How We Got Here!

When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as Israel’s leaders. The name of his firstborn was Joel and the name of his second was Abijah, and they served at Beersheba. But his sons did not follow his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice. So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. They said to him, “You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.” But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD. And the LORD told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king.As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will claim as his rights.”Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who were asking him for a king. He said, “This is what the king who will reign over you will claim as his rights: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots.He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. Your male and female servants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use. He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, but the LORD will not answer you in that day.” But the people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want a king over us.Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.”When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the LORD. The LORD answered, “Listen to them and give them a king.” Then Samuel said to the Israelites, “Everyone go back to your own town.”  I Samuel 8 NIV

If we take a few moments to contemplate this passage of Scripture and align it with where we are right now–we can see how we got here–to this time in 2017.

I’m a visionary and have an extremely creative imagination and while reading this I saw a parallel time period from then to now.

Hillary tried to warn us what would happen if 45 was elected--in all three debates–she let us know what would happen.

45 let us know who he was, but people blinded by dissatisfaction and willing to believe lies, didn’t listen.

Evangelical leaders who claim to be pro-life (within the womb), but hate others outside the womb, wanted to see a Supreme Court Justice appointed who would overturn Roe v. Wade. Coupled with their hatred of Obama–the first Black President–they convinced people that God chose Trump to be president–using a well known tool–gas lighting–repeating lies until they are believed, leading people to distrust their own judgment.

What we learn from Samuel is that having a king to rule over the Children of Israel was never God’s idea, but the people who badgered Samuel, who chose to have a king–after being warned about how a king would treat them. God never leaves us with choices without presenting the consequences of our actions (Deuteronomy 28).

Just about everything we were warned about with Trump has come to pass. He will lie about lies and back peddle on promises and those who CHOSE him–by electing him as president–are now crying, “foul!”

The Children of Israel didn’t listen to Samuel and many people–those who are the most needy–refused to listen to Hillary and chose instead to believe the lies perpetuated by Trump.

Understanding what happened and how a kingship was established–the people’s choice, should help many to understand that when Paul talked about “honoring authority” in Romans 13:1–(again I say), he was not talking about a president–but the authority that God established which is Christ Jesus.

The people didn’t want to accept God as their King so He gave them what they wanted. Disgruntled, deluded, and duped gullible Americans didn’t want Hillary as their president so He allowed them their choice.

Will God hear our prayers when we ignored Him? The prayers of the righteous avails much and we shall soon see whether He hears and will answer us–relieving us from this nightmare and the policies that hurt the poor and the needy.

Ignoring God and the obvious–the back-peddling pathological liar is how we got here; now it’s going to take the same God we ignored, to get us out of the mess made out of an honorable position which no longer is held in high esteem by much of the on-looking world.

We can say anything we want to say about how God does things, but we only have to seek His Word to find out the truth–God has always honored man’s choices and warned us of the consequences of our choices, but many refuse to listen.

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Do You Hear Us, Lord?

How long, LORD, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, “Violence!” but you do not save? Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrongdoing? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds. Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails. The wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted.” Habakkuk 1:2-4 NIV

This first prayer by the prophet, reminds me of where some of us might feel we are today. For those of us who have been praying, relentlessly, and see nothing on the surface of things changing, we (or at least I do) tend to wonder if God is hearing us.

But then as we look at the rest of this passage and see God’s response, we must also wonder if God is not doing the same thing now, as He allowed then. That is, allowing plans for massive destruction by those who hate all of God’s people because God’s people won’t obey Him. Perhaps, now as it was then–we’ll have to be held captive by truly hateful people in order for God to get our attention!

When destruction comes–we have only ourselves to blame. We deliberately exchanged the lie of the enemy for God’s Truth and made the lie a priority by which men live rather than God’s Truth. As since the lie–streaming from the top (our President)  flows over the people and is choking God’s Truth–cutting off the oxygen supply needed for brain cells to function–we are left with mindless laws that promote and encourage living in opposition to God’s Word. There is no justice with the Supreme Court Justices and all will have to stand before God and give an account of their actions. And since we are a nation that is not concerned with justice for all–we will be subjected to the justice exercised by the ungodly.

Therefore, at every turn, we see Believers belittled and their rights ignored for the satisfaction of the few–ungodly--who hope to pervert the entire nation so they can pacify the lusts of their flesh. When will all the ungodliness cease and people come to their senses before it’s too late? Or is it already too late? With the blustering buffoonery we see campaigning to become president and the hatred and bigotry displayed against entire groups of people, what has this nation caved to doing? Our so-called political correctness has opened the door for disaster and those dastardly demons are laughing their butts off at our expense.

Lord, You have promised that the fervent, never-ending prayers of the righteous accomplish much and we are waiting–to see the fruit of our prayers yield–peace, love, and an end to violence and hatred exhibited by so many. Create in the hearts of all those who oppose You, a desire to please You and a willingness to repent of all things that are not like You. We know You hear and answer prayer and we wait to see the majestic results  so all will know–You and You alone are God!

A Title Means Nothing If The Role Is Not Fulfilled!

“Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.” (I Peter 5:2,3 NIV)

What does a good shepherd or a good leader do?

Being a good shepherd and being a good leader–in anything–means that the people are more important than the title. There are many people in leadership positions in churches who hold titles–pastor, bishop, apostle–and few of them are actually shepherds. How do we recognize them?

The shepherd realizes that those in the congregation are “not his/her people” but they have been given the responsibility to watch over the flock–feed them God’s Word, correct them when they go astray, warn about impending dangers, and provide them direction and instruction they can use to teach others. How many church leaders are actually doing this? Many are more concerned about how “they can influence others with their sound or things they amass” and never take the time to get to know those in their congregation or what they need.

I remember being in a meeting that was not being held in a church when the man who was the pastor of the church I attended came in late, needing to be seen, and announced that he knew his flock. But he didn’t recognize me as a member. I didn’t say a word, but that struck a chord in me. He wasn’t interested in serving the needs of the people because he didn’t know what the people needed. Not long after that meeting, I left that church when bizarre behavior starting ruling.

The same is true for leaders of other non-church groups. Some people only want leadership positions because of a title. Titles mean absolutely nothing if the person holding the title is not fulfilling the duties. I’ve recently been involved with a parent-organization for the high school my grandson attends and discovered that the reigning president has not fulfilled their duties from the outset, but is now angry they were voted out of office. They were not interested in “doing the role” they obtained, but only in being a position they could use to bully others. What I don’t understand is why. Holding a title means nothing and impresses no one if people don’t do the job that goes with the title.

These have not been good examples for anyone; especially the children in knowing how to be a good leader and even more important in how to demonstrate good sportsmanship when losing–an election or a game. No character–no grace; no grace–no room for entitled personalities–who do nothing but create problems for others.

If what we do on any level is not done from pure motives–it will not succeed. God knows the heart and He watches all we do and He hears everything we say. We cannot hide from Him and when He exposes a person’s true character, they can no longer hide from people.

In a position of leadership–we must always question our motives for being there and when we are incapable of fulfilling the role of that position, we must leave it to those who are capable and will do.