Fight, Fight, Fight

Will He Find Fruit?

By: Denny-

I started my day today as I usually do with my morning coffee. I was a little hungry, so I had a piece of hot cornbread leftover from supper last night. It is a rainy gloomy Fall day as I sit looking out the dining room window. The high today will be 48 and raining off and on all day. Most of the trees have shed their leaves, but there are some that are still vibrant yellow including one in our front yard. I went outside and swept the wet leaves away from the front door and off the deck. It is Election Day, and I hung out our flag. The voting place for our precinct is one block away at the golf course clubhouse. I noticed the official “Vote Here” sign with the arrow pointing that direction is planted near the curb on the corner of our yard. There isn’t much traffic yet, but those who work may vote during the noon hour or after work. In talking with people I know, they like many others already voted earlier, as we also did. I’m optimistic that Donald Trump will win the election, but I wonder if Republicans will have the needed majority in the House and Senate to help him fulfill his promised agenda. The fate and direction of America hinges on that happening, and it all lies in the hands of “We the People”. The concern I have is that many people will not recognize or discern the times we are living in.

There are two times mentioned in the Bible where Jesus wept. One is found in John 11:35 at the tomb of Lazarus prior to Him raising him from the dead. The other is found in Luke 19:41. Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it. This took place as He was entering Jerusalem in what Christianity celebrates as Palm Sunday. All four gospels record how Jesus entered the temple and drove out those who basically had turned it into a flea market for buying and selling, something it was never meant to be. Matthew 23 goes into detail recording how Jesus exposed the hypocrisy of the religious Pharisees and pulled no punches and showed them no mercy in rebuking them sharply. So why does only Luke record that Jesus wept and why? Matthew gives us a clue to it in chapter 23:37  “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!” However, Luke 19 verses 42- 44 make it very clear. “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”  What does this event that took place then have to do with the election today in 2024. I say everything. America as a nation has been unwilling to turn to God despite the ones He has sent to prevent its destruction. In fact, many have thumbed their nose at God declaring, “We don’t need you!” Why, because America has failed to recognize and know the time of its visitation. We have been blessed and favored by God as a nation, but that visitation will soon be removed if we don’t repent and turn back to him. Quite frankly, I don’t see that happening if the radical left agenda continues under a Kamala Harris presidency. I think it is entirely possible that God is giving America one last chance to change by electing Donald Trump. I see Donald Trump not as the savior, but as one with the whip in his hand driving out the political corruption in Washington DC. Just examine and compare the differences in their policies and track records and see which ones most closely align with the Word of God, and you may come to the same conclusion. The economic issues of inflation, lost jobs, taxes, higher prices, the crisis of the illegal invasion at the borders, the national debt, wars, crime, gangs and drugs, and many others are important to us, but are they equally important to God. I’m not saying that he doesn’t care about these things, however, I think they are a result of a nation that has lost its way and whose god is not the Lord Jesus Christ. As if that weren’t enough, history and the Bible records that no nation who has killed their babies and children, sold them into slavery, or approved and sanctioned homosexual behaviors, has ever survived. I think God is giving America one last chance to repent based on Luke 13:6-9 “A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, ‘Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?’ “But he answered and said to him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down.’”

There have been multiple events in our recent history that tragedy has struck our nation. It was at those times we were unified under a common cause. For a brief moment we prayed, but before long it was back to business as usual. In other words, no true repentance. Instead of being unified we are a nation divided. I have to wonder if America is already at the point now where if Harris wins, we are in danger of being cut down by God. I’m not saying He will wipe out America immediately, but He will just allow us to self- destruct. Repentance, like voting, is a matter of choice. Perhaps if Trump is elected, God will give us an extended four years to repent and bear good fruit. Who knows. God is watching. Will He find Fruit?

They Stood From Afar

By: Denny-

There were many who followed Jesus when He began to perform miracles of healing and deliverance. The crowds became so large it was often difficult for Him to get away and rest, but He never avoided people or told them to disperse. On one occasion His disciples tried to prevent certain people from coming near Jesus, but He stopped them. After a while there were some who quit following Him because the messages He preached begin to step on their toes. It’s easy to follow Jesus when the miracles happen and things are exciting, but will you still follow Him when His words begin to deal with the condition of your heart. After the Last Supper the remaining eleven disciples followed Him to the Garden of Gethsemane where He told them to watch and pray. He left them and went to pray alone. He returned to them three times and found them sleeping, to which He said, “Are you still sleeping and resting? It is enough! Rise up, let us go, see my betrayer is at hand.” (Mark 14: 41- 42) They all fled as Judas betrayed Jesus and He was arrested. At His trial Peter stood from afar hoping not to be recognized, but when he was, he denied that he knew Jesus. At His crucifixion, His mother Mary and John stood close while all the other disciples were absent or stood from afar because of fear.

