Sunday, May 31, 2009

A New Slave Master - Government

The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender (Proverb 22:7).

Solomon reminds us that the rich rule over the poor. The irony of Satan’s trickery is that he tempts you and me to borrow money to buy what we do not have, in order to appear rich. This trick immediately makes us slaves to the one we owe and guarantees a longer term of poverty. When you or I borrow money, we are selling a portion of ourselves through financing or even refinancing, as slaves to the lender. We then work to buy ourselves back from the slave master in a life of depression. The American Dream turns into an American Nightmare as couples end up with a greater debt than they started with years earlier. In a country like America, poverty most often (though not always) represents a spontaneous and undisciplined lifestyle.

Now, we have a group of government leaders, representing at least three political parties, which are creating debt at an unprecedented rate, while giving only lip service to fiscal responsibility. Instead of selling ourselves into slavery, we now have politicians with an irresponsible and unbiblical agenda selling every citizen into slavery. I am reminded of First Samuel 8:6-20. The Israelites wanted a King to rule over them. They were no longer content to be ruled over by the Prophets of God and Judges. God warned the people, but gave them the type of leader they asked for to rule over them. Concerning the people’s desire, God said, “They have rejected me as their king.” Listen to his words. “

He said, “This is what the king who will reign over you will do: He will take your sons and make them serve … he will assign … to make weapons of war and equipment … He will take your daughters … He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. He will take … and give it to his … he will take for his own use. He will take … and you yourselves will become his slaves. When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the Lord will not answer you in that day.”

America is now in “that day.” We now have political leaders, that are practicing on a massive scale what its citizenry practice on an individual level, and we are all being enslaved to a new master – government. When citizens seek its own King, does what is right in its own eyes, and rejects the leadership of the Lord God, slavery of a nation is the result. When a nation is enslaved, the righteous and the unrighteous both suffer the consequences of that slavery. To all the righteous I encourage you, stay true to God! We have difficult days ahead. Our once free nation is increasingly enslaved to other nations around the world, as other nations buy more and more of our government’s debt. The Lord has given American the desire of its heart.

Prayer: Lord, forgive me for wanting men to rule over me, and for seeking a mere man to give me the desires of my heart. Help the desires of my heart to be the desires of Your heart Lord. Help me to know that You Lord, and you alone, are the One who can provide the desires of my heart. Amen.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Rebuking Others - God's Way

“Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him (Daniel 6:4, KJV).

Daniel’s godly life was a constant rebuke to others. His loyalty, integrity, and honesty condemned his peers. Daniel was difference. His only weak point was His relationship with God. Enemies of a believer often seek to create a conflict based on the believer’s relationship with God. I remember one such accusation leveled against me some years ago. As pastor, I insisted on my mornings for uninterrupted time of prayer and Bible study, a leader of the church who did not spend time in deepening his relationship with God tried to create a conflict saying, “The pastor is not available to our members.”

As spiritual leaders, we do not always have to be available, but we do have to be loyal and faithful to God. We are to live such a moral life that charges brought by the enemy will be seen as a lie or a trap of the enemy. Philippians teaches us to “Do all things without murmurings and disputing: That you may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom you shines lights in the world; holding forth the word of life…” (14-16a). I never heard anyone pick up my enemies battle, God fault that battle.

There is nothing more important for you as a believer, than spending time with God and deepening your personal relationship with Him through His Son Jesus Christ.

Prayer: “Lord, help me to be strong and determined to deepen my relationship with you. Help me to look only upon that which honors you, speak only that word that builds up, and labor only to strengthen your Kingdom. Lord, help me to be different from the world, a pleasing representative of you. Amen”