I Never Thought

By Ron

 

It is dangerous to attempt to predict what life will be like in the future and those how they usually fall far short or miss altogether. Looking back over the years of my life there are many common things today that I never thought of while growing up.

 

    I never thought I would own a computer.

    I never thought I would have a world of information at my fingertips.

    I never expected to have a cell phone.

    I never thought open heart surgery would be possible let alone having it myself.

    TVs would kind of pick up three stations if you lived in a good area. I never thought I

    would have over a dozen to pick from (and many have even more).

    I never expected to have a car with air conditioning, power windows, etc.

    I never thought schools would graduate students who had not learned the necessary

    material.

    I never thought teachers would be assaulted.

    I never thought two men or two women could get married.

    I never thought that on government forms instead of having a mother and a father kids

    would have parent # 1 and parent #2.

    I never thought that the church would become like the world.

    I never thought that people from other countries would crash planes into buildings.

    I never thought we would be checked before getting on an airplane.

    I never thought our cities and states would be bankrupt or that the government would

    be in the shape it is.

 

    Some of us saw changes coming that concerned us and caused us to set out warning

    flags. We were told: "That will never happen here in America."  But many things have.

 

    We have been called: "old fashioned,  out of date,  out of touch" and "crazy."

 

    We have been accused of trying to scare people and causing division.

 

    Many individuals Christians and congregations have decided to remove anything that

    could be offensive to anyone in order to appease and continue to operate. We could not

    go through even a portion of the cases where free speech of Christians has been

    challenged. Crosses have been removed, prayers silenced, carols removed from school

    programs, parking restrictions used to stop home Bible studies, etc. 

 

    I have met those from countries where the persecution of Christians exists. The signs

    they have pointed out are becoming more and more a reality in our beloved America.

    It hurts to say that, and I would not if I did not believe it is true. 

 

    I would like to be able to say with confidence that "that will never happen in America"

    like some still say.

 

    However, I believe we need to prepare:

 

    1. Our faith must be in the Rock of Ages  that will stand forever.

 

    2. We must be serious about knowing God's Word. What is in our heart and mind

        cannot be taken from us.

 

    3. We must choose and determine in our hearts and minds if we will follow Jesus or

        peer pressure.  Like Joseph, Daniel and others, we must have made our choice

        before tragedy strikes.