Tag: 2 Chronicles 7:14

Wacko Rhetoric

Dr. J.D. Wilkins2 Comments

Last year I watched the entire production series of a fascinating futuristic pseudo-science show called “Fringe.”  It explored the theoretical concept of parallel universes.  The main idea being that multiple universes exist, but in each one you potentially live a very different life that the one you live here and now in your present reality.  It’s kind of out there, and challenging to think through, but weirdly entertaining at the same time.

During this time of craziness going on in our current reality, my wife and I discuss regularly how we feel caught up in a Fringe alternate universe.  It seems literally everything going on today looks nothing like last year. Even this year, before the world plunged into fear over the China virus, in January and February things seemed so “normal.”

We’ve tried to stay busy, by reading, puzzling, and doing some projects around the house.  We especially like White Mountain puzzles, with their whimsical themes.  One particular puzzle comes to mind as I think about our alternate universe experience.  It is called Wacky Packages. It’s as if someone took all the packaging of the products you and I grew up with, and in an alternate universe sort of way, turned them into a Fringe product.  Just look closely at these labels and you’ll see what I mean.

wacky packages.png

So, here’s the thing.  In what universe does a peaceful protest look like a third world war zone?  Today it just seems to me we have moved outside of the “normal” into the realm of the “abnormal” with no clear direction on how to return.  At what point in time did the term “Nationalist” (meaning patriotic and committed to American ideology) turn to mean “racist” (systemic racism)?  Today’s cancel culture can take anything an individual says and in a Fringe moment turn it to mean something else.  Then the cancel culture expects that person to apologize, and pay restitution and reparations, or else.  Or else those who want to cancel you, me, and our way of life, will protest, riot, loot, and kill to prove just how wrong you and I are.

Maybe it’s just me.  Perhaps I’ve taken too long to become “woke.”  You know what the word means right? Type the word into BING and you’ll read this definition: “alert to injustice in society, especially racism.”  Similarly GOOGLE gives you the exact same thing.  But Merriam-Webster gives us clarity, saying, “Woke is a slang term that is easing into the mainstream from some varieties of a dialect called African American Vernacular English (sometimes called AAVE).”  Well, no wonder it has taken me so long.  I am definitely out of touch with AAVE.

I’ll tell you what I am in touch with.  I have, for almost my whole life, relied on the continuation of truth derived by reading the Word of God.  I know what it says in both a general and a specific way.  For example, in a general way, without specifying a time, God’s word says that in the last days, “Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold…” Matthew 24:12.

But God’s Word is also very specific at times.  For example, very specifically the Bible says, “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12

You want to be woke?  Fine.  But if you want to WAKE UP… then turn to Jesus.

Jesus is the answer for the world today.

How do I know this?  Because it seems our people are more concerned with 9,210 deaths from Covid -19 which actually occurred with no related other causes, than we are with the 60 MILLION abortions that have occurred in the United States of America since 1973. (click the link)

I would say “the love of most has grown cold…”

One last PROMISE from God’s word.

2 Chronicles 7:14
If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

Call out to the ONE whose name you bear, humble yourself, pray, seek HIS face, turn from this wicked world, and hear Him speak your name today… and just possibly heal our country in the process.

 

Mob Tactics: the oldest trick in the book.

Dr. J.D. WilkinsLeave a comment

When a group of people comes together with a common emotional/angry catalyst, it only takes a spark to get this flame burning where the fury is turned into violence.

History records event after event where this principle is true. As recent as 2011, a lot of research has focused on the mindset of a violent mob.

Just some of the findings include:

  • Being a member of the MOB lower’s the participant’s inhibitions, making them do things they would never do otherwise.
  • A member loses their individual values/principles replacing them with the MOB’s principles, which are usually to cause mayhem or destruction while avoiding detection.
  • What seems just and righteous causes to the MOB, based in what they perceive as inequality or unfairness, synergizes and empowers the group as a whole.
  • Being a member may be exciting and powerful, as well as making the individual mobster feel invisible, so they shouldn’t be detected or responsible for their actions.
  • As the riot moves forward it may be harder and harder for members to remember why they assembled in the first place.
  • When the riot turns violent, most of the victims actually did nothing to deserve their fate other than being in the wrong place, at the wrong time.

