Father, Forgive Them

Father, Forgive Them February 9, 2025 I know why Jesus said, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." He said it because it is true; they do not know what they are doing. All the opposition against God that we are seeing, even that which we see ourselves doing if we ever actually look into our own life. Both sides of this political circus we are engaged in think they are resisting evil, when who knows if they are actually resisting good--or more accurately, rebelling against God? The god of this world (Satan aka the devil) has deceived the masses of people in the world and no less the people of our own wonderful land, founded on principles laid out in the Hebrew and Christian Bible and on the saying, "In God we trust," which many want to eliminate in this modern "enlightened" age. Doesn't look so enlightened these days, does it? The fairly young Christian writer, former environmental activist Paul Kingsnorth, from England, living in Ireland, has wisely and profoundly said that all this craziness, and, indeed, all the evil that people do in the world, stems simply from their rebellion against God. So clear and so well-spoken. It doesn't matter which side you're on politically, both sides are accusing the other side of the same things, whether it's belonging to a cult or destroying Democracy or stealing from the people or lying to the people--all of it stems from rebellion against God. The demons are dancing with glee, I'm sure of it. Political and geo-political chaos is all a result of humans rebelling against God. So why don't we turn our swords into plowshares and make sure we are right with God, instead of all this bickering and gaslighting and accusing and condemning and hating and committing violence in the streets? In Isaiah 2:42-4 Isaiah the prophet puts forth his vision of a world living in peace. "Now it shall come to pass in the latter days, That the mountain of the LORD's house Shall be established on the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And all nations shall flow to it. Many people shall come and say, 'Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, To the house of the God of Jacob'; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths.' For out of Zion shall go forth the law, And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, And rebuke many people; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning hooks; Nations shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war anymore" (Isaiah 2:1-4). Well, I am on my way to my Super Bowl party and maybe I'll have time to write some more, but for now, this is what I wanted to share, that we all need to start seeking God more than ever, whether you are a believer or not, things are heating up. It's almost as if Satan himself is stoking the flames of hell. Many are looking forward to another spiritual revival in our land and in the whole world. Meanwhile, we have been charged as believers to trim our lamps and keep them full of the oil of the LORD. We are entering into some very intense times, and I believe we can all "turn our swords into plowshares" and learn to live at peace with our neighbors instead of chewing them to shreds with our words. More later. Love, Carolyn