The coming world-ruling Thērion and you, Part I

In a world increasingly dominated by disinformation, a rising threat of unthinkable thermonuclear war, conflict piled upon conflict, and loss of key societal freedoms, is it even possible to think of thoughts and expectations for peace? As Americans withdraw from a stabilizing global benefactor into self-serving protectionism, anxieties and fears soar across the planet.

In central Europe, screeching missiles shatter infrastructure and tranquility and innocents suffer brutally. In the Middle East, destructive military rockets crisscross multiple countries, as cell phones explode in the hands of militants, triggering panic and elevating already-high misery. A very real threat of superpower conflict smolders in the 81-mile-wide strait between mainline China and Taiwan, the latter a hyper-critical global economic linchpin.

As a new Presidential administration appears to foment chaos, upending order in the name of progress, Foreign Affairs magazine leads with coverage detailing “The Strange Triumph of a Broken America.”

What is the hope – at the least the short-term hope – of the world?

Continue reading “The coming world-ruling Thērion and you, Part I”

Live Differently – Abide

What does “abide” have to do with living successfully in an anxiety-saturated, hope-sapped world?  What’s the pathway – what should be our focus?

Here’s a vital directive that can help us. It was given to us some 2,000 years ago on possibly the darkest night of the physical universe. Just hours before His gruesome death and ultimate sacrifice, our Savior and Elder Brother, Jesus Christ the Messiah, provided this deeply personal and powerful imperative command.

Live differently - abideHis directive is heightened by the fact that he was in full possession of the facts. He knew full well what was about to happen to Him, and, as the Bible records, it troubled Him. But His focus was elsewhere, like ours needs to be.

While Jesus knew he would soon experience searing pain, humiliation and death, he had been given a remarkably special gift.

What was that gift?

In Hebrews 1, verse nine, we read something that sometimes gets read right over. Quoting Psalm 45:6-7, we read from the New Living Translation, “You [referring to Jesus Christ] love justice and hate evil.
Therefore…your God has anointed you, pouring out the oil of joy on you more than on anyone else

We may not think of Jesus Christ being a joy-filled person while on earth, but the Bible confirms that He had a special anointing of joy from God Himself.  The spiritually driven positive outlook was part of Jesus’ ministry. What did that gift reflect?

Continue reading “Live Differently – Abide”