The High Tide and the Turn

9-12 March on Washington

I was sitting in church this morning thinking about 9-12. I thought about how that day rested and rejuvenated me and millions of others across this nation. I thought about exactly what it is that we're up against, and that the fight is nowhere near over.

It's easy to get discouraged when the world is against you, especially when it seems like the Good get raked over the coals worse than anyone. I think that God lets us feel the heat first in order to burn the junk out of our lives. It's a purifying; a preparation for what is to come. I can't say how long the trials will last, all I know is that God is good. He will use even the evil of this world for His purpose, and when the time is right He will reveal that purpose.

That being said, I feel the tide turning. Gathering together at tea parties across this nation has reminded us that we're not alone. There are thousands of others who believe in the same founding principles that we do, and this knowledge makes us stronger. It gives us the courage to stand up to those who would enslave us.

One of my favorite poems (a very long poem) is called The Ballad of the White Horse, by G.K. Chesterton. In the heat of battle, this line rings out: "The high tide," King Alfred cried. "The high tide, and the turn!" The point at which the battle that had been going against them for so long turned in their favor.

Endure. Endure. "Hammer away, ye hostile hands; your hammers break, God's anvil stands."

9-12 was important, not just to send a message to our leaders, but to encourage each other. I wasn't there in body, but I was there in spirit. I made it to the April 15th tea party in Madison, WI. I can't describe the experience. The feeling that, truly, I was not alone. As I flipped between Glenn Beck and C-SPAN on 9-12, those feelings came surging back. Perhaps it is only the calm before the storm, but I felt uplifted and strengthened. I have to wonder if we're not close to that turn. It's not a turn of power, but of truth. We simply do not believe the lies anymore.

Not everyone at the tea parties agree on everything. When I went to our local tea party on the 4th of July, I was shocked at the number of liberals there. People who I probably don't see eye to eye with on any number of issues, but who believed in making a sensible budget. Who recognized that giving the government too much power is a problem.

While Obama and the extreme left are trying to divide us by race, class, income, and education, the ordinary citizens of the United States of America are finding grounds to unite on. And they're uniting in spite of their political leaders, not because of them.

Wait, maybe that's not entirely accurate. Maybe it is because of them. Because in their power-drunk attempts to divide us and cause us to destroy each other so that they can then come in and make themselves rulers over all of us, they have pushed us to actually meet and talk to each other. In these conversations we have learned that we are not devils, each intent on destroying the other. We have realized that we agree more than we disagree. We have realized that the source of our contention isn't each other, but the ones screaming at the top of their lungs that there is contention. They scream it in order to create it.

The Louis Farrakhans of this world have hijacked our political system. The government of the people, by the people, and for the people has been perverted and twisted into a government of by and for the politicians, the media elite, and the special interests. They turn us against each other to distract us from their crimes. But their days are now numbered, for We the People have woken up. When good stands, evil withers in its light.

Will the going be easy? No. Never. Nothing good is easy. But what's the alternative? We are on the right side of history. We know who are are and what we stand for. We have found common ground with people we normally would have no contact with. We now see clearly who the enemy really is and what they're trying to do. That's all we need.

They have the money, the influence, the power, and the positions; we have the truth. We have our principles, we have our souls, and we have a love for all that is good and open arms for anyone who shares those beliefs, no matter what differences we may have on other issues. Let the waves break upon our bow, let the lightning blind the sky and the thunder roar itself hoarse. No storm can sink the ship wherein the Master of earth and sky is sleeping. Let us not say that God is on our side; let us seek to be on His side, and though we perish, yet shall we live.

"These are the times that try men's souls...tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered....Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods, and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated....I call not upon a few, but upon all: not on this state or that state, but on every state; up and help us...

"Let it be told to the future world, that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive, the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet and to repulse it. Say not that thousands are gone, turn out your tens of thousands....It matters not where you live, or what rank of life you hold, the evil or the blessing will reach you all. The far and the near, the home counties and the back, the rich and the poor, will suffer or rejoice alike.

"The heart that feels not now, is dead: the blood of his children will curse his cowardice, who shrinks back at a time when a little might have saved the whole, and made them happy. I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. 'Tis the business of little minds to shrink; but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death....

"Let them call me rebel, and welcome, I feel no concern for it....I thank God that I fear not. I see no real cause for fear. I know our situation well, and can see the way out of it."

- Thomas Paine, the American Crisis.

"As a tide turns on the tall grey seas, See how they waver in the trees, How stray their spears, how knock their knees, How wild their watchfires burn!"

Our Lot in Life

The Mayflower

At what point do we give up on Holland and head for the New World?

How far do we have to be pushed into a system of life that we don't want and ultimately can't afford that squashes our freedom and individual ability to make decisions for ourselves before we throw up our hands and say, "Screw this. I'm outta here." ?

Historically speaking, our breed does not pick fights. We simply wish to be left alone. It is only when the powerful and the elite push us to the brink of slavery that we finally begin to fight back. But when we do, we fight for our very lives. We fight with complete disregard for anything other than to rid ourselves of this evil that has decided it has a right to own us.

Why do we do it? Is it just the intrinsic desire of a man to be free? To live his life as he sees fit without someone telling him that he must bow and scrape for the good of "society?" Does he say to himself, "How is anything good for society that is not good for me? Am I not part of society?"

