The Personal Impact of Pearl Harbor (an audio blog)

 This audio blog was aired on WCRF on December 7, 2011.

Since then I've learned that Jacob DeShazer's grade was Sgt., not Col.

 

Geopolitics and the Interests of Foreign Powers in Our Election

Geopolitics and the 

Interests of Foreign Powers 

in Our Election

We hear reports that China and Russia are both attempting to influence our election. According to many of these reports, Russia favors Trump – or is against Biden – and China favors Biden – or is against Trump. What we hear the most of is Russia leaning toward Trump, which sounds like a carry-over from 2016.
 

This brings up a question: does Russia (Putin in particular) really like President Trump? Hardly, I say. Before he was elected, Russia knew that Trump would be tough on them, and he has been. If they favor Trump in this election, then why? Do you really think Biden would be tougher on Russia? Do you think Hillary would have been? Not really. Then, if they do favor Trump, why? What’s in it for them?
 

Russia’s real target is not the U.S. Presidency. It’s China. China and Russia are rivals. They were rivals for world domination when Russia was the dominant part of the Soviet Union. Look at the Cold War years. The USSR favored India and China favored Pakistan. China backed North Korea while the USSR backed North Vietnam, which has a constant border dispute with China.
 

Since the breakup of the USSR, Russia has ceased to be a Communist country. It owes its present economic success to embracing capitalism. China is still ruled by the Communist party, though they have adopted a level of capitalism for pragmatic reasons. However, the leadership of both nations have imperialistic ambitions. Both see the United States as an obstacle to their ambitions.
 

The goals of interference in U.S. elections also differ. Russia’s apparent goal, according to some, is to degrade our electoral process. If U.S. citizens do not trust their electoral system, it will weaken the government and our foreign policy. China’s goal is to gain influence and steal as much as they can of our technology and intellectual property so they can dominate the Pacific and South Asia.
 

This also brings up another reason Russia would favor Trump (if they do): the threat of China dominating Russia. Its moves, therefore, would be defensive. It would serve their interests for the U.S. to be tough on China. For our national security and our economy, who is the larger threat? China. So who would be tougher on China and still be tough on Russia? Biden or Trump?

A Farmer Has to Be Smart

There is a LOT a farmer has to know. Add to this what he has to figure out.
A farmer has to –
• Choose the best crops to plant this year, taking into consideration
       - crop rotation,
       - crop prices,
       - costs of planting, cultivating, harvesting, and storing each crop.
• Decide which field gets which crop.
• Take into consideration weather patterns and soil conditions
• Know the best way to cultivate each crop
• Know how to cope and adjust for changes in weather and other growing conditions
• Know how to care for machinery, including mechanical maintenance
       - This now includes programming computer-assisted and microchip-operated equipment
• Know the current regulations
• Participate in organizations relevant to agriculture and community
• Be up-to-date on national and international affairs, because they impact the operation and profitability of his or her business
• Have extreme patience and know-how to respond to ignorant elites

The Changing Motivation for Higher Education and Its Outfall

 The Changing Motivation for Higher Education and Its Outfall

• First published on January 29, 2020, on LinkedIn

Looking back on the past 50 years, it appears that the motive for urging young people to go to college has shifted from equipping them to be intellectually and economically successful or equipped for service to subjecting them to indoctrination.

Two kinds of indoctrination are at issue here. One is reinforcing a secular humanistic worldview and converting those who have grown up with a biblical worldview. The other is ideological/political indoctrination.

Both kinds of indoctrination have come to rely not only on logical persuasion but on limiting students' right to think and speak for themselves. Part-and-parcel of this is denying access to points of view contrary to the official view, infringing not only on the free speech, religion, and peaceable assembly rights of students (and faculty), but also those of others.

This has had a negative impact on graduates of these institutions. First, the number of graduates in various fields has outstripped the number of positions available, which had diminished the economic value of the degrees. Second, the promotion of university education with the expanded availability of student loans has resulted in ballooned faculty salaries and expansion of costly-to-maintain university facilities, raising the costs of education, with the end result of enormous student loan debt per graduate.

Another result is the philosophical and ideological imbalance in professions receiving large numbers of indoctrinated members. Just a few of these professions are public education, journalism, pediatrics, social work, and clinical psychology.

