Wednesday, October 26, 2016

All About the Judges: Who Should the Christian Vote For?

Today's Reading:
  • Judges 1:1 - 2:23
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Judges 1:1 - 2:23
Today's reading is the first from the book of Judges. This is an extremely relevant book in face of the upcoming general election. How so? Well, it starts, of course, with the Israelites. The Israelites conquered the land promised to them, but they failed to conquer it completely, therefore disobeying their instructions and leaving them open to strife. In verse 2:8, we learn that Joshua had died at the age of 110. Soon, that entire generation passed, and an ungodly one grew up in its place. This left the people vulnerable to attack and defeat, for the Lord was not pleased with them.

In verse 2:16, we learn that the Lord raised up judges to rescue the Israelites. We are told that the Lord was with each judge he appointed, and that during each judge's lifetime, the Lord rescued the Israelites from their enemies (2:18). We are further told that, at the death of each judge, the people's evil ways would return and they would once again defy the Lord (2:19).

I believe that the judges would intercede for the people with the Lord, thus retaining His protection. These judges were the highest powers in the land, and they revered the Lord. Here in our present time, the United States is in a state of turmoil. We are seeing the shift of this nation from being a godly nation, to a nation where the Lord is being slowly kicked out. That scares me.

It is my opinion that the most important issue of this election are the judges. It is expected that the next president will appoint up to 4 supreme court justices. The outcome will be a supreme court that is either skewed toward conservatism, or towards liberalism. That means that the next generation of laws that pass through our land will be heavily influenced by which president is elected.

So where do we want our country to go? This election is difficult in that both candidates are not very likeable, and both have abhorrent personality traits. Maybe this is Satan's influence to push the Christians to either (1) not vote; or (2) vote for the wrong candidate. Is there a wrong candidate? My answer is absolutely. As a Christian, I can not vote for things like legal abortions and same sex marriage. These things do not line up with the bible that I have read (at this point, cover to cover, multiple times through).

I am not voting for a candidate at this point. I am voting for our supreme court. A conservative supreme court. A supreme court that will help us to turn our faces back to God as a nation. A supreme court that will help intercede our case with the Lord. A supreme court that will buy us more time as a nation. I don't want to be a part of the nation that falls. Throughout the bible, we see this pattern. I am praying that we turn back now, before it's too late.

Please vote. Don't be discouraged as a Christian because both candidates have such poor personality traits. Remember that God can work through anyone. Yes - the Lord could even work through Hillary. But as Christians, if we are not voting, if we are not standing up to keep the Lord in our nation, then we are part of the problem.

Sunday, October 23, 2016

Perseverance for the Godly (Words from Proverbs)

Today's Reading:
  • Proverbs 13:30 - 25
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Proverbs 13:12 - 25
Today's reading has a few different themes. Verse 13:20 starts off by telling us that those who walk with the wise will become wise, and those who associate with fools will get in trouble. Do you want more wisdom in your life? I know I do, especially after reading all the wonderful proverbs about how wisdom gives us life. The answer is simple - one of the ways you can gain wisdom is by associating yourself with those who are wise. Surround yourself with wise and godly people, and your perspective on life might change.

Verse 23 talks about injustice when it says that a poor person's farm may produce an abundance of food, but injustice sweeps it away. I see this as both literal and figurative. I see literal references -- especially when I hear cases of the government forcing metric tons of crops to be dumped and destroyed, in order to leave room for import items. It is sickening to see that forced waste.  Figuratively, the poor person is often persecuted unjustly. They can't afford to fight battle, and therefore some will use their power to walk all over them. All we can do is keep the Lord in our sight, and never give up faith or hope.

Verses 21, 22, and 25 specifically address sinners. We are told that troubles chase sinners, the sinner's wealth passes to the godly, and that the belly of the wicked go hungry. On the contrary, blessings reward the righteous, good people have wealth left over to pass to their grandchildren, and the godly eat to their heart's content. I know these verses might seem to be full of contradictions. After all, how many extravagantly rich sinners do we see? How often do we see the "bad" person persevere, while the "good" one struggles? There are more important things than what we see on this earth. We are in an endurance race to the end of our lives, the reward of which is eternal life with the balances restored. Don't let anyone - and certainly not the unbeliever - rob you of your end goal. All of this is not for naught. God is real, Heaven is real, and eternal life with our Lord and Savior is real. Those who struggle yet remain righteous will prosper for all of eternity. Our years on earth feel long yet fleeting at the same time; just remember they are but a drop in the bucket to all eternity.