In history, many people have fought for freedom, often to get a small return on their investment of blood. Many nations and many peoples are under some form of tyranny right now. Some are fighting back as I type these words, but for the most part they will not succeed. What is it that caused the American colonists to vow to either be free or just die? To say that life with a boot on your neck is not a life worth living, and we will fight you though you bring the whole world's armies to our doorsteps.

To some this may seem a tad overkill. In the past we heard, "Better Red than dead." Now it seems like that same mentality grips us when it comes to socialism. "Oh, well, at least I've got a little bit of my paycheck left." The machine has been built for so long and is now so powerful that there are honestly times I almost say to myself, "What's the point of fighting it? It will never stop trying to rule over you. Eventually they will succeed, why delay the inevitable?"

Like many barbarians in this world, I love a good scrap. But aside from being a sinner, there is no desire for evil in my heart. So it's hard for me to comprehend that others can be so hateful. I am still shocked at some of the vitriol that comes out against the tea party protesters, regular joes like a certain plumber, and of course, Sarah Palin. Sarah Palin who a year ago was a good governor with a husband and five kids who most people seemed to like even if they disagreed with her politics. Now I look at some of these editorials that continue to come out and even though I should be used to it by now, sometimes I am still bewildered and fall back wondering, "Why do they hate her so much?"

And it's not that they disagree with her policies, they hate her. It is extremely personal. Now, I don't like Obama's policies, but I don't care one way or another about him personally. I'm sure he's a fun guy to be around; I don't really even think about it. I have no desire to destroy him personally. I would like to keep him from destroying the country with stuff like this healthcare bill and other things, but beyond that I'd just as soon leave the guy alone. I don't understand the level of hatred that people on the left and the right have for Sarah Palin. I know they fear her to no end, and I'm sure there are other explanations, but I don't have the heart to go into them right now. I just don't understand these people. Do they have nothing better to do with their day than to criticize and bash relentlessly a good person? I don't get it.

And I'm thankful that I don't. I guess at the end of the day we all choose our side. And for whatever reason Sarah Palin seems to be the line drawn in the sand and people are lining up on either side of her.

So what are we ordinary barbarians to do? We have to keep talking to and supporting each other. I don't know what this is going to turn into, but it's going to get alot worse before it gets better. Take a word from Hebrews:

"Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching." (Hebrews 10:25)

Now, in context this verse is to believers, but it applies quite nicely. Alone we are weak; together we are strong.

What exactly is our lot in life? It seems as though we are to flee until we can flee no more, and then to fight. But never give in. Never surrender. Petition, remonstrate, prostrate ourselves at the feet of the king and beg for our freedom and the rights that God has given us. But if every olive branch is spurned, we simply stand and do not let them take our liberty from us. We won't fight them unless they insist on a fight. But if they insist, we most definitely will not disappoint them.

We were chased from every corner of the earth to this heaven-sent place where we could live in freedom and peace. Now the tyrants have found us. They no longer wave their fingers at us from the other side of the world; they dwell in our own government. And they won't stop until they have made us bow to their will.

We have to decide who we are. Decide what's right and what's wrong. Is it right that I can work my tail off and the government can take a big chunk out of what I've earned and spend it carelessly and I have no say? Or give it to whoever they want when that person didn't sweat to earn it, like I did? Is that right?

No. It is not.

Alexis de Tocqueville saw our end when he saw our beginning. He warned against the government getting to a point where it would kill us softly, not with a sword, but with so many rules and regulations that it would slowly stifle even our desire to resist. It would come to us as a parent, wanting to take care of every need, and in the process it would steal our ability to take care of ourselves, leave us dependent on the state for our existence, and reduce us to nothing more than sheep. A good portion of our population today seems almost eager to become a sheep.

Not me.

So what am I to do? Is there any place else to run to? It seems like the dark shadow of tyranny has nearly overwhelmed the whole world. A bushel basket is being carefully and quietly positioned over our candle just waiting for the right time to cut the rope and snuff out America's light. But everywhere else is the same, if not worse. We're cornered.

Maybe God's waiting for us to have our Psalm 35 moment. I don't believe in theocracy, or some of the more extreme views that some in the Christian community have about bringing about God's kingdom on earth, but it's obvious that God had a hand in the forming and the sustaining of this country.

Before the American Revolution, the First Continental Congress got together and someone made a motion to pray. John Jay objected, saying that all of the men present were from different denominations and could not really fellowship in prayer. Samuel Adams (who organized the very first tea party) got to his feet and declared:

“I am no bigot. I can hear the prayer of any man of piety and virtue who is a friend to his country.”

The motion was carried and that Congress literally hit its knees. Not every man in that room believed the same thing; some probably did not believe at all, but they recognized that the work ahead of them was bigger than what human hands could accomplish. They also read Psalm 35. I suggest we all read it. They emerged from that meeting refreshed and their hearts prepared for the war that was to come. We are in need of that preparation.

We must:

1. Not forsake the assembling of ourselves together.
2. Draw close to our families, friends, and loved ones. Remind ourselves of what really matters.
3. Pray for each other, and for our country. And I suggest memorizing Psalm 35.

Ephesians 6 (a little out of order, but you get the idea):

Put on the whole armour of God....For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God....having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit.

Take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand."