Tough Love
When anyone who has been caught in some great problem comes through it, you generally hear them give credit to the Lord, but perhaps also to the person who was an interventionist. They may thank the person who stood before them and said, “No”.
When someone succeeds they may say, “I want to thank ….” and whomever they thank is usually someone who taught them something, helped them be accountable, helped them establish good habits…usually there is an element of discipline or training involved in how help was administered.
You don’t hear recovering alcoholics or drug addicts say, “I want to thank so-and-so who taught me to party, to drink, to take drugs, etc., because it led me to a life of success.” No, they don’t do that. They leave behind the friends who are engulfed in bad habits and thank the person who set them on the road of discipline.
And while some people may enjoy being around the “fun” party person, it is the person with the serious ideas and discipline that can help pull a situation out of a slump. When leadership is required, thinking people go to the serious leaders with well-thought out solutions.
Indeed, that is how the Lord works.
Hebrews 12:5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:
6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.
9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?
10 For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.
11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.
Tough love is not some squishy thing that says, whatever goes, whatever you want to do no matter how destructive, I’m with you Bro. No, love does not go the path of enablement. Love does not hand $20 to an alcoholic to go and buy another drink. That is not love. That is enabling someone on the pathway to destruction.
Jesus called 12 disciples. “Discipline” and “disciple” are related words. There is the discipline of doing something that requires effort, the discipline of creating a good habit, the discipline of doing that which is beyond the comfort zone. Yes, you learn, but then you also do.
For more posts: https://biblequestionsblog.com/
This link goes to list of a number of Christian resources, click here for links to various Christian ministries.
Depending on the ministry, there may be online church services, YouTube videos, podcasts, radio programs, books, teaching, and more.
Parlor Games and Prophecy
It is good to remember that in the case of Jonah, prophecy was not set until the choice had been made by the king of Ninevah and citizens of Ninevah to repent. Ninevah was slated for destruction, and only because of a change in choices, only because of repentance, was it spared.
Prophecy is not a parlor game. Prophetic trajectories can be changed by choices and actions.
Until the election is over, prophecy indicates how things are at a certain point in time, but things can change, for bad or good.
Here’s an example that change is possible.
Matthew 24:22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.
In the case of Hezekiah there was a change based on prayer.
II Kings 20:5 Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus saith the Lord, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the Lord.
And then there are instances where the intervention of someone else affected others, Abigail (I Samuel 25:1-35) in the case of David, and also Queen Esther (Esther chapter 7) on behalf of her people.
There are many “if – then” scenarios in the Bible.
“It ain’t over ’til it’s over.” Yogi Berra
Even if prophetically people have a certain opinion, it is not a parlor game. The nation will descend into being destroyed if the election is not free, fair, and secure. The fact that Trump is more popular means nothing. It is those who count the votes and manipulate (or not) the outcomes that decide everything.
In this familiar parable it is worth pointing out what Jesus said.
Luke 16:12 And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man’s, who shall give you that which is your own?
The Constitution was bequeathed to us by prior generations. The blessing of living in this nation was bequeathed to us from others. You might say it was “another man’s” or “other men’s” ideas, work, and labor bequeathed to us by the Founding Fathers.
If we do not keep it, then we have not been faithful.
Will the “true riches” be committed to those who have not been faithful?
We have to be faithful in the natural also, not only in the spiritual realm.
Luke 16:1 And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods.
2 And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward.
3 Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed.
4 I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.
5 So he called every one of his lord’s debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord?
6 And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty.
7 Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore.
8 And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.
9 And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.
10 He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.
11 If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?
12 And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man’s, who shall give you that which is your own?
Until Jesus is here, we are responsible to be good stewards.
There are those who say that it doesn’t matter who the politicians are, that God will solve things.
God has always used people to solve things. Moses. Joseph. David. Daniel. Esther.
So maybe the names are not important, but the fact that there is someone willing to obey God is.
Jesus never meant it to be a “Jesus does all the work” type of world. If so, people could get saved, drop dead, and go to heaven.
You can’t take the position that “you are left here because God has a job for you” and not recognize that certain politicians are left here because God has a job for them. The job God has given some non-clergy people to do is as important in their realm as those in of the clergy or church or religious life is in that realm.
Galatians 6:4 But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.
5 For every man shall bear his own burden.
Deuteronomy 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord:
God is One Lord over all life, not just over religious life.
God needs people in all walks of life and it is fractured thinking to think otherwise.
As a matter of fact, more ink in the Bible has been given to leaders connected to political government than otherwise: Moses, Joseph, King David, Daniel, Esther. Plus, most of the pronouncements of Old Testament prophets were against corrupt government or Israel getting in league with the corruption of the nations around them. There were plenty of political messages.
The general comeback is that Jesus came to set up a spiritual kingdom. He did. At the cross, he brought redemption. The kingdom of heaven exists for people to enter into if they believe that Jesus rose from the dead and confess him as Lord.
So the purpose of the First Coming exists in the midst of the Second Coming of Jesus.
Would anyone deny that the Second time Jesus comes it is to deal with the corruption in the world and governments?
The First Coming is come and gone. At this point, we should care about the state of the government because Jesus is coming and the state of nations is something he will deal with.
Matthew 25:31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
Until he is here, you will live with what exists on the earth. If you fail to vote and get involved in some way because of prophetic leanings, what if your time table is incorrect?
The votes that are not voted are the votes they can steal for their own purposes. Have you noticed how everyone wants to know if you are voting or not? If they find someone who historically does not vote, they can find a way to hack the system and switch that vote as they want.
Don’t play parlor games with prophecy. Don’t assume a slam/dunk. Treat the election seriously and vote.
If you don’t know that much about politics and what the stakes are, learn here.
San Francisco is in California.
Related: Newsom Quote: “‘We put up our feet and we’re resting on our laurels.'”
Governor Newsom Admits Democrats’ Policies Destroyed California
For more posts: https://biblequestionsblog.com/
This link goes to list of a number of Christian resources, click here for links to various Christian ministries.
Depending on the ministry, there may be online church services, YouTube videos, podcasts, radio programs, books, teaching, and more.
Interesting
Mysterious Celestial Object Shoots Through Galaxy at 1 Million MPH, Baffling NASA Scientists
For more posts: https://biblequestionsblog.com/
This link goes to list of a number of Christian resources, click here for links to various Christian ministries.
Depending on the ministry, there may be online church services, YouTube videos, podcasts, radio programs, books, teaching, and more.
Repost: The Bible and age of the earth? | John Lennox at SMU
For more posts: https://biblequestionsblog.com/
This link goes to list of a number of Christian resources, click here for links to various Christian ministries.
Depending on the ministry, there may be online church services, YouTube videos, podcasts, radio programs, books, teaching, and more.