Memorial Service

 

Celebrating the life of Dr. Paul Thompson who passed away April 6, 2021.

A memorial service will be held Sunday April 11, 2021 at 6:00 pm at Calvary Chapel Grace Fellowship, 549 NY-17, Tuxedo Park, NY 10987.

Join us for a memorial celebration service followed by pizza. His request was for people to dress cheerfully to celebrate the abundant life and the eternal life he now lives in Christ.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the ministry at Craigville Bible Church or one of the ministries they support: Marriage & Family Savers in Newburgh, NY, MyChoice Pregnancy Center of Orange County, or Samaritan’s Purse.

More information can be found on the Craigville Bible Church Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/1128891370919127/

or at the Flynn Funeral Home website: https://memorials.flynnfh.com/paul-thompson/4579531/index.php

Nobody Takes Communion

TRADITION! So sings,Tevye, in "Fiddler on the Roof". It is ingrained in us from our earliest memories. Traditions are not bad things, most of the time. They do, however, bring us to a point where the truth may be subverted by what we have always done. I used the example of Monopoly in my previous post. Many of us have played the game, few of us follow the written instructions. What is true in Monopoly is true in other areas of our lives. Tradition moves into orthodoxy and, in time, replaces the simple directions of God's Word. While often the tradition is close enough, or a variant of  God's Word, so that little harm is done. However, tradition may rob us of experiencing the intimacy and purpose of God's plan.

Most of those who follow Jesus as Messiah, or as Savior if that is more comfortable for you, are familiar with a memorial He left for us just hours before He went to the cross. Depending on our background we call this memorial, Communion, The Lord's Table, The Lord's Supper, Holy Eucharist, The Last Supper or the Breaking of Bread. If I missed your title I apologize. Though there are minor variations and some differing theological baggage the service or ceremonies are similar. There is bread or matzo, and wine or juice. A big loaf , broken pieces or wafers along with little cups, a common cup, or a tiny package with both together. It is celebrated weekly, monthly, quarterly or on special days of remembrance. The tradition is drawn very clearly from the Scriptures. Matthew 26, Mark 14, and Luke 22 offer very similar accounts. John 13 does not mention the memorial but  does mention the Passover meal. John adds the account of Christ washing the disciples feet. Based on this passage some fellowships add the act of foot washing to their memorial of our Lord's death. You can add Acts 2 with the record of the "breaking of bread" and additional testimony of the Lord's Memorial is found in 1 Corinthians 11. They all can support the call by the Lord to break bread and share the cup in remembrance of His death until He comes again. A worthy tradition that is based clearly in the Scriptures.

This is all well and good and even commendable that Christ's followers have kept this memorial going for about 2000 years. Few things last that long in any society or community. My question is pretty simple, is what we do a reflection of what was done when the instruction of the Lord was given? Has convenience and tradition replaced the Biblical example. More disturbing, has tradition and orthodoxy replaced the memorial and robbed us of a deeper, more personal, more authentic time of remembrance?

All of the accounts of this memorial we are to celebrate happened at a meal. None of them happened at a synagogue or "church" building. The Lord Jesus superintends the initiating of the original memorial at a Passover meal as recorded in the Gospel accounts. After that there is no indication of some ordained or authorized clergy overseeing the memorial. That does not necessarily mean there wasn't one, there just is no record. Let us take a look at the two other passages used to support the ongoing tradition.

The first is found in Acts 2:46, "So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart." The believers went to the Temple (in other cities, the synagogue) to hear the Word of God. There were few copies of the Scriptures available, so God's Temple would be the place to go to hear the Word in Jerusalem. When the time at the temple was completed the Followers of Christ went to homes to share a meal and to break bread, possibly meaning a time of remembrance concerning the Lord's death. No church building, no little cups, no apparent clergy, but they were sharing and eating a full meal with gladness and simplicity of heart. 

