GEM-- NORTH PLATTE, NEBRASKA

Through my personal story on my roadrunner blog, I described how "godly" gems or valuable items might be mixed into the dumpster trash. I've thought for quite some time about how to describe this in a geographic ["spiritual mapping"] manner and North Platte has been on my mind.

Overall, N.P. has a pretty mixed background that goes back centuries: layers of battle and bloodshed and bossism. Conflicts between the various groups that lived or passed through the area -- Native Americans crisscrossing, conflicting over hunting and territorial demands; N.A.s and Anglos confronting each other as the Westward Movements came through --California, Oregon, Mormon trails; Union Pacific RR construction with the vices attached to that "job" -- gambling, drinking, prostitution, fighting; "bossism"--mobster control-- in the 1930s, the town known as "Little Chicago". And, as in normal life, murders continue.

OH, and an unusual UFO experience in November, 2008.

But thrown into the mix of all of this is what North Platte is most known for in our present time. A Gem. Big Time.

One of the most amazing God-focused activities I've ever heard of occurred in North Platte -- even if they didn't know it was their "God job". I have seen the story on PBS and have heard more about it from others. And read a book and articles. And the Internet. Tried to get a pretty clear focus.

I was sharing this with my ministry partner Gary N. recently and he said the thought he would describe this town's Redemptive Gift [God's plan/infusion when the city was founded] as "unselfish." I agree with that, but also with the thought that there is a true history of "hospitality."

Right after the beginning of our involvement in WWII, the Pearl Harbor attack, the troops were being sent across the country from coast to coast and from station to station and military base to base. Flooding our railroad system. The people in North Platte, in those days a population of approximately 12,000, decided to greet each train that came through town. They began this "ministry" on Christmas, 1941. They stayed on their schedule from 5AM to midnight until the end of the war. A total of approximately 6.5 million service personnel were greeted, fed, given a chance to dance, take a break. Whether it was ten minutes or a couple hours, they were provided with all the food and friendship they could have imagined, including birthday cakes. The North Platte Canteen was a welcome center beyond belief.

One of the aspects I've thought of often is that this was during the war. There was no federal financial input. The people surrounding North Platte were farmers or folks in much smaller towns. Their own finances were limited and their food, gas, and other basics were either controlled by the seasons or were rationed by the government. And, yet, committed to this act, they continued faithfully for those years. Between their input and the contributions by others they received nearly $138,000. Beyond the family budget, I'm not a financially-oriented person, but I have a hunch that it would be equal to some millions today.

The canteen did not close until April 1, 1946. Even though the vast majority of the WWII service personnel have died by now, their stories are still surfacing. They were blessed beyond anything they could imagine at the time.

When we look at a town, a neighborhood, a region, a nation... often we see nothing but what is the result of sin or simply not turning to our Father for His purposes. YET, one of the tasks we have is to dig through history to determine God's plan for that location.

This is a very good example of a community "living for God" and being a blessing to many, many others.

SOCIALLY ENVIRONMENTAL PREDICTIONS

I don't know what else to title this-- Just based on bits and pieces from what I was reading. It was in the book by Michael Green, "Exposing the Prince of Darkness", which was published in 1981, and he was quoting a British author, Ronald Higgins, a governor of the London School of Economics, among other leadership positions. Higgins' book "The Seventh Enemy" according to Green "may likely prove to be the most formidable assessment yet made of the way the world was likely to go in the next twenty years or so." Here's the list: overpopulation, famine on a massive scale, shortage of non-renewable resources, rapid destruction to our environment, growing nuclear threat, and technology racing out of control. His book title is based on what he considered, in a sense, the worst enemy/threat -- man's inertia and blindness -- which would lead to an increase in immorality. Higgins was not a Christian and was not writing it based on a Christian perspective. Even at that, he hit it right on.

In the 30 years since "Seventh Enemy" was published in 1980, it's pretty amazing to see what has occurred. And, at the very least, dealing with the everydayness of our constant "techy" increases, I expect even he is floored at how fast and far his guesstimate has proven true ... for better or worse. [I tried to find info re: him on the I-net, but, other than books, no personal info. -- the most I could guess is that he spends time in Australia and had written a peace-aimed book in 1990.]

I'm so focused on where we've been and where we're going, that it's difficult for me to spend much time simply "playing" and some folks think I'm too dead serious [which I do tend to be, I guess] ... but I'm very pleased when something unexpectedly drops into my vision/lap that is an indicator that it's been worth my "zeroing" mentality.

CATCH-UP

I haven't posted anything, but do need to state that my brain has been working overtime. For most of you, that won't be a surprise... I'm fortunate when it slows down enough so I can sleep. However, I've been digging and trying to determine where to begin... and what the Lord seems to have laid on me is to read and re-read the books that are appropriate to this topic.

A couple weeks ago, I began reading [for the fourth time in the past several years] George Otis' "Twilight Labyrinth." It takes so much concentration, but is so clear about so much!! I have used different colored pens each time I read it; interesting to see how much I've missed previously and how much didn't quite sink in. I think it is the best book out there on this overall topic.

Recently, several more books dropped onto my need-to-read list [mostly re-read]. Winkey Pratney's "Healing the Land"; Otis' "Last of the Giants"; Petrie's "Releasing Heaven on Earth", Michael Green's "Exposing the Prince of Darkness"; and Brown's "Unbroken Curses." It's going to take me a few weeks to plow through those books and others that are related to them.

My goal is to read these books by mid-June. I'll try to spend about 3 hours a day reading... away from my computer, so I don't become side-tracked. Since I've been at this ministry for nearly a dozen years, I think this is another opportunity to both review what I know and to learn more.

Anyone out there who has not read one of those books, especially Petrie's and Otis', and wants to learn more of this spiritual warfare topic, I suggest hitting Amazon.com or Abebooks.com. I've been able to get most of them for a buck or two plus shipping. But the insight of these authors, the spiritual sanity, the always-goal of freeing people to know the Lord more deeply can never be discounted.

I have no doubt that I was supposed to start this blog site. Originally, I anticipated filling it with thoughts and ideas and pieces of puzzles being put together -- locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally. Instead, I keep being prodded to read, write, and read and write some more.

Just thought I'd let you know that I haven't become sluggish about this. Buried in related projects, yes. And, with my tendency to become drawn down rabbit trails, trying to carefully maintain the overall goal, the ONLY important element -- to draw others to our Lord and bring glory to Him . Nothing else counts. Period.