The Easter Extravaganza

Traveling on a freeway while vacationing in another state recently, I noticed a billboard that advertised an “Easter Extravaganza” to occurr on the upcoming Easter weekend. Driving at highway speed, I did not have time to study the sign and did not catch the details at the bottom. Perhaps the sponsor of the event was a municipal or social organization, or maybe a religious organization or large church. Most of the few thousands of people driving this stretch each day likely would not have even noticed the sign, but among those who did, I wondered, what might they expect of an “Easter Extravaganza?”

If a civic or municipal organization were the sponsor, likely the event would include an Easter egg hunt and candy for kids, maybe presents and costumed bunnies. Lots of spring-themed decorations, flowers, and Easter baskets along with the abundant Easter eggs and candy. If the organizer were a church, along with the eggs and candy, maybe a rock concert featuring songs with undefined references to “Jesus,” “Cross,” “Resurrection,” and themes of affirmation, inspiration, personal renewal and happiness, followed by a talk featuring such themes, somehow tied to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. After returning home, I noticed a church that I drive past often advertising an Easter egg hunt, and many area churches offer things like a “Community Easter Egg Hunt.”

Biblical Christianity knows nothing of such an Easter extravaganza. Is there any harm in giving Easter candy and coloring eggs and the like? Really, no. We enjoy such cultural traditions with our children. But American societal Easter traditions in truth fall outside of anything we find in the Bible. We can wonder about the idea of a church using cultural Easter traditions as a community outreach and debate the wisdom of using such methods to attempt to communicate the real gospel.

Nevertheless, the Bible does tell us of a real cause for celebration, a real extravaganza. A celebration not featuring eggs and a bunny, but A Lamb.

In 1 Corinthians 15, the Bible tells us,

Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, ²by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. ³For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, ⁴and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, ⁵and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve . . . ¹⁴And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty . . . . ²⁰But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. ²¹For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. ²²For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. ²⁶The last enemy that will be destroyed is death . . .. ⁴So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”

In the book of The Revelation, the Apostle John wrote,

(Chapter 6) And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain . . . ⁸Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. ⁹And they sang a new song, saying:
“You are worthy to take the scroll,
And to open its seals;
For You were slain,
And have redeemed us to God by Your blood
Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,
¹⁰And have made us kings and priests to our God;
And we shall reign on the earth.”
¹¹Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, ¹²saying with a loud voice:
“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain
To receive power and riches and wisdom,
And strength and honor and glory and blessing!”
¹³And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying:
“Blessing and honor and glory and power
Be to Him who sits on the throne,
And to the Lamb, forever and ever!”
¹⁴Then the four living creatures said, “Amen!” And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped Him who lives forever and ever.
(Chapter 7) ¹⁵Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them. ¹⁶They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; ¹⁷for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

The scriptures do not tell us of a seasonal celebration of Easter, but rather a joyous, eternal celebration of the resurrected Lamb.

Music, Vacations, and Pandemics

Music is a powerful influence in both the life of an individual and of a society, and the music of a culture or subculture is a deep and profound reflection of that culture, its values, its underpinnings, and its perspectives on life. The music one listens to demonstrates to some degree who that person is. It is an expression of the soul. Further, the kind of music one listens to ultimately shapes what that person is becoming; it has a definite effect on people. We are constantly surrounded by music when we are in public places. On a recent vacation, we went to play miniature golf at a course near our hotel, and a group of workers were performing maintenance on a small restaurant building near the course. They were listening, perhaps on a local radio station, to music that was blaring, not quite deafening as we played the holes nearest to them. I am not sure of the genre, perhaps rap and hip-hop, and it was loud, certainly featuring no pleasing melody or harmony, the lyrics generally indiscernible and when occasionally understandable the words were unsavory at best. I silently wondered why one would listen to such, and what effect it might have on a person.

Often in stores, restaurants, and places of business, sometimes in public conveyances, certainly in current movies or entertainment, we are confronted by the music of the society and various subcultures. If one is fortunate, perhaps it is merely “elevator music,” perhaps banal and benign country, or “soft” rock. Less fortunately, one might be subjected to excessive volume, a driving beat and percussion, noise, and lyrics that are raunchy. Hollywood, rock, hip-hop, rap, shock radio, and a host of other pop culture obsessions, helped by mainstream media and the general secular academy, have indoctrinated recent generations to encourage depravity and distract from that which is important, worthwhile, and virtuous. Everywhere it seems we are surrounded by the music that is one of the manifestations of the self-destructive nature of morally deviant pop culture.

__________

When we returned home from the vacation, we went to church on the next Sunday. As a believer, it was a joy to be assembled with other believers, singing words expressing Christian doctrine, singing the gospel, singing biblical themes with joy and reverence, with music featuring pleasing sounds of melody and harmony. Singing that proclaimed the gospel, that expressed corporate worship to the Lord, that spoke “to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.” Not the music of movie themes, not of a contemporary subculture, but of a profoundly different culture – the body of Christ.

During the early days of the Covid panic, we were of course unable to gather on Sunday with other Christians in church. Our church was able to go online with the Sunday services from a nearly empty auditorium, but it was not close to the same. A big part of what was lacking was the experience of reverent, orderly, joyful congregational singing. The Bible says much about the subject of music, and there are perhaps five hundred references to music in the Bible. The Creator knows that music has an effect on people’s lives. He is worshipped when the assembled church sings of who He is and what He has done for us in Christ with mindful, joyful reverence.

In Revelation 5:9, the Bible depicts a scene in heaven for us and tells us, “And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation . . .“ This is not a “new” song merely in chronology; it is “new” in kind and substance, recognizably different in nature from something else of a similar type. Different than the old songs of the earth. Just as in heaven, so it can and should be in this life. The psalmist speaks of a “new song” in, for instance, Psalm 40:3, 96:1, and 98:1, a song that reflects the direction of our heart, a song that reminds us of Who God Is and, now in this age after the cross, what He has done for us in Christ.

“And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God. (Ephesians 5:18-21)”

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. (Colossians 3:16-17)”

Invasive Species

A local media story headlined “Invasive New Zealand mud snails lead to closure,” noted that access to a popular creek area was closed after the discovery of that invasive species in the creek. The mud snails are about the size of a grain of rice and one can produce a colony of 40 million snails in a year because of their ability to rapidly reproduce through cloning, disrupting aquatic ecosystems, harming fish populations, and displacing native insects. The species can easily move from one body of water to another by attaching to things like an animal or fishing equipment. The parks department, struggling with how to manage the presence of the species, urged people to avoid accessing streams or creeks where the snails have been found, to thoroughly clean waders and fishing equipment, and to brush dogs to make sure that they are not carrying any of the snails. Invasive species like this tiny mud snail can bring great harm.