The second is found in I Corinthians 11:17-30. Here the record of the Apostle Paul's instruction and admonition concerning the Corinthian believers celebration. When the assembly came together to share in the memorial some got drunk and others ate all the food before the others, the less fortunate, could receive a satisfactory serving. Paul scolds them telling them that if they want to gorge themselves and drink too much, to do so when they are alone at home. When they gather together as an assembly of believers, be thoughtful of the others who have joined the group. Make sure everyone has a share and do not make a mockery of this special memorial. It is clear there is a meal involved and more than a wafer. You would have to eat a lot of modern day communion bread to feel satiated and over fed. I am pretty confident that most of us head home after our communion/memorial services with a desire to eat a meal. What we see in Scripture is the  incorporation the Lord's Memorial into a shared meal with other believers. most likely in someones home.

The question I have is, "When was the last time you had a couple of believing families over for dinner and incorporated the Lord's Memorial into your meal?" Have you had a backyard bar-b-q and paused to sing a worship song or two and break some matzo and share some juice in remembrance of Him?  Maybe it is having friends over for pizza and a game night and you take time together to remember the Lord's death while eating your food with gladness and simplicity of heart. Have we made the memorial so "Sacred" that we are missing opportunities for a more intimate time with fellow believers in sharing our love for the Savior? Would you feel comfortable doing this? Even if there is no Pastor, Elder or Priest to officiate? Just you and some close believing friends remembering Jesus while enjoying a time around an open fire with some s'mores, some bread to break and some juice or wine to share.If this sounds a bit much, is it Scripture or tradition that is rubbing your fur the wrong way? You might be closer to God's Word in your dining room than in the church sanctuary. 

I am not suggesting that you do away with your traditional service. Don't go to your church leaders and ask them to discontinue your fellowship's celebration of the Lord Memorial. That time of communion with the Body of Christ can be powerful, meaningful, and a holy time together in the presence of the Lord. I have been touched in my spirit by God's Spirit in those traditional times with my little cup of juice and tiny piece of bread. Even those sort of squeaky wafers that stuck to my teeth and the eyedropper of wine have moved my heart in remembrance of Him. However, this memorial was given to you, for you. Your backyard, dining room, gazebo, campfire or even your "Man Cave" can be a sacred place to remember the death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior. Do not let tradition or some man-made orthodoxy rob you of memorable times of communion with your brothers and sisters in Christ.

So, are you ready or willing to step out of your comfort zone and celebrate what He has given? I would be interested in hearing of your new found freedom to celebrate the Lord's table at your dinner table.   

Nobody Plays Monopoly

Have you ever played Monopoly? I cannot remember my first game, however I must have been fairly young at the time. It has been and continues to be a popular game. We own the traditional one, one modeled after my home town and one that reflects the Star Wars legacy. I do have a question. Have you ever actually read all the instructions for Monopoly or do just go with what you have been taught over the years? Are you aware that "Free Parking" holds no material value? You get no money when you land on the square. The rules suggest that the banker must be a good auctioneer and may or may not be a player. They may just be the banker. Any unowned property must be sold when it is landed on. If the player who lands on the property chooses not to buy it the banker immediately puts it up for auction. Anyone, even the one who refused to buy it, may bid on the property. The bidding has no minimum. You might buy Baltic Avenue for $2 if no one else makes a bid. If you mortgage a property you must pay the bank 10% interest when you pay back the mortgage. If someone goes bankrupt to you, you must immediately pay the bank 10% for any mortgaged property that comes from the losing player. If you choose to wait to pay off the mortgage you pay and additional 10% when you clear the mortgage. If the bank runs low on houses or hotels, and more than one player wants to buy them, the bank can hold an auction and sell to the highest bidder. You could potentially pay $3000 for a house on Saint James Place. Do you remember these rules? Did you play by them? Personally I do not remember paying interest or any bank auctions. I like having some cash awarded to me when I landed on Free Parking. 

To be honest I will not lose any sleep over the fact that we fudged the real rules and went with the traditions that I was taught by some one who already knew the game. What could be the harm if tradition supersedes the written rules? We likely live in a world where few actually play Monopoly. In fact, enough time has passed that few remember the original instructions and are happy to go with the popular modifications. You would have to be pretty intolerant to demand that the game be played to the letter of the law. For Monopoly the rules have changed yet the game goes on. However, there are some quiet, perhaps disturbing, applications to this socially acceptable approach to how rules are viewed.

