Make God Great in America Again!

All last week, we heard convention delegates shout, "Make America great again!" I can certainly empathize, given that what we have now in America is anything but great. It's sad and pathetic in some ways and despicable in others.

This refrain reminds me of ancient Israel. How they suffered under Roman oppressors. How they longed for the promised Messiah to finally come to their rescue and make Israel great again. They imagined the Messiah would be a victorious warrior or political persona who would drive the Romans out of their land and restore their monarchy (from the line of David) to the throne.

When Jesus was crucified, his followers were crushed, perplexed, overcome by grief and loss as they must have cried, "This is NOT how things were supposed to turn out! Why is this happening? I thought He was supposed to fix our national problems."

I find myself saying the same thing about our current political situation, and I'm living in the land of freedom, opportunity, and prosperity!

Just after His resurrection, Jesus showed some of His followers the Old Testament Messianic prophecies, all of which He fulfilled perfectly. (Luke 24).

(Note:  There are over 300 Messianic prophecies with 29 fulfilled all on the same day He was crucified, and the probability of one person fulfilling only 8 of those is 1 x 10¹⁷. )

Then they realized why He first had to die and that God's first priority is saving the souls of men which last forever. He is more concerned about our hearts and souls than our politics.

Christ is coming back to as a conquering King to set up His new kingdom in righteousness, but for now, He's waiting for more to acknowledge His first coming and receive His free gift, the redemption we could never earn or deserve on our own. Through Him (and Him alone) our hearts can be made new.

What good is powerful earthly nation when the hearts and souls of its people are desperately wicked? Don't give me a strong army if it is directed by those with a lust for power that knows no bounds or who consider themselves accountable to no one. Don't give me a wealthy nation if the riches come through the oppression of others. Don't make America a world leader if her influence will be a corrupting one, leading nations astray.

We don't need gun control, immigration reform, a wall, free handouts, or more government. What we really need instead are PURE HEARTS!

No political figure can give us new hearts, but we can pray for leaders at every level who will model moral uprightness and make decisions with wisdom and integrity. But only Christ can change our hearts and save our our souls. If we want to make American great again, it must begin with repentance.  Let it begin with me.

Addendum
After sharing these thoughts with my friend Marie, she reminded me of one of Ronald Reagan's great speeches in which he said, "If we ever forget that we are One Nation Under God, then we will be a nation gone under." 

She also shared with me this familiar, profound, and most excellent quote:  

"A French philosopher who visited our shores when America was a new young nation left a similar warning. Alexis De Tocqueville said he came to the United States to learn what magic quality enabled a handful of people to defeat the mighty British Empire twice in 35 years. He looked for the greatness of America in her harbors and rivers, her fertile fields and boundless forests, mines and other natural resources. He studied America's schools, her Congress, and her matchless Constitution without comprehending America's power. Not, until he went into the churches of America and heard pulpits "aflame with righteousness" did he understand the secret of her genius and strength. De Tocqueville returned to France and wrote: "America is great because America is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great."
- John Stormer, Death of a Nation, pp.20-21

When terrorism strikes and words fail....

After the Orlando shooting that killed 49 people, it seems heartless to say nothing but finding words that comfort, unite, and express compassion seems impossible given the current state of our country.  When a nation is sharply divided, when evil wins a battle (but evil cannot and will not win the war, for that war has already been won), and/or when leaders and the media incite hatred, bigotry, anger, and bitterness, objectivity is suppressed and bias colors everything. No matter what words are spoken, what tone is employed, or what data is presented, the receiver of that information will interpret it based upon his/her own bias. That information then becomes ammunition, and in this information age, the abundance of "info ammo" (as I call it) has filled almost every heart and home to overflowing and fortified the walls that divide us. We know that no productive communication, relationship building, legislation, or positive change happens when people are hurt, angry, and/or stockpiling or launching their info ammo.