Coupled with the example of civil rights suppression in universities, this has contributed to a decline in civil discourse. If this continues and grows, it may to lead to civil war.

The question for us is, "What can and should we do to remedy this distortion of our educational system?"

One solution proposed by many is shifting the focus of federal education aid by including post-secondary vocational programs, such as are found in most community colleges. Another is working to restore and protect the First Amendment rights of students and faculty. This should include countering bias in granting of tenure as well as the hiring of faculty and reviews of grading criteria used by the instructors and professors. Additionally, university administrations should discourage the badgering of students who have worldviews or political leanings which differ from those of the professor.
------------------
Update: Here is the outcome of a lawsuit related to bias in colleges and universities: https://www.westernjournal.com/court-delivers-243000-lesson-college-discriminated-pro-lifers/

Discerning the Body

  Discerning the Body

1 Cor. 11:17-34 (ESV)
“For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body
eats and drinks judgment on himself” (v. 29)

In his letter to the church in Corinth, Paul addresses how the Lord’s Supper was observed. Also called Communion or the Eucharist, this ceremony memorializes Jesus’ death on the cross.
 
It is ironic that this, the original Christian feast, is called Communion, because it has become an issue of discommunion. Most of this centers on “discerning the body,” meaning the Body of Christ.
 

Paul addressed abuses of the Lord’s Supper in Corinth. In verse 17 he writes, “But in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse.” He goes on to say, “When you come together, it is not the Lord's supper that you eat. For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk” (vv. 20-21). 
The practice of the church in the First and Second Centuries was to come together on the first day of the week to worship together (1 Cor. 16:2). This was followed by the Agape Feast (Love Feast). The Lord’s Supper was observed sometime during this church dinner, most likely at the beginning or at the end. 

This church dinner was not conducted like our modern potlucks, with the food set out for serving on a common table. Some of the families in Corinth brought a lot of food, then kept it to themselves. In the same room or courtyard were others who struggled to get enough to eat. 

Frankly, it defies common courtesy to feast in the presence of a hungry person, as the rich man did with Lazarus watching through the gate (Luke 16:19-21). Some of the believers in Corinth were not sharing what they had with those in need, even when they were at the next table. 

Since Communion was part of this dinner, Paul explained to the Corinthians what the Lord’s Supper really meant (vv. 23-26). He told them what Jesus did and said, just as would be written in the Gospels (Matt. 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-25; Luke 22:17-19) [by the way, this is called the Eucharist (giving thanks), because Jesus “gave thanks” with the bread and the cup]. Jesus said the bread was His body and the cup was His blood. 

It is at this point where the Eucharist has divided the church: What is meant by the elements of Communion being the body and blood of Christ?  Some (such as Roman Catholics) call it Trans-substantiation, which means the bread and the wine become the body and blood of Jesus. Others (such as Lutherans) call it Con-substantiation, which means the body and blood of Christ are present with the bread and wine. Most Protestants believe it is Representation: the elements of Communion represent Jesus’ body and blood. 

This is why Christians from several groups won’t celebrate Communion with members of another group. They believe that “discerning the body” means discerning what the elements of the Eucharist are. 

However, I believe that this is not what Paul meant by “discerning the body.”  From verse 17 to the end of the chapter, he addresses abuses associated with the Lord’s Supper. When he says, “Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord” (v. 27), the “unworthy manner” refers to how they are treating each other. By their actions the “body” they are not discerning (recognizing) is not the actual bread and wine, but the body of believers. This is what Paul means by “an unworthy manner.” Most of this letter concerns disunity in the local church.

In the next chapter, Paul describes the church as the Body of Christ. Christians are members of the Body of Christ the way hands, feet, eyes, and ears are members of a human body. Each has its own abilities and roles. Each is honored in a different way. The least noticed, least appreciated member of the body is still vitally important to the body as a whole. The body hurts together and rejoices together. 

So it is–or should be–in the Body of Christ, the church. Members should care for, respect and honor each other. They should mourn and celebrate together. The 12th chapter is not a separate document, but a continuation of what Paul is saying in Chapter 11, and is part of the letter as a whole. Dishonor, disrespect, and abuse of each other are dishonor, disrespect, and abuse of the Body of Christ. This is a symptom of not “discerning the body.”

