Saints They Ain’t

I find it absolutely fascinating, if not terribly hypocritical, concerning how many people are coming after the character of President 45. There is no doubt, that this guy has a lot of flaws, and that he has done some bad things in the past. (Who hasn’t... something comes to mind about casting stones?) And yet, very few want to acknowledge or to give him any credit for the fact that he acknowledges that God is the reason that he was spared from the assassins bullet.  I would tend to agree with him on that. How can you not? (Naw…it was all just “luck.”) However, the entire terrifying experience seems to have done him some good in the long run. 

But the continued attention given to the New York trial and convictions is way over the top in my opinion. It was all an enormous sham…the trial, as well as the convictions. It was all politically motivated mish mash. 45 could have pursued the same course of action with Hillary over a host of issues (Whitewater, Benghazi, etc), but chose not to do so. Then there are all of Bill C’s shenanigans with Gennifer Flowers (not to mention Monica L.)…Nixon (‘nuff said)…and JFK(?). I mean, let’s take a look at JFK. He was a serial philanderer, made some shady deals, and according to some people who are in the know, “was not a very good guy.” Perhaps the funniest, most ironic thing of all, is that JFK’s nephew…RFK Jr…has decided to drop out of the race and is endorsing…that’s right—president 45! Talk about your bad company corrupting good morals!  So, let’s be real…there are not many Mother Teresas in high levels of  authority…maybe Jimmy Carter. (And Ronald R. had to clean up his giant mess in Iran).  But once again…JFK may have had his issues…but he is EXACTLY who this country needed for such a time as that time. We are in a similarly volatile location as a nation right now. We need someone who can lead us through these choppy waters…figuratively (and likely literally). And even though I would love to have a pastor in Chief, a Jimmy Carter as president every four years, the bottom line is, they are not going to lead us in the way that we need to be led in a very dangerous world.

New Age Old Splice

When I was a “young ‘un minister,” the lines between Christianity and humanism were much more defined. We had a much better grasp concerning what was sin and what was not. Now, the world has blurred so many of the lines, using such euphemistic words like “woke”, “openness” and “liberated.” But it is what it is — humanism. People are still killing babies…50 years after it was legalized...and the word still attached is “choice.” 

Some might accuse the GOP candidates of feigning Christianity…but who really knows their hearts? Are we really that good at playing God? Some believe that they are. There is no feigning with the other crew’s leaders…most just flat out hate all things Christian…and the proof is in what they believe and they are unabashed and militant about it. 

Here is the rest of the stat sheet. Our economy has been a disaster with incendiary inflation brought on by many poor economic decisions. Prices of groceries, homes and fuel have skyrocketed over the past three plus years. There is little to no growth in our system…mutual funds, retirement accounts…that by last count, were about breaking even (plus a little) over for this year, but still mediocre for nearly four years. The border is a sieve with absolutely no accountability as it relates to who or what enters this country unchecked…exceedingly unhealthy and dangerous. We have had anti-Semitic protests breaking out all over the country. They have tarnished the Liberty Bell and other monuments in our country. How did all these people get here? Is this going to get better? It is scary. We have (had) a system in place whereby people could enter our country legally…through appropriate and proper checks and balances, but that has long since exploded. I mean, it honestly seems like protecting our country from terrorists and others that would harm…and are currently harming…our society would be common sense, but common sense has checked out in the name of voters or what have you.

Our Commander in Chief presence in the world has been significantly diminished…and frankly has been generally terrible…due to awful decision-making, beginning with Afghanistan, and continuing on through the Ukraine/Russia debacle due in large part to the perception that we have had a weak president by the president of Russia, ruler of China, and which generally has been true. The current government has not only continued to placate Iran and other terrorist states, they have been enabled and emboldened and are now fighting their fight on our soil! 

