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Are you stressed, distressed, obsessed, suppressed, repressed, oppressed, or just messed…up?

“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
    for his compassions never fail.

They are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.

I say to myself, ‘The Lord is my portion;
    therefore I will wait for him.’

The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,
    to the one who seeks him;

it is good to wait quietly
    for the salvation of the Lord.” (Lamentations 3:22-26).

 

© Rex M. Rogers – All Rights Reserved, 2021    

*This blog may be reproduced in whole or in part with a full attribution statement. Contact me or read more commentary on current issues and events at www.rexmrogers.com/, or connect with me at www.linkedin.com/in/rexmrogers.    

I appreciated the fact that, despite our culture’s pellmell, ongoing embrace of irreligious values, yet the Presidential Inaugural included an Invocation and Benediction, speakers, including the President, referred to Scripture, and they sang “Amazing Grace.”

At the end of the day, I’m glad for—

—the few hours of moving traditions and celebration of worthy ideals on Inauguration Day. 

—for a peaceful transfer of power. 

—for a day without violent incidents and thus the safety of people in the nation’s and state capitals. 

—for a constitutional democratic republic, rule of law, free opportunity and enterprise, and inestimable civil liberties.

Now, is it possible that—

“With malice toward none with charity for all with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right let us strive on to finish the work we are in to bind up the nation's wounds...to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations,” Abraham Lincoln, Second Inaugural Address, March 4, 1865, about one month before he was assassinated. 

 

© Rex M. Rogers – All Rights Reserved, 2021

*This blog may be reproduced in whole or in part with a full attribution statement. Contact me or read more commentary on current issues and events at www.rexmrogers.com/, or connect with me at www.linkedin.com/in/rexmrogers.

My fav Martin Luther King, Jr quote, shared during his phenomenal “I Have a Dream” speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, August 28, 1963,
 
““I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”
 
If you’ve never heard this speech it’s worth your time to watch it on YouTube.
 

 
© Rex M. Rogers – All Rights Reserved, 2021    

*This blog may be reproduced in whole or in part with a full attribution statement. Contact me or read more commentary on current issues and events at www.rexmrogers.com/, or connect with me at www.linkedin.com/in/rexmrogers.    

We're going through a bad time, but hope springs eternal>
 
>At the end of “Gond with the Wind” after years of tragic Civil War, Scarlett O’Hara said, “Tara. Home. I'll go home…After all, tomorrow is another day."
 
>In “Annie,” Orphan Annie sang, “The sun will come out Tomorrow. Bet your bottom dollar That tomorrow There'll be sun! Just thinking about Tomorrow Clears away the cobwebs, And the sorrow 'Til there's none! Tomorrow! Tomorrow! I love ya Tomorrow! You're always a day away”
 
>In “Cast Away,” Tom Hanks-as-Chuck Noland wraps the film saying, “And I know what I have to do now. I gotta keep breathing. Because tomorrow the sun will rise. Who knows what the tide could bring?”
 
>In Scripture, Isaiah says, “But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint” (Isaiah 40:31).
 

© Rex M. Rogers – All Rights Reserved, 2021    

*This blog may be reproduced in whole or in part with a full attribution statement. Contact me or read more commentary on current issues and events at www.rexmrogers.com/, or connect with me at www.linkedin.com/in/rexmrogers.    

If I had 3 wishes, I’d wish...

...that politicians rise to the occasion as Statesmen/women jettisoning partisanship and personal aggrandizement in favor of patriotic civic ideals, 

...that the rule of law based on the US Constitution and Bill of Rights would be respected above all else, including the interests of any politician,

...that reason would replace rancor.

Whatever you think of President Trump, or for that matter VP Mike Pence, you should be glad for and praying for Mike Pence this week. With Mr. Trump's expected absence from the Inauguration Jan 20, Mr. Pence becomes the titular head of the outgoing Administration. His presence at the inaugural, thankfully welcomed by President-elect Joe Biden, is a symbol of the blessings of a free constitutional republic, important to a peaceful transition of power, and a personal statement toward dialing down heated rhetoric and actions. 

Of course, Pence and Biden hold different political views and no doubt will debate in the future, but on this day, this is secondary to the well-being of American democracy.

And pray for the safety not only of participants in the Inauguration but also thousands of National Guard, federal, and local agency personnel.

Finally, pray the entire day comes off without incidents.

 

© Rex M. Rogers – All Rights Reserved, 2021    

*This blog may be reproduced in whole or in part with a full attribution statement. Contact me or read more commentary on current issues and events at www.rexmrogers.com/, or connect with me at www.linkedin.com/in/rexmrogers.    

My recent SAT-7 USA blog, What I've Learned From Middle East Believers, listed a few lessons gleaned from eleven years of service, during which I've developed good friendships with believers from more than a dozen countries.
 
The USA is experiencing serious social and political unrest. Some are afraid for the future, not simply or necessarily due to the election of the Biden/Harris team but due to what they consider genuine anti-Christian trends in American culture. This involves suppression of speech online by Big Tech and in workplaces, especially the academy, as well as incursions on freedom of religion across the country. Some of this is rooted in government-instituted responses to COVID-19 in the name of public health, some of it is rooted in emerging and rapidly ascendant new woke or cancel culture.
 
As I say in this piece, "What God’s providence is for the future, I do not know. I do know that Americans can learn from our Middle Eastern and North African Christian friends on how to live out our faith in an unfriendly culture or government, how to be resilient in faith, and how to care for believers here and abroad as God continues to work His perfect will."
 
I salute my Middle Eastern and North African Christain friends. I believe we now need to learn what "Middle Eastern and North African believers have long since learned, the wisdom of 'Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation'" (Psalm 146:3).

 

© Rex M. Rogers – All Rights Reserved, 2021    

*This blog may be reproduced in whole or in part with a full attribution statement. Contact me or read more commentary on current issues and events at www.rexmrogers.com/, or connect with me at www.linkedin.com/in/rexmrogers.