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The resident raptor raps about current events

A CALL TO THE WANDERER

Allen Frederick Leave a comment

The Shepherd Who Seeks

When someone goes missing,

the unanswered questions linger

—day after day, night after night

—refusing to let the heart rest.

When the sheep strays, the Shepherd does not shrug and move on. Jesus said, “What man of you… does not leave the ninety‑nine in the wilderness and go after the one which is lost, until he finds it?” (Luke 15:4). His pursuit is not casual—it is determined, deliberate, and unrelenting. He does not stop until the lost one is lifted onto His shoulders and carried home with joy.

The Lamp That Reveals

When the coin slips into the shadows, Jesus tells us the woman “lights a lamp, sweeps the house, and searches carefully until she finds it.” (Luke 15:8). She refuses to accept loss as final. She refuses to let darkness have the last word. Her lamp burns, her hands move —because value does not diminish simply because something is hidden.

The Father Who Restores

And when the son wanders into rebellion and ruin, Scripture says, “While he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion.” (Luke 15:20). The Father never stopped watching the horizon. His love outran the son’s shame. His embrace interrupted the son’s rehearsed apology. Restoration came faster than condemnation could speak.

These parables are not stories about human persistence—they are revelations of heaven’s heart. Jesus said plainly, “The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:10). Whether the missing one is a mother like Nancy Guntrie, a friend who vanished without explanation, or a soul wandering far from God, the truth remains: no one is beyond the reach of the Shepherd, the search of the Spirit, or the love of the Father.

Nothing Is Hidden From God

Loss wears many faces, and Scripture refuses to limit God’s concern to only one kind.

Some are lost physically. Some are lost emotionally. Some are lost spiritually. But none are lost to Him.

David declared, “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?” (Psalm 139:7). Even in the darkest places, “the darkness shall not hide from You.” (Psalm 139:12). What is hidden to us is never hidden to God. What is lost to us is never lost to Him.

Jesus promised, “There is nothing hidden which will not be revealed.” (Mark 4:22). He repeated it again: “Nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known.” (Luke 8:17). Paul echoes this truth: “God will bring to light the hidden things of darkness.” (1 Corinthians 4:5).

God uncovers what needs to be found. He reveals what needs to be seen. He brings into the open what the enemy tried to bury.

The God Who Restores

Restoration is not a side theme—it is the central promise of God’s covenant love.
Scripture does not whisper about restoration—it declares it again and again:

“I will restore to you the years that the locust has eaten.” (Joel 2:25)
“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” (Psalm 147:3)
“I will restore health to you and heal you of your wounds.” (Jeremiah 30:17)
“The God of all grace… will restore, establish, strengthen, and settle you.” (1 Peter 5:10)
“Behold, I make all things new.” (Revelation 21:5)

God does not merely repair—He restores. He does not patch—He renews. He does not discard—He redeems.

Heaven’s Joy Over the Found

And when the lost one is found—whether physically or spiritually—heaven does not whisper a polite welcome. Jesus said, “There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (Luke 15:10). Restoration is not begrudging—it is celebrated.

We are not only recipients of this grace—we are participants in the search. We pray, we watch, we shine light into dark places, and we stand ready to embrace those who return, whether from miles away or from the far country of the soul.

Closing Declaration

What is lost will be found.
What is hidden will be revealed.
What is broken will be restored.
Amen!

When a Nation Resists Its Own Healing

Allen Frederick Leave a comment

As America enters Her 250th year of existence, let’s take a moment to pause. We should think about the State of the Union before the President’s address to the Nation in a few days.

There are seasons in a nation’s life. The symptoms of decay rise so clearly to the surface. Even the untrained eye can see them. Corruption becomes normalized. Dishonesty becomes expected. Debt becomes a way of life. Institutions become self-preserving rather than people-serving. Truth becomes inconvenient, and justice becomes negotiable. These are not modern problems. They are ancient ones. Solomon captured it with piercing simplicity when he wrote, “There is nothing new under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 1:9)

What once was will be again, because human nature has not changed. And the spiritual laws that govern nations have not changed either. If we want to understand the moment we are living in, we must return to the Scriptures. We should not seek political commentary there. Instead, we should aim to find spiritual diagnosis.

The story of Jehoshaphat flows directly from the covenant promise of 2 Chronicles 7:14. It provides a lens to see our own national condition with clarity and sobriety.

