“The wicked plots against the righteous and gnashes his teeth at him, but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he sees that his day is coming. The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose way is upright; their sword shall enter their own heart, and their bows shall be broken. Better is the little that the righteous has than the abundance of many wicked. For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but the LORD upholds the righteous. The LORD knows the days of the blameless, and their heritage will remain forever; they are not put to shame in evil times; in the days of famine they have abundance. But the wicked will perish; the enemies of the LORD are like the glory of the pastures; they vanish--like smoke they vanish away.” (Psalm 37:12-20 ESV)
The world has erupted, seeming to spin into chaos and destruction; not only with the election of our 44th President but a host of legal passages in several states that have gone against the ‘homosexual agenda’; state constitutional amendments have affirmed those states’ citizenry define marriage as between ‘one man and one woman.’
Gay rights supporters waving rainbow colors marched, chanted and danced in cities coast to coast Saturday to protest the vote that banned gay marriage in California, gathering in cities like Boston, San Francisco, Chicago and Fargo. In Florida, violent protestors struck and stomped a homemade cross carried by a silent elderly supporter of Prop 8. They say it’s simply a matter of ‘get[ting] the rights we deserve as Americans.’
From California to Maine, police have documented a range of alleged crimes, from vandalism and vague threats to at least one physical attack. Insults and taunts against African-Americans and the President-elect have been verbalized, at least according to the Associated Press.
Mark Potok, director of the Intelligence Project at the Southern Poverty Law Center said he believes there is "a large subset of white people in this country who feel that they are losing everything they know, that the country their forefathers built has somehow been stolen from them."
This is not the America that will, as our President-elect proclaimed in his weekly address via internet, “resolve to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other…”
As I posted in my pre-election blog, “Obama….” Thursday, October 2, 2008, John Ortberg brought to my attention that the perfect government is far from a realization, as is the perfect world, because we are flawed, sinful human beings, and the our governing institution is a human one.
As Christians, we are called to preach the Gospel; simply…..Jesus Christ came to the earth, was crucified upon the Cross, died, and rose again three days later to bear the punishment for our sins. We are called to live lives reflective of God’s grace and mercy….and to hold ourselves accountable to His commandments and teachings.
We ‘lost’ the election, and protected in several states the biblical standard of marriage.
This doesn’t mean that the Kingdom will be ushered in, that we will become better parents, or that marriages will reflect agape love. Greed and pride, as we see evidenced in the chaos in our own country, won’t become illegal or passé, humanity will not jump on the ‘servant’ bandwagon, and we will not be the created creatures we were designed to be.
We held true, at least most of us, to the standards we were supposed to in the political election; We voted, in an educated way, in a civil and respective manner. Voting our morals and our values, as biblically defined, was reflective as Pastor Ortberg said, to be redemptive; to bring this nation back into a God-fearing, God-honoring state.
President-elect Barrack Obama is the 44th President of the United States. There is no call among Christians for attacks on those who bear the same or more melanoma colorization as he does. There is no reason for the name-calling, protest walking and racial taunts that haunt the airwaves, and I don’t believe true Christians are doing so.
Because those who so believe know that God is still on His throne and these things too must come to pass.
Now is the time, in the winter of our discontent, to stand upon what we preach, what we say, and what we hope. We stand, as Christian-Americans, and read about the issues, debating them in a respectful manner, and learn about the policies our President will implement. We pray, and speak our beliefs in the public square with respect and dignity. We preach about God’s loving concern for all; His standard of peace, justice, and righteousness."
Too many Christians are engrossed in ‘comfortable theology, good music, activities for their children, and the promise of no mediocre potluck fare at the annual picnic’ than biblical truth, teaching, and reflective public display of our faith.
Our President-elect calls for a change, and tells us that ‘doing all this will require not just new policies, but a new spirit of service and sacrifice.’
I would say to our President-elect that new policies aren’t needed because policies are just one opinion that like-it-or-not we, the governed people of America, have to follow unless and until we either elect another President or impeach him.
I would say it is not a ‘new’ spirit of servant sacrifice that is needed, nor a renewed sense of our fellow man"….but the reawakening of that biblical hope realized in the midst of a chaotic world that transcends the hopelessness of human invention.
To see what our eyes cannot see, and to hope beyond the realization of human possibilities.
“Are those then sane who cannot obtain any certainty of the divine favour, because the carnal eye is now unable to discern it from the present appearance of the world? But, they say, it is rash and presumptuous to pretend an undoubted knowledge of the divine will. I would grant this, did we hold that we were able to subject the incomprehensible God to our feeble intellect.” John Calvin wrote, “[We] simply say with Paul, “We have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.” (Book III, Chap II, pp502-503 Institutes of Christian Religion.)