To those who claim to be Christian and a follower of Jesus, I must ask, “Are you standing afar off?” It’s easy to be a follower of Jesus in church on Sunday, but what happens the rest of the week. Do you avoid situations, conversations, and opportunities for fear you may be recognized as a Christian? Do you possess a value system based on the truths of the Bible that is reflected in your actions and speech? Are you being the salt and light that the world and more specifically America so desperately needs in this moment of time? Pastors are you speaking out from the pulpit on the moral issues facing our nation this election, or are you standing afar off and fearful of losing your precious 503 tax exemption.  (Matthew 5:13-16) “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lamp stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your father in heaven.“ Salt is used to change the flavor of whatever it is added to or put on. When you add salt to salt you only get more salt volume and nothing changes. I wonder how many self-proclaimed Christians only add or apply salt to each other, never changing the flavor of anything outside the four walls of their church or selected inner circle. Their light also has become as selective and ineffective as a flashlight with dying batteries. When you turn on a light in a dark room you expect it to light up everything, including the political corner, because light is not selective. If that sounds harsh, condescending, and offensive to you then it’s time to put on your “Big Boy” pants because that’s exactly what Jesus was saying in the above verses.

We are at a critical pivotal point in our nation’s history. The election results on November 5th  will decide if Donald Trump backs up the garbage truck or if Kamala Harris continues to lead us down the slippery slope to oblivion. The Democrat party along with their political operatives and their ungodly policies and tactics have incrementally set America on a path of destruction for the last 50 plus years. Just as in the parable of the wheat and tares (Matthew 13:24-25) it happened under the cover of darkness while men (Christians) slept. Where have those who possess the salt and light been? Many have compromised and turned their backs on truth, just as did so many who quit following Jesus. Others have stood watching from afar not wanting to get involved out of cowardliness or fear of being recognized and persecuted as a believer in Jesus Christ. When I hear statistics that millions of Christians don’t vote it boggles my mind. Their absence from the election process and apathy made the difference which gave us the Biden-Harris debacle. Why?  I can’t answer that question other than to say they will give an account to God for burying in the ground, as it were, the one talent (vote) that was given to them. The parable of the talents found in Matthew 25:14-30 is a stark reality that should motivate every Christian to participate in this election. When someone shouted out “Jesus is Lord” at a Kamala Harris event, she told them they were in the wrong rally. When asked what she would do different from the past four years if elected she replied, “Nothing comes to my mind.” What about President Biden lashing out and calling Trump supporters “garbage”. Christian, what else do you need to know to make up your mind and vote, short of a swift kick in the pants by God.

God isn’t interested in lame King Saul-like excuses, only results. Some may say, “I don’t like either candidate” or “It’s like voting for the lesser of two evils.” That’s a big excuse that the uninformed use all the time, but it won’t hold water any longer. It’s time for people to put on their common sense thinking and stop letting emotions and past party loyalty guide their vote. This is bigger than Trump or Harris. This is about the failed policies of the radical left that are intent on dismantling America and rebuilding it into an image that we must bow down to and worship. How can anyone calling themselves a Christian, with any Bible knowledge, discernment, and convictions whatsoever, vote for this continued wicked insanity or not vote at all. This is a battle between good and evil, and all it takes for evil to win is for good moral people to stick their heads in the sand and do nothing. Yes, God is sovereign; however, He chooses to work with and through those who participate with Him. Open your Bible and read the stories of the great men and women of old such as Abraham, Moses, Joseph, Esther, Nehemiah, David, Daniel, Elijah, Noah and countless others who God used to accomplish His will. Guess what, none of them were without faults and perfect, so stop withholding your vote waiting for the perfect presidential candidate. Inflation is killing our economy, taxes, crime, and the price of groceries and gas are high and rising. Innocent lives are lost daily through abortion, human trafficking, gangs and the drugs they bring with them. The Biden-Harris administration is indifferent towards Isreal, and we are on the verge of WW3. Millions of people have illegally crossed our borders and are occupying our country on your dollar, but are you more upset and irate that someone else has occupied your guarded precious place you always sit in at church. Your silence by not voting is the same as approving and agreeing with all the above. To quote the words of Jesus again, “Are you still sleeping and resting? It is enough! Rise up, let us go, see my betrayer is at hand.” I don’t think it is wrong to apply this scripture to our current conditions in America. It is time to awake from sleep, rise up, and go vote because many are they who are betraying America. America needs a spiritual awakening, but Christians need a heart shaking rival of their call to be salt and light. May we all rise up with courage, confidence, determination, and trust in the Lord that we will be the generation of salt and light that turned this nation back to God so those who come after us won’t be able to say, “They stood from afar”