I’ve had difficulty writing my column this week.  In fact, I’m currently writing my third draft.  There is so much going on in our nation politically that will affect the world my grandchildren will inherit.  There are stories in the news of riots, protests, and un-civil behavior.  Families are being separated at the border, transsexuals are being invited to read to our children at public libraries, schools seem more interested in changing ideology than in teaching children to read and write.  I could go on and on.  As we are apt to say in the south, It’s a mess ain’t it? Here’s what I need to do (by “I”, I mean “we”):  take a deep breath and remember whose we are.  “I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth”. (Psalm 121:1-2 NIV)  1 John 4:4 says “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world”.  Yes, things look pretty bad when we look at them; this certainly isn’t the world we once knew.  Bad is called good and good is called bad. But that is nothing new, really. Such was the situation when Jesus walked the earth in bodily form. All of His teachings were given under the heavy hand of a perverse and un-Godly government. In that poisonous atmosphere of debauchery He told His disciples that He would give them a peace that the world didn’t understand.  He told them that the world would hate them but that He loved them and would never forsake them. I take those promises seriously and hang onto them for dear life. Remember, though, His commission to His disciples then and His disciples now: “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you”.  He never spoke of changing government, He spoke of changing people. Ideally, when enough people are changed and become a new creature through Christ, government changes.  But even if that doesn’t happen, our task remains the same. So even in a nation becoming hostile to Christianity and seemingly doing everything it can to distance itself from God, I am encouraged. God is on His throne.  We can not only survive, we can flourish. The gospel can and will continue to change people. It can change their hearts from anger, despair, and hopelessness and give them hope and joy and an assurance of eternal life.  My help…my hope…my joy…my purpose…comes from the mountains: the Lord who made the heavens and the earth.   Bro. Tony