Our nation is currently in turmoil and in great danger. Our constitutional republic has seemingly become an oligarchy, ruled by a small Leftist elite. “Patriot” has become a word considered to be almost hate speech. Virtue is mocked while immorality is rampant and accepted. Christianity has largely been abandoned. This did not happen instantly; it began with small steps that over time grew and ultimately brought about the perilous state in which we find ourselves.

The history of the church is marked by the presence of “invasive species.” The New Testament writers observed that this was happening and wrote against it. Theological error was present very early in church history and is addressed in the New Testament. False teachers and unworthy leaders, full of pride and bad character, were already present before the closing of the writing of the New Testament. Immorality infected the early church and is denounced by the New Testament writers. Paul, Peter, and Jude in their writings clearly warned against these “invasive species” and gave instruction to be diligent and to deal with these and other issues.

This has continued through the centuries. By the nineteenth century, rationalism and liberalism began to invade many denominations and churches and eventually drove out gospel truth. In the twentieth century, as theological liberalism continued its destructive path and theological error became widespread, the sins against which the New Testament authors warned became accepted, and by the twenty-first century even unspeakable immorality has become accepted and celebrated. Slowly at first, in almost imperceptible steps, “invasive species” have infected churches and institutions, diverting them away from truth and true gospel ministry.

Often there is not much we as individuals can do about these things. But perhaps more importantly we need to be vigilant about “invasive species” in our own lives, things that distract us, things that will sideline and ultimately do great harm to us. Anger can become destructive if we nurture it and allow it to grow in our life. In Ephesians 4:3, Paul instructed, “Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.” Fear and anxiety can grow and sometimes paralyze us, especially when we focus on difficult or disagreeable circumstances. The Psalmist wrote in the 118^th Psalm, “I will not fear. What can man do to me?” Envy and jealousy can become poisonous. Immorality may start out in small, almost imperceptible ways and grow into something that brings disaster. In the Ten Commandments, there is a prohibition against idolatry and having any sort of other god before God, and this is repeated throughout the Bible. All sorts of attitudes and actions can grow and become idols and take us away from devotion to the Savior. Further, in the Commandments we are forbidden to murder, commit adultery, steal or even covet, bear false witness, or dishonor parents. These forbidden things can become introduced into our lives in small ways.

Philippians 4:8 reminds, “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.” The closing of churches in response to the virus disrupted the church life of American believers, and it has become too easy for some to continue to stay away from church and the discipleship and fellowship that is so vital to assist us in the task of “meditate on these things.” Diligence is required. Nations – churches – families – individuals – are brought down slowly by the “invasive species” that are everywhere.

Proverbs 4:3 reminds, “Keep your heart with diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.”

The Pursuit of Wisdom

Nothing so characterizes post-modern American culture more than a simple lack of good sense and sound judgement. This seems to become more the case every day. It can be seen by even a casual observer of current events and trends. People lack the ability to look beyond the obvious, to look beyond the media narratives, and to critically analyze issues. Examples abound.

American society was rocked in recent months by a few media-dominating police shootings, mostly of young Black men. The result was riots and looting, denunciations of the police and even the concept of law enforcement, denunciations of the country and its historical foundations, and cries of “systemic racism.” But it is easy to see that police shootings almost invariably have one of three factors involved. In most instances, the victim has either committed a crime or is in the presence of someone who has. Secondly, often the victim is intoxicated or has taken drugs. Thirdly and perhaps most importantly, the victim fails to cooperate with the police. Over and over, at least one of these factors is present.

The widely reported Minneapolis incident earlier in the summer illustrates this. A police officer harshly overused a tactic to subdue a suspect, and the horrifying video was widely reported as the officer murdering the victim. While the case has yet to work its way through the judicial system, what is known is that the suspect likely had committed a crime, he was not cooperating with the officers on scene, and he had a potentially fatal amount of fentanyl in his system. Absent even one of these three factors, he would still be alive. Race may or may not have even been a factor. A widely reported Colorado case involving the death of a young Black man has been the subject of multiple investigations over several months. There is no indication that the young man committed a crime, nor any indication of drugs. What seems obvious is that he refused to cooperate with police officers investigating a report of a crime when he happened by. He became agitated, paramedics were called and administered a sedative, and he tragically died due to the sedative. He likely would have gone on his way and would still be alive if he had simply exercised better judgement and cooperated with the police.

These and other incidents are used, ironically, as proof that law enforcement cannot be trusted and should be resisted. This blame shifting only serves to make the problem worse. Instead of riots and protests, common sense would dictate that efforts would be better directed at reminding youth of all ages and races that their actions have consequences.

The collapse of the traditional home is creating monumental problems throughout society. It is now the common pattern that a young Black person was born to an unmarried teenage mother who herself was born to an unmarried teenage mother. Statistics clearly show that this is a disaster. Children who grow up in such a situation are far more likely to have poor outcomes than children who experience growing up in traditional settings. Reasoned observation confirms this and has for decades. In 1965, Daniel Patrick Moynihan published “The Negro Family: The Case for National Action.” At that time, 25% of blacks were born outside of wedlock, a number that Moynihan said was catastrophic to the Black community. Moynihan, who went on to hold a number of governmental positions including United States senator, wrote: “A community that allows a large number of young men to grow up in broken homes, dominated by women, never acquiring any stable relationship to male authority, never acquiring any rational expectations about the future—that community asks for and gets chaos. Crime, violence, unrest, unrestrained lashing out at the whole social structure—that is not only to be expected, it is very near to inevitable.” The 25% number in 1965 was far smaller than the number today, and unfortunately not merely among Blacks.

Common sense and science confirm that one’s sex and gender are fixed and unchangeable from the moment of conception. Media and government may fawn over transgenderism, but in doing so no favor is done to the unfortunate individuals involved. Transgenderism will not buy long term fulfilment and joy. It will certainly be to the detriment of the individual’s physical health when they receive harmful hormones and experience physical mutilation. Moving a child in this direction is nothing short of child abuse.

The human-caused climate change mantra often shows a lack of reasoned thought and analysis. The whole argument in its simplest form suggests that industrial production of carbon dioxide (and to a lesser extent a few other gasses) is dooming the planet to an environmental disaster. The atmosphere contains just over 400 parts per million of carbon dioxide. While China, India, and the rest of the world continue to increase their production of gasses, the suggested solution is that the United States and Europe virtually eliminate industrial and transportation-related production of carbon dioxide. By doing this, at enormous cost, disruption to society, and environmental damage, the promise is that a few parts per million can be shaved off of atmospheric greenhouse gas levels, and this will save the planet and introduce a climate utopia. Climate has indeed modulated throughout Earth’s history due to various causes science only partially understands, even before the industrial era, and climate change has often produced positive results such as increased crop yields. This is ignored. Proofs of anthropogenic climate change are offered that often are not proofs at all when thoroughly analyzed. Yet climate change is accepted as an unquestionable axiom.

