a few predictions

What is happening in our world? Along with a few friends including primarily my boss, I've been speculating.

Current Status

The West is weak. Our moral fiber is thin. Globally, the populations of the erstwhile powers are declining. In Europe (and in the US, to a lesser degree), the indigenous populations shrink while populations of Muslim immigrants grow at a stunning rate.

China owns a massive portion of the debts of western nations. They are buying up mineral wealth, accumulating gold and diamond mines across Africa. The Chinese are flexing military muscles in the waters of the South Pacific and the skies of their airshows.

The Russian state is investing in revitalizing cathedrals. Russia is expanding its boarders, testing the resilience of the West. The response has been underwhelming. What can the EU really do?

An Islamic State has risen in the Middle East, uniting some Muslims by a religion rather than the geographic boundaries of a nation-state. Disenfranchised Islamists in Egypt have pledged themselves to the ISIS Caliph. They capitalize on military might (fear) and mineral wealth.

Prognosis

Add all these things up. What do you see? Here's a bit of a prediction:

1. When China has accumulated enough gold to weather the storm, it will call the debts of the west, creating a global economic tailspin that will sink the West.
2. The Caliph will invade and conquer and/or annex Europe with the support of the Muslim population.
3. Russia will unite its people in a war against Islam, and take back the former eastern block, 'saving' the people there from Muslim domination. They will have their version of the Crusades.
4. China will unite and dominate all of Asia that is not called Russia or India.
5. The US will sit by and shrivel up, unable to muster the moral courage or the military power in the midst of a broken economy to do anything.
6. India will also sit by, but will firmly resist invasion. An attempt to invade India would ultimately lead to China's downfall.
7. Russia, China, and the Caliph will one day wake up and find Brazil somehow standing among them, competing for dominance in a new world order.

Conclusion

My friends, now is the time to make friends for ourselves. Luke 16:8-9.

Come quickly, Lord Jesus.

Connections

I've always been somewhat troubled and amused by the character of Tom Bombadil in the Lord of the Rings.

I've always been somewhat troubled and amused by the character of Melchizedek in the Bible.

And then I realized...

poof. mind blown.

Wake up

I'm reading Romans, and just finished chapter 13. Toward the end of the chapter we are exhorted to "remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, and put on the shining armor of right living." Exchange dirty clothes for shining armor? Of course. Who wouldn't?

But, I'm comfortable in these clothes.  I've worn them for so long that they fit me just right. And anyway, armor is so rigid. I would hardly be able to move in that stuff...

We rarely think explicitly in these terms, but we're experts at rationalizing our sin. The battle is in our minds:
"Clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires."

Endurance

How easy it is for me to grow tired! How quickly I become overwhelmed by the stresses of life. I pray that God would give me the grace to endure in love and good works, and to place my full faith in him, not in my ability to manage myself and my circumstances.

Belinda has encouraged me recently with these words from Galatians:

Galatians 6:9 NLT
So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.

And I read this from Hebrews this morning:

Hebrews 6:11-12 NLT
Our great desire is that you will keep on loving others as long as life lasts, in order to make certain that what you hope for will come true. Then you will not become spiritually dull and indifferent. Instead, you will follow the example of those who are going to inherit God’s promises because of their faith and endurance.

The Tower of Babel

I've been reading Genesis again, and was struck by the story of the Tower of Babel this morning.

I'd always had the impression that the primary sin of the people of Babel was pride... that they thought they could reach God or achieve god-like status by building a tower to the sky. I'm not sure where I got that idea.

Their two purposes were to "make a name for ourselves" and to "not be scattered over the face of the whole earth."

The first is a pride-twisted manifestation of the God-given human desire for significance. We try to make much of ourselves instead of making much of God and finding our ultimate and true significance in Him.

The second is a direct attack on God's command to Adam and twice to Noah, that we should "be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth." Babel was a rebellion against God's first command (and blessing). And of these two sins, this seems to be the one that the Bible stresses. Twice in three sentences we read that God scattered them (Gen 11:8-9).

I'm not sure what to take away from this, aside from the fact that God will accomplish His purposes, whether it is through us or in spite of us. God wins, every time.

On a related note, I've noticed that we have two options when it comes to pride: humble ourselves before God, or be humbled by God. There are no other alternatives. And the former always works out much better (from a human perspective).