So Russia invades Georgia, our staunch ally. Its president plantively says,

“It’s not about Georgia any more,” Saakashvili said. “It’s about America, its values: we are a freedom-loving nation that is right now under attack.”

What if George had been admitted to NATO recently, as per its application, instead of being given a preliminary status? Would the NATO nations have come to its defense? I doubt it. Nor will the USA. Once again, as we did with Hungary, we may watch an Eastern European nation get swallowed up as it begs for help.

How far do you think we’ll let Putin go in reestablishing Russian hegemony in Eastern Europe? Who do you think will deal more effectively with resurgent Russia, Obama or McCain? Any ideas about what we should do?

OK, I find myself watching the Olympics, though I hadn’t really planned to. It gets absorbing. On the opening ceremony, of course it was spectacular. It was also a model of totalitarian, collectivist art. Notice how individuals were subsumed into vast patterns of mass identity.

And are those Chinese women gymnasts really 16, as the rules require? Some of them look more like 11 or younger. Contrast them with the teenagers on the American team. Little girls can do things with their bodies that post-pubescent teenagers cannot or can do with only extreme difficulty. Lots of questions are being asked about this, but I suspect no one will formally accuse the Chinese of cheating.

Any other thoughts, observations, or dramas that you picked up on?

We feasted on God’s Word yesterday. My son-in-law was the guest Bible Study leader. We explored “the blood of the covenant,” working through Exodus, Leviticus, Hebrews, and Christ’s words of institution of the sacrament. We saw how the Old Testament sacrifices, centering on the application of blood, gave access to the presence of God, granted forgiveness of sin, and bestowed holiness. All of that was fulfilled in Christ’s sacrifice and is communicated to us in the blood of the Lord’s Supper. It was amazing to consider the unity of Scripture and the way the Old Testament illuminates the New.

Then, the sermon was about Peter’s failed attempt to walk on water. That passage shows us much about faith. We are usually too quick to criticize Peter’s failure, which led to the faith that really mattered. “If Peter did not sink,” said Pastor Douthwaite, “he would not have cried out”: “‘Lord, save me.’” Then followed a connection to our own sinking in Baptism. (Read the whole sermon here. FW, you will love it.)