More to The Story - Chapter 10 - 1 Samuel
HOW NOT TO VOTE FOR A PRESIDENT
“Saul was the most handsome man in Israel — head and shoulders taller than anyone else in the land.He went out looking for his father’s donkeys”
I Samuel 9:2,3)
“Everyone asked the LORD, 'Where is our new King?' And the LORD replied, 'He is hiding among the baggage.' " (I Samuel 10:22-23)
REFLECTION
If you’re a republican, who will you vote for in the PA primary? If you use 1 Samuel 9 as your guide, you will choose the tallest, best looking male who is looking for his donkeys and is hiding among the baggage during new conferences.
Israel did accept these qualifications and the Lord did allow them to do so as in , ‘okay, if this is what you insist on, this is what you get.’
Beware of the “is ought” fallacy. Just because something is described in the Bible doesn’t mean we should do it. Choosing Saul was a misadventure we must avoid. We need God, not shallow, superficial, quick fix “heroes”.
So what it is that God IS looking for? Check tomorrow’s email.
PRAYER
“Lord, as the PA primaries approach, please provide us with insight about which candidates will best represent your will for America. Help me to discern and cast my ballot wisely. In Jesus’ name. Amen”
You can follow Pastor Jeff on Twitter @jefflampl
Voting in the Republican primary is supporting a party that has contributed to Americans' belief that we can have everything without sacrifice or obedience to God.
ReplyDeleteIt's the party that started two costly wars and asked for sacrifice only from the 1% who actually had to serve. The rest of us got tax cuts.
It's the party that deregulated the banks. This allowed banks to encourage spending and consumption based on bad loans that people could not pay back. We can thank God (and some wise leaders), that this didn't bring down the whole banking system.
It's the party that ran up the deficit during at a time when the economy was actually growing.
The chickens have come home to roost. We have been a profligate, disobedient, and entitled people. The fantasy that we can address our problems by shrinking government (60% is social security and medicare, 25% is defense) without having to sacrifice or pay taxes (render onto Caesar what is Caesar's) continues to be supported by the Republican candidates (most of whom profess to follow Jesus). It's interesting that the best of bunch is a Mormon.
Two things of interest to me in this passage:
ReplyDelete1) v 5: (Israelites speaking to Samuel) "You are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have."
2) The Israelites were told that the King they were requesting would be self serving and through this self service, would, in the end, ruin them. They didn't care, they still wanted a king.
Even though Samuel was less than successful as a parent in teaching his sons to honor God and even though the people used this failure as an excuse for removing Samuel, God did not. God told Samuel the heart of the matter: they were rejecting God not Samuel.
God, in all his mercy tried to tell them what a King would bring them. They didn't listen because their hearts had left their true King a long time ago.
The bottom line for today-keep focused on Jesus. Democrat or Republican, first a Christian. We cannot allow ourselves to let our vision be torn from the eternal, even when the environment surrounding us beckons such.
Yes, we are to be good stewards, but we are not to set our treasure there (Matt 6:21). Will this hold true in economic disaster with each of us?
Are we strong enough in our faith, that should the world progress into the global economy spoken of in Revelation that we will be able to not only recognize the mark of the beast, but say "no" to it, if that is where we are in point of time?
Believers are not to be of this world. Why does one think this was said?
It is for the same reason, God did not want to give the Israelites their King,
Our King is the Father, and we only know the Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus. Complacency and misplaced allegiance is the other side of the coin to faithfulness and loyalty to God.
"Stand firm, Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."
How much do we trust the Lord?