Just because we live in dangerous days, we should not think this is the first time events like the ones we see daily now have occurred. Let me show you what I mean. Things can turn ugly, and get a lot worse, if we don’t change the course soon.

Just consider the New Testament stories, from almost two thousand years ago…

John 11:53
So from that day on they planned together to kill Him.

Who is “they” and “Him?” They is the Sanhedrin (a mob of 71 Pharisees) and Him is Jesus Christ.

In John 12, Jesus goes to Bethany to stay with His friends, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus (their once dead brother Jesus had called back to life from the tomb). The next day a large crowd formed along the side of the road as Jesus made His way into Jerusalem 5 days before Passover.

This crowd was shouting praises and blessings for this wonderful teacher/healer as He entered the city of Jerusalem. But watch closely at what happens as the crowds turn ugly under the influence of the mob of Pharisees who planned to kill Him.

One of Jesus’s own followers, Judas Iscariot, sold his Master to the authorities for thirty pieces of silver. [John 18]

Over the following 20+ hours, Jesus would face Annas, Caiaphas, Pilate, and Herod, the current king of the Jews. Pilate tried to do the right thing by having Jesus flogged, and humiliated. In the end Pilate tried to release Jesus in a clever ploy to make the crowd (translation: MOB) choose between a known murderer and Jesus to be released to celebrate the feast of Passover.

The same crowd waving palm branches and shouting “Hosanna!” are the same people crowded around the front of the stage yelling “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” When Pilate washes his hands of the whole thing, the MOB replies, “His blood shall be on us and our children!” [Matthew 27]

Could this kind of MOB mentality continue? All 11 apostles (after Judas hung himself) died a martyrs death at the hands of an angry mob of people. Some were crucified like Jesus, other hung upside down, others from spears or arrows, sawn in two, or beaten to death.

The same angry mob of Pharisees that were responsible for the death of Jesus, railroaded Stephen out of the city and stoned him to death.

I suggest that what was seen in Jerusalem 2,000 years ago, has not only increased in activity, but is reaching epic proportions.

What are we to do to deflate the MOB mentality in our country today? Is this even possible when the people who are really inciting the riots are not part of the physical MOB itself, but simply fueling the activity from afar?

Well, yes, there is a way to change our course, and it has nothing to do with fighting fire with fire, or taking revenge on these poor deluded souls who cannot think for themselves.

I believe with all my heart, the words of God are true. I believe they apply across all of human history, and into our future, however long that might be. So, one particular scripture comes to mind.

2 Chronicles 7:14
If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

Do you see it?

If we:

  • will humble ourselves
  • pray
  • seek God’s face (and His will)
  • turn away from wickedness

God will:

  • hear our prayers
  • forgive our sin
  • and heal our land

It seems too simple, that’s why most people today ignore this solution.

If you don’t want the MOB to gain more power… you will do what is required in this verse.

And you can be proactive by going to the voting station and cast your ballot for sanity to return to our Nation.

What Has Gotten Into You?

Dr. J.D. Wilkins1 Comment

Daily Post: Inhabit

inhabit

Fake news, contemptuous politics, leftist liberal media, activists mentality of the third estate, historically illiterate revisionists, sabers rattling across the ocean, and the ocean itself rising up, about to attack our coast… these are perilous times.

One of the course studies that made up my bachelor’s degree in college was on the Civil War in America (1861-1865).  I was reminded of this today, from a Facebook post regarding Robert E. Lee. This photo captures Lee’s statue being removed in New Orleans May 20, 2017.

