Jesus Was Not A Politician

With an election happening in the US I thought it was a good time to dig this out of the archives:

Jesus Was Not A Politician

I remember a few years back attending a church in Tennessee. This was and election year (1996) and I opened the bulletin for that day's service and discovered a leaflet inside with the views of various candidates on issues that should matter to Christians. Upon further reading I noticed all of the candidates listed were Republicans. There was not a sheet for Democratic candidates and where they stood on the issues.

Over the years I have heard many well-meaning believers say something along the lines of, "If you are a Christian you should vote (Insert Political Party Here)".

In examining my Bible, though, I have not yet found the chapter which says Jesus was a republican, a democrat, a conservative or a liberal. I did not find Jesus actually affiliated with any political party, be it a "Christian" party or any other. In fact I find something totally different.

I find a Scripture where Jesus is asked about paying taxes to Caesar who, let's face it, was not a fair or just ruler. He was in charge of a nation that was occupying Israel and demanding allegiance to Caesar and Rome. Opposition was met with death. Crucifixions were the norm. Yet, when asked if it was lawful to pay taxes to Caesar Jesus said in Matt. 21 that they should give to Caesar what was due him, and to God what was God's. He was not saying to fight against authority, but to do what was required.

For me, a real eye opening Scripture is found in Romans 13:1-7. It is not a comfortable section of Scripture, nor one that "goes down" easily. I've struggled with it myself, but my struggles do not negate God's Word. My opinions need to conform with His, not vice versa.

So what does this Scripture say? It says things like God establishes all authorities and that we should submit to these governing authorities. If we rebel against these authorities we rebel against God. Rulers hold no terror for those who do right. These are not “comforting” Scriptures.

I believe we can stand for truth and righteousness. However, I think in standing for truth we should do so in a spirit of love. I believe we honor God more by standing for truth in love than in fear, anger or animosity. Yes, our ruling authorities may be corrupt. However, we are not their judge. Only God is. We can speak out against tyranny while still operating in love. Name calling, divisiveness, these things are not of God. If we speak in love and are attacked by men, so be it. God is in control. Better to operate under His care than to try to do things on our own. We should not fear what man can do to us.

There is a point where it is OK to disobey authorities, when we are called to do something that goes against God’s law. If you look at Acts 4:18-20 you see Peter and John called before the ruling authorities and told to not talk about Jesus anymore. They asked the leaders to judge who it was better to obey God or them. They left and still spoke about Jesus. They didn't gather a protest group, picket the Sanhedrin and write attacking letters to the Jerusalem Times.

There is also a point where Jesus was called before the rulers and He was silent.

We have options in how we respond to corrupt governments. Let's respond in a way that glorifies God.

A Fresh Perspective

I survived the Blizzard of 93!

The storm struck in March and left Tennessee in a mess. I remember listening to the radio as the snow fell and hearing all the calls for rescue vehicles coming in over the radio. Power lines fell, people were stranded, the salt trucks could not keep up. All told the storm did $6.6 billion in damages. In East Tn. where I lived we received a little over 10 inches of snow. That summer people were wearing an "I Survived the Blizzard of 93" t-shirts.

Now here in Canada where I live now 10 inches does not qualify as a blizzard. In fact when I share this with people here they even chuckle a little. It's all about perspective though. Tenn. does not get much snow. They have very few salt trucks even. There is no need. Some winters there we were wearing t-shirts in Dec. 10 inches of snow there is crippling.

Perspective. Kind of like our relationship with God.

As a young believer I kept hearing the phrase, "A sinner saved by grace." Now don't get me wrong that is a very true statement. However many people live there. That becomes their identity. They walk around and see themselves as a sinner. Well when you focus on sin what are you going to do? That's right sin. Tell a child, or a husband, not to take a bite of fresh out of the oven cookies and what will they do? Eat a cookie. We want what we think about.

Yes I was a sinner saved by grace. However now I am a New Creation in Christ Jesus! (2 Corinthians 5:17) I was crucified with Christ and I no longer live! (Galatians 2:20). My perspective has changed. I see myself as new in Christ. When I think on Him I can't be thinking about sin. The key there though is keeping my mind fixed on Christ. When I take my eyes off Jesus I fall faster than a ton of bricks. However when I fix my eyes on Him I can't be thinking about sin.

I want to encourage you to develop a fresh perspective. Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus!

Bobcat Tales – Hide and Seek (Just A Thought #23)

I use to have a pet bobcat. Now, I know that may sound a bit strange, but I am from Tennessee and hopefully that will help it to make more sense. The bobcat was a runt and after this was confirmed by the National Park Service and we were informed it would only grow to the size of a large house cat, we decided to keep it. Eventually, my bobcat mated with a regular cat and we had a few half-breed bobcats running around as well.

One thing I use to love to do is play hide and seek with my bobcat. The cat would come into whatever room I was in, make a guttural sound with its throat and then take off running. You could go from room to room searching for it and when you finally found it the cat would do the same thing again. Sometimes I’d mix it up and let the cat look for me…it would do that as well.

Hide and Seek is a fun game. I used to love playing it as a child. This was especially true if there was a large enough group and a lot of spaces to hide. We’d sometimes play until dusk, which helped us to find a better place to hide.

Even now I like to play hide and seek. However, today I like to play hide and seek with the Lord. I got the idea from the Bible. What? No, it’s true! I’m not kidding. Look at these 2 verses:

“I have hidden your Word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” Psalm 119:11

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you” Matthew 6:33

I want to hide the Word of the Lord in my heart daily. Like a treasure, I want to keep it there so that I can draw upon it and not sin against God. I know He can keep my feet secure.

I also want to seek God first and foremost. Nothing else matters. I want to cling to Him like a dying man to a lifeboat! I want to know Him more!

So, I invite you to join in the fun and play Hide and Seek with God. Your life will never be the same