As we race toward election day, both parties are touting their brand of economic theories.  Trump keeps pointing back to lower taxes, deregulation, and tariffs on China. Kamala sings the praises of Bidenomics which seems to be tax, spend and print.  

The truth is that neither will work long-term without the blessings of heaven on this nation.  In Deuteronomy 28, God declares that the nation that forsakes him will experience devastating curses: economic disaster, famine, runaway inflation, war on their borders, madness, and pandemics.  No nation can endure those things and thrive economically.

On the other hand, God promises the nation that honors him and keeps his commands will experience  unprecedented peace on its borders, health across the board…people, livestock and crops and there will be a marked absence of natural disasters.  In other words, the economic climate and the nation will thrive. 

The economics we are looking for come from heaven and are a biproduct of honoring God and keeping his commands. I believe additional CO2 in the atmosphere is not the driving force behind natural disasters.  It is sin in the hearts of men.  The earth was initially cursed because of sin. Previous to sin, the earth cooperated with man and man had God-given dominion over this planet.  But sin reversed the divine order of things.  

In addition, when Cain killed Abel, God said Abel’s blood cried out to him from the ground.  It was if the earth responded to the violence of men and the outcome echoed the garden curse.  God declared to Cain, “Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops to you” (Gen. 4:10-11).

As you read Deuteronomy 28, it is clear that the hearts and actions of men either release blessings on a person or a nation or release curses.  The economics of heaven declare that the key to a thriving nation is righteousness, not political policies.  I’m not saying those policies don’t matter at all, but I am saying that even the soundest economic policies cannot overcome the damaging effects of sin. 

The encouraging side of the coin is that God will provide for his sheep even in tough economic times.  In the famous story of Jesus feeding the five thousand, the difference in earthly economics and heavenly economics is made abundantly clear.  At the end of a long day of preaching to large crowds, Jesus instructed his disciples to feed the people.  They quickly took an inventory of their resources (five loaves and two fish) and did the math.  Remember, Matthew was an accountant and several others had run their own fishing businesses.  The conclusion was “No Way Jose Economics.”  The disciples were confronted with the limitations of the natural realm. They didn’t have the food nor the money to buy the food so for them, it was game over. 

Jesus, however, was plugged into heavenly economics and knew there were no food shortages or supply chain problems in heaven. He prayed for the Father to multiply what they had and gave thanks for the abundance that was available to them.  In a while, everyone sitting on the hill had enough to eat with twelve basketfuls left over…a basket for each apostle to contemplate.  We need to contemplate those extra baskets as well.

Now…I am not saying we have no need to vote.  We have a stewardship of this nation to exercise at the ballot box.  Vote for righteousness.  Vote for the better economic policies. But remember, our hope is in heaven, not in Washington D.C. A national righteousness is the solution, not convoluted economic programs. And if we can’t vote out the wicked or the incompetent, we must pray them out. 

I try to stay away from politics because a political party won’t save us and political stands often splinter the body of Christ.  However, many believers are choosing political values over biblical values.  When we stand before God, and we will, he will not ask us about political affiliation but how faithful we were to his word and how we stood for biblical truth in the face of social pressure.

Adam and Eve compromised the commands of God by coming into agreement with Satan. The devil presents objections to God’s truth that always sound reasonable to an unrenewed mind that is ruled by the flesh.  The flesh wants to submit to no one.  It wants to be in charge or, at least, wants no one else in charge.  The Old Testament says that during the period of the judges, there was no king in Israel and every man did that which was right in in own heart. Remember, these were unregenerated hearts and “no king” meant that they were often not held accountable for their actions.  That is what the flesh wants and that is what Satan peddles. You can be like God and the master of your own destiny.  Do your own thing.  Follow your heart.  Do it your way. Follow your own truth.

I was in China a few years ago ministering to underground church pastors and members.  I was having lunch with a young pastor in Hong Kong and asked him what the condition of the church was in China at that time.  Of course, people were coming to Jesus by the thousands and even hundreds of thousands and most Chinese believers are willing to go to prison or even die for their faith.  He said, however, there was a lot of division among church leaders.  I asked why and he said, “There is just something in every Chinese man that wants to be emperor.”  In other words, there is something even in these church leaders that wants to be in charge and call the shots while being unanswerable to anyone.

We have to guard against that dynamic in each of us.  Paul says in Romans 7, “So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members” (Rom. 7:21-23).  In other words, even among the saved there is still a fallen nature warring against our redeemed nature.

