How much further can we go? This is what’s on my mind lately.

I was trying to imagine, if I were God looking down on this earth from a bird’s eye view, what that would look like. From all the way back to the very beginning of creation, until now — this moment in time. What we looked like when we started, how we progressed and what we have progressed into, in this very moment in time. How the earth’s nature and behavior itself looked like back then, and how it compares to what it looks like now. The character of people’s behavior in the beginning and how people are behaving now. What our spiritual lives looked like back then, and what our spiritual lives are looking like now. What does this look like from a bird’s eye view, especially God’s?

Then I was thinking about how interesting it would be if you could somehow capture footage from the very beginning in Genesis until now, and put that into a short two-hour, time-lapsed movie. Watching all the explorations, settlements, migrations, and the rise and fall of nations. From God leading the enslaved Israelites out of Egypt all the way to the Cross, the spreading of the gospel, and on to the discovery of North America until now. Watching the wars, watching the losses, and watching the victories. Watching how we have advanced through time with technology, travel, and even into space. Watching the effects of the attitudes and moralities of mankind and how they’ve changed over the last thousands of years. And, in particular, watching America’s evolvement since the 1700’s.

And if today — right here, right now — was the end of the movie, how do you think it would leave you feeling? Especially focusing in on America. I think it’s a good question to ponder. Do you think we are in a happy ending moment these days? Is everyone going to live happily ever after, or would the ending be a cliff-hanger? There will be a sequel to this movie, as time doesn’t stand still and we will continue on. Where do you think we are headed? How much further do you think we can go? Oh, what we must look like to God from a bird’s eye view!

Something that struck me this week was about Christian persecution and how it is getting tougher and tougher with each day to claim that faith. Not that it is hard to claim you follow Christ — I’m not talking about that at all. I’m talking about how false teachings have entered into the arena claiming to be Christian, but being about as un-Godlike as you can get. I am referring to, for example, the latest news about the Baptist preacher in California who was preaching that Orlando was a now a safer place because they have 50 less pedophiles on the street; that it was a good thing. To me, that is plain evil. Up until recently, I used to think if a message was coming from a Baptist church, it would be of sound doctrine. Sadly, not any more. This struck me because it is adding another type of spiritual warfare into the mix. Destructive teaching; false prophets in sheep’s clothing. What struck me the most was how are we, as solid, Bible-believing Christians, going to defend ourselves through our faith, while mixed in under the same label as the nut cases out there? Especially when Christian persecution is already so much on the rise and we are already in the hot seat as it is. Are we ready and equipped to handle that battle?

Almost a year ago America decided to do away with God’s law that marriage was only between one man and one woman. I remember telling my son to watch what was likely to happen next, as I knew that ruling was going to launch a whole new set of twisted laws. For example, last month in Oregon, a school district settled a $60,000 lawsuit awarded for emotional distress to a teacher who had been requesting (but had been initially denied) to be referred to as a “they” because “they” identified with being both a “he” and a “she.” Did that sentence even make grammatical sense? Or take the state of New York, which now recognizes, by law, 31 different gender identities. Again, I wonder how this looks from a bird’s eye view. What is the sequel to this story going to look like down the road?

Contrary to Obama’s words, the CIA director told Congress this week that ISIS is bigger than ever and will ramp up its terrorism campaign despite our efforts and the recent losses on the battlefield in Syria and Iraq. While in other news, it has now been made known that the FBI is having it’s hands tied due to limited manpower and resources needed in order to properly investigate Islamic terrorist threats. According to the Countering Violent Extremism initiative, the FBI is now to rely on local Muslim community leaders, such as the Muslim Brotherhood, to tell the them if there’s something we need to be worried about. Why? Because it is very dangerous business these days to be caught profiling a Muslim. No, this is not hype and yes this is hard to believe, but this is really happening. A topic that is so heavy and is moving so fast, it will need to be written about in another post, or two. So lets move on to the U.S. and Russia; tension. Move on to the U.S. and China; tension. How is the sequel to the story going to go? While knowing America is not mentioned in biblical prophecy, and If you were in charge of writing the rest of the story and had to predict what was going to happen, what would that be? Keep in mind, the U.S. debt is now topping 17 trillion dollars. How is this looking from a bird’s eye view, compared to even ten years ago? Five years ago? Two?

Where is all this heading, and how much further can we go?

According to a new study by the National Center for Health Statistics, suicide rates in the U.S. are the highest they have been in three decades, increasing 24% between 1999 and 2014.

Record flooding, record heat, record fires, increasing volcanic activity, earthquakes on the rise and a lot of talk amongst quake experts of the inevitable “big one.” I would encourage anyone reading this to take a look the active map of the Ring of Fire. What stands out so clear, is how there is activity all the way around, until you get to North America’s west coast. For how much longer? And to me, it seems like the earth’s rumblings sure are in sync with the world’s chaos. Is that a coincidence?

In the U.S. there are over 3,000 abortions per day; 50 million in the world every year. Enough said.

How much further can we go?

So, what about me? Well, my bird’s eye view is looking nowhere but up because I know the Bible tells the rest of the story, exactly as prophesied. So far it’s been 100 percent accurate with a zero margin of error. And right now, I think Jesus is praying hard for us to step out of our comfort zone and get out there and spread the Good News while we can, only because He loves every single human being on this planet so very much. I think He is praying for us to know that in order to be strong and get through some tough days ahead, we must be sober-minded and in the Word constantly. I think He is praying for us to wake up and pay attention to what is going on around us, to be the salt and light of this world, and to be a strong, yet peaceful, example achieved through our faith and shown in our behavior. I think He is praying for us because He knows, more than anyone, this is all so hard to do — but with God anything is possible. And in the end? When this story is over, and the new one begins, it will be a huge understatement to say it has all been worth it.

Holding fast,

Lori

And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. (Romans 13:11)

^{Photography by NASA}