And he said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.”
Mark 1:38
I am sitting in the airport in Atlanta awaiting the final leg of our flight back to Greenville from Kauai where I officiated our son’s wedding.
A hurricane had just hit the Big Island and two were bearing down on the Islands when we departed for Kauai.
“Oh no! Please don’t get stuck there,” My supervisor said.
Given that being a watchman is hard-wired into my DNA, I also kept myself abreast of the evolving escalation in the Straight of Hormuz. At least 93% of Hawaii’s jet fuel comes from the Straight of Hormuz and is refined in South Korea. At this point, it is not a question of if we run out of jet fuel, but when.
Donald Trump is caught in what Professor Robert Pape calls an Escalation Trap with Iran. At the end of the day, Trump faces two choices. Continue the war with Iran and potentially be responsible for millions or even billions of deaths worldwide via war and famine. Or fall on his proverbial sword and abide by the MOU, which amounts to a US surrender to Iran.
Zelensky in Ukraine is in a similar trap. Ukraine cannot defeat Russia on its own. The best outcome for Ukrainians would be to cut their losses and accept a peace deal with Russia. However, that would mean a radical loss of wealth, power, and even life for Ukrainian oligarchs. Hence Zelensky’s otherwise insane missile and drone attacks on Russian girls’ schools and infrastructure with NATO weapons and technology. The only logical, albeit diabolical, reason would be to provoke Russia into attacking a NATO nation, thereby invoking an Article 5 response from all the others.
On September 3, 2026, Denmark’s intelligence service warned that Russian intelligence services are actively preparing sabotage operations targeting companies in Denmark’s defense industry. The same day, NATO’s Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum publicly said it is closely tracking Russia’s expanding and modernizing nuclear-powered submarine force, including long-range strike-capable vessels operating from the Kola Peninsula.
-Euro News-
The UK has also summoned Russia’s chargé d’affaires over Germany’s alleged attempted explosive-drone attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport, calling it part of a broader Russian effort to undermine the collective security of Ukraine’s allies. Russia denied responsibility and warned of a “proportionate and calibrated” response.
-Reuters-
Vladimir Putin, who is dovish compared with many of his peers in the Kremlin, has made it abundantly clear that a world without Russia is not worth having. An existential threat to Russia’s existence will be met with a preemptive Nuclear strike.
Surrender or loss are not options because Ultra-conservative groups, a.k.a. Nazis in Ukraine, would likely kill him.
Three hurricanes ranging from Category 2 to 4 are bearing down on the islands now as I write.
All of these situations, and more, were on my mind throughout the trip. Not in a fearful way. But rather in a sober way.
Sober –nḗphō – calm and collected in spirit, temperate, dispassionate, circumspect.
Cathy and I took a long bike ride and visited some poignant landmarks while we were on Kauai.
We ate a Mermaids, the place where we courted.
For the first time in 25 years, I stood in the spot where I camped while homeless with my ex-wife Jaime and two children. Jaime later died from Heroin use.
We had fled New York after I came home from work to find her, naked, bound, and gagged, tied to a radiator in our apartment. It was the beginning of the end of my old life apart from Jesus.
We visited Lydgate Beach, where I started my new life with Cathy 21 years ago. Austin took our wedding photos.
A homeless man was sleeping under the picnic table where we had served sushi and water after our wedding ceremony. I thought I heard the Lord tell me to give him twenty dollars. But I usually don’t give homeless people cash. I’d rather buy food or other necessities. I decided to wait for confirmation.
Cathy and I had just started to peddle away when Cathy said,
“Wait!” Do you think we should give that guy twenty dollars?”
“That’s all I needed to hear.”
We approached him together, woke him up, and explained that the Lord had told us to give him twenty bucks. His name was Jerimiah. He was emaciated, with torn clothing. A cross was tattooed on his arm, and a red plastic “Jesus loves you” bracelet sat on his wrist. He kept his face hidden as we spoke and shared the gospel he’d probably heard a thousand times. I wondered if he was ashamed or had warrants, and I looked like a cop. He began citing Bible verses out of context to justify his use of everything from Marijuana and Alcohol to Kratom, to meth, all in moderation, of course. I explained why that was a lie and that the devil owned the fence called “indecision” that he was sitting on.
Meanwhile, “One is too many and ten thousand is not enough.” And substance abuse is Pharmakia, which is sorcery. He stopped talking and shook his head in affirmation. We stopped talking too.
“Our bikes are rented. We have to return them soon.”
Oversharing is a common mistake when sharing the gospel.
We may be tempted to think that if we talk enough and share enough, the person will have a revelation. I have found thst it’s better to speak one truth and be sure that truth is the final word so that God can bring the increase.
The same principle applies to our children and grandchildren. We might be dead and gone before they receive the revelation of Jesus and His kingdom. In the meantime, our job is to remain faithful like Jesus was faithful. Faithful means being sober, vigilant, and obedient as we walk the straight path that matters. The straight and narrow path that Jesus walked.
Jesus had been healing and casting out demons in Capernaum and Galilee when he declared His purpose in Mark 1:38.
And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.
Mark 1:39
By the end of the chapter, we see Jesus healing a leper,
and said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to them.” But he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in desolate places, and people were coming to him from every quarter.
Mark 1:44-45
Jesus fulfilled His mission and purpose amidst tremendous conflict, pain, suffering, and joy. He was aware of it all. Yet He was never consumed by any of it. He set His face like flint upon His mission and purpose, which were and are the eternal gospel of the Kingdom.
In the meantime, “Occupy (do business) till I come” remains our mandate. Our business is His business. We must do it fearlessly and in peace amidst the paradox of joy and suffering in the world, with the full understanding that neither is our end.
Stay on the straight and narrow path.