Many others…primarily the media…have been doing their typical best to sweep it all under a mighty large rug. Certain entities in government, including the current justice department, make it an incredibly unlevel playing field as it relates to all of the inside dealings…and they have all done their best to distance themselves from a Secret Service debacle the likes that has never been seen, but which is also incredibly suspicious and sketchy…and the truth will never be known, which is very unfortunate, but sadly the standard for such matters. It is all disheartening and disgusting. 

People rail…including many Christians…against the concept of the U.S. being a “Christian nation.” They don’t like that moniker. Many just want to pacify all things. I understand it. And yet…how about an “anti-Christian nation”? That is the path we are already on. It’s time to wake up! We have never been an exclusively Christian nation, but this overflow of anti-Semites and anti-Christs into our country is alarming. Some may get the “open” country they want…only to find that it may be “closed” to what really matters to them. They may get the country that they want, but certainly not like the country that they get. I hope and pray that we make some better, Godly decisions in the upcoming months. If not, God could and will turn us over to the desires of the humanists’ hearts. “For our fight is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, and against spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:12

Open and Closed

I have to say that I’ve seen an awful lot of pushback on Christian‘s being outraged over the Olympics opening ceremony. So many have made arguments as such so as to shame Christians for even speaking out against it. I can understand the need to be kind and gentle with people, certainly one on one, because we do need to make a difference in our lives. We don’t want to turn people off to Christ. At the same time, it is very unfortunate that some have significantly softened their approach to sin. I don’t think that there is an issue, spiritually or Biblically, with expressing outrage over such a blatant display of anti-Christian activity. I would say that it doesn't necessarily matter if they intended to parody the Last Supper. That's the perception, which is what does matter. And there's no doubt the ceremonies were hyper-sexualized, inappropriate for children, and have no place in a major international sports event that is supposed to have a broad appeal. We should rebuke sin and mockery. It’s righteous indignation. People have called out using Jesus overturning the money changers in the temple as “a poor proof text.” I have not seen anyone mention Jesus saying, “Let the children come to me…if anyone causes one of these little ones to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.” (Matthew 18:1-6) No one is being hateful towards the messengers but towards the message. We know the enemy when we see it and we will continue to wrestle against it. This is the battlefield. There needs to be a balance…we can be outraged over such an event, but we can also ask the Lord, His Spirit, to help us to exercise the wisdom to know how to communicate about it in such a way that we’re not excusing sin, and that we are still able to be positive influencers for the cause of Christ.

Elections

Could a US President suspend elections indefinitely using emergency powers?

William Murphy, College Professor at the State University of New York at Oswego says — No. There is no such power. An election was held during the Civil War, and throughout the Great Depression, and in the midst of World War II. There is no possibility at all of suspending it. None.

Tom Conway, Author says — The short answer is “No.”. The President’s emergency powers don’t extend to ignoring the Constitution. The laws the President can ignore are few, and reasonably carefully circumscribed. That’s why several Executive Orders have been successfully challenged in the Courts, and been revised in order to take effect.

Elections for the President, Vice President and Congress are required by the Constitution every couple years. Congress has set dates for elections, and changing those dates would require new legislation. The actual work of elections is done on a basically County level around the country, and generally includes elections at lower levels, including everything from Governors to Dog License Clerk. (Really. There are jurisdictions where dogcatcher is an elected official.) The President has essentially no authority over those elections.

Restricting movement using some kind of war powers would also be dubious. The US had regular elections during both World Wars, and NYC had elections just weeks after the 9/11 attacks. It’s hard to imagine anything short of a large-scale nuclear attack preventing elections in the US.

More philosophically, after the 9/11 attacks several officials in the Bush administration said the President’s first duty was to defend the country. That’s not correct. The President doesn’t take an oath to defend the country, and neither do people in the military or police forces. They take an oath to defend the Constitution. The President’s oath is:

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.

And the oath of enlistment is:

I, (NAME), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

The people who designed our system of government thought how we lived was more important than whether we lived. The notion that the President could discard those institutions is a dangerous one that betrays the foundations of our democracy. 

