Of Lincoln, Persia, and Electricity

Today marks the 205th anniversary of the birthday of one of the greatest leaders in our nation's history - Abraham Lincoln.  In my personal library I have several biographies of Lincoln, including the entire 6-volume set of Sandberg's Lincoln. (Did you know that there is only one other person in history about whom more is written than Lincoln; that person is Jesus Christ).   Lincoln was a complex individual, perhaps one of the most complex men to ever serve as President.  He was self-taught and people were amazed at the scope of his learning.  He could delight audiences with his homespun stories that usually had a strong lesson.  He was driven by what he believed were rights based upon his understanding of the Scriptures.  And he had a profound understanding of those principles upon which our country was founded.  His grasp of the true meaning of the Declaration of Independence is manifest in many of his speeches, including his most famous one given at Gettysburg in November 1863. 

One of my favorite books about Lincoln is the one written by Doris Kearns Goodwin and titled, Team of Rivals.  Lincoln, in the appointment of his first cabinet following his election in 1860, did something that had rarely, if ever, been done before and more rarely since.  He appointed men to positions of leadership within his cabinet, not based upon whether that individual had supported him in the election or not, not even based upon whether that individual liked him.  He appointed men to those positions based upon the strengths of their leadership roles and their ability to accomplish the tasks given to them.  William Seward, one of Lincoln's opponents at the Republican convention for the office of President, was not a great fan of Lincoln, but became one of his greatest supporters because Lincoln trusted the affairs of the Secretary of State's office to him.  A similar story is told with regard to Edwin Stanton in his role as Secretary of War. 

So, on this day in which we remember his birthday, I thought I would just say "Happy Birthday, Abe.  Thank you for your courageous leadership in seeing our nation through some of its darkest days.  You have set a high-bar of leadership for many of us to seek to follow."

I want to share a link with you that hopefully you will find alarming.  It is at www.timesofisrael.com/iranian-tv-airs-simulated-bombing-of-tel-aviv.  This was shown over Iranian television and shows how Iran will respond to any type of American or Israeli attack upon its nuclear sites.  Now, what makes this so scary is that, just this past week, the Iranians have declared that they are sending warship to patrol off the east coast of the United States.  Their claim is that if we can have American warships in the Persian Gulf, then there can be Iranian warships in the North Atlantic.  And, also this past week, the Iranians successfully tested a new longer range missile that would be capable of delivering a nuclear warhead a greater distance from Iran.  They claim that they want peace, yet their actions demonstrate that they are preparing for war.  Friends, let me remind you that Iran (ancient Persia) has a role in the prophetic future.  Just read Ezekiel 38 and 39.  Perhaps the actions portrayed in the television show and the threat of Iranian warships off our coast are just Iran preparing for their role in that prophetic scene.  If that is the case, then perhaps the coming of Jesus is getting even closer.

Also, this past week we read about a little reported incident that occurred at a central California electrical substation a year ago.  (The attack actually occurred on April 16, 2013).  According to an article in the Wall Street Journal and reported at www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/02/06/2013-sniper-attack-on-power-grid-still-concern, "at least one person entered an underground vault to cut telephone cables, and attackers fired more than 100 shots into Pacific Gas & Electric's Metcalf transmission substation, knocking out 17 transformers.  Electric officials were able to avert a blackout, but it took 27 days to repair the damage."  There is debate as to whether this was an act of terrorism or not.  As recent ice storms in the Southeast have shown, America is vulnerable when it comes to its power system.  An ice storm creates havoc that can last for days, even into weeks.  Can you begin to imagine what would happen if one of the central power grids for our nation was knocked out of service by some type of terrorist attack?  What would you do if you had no electrical power, not just for a few days, but for a few months or more?  No computer service because batteries could not be charged.  No gasoline for your car because gas pumps would not operate.  Even water supplies would be limited as many of the pumps are driven by electricity.  For many of us, our homes are heated with electricity, our food is cooked by electric ranges and ovens.  Can you imagine a world where microwaves would not work? 

Friends, I don't know where you are putting your trust these days.  But if you do not have that trust placed solidly in the hands of the Lord Jesus Christ, then your foundation is not very secure.  I echo the words of the hymn writer, "On Christ the solid Rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand."  Keep your heart prepared for His return, but keep your eyes on how you can help someone else come to know that trust and peace.