In 2 Corinthians 10, Paul declares, “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Cor. 10:2-5).  Because we still have a natural man warring against our spiritual man and because the tempter is frequently whispering lies in our mind, we have thoughts that are not obedient to Christ.  Therefore, we must take those thoughts captive and bring them into alignment with the Word of God. 

The Word is the only unchanging standard in this world.  It is unchanging because 

God us unchanging.  We must stay true to his word without compromise, even though some of the world’s arguments seem to make sense…to our unrenewed mind.  I am still astonished that many churches, Christian schools and universities are buying into the worldly arguments that homosexuality is an accepted lifestyle to Jesus or that abortion for any reason is a godly value.  They are buying into arguments that transgenderism or the effort to do away with gender differences altogether is somehow compassionate and righteous and that those who speak against that cultural view are haters. Scripture says that God made them male and female and no other genders are mentioned.  Churches and educational institutions who adopt cultural views in these areas seem to believe that God needs to be informed by our “science” and “progressive thinking” in these areas.  The Word must inform culture; culture cannot inform the Word. 

We have, perhaps, the most consequential election in the history of the United States coming up.  Ultimately, it will be a decision by the nations to either return to God’s values and standards or to continue to depart from them. We should not be voting on personalities or even our pocket books, but on values.  We must inform ourselves of what God says about the issues at hand and vote for those who best reflect his standards.

Paul is very clear when he writes, “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap destruction, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life^” (Gal. 5:6-7).  That is true not only for individuals but also for nations. When November of next year rolls around, we must not listen to the voice of culture or our fallen nature or the voice of the enemy.  We must listen to the voice of God.  The future of this nation depends on it…not just for us but for our children and grandchildren.  

Some of the issues we will need to have an informed biblical view of are going to be abortion, same sex marriage, homosexuality, transgenderism, globalism (a one world government), holding criminals accountable, the state having authority over children rather than their parents, and so forth.  As these political platforms are presented, please find out what God says about the issues.  Remember, at first glance the issue may sound right because our natural man gravitates toward those positions, but determine to represent God rather than the world.  So much depends on us doing so.

But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations. 

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people he chose for his inheritance. (Ps. 33:11-12). 

Most of us are familiar with Paul’s declaration in Ephesians 6 that “… our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand (Eph. 6:12-13).

I believe we are about to experience a very ugly season in America with the 2024 election cycle coming up. There will, of course, be the politization of every event between now and the election to bolster someones platform for the election. Guns will be front and center. Wokeness or anti-wokeness will continue to be a selling point for each party. Abortion rights will again be put on the front burner along with parental rights versus school boards. The problem is not that these positions will be talked about, but rather that they won’t be talked about. They will simply declare their position as the moral position while calling anyone who disagrees with them a bigot, racist, or hater…thus dividing the nation even more.

Our first impulse will probably be to join in the dispute, at least on an emotional level, to judge and condemn one side or the other. It will seem fair game to call out political leaders and label them with some demeaning or derogatory term since they will be doing that to one another. The problem is when we do that Satan wins. Remember Paul’s declaration that our fight is much more against spiritual entities than human. It is the demonic realm that is pushing hatred, division, and violence and influencing those who participate. If we get caught up in the game, everyone loses.

It is not that we should be silent about political platforms. We need to speak the truth, but in love. Scripture declares over and over that we are to respond to curses with blessings. We are to overcome evil with good. We are to love our enemies when they would do us harm. We are to treat others with respect when they have no respect for us. So do we just let evil have its way?

No. We are to fight against evil, but how do we fight? First of all, we must fight against it in our own hearts by not getting drawn into the hatred, the name calling, and the political bigotry that Satan is pedaling. Secondly, we pray. In Ephesians 6, after speaking about spiritual warfare, Paul calls the believers to pray. Pray for the gospel. Pray for the nation. Pray for truth to come out and corruption to be exposed. Pray for leaders. When asked, share God’s perspective on political issues. but keep to the issue. Vote. Encourage other believers to vote. Vote according to God’s word which defines right and wrong rather than our flesh that tends to side with culture. Ask God to unseat the demonic principalities that are having their way in our nation right now. Be proactive in raising your children up in the nurture and the admonition of the Lord. If you don’t actively evangelize your children with God’s truth, the enemy will evangelize them through the cultural influence of media and education.

We cannot be passive in this coming season. The church needs to pray more and teach more on issues that believers will be voting on and influencing others to vote on. We need to know clearly what God says about these things. Finally, we need to stand on biblical truths. As we do, we will be called haters, homophobes, transphobes, racists, and everything else. We need to brace ourselves and respond with love and good works…even doing good to our enemies.

