State of the World

[Ryan&Amber2013]

Hey friends and sound-opinion people. Just to share some thoughts and get some feedback. I have never really been one to be concerned about these things, but I feel like lately I almost have to try to intentionally not think about them because reality seems very concerning. Also probably because I have children to provide and care for, I am much more alert of these things.

1. It seems our entire world network, infrastructure, grid, supply chain and system is extremely volatile and vulnerable. I've been doing a lot of research into this, and every topic I research does not bring any comfort, but rather the opposite. Everything Google and AI says confirms how vulnerable all these systems are and basically says it is very much a possibility of something catastrophic happening. If something major happened to our grid, life as we know it would become catastrophic. I've been looking into a plan b like basic homesteading, but of course that would mean some pretty big changes, and I don't know if the risk outweighs all the work put into setting up a planned system.

2. Much of the leadership of our country is extremely discouraging and untrustworthy. There aren't many role models and Christianity is being distorted by many of the politicians and leaders that proclaim it. If our president can lie to us in such a blatant way about that ridiculous picture portraying himself as a religious figure, whether the pope or Jesus, and say he was portraying himself as a doctor, then how can I legitimately believe anything our government is telling us? I know there are good people in government, but the whole system is so complex and very hard to discern.

I know the answer is to not look to any human institutions for reliability, and look to God. But life in the here and now does matter and I want to try to make it as good as I can for my family.

 

[omniavanitas]

"For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body." Ephesians 5:23 KJV

Scripture calls us to be like Christ as the heads of the family. Dr. Joel Beeke has a book called "How to Lead Your Family" that offers an interesting perspective on this which is that we can take the example of Christ being prophet, priest and king within the household. We tend to understand the king part, but we forget to be prophet and priest. In other words, teaching and leading the household in worship.

We can't all be engineers, electricians, truckers, farmers, miners, and lumberjacks all at the same time. What we can do is raise our own families to do everything in service to the Lord. We can exhort our neighbors to come and bow down with us to the Almighty. We can be the lamps that draw men to Zion's holy hill by the grace of God.

As for the leadership of our country, history actually ends up being reassuring. Rome was corrupt with emperor worship and persecuting Christians. A pagan empire that appeared invincible. Our Lord took it over. Rome became corrupt again and attempted to obscure the Gospel. The Lord once again made the truth of the Gospel known. Even now the Kingdom grows after swathes of youths grow disillusioned with the secular promise after learning man can promise nothing, but the Lord can, and the Lord did.

"And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen." Matthew 28:18-20 KJV

Like I said, we remember to be kings of our households as we strive to be like Christ, but we forget that Christ is King over the universe. Going back to history, we see Christians bravely stand against hordes of enemies. The Apostles, Irenaeus, Athanasius, Augustine, Wycliffe, Tyndale, Luther, Calvin, Knox, and more joining the ranks even to this day.. By all human accounts, there was no way they could win, but they did despite some even being martyred. Seemingly alone, what they had to say resonated and the Lord gave them the means to promote the Kingdom.

"I fear the prayers of John Knox more than all the assembled armies of Europe" - Mary, Queen of Scots

Think about how ludicrous it is to sit here and read that in modern day. A queen feared the prayers of a single man? How powerful is our Lord that our words with Him can invoke such terror among those with the capacity to silence the lips that utter these prayers? So powerful that He has already secured eternal victory.

 

[Theoretical]

C.S. Lewis has many flaws on details and also gets overly sanitized as a cute evangelical. One area I think he most definitely shines is the very big picture. In this case, his essay on Life in an Atomic Age is quite wise.

https://fsmandfsmwo.blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/cslewis-living-in-an-atomic-age.pdf

[Edit] Be extremely cautious of loading up on the news or feeding concerns into the various tools, mostly because the tool will feed on your anxieties and relay them back to you because it will give you exactly what you ask for in some ways. But you'll be powerless to do anything about them and expend emotional energy over things you have no control over. [Edit]

 

[philomath]

Hi brother, there are some very helpful thoughts shared already. Here are some quick ones I had while reading your post.

If something major happened to our grid, life as we know it would become catastrophic. I've been looking into a plan b like basic homesteading, but of course that would mean some pretty big changes, and I don't know if the risk outweighs all the work put into setting up a planned system.

This is something that I've thought about for a while, and I think there are two opposite errors that are prevalent: 1. Ignoring the idea and putting all trust in our modern infrastructure, thinking it's invincible, and 2. Uprooting everything in your life and moving to a remote place out of a paranoid fear of impending societal collapse.