With members dishing up from a common table at church dinners, we don’t see the specific abuse cited by the Apostle Paul in the 11th chapter of 1 Corinthians. But there are other ways of dishonoring the Body of Christ described in the New Testament. James points out partiality based on wealth and employers withholding wages (Jas. 2:1-13). In their letters, both James and John denounce refusing to help those in need (Jas. 1:27; 2:14-17; 1 John 3:17). Peter warns leaders about “domineering over those in your charge” (1 Pet. 5:3). Paul lists things like extortion, fraud, lying, theft, adultery, and other violations of relationships. He also adds those who can work expecting handouts (2 Thess. 3:6-12). The implication is that these things are evidence of not discerning the body.

On the positive side, there are many things recognizing each other as members of the Body of Christ will lead us to do, for instance, loving, forbearing, and forgiving each other (Eph. 4:15-16, 25-32).
This applies not only to a local congregation, not only to a fellowship or a denomination, not only to a doctrinal tradition but to the church as a whole. When Christians refuse to fellowship each other, they are not “discerning the body.” 

Unity is not possible without recognizing and believing that everyone who is born again is a member of the church, then acting like it with love and respect for our brothers and sisters in Christ:

We reach our hands in fellowship to every blood-washed one,
While love entwines about each heart in which God’s will is done.*
This is discerning the body.

~ Wesley G. Vaughn
 Dover, Ohio
______________________________________________________________________________
*Charles W. Naylor, “The Church’s Jubilee” (1923), set to music by A. L. Beyers (1923) and published in Hymns and Spiritual Songs (Gospel Trumpet Company: Anderson, IN), #155, and subsequent hymnals.

Two or Three

Two or Three

(Scriptures quoted from ESV)

“Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” ~ Matthew 18:19-20
______
The two verses quoted here are at the end of Jesus’ prescription for how to handle a situation when one believer has wronged another. Aside from the issue of church discipline, verse 20 has assured Christians for almost 2000 years that Jesus is there when as few as two or three meet to pray. But I became curious as to why He made mention of the small number, and He did it twice. Why “two or three”?

In this passage, Jesus was giving instructions for the church. In the early church, local congregations were patterned after the synagogues in their organization and their activities. After all, Jesus and the first Christians were Jews who grew up attending their local synagogue. And synagogues had a vital role in the spread of Jesus’ church in the First Century. 

    What was the synagogue?

Synagogue is the Greek translation of the Aramaic word for an assembly. It means gathering together. Most Jews did not live within walking distance of the Temple, where sacrifices were offered and the great festivals were observed. They were forbidden to work on the Sabbath, so they went to the local synagogue to study the Scriptures (our Old Testament), discuss what was read, and pray. Often, a rabbi would expound on the Scriptures, applying them to daily life. They also sang the Psalms.
In the Second Century, Justin Martyr described what Christians did in their meetings. What he wrote was a close match to synagogue meetings: reading Scriptures and letters from the Apostles, praying, singing songs, hearing an exhortation.

    What other roles did the Synagogue play?

The synagogue was the center of a Jewish community, whether in Judea or Galilee, or in other lands. It was what kept the community together and preserved their religion and their values. Mothers first taught their children the letters (how to read Hebrew and Aramaic). Then they (at least the boys) learned the Scriptures in the synagogue school, taught by a rabbi. By the time a boy turned 12, he had memorized large parts of the Old Testament, especially the Torah (Books of Moses), including all of Deuteronomy.

As a Jewish boy, Jesus was raised in the synagogue in Nazareth. There He learned the Scriptures. Luke tells us, “And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man” (Luke 2:52). He learned so well that the scribes and teachers in the Temple who examined Him (for His bar mitzvah?) were surprised by his knowledge (Luke 2:47).

Jesus conducted part of His ministry in the synagogues of Galilee: “And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people” (Matt. 4:23). This included in his hometown:  “And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read” (Luke 4:16).