The Symptoms of a Nation in Decline

Before Jehoshaphat ever stepped into leadership, Judah was already sick. The symptoms were visible everywhere. Judges accepted bribes. Leaders protected their own interests rather than the people’s. Alliances were forged out of fear rather than faith. The culture tolerated dishonesty because it had grown accustomed to it. The system rewarded corruption because corruption had become the system.

Scripture describes this kind of national decay with painful accuracy:

“Your princes are rebels and companions of thieves. Everyone loves a bribe and runs after gifts; they do not bring justice to the fatherless, and the widow’s cause does not come to them.” (Isaiah 1:23)

A nation does not collapse because of one leader. A nation collapses because of a culture that prefers darkness to light.

Jesus said, “People loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.” (John 3:19) When darkness becomes comfortable, truth becomes offensive.

The System Beneath the Symptoms

Corruption is never random. It is architectural. It is built into the bones of a nation when righteousness is neglected. By the time Jehoshaphat arrived, Judah’s institutions had become self-protecting organisms. They rewarded partiality, concealed dishonesty, and punished anyone who threatened the status quo.

This is the same pattern the prophets confronted:

“Shall I acquit the man with wicked scales and with a bag of deceitful weights?” (Micah 6:11)

“Hear this, you who trample the needy… saying, ‘When will the new moon be over, that we may sell grain… making the ephah small and the shekel great and dealing deceitfully with false balances?’” (Amos 8:4–5)

When a system becomes corrupt, it does not merely harm the weak. It eventually devours the very people who built it.

God Sends a Reformer, Not a Committee

Into this environment, God raised up Jehoshaphat—not as a politician, not as a celebrity, but as a reformer. His assignment was not to preserve the system but to purify it. He appointed honest judges, confronted corruption, restored accountability, and called the nation back to God.

Scripture records his charge to the judges:

“Consider what you do, for you judge not for man but for the LORD. He is with you in giving judgment.” (2 Chronicles 19:6)

Jehoshaphat understood something many forget: Reform is not a political act. Reform is a spiritual intervention.

The Resistance to Reform

But not everyone welcomed the light. Those who benefited from the corruption resisted the reform. Those who prospered under dishonesty opposed accountability. Those who feared losing influence fought the very changes that would have healed the nation.

This is the tragedy of every generation. People cry out for healing. However, when God sends the healer, they resist Him.

Jesus lamented this same pattern:

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem… how often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!” (Matthew 23:37)

A nation cannot be healed if it refuses the hand that heals it.

Miriam’s Warning: Do Not Resist the Vessel God Chooses

Miriam’s story stands as a sobering warning. She did not reject God. She rejected the vessel God chose. She questioned Moses’ authority, challenged his assignment, and believed she had equal standing in the mission. But God responded swiftly:

“Why then were you not afraid to speak against My servant Moses?” (Numbers 12:8)

Her leprosy was not punishment. It was revelation—a visible picture of an invisible rebellion.

When you resist the person God selects to bring deliverance, you are not fighting a man. You are fighting God. And when you fight God, you bring judgment upon your own head.

The Consequence of National Resistance

Jehoshaphat’s reforms were a mercy—a chance for Judah to return to righteousness before judgment fell. But Scripture is clear: when a nation refuses to repent, refuses to humble itself, refuses to turn, judgment becomes inevitable.

Not because God desires destruction, but because corruption collapses under its own weight.

“Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” (Proverbs 16:18)

“Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.” (Proverbs 14:34)

A nation that resists reform is a nation choosing its own ruin.

The Cure That Flows From the Throne

The remedy for national decay has never been political. It has always been spiritual. God told Solomon exactly how a nation is healed:

“If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14)

Healing begins with humility. Restoration begins with repentance. Deliverance begins with alignment.

And God’s healing always flows through human instruments. He raises a Moses, a Samuel, a Jehoshaphat, a Nehemiah—and when the people resist the vessel, they resist the healing.

A Prayer for a Nation in Need of Mercy

Father, we humble ourselves before You. We confess our national pride, our corruption, our injustice, and our dishonesty. We acknowledge that we have often resisted the very instruments You sent to heal us. We have misread our moment and preferred comfort over correction.