Do rules for life matter? Where do we find them? For believers in the God of the Bible and His Son, Messiah Jesus, we can quickly respond with, "The Bible". Isn't that the place we turn to for all instruction for faith and practice? Having traveled down life's road for a while, and having devoted a significant portion of my life to the study of God's Word, I fear that we may have adopted a, sort of,  Monopoly approach to the Scriptures. I have found that tradition, theological predisposing, and what we were taught from the beginning  may dictate what we do and how we believe. These things offer comfort when we gather together as a believing body. We can lean heavily on how we have always played instead of investigating the actual instructions contained in God's Manuel. Do we rely on tradition or the Scriptures when we implement those "faith and practice" things we hold as sacred? Are we willing to take an objective look at the "Word" to see if what we do and believe lines up with Scripture? It can, indeed, be an uncomfortable process. However, it might be worth the investigation to validate or challenge our religious practice both individually and corporately. 

My intention is not to throw rocks or to cause division or angst among my brothers and sisters in Christ. However, in our pursuit of truth and a deeper relationship with the Lord we do need to have the Word of God as our guide and standard. Traditions and theology have their value and should not be discarded off hand. Still, we always need to evaluate them and what we have been taught, by God's revealed standard, being the Bible. With this being said, I would like to present a few posts to help us consider whether or not we have fallen into a Monopoly view of what we do as followers of Christ. So stay tuned as we compare our traditions with the Scripture and see just where we might stand with what we do as we gather together, in His name. We may be encouraged to see how well we are doing or there may be a need to return to the original instructions to correct what we have been taught and accepted, along the way. I think it is a risk worth taking. I hope you are willing to join me with a little mental and spiritual exercise to follow the Apostle Paul's instruction to, "Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15).

        

Morning Joy?

Have you known weeping? Has there been a time in your life that sorrow has felt overwhelming and the darkness impenetrable? As those who believe that God is good and that He delivers us from such times of pain and sorrow we often find comfort in the words of King David, preserved for us in the Psalms.One such psalm, at least one verse or a part of a verse, has found its way into songs, sympathy cards and the folds of our memories. "For His anger, a moment, His favor, life; weeping may endure for a night, but joy in the morning" (Psalm 30:5). David is no stranger to sorrow and weeping. He has know unjust persecution and the death of ones he has loved. He has known God's favor and he will experience God's anger. None of these emotions are foreign to him so he speaks these words from experience. Most of us have been touched by aspects of similar traumas and redemptions. However, we might well question the accuracy of David's poetic claim.

If you have known weeping and sorrow for a night is there a guarantee that relief comes with the dawn? I have sorrows that still rest within the pages of my life. They still manage to rise to the surface at unexpected times. A song, a sunset, a word of Scripture, even a phrase that captures a past moment and resurrects the loss I though had been healed. There are memories shared with a friend where we both change the subject to quench the tear ducts before the liquid sorrow becomes too noticeable. Weeping certainly seems to last more than a night and not every morning feels saturated with joy.

There are a few things to consider as we look to David's words. The psalmist gives us a heads up at the beginning. This psalm was written in celebration of the dedication of David's house, David's dwelling place. After years of being on the run where David's dwelling was more of the rustic variety, living in tents, caves, and within the open wilderness, David now has a home. Actually a palace of sorts. He is the king of a nation of renown. His armies are feared and his prosperity above most nations that are his neighbors. David praises the Lord for His faithfulness and for bringing him up from the pit. David has seen, first hand, the deliverance and salvation of the God of Israel. David knows the morning joy of God's presence.

The Hebrew word translated, "joy", does indeed mean joy, even exuberant joy. It also means to shout or pray. David often uses the word to express his need for God to hear him. Psalm 88:2 is just one among many, "Let my prayer come before You; incline Your ear to my cry"(emphasis mine). Could it be that weeping endures for a night but prayer or a cry to the Lord comes in the morning? Is David promising short lived weeping and immediate outbursts of joy or a change that moves our focus off of the weeping and onto the One who brings comfort when we cry out to Him? Is God telling us that our weeping is momentary or that a prayer or morning cry out to Him will get us through another day?