Knowledge as an accumulation of facts grows today at a rapid pace. The internet brings information and reports of events both trivial and important almost instantly. But wisdom, the ability to take information, carefully consider facts, and address life situations and needs, is in dangerously short supply. As Christians, we understand that wisdom and discernment, and common sense, comes through the Lord Jesus Christ – “Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:24)” – and through the written Word, the Bible – “the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus (2 Timothy 3:15)”. James 1:5 reminds us, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” We must pursue wisdom, not just in matters of faith, but in the general affairs of life as well. “Wisdom is the principal thing; Therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding (Proverbs 4:7).”

Scripture helps us understand that there is a great metanarrative of history and human existence, the overarching account of ultimate purpose, history, events, and circumstances. That story teaches us that God created the universe, the disaster of the Fall and sin ruined the world, God has provided for our redemption in Christ, and history will one day end in the great promised consummation of the ages, all within the sovereignty of God and for His ultimate glory and purposes. Lack of good judgement has plagued human experience since the beginning of time; it is not a phenomenon confined to any particular generation, any one social class, culture, or nation. Ultimately, for the Christian, one who has come to faith in Christ and the gospel, good judgement in life in large measure derives from biblical wisdom, observing God’s mandates to us, seeing life from God’s perspective, and responding accordingly. As citizens, we can in some measured ways confront the unwise views of people around us; it is our right and our responsibility. But our greater responsibility as Christians is to live sensibly and to confront people with the wisdom found in Christ and the Scriptures. Proverbs 9:10 tells us that “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”

Not Our Home

An old gospel song begins, “This world is not my home, I’m just a-passing through.” Perhaps now more than at any time in the history of the United States, Christians can see truth in this sentiment.

The growing disdain that society shows for biblical Christian beliefs and values shouldn’t surprise us, but it is sometimes overwhelming to observe the pace at which western society has rejected and marginalized traditional ideas. The United States from its founding was profoundly influenced by Christian values, but in the last couple of decades that history has been denounced, marginalized, and swept away in academia, media, entertainment, and government. Christians and Biblical ideas are now widely rejected and even hated. Scripture warns us that believers will face such opposition. In John 3:19-20, Jesus told His disciples, “And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.” Later, in John 15:18-21, Jesus told His disciples, “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me.”

Absolutes. The concepts of objective authority and objective truth have been rejected, while personal autonomy and subjectivism rules the day. Truth is seen as one’s own truth, what one might personally define as truth. This is held only in a form, for certain ideas are held to be true because, in effect, the social elite say they are true. Ideas are repeated as truth over and over until they are accepted as true. Anthropogenic (human-caused) climate change is one example of this. Media has come to simply assume and state it as fact. Anyone questioning it in any way is ridiculed and rejected. Science supposedly proves it, and it must be accepted and not questioned, contrary evidence is never given credence, and anyone who doubts is dismissed.

Sexual expression and morality are central in this postmodern rejection of objective truth. The freedom to fornicate is today’s most prized and cherished freedom. At a recent Senate hearing to confirm a Supreme Court justice, the nominee was castigated by a Senator for using the term “sexual preference” rather than “sexual orientation.” The assertion is that we must not question one’s rejection of traditional heterosexuality, it must be accepted that the individual has every right to be identified however they feel oriented and practice accordingly; we must not think of it as merely a choice. At a recent televised event, Democrat candidate former Vice President Joe Biden offered his support for children to undergo gender transition. Responding to a question from a mother of a supposed transgender child, Biden said, “The idea that an eight year-old child or a ten year-old child decides, ‘you know I decided, I want to be transgender, that’s what I think I’d like to be, it’d make my life a lot easier.’ There should be zero discrimination.” This was a stunning statement. Eight-year-old children often cannot make good decisions about picking their nose. The idea that a child should be guided on a path to receive harmful hormones and later be physically mutilated is akin to offering a child on a pagan altar.

The ideas of Karl Marx are becoming widely accepted to the Left. Marx as an atheist and a materialist rejected morality as irrelevant and contended that power is everything. Postmoderns seem to agree, at least that morality is irrelevant and the quest for a socialist order is everything. “My object is to dethrone God and destroy capitalism,” Marx wrote. “Keep people from their history and they are easily controlled.” Forget history, and of course ultimately forget God.

Secularism simply has no place for Christianity, at least in a biblical form. Some within broad Christianity have imagined that Christianity can somehow be made acceptable to the postmoderns. This is an error and a deception. We will either need to embrace most aspects of their philosophy, which is completely antithetical to biblical teaching, or we will face their ridicule and anger. It is becoming more obvious by the day that churches and believers who hold to Christ and His gospel are simply unacceptable in today’s environment. This growing hostility takes many forms.

Churches and Christian institutions have been tax-exempt throughout American history. It may be a matter of time before this is threatened. In a piece published in “The Denver Post” on July 12, 2020, columnist Bruce DeBoskey wrote,

“In 2019, 29% of all U.S. giving, $128.17 billion, went to religious institutions. Those donations were tax-deductible, resulting in billions of dollars of lost federal and state tax revenue. Unlike nearly all other nonprofits, however, religious nonprofits are not required to file annual tax returns revealing how the donations were spent. Those expenditures may include leaders’ salaries, benefits and other perks, property holdings, investments, sources of revenue and other facets of the nonprofit’s operation and management. Although most of us believe that the majority of the 300,000 religious institutions in the U.S. follow the law and are doing good work in, and provide value to, their communities, there is no way to factually evaluate that claim.”

He continued,

“Moreover, in most cases, religious institutions are exempt from paying property taxes, depriving local governments of badly needed income to provide essential services such as public education, law enforcement, fire protection, etc. Studies estimate that American churches own approximately $300 billion-$500 billion in untaxed property. New York City alone loses nearly $627 million in annual property tax revenue because of exempted churches in the city. The triple whammy of deductions for contributions, exemption from paying taxes, and no reporting requirements, leaves us all in the dark about why these organizations deserve such favorable tax treatment.”

When a church simply teaches the scripture authoritatively, there is obvious conflict with new social ideas regarding subjects like sexuality, marriage, and gender roles. Insistence that marriage is solely to be between one man and one woman, and all sexual expression is to be confined to marriage is widely rejected in thought and in practice. The Bible teaches male leadership in the church and in the home, hardly a popular idea today, and a biblical church must hold to that in practice and teach it. The wrath of those who reject the teaching of scripture will inevitably lead to demands to end any favored status for such churches or institutions.

Internet censorship most obviously seen in the political sphere is sure to come against Christians and biblical ideas. Breitbart recently noted that

“Wikipedia users are no longer allowed to include “user boxes” on their profile page that express opposition to gay marriage following a discussion where predominantly left-wing editors argued such a stance was “discriminatory” and against site policy. Most user boxes pre-dated a U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing gay marriage and were used by hundreds of editors. This included one expressing a personal view favoring traditional marriage, but advocating for states to decide.”

