Category Archives: Christian Living

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Buck Up, Soldier!

Tough Faith Needs Tough Times

Synopsis: Scripture is quite clear: troubles are an unpleasant but essential part of the journey toward Christian maturity. Solomon said, “If you fall to pieces in a crisis, there wasn’t much to you in the first place.” James said, “Consider it pure joy when you face various trials.” Hebrews said, “Others have suffered far worse than you… So don’t feel sorry for yourselves.” Tough but necessary words. The 17th-century French bishop Francois Fenelon offered this helpful perspective: “God is your Father, do you think he would ever hurt you? He just cuts you off from those things you love in the wrong way. You cry like a baby when God removes something or someone from your life, but you would cry a lot more if you saw the eternal damages your wrong attachments cause you.” That being true, I guess it’s time to buck up!

Buck Up Soldier

Moments With God // Proverbs 24:10

If you fall to pieces in a crisis, there wasn’t much to you in the first place. (The Message)

I read this morning in my daily quiet time how the apostle, beaten for preaching and teaching in the name of Jesus, rejoiced “because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.” (Acts 5:41) Now that is some tough, gritty faith. And we see that kind of thing repeated throughout scripture, reminding us that tough faith requires tough times.

When I was a little kid, I would usually run to my mom rather than my dad when I got hurt, frustrated, or felt picked on by my older siblings. Why? Because my mom would usually hug me, dry my tears, and baby me in all sorts of ways. My dad, on the other hand, would typically say, “buck up, bud,” or “walk it off, kid! Rub some dirt in it! Get over it!” or “dry it up, little man or I’ll give you something really to cry about!”

It’s not that my dad was uncaring; he just didn’t want me to be soft. He wanted to toughen me up for the day when I would really have something to cry about. Looking back, I am grateful for the balance that a tender mom and a tough dad brought into my life—but I am especially thankful for the grit my dad ground into me. It has served me well on the sometimes tough, unfriendly, and demanding path I have trod in my adult life.

But to be honest, there are times even now that I fall back into my whiny-kid mode. That happened recently when I complained to the Lord about some disappointments I thought were unfair for him to allow into my life. I suggested that if he didn’t start doing his job better, it might be time for me to scoop up my marbles and head home. And with typical timing, the Lord sent a reminder that, in essence, repeated the same fatherly admonition I heard so many times growing up: “Buck up, bud, this ain’t nutin!” This time it came in the form of an email from the East African coordinator of our church-planting ministry. My African friend shared the testimony of one of our church planters who just had a contract taken out on his life. Yea, that’s right, a guy with a gun was trying to kill him simply because he had come to a village to preach the Gospel—and our guy was rejoicing how the Lord was using him!

Wow—I guess my troubles are puny compared to that!

Hebrews 4:12 says, “In this all-out match against sin, others have suffered far worse than you, to say nothing of what Jesus went through—all that bloodshed! So don’t feel sorry for yourselves.” (The Message) What is the writer saying? If you falter in times of trouble, how small is your strength!

So I am going to shelve the complaints until I shed the first drop of blood for the cause of Christ. And if you hear me whining between now and then, you have my permission to say, “Buck up, bud, or I’ll give you something to cry about.”

Now, what about you? Maybe it’s time for you to toughen up a bit, too!

Memorize James 1:2-4, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” The next time you are tempted to whine, quote this verse instead.

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The Whole Enchilada

Be A Grace Giver

SYNOPSIS: As we move along in our walk with Jesus, we are either moving into what we might call performance-based Christianity, or we’re moving toward grace-based faith. Performance-based people believe they deserve a full day’s pay based what they do. They act as if God is getting a good deal in getting them; that he couldn’t run his vineyard without them. But grace-based believers understand they did nothing except to show up and accept God’s generous offer. Their entire relationship with God is based on trust in his ridiculous generosity and gracious character. So, choose to be a grace-based believer, and whatever you do, don’t make it difficult for others like you once were who are now turning to God.

The Whole Enchilada

Moments With God // Matthew 20:16

Jesus said, “So those who are last now will be first then, and those who are first will be last.”

On its face, the Parable of the Vineyard in Matthew 20:1-16 has to be one of the most unfair stories in the Bible. Come on—people who come to work just before quitting time and get paid the same as those who’ve put in a full day! You’ve got to be kidding! Since Jesus told parables to illustrate the Kingdom of God, how in the world does this story represent the Father’s righteous rule?

