The biblical warrior is a man of tears.

Think not? Consider:

King David, Joshua, King Josiah, Jacob, Moses, Jeremiah, Simon Peter, Paul, Timothy, Jesus Christ. All these were men of tears; all were fighters; all were worshipers; all were faithful servants of the Most Holy God — and that last One is the incarnation of Almighty God Himself.

Why does this matter? It’s because grief is a proper response of the holy person to the certainty that the vast majority of human souls will perish eternally. It is also the proper response to the awareness that our sin is a burden and a grief to our God. Tears are therefore the divine tools and weapons of repentance for ourselves, and of intercession for others.

Sometimes tears are an expression of worship and gratitude to the God who has loved His people from before the foundation of the world, and Who continues to love us even unto the ages of the ages. We weep for joy and with profound love because our words fail us. And it is right that they should fail us. Consider the Eternal and Holy One: Who has ever fully understood His mind and His heart? Who has ever known Him to the very depths of His glorious, holy and wonderful soul?

At the same time, we must never forget that God’s eternal purpose is that tears should remain for a night, with joy coming in the morning. “Our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal weight of glory that far outweighs them all; what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

And so we are called to suffer for now, but to rejoice forever afterward. On that great and glorious Day when the sons of Light inherit the kingdom that has been promised them from the creation of the world, He will wipe away every tear. That particular gift of God, then, is for this age only; it is destined to pass away with this present world, and will not be a part of that eternal age.

Amen.

Thankfulness

Being full of appreciation and gratitude, realizing that God has given you all things.

Focus on what you have, and not on what you don't have.

It is not what is taken from you, but what you do with what you have left.

All good gifts are from God.

To be sure, all of this is appropriate in the face of our current economic difficulties. But as I meditated and reflected on these principles, it occurred to me that they speak even more forcefully to the political challenges our nation confronts at this very time.

I, an ordinary Christian, citizen and patriot, am thankful, because I realize that God has indeed given us every good gift. This includes my citizenship in this wonderful country, the very greatest that has ever existed on His earth, and our Constitution, Bill of Rights and Declaration of Independence. I revere and love Him for all these things.

As concerns our present distress, I will not focus on what I do not have. I will focus on what I do have: a fighting spirit, a clear mind, a command of the English language, and lots and lots of like-minded patriots all over this land, who are as concerned as I am, who are watching with me and who will fight alongside me. I have many praying with me. And I have the promises of the Almighty.

I know that He is on His throne, and so I have hope. We have hope. If He sees fit for now to chastise us at the hand of the socialist-statist tyrants, I will submit myself to His discipline, and I will trust Him for the grace to repent and reform and to change my ways. I will study and regroup and fight and pray.

Truly, it is NOT what is taken from us, but what we do with what we have left. At present, our adversaries have their Comrade-in-Chief in the White House. They have their politburo in the halls of Congress and their lying prophets in Hollywood, the universities and the news media. They have all that. They have TAKEN all that.

They do not have AMERICA: They do not have me, they do not have you. America they will not get without a fight. And we will fight. We will not hand over our children, our homes, our republic. We will fight, and fight and fight some more. We will never surrender, and we will never say "master" to caesar, csar, kaiser,  Comrade or Chairman.

Only one is our Master: even Christ.

The enemy may, in coming days, pervert our laws, press us sore and rob us of the wealth we have toiled to earn. He may try to silence our speech and take away our ability to defend ourselves and our families. HE CANNOT CHANGE US. He cannot rob us of our faith, of our courage, of our dignity, of our resolve, of our identity, of our love of truth and liberty and justice. HE CANNOT CHANGE US. AND HE CANNOT OVERCOME US. And he cannot defeat the One Who raises up kings and then brings them down again.

For most of our history, we have been free of invaders on our soil — with the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812 and the War Between the States being, to varying degrees, the exception. But now, the wolves are skulking, and behind them prowl the hyenas, and behind them circle the vultures.

We must fight, but we must also pray and seek the face of the Almighty. We must declare truth, and refuse to lie. We must be honest about our errors, our injustices, our wrongdoing, our blasphemies, our sin. We must be a humble people, lowly in spirit, who respect and revere the Almighty. We must seek to understand His mind, His heart, His commands. We must understand His grace. And we must seek His succor, His mercy, His help.

Above all, this patriot is thankful for his knowledge of the Divine Savior Jesus Christ, who forgives all his sins. The nations belong to Christ. America included. And EVERY nation — whether they recognize Him or not, and whether they like it or not. Thank you, Almighty Lord, Sovereign and King of the universe, kind and gracious and merciful God.

The nations belong to Christ.

Happy Lord's Day.