Beyond the internet, Christian broadcasters are likely to come under pressure. The airwaves simply cannot be used to promulgate speech that offends.

Christians and Christian ministries are now often attacked with labels of hate and intolerance. One far-left organization, the Southern Poverty Legal Center, claims to “monitor hate groups and other extremists throughout the United States and expose their activities to the public, the media and law enforcement.” Some of these “hate groups” are well-known for their hateful rhetoric and actions, but others are Christian or nonprofit groups. The conservative group Liberty Counsel has reported that many Christian or nonprofit groups have been categorized as “hate groups” by SPLC, given this label because each takes a biblical position on marriage. Simply holding to biblical and historically Christian views, taken from the Bible, is enough to be called a “hate group.” These groups don’t call for members to express hatred or commit violent acts; they simply hold to a set of beliefs that Christians, and most others in the Western world, have held to for centuries. The Sunday service at a Bible-preaching church is essentially, to the far Left, a hate group rally, and the sermon “hate speech.”

The Gospel. In 1 Peter 4:1-5 we read,

“Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles – when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries. In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you. They will give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.”

Ultimately, the real issue at the root of the conflict today is the Gospel. Unbelievers do not want their sin exposed by the message of Christ and his Word. They prefer to live in a society where their conduct is praised and accepted, rather than accept the truth that they are sinners in need of a Savior and creatures in rebellion against their Creator who need to turn from sin and turn to Him by grace and faith. The Gospel is at the center of the church, the central theme of the Bible, the very center of Christian teaching. The Gospel is Christianity; it is the message that the church has been commissioned to proclaim. The message of the gospel is the good news of God for everyone who believes, but it starts with the bad news that we are all sinners and deserve the wrath of God, and that is a message people do not want to hear. Throughout Scripture, God is shown to be a God of love and mercy, and many postmoderns are happy to accept this concept. But He is likewise a God of holiness and justice, and people are less inclined to accept this. He loves people, but he also calls all to repent of their sin. Allowing people to remain lost in sin without warning them of the judgment to come is a disservice to them and an affront to God.

American believers are deeply patriotic. We love our country, love our history, and are deeply appreciative of our prosperity and of our liberty, even as Christians face growing intolerance and hate from the culture. We are becoming aliens and outcasts from society in our own beloved earthly country. The last line of the first verse of that old gospel song reminds us, “And I can’t feel at home in this world anymore.”

1 Peter 3:14-17 – “But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. “And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.” But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.”

John 14:2 – “In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.”

A place prepared as our home. Our eternal home.

Whose World Is It Anyway?

As we understand that this truly is God’s world, and that He is really in control, we begin to have some sense of understanding our circumstances and the events around us.

My wife and I were unable to have children for reasons that were never diagnosed. We were able to adopt and have two healthy, happy, now grown children. We brought home our daughter from the hospital the morning after her birth, and four years later we brought home our son the morning after his birth. After a couple of years of marriage, our daughter wasn’t yet expecting, and my wife began to despair that she might not ever become a grandma. But, eventually, our granddaughter was born, beautiful and healthy and happy!

But not all stories in life end well. Why do children become orphans? What does one say to the person whose child is not healthy, whose business fails, whose spouse is unfaithful or abandons them, or who receives solemn news from their physician? Why does the crusty old reprobate live to be age ninety, while the kind faithful man dies at age forty? Why do bad things happen to both good and bad people? Why is the world full of disaster and plague and poverty and injustice? We at least sometimes find ourselves answering such questions with an honest “I don’t know.”

An understanding of the teaching of the Bible teaches us that God created the world, the universe around us, and us. God created all for His own glory, for His own eternal purposes. He displayed His great wonder, power, and surpassing majesty in creation. But that was just the beginning. He allowed sin to enter creation, and disaster followed. Bad things – catastrophic things. When humankind sinned, God displayed His nature far beyond what was displayed in creation. He displayed grace. He displayed love. He displayed forgiveness. He did not destroy creation; instead He began to unfold the eternal plan of redemption. Christ was the Lamb ordained before the foundation of the world to be the requisite sacrifice. At the appropriate and predetermined time in history, in Christ God did something so startling that we cannot completely comprehend it. He Himself atoned for our sin. He satisfied divine wrath and justice. He forgave the sins of those who would merely turn to Him in faith and repentance, made possible by Christ. It is His world, and He has supremely displayed His grace, love, and forgiveness to us when He chose to redeem us.

We must remember this to maintain any sort of perspective on the progression of events in the world as well as the events in our life. God is – God. He is Sovereign over all of the affairs of time. He is never taken by surprise, and nothing that happens is out of the control of His ultimate divine purpose. The author of Psalm 90 reflected on this concept:

Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations. ²Before the mountains were brought forth, Or ever You had formed the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God. ³You turn man to destruction, And say, “Return, O children of men.” ⁴For a thousand years in Your sight Are like yesterday when it is past, And like a watch in the night.
⁹For all our days have passed away in Your wrath; We finish our years like a sigh. ¹⁰The days of our lives are seventy years; And if by reason of strength they are eighty years, Yet their boast is only labor and sorrow; For it is soon cut off, and we fly away. ¹²So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom. ¹³Return, O Lord! How long? And have compassion on Your servants. ¹⁴Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy, That we may rejoice and be glad all our days! ¹⁵Make us glad according to the days in which You have afflicted us, The years in which we have seen evil. ¹⁶Let Your work appear to Your servants, And Your glory to their children. ¹⁷And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us, And establish the work of our hands for us; Yes, establish the work of our hands.

God is above time and not limited by time. He is the eternal God, not measured or limited as we are. He sees all of time as one event, and all that happens in time happens ultimately for His divine purposes.

To acknowledge this doesn’t fully solve all of the related philosophic questions we might consider. The whole concept of good and evil, why God allowed sin and evil, is in some sense impossible for us to comprehend. Why are some saved and many lost? What is the divine purpose in allowing many to be eternally lost? Why have empires arisen and fallen throughout time, disasters and misery occurred throughout history, billions of people been born and died without hearing anything of the gospel? In truth, we cannot completely fathom the answers to these questions.

In a more personal sense, it is important to remember that all events are under the control of divine providence, and so the events and challenges in our life are ultimately traceable to our Father and His divine purposes. Sometimes we can see testing in life’s difficulties; the Psalmist wrote in 11:5 that “The Lord tests the righteous,” and this concept is found throughout the pages of Scripture. Our Lord in His infinite wisdom and superabundant love sets such a high value upon His people’s faith that He will not protect them from the trials by which faith is strengthened. He knows our tomorrows as well as we know our todays and yesterdays, and thus we can trust Him with what tomorrow will bring. While we might acknowledge this principle of being strengthened through trials, in truth it is often difficult for us to see any value in the “bad” events that happen to us. “How can this possibly benefit me or anyone else or bring glory to God?” Perhaps steadfast faith in acknowledging His grace and sovereignty in such circumstances supremely brings glory to Him.

