, or earthquake, or roaring fire, and miss the "still small voice" (1 Kings 19). No matter what the day brings I can rest in Him.

"Holy is Your name". The name above all names. The unspoken name among His Hebrew children as they show deference and respect to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He is our loving Father. He is also the awesome God of all creation. He is not to be taken lightly or for granted. He name is separated from every other name. Our God shares this nobility with His Son, "Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth" (Philippians 2:9-10). Ephesians 1:21 offers a similar truth, That His Son Messiah is "far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come." No matter how the enemy works to turn God's name or the name of His Son into a meaningless profanity it does not change the reality of the holiness of His name. In time all of mankind will recognize that truth and bow before Him. We should not allow the turmoil of this present age to overshadow the wonder of His name or the power of His presence.

We have a more to consider from this familiar prayer given to us by the Lord Himself. Those will find their way to Torah Paranoia in the weeks to come. However, perhaps this will give you a few things to reflect upon and ponder. Perhaps it is a prayer you can revive as you enter each day and maybe, just maybe this prayer was given to us for such a time as this.   

Death of the Spirit

There was a time when humanity saw a correlation between the natural and the supernatural. A time when events that surrounded us had a spiritual connection. People believed that the gods and goddesses were at work in helping, punishing, or toying with mankind. Today we live in a rational world with a rational culture. When people act on an emotional level we proclaim them to be irrational. The supernatural is replaced with the natural so we may wander about with the illusion of control. This illusion has its foibles, however, for there are times when the rational has its limitations. Yet, we continue to find ways to avoid the uncomfortable possibility that we do not have the ability to solve everything. The supernatural will simply not go away.

In those old primitive days humanity was concerned with keeping the local deities happy. Drought, fire, storms, pandemics among other "natural" disasters were a warning that the gods or goddesses were not happy. Somehow they had been offended and now must be appeased. Often times the people were clueless as to what they had done. In Acts 17 Paul addresses the Greek philosophers on Mars Hill. Paul had seen many altars to the "Unknown God" around the city and uses this as a way to introduce the Lord God and His Son, Messiah Jesus. The background of the altars came from a pandemic that swept through the city. No one knew which god or goddess they had offended so they released sheep to wander around and whatever temple they went near they were offered up to that deity to appease them and ask them to stop the plague. However, some sheep never found a temple, so the people of Athens built an altar to the "unknown god" and made a sacrifice just in case there was a god they were not aware of. The point is, plague equals angry god. We have grown far beyond those foolish days of superstition and ignorance. Now we can explain troubling events and natural occurrences with logic and science. When we do not have an explanation we just blame things on poor management, global warming or manmade climate change. There is no need to revert to the unsophisticated days of the supernatural. 

For those who are believers in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob the supernatural is not, at least in theory and rhetoric, unreasonable or foreign. We speak of the power of God and the power of His Spirit. God is a supernatural being who is worthy of our worship, praise and obedience. He is also a God Whom we have come to contain and surround by our theological fences. He is a God of love and compassion Who demonstrated that through the birth of His Divine Son who lived, was crucified, died, was buried and rose again, conquering death. This God offers forgiveness and life eternal to those who accept and believe in His Son, Messiah, Jesus. These are all truths to be accepted, except for the theological box thing. We, as believers, tend to struggle to keep things in balance. We spring from one doctrinal belief to another and find Scripture  to support our position. We also tend to ignore the texts that bring an opposing point of view. Sometimes we are a bit like those in Athens, not sure what to do with God or what to do with the natural events that surround us.

It is clear from God's Word that there were and will be natural events of a tragic nature that touch our lives. Floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, fires and plagues that exterminate lives have been with humanity from the earliest times, Some are a simple result of living on a fallen planet that is touched by sin and, like us, "creation groans" (Romans 8:22) under the weight and corruption caused by man's rebellion against the Creator. These are the natural consequences of events in Genesis 3 that are with us every day. However, God also makes it clear that such events may be of His design to alert His people, or to bring judgement on those who reject His call to believe and follow Him. The question might be, "How can you tell?" Is this a message from the Lord wrapped in an earthquake or a pandemic? The follow up question could be, "Does it matter?"

