Tag: christianity

Before Sitting This One Out …

[I]f anyone hears the sound of the trumpet but does not take warning and the sword comes and takes his life, his blood will be on his own head. But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes the life of one of them, that man will be taken away because of his sin, but I will hold the watchmen accountable for his blood. – Ezekiel 33: 4 & 6

I’m part of a group of women – prayer warriors – who pray together for the nation once a week. (At 71, I’m possibly the youngest in the group!) We may seem small, but we’re doing what we can, praying that the American people, especially the Church, will repent of our sins of commission, and especially our sins of omission. If you are one of the large block of American Evangelicals who do not vote, and who haven’t even registered to vote, before sitting out another election, please consider the following:

In the Bible we read about whole civilizations that experienced judgment (or consequences) for the evil actions of their leaders, although ordinary citizens of these countries had no say in what their leaders did. How much more will we be accountable if we do have a voice but remain silent as our leaders take us down the road to disaster?

Evil and corruption have inundated America, from our government to our media, to our education system, to our entertainment, and virtually every other area of our culture. The reason the country is in the state it’s in is because the Church has remained silent for so long on moral issues that have been redefined as “political.”

As Eric Metaxas pointed out in his book, Letter to the American Church, if the Church in Germany in the 1930’s had resisted Hitler’s forces, the outcome might have been vastly different. But precious few believers took a stand, while the rest just “sang a little louder” to drown out the bothersome screams of the Jews being transported past their churches to the concentration camps. It’s possible that the Christians in Germany in the 30’s were unaware of the scope of what was happening, and perhaps we could give them the benefit of the doubt. But today in America we have no such excuse. It is all too clear the direction this country is heading. “Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”

It’s true that there are no perfect choices in this election; the candidates are deeply flawed, but so are we! If we “sit this one out,” refusing to vote for “the lesser of two evils,” we are letting a vote for the greater evil go unchallenged. I believe we will be held accountable for what we could have done but didn’t. If we fail to vote out of sheer laziness, shame on us. If we’re neglecting to make our voice because we refuse to be associated with imperfect policies or people (not wanting to get our hands dirty), God is not impressed.

(Sticking one’s head in the sand leaves other parts of the anatomy vulnerable.)

If we believe Christians should “stick to preaching the gospel,” (exactly what Hitler told the German church to do) and not get into anything “political,” look around you – everything is political these days. Note that even what used to be the two “safest” topics of conversation – one’s health and the weather – have been politicized!

(I’m glad Queen Esther didn’t refuse to get involved in politics.)

This is not a contest of Republican versus Democrat or liberal versus conservative. It’s a matter of good versus evil.

We can’t save America, but we are called to be salt (Matthew 5: 13), which doesn’t stop the decaying process altogether but does slow it down. Woe to us if we sit by, say nothing, and watch our country rot.

Is it too late now for the Church to speak up? There’s only one way to find out.

Prayer: Dear Lord, we see the state of the world today, and it’s easy to feel helpless to do anything about it. But You have enlisted us in Your army, and it is a vast army! You have armed Your people with “the full armor of God” and joined us together with the angelic armies of heaven. Give us each discernment to know what part we play in occupying until You come and help us not to shirk our duty. Give us courage to take a stand, strength to be faithful, and supernatural boldness and protection as we confront evil. In Jesus’ name, amen.

(Another) Answer to a Routine Prayer – from WHERE?!

And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left. Isaiah 30:21

It started out as a normal day. (Most of my adventures do these days.) Marty was playing pickleball, but what had become his new passion was off limits for me; twenty years of running had taken its toll on my knees, and starting-stopping-twisting-turning-type activities were a little too risky. I’ll stick with hiking, biking, and kayaking. A two-mile walk to the end of the pier and back is a perfect time to get in my morning prayers.

…or afternoon prayers. With my ADHD tendencies, I am grateful the Lord is patient. This was one of those days, and it was past noon by the time I started out with everything I needed. (When I used to walk the dog and also needed poop bags, treats, and leash, it’s a wonder I got out the door at all.)

