Quit Tooling Around

I have been thinking of writing this post for a month or so. When a friend, who sometimes has lingering doubts concerning President Trump, recently asked how I thought he was doing as president, I decided it was time to finally write one of the hardest posts addressed to Christians I’ve written thus far.

Bear with me as I start this post with very blunt words: If you are maligning, making sarcastic comments, or posting disparaging remarks on social media concerning the President, you are not walking according to the dictates of God’s word. Please don’t do that! Speak evil of no man. (Titus3:2) Don’t allow yourself to be used by the hand of the enemy as a tool to further divide America.

Make the Master proud of you by being good citizens. Respect the authorities, whatever their level; they are God’s emissaries for keeping order. It is God’s will that by doing good, you might cure the ignorance of the fools who think you’re a danger to society. Exercise your freedom by serving God, not by breaking the rules. Treat everyone you meet with dignity. Love your spiritual family. Revere God. Respect the government. (1 Peter 2:13-17 MSG)

It is no coincidence that the media and many people from the liberal side of politics are so driven to destroy a newly elected President without even giving him a chance to preside. What you see is anger from satan, himself, because he was JustThisClose to destroying our nation with a political spirit that was choking the life out of us. I am not saying that we have a nation of demon possessed people who, among other things, march in protest, or that demons are running the airwaves. I am saying, however, that these people are blind, willing participants in the schemes of the devil to divide our country, because he knows that if we are divided, we cannot stand:

But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand…” (Matthew 12:25 NKJV)

Christian friends, don’t be a part of division! Ever!

Do I think Donald Trump is our savior?  No, I sure don’t.  Jesus is!  I do not know Trump’s personal relationship with God, but I do know that he is surrounding himself with people who are born again, who openly profess Jesus Christ, and God placed them all there, including Donald Trump.

…For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God. (Romans 13:1)

It is not my intention to offend, but perhaps to be on the offensive…that is, to join the (spiritual) battle for our great nation in prayer and truth, and to get those who have not joined to do so by praying daily for our leaders and particularly our President. There is no better time than now! If you do not like your president and are having a hard time praying for him, keep reading, I’ll give you some starting points.

But first, understand that before Donald Trump was born, God had a plan for him. He wrote in His book the days fashioned for Trump….just the same as He did for you and me (Psalm 139:16). Before the foundation of the world; He chose us! (Ephesians 1:4)

…You covered me in my mother’s womb… Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed and in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them. (Psalm 139:13, 16 NKJV)

It is our responsibility to pray for our leaders…do you want a great awakening in America? I know I do! I long for the day God heals our land. We won’t get that just because Donald Trump is in office. We will start to see revival sweeping our nation when we humble ourselves and seek God. (2 Chronicles 7:14) Otherwise, we remain in a state of complicity in the demise of America.

Pray.

Pray hard.

Without ceasing.

If Jesus often prayed often,

how much more do we need to pray?

Prayer points for President Trump:

• Pray for his salvation, that he be filled with the Holy Spirit.
• Pray that his eyes be opened so that he sees, that his ears be opened so that he hears from God, and pray that his heart is opened so that he understands.
• Pray for maturity in his position.
• Pray that the Holy Spirit infiltrates his every decision.
• Pray that God gives him spiritual wisdom.
• Pray that President Trump is consistently surrounded by God-fearing, praying men and women.
• Pray that God gives him strength to follow through with Godly decisions, even in the face of much opposition.
• Pray for his safety.
• Pray for Truth to sweep our nation, that the blinders be removed from God’s people, and that the Holy Spirit will permeate and saturate this nation in a way that those of us living in this day have never seen.

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.

Psalm 33:12

Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us,

Just as we hope in You.

Psalm 33:22

Pit Pollution

He drew me up out of a horrible pit [a pit of tumult and of destruction], out of the miry clay (froth and slime),
and set my feet upon a rock, steadying my steps and establishing my goings. (Psalm 40:2 AMPC)

Last Wednesday morning, after publishing my last post, I sat talking to God, remembering all my past failures and how many times I’d fallen back into the pit.  I asked Him if what I’d said in the post was true…that He is listening and His hand is already extended to us when we are drowning in the mire. Searching for an answer, I randomly (or not so randomly) opened my Bible to this passage (complete with highlights and underscores, and an arrow pointing to the word “hand”):

Jeremiah 23 NKJV

From that point, I walked in faith knowing that He would help me through that first day of letting go of the food obsession. And He did! I have lost a few pounds and haven’t even been tempted to binge.

But I was in a funk.

I wasn’t overeating, but I brought some pit pollution with me when God pulled me out to solid ground.  My feelings were hurt because of some offhand comments made by someone, and I was having a hard time getting past it.  I couldn’t find any joy, even though God had shown me through His word that He knew exactly where I was, and it was His hand that pulled me from the pit.  But still, I was gloomy.

I am blessed enough to still have my mom…a faithful prayer warrior…and I called her to share my heart about what I was experiencing.  I know she prayed for me, because it wasn’t long before He lifted the sadness.  He also let me see clearly something that perhaps I missed in the past:

Getting out of the pit is always a good thing, but when we bring pollution with us, we may not recognize that we are no longer in the pit because we are looking through the unforgiveness, or the anger, or the hurt that we did not let go of when we were pulled from the miry clay.

When we are grasping things like unforgiveness and anger instead of God’s unchanging hand, it will not be long before we are back in the pit!

I cannot stress how important it is to pray for others who are struggling. There are times when the struggle is so desperate that people stop praying for themselves. That is when praying people step in and pray on their behalf.

God knows. 

He hears every prayer. 

His Grace is sufficient for us.

Appetite Update:

Old habits sometimes die slow, painful deaths. I’d like to report that I haven’t dwelt on what to eat, what not to eat, or my next meal…but the truth is, I did think about those things. I will also admit that I failed at my scripture memorization. I wrote my scripture choice (Psalm 103:1-6) on index cards and kept them at my desk to refer to it as needed, but I didn’t memorize the verses. When I realized that I was thinking about food, I made a conscious choice to look at the index cards I’d made…and in particular, this verse that spoke to me:

But don't be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you. John 6:27 NLT