This isn't to say I'm against the idea of homesteading or living in remote places. But it is very much a way of life and shouldn't be something to decide on out of a fear. I think if any problems with our infrastructure would happen, community would be incredibly important, plus we as Christians are required to be in community with one another . I say this mainly because there are a lot of people I know in Appalachia who try to go at everything by themselves with a "Me, Jesus, and my deerstand" mentality while facing these questions, which is very damaging.

On this topic in general, I find history very helpful to put things into perspective. Periods I like looking into are the colonial American era, and village life in The UK during the 1700's and 1800's. Beside primary sources such as personal journals, I like watching Townsends on YouTube every now and then.

For some practical advice:

1. Remember Matthew 10:29-31. Read it and pray through it. Along these lines, Q1 of the Heidelberg Catechism is also very helpful.

2. It could be useful to have an emergency food supply of canned and dry goods. It doesn't have to be a major endeavor, but having something may be wise. Other sorts of supplies people keep around for power outages are also useful. Personally, I have oil lamps and wool blankets kept around for when there are outages from storms.

3. I would suggest a book my grandpa put me onto from Readers Digest called Back to Basics: How to Learn and Enjoy Traditional American Skills. It has an incredible amount of useful information on a whole manner of topics. I recently got a 1981 hardcover version of it on eBay for around $7.

If our president can lie to us in such a blatant way about that ridiculous picture portraying himself as a religious figure, whether the pope or Jesus, and say he was portraying himself as a doctor, then how can I legitimately believe anything our government is telling us? I know there are good people in government, but the whole system is so complex and very hard to discern.

One helpful thing to remember is many claims made by our government are verifiable. This of course doesn't mean we should blindly trust everything they say and give up our critical thinking.

 

[MW]

When you begin caring for a family, your eyes open to a far wider range of human behaviour than you noticed before. The pressures, dangers, and follies of the world have not increased. You are more exposed to them because you now stand between them and the people you love. Nothing new is happening under the sun. What has changed is your vantage point.

The world has always run on self‑interest. If you trace a person's interest, you will usually find the explanation for his actions. The same is true of societies, nations, and governments. Human beings, left to themselves, organise life around their own advantage, and the patterns of history reflect that reality.

There is divine mercy hidden inside the disorder. God often allows these competing interests to collide. He sets limits on human pride by making one ambition restrain another. In doing so, He forces men -- even unwilling men -- to abide by the natural laws He has woven into creation. These collisions keep the world from collapsing into chaos. They preserve enough order for families to live, work, worship, and raise children.

At the same time, these very frustrations expose the vanity of a world that tries to make the creature its god. The disappointments you see are reminders that the world cannot bear the weight of your hopes, nor the hopes of your children. Only the Lord can.

So do not be surprised when the world looks darker as your responsibilities grow. This is not a new world. You are seeing the old world more clearly. And the Lord is teaching you how to walk through it with wisdom, faith, and commitment to Him.

 

[Jerusalem Blade]

Hello Ryan @Ryan&Amber2013 and friends,

As regards the state of the world: the situation is more severe than we may think. We tend to look to pundits or to our own unbiblical assessments. But Scripture, rightly apprehended, is the surest approach. By rightly apprehended I mean the truest eschatological view. What we are seeing in the U.S., the West generally (EU, UK, down under, etc) are the Biblical prophecies coming to pass. The U.S., and the political State of Israel, are – in my view – ripe for specific judgments, that is, before the rest of the world.

Just think, it is not normal phenomena we are seeing these days, though we tend to continue on as though it were. This is self-imposed blindness! I recommend this book, A Great and Terrible Love II: Heading into Armageddon On Apocalypse Field, Global Arena of Consciousness. On Amazon it's only $3.83 in paperback. (I don't take royalties so as to keep the prices down). I also speak into the "Israel" situation in A Poet Arises in Israel: An act of war, and of love. It's also on Amazon in pb ($7.56).

I don't mean to be tooting my own horn, but the talk of Armageddon in Revelation 16:16 is serious stuff that is near to coming upon us, and if I should keep silent I would be reproved by my Lord. These are not normal times, rather Days of Reckoning coming upon the world.

Islam has been given permission to wreak havoc everywhere – as the wicked were set loose in earlier centuries – and we are living in such times now. Armageddon is a real horror – or rather – a furnace of affliction (Cf., Isa 48:10) that shall come upon the church, and we should be prepared to suffer it. Although it is, in Tolkien's term, a genuine eucatastrophe, where, when all seems lost, glory, grace, and our Lord's presence wonderfully prevails.