Saving America: We Are at a Fork in the Road - By Jill Martin Rische - www.olivetreeviews.org
NOTE FROM JAN: Jill Martin Rische is my guest columnist this week and she writes provocative words.
Can America be saved? Aren't we headed for global government? Doesn't this nation have to fail for that to happen?
Jill and I are both watching people express intense feelings about "Campaign 2016" on our Facebook. Everyone has their favorite candidate and seems to feel only his or her favorite is qualified. In my lifetime, I have not witnessed such passion in an election season. There is spirited debate on our Facebook. Find the link above.
I have a hunch it is because many know this year it is "make or break." And they may be right! --Jan Markell
We are less than one year away from electing a new President, and the world is a grim place after the debacle of Barack Obama. History will record his legacy as politically driven to the point of mind-boggling incompetency. Christian history will record it as a malevolent evil and evidence of Jeremiah 17:9: "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked."
For a man who claims to be a Christian, his every action speaks otherwise. There is a reason God tells us to examine the works and not just the words of men, for they are often two very different things.
Obama quotes the Bible but on his watch, government is more lawless than ever before and America seethes with anger and division. His policies have brought martyrdom to Christians worldwide and persecution to the American church for the first time in United States history.
Is Barack Obama judgment on America?
Almost a decade has passed since Obama was elected, and the world is not a better place. America is reeling from the disintegration of traditional marriage, death panels hide under the label "healthcare", and the federal financial situation is dire. If the biblical pattern holds true, then yes, the murders of millions of babies and rampant immorality have taken their toll, and we are seeing the beginning of judgment.
But God is merciful, even in the face of evil. He hears the prayers of the righteous and extends his patience toward us. "He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities." (Psalm 103:10) The Kings of Judah rebelled and committed horrific sins for centuries before God levered final justice upon them.
We can still fight to save America, if only for a little while
We can fight until judgment inevitably comes or Jesus returns for us. We can speak up and take action, as the Bible commands us to do. "Speak up, judge righteously, and defend the rights of the afflicted and oppressed." (Proverbs 31:9)
Abraham asked for ten righteous men to stave off the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. The United States holds at least that number and hopefully, far more. Our prayers will make a difference. Our lives will make a difference if we obey God's Word and "Learn to do what is good. Seek justice. Correct the oppressor. Defend the rights of the fatherless. Plead the widow's cause." (Isaiah 1:17)
There are battles to be fought and souls to be won while we are still a nation under God--and make no mistake about it--we are under God as everything in this world is subject to His authority. The ruler of this world may be evil for a time, but God says Satan is not supreme. Scripture teaches he is the lesser power, a created being who is not omnipotent, not all-knowing, not present everywhere. God is the Creator and by far the greater power--the Alpha and Omega. There is nothing we cannot do if we put our trust in him.
God does not repay us as our sins deserve
In 2016, there is evidence of God's mercy and it brings a measure of hope. "Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might. He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings." (Daniel 2:20-21)
But this is a fork in the road for America
We should be praying for someone with faith, integrity, and a love for America to rise to the top and a candidate who may judge righteously.
A biblically sound candidate would be a miracle in today's politics--and God can do it--but what if he requires something difficult of us, something that demands a measure of faith in him to work all things for the good? What if the final nominee is a non-Christian or an aberrant Christian or a political Christian? Should we ignore the candidate He sets up?
Never.
God uses seriously flawed people for His glory and the Bible proves it over and over again. Samson was morally bankrupt and Rahab a prostitute; David coveted and killed; Paul destroyed families, but God used them all in very big ways.
Who knows what he will do in America? We cannot reject the opportunity to invest in our country. It was the sinful steward who buried the one talent he was given in the ground. If we bury our privilege to vote then we might as well bury America.
Voting is a way of defending ourselves and others
If millions of Christians walk away from the choice God gives us this year, the result will be another Barack Obama. Paul warned us in Ephesians 6 that "We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." It is the ancient fight against evil that we face today--not just politics--and our job is to DO SOMETHING to defend our families and our country against it.
We should evaluate the candidates God lifts up and speak up--we must judge righteously--we must vote for the one who will "seek justice" and let God deal with his imperfections.
America may be gone in the future but she is here NOW
We do not know the day nor the hour when Jesus will return so we must follow orders and fight until He arrives. Remember the saying: Never stop fighting 'til the fight is done. There will be times of discouragement but putting on the whole armor of God is not an option; it is a command that encompasses every area of our lives. There is no room for the laying down of arms in any spiritual arena, including the political one.
The strategy of strength is everything. United together, we are millions.
In the end, we may not have a perfect candidate but we will have the one God allowed to take center stage.
NOTE FROM JAN: My thanks to Jill Rische. I have an afterthought but it's a quote from Terry James of Rapture Ready website. He writes, "'We will make America great again!' is a current presidential politics proclamation. No, 'we' won't. We have proven, through our actions and lack thereof, that as a people, we want to take America in the other direction.
"'We' didn't make America great in the first place, and we certainly can't make it great in the future.
"'God bless America again,' when offered in genuine spiritual, obedient humility--not in a politically-prideful demand--before the throne of Almighty God--is the only petition that has a prayer of a chance to save our nation."
I couldn't agree more. -- Jan Markell
Jill Martin Rische is the daughter of the late Dr. Walter Martin. She is part of the staff here at Olive Tree Ministries. She manages our Facebook and Twitter accounts and is a frequent radio co-host.
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