Distractions

“Vanity of vanities, says the preacher; all is vanity.”  Ecclesiastes 12:8

 

As I sit here and read some of the notes that I have collected since early February I see some of the following:

 

Theft – Family Fare (grocery store, will be addressed in the Watching & Ready Column 14)

 

Comment about someone’s wife watching Fox news 24/7 (will be addressed in this article)

 

Mens’ hearts failing (will be addressed in this article)

 

Musk False Prophet Suspect? – Implements Mark of the Beast???

 

A ‘thorn’ Comes Up Among Them – Who is them?  (will be addressed in that same column???)

 

If we were to have the Antichrist rising to power somewhere in the world now, then would not the False Prophet potentially already be close by to him???  (will not be addressed)

 

Trump/Gaza – peace deal – Abraham accords – many nations (will not be addressed)

 

MRNA vaccine – Biden mandate – Supreme Court (will not be addressed)

 

Blood moons – Israel (will not be addressed, at least at this time)

 

Could we say ‘he’ about the EU??? (In regards to the ‘thorn’ among –them-, might be addressed in the same column snippet)

 

Then there were many thoughts, things that I have been pondering as it seems that this ‘planned’ busy-i-ness continued on with one thing after the next.  In fact even today as I finally thought that I could breath a sigh of relief, my laptop broke and I had to get my backup laptop up and running, which essentially took the majority of the day and is promising to take more time this next week.  Distractions.

 

For anyone who has been a true Believer for some time now, when we are busy doing –other things- than we are probably not doing all that we should be doing for the Lord and furthering the Gospel.  Yet, in this instance, I believe the Lord allowed these things to occur, perhaps for the understanding and knowledge to be able to write about it and then, yes, even wrap such a thing to be useful to those who will be Left Behind, perhaps very shortly, eh?

 

Somehow in amongst all of this, I had mentioned a lot of –thoughts- and I had pondered many things over the past three months, that were not –jotted- down, but I began to realize the ruckus that was being caused by actions taking place by the Executive Branch of the Federal government, in fact an ongoing dilemma at this very moment. 

 

I spoke with some family and friends, listened to bits and pieces of the news via the AM radio, what I happened to catch or watch on television, what I read in the local newspaper or in a magazine, what I didn’t do (and no I am not critiquing those who did) was use the internet as a source of news, nor spend too much time with any news source.  I trusted that I got a good enough picture of what was going on and saw the waves of emotion going this way and that (much like the stock market) and heard some of the commentators telling us ‘what was going to occur’ only to see them backpedal as there were so many different factors and then changes…distractions…and this is not done yet, not in the least bit.  I speak largely of the tariffs, but we could just as well add in DOGE and the immigration crackdown.

 

Consider the following:

 

“Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”  1st Corinthians 10:31

 

“For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.”  1st Corinthians 2:2

 

“For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.”  Galatians 2:20

 

Without a mistake, President Trump is making some major changes to the way this country is doing things.  Please note: this ministry is not about political science or to discuss the specifics of what could be or not be regarding these policies.  While I certainly hold to my opinions and would be more than happy to have a conversation with anyone in private, as far as the ministry is concerned, unless the Lord leads such subjects are ignored.  There are plenty of venues out there (patriotpost.us, newswithviews.com are a couple) of which I personally no longer keep up.  (For myself I have noticed a ‘narrative’ being pushed throughout much of the –alternative- media.)

 

However, I think it is entirely fair to say, as of this writing, there is a decent amount of instability and insecurity amongst many business owners, myself included, as to the impact of these tariffs, not knowing if Trump will change his mind, lessen it, reach (a) deal(s) with a country(ies) or otherwise what might happen.  While I certainly trust in the Lord to provide for my family, (and certainly not in vain) I have seen major changes taking place recently in my industry (janitor services) that provides work for myself and my family.  I have also noticed a slowdown in small businesses, of which should be a cause for concern.  Yet in all of this, if I am not careful, I can also find myself distracted by ‘worries’, ‘fears’ in regards to what I see going on, as well as taking ‘action’ to alleviate the –unknown- future.  Yet…

 

“Behold, the Mighty God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid; for YAH JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; He also has become my salvation.”  Isaiah 12:2

 

“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”  Romans 8:28

 

Several years ago I had a medical scare.  I wondered whether or not I had a major medical problem and finally went in to get it checked out.  My fears were alleviated and the problem that I had was essentially work related to chemical usage, weather, etc.  I remember quickly and at that time in my life, everything that seemed to matter, the goals, the aspirations, the frustration, whatever it maybe, suddenly mattered none at all. 

