Don't Trust Princes . . . or Politicians . . . or Presidents!

Walking in the Non-partisan Truth

Some opening devotional thoughts...Please bear with me!

I hope my heading wasn't so off-putting that you make up your mind to stop reading & don't follow through  w/the rest of this devotional, because I think God's Truth bears some powerful non-partisan Truth to the theme. Whether my devotional thoughts contribute anything to today's conversation remains to be seen. I'm optimistic, but, as always, I trust God's Truth over my thoughts.

Today's Truth from Scripture

"Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord, O my soul. I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save. When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing.
      "Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, the Maker of heaven & earth, the sea, & everything in them--the Lord, Who remains faithful forever. He upholds the cause of the oppressed & gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets prisoners free, The Lord gives sight to the blind, the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down, the Lord loves the righteous.
      "The Lord watches over the alien & sustains the fatherless & the widow, but He frustrates the ways of the wicked. The Lord reigns forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the Lord."  Psalm 146

More devotional thoughts

Today's political discourse seems unprecedented in its hatred & venom, but if you are a student of American history--particularly the years leading up to the Civil War & the years of the Civil War--you know that we've endured very public, very uncivil discourse in our nation's past.

Abraham Lincoln, considered by many on both the left & right, to be perhaps our country's greatest president, was called a "gorilla" by members of his own political party. While in office he was attacked by abolitionists for being too meek in the cause of abolishing slavery . . . attacked by states' rightists for switching the cause of the Civil War from the preservation of the Union to the abolition of an institution that many felt had biblical connotations. Ultimately he was assassinated . . . and I'm not the only "historian" who feels that our nation's history is the poorer for it. But I digress.

Many put their faith in Abraham Lincoln to "save" the country. It didn't happen, just like those who put their faith in Robert E. Lee & Jefferson Davis were sorely disappointed . . . & those who put their faith in progressive politicians such as Teddy Roosevelt [Wasn't he a Republican? That's a rhetorical question.] & Woodrow Wilson were also sorely disappointed.

Modern-day conservatives see FDR as a villain, but I know dyed-in-the-wood conservatives who think he saved the American farmer & despite their social conservatism still vote Democratic out of loyalty to a man who suspended civil rights & may have stayed in office long enough to betray our allies in Eastern Europe. [Sorry--I may have slipped into partisan, political discourse there.]

I refuse to enter into the debate re:  today's politically partisan causes. My point is fairly simple . . . I hope. [My political blogs? Wish I could promise the same.]

Call them princes . . . congressmen . . . judges . . . governors . . . candidates for the POTUS . . . and, yes, even the POTUS himself . . . The True God of our fathers is quite clear throughout Scripture but particularly in today's text.

"Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save. When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing."

So is our nation doomed? Well, some argue that you get the political leadership you deserve . . . & many have voted for our current political leadership . . . or stayed silent about the political course of our country for the last how many generations?!

Where's the Gospel in all this?

      "Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, the Maker of heaven & earth, the sea, & everything in them--the Lord, Who remains faithful forever. He upholds the cause of the oppressed & gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets prisoners free, The Lord gives sight to the blind, the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down, the Lord loves the righteous.
      "The Lord watches over the alien & sustains the fatherless & the widow, but He frustrates the ways of the wicked. The Lord reigns forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the Lord."

I don't think that I've been given the gift of prophecy, so I can't look into the future to speculate about the future of our country. I DO believe that I can distill Gospel from Law in this passage, & the latter words of God's inerrant Psalm-writer provide hope & comfort for those made righteous--not by our own works--but by the righteousness of His Son Jesus Christ, our only truly partisan Way, Truth, & Life.

For this & this alone we are able to proclaim with the Psalmist:  "The Lord reigns forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the Lord."

Today's Prayer Thoughts

Ask the Lord to bless us with godly leaders. Thank Him for blessing our country in so many ways. Ask for His forgiveness & genuine, repentant hearts when we put our trust in ungodly leaders & policies that are far removed from His plan of salvation & holy living.

Missionary News

Lois & I have "adopted" two missionaries:  Pastor Stuart & Debra Freese, who are preparing to serve in Ghana & West Africa, probably beginning soon after the 1st of the year. They are spending their time now getting ready for this assignment, which includes traveling to spread the word about the mission work in Africa & raising support with the help of Gary Thies. Some of you know Gary from his work via Mission Central. [http://missioncentral.us/missioncentral/welcome] I have Stu & Deb's permission to share the following information with you.

• Email: debra.freese@lcmsintl.org
• Email:  stuart.freese@lcmsintl.org
• Facebook:  www.facebook.com/FreesesinAfrica/ (NOTE:  You don't need a Facebook account to view this page.)
• Website:  http://debrafreese.wix.com/freesesinafrica
• Giving Page:  http://www.lcms.org/freese