From a former student of Linda’s:
“It’s all starting to add up.... talking of getting rid of the police? Smells like New World Order is in the works. Here's the TRUTH of what's happening in the world!!!! Create a VIRUS to scare people. Place them in quarantine. Count the number of dead every second of every day in every news headline. Close all businesses. 40,000,000 out of jobs. Peak unemployment. Rem
ove entertainment: parks, gyms, bars, restaurants, sports. No dating. No touching. Mask people. Dehumanize them. Close temples and churches. Create a vacuum. Let depression and anxiety and desperation set in. THEN... ignite hatred and civil war. Civil unrest. Empty the prisons because of the virus and fill the streets with criminals. Send in Antifa to vandalize property as if they are freedom fighters. Undermine the law. Loot. Attack law enforcement but tell government to order a stand-down. We are all being baited by adversarial governments who want to destroy America - China, Iran, Russia. And, in an election year, have Democrats blame all of it on the President. Can’t take America in a war, destroy it from within. We are being conditioned, manipulated, and programmed by multiple agendas as never before.....time to DO OUR OWN RESEARCH and MAKE UP OUR OWN MINDS rather than eating everything being spoon-fed to us! SOCIAL MEDIA is going to kill us!”
This is the perspective of a young man who works an honest job to provide for his family. He has overcome the profound loss of his son at age eight, and his beloved wife at age twenty-four, both to cancer. When I read his post to Pastor Gary, he said he wanted to share it in the next newsletter. What should we do when it appears that our “world” is crumbling?
My comfort rests in God, who sees and understands it all. His Word provides the truths to stand upon in troubling times. Today’s reading in Joel encouraged my heart. In the Spirit Filled Life Bible, “Truth-in-Action” section, the first step was to know God and His ways: “The knowledge of God is to be passed from generation to generation by instructing our children in the nature, character, and ways of God. Thus trained, a deeper understanding of God’s current move, whether in judgment or revival, is possible. This understanding avoids reliance on fleshly or demonic sources of guidance and allows the alignment of our priorities with God’s purpose” (1284). “Joel prophesied at a time of great devastation to the entire land of Judah. An enormous plague of locusts had destroyed…what was once a beautiful, verdant land… a place of desolation and destruction. All crops were lost, a famine and drought had seized the entire land. Both people and animals were dying. Joel proclaimed the judgment of God was the explanation.
Joel brings a call to repentance and a promise of restoration. What Joel was to ravaged Judah, the church is to a ravaged world…bringing God’s viewpoint into clear focus, calling for repentance, and extending the hope of salvation from the final and terrible Day of the Lord…Joel did not stop with the prediction of doomsday. He clearly announces the day of God’s grace” (1274-5).
My heart was encouraged today, especially with the reading of Joel 2: 12-32. Let’s remember to keep our eyes fixed on the Lord and be ready to offer the hope of salvation during these tumultuous times.
-Pastor's Wife (Linda Schlenz)