When it seems like the impossible clouds all earthly possibilities, hang on.
When it feels like the troubles of this life will never change, don’t give up.
When hope is a distant thought and despair pummels us from every angle, keep hoping!
When the struggle is real and our strength fails us, take heart!
When we’re weary from running on empty, and it’s beginning to look like we can’t get there from here… God does something remarkable!

He reminds us that He’s with us.

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:  “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). Matthew 1:22-23

God’s actions convey that He sees our faith and hears our prayers.  He acts with great power on our behalf.  Sometimes it’s as simple as an answer to prayer or a reassuring voice, “Be still and wait upon the Lord.” Or the steadfast awareness that the battle is not ours.  It’s His.  Sometimes it’s encouragement out of the blue from a godly friend who was inspired to offer a hand of assistance to persevere through the tough stuff. 

But sometimes it’s more. It’s all this … on steroids. 
It’s Divine Intervention: When Only a Miracle Will Do.

Throughout Biblical history, God has displayed that He’s very much engaged with what is going on here on Earth.  Never more plainly than at Christmas with the birth of His Son Jesus to be our Savior.

Join me this Advent beginning on Sunday, November 29th and continuing to Thursday, December 24th as we celebrate the first coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and look forward to His Second Coming.  By signing up on the sidebar of my Home Page you can receive these daily devotionals. Or they will be reposted on SeminaryGal’s Facebook page as well.

Together we will see how God has been actively involved all along as Divine Intervention for a hurting world and nations in tumult– Intervention for you and for me when our status as sinners required nothing short of a miracle.

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Acknowledging inquiries about an entire season’s devotionals for your study group’s planning purposes, Seminary Gal’s prior seasons’ Advent devotionals can be accessed via the archives to the right and are as follows:  

• Last year’s Advent Devotional Series God’s Christmas list explored what might be on God’s Christmas list, learning what He wants from us. It began December 1, 2019.
• Storyteller began December 2, 2018 and entered into the Christmas story through its telling.
• The 2017 series Still Christmas, began December 3, 2017 and was the Advent complement to the Lenten series, Be Still and Know that I AM God.
• The 2016 season devotionals were called “Timeless: The Message of Christmas for All Ages” and explored how the message of Christmas is timeless truth, for all ages of people, and for all ages at all times.  Timeless hope, encouragement, grace, peace, and love as we looked into the Word, saw the face of our Lord Jesus, and experienced restoration in His presence.  His goodness and His Gospel are truly Timeless. The 2016 devotionals began November 27, 2016.
• The 2015 season devotionals were titled Incarnation and involved digging deep–and yes, I mean deep– in this important mystery of Christian theology.  They began November 29, 2015.
• Carol Me, Christmas! remains one of my most popular offerings and tells the Christmas story through our most beloved Christmas hymns and carols.  You can access all of the numbered devotionals from 2014 via the archives.  They began November 30, 2014.
• The 2013 series was Emmanuel: When LOVE Showed Up in Person and examined the Prologue to the Gospel of John.  It began December 1, 2013.
• The 2012 series focused on Expecting the Unexpected…the unexpected, unlikely, and uniquely divine qualities of God’s perfect plan outlined in Luke’s account of the Christmas story.  It began December 1, 2012.

Have no other gods before Me, God says, and also don’t bow down or worship statues or idols (Exodus 20:2-6).   That’s because He’s fully aware that statues and images cannot replace our true and essential Object (grammatically speaking) of worship.

God’s reasons are not the same as those of Sean King whose views were recently articulated on Breitbart.  “Yes, I think the statues of the white European they claim is Jesus should also come down,” wrote King, a self-described black man whose family says he is white. “They are a form of white supremacy. Always have been …“Yes. All murals and stained glass windows of white Jesus, and his European mother, and their white friends should also come down,” he continued, reported Fox News. “They are a gross form white supremacy. Created as tools of oppression. Racist propaganda. They should all come down.”  (He’s obviously not a fan of statues.)

The terrorists in France take it to another extreme.  They go beyond torching churches (now all too common everywhere from Chile to London to the US.  They even go beyond beheading statues and tearing down crosses.  They’ve resorted to beheading Christians who are made in God’s Image and are the Body of Christ.

