Posted on 11/04/2008 7:37:13 PM PST by Arkansas Toothpick
For several weeks now, I have been slowly realizing again the call of Christ when it comes to pursuing things of eternal significance. The election had consumed me to the point of where I became a ranting idiot and hated the Democrats. The Spirit has convicted me, showing that hatred isn't the way, for no man should be hated. Yes, I still find myself in "battle mode" quite often; those ranting moments still occur. But, thanks to God's faithfulness and calling, I am not the same man that I was just a few months back. He has made me realize that my primary call on this earth, besides glorifying Him, is to make disciples. I must now focus on people so that my life touches eternity and so that I build for the Kingdom of God. It is so easy to forget that Man is an eternal being, created for God's glory and enjoyment. I am not sticking my head in the sand, however, during this difficult political time. I still want to be a participant in the political process and promote conservative values and limited government. But, when I look at Christ's words, it is interesting to see what He had to say about the rulers of the earth. Of course, everyone knows "render unto Caesar what is Caesar and unto God what is God's." The disciples were expecting Jesus to be a political hero, a mighty conqueror overthrowing the government and reigning over an earthly kingdom. Instead, He died a horrible, shameful death at the hands of those vile invaders, the Romans. It appeared that He had been defeated and that His cause was dead. BUT, and, oh, this is glorious, He rose again and proved that is victory wasn't against Rome, it was against death and all of its power over man. He established His Kingdom by dying, and by rising, and by ascending to the Father's side. We believers live for Him, not for earthly governments and causes, and though circumstances may seem dark, we know that His example is victorious. I go forward knowing Whom I serve, and I will fight the good fight, with the end prize ahead.
Getting too caught up in earthly kingdoms is foolish. Like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.
God is still on His throne. He can't be impeached, and He isn't going to resign.
That's my King.
Thank you. I like your analogy; it so easy to get consumed and caught up with what is happening here. And, when you step back and look at it from the perspective a timeless, holy God, you recognize the vanity of it all. THIS is temporal, THIS is shifting sand, THIS is the vapor in the wind. Therefore, I choose to deliberately shift my priorities toward making disciples and glorifying my Lord. God says in His word that we are to count adversity as gain and blessing; I think that this adversity is a wonderful opportunity for believers to realign their priorities. Please don’t think that I am throwing in the towel! That is not what being a Christian is about. No, I think it is about remembering its place of importance in the scheme of things—Christ first, and everything else a distant second.
Very well stated. And thanks for putting this in perspective - I think many of us are going to have to step back and look at this time as just a tiny stage in eternity. God’s thoughts are higher than ours.
Politics and earthly things are potpourri.
I feel for liberals because government is their God.
Thank you for those beautiful words. It is only in our looking beyond this life that we live life with meaning.
The Lord is my shepherd,
I shall not want;
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters;
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for His name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the valley
of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil;
for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life;
and I shall dwell in the house of the
Lord forever.
God Bless
Thank you so much for writing exactly what’s been on my mind, in fact just 5 minutes ago I was discussing this with my wife. It’s a sad night for America in a lot of ways, but as my pastor said the other day...our citizenship is in Heaven and in dark times we as believers will shine.
Very well said. Thank you for posting. It’s ironical, as you pointed out, that the Jews in Christ’s day were simply wanting a temporary mortal earthly leader and instead they got an eternal Messiah, while the liberals today think Obama is their Messiah and he’s nothing more than a temporary mortal earthly leader.
Look for the next Great Awakening.
For the past thirty days or so, I’ve felt like we were all in the garden of Gethsemane (”please let this cup pass, but not my will...”). So if that’s the case, there’ll be ... a Holy Surprise. Then the Holy Spirit. We’ll see.
Thank you for posting this thread. It’s a bit of sanity I was sorely in need of.
My lovely wife sent me this in an email this morning:
TOP 10 PREDICTIONS NO MATTER WHO WINS THE ELECTION
1. The Bible will still have all the answers.
2. Prayer will still work.
3. The Holy Spirit will still move.
4. God will still inhabit the praises of His people.
5. There will still be God-anointed teaching
6. There will still be singing of praise to God.
7. God will still pour out blessings upon His people.
8. There will still be room at the Cross.
9. Jesus will still love you.
10. Jesus will still save the lost.
ISN’T IT GREAT TO KNOW WHO IS REALLY IN CONTROL?!!!
Amen!
Amen to that...
Will there be another Great Awakening or judicial hardening?
Luk 18:8 “..... Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?”
May He have mercy on us and cleanse His Church first and foremost. His will be done.
Psa 118:8-9 It is better to take refuge in the LORD Than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the LORD Than to trust in princes.
Psa 146:3-5 Do not trust in princes, In mortal man, in whom there is no salvation. His spirit departs, he returns to the earth; In that very day his thoughts perish. How blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, Whose hope is in the LORD his God.
Cleansing will be done. Look for the Church to be persecuted. Those of false conversions will fall by the wayside. Those of true conversion will be more Christ-like.
I mean really, would a McCain administration have benefited the Church? In an earthly way, yes. We would have become more relaxed, treating ourselves to bigger and better buildings and ministries to be proud of.
In a spiritual way? No. We would have continued to be complacent, adhering to "doctrines that tickle our itching ears" as we spiraled downward in spiritual Christian liberalism.
Time to put our armor on.
I’ve got my spare oil ready, just in case. Either way, we must do our best to help feed His lambs good milk & His sheep hearty meat.
This is an excellent and truthful post. If anyone thinks a political party is going to save this country, be that party the Republicans or the Democrats, they’ve got another think coming. God is our only help and hope in every situation, so it is ridiculous that hating people based on their political party has become a reality during this election. This is the height of unchristian behavior and stupidity. Unfortunately, I’ve seen it happen in my own family and amongst my friends this election cycle. There have been many, many harsh words exchanged that will never be forgotten and over what - 2 politicians who don’t even know (or care) that their rabidly partisan “constituents” even exist and are fighting with their loved ones and friends vehemently over which politician is the better choice of the 2.
This whole mess ought to teach people to love one another in spite of their individual political differences and work together to bring people into God’s Kingdom - which is the directive of Jesus Christ Himself. Remember, he said his Kingdom is not of this world. Politics has become a stumbling block, IMO, to the Great Commission. He never said “go ye to Washington and write laws for My Name’s sake.” He said, “go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel.” We’d all be a lot better off emotionally and spiritually if we remembered His words.
In my opinion, God used this election to teach us something - that He is NOT a Republican or a Democrat. He is GOD and He is sovereign and He is NOT a name to be used to get people to vote for a particular candidate or political party. I just hope we’ve learned that lesson.
Isaiah 31
1 Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help,
who rely on horses,
who trust in the multitude of their chariots
and in the great strength of their horsemen,
but do not look to the Holy One of Israel,
or seek help from the LORD.
I have been fascinated that the Israelites had no calvary, but were to be a nation that fought wars with mainly an infantry. This was to have them trust in God alone, and not themselves or their might, for protection.
What have we trusted in?
We are about to see the dismantling of our “cavalry”.
“Time to put our armor on.”
Great place to start, I highly recommend William Gurnall’s excellent The Christian in Complete Armour. Written by a great minister in the 1600s it is more ‘current’ than tomorrow’s newspapers.
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