Wednesday, November 09, 2016

For My Part, “I’m Glad It’s Over”

Reflecting on the last 18 hours causes me to reflect on the last 18 months and my one feeling is this; “I’m glad it’s over.”  Admittedly, many of the candidates I voted for – won their ‘race.’  That said, it will be refreshing to not have the media (print, video, & technology) pitting one candidate over another by telling us how terrible one is and avoiding simply reporting the truth.  Perhaps the most annoying characteristics of this process has been the revelation of the ‘blatant bias’ of the mainline media.  One of my lifelong, valuable, and dear friends and I had a private conversation about the fact that every story seemed to offer ‘half-truths’ and not attempt to give the facts but rather offered  ‘slanted stories.’  Then, to ‘fact check’ means we must vet the ‘fact checker’. (GRIN) I’m glad it’s over.

Today, the decision has been made, a new president has been announced, a concession speech has been given, the election is behind us, and I’m glad it’s over – BUT NOW the work really begins!!  Some will not appreciate the words which follows, nor will they embrace these concepts, but I feel deeply about this even to the point of being spiritual convicted about them.

America is in deep trouble.  Not because I said so but (to use an old song lyric) because “The Bible tells me so.”  As a country and culture we have embraced one sin after another and one abomination after another.  God owes us no favors, in fact apart from His mercy, He owes us judgment.  As I surveyed the pre-election culture and candidates, I realized that we did not have a candidate that would be my first choice, but as a good and Bible-believing citizen, I should exercise my right, privilege, and obligation, to case my VOTE!! I was also aware additionally and pragmatically, that one of two people would become the next president of the USA.  This is a conclusion which, I wished, some of our religious leaders, media analysts, and others would have embraced and avoided some of the confusion which was generated.  We may need more than two parties, but no third party candidate has a ‘path to election’ as of 2016.  So I had to vote and I had to vote for one of these two.

From my view – both Civically and Biblically – one candidate held views which would send this country, which is teetering over the abyss, into a head-first dive into the abyss.  Her Supreme Court Justice would have opened Pandora's box to completely abandon the Constitution, our freedoms, and our ‘inalienable rights’ which were lifted, by our forefathers, from the principles of scripture.  While many other concerns welled up in me about this candidate, this one drove my ultimate decision because both candidates were highly flawed, yet to me, she would have represented a modern day “Nebuchadnezzar” – being used by God to bring about immediate judgment on the Children of God, the Church, & religious freedom.

On the other hand, he (Mr. Trump) will not fix our problems – even though many think he can.  While we are about to “learn” what he will do and ‘how’ he will govern, he offers us the possibility of time.  If he is as good as his word, nominating a Supreme Court Justice who believes in the principles of the constitution, then he has bought us some time.  Did we catch that truth?  “We have some more time.”  But what will we do with the time that we have?

I’m glad that last 18 months are over – ‘cause now perhaps we have been sufficiently startled to the point that we, as God’s people will take our calling and commission seriously enough to ‘awaken out of our sleep.’  Paul writes, “It is ‘HIGH TIME’ we awaken from our sleep.”  Obviously, people of faith voted by pulling a lever, touching a screen, or punching a chad, but now:

  • It’s time for us to live authentically before a darkening culture. 
  • It’s time for us to have a faith in Christ that we will both die for and live out. 
  • It is time for us to make a difference in America because Christ has made a difference in us. 
  • It is time for God’s church to rise up and offer the ‘light of the gospel’ in a language that our culture will hear, receive, embrace, and accept.
  • It is time of God’s people to be the change agents in this country and ultimately the world.
  • It is time for us to abandon the ‘man-made’ traditions which served us well in days past and have little meaning for today in lieu of offering the truth that changes people, saves a soul,  and live a life totally sold out to our Lord.
  • It is time for us to ‘un-circle the wagons’ which we have circled around our church properties and unleash the power of the Church of Jesus Christ who can and will prevail against the gates of hell.’ 
  • It’s time to pray down a Spirit-Led Revival the likes of which we haven’t seen in our lifetime.

I’m glad it’s over because I’m glad it’s time.  It’s time to flesh out 2 Chronicles 7:14 and live out that which Jehovah God’s promised to King Solomon.  You remember those words, “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 heal their land.”  We love these words because they offer us hope from on high.  However, you and I have a part in this coming to past or not.  Consider this:

The last phrase says that God will “heal our land” and don’t you love the sound of that?  I do, because our land needs healing.  Over the past 40+ years we have had a holocaust with respect to our unborn, we have a culture where ‘absentee dad’ has become the norm, where divorce is common, where immorality is the applauded, where racial relations are worse than they have been since the 60’s, and even where hope for a better tomorrow is limited.  We need healing.

But the only way that our land will be healed is for our ‘sin to be forgiven.’  First, we will not be forgiven if we don’t ask for it and we won’t ask for it it we don’t admit that we have sin.  This may be our sticking point.  This may be where we miss out.  God sets the standard, we don’t.  God defines sin, not us. 

The only way for our sin to be forgiven is for us to be ‘heard in heaven.’  It absolutely matters who hears you when you call.  The government cannot fix what’s wrong because it can only legislate.  We cannot legislate our way out of this dilemma, we must have help beyond what we can do, think, or know.  We need a supernatural ear to hear our cry and respond. 

In short, the only way that we will ever be heard in heaven (to start this process of healing) is “If my people who are call by my name WILL – REPENT”.  Think about about the 4 requirements outlined by God, add them together, and see if the sum of this process is repentance. 

  • We are called to “humble ourselves”.  This runs countercultural to the ways of this world, yet it is a non-negotiable and the way to gain a hearing from Almighty God. 
  • We are called to “pray”.  Prayers is our way of getting in touch with Jehovah God and experiencing the power and presence of His Holy Spirit.  This should become our default position.
  • We are to ‘seek His face.’  To seek His face is to return to Him to the proper place in our lives.  We don’t seek Him when everything else comes before Him.  Remember the first commandment & the Royal Law.
  • We are to ‘turn from our wicked ways.’  Turning from our wickedness is essential to seeking God’s face.  We can only face one direction at a time.

There is more, but this will have to suffice.  One final note:  I believe we are now on a time-table like never before.  God allowed us to avoid immediate judgment yesterday so it seems to me that we may have (may have) 4 years, but then again we may not.  I am neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet, but I can see the hand-writing. 

2 Chronicle 7:13 records God saying that “He can shut up the heavens” and “He can come the locust or send the pestilence” and those things He will do in response to the sin in the land. 

I’m glad the election is over because NOW IT IS TIME!!!

Monday, November 07, 2016

“Supreme” is the word for Election Day

The question for Tuesday may not be “Can I vote for Donald Trump?”  It may be “Can I endure four years of Hillary Clinton?”  This may be especially true if you claim “Christianity” as your belief system.  However, I’ll save that argument for a little later as ‘enduring’ four years of Mrs. Clinton may well be a ‘double-down’ on the last eight years of the immorality, illegality, and unethical work of our current President. 

Who would have ever thought that a “sitting president” would issue a ‘decree’ or ‘edict’ about anything let alone bathrooms. 

Tomorrow is the day for the “Supreme Choice” which sets the direction for the “Supreme Court” so I pray we make a “Supreme Decision” which allows our country to become “Supreme” for the future.  I pray that we make a decision that at least gives us the possibility of returning to being government by the verbiage of the constitution and being ruled by document. Of all the things I heard I personally like use returning to the government ‘of, by, and for the people’ as opposed to a government ‘of, by, and for the ELITES’, that is, the status quo guys in D.C. 

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