Pray for Our Government

 

[1]

1 Timothy 2:1-2

Good News Translation

2 First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, requests, and thanksgivings be offered to God for all people; ² for kings and all others who are in authority, that we may live a quiet and peaceful life with all reverence toward God and with proper conduct.

 

First of all, I want to thank God that we are living a quiet and peaceful life. This past summer we left our home for over two months and had no fear that anyone would break in and steal. We parked in Walmart parking lots all over this country, climbed into the bed of our pickup, and slept soundly in the full knowledge that God would look after us. I walk my dog, Katie up and down our streets near home at all hours of the night and day and fear no evil. We have been spoiled because we have done this all our lives. I remember walking from Nyamuswa to Ikizu in “the heart of darkness” of Africa at about 2:00 in the morning without fear.

We had a blatant liar as our president for four years. I followed him on Twitter and was stunned by the out and out lies he told. The first thing our Jesuit president did when he went to the climate conference in Europe this month was to visit the Pope. Now is indeed the time for every Christian, no matter what your denomination is, to pray for our government that we may continue to live a quiet and peaceful life.

We had our governor ban all meetings in churches in 2020. Our church responded without a murmur, shutting us out of the church and adjacent schools. I was stunned again. We have been championing religious liberty and yet knuckled under without so much as a whimper? There were several churches in our area, however, who continued to meet in defiance to the governor’s command. They filed a lawsuit against the governor that went all the way to the Supreme Court. Praise the Lord! The Supreme Court ruled that the governor had breached the separation of church and state clause of our constitution and exonerated the churches. The governor never apologized, but he quit mentioning churches in his lockdowns.

Again, it is getting more and more urgent that we do pray for our rulers “and those who are in authority that we may live a quiet and peaceful life with all reverence toward God.”

O Lord, in the face of global crime and corruption, grant us continued peace and quiet that we may share Your love with others and live with reverence for You.

 

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[1] https://www.americamagazine.org/politics-society/2021/10/29/video-pope-biden-meeting-2021-241750

Thunderstorm in Tornado Alley

 [1]

Job 37:6

Common English Bible

⁶ He says to the snow, “Fall to earth,”
    and to the downpour of rain, “Be a mighty shower.”

 

We often drive across the U.S. along small highways rather than on the Interstates. We can experience much more of the charm of the country that way. At night we often pull up in a Walmart parking lot or a park with a restroom and climb into the back, under the cap that houses our bed, and sleep till morning. Traveling west across eastern Nebraska one evening, we could see massive thunderstorms in various directions. We checked our smart phone and saw that if we carried on into the night, we couldn’t miss a storm. Of course, if we travel at night, we also miss the charm. So, we pulled into a handy Walmart parking lot, watched a beautiful sunset, and climbed into bed.

Shortly after dark it started raining. Lightning and thunder struck all around us. The rain became a mighty shower. The wind shook our Ford F-150 as if it were a toy. Peeking out of the window, I saw that the whole parking lot was under six inches of water as the rain came in sheets almost horizontally across us in the furious wind. I prayed for the all-powerful hand of God to shield us.

This part of the country is often referred to as Tornado Alley. I had visions of a tornado snatching us up and hurling us into the air and then smashing us back onto the earth when it was done. The cap over our heads is only held onto the back of the pickup by four three-sixteenth inch bolts. Although it is normally water tight, a spray was being forced in around the edges. Every few seconds the lightning illuminated the ankle-deep water all around us. Almost instantaneously a might clap of thunder would threaten to split our ear drums.

As suddenly as it hit us, the storm blew away. Through it all Sylvia slept like a baby. She missed the whole mighty display. When she woke up in the morning, she wondered why our blankets were soaked all around the edges. We got up and arranged our wet things so that they would dry, we hoped, as we continued on the highway.

For breakfast we stopped in a little café. The people all around us were talking about the tornado that had ripped through and totally destroyed a little town just 8 miles to our west. Now was our time to praise the Lord for keeping us safe.

Thank You, Lord, that we can rest in the knowledge that You always watch over us.

 

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[1] Our Ford F-150—This picture was not taken in Nebraska!

Old Age

Titus 2:2

King James Version (KJV)

² The aged men [are to] be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience.

Seventy-five years have gone by since I was ripped out of my mother’s womb. In my youth my parents had a lot to be proud of and a lot to be disappointed over. I have pushed the limits in most things that came my way. In some directions, pushing the limits has been both exciting and rewarding. At other times it has been embarrassing and even on occasion expensive.

I purchased a Ford F150 4x4 pickup that I don’t need on a daily basis in my line of work. It averages 12 miles per gallon of gasoline, which makes it the most expensive vehicle I’ve ever owned.

It has taken me through hundreds of miles of raw desert, both beautiful and ugly. It has brought home a trailer load of my daughter’s belongings from Kansas down a thousand miles of glare ice and falling snow. Numerous times it has taken me across the Rocky Mountains on sand, dirt, and rocky trails sometimes barely visible. I have confidently challenged roads and trails from Key West, Florida, to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. It uncomplainingly sports thousands of scratches running from the front grill to the tail gate from desert thorn bushes crowding the tracks.

Sylvia, my faithful life partner, loves adventure as much as I and has supported and accompanied me in our varied experiences. We installed a cap over the pickup bed, and on long trips we put a mattress back there. This allows us to sleep almost anywhere we can find a spot to pull over, including Walmart parking lots. We have slept—or sometimes tried to sleep—in our F-150 during fierce, tornado-alley rainstorms, desert heat, and mountain frost and have actually done very well for ourselves.

In many ways our experience with the F-150 parallels what God has put up with in my life. He has supported me through near death from West Nile Virus and on Los Angeles freeways. He has rejoiced with me in celebrations like children’s weddings and graduations and commiserated with me through loss of many friends and the death of my parents. Like the Ford, He has given us of the beauties and bounties of life and walked with us during poverty, scarcity, and sickness. 

Lord, as old age embraces us ever more firmly, continue to support us, and renew our faith, love, and patience.

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