BE PREPARED
UK
My name is Geof Edmonds, I like to think of myself as a reasonably ordinary person or an average guy as my American friends would call me. I am retired from a career  in commerce, sales, marketing and training. I’m married and have seven wonderful children who will all stand their ground and let their thoughts and feeling be known if necessary. My wife and I have always encouraged free thought and individuality with our children and family, but stressed to them their reasons are built on respect, imagination, experience and enterprise. I state this so the reader has a little insight into my own reasoning.
Being of an inquiring mind I feel the necessity to write this article, with the help of friends and family, to give insight and encouragement to think on the influences determining our existence as individuals and society as a whole.
I’ve tried to stay away from persuasive impulses that personalise my own thoughts and beliefs but rather lay down an objective, interconnected chain of facts that are open for discussion and consideration.
In this day and age where truth is being blurred, ignored or misrepresented and bias and lies are the norm, we must be allowed to see and understand the facts and nothing but the facts. That is why I have encouraged friends and family for their opinions to contribute to this article.
No doubt some of this will be very familiar, but I’ m trying to bring together varying aspects of our lives, what’s going on around us and how we are being hood-winked to the goings on in the world at large. This is not a political pamphlet on the world according to me because I’m willing to try and understand but not necessarily agree with the ‘right, left and centre’, of how our thoughts and ideas are forged.
The subjects I have touched upon, although diverse, have a contributary factor to my final section which I believe contains the essence of a life we would all desire if only we could understand it’s true meaning. Don’t preconceive, give it a chance and you will be amazed.
FAMILY
Within the confines of a family a child learns love and respect from their parents, their natural leaders, brothers and sisters as dependable friends reacting and acting as a secure and stable unit. The family creates unity, togetherness, loyalty, strength and rationality, which becomes the centre point to one’s early life. The feeling of safety, reassurance, being wanted and loved are the basic bonds of a well balanced person. It’s a natural understanding we can share and feel comfortable with others.
Former BBC journalist Robin Aitken MBE made this comment :- “When it comes to divorce, for example, the media often promotes the lie that divorce makes everyone happier, when in fact marriage is designed to create happy, stable families. Healthy families are the bedrock of a healthy society, and in the long run it is better for individuals to weather the inevitable storms in their marriage, see it through and stick it out. Yet the media is very reluctant to engage with arguments like this.” Well said!
CHILDREN
Children  are   a   reflection   of   their upbringing, surroundings and society. Learning by example, discipline, caring and support, understanding right from wrong, kindness, sharing, giving and respect for people and things. A young child doesn’t initially learn religion or politics although they are there right from the start. A child has an innate assurance of love and security, which isn’t explained. Learning from repetition and ‘fear’ is often something they will experience later. Children will often look to their parents for encouragement in whatever they’re doing, not that the children are the fastest in the race, the cleverest in the class or the star on stage but Mum and Dad are there to see them do their best and give their all. Throughout their lives all they want to know is, they are very special to Mum and Dad who love them dearly.
ARCHAEOLOGY, HISTORY AND ETHNOLOGY
These give credence to what we are, where we are and who we are and how this applies to some races’ who tend to be more inventive, creative and imaginative than others! This is a microcosm of world history when we understand the emergence of empires, rulers, monarchs, despots and regimes and for whatever reason survival through progress, control and power is always the outcome.
The expansion and power of the British Empire was a culmination of being at the forefront of the Industrial Revolution, dynamic overseas trade, (being an island race), an irresistible need to expand into new territories creating potential, and building infrastructures dependent upon us and for our benefit. The most important reason why we maintained our position was the fact that we based our success on Christian standards of fair play and doing the right thing, which underpinned the values of the British way of doing things by gaining respect from other nations and peoples, which had to be a two way thing. Accepting this philosophy we must be reasonably empathetic to the feelings of the indigenous population and who we are actually dealing with. In India we primarily interacted with the Rajas and Maharajas who wielded absolute control of their states and provinces, this was easy to do coming from Britain with a pretty ridged class system of its own.
Of course, if a nation is to succeed and prosper it also has to support its foreign interests with an army and a navy, to maintain trade and guarantee the smooth running of those newly acquired territories. The rules are, if you are to control a country and its people you must be there to protect them if the need arises!