It’s undeniable.  We’re in a spiritual battle and with Christ as our Banner, we can respect that worship and remembrance are two different things.  Is it possible to see a statue without worshiping it, just letting it be a remembrance?  Can statues prompt the hearts of those who do not know You? Sure they can! Christians need discernment on this, and not just because this issue has divided Christians and split the Church.  While Jesus of Nazareth had a body, Jesus reminded us that God is Spirit, and He wants us to worship Him in spirit and in truth.

It’s precisely because of the spiritual battle that it is time to step up our worship in recognition of God’s will.

“His intent was that now, through the Church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to His eternal purpose that He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.  In Him and through faith in Him we may approach God with freedom and confidence…and to Him be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3:10-12, 21)

Lord God, please help me to discern the difference between having a prompting to remember Your goodness versus turning sacred traditions into objects and idols to worship apart from You.  And not just sacred traditions but also our fellow servants (pastors, elected officials, etc.) who are NOT saviors no matter how valued they may be.

May we remember during this election season that You are sovereign, even over the outcome. Our vote matters only so far as we respond to You…after praying with open hearts to receive Your instruction, ears that are willing to listen, and then using our will, our actions, to do what You desire as our part in bringing Your plan to fruition.  May we accept Your plan as a gift and reject those who might resist Your outcome with their rebellion, godlessness, evildoing, and engaging in insurrection.

We worship You alone.   No mere mortal can substitute as an object of our worship, and we thank You for that distinction between Christianity and false religions.  Give us great discernment as a nation, Lord. While mere mortals are not to be worshiped, they can point to Jesus Christ, and we ask for Your blessing upon those servants who are pointing the way to You, upholding the righteous cause of life, and understanding that law and order flow from You.  May we see every candidate and voter the way You do.  Show Yourself mighty in this moment, not just for our benefit, but for Christ and His glory as hearts of a nation, of a world, turn toward You!  Amen.

Lift the signal from the noise.  Take a step back.  Breathe.
Think about first things and your top priority:
Worship of God through Christ Jesus. 

The battle is His. 

The battle is His, but the battle is also very real.  Look to Jesus.  When Jesus was confronted with the devil’s temptation to lose focus and affix His worship in worldly “elsewheres,” He didn’t fall for it. Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.'” (Luke 4:8)

We would be wise to do the same.

Turn down the nightly news and mute their endless talking heads with alternate realities that defy and deny what you see with your own eyes.  God is speaking.  He is showing you the way to go.  As the psalmist writes,

“Let the morning bring me word of Your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in You. Show me the way I should go, for to You I entrust my life.  Rescue me from my enemies, LORD, for I hide myself in You.  Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God; may Your good Spirit lead me on level ground.” (Psalm 143:8-10)

The noise is loud, but the signal is clear.  The signal is truth. 

Shield your heart far from the lies of political candidates.  The ones who are, they know they’re lying.  Protect your mind from thought control and Twitter trends of breadcrumbs scattered to the darkest wood away from what you know to be true.  You know Who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  He is Jesus Christ, the very Son of God.

Guard your speech so you reflect for a watching world that you’ve got your priority straight.  Not priorities.  Not plural.  Singular.  Separating the signal from the noise.  This is how to live in these dark days.

Praying, Father God Almighty!  You are the author of all wisdom and truth.  You are the perfectly holy One, the only true God.  You have ordained praise from infants and adults alike.  Even the rocks cry out if we are silent because You are worthy!  When the noise of this world muddies our thinking, stifles our hearts, and tries to keep us from hearing and seeing, speak to us in the inner chambers of our hearts.  Teach us what is true and how to keep our focus upon You.  Please Lord, fight for us when we don’t know where to turn.  Bring Your righteousness to bear in these dark days and expose the evil in our midst.  Bring our hearts to desire repentance and salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord before Your wrath has its final say.  May we be found faithful, standing firm and worshiping You alone…for You alone are worthy.  Amen.

When we recognize that we are created beings—an essential part of understanding our identity—we can engage in essential worship of God.