As we understand that this truly is God’s world, and He is really in control, we begin to have some sense of understanding our circumstances and the events around us.

A recent hymn reminds us,

Our sovereign God by His own word
Sustains this world and reigns as Lord.
No angel, demon, sinful man
Can change His course, restrain His hand.
O sovereign God, we praise Your power;
Your wisdom, goodness we adore.
We bow our hearts before your throne,
Help us O Lord to trust You more.
Help us O Lord to trust You more.
When the fullness of the time had come,
God sent His own beloved Son
To keep God’s law, live in our place,
To bear our sin, guilt, and disgrace.
Dead in our sin, estranged from God,
We fled as rebels from His love.
In sovereign grace He made us sons,
And saved us from the wrath to come.
And saved us from the wrath to come.
Before our birth He planned our days,
Laid out our course, ordained our ways;
The moments of our lives He weaves
So all the glory He receives.
To those He loved before all time,
To all He called in grace renewed,
He cannot lie, His word is true,
He makes all things to work for good.
He makes all things to work for good.
He has written history’s final page,
His Son’s return will end this age.
The Lamb will come in glorious might,
Take back His world and end its night.
How deep the wisdom of our God;
Unknown, unfathomed are His ways.
None counsels Him, or knows His mind;
We bow before Him all our days.
We bow before Him all our days.
O sovereign God, we praise Your power;
Your wisdom, goodness we adore.
We bow our hearts before your throne,
Help us O Lord to trust You more.
Help us O Lord to trust You more.

More Than 700,000 Served

The local suburban weekly newspaper featured the headline, “More Than 700,000 served.” The opening paragraph noted that the local school district’s food program “will take a break for a week or two next month after a busy spring and summer.” The accompanying photo caption began, “Cars line up at Northglenn High School July 17 to collect three days worth of meals,” and noted that the school district food service had been providing the meals to students and their families since schools in the area closed due to COVID-19. The photo showed three late-model SUV’s lined up as they approached the tent to receive the hand-out meals.

“We went from giving out cold sandwiches in March, blended in April and May with hot entrees served daily and now we’ve gone to frozen meals they can finish at home,” said an administrator. Later, the article noted that “Families line up drive-through style, picking up several meals per person–lunch for two days and breakfast on Mondays and Wednesdays. They pick up more meals on Fridays, enough to get each student through the weekend. They’ve even added a mobile option, with a bus leaving each high school headed to more remote areas.”

I was incensed.

A few months earlier, I had a similar reaction as local television featured similar stories, one showing busses heading out to hand out lunches, another a woman and her kids standing at the door of what appeared to be a comfortable home receiving meals. I might have a different reaction if this were merely for several weeks during the virus shutdown, but that is not the case. Months earlier, before the virus shutdown, the school district’s “mission creep” had included expansions of their feeding program. Full-day kindergarten had been mandated by the state and introduced at the beginning of the school year. Always more taxpayer-funded programs, always a bigger role for the government and the government schools.

The school district never seems to have enough funding, asking for more property taxes almost every election cycle. Understanding that much or most of the funding for the massive food giveaway is from taxes the Federal government has taken, not just taxes from local property owners, one still must ask why government handouts have to be the source of food for every lower- and middle-economic class family. When I was growing up, we were far from wealthy, but I took a sack lunch TO school every day. I ate breakfast and dinner at home, and during the summer there was no school food program. Dad, and later Dad and Mom went to work to provide for our needs. They taught my brother and I by example how to be responsible, how to provide for our own needs, how to work and save. Our children did not go to the government schools, but did not go hungry – my wife and I worked to provide for them.

Children resident in the United States should not go hungry. America is an exceptional nation, divinely blessed with a favorable climate, almost limitless natural resources, millions of square miles of arable land, and an economic system unequalled in history. We have the capability to produce far more food than we consume. But what kind of lesson is being taught to children when the government and school district become their source of every basic need? Why do productive people bother to work, send increasing amounts of their earnings to government, only to have government redistribute it to others purely at the whim of government? If one wants more, just riot and demand more; this has become the understood message that is increasingly accepted.

Wealth is productivity – productivity brings wealth. This is true of individuals, it is true of nations. People cannot look to government as their source of material goods; it will ultimately bring poverty, loss of freedom, and ruin. Individuals must use whatever opportunities and advantages that may be available to them and become productive. The American system offers tremendous opportunity. This concept has been lost; far too many with a sense of entitlement and aggrievement look to government to provide for their needs. No need for personal responsibility, no need for marriage and family, no need to work and save, just demand more from government; this has become widely accepted in society. That philosophy will bring ruin.

The Bible is filled with exhortations as to the responsibility to work, to be productive, to provide for one’s own needs and the needs of family. Compassionate giving, sharing with those in need – absolutely; that is the spirit of Christianity. But it is not at all compassionate to facilitate dependence on charity or on government. It is ruinous – to the individual, and to the nation.

Wealth, Productivity, Riots, and Demands

The Bible has much to say about work, material wealth, and prosperity. In the Ten Commandments, God clearly affirms personal property rights. “Thou shalt not steal.” “Thou shalt not covet.” What is mine is mine and not yours; what is yours is yours and not mine. We are reminded repeatedly in Scripture of the importance of hard work and personal industry. Proverbs 14:23 tells us, “In all toil there is profit, but mere talk tends only to poverty.” Throughout Proverbs we read of the importance of personal responsibility, work, saving and investing, providing for family, and doing so honestly. Colossians 3:23 tells us, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.” Elsewhere Paul reminds, “Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need (Ephesians 4:28).”

My father grew up in poverty. He was born in a small town in Nebraska, the youngest of four children, and I don’t recall him talking about his childhood much. His grandfather who homesteaded land in Nebraska was from a line of ethnic Germans who had lived in Russia and eventually migrated to the United States. My grandfather was an alcoholic; he didn’t want to farm and so sold whatever land he inherited, even as other relatives became successful farmers. My grandmother had mental issues and likely suffered from schizophrenia. Dad remembered that as a child he had picked up coal along railroad tracks to burn for heat at home, and his family had lost electric service on occasion for failure to pay the bill, and was even evicted a time or two. Dad didn’t finish high school.