In this story, a landowner goes to the marketplace to hire temps at the beginning of the workday—a twelve-hour day that began at 6:00 AM—and contracts with the most suitable looking workers: a day’s work for a day’s wage—one denarius. Then, still needing help, he goes back at 9:00 AM, again at noon and at 3:00 PM to get more workers. Each additional time, however, there is no contract; he just says he’ll pay them whatever is right. Finally, at the eleventh hour—at 5:00 PM—he goes back and sees a few more workers hanging around. Now you’ve got to ask why haven’t they been hired yet…and how come they’re still here? Waiting to get hired with one hour left in the day is kind of like showing up at a pumpkin farm the day after Halloween looking for work selling pumpkins. Obviously, these guys are not your Stanford MBA types; they’re not the most employable people at the temp service. But help is needed, so they’re hired.

Then the owner blows them all away at the end of the workday by paying all the workers the same: One denarius—a full day’s wage! Imagine the surprise of the eleventh-hour workers when they realize they’ve just been paid the same as the all-day guys. I can imagine one of them saying, ”We didn’t really deserve this. Let’s get out of here before the payroll people realize their mistake and ask for the money back.” And the all-day workers—wow, are they mad at the ridiculous generosity of the owner!

So what is Jesus getting at in this parable? To begin with, understand that this is not a story about how corporations should draft compensation policy, so don’t get hung up over that. As a general rule, people who work twelve hours should get paid more than people who work one hour. Operate your HR department like this landowner and you’ll soon be out of business.

What Jesus is doing here is picturing the kingdom for us: Undeserving, unlikely desperate people trusting in the generosity of God to include them in his vineyard. The vineyard is a metaphor for coming into God’s kingdom, through Jesus. Who gets to be in God’s kingdom? Everyone—anyone who accepts Jesus’ offer, that’s who! And all kinds of sinful people are taking Jesus up on this offer: Prostitutes, tax collectors, and even Gentiles. They’re coming in at the eleventh hour and still getting the whole denarius.
But the pious Jews who’ve been in the vineyard all day long aren’t happy about this. They can’t grasp this thing called grace that Jesus is revealing; it’s nothing less than scandalous to them.

Now here is one of the things I’d like for you to consider in this story: You are an eleventh-hour person—me, too—but the longer we are in the kingdom, the more we become like the all-day people. Every time someone new comes into the vineyard, they become the eleventh-hour worker and we move back down the line to ninth-hour workers, to noon people, to the nine o’clock crowd, until finally, we are sitting with the all-day folks. And the real danger we face is taking on the attitude of these all-day workers.

As we move along in our walk with Jesus, we are either moving into what we might call performance-based Christianity, or we’re moving toward grace-based faith. Performance-based people believe they deserve a full day’s pay based on what they do. They act as if God is getting a good deal in getting them; that he couldn’t run his vineyard without them. But grace-based believers understand they did nothing except show up and accept God’s offer. Their entire relationship with God is based on trust in his ridiculous generosity and gracious character.

Don’t slide into an all-day spirit. Rather—perhaps you should do this on a regular basis—simply recount the gracious goodness of God that invited you into his vineyard when you did nothing to deserve it at all. Take a moment to absorb what Philip Yancey wrote so insightfully about this in his book, What’s So Amazing About Grace:

Many Christians who study this parable identify with the employees who put in a full day’s work rather than with the add-ons at the end of the day. We like to think of ourselves as responsible workers, and the employer’s strange behavior baffles us as it did the original hearers. But we risk missing the story’s point: that God dispenses gifts, not wages. None of us gets paid according to merit like these early workers, none of us, for none of us comes close to satisfying God’s requirement for a perfect life. If paid on the basis of merit, we would all end up in hell.

Good point—none of us gets paid according to merit. And aren’t you glad about that? If we did, we would all—both all-day and eleventh-hour workers alike—end up in a Christ-less eternity.

Listen, friend, you received the whole grace enchilada when you didn’t even deserve a nibble of the beans and rice. So be grateful—be very grateful! And don’t ever stop!

Take A Moment: Quit trying to control how others come to God, or worship, or serve or grow in their faith. Just release them to God’s grace, because his grace will do a much better job conforming them to his image than your griping.