You know, I grieve a culture that teaches critical race theory or says I have some “white privilege” of which I must repent or kneel or wear like a scarlet letter “W”, as I apologize to everyone under the sun.  That type of notion should be an anathema to every worshiper of Christ.

How can I possibly resent that I was created white by God?  Do I pass judgment on His actions?  Can I flaunt something I had no part in creating or act as though other ethnicities are not also part of God’s workmanship?  If you have black or brown skin, just remove the word “white” and replace it.  The principle is still the same.

Hear me loud and clear: The Gospel isn’t for whites alone. It’s for every person.  It’s an eternal Gospel for every nation, tribe, language, and people.  That’s what God says anyway…just before He comes to judge.  TO JUDGE.

“Another angel [was] flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth– to every nation, tribe, language and people. He said in a loud voice, ‘Fear God and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come. Worship Him.’”  Revelation 14:6-7

When we fear and worship our One True God, we’re in equally excellent standing, ready to face His righteous judgment…in Christ.  It doesn’t matter the color of our skin. We each can celebrate how God made us without resenting ourselves or others and how God made them, passing judgment on them or worse, on God!

When we understand we are all created in God’s Image—every racial background and ethnicity, every person rich or poor, every man, every woman, every baby, and yes, every fetus—that Image of God means we do not place our hope in our skin color, our wealth, our age, our sex, our political affiliation, our vocation, our Supreme Court, or anything else. 

Our hope is in God alone. 

So, yes, I may be white, but there is no “W” to wear as a badge of ignominy or supremacy.  I wear a scarlet letter “C”—for Christian!  Paid for by the same precious blood of a Savior who doesn’t look at the things man looks at.  His same blood covers sins committed in every color human, if we repent. Therefore, any acts of obedience to Christ and to the authorities He gives will mark my life if I possibly can.  I want to be known by my love, acts of obedience, and discernment…not by my phony superficial acculturation to some godless worldly standard!

I’m praying like this:
Lord God, your Word clearly admonishes us to live in the truth and to not pervert justice by siding with a crowd.  (Exodus 23:1-7) You command us to “Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them…everything exposed by the light becomes visible– and everything that is illuminated becomes a light.  This is why it is said: ‘Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”’ Be very careful, then, how you live– not as unwise but as wise” (Ephesians 5:11-15).  Illuminate my heart this day.  Expose any blind spots I have that might cause me to act in unloving ways. Cleanse my heart, Lord.  Give me the courage to stand for You and to take a stand against evil.  Open the eyes of Christians worldwide to see the genuine demonic prowling in our midst. Remove the scales from our eyes and the prejudice from our hearts.  Teach us that politics isn’t the be-all-and-end-all.  You are the Alpha and Omega!  Establish a guard around Your people, Lord, and please do not let us fall away and worship false idols.  Lord Jesus, expose the demonic by shining Your light up on it.  Help us to see and acknowledge Your truth. Please Father, bring about a swift end to spiritual powers of evil opposed to You and take away any earthly power they use to deceive Your people.  We need You, Lord.  We need Your wisdom, Your grace, and Your mercy.  Teach us to worship You rightly so we may stand for Christ in Your hour of judgment.  In Jesus’ mighty Name I pray.  Amen!

What do COVID-19, Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s recent passing, and President Trump’s being admitted to Walter Reed “out of an abundance of caution” have in common? 

They all point to one plank in the theology I hold dear.
It’s summed up in Isaiah 5:5-9. 

“I am the LORD, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged me, so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting people may know there is none besides me. I am the LORD, and there is no other.

I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the LORD, do all these things. “You heavens above, rain down my righteousness; let the clouds shower it down. Let the earth open wide, let salvation spring up, let righteousness flourish with it; I, the LORD, have created it.”

What if COVID-19 and all this mask-wearing is to remind us that God allows human beings creative expression because we’re made in His Image?  But what if He is exposing how those with arrogant and evil intent can misuse that blessing (and from God’s basic building blocks of goodness) to manufacture the worst humanity can design? 