 

Now the same I must do and do daily to remember that indeed these distractions that pester me, my focus –must- be on Him who died on the Cross for me (Rom. 14:8) and truly this must be done daily and though it is very simple, truly with Christ strengthening us (1 Tim. 1:12) who are Believers, for without Him it would not be possible (Luke 18:27).

 

“I have strength for all things in Christ who strengthens me.”  Philippians 4:13

 

“Then He said to them all, If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.  For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life on account of Me will save it.”  Luke 9:23-24

 

“I affirm, by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die throughout the day.”  1st Corinthians 15:31

 

Let’s jump back into the distractions that we are dealing with here.  I suppose we are going to have to talk about President Trump and his policies a little bit here.  😉

 

In late March I was at the barber for a hair cut, sitting amongst the ‘old men’ who still go to this not-as-trendy place here in Rapid City, South Dakota.  Here some people still talk and will have conversations with strangers at certain times, the barbershop being one of those places to expect that.  (Yes, we also have the people who will –ignore- you, even if you say something to them, but we are probably a decade behind the more populated states in this strange anti-social trend.) 

 

The conversation turned to a man at the next chair getting a hair cut and his wife who normally hated the news, suddenly ‘watching Fox news 24/7’ trying to keep up with all of the ongoings with what Trump is doing. 

 

Now I must say that the one thing that I would think everyone could agree with is that President Trump certainly knows how to be in the spotlight and can get the attention not only of Americans but people around the world, including leaders who have recently had delegations flying in to determine what to do about the tariffs.  President Trump certainly is often in the spotlight and perhaps that is well enough.

 

Let me interject here a moment on a totally different topic that has been addressed in the past, about the following verse:

 

“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy; think on these things.”  Philippians 4:8

 

As I catch the radio on the top of the hour once or twice a day for CBS news for a couple of minutes, I heard about the tragedy with the vehicle driving through the after-school program, killing and injuring many children.  Then as I was baking some bread for the week, I had the television turned up in the living room, listening to the news and happened to view that portion beginning and seeing the –horror- for the first time (notice, unlike most who will see these things repeated via television or internet OVER AND OVER again), I honestly had to turn off the television.  Simply too much to deal with.

 

I could speak of the emotions, I wouldn’t blink if that person who perpetrated such an incident would instantly be hung on the old hangman’s tree in Rapid City.  Justice should be swift! 

 

Yet I spoke to someone else regarding the ordeal and mentioned to them that the exact problem and part of the problem with the internet is that incident and others like it are often on the screens of people who see such things over and over, eventually getting demoralized, just like people who live through modern warfare, and it can happen quite quickly. 

 

When one sees that or something like that, there should be a normal God-given emotional response, not a seared conscience because the world has normalized things that are not normal.  Case-in-point…Believer should –always- consider it shocking to see someone acting out cross-dressing and pretending or ‘believing’ themselves to be the opposite sex of what they really are.  When we get used to such behavior and it is no longer –shocking- well then Satan has the world ready for his next depth of depravity. 

 

So a small example, a personal one, but what about the daily ‘Trump soap opera’ and Philippians 4:8?  Are such things distracting Christians from furthering the Gospel? 

 

Speaking of computer problems, mentioned in the beginning of this article, here I am a day later, having had to spend time…distracted…digging through the storage unit to find the desk ‘keyboard’ piece that I haven’t used in years.  It looks like the laptop is going to become a ‘desktop’!  (I’m still using the backup to continue on with business as normal, the screen is broken on the other computer.) 

 

Unfortunately President Trump is going to help make this article a good example as to what I believe is occurring out there.  Note: I used to read tons and probably have done more ‘research’ online than the far vast majority of people, but I will tell you it is –very- controlled nowadays and even trusted sources are truly part of a mockingbird operation and then those who are truly independent get their information from these ‘trusted’ sites and therefore innocently regurgitate that disinformation. 