In our rational, despiritualized culture such natural events are passed over or excused. The people of God used to understand that such situations were a call to introspection and prayer. Is every tragic occurrence the judgement of God? Probably not. However, there are indeed times when the Lord does bring such discipline upon His people. In 2 Samuel 21:1 we read. "Now there was a famine in the land in the days of David for three years, year after year; and David inquired of the Lord." The famine was indeed a message from the Lord, a judgement due to the brutality of Saul upon the Gibeonites. Out in the wilderness the Israelites rebel against Moses and Arron and we read of this result, "So Moses said to Aaron, “Take a censer and put fire in it from the altar, put incense on it, and take it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them; for wrath has gone out from the LORD. The plague has begun.” Drought, famine, plague, and you can add the earthquake when Korah rebels and the drought called by Elijah in the days of Ahab (See 1 Kings 17-18). Famine was predicted in Acts 11 and famine, death, and fire will come by God's hand in Revelation 18.

In addition to "natural" disasters, God will sometimes use the unrighteous to discipline or challenge His own to repent. It is a call to wake up and rekindle their devotion to Him. God used the oppression of the Philistines, Babylonians and Romans, to name a few. Within the past year we have seen fires, earthquakes, a few volcanic eruptions, a world wide pandemic, and leaders desiring power who flaunt the truth and righteousness of God. Are these God's judgements? Is the Apocalypses upon us? Are we under the wrath of God? Is this the end of life as we know it? An end to the USA? (Which, by the way, does not seem to be a power worth mentioning in any Biblical prophecy.) What do we do with all of this? It seems believers either find little prompting toward confession and repentance in the face of such things or find a spiritual battle hidden in everything, So believers I have known stressed over which cereal to buy, "Does this company have ties to some godless regime?" Where is the balance?

It seems that we do, indeed, need to pay attention to the world and the calamities that surround us. They certainly should be a reminder to walk with purity and humility before the God we say we follow. Introspection is not a  bad thing. Neither is confession and repentance. As the years go by we may well find that our devotion to God and to the principles of His word are less and less acceptable to the world around us. It would be naïve to think that the Lord does not notice the growing depravity of our society or the gradual acceptance of evil by His own. Things that were appalling or unacceptable have quietly invaded the Body of Christ. Profanity and sexual impropriety are woven into what we see as entertainment. The push for acceptance of perversion and the killing of the unborn as an acceptable a social norm is a daily assault on God's holy standards. How would this not invite some divine repercussions? 

The question for today is simple. Has rationality brought about the death of the Spirit? Do we explain away the actions of a Holy God or do they draw us to repentance and a call to holy living. It is much easier to ignore or explain away the disasters that surround us. The natural answer is less disturbing than falling into the hands of an angry God. Just how rational have we become? Just what would God have to do to capture our attention? Famine, fire, plagues, godless people coming to power, an assault on our religious liberties and freedoms. Is this a warning sign or just a sign of the times. Is it God's hand upon us or just the course of nature randomly unfolding? If nothing else, maybe it is something to think about when you see God's creation convulsing around you.   

Psalm 23 - A Parody

 I am, for the most part, a people person. I like to talk to people and I end up with lots of spontaneous conversations in shopping lines, parking lots, the beach and pretty much anywhere. It is surprising how quickly people confide in you when you listen and ask a few questions, I like the people in our church family. I am closer to some but I enjoy talking to all of them. I admit there have been times when there have been those who have turned away and even tried to discredit me, my ministry and even my family. However, that has not quenched the joy I receive from talking and listening.

 That being said, the forced separation required by power consumed politicians has been very wearing upon me. It has been draining physically (months with no time at the gym), emotionally (seeing people I care about given to fear), spiritually (being denied worship and fellowship with other believers), and mentally (interaction and the sharing of ideas stimulates one's brain). Thus, my life has been drained of significant vitality. And the governmental edicts continue even as deaths and hospitalizations become rare.Each time a milestone is reached the government and governor find new reasons to continue the power play and fear mongering. Threats have been added to insure compliance to the message of fear. 