I am aware that David is likely making use of the Hebraic poetic use of contrast to help us grasp the wonder and goodness of God. Just as God's anger is short lived while His favor lasts a lifetime, so our weeping may overwhelm us for an evening while something replaces that come dawn. English translations choose joy or rejoicing as the contrasting idea. However, a prayer or cry for comfort is not that far removed. Weeping moving into a cry for God's presence fits as well. It also allows for a time of weeping to become a time of prayer and reflection of God's care and watchfulness, which David expresses in the remainder of Psalm 30. In verse 8 David remembers that he cried out and made supplication to the Lord, verse 10 records David's cry for mercy and for the Lord to be his Helper. 

Certainly, God can turn my mourning into dancing and clothe me with gladness, verse 11. However, even for David, this was not an overnight reality.  We do not sorrow as those who have no hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13), however, we do sorrow. We do weep over loss, painful situations and for those who have been taken from us. Isaiah tells us that Messiah would be a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. We live in a fallen world where evil, at times, seems to prevail. Loved ones die and suffer with no immediate relief or apparent reason. Messiah understands. We should not pass lightly over the emotion God has designed within us. Weeping may last for a night, however, I suggest you may feel free, as dawn approaches, to cry out with supplication for God's comfort and grace just to get you through another day. If you are not ready to put on your dancing shoes God is not disappointed. His peace will suffice until His joy returns.

Never Ending New Year

Any plans for the New Year? I planned to put a new post up each Monday so I could get into a rhythm and allow more of my collected thoughts to find their way into written words. However, this is Tuesday, so I am late already. Now I face the choice of being disappointed in the ability to follow through on something so simple and contemplate the downward spiral of failure or just start over where I am and move on. Often the most disappointed person in our lives is our-self. We have our personal goals and unspoken expectations that may be unrealized or put on hold. Disappointments no one else can see. The New Year is often a time of reflection and the intention to move forward with some aspect of our lives. Coming up short can lead to a feeling discouragement and, for some, the threat of depression. We have mental conversations asking why we didn't get up earlier, exercise, write the letter, pray, read God's Word, sort that pile of stuff on the kitchen counter and a plethora of other simple things we set our minds to do but our bodies didn't follow through. It can, indeed, be discouraging. I would like to share a thought or two on avoiding the molasses swamp of personal despondency. I suggest you just look to the new year and try again.

Just how can this help? The reality is that you and I live in a never ending new year. The one we celebrate on January first is the traditional western celebration yet it is actually artificial. It is a random day chosen a few thousand years ago and the power and influence of western culture brought about pretty much global compliance. However, the Chinese and the Hebrew folk celebrate their accepted New Years on a different day. Yes, they agree to go along with the January first date so we all can interact on the same calendar but that does not negate the difference of cultural opinions. Looking to the Word of God it seems God allows every day to be a new year. We do not have to wait for some magical day to come to start fresh. Every day is a new opportunity to move forward.

I am of the belief that God is intimately involved with creation. He is not removed from the daily realities of humanity and this world. This does cause me some significant theological distress for it brings things I have been indoctrinated with into contrast with what I see in Scripture. That being said, I will save that discussion for another post. Today I want to postulate that God was not finished with creation after those six amazing days. Yes, the basics were done, however, creation continues all the time. You and I were, "Fearfully and wonderfully made" Psalm 139:14, So God created something new when He created you. Everyday is a new act of creation. Thus, every day is a new beginning, a new year, as it were.

If you have received Messiah Jesus as Savior and Lord you are a, "new creation" according to 2 Corinthians 5:17. You are not recycled material, God is making you new. If you feel like a failure, no worries, "It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness" Lamentations 3:22-23. New mercies every mornings. Not remnant or leftover mercies, God's mercy toward us is new every day. Therefore we, "walk in newness of life" Romans 6:4. Each morning is a new day, a new creation of God for you and I to enjoy.  A new day to join the Apostle Paul's encouragement from Philippians 3 in forgetting our past failures and to press on to that upward call in Christ Jesus. 