 

Let me just say this…the CIA had a knack for countering alternative media.  What they would do is purposely put out some information that would allow people to see the ‘truth’ to a story, but in reality knowing that people didn’t believe the mainstream reporting, the alternative evidence, even when partially real, would be designed to lead to a false conclusion of a matter and steer people away from what was the actual truth.  The propaganda is so thick and with AI that can ‘calculate’ the ‘mood’ of society through social media, posts, etc., that same technology can instantly be used for a solution to allow the paid ‘talking heads’, as well as controlled alternative media to ‘move’ society closer to a train of thought that is less ‘dangerous’ than the direction that society was beginning to go.  Complex, yes?  Certainly is, let us be thankful and always be happy towards God that He has given us the Holy Scriptures, the Bible and with a good translation such as the VW-edition or the KJV, we can be certain that we have the unmanipulated Truth at our disposal, everything else that we are told…well???  Back to Trump and then let’s ponder the future a bit…

 

For the purpose of this article I think looking at the tariffs is certainly a good enough example of how such distractions can take away from quietly following the Lord.  As I begin explaining it from my perspective and what interactions that I had, understand I was and am very limited in any in-depth knowledge, though I did take economics in college and have always been fascinated by such things, though due to the corruptness of money (1 Tim. 6:10) find it better to clean buildings peacefully in the evening/night. 

 

So I caught some news tidbits about how much economic damage this is going to cause with the tariffs and also on the flip side of the coin how we are going to be better off and need to trust Trump.  I heard some information from a friend that President Trump is going after rare earth minerals (apparently the Ukraine deal ‘weapons for minerals’ is –on-) in the United States and how the Chevron case was overturned, largely now preventing President Trump from being stopped by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  This same friend told me that there were trillions of dollars in wealth that has been tied up and secretly traded and betted on by the rich and Trump was going to tap this via vast wealth of these minerals on public lands throughout the United States.  Perhaps?  I have not tried to validate this claim.

 

I’ve heard that China is not going to back down and I also have heard about those who were watching the stock market ‘gaining’ value and how $2,500,000,000,000 of wealth was created almost instantly by Trump essentially speaking a word, to now how the stock market is back to normal from about the beginning of the year…etc. 

 

There are those who say that President Trump is destroying the economy, then that are those who say he is doing the right thing and others who suggest he is doing the right thing but going way too far and that they do not fully agree with him.  The economy is going to boom, the economy is going to fail.  China is not going to back down, China is going to make a deal.  Trump is going to soften his tariffs more, Trump is going to allow them to stand.  We are going to be in a recession (I myself think we have been for a bit, when you remove the inflation numbers…) we are going to be in a depression, the economy is going to have a brief –disruptive period- and then come back a roaring, distractions…distractions.  And the truth of the matter is you or I can do very little or nothing about it, irregardless of what will actually occur. 

 

I actually think my mom said it best when she suggested that we just wait until President Trump has been in power for a year and see what has actually happened.  True?  Well I remember during his first term the Mexicans were furious and then they realized he was the ultimate poker player with the perfect poker face. 

 

We went into trade wars, negotiations with other countries, more tariff trade wars, then more exemptions, just like the stock market, up and down by big amounts for the month of April, unprecedented.  Distractions…

 

Now consider such things with your walk with the Lord.  This doesn’t have to be about the Executive Branch and the policies this could be fill-in-the-blank.  Now such events, things like the new immigration policy, DOGE and others are causing anxiety for many Americans, but for Believers let us remember the following:

 

“Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares about you.”  1st Peter 5:6-7

 

Now let us consider those who become Saved after the Rapture, during the “time of Jacob’s trouble” (Jer. 30:7), better known as the Great Tribulation.  While we won’t dive into the details for the purpose of this article, those who might come across such a piece of writing during that timeframe, consider carefully to simply trust that your life is in the Lord’s hands (Acts 7:55-56; 2 Cor. 5:8) and you will be a martyr (Rev. 13:7a). 

 

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.  To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.”  Revelation 3:20-21

 

President Trump is providing a perfect precursor example of giving us a glimpse of what life will be like during the Tribulation by grandstanding from the Whitehouse.  Consider what the Bible says about that time during the Tribulation and consider how mild, even if people are watching Fox news all the time, things are compared to what they will be:

 

“And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.”  Luke 21:25-26

 

Right now this seems to be about the point were the previews for the main showing are running.  We are getting a good glimpse into what life will be like for those who are Left Behind, but for us who know the Lord, this will not be the case (1 Thes. 5:9; 4:16-17; Rev. 4:1, etc.).

 

Folks, at the end of the day (the end of your life, whether you are Raptured or die a natural death) we who are true Believers should well know that most of what we do are vanity.  As the famous line in missionary Charles Studd’s poem states:

 

“Only one life ’twill soon be past.
Only what’s done for Christ will last.”

 

“Therefore I say to you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?  Observe the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?  Which of you by being anxious is able to add one cubit to his stature?  So why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?  Therefore do not be anxious, saying, What shall we eat? or What shall we drink? or What shall we wear?  For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your Heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.  But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.  Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”  Matthew 6:25-34

 

Amen!