Thought for September 28

 History:

• 935: Saint Wenceslas murdered
• 1542: Juan Cabrillo discovers California
• 1781: Siege of Yorktown begins
• 1850: Navy abolishes flogging as punishment
• 1928: First recording session in Nashville
• 1940: Tom Harmon [Michigan] has TD runs of 72, 86, and 94 yards
• 1941: Ted Williams ends season with batting average of .406
• 1961: "Doctor Kildare" and "Hazel" premier
• 1975: Bill authorizes admission of women at military academies
• 1987: Star Trek: The Next Generation premiers
• 1997: David Brinkley retires
• 2020: Covid death toll exceeds 1 million globally
• 2021: No Time to Die premiers
• Born: Confucius, Thomas Crapper [invented ballcock toilet], Henri Moissan [isolated fluorine], Ed Sullivan, Max Schmeling, Al Capp [Li'l Abner], Peter Finch, Marcello Mastroianni, Jerry Clower, Brigitte Bardot, Ben E King, Steve Largent, Janeane Garofalo, Hilary Duff, 
• Died: Herman Melville, Louis Pasteur, Emile Zola, Richard Sears [Sears Roebuck], Charles Duryea, Edwin Hubble, Harpo Marx, Ferdinand Marcos, Miles Davis, Pierre Trudeau, Althea Gibson, Shimon Peres, Tommy Kirk [Old Yeller]

Thought:

Finishing 1 Samuel 8 this morning, focused on verse 20. The people have demanded a king and have rejected God as their king. In this verse, the people give their reason for wanting a king--to be like all the nations, that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles. 

God has just told the people that the king will take their sons and put them in the army to fight. And yet the people forget history.

• Who fought the Egyptians, the mightiest army of the age? God struck down and destroyed the Egyptian army and the people did not participate in the battle except as spectators.
• Who destroyed Jericho? The mighty Israeli army or the God of all creation? 
• Who gave the armies into the hands of Gideon and the 300?

I always wonder how many wars would be fought today if the President was called to lead men into battle. I have written before about the man Dwight Eisenhower called the bravest man at D-Day. When you think of D-Day, you think about Omaha and Utah beaches and the brave men who literally waded though machine gun fire to reach the beach and climb the cliffs. Ike said the bravest man at D-Day was the son of Theodore Roosevelt, Ted. Ted was a general and at age 57 was the oldest soldier to land at Normandy. He refused to send his men ashore without leading them into battle and won the Medal of Honor as he stormed the beach leading his men. He died of a heart attack a few weeks later in France. 

The best picture of the king leading troops into battle is found in Revelation. Jesus leads his army of saints into the final battle and the only weapon is the sharp two-edged sword from His mouth. We march behind--but as Martin Luther wrote in A Mighty Fortress is Our God--Jesus leads us into battle--Lord Sabbaoth His name, from age to age the same, and He must win the battle. 

Today, I am thinking about how I rely on police and army and my gun to provide safety. And then I realize that all my defense, all my security all my victory is not in my might and not in my power but in the Spirit of the Living God. The only person who has fought and won the most important battle in history is Jesus--and He is the only worthy King. The real question is will I follow Him into the battle today. The war for the souls of men and women and children is raging---My King is marching. Will IO follow Him? 

Blessings

Larry