Signs of the Times

"...You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don't know how to interpret this present time?

Why don't you judge for yourselves what is right?"

~ Luke 12:56b - 57 (NIV)

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(Revised 11/8/08)

One morning as Dave and I finished our devotions, he shared with me a news brief he'd heard on the radio the night before. The speaker on the program was relating his trip to a German concentration camp, where there hung a faded and weather worn wreath, along with a plaque that stated something like, 'An apology from all the Christians to the Jews - "Forgive us for not standing up for what we knew to be right".' He also told of a pastor who stood up to Hitler when he was first in office, during an address to the churches of the time, announcing his intentions for a united church. This pastor spoke with words something like, "If it is God's will, the churches will unite, God is in control of all things." Hitler's response was, "There is no room for God here. I am in control here." Many of the other pastors took the outspoken pastor and removed him from the premises saying, "Shush, don't make him mad."

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I saw my Dad many times stand up for what was right - whether it was in family disputes about religion, neighborhood squabbles or supporting his co-workers. It was his righteous anger about such things that inspired me to be outspoken. It's always been tucked deep inside me, but has gradually been seeping to the surface over the last ten years, much to many other's chagrin. I am proud of the example my Dad was to me, especially in church, where he could see the need for the congregation to support the pastor, to support each other and the children. The greatest example was in the home, where he made every day a mission to help me see God in every situation.

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Election night, I needed to hear my Dad's voice - memories of years past flooded my mind, as the tradition had always been on election night, to gather round the table or in the front room and gab while the polls were coming in, and discuss how God's hand was moving our nation in the direction of His choosing as He placed them in positions of leadership. I always came away from that night with a mental tally of pros and cons, and a deeper understanding of how to pray for our national leaders.

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Dave is very similar in his habits as my Dad, encouraging me to continue to stand up for what I believe, regardless of the condemnation that inevitably ensues from every direction and every source. He is also like my Dad in the sense that he is very keen on politics, he follows it closely, and he protects me from the hot subjects that disturb me. He even roused from his sleep to determine who had won the polls, and sought me in the kids' room while reading their Bible story and announced that we must pray.

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We had been praying throughout this whole election campaign, and it's not over now. It's only just begun. Dave and I, like my Mom and Dad, feel like castaways on a foreign island, where our beliefs appear to be camouflaged in the throng of modern society.

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May God have mercy on this dear nation that has forgotten her first love.

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"...I hold this against you: You have forgotten your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first."

~ Revelation 2:4b - 5 (NIV)