When these things happen, isolation and time to let my brain play with itself, a random strain of sarcastic creativity begins to ferment. I usually do not write much that is overtly political. I do fear the destruction of the country I love and the freedoms I have enjoyed by the growing socialist movement that has consumed the Democrat party. We have come a long way from President Kennedy challenging all Americans to, "Ask not what your country can do for you, but, what you can do for your country." Now the party says, "Give us power and give up your freedom and government will take care of you". For many, the promise of freedom from responsibility at the cost of personal freedom is all too inviting. A country filled with the equally poor ruled in perpetuity by the powerful elite is not the freedom I desire. 

My being always seeks an avenue to release the frustration my body absorbs over time. When I was younger I ran distance to burn off and release the tension. My knees can not endure running any more so I have adjusted to the elliptical machine to release the needed endorphins. However, I cannot do that with the required mask as it stirs up my allergic asthma and leaves me gasping and light headed. As an alternative my brain finds new ways to achieve the needed release. So I ponder, imagine, my mind gets weirdly creative and the sarcastic parody gene kicks in. I have ruined many a song for my children when this has occurred in the past. I have hesitated to publish this, as it is a parody of scripture and that may cross the line of my personal sensibilities. However, I can excuse the behavior due to the stress this quarantine has placed upon my system. I can say, without hesitation, that I pray for governing officials. 1 Timothy 2:1-2 gives me that direction. I do not dislike my Governor, however, there is little he does that I agree with, support, or accept. Much of what he does violates God's Word and qualifies, Biblically, as evil. So I pray that the Lord will reveal Himself in such a powerful way that the governor will experience the personal revival only the Spirit of God can bring. 

All that being said, and with my apologies to the Psalmist David and the Lord who inspired the original, I give you this parody.

A Psalm of Albany (The Twenty-Third)

Cuomo is a shepherd I do not want.

He tells me, “Lie down and be silent”.

He leads me beside still restaurants, 

He sucks life from my soul.

He leads us down paths of unrighteousness,

For his own sake.

Yea, he puts old folks in homes,

Overshadowed by death,

They die alone. 

This is evil.

His rules and his edicts,

They oppress me.

He takes the food from my table

To give to my enemies

He taxes my house and my oil

My cup’s full of holes.

Surely no goodness or mercy

Shall come from his life

And I will dwell with a mask on, forever

Are You A Fuzzy Monkey?

 Is Genesis 2:18 true? After all that the Lord God had made He came to the conclusion that He had not done His best. God had made the heavens, the earth, the seas and dry land. He had made plants and all kinds of sea creatures and finally, He created man. A remarkable feat of creation when one considers the complexity of our cardio vascular system, our ability to see, and the ability of our muscles to move us and allow us to get from place to place. Add to that our mental capabilities and we are, indeed, a marvel. Yet for all this God said, "It is not good". What could possibly qualify as "not good" in the midst of all that? Oh, it is "not good for man to be alone". We were designed to be social beings. Just give a thought to the nervous system so sensitive that you to feel a stray hair tickle your arm. We were designed to touch, to feel, to know the warmth of another human being that cares for us. 

Just how important is this function of touch and tender connection? Well, as my mind has been wandering back to the early days of my education, Harry Harlow, wandered into the grey matter. Harlow is best known for his social or psychological studies using rhesus monkeys. The experiment was pretty simple. He took baby monkeys and placed them in cages with wire mom monkeys with bottles attached and other monkeys in cages with fuzzy mom monkeys with bottles attached. The wire mom babies did not fare well. In fact many died or developed severe behavioral problems. Not so with the fuzzy moms. Their baby monkeys grew up, for the most part,  healthy and normal. Harlow tested the monkeys further by putting in both a wire mom monkey with the bottle and the fuzzy mom with no bottle at all. The baby monkeys would leave the fuzzy mom, nurse from the wire mom and then scurry back to cuddle with the fuzzy mom. His conclusion was that warm, nurturing, touch was essential for proper development. He discovered that it was not good for baby monkeys to feel alone. 

What is true for rhesus monkeys is true for human beings as well. We do not do well in isolation. We need family, we need community, we need one another. It is not good for us to be alone. The touch of another human being is vital to our well being. It has been God's plan for human beings to function as a community. The Scriptures are filled with phrases that contain the words, "one another". When prisoners are put into solitary confinement or isolation it is not a reward. Children placed in mass wards in orphanages, with little human contact, do not develop well. Many do not survive. We were not created for perpetual "social distancing". We were designed for community and comforting touch.

