Eighty-Seven Years and Counting!
87 years ago this month, on September 28, 1934, the first small issue of the Sword of the Lord was hand-delivered on the streets of Oak Cliff in Dallas, Texas. The years that have followed have been an amazing and greatly blessed adventure.
The Lord has been so good to us. He has given us wonderful friends all around the world. He has also blessed us with many opportunities of influence and ministry. The pastors and other Christian workers who count on the Sword of the Lord are located far and near across the entire globe. The souls that have been saved directly and indirectly because of the Sword of the Lord are multitudes in number.
And on this eighty-seventh anniversary, we are still excited! Still dreaming the dream! Still laboring daily! Still thrilled in the Lord! Still going after the lost! Still praying for revival! Still standing for the truth! Still tackling the issues! Still so amazed that the Lord would allow us to do what we do each day.
Even after all these years we feel that we have just barely begun because there is so much that needs to be done. Very candidly, I believe, and others say to me, that the Sword of the Lord is needed more today than ever before. In our currently crazy world I have no doubt that is true.
So let’s press on! Let’s make year 88 the best year yet! Let’s keep sounding the trumpet until we hear the sounds from Heaven announcing our Lord’s return. Amen!
The Flags We Fly
With every breath we breathe, we want to honor our heritage and keep building upon it. If we do so, the polls, the trends of the times and the fads of the contemporary culture cannot be the catalysts of influence upon us.
To the contrary, we must fly the flags of fundamentalism as a badge of honor. In this day, in this hour, let’s run the race faithfully and fervently.
As Dr. Hutson said to a number of us during his final days, “Hold the banner high.”
By ‘holding the banner high,’ we mean making much ado about Jesus, the Bible, revival, soul winning, the local church, the Great Commission, the Spirit-filled life, godly Christian living; we mean standing against sin and for the family and the second coming of Christ; we mean withstanding day by day without fear or favor.
I hope this 87th anniversary issue will remind you of from whence we’ve come and why we believe the fundamental path on which we set our feet is the one where we ought to walk every waking moment! Amen!
Twenty Years Since 9-11
Just a few days ago we marked twenty full years since the Islamic-driven terrorists attacked America and killed 2,977 of our citizens. It is a day of infamy that will forever be etched upon the memory of every one of us.
Tragically, a lot of our national leaders have refused to take what should be commonsense measures to secure our nation against future attacks from the same source.
Unsealed borders are an open invitation to the bad guys. A failure to properly vet incoming visitors and immigrants makes us openly vulnerable.
Although the clumsy, ridiculous handling of things continues, we must keep the matter before us. We must never forget. Hopefully our leaders will wake up before it is too late.
It is important that we honor the memory of the lives lost on that day and more than twice that number of our military men and women who have died in the resulting wars.
Vax or No Vax?
I’m getting that question from some of our friends who are in a quandary about what to do. So in a few brief paragraphs, I want to give a response that hopefully will help.
1. COVID and its variants are serious issues. Anyone who denies that is just not facing reality. All of us need to do all we can to protect ourselves from it. We must also take into account the well-being of other people.
2. I am not anti-vaccine, but these vaccines themselves are not without risks. The Liberty Counsel law firm reports that “As of August 13, 2021, the COVID shots have caused 595,620 injuries, 54,142 hospitalizations and 13,068 deaths reported to VAERS, the CDC and FDA tracking system.” That’s not from COVID; that’s from the vaccines.
Although the national media is not reporting these facts, the CDC and a Harvard study also say these numbers are only a fraction of the totals. Admittedly tens of millions of people have taken the vaccines with no difficulty, but we must be candid and tell the whole story.
3. Whether or not you take the vaccine is, I believe, within your constitutional rights to decide. The Constitution guarantees personal liberties in regard to your person, your conscience and your religion.
Again, I’m not against vaccines. We need vaccines for a number of things. What I am against is government—or anyone else—mandating that you have no choice but to do what they have decided for you. Compulsory mandates—I am strongly opposed to them.
4. Some of us, like me, are so highly allergic to so many things that we must be ultra careful about food, medicines and such like. For those of us with such issues, a misstep can easily become a life-or-death matter.
5. So, be informed, ponder your own situation, pray for wisdom and then do as you deem best for you.
6. Let’s be gracious and show respect to our family and friends who may not do as we do on this.
7. There’s yet a lot we do not know about COVID and its variants, but we do know they are dangerous. So be wary and be careful to protect yourself as best you can.
