One Third of 2026 is History

 

 

Revelation 1:7 International Children’s Bible

⁷ Look, Jesus is coming with the clouds! Everyone will see him, even those who stabbed him. And all peoples of the earth will cry loudly because of him. Yes, this will happen! Amen.

 

Today is May Day, International Labor Day, meaning one-third of the year has now passed! Today in history:

1786 — Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro premieres in Vienna

1884 — First skyscraper completed

1994 — Nelson Mandela inaugurated as South Africa’s first Black president

1889 — Thomas Edison shows his first motion picture

1953 — Watson & Crick publish the structure of DNA

1852 — Calamity Jane was born

1840 — World’s first postage stamp released in England

 

A third of 2026 is history. Sylvia and I are nearly finished editing my second book—which may become my first book!

The proposed first book is our first great adventure: Africa—with no car, no phone, no kids, and virtually no money.

Our proposed second book—the physical encounter of Abraham with his great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather Shem. This is a historical novel, written in Madagascar, that is intended to be as true to scripture as possible. Our sojourn in Madagascar was our latest adventure with no car, virtually no phone, no kids, and no money.

I intended to publish the first book last year. When things slowed down to a virtual stop on that new year’s resolution, we set in motion the second manuscript this year.

The apparent soon return of Christ is rushing forward with an attempted establishment of a law that may usher in the biblical time of trouble. Its proposed date is July 4, 2026—exactly 250 years after the creation of the “freest” country on earth.

 

Dear Lord, prepare us for the Great Time of Trouble and Your much-awaited return in glory.

 

 

 

Massive Disasters

[1]

Romans 8:38-39  Good News Translation

³⁸ For I am certain that nothing can separate us from his love: neither death nor life, neither angels nor other heavenly rulers or powers, neither the present nor the future, ³⁹ neither the world above nor the world below—there is nothing in all creation that will ever be able to separate us from the love of God which is ours through Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

When I booted my computer this morning, there was a horrific picture of the fuselage of a passenger jet lying upside down with smoke billowing from one end. The wings had been ripped off the plane, and the whole airfield was covered with snow.

This year has already had more than its shares of disasters. Sylvia and I have both contracted Covid and recovered—again. We have visited loved ones some of whom have suffered much worse, including heart attacks, mental breakdowns, and other major health problems—hey! We are in our ninth decade, and many of our loved ones are there, too. Many Americans succumb to death in this decade.

Unquenchable fires have ravaged great parts of Los Angeles. Fierce winter storms have flooded and frozen much of this nation. It seems like there have been more catastrophic plane crashes than usual. Thousands of people have been snatched off our streets or from their jobs by a vengeful and unsympathetic government and flown to some destination across the globe without any due course to law—and that’s America. Hundreds of government workers have been fired with no warning and left to flounder on their own. Internationally whole cities have been bombed out of existence. Those who have fled have nothing to return to.  

Are we headed into the prophet[2] Daniel’s “time of trouble such has never was since there was a nation”? I rejoice with St. Paul that no amount of disaster and trouble can separate us from the love of God, not even the devil himself!

Lord, thank You that nothing can separate us from You. All we have to do is to daily remind You, by reminding ourselves, of Your promise to keep us from being separated from You.

 

 

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[1] https://www.thetimes.com/world/us-world/article/california-los-angeles-fire-pacific-palidades-la-evacuation-latest-news-wctv8656d

[2] Daniel 12: 1 (KJV)

Peace During Stress

 

[1]

 

John 11:25 Contemporary English Version

²⁵ Jesus then said, “I am the one who raises the dead to life! Everyone who has faith in me will live, even if they die.”

 

It has been 18 years since my prostate cancer was diagnosed. The cancer has subsided and then reared its ugly head several times over those years. Currently it is in remission, for which I am very thankful. If there is one thing the cancer has taught me, it is that when cancer goes into remission it will return. So, I don’t use the word “Cure.”

Throughout this period, I have had an almost strange calmness. I have told myself several times, Wil, you have lived a good life! You have many promises from God’s word that after you die you shall live again. I think this has been a continuing reassurance to me. However, I am fully aware that I shall die.

The Word has promised that before Christ comes, there will a time of trouble “such as never was since there was a nation”.[2] I invite you to look back over the times of trouble that have occurred. Millions have been driven from their homes and had their homes destroyed. They have suffered with no clothes in the severest of weather. They have had little or nothing to eat or drink. They have been totally homeless with no one who cares for them. Many times, their corpses have lain where they have fallen. Remember the killing fields in Cambodia and the gas chambers of Auschwitz.

Being an old man, I shall not endure the time of trouble for long, not long enough to see the coming of Christ. That is why I treasure Christ’s promise that he will raise me to life!

I invite you, dear Reader, to accept Christ’s offer of life and salvation that is offered to us free and without any merit of ours. You may ask, “Do you have any concrete evidence of the validity of his promise?” Yes, the evidence that He has stood by me for these long years and fulfilled my every need upon request. If you choose to remain skeptical, you not only lose out, but you also fulfill prophecy that there will be scoffers in the last days.[3]

 

Dear Lord, grant Your Peace to each person who reads this blog  knowing that they, too, are included in Your promise.

 

 

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[1] paradise images - Bing images

[2] Daniel 12:1

[3] 2 Peter 3: 3-4. But first you must realize that in the last days some people won't think about anything except their own selfish desires. They will make fun of you ⁴ and say, “Didn't your Lord promise to come back? Yet the first leaders have already died, and the world hasn't changed a bit.”