BUCKET LIST

I've added two items to my bucket list.

1. A Yellowstone Winter Wolf Jeep Tour

2. A fishing trip to Northern Minnesota with my son Nathan

COVID

"Can Biden convince red states to wear masks?" Drudge Report

"Movie uses plexiglass barriers to shoot covid-safe kissing scenes."  Ditto

"White House expects to distribute 20 million coronavirus vaccine doses by December."  National Review Online

LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW

Last week we received 5" of snow. That's the third snowfall of the season, & it's not even officially winter yet! It could be a long winter. Well, there is no place like Nebraska.

FISH

Several weeks ago we drove 20 miles north for the legendary Friday night fish fry at Jerry's Hilltop Cafe. It was closed. We tried again last night. It was open, & we enjoyed a supper of fried fish, coleslaw (Lois), & hash brown casserole (me).

WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

We're still watching Heartland, which sometimes can be a real soap opera. [SPOILER ALERT!] Right now there are problems between Lou & Peter and Ty & Amy. It fills me with anxiety. Thanks, Carmen.

OUR NEXT ROAD TRIP

We're planning on a trip to San Antonio with David (Lois' brother) & Carmen (my cousin) in January. I've been there before, but Lois hasn't, so it's on my bucket list.

WHAT I'M READING

Last night I finished reading "The Final Storm, A Novel of the War in the Pacific," by Jeff Shaara. I really enjoy his novels. 

PERSECUTION

I want to draw our attention to the attitude of believers under a dictatorial regime. You cannot vote. You cannot take legal action against the government. You cannot protest (unless you want to be killed in the process). You cannot change “the system.” Such matters are out of your hands.

But you can do something much more powerful. You can spread the gospel. You can advance God’s countercultural, spiritual kingdom. You can liberate people’s hearts and minds. You can bring healing and redemption. You can be an agent of eternal change. You can challenge the system from the ground up. 

And that’s what these early believers did, turning their world upside down. The ultimate battle is a spiritual battle, and that battle can be waged regardless of what kind of government we’re under.

In fact, it is often during the hardest times that the church grows the most. Just look at the explosive growth of the Church in Communist China over the last 70-80 years. Or consider the church in Muslim Iran, which is growing as rapidly as any church in the world. The church often does much better under persecution than under prosperity.

That’s why it doesn’t surprise me that the most precious, devoted Christians I have met in the world are Christians under persecution. Conversely, it doesn’t surprise that, quite often, the most complacent Christians I’ve met have been Christians in the midst of abundant prosperity . . . 

To repeat: we must guard the freedoms and liberties God has given us here in America. But let’s also be realistic. Just as Donald Trump is not Jesus, Joe Biden is not the devil. Neither is he Nero . . . 

So, while we work hard to preserve our freedoms and push back against those who seek to take them from us, we must never put our trust in the arm of flesh. Paul’s counsel was simple: “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:1-4).

Here in America, we should get involved in the political system as much as we are called to and have the opportunity to do so. But our trust is placed elsewhere. The invisible kingdom is advancing, and no power in heaven or on earth can stop it.

Peter and Paul and a host of other first century Christians, all killed for their faith, would add their hearty Amen.  Michael Brown, Townhall