It's extremely sad what our country has become, and it will only get worse as we're on the downward spiral that Paul describes in Romans 1, or Jesus lied! (Matthew 24:4-14) The "government" that we have is not supposed to operate this way according to our Constitution, Bill of Rights, etc, and was not what was envisioned by our founding fathers who were mostly God-fearing men! They haven't represented the people for decades and with each passing year get worse. Most of our elected and non-elected representatives are NOT as concerned about you and me as they are with power, control, money, fear, etc, and that's across all political lines. Even the checks and balances set up in our government haven't been used properly for decades and even before Roe vs Wade, but that's the first big one we think of.
For one nanosecond I don’t believe that anything related to our government will make a difference in our lives, even though sometimes it appears that way to us, on the surface. It seems that we get representatives who give us some reprieves, but it doesn’t last. When we do have times of “rest” we don’t take advantage of the time as Christians to get prayed and armored up! (Ephesians 6:10-18) Instead it seems that we fall into a more comfortable life style and chase more after the world then we do the things of The LORD.
When Jesus and His Disciples were alive, including Paul, they did NOT get involved in government affairs and were governed by Rome, a totalitarian/dictatorship form of government and we need to keep this in mind when we compare things they said in reference to government in The Bible, keeping all things in context. They were also persecuted by their government!
Nothing, I repeat NOTHING will change in our world until men’s hearts change. Jesus is the only One who can change a heart when we are surrendered to His will, not ours and not conforming to anything on this earth. (Romans 12:2) Everything else is only temporary change and we’re only fooling ourselves if we think any different. This change needs to start with those who already claim to know Jesus, NOW!
Since Jesus left this earth the only time things have changed in nations and the world, is when those who already knew Jesus made Him LORD of their lives and allowed true change to come from within. This is described repeatedly in the Book of Acts and in more recent times during the two Great Awakenings, etc. Things that happened were NOT based on feelings and emotions which can change in a moment, but rather on true heart changes led by The Holy Spirit and evidenced in everyone’s lives who finally surrendered their lives to Jesus by following Biblical Principles. It was LASTING change and not some “feel good” moment that didn’t result in true, lasting change! When those in the world saw these changes in “ordinary” men despite their circumstances, they wanted what they saw in them. And thus, true change began and many came to know Jesus and gave their hearts and lives to Him because of what they witnessed in those who actually lived out what The Bible teaches. (2 Chronicles 7:14-whether you believe this verse is only for Israel, for America, or for God’s temple that is supposed to exist in the hearts and lives of ALL who claim to be Christians, it doesn’t matter. The premise in this verse is that it’s God’s people who need to change, NOT the world!)
But then, as always in world history, we no longer desired to make Jesus The LORD of our lives, we quit dying to our flesh, taking up our cross, and following Jesus, and instead chased after the temporal things of this earth. (Matthew 16:24-26, 1 Peter 1:22-25) We’re ALL guilty of this to some degree, at least everyone that I know! Bars, brothels, abortion clinics, etc are shut down when no one goes in anymore, not because we picket them and point out their sin, but rather when we’re the Light in their dark worlds and they see the Hope of Jesus lived out in our lives, daily!
The world is looking for hope, they’re looking for answers. Many realize that there is truth, and they want it, but unfortunately all they get from the “church” is condemnation. What they need is love for them personally, NOT their sin, and an alternative to the life their living which can only be found in Jesus! (Romans 15:13, John 14:6)
Since the Garden of Eden satan has tried to thwart God’s plan and everything, and I mean everything that goes on in this world that is not of The LORD is from satan and his sole purpose is to shut down Jesus’ church. Just like in the garden, He tries to deceive us by getting us to think that God didn’t really say or mean what He said. He may not be able to take our souls, but he can certainly keep us busy fighting amongst ourselves, chasing after the world, and anything else we do instead of taking up our cross and following Christ and growing His Kingdom instead of our sad, worldly, flesh driven lives that we too often chase after. If we think any differently, then we clearly haven’t studied God’s Word enough and/or have any understanding of it and are more concerned with what we want than what The LORD does with our lives. (Genesis 3, Ephesians 6:12, 1 Peter 5:8)
As Jesus’ church, no matter what denomination, we need to WAKE up, and I’m not referring to anything the world says is waking up such as to social and racial justices. These types of things will NOT exist in a life that puts Christ on the throne! Again, when our hearts change to totally surrender to Christ, then our world changes. They can enact any law, close any church, ministry, cancel things, etc, but it will never end until the hearts of men change and wholeheartedly follow Christ in EVERYTHING!
The time is coming and already here for some, when we will have to make serious decisions regarding things such as employment, church going (already here but will get worse), tax-exempt giving (do we give for a tax-deduction or because we’re commanded to in God’s Word), etc. A Christian cannot sign and or follow a lot of what corporate America is trying to push on us. A Christian cannot just go along with what’s being taught in our public school system, now from pre-k all the way through graduate school. (2 Corinthians 6:17, Matthew 6:24, Matthew 5:13-16) God has promised He will provide whatever we need, but our part is to follow Him and not cower to the world. (Philippians 4:19) I already know people who’s livelihoods are being threatened because of cancel culture and so-called hate speech rules being enforced by employers. Several states have laws on the books concerning “hate speech” and have NOT given any “religious” exclusions. And now the federal government is pushing a new law called the HR-5 Equality Act, and this has nothing to do with equality, but rather it’s another persecution of Jesus’ real church. I know one pastor who is bi-vocational. His employer has enacted a hate-speech clause in order to keep employment and it is retroactive to forever and this totally applies to anything online, social media, etc! He has numerous times taught on what The Bible says about LGBTQRS+, abortion, etc and all his teachings are live on social media and then archived for future viewing. At any point he could lose his job, but he’s not willing to back down from Biblical Principles. I know many more in the same predicament but unfortunately, some have just gone along with it!
We attended a conference where Voddie Baucham was the main speaker. He said that as Christians we already should be the best of whatever we do, best employee, sub-contractor, bill payer, and on and on. (Colossians 3:17, 22-25) Unfortunately, I can attest that often when I was in the corporate world and now when a lot of “Christians” come out to volunteer, they can be the worst people to be around and have a poor attitude and work ethic. Voddie said that we need to make ourselves indispensable so that when the orders come down from above, those directly over us will fight to keep us by trying to get those above them to not force the orders because of how we live our lives for The LORD which includes being the best at what we do. It doesn’t mean we’ll get to keep doing what we’ve been doing even though we may have invested our whole life into it. I personally have had major changes in my employment life 3 times and never did end up doing what I graduated from college for! And now I’m full time in ministry so that makes 4! One of my jobs I had to quit because I couldn’t stay there and obey Biblical Principles and I made six figures plus a lot of great benefits there! God has always provided for us, but He also promises us that in this world we will have trouble, but we’re to take heart because He has overcome the world. (John 16:33) It may not be easy, nor should it be. As Christians we don’t get a free pass on suffering but rather Christ has promised us that we will as we live our lives for Him! (2 Corinthians 1:5, 1 Peter 4:12-19)
Whether Jesus returns today, tomorrow, or years from now, should NOT matter to anyone who is trusting in and following Christ. We should all seek Him and earnestly live our lives all out for him in all we do, no matter the consequences, no matter the government, no matter what! Time is short, we need to get in The Word and busy about The LORD’s work for as long as we still are breathing! (Luke 10:2, Matthew 25)
Please don't hesitate to reach out to us with any questions, prayer requests, etc. We'd love to pray with and for you and to the best of our ability answer any questions you may have soley using God's Word!
Love y’all and LORD Bless,
Curt & Mary Jo