Here are a few salient facts conveniently overlooked in the tirade of activism today in America:

 

  • Robert E. Lee was married to George Washington’s granddaughter, and Washington was a huge influence on the man.
  • He was a decorated war hero from the Mexican-American war.
  • He believed slavery was evil and his wife taught slaves to read and write
  • After the civil war Lee became popular in the norther states and the Barracks at West Point were named in his honor in 1962.
  • Lee was disturbed about the prospect of the South leaving the Union, yet ultimately he believed States rights trumped Federal government and chose to lead the Southern army
  • This same federal government demanded Lee pay taxes on his estate in Arlington, near Washington D.C., demanding that Lee himself show up in person to pay the taxes.
  • When he could not do this, the government began burying dead Union soldiers on his land, and is still doing so today.  It is called Arlington National Cemetery.

Does it make me a racists because I question the motives of those who are acting in this reprehensible way?  One opponent of my suggesting they are attempting to erase history has said, “We’re always going to know who Robert E Lee is.  The question is where these monuments are.  The public sphere should be comfortable for everybody.”

What’s next?  Removing the statues of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson?  What has gotten into these people?  And after these political icons are destroyed, then what?  Can the religious freedom of having a cross on the top of a church be next?  There are churches in America today which have already conceded to make their places of worship more public “friendly” or “comfortable” by removing the cross both inside and out.

When darkness inhabits the mind of those who lead, can anything other than darkness be the ultimate result of their influence?

When hatred, anger, and contempt fueled by self-deluded minds, are the only words that resonate in the political arena, or the coffee shop down the street, what else could possibly be on our horizon but darkness and death?

What has gotten into us?  Where do we turn?  What is the answer?

2 Chronicles 7:14
… and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

There is no other answer for a true Christ-follower.

 

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Photo By Infrogmation of New Orleans – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=59237773

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Use a Hitch not a Bow Tie

Dr. J.D. Wilkins4 Comments

Daily Post: Tether

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

From a childhood experience of watching weekly Saturday morning western shows, anyone my age knows about hitching a horse to a post, tree, or hitching station in front of the saloon.  When the heroes of Maverick, Gunsmoke, The Lone Ranger, The Rifleman, The Virginian, Wagon Train, Big Valley, Bonanza, and others came to town, they used the reins to tether their horses, before going off to do their business.  Today my 400 horsepower mode of transportation is tethered to my key fob.  No one steals my horsepower without OnStar knowing it.  While driving these horses, my iPhone is tethered to the entertainment system through the USB port, and using an invisible tethered data stream (since my “horse” is also a wifi hotspot), we can listen to Pandora all the way to wherever.

In the westerns, Clint Eastwood (Rawhide), Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, et al galloped around righting injustice.  Whether in the original black and white, or in living color, these shows from 50-60 years ago demonstrate just how quickly things change.  It’s sometimes hard to image that just 100 years ago the primary mode of personal transportation was a horse. While today the technology involved just to start my car, rivals the most powerful computer from just 25 years ago.  It makes you wonder, doesn’t it?  What will the primary personal transportation vehicle look like 100 years from now?

The same kinds of dramatic shifts in television, and transportation, can be seen spiritually across our world.  Saturday morning westerns are far removed from the kinds of television shows our children watch today.  In the same way, our world has been rocked by a steady diet of mixed message programming, where the catch phrase has become, “Not that there is anything wrong with that.”  This phrase actually means, “anything goes for any behavior, or for any topic of discussion.”  In my humble opinion, we have become untethered.

Is there hope to become grounded again? Tethered again?  Is there some voice of reason that will show us the way? I want to believe that people are even capable of hearing it, and turning from this rampant departure from spiritual sanity.  With new threats of intercontinental ballistic missiles, political upheaval, and ISIS, where is the tether that will stay our course?  Perhaps I sound jaded or defeated to you.  I assure you I am neither.  I just keep asking myself what will it take for us to understand just how far off course we’ve traveled?

Here is a verse that is often used at times like these to suggest that we individually and collectively as believers can stay the course through the power of prayer.  I’m just curious… if you are out there, reading this today… and you believe this verse… write me a note, comment, or something, anything… email,  FaceBook, something… that says you are tethered with me in believing this Scriptural truth.

2 Chronicles 7:14
(if) My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

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