Ramblings on a Wednesday morning

It has been a while since I blogged, maybe 2 weeks. So much is going on. So much has happened. And I wonder what is going to happen next. It is July. 2020 has been a crazy year so far. What else can happen? I am just going to ramble through some thoughts. Good luck following me.

It is raining this morning. Thunder and lightning. Good to have rain. But there is also damage that comes with it. When a storm blows through, wind can cause lots of damage. Heard some reports of damage from it. Limbs down. People out of power. Even a semi is blown over on I-29. Summer storms can do that. Yet at the same time, it will be nice to have the cracks in the yard fill in with the moisture. Good thing to come from bad. But then again, grass is going to grow again. Bad things following the good things that follow the bad. Sounds like life.

The coronavirus - need I say more. Yes it is real. Yes people do get sick from it. But I see it as being used for political gain. We have become pawns to the politicians. They are using this virus as a way to attack the sitting president. As the communities begin to open up, if things look to good, suddenly the virus is spiking and we need to close down again. Bars are open, and causing the spike. Beaches are open, they need to be closed because they have caused the spike. Yet, thousands upon thousands have protested in cities around the country, and the virus has not had an effect at all. There is no spike because of angry people getting in other's faces and yelling and screaming. The virus knows who to attack and who to avoid. Really? Something tells me that my chain is being pulled by the media and the politicians. Nothing more than pawns. Our lives mean very little, like the pawn on the chess board. Use them up. Why? To protect the king and queen, and the other "important" pieces. Before you say that I don't care, that I am unloving, and all the other things that can be said, forget it. That is not the case. I do care. I do love. And yet, I also know that we must live our lives.

Living in fear. That is what is taking place now. We are living in fear. Fear of the virus. Fear of other races. Fear of violence. Fear of... The fear is used to control and make people act in a certain way. Used to control you and me. Yet I think about what the Lord tells me over and over again, "Fear not." Why? Because He is my fortress and strength. He is the One who will help me through.

Just heard that one state is changing laws. It will no longer be a felon to attack a  police officer. It will be a misdemeanor. Really? How about we put a target on the backs and chests of the ones who serve on the thin blue line? Go ahead, attack them. It won't really be a problem for you. I can't imagine what it must be like to try to control the mass of people who are angry and attacking you, and know that your every action is being recorded, they are trying to push your buttons in order to get you in trouble and use you to be the reason for the next riot. My prayers are with those who are serving. May the Lord surround you with His holy angels. May they protect you as you serve the people of the communities. My heart aches each time another officer is attacked, hurt and killed. And yet, we make them the bad ones. Really? The police officers are not the ones rioting, destroying things or hurting other people. I don't know how you do it. You are in my prayers.

I am amazed that it is all right for some to destroy statues and other things because it offends them. But if you are offended by their action, then you are the bad person. I am not in support of slavery, nor do I say that it was a good thing in our country. But at the same time, I do not support removing that history from our country. And guess what, I don't care if that offends you. The actions of these rioters offends me. The destruction of communities offends me. The trespassing on private property offends me. The liberal media offends me. The liberal politicians offend me. The attack on life offends me. The abuse of power offends me. Should I go out and protest. Should I go out and trespass on other's property? Should I go tear down statues that offend me? Should I hurt other people because they offend me? NO!

When the police officer came into the church on that Saturday evening and told me that we could not have in person worship, should I have gotten mad, yelled and screamed at him, and got people together to protest that those in authority were not allowing me and those of us in the church to not have our worship services? In some communities, I think it would be "yes." But I did not. I respected his authority and said, "Yes sir." And we didn't have in person worship. Why? Because of the 4th commandment, "Honor your father and mother." Yes, it speaks of those in authority. I respect the authority of the police officer. In our country, many don't. Many don't care about authority.

Why? Because they do not respect or honor God. Period. Plan and simple. Take God out of it, and you have no moral compass. That is the problem. God is out of the equation. The leaders don't honor God. The protesters don't honor God. The media doesn't honor God. Even many people don't honor God. The civil rights movement was based in faith and in honor of God. That is not taking place today. God is not accepted. God is not followed. Jesus is no longer the Lord of people's lives. Lip service is played to faith but lives don't follow that faith. The fruit that is developed is rotten, if indeed there is fruit. The Lord tells us to bear good fruit, and that is not happening. So much rotten fruit.

Ramblings. There is much to be said. There is much to be done. The one thing that I can say, "It is for this reason that the Father sent His Son into this world to be the Savior." It is because of how terrible and sinful we are that the Son of God comes into the world, why He goes to the cross, why He dies and why He rises. It is because of how terrible we are and how sinful we are that He came. That is why we continue to proclaim Christ. We continue to proclaim the Gospel. We continue to point to the cross and the empty tomb.

Jesus Christ is the Lord and Savior. He is the hope for this world. Let's get that in our head and live our lives with Him leading and guiding us. That, is the only way we can work together.