Synagogues also served as the post offices and news centers for Jewish communities (government postal services were only for government business). Jews who were traveling took letters from persons in one town to those in synagogues along their route. They also brought news with them.
As the center of the Jewish community, the synagogue was where community discipline was exercised. More than a place, the synagogue was its members. They enforced the Old Testament Law. Here is where disputes were settled, contracts confirmed. The synagogue was also the center for welfare, helping their needy. Tithes and offerings were collected for the temple in Jerusalem.

    How did the Synagogue help the church to spread?

First, in Judea and Galilee, Jesus’ followers (called The Way) told about Jesus death and resurrection in the synagogues, at least until they were driven out (they also met in the outer court of the Temple). When they were scattered after the stoning of Stephen (Acts 7), they first witnessed in the synagogues wherever they went.

On his missionary journeys, Paul went to the synagogue in each city on the first Sabbath he was in town. It was there he proclaimed Jesus as the Messiah. The first believers were Jews and “God-fearing” Gentiles from the synagogues. When they had to meet apart from the synagogue, they still followed the pattern for meetings. The one exception to starting at the synagogue was Philippi, where there was no synagogue.

    Why “two or three”?

A synagogue could be established only if there were at least ten heads of households living within a Sabbath Day’s journey, less than a mile from the city limits. When Jesus said He would be there (in spirit) if there were as few as two or three, it meant that ten were not needed to function as a church. Effectiveness in prayer and fellowship did not depend on numbers, but on their relationship to Him (“in My name”).

He also predicted that His followers would be persecuted. At times they would not be able to have more than two or three in one place. If and when we face persecution in this land, we will not always have the privilege of gathering by thousands, or hundreds, or even tens. We may at some time count it a blessing to meet with just one or two other believers. There, in the midst of persecution, will be Jesus. There will be His church.
_____

His House of Prayer

Where the Lord’s people are,
There is His Temple found;
And to be among God’s people
Is to stand on holy ground;
Where two or three or more of them
Meet in His name, then there
Is where the Lord is found,
Within His House of Prayer.

Wesley G. Vaughn
© 2008

The Personal Impact of Pearl Harbor (re-post from 12-7-2011)

   This article was first published in the December 2011 issue of The Outreacher, a local Christian paper. It was also produced as an audio blog, broadcast on WCRF the morning of Dec. 7, 2011.                                                                                                                    

Home for Christmas

(ESV)

Earlier this year, we celebrated the 70^th anniversary of the end of World War II. A Christmas song which became popular during that conflict is the familiar “I’ll Be Home for Christmas.” It speaks of the longing of someone who wants to be home for this very special holiday, but knows he probably won’t: I’ll be home for Christmas, / If only in my dreams.

Most of us, when we are away working for a company, at school, or in the military, want to go home for special occasions. We want to be with family and friends. This is only natural. Sometimes someone might say, “What’s the matter? Don’t you like it here?” But that’s the wrong question. Home is home, or as an older song says, “There’s no place like home.” Or, as the saying goes, “Home is where the heart is.”

Abraham left his home in Ur with his father and brothers and moved to Paran. Later he left them there for Canaan, which became his earthly home for the rest of his life. But to him it was not really home. The writer of Hebrews says, “By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God” (11:9-10).

It is this outlook which is reflected in another song, “This World Is Not My Home.” For those of us who are the spiritual heirs of Abraham, who have placed our trust in Jesus Christ as our Savior, our real home is not here, but in Heaven, in the New Jerusalem, the city made by God. When a Christian, a believer in Christ, dies, we may say, “He (or she) has gone home.”  Psalm 116:15 says, “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.” One way to interpret this is to see God as welcoming His children home.

Several people we know, relatives and friends, and friends and relatives of those we know, have passed on so far this year. Some of them have gone on during the past month or so. Most of them were Christians. So as we celebrate the holiday here, they are home for Christmas.

Wesley Vaughn
Dover, OH

Fruitful Labor - A Blessing from God

Fruitful Labor - A Blessing from God

                               Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord,

                        who walks in his ways!

                              You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands;

                        you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you.