As our influence and empire expanded this gave a wonderful opportunity for our missionaries to take the Word of the Lord to the four corners of the world. The Christian faith we taught was by example, of love, understanding and forgiveness, not, by punishment, retribution and intolerance.
The British Empire was the greatest the world had known. In every aspect of life this Empire was a success story and a wonderful example to the rest of the world, but when we started to take our Empire for granted and abuse the power we had been given, it started to crumble and disappear.
History has revealed that at the time of the Roman invasion of Britain in AD 45, the Romans were not confronted by a load of savages stripped to the waste and covered in woad as we may have been taught at school, but by well organised fearless tribes of people. Fortunately for the Romans the tribes were fairly autonomous and not a united force otherwise they would have had to contend with a much more powerful army and the outcome could have been very different.
The Romans would have never risked invading these isles without good reason. Historical research has now proven that these Britannic Isles are not only one of the seats of learning within Northern Europe but the main supplier of tin to the known world. Much trade had flourished between Britain and the Continent for many years and for the Romans this was too hard to resist!
Archaeologists have proved beyond a doubt how advanced in learning the Ancient Britons were with the discoveries of jewellery, fine artifacts and weapons and the building of great structures, such as Stonehenge, Amesbury, Skara Brae – Stromness, Jarisof – Sumburgh, not forgetting the wealth of history in Ireland and elsewhere in these Britannic Islands which have lasted five thousand years and more.
Uniting of separate states into one nation can create a far greater power than previously existed with the individual states, of which Germany is a prime example. By unification of the German speaking peoples it created an industrial power base second to none and combined with military expansionism she attained great influence and power on the world scene from the 1880’s onwards. To a lesser extent Italy experienced this effect, and the USA has become the great industrial and economic powerhouse over the last century. But, of course the most important example of this was Great Britain. Once these isles were united into one nation the world became her oyster.
History tells us the nations that encourage progress through invention, science, ingenuity, the arts , architecture, transport and communication will expand through trade and commerce culminating into empire building. The great examples of this would be the early Chinese dynasties, the Babylonian and Egyptian empires, the Mayan civilization, the Greek and Roman empires and of course the British Empire; then we start to appreciate our own circumstances and our place in this world. The more we learn and understand our own ethnology, who we are and where we came from the more it becomes relevant to our being.
Archaeology is uncovering so many hidden secrets and remains proving the existence of peoples and cultures that were previously unknown to man and why certain nations progressed in such a way which before were not understood. Anthropology also plays an important part when considering the movement of peoples, tribes and races and the effect they had upon other nations they may have encountered. Some things are obvious because of their magnificence and beauty ie., The great wall of China, Stonehenge, Mayan temples, Pyramids, Colosseum, Parthenon and Taj Mahal to name but a few, but others only come to light when research reveals the remains of previously unknown cultures.
The changing periods of time, eras and epochs bare witness to the development of nations creating a ‘start up and knock on effect’ from one to another guaranteeing a continual state of progress which can be beneficial to mankind or an absolute disaster.
RELIGIONS
Religions of this world are wrapped up in neat little bundles and defined as the spirit within, complying with doctrine, dogma and beliefs , ensuring control of the mind, attitude and thought. One has to fit in with the structure or, you are cast out and rejected to a fate worse than death.
I have had many friends brought up within different faiths and religions, but have noticed they are not prepared to believe the faith and beliefs of others. To encourage people to think outside of their comfort zones and question their own beliefs either right or wrong takes a bit of doing.
Therefore, the reader could ask the question of me, have I ever questioned my own beliefs? The answer is yes I have, and as a free thinker I don’t accept anything that doesn’t stand to reason. We all possess a soul, a conscience and innate understanding of right and wrong, something that isn’t tangible but you know it’s within you, it activates your inner most feelings and is reflected in our responses and emotions. I believe in the power of love, and that love is the reason for my Christian faith. I don’t have to be a Christian but I am because I trust and value what it has to say, and it makes sense to me.
My faith does not mystically detach my mind from my body – it’s not learnt by punishment and repetition, or fear of the unknown. I have no desire to worship the moon and the sun or any manmade object or relic; my faith is a day to day living challenge·and by putting my life in the hands of The Lord who gave His life for me, helps me to accept and overcome all the ups and downs and twists and turns that are part of life’s incredible tapestry. All the Lord wants from me is to follow his example and put my trust in Him.