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Getting Unstuck From Relational Kindergarten

Social Intelligence

Synopsis: Do you lack emotional and social intelligence? Most people who do are usually not curious enough to even wonder. That is why they are stuck in relational and professional awkwardness. But if you do, then why not just go to some straight-shooter in your world and ask them what they think. And let me add a good rule of thumb: if they are honest enough to talk about your elephant in the room, and even if they don’t do it with a lot of grace and tact, “take it like a grown-up!” Then do something about it. Don’t stay stuck in emotional kindergarten or remedial manners class. With God’s help and good friends, you can develop self-awareness and get on the path to becoming a winsome person.

Moments With God // Proverbs 23:1-2

When you sit to dine with a ruler, note well what is before you, and put a knife to your throat if you are given to gluttony.

Some people just don’t get it! They are relatively attractive in their physical presentation, they are reasonably intelligent, and they have skill sets that should allow them to be successful. For all intents and purposes, they should be flourishing vocationally and relationally.

The problem is, that they have gaping deficits when it comes to emotional intelligence and social awareness. When it comes to knowing how to interact with people and act in certain settings, they are unaware, detached and we might even say, totally clueless. The light bulb is in the socket, but it ain’t burnin’ too bright if you know what I mean.

That’s the kind of person this proverb is describing. Although the particular emphasis here is on table manners, the greater thought has to do with both the kind of self and social awareness that will allow a person to have friends, move up the ladder of success in their career, get the kind of traction that allows them to make an impact in the world, and enjoy the life-long love a spouse who just flat out adores them and children who admire them into their own well-adjusted adulthood.

I’ve run into people like that occasionally, and invariably they will complain that they have no close friends, or that they just can’t seem to catch a break at work, or question why God doesn’t seem to provide them a serious love interest even though they’ve prayed about it. Even if they are aware of their shortcomings, some will even say, “Well, people ought to just accept me…I am what I am.”

Well, if that’s your attitude, good luck. You’ll probably be saying that to the very end when you are old, lonely, and miserable!

Here’s the deal: If perhaps after reading this you’re wondering if you lack emotional and social intelligence, why not just go to some straight shooter in your world and ask them what they think. And let me add a good rule of thumb: if they are honest enough to talk about your elephant in the room, and even if they don’t do it with a lot of grace and tact, “take it like a grown-up!”

And then do something about it. Don’t stay stuck in emotional kindergarten or remedial manners class. You can develop self-awareness, you know. How?

One, ask God. He is in the business of answering prayer. His indwelling Spirit wants to have more control of you, and as you yield to him, good stuff will start to happen. James 1:5 tells us, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” In fact, this entire book of Proverbs was written to “impart shrewdness to the morally naive, and a discerning plan to the young person.” (Prov 1:4)

Two, ask someone who seems to be socially skilled and relationally successful for a few pointers—then start implementing their interpersonal tips in a way that is appropriate for you. The Apostle Paul exhorted his disciples, “Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.” (Phil 4:9)

And three, look around. Watch people. See how others behave in social settings. That should give you a clue as to what is appropriate or not. And just a caveat here: Make sure you are in proper social settings. Be smart about it, because you’re probably not going to pick any redeeming social graces in some of the questionable places that now seem to be acceptable in our unguarded age. Again, taking our cue from Paul, “pattern your lives after mine, and learn from those who follow our example.” (Phil 3:17)

You may never be the slickest person in the bunch or have the smoothness of some people—and that’s okay. But God does want you to be a person of grace—and he’s got plenty of that to give you, free of charge. No matter where you are on the emotional-social continuum, I hope you will access his unlimited supply.

Much of the book of Proverbs has to do with our personal development, and the truth is, not too many people have the personal fortitude and self-awareness to pull off growth in these areas on their own. Most of us need a partner to hold our feet to the fire for personal growth. So I challenge you to not let another week go by without bringing someone onto your personal development team.

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Disappointed With God?

Now’s A Good Time To Tell Him—He Can Handle It

SYNOPSIS: It is easy to believe in God in the good times—when things are going great, prayers are getting answered, and the Almighty is obviously on our team. But just cut off the flow of blessing, squeeze our faith a little, push us out of the comfort zone, let God get outside of that nice, neat theological box we like to keep him in—then take our spiritual temperature and see if we’re still aflame with faith. Listen up, my friend: at the end at the end of the day, you’ll never be disappointed when you trust God.

Disappointed with God?

Moments With God // Matthew 11:2-3

John the Baptist, who was in prison, heard about all the things the Messiah was doing. So he sent his disciples to ask Jesus, “Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?”

