‘Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ’
Romans 5:1
Soccer is sometimes described as the beautiful game. It has on occasions been ascribed by the ardently passionate, as the ‘religion’ that unifies most of the world, irregardless of creed.
‘If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea
Even there Your hand shall lead me. And Your right hand shall hold me’
Psalm 139:9-10
Flying, even as a passive passenger on one of those behemoth mechanical birds is not exactly my favorite cup of tea. I do draw comfort that there are some with more extreme phobic reactions like the famous Arsenal soccer player of Dutch nationality who rather drive thousands of miles to an away game, than fly.
My leave of absence the past 2 weeks, was not due to writers’ cramp but rather, my loathsome partaking of one of those long and tedious flights of fancy, where one literally fly like the angels, amongst the clouds for 18-20 hours.
In every empire, is its epicentre of influence. The fairy-like(at least in their wistful thinking) powers to be in Washington might beg to differ, but true power lies with the gnomes of New York, whose hands man the till from which money oils the greed that runs the world.
‘By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance’
Hebrews 11:8
The pilgrims on the ship Mayflower were God-fearing and loving Christians who happened to land on Plymouth, MA on the wrong side of winter, with their food provisions severely depleted.
God provided them with sustenance and the love of the 2 English speaking Red Indians(a miracle indeed in the New World of the 17th Century) who taught them the skills of the land to help these poor but faithful souls tide over their first few winters in the new land of America.
New York today, in terms of infrastructure, has seen better days, if compared to new cities like Shanghai.
‘If you ask anything in My name, I will do it. If you love Me, keep My commandment’
John 14:14-15
“In God we trust” That are the words enshrined by the forefathers of present day America.
Today, in the great economic boom of mainland China, the Chinese are reported to have lost their souls, in the search for material wealth. But reality is, in the communist system, all are supposed to have sold their soul to the proletariat, for in the egalitarian ideal of communism, there is no God.
America today, being a pluralistic society, is making advances not only in cutting edge technology, but in tearing down the very social and moral fabric of society.
President Bush do whimsically put on the righteous cloak of a crusader, but the drive towards redefining marriage(for partners replace spouses today), re-jigging procreation(custom made babies), reconfiguring the Word of God(joyful pastors in the American Anglican church preceded Monsieur Da Vinci) and taking God out of academia and maybe, eventually out of the medium of exchange was probably never in the wildest imagination of the founding fathers.
America today is perceived to be factor that stands between Israel’s annihiliation by their numerically superior Arab brethren from Ishmael’s seed. Yet if history is to believed, USA only took a more active interest in Israel’s viability, during the Yom Kippur war in Oct 1973, when Soviet hegemony in Middle East riding on the wave of a potential Arab victory, threatened American interests, to prod them to rearm Israel.
Why indulge in this wave of nostalgia with history??
What ifs, is always the hindsight scenarios most of us paint after we are made a decision at a crossroad in our lives.
Forgive me for indulging in this seemingly frivolous foray and prayerfully, not incorrect historical facts, but just imagine how two seemingly unconnected journeys eventually lead to an eventual unity in purpose
- the Israelites because of their continued disobedience were scattered care of the old Roman Empire, all over the world.
Many ended up in Eastern Europe(including Russia). Over the centuries, many more, because of the severe pogroms(or religious persecutions) in their adopted lands emigrated to the USA.
The Jewish lobby in America today, is a key player in ensuring American support for Israel.
- while the Pilgrims were not the first white settlers in America, they played an important role in setting up the many institutions of present day America. The Boston tea party that symbolize the beginnings of Independence from Great Britain was also from the same area
The Statue of Liberty is that beacon that offer hope of a free world to the many immigrants including the Israelites, who landed on the shores of USA.
If America was not mainstream Anglo-Saxon, would it have been a different world today??
Many times in our lives, events combined to put us under great duress. We are never certain about how things will play out. In such moments, many often turn to unholy realms that hopefully, could satisfy their perceived needs.
In the desert of temptations, Satan, promised Jesus Christ the glories of the world, if only He would submit to him, the devil.
On hindsight, this might seem ridiculous, given the glory that was to come for Christ, if he and he did obey God his father.
Yet, for many of us, when trouble calls upon us, we tend to dial 666 for the devil or 999 for man-made, devil directed assistance, to come give us what we need at that point, rather than lean on the Lord our God.
For me, when one is up 20000 feet amongst the clouds, the realization that one’s mortality is no longer on terra firma, either will truly bring fear to the cowardly like me or draw me closer to the understanding that only God is sovereign.
A realization that God is always there with us, even in the midst of our never ending woes allowed Him to lift the blindness in my hearts.
Yet, for many of us, we tend to acknowledge God, even then fleetingly, after the fact, ie upon our troubles ending.
Why not learn to not just take the first step of faith but continue to take the next several steps, as He leads
God Blesses
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