If you take a moment you may well think of other "new" things that are offered to us as each day unfolds. God is at work around us. He is at work in us. He offers new possibilities with the dawn of every morning. Do not allow the spirit of darkness cloud the brightness of His work in you. The Lord did not bring you this far to leave you now. So it is time to begin again, and again, and again, for He is not finished and you are His chosen one. We are invited to celebrate a new year with Messiah as our Savior and friend. So Happy New Years, we only have 160 of them left before next January first.

 

What Now? The Focus

What do you want for Christmas? Ice skates, tools, clothes, a new kitchen gadget, or maybe some toasty mittens for those frosty mornings. Then there is the New Year. What might your wish be for the coming year? Not a repeat of 2020 might be high on everyone's list. For many of us this week leads to the celebration of our Lord's first advent, His first arrival. The commercialized event can bring challenges to one's spirit to not be swept away with the egregious pace of it all. Christmas itself is a bit of an odd holiday. The day chosen nearly 2000 years ago was more political than spiritual but it indeed holds a long standing tradition. Celebrating Messiah's birth still seems like a good thing even if we are off a bit on the date. Which, by the way, isn't given to us precisely in Scripture. So, I will let December 25th be a special day. December 25th in the year 2020 will possibly be like no other in our life time. The CoVid19 residual fear and government restrictions still swirl around us and political tensions are yet to be resolved. Rumors are that 2021 will not be much better, at least at the start. Further restrictions, shutdowns, isolation, and economic hardships are in the forecast. So much for a "Happy New Year". For believers and followers of Messiah Jesus the "What now?" question can be a bit daunting. We want to move forward, but may question how. This is my last post to try to offer some perspective based on the prayer our Lord gave us in Matthew 6. His counsel in prayer applies to broader aspects of our lives as well. We conclude with a thought that should be ours on a daily basis. One that should be our focus in life and one that helps keep our vision clear.

"For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen" (Matthew 6:13b). The ending of the prayer brings our focus back to the majesty of the object or focus of our prayer. I understand the textual variants and some leave this phrase out. However, it is one of longstanding, one I learned as a child, and one that cannot be disputed as theologically true. Thus, today we will let it stand. Our tendency in life, be it our physical or spiritual lives, is to maintain comfort. Much of our prayer time is spent on the desire for our comfort or that of someone else. Relief from pain, sickness, distress, financial hardship or some kind of oppression likely fill our prayer journals. Our prayer of daily bread, forgiveness, even for God's kingdom to come may have our comfort at the forefront. We feel powerless and need God's power to make us feel better. To feel more comfortable in whatever situation we find ourselves to be in. Looking forward that may yet be our focus. "Lord give me a comfortable New Year".

Is that really to be the focus of our lives? John the baptizer put it simply, "He must increase but I must decrease" (John 3:30). Life is not about my comfort but about God's kingdom and God's glory. If  my discomfort results in God's glory I should be content. The Apostle Paul recognized this truth. He didn't always enjoy it but he learned to be content. In dealing with an oppression from the devil Paul asked for relief, to be more comfortable. However, he shares this response with the Corinthians. " And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me" (2 Corinthians 12:9). Boasting in my infirmities isn't high on my New Year's list. Paul gives the believers in Corinth some other council as well, "Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31). And the following, "For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us" (2 Corinthians 1:20). God's glory and putting His power on display is apparently more important than being comfortable.

Many of us live as pampered Christians thus our prayer lives may focus on the desire to remain pampered. None of these things are bad or evil but they are self centered. If my objective is to advance God's kingdom, which was the message of our Lord here on earth, my prayer life should coincide with that purpose. My life is to be about God's kingdom, God's power, and God's glory forever. Perhaps our prayers should include the desire for God's glory. "Lord, whatever brings You glory and best advances your kingdom, handle my cancer in what is best for You. I am your servant", rather than just, "Take away the cancer and heal me, let me be comfortable." Healing may be God's way of putting His power and glory on display. However, if another path is more effective in advancing His kingdom am I willing to be content or even desirous for the disease to progress? Not an easy thought to ponder. 