Let’s be honest—we’ve all been deeply disappointed with God. Sometimes he doesn’t live up to our expectations: a prayer didn’t get answered the way we wanted, when we wanted, a healing didn’t occur, a job was lost, a relationship went sour, a marriage wasn’t saved, a loved one refused salvation, a child died…

That’s when faith really gets tested. It is easy to believe in the good times—when things are going great, prayers are getting answered, and God is obviously on our team. But just cut off the flow of blessing, squeeze our faith a little, push us out of the comfort zone, let God get outside of that nice, neat theological box we like to keep him in—then take our spiritual temperature and see if we’re still aflame with faith.

John the Baptist was there. He had obeyed the call of God early in his life as the forerunner of the Messiah. He had arranged his whole world around announcing Jesus as Israel’s Messiah. He had lived an austere life, preached his heart out, courageously confronted the religious establishment, boldly challenged sinful hearts, and called Israel to national repentance, all to prepare the way for Jesus. He expected his faithfulness to God and obedience to the call would usher in the Kingdom of God when Jesus showed up and launched his messianic ministry.

But now he was in jail. He was in a pretty serious situation that in a few days would lead to his beheading. And Jesus was out there preaching to small crowds, doing a few miracles here and there, and not taking this Messiah thing very seriously. John was disappointed, to say the least.

Did you notice how Jesus handled John’s disappointment and doubt? Not with a browbeating, not with a rebuke, not with anger, Jesus simply reaffirmed John and spoke about his value in God’s eyes. Jesus understood where John was coming from.

Jesus also understood that God’s timing was way different than John’s. John wanted the Kingdom now, and when it didn’t happen, he questioned. So Jesus redirected John’s faith—he encouraged him to take his eyes off circumstances and put them back where they belonged:

Go back to John and tell him what you have heard and seen—that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor. And tell him, “God blesses those who do not turn away because of me.” (John 11:4-6)

Jesus is inviting John to keep his eye on the undeniable evidence of God’s activity; to stand firm in the unshakeable hope of God’s Kingdom; to lean into the unbreakable promise of God’s Word; to never let go of the irrefutable goodness of God’s character. And then, when it’s all said and done, John is just to fiercely trust!

We’ve all had those kinds of doubts, questions, disappointments, and perhaps even anger with God when he doesn’t live up to billing. Maybe that’s where you are today. That’s okay—God is big enough to handle your upset—provided you do as John did: Own up to your upset. God won’t give you a holy beat-down if you’ll come to him with a humble and honest heart. He’ll simply reaffirm your inestimable value and remind you of his everlasting love—and invite you to trust.

And at the end of the day, you’ll never be disappointed when you trust God. The Apostle Paul, who knew a fair amount about suffering, wrote these encouraging words in Romans 5:3-5,

We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

Fiercely trust—that is how you practice hope!

Take A Moment: Have you been honest with God about the doubts you are having—especially when they concern your confidence in him? He invites your thoughts, worries, and concerns—so right now is a great time to talk to him. And to listen. And then, to fiercely trust!

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Fifteen Minutes of Fame

Be Famous For Being Godly

SYNOPSIS: Far too many people today gain fame when they’ve made no real contribution to the world. They are famous for being famous — or famous for being infamous — which, if it gains them time in the spotlight, is perceived as good and worthy since the results justify the means. The Bible, however, says rather than being famous for being wealthy (or being bad or even being famous), we ought to pursue good character and allow our reputation to grow for that reason alone. God doesn’t care how much money we have, how many cars are in our garage, what kind of clothes we wear, if our crib is big, or how many social media followers we have. When we stand before God someday our lives will be evaluated by the godly character we’ve forged during our years on earth.

Fifteen Minutes of Fame

Moments With God // Proverbs 22:1

Choose a good reputation over great riches; being held in high esteem is better than silver or gold.

If I were writing Proverb 22:1 today, I would add “fame” to the mix alongside riches. Fame and riches are the twin gods at which our culture now bows to pay homage. People want to be rich and famous, willing to do just about anything to get both.

Have you noticed how willing and quickly people are to appear on TV news to talk about some unfortunate event that has befallen their family? I was stunned not too long ago when a mom and dad paraded their teenage son in front of the cameras to talk about the many years he had been held hostage by a child molester—just a few hours after his rescue. Or how about young women who are willing to take pretty much all their clothes off to get on TV? There’s not a “Miss America” pageant anymore where at least one of the contestants exposed themselves, no pun intended, for having racy photos circulating on the Internet. And what about all the “tell-all” books that come out after some aid leaves the service of a well-known politician?