Easy! I should say not.  –   Rewarding! Most definitely.
SECULARISM
No religion, politically correct, disunity, live for today for there is no after life, direction unknown, children’s sexuality, abortion the inconvenience of a new life, divorce the easy way out, allowing children their own desires and wants and to be exposed to society for indoctrination, by taking away the responsibilities of parents and family. Children need to know and accept ground rules, within the parameters of society, what is right and wrong and good and bad. Discipline, correction, praise, encouragement are all important elements for a healthy existence.
A secular society has no need for religion because it exists perfectly well without it, especially when a faith becomes marginalised through lack of commitment to its core values.
When religion starts to compromise it’s beliefs and embrace an open politically correct non-confrontational policy which may be contrary to its code of faith in the pursuit of keeping up with the times, the battle is lost! People feel comfortable within a strong reliable structure based upon respect, love, tolerance and forgiveness.
Secularism is beckoning all those lost souls. There is no safe ground as the sands are being washed away, and what are they left with, empty churches and religions of compromise. Secularism, you don’t have to think for that is done for you, just go with the flow, for responsibility is something of the past.
HYPOCRISY OF IT ALL
It’s not for me to condone the reason for one nation’s control of another by subjugation, wealth, race, religion or oppression as acceptable, although the circumstances must be understood and evaluated for the justification of such an act. The most important factor behind all this is fair play and the rights of our fellow human beings to take precedence. If not, is it for us to turn a blind eye and pass it off as ‘the ways of the world’, and say nothing? Unfortunately, the general consensus is, ‘well it’s happening all the time, so what’s new?’
Shouldn’t our response be, ‘on a level playing field the rules must be the same for all’?
Alas not! A few examples come to mind, but I’m sure the readers of this article will have many more.
In my life time I have seen Russian tanks roll into Hungary in 1956 and Czechoslovakia 1968, killing thousands and suppressing the people’s desire for freedom and Democracy; whilst the West looked on waving a disapproving finger but welcoming the Bolshoi Ballet to perform in their cities and competing against their sports teams at the Olympics and their football teams in the European and World Cups .
China invades and takes over Tibet and no one blinks an eyelid. Let’s do business with China and one day we will be so dependent upon them for our trade and finance, it might be too late to realise we’ve been taken over philosophically and economically; next step militarily.
Cuba’s harsh dictatorship has been maintained  through  suppression   of information, lack of education and torture in order to control the masses, all the while their sports teams are welcomed all over the world.
Saudi Arabia, well they can do whatever they want and wherever they want within the realms of Islam, and Britain isn’t interested as long as the Saudi’s are buying billions of pounds of arms from us.
So let’s not rock the boat.
Iraq: we sent forces along with the US to supposedly free a nation and protect surrounding countries from the tyranny of Sadam Hussain and his cohorts, for what reason, the value of OIL!! Subsequently the nation is in a worse state than before.
Sadam Hussain played a game with Robert Mugabe called ‘anything you can do I can do better’, which saw Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) drop from being the most productive country in Southern Africa, supplying food to the countries all around and supplying the rest of the world with tobacco and copper; then allowing his nation to be reduced to the abject depths of poverty and to show his thanks to all the white farmers that contributed to the wealth of Zimbabwe, Mugabe permitted many of them to be slaughtered. It must be said he also encouraged the murder of tens of thousands of his own people to ensure no free speech and opposition to his rule, whilst he accrued phenomenal wealth of his own. And we did nothing about the suffering within Zimbabwe. Of course they had no OIL !!
I lived for a short time in South Africa and experienced Apartheid first hand. I can’t say I totally agreed with that form of government but I understood it. I think more progress in education, culture, business and sport should have been encouraged by the whites for black advancement, which it wasn’t.
All said and done SA was a great and prosperous country built on hard work and hardship for both black and white. It must be said the black man was certainly better off than most of his black brothers in the rest of Africa; he had work, money, food and medicine but no vote and restrictions upon his freedom! White endeavour and investment saw the country become what it was, the ‘Jewel in Africa’. I do feel the Christian ethics which once championed the nation and guided it through a century of development were lost in the politics of power.
