John is graciously typing this blog post as I dictate to him from bed. Because I cannot type this entry myself, I will not include Scripture quotes or references — doing so would be difficult to teach John. Please don’t interpret this absence of Scripture as an abandonment of God’s Word.

January 20th, 2021 should have been a joyous day for me to blog. It marks 50 years since Christ brought me to salvation, and I had looked forward to writing a post celebrating all He has done in my life. Sadly, events in Washington, D.C. and around the country have eclipsed personal celebration, as Christians around the United States mourn the violence of January 6th and the inauguration of an administration that will surely result in persecution for us.

But haven’t I been warning about persecution over the last 5 years of this blog? Should we be surprised at actions of social media that seek to silence conservative voices (and specifically Christian voices)?

Mourning the loss of freedom is appropriate to be sure. I am especially angered at the threat to home schools and Christian schools! For several centuries Christians in America have enjoyed liberties that believers in other time periods would have envied, and it hurts to think of those liberties being ripped away from us. Like many of you, I dread the loss of social media platforms. Such platforms have been my primary way of proclaiming the Gospel, and I feel great reluctance to let those platforms go. So it’s natural to grieve as we see society take our freedoms away from us.

At the same time, all I have written in this blog about the sovereignty of God should encourage all of us that He has not been caught unaware of all these circumstances. In fact, Romans 13 tells us that He establishes governments. Joe Biden is not occupying the Oval Office apart from God’s decree. Many of us believe that the president elect is a puppet of the progressive wing of his party, but he is also subject to God’s will and purposes as He prepares His church for eternity.

Looking back to my early days as a Christian, I remember remarking to friends that I wished it would be easy to distinguish true Christians from nominal church goers. Throughout these 50 years that comment has stuck with me. Now, as I see secularism take a dominant place in our country, it appears that my wish may actually turn into reality. I’m not sure I really want this to happen, and yet I praise God that it will be harder for false converts to maintain their claim of loving Christ.

Funny what happens in 50 years.

A friend of mine said Saturday that God is still on His throne…and in control of all that us going on in our country. She made this comment while still admitting her fears. Maybe we live in a tension of feeling fear and yet trusting our Savior to carry us through these days of darkness.

I thought of such things Friday night as I watched a video on Amazon Prime about Perpetua. Perpetua was a member of Rome’s elite in the 2nd Century who heard the teaching of Christ and turned to Him. As a result of her conversion, she lost her father’s support, rights to her nursing baby and her social standing. Her refusal to say that Caesar is Lord ultimately led her to execution.

Although parts of Perpetua’s testimony disturbed me, I realized that she was a new convert and had not received solid teaching. I don’t endorse her dependence on dreams and visions, but I remember my own belief in personal revelation from God in the first forty years of my Christian life. At the same time, I admired her willingness to embrace martyrdom. As far as she was concerned, dying for Christ was not only a privilege but a way of encouraging other Christians to remain faithful to Him. Watching the video convicted me that we should hold similar attitudes as we stand faithful in the midst of our present day persecution.

I had great plans of writing about my conversion 50 years ago. I had considered presenting a retrospective of the past 50 years, highlighting God’s faithfulness in working with me. But as I said at the beginning of this article, January 6th eclipsed my plans by directing my thoughts toward the immediate future as America enters a dangerous time. However, there is a greater eclipse. The Lord eclipses our despair over current events as He reminds us of His sovereignty and faithfulness.

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