My prayers were the normal stuff – offering my body to the Lord (Romans 12:1), offering Him my mind (II Corinthians 10:5, Romans 12:2), etc. As I gave Him my body, mind, and heart, I “put on the armor of God” – the belt of Truth, the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness (Ephesians 6). When “having my feet fitted with the readiness of the gospel of peace,” I prayed the usual things: that I would go where the Lord wants me to go, encounter the people He wants me to encounter, and speak the words He wants me to speak. This prayer often gives me a sense of anticipation – how will He answer it today? Though I get frustrated with myself, I know God is very good at working with what He has; if I make myself available to Him, He’ll do the rest.

It was mostly a solitary walk. The summer people were gone, and the chill in the air makes one reluctant to get out. But the trees were finally starting to change color, and the “wooly worms” crawled across the path, their black and orange colors (according to superstition) predicting a harsh or mild winter. One was solid orange. (Well, you’re a little optimist, aren’t you?) Across the channel I could see people walking the other pier, most of them bundled up, expect for a few kids in swimsuits jumping into the water. (Insanity isn’t a frame of mind, it’s a way of life.)

On the way back, as I waded through the hundreds of acorns, thinking either there was a bumper crop that year or the squirrels weren’t doing their job, I wondered if they were edible for humans, although I had never heard of anyone eating them. I made a mental note to google it.

I was almost home when a woman in a car stopped and asked me where the lighthouse was. It couldn’t be seen from the road, so I explained that she would have to park and walk past a couple of houses to get to the pier. I noticed three things about her: her walking stick, beautiful blue eyes, and an exotic-sounding accent, I guessed Russian, or maybe eastern European. As I tried to estimate how far it was, and about the spot where she might have trouble walking over some rocks and another section that was sandy, I finally offered to go with her. She parked the car, and I repeated the pier part of my walk, this time a little slower and getting to know my new friend Luda. We had a lot in common – our age, our love of the area, and our active lifestyle – at least until recently. Luda had been riding her bike 20 miles a day, sometimes as much as 50 miles when her husband was living, before an accident that had left her struggling to get around. She was about where I was a year ago, so we talked about hip replacement, and of course I had to tell her how much it helped me to get the sugar out of my diet. It was this sacrifice that had taken me from struggling to walk to walking pain-free in less than two days. She confessed her addiction to sugar – I think most of us can relate – and I told her about some of my recipes for sugar-free chocolates and the baked apples Marty and I have been having for dessert every night. She asked me what I cover the apples with to bake them, and when I said aluminum foil, she scolded me. “Don’t ever let food touch aluminum foil!” Wow, I thought, she’s even more of a health nut than I am. I could tell we were going to get along great! 😉 As we walked through the mass of acorns, Luda said casually, “You can eat these, you know.” (!) She described cooking them and told me about a website where I could learn about things growing in the wild that are good for food – just in case we might need that information to survive someday.

When we got back to her car, Luda told me that she had not wanted to go out that day, but she had forced herself to get out of that chair and go! She said she had walked farther with me than she ever would have by herself. (She wouldn’t have known where to go, anyway.) She had been on her way somewhere else but had “randomly” turned off onto the little road I was walking on, probably about the time I was praying, “Let me encounter the people You want me to encounter.”

Luda gave me a ride home, mainly so we could keep talking. When we pulled up to my house, I ran in to get her some of my sugar free chocolate covered banana slices and my card with my contact information on it. We hugged, and she was on her way.

OK, I have to get ready for church now. Even though there are no Russian Orthodox churches in Manistee (Yes, she is originally from Moscow.), Luda is willing to give my church a try.

Prayer: Lord, thank You for all the times you have answered my routine prayers and made my life a daily adventure. Thank You for sending me a new friend – so near, and yet from so far away! Thank You for Your perfect timing, even with two women struggling to get out – one physically, one mentally (“lol”), and our “random” meeting. Bless Luda today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.