CHOICES

America has made her choice in Tuesday's election, for better or worse. It is no surprise that she continues to be divided right down the middle. Many hearts are broken, others are beating with excitement. I personally was under no illusion that either candidate would turn this country back to God. I pray the new administration will seek the best interests of the American people. Our problems are numerous and answers are few. We are a nation on the operating table in critical condition. Our wounds are so numerous and each so serious, any wrong decision during surgery could render a death blow to the patient.

Could Isaiah 1:4-6 be a commentary, not only of the ancient nation of Israel, but America as well? "Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken Yehovah, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward. Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment."

America declares itself "God's nation", but are we? We say we are a Christian nation, but do our fruits show that to be true? I believe us to be a nation in which Christians reside, but the nation as a whole long ago rejected His divine authority over us.

Would you agree that the apostle Paul saw our day 2000 years ago and declared it in his second letter to Timothy? Does this, in any way, describe what we see in America today?

2 Timothy 3:1-4 "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good. Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;"

Don't get me wrong. I am not America bashing. This applies to every nation throughout the world. This is a universal problem. The point I am making is that no person, government, company, denomination, civic organization, educational institution, healthcare system or immigration policy can heal what is wrong with us as a nation.

Whether or not you voted for Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump in this election, I hope you weren't putting your trust in either of them to do what only God can do. I pray that Mr. Trump will bow his knee to God and, as King Solomon did, ask for the wisdom to rule this mighty nation and lead us back to His righteousness. With that said, whether or not God will be welcome in the White House, I can absolutely declare that He has been and will continue to be welcome in my house.

Circle of Life

I sometimes wonder how many of us can look back over our lives and really sense that a higher power was at work in the milestones along the way, the events that framed our existence. I often have and I am fully persuaded that my entire life, the good, bad and ugly, was orchestrated by my creator. With that said, I don't mean to insinuate that he took full control of my faculties and that I operated as a puppet in his hands. I see it more as he declares in Jer 29:11, " For I know the thoughts (intention, plan) that I think (weave, fabricate) toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace (health, prosperity, favor), and not of evil (adversity, affliction), to give you an expected (literally a cord, as an attachment, figurately an expectation, hope) end (future, reward)."

His plans for me have always been for good. Rom 8:28 "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." I believe that his intention was always to call me into his family, long before I could ever have conceived such an outcome. In looking back, I realize that even as a child of eight or nine, his hand was upon me. The events of my life, although not always what I would have chosen, literally moved me into a deeper and deeper relationship with him. He carried me along, revealing himself to me more and more, as I was able to receive revelation.

Today, I trust him with every major decision I have to make. Experience has taught me that, each time I prayed and asked for his direction, he was always there with an answer. Now I immediately go to him and await his leading. I have learned not to burst headlong into a decision, based on my own thoughts or emotions. I understand Jer 10:23 " O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps".

Whenever I've faced major issues in my life, Yehovah has  always been more than ready to lead my family to a favorable outcome.....when I've prayed and asked for his assistance. He never pushed his way into our lives. He has given us free moral agency and he respects and allows us to choose for ourselves the path we will follow. We just need to understand that he has set in motion blessing and cursing within the very fabric of creation, natural laws that will dictate the ultimate outcome of our choices in the day of judgment.  Deut 30:19 :I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live." Sometimes, I've had to learn that the hard way, but chastisement and correction have driven the rebellion out of me.

Today, I know I need him. I know that his thoughts are not my thoughts and his ways are not my ways. I've learned that his ways will always lead to blessings. Mine have a tendency to result in disaster. There was a time when I would cry out to him as a last resort, when I had already made a mess of things. Now he is the one I go to first, before any decision is made, and then I wait. I wait upon him to direct my steps, to give me wisdom and insight. I wait for his season, for I know that he knows the end from the beginning, he sees what I cannot see.

I have come to imagine my life as a circle within a circle. Yehovah has created all things and he has an ultimate plan for this earth and mankind. His plan trumps ours every time. Through the ages he has orchestrated the workings of nations and governments, the rise and fall of kings and kingdoms for his own purposes. His is the big circle. My individual life is but a very small circle. The world does not revolve around me. It's not about me! It's about HIM! If I am in his will and allow him to possess my being, I know that blessings are sure, for he has promised. With that said, he does care about my life, each detail, great and small. He wants to share that life with me and he wants it to be an abundant life. I want that too. I want to be aligned with that larger circle, not only in this life, but throughout all eternity.

Chasing the Wind

We’re one month into the new year and so-called experts tell us that most new year’s resolutions have already been abandoned. I don’t put much stock in resolutions, per se, but I often judge my actions, words and intentions throughout the year that I may be ever more pleasing to my Lord. There is one good thing about the desire of many to look to a new year as a fresh beginning and a time to make improvements in their life. It reveals that we all sense we can be better, that we have some cleaning up to do and bad habits to break. The Bible encourages this kind of reflection.

However, many resolutions involve our preoccupation with the outside of the cup, so to speak. Each year brings the same hopes and dreams; lose weight, eat healthier, quit smoking, exercise more. We’ve all heard these same aspirations year after year and most fall woefully short of their goals.

In addition to improving our health, we also find our desires gravitating toward vanity. People want to look better at any cost. Millions flock to plastic surgeons and gyms, seeking the perfect body or face. Supermarkets contain several isles of beauty aids and cosmetics. Beauty parlors abound. Magazines and TV infomercials tout the latest discoveries to make us look younger or to get in shape. Everything from exercise equipment to pills to lotions and potions are purchased by those hoping to tap into perfect health or the fountain of youth.

Millions also seek material possessions as a means to happiness, purchasing bigger and better houses, cars, boats and clothing. We want non-stop entertainment, spending thousands on big screen TV’s, computers, fancy phones, all the latest technology. Let’s face it. We are obsessed with the body, including our appetites and desires. We covet everything we see. We covet that which makes us feel better, that which keeps us from stopping long enough to reflect, to look on the inside. We mistakenly believe that things can satisfy the nagging emptiness within.

They cannot! None of these pursuits is wrong in themselves, for the most part. There is nothing wrong with wanting to be healthier or to look better or have nice things. It’s just that the focus on these things as a means to happiness can never fully satisfy. We can learn a lot from Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived. He tells us in the book of Ecclesiastes that he had it all. God blessed him with wealth beyond measure and he denied himself nothing. He had numerous wives and concubines at his beck and call, he ate and drank whatever he wanted, he oversaw great building projects and a glorious palace. Leaders throughout the known world came to Jerusalem to see for themselves this great king they had heard so much about and the glory of his kingdom. What does his life reveal to us? He tells us that it is all vanity, like chasing the wind! Why? Because life is not measured by the things we have. We will all one day leave this world and we can’t take it with us. When we stand before the judgment seat of God, he will be looking at the heart, at the inside. Our relationship with him is his primary concern. If we get that right, everything else will be supplied according to his will and purpose for our lives.