Hostile World

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. Ephesians 2:13-16
I believe Jesus Christ is the answer for our Nation and our world. I was reading an article that listed 93 terrorist attacks sine 9-11-01. Some stick in our minds like the shoe bomber or the under ware bomber, or the brothers in Boston. Our world has turned evil. There have been 93 attacks, some were carried out successfully and others were caught before they happened. We see even the fighting amongst ourselves as our new President is attempting to control the terrorist that enter our country. There was even an assassination plot against President Obama that I did not remember. Jesus is our security. If we have our hope in Christ, no matter what happens we will be OK. I went to Church Security training and it almost seems foreign to have to be concerned with attacks against Churches, but it is real. The threat is there, any place where large numbers of people are gathered can be targets.  I pray many times as I arm myself, I pray that I will not have to use it, but if the situation arises that I will have the courage to do what I need to do. I have not been a gun toting individual and still feel somewhat uncomfortable. We cannot hide our heads in the sand, we must be vigilant. I will work to prepare myself and continue to pray for God's wisdom and protection. It is God that does protect us. But sometimes we are his hands and feet. I don't know if my thoughts are directly related to the scripture above. I do know we need Jesus in our hearts and lives. The hostility we face in this world is a lack of Jesus, a lack of his love. He gave his life for us. He tells us to love even our enemies. Even civil societies have Police to protect us from the criminals in our society. It is necessary to have law enforcement.  Who do we call when our car is stolen or broken into or our home is broken into? I read in the paper almost daily, something was stolen from an unlocked car. Barbara gets mad at me for leaving the back door unlocked when I work in the yard. I know, she is right, that door is not always in view. Just the other night some car thieves ran from the police and the chase ended up just blocks from our house, and I wondered if they were attempting to run into the woods behind us. I believe we need to prepare both spiritually and physically for the evil we face in this world. Most important is to be spiritually prepared. Christ is our peace, what ever happens, when our hope and faith is in Jesus Christ, we will be OK. Our eternity can be secure by knowing Jesus. I remember my father-in-law's last words, if you have any unfinished business, get it taken care of. I knew he meant to be prepared spiritually. At the funeral the other day, make sure your house is in order. Your spiritual house, none of us knows the number of our days. God protect and keep us in these evil days. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8. We must be prepared, both spiritually and otherwise the best that we know. God help us, protect and keep us. LVZ.