WHAT HATH GOD WROUGHT?

What hath God wrought? Numbers 23:23

It was God's will that Obama was our president for the last eight years, just as it is His will that we now have President Trump.

Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience. This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor. Romans 13: 3- 7 

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Congratulations to our new president and his beautiful wife and family. I pray this administration will bring back law and order. I pray this administration helps the poor. I especially pray, in fact I beg God, that this administration will stop the violence against the unborn. I pray this administration will protect the Judeo-Christian enculturation that has long civilized this nation. 

Conservatives tend to live peaceably, keep silent, and avoid confrontations. With a Trump victory, it will be tempting for Christians to relax, believing progressivism will now begin to be crushed and fade away. However, if one listens to President Trump's inaugural speech, we rather need to awaken and realize our President's vision may not be the same one Christians have. 

However, with the first part of Trump's inaugural address, below, I wholeheartedly agree:

The establishment protected itself, but not the citizens of our country. Their victories have not been your victories; their triumphs have not been your triumphs; and while they celebrated in our nation's capital, there was little to celebrate for struggling families all across our land.

I shouted in solidarity with the president. Indeed, the statement should be broadened to the United States' priests and pastors because most Christians see them with the same skepticism as politicians. America's clergy have enclosed themselves in the politically-correct bubble, insulating themselves from the hardships of the gospel. Many have gauged their spiritual victories by politics, rather than courageously speaking the hard truths for the individual who is struggling with sin. 

Time for our nation's clergy to gear their words towards the forgotten man who is enslaved in his addictions to pornography or drugs, his struggle to marry and then keep his marriage together and then to be faithful to his wife. 

Clergy: time to invest your resources in the humble family who is being torn apart by the Father of Lies. Your sermons should be to the deceived feminists who believe they will gain their dignity and respect through reproductive freedom and civil rights rather than casting their liberty and rights at the foot of the Cross. The time is now to protect our innocent young children's souls from the devastating and corrupting effects of the media. For this will be your true victory.

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Let us look closely at President Trump's carefully crafted verbiage. It was a laudable and intrinsically good patriotic appeal, yet some ideas should be wisely processed through Biblical filters. 

Americans want great schools for their children, safe neighborhoods for their families, and good jobs for themselves. These are the just and reasonable demands of a righteous public.

Notice the president's use of religious language.  

But for too many of our citizens, a different reality exists: Mothers and children trapped in poverty in our inner cities; rusted-out factories scattered like tombstones across the landscape of our nation; an education system flush with cash, but which leaves our young and beautiful students deprived of knowledge; and the crime and gangs and drugs that have stolen too many lives and robbed our country of so much unrealized potential. This American carnage stops right here and stops right now. 

While Trump is correct about the nation's problems, he appeals to patriotic unity as the solution: 

We are one nation -- and their pain is our pain. Their dreams are our dreams; and their success will be our success. We share one heart, one home, and one glorious destiny....

I will fight for you with every breath in my body -- and I will never, ever let you down. America will start winning again, winning like never before. We will bring back our jobs. We will bring back our borders. We will bring back our wealth. And we will bring back our dreams....

Using religious overtones, Trump makes no reference to our nation's spiritual derailment--no appeals to morally right ourselves. Because we are a religiously diverse system, the president cannot contextualized the problems as spiritual. He must speak of our dreams and ambitions solely through capitalistic lenses.

At the bedrock of our politics will be a total allegiance to the United States of America, and through our loyalty to our country, we will rediscover our loyalty to each other.

Unity

When you open your heart to patriotism, there is no room for prejudice. The Bible tells us, "How good and pleasant it is when God's people live together in unity." 

The solution is patriotism. Then, Trump invokes God, conflating patriotism with Christianity. 

We must speak our minds openly, debate our disagreements honestly, but always pursue solidarity. When America is united, America is totally unstoppable. There should be no fear -- we are protected, and we will always be protected. We will be protected by the great men and women of our military and law enforcement and, most importantly, we are protected by God.

God does not promise that He will protect America unless we repent, turn from our wicked ways and live in obedience to him. These are empty words meant to evoke emotion rather than truth. 

America's Greatness

Do not let anyone tell you it cannot be done. No challenge can match the heart and fight and spirit of America. We will not fail. Our country will thrive and prosper again. We stand at the birth of a new millennium, ready to unlock the mysteries of space, to free the Earth from the miseries of disease, and to harness the energies, industries and technologies of tomorrow.

A new national pride will stir our souls, lift our sights, and heal our divisions. It is time to remember that old wisdom our soldiers will never forget: that whether we are black or brown or white, we all bleed the same red blood of patriots, we all enjoy the same glorious freedoms, and we all salute the same great American Flag.

 I believe Trump authentically believes what he is saying, but it is wrong to invoke God's protection when God specifically said that it is, "not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit says the Lord Almighty." Zechariah 4:6 Our national pride cannot and will not heal our divisions. The shed blood of our soldiers cannot unite us. Only the blood of Christ will do that.

And whether a child is born in the urban sprawl of Detroit or the windswept plains of Nebraska, they look up at the same night sky, they fill their heart with the same dreams, and they are infused with the breath of life by the same Almighty Creator.

Yet being in the image of God, being infused by His breath makes little difference. We must live in obedience to God's spirit for our nation to heal of its divisions and poverty. 

So to all Americans, in every city near and far, small and large, from mountain to mountain, and from ocean to ocean, hear these words:You will never be ignored again. Your voice, your hopes, and your dreams will define our American destiny. And your courage and goodness and love will forever guide us along the way.

 I urge you not to misunderstand me, I am not criticizing President Trump; he spoke as the president must. I am writing rather to warn Christians that it is not our financial prosperity, nor even our freedom that will satisfy our hopes and dreams and give us courage and goodness and love. It is our humble repentance and turning from our sins that will make us great.

God has given us President Trump in order to challenge Christians that we may clearly see that we cannot have faith and loyalty to both money and Him. We must choose whom we will serve. We must choose which side of the spiritual battle we will be on.

If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7.

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President Trump finished: 

Together, We will make America strong again.
We will make America wealthy again.
We will make America proud again.
We will make America safe again.
And yes, together, we will make America great again. Thank you. God bless you. And God bless America.

That is my hope, too, Mr. President.

However, patriotic feelings, hopeful words, high ambitions, will not make America great again. We now need to fall on our knees and repent. We must pray harder than ever that our own eyes and ears to be opened to see where we can personally change. We need to pray for the courage to speak truth, and live in radical obedience to Christ Jesus. 

Our lives of holiness will make America great.