                                      ~ Psalm 128:1-2 (ESV)

    The first Monday in September is Labor Day.  It was established, at the urging of labor unions,  to honor industrial workers and miners.  Today it honors all who work for a living, not just those in unions.  For Christians, this ought to be a special day, since it was God who made us to do useful work.
    A common misconception is that labor is a curse, the result of sin.  Work itself is not the curse, but difficulty, fruitlessness, dissatisfaction and frustration in our labor.  First of all, God said that the ground itself was cursed and would not be cooperative with human labor.
Since the Flood and the following climate changes, some areas of the earth have been more easily productive than others.  This includes animal life (such as fish), pastureland, plant life and mineral resources.  God-given human intelligence has been used to make our labor more productive.  This includes inventions, both ancient and modern. People have been able to make a living in just about any place on this planet, and someday may be able to do so on other planets as well.
    The problems with our labor is related to the aim of our work, our attitudes toward work, and the attribution for our work. In other words, Why do we work?  How do we see our work?  Who gets credit for our work?
    First, what is work?  Work can be defined as effort, exertion. It can also be defined as the product of that effort. In other words, our work is what we do and what we produce.

 

 Aim

    What is our motive, our purpose for our work? Of course we work for the material benefits: wages or salary, commission, bonuses, royalties, net profits. We must be responsible and support us and those who depend on us.  Jesus said, “The laborer deserves his wages” (Luke 10:7; 1 Tim. 5:18). And Paul said, “But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever” (1 Tim. 5:8).
    We can work to help others:  Our work is a service to those we work for, whether employers, customers and clients, or (in the case of appointed and elected officials or those in non-governmental service agencies) the public and the needy.
    We can work to serve and honor God. This is the highest motive, leading to wanting to serve others.
    But there are lesser motives for work. There are people who just do what they like to do for work.  Some are just trying to prove themselves to those who doubt their ability, etc.  Some work for fame or recognition. Some persons work lead, supervision or management jobs because they want to be above others, to exercise authority. There are people who work excessively to compensate for an inferiority complex or guilt (a type of workaholism).

 

 Attitude

    How do we see our work?  How do we feel about our work? Or about work in general?  Many people do not like their jobs. Do not like they people they work with. Some do not like responsibility. Many do not like working for others, and are itching to be their own bosses. There are people who want to get everything without having to work for it.
    I know people who see work as a necessary evil. They say things like, “I’ll work as long as I have to, then I’ll just do what I want to do.”
    According to the Bible, we should be co-workers with God. Obviously not His equals, but working alongside Him, following His direction, His lead.  The writer of Ecclesiastes sees work as a gift from God (Eccl. 5:12, 18-20). Proverbs places great value on work and diligence. When we go all the way back to Genesis, we see that God gave the man and the woman work to do in the Garden of Eden.
    In the New Testament, Paul tells his readers to work as though they were working for God, no matter what the job was, no matter who their employers were. Employer and employee, master and slave, apostle and menial laborer, they all work for God.

 

 Attribution

    We all like to get credit for what we do.  We all like to be appreciated.  It is right to acknowledge the efforts and accomplishments of others, especially those who serve us. In fact, Paul says we ought to honor those who labor among us, including those who preach and teach the Gospel. 
    On the other hand, we need to be careful to not take all the credit for ourselves, either for our efforts or for the outcome.  For example, in evangelism Paul say that one plants, another waters, but God gives the increase. This language refers to farming, where the farmer and his crew plow, plant and irrigate. But God controls the weather and the fertility of the seed. God can hold back or detour the locusts. The farmer can stand guard against thieves and robbers, but who turns back an invading army?
    As far as our own efforts are concerned, who gives us the strength we need to do the job? Who provides the opportunities?  We did not choose where we were born, who our parents were, etc. We did not choose the era we live in. Most of us have little, if any, say in the course of work events. In reality, most of the credit for what we do goes to others, especially to God.  In Luke 12:16-21, Jesus tell the story of a rich man who took all the credit for his bounty and was unwilling to share it.  God said to him, “Fool!”
    Work itself is not a curse. Fruitful labor is honorable. It is a gift from God. It should be a service to our families, to our community, and to God.  Honorable work should by done honorably. And God deserves the first credit and the first fruits of our labor.