This I stress was, because apart from her competing sports teams on the world stage and an irrelevant piece of paper called the vote, (this vote has become a meaningless piece of paper, as the song goes ‘the new boss is the same as the old boss’).The Africans are now worse off, and SA is only a shadow of her past glory. This was the nation that sent her boys to fight and die for ‘Mother England’ in the battle of Britain and all over Europe and North Africa, and trained our airmen and gave safety to our convoys on their way to the Far East and who paid our debt in gold to America when we became bankrupt, in order for America to carry on supplying Britain in WW2.
No one was interested in Apartheid then, Britain had to survive –Â that was the important thing! Within twenty years though all was forgotten, we turned our back on SA, and made sure there were no sports teams, no cultural exchanges, no business, in fact nothing to SA.
In the nineteen sixties and early seventies a black man serving in the US army could be sent to South East Asia to fight for the rights and freedom of the Vietnamese when he couldn’t experience the same back in the States.
Is that Hypocrisy?
Are we all equal? How many times have I heard that one? Equal in what?
Politics, sport, invention, research, music, thought, literature or being human beings!?
Are we all wired up the same way, given the same social and familial parameters for there has to be a mean average of thought and response across the racial divide before we can assume equality and what is acceptable .
Anatomically we are very different, variation is obvious when we compare the Mongoloid with the Negroid races or the South American Indians with the Northern European Caucasians. Historically some races show a greater advancement than others in creativity and are more inventive, whereas the Mongols led by Genghis Khan and the Zulu nation under Shaka showed their prowess in battle gaining possession of land and power. Can this be put down to advancement or necessity?
Can something be so engrained in a people’s psyche in order to determine their responses after generations of change? Am I right in thinking, an enquiring mind needs stimulation and answers but an indifferent laid-back mind is happy to maintain the status quo? The need for constant betterment is a reflection on dissatisfaction with their ongoing existence; but peace of mind suggests all is well under present circumstances, therefore one is the pursuit of a never satisfied dream and the other is spiritual reconciliation.
After much thought my conclusions are that we all differ in many ways, some are compatible with one another, to be encouraged, some incomprehensible and to be resisted and some sustained but remain separate. Obviously attitudes and responses have to be a two way thing to allow tolerance and respect to evolve into a genuine acceptance of other people’s ways without feeling the need to control, abuse, infiltrate, dilute or even massacre other races and nations. We must respect all people without having to give up on our own identity, race, beliefs, faith and freedom.
THE BIBLE REVEALED
You may wonder why I’ve touched upon the Family, Children, History, Religion, Secularism, Hypocrisy and Equality; Well! They are all powerful subjects that are regularly discussed. Sometimes we are challenged by these subjects and will debate the pros and cons of a particular subject for hours on end, and some will prefer to keep their opinions to themselves. There isn’t a day that goes by where we are not exposed to at least one of these subjects  maybe personally but definitely in the media.
As you read the Bible you’ll start to become aware of its great understanding and involvement in Man’s existence and his relationship with a loving Father we know as God. Yes, you’ll learn about empires, history, religion, equality, the importance of family life, bringing up children and relationships with all those around us because the Bible involves us all no matter what our circumstances are. You can read the Bible a dozen times and always find something new and meaningful appertaining to the situation we may be experiencing at that time.
THE BIBLE
The most printed book in the history of mankind. Often misquoted, often misunderstood and often misread!
Why have I left the Bible to the end?
Quite simply, if I’d mentioned the Bible, at the begining (Its rightful place), there would have been some who would have judged this article as a religious document and not read any further. I’ve left it ’till last as a challenge for those to deny! Which I know to be impossible.
I’ve mentioned above the categories which I feel are relevant in this day and age, that require serious thought and consideration that will effect our lives and wellbeing.
The Bible is, the history of a nation, Israel. And deals with prophesy for Israel and the World. His promise through His death, resurrection and His love for all mankind preparing us for His return and His earthly reign. His love is immeasurable and complete when we welcome Him into our hearts.
The Bible is our everyday working manual on how to live our lives successfully.
It covers all aspects of our lives, the healthy and strong, feeble and weak, disenchanted and lost, ill and dying, confident and capable, selfish and mean, lonely and unwanted, courageous and brave, rich and poor, lost and found. I guess we all fit into one of these, or possibly others which I haven’t mentioned.