My mother wasn’t much better off. She grew up on a small farm in the next county north, on land that her grandfather had homesteaded after the Civil War. My parents met and married when Dad was working with a crew laying brick pavers in the streets of the town where Mom lived. They married months after Mom finished high school, and Dad worked for a short while at an armaments plant leftover from the Second World War era. The facility closed, and employment opportunities in the area were limited at best. Dad’s sister and family had moved to an area just north of Denver, and with some promise of a job from my uncle, my parents moved to that area. They secured a tiny rental home – better described as a “shack,’ of perhaps 500 square feet. The hoped-for job didn’t materialize. Dad got a job in a parking lot in downtown Denver behind a department store, where he worked when I was born. He eventually secured a position working in a warehouse where he worked for more than two decades, even as physical maladies made it difficult for him to be on his feet all day on a warehouse floor. The folks were able to buy a better house, all of 750 square feet, shortly after the birth of my brother. It wasn’t much by today’s standards, but it was theirs. Dad went to work – every day. He lived within his means. We never went hungry. Mom stayed home with us when we were small, and eventually went to work for J.C. Penney for a number of years. The family’s standard of living rose, and by the time of their deaths the folks owned their home and left an inheritance for my brother and me. We sold the little house after Dad died.

My parents inherited – nothing. They were handed – nothing. Dad and my aunt paid on an insurance policy for years so that there would be money to bury my grandmother, who they had brought to Colorado. When the area where they grew up offered limited opportunity, they moved to another area. They never collected any government assistance. They never received any charity. “Welfare” and “food stamps” were epithets, terms of derision in our house when I was growing up. They worked, saved, and lived within their means. They married, before I was born, and remained married until death. Starting from nothing, they provided a good life for themselves and for my brother and me. They made lemonade out of the circumstance of lemons they had to work with.

A few months ago I participated in a memorial service for an elderly lady. Her life story is fascinating. She was born in Silesia, then at the southeast corner of Germany, shortly before the Second World War. When the war ended, the area was annexed to Poland, and her family was given hours to simply vacate their house. With only what they could carry, they eventually made it to the western zone of occupied Germany. She met a young man coincidentally from her home region, who had been drafted into the German army. They eventually married and came to the United States. They became successful and raised a family. They too made lemonade out of lemon circumstances.

A friend of my wife’s mother has a similar story. A young girl when the war ended, her ethnic German family became refugees. They came to the United States with nothing, but took advantage of opportunity. This woman and her husband, also an ethnic German, raised a family and successfully operated a small business.

What are the common threads here? Seeking opportunity and working to overcome circumstances. Relocating to a place of greater opportunity when necessary. Willingness to work. Personal responsibility. Marriage and fidelity to marriage and family. These things produce success. None of these people viewed themselves as victims. They didn’t have time to grovel in their circumstances; they were too busy working. I don’t have confidence that my Dad ever became a Christian, and don’t know that all of the others referenced here did either. But the life pattern that they followed was rooted in Christian principles and brought them success.

I got a job the summer after my junior year in high school. It did not require any great genius, but I merely had to get up early, go to work, and do my job. I was able to return to the job, summers and on Saturdays, throughout the rest of my educational career when I was in-state and at home. My brother also worked various jobs during his youth. We both funded much of our own college expenses. We developed a work ethic that enabled both of us to have successful careers. Today, too often suburban males spend their adolescence “working with their thumbs” playing video games, watching their cellphones, or watching movies and sporting events. I have observed that the landscape crew for my HOA is staffed by Spanish-speaking adults, likely Mexican or Central American nationals. During my youth, those landscape crews were staffed by American high school or college-age youths. A summer or two, my brother had a brutally hard job for a small concrete contractor, handling large panels assembling and disassembling forms for basement and foundation pours. Today, those jobs are largely staffed by immigrants. In many inner city areas, youth are both unemployed and unemployable. They are too often the children of unmarried teenaged mothers who themselves were born to unmarried teenaged mothers and have no understanding of any sort of a work ethic. They are easy recruits for those who would incite them to riot and destroy and demand more taxpayer benefits while never actually doing what it might take to secure employment and progressing to a better life.

Wealth comes from productivity. Wealth is not created by governmental redistribution nor is it created by government fiat, by government creating money out of thin air to give away to perceived victims. American prosperity comes from the fact that Americans are the most productive people on the planet. The best form of government recognizes personal and property rights, fosters opportunity, and furthers productivity. Our system of capitalism and free enterprise does that and has done it well. But for significant portions of society, that work ethic has been lost..

Property rights are absolute and are key to developing personal prosperity and furthering prosperity in a society. I have no right to destroy the property of others or to destroy community property. Exodus 22 explains this principle under the Old Testament economy. We all have a responsibility to work and provide for ourselves and our families. My ancestors worked brutally hard – farming in the nineteenth and early twentieth century was no picnic. My Dad performed manual labor. My career has required me to perform not manual labor but intellectual tasks, and I have saved throughout my career and now have modest savings in various instruments that provide capital to companies that employ people and provide necessary goods and services. Scripture enjoins us to provide for our children, and to teach them a trade, or by extension in our era, to provide for education, to set a positive godly example, and if circumstances allow to provide capital for their use.

As Christians, we are above all called to use our means for the honor and glory of God. We are to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness. Wealth is not to be hoarded, and we are not to find our satisfaction in amassing material wealth. We are to give. We are to consider ourselves as stewards of whatever we may possess and give of our resources in submission to the lordship of Christ.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said,

“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. (Matthew 6:25-33)”

Paul wrote of our proper attitude toward “things.”

^“Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. (I Timothy 6:6-10)”

Old Books

I have an old set of the “World Book” encyclopedia. I remember that my mother bought it at a second-hand store when I was a kid. It was published just after World War II, and I have no idea why my parents bought it, probably because they could not afford a new set of encyclopedias. It was long obsolete even then, and likely neither I nor my brother ever used it much. I also have our old set of the “Funk & Wagnalls” encyclopedia. If I recall correctly, the grocery store where Mom shopped used these as a promotion, featuring a new volume every few weeks for a nominal cost. I’m missing a couple of volumes; we likely didn’t need groceries those weeks. With way too much stuff, I have considered throwing out these books. My kids will never want them.

But given recent events, I think I’ll keep these books. For reference. To pick up and read an entry here and there. To perhaps donate to an educational institution that might value them. Recent events feature people with no knowledge of history, no understanding of economics, no understanding, frankly, of much of anything, seeking to destroy and tear down the society. Burning books. Defacing monuments. Pulling down statues erected to honor people that they know nothing about. Violent anarchists and people who constitute angry mobs likely don’t spend much time reading, at least studying anything of objective truth. They are not interested in books – only in burning them, literally or figuratively. Cancel culture is a goal and a mantra.

A book published in the 1950’s “Fahrenheit 451,” describes a society intent on burning books in order to erase history (titled for the temperature at which paper burns). Even at that time, the author feared that the United States might eventually turn away from truth and true history. Destruction of books, statues, and historic sites, obliterating the remembrance of history, is anarchy leading to totalitarianism. Remembrance and respect for history, even the bad aspects of past events, is vital to a society, essential to a freedom-loving people.

