“Nothing Less Than Prophetic”
“Have you read The Whirlwind Cometh?” asked my Arizona friend shortly after noon today.
He just came across the book and is probably done with it by now. He said reading it in the context of what’s going on in the United States these days made chills go up and down his spine.
“It’s nothing less than prophetic,” he said (and I think that’s an exact quote).
He thinks every young man and young woman in our Mennonite churches should read it. “Required reading for” is the way I recall him putting it.
Maybe some day I will get around to posting some excerpts from this novel, set in Canada.
Apparently written by an Amish author who chose to remain anonymous, this inexpensive little book is published by Pathway Publishers. (Maybe this qualifies as one of the few truly profitable amish novels!)
This is an unusual book, a story you will not soon forget. A new Canadian government under Prime Minister John Smith sweeps into power, and at once begins a program to bring reform to Canada. One result is that the historic peace churches are put to a test to see if they are truly nonresistant and if their faith is genuine. The young people must appear before tribunals before they are granted conscientious objector status.
For those who have taken our religious freedom too much for granted, or have gradually slipped into lukewarmness or even hypocrisy, this book may jolt us back to reality. This gripping story is not a history, but a challenge to examine the present and be ready for the future.
Hey — an idea! You could buy your own copy and post your comments here!
Where Do Freebies Come From?
So reporting from Life in the Shoe, Dorcas Smucker quotes the lady at the computer, “The shot is free.”
Which begs the above question.
How far back in the product-and-supply chain was that shot free?
And who declared it thus?
And with whose money?
Thus, today’s quiz question, you might say:
Found: Fathima Rifqa Bary
She’s been found safe!
Nearly three weeks after she was reported missing, a 16-year-old girl was found safe in Florida, police said on Friday.
Fathima Rifqa Bary, of New Albany, was last seen on July 19.
According to police, Bary’s friends told detectives that it was possible she ran away because of conflicting religious beliefs in her home.
I’m glad to learn she is safe.
I hope she continues safe…in every way.
Arrangements were being made for her return to central Ohio.
I know the media seems to have a knack for getting some of these stories out of whack. So maybe she comes from a truly loving home. And maybe her disappearance has nothing to do with tensions between a Christian teenager and Muslim parents.
Even so, it’s difficult not to think of cases such as that of Sarah and Amina Yaser Said.
May God be near her.
Are You a Fishing Spot?
Or to put it another way, did you cause anyone’s flag to wave?
Still not getting my drift?
Facts are stubborn things, indeed. 😯
OK, so maybe Macon Phillips will end up resigning or being fired over that Facts Are Stubborn Things, If You Smell Something Fishy, Be An Informant post at the White House blog. Or maybe we will end up losing some of our trust in those with whom we interact, as we wonder whether they will find us fishy in some way. Or maybe freedom of press and informants will co-exist just fine
But, really, what about what we say?
How did your speech and/or email communications qualify today? Or Facebook or Twitter or MySpace or Xanga or Blogger or WordPress or other online forums?
Something fishy?
Will you and your writing/speaking make a good fishing spot?
Would you want someone to inform on you?
Look. What the White House is thinking and opining is important enough.
But what God opines and thinks is infinitely of greater importance and consequence.
“In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise” (Proverbs 10:19).
“He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life: but he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction” (Proverbs 13:3).
“Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles” (Proverbs 21:23).
“But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned” (Matthew 12:36,37).
“I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me” (Psalm 39:1).
“Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer” (Psalm 19:14).
Oh, you’re wondering why I would file this under Endangered Christians? Hmmm. If this fishing expedition sticks, do you really think it will be remain under its publicly posted limitations?
Now chew on that one, will ya?
After all, facts are stubborn things!
Beaded Image
People gather in front of the World’s Largest Beaded Photo Mosaic of U.S. President Barack Obama on display in front of the White House in Washington, August 3, 2009. The project, created with over 372,600 beads by 1000 fourth grade students from across the U.S., was made in honor of Obama’s 48th birthday.
Source: Yahoo! News Photos
Look, I don’t want to be in the Beat Up President Obama camp, OK? OK. But I still find this kind of thing disquieting, particularly when seen in the context of the last eight months or so.
Can anyone point me to a similar display for any recent US President?
If you comment, please keep it civil and respectable.
This was supposed to be posted late yesterday…and I forgot!
August 4
70 — The Romans destroy the Second Temple in Jerusalem.
1789 — In France members of the National Constituent Assembly take an oath to end feudalism and abandon their privileges.
1792 — The revolutionaries order all houses of worship to close in France.
1824 — Battle of Kos is fought between Turks and Greeks.
1914 — Germany invades Belgium. The United Kingdom declares war on Germany. The United States declares itself neutral.
1944 — The Gestapo finds Jewish diarist Anne Frank and her family in a sealed-off area of an Amsterdam warehouse.
1961 — Barack Obama is born and, despite the where being dubious in the minds of millions, eventually becomes the 44th President of the United States. Wish him well on his birthday. You may contact him here or via email.
1964 — American civil rights workers Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman, and James Chaney are found dead in Mississippi after disappearing on June 21. Also US destroyers USS Maddox and USS C. Turner Joy report coming under attack in the Gulf of Tonkin, resulting in an engagement known as the Gulf of Tonkin Incident.
1977 — US President Jimmy Carter signs legislation creating the United States Department of Energy.
1984 — The African republic Upper Volta changes its name to Burkina Faso.
1987 — The Federal Communications Commission rescinds the Fairness Doctrine which had required radio and television stations to present controversial issues “fairly”.
2009 — National Night Out is today!