The new year may hold some difficult, even evil, occurrences as the weeks unfold. Should the progressive party prevail our religious liberties may be curtailed. Messages on God's view of marriage and the value of life could be hate speech. The ongoing pandemic will give more opportunities to target houses of worship to be shut down. Medical care could be rationed or required by our governing authorities. Our enemies may prosper and our allies suffer on multiple levels. I am not wishing for these and I am not a prophet, however, we would be naive to ignore the possibilities. In all of the potential of the days and months to come what will be our focus? God's kingdom, power, and glory or our personal comfort and a pampered life hidden in the shadows. If you study the Scriptures or even history, those who stood boldly for God's glory did not always fair well in this world. Yet, their focus was on advancing God's kingdom and glory no matter what the cost. How will we answer the. "What now?" question?  Will it be about just our comfort? Or will our focus be on God's kingdom, power, and glory? I suppose we also have the option to just leave out that final phrase of the Lord's prayer and take comfort in the shadows. But there is not much glory in that.

What Now? Be Prepared

 The year 2021 is on the horizon and many hope it will be a year of returning to normal. This past year has certainly been disruptive to our usual experience of life. The isolation and limitations placed upon us have left many wounded and afraid. There is a need to go beyond where we have been. God and His Word are essential guides for those who believe in Messiah Jesus and His coming kingdom. There are many places to find direction within the pages of God's revelation to us. Over the past few posts we have considered the truths found in the familiar prayer found in Matthew 6. "What now?" is a question that should lead us to our Heavenly Father for direction. We need to realize that the advancement of His Kingdom is not derailed because of a virus or an election. We need to recognize our dependence upon the Lord day by day and be quick to forgive and support those who share our faith and strive for faithfulness. All this is well and good. However, God is wise enough to alert us to another reality.  As we attempt to look forward we dare not be naïve concerning the opposition we will face. Our enemy has come to rob, kill and destroy. That has been his plan and desire from the beginning. The battle continues today. 

Knowing this, our Lord told His disciples to pray, "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one." Satan and the evil spirits that invade our lives want to rob us of our freedoms, our worth, and our purpose in serving the Lord. They come to kill the unborn, the elderly, the young through war and social unrest. They hold an unrelenting desire to destroy families, communities, and the fellowships of believers. The path they propose may appear to be one of light and prosperity, however, the way may be the road to addiction and destruction. The way of temptation is one of enticement urging us to experiment with new things that appear benign on the surface but conceal the poison that draws us away for truth and into the snare that grips us and leaves us wanting. We need to pray that we would be aware, alert, and sensitive to the way of temptation. Paul warned those in Corinth, "And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light" (2 Corinthians 11:14). We dare not deceive ourselves into following our desires into the shadows of compromise and delusion. Thus, we must pray that we will not be lead into temptation or to allow ourselves to be tested in areas of personal weakness. We are warriors for God's kingdom and be are to be prepared for the battle. "Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand" (Ephesians 6:13).

There is a second aspect to this prayer. We are not only to avoid being lead into temptation we are also told to pray for deliverance. "Deliver us from the evil one" is the given prayer. There are times when we need to be rescued for the evil one, or from evil, as some translate this prayer. The meaning of the Greek word for evil is pretty broad.  It is translated as labors, annoyances, hardships, peril, pain, and trouble. If we are honest the "evil one" is adept at ruining our day with hardships and damaging friendship through annoyances. His attacks are often subtle and deceitful. How much damage has come to your attitude from some "idiot" driver who cut you off? We need to be aware of our need to have our Deliverer present with us all the time. Well, He actually is. We are the ones who are unaware. Perhaps praying for sensitivity to our Deliverer's presence could help blunt the evil one's attack and keep us on the path of righteousness while avoiding that other path.

What Now? If we are to move forward and to advance God's kingdom we have no option but to cling to our Heavenly Father. Temptation and the assault of Satan and his minions will never cease until the Lord returns and His kingdom comes in all its fullness. We must pray to avoid the siren call to the shadows of death and be all the more aware of the presence of our Deliverer. Each day is a new opportunity to live out the Spirit's fruit and walk in step with our Lord and Commander. And each day is a battle to be fought and, by His power, won. "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12). "Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us" (Romans 8:37). Tomorrow is yet another day to answer the "What now?" question. Perhaps the real question concerning moving forward is, "Are we prepared?"