But today we turn. We seek Your face. We bow our hearts. We repent of our wicked ways. Hear from heaven, O Lord. Forgive our sin. Heal our land.

Raise up reformers in our generation. Give us discernment to recognize Your movement. Give us courage to align with Your purposes. And give us humility to follow the vessels You have chosen.

Heal our land, O God—not by might, nor by power, but by Your Spirit. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

WATCHMAN REPORT

Allen Frederick Leave a comment

WHEN GOD APPOINTS LEADERS: A PRESIDENTS’ DAY CALL TO PRAYER

Presidents’ Day invites us to pause and remember a truth older than our Republic and deeper than our politics: leadership is ultimately determined by the sovereignty of God. Elections matter, civic duty matters, but Scripture makes it unmistakably clear that behind every rise and every fall stands the hand of the Lord.

“He removes kings and sets up kings.” (Daniel 2:21)
“The Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom He will.” (Daniel 4:17)
“There is no authority except from God.” (Romans 13:1)

These are not poetic sentiments. They are declarations of divine governance. Presidents rise and presidents fall, but none do so apart from the will and wisdom of the One who governs nations for His purposes.

THE POSTURE OF GOD’S PEOPLE UNDER ANY LEADER

Because God appoints leaders, our response is never rebellion against His choices. Our response is intercession.

Paul urged believers to pray “for kings and all who are in high positions” (1 Timothy 2:1–2).
Peter instructed the church to “honor the emperor” (1 Peter 2:17).
Jeremiah told exiles to “seek the welfare of the city… and pray to the Lord on its behalf” (Jeremiah 29:7).

These commands were given under rulers far more corrupt than any modern president. Yet the posture remained the same: humility, prayer, and obedience to God above all.

Prayer is not passive. Prayer is participation in God’s governance. Prayer is how the church influences the nation without violence, rebellion, or despair.

THE LEADERS WE RECEIVE REFLECT THE PEOPLE WE HAVE BECOME

This is the sobering truth at the heart of biblical history.

God told Israel:
“I gave you a king in My anger, and I took him away in My wrath.” (Hosea 13:11)

Leadership is often a mirror. When a nation’s heart grows cold, God allows leaders who reflect that coldness. When a nation repents, God raises up leaders who guide with righteousness.

A nation’s success or failure is not solely the fault of its leaders. It is the fruit of its collective heart.

THE WATCHMAN’S WARNING

A watchman does not predict outcomes. A watchman reads patterns. And Scripture gives us a pattern that cannot be ignored:

“Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.
Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.” (Psalm 127:1)

No president can secure a nation God is tearing down.
No administration can destroy a nation God is upholding.
No policy can outmaneuver the purposes of the Almighty.

If the Lord is not building, we are wasting our strength.
If the Lord is not guarding, we are wasting our vigilance.

This is why the true crisis of our nation is not political. It is spiritual.

THE PATHWAY TO NATIONAL HEALING

God has already given the remedy:

“If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14)

Notice the order:
Not if the president…
Not if the government…
Not if the culture…

If My people.

Revival begins in the pews, not the polls.
Healing begins in the church, not the Capitol.
Transformation begins with repentance, not legislation.

A PRESIDENTS’ DAY PRAYER

Lord God Almighty,
You rule over nations and over those who lead them. You raise up presidents and You remove them. You appoint authority for Your purposes, and none can resist Your will.

We pray today for the President of the United States, for Congress, for governors, and for all who bear the weight of leadership. Grant them wisdom from above—pure, peaceable, humble, and just. Restrain evil. Exalt righteousness. Guide their decisions for the good of the people and the glory of Your name.

And Lord, begin with us. Cleanse our hearts. Correct our pride. Restore our reverence. Teach us to pray with the urgency of watchmen who see the dawn approaching.

Unless You build this nation, we labor in vain.
Unless You guard this land, we watch in vain.
So build, Lord. Guard, Lord. Heal, Lord.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

The House of Saul and the Songs of David

Allen Frederick Leave a comment

A prophetic editorial for a noisy age

A sobering pattern in Scripture keeps resurfacing in the modern worship debates. This is especially true when scandals erupt. During these times, voices rise to condemn entire ministries. It is the pattern of Saul’s house. It is impressive, polished, and anointed in the eyes of the people. It is also the pattern of David, the shepherd‑psalmist whose songs carried healing into a broken court.