So, at a time when our nation is grieving over a senseless tragedy, confused over what it means to truly love or to hate, outraged by evil, angry at everyone and everything, distracted by political exploitation when empathy is needed, and frustrated by a failure, refusal, or inability to name and confront the real enemy, it is hard to come up with words that will promote unity or express heartfelt compassion, love for all people, and encouragement without those words being interpreted to mean something else by the varying perceptions of others. So when words fail, perhaps a recent cell phone picture of that which is beautiful and comforting no matter how you look at it will help.

When I don't know what to say or do to help, I go to my favorite thinking/praying spot to watch the sun fall beneath the horizon. The setting sun has never disappointed me or stood me up. It is beautiful from every angle and in any kind of weather. Even during the darkest days, the warm bright beams peak through the clouds to let me know that the One who created the sun and the earth, the same One who first caused the earth to spin about its axis and set the earth into orbit around the sun at just the right distance to sustain and maintain life, is present. He sees and weeps with those who weep. He is good and loving. Each person in our lives will eventually let us down, but the sunset is as constant and faithful as the one who established it's cycle. Great is His faithfulness! The sun will come up tomorrow. There is always hope for tomorrow, especially for those who choose the One who came to make all things new. (Lamentations 3:22-24)

Addendum:
We know we should tread carefully when people are angry or grieving because too often, hurt people hurt other people.   However, as author Robin Jones Gunn reminded me tonight,  HEALED PEOPLE HEAL OTHERS. How many of us have experienced some form of healing, be it physical, emotional, and/or spiritual? Then as healed and redeemed people, let us focus our energy on helping others heal.  Call the Great Physician on behalf of the hurting.  He even makes house calls. I think I hear Him knocking now.

"I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me." - Revelations 3:20

Gun Control

While I'm proud to be married to a veteran who knows how to use a gun to save lives, I will admit that guns scare me. I'm so sensitive to violence that I can't watch PG..much less R movies or even regular TV shows without being haunted by violent images, so I avoid them all. Guns are dangerous in the wrong hands, especially in those of crazy folk who are filled with hatred and deadly intentions.
Ironically, devoted Christians, who serve the Prince of Peace, have been the target lately. Of course, the press will not call it a hate crime unless one who is a threat to society, hates Christians, and has terrorist connections and evil intents is targeted instead. The Bible warned us of these days, so we are not surprised or shaken by them. We know how this story ends.

Shot guns & skeet shooting don't bother me.

I'm not nearly as afraid of guns, however, as I am of losing my freedoms to a corrupt power. I'm not as afraid of guns as I am of walking into a gun-free zone where one instantly becomes a sitting duck. And even there, in the firing zone, I am not all that afraid because I know without a doubt that after I die, I will go home to my Father in Heaven where there will be no more sorrow, sin, evil, corruption, pain, or need for guns.

I would welcome a world without guns as gladly as anyone, but as long as there is evil in the world, there will be murders of all kinds by any number of weapons. So until we have no evil, corruption, or sin in the world, gun possession (by guards or responsible individuals) has been proven time and again to be the only effective way to prevent a mass shooting. Killers have no interest in obeying gun restrictions, but they are very interested in making sure they destroy as many lives as possible before being shot themselves, so they enter churches, schools, and other GUN-FREE ZONES where they can get the most bang for their buck.

So, to the one who is paving the way to arm Iran with nuclear weapons, whose mishandling of gun transactions with terrorists resulted in the murder of four Americans at Benghazi, who ran guns to drug cartels in Mexico which were then used to kill more Americans, who relies upon armed guards to keep himself and his family safe, who invites to the White House a boy who brings something that looks just like a bomb into a school and who has questionable connections while refusing to acknowledge, much less welcome, the man who took multiple bullets to stop the Oregon shooter, who speaks lies every time he opens his mouth, and who lives as if he cares about no one but himself, give your gun control agenda a rest for a moment and try to show a little compassion for the lives lost and for the many severely wounded by a sick man whose fires of hatred have been fueled by the press you have manipulated and controlled to divide and weaken America.