Several days ago America marked the 23rd anniversary of 9-11, when the Twin Towers of NYC were attacked by our own airplanes, and nearly 3,000 people died, over 400 of them first responders. It was my generation’s equivalent of Pearl Harbor; another “day that will live in infamy.” People vowed to never forget what happened, and for about three weeks the churches in our country experienced significant gains in attendance. It was as if people were trying to understand why and how this tragedy could have happened, seeking answers from God’s Biblical wisdom contained in sermons spoken by His pastors.

However, too soon, things returned to the same pattern established before our nation’s loss, and once again Sunday became just another day. Church and the Bible were left behind as sports, children’s activities, and relaxation took precedence over worship. Then, as years passed, many people forgot to remember that date. September 11th slipped up on them and the generation born after 2001 wasn’t taught “to remember.”

I am reminded of Old Testament accounts telling about the Israelites in the divided kingdoms of Israel and Judah who forgot the God who brought them out of Egypt. They broke His first commandment to “have no other gods before him,” as they worshipped idols brought into their land by foreigners. Then they broke the fourth commandment to “Remember the Sabbath to keep it holy,” just like many people do today. Have we forgotten to honor God on Sunday because we too have made idols – anything we put before God – of other things or events. There is nothing wrong with children’s sporting events, golf outings, family picnics, etc., but do they take priority over church gatherings to worship and honor God?

Over the years since I was raised, a lot has changed. Do you remember a better time in America? Maybe it’s past time to return to the things that matter. The Bible says in a verse I quote and pray a lot these days that God will restore us if we repent and turn back to His ways. Let’s remember and find our way back to Him.

This morning before making that first cup of coffee, I changed my perpetual calendar. As I turned it from August to September, the thought entered my mind that a lot of unknowns could be lurking just a day, week, or month away. A momentary feeling of fear came over me as I thought of what could lie ahead: election chaos, continuing war in Ukraine, rocket attacks and reprisals in and around Israel, threatening actions from Russia, China, and Iran against our country – I just stopped thinking and headed to the kitchen.

Coffee on the table beside me, I pulled up my online devotional and realized that my thoughts of what could await us in the coming days was nothing I needed to fear. The scripture was from Isaiah 41 and spoke about the Lord strengthening and protecting His people, Israel. As a Bible-believing Christian, I am one His own also. Just as He promised to protect Israel then and forever, He will protect me here according to His will, and then take me to the home He has prepared for me. My belief in Jesus as my Savior assures me of that because I have been “grafted” into His family (Romans 11); I am one of His own. What a promised blessing!

So if the morning news or your night time thoughts disturb your peace, look to the One who created you in the first place. He has a plan for you (Jeremiah 29:11) and that plan can be trusted (Proverbs 3:5-6).

God bless – Sue

I have lived long enough to see a lot of things change. Raised in a small town in the 1950s, I can remember a traditional family – Mom, Dad, me and my younger brother. We lived in a small ranch-style home right by the local elementary school. My family wasn’t well-off, but every night we sat down together to a home-cooked meal. I was one of those “play outside until the street lights come on” kind of kids, riding my bike everywhere I wanted to go. Sunday was church day, and getting the big edition of the newspaper that contained lots of ads and the multi-colored comic pages. Most businesses were closed for this day of rest and worship. Life was simple, enjoyable, and, looking back, surprisingly safe.

Fast forward to today when life is much more complicated and filled with many distractions. We have a multitude of TV and streaming channels, all kinds of ways to communicate via cell phones, tablets, and other devices, yet loneliness and depression are at all-time highs. If you watch the news, the amount of negative reporting about politics, weather emergencies, and world-wide wars is enough to cause that depression. Children are being exposed to all kinds of inappropriate sexual situations and often indoctrinated by teachers and counselors into the mantra of the day, instead of being taught the subjects they need to succeed in life. Truth has become subjective, not reality. Might I suggest that we have lost our way as a society and culture. How did this happen? Simply, because we have turned our back on God and His teachings from the Bible.

A famous quote says that “the only thing necessary for evil to flourish (exist) is for good people to do nothing.” I think that’s been happening for years. Good people, even Christians, have refused to stand for the truth of God’s word lest they be labeled hateful, or in today’s society, cancelled. It’s just easier not to say or do anything.

This reminder from the Holocaust Memorial is chilling: “First they came for the Communists and I did not speak out because I was not a Communist. Then they came for the Socialists and I did not speak out because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me.”
– Pastor Martin Niemoller

Isn’t it time for those of us who know that what is going on in our country today is wrong to speak out or at least vote. A recent Barna study showed that evangelical Christians are no more likely to follow the news about politics and government than anyone else, and that around one-third of them do not vote (Family Policy Alliance).Talk about doing nothing!

I pray that people wake up soon and follow the teachings of 2 Chronicles 7:14 that I posted last time. It’s past time to turn back to Him.

God bless – Sue

If you turn on any number of religious programs, listen to podcasts, or read blogs concerning the state of our world, you will find a concerning thread running through them all. Upon observing events happening across the globe, more and more people have come to the conclusion that we are in the beginning of the “last days” of our planet prophesied in the Bible.

2 Timothy 3 references our times: “But understand this, there will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God – having a form of godliness but denying its power.”

Would you agree that this is what we are experiencing today?

In discussing the truth we learn from the Bible about the end of the world as we know it, I have always maintained that only God knows the day and hour when He will begin the last seven years of earth’s existence. Additionally, I can reference times in Scripture where God has relented calamity due to people’s repentance and return to doing things His way. I just found another example of that truth in Jeremiah when listening to a broadcast program online. A guest pastor taught about God’s promise from Jeremiah 18:1-10. Here’s what I read: “The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ‘Arise, and go down to ^qthe potter’s house, and there I will let you hear¹ my words.’  So I went down to ^rthe potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel. And the vessel he was making of clay was ^sspoiled in the potter’s hand, and ^the reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do. Then the word of the Lord came to me:  ‘O house of Israel, ^ucan I not do with you as this potter has done? declares the Lord. ^vBehold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will ^wpluck up and break down and destroy it, and if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, ^xturns from its evil, ^yI will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it. And if at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will ^wbuild and plant it, and if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will relent of the good that I had intended to do to it.'”

This gives me hope as I continue to pray for America to once again seek the Lord, ask for forgiveness for falling away from His teachings, and begin to seek Godly ways to live, lead, and govern. May we turn back before it’s too late, because the events of Revelation will take place. God is in control of the timing.

(amazon)

Sue – God bless

By now you might have seen reports of the part of the Paris Olympics’ opening ceremonies that is garnering all the attention. Among all the festivities showcasing athletes from many nations, the return performance of Celine Dion, and all kinds of hoopla was a reinactment of the Last Supper by drag queens and one child. This mockery of Jesus’ last night with His disciples was totally out-of-place and downright revolting. Just when I think I have seen it all; that nothing could surprise me anymore, something does.

The most disheartening fact in this whole situation is that the very Person these people are seeking to disrespect, died to save them too. Nothing much has changed since the crowd in Jerusalem called for my Savior’s crucifiction, and soldiers gambled for his clothing as He suffered and died on the cross above them. But one day everyone will realize that Jesus deserves worship, not demonic ridicule, and the seriousness of what they did will be apparent.

God will not be mocked!

God bless – Sue