Linda Torres, October 20, 2002

There is a gas station in the suburbs of Washington, DC, that has spit in the eye of the terrorist murderers. Employing a simple if not primitive solution, they have covered their pump area with a gigantic tarp or drape if you will. Their customers can now pump gas without unwillingly participating in a real life virtual human deer hunting game. Score 11 for the terrorists and now one for the Americans.

That kind of behavior is what I love about this country! That same spirit is what stirred the grassroots beginnings of this nation under God and brought it to its independence and eventual power status. Those kinds of ideas are exactly what Europe and the rest of the Neanderthal world cannot understand and will stupidly not accept. The subtle middle finger in the face of abject life and death terror is the trade mark of our "Get in my way and I’ll find a way around you attitude:" The "Let’s roll" character.

Where do we get that resilience? I believe it’s a gift from God. Its the same attitude that was exhibited when the Pilgrims persisted in moving their tiny community to Holland first and then to the New World; when the patriots fought to disentangle themselves from Europe’s confinement; and our soldiers fought to prevent madmen from consuming the world in Europe. Freedom and its administration can only be perceived by those to whom it has been revealed.

So why are we so blessed? What did the pilgrims and the American revolutionary patriots do to merit the endorsement of the King of the Universe for their plans and actions. Unless God builds the house they labor in vain that build it. And surely that goes for those who do repairs and upkeep on it. How has our nation continued to best the elements that desire to destroy us because they are jealous of our universal status? An even better question should be why do we continue to be blessed and how long will it last?

Many ponder and submit answers to these queries. We are a Christian nation; we have been a haven for the Jews; God just likes us. Those may be correct answers. God has purposes that we will never know nor understand.

I believe that God’s grace and our response to that grace are huge factor in the events. Although not all our members delight in our heavenly Father there are still enough "Lots" in the US to allow God to preserve the nation. But will we do better than Lot to recognize that divine grace in spite of its magnanimity (?) has a goal and therefore and end. It is the goodness of God to bring us to repentance. I have often said that God is standing on his head as the saying goes to get our attention in these last days. I mean no disrespect with that statement but rather am saying that He is so gracious that before He pours out His judgment he seeks to convince us that we must do what He tells us to cause us to come under His blanket of care.

The covered gas station can imply a future of "gated" shopping centers, "gated" parking lots and as our enemies struggle to stay a step ahead "gated everything." I submit that it will not last that long; that our responses will be measured sooner than we think. And that uneven balances will be awarded a judgment.

So what are the weights and measures? For the individual it is our position in Jesus. For the person who has measured that weight correctly it is our obedience to follow in faith directives to live righteously and persuade our countrymen to love the Jews. Those of us who stand paralyzed by fear have probably already received a sentence. God has not given us a spirit of fear but power, and of love, and of a sound mind. With God’s power we can remove destructive elements from our midst; with His love we embrace and encourage a downtrodden Israel; and we make plans to proceed along the path that He has set for us with a sound mind.

If we turn to the Author and Finisher of our faith and live under the shadow of the Almighty we will not have to cover ourselves or our gas stations in tents. If we don’t turn to Him there will be no gas stations and none of us to cover!

You can e-mail Linda Torres at linda@truthnews.net