I spoke out against Obama and Senator McCain. I pondered why, if an historical nomination and election of an African-American was so important to African-Americans, Allan Keyes was not nominated and elected. I have warned against policies and influences of socialistic and liberation theologies. Before the election. And in the election, I voted my values and my candidate was not elected.
After the election, I expressed the attentiveness that I feel all Christians should have, regardless of who is President……
Am I afraid? No, as I mentioned to a brother today……the Devil can ‘bring it on.’
Am I racist? No, for I believe that a ‘man’ should be judged not by the color of his skin but by the contents of his character as the great American Martin Luther King spoke in his memorable speech, “I have a DREAM.”
I will serve the President-elect as a citizen of this nation; offering my opinion via my vote, my correspondence, and my voice concerning the policies which he presents, and accept the governance of the human institution as I walk this world, for God is still upon His throne. My body belongs in this world and will die with it, but my heart belongs to my Savior and will live beyond any human invention. We have nothing to fear from those who can kill the body, for God has our eternal life in His hands.
If I stand upon what my fragile and human eyes can see in this world, I allow myself to become prey to temptations to push it a bit farther, until the scriptural message becomes my own wounds speaking for protection, for acceptance, and for love (according to me).
What ‘little’ I have; be it possessions, finances, or freedom…they all come from a God that is righteous, mighty, and all-encompassing; far beyond any elected official or the policies of the human institutions. My wealth is far better than the wealth of this world, for a peace that this world cannot give falls upon my shoulders each day.
I know that God has His eyes upon my days, and the actions I take in His name for His glory and for the Kingdom.
I will use my rights as a citizen to uphold those values and morals that God has given; and I believe. If this world continues to slide into the human condition of self-government, it doesn’t change my days upon this world….they were numbered before Obama or I were born….it will not change my happiness that comes from the heavenly hope and promise. That shall last far beyond such days as these.
So, I am satisfied that I voted according to my beliefs, and I was in the minority. That work is over, and the governance of another not chosen is in the future. I shall render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s. But God still calls me to a good work, the Great Commission is still in place, and it shall not end until the moment Jesus Christ rides across the skies in triumphant return.
So, as the world falls in upon its own devices stand alone and pray. When confronted with an anger that comes from the wounds of another’s broken humanity, have grace with your words and speak truth in love. Don’t confront, but refuse to move from the values and morals that God ordained and spoke into the hearts of all.
You have felt the thirst and know it shall not be satisfied upon this landscape. So, if one strikes you upon the left cheek, offer the right also.
And love them anyway.
Christ told us that we would know persecution and tribulations. A faith untested is a faith that is weak and unsure. So welcome the torment of those who don’t accept Christ as your due, and answer them with the assurance that comes from an eternal hope. For if we can suffer but a little bit for the sake of the Savior, we should consider ourselves honored and blessed to do so.
My faith is strong, and I welcome the opportunity to grow it even stronger in the light of persecution.
For though they may come after us with 'swords and spears', and victory seems to fall upon their shoulders as easily as the morning dew…..they are no more sinners than we and in no need of salvation greater than ourselves are.
We are all fallen far short of the glory of God, we are all incapable of our own salvation, and we are all beholding to the One who stood in our place to die a perfect sacrifice for our sinful need.
May God bless our 44th President, burdened with an historical mandate not of his own….but God’s.
May his term or terms in office be honoring to God, and a blessing to the people to which he was elected to govern.
May God speak words of mission to him, and give him the power to perform the tasks to which he is called.
And may God bless my country, my homeland, and my fellow citizens.
God bless the U.S.A.
"Let us be satisfied that God will make all to work for good to us. Let us not discompose ourselves at what we see in this world. A fretful, discontented spirit is open to many temptations. For, in all respects, the little which is allotted to the righteous is more comfortable and more profitable than the ill-gotten and abused riches of ungodly men. It comes from a hand of special love. God provides plentifully and well, not only for his working servants, but for his waiting servants. They have that which is better than wealth, peace of mind, peace with God, and then peace in God; that peace which the world cannot give, and which the world cannot have. God knows the believer's days. Not one day's work shall go unrewarded. Their time on earth is reckoned by days, which will soon be numbered; but heavenly happiness shall be for ever. This will be a real support to believers in evil times. Those that rest on the Rock of ages, have no reason to envy the wicked the support of their broken reeds." Matthew Henry….
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