Lenten Devotional (21) & What the heck happened in D.C.?!

The protestors likely arrived through some backdoor and crept in unawares. These kinds of malcontents show up at these events and disrupt the peace.

“Do not be misled: God is not mocked. For whatever a man might sow, that also he will reap.”

We cannot deceive the omniscient One. He is not mocked, which is a short way of saying God does not speed toward judgment. He is long-suffering and abundant in loving-kindness (Jonah 4:2). He prefers to carefully observe your ways and see how far you are willing to stray and how long it will take you to call on his name.

God does not judge you immediately when you get on the boat to a place far away because you would learn your lesson too quickly without much knowledge gained. You must get on the boat and believe that you are genuinely distancing yourself from the God who comes near, to trust in your escape routes among the prostitutes of the prodigal or the waves of waywardness.

God waits to see your ship almost breaking to act. He waits in perfectly executed timing for you to see the cause and effect of your sins, to be at the mercy of pagan mariners. Then, God pierces your soul like a two-edged sword and meticulously brings you back to life like a skilled surgeon.

Prayer: O God, thank you for softly killing us daily and mightily raising us daily to new life and new mercies. May we learn much from our wayward ways and return to your promises, which are yes and amen in Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen

Nuntium

• I am not going to be exhaustive here. The video has over 1.1 million views and can speak for itself. I circled JD Vance, sitting in the front row, and I offered my invocation from the main podium. The protesters came right behind Senator Vance. The lights were pretty bright on my face, so I couldn’t see much except to note where the voices were coming from.

  

My task was singular: to offer an invocation. On such occasions, these are around 500-700 words. I write all my invocations, especially at political events, which proved more than necessary. The event is detailed here.

JD Vance was the target, but it fell under my rhetorical slot. I knew I was not made to let these societal vagabonds win. I knew that Jesus needed to have the last word, and that is what I did.

My initial reaction to the commotion was like my wife’s, who thought it was a charismatic “amen” to my invocation. However, quickly, that theory disintegrated when I noticed the choir of environmental slogans. I just kept praying, and I used my voice to my advantage. As Nick Solheim noted, I just prayed louder.

We are particularly blessed by Tom Sauer, who was a major force driving those demons off the floor. Tom is a former Marine, and I want this dude at my side. We chatted for a long time, and I can tell you we were blessed to have him there. If you have seen the video, he is the one with the white tux who delivers that incredible line at the end.

The protestors likely arrived through some backdoor and crept in unawares. These kinds of malcontents show up at these events and disrupt the peace. And, by the way, why do these losers always wear a mask:

I spent most of the night shaking hands with dignitaries and politicians who knew nothing about me, but they left knowing there are still pastors out there who won’t bow down to the mobs. God will not be silenced.

My gratitude for the encouragement from all over the place.

Notations

• T.S. Eliot’s East Coker (Four Quartets; Section V) asserts, “As we grow older the world becomes stranger, the pattern more complicated.” A younger version of myself saw patterns laid out plainly, but the older version sees complexity in layered forms. To paraphrase Eliot, some things just can’t be deciphered.

• Reading Seraiah’s The End of All Things, it is very clear that pantelism (those who see no future of the resurrected humanity) has made a fundamental hermeneutical error: They have assumed that all judgment and all vindication are created equal (67-76). They fail to see that one judgment speaks directly to the religious order of Israel in the first century, and the other speaks to the religious order of the entire world.

• 12 years ago, we wrote this 15-page response to Rob Bell’s worldwide sensation called “Love Wins,” which argued for a universal salvation post-death. Bell went on to leave the faith and join the Oprah club. Here is my concluding paragraph:

Bell’s book is a modern attempt to de-physicalize hell. Its central claim is that the traditional, historic faith has made too much of hell. This is a bold statement; a statement that fails to grapple with the fullness of the Biblical testimony and the richness of the Reformational faith.

Lenten Blessings,

Uriesou Brito