"The deaf hear . . ."

"Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the Gospel preached to them" (Luke 7:22 NKJV).

America's New Religion: How This Election Has Exposed The Church (and Everyone Else)

I started writing this post on Thursday, January 7.  Originally, I was going to fuss for a few paragraphs about some people think are acting like President Trump is Christ-incarnate and post it on the 22nd.  

Then there was a big Trump tent revival meeting on Wednesday, January 6 that got real exciting real fast.  So now you lucky readers of mine get a post going in a fairly different direction being posted a week before planned.  Let’s dive right in, shall we?

I do not know what exactly transpired at the Capitol last week, how the protest progressed into a near-coup.  I do not trust a single news source to tell me what happened without forcing their agenda down my throat.  I agree that what happened Wednesday was violent and tragic. 

That being said, I am shocked America didn’t see this coming from a mile away.  

With all the tension that has built in this nation year after year, it only makes sense that such a volatile election would finally make people crack on both sides of the spectrum.  The 2020 election happened under a spotlight, and no one liked what they saw.    

This breaking of the floodgates isn’t about one election.  It’s about decades of government corruption in both parties and a system straying drastically from its original intent.  

As I watch the pot boil more vehemently closer and closer to Inauguration Day, events like Wednesday’s protest don’t surprise me.  In fact, a voice inside me says we had it coming.  

I do not condone senseless violence.  I do think America is overdue for a little shaking, and I hope recent events have opened at least a few people’s eyes. 

If there’s one thing the 2020 election has proven, it is that a new religion dominates the country: politics.  

Before any violence occurred on Capitol Hill, I was already appalled by what I saw on my feeds from believers, whether peers I barely knew or adults whom I looked up to as spiritual leaders.  As Joe Biden pulled closer and closer towards becoming President-elect, these people spoke as thought Trump was their Messiah being crucified before their eyes.  Some posted laments that made it sound like God was being rendered powerless by the presence of a Democrat in the Oval Office.  

Excuse my ignorance, but I did not realize God’s unlimited power hinged upon the success of the Republican party.  The irony of it all is that I do favor the values of the Republican party, and still, I can only shake my head at the behavior of others who adhere to the same.

It is high time the American church resets its priorities.  We have taken Jesus Christ off the throne of our lives and hung all our hopes on flawed men, and we should be ashamed of ourselves.  As I watch the church preach the love of Christ only to spew hatred at the other party and elevate conservative candidates to a level of almost deity, I finally understand why my generation is leaving the church as soon as they leave home.  

I know I am speaking harshly.  I know someone will read this and want to tell me that I am brushing Democratic corruption under the rug.  Don’t get me wrong, I agree that the government is corrupt and the election was rigged.  America is run by a bureaucratic 1%; I’d believe you if you said fraud play a role in every process by now.  We’ve elevated our nation to some high ideal, and we think it cannot fall from that like any other country. 

A lot people need to wake up, and those of us who profess Christ as Savior need to start.  We cannot call America an idolatrous nation when we treat Republican politicians like a god.

Only God is in control of this nation.  He has equal power over Donald Trump and Joe Biden.  What He wills for this nation, no politician from any party can stop or change.  It’s time for us to stop insulting Him by projecting our left or right-wing political affiliation on Him.

God will reign whether you are happy with the political climate or not.

Glory: An Expectation for 2021

On Christmas Day, I made the mistake of getting on Facebook before bed only to find a wealth of hatred, self-righteousness, and propaganda that does not belong on Facebook any time but especially on Christmas Day.  It was another regret-filled trip in line with plenty of others that have worn me down.   

The world is getting more and more chaotic.  Whether overseas or under my nose, the tension feels higher every day.  We need a miracle.  We need something drastic, and we need it fast.  

This is how I found myself sitting in front of an open Bible wondering what I could possibly do.  I landed at Exodus 19, in which the people of Israel are being prepared for God to come down on Mt. Sinai and deliver the Ten Commandments, and was struck by how serious the preparations were for this moment.  God required that the people be consecrated and washed.  They could not come up to the mountain and touch it or risk being struck dead; only Moses could approach.  God’s glory was about to be revealed to the people, no barriers, face to face, and they needed to be ready.  

Everything came together in my mind as I read.  The people needed to be prepared, because when they encountered God’s full glory, the trajectory of their lives was going to be drastically altered.  God’s glory meant the giving of the Law, the beginning of Israel’s journey to becoming a nation, the consecration of God’s people for a specific purpose.  

Nothing would be the same again.

In that moment of reflection, I decided to assign myself the word “glory” for the new year.  People need a lot of things right now: peace, healing, a good dose of common sense, and so on.  But what I think we need more than anything is to see God’s glory revealed.  When that happens, it forces change.  God’s glory brings the healing and restoration we so desperately need.  It convicts us of wrongdoing, passes judgement on those who have refused to repent, and presents us with a fresh start.  The peace, the miracles, the common sense that we need are all wrapped up in the impact of encountering God’s glory.  

This is my prayer: that the presence of God would shake and humble us into a refocused way of living, into lives of obedience.  I pray that my own heart would be a reflector of God’s glory, that I may have some small part to play in His redemptive work.  As I spend the next three weeks sharing my conclusions on the big issues of the year, I pray that everything will travel through this lens, that only the presence and glory of God can save us. 

The Scripture is clear that God will be glorified; that is His nature.  Like Israel, we need to get ready.