An American Celebration

20Daniel said,

         “Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever,

         For wisdom and power belong to Him.

21“It is He who changes the times and the epochs;

         He removes kings and establishes kings;

         He gives wisdom to wise men

         And knowledge to men of understanding.

22“It is He who reveals the profound and hidden things;

         He knows what is in the darkness,

         And the light dwells with Him.

Daniel 2:20-22

I don't know what you have planned today, but I plan to spend part of this God-given day of life to watch the inauguration of the 45th president of the United States.  It will be the first one I have ever had the privilege of watching live.  Why?  I was working full-time during the preceding presidents' inaugural events.

I won't be watching because I am a huge fan of our new president.  He was not my first, second or even third choice in the Republican presidential primary.  Mr. Trump won't be a "perfect president", nor do I expect him to be. The best I can say about today's change of power is that I am "cautiously optimistic".

Instead, I will be watching and celebrating because I am a huge fan of The American Experiment1, as some (most notably Alexis de Toqueville) have called our country.  I believe that the founding principles which made this nation the foremost nation of the world are timeless and God-given. Indeed, if you closely examine the major components of our American legal system you will find parallel after parallel to the Hebrew Law in the Old Testament, even though over the last 75 years "Progressives" have governed us away from that bedrock foundation.

I'm also a huge fan of God, whom I believe to have ordained the election of Donald Trump to the US presidency.  This sovereign act on God's part does not guarantee approval of the man or even that Trump was the best candidate running.  It merely affirms that God works His sovereign will among us and that He answers prayer.

While writing this post (true confession!) I have the TV on.  Rev. Franklin Graham just walked down the steps to the viewing area where he will be sitting during the swearing in ceremony.  In 2016, this man held non-partisan prayer rallies on the steps of the Capitol buildings of every, single one of the 50 United States.  He advocated a return to the Judeo-Christian principles on which this country was founded.

I was one among many millions of Christians praying fervently regarding the outcome of this election and, even though Mr. Trump was not my candidate of choice, I do believe that God heard those many millions of prayers and answered.  Certainly, Mr. Trump was not the answer all of us Americans wanted, but this was His answer nonetheless.

It is imperative that, as Christians, we avoid the temptation to put our trust in a man (or woman), whomever is elected.  It is our civic responsibility and our Christian duty to plunge in and get involved in local, state and national politics.  Yes, it is a nasty business much of the time; but, to do otherwise is to shirk our responsibility and to revile this magnificent gift of American government our God has given to us.  No, this pursuit, this passionate involvement, should never eclipse or take the place of spreading the gospel.  Never!  Likewise, we should not "fall for" the specious argument that "God and politics don't mix".  VP Pence said it well when he declared (and I paraphrase) "God first. Family Second. Country third."

Our trust is in God, who gave us eternal life through Jesus Christ the one and only Savior. (Acts 4:12) Our confidence is in Him, the only wise God, who left Heaven to live among us and who died to redeem us from the slavery of our sin.  Our trust is in the Lord of Angel Armies (El Shabbaot) who ordained the founding of America and who will continue to use her in the progression of His divine plan for this fallen world.

We must continue to pray and work, for the spread of the gospel "from sea to shining sea" and around the world.  We must pray for a Holy Ghost revival in our country which, at present, appears to be drifting more and more into an ungodly mess. (May righteousness fall down like rain!)  We must continue to engage our often godless worldly culture with a love that is grounded in truth and in timeless principles - - - principles of faith, holy living and sound government.  We must do this in the face of unpopularity, even as we find ourselves increasingly in the minority in America. Finally, today, we must celebrate this peaceful transition of governmental power as a good thing - - - as the outgoing leader of the free world affirms and blesses by his presence the incoming leader of the free world.

Here's a bit of patriotic musical inspiration!
https://youtu.be/ruojMCl_DKg

God bless America!

Sources:

1     https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20101018151322AARUkzf

Hoarding: A Godly Enough

Are you a hoarder?

In America, greed is pretty much celebrated.  We call it The American Dream.  Those who achieve it are either applauded, congratulated and celebrated.  Or, they are vilified because they "don't deserve it".   (The latter is a phenomenon that has come into the public square only in the last 20 years or so.) One of the mantras of The American Dream is:  "He who dies with the most toys, wins."  The goal, then, is to get as much "stuff" as possible.  And, we worship our "stuff".  Idolatry.

The text for the next 3 posts is Colossians 3:5-11.  Today, we'll focus on verses 5-7 (NET).

5So put to death whatever in your nature belongs to the earth: sexual immorality, impurity, shameful passion, evil desire, and greed which is idolatry. 6Because of these things the wrath of God is coming on the sons of disobedience. 7You also lived your lives in this way at one time, when you used to live among them.

Paul gives this list of behaviors, the hallmarks of the evil nature.  For the most part, they appear to be lustful and sexual sins.  Then, he throws greed into the mix.  At first glance, it doesn't seem to fit, does it?  When that list of behaviors is examined, at the root of all of them is selfishness. Greed is no exception, as it, too, is fueled by selfishness and stoked by pride.

This is not the way of Jesus Christ, who, by His own admission, had "nowhere to lay his head" (Luke 9:58).  After Christ died, there was no "reading of the will", no disbursement of His assets.  His cloak and His other clothes were his only possessions - - - "the shirt off his back", so to speak.

So, what would Jesus have us do?  How much, in this world, is "enough"?

Should the Christian's goal be to amass as much money and as many possessions as he or she possibly can?  Will doing so win God's approval?  Will doing so draw us closer to Him or to each other?

There is nothing wrong with being materially successful, particularly if we use our assets to further the kingdom of God in this world.  God will often financially prosper people so that they can glorify Him by advancing His kingdom.  Rich people can tithe more, do more, give more.  For example, although not what most would call "rich", I am now a fixed-income retiree.  God led me into a fulfilling career that had at the end of it a retirement benefit.  I'm "living off" that pension now, which frees me up to write this blog most days, to make video blogs and to use my time to further the spread of the gospel.

The problem comes in when we make these material things the focus of our love, time and devotion and/or when they limit our effectiveness for God.  The creep of idolatry is gradual and insidious.  We become "successful" in the worldly sense, after which sinful pride grabs a foothold.  We begin to credit ourselves with our "success", and the vicious cycle of idolatry repeats itself.

Unless we, through the power of the Holy Spirit, are watchful for this "creep" in our lives and when we discover it, take deliberate attempts to slay it, we are in danger of becoming spiritual and material "hoarders".  The Message version states it like this:

And that means killing off everything connected with that way of death:

(vs. 5a)

If we listen to the Holy Spirit, He will let us know how much is "enough".  All we have needed, His hand has provided, because He is faithful.  And, He will direct the use of the tools with which He has graced us. It is up to us as His disciples to obediently follow.

Father, thank you for provision, for giving us everything that we need to do what You have called us to do.  You provide what we need for each day's work.  Now, it is up to us to do it.  Then, you will provide the necessities for tomorrow.  We trust You with our "tomorrows"!  In this, Lord, you teach us about Your lordship and how to walk by faith.  Please give us the discernment to recognize the pitfalls called selfishness and pride, so we can avoid them.  In Jesus' name, amen.