Steven Levitsky, a professor of government at Harvard University, and co-author of “Tyranny of the Minority: Why American Democracy Reached the Breaking Point,” also said that while he didn’t think Trump’s recent comment was “indicative of an organized plot to end elections in the United States,” it did represent yet another sign that “the guy has got authoritarian reflexes.” “Over the course of 10 or 15 years,” Levitsky added, a growing number of Republicans “convinced themselves that they weren’t going to be able to win elections in this new, multiracial America. I’m not so sure that’s true, but they were deeply fearful that was true. And so Trump, I think more than anything else, he senses … where they’re going and they’re feeling.” 

And concerning Project 2025 that a lot of people are so paranoid about — Trump has nothing to do with Project 2025!  That small organization only endorses Trump and that's all.  Trump does not recognize or accept their endorsement!

So, no…DT is not about to suspend voting. He has no legal or constitutional right to do so. What he can do, is speak ambiguously in such a way as to cause people consternation and fear, because he has a history of doing such, while most likely referencing what he believes was a stolen election in 2020…but also because he has deep convictions and concerns of his own concerning the Republican Party and the course of the country that he loves. 

We Love Because God First Loved Us

Friends,

It has been a rough past week.  I shared last week about peace and security in the Lord…and that topic would still certainly be appropriate for a time like this.  Many people have a lot to say at times like this, a lot of opinions are shared when we have tragedies occur, which is their prerogative.  I guess I am just the opposite.  For me, at least, it is not a time to plea or pontificate…but a time to ponder and pray.  I just don’t know that anything I would have to say would be sufficient to deal with the raw hurt, anger, fear, sadness and other emotions that people are feeling…feelings which are entirely real and understandable.

So, whether it is the right thing or not, I try to let Scripture speak.  I want to hear the voice of God when bad news seems to be overwhelming.  It is not much different when I get called to the hospital to help a struggling family.  Sometimes…most of the time…people just need you to be present, and they need to know that God is present.  So, as it came to sharing this message today, I spent a significant amount of time thinking – what does a preacher person say?  There are a number of important passages that we could and perhaps should consider.  I tend to default to the Scriptures that remind me of God’s attributes, and what it is that He shares with us and wants us to know.

Today, I want to talk about one of my favorite Bible characters, and some of my favorite words that He shares with his readers…with us.  John is known as the apostle of love.  This is certainly due, in no small part, to His understanding and grasping the nature of his Father…and in this section he tells us that God is love.  One of the keys to John’s writings is that he wants us to know that anyone who knows God has been born of God’s love and will…and is responsive to God’s love and will.  At the beginning of chapter two of John calls his readers, “My little children.” As an aged person at this point, all of his readers would be like his children…and this reflects the fact that we are all children of our Father.  This is our big picture.  John provides to us some critical information concerning love (here, 1 John 4:7-21)…and he starts with this -- Love is not God; love does not define God, but God does define love, for God is love.   Much of what is called “love” in modern society is in reality…lust.  It bears no resemblance or relationship to the holy, spiritual love of God.  The “God kind of love” is special, unique -- agape, from the Greek, meaning – a love that knows no boundaries…it is unconditional, powerful.  It is born out of the very essence of God.  It is unique because it was delivered to us in the most powerful way --through God’s only begotten, one of a kind, Son…Jesus Christ.  None of this took place or was prompted by any love that man has ever had for God…man has betrayed God over and over – it was prompted by His love for us.  The Father was the initiator!  Unbelievers love their families, and even sacrifice for them in many respects.  Many people have some kind of intellectual understanding concerning God, but what is lacking – a personal relationship…a personal experience.  But, John says, God is invisible -- no one can see Him in His essence, only through special appearances of His glory, shekinah – burning bush, pillar of fire and cloud, mercy seat.  Yet, Paul says – “Jesus is the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15).  By taking on a human body, Jesus was able to reveal God to us (John 14:7ff).  God wanted to do more than just tell us of His love, rather, “God demonstrates His own love for us in this:  While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).  And even more than this, He wanted to live or abide in us!   He says this six times in this section.  And so He is able to do so through His Spirit…bearing His fruit.  Jesus ascended and left His Helper, the Holy Spirit to guide us.  In this way, the Father reveals Himself through the lives of His children. 

So, men may not be able to see God directly, but they can see God in us…the Father in the lives of His children.  His love is experienced in us, and then it is expressed through us to all.  Christian love is evidence that people truly know God!  It is not simply an intellectual pursuit, but through an exciting day by day walk that makes us Christ-like.  At the same time, there is the other side of the coin.  This is the part that the world does not understand, unfortunately.  We love not only those who are like us, but even those who are different from us or would be enemies to us.  For those of us who are in Christ, we can and must always find ways to reconcile our differences in the Lord.  As children of our Father, we may fuss like regular children, but we also forgive and move on.  We cannot love God and hate a brother or sister in the Lord.  We love, unconditionally…and are a blessing to all.

Yet another wonderful characteristic of the Father’s love is that His positive love removes negatives, such as fear and punishment.  Knowing the persecution that early Christians were experiencing at the time of John’s writing this letter, one would think that they would have plenty of reasons to be afraid.  Not so!  John says that we Christians can experience boldness or confidence toward our Father…we do not need to fear the past, present or future – the love of God transcends all this.  We are indeed sons and daughters in relationship to our Heavenly Father, and not prisoners who cringe before a judge, because our judgment is not future…it is past.  Jesus Christ took our sins to the cross and suffered judgment for all mankind – if we are in Him, we have no need to fear, but can have blessed assurance.

Rob Chaffart shares this -- Point Pelee's Lifesaving station in Ontario, Canada was established in 1901 as a result of the numerous lives and vessels lost to this peninsula. With its many shoals and reefs, it is most certainly a sailor's nightmare.  On November 22, 1906, the Conemaugh, a wooden steamer, lost all control in the Pelee passage. It hit the shoals with such a force that most of the blades of the propeller were broken off by the impact. The crew was in dire panic.  The team of seven at the nearby lifesaving station set out immediately to the rescue. Their task wasn't easy however, and it was made even harder by the tumultuous waves that constantly invaded their tiny boat. Once they were finally near enough to the Conemaugh, the crew went about the task of rescuing the crew.  One thing they didn't do, however, was try to pick and choose who would be saved. Imagine if they had said something like this: "Oh, here is Joe, my neighbor. A real jerk of a man! I don't think there is room for him in my boat. Good riddance!" But no such thought ever entered their heads. Rather, they made three trips, risking their lives each time, so that anyone on board of the Conemaugh could be brought safely ashore.  Would we have done the same? I'm speaking to those of us who have experienced God's love in our lives! Why is it that we have no trouble loving God, but when it comes to loving our fellow mankind, we are left wanting? So often we end up pondering how it is possible to truly love others. After all, we have been burned so many times, and these wounds continue to haunt us every step of the way.  How can we love like Jesus does? Is it even humanly possible? Immediately we are reminded that "Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold..." (Matt 24:12 NIV) It is completely normal, given the evil in this world, to hesitate to love. Nevertheless, this Bible text continues "…but he who stands firm to the end will be saved." (Matt 24:13 NIV). Those of us who do not let wickedness influence us in our love for others are the ones who stand firm!  We were destined to love! No wonder the evil one tries to thwart God's plans by every means possible! Will we let him? It all depends whether or not we are "standing firm".

We can know…we can experience genuine agape love, if we fully know the Father through the Son and have His Spirit dwelling, living in us.  We also understand that the love of the Father is sacrificial!  Know that the love of God is part of His very essence.  When we understand the Father’s love for us, it makes all of the difference in our lives.  Even, if we have not had a good example of an earthly father’s love in our lives.  When all of the pieces of the puzzle come together and in place in our lives, God’s plan becomes apparent to us and real for us.  When we understand our Heavenly Father’s love for us, we share this love with others and have no need to worry or be afraid.  He helps us to grow in our love for Him and for others.  We have everything to look forward to in our hope of joining our Heavenly Father, and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  If we are living for Christ, we can be confident that we will be with Him one day.  We can now respect and understand just how it is that the Father had done what He has done for us…He wants us to be with Him!  We were all steeped in bad news at one time…news like the world has to offer.  But, now we have the Good News that we enjoy, and that we need to share with a world that desperately needs it.  Life is short…love is what matters.  The Father’s love through His Son is what matters most – and it is what makes the difference for us, His children.

Blessings, Don

Being Thankful in a Thankless World

Friends,

Thankful or thankless -- which word would you say better describes our society today? It seems like the majority of our culture lives with an attitude of entitlement. People feel they are entitled to better pay, better benefits and more stuff.  People feel that if they cannot afford it, then they can rob Peter to pay Paul so to speak, or better yet, have the government pick up the check. The majority never stops to give thanks for what they have, but loudly voices their desire to have more.  We have, in many respects, devolved into a society of thankless people, and there are repercussions. The greatest irony in all of this being that – Thanksgiving has been overrun by NoThanksButIAmShopping. For many people, it is about greed…I am going to get something ahead of you.  This is just the opposite of Thanksgiving.  This is not to say that shopping is evil, just whether greed is dominating our lives, or gratitude.  If we are thankful for what we already have, it should help us not to be so needy or greedy.  We have enjoyed so many blessings that we have come to expect them. We even have begun to display these same attitudes when it comes to God. People acknowledge God less and less…they don’t give Him honor and glory for their success in business, or as pertains to life in general. They will tell you it’s because of their own hard work that they have accomplished these things.  In this familiar passage (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18), Paul reveals to us that thankful hearts shows that we are healthy Christians.  God expects us to be a thankful people. As Christians, we are called to live counter-culture. With the approach of Thanksgiving, let’s discover how to have a thankful heart in an unthankful world.

There are some important realizations that we must own, if we are to live like Christ. One is that we are not entitled to what we have, but understand they everything is a blessing from God.  “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” (James 1:17)  Even at our most economically unstable times, we have so much wealth in the United States that it is easy to take for granted simple blessings.  What we consider to be poverty today far exceeds the standard of living that most people enjoyed a century ago.  We have gained more possessions for ourselves today than at any other time in history.  While a great portion of the world looks at the United States and sees great wealth, many people tend to view it as what we are entitled to for being Americans.  If we encounter situations that cause us to have to tighten our belts (so to speak), and our standard of living has to change, we become upset because we feel we are being denied what is rightfully ours.  The person who believes that the world owes him a living is not going to be thankful for much. He thinks he is doing others a favor by permitting them to serve him. And allowing others to serve should not be a bad thing…it is good.  But, the thankful heart is usually humble…a heart that gladly acknowledges God. When we understand that God is the source of all blessings our natural response should be gratitude. The principle of thanksgiving, including the holiday, allows us the opportunity to put everything in proper perspective and to thank God for His abundant blessings.  A truly thankful heart will change our lives. It will keep us from becoming overly critical or constantly complaining. It will draw us closer to our Heavenly Father and make us more conscious of His presence. Thomas Merton wrote, “Gratitude takes nothing for granted, is never unresponsive, is constantly awakening to new wonder, and to praise of the goodness of God.”

Finally, this exhortation by Paul proves our need for the Spirit of God, because in our own strength we could never obey it. Gratitude makes us alive! When we are grateful we realize that God is the source of all our blessings, and this keeps us from complaining or taking blessings for granted.  In fact, the word “gratitude” comes from the same root word as “grace.” And “thanksgiving” comes from the same root, as well…they are all connected. If we have experienced the grace of God, then we ought to be grateful for what God brings to us.  Where the Spirit reigns, there is gratitude to God, a deep sense of appreciation, and a spontaneous expression of it. Take some time to think about everything that you have, realize that it was God that gave it to you. When we line up our lives with God’s will, we will discover that it will become easier to be joyful and easier to be thankful.  

Blessings, Don