So, They Want a King   

     Part 2 

     We learn in 1st Samuel chapter 8 the Lord himself told aging Samuel "...it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king." What will God do?

     He tells Samuel, "Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will do." 

     "This is what the king will do: He will take your sons and make them serve... Some he will assign to be commanders...and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots.

     "'He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. Your menservants and maidservants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use. 

     "'He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the Lord will not answer you in that day." 

     "No! they said. We want a king over us. Then we will be like all the other nations." 

     Samuel repeated to God what the people said. The Lord replied, "Listen to them and give them a king." 

Next: Dictatorships today?

Finding Ourselves Centuries Ago   

       Part 1

     The U.S. won independence in 1783. Our human inclinations go back...way back! 

     Philistia was a culture from about 12000 BC to 6000 BC. Its territory ranged from present Gaza part way up the Mediterranean coast. Its people somehow immigrated from the Aegean Sea region, next door to ancient Greece, which shared its customs and beliefs. 

     Around the middle of that period, the people of God, Israelites, were without human government. Samuel, whose mother Hanna gave him over to full time service to the Lord, became judge. He circled through various communities, judging as needed, always returning home to Ramah. 

     The Lord himself was "King" over Israel. 

     Philistines were like other nations, prone to war. They gave Israelites trouble, and as we wrote before, even captured the sacred Ark of the Covenant. Samson was the "giant" in their army, until young David killed him with a slingshot.  

     In 1 Samuel chapter 8, Samuel was aging. The elders told him, "You are old. Appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have."  

     This displeased Samuel, so he prayed. The Lord told him: ...it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. As they have done from the day I brought them out of Egypt until this day...

Next: What the Lord told Samuel 

Students for Justice 

     Who doesn't want justice? But what if "justice" for one means death for another?

     Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) have chapters on more than 200 American campuses. The chairman of American Muslims for Palestine co-founded SJP over two decades ago.

Source: WORLD magazine

     On its website, SJP says freedom for Palestine is also a struggle for black liberation, gender rights and sexual freedom. Enemies include state violence, colonialism, capitalism and imperialism. SJP refers to Israel as "the Zionist entity," and often quotes "From the River to the Sea." 

     We all know what that means. 

     Muslims and Marxists have joined hands to bring down the U.S. republic. Once accomplished, they will return to being enemies of each other. 

     Hours after the brutal October 7 attack on Israeli citizens, while we focused on the news, SJP already was describing the assault as "a historic win for Palestinian resistance." Like, they knew it was coming?

     Never mind that when Israel gave Gaza over to the Palestinians, no Palestinian took leadership. The people instead voted in Hamas to lead them. Meanwhile, in the U.S., SJP and a progressive advocacy group believes in "educating, agitating and organizing for a more just and peaceful world."

     They blame the crisis on "Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people." Israel gave Gaza to Palestinians and provided water and other help to Gaza all along, while Hamas was digging tunnels into Israel. Students, wake up!  

     They say it will be a "peaceful world" when Israel and the U.S. are no more. God allows Satan to take advantage of the time he has left. But God is working, and people are being revived and saved. 

         Jimmy

America's Finest Hour? 

     December 7, 1941 - "a day that will live in infamy."  

     June 6, 1944 - "America's finest hour." 

     So says historian Alex Kershaw about the day, 80 years ago, when 156,000 men (73,000 Americans) from 12 nations stormed the beaches at Normandy, France. Within minutes, some 2,400 were killed and 1,200 wounded. Before the battle ended, 4,400 allied soldiers died, 2,500 of them Americans. 5,000 were wounded.

     The movie Saving Private Ryan portrayed Omaha Beach, where the fiercest action took place. 

     Thirty-seven men from a small community, Bedford, VA, in the Appalachians were there. Twenty were killed...the worst loss per capita in our country. 

The Allies needed a decisive victory, and the tide of World War II shifted. Lasting peace followed. Europeans stopped killing each other.  

