In my last post , I argued that
the perceived benefits of the Trump presidency
from a biblical perspective,
are temporary earthly not eternal.
Now: The continued Trump presidency
from a biblical perspective, will be
damaging, and of eternal significance
for the Church, for America, and for the world.
Under the Trump Presidency
Truth/Facts/Reality and our attitudes towards them have suffered.
The Trump administration is “An Administration of Lies.”
The president is a proven, pathological, and an unrepentant liar.
His supporters repeatedly offer “alternative facts”
to explain the administration’s actions and statements.
Getting more people to believe a ‘narrative’
(by retweets, ratings, polls, ‘likes’, ‘going viral’, soundbites, etc.)
in modern America
is now more important than the facts and
has been exacerbated by an administration
that peddles lies, obfuscation, spin and/or misdirection.
Truth is a Biblical and Christian ideal.
Truth is eternal!
Deceivers will be eternally punished.
Truth is reality and reality is truth.
Science deals in facts and objective Truth;
without truth and objective facts,
normal living is not possible;
to live in alternative reality is insanity, and
the progress of human civilization is hampered.
Justice for all depends on establishing
what is true and what are the facts (evidence!).
The Image of God
present in every human being;
(along with a sinful fallen nature) that is,
everything that is noble, pure, selfless, and admirable in man suffers.
Instead of the image of God:
humility, selflessness, love, harmony, peacefulness, self control, patience, gentleness, holiness, mercy….
Trump models the sinfulness of Man:
pride, narcissism, hate, division, quarrelsomeness, short temper, impatience, meanness, ‘fight back’, vengeance, impurity and indecency….
Trump undermines our common human dignity by
choosing to divide instead of bringing people together
in order to harness political power.
The Direction and Fate of the World May Change Forever
The Bible predicts that history is marching towards the ‘End Times.’ America is the only economic, military, and cultural superpower.
Trump has stated he acts based on his guts instincts
Trump who appears willing to take unnecessary risks
(economic, military, cultural, political)
without strategy or clear planning;
he can therefore plunge the world into an ‘end times’ scenario
This can also weaken America from within.
America as
a moral beacon in the world,
‘the city on a hill that cannot be hid’ a clear voice for universal human rights,
model of freedom of the press, and as
a model of human dignity,
will be lost forever;
making the biblical ‘end times’ scenario that more certain.
So count me out, I will not be voting for Donald Trump in 2020!
All the benefits of my Vote for Donald Trump Appear to be
More Conservative Judges
Inasmuch as I want a society
where conservative values are respected, this
pertains mostly to America, not the Kingdom of God,
when judges are appointed
by both sides
solely for partisan control of the judiciary,
and it will ultimately corrupt justice
for everyone, forever (!);
will not prevent the ongoing moral decay of humanity
predicted in the Bible, as we move toward the end-times!
Deuteronomy 1.16: “‘Hear the cases between your brothers, and judge righteously between a man and his brother or the alien who is with him.
That is, justice must be blind to even the closest earthly affiliations.
The Possibility of Overturning Roe vs. Wade
Inasmuch as I am pro-life
(in Church and personal life
and I will work to reduce abortion in society
in other ways other than using the force of law)
I am also pro-choice (as a matter of law in society) ,
inasmuch as I will like to reduce abortions in the US,
the church will do a better job to impact society for God
by modelling selfless, holy, and cross-bearing lives as people of faith,
than to try to wield the corrupting tools of political power
to force social change; that is,
making abortion illegal
constrains action by force of law, it
does not change people and
is only a temporary fix, to the eternal problem of the
sinfulness of man, and it
does not address immorality within the Church itself;
I also have hope that God has a plan even for unborn babies
as I believe he does for infants who die early!
Matt. 18.10: “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.”
A friend of the (mostly white) Church in the White House
is temporary, of this earth, not the kingdom of God
if the Church cannot criticize that ‘friend’,
if the Church must always praise that ‘friend’,
if the Church must explain away, excuse, and lie (‘spin’),
when that ‘friend’ lies, divides, and is unrepentant of
deceit, meanness, pride and boastfulness, narcissism, and adultery,
and thereby abandon its basic mission to a lost world:
faithfully proclaim the truth and will of God
that we must be
true, loving, meek and lowly, selfless, and faithful to the wife of our youth, welcoming, be wronged instead of wronging others, give vengeance to God instead of always ‘fighting back.’