God recognizes the need to isolate those who carry a potentially deadly disease. Leviticus 13 gives instructions to isolate someone with possible leprosy to protect the community. Quarantine for contagious members of the community was not just allowed, but necessary. However, we are now told that everyone is a potential threat. Everyone must isolate. No one should have contact with another. The message of fear has replaced the need for social interaction. We are told it is not just dangerous but life threatening to get within six feet of another human. We are told to lock ourselves away and avoid other people, even family members. Even though much research shows that the threat is not what it has been. The death rate has plummeted and the recovery rate is very high. Still the fear mongers tell us to stay alone, to avoid others, to enjoy our solitary confinement. It is for our own good. If we disagree, rules are declared to force us to comply.

There are a consequences to this mandated isolation that do not get much publicity. Throughout the United States thousands of seniors have been isolated in nursing homes and assisted living centers. Some have been denied the opportunity to be taken to the homes of their children or grand children. No, for their own protection they are locked away from human companionship, the touch of a child's hand or the embrace of a loved one. Not for days but for months. In New York alone, thousands have been isolated to die alone. Some from a virus, some from loneliness. Some, who enjoyed the simple things of life have given up in isolation. Now, depressed, they just wait to die. No fuzzy monkey available to bring some comfort or warm touch. Isolation breeds death.

The other neglected group are the recovering addicts and mentally ill who need both accountability and comfort. I personally know of those who, laid off from work, isolated at home, not able to be with friends, have returned to the comfort of drugs, both prescription and illegal. That toll in destruction and death will likely never be measured. I wrote a post a few weeks ago, "Which Spirit" reminding us that there is a spirit who desires to, "rob, kill, and destroy". That spirit thrives in the isolated lives of the vulnerable. His quiet voice calls the addict to his drugs, the depressed to their pills, those who suffer from a variety of emotional challenges and Post Traumatic Stress, to just yield to the battle and end their lives. So they do. All alone in their quiet apartment cages, longing for the touch of someone to talk them out of the pressure they feel to end the pain. However, no friend can come. No brother or sister can comfort. For they too are isolated in their own government mandated isolation chamber homes. So they die alone, protected from the deadly virus.   

Our nation, if not the world, has become an enormous laboratory experiment. "Let us see how large segments of population deal with extended isolation." "Let us see how much fear we can instill to keep the experiment going." I am not suggesting there is no threat or that the vulnerable ignore reasonable precautions, however, social science and the Word of God tell us that there will be consequences for the ongoing isolation and fear. When we violate God's design to replace them with man's edicts of "safety" there will be a price to pay. Our oldest generation has become the victim of fear and isolation. Others that government sets out to "protect" are left with wire monkey moms and no comfort as they spiral into the darkness of their own personal pain. But,we know, not all the monkeys are expected to survive the experiment. There is always an acceptable cost when we run the tests and evaluate the process. Not to sound cynical, but have you noticed the government folks, like those in white lab coats, still travel, still wander about talking to folks, still have their social calendars. Perhaps for them, they know that it is not good for man to be alone. That is just for the little monkeys. But, you know, it's for their protection.          

Pavlov's America

 It seems one cannot fully escape one's past. Our minds have the uncanny ability to drag up things we did not know we could remember. Forty-four years have come and gone from my college graduation day. Yet, random things I was required to read find their way to the frontal lobes and pierce my thoughts and cause me to ponder. My studies were multi-faceted, with equal credits in psychology, sociology and Bible and a collection more in history and speech. An interest and further pursuit in cultural anthropology has been the unintended consequence. It has led to a, perhaps, unusual approach to my study of God's Word and my presentation of the Scriptures each Sunday morning. Keeping in mind the Jewish culture, idioms, history of the time and the background of the speaker or writer, as well as the audience, consumes a portion of my preparation. Knowing that Paul was a practicing Jewish Rabbi and a pharisee writing to his disciple, Timotheos, who was likewise a practicing Jew, both faithful to Torah and Jewish tradition, may well place Paul's correspondence in a different light. Our tendency to look at Scripture as if it was written to Americans with no thought to the original culture and history may rob us of the richness of the text. We may even create difficulties in interpretation that can be resolved if the context of the culture and history are considered. However, this is a unintended rabbit trail. My real point goes back to the psychology thing.

