Believe It Or Not

"Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses."

1 Timothy 6:12

"Father, if You are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Nevertheless, I want Your will to be done, not mine!"

Luke 22:42

The best thing possible for us, is always what God wills for us. Sometimes God's will may be pain, or worldly loss, or sore bereavement. Yet His will is always love, and in simple acquiescence to this will, we shall always find our highest good. No prayer, therefore, is pleasing to God which does not end with this refrain of Gethsemane, "Nevertheless, I want Your will to be done, not mine!"

This is also the way to peace. As we yield with love and joy, and merge our own will in our Father's--the peace of God flows like a river into our souls.

"Let the Lord's will be done."

Acts 21:14

"It is the Lord. Let Him do what seems good to Him."

1 Samuel 3:18

Several times in the 20th century-- in my lifetime, starting in 1949-- I listened to a radio-television program entitled Ripley's Believe it or Not. Mr. Ripley died after a few episodes, but the program continued over many years with many well-known hosts. Even Mr. Ripley would not believe the changes in this world in one man's lifetime.

Like perfume from a vase, after the flowers have been taken away, many of us have memories of what it was like. The dove trembles when it sees a hawk's feather, and this writer-- world traveler-- trembles to think about what lies ahead for the young people maturing in today's world.

Just Last week, the following prayer was made at a meeting of Democrats in the state of Iowa:

"We give thanks, oh Lord, for the doctors, both current and future, who provide quality abortion care. We pray for increased financial support for low-income women to access contraception, abortion and childcare. Today, we pray for women in developing nations, that they may know the power of self-determination. May they have access to employment, education, birth control and abortion. We pray for women who have been made afraid of their own power by their materialistic religion. May they learn to reject fear and live bravely. Today we pray for the families who have chosen. May they know the blessing of choice."
God's greatest gift is the gift of freewill, our ability to make choices-- to choose. We have today-- physically and spiritually-- become frozen-- the so-called chosen of the world.... those chosen to live in this democracy, those chosen for life and salvation. God help those who are more intent on political correctness, than depending on the power of God. God help those Democrats who booed the mention of His name at the democratic national convention in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Jesus' first words, as he hung on that cruel tree-- God giving himself for the sins of the world-- were, "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do." (Luke 22:34)
So precious are the lives of the unborn. 53 million have been killed in their mothers' wombs since the legalization of  abortion in 1973. So precious are the 25,000 children who die each and every day in refugee camps from the hunger that is caused by war.
This writer so remembers the people of Africa-- the 42 nations comprising the African continent. While in the Congo, in one of the largest nations, Goma, at the head of the 2,000 mile Congo River, on a guerilla photography expedition, I so remember the pygmies, those small human beings who mostly live in trees. It is believed, by those who are witnessing the holocaust, that 250,000 of these small people have been eaten by the barbaric terrorists fighting in that nation. These small, loveable people are the chief food supply of the marauders.
The greatest blessings of my life have come through bad times-- not the good times.  I firmly believe this is the reason that one veteran commits suicide everyday-- that more of our military forces in combat die from their own hands, than are killed by the enemy. One cannot experience the depravity of man (the killing of innocent children with bombs, or other cruelties of warfare, see hungry people begging for food, and even water, know the reckless living of their fellow man, even their own family, caring nothing for the cruelty/ evil of mankind) and yet remain untouched by what their eyes have seen, ears heard, and other senses realized. Man is the only animal that can blush or weep. It is time for us to begin weeping for the conditions around us.
For every comfort of my life, every blessing of this blessed land, I give praise to God and to the hardships of my ancestors who arrived in 1677 on the good ship Kent. Here in my office, I have the iron cooking pot, which they used to cook their food in the fireplace / chimney. They could never have been convinced that the struggles they endured-- as well as the generations following them-- would lead to the indifference of this generation, from the church house, to the school house, to the courthouse, and even to your house. Perhaps President Reagan said it best, speaking of the 249 marines killed in Beirut, Lebanon, "They were not afraid to stand up for their country or, no matter how difficult and slow the journey might be, to give to others that last, best hope of a better future. We cannot and will not dishonor them now and the sacrifices they've made by failing to remain as faithful to the cause of freedom and the pursuit of peace as they have been.
I will not ask you to pray for the dead, because they're safe in God's loving arms and beyond need of our prayers. I would like to ask you all - wherever you may be in this blessed land - to pray for these wounded young men and to pray for the bereaved families of those who gave their lives for our freedom.
God bless you, and God bless America."