Paul said that we must “put on the armor of God so that when the day of evil comes, we can stand.” He didn’t say, “If it comes,” but “when it comes.” That day may come in the next 18-24 months as the rhetoric ramps up for elections and politician are looking for groups to blame and accuse for every failing of this nation. If Satan is behind the craziness in our country right now, and scripture says he is…then those he influences will be coming after Christians because we are the only real threat to his kingdom on earth. We should not be surprised and we should decide now how we will respond when the day of evil comes our way.

Blessings in Him…..tom

The Political Spirit

I have lived longer than most of the people who might be reading this blog.  I am a Baby Boomer who remembers the cold war and daily threats of nuclear annihilation.  I remember the Cuban Missile Crisis, the assassination of JFK, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and all the wars that have followed.  I remember the Black panthers, skin heads, civil rights marches, the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. and a number of other traumatic events for this nation.  I remember all that and the controversy each one stirred, but I have never seen a more divided America than now.

I think there are a number of reasons for our current division.  Social media and 150 television stations in every market make it possible for a person to never see any point of view that differs from their own except as presented by those who want to vilify and demonize all those who hold an opposing view.

The idea that there is an objective truth out there that needs to be presented so that people can consider the facts, has long been tossed out the window.  “Truth” is now a subjective opinion based on who can make the loudest and most impassioned accusations against their opponents.  Civil debates in search of truth are no longer possible because we believe we must hate and destroy anyone who holds a different view.  And now, regardless of your affiliation, who will believe that any election was honestly won and not stolen?  Certainly, Satan is alive and well on planet earth.

This is the political spirit that works to divide people, nations, and even churches. I had an article cross my desk recently that wanted to make the case that, for many, the church has recently become a mere extension of their political party and that Jesus is now cast as either a Democrat or a Republican.  The article suggested that the politics of hate is now infiltrating the church so that any who do not agree with a person’s politics is judged as un-Christian and as a person who should be shunned, disciplined, and distrusted.  

I have to agree that we are trending that way in many churches.  It is the spirit of politics and division and it is a winning strategy for the enemy. One interesting point made in the article was that the church typically has only an hour or so a week to disciple it’s members, while media has hundreds of hours each week to disciple those who listen to their “doctrines.”

The question is how the church should respond to this creeping reality.  For brevity’s sake, let me just bullet point some truths that I think we need to consider as followers of Jesus.

• Our primary citizenship is in heaven and our primary source of values and action must be the Word of God.  Jesus is neither Democrat nor Republican nor even an American. He is the king of the kingdom that must always be the source of our identity and values.  If my membership in either party carries more weight with me than my identity in heaven, something needs to be adjusted.  

• God hates division among his people, so we must make every effort to be unified.  There are times to draw lines in the sand, but biblically, those lines are drawn around the doctrines that define who Jesus is and what he has done or about immoral living. They are not drawn around political perspectives.

• We do not have to be in agreement with each other about everything in order to love one another and live in unity.  The idea that if we disagree about political or even religious perspectives, we are enemies is absurd.  None of us totally agree with any person in our life about everything.  Besides that, even if someone were our enemy, we must still love then or fail as followers of Jesus.

• We should be involved in the political process since we are salt and light in the world and must be an influence for righteousness whenever we can.  One temptation in this discussion might be to simply withdraw from politics and neither serve nor vote.  But to do so simply hands America over to Satan without a fight.  We are to disciple nations which means that we are to redeem both culture and government by our involvement and influence.  We must be an influence or a leaven for righteousness in every way possible.  In America, voting and serving in political offices are ways to be salt and light.

• We must vote based on biblical values of righteousness, not party lines. The question for believers should not be which party do I subscribe to but which values line up with God and which values will I vote for? It’s not always an easy decision because I may feel that some parts of a political platform may line up with biblical values while others don’t. So, prayer and the Holy Spirit may need to direct our votes or involvement.

• We must equip our people to operate in this charged political environment as followers of Jesus rather than as followers of political parties or personalities. The church needs to talk about abortion, same sex marriage, gay rights, racism, and even economics and teach our people biblical perspectives on each.  We need to do the hard work of thoughtfulness. We need to teach our people how to disagree and still treat others with love and respect.  We need to teach our people who they truly are in Christ and remind them of their mission.

As believers in America. We need to be aware that this political spirit is operating and will split and divide churches if allowed to operate there.  We must make sure that we don’t become contributors to division and choose to love those who disagree with us.  We should also encourage our leaders to proactively equip us as disciples of Jesus to navigate the rapids of social media, political divisions, and even persecution because the next four years of politics in America promise to be white water… the likes of which we have never seen.