My old encyclopedias are obsolete. They do not contain the most recent scientific data. They do not document more recent events, but they document facts and much real history to the point that they were published. They precede the Leftist textbooks and far-Left teaching in the educational institutions of recent decades. They record historic truths in a variety of fields that have been denied or ignored. They record much vital and important information, minus Marxist bias.

When one understands some of the information in these books, one can begin to understand why many of us believe in American exceptionalism. We come to understand that the American Revolution wasn’t fought just to make a bunch of old rich white guys richer as some today claim, and that the causes of the Civil War were complex. We come to understand that the “Noble Savage” myth is just that, a myth, and aboriginal societies were not exactly ideal. We come to understand that character, principles of personal responsibility, deferred gratification, and free-market capitalism bring prosperity to both an individual and a nation. We come to understand the progression and flow of history. We come to understand the basis of true science.

I have many hundreds of books. I’ve asked that if I should die before I move them along, at least an attempt be made to donate them to a Christian institution. I’ll add these old encyclopedias to that request.

While many of us are concerned for our nation and its fate, I am even more concerned for the fate of the church. We have an ancient Book – the Bible – that, unlike my encyclopedias, has no degree of obsolescence. It is timeless and completely true. And yet sadly it has lost its importance to much, maybe most, of the perceived faithful church. A “cancel culture” of ignorance, neglect, and denial has invaded the church.

Months ago, a seminary that once may have been the premier seminary among Bible believers featured a chapel speaker who is a graduate of that school. He is a well-known megachurch pastor in the southeast, a gifted motivational speaker, but no preacher of Scripture. He is noted for his almost disdain of the use of the Old Testament and exhorted the seminary students accordingly. Surely seminarians must be well educated in a variety of fields, able to deal with and relate to people and understanding the society in which people live, able to help people deal with the difficulties they face each day. But at the very foundation of the education a faithful pastor must be – the Bible. He must know systematic and biblical theology. And he must be able to teach and preach scripture, in its entirety, to confront people with the gospel and all of its ramifications for the lives of believers, to help them gain an understanding of scripture and develop a thoroughly Christian worldview and philosophy of life.

That is being forgotten throughout evangelicalism, to an almost stunning degree. “Cancel” the truths from scripture that might offend someone. In effect, “cancel” the gospel. Give people a more acceptable, up to date concept of Jesus. People are advised as to how to “achieve their dreams,” how to “follow their hearts.” People are given life lessons and motivational speeches, advice, formulas for success. Congregations (obsolete word, I know) are exhorted to develop a personal vision, to follow a vision, to have some sort of encounter with God. Self-esteem is big; God is “crazy about you.” God wants you to be prosperous, or successful, or feel good about yourself, or know your true self, or realize how special you are. Create your own reality through positive thinking. Unbelievers are affirmed in their sins, told that they are “awesome,” told that they are “special,” advised to, in effect, add a little Jesus to their life. Church has become a raucous rock/pop concert followed by such a “talk.” One wonders how that can even be considered a “worship service.” Is it really to be compared to hearing from God’s Word, of singing truth from the scriptures, of considering Who God is and what He has done for us in Christ? Did Jesus die to atone for our sins, or to make us feel good and make our dreams come true? Disney message, Disney music, a Disney version of Jesus. “Cancel” all of that absolutist, doctrinal stuff. Help people feel good and learn to be tolerant.

We live in a decaying and dying culture that is in desperate need of truth. Recent events remind us of that. The Gospel is essentially all that the church has. Found in both Old and New Testaments, God has given us the truth that we need both for life in this world and for eternal life. We dare not forget that. When society crumbles, people do not need anything so much as they need the timeless truth of scripture.

That puts a burden and a great responsibility on us as believers. It is not enough to hear a sound sermon and sing a few true doctrinal hymns on Sunday. We cannot merely lament decline. We may have to separate from churches that do not hold to Scripture and preach Christ instead of culture. We must become disciples and students of the Word. We must study it and read it, and we must live it so that we might relate it to the people around us.

In the Old Testament, there is an account of young Josiah coming to the throne in Judah, the southern Jewish kingdom. Israel, the northern kingdom and apostate from God, had already gone into captivity. Judah survived, sometimes apostate, sometimes knowing a time of revival. In II Kings 22, it is recorded that

Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. . . . And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in all the ways of his father David; he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. Now it came to pass, in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, that the king sent Shaphan the scribe . . . to the house of the Lord, saying: “Go up to Hilkiah the high priest, that he may count the money which has been brought into the house of the Lord, which the doorkeepers have gathered from the people. And let them deliver it into the hand of those doing the work, who are the overseers in the house of the Lord; let them give it to those who are in the house of the Lord doing the work, to repair the damages of the house— to carpenters and builders and masons—and to buy timber and hewn stone to repair the house. . . ” Then Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the Lord.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it. So Shaphan the scribe went to the king, bringing the king word, saying, “Your servants have gathered the money that was found in the house, and have delivered it into the hand of those who do the work, who oversee the house of the Lord.” Then Shaphan the scribe showed the king, saying, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read it before the king. Now it happened, when the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, that he tore his clothes. Then the king commanded . . . , saying, “Go, inquire of the Lord for me, for the people and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found; for great is the wrath of the Lord that is aroused against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.”

The ancient Jews forgot God. They forgot His Word. It brought calamity. When the ancient scrolls were discovered in the time of Josiah, it brought some degree of revival and postponement of ultimate judgement. It brought life and hope to another generation. As a nation, we cannot forget the truths found in the Old Books. The church dare not forget the truth found in The Old Book.

Tell your children about it,
Let your children tell their children,
And their children another generation. (Joel 1:3)

“Breaking News”

I basically gave up on watching local television news early in the virus panic. I previously referred to the local newscasts as “The Giggle News” due to the typical on-air banter. We used to joke about the nightly lead story of “Breaking News” from an area suburb, where there always seemed to be a shooting or policing event. But with the virus coverage, I finally quit watching for the most part. We might tune it to the news to check the weather at a quarter past the hour, but simply don’t care about big hard-hitting stories about the staff at The Daisy Hill Puppy Farm knitting hundreds of masks to donate. I don’t care about people howling or barking at a particular time each evening to supposedly recognize medical professionals, presumably those treating virus cases and not the ones who were idled by the imposed shutdown. I don’t care about pandering newscasters observing social distancing by sitting on opposite sides of the set, or people doing their segment from home.

Long ago I gave up on the broadcast network national news broadcasts, regarding them as generally Leftist propaganda, watching only occasionally when there might be a major disaster or weather event such as a hurricane. I continue to receive the local daily newspaper, noting the sources for articles, picking and choosing what to read, sometimes little of it, sometimes when I’m in the mood for “opposition research” reading more of it. Nevertheless, looking at a variety of sources, I consider myself well informed, just careful and thoughtful of what I might accept as fact.