Has God lost control?  Absolutely NOT!  What if God’s purpose is to punish those who reject Him, as the Chinese Communist Party clearly refuses to acknowledge Him?  What if this is aligning many nations against the Communists in China so they will reap what they have sown?

What if all this mask-wearing is pointing out a distinction between humanity and the rest of the animal world because for the sake of our health, we would cover over one genuinely unique feature of those made in God’s Image?  That feature is a smile.  No other animal genuinely smiles or cries with tears of grief or joy.  Only Image-bearers do that.

Furthermore, masks cover over the non-verbal feedback required for genuine relationship.  Social distancing limits our ability to feel community.  Gatherings, fellowship, and physical touch were hallmarks of Jesus’ ministry.  For us, the handshake of friendship, hug of support, and a steadying hand…they’re more than missing as casualties of COVID. Their absence destroys community.  Social distancing is disastrous for normal social behavior for God’s people.  If it goes on much longer, we will feel its ripple effects in our social well-being generations to come, painfully evident in our youth who are growing up with this.  The Church must work hard to reclaim community because our humanity is best seen in our diverse bearing of our common Creator’s Image.

The passing of RBG tells a similar story to the President’s being admitted to Walter Reed.  Both are pointing out that human beings are created in God’s Image and that’s why we do not take joy in harm coming to others in life.  Yet we also do not elevate any person to the level of a savior or god.  There is no other, our God says, and He is the Living One, holding the keys of death and Hades.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg held onto life (which was very good)!  She held onto a seat on the Supreme Court hoping to make history (and God proved instead that she is not a god and history is really His Story, not hers).

Let us vow to open our spiritual eyes to see what God is doing in all these things as we pray,

Almighty Father, we praise You that You are God and there is no other, something about which You remind us often! (Isaiah 45:5-46:13) We praise You for Your goodness, Your sovereignty, Your love, Your justice, Your holiness, Your mercy, and Your righteousness.  Give us eyes to see what You see.  Help us to interpret all worldly events through Your wisdom.  Help us to trust in none but You.  You are God alone.  As we trust in You, give us confidence to stand in this dark hour.  We love You, Lord.  Through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior Whose evidence of love is all excelling. 

In his “I Have Dream” speech, Reverend Martin Luther King said “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today!”

I can only imagine how appalled he would be seeing his dream dashed and replaced by a new nightmare of race relations today in America.

In a post I wrote in 2016 on Resurgence that I saw on the horizon for the black community, I profiled Shelby Steele who wrote ”Everybody is under threat of stigmatization. Blacks are fanatical about who’s really black and who isn’t. Whites are fanatical about whether they’re racist or whether they’re not. Nobody is seeing each other as simply as human beings…” 

Simply as human beings. 
Wow.  How on earth did we stray so far afield? 
Where is our humanity as a color-full society, not one that is color-blind? 

Seriously, are the only blacks in America worth lauding those with mile-long rap sheet, meth and fentanyl in their systems, and who get injured or killed through—knowingly or drug-induced—resisting of arrest? 

No, no, and no!  If I were a black American, which I am not, I’d be profoundly offended at the lauding of rebels and criminals while dismissing the absolute multitude—DON’T MISS IT—ABSOLUTE MULTITUDE–of overcomers and role models who are the glory stories abundant in—and for—the black community.  Were I to be counted among the cherished majority of black Americans, those law-abiding, successful, and godly ones, I’d resent being lumped in with anarchists and looters…indeed with evildoers and murderers. 

Character matters.  That’s what counts with God.

In a similar way, as a white American, I don’t want to be lumped in with all those evildoing whites throwing Molotov cocktails as if we’re all the same! We are not!  Character matters! That’s what God is looking for us to display…increasingly as Christians, as the Body of Christ…we will display…HIS CHARACTER.

The LORD detests those whose hearts are perverse, but He delights in those whose ways are blameless. Be sure of this: The wicked will not go unpunished, but those who are righteous will go free. (Proverbs 11:20-21)

It’s character that’s essential.  Color is just a plus for a beautiful diverse community in heaven someday. 

