For Such A Time As This

Introduction:

Today is similar to the days in Germany

“we have been here before”

Does our state give out propaganda

History is repeating itself.  Lets grab some of the lessons are.

We need to have and practice thankful living

This book is made for the average Joe.  How do we live as followers of Christ.

Part 2

Part 3

Introduction:

Today is similar to the days in Germany

“we have been here before”

Does our state give out propaganda

History is repeating itself.  Lets grab some of the lessons are.

We need to have and practice thankful living

This book is made for the average Joe.  How do we live as followers of Christ.

Part 1   Prepare yourself or Gather

Find Calm

  1. Many things will happen at once
    1. Story of storm (it’s not easy)  but it’s a must
    1. Don’t let storm direct your response
    1. Storm is to create shock and awe
    1. Don’t give the storm any more power
    1. Christianity puts us in many different dimension
    1. Think of others, not just for yourself, don’t let storm steal your focus
    1. State of emergency is an act to get overall power
    1. Fighting against Hitler is fighting for your church
    1. Totalitarianism is to get total control
      1. Be strategic with your reaction

We are dependant on others

  1. Exposure to violence leads to more violence
    1. Your bodies bring you back to life
    1. It’s called emotional numbing
    1. Deprives you of joy
    1. Don’t become indifferent
    1. Feel your body all the times
    1. Care for your body which means controlling your soul
    1. Record changes in this world
    1. Feel all feelings, pour them out
  2. Feel all of your feelings
    1.  You need to trust which brings change
    1. Fear and anger leads to revenge
    1. Do not be afraid
    1. Difference is the key to defense
    1. Fear turns into hatred
    1. Feelings are indicators!
    1. Some disguise themselves as thought or opinion

3. Test your feeling

  1. Test your profit
  2. Everything needs to be tested
  3. Do not be deceived
  4. Gelation 25
  5. A liar is concerned about the truth
  6. Do research, seek out different opinions
  7. Community forces you to have a wider view
  8. Seek those living on margin
  9. Wait for the Lord
    1. Psalms say do not take revenge
    1. Wait for the lord, think about yourself, a reconning
    1. Take responsibility   have you gone astray
    1. God will let good come out of everything
    1. Is it wait for a God of justice and mercy?
      1. No excesses
      1. Psalm 27 be confident

6.  Faith hope and love remain

  1. Hope is practice
    1. Create purpose or meaning
    1. Work and accomplishment
    1. Community with others
    1. Happiness does not bring on being happy
    1. The bible talks about joy
    1. Find your purpose (bigger than yourself)
    1. It leads to seeing others and community
  2. “two are Better than One” Build with  what’s there
    1. Starting from scratch takes time
    1. Collaborating with others
    1. Power must be built
    1. My body belongs to Jesus Christ
    1. 2 is better than 1 because if one falls the other comes to yor aid

Part 2

  • Hear the Word (listen and respond)
    • Mind the power of language
    • Our words hurt countries
    • Pay attention to the words
    • Words turn into a belief
    • Words tell more of the speakers thoughts
    • Ask question, rephrase
    • Speaking the truth must be learned and require relationships
    • “do you really mean”
    • Books are difficult to control (bigger and complex info)
  • Stand where God stands (protect te weak) 2:59
    • Ask for peace
    • Christian stand with God AT his grief
    • Belief in God is a commitment to stand where /god stands
    • Stand with the weary
    • Give to all the least of the brothers
    • Protect the weak need come to Jesus moments
    • God is for everyone
    • Embrace the suffering of others
    • Protect the weak
  • Stand Firm to  the lord
    •  Don’t give up space
    • Be resistance for others
    • Create some friction!
    • Not giving up space
    • Watch the margins
    • Creating friction matters
    • You choose your own space
  •  For such a time as this or use your privilege
  • Power corrupt but gives you access
  • Privilege gives you options
  • Some Drs. Protected disabled people in Germany
  • Maybe don’t follow order, work your talents
  •  Obey God more than humans
  • People don’t have unlimited power
  • Give to Ceasar what is his, and to God what is Gods
  • Be wise as serpents and innocent as doves  choose battles and avoid traps
    • Avoid traps
  • Avoid issues
  • Will this make it easier for them to hurt me.
  •  Do something Brave or make a start
  • You need to express yourself….don’t be silent
  • People don’t want to make waves
  • It’s easier with other people
  • The longer your silent it’s more difficult over tme
  • Don’t be a bystander
  • Indifference is consent
  • Choosing not to go along, like a march, or ask a question.  Expect to be uncomfortable.
  • DON’T BE A BYSTANDER

