I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.
--Psalm 34:4*
And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Ephesians 6:10-17
--Matthew 10:28
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
--2 Timothy 1:7Before you start reading this, there are some things you need to know.
- I haven’t endorsed a presidential candidate and I won’t. This essay is not an endorsement.
- I’m still considering voting for Donald Trump, but I might not.
- I may vote for Evan McMullin.
- I might not vote for president at all.
- I won’t vote for Hillary Clinton or Gary Johnson.
You can’t bully me into going against one of the main tenets of my faith in order to get me to vote for Trump; you can’t use fear of Clinton to do it. So please stop trying.
Many people in my circles of friendship—some political, some not--are afraid of Hillary Clinton. Most alarming is that this includes more than a few of the professed Christians among them. They say things like, “she’ll make Christianity illegal,” “she’ll take away our guns,” “SHE’LL KILL US!!!” These things are said without irony. I’d swear that some of the speakers are bots—except that I know a couple of them in person.
Check this out.
I’ve been inordinately interested in the Holocaust since I found out that it happened—back when my parents brought home a copy of The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich in the 1970s. Later, when offered by the USAF to learn a foreign language, I chose German for that reason. I was stationed in then-West Berlin in the 1980s and early 1990s.
In short, I have been steeped in Holocaust and 20th-century German history for a while so, of course, I knew of Corrie ten Boom and of The Hiding Place. But I had never read the book until last week.
God has His timing and it is perfect.
In the 1940s, Corrie and her sister Betsie—spinster ladies in their 50s—lived with their father, Casper, a widower and a watchmaker. When the Netherlands--their native country--was invaded by Nazi Germany’s Wehrmacht, the family began to get used to life in a conquered country. Then, through seeming chance and with their father’s blessing, the ten Boom sisters turned their home into a way station for Jews fleeing the Nazis. It became a Hiding Place for the hunted.
The American namby-pamby prosperity-preaching “Your Best Life Now” Christianity of the early 21st century bears no resemblance to the Christianity of the Dutch Reformed Christian ten Boom family. They were not “Oh my God, Hitler is going to take away my rights” type of Christians. They walked in God’s way when times were good, when times worsened, when times were very, very bad, and when death was knocking at the doors of their dwelling.
And when I use to word 'dwelling,' I'm referring to their bodies.
We all must die. Betsie and her father didn’t last long after being arrested. But God let Corrie live into her 90s--in order to tell the tale.
I am in awe of this family as are, of course, nearly everyone who knows of them. Two ladies on the edge of old age and their elderly father were stronger than all too many--strengthened by faith.
What do you want to be thinking about when death is near? How obedient you were to the state?
*****
I don’t know if I could be like the ten Booms or like the Iraqi Christians. I do, however, know that sitting around whining about the prospect of someone stopping you from worshiping the Living God even in the face of death displays a distinct lack of understanding about the nature of the God of the Bible and/or betrays that the speaker hasn’t opened the Bible in a very long time.
The persecution hasn't even happened yet and some a cowering already.
Here's what I think: if you would let Hillary Clinton or anyone else stop you from worshiping Yahweh, you might as well stop worshiping Him now.
*All Bible quotes are KJV.
UPDATE: I voted for Donald Trump.
Every Tuesday and Saturday, I blog at the award-winning DaTechGuyBlog. Latest post: Two Weeks Left.
This is my JOB. It pays for: A Roof Over My Head, the writing of My Next Book(s), and Utilities--especially Internet and COFFEE! Yes, coffee is a utility.
No comments:
Post a Comment