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Tomorrow morning, all United States citizens will wake up with a new president. Well, probably, unless there is a recount or ballot-checking or…who knows?
Yes, it’s been that kind of election season.
Some Republicans believe the fate of the United States hinges on the outcome of this election.
Some Democrats think the same.
Neither are correct. Read the rest of this entry »
Last week, I listened to a great message from Matt Chandler on the fourth chapter of Exodus. I’m going to draw from that message in this post and hopefully enlarge upon it somewhat. The points I will make here are not those Pastor Matt made. His primary emphasis was Moses’ obedience in faith that caused God’s power to be revealed, and he challenged his church to follow Moses’ example.
It is a wonderful teaching.
The Exodus 4 passage details the exchange between the Lord and Moses in the wilderness. Much can be taught here, but we’re going to focus on acts the Lord instructed Moses to do which were to prove to him, Israel, the Pharaoh, and Egypt that He, God, was sending Moses to bring His people out of Egypt.
I grew up as a kid watching WWII movies, stories of heroism. The Great Escape. The Dirty Dozen. And when I watch films today where the U.S. military is involved, such as Captain Phillips, I am moved, often to tears. Perhaps having lived abroad as a missionary has made me very aware of the relief I would experience if I needed rescue as a foreigner in a distant land. It is difficult to experience the feeling of home I felt as I walked into U.S. embassies in other countries. It sounds weird, I suppose, because I wasn’t really home. I still resided in a foreign nation. Nevertheless, that is how I felt. I also came to understand the comforting nature of the “golden passport”—the support, the justice, and accompanying power that stands behind that document. Therefore, I am extremely grateful to be an American citizen.
As much as I am thankful for that security, I must not compromise myself as a Christian in order to maintain that wonderful sense of safety that I enjoy.
I’m taking another break from the series, The God Who Is Low and Humble in Heart, to look at this article from the Motley Fool. The text is included below, and here is the link: http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/01/29/50-reasons-were-living-through-the-greatest-period.aspx
Before the article, however, a hopefully brief introduction.
Except for my time abroad as a missionary, I have lived most of my life in the United States. I grew up here. I went to school and worked here. I consider myself a patriot, one who loves the freedoms that we enjoy and the benefits of living in this nation. However, I have grave concerns about the degradation of our culture.
After the failure to put Mitt Romney in the White House in the election of 2012, conservatives were seeking answers. The defeat of their candidate caused conservatives to come to this shocking truth: In a democracy, the majority rules, and the majority of people in this nation voted for a man that many thought was a socialist who was actually trying to bring down this nation, a man who promotes gay rights and abortion. It seemed to be a surprise that this was the man the culture wanted, but if this was the man the culture wanted, the answer is to change the culture, they say.
Change the culture, huh? Good luck with that. But I don’t believe in luck. It’s a superstition, like keeping your fingers crossed, hoping that gesture will somehow change the outcome of something. God is sovereign, not luck.
My software engineer friend and I got together for our weekly coffee meeting on this 28th day in June, 2012, and lamented over the state of our country, the United States of America. It was the survival of the president’s health care law that spun us off in that direction, but it was—and is—more than that.
What baffles me, regardless of one’s political persuasion, is how those in power continue to think that we can spend more than we take in. Adding a mind-boggling expense/tax at this time in our economic state just defies imagination. I just don’t get it.
I was reading the other day and came across this passage of Scripture, spoken by the prophet Joel, hundreds—actually over two thousand—years ago:
“I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. And I will enter into judgment with them there, on behalf of my people and my heritage Israel, because they have scattered them among the nations and have divided up my land.”
This is a prophecy about the last days, when the Lord will bring nations to a place called the Valley of Jehoshaphat, to fight what is called the Battle of Armageddon. Joel is saying that what will happen there will be the result of what the nations have done to His people, “my heritage Israel.”
I read an article today about how a chaplain has resigned because the hospice where she worked won’t allow her to use the words “God” or “Lord” in public settings.
Here’s a link to the article: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/community/news/bocaraton/sfl-flphospice0318pnmar18,0,5601993.story
I understand her resignation. I also understand the hospice wanting to disallow Ms Signorelli’s use of “religious” words. Christians may lament that the United States is now a post-Christian society, but that’s the reality. What kind of behavior should we expect from a culture that has turned its back on God? No surprises here. The only thing in this article that gave me pause was this: “None of the six other chaplains objected to the ban on God’s name, she said.”
However, this might be a good thing. We do not honor His name in this country. So perhaps it’s better that these “chaplains,” who do not object to the deletion of God’s name, do not speak His name at all.
My favorite American president is Abraham Lincoln. My maternal grandparents lived on a small tobacco farm in Kentucky, the state in which he was born. He was well spoken of there. I read A Stillness at Appomattox by Bruce Catton when I was a young teenager—probably the first serious title that I ever read, if memory serves. I remember being saddened and angrily bewildered by the fact that he was assassinated. My admiration for him was increased this morning as I read a piece from the Jerusalem Post. Here’s an excerpt:
Laurie’s dad, Stu, and I watched the first half of the Gonzaga-Memphis game, turned it off at halftime and talked. Stu brought up again how the Lord had told him a year ago or so that He was fed up with all governments—all—and He was going to deal with each of them.
In spite of all our concern about politics, our new president, the stimulus package and everything else, Isaiah had some interesting words to say about the Lord’s view of nations.
“Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as the dust on the scales; behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust. All the nations are as nothing before him, they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness.”
A drop from a bucket. Dust on the scales. Less than nothing. Emptiness.
What should we really be concerned about? In what should we place our trust?
