Remember All & an Update
On this day, we honor the men and women who sacrificed their lives to ensure the liberty and security of the United States of America. People from all walks of life marched off to war in order to protect the freedoms we cherish. We celebrate the ones who, although they very much deserved their own assurance of welfare, gave of themselves for others. They paid the ultimate price in every conceivable respect.
And yet many of us do not understand the sheer gravity of their offering. Every day, people in this country flaunt their wealth, their position, or their self-righteousness as if it is their right. In the same way, others demean or accost others and proclaim that their morals are more “evolved” than those they disagree with. Not one person in any of these groups (or others of a similar persuasion I have not mentioned) seems to comprehend that the very things they find deplorable and their own opportunity to speak against them is, in fact, a privilege and not a right.
The ground you and I walk on has been paid for by the blood of men (and women) far braver than we could ever hope to be. Countless souls laid down their lives for their friends. This is the ultimate expression of love that a man could hope to accomplish. As the Lord says:
“This is My command: Love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, that someone would lay down his life for friends.” (John 15:12-13)
This is, in fact, the very price that is paid for by the soldiers who’ve given their lives for our country. But I think it prudent to ask, on this day, that we should also remember Him who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our sins and the salvation of our souls. His love is boundless and without compromise. Truly, if we were capable, we should honor him each and every second that we draw breath. Nothing happens that can be done without Him or His permission.
“From one man He has made every nationality to live over the whole earth and has determined their appointed times and the boundaries of where they live. He did this so they might seek God, and perhaps they might reach out and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us. For in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’” (Acts 17:26-28)
If He so desired, He could strike me down at this very moment and it would be His prerogative as my Creator and Designer. Frankly, all of us deserve the worst treatment for our sins. But that’s not what He wants. It is His desire and His pleasure that we should delight and believe on Him and His sacrifice at the cross. He loves us so that although we merit death, He gives us eternal life. No man could have borne the literal weight of the world on his shoulders, but He, our Lord, did.
He is the beginning and the end, the Alpha and Omega. He is Love and Good. He is your father and mine. But do not fear what this means. Embrace it! As he tells us in the Book of Revelation:
“Don’t be afraid! I am the First and the Last, and the Living One. I was dead, but look—I am alive forever and ever, and I hold the keys of death and Hades.” (Revelation 1:17-18)
Like the soldiers who paid for your freedoms, Jesus laid down His life for you. Unlike the payment of those courageous men and women, His action is permanent and everlasting. It need not be repeated, nor is it swayed by new powers emerging in the world. It is not reserved for a few or a selection, but for all. You need only come to Him, believe in Him, and, understanding your need for Him and His sacrifice, embrace Him.
Please, on this Memorial Day, remember all who gave their lives for you.
Now, this is an inconvenient and jarring sidestep, but I have further (though not nearly as important) news to share with you. I have, after much deliberation and second-guessing myself, settled on the title for my sequel novel. Are you ready? There are potential spoilers ahead!
Drumroll please…
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The title is: THE SMILING MAN CONSPIRACY
…which happens to be the working title. Just like The Shadow Over Lone Oak was for my first novel. Go figure that I keep getting it right the first time yet refuse to admit it to myself.
For those of you have read the first novel, I’m sure your mind is forming a picture of the plot and what it may entail. Maybe you can glean some clues from both the title and the five sneak previews I’ve delivered here, here, here, here, and here.
I’m still working on finishing the first draft (these final chapters continue to be slow-going) but I thought it best to give you a taste of something new.
As always, have a wonderful week, God bless, and peace be to you.
