The Faith Community – Column by Bob Shillingstad
History making events have been happening so fast these past few week it is hard to concentrate on which major news story is the most important. Besides the danger of WWIII breaking out in one of the world’s trouble spots which includes the Middle East, Europe, Asia, and Africa, other events are taking the headlines. We have events leading up to the election in November that are spawning more theories and speculations that lead to confusion and discussions as to whether there will even be an election.
The attempted assassination of President Trump was within millimeters of causing the death of the Republican nominee. On the heels of that was the unceremonious choosing of Vice-President Kamala Harris as President Biden’s replacement nominee to run against Trump. The country hardly had time to digest the enormity of the attack on Donald Trump. The immediate reaction was that it had to be that God had other plans for his future and the comparisons to Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon or Cyrus the Great of Persia. Others opted for more recent comparisons such as George Washington. President Trump’s immediate reaction after the shot has already become an iconic symbol of his love of country and purpose.
These events and the attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, have spurred new interest in prophecy and what the Bible has to say about future events. George Washington often talked about “God’s Providence” that allowed America to defeat the world’s super power in a six-year war. Some will say that “God works behind the scenes,” but I agree with a theologian who corrected that statement by saying, “God sets the scenery.”
A fascinating book by an Orthodox Jew by the name of Michael Medved is entitled “God’s Hand On America” is an absolutely a fabulous read. Medved is an American radio show host, author, and political commentator. He is convinced that the founders of our government built their framework on Biblical principles and in fact they referenced the Bible in their discussions more than any other book.
What happens when countries ignore the principles from God laid out in scripture? An author that answers this pivotal question is Os Guinness whose parents were medical missionaries in China during WWII and were forced to leave when Mao took over. Mao would end up killing 50 million Chinese. With a PhD from Oxford and the experience of tyranny, Guinness has written several books of warning to America and the West about what is coming. His book “The Magna Carta of Humanity” traces our form of government not to the Enlightenment or Rome, but to the story of Exodus and how it relates to the founding of America. His other books “Last Call For Liberty” and “A Free People’s Suicide” belong in every citizen’s library.
Three other authors to add to your list are important because they are talking about issues that face us in the coming months. Rod Dreher and his book “Live Not By Lies” includes chilling recent accounts of people escaping Communist despotism. Erwin Lutzer, pastor emeritas of Moody Church in Chicago, has written a series of books. The one that everyone should read is “Hitler’s Cross” which gives an account of how the German church compromised with the Nazi regime. Many of us know of Bonhoeffer and his resistance, but Lutzer tells us there were more than 800 priests and pastors who were sent to the camps. The final book is a new one entitled “Unhumans” by Jack Posobiec and Joshua Lisec. Their book takes us through history starting with the French Revolution and subsequent Fascist and Communist revolutions that resulted in the deaths of hundreds of millions.
The point of reading and preparing is to realize that we are in a spiritual war. The opening ceremonies of the Olympics were further evidence of this fact, but another event that didn’t receive much attention was the grandmother who was just sentenced to four years in prison for protesting in front of an abortion clinic. Be prepared to not only educate yourself but your children and grand-children.
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
Galatians 5:1