                                                                                

A Day of Victory

A Day of Victory

(Scripture Quotes from the English Standard Version)
 



"Shigemitsu-signs-surrender" by Army Signal Corps - Naval Historical Center Photo # SC 213700. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shigemitsu-signs-surrender.jpg#/media/File:Shigemitsu-signs-surrender.jpg

August 14 is Victory in Japan (VJ) Day. This year (2015), it is the 70th anniversary of the day the government of the Empire of Japan signed the surrender on the deck of the USS Missouri. This marked the end of over three-and-a-half years of war since Pearl Harbor was bombed (“The Personal Impact of Pearl Harbor” was printed in the December 2011 issue of The Outreacher). Finally, for the Allies this was a day of victory. Now it was time to rebuild devastated countries and restore societies. Now was the time for reconciliation, for establishing peaceful relationships with former enemies. Just look at Japan and Germany today!

I was alive then, but don’t remember it, since I was a week shy of eleven months old. It was Mom’s birthday, but she did not hear of it for more than a day, because the ship we were on was under radio blackout in case there were enemy subs along the route.  We can imagine the celebration aboard when they stopped at Ketchikan and received the news!

Victory was a time of celebration for America and her allies. For Japan, the only nation to suffer a nuclear attack, it was a time of relief, the end of the devastation. For their citizens it was the end of tyranny.

Victory is great, whether in war, sports, a contest, or an election. Victory over a deadly disease or serious injuries is wonderful. But greater still is victory over the enemy of our souls. Over sin. Over death itself. This is not a victory won on our own, by our own power and resources.  Just as Great Britain, France, Canada, the United States and others needed allies, we need an ally to win over sin. And there is only one ally capable of winning this victory.

Our foes in this war are not physical. They are spiritual, Satan himself and his horde of demons. Our great ally in this battle is God.  As Jesus Christ, the Son, he defeated sin in his life on earth. He defeated Satan in the wilderness and on the Cross. He defeated death itself in the Resurrection. Jesus told his disciples, "I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

In the rebuilding and reconciliation, Germany and Japan shared in the victory. They did this by total, unconditional surrender.  We have to recognize that we are participants in the sin which oppresses us, just as many Germans and Japanese willingly supported their governments as long as it appeared they would win the war. Just as they surrendered, so do we. Admit that we are in the wrong (we call this confession). Tell God, “I give up. I’m through fighting You.” In effect, we switch sides in the longest-running war in history; we move from the losing side to the winning side.

As the Holy Spirit, God helps us defeat sin in our lives. He gives us power against Satan: “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). Our faith (total trust) in God is our defense against Satan’s attacks: “In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one” (Ephesians 6:16).

The recent war in Iraq was criticized by those who said we “won the war but lost the peace.”  In our Christian lives we have to careful that we do not “lose the peace.” How can this happen? We are still tempted to sin, to do what is wrong or to not do what is right. As long as we live on Earth, we are on the battlefield. But as Christians, our Ally (and Commander-in-Chief) promises help and support in the battle. God’s “covering fire” keeps the enemy from being too much for us. As Paul wrote, “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it” (1 Cor. 10:13). What this means is that, with God’s help, we can successfully resist temptation.

Satan wins when a Christian sins, but it does not have to be a permanent win. He may win a skirmish, but we don’t have to let him win the battle nor the war. What if we fail and sin? That is not the end. There is hope: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

In the end, we can win the war for our souls. For us it can be a Day of Victory!

*****************

Here are selections from a few songs and hymns about victory

Hallelujah, what a thought!
Jesus full salvation brought,
Victory, victory.
Let the pow’rs of sin assail,
Heaven’s grace can never fail,
Victory, victory.

Victory, yes, victory.
Hallelujah! I am free,
Jesus gives me victory.
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
He is all in all to me.

~ Victory by Barney E, Warren (1897)
________________

Oh, victory in Jesus,
My Saviour forever;
He sought me, and he bought me
With his redeeming blood;
He loved me ‘ere I knew him,
And all my love is due him;
He plunged me to victory
Beneath the cleansing blood.

~ Victory in Jesus by Eugene M. Bartlett (1939)
________________

Encamped along the hills of light,
Ye Christian soldiers, rise.
And press the battle ere the night
Shall veil the glowing skies.
Against the foe in vales below
Let all our strength be hurled.
Faith is the victory, we know,
That overcomes the world.

Faith is the victory! Faith is the victory!
O glorious victory, that overcomes the world.

~ Faith Is the Victory by  John H. Yates (1891)