11-6-01

Veterans are made wiser from war as we all should become in the battles of life. In the 28th chapter of Job we read that good man's report on his search: "From where then does wisdom come? And where is the place of understanding? It is hidden from the eyes of all living, And concealed from the birds of the air. Destruction and Death say, 'We have heard a report about it with our ears.' God understands its way, And He knows its place... He prepared it, indeed, He searched it out. And to man He said, 'Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, And to depart from evil is understanding.'"

One of my subscribers who is always pleased when I deliver his paper said of America, "We'd better repent!" I think that Tommy Johnson's words are the wisest I've heard about 9/11. They match one of the Beatitudes that we studied up at LARC Sunday night, "Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted." I told the inmates of a word in German that conveys such meaning, "weltschmertz." It refers to the world pain of spiritually sensitive souls. Certainly it's seen in the sign of our faith, the cross. When we got to the Beatitude about meekness, one of the inmates said "That's not how you want to be seen when running with the gang." Of course the ones in chapel are through with gang loyalties and often show a lot of real wisdom. I sang a song for them that wasn't religious at all, but about the BIG FIGHT. My dad taught it to us boys as we worked together and I never forgot it (nor made any sense out of it, until 9/11). The inmates keep abreast of current events, so they listened to the timely words about Muslim and Orthodox conflict from out of my childhood memory: The sons of the Prophet (Muhammad) were hardy and bold, and quite unaccustomed to fear. But the bravest of all that I'd ever been told was Abdul Abulbul Amear. And they say that the Russians make death a mere game(Russian roulette), who ride in the ranks of the Czar. But from all the most reckless of name or of fame, was Ivan Skenesky Skavar. One day this bold Russian went down into town as he donned his most truculent sneer. Yet not far did he go 'till he trod on the toe of Abdul Abulbul Amear. Said Abdul "My friend your remarks in the end will avail you but little I fear. For I'll have you to know that you've trod on the toe Of Abdul Abulbul Amear." Oh they fought all that night neath a pale yellow moon, the din could be heard from afar. Great multitudes came,for so great was the fame of Abdul and Ivan Skavar. Just as Abdul's long knife was drinking it's life, in face he was shouting "Huzzah," he felt the kaboot of the big malemute named Ivan Skenenski Skavar. Now a tomb rises up where the Blue Danube rolls and engraved there in characters clear: "kind stranger when passing please pray for the soul of Abdul Abulbul Amear. While a Muscovite maiden her long vigil keeps neath the light of the cold polar star, and the name that she murmurers so oft as she weeps, is Ivan Skenenski Skavar.

On our way back Glen Simonsen said it made a hit, though I'd never ever sung it anywhere before. Maybe it shows the futility of fighting and puts the fear of GOD in listeners. Most certainly the devil would love to see a worldwide war between Muslims and Christians. Instead, our conflict is described in 2 Cor.10:3-5 "we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ."

Well it's soon going to be a month of Ramadan for Muslims, Thanksgiving for Americans and after that the season of Christmas for Christians. So Niece and I again would welcome any contributions to our Prison Fellowship angeltree effort that we've been doing for ten years now. Just bring it by the Pinkhouse or mail to 902 E. Juanita WW Ok 73098.

This morning's news talk is about the Northern Alliance finally getting ready to take an air base, though not the one they've been after for so long but one down much closer to Kabul. If that happens, the war will start to show success. Still, there's the public relations war that may force president Bush to formally call for a Palestinian state. I see that as handing success back to the terrorists for their 9/11 attack on the WTC. It would show that terrorism gets what nothing else does. And the thought has come to me that Palestine got it's name from the Philistines, ancient enemies of the LORD's people. King David made his career fighting them. So how can it please the Lord GOD now for their namesakes to have a place when the original Philistines were abolished? Yet Bush is doing a superb job of rallying the nation. That close to his short message last night using the words of the young 9/11 hero aboard flight 93 said so much with "let's roll." Recalling that it came just after the Lord's Prayer gave a special sanctity to the two words. We are to be alert but not fearful. Our enemy is terrorism, not any religion or ethnic group. Our aim is the security of freedom here on earth. So many parallels to awaiting the perousia. Yet this is only an earthly war while the real one is fought with weapons not of the flesh (2 Cor.10:3-5). This mundane conflict models that eternal ordeal just as the Lord's parables were earthly stories about heavenly reality. And we all know that Veteran's Day echos the apocalyptic mood of WW I which ended with the signing of that armistice at the eleventh hour on the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918. That became Armistice Day in 1921. It was seen as an eleventh hour rescue of humanity from the scourge of war as The Great War was to be the one that ended such for all time: high hopes that soon failed. President Eisenhower changed it to Veteran's Day n 1954, which is the way we just keep on hoping for final peace. We believers know it will be with Christ's return to set up His Kingdom on earth for a thousand years, then turn everything over to the Father forever. In the Lord's Prayer that young hero asked the Father "Thy kingdom come," meaning Jesus at last upon an earthly throne down here.