Living in Peace

“So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.”        Acts 9:31

A pastor friend of mine insists that the Church thrives in times of persecution, hence persecution is, or at least can be, a good thing. While I think that there is some truth in this,  I believe that the above verse stands in opposition to that idea. Granted, the persecution of the first few chapters of Acts served to move the early Church out of their comfort zone (Jerusalem) and geographically move them where they were needed (Galilee Judea and Samaria), the above passage illustrates how that once they were disbursed, they were able to grow and become strong during this persecution free time of peace.

As I listen to the news these days, I have a tendency to become discouraged (nothing new about that). Even the not-so-fake news is bad news about the direction that the nation is taking these days. There is a whole lot of “ugly” going on out there against Christian beliefs and even within the Church itself regarding our ability and our willingness to practice our beliefs and our faith within a society that is increasing less tolerant of our presence in it.

I am beginning to fear that our time in the persecution-free zone may soon be coming to an end, and that God may be finished with us.

I believe that God raised up Donald Trump, if for no other reason, to recognize Jerusalem as the legitimate capitol of Israel, and to move our embassy to Jerusalem; something that his predecessors were not willing (or able?) to do. 

Granted, this whole capitol/recognition thing is a process that has a long way to go and could be reversible by his successors at any time. The thing that has me worried at this point however, is the nagging question: “is this the only reason that we have been given a reprieve from our headlong plunge into leftist socialism?”

I am particularly disturbed by the recent movement that I will choose to call “the uprising of the children” in which the anti-second amendment folks have exploited many young people for their cause, by convincing them that if they disarm me and folks like me, that they and their schools will somehow be safer (see my post, Why It Won’t Work, June 24, 2016). Please forgive me for saying so, but they remind me of an old pre-WWII documentary I saw once of the Hitler Youth.

As is currently the case, the First Amendment is also under attack in that if you voice any opposite opinion to these young folks you will be accused of being unconcerned about the murder of innocent school children.

Add to this the recent budget disgrace that gave the liberals all the “free candy” they wanted so that we could get badly needed funding for our military, and I fail, once again to be able to generate any optimism for the future of our country.

Granted, Donald Trump is not the only person who can continue us down the path that we seemed to have started in 2016 (though he seems to be the only one willing to do so), and that God can raise up leaders who could lead us as we need to be led. Once again however, it doesn’t look good for the home team right now. Particularly since the early special elections seem to be going largely to liberals. I find myself wondering if our 2016 triumph is but a flash in the pan, and if another Obama-style liberal dictator is in the works for 2020 and beyond. Is God finished with us? Will we allow the left to take over our country again, and once again pursue their godless secular-humanist agenda?

As always, I found consolation in scripture. In 2 Chronicles 7:17-22, the Lord tells Solomon:

And as for you, if you will walk before me as David your father walked, doing according to all that I have commanded you and keeping my statutes and my rules, then I will establish your royal throne, as I covenanted with David your father, saying, You shall not lack a man to rule Israel.’
“But if you turn aside and forsake my statutes and my commandments that I have set before you, and go and serve other gods and worship them, then I will pluck you up from my land that I have given you, and this house that I have consecrated for my name, I will cast out of my sight, and I will make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples. And at this house, which was exalted, everyone passing by will be astonished and say, “Why has the Lord done thus to this land and to this house?’ Then they will say, ‘Because they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods and worshiped them and served them. Therefore, he has brought all this disaster on them.’”

This passage, of course, follows the famous and oft quoted passage of 2 Chronicles7:14:

“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.

I know that it can be a bit touchy to make comparisons between our nation and Israel as represented in the Old Testament, but I am hopeful that there is a principle involved here that can be applied to us as well.

I firmly believe that if we remain true to our Lord that He will indeed keep us in the freedom and the period of peace that we are currently enjoying, and His Church will continue to have the freedom (at least in this country) to be the Church, and to continue to carry out our mission in  “ . . . peace and . . . be built up. And walk in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, [and be] multiplied.”

Thanks for sharing this moment with me today.

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.