It seems that far too many people today gain fame when they’ve made no real contribution to the world. Many of today’s brightest stars are famous for being famous — or famous for being infamous — which, if it gains them time in the spotlight, is perceived as good and worthy since the results justify means.

The Bible, however, says rather than being famous for being wealthy (or being bad or even being famous), we ought to pursue good character and allow our reputation to grow for that reason alone. God doesn’t care how much money we have, how many cars are in our garage, what kind of clothes we wear, how big our crib is, how many people want to be like us, or how many social media followers we have. When we stand before God someday — and someday will be sooner than we expect — our lives will be evaluated on the character we’ve forged during our years on earth. If we were known for charity, kindness, generosity, humility, and the like, that, along with love for God will count. Everything else will evaporate in the presence of the One who judges the content of our character.

As you get older, it is easy to pick on young people and point out all their flaws (which I’ve heard is proof you’ve gotten old), but I am especially alarmed at today’s youth culture and its obsession with fame and wealth. Ask today’s youth what they want to do with their lives, and far too many of them speak of the kinds of things that will bring them celebrity, and all that goes with it, rather than that which will actually add value and better the world. How sad…and disturbing. And they alone are not to blame; some of that falls at the feet of their parents.

I think it is high time that parents once again begin to teach their children that reverence for God, sterling moral character, and sacrifice for the good of humanity rather than fame and wealth are what lead to a good life. Parents need to wean their children off the negative influence of this corrosive media culture—and that will be quite a challenge in this day and age — and begin to pour into their lives the eternal values of the Kingdom rather than the fleeting values of this world.

I am grateful for my own father, who taught me from my earliest years on, values that are best captured by this profound little poem he often quoted,

Tis one life will soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last!

That pretty well sums it up, wouldn’t you say!

Take 10 minutes to write your personal constitution — what you believe in as non-negotiable core values, what you are willing to stand for, and die for, what you want to be remembered for at the end of your life, and most importantly, how you want God to see you when you stand before him. Review it every day this week — and most of all, live it every day this week.

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Give Me Chastity–Just Not Yet

Get Your Parts Right

SYNOPSIS: You have been freed from the slavery of sin in order to live in the freedom of a different kind of slavery: slavery to the glory of God. Now you are to use your parts—your mind, mouth, hands, heart, feet, eyes … all of your parts—as instruments of praise and righteousness. Are you? Have you consecrated every part of your body as an instrument of righteousness to the glory of God, or are there some parts that are still doing their own thing? After all that God has graciously done to redeem you from the slavery of sin, the least you can do is exert your will and consecrate your whole life as an instrument of praise.

Give Me Chastity, Just Not Yet

Moments With God // Romans 6:13

Use every part of your body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God.

A little girl burst through the door one afternoon, excited to tell her mother what she had learned in school that day. “Mommy, guess what I learned today?” she blurted out.

“What, honey?” her mother replied. “What did you learn?”

Pointing to her head, the girl began to describe her first official lesson in human anatomy, “Mommy, I learned about my parts. I learned that this is my head, and it’s where my brains are.” Then she held out her hands and looked down at her feet, “these are my hands and my feet, and they help me to do things and to go places.” Then she touched her chest and said, “here is my chest, and inside it is my heart. And it keeps me alive.” Finally, she put her hands on her tummy, and exclaimed, “and mommy, these are my bowels, and my bowels are a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes y.”

She got most of her parts right, anyway. And that’s what Paul is calling us to do, to get our parts right by offering them every day in every way for the glory of God.

But do you? Is your brain an instrument to do what is right? Are the things that you allow your mind to dwell on the kind of things that will bring glory to God? If your thought life were to be played out in living color on the big screen, what kind of rating would it be given: P? PG? How about R? What? Really…you’d have to give it an X? What about the kind of things you allow to come into your thinking? Are those things—the media you watch, the places you go on the Internet, the books you read—do they count as instruments of righteousness?

What about the things your hands do, or the places your feet take you? Would Jesus be comfortable doing those things and going to those places? What about your heart—have you closely guarded it, since it is the wellspring of life? (Proverbs 4:23) And your “vowels,” I mean, your bowels—what about what you take into your body? It is the temple of the Holy Spirit, after all. (I Corinthians 6:18-20) How are you treating the temple, the dwelling place of God? Are you treating the ol’ bod more like a temple, or a sewage treatment plant?

