I realized I haven’t set thought to blog in almost 2 months! Whoa! That’s not my norm, although it is becoming more common these days.
I completed this study and I really loved it. I mean I really loved it. So, so good. Jennifer Rothschild is an incredible woman. So Godly, humble, funny, relevant. I learned so much from her promptings into the Scriptures. My minor in college was Biblical Archeology. I have studied the Bible since my late teens. I have read through it in its entirety more than once. But walking through this book and having Jennifer lead you to a fuller understanding of the Old Testament in a relational way was incredible. I loved it. I would encourage you to investigate this one!!!
And I have found myself happily immersed in the Bible. I read it every day. I have highlighted and written all over its pages with notations and dates and the many “aha” moments discovered anew in the Words left there for us all. And it has made me refocus my priorities. Social Media sorta took a back seat.
This era we are living in is pretty crazy. There is upheaval everywhere. People are unsettled. Things we once thought true are proving to be just another narrative. But after diving into Scripture, I agree that these times are evil, but so are all the rest. We just have more awareness because of all our instant communications. In days past we communicated by time spent together, letters and messages sent through mail services, or messages sent with a messenger to friends and family. News traveled much slower. We had decorum wherein the underbelly of the world was hidden in dark alleyways and ghettos filled with the oppressed, poor, and immigrant populations.
I have been watching, “Call the Midwife,” on Netflix (and PBS, and BBC). It’s set in 1958 London, in an area called Poplar. It’s about the Nonnatus House, a house filled with these amazing Anglican Nuns and the midwives who live with them, but are secular. They go out into Poplar delivering babies at home and ministering to the needs of this small ghetto. Everyone is poor. But those women still wore their heels and stockings, carried purses and wore hats, when they exited out of their 1-room tenement housing. What went on behind those closed doors was kept there. Until it spilled out into the community. People gossiped and were unkind, yes, but most treated one another with a certain respect and understanding. Even immigrants who could not speak English or were of varying hues, were accepted into the community of pregnant women and their midwives. Midwifery was woven into the community. But there was ugly there, as well. Just like there is now. It was just kept in the closet or behind that doorway. Nowadays, evil is expressed on the airways, profanity and perverse behavior is not shunned but accepted as normal. Babies outside of marriage are accepted, where back in those days pregnant girls gave birth in special homes and the babies were adopted out, with no one ever knowing the girl had been pregnant. There was still shame. And it covered all sorts of behavior that is now on the nightly news, as well as prime time television programs. Call the Midwife has made me cry and laugh and there have been so many lines I now quote. It is a wonderful program that is entering its 13th season. I highly recommend it.
A lot of people feel like the sky is falling and that Jesus is due any day now. I am feeling like this world is tipping a tad bit left and insane, and decidedly evil. Like up is down and down is up. But I also know God is here. He is with us. He is dependable. God always is. And I am learning more and more what that means. Some people are sad and depressed (and I admit I was on that train, too) and feel hopeless. Let’s keep in mind God promised to never leave us. Ever. The quote from Haggai above was at the time the Jewish people were rebuilding the temple – the temple where Christ would walk and talk and teach, and overturn the tables. And God promised He was still with them, and to not be afraid. Did you know that “Fear not” is in the bible 365 times? That’s once for every day of the year. Some accounts say the number is actually 175 times and pastors exaggerate to give people hope or sermons more punch. Regardless of the exact number, it is the most often repeated phrase in Scripture.
Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Isaiah 41:10
God chose to let His people know that He was with him. And this is before He sent His son, and the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit. He has not abandoned us. Not at all. He has allowed free will to reign supreme, however, and I know it is showing more and more. We have allowed communication to render our minds feckless and weak. We allowed evil to be more prominent than good. Watch the news lately? Anything good? Very little is ever shown. This evil has always been with us, but it is becoming apparent we need to choose. Now. It’s far more than Republican/Democrat or left/right. This is good vs evil. Choose today…
I’ve always found that quote kinda funny. But it is starting to ring true. There’s a blogger on Instagram who posts deaths and resignations, corporate collapses, and large real estate sales (like celebrities selling their million dollar mansions). She always says to pay attention to who is dying, and from what, their ages, and careers. Also who is leaving their jobs, their elected positions, and why. And who is selling off their companies or their properties. It is an indicator of what is going on in that club George Carlin used to say none of us belong to (“It’s a big club and you ain’t in it!). There are loads of athletes simply falling over dead. Recording artists selling off all their rights to their music (Justin Bieber being one recent celeb). Mansions in CA are selling like hot cakes. Why? Companies crashing (seen the stats on Bud Light?) or being sold off in pieces. The world is becoming unsettled. And now, more than ever, we need to get our house in order. Each of us needs to look deeply within and choose how we will participate in this thing we call “life.” Do you support life? From a natural beginning to its natural end? Stand up for it! Do you believe in the 2nd amendment? Learn about it and the Constitution – it wasn’t written for us, it was written as a set of rules for the government to keep us safe from them, and the rights delineated within its paragraphs are our safety valve against tyrannical rule. How about children, minors, transitioning to an alternate gender? Drag Queen shows in libraries and schools? Pornographic books in elementary schools? Parental rights being stripped away? The government letting us know our children belong to them? What about prayer and God in school? What about the right to pray in public? Wear shirts about the Christian faith in public? Why is it the Christians are the ones getting in trouble, but not other faiths or beliefs? Whys can antifa and BLM march and burn cities without permits, but a Christian procession has to be permitted and is often denied??
There are so many issues wherein we arm-chair quarterbacks need to get into the game. Evil is afoot and it’s after you and yours. Your children. Your grandchildren. The kids on the bus. The elderly in nursing homes. It is long past the time we can comment and not participate. At the very least, pray. Attend Church with the Body of Christ and worship. Praise God. Vote. Attend community council or city council meetings. Get involved in the process. Pray your way through your fears and doubts. We all need you. I need you. My grandkids need you to fight for them. It is time to take up the Shield of God, my friends.
And in the meantime, pray like there is no tomorrow, because there very well may not be. And don’t go missing like Joe DiMaggio…
kaiserswest 