Why This Conversation Matters Now

In recent years, well‑known ministries such as Bethel, Hillsong, and Elevation have faced intense public scrutiny. Some of that scrutiny has been justified, some exaggerated, and some weaponized. What began as accountability has, in many circles, turned into a movement. This movement seeks to discredit not only the leaders who failed. It also discredits the worship, the songs, and the sincere believers who served faithfully within those houses. This article is not written to defend institutions. It is written to defend the Davids—those who ministered with purity in places where Saul’s fell. It also aims to remind the church that while God judges leaders, He also preserves worship. This is not a theoretical argument. It is a response to a spiritual battle raging right now.

The People’s King and the Shepherd’s Song

Saul embodied everything Israel believed a leader should be. “A choice young man and a goodly: there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he” (1 Samuel 9:2). Yet beneath the appearance, something was breaking. His disobedience became rebellion, for “rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry” (1 Samuel 15:23).

Into that compromised house, God sent a boy with a harp. Scripture says, “David took a harp and played… so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him” (1 Samuel 16:23). While Saul unraveled, David worshiped. While Saul threw spears—“Saul cast the spear; for he said, I will smite David even to the wall” (1 Samuel 18:11)—David refused to return them.

David ministered instead of weaponizing his gift.

The Modern Sauls and the Modern Davids

Today, the failures of large ministries often become the feeding ground of self‑appointed critics. They gather like the Pharisee in Jesus’ parable, who prayed, “God, I thank thee that I am not as other men are” (Luke 18:11). They forget that Saul was anointed too. God placed him on the throne. David served faithfully in a spiritually sick environment.

David’s songs were born in a broken house, not a perfect one. His worship rose from places like, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want” (Psalm 23:1) and “Create in me a clean heart, O God” (Psalm 51:10). To attack every worship song because of the failures of a leader is to confuse Saul with David. It is to condemn the harpist because the king lost his way.

The Sin of the Sword‑Bearer

There is a dangerous arrogance in believing that God needs human outrage to accomplish His justice. David understood that judgment belongs to God alone. When Saul hunted him, David said, “I will not put forth mine hand against my lord; for he is the Lord’s anointed” (1 Samuel 24:10).

There is another moment in Scripture that exposes this same spirit. When the mob came to seize Jesus, Peter drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear. But Jesus immediately rebuked him: “Put up thy sword into the sheath” (John 18:10–11). Peter believed he was defending the truth. He believed he was protecting the Kingdom. But in his zeal, he wounded the very one Jesus intended to reach—and Jesus healed what Peter’s sword had damaged. Many today are repeating Peter’s mistake, cutting off ears in the name of righteousness and silencing the very people God is still pursuing.

Paul echoes the same truth: “Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord” (Romans 12:19).

Because David refused to take God’s job, God gave David the kingdom. “So all the elders of Israel came… and they anointed David king over Israel” (2 Samuel 5:3).

The Scandals Are Real—But So Is the Pattern

Yes, the sins of modern Sauls are being exposed. Yes, God is humbling what needs to be humbled. “To every thing there is a season… a time to break down, and a time to build up” (Ecclesiastes 3:1,3). But in the midst of that shaking, there are Davids—songwriters, worship leaders, musicians—who served faithfully in those houses. And God is still near to them, for “the Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart” (Psalm 34:18).

To crucify them because Saul fell is to repeat the error of the Pharisee who mistook indignation for righteousness. Jesus warned, “Judge not, that ye be not judged” (Matthew 7:1).

Let God be God.

A Final Admonition

Unless we are sinless, it is not wise to cast stones or spears at another whom God may be preparing to raise up. Jesus said, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone” (John 8:7). And James reminds us, “There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?” (James 4:12).

The call of this moment is not to sharpen swords but to sheath them. Not to condemn but to discern. Not to destroy but to wait. Not to exalt ourselves but to humble ourselves. “Let all bitterness… be put away from you” (Ephesians 4:31) and “in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves” (Philippians 2:3).

The God who removed Saul is the same God who raised David. “Promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west… but God is the judge” (Psalm 75:6‑7). And Christ Himself “committed himself to Him that judgeth righteously” (1 Peter 2:23).

The Final Word

In an age of noise, outrage, and digital stones, the church must remember the lesson Jesus taught: “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5). And again, “He that humbleth himself shall be exalted” (Luke 18:14).

