1 Peter 5:8-9
“Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.”
It was just after noon on Sunday, December 7, 1941, when my 7 year-old world was turned upside down. Church had just dismissed and several of us kids were playing outside the church. Suddenly two of the teenage girls screamed out; “Pearl Harbor has just been bombed by the Japanese!”
The next day, President Franklin D. Roosevelt addressed a joint session of congress and uttered the words, That December 7, 1941 would be remembered as a “date which will live in infamy.” The same can be said of September 11, 2001.
Over the years there has been much speculation about why a warning had not been issued. There were radar operators who observed the incoming enemy planes, but seemingly mistook them for a friendly flight from the west coast. The fact of the matter is that there were few, if any provisions made to warn of impending doom.
The Japanese military achieved a great “tactical” victory that fateful day, but it was a terrible “strategic” loss. They failed to calculate the industrial and military potential that they had stirred into life. The result was their total defeat four years, and thousands of lives later.
Every human on the planet can look back on a date of infamy. We cannot place a calendar date to it, but it was the day that Adam and Eve believed Satan’s lie and disobeyed God. That “sin” has been passed down to every person who has ever lived or will ever live. The result of that sin is death. It was a “tactical” victory for Satan, but it was a “strategic” blunder of eternal repercussions. It will eventually result in his utter demise.
In the meantime, Jesus is our Commander In Chief who gives us victory in our battles. He has assured us that a day is coming when the war will be over and we will have the greatest victory celebration of all time. It will be a date that will live in glory and eternal life. What a day that will be!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil