August 28, 2024

                Follow Jesus First

Am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.

– Galatians 1:10

What do you believe? What faith are you living? Do you even know?

Our country is so divided politically and religiously. Loud voices mock those who disagree with what they believe. Silence fills our minds as stress hardens our hearts.

It’s so much easier to go along with the crowd. I live in Trump country. I cannot understand the infatuation with a man who continues to lie, call others names, and basically bully and condemn anyone who dares to disagree with him.

Some of my Christian friends assure me that they aren’t voting for the man but rather the principles he follows. No abortion. Close the border. Balance the budget. Take care of the United States first and then Israel. No one else.

Except he isn’t doing that. His abortion stance? Let the states handle it. Close the border? He demanded that his followers in Congress vote against a bi-partisan bill to stop border crossings. Why? Because it looks better for him if the border remains wide open.

Balance the budget? Sure. But let’s not get rid of the pork. Let’s cut social security and any funds aimed at helping children. Let’s balance the budget on the backs of the middle class and poor while rolling out tax cuts and handouts to the wealthy.

Obviously, we all want to take care of our own country and our veterans. And we do support Israel – but not without conditions. The Bible shows us again and again that the Israelites do sometimes turn from God. We should never assume that blindly supporting Israel is what God wants.

We also shouldn’t behave as though we live in a vacuum not impacted by what’s going on around the world. We tried that once before. Then the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and we were forced to look directly at evil and respond.

None of that is popular in the Deep South. But I’m not here to win a popularity contest. I am here to follow Jesus. So are you. 

Neither political party gets it all right or all wrong when it comes to following the Bible. But choosing to follow someone who arrogantly disregards basic character traits of a godly man isn’t the answer. It’s way past time that we stop blindly following men and start truly following our God.

January 14, 2018

Jesus Christ Sits on the Throne

Jesus is “the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.” Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved. – Acts 4:11-12

Last month a Democrat defeated a Republican to become Alabama’s next U.S. Senator. Facebook was filled with conservative Christians who truly believed the world was about to end. The hate and disgust coming from their tongues was appalling.

The Republican party can’t save us. Nor can the Democratic Party. Donald Trump is not on the throne, Jesus Christ is. Why then do so many Christians place their faith and their hope in men, and women, who are just as flawed as the rest of us?

More importantly, perhaps, what does that say about their faith? About the faith of all of us? Do we believe that God can and will only work through one political party or one president? Do we limit His ability to work by our own narrow views of what is right and what is wrong?

Unfortunately, I live in a state where people only consider the political party when deciding how to cast their ballots. They don’t look at the person. They don’t consider the issues. They don’t check their “facts” before sharing them for all the world to see. And, yet, they see those of us who vote differently as lesser Christians.

Our pastor said recently that we are all hypocrites. He’s right. We all hold others to higher standards than we hold ourselves. We look in the mirror and see justified. We look at others and see condemned. Much like the Pharisees, I might add. How very sad.

They are not bad people. They simply can’t see beyond themselves. They don’t see a big God who can do all things. They don’t consider that they might be wrong at times. They don’t comprehend that a label doesn’t make a man any more than it breaks him. We are all sinners and we are all placed here to serve a glorious God.

How do we do that? By worshipping at the throne of a particular political party? By determining that salvation comes from a certain man, agenda or vote? What message are we sending to nonbelievers when we lament the end of God in the USA because one man, or one political party, was defeated by the other?

I trust that God works all things for our good and His glory. I believe that God is powerful enough to accomplish anything through anyone at any time. My allegiance is to Jesus Christ. My salvation comes through Him. It is not of this world. I am not of this world, merely a traveler on my way home.

I don’t know what the future holds. None of us do. I will pray for our elected officials to be filled with God’s wisdom and discernment. I will ask that He guide them in all they do so that His will, not my own, is done. Whether your candidate wins or loses, Jesus Christ remains on the throne. He alone is our Savior. Remember that.