Faithful prophetic witness
to powerful (and sometimes corrupt) political leaders (kings)
is clear in the Bible.
It usually involves truth, rebuke, courage, and great risk: Samuel (Eli), Samuel (Saul), Nathan (David),
Elijah (Ahab, Jezebel, Ahaziah), Elisha (Ahab), Micaiah (Ahab)
Isaiah (Manasseh), Jonah (Nineveh),
Jeremiah (Zedekiah), Daniel (Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar),
John the Baptist (Herod)
Jesus (Pilate), Peter (Sanhedrin);
the Early Church (the Sanhedrin); and
Paul (Agrippa).
It is never a cozy relationship
the White House and white evangelical American leadership.
Strong Economy?
As good as that sounds,
a strong economy is of this earth, not eternal
Mark 8.36: “What does it profit a man [nation]….”
What if
(as the signs are beginning to show, and
as Donald Trump continues to gamble
with the economy and
with the livelihood of millions of Americans,
using trade wars),
the economy takes a downturn,
as is expected every now and again?
Strong Immigration Enforcement?
This excites those
whose primary concern is America who may be driven by
lack of knowledge and compassion, fear, distaste, and/or
indifference towards
those who are different, who are weak, and destitute;
who have forgotten, who ignore the fact,
that the Kingdom of God is all tribes, tongues and nations
that everyone ‘came from somewhere else’,
that the Bible overwhelmingly teaches love and welcome
for the weak, the widow, the fatherless, the alien ,strangers (!)
that Mary, Joseph, and the Baby Jesus were themselves refugees
to Egypt from political violence!
Matthew 24.44: “Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’” Revelation 7.9 “…from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb….”
Strong Military and National Defense,
pertains to only America, not the Kingdom of God;
is material, temporary, and earthly.
Ephesians 6. “For we do not wrestle not against flesh and blood…”
Second Amendment Rights
Is only of this earth, and temporary, and
when promoted unreasonably and at all cost, it
UNDERCUTS THE MESSAGE OF THE CROSS:
selfless love,
sacrifice,
give instead of taking life,
“turning the other cheek”,
“Nevertheless, let your [God’s] will be done not mine”
lacks any sound biblical and theological support.
Matt. 16.24: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”
The choice between a gun and the cross is easy
Next Post Why a Vote For Donald Trump has Negative Long Term/Eternal Consequences for America and the Church.
Some Basic Truths For Meaningful, Happy and Successful Life
Believe that:
There is a God Almighty
He is
He sees
He knows
He loves
He will judge
He is sovereign
(owes no one any explanation, and is
free to do whatever he wills,
He is Holy but he is also merciful
You are Special
One of a kind In a good way, despite or because of
what you did in the past
what someone did to you in the past
your DNA profile where you were born
You have something to say, to give, to contribute, to do
in this world;
a legacy to leave behind,
a mission to accomplish, and
a dream to fulfill.
Your life has meaning!
You are of infinite value
to God who loves you and died for you
to those who love you
mom, dad, grandpa, grandma, siblings, bff etc.
You add meaning, joy and happiness to their lives.
For those who may not ‘love’ you,
They are not looking at your true value.
They are looking at something other than
Photo by le vy on Pexels.com
Things can and Do Change
Other opportunities will open
Closed doors may become open
New doors will open up
‘Doors’ can become walls or
ladders may be provided to scale walls!
People can change
Friends can become enemies
Bosses can become subordinates
Doubts can become trust
Opponents can become team-mates
Miracles (impossible ‘coincidences’) can happen New methods, medications, procedures, approaches will be invented
making it easier to get where you want to go in your life!
Reality, Facts, and Truth Rule in the Long Run
There are no ‘alternative facts’ Opinions, feelings, emotions, loyalties change, facts don’t
Evidence based choices are best
Respect True Scientific Discoveries
God is the ultimate scientist They are foundation to practically all human achievements
The Other Side of Life Will Be Different
All tears will be wiped away;
No more sorrows, sickness, death, or evil,
No more scammers, swindlers, thieves, liars, sociopaths;
Those who (we) think they ‘got away with it’
will not escape the ultimate justice,
If you have invested in it!
