Man and woman are the most deluded creatures on the earth. Putting faith continually in others, in self, in technology, in empty words, endless words spewed from those who are nothing but darkness, while in darkness.

Evil will find a way, evil always finds a way in to men, women, and places where God is abandoned and there is the illusion of self-made security. Abandoning God and place faith in men, machines, self, technology, and their own wills and [half]wits.

Far too many are like the five virgins otherwise occupied, doing who knows what, but unprepared, unaware, not ready, not observing, and not keeping oil in their lamps and showing up empty-handed as the door is closed to them [see Matthew 25].

False security abounds. Faith in others, in governments, in human laws, in leaders, politicians, elections, and self is the order of the day, every day, everywhere.

Yet where is God, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, and the inerrant infallible living and active Word of God in the hearts, minds, and daily lives of people?

If the above were present, truly, and faith, wisdom, and understanding in the holy and Sovereign ways of God filled all the places that everything else does?

Imagine that…pause and imagine that.

It begins with each individual. Not waiting for others. Not placing faith in other things, other people, other policies, governments, laws, orthodoxies, or ideologies other than God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and the Scriptures. Place all those uppermost and relegate everything else under Them and the Word of God and see what happens.

In the individual life. Then as that understanding, wisdom, and reliance and faith in God prevails in the individual…as that light spreads…

Everyone is one of the ten virgins. Either prepared, equipped, at the ready, oil filled in individual lamps knowing the reasons, the whos, hows, whys, and whats and having their priorities aligned, or they are among the five otherwise occupied. Living elsewhere other than prepared with the Lord, for the Lord, in the Lord, and the Lord in them.

There is no other option, no other course, no other way for any individual on this earth.

Illusion, delusion, lies, and banal distractions are the dominant feature of most folks.

All afraid, all seeking security that is non-existent, truth be told — and who wants to hear or know the truth these days!?

There is only one way to true, lasting, eternal security that can and will repeal any threat — faith and obedience in the Lord. Repentance, confessing of sin, a humble and contrite heart before the Lord, having Jesus Lord of one’s life. All of it.

Everything here — EVERYTHING HERE — is going to fade away. Be eternally removed and forgotten. Dissolved.

Yet the overwhelming majority make this place and what happens here uppermost as they ignore, deny, and refuse what is truly really real — the spiritual realm. The eternal realm.

Imagine that…

And imagine what could be if an individual thought, believed, and thusly lived otherwise? Like one of the five virgins always with their lamp filled with oil. Priorities aligned. Eyes, heart, and mind and life where they ought to be, able to enter into the open door when it is time?

Security?

Peace?

Only available in one place.

Does this need to be spelled out further?

Ken Pullen, Monday, October 16th, 2023

High-Tech, Low-Tech, and the Illusion of Security

October 12, 2023

By Jared Bridges

Reprinted from The Washington Stand & Prophecy News Watch

High-tech is not always the best tech.

“Gaza is surrounded by a huge fence. They breached the fence. They ‘low-teched’ us. … They just low-teched us and they swarmed into the country and they entered 22 different towns, committed atrocities of every way, shape and form, murdered, raped, and took hostages back to Gaza.”

That was the Israeli policy advisor for the U.S.—Israel Education Association’s assessment on “Washington Watch” of how Hamas launched its invasion of Israel. As Hamas terrorists poured into Israel on October 7, they didn’t exactly hack the border gates with a barrage of artificial intelligence and roll in with next-generation tanks. As described by Reuters:

“The first move was a barrage of 3,000 rockets fired from Gaza that coincided with incursions by fighters who flew hang gliders, or motorised paragliders, over the border, the source said. Israel has previously said 2,500 rockets were fired at first.

Once the fighters on hang-gliders were on the ground, they secured the terrain so an elite commando unit could storm the fortified electronic and cement wall built by Israel to prevent infiltration.

The fighters used explosives to breach the barriers and then sped across on motorbikes. Bulldozers widened the gaps and more fighters entered in four-wheel drives, scenes that witnesses described.”

The terrorists simply floated over the wall. Given Israel’s state of technological advancement, Hamas may as well have been riding horses. In time we’ll undoubtedly learn more of where the intelligence and security breakdowns occurred, but it’s now abundantly clear that technology alone didn’t keep Israel secure.

Whether it’s national or personal security we’re talking about, high-tech security often barks more than it bites. When I was in college, I forked over the big bucks for a Kryptonite brand bike lock. Nobody was going to hacksaw through that thing, made with the toughest steel and big enough to fit through the wheel, the frame, and the bike rack. But my Kryptonite lock became a paperweight when it was discovered that its first generation of locks could be opened relatively easily with little more than a Bic pen and 90 seconds of patience.

One of the more well-known technological security failures of the 20th century is France’s Maginot Line. Constructed at great expense to the French from 1929-1938, the 300-mile string of fortifications had its heaviest sections along France’s border with Germany, with hopes of shutting down any future German incursions. The Maginot Line’s turrets, traps, forts, and other obstacles were thought to be a technological marvel that would prevent invasion. Students of World War II know that Nazi Germany simply went around the Maginot Line, invading France via the Netherlands and Belgium.

The internet is teeming with examples of how to break open supposedly impenetrable safes or how to get around intimidating security. Why are our technological barriers not always what they’re meant to be?

“People make assumptions concerning technology,” says David Flickinger. A D.C.-based cybersecurity consultant, David knows all too well that it’s the people who use and implement technology for security who often undermine the very protective systems they build. “They believe that a system designed to perform a specific task can perform no other tasks, or they believe that if a resource is hidden then it is secure,” Flickinger told me. “They might put extraordinary effort to secure a perimeter but neglect the interior, creating a system that lacks defense in depth.”

This is not a new problem. There’s a passage in the book of Judges where Abimelech, the son of Gideon, is in combat with the people of Shechem. The people of Shechem hole up in what they think is the stronghold of their temple — a kind of pit beneath the building which they thought would be a secure space. With his enemies all gathered there, Abimelech simply sets a fire over them, killing a thousand people. They were hidden in an otherwise strong place, yet all it took was a simple fire up above. The strength of their fortress kept Abimelech out, but it also kept them in.

What often seems the safest almost always has vulnerabilities that leave us open to danger. Our world is not safe. And the recent events in Israel are a vivid reminder that technology is not something in which we should put our hope. As we Americans look at solutions for securing our own borders, we would do well to keep this in mind. Good fences may indeed make for good neighbors, but good fences don’t always keep out bad ones.

Thankfully, we do have a greater hope than fences or technology. Israel’s own King David sang in Psalm 20, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.” Chariots and horses, while effective weapons for war, both had vulnerabilities. David’s son Solomon likewise told us in Proverbs 18:10 that, “The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe.” True security can indeed be found.

Our technology — along with the people who use it — will at some point fail to keep us secure. That doesn’t mean we stop employing technological and human means of security. But we do need to set our sights higher — to a name that’s greater than our high-tech gear, and to a tower that’s stronger than any of our fortresses.

Jared Bridges is editor-in-chief of The Washington Stand.