Therefore, I will applaud God’s workmanship in every color….because our Maker is perfect and He creates to perfection! Red, brown, yellow, black, and white, all are precious in His sight.  Or so the children’s song goes.

So I pray as the Apostle John wrote, but directing our prayer to our Savior.  Father God, we praise You for sending our Savior, Your Son. Lord Jesus, we thank You.  “Now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when You appear, we shall be like You, for we shall see You as You are. All who have this hope in You purify ourselves, just as You are pure. Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness.  But we know that You appeared so that You might take away our sins. And in You is no sin. <PRAISE THE LORD!>

No one who lives in You keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen You or known You….do not let anyone lead us astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as You are righteous. The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason You appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. <PRAISE THE LORD!>

No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in us; we cannot go on sinning, because we have been born of God. 
<PRAISE THE LORD!>
This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister. (1 John 3:2-10)

Lord Jesus, protect us and preserve us in this dark hour so that we may testify to the essential character of those born again.  We love You, Lord.  Amen.

Jesus warned us. 
“Watch out that you are not deceived” (Luke 21:8). 

Wake up, Christian.  Who are you following?

Who is it torching buildings and throwing frozen water bottles at the heads of police and passersby?  Who is it drop-kicking toddlers, punching the unsuspecting elderly with their walkers, assassinating political rivals point blank and in cold blood, and shooting innocent children in their strollers?  Who is looting, stealing other people’s livelihoods and belongings?  Who is committing arson, setting wildfires that ravage our nation’s forests?  Who is threatening peaceful neighborhoods in the cities and suburbs and marching in the streets, giving the finger, and shouting f-bombs as if those are the only two things they know how to do besides vandalize?  Who is pouring quick-set cement outside of the exit doors to prevent escape of those innocents they intentionally desire to burn alive? 

100% Antifa is 100% bad company. 

These people are not Christians. They are not motivated by love.  If you’re with them, you’re not with Christ.  If you’re with THEM, you’re against GOD. 

If you’re with THEM, the judgment of God will come upon you, too. 

Please wake up and repent.

Years ago, I wrote a blog post called Bad Company.  It was about how Martin Luther King, Jr’s peaceful protest movement for civil rights became hijacked by those with a different agenda.  Black Lives Matter is no different.  Billed initially as a loving movement of social justice everyone could applaud, it has gone dangerously off-track toward a different agenda altogether. 

Undiscerning Christians are being swept along in its evil riptide. 

Do they not see, or have they capitulated?  Even you pastors…are you one of them?  What pastor in his or her right mind thinks it’s okay to assault all police because of the rare bad apple? Is the color of one’s skin God’s litmus test for goodness?  No!  How did we go—in 19 short years—from lauding first responders as our nation’s bravest and finest on 9/11 to acronym graffiti “ACAB” (All Cops Are Bad)? 

The author of the Book of Hebrews explains God’s view this way, “It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. (Hebrews 6:4-6)

Reread Hebrews above. 
Discernment is vital and needed every moment. 
The lines of right and wrong are being blurred before our very eyes. 
Stop.
Take stock of where you are. 

“Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out,” He says. “There is a judge for the one who rejects Me and does not accept My words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day (John 12:31, 48).

That applies to former self-proclaimed Christians who have fallen away, too.  Bad company is taking some there. Don’t let it be you.

Have you ever thought about how much death and violence could be prevented in recent days if someone had just embraced the actions of obedience to God-given authorities in every realm of their lives? 

A police officer pulls someone over.  Hands on the wheel.  Yes, sir.  Do you have a weapon? Yes, sir, I have my FOID card in my wallet, my firearm is lawfully purchased and it’s in the glove box, sir.  How would you like for me to handle that, sir?  Get out of the car.  Yes, sir.  Hands where I can see them up in the air, okay?   Yes sir.  Are you on anything?  No sir. I don’t do drugs, or drive drunk, sir.  I need to see your driver’s license and FOID card.  Thank you for complying. You have a taillight out, son.  I’ll get that fixed, sir.  Thank you for letting me know.  That’s my job, son.  Your safety is my priority.  No ticket today, but be safe, okay?  Thank you, sir.