In my college days I was treated, exposed and, perhaps, mildly infected with the works of such psychologists as Pavlov, Skinner, Harlow and others whose investigations into behavioral psychology were a hot topic back in the 70's. They were interesting and required reads at the time. The question of nurture and environment verses a growing interest in the genetic links to behavior stirred controversy within the academic community. These became woven into cultural anthropology as one sought to understand how societies functioned and passed on traditions and variations of cultural norms. The concept of "stimulus and response" became a tool to evaluate how and why people did what they did. Pavlov's accidental discovery of salivating dogs became his claim to fame, as it were, and it has been copied and used as a foundation for a significant part of behavioral psychology. If you are not familiar, Pavlov noticed that when he fed his test subject dogs they began to salivate at the presence of his lab assistants even before the bowl of meat powder arrived. The very sight of the lab assistants generated a response. The lab assistants were replaced with a bell or a flashing light, creating the same response. The dogs associated the bell or light with food and began to drool before the food got there. 

The experiment was rehashed in a number of variations. Each time, without any intent by the subject, a response was triggered by stimulus. Positive reinforcement could encourage or alter a behavior. We have been borrowing this for years. "Make your bed and you get a quarter". The child will begin to make their bed automatically, at least as long as the quarters keep coming. The positive behavior will eventually become a response in the expectation of the reward; even if the reward discontinues the behavior will persist. This may wane if the reward is withheld for a period of time. Negative reinforcement was found to be more powerful. A light comes on and voltage passes through the floor of the rat's cage. He jumps on the wooden shelf to avoid the shock. After short amount of time the light comes on and the rat is on the shelf. You can discontinue the shock treatment, however, the rat will be on the shelf every time the light comes on. It will take a long time before the rat will test the floor to see if the shock still occurs. I am not suggesting you tag your child with a cattle prod every time their bed is not made; however, hanging the cattle  prod just outside their bedroom door will likely result in a made bed for quite some time to come. The simple reality is, you can control people's behavior with either a positive or negative reinforcement.

Pavlov's findings have taken on an experiment on a grand scale. A national, perhaps even international, scale. My point is not to promote one opinion or another, but, perhaps we need to think about the bigger picture. "Masks probably do not help", "Masks might be helpful", "Wear a mask to flatten the curve", "Wear a mask to help protect yourself if you are vulnerable", "Wear a mask or you will die",  "Wear a mask or you will kill others", "Wear a mask or you cannot shop". "Wear a mask or get arrested and fined". So we wear a mask. For some it is an inconvenience. For some it is assumed this will pass. For some it is life threatening due to anxiety, PTSD, or respiratory problems. However, for many, it is now a necessity. A matter of life or death. The message to provide the negative stimulus has taken hold. When the light comes on, the threat of the upcoming shock has them grab their mask. The desired result of controlling the subject has been realized. The negatively reinforced message has been ingrained and the poor little mouse will jump on the mask shelf in fear and never be able to know if it is safe again. The experiment to see if control can be achieved through fear has been a success. Now we can introduce new control factors. "The vaccine is there if you want it", "The vaccine is there for the vulnerable", "The vaccine will keep you safe" "If you refuse the vaccine you will kill others", "The vaccine is required by law", "You cannot shop without proof of the vaccine", "It matters not if you have recovered from covid19, the vaccine is required". "We can provide your children with a curriculum", ""We require that your children use this curriculum", "Your children will not be able to go to college or get a job unless they complete this curriculum", "If you do not comply, we will take your children." 

Far fetched? Just check out the history of so many countries that responded to the government's "provision" and "protection". Social utopia has a cost. Just your freedom and your rights. Government knows best. Hear their bell? Put on the mask. Pavlov would be so proud.         

