Making Sense of Turbulant Times

As I view our country today and our current political landscape, I often get discouraged.

Disney, Apple and the NFL have come out against a law protect religious liberty in Georgia. Some companies have threatened to pull out of the state if the law passes and is signed into law.

In North Carolina, some citizens are in an uproar about a new law that will require transgender people to use the bathroom of their original gender.

In presidential politics, we have candidates threatening to bring wives into the political spectrum and other candidates pre-emptively protecting their wives.

Already we have legalized gay marriage in the United States. Abortion has been the law of the land for 30 years (resulting over 50,000,000 abortions). Currently laws in Texas limiting abortion clinics faces Supreme Court review where only eight justices remain and a ninth judge could swing the court back to a liberal stance.

And I as read all these things, I start worry and wonder about the country. I see how things are, and I only see them getting worse. I can lead to despair and frustration and yes, even anger.

Yet, in all this, I remember one thing. I am an alien here on Earth.

Hebrews 11:13 declares that the patriarchs of the Old Testament knew they were aliens on earth. By faith, I must recognize, too, that Earth is not my home. As the Beatitudes say, I am apart of the kingdom of God.  I am a citizen of heaven. My permanent residence isn't in Illinios or Kentucky or the United States of America or the world for that matter. One day, as a believer in Jesus Christ, I will reside in heaven forever.

So, as I look around at the state of our country and the political landscape, I remember that politics and laws won't save anyone.  Only Jesus Christ can. Only the Gospel holds the power to sway minds and hearts and make lasting change.

As a pastor, I must pass that on to my congregation. As a dad, I must pass it down to my children and lead my family well. In the end, all I can do is share the truth and hope people are convicted by the Holy Spirit.

So take heart. If you a believer, you are a citizen of heaven. If not, there is still time to change that.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Devotion to a false god

Image
Last week, at Disney World, I went to retrieve our stroller from the stroller parking section.  As I searched among the hundred or so strollers, I finally found mine and started to move it.  As I pulled, it snagged on a woman's garment.  Panicked, I looked up and saw it was a Muslim women in full Muslin dress.  Her body was completely covered.  Only a slit for her eyes was visible.  I was careful not to yank, and I tried to apologize as the hook of the handle caught part of her garment.  She didn't say a word and we both quietly went on our ways. As I walked away, I felt pity on her.  For one, it's Disney World in June in Florida.  I strode along in shorts and a very thin T-shirt.  Both were soaked in sweat.  I had already consumed two bottles of water and still felt weary.  She was dressed head to toe in heavy garments.  I can't imagine how hot she was pushing a stroller with two kids through a mass of people in humid air and on hot pavement. Secondly, she dres
Read more

Time for an examination

Image
For my seminary class on counseling, I had to read a book about anxiety and worry.  In the book, the author, Archibald Hart, made the case that sometimes worry can be good. He gave the example of worrying about an illness - in the case a spot on the skin that could be cancerous.  Since skin cancer is a very real, and deadly, possibility, your worrying about it should spurn you to have it examined.  In that case, it's a healthy form of worrying.  It's more natural concern than worry, even when we dwell on it.  It's our brain's mechanism to check out anomalous things. For me, Matthew 7:21-23 is one of those "spots" you need to worry about.  In the passage, Jesus says many people who drive out demons, preach, teach and do miracles will not gain access into the Kingdom of Heaven.  They'll have all the outward signs of a believer but have no real, genuine relationship with Jesus Christ. That's a very scary proposition.  It addresses those of us who
Read more

God Uses Conflict

Image
I am not a big fan of conflict.  I don't know many people that are. Yet, one thing I learned in my communication classes in college is that in any human relationship or interaction, conflict is inevitable and unavoidable.  In fact, I teach in my marriage counseling that conflict, and how we handle it, can even strengthen our marriages. Conflict is not always a bad thing.  Through conflict, we see new points of view.  We grow as we weather the storm. We even strengthen our resolve. And, at time, God brings conflict into your life in order to move you from where you are to where he wants you to be. That's what happened with the Israelites.  In Exodus 14, we see that God moves to the Jewish people to the once place that means an unavoidable conflict with Egypt.  Surrounded by the Egyptian army, an impassible terrain and the Red Sea, Israel is forced into a confrontation with the Egyptian army.  They have no where to run and ultimately must listen to God as he directs the
Read more