     The boys of Bedford as they are known never expected to be in war. America was isolationist...until Pearl Harbor angered most everyone. Hitler declared war on the U.S. the next day. 

     In 1996 Congress agreed to build a D-Day monument at Bedford. Workers mixed Virginia soil with sand from Normandy. On June 6, 2001, President George Bush dedicated "a fitting memorial to D-Day...a place that was home to the men and women who helped liberate a continent." 

     Three months later, 9/11. And June 6, 1944 remains our finest hour. - not so fine for grieving families. After all, that was America's "greatest generation." 

Frustrating the Lawyers 

Part 2

     Lawyers can be frustrated with pro-life clients who willingly undergo arrest and cause enormous time and resources to defend them in cases that are almost impossible to win. But convictions matter. Pro-lifers believe they're doing right, and willingly pay the price.

     Heather Idoni once was detained immediately. Her response, "Well, I guess my prison ministry started early." Wanting to make an example to deter other pro-lifers, jailers did not allow in-person visits. 

     She said, "I can't ask for joy and no pain. I'm offering up to share the Lord's sufferings. Whatever the Lord has for me, it's to His honor and glory. And I'm good with it." 

     What did the jailer have for her? Solitary confinement because she was sharing food with other inmates. 

     Last September it was reported that Donald Trump promised to pardon or commute the sentences of "every political prisoner who's been unjustly persecuted by the Biden Administration." That may be a political line, and it may happen if he is elected, recalling how he kept other promises in 2017. That won't stop abortions, however.

     Idoni's son, Carman said, "Obviously, our true hope is in Jesus, so I know not to put too much hope in humans." Other family members say they don't regret her decision to block abortion facility doors. She told her husband Jim to read Ephesians 6:19-20.

"Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should."

Next: America's finest hour

Abortion Warfare  

Part 1 of 2

     After Roe vs. Wade was nixed, returning the issue to the states, one might think the issue has receded. Nope. 

     It remains a factor in November's vote, and the Biden Administration is fighting pro-life activists with long prison sentences. Access to clinic entrances has been the law since President Clinton, but opponents have seldom been imprisoned. 

     With some voters, abortion may be issue no. 1, while most of us consider the economy, border security etc. the major concerns. In the wake of the Dobbs decision, the Biden administration is going all out to showcase its support for "reproductive rights" in an election year.  

     Heather Idoni has been in custody since August. Hers and other cases bring the possibility of more than a decade in prison. Idoni has been jailed at least 15 times, not for protesting across the street, but with other pro-lifers, blocking the entrances to abortion facilities. 

     We can question people breaking the law, any law. These pro-lifers are dedicated to saving lives, and they know the risk of prison and fines. 

     The other side fights for "reproductive health services," a crazy definition of murder if there ever was one. Our "Justice Department" is actively working for the murderers, legal as they are, while punishing those fighting for life.   

To be continued

America's Root Problem    

     Picking up where we left off, we quote columnist Lynn Vincent. 

     "I have friends who have spent significant time with (Donald Trump). To a person, they tell me that...he's actually very personable: attentive, encouraging, interested in others, the opposite of self-involved. It may be that Trump is...obnoxious like a fox. 

     "As for Joe Biden, even children know (he) is not in possession of all his faculties. ...people propping him up...seem almost guilty of elder abuse. 

     "Here's my bottom line: Not Biden, a sock-puppet* for cynical socialists. And not Trump. I loved many of his policies. I voted for him twice and will again, if I must choose between Trump and the Party of Death. 

     "Still, I would rather see our nation get back to focusing on neighborhoods, not the Beltway. On faith and family and Little League, instead of noxious, nonstop political theater. Both Trump and Biden guarantee four more years of Beltway hysteria - and this in a nation whose key institutions are already politicized and disintegrating fast. 

     "Despite the opinions of sincerely divided Christians, neither Trump nor Biden can save America. America's root problem isn't political, but a systematic abandonment of God."

* Sock-puppet: a hand puppet made from a sock. 

A false identity created in order to promote their own opinions or views.