October 21
9Proclaim this among the nations:
Prepare for war!
Rouse the warriors!
Let all the fighting men draw near and attack.
10Beat your plowshares into swords
and your pruning hooks into spears.
Let the weakling say,
“I am strong!”
11Come quickly, all you nations from every side,
and assemble there.” (Joel 3:9-11)
Avengers Assemble! I had to pick these verses because of that last line and because my son has been requesting we listen to the Avengers Theme Song while we drive around lately. He is going to be Captain America for Halloween so I think he’s trying to get into an Avengers frame of mind. Listening to that theme song over and over was making me reminisce on the greatness of that cinematic masterpiece. It almost makes me want to watch all 24 MCU movies for a third go-round. But that will not happen, because there is too much going on in the real world for me to allot that much time into distraction/escape mediums.
Another shooting last night in my beloved city, Savannah, GA. Tensions are rising across the city. This event happened at the sacred Forsyth Park, which means there have been two shootings in the Historic District in the last week. And this is not just happening in cities like Savannah, Chicago continues to experience staggering numbers in gun violence. While the Chicago stats are not surprising, even sleepy little Florida towns, like St. Petersburg, have seen an enormous percentage of murders over the previous year. America needs heroes, the world needs warriors. And not gun-toting mercenaries. We have tried that experiment already. What the world needs is Godly men and women who are willing to show that the only solution to this problem is a Christ-centered approach. We need to get out into our communities and help lower the temperature of America. We need stricter gun laws and to better equip our law enforcement to help them get guns off the streets and out of the hands of dangerous individuals. Time is up, we need action now, or these maps will continue to grow red.
Pastor Furtick spoke an amazing word over the weekend, an inspirational message about earning that “God Nod.” This is a message you have to watch to get the full effect.
We Are Messengers released their latest album on Friday. It follows their tradition of wonderful Irish-themed worship. Click here to listen to the entire set, and click here to put yourself on the que for this next great release that drops tomorrow!
Reading plan: 1 Peter 5:1-10
Deeper reading plan: Joel 3:17-21
Common Sense Reborn 