For me the lost and found is the most relevant.
This is no pie in the sky, ‘I need a crutch so religion will do’ scenario. I think of the times I’ve turned my back on the Lord and done what I’ve wanted to do for my own pleasure, or gain, or retaliation, or conceit and without thinking about anyone else except myself, but in the cold light of day my conscience, my heart, my soul is saying, ‘is this the way to live?’ I look up and the Lord is there saying, ‘I don’t want to see your back I want to see your face and look into your heart’.
Whatever happens the Lord will not leave us and will not desert us!!
And why am I so sure, the Bible tells me so.
Just pick the Bible up and with a little bit of prayerful study you find it teaches on how to co-exist with all around you, it advises on money, work, sexuality, diet, marriage, family, bringing up children, history, the past and future and other religions and ‘gods’.
By finding lost souls and reinvigorating their lives, it starts to dawn on you what true love, compassion, caring, forgiving are all about. The Lord understands our lives more than we do and will re-direct us along the path to a wonderful recovery.
Now consider this, the Bible refers to Israel as a nation prior to the arrival of Christ. We know of the existence of Israel from their captivity in Egypt. Its development in what we now know as ‘Palestine’ and surrounding lands, especially at the height of the Israelite nation’s power and influence under David and Solomon. The Assyrian and Babylonian empires recognised the existence of Israel.
Roman history assures us of a nation of people now known as the Jews who inhabited the land of Judea at the eastern end of the Mediterranean. So we accept their existence is pretty well documented and supported by other notable nations.
We also are aware of the fact that the northern ten tribes of Israel which were taken into captivity by the Assyrians escaped through the Caucasian mountains and  into  southern Europe, when Assyria was conquered by the Babylonians. European history records the movement of the Israelite people to north western Europe.
The Old Testament of the Scriptures prepares Israel for the arrival of Christ; why He would come, where and how He would come.
Christ’s profound effect upon the Jews, Israel and the world over the past two thousand years is indescribably amazing and wonderful to say the least!!
Millions of books, articles, reports and documents have been produced in support of Christ’s existence, spiritual power and prophesy to the benefit of all mankind and still people find it all too hard to accept.
We will believe the existence of Genghis Khan, Plato, King Arthur, Mohammed, Julius Caesar etc., but they pale into insignificance when we compare the writings about Christ. Think of the thousands of people that witnessed the presence of Christ. His teachings and miracles that are recorded in the scriptures over the seventy year period after His ascension into Heaven, but there is no recorded documentation disagreeing with Christ’s existence at that time. The power of the Spirit in those early days was so great that people were inspired by truth and the promise of what was to come to record the wonders He performed when He lived here amongst us.
The words of the Bible are crying out to us, they cannot be more true in this day and age. Two thousand years ago the New Testament was written by the Apostles, giving account of our Lord’s tenure on this earth, the missionary work commanded by Christ, foretelling the Kingdom of God and what we must expect before the return of our Lord. The Prophesy of Christ’s return is imminent. Why is that so hard to believe!?
What does Christ say must happen before His return;- In Luke 21 we read about wars and insurrections, nations will rise up against nations, and kingdoms against kingdoms (the power of nations through industry and finance will control and overwhelm small nations). There will be earthquakes (natural disasters) and famine and plagues (starvation, disease and virus’). Christians we will be alienated, persecuted and disliked even by their own friends and families.
Paul tells us in 2 Timothy 3, In the last days before Our Lord’s return distressing times will come. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, arrogant, abusive, children will be disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, inhuman, implacable, slanderers, profligates (immoral or licentious), brutes, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to the outward form of godliness but denying its power (falling in with what is popular or politically correct rather than supporting the truth of the Bible).
Sounds pretty familiar!!
I would like to finish with the words of Peter because they are poignant and necessary for us to embrace especially in these times of trouble and uncertainty.
 Finally, all of you, have unity of spirit, sympathy, love for one another, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or abuse for abuse; but, on the contrary, repay with a blessing. It is for this that you were called – that you might inherit a blessing. For “Those who desire life and desire to see good days, let them keep their tongues from evil and their lips from speaking deceit; let them turn away from evil and do good; let them speak peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil” – (I Peter 3:8-12)
Be watchful, be prepared and be ready, because the Lord is on His way..net
End
 N