Let the Sauls fall if God wills it.
Let the Davids rise when God appoints it.
Let the songs continue to minister.
Let the swords remain sheathed.
Let God be God.

“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart… and He shall direct thy paths” (Proverbs 3:5‑6).
“All things work together for good to them that love God” (Romans 8:28).

Snowmageddon and the Storms We Create: When the World Mobilizes and the Church Retreats

Allen Frederick Leave a comment

The forecasts grow louder. The graphics turn dramatic. The region braces for what the news has christened Snowmageddon. This is a storm wrapped in apocalyptic language. It comes complete with countdown clocks, urgent tickers, and warnings that feel more cinematic than meteorological. The world prepares with a kind of frantic determination. Meanwhile, something else unfolds quietly in the background. It is almost unnoticed unless you are paying attention.

Electric linemen are already staged in their trucks, engines idling, ready to restore power the moment the first line snaps. Road crews sit in warm garages beside mountains of salt, waiting for the call to roll out into the night. Grocery stores are stripped bare as shoppers fill carts with enough food to survive a siege. Everyone is mobilizing. Everyone is preparing. Everyone is stepping into their role with a sense of duty and resolve.

And then, amid all this activity, comes the announcement from the one place that claims to carry the unshakable Kingdom:

“All services are canceled due to inclement weather.”

The contrast is hard to ignore. The world gears up. The church shuts down.

This is not about recklessness or ignoring safety. It is about the symbolism—the quiet confession embedded in the decision. When the world anticipates hardship, it mobilizes. When the church anticipates hardship, it retreats. And that retreat reveals something deeper than a scheduling adjustment. It reveals a posture.

Scripture never once suggests that worship is a Sunday-only activity, nor does it tie devotion to favorable weather. The command is simple and ancient: “Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh is a Sabbath to the LORD your God.” (Exodus 20:9–10) The rhythm is work and rest, not convenience and cancellation. If the work of the Kingdom is the saving of souls, it also includes the strengthening of the saints. It involves the breaking of bread and the prayers of the people. Then that work is not suspended by snowflakes.

The early church understood this instinctively. They gathered in homes, courtyards, borrowed rooms, and hidden places. They met in caves and catacombs. They prayed in prison cells. They broke bread wherever they could find a table. They did not have buildings to close, so they could not close the church. Their worship was not weather-permitting. Their devotion was not seasonal. Their gatherings were not fragile.

Jesus Himself warned us about the danger of a faith that collapses under pressure. “Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does them is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” (Matthew 7:24) The storm came, the winds blew, the floods rose—and the house stood because its foundation was not circumstantial. But the house built on sand fell, “and great was its fall.” (Matthew 7:27)

A storm does not create weakness. A storm reveals it.

And perhaps that is what Snowmageddon exposes—not the fragility of our infrastructure, but the fragility of our ecclesiology. A church that closes at the first sign of difficulty has confused the building with the body. A church that cancels worship because the weather is inconvenient has forgotten. It has forgotten that worship is not an event but a life. A church that retreats while the world mobilizes is a church that has lost sight of its calling.

Jesus said, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.” (Matthew 9:37) He did not add, “unless it snows.” He did not say, “unless the roads are slick.” He did not suggest that the work of the Kingdom pauses when the forecast is unfavorable. Souls do not stop needing salvation because the temperature drops. Hearts do not stop needing hope because the wind picks up. Darkness does not delay its work because the roads are icy.

If anything, storms heighten the need for light.

The world prepares for the storm because it knows what storms can do. The church should prepare for the storm because it knows what storms reveal.

And maybe that is the quiet message hidden inside this winter’s theatrics. If a snowstorm can cancel our worship, perhaps what we call worship was never the thing God asked for. If a weather system can scatter the saints, perhaps the gathering was never rooted in the Spirit. If the church retreats while the world mobilizes, maybe we have forgotten that the Kingdom work is still work. The One who called us did not limit His commission to clear skies.

“Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 15:58)

Storm or no storm, the Kingdom does not close. Storm or no storm, the mission does not pause. Storm or no storm, the church is still the church.

And maybe Snowmageddon is not the storm we should fear. Maybe the greater storm is the quiet one. It shows how easily we retreat when the world needs us most.