That is every police officer’s dream encounter.  It’s life-giving and lifesaving, and everyone goes home—alive—to his family.

I believe most people in America are basically good-hearted and value life and safety.  I believe God wants us to see something REALLY important: 

Rebellion leads to bad places. 

Sin is crouching at our door. It’s in our streets. It desires to devour us as it did with Cain who murdered his brother. Rebellion against authority is not evolution, nor is it progressive, but a regressive degradation of—and devoted worship of—self. Rebellion is the exaltation of self above all others.  Many in the streets excel at rebellion, are selfish to the core, have no regard for any human life, even those whose lives they exploit as a pretext for what they do.

Obedience is a learned behavior,
an essential action for those who wish to please God.

You see, it’s not enough to have faith.  As Scripture says in James,

“In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.
You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that– and shudder.”
(James 2:17-19)

I pray like this:  Lord God, our Father in heaven.  You are holy.  You are sovereign over life events and a point will come when the patience chapter of Your story for mankind gives way to the chapter of Your holy wrath.  May we be found faithful, not just with our words of profession, but with our acts of commission.  May we never fail to do what is right in Your eyes as the only God.  You are worthy of worship and of our every act of obedience.  We humbly acknowledge that until Your return, You have given authorities in our lives to whom we owe respect, kindness, and yes, obedience. 

You have not given us a spirit of rebellion like Cain who murdered his brother, but a spirit of life and wisdom through Your Holy Spirit.  Keep our eyes focused on You, we pray, in these last days.  Keep our hearts pure, O Lord, in a world of sin.  Keep our minds free from the deceits of the evil one.  Keep our actions doing what is right and far from the tentacles of the evil one beckoning to rebellion.  And Lord, I ask that among my brothers and sisters in Christ, if any are in danger of falling away, lured by good feelings and popularity from that masquerading angel called the devil, O Lord, I ask that You bring them to their senses.  Jolt them from their complacency or worse, submission to the wrong god.  Wake them from their slumber—a nightmare they are pursuing for themselves because of the deception.  I know Your Word says,

“The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie.”

Lord, Your wisdom is beyond our understanding.  Those who are falling away, O Lord, are they lost forever?  I fear for my brothers and sisters, even my fellow travelers in seminary or in church. Do they not see Your Word being fulfilled in our time and this delusion of the world’s making coming upon them like a thief?  Your Word continues, “So that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.”

I conclude with a benediction of the Apostle Paul, continuing this passage in 2 Thessalonians 2, “But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as firstfruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.  So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter. May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word. (2 Thessalonians. 2:9-17).  “Deed” and “word”…both action and faith…Amen.

It is hard to talk about essentials without acknowledging that our faith in God’s existence and our assurance of His activity…not passivity…in our lives matters.  This is essential for us because it’s impossible to please God without it. 

But you don’t have to take my word for it.  Scripture tells us that “Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6  

To be clear, it’s not that God is hard to please.  Or that He’s hard-nosed and a bean counter waiting for you to do enough to earn His pleasure.  Or that He requires you to purchase your own salvation, expecting the impossible from us.  That’s why Jesus came! 

God has done for us—in Christ Jesus–what is impossible in our strength alone.

Make no mistake: God is pleased with the giant leap from unbelief to faith every bit as much as He’s pleased with our growth, baby step by baby step.

I am reminded of the Bible story of the man whose son was possessed by a demon, begging Jesus if He can help.  I’ve got to believe that Jesus was smiling, His eyes twinkling, as He said this,

“‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.” Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” (Mark 9:23-24)

I believe Jesus smiled at the man’s reply as well.  Is your belief—your faith in God—mixed with unbelief that He can (or will) act on behalf of those who love Him, on behalf of you?

Are your eyes open to see God’s activity during recent days, even during these last 65 days prior to the Presidential election?  Do you think God cares about who becomes the President? 

God is not passive.  
He is not up in heaven wringing His hands.  He isn’t worried. 
He isn’t equivocating. 
He isn’t double-minded, unsure of where to go or what to do. 
He is generous and will give wisdom! 
He is patient, not wanting anyone to perish! 
He loves to bless!