I recommend Jesus to you, Personally!
Don’t think there will be need for ‘Faith’
Faith will become sight
It will be like the Garden of Eden all over again!
Follow Reach Ministries on Twitter and Facebook ; Contact: reach4himwdray@gmail.com
YOU CAN DO THIS, LET’S DO THIS!
I had another dream, not too long after my first one
(please see “Do Your Homework “).
This time, my family consisting of
my wife,
my teenage daughter,
my 8-year old son,
and me.
We live in a house in a third world country
in an upstairs flat,
with an open floor plan
in my dream.
In my dream, the country
is in the tropics;
the windows and doors were mostly open,
we could see neighbors through our windows,
power supply was minimal,
there was no central air or heating.
we also hung our clothes out to dry
on the baloney of the house.
The society around me was overwhelmingly Muslim,
but not exclusively so.
I just know that as a Christian
I was among the small minority in the population.
The government was Muslim,
not overtly anti-minority, but also
not openly defending minority faith communities.
As a family we were known to be Christians,
but we kept our heads down and stayed out of trouble.
In my dream,
I don’t remember my occupation, but
I know I wanted to be
a witness to the population.
I was not a missionary in the strict sense of the word.
In my dream,
There was a young woman across the street.
There were rumors
that she was seeing multiple men
She kept to herself but,
these rumors had taken hold
in the community
whether true or not.
On this day,
in my dream
a mob of young men had come to her house.
They were banging on the door, insisting that it be opened.
There was violence in the air.
As we looked through our window and down onto the street level,
(we were on the second floor)
we sensed that the mob
to move back from the window;
to stay quiet, and
to not draw attention to ourselves.
We waited quietly
for what seemed like half an hour.
It was noisy and rowdy outside.
Our house was quiet.
We could not tell
whether they had seized the woman next door, or
what they had done to her.
Suddenly,
we had a knock at our door.
Someone was asking to be let in!
Before we knew it,
that person walked right into our ‘living room’.
(I had forgotten to lock the front door,
but that is normal in many third world countries and
we were trying to be hospitable and welcoming,
as part of our witness)
The man who came in was about forty-five. He was
was well dressed
seemed reasonable,
well cultured,
educated,
but at the same time
part of the ‘extremist’ movement; but
appearing ‘above’ it
not fervent,
not a devotee
just convincing to the followers.
He was the leader of this group.
He walked right to up to the window
through which we had been looking down onto the street.
(They knew we were there all along,
they knew who we were, and
they knew we were different:
His ‘greeting’ to us was curt, dismissive, somewhat cold, non-committal!
He was not eager to make conversation.
This was not a friendly visit.
neither overtly threatening, nor peaceful.
We were on a knife edge.
Then about six other young men of the mob burst through our door.
I did not see what they had in their hands, but
I imagined
that they had knives,
machetes, and
sticks.
I remember thinking,
My wife was at the kitchen
(we were all in the same ‘open floor plan’ space).
My daughter
was half-way between me and my wife, and
my eight year-old son
was playing on the floor,
behind the leader of the group,
but in a different line of sight,
kind of like a triangle,
between my wife, myself and the leader of the group.
My wife had a knife in her hand
which she was using to prepare food in the kitchen.
When the young men burst in, they shouted at their leader.
What were his instructions?
Where was this going?
I was ready to shout to my wife
to defend out daughter and
I could see that she was ready
to lay her life down
yet nothing had been decided yet.
Where was this going ?
Then I woke up!
The dream was very clear.
And I thought,
Pray for missionaries who serve in hostile mission fields around the world.
Pray for Christians in places where they are minorities and may face danger.
Pray for all innocent persons who are minorities facing a hostile majority.
Mob mentality is very difficult, even impossible to
predict, or to
control or to be
reasoned with.
The Mob is often
enabled
led
manipulated by
the highly educated,
the politician and
the astute businessman
for their own ends.
A rampaging mob may turn on
otherwise innocent bystanders,
even those who think they are safe, and
everyone and anyone
who is not part of the mob.
Exodus 23:2 (NIV) “Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd.”
We are Designed by God to Reach out to Him and to Others; To Reach Out for Love and Towards our Dreams!