Paul’s point in Romans 6 is that we have been freed from the slavery of sin in order to live in the freedom of a different kind of slavery: slavery to the glory of God. We are to be instruments of praise and righteousness with every fiber of our existence:

When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.” (Romans 6:10-11)

Have you consecrated every part of your body as an instrument of righteousness to the glory of God, or are there some parts that are still doing their own thing? Far too many of Christ-followers are like St. Augustine, who once prayed, “Oh Lord, give me chastity, but not yet.”

Dedication and consecration are an either/or thing: Either you are, or you aren’t. God wants you to be totally dedicated to him; fully consecrated in mind, body, heart and energies. And he deserves it, particularly in the light of his costly investment of grace in your life.

You have been saved by grace—God’s unmerited favor. You have been freed from the slavery of sin; you are no longer under the threat of death—all because of God’s rich and undeserved mercy. You have been given the free gift of eternal life—all at Christ’s expense. Even the faith to believe was supplied by God. Don’t you think that in response, God deserves you to give “your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of him”? Since God has graciously done all that, the least you can do is exert your will and consecrate your whole life as an instrument of praise.

Now I will admit, what I am suggesting won’t be easy. In fact, it will be the toughest thing you ever do. (See Romans 7:14-20 if you don’t believe me.) C.S. Lewis said, “The full acting out of the self’s surrender to God therefore demands pain: this action, to be perfect, must be done from the pure will to obey, in the absence, or in the teeth, of inclination.” St. Augustine finally got it; he surrendered his desires to God, fully dedicating his wandering will to the glory of God. Having experienced that spirit-renovation, Augustine made this observation: “Will is to grace as the horse is to the rider.”

Will! So the question is, will you? God has given you his grace. Now mount up and get going! Use your whole body—every part—as an instrument to do what is right to the glory of God.

Take A Moment: Read Romans 6:1-23, then memorize verse 23: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Compare Romans 6:21 with 6:23. Do a cost-benefit analysis of the particular sin that you seem to struggle with on a recurring basis.

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Who Really Controls The White House

It Is Not The Current Occupant

Synopsis: This one truth trumps—no pun intended—all your concerns: God is in charge! He allows politicians to be elected, he keeps presidents on a short leash, and at the end of the day, whether rulers rule well or not, God will accomplish his purposes. He is in control—he reigns over all! History is really His story. It always had been, it is right now, and it shall be tomorrow. Let that give you great comfort and cause you to be much saner in the next election season.

Who Controls the White House

Moments With God // Proverbs 21:1

The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases.

Hey all you Republicans out there, relax, the president is on a short lease. And for all you Democrats, you need to chill out, too. For those of you who still believe it’s all Donald Trump’s fault, or for anyone who’s convinced President Biden is the Antichrist, lighten up! If you’re thinking the man or woman who occupies the Oval Office will be the one calling the shots, think again:

God is in charge!

I love how Daniel 2:20-21 reminds us that all the political convulsing we do, especially in an election cycle is ramping up—which in today’s world means all the time—is really nothing more than a tempest in a teapot when stacked up against the plans of the Almighty:

“Praise the name of God forever and ever, for he has all wisdom and power. He controls the course of world events; he removes kings and sets up other kings.”

Now I’m not saying that politics is unimportant or that the upcoming elections won’t have consequences. The truth is the party given the power to rule greatly affects the cultural-moral-spiritual direction of America and the person in the Oval Office has great bearing on both the outward strength and the inner fortitude of our nation. It matters, and as believers, we are obligated to be well informed and actively engaged in our political process. But can I remind you again of this one truth that trumps—no pun intended—all your concerns?

God is in control!

God allows politicians to be elected, he keeps the president on a short leash, and at the end of the day, whether rulers rule well or not, God will accomplish his purposes. He is in charge—and in control. As someone has correctly said, history is really His story. It always had been, it is right now, and it shall be tomorrow.

God rules!

I hope that gives you great comfort, and I hope it will allow you to be a little saner and kingdom-focused as the politics of the election season heats up well beyond the point of sanity.

I love what Benjamin Franklin said at Constitutional Convention of 1787: “God governs in the affairs of man. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid? We have been assured in the Sacred Writings that except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it. I firmly believe this. I also believe that, without His concurring aid, we shall succeed in this political building no better than the builders of Babel.”

Let me say it one more time just in case you missed it:

God reigns!

Take A Moment: Read I Timothy 2:1-4, “I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” Now, like the current occupant of the Oval Office or not, pray for your president every day this week! It will please your Heavenly Father!