davidbowerkingwood

“Pogo”

Why are we at War with Ourselves?

The top news story today seems to be the war we have against ourselves; I find that both astounding and totally disgusting. I’m reminded of the line from Walt Kelly’s “Pogo” which says, “We have met the enemy and he is us!” At the time, it is said the reference was to the turmoil caused by the Vietnam war but today it could easily refer to the politically motivated civil war which continues to rage in the United States. dictionary.com/browse/we-have-met-the-enemy–and-they-are-us

I have read that civil wars start with words and end with guns; from what I see in the news, it appears early shots are already being fired all over this country!

A fundamental division has developed that has created two distinct groups; those devoted to a globalist, liberal/socialist philosophy of government which would surrender our national sovereignty to foreign powers, and those, equally devoted to a conservative, nationalistic view of government which promotes and defends the Constitutional Republic created by the Founding Fathers.

I have written before on the spiritual war which has now lasted for thousands of years; I believe this developing civil war is nothing more than another manifestation of the age-old battle!

In the first two paragraphs of “To the Soldiers in the Spiritual War” I wrote:

“Have you ever thought of yourself as a soldier? There are few classic physical manifestations of warfare in most of our lives; we’re not surrounded by bombed out villages and carnage so we may doubt the reality of a spiritual war or be lulled into thinking we really don’t have to be involved in any “spiritual warfare.” If you’re thinking any variation of these thoughts then you’re wrong and potentially endangering yourself and others.

Although it will change during the final conflict, we are now dealing with destruction and carnage in the lives of everyone at a spiritual level as the spiritual battle for men’s soul’s rages around us. The carnage is being displayed in many lives as people make bad choices and cause themselves and others serious harm. Broken lives, broken marriages, broken commitments of many sorts litter the battlefield of this war.”

The Bible warns us of this warfare in Ephesians 6:10-17 where it is written:

^“10 A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. ¹² For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

¹³ Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. ¹⁴ Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. ¹⁵ For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. ¹⁶ In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. ¹⁷ Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.“

The Root Cause of our Problem

Nationally, we have discarded our moral compass, Biblical Christianity; secular humanism says we are nothing more than animals, evolved from the muck and mire over millions of years; our mortal lives are all there is and at death all things end for each of us.

The Bible is thought to be foolishness and any idea of an afterlife is sheer folly. This message has provided the foundation for discarding the Bible, all thoughts of divine creation and any responsibility to a non-existent God for what we do or think.

This, of course, is Satan’s lie and the major deception he has tried to convince the world to be the truth.

There has never been more than one answer to the challenges we face today, the discord, the anger, the conflict is nothing more than symptoms of a basic problem, the fallen sin nature we inherited at birth. It would be folly indeed to try and address the symptoms without first addressing the virus of sin that produces those problems.

The Solution

The only way to deal with the virus of sin is the new birth, you must be born again. Salvation by faith in Jesus Christ is the only anti-virus that can bring healing to this nation and the world. For the Christian community to try and resolve the symptoms without first resolving the problem would also be foolishness.

I’m reminded of the situation which had developed in Israel during the wilderness wanderings; in Numbers 21:4-9 it is written:

⁴ Then the people of Israel set out from Mount Hor, taking the road to the Red Sea to go around the land of Edom. But the people grew impatient with the long journey, ⁵ and they began to speak against God and Moses. “Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die here in the wilderness?” they complained. “There is nothing to eat here and nothing to drink. And we hate this horrible manna!”

⁶ So the Lord sent poisonous snakes among the people, and many were bitten and died. ⁷ Then the people came to Moses and cried out, “We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take away the snakes.” So Moses prayed for the people.

⁸ Then the Lord told him, “Make a replica of a poisonous snake and attach it to a pole. All who are bitten will live if they simply look at it!” ⁹ So Moses made a snake out of bronze and attached it to a pole. Then anyone who was bitten by a snake could look at the bronze snake and be healed!

God’s faith answer to the poisonous snake bites made no logical sense; if you were bitten and dying, all you needed to do was just look at the bronze serpent and you would be instantly healed. Do you think there were any who refused to just look at the bronze serpent and be healed because it made no logical sense?

Today, mankind faces a similar situation, we have all been bitten by the sin virus and will surely die if we don’t look to the cross and receive salvation by faith in Jesus Christ as Savior; logical or not, it is the only answer that works!

LOOK TO THE CROSS AND LIVE!

This must be the message of the church!