Which Spirit

Have you noticed, if you have lived for a few years, that the world seems to follow a pattern of change. We follow cycles in the seasons, in the days and months and also in human history. Solomon was right when he said, "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven" (Ecclesiastes 3:1). However, there are some constants. God is always good, always loves, and is always working toward the realization of His Kingdom. He is the God of life, and not just life, Jesus promised "life abundant", in John 10. The Lord also gave us another constant. In this world, there is a thief who comes to rob, kill, and destroy. While we live on this earth those two realities are with us. Now we know that light will defeat darkness. Good will triumph over evil and God will be victorious. Yet, until that day the battle continues. Paul reminds us in Ephesians 6:2. "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." The spirit that wants to rob, kill, destroy, divide, spread fear and anxiety is always there to attempt to keep us from, life abundant, love, unity, truth and freedom. In essence there are two spirits that are at work around us. The question is, which one do you support.

What makes the battle even harder to engage in are the tactics of our enemy. He is a thief, so he is subtle in his attacks. He is an adept liar, and deceiver. 2 Corinthians 11:14 gives this warning, "And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light." We can be influenced by  false teachers, false prophets and people in power who are set out to deceive and control us. While Christ promises us that we have no need to fear the enemy tells us to be afraid, to be very afraid. The Lord told us that we are free, "Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed" (John 8:36). The enemy tells us to give up our freedom in exchange for a false promise of protection.So how do we proceed? What can we do? Matthew 7:20, gives us some help, “Therefore by their fruits you will know them." People, preachers, teachers, and politicians, can say pretty much anything. But what do their actions reveal? Which spirit do they support and serve?

We are at a time in American history when many of the shadows have been burned away so that the forces of light and darkness have become more evident. At least more evident in the 67 years that compose my life. We have the amazing privilege and responsibility that the people back in Bible times never had. We can have a say in who has power over us. The lines are clearly drawn as to which spirit holds sway over those who desire to be given the positions for the governing of this nation. One party and its candidates hold to the value of life, seeing every life as a gift and treasure from God. No matter what pigmentation, mental capability, economic position, born or in the womb, all of these lives have value and are created by the very hand of God Himself. The other sees life as a biological chance to be disposed of  by the judgement and whim of mankind. They not only devalue life but stood up in NY to celebrate the freedom to execute a child even as it leaves the womb. Others feel that a child should not be considered viable until its quality of life can be ascertained. The unworthy burdens to society can mercifully be left to die. God sees the little ones and the older ones as precious. This pandemic has shown the hand of some in leadership who have assigned the elderly to die alone in nursing home where no visitors may visit them, In some cases it is illegal for family members to take there parents and grandparents out of the institutions to bring them home to care for them as a family. Protect life, or kill and destroy. The fruit reveals the spirit.

I am old enough to have lived through some difficult times and have seen riots and destruction in days past. In those days there was an agreement that these were tragic and needed to be brought to an end. Now protesters, who literally rob, kill, and destroy, are encouraged and protected by governors and mayors of one political party. They have declared the violence to be covered by "free Speech" while denying churches and synagogues, and other places of worship to meet. Liquor stores, strip clubs and casinos are essential but Bible studies, little health food stores, churches and small businesses are not. All on the whim of one person who has assumed power. One party supports family life disrupted, family businesses destroyed,  families encouraged to be divided and take sides. All in answer to the spirit's call to rob, kill, destroy, divide, and dishonor the God who made them. The other party asks for a stop to the violence, destruction, and murder, Calling for the moral strength needed to protect the innocent and vulnerable. We were all appalled with the death of George Floyd. A death that should not have occurred and those responsible should be brought to the full measure of justice. But what of the actual hundreds of young men, women and even children of color that have died on the streets of Chicago and other major cities in the past weeks? Don't their lives matter? The spirit of darkness is celebrating the death and mayhem that strangles many of our cities. Those who over see the chaos from the comfort of their governor and mayoral mansions make excuses and de-fund the police. One party political party dominates this oversight of this anarchy and encourages the chaos.  Which spirit is winning? By their fruits you will know them.

I am grieved over the loss of life, the loss of freedom, the destruction of  lives and livelihoods. Cites overcome by fear and darkness. Perpetual attacks with the intent to divide and compartmentalize people and society. In the midst of this a dear brother I met at the gym is diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma. He is in the hospital. I cannot visit, not even playing my "Pastor's" card. We text scripture verses and links to praise and worship songs. Only immediate family can see him. My daughter suggested that I pretend he is my son and sneak in past the hospital security. That is when I first mentioned that he is African American. Pigmentation has never mattered to either of us. We have known each other for a dozen years. Talked and laughed and shared prayer requests. Now my prayers are for him. That the One who gives life will spare his. The spirit of darkness has had enough victories in the past few months.

