A Devotion for 28 October 2020 Anno Domini, the Anglican Orthodox Communion Worldwide
“. . . How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.” (1 Kings 18:21)
“Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein. 17Also I set watchmen over you, saying, Hearken to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, We will not hearken.”
(Jeremiah 6:16; all scripture quoted is from the King James Version)
“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: 32And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: 33And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 34Then 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.” (Matthew 25:31-34)
In examining the context of our Lord’s counsel in the Gospel of St. Matthew, it is obvious that He is addressing the Church itself and her members – both the faithful and the hypocritical. What is the difference in those two groups:
1. both put up a front of piety and Church attendance;
2. both recite prayers in worship;
3. both sing hymns praising God; and
4. both presumably make their offerings for the upkeep of the Church?
The issue is not of service, but a matter of heart and not outward appearance.
America today is deeply divided over issues of which it should not be – abortion, homosexuality, drugs, unlawful rioting, trade and energy policies, religious and political freedoms guaranteed by the Bill of Rights, etc. When these problems arise and overrule Godly discourse, who is to blame? In America, we cannot blame Caesar for we, the people, are Caesar. It is ‘we the people’ whose votes are cast to elevate our leaders to positions of power. If those leaders fail to reflect the American values and traditions of our Founding Fathers, we can blame none other than the one who cast the vote to place them in power.
We have witnessed a diverging road from our political and religious freedoms over the past several decades. We have accepted unlawful decisions of the US Supreme Court which have stood the US Constitution on its head. We have forgotten that it is the US Constitution and its very words that are the Supreme Law of the Land in America. We have allowed our religious freedoms to be trampled upon much like our beloved flag has been trampled upon by unruly destructive rioters. We have allowed our people to be divided by scurrilous claims of racism, false claims of fascism when the nation is put first, and libelous charges against every strong ruler who arises of manufactured sexual abuses.
A Christian becomes a changed human being once converted to the Lord Jesus Christ – all things are new: character, behavior, thoughts, values, and code of faith. These are not qualities that are severable from his person. These are enduring characteristics that follow the Christian into every arena of life – Church, government, military, education, social, and professional. The truly born-again Christian cannot remove his Christian armor at the door of the courthouse or government office. His service in government would actually be punctuated by his faith and beliefs. (remember: there is no ‘separation clause’ in the US Constitution regardless of how the detractors would interpret the 1st Amendment of the Bill of Rights).
Today, we have professing (?) Christians who claim they are unable to vote for a President who uses rough and impolite language, but who has proven to have kept every one of his pre-election promises. They question his faith as if they, themselves, were perfect creatures before finding and receiving Christ. He has limited and tried to terminate the murder of innocents in their mother’s wombs. He has brought back the proclamation of God’s Name into the public forum. He has sought to re-establish American foreign policy as an America-First policy – something that every leader of any nation would be justified in doing for their own nation. He has stopped the bleeding of American resources and jobs to Asia and Europe. He has stopped endless wars abroad in which this nation has no legitimate part.
Yet, some would opt to have a known liar and political opportunist in office who professes to promote abortion up to the very day of a child’s birth, eliminate our borders opening our nation up to invasion, expand our social and welfare programs to all who can swim, walk, or run across our former borders, and increase our taxes beyond any reasonable ability of the people to afford. It seems that this latter choice is superior to the former owing to his gentle conversation and demeanor only.
I will remind the luke-warm Christian that God will hold each of us responsible for the sins we promote through our vote.
The one and only perfect Man to walk the earth was crucified by the mobs outside Pilate’s courtyard. None other has been perfect before or since. If we would judge a President by his rough language and behavior, perhaps we would not object to our Lord’s revealing our worthless lives before we were cleansed by the Blood of the Lamb. Suppose God were to play a video tape of the dirty little corners of our own lives before we received Him as Lord. How would that look?
God has often used men and women who were less than stellar in behavior and religious credential. Look, for example, at Cyrus the Great. God called Cyrus by name two hundred years before he was born. “Thus saith the LORD, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the LORD that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself; 25That frustrateth the tokens of the liars, and maketh diviners mad; that turneth wise men backward, and maketh their knowledge foolish; 26That confirmeth the word of his servant, and performeth the counsel of his messengers; that saith to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited; and to the cities of Judah, Ye shall be built, and I will raise up the decayed places thereof: 27That saith to the deep, Be dry, and I will dry up thy rivers: 28That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.” (Isaiah 44:24-28) Perhaps that is God’s purpose in calling our present President out to rebuild American and restore her to her former glory under God. It might be pointed out that Cyrus had not the slightest knowledge of God when he was called forth to do his bidding.
We need look no further than King David, the beloved of God, who was an adulterer and a murderer. But God retained him as King of Israel in the legal line of God’s only Begotten Son.
I grow weary of the frivolous claims of those who place party affiliation ahead of the innocent unborn, of our national interest secondary to that of the globalist agenda, of those who make a mountain of lies from an anthill of truth. “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. 24Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. 25Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. 26Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. 27Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.” (Matthew 23:23-27)
Frankly, it is difficult for me to call anyone ‘brother’ or ‘sister’ who so easily is persuaded to be party to the devil’s work in elevating men to power who will, by their stated intentions, destroy the foundation of our faith and the nation we love. An ancient quote comes to mind: “A nation can survive its fools and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and he carries his banners openly against the city. But the traitor moves among those within the gates freely, his sly whispers rustling through all alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears no traitor; he speaks in the accents familiar to his victim, and he wears their face and their garments and he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation; he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of a city; he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to be feared. — Marcus Tullius Cicero (quoted from Pillar of Iron – by Taylor Caldwell, from a speech given to the Roman Senate, recorded in approximately 42 B.C. This fairly well describes the opposition to our present Chief Executive – an opposition that reveals the shallow faith of all who profess the Name of Christ and opt for an open liar and demagogue.
If this letter provokes your wrath so much so that you no longer wish to be my friend, so be it. I will profit by having fewer such friends. God bless those who see the danger and act out of Christian faith.