Just as in matters of faith, understanding culture and current events requires discernment. Check sources and evidence. Look at and analyze source data. Not everything in a newscast or the newspaper is true. The internet is full of “fake news.” Analyze. Consider data carefully. Even good and correct facts can lead to incorrect conclusions when the facts are considered out of context and out of the context of other data. The human-caused climate change debate is famous for this.

Throughout recent months, induced fear has been everywhere in our society. The run on products like toilet paper and other consumer staples showed the widespread fear. Recently I was on the road over Loveland Pass, at an elevation of nearly 12,000 feet. At a parking area, few people were around, on a sunny day, with some wind blowing as it always does there, I noticed two little girls, perhaps early elementary age, get out of a car. Both had on masks. Statistically, the coronavirus does not affect children, adolescents, or young adults (yes, there are exceptions). Not my business, they are free to wear masks, but I noted that they would have had to make an effort to get within 10 feet of anyone. While there, well away from others of course, I sneezed without so much as raising my hand or arm to my face, just for the sheer joy of it. I’m tired of the whole distancing thing.

People have lost businesses and jobs in the shutdown, others have lost educational opportunities, others have suffered postponement of needed medical procedures. Economic loss and financial disaster are all too real. The recent civil unrest and riots have arguably been as bad or worse than the virus shutdown. Fear – legitimate fear – is everywhere. Fear for the life and health of loved ones. The fear for one’s own life, health, and well-being. The fear of the early-stage dementia patient, seeing no one except a staff person or two in a mask and medical garb. The anxiety of an aging person unable to visit with anyone face to face.

“Cases” (positive tests). “Outbreaks” (two or more positive tests in a facility, group, or place of employment). An athlete or celebrity tests positive for the virus; not actually ill, just a positive test. “Surge.” “Spike.” “Emergency.” Somber tones. Mass death. Panic. Despair. Be afraid. But maybe some fears are induced, overblown, and unnecessary.

A few weeks ago, I ran across an article by Karin Wahl-Jorgensen, a journalism professor at Cardiff University (referenced in the monthly devotional booklet “Turning Points” from David Jeremiah’s organization). The article is titled “Feeling Panicked About Coronavirus? Media Coverage of New Epidemics Often Stokes Unnecessary Fear.” In the piece the author writes,

“New contagious diseases are scary. They frighten us because they’re unknown and unpredictable. The ongoing outbreak of the novel coronvirus COVID-19 has received extensive media attention — coverage that can tell us a lot about how uncertainty in the face of such an epidemic can all too easily breed fear.

For about a decade, I’ve been studying the role of emotions in journalism, including in the coverage of disasters and crises. Media coverage is vital to our shared conversations and plays a key role in regulating our emotions, including fear. While fear is an emotion that we frequently experience as individuals, it can also be a shared and social emotion — one that circulates through groups and communities and shapes our reactions to ongoing events. Like other emotions, fear is contagious and can spread swiftly.

Media coverage sets the agenda for public debate. While the news doesn’t necessarily tell us what to think, it tells us what to think about. In doing so, the news signals what issues merit our attention. Research has consistently shown that when issues receive extensive media coverage and are prominent in the news agenda, they also come to be seen as more important by members of the public.”

Further,

“Research on coverage of earlier disease outbreaks show a similar emphasis on fear. In the case of the SARS epidemic in 2003, a study by historian Patrick Wallis and linguist Brigitte Nerlich found that “the main conceptual metaphor used was SARS as a killer.” Along the same lines, media scholars Peter Vasterman and Nel Ruigrok examined coverage of the H1N1 epidemic in the Netherlands and found that it was marked by the “alarming” tone of its coverage. Like the coronavirus, these historical outbreaks were characterized by uncertainty, breeding fear and panic.

To put these observations into perspective, it is instructive to compare them with coverage of seasonal influenza, which is estimated by the World Health Organization to kill 290,000 to 650,000 people around the world every year. Since January 12, 2020, world newspapers have published just 488 articles on the seasonal flu without also mentioning coronavirus. In sharp contrast to coverage of this novel coronavirus, fewer than 1 in 10 stories about flu (37 of 488) mentioned “fear” or similar words or phrases.

The prominence of fear as a theme in reports of the coronavirus suggests that much of the outbreak’s coverage is more of a reflection of public fear than informative of what’s actually happening in terms of the spread of the virus. Franklin Roosevelt probably overstated the case when he famously said that “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” But at a time rife with misinformation, fake news, and conspiracy theories, it’s worth remaining alert to the dangers of this contagious emotion in the face of uncertainty.” *

In Hebrews 12:27-29, Paul wrote,

^“Now this, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.”

Commenting on this passage, Charles Spurgeon (updated by Alistair Begg) in his “Morning and Evening” devotional, wrote,

“We have many things in our possession at the present moment that can be shaken, and it is not good for a Christian to rely upon them, for there is nothing stable beneath these rolling skies; change is written upon all things. Yet we have certain “things that cannot be shaken,” and I invite you this evening to think of them—that if the things that can be shaken should all be taken away, you may derive real comfort from the things that cannot be shaken and that will remain. Whatever your losses have been, or may be, you enjoy present salvation.

You are standing at the foot of Christ’s cross, trusting alone in the merit of His precious blood, and no rise or fall of the markets can interfere with your salvation in Him; no breaking of banks, no failures and bankruptcies can touch that. Then you are a child of God this evening. God is your Father. No change of circumstances can ever rob you of that. Even if by loss you are brought to poverty and stripped bare, you can still say, “He is still my Father. In my Father’s house are many rooms; therefore I will not be troubled.” You have another permanent blessing, namely, the love of Jesus Christ. He who is God and man loves you with all the strength of His affectionate nature—nothing can affect that. The fig tree may not blossom, and the flocks may dwindle and wander from the field, but it does not matter to the man who can sing, “My Beloved is mine, and I am His.” Our best portion and richest heritage we cannot lose.

Whatever troubles come, let us play the man; let us show that we are not like little children cast down by what happens to us in this poor fleeting state of time. Our country is Immanuel’s land, our hope is fixed in heaven, and therefore, calm as the summer’s ocean, we will see the wreck of everything earthborn and yet rejoice in the God of our salvation.”

David the Psalmist wrote, in Psalm 37,

Do not fret (worry) because of evildoers,
Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.
For they shall soon be cut down like the grass,
And wither as the green herb.

Trust in the Lord, and do good;
Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
Delight yourself also in the Lord,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the Lord,
Trust also in Him,
And He shall bring it to pass.
He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light,
And your justice as the noonday.

Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him;
Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,
Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.
Cease from anger, and forsake wrath;
Do not fret—it only causes harm.

Do not despair because of evildoers – racists, rioters, Marxists, destroyers. Do not worry because of diseases, disasters, disappointments. Do not worry – it only causes harm.

Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him.

* https://www.niemanlab.org/2020/02/feeling-panicked-about-coronavirus-media-coverage-of-new-epidemics-often-stokes-unnecessary-fear/