This is not intended to be a political post. It is about a spiritual war that rages here and around the planet. It is not new and it will not end with an election or change in political power here or anywhere in the world. However, those we elect will take us either further into the realm of "rob. kill, destroy" or toward the preservation of life for the most vulnerable of us, the unborn and aging. One toward the government control and freedoms curtailed. The other toward personal freedom and responsibility One toward legalized destruction and fear and one toward the protection of property and prosperity. One toward curtailing religious liberty and labeling Biblical morality "intolerance"  and the other toward religious freedom and freedom of speech. An honest evaluation of the choices before us support my concerns over the spiritual war that envelopes our communities, our states, our nation and the world. Two spirits. One brings life, freedom, and hope over fear. The other says,  kill, destroy, and be very afraid. Which spirit will you support?    

Renewed Every Morning

What are your thoughts when you watch the sun rise? Whether you are sitting alone on a beach, watching it burn through snow covered pines, or just see it creep through your kitchen window, there is something moving about a sunrise. A new day has begun. It is untainted by anything we have done and it holds  a promise of things to come. I know for some the new day is a painful reminder of things lost. Another day waking to an empty bed where a beloved spouse once lay. An expectation of painful cancer treatments or the hollow realization of another day to battle depression or abuse. Yet even in those circumstances a new day still can offer hope. In the midst of the Lamentations of Jeremiah he writes these often quoted words, "Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed,
because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness" (Lamentations 3:22-23). The Hebrew word for "mercies" is, "חֶסֶד", hesed. It is a rich word that does not come easily into English. Often translated "lovingkindness". It is a reflection of the reciprocal love based in God's irrevocable covenant with His people. We are loved by Him and nothing can change that. We experience more of the depth of this love when we love God in return. David knew of this unchanging love, even through his failures. Jeremiah expresses it here in the midst of God's necessary discipline upon His people. Every day brings the reminder of God's unfailing love.

The Apostle Paul reminds the rather dysfunctional assembly of believers in Corinth that "love never fails". Pretty much every thing else will, however God's love is constant, no matter what the circumstances. Every sunrise is an affirmation of that truth. We may fail but God's love never fails. We are not worthless losers. Ephesians 2:10 assures us that, "We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." We are new creations, (2 Corinthians 5:17). The sunrise tells us that we are no longer those who walk in darkness. Peter gives this encouragement, "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light" (1 Peter 1:9). And even though we may struggle in the journey Paul includes us in his letter to the Philippians letting us know that He Who began this good work will complete it, til the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:6).

The world and our circumstances my try to tell us otherwise. However, we are God's chosen ones. We are loved and given a fresh dose of His unyielding love and compassion every morning. No scraps of grace from the day before. A new supply of the needed love and compassion of God with every sunrise. We are confronted daily with the bad news of the day. It seems much of the media is intent on discouraging us and marketing fear. Even the good news is couched in the darkest background and embedded with the cautions that even the good news is not really good at all. Stay under the covers and avoid the sunrise. The darkness is your friend. The light is too scary to deal with right now so cower in the shadows. That simply is not the message of God's Word. Paul says we are more than conquerors. We get renewed and rearmed with God's mercy and compassion every morning. Mercy from Him and compassion to share. We were created for good works not debilitating anxiety. And if ever you feel abandoned just praise Him. David writes, "But You are holy, O You that inhabits the praises of Israel" (Psalm 22:3). God is enthroned, elevated and becomes intimate and obvious to His people in the midst of their praise.

We are children of the light and called to reflect the glory of our God and Savior. We cannot do that hiding in the comfort of the darkness. Life is not easy. Each day will bring troubles of its own. No day passes without some kind of challenge. Thus, God provides a new measure or treasure of mercy, lovingkindness, and compassion every sunrise. They are provided new for you every morning. Great is His faithfulness. So get up and bask in the light of His warmth and compassion one more day. For you are His and He will never leave you alone.