Part 3

  1. Rejoyce always or lean into joy
    1. Make space for time to weep and laugh
    1. Joy is the greatest response to Gods work
    1. The lord is my Hightower
    1. Thank those for their kindness
    1. Do not be afraid
    1. Joy comes after fear
    1. Joy is it’s own testimony
    1. Leaning into joy, protects you from trauma
  2. Pray without Ceasing or Fortify Interiorly
    1. Hold on to what’s good
    1. Draw a boundary (a  Condition) 
    1. Prayer is for you and God
    1. Loneliness is different from solitude
    1. Loneliness leads to despair
    1. Seek solitude
  3. Break bread or nourish community
    1. Church is the body of bread
    1. Christian community is through Jesus Christ
    1. How we pray is what we hope for
    1. Listen to one another, collect money for others
  4. Do this in remembrance of me or rehearing dangerous memories
    1. Jesus Christs death wants to have dangerous memory with your h\whole body in your community
    1. We are sustained and embraced
    1. Use memory to make things better
  5. When your children ask you….be more conservative
    1. It takes a village to raise a family
    1. You can’t protect youngsters for opposition
    1. Conservative values can be radical
    1. Liberty is to save others
    1. What are you trtying to preserver Sending
  6. Many members or value different gifts
    1. If you want to take credit you will burn out
    1. Whoever is not against us is for us
    1. Unruliness produces disruptions
    1. It’s the same God who activates the spirit within you
    1. Don’t judge the eye for not being the ear!
    1. Different members have different insights
    1. We need others to grow (financial and moral support)
    1. Some will have to die as heroes
    1. The body is more than the sum of its members
  7. Hold onto unity “One Body”
    1. It can’t be defined by race or some issue
    1. Life and work/mission and evangelism
    1. In a world of hate is a relief to focus on a single goal
    1. Unity is a commitment to gravel with one another
    1. We need to challenge other in love
    1. This is a challenge to not leaving anyone behind

Part 4   Go into the world or Sending

  • Get thee behind me, Satan or Get out of yourself
    • No gathering without sending
    • Making it last evades the call
    • Jesus says take up you cross and follow me
    • Community is found with Mosses and Eliga
    • These are safe places that leads to comfort and strength
    • Refocus to where you are being called
    • Stay with the
  • Find Power in Weakness or Practice Creative Noncomormity
    • Compromise always equal more compromise
    • Refuse the very first step
    • Have tactical misunderstanding
    • Church dying for the church will survive
    • Resist conforming
  • Prepare the ground or cultivate relationships
    • Talk of Sower traveling Luke 8:4-8
    • Everything needed to be done over and over again
  • Love thy Neighbor or shatter loneliness
    • We are the anti-social century
    • Local commo is high
    • Over/under de[ployment
    • Combat this feeling (need neighbors)
    • Love a neighbor is about care, Jesus is the good Samaritans
    • Help with people God puts in your task
    • You need to be a neighbor to find one
    • You might even not trust your neighbor
    • Small talk can lead to connections
    • Build network of support
  • Redeem your time or Delay & Prepare
    • You can buy time for some to reach safety
    • Talk of logistics for the nazi people
    • This time was used to save lives in Germany
    • Buying time
      • Who needs to be contacted
      • Prepare now
  • Come to me or allow people to chabge
    • People needed friends in their fate
    • “come ti me”
    • Forgiveness is tough
    • It’s different it piuts a blanket over wrong doing
    • It’s opposite of grace
    • Forgiveness is purely the gospel
    • Shaming and blameing  (makes them want to double down)
    • Talk of MAGA bandwagon
    • Friendship encourages relationships
    • Grace of God promotes healing
  • What to you have that you didn’t receive? Or pass on the word
    • Paul likes to write letters
    • These letters pass on “stuff” to share with others
    • Thes messages were vital to pass on thoughts
    • You also learn about the unity of God
    • You must be unified
    • Learn from the past, reflect. Apply, discuss, and create
    • Pass on your letter with the spirit of the living word.

Conclusion:  Build Houses or Transform your hope

Kingdoms fall, it’s unprecedented.    Some empires fall quickly; people are searching for pieces of the pie.  Control is slipping from grip.   The world is collapsing.    It all rolls back to the Roman empire.  Strive for spiritual isol the end already come.  Hope comes from the unfinished business.  Believe it, I have the good news!  Has the end all ready come?  How will we live?

A little AI help I received from a friend:

SESSION 1: PART ONE: “PREPARE YOURSELF, OR GATHERING” (Ch. 1–7)

Opening Prayer

God of truth and steadiness, gather our scattered thoughts and open us to wisdom. Amen.

Summary

Part One invites readers to begin by becoming grounded. Reichel emphasizes that the moment we live in feels overwhelming, but Christians have lived through many turbulent seasons before. Preparation, then, is not about anticipating disaster but about cultivating presence, clarity, and courage.

These chapters focus on learning to recognize the times, noticing how anxiety shapes our reactions, and refusing both panic and disengagement. Reichel encourages us to pay attention, to remain awake, and to practice honesty about what is happening around us. Preparation includes prayer, self-examination, and remembering the stories of faith communities who lived faithfully during past upheavals. Before we move into outward action, Part One calls us to gather ourselves, steady our hearts, and root our lives in God’s enduring faithfulness.

Key Themes

· Preparation begins with inward grounding

· Christians have lived through crisis before

· Vigilance without panic

· Honesty, presence, and attention

Discussion Questions

  1. What about this section resonated most strongly with you?
  2. How do you personally react to instability: panic, withdrawal, or something else?
  3. What helps you stay grounded when the world feels uncertain?
  4. Why might Reichel begin a “devotional for emergency times” with inner preparation?
  5. What examples from Christian history or Scripture help you see that “we have been here before”?
  6. What distractions or habits keep you from being fully present?
  7. How do you understand the difference between being vigilant and being afraid?

Practice for the Week

Choose one small daily grounding practice: breathing, quiet, a short prayer, or 5 minutes of reflective reading.