I find myself praying like this:  Lord God, I thank You that You have not given up on us. I praise You that You are our holy God in heaven and sovereign over everything. Lord God, when my heart is discouraged, please send godly encouragers my way; encouraging thoughts if there is no one around to encourage me; and I praise You that Your resources include the encouragement of Your Holy Spirit, for Whom I give thanks. I ask Lord, that You would lift up Your faithful people; that we would see Your activity in our lives; and that it would grow us in our faith.  That baby step by baby step, we would grow closer and closer to You, and that we would grow more and more in the knowledge of Your Son Jesus Christ. I pray that Your Holy Spirit would inspire us with hope and encouragement!  Grant us love and unity with our brothers and sisters in Christ irrespective of the color of our skin or the nation in which we reside. I ask, Lord, that You would give us the courage to speak of You in public–to proclaim Your Name–and to shout Your Salvation from our rooftops.  Lord Jesus, give us the words to acknowledge You in the public square; acknowledge Your goodness; Your tremendous mercy towards us; and to share the hope we have in You, indeed it is true love, not intolerance, to proclaim that the only way to the Father is through You.  Remind us often that You are very much active and very much alive and that You are immensely wise beyond anything we could ever imagine.  You know how all the pieces will come together and how You are weaving the fabric of this nation and of our lives to accomplish the tapestry of Your eternal story that You planned in eternity past.  We thank You Lord for this nation, for the freedom to be able to worship You!  We thank You, Lord, that our worship of You need not be confined to a church building but can be as public as the outdoors or as individual as a quiet heart alone in prayer.  We thank You, Lord, that You have not given up on the United States of America. We ask that You reclaim those once-faithful-Christians whose way has now gone astray.  There are many who have become distracted.  Those whose education, even in the Scriptures, has become proud and whose desires to gratify the culture, to fit in, to feel popular have caused them to become double-minded and misaligned with Your will.  Reclaim them, Lord, and do not allow errant teachings to take root, only permit what conforms to Your will and Your Word.  May You be glorified as Your will is done in this election.  Always we ask Lord that You would keep us faithful; our eyes fixed on You as the author and perfecter of our faith!  We praise You Lord! Your goodness is beyond measure; Your wisdom beyond tracing out; Your power beyond describing; and Your mercy beyond what we could hope to receive.  It is only by Your grace and the faith which You give as a gift.  We praise You Lord for Your grace and kindness and we offer these prayers in the mighty Name of Your Son and our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

We’re in the thick of election season.  (Wow, Barb, I hadn’t noticed.  Maybe I should log onto Twitter and see what people think and then count how many awful things people can say to one another.)  It’d be easy to want to tune it all out.  But it would have to be for the rest of your life because thanks to news media reliance on social media, every day is in the thick of election season, and I don’t see that trend going away.

That said, I beg you to pay careful attention because this election is more essential than many we’ve known in America.  Careful attention to what is essential for life and bringing glory to God.

God has a platform for what is essential policy.  Did you know that?

It’s called the Ten Commandments.

That’s what’s essential in God’s eyes.
But you don’t have to take it from me.  God says so. 

So be careful to do what the LORD your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left. Walk in obedience to all that the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess. (Deuteronomy 5:32-33)

At the risk of losing friends, I’m going to ask a question. Think about the agendas, the platforms, being proclaimed and being acted upon in our streets. 

Now think about the individuals running for office in your federal, state, and local elections.  We ought to acknowledge that every human being is a sinner and has a history of sin…some worse than others.  But I’m not looking to focus on the past or on the person.  I’m not looking to cast aspersions or blame but rather, to cast a vision for the type of future that seeks to honor God.

Hopefully true Christians can agree that it is the devil’s province to blame and accuse,
to steal, kill, and destroy…
but we–as followers of Christ–ought to pursue the glory of God,
lifting the human soul through the Gospel of peace, forgiveness, and life.

Therefore, what I believe God wants us to address is this question: 

Do various political parties view these Ten Commandments–God’s Essentials for living in a way that honors and brings glory to Him–as being their Essential guide for the type of future they’d bring to your life and community?