Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Sans Peur



For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
(2Ti 1:7)


I’m sure many of you have seen the stickers on the back window of pickup trucks roaming about the South proclaiming “NO FEAR!” I’m here to tell you that my Scottish ancestors were using that phrase before it was “cool.” “Sans Peur” is the motto of the Sutherland clan. The literal translation is “without fear.”

With joy I have embraced that slogan as the motto for our individual family as well. There are more attacks than ever before on the Christian family. These attacks come from every front. The media bombards us with anti-Christian propaganda. Our culture, or what’s left of it, tears at the fabric of family life. Our children are shown vulgar pictures on billboards as we drive down the freeway. Divorce is rampant, while the dating culture trains young men and women to keep a mate for just a little while until moving on to their next trophy. The children conceived while playing this “dating game” are butchered in the most brutal ways imaginable, all in the name of “choice” and “women’s rights.” Evil is called good and good is called evil. Our schools feel they must be “diverse,” so they teach about all sorts of false religions. Yet, due to a contrived philosophy of “separation of church and state” they fail to teach the only true religion of Christianity. The church stands idly by unwilling to take a stand out of fear that they it may offend their base membership, lose their following to a more “tolerant” organization, and thus will not have the funds to pay the mortgage on their multi-million dollar facility. Our language continues to devolve into the most crude form of communication. No longer can you assume the general public will understand you unless you write at about a fourth grade level. And of course “fourth grade level” includes all types of four letter expletives, which are readily heard on fourth grade playgrounds across the country.

Yet, in the midst of this cesspool we call “modern society,” Christ is raising up a remnant. Families are standing up “Sans Peur” against the forces of evil. With the Lord our Banner (Jehovah Nissi Ex 17:15), we stand strong against the onslaught of these attacks. Fathers are rallying to the role God has given them. Families are withdrawing their children from government school systems. Christians are returning to the “old paths” of courtship when selecting spouses for their children. Men are protecting their families by tossing the trash box out of their homes (also known as the “television”). Christian women are once again beginning to act and dress as true, Christian, ladies spiting the scorn of feminism, and embracing the role of “keepers at home.” We are living in exciting times! We are witnessing a reformation in the family, church, and state that is unparalleled in the history of the world. While the world’s population is shrinking fast, true Christians in this modern reformation movement are exploding with growth. While the rest of the West is bearing children at a rate that will not even replace themselves, these Christian families are having many children for the glory of God. While much of the modern, compromising church is wallowing in fear wishing for the Lord’s return to “get them out of here,” modern reformers are planning to “occupy until He comes” by raising up a godly seed that will take dominion over every area of life.

So, dear Christian, and Christian father in particular, I challenge you to put away fear. I charge you by the grace of God to:

Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.
(1Co 16:13)

Jesus Christ will show Himself victorious over all.

9 comments:

Johanna said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Kay Sutherland said...

I am wondering if you know what language "Sans Peur" is. Thank you Kay Sutherland

Mike Southerland said...

Kay,

It is French. I'm not sure why my(our) ancestors used French for it though.

Unknown said...

It's most likely due to the Norman conquest of England. They were French speakers, making French the language of the ruling class. The conquest of England led to extensive penetration of the aristocracy of Scotland by Norman and other French-speaking families. As the Normans were french vikings http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normans . That means your forebears were french vikings who believed in 'no fear' :)

Unknown said...

I'm a Sutherland on my mom's side & a Christian! I couldn't agree with you more!

Unknown said...

Mike I bought a Old jewelry box while visiting Tasmania a few weeks ago , to my surprise it contained several pieces of jewelry , one which was a necklass . It has this "Sans Peur" written on it along with a what appears to be some sort of animal ( a wolf or dog) not sure ...was wondering if you knew what this is worth ? I love the piece it's beautiful .

Mike Southerland said...

I believe it is a wildcat. It is in the Sutherland clan badge. You can see other posts in this blog where I have used that on a sword for my sons. The best pictures are in my post for the last part of December 2008. Sorry, I can't remember the link right now, but you should be able to locate it easily. I wouldn't know the value of your piece. It would probably depend upon the metal used and the age.

Unknown said...

Hi, can you tell anything on George Sutherland, James, Charles, John, Henry, Eusavio, Phillip,, Simmon Sutherland in the Year 1816. Thanks BrunoSutherland.

Mike Southerland said...

I'm sorry, but I don't have any genealogy information for "Sutherland" although I know this is the root of my name. All of my ancestors I have identified are Southerland.