Posts Tagged 'the natural world'

A Supernatural 2016 Election?

I’ve been really busy and so I’ve been having a hard time lately with this blog. For the most part, that’s because I really only ever wanted to talk about positive things, and not get down in the negative gutter about Christian issues. Even though I occasionally rag on Darwin Speak, I do it to uplift people so that they won’t let anyone tear God down.

But lately the only stuff in the news deals with the ugliest presidential election I’ve ever seen. This has been weighing on me, so I’m going to post this one negative blog and be done with it.

The other day, Donald Trump was at a rally where he asked all “Conservative Christians” to raise their hands. Apparently, he thinks all “Conservative Christians” are for him, because when some didn’t raise their hands, he said, “Well, I suppose we can let them stay,” or something like that. In the story about this meeting, the reporter also talked about Trump’s support by “Evangelical Christians.” All these labels got me thinking about a few basic notions.

I’ve posted this first notion many, many times, so it shouldn’t be a surprise; I’m sick of the term “Conservative Christians.” If Jesus were here, he would undoubtedly show people that he is extremely conservative on some things, and extremely liberal on others. People who identify as “Conservative Christians” only, are thus missing exactly half the message. “Conservative Christians,” to me, are probably better defined as “Political Christians,” and I would never want to be called that. Political Christians use the Bible only when it suits their interests. They pick choose, and in no way did Jesus ever say, “You can use whatever suits you – feel free to disregard some of my teachings if they don’t line up with your world.”

This next notion, though, is new to this blog, which deals with what it means to be an “Evangelical Christian.” To me, if you’re an Evangelical Christian, then you believe in the Bible and all it teaches, and you feel you have a responsibility to help others understand the good news presented in it. That much is clear. But if you believe in the Bible and all it teaches, you must be able to see that the Republican nominee for president is about as far away from the Bible and what it teaches – about as far away from Jesus as a model – as someone can possibly be. In a previous blog, I already wrote that one of the central tenants of Donald Trump’s existence is his belief in doing unto others as or before they do unto you, which is, by the way, a central tenet of Satanism. And since I wrote that blog, I’ve seen one thing after another that makes me think that he could care less about any person other than himself. Certainly not his neighbor, and certainly not God. In short, there’s virtually nothing that this nominee does that in any way looks or feels like something Jesus would do (by the way, I wrote this draft about a week ago – before the amazingly vulgar things reported yesterday). The Bible talks about recognizing certain people by their fruits, and by fruits it doesn’t mean money, or structures, or any other natural world things. It means by their spiritual fruits. Unfortunately, in the case of Mr. Trump, the fruit tree is incredibly barren, maybe even dead. Yes, God loves Donald Trump, and yes, Evangelical Christians should attempt to reach him and minister to him. But for goodness sake, they should never vote for him.

Now this last notion is based on the fact that this blog is designed for Christians, and, in particular, Christians who are charismatic and open to the supernatural in their lives. If you aren’t, then I can guarantee that you’ll simply find what I have to say silly. But here goes. In supernatural and charismatic circles, I’m what’s called a prophet in the church, which only means that I’m really good at sensing good and evil in people and situations around me. And folks, let me tell you that the Republican nominee for president of the United States is operating mostly – if not entirely – out of evil. Some say he has a demon, which is probably true since most demons are incredibly dumb and often tip their hands, which makes them easier to spot. No, I don’t think he’s the antichrist, because the antichrist is supposed to be pretty smart.

But here’s the bigger deal, supernaturally speaking. We all know that God runs everything, and so if this nominee – a person who continually, day after day, does about a million things that would normally disqualify any other candidate for doing only one – actually wins this election, you will most definitely know that it’s a supernatural event. And if it’s that much of a big-deal, supernatural event, then watch out because that means that God wanted him in there for a reason. I believe we’re getting quite close to what we all call the End Times, and electing a president who is more capable than most of triggering events leading to those End Times is something that actually makes a bit of sense in an otherwise crazy, nonsensical election.

Oh, and because someone once questioned my street cred, politically speaking, I should tell you that my family is and was incredibly political. My grandfather was Republican Party Chairman for Kansas and ran around with Alf Landon, who was the Republican nominee for President in 1936. My dad was the state’s youngest party chairman ever, and gave a nominating speech at the Republican National Convention in 1968. I grew up attending conventions, party meetings, and various political campaign events. I worked on countless campaigns before I knew any better, and a presidential campaign when I did know better. My brother worked on two. I’ve been registered as a Republican since I was 18, even though I don’t always vote that way and I vote so less and less every year.

I say all this merely to note that in the natural world I suppose I’m a Republican. In the supernatural world, though, I’m a follower of Jesus, which means I’m neither Republican nor Democrat. I’m a follower of Jesus. I suppose most would call that a Christian, and maybe even an Evangelical or Charismatic Christian, but I’m definitely not “conservative” or a “liberal” Christian. And in any event, I can’t possibly vote for Donald Trump.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The Pattern of the World

I’m way off track on my goal of switching from full-time criminal justice reform to creating a new album and studying more about God. It’s super frustrating, but I can see some light. Plus, I consider everything I do with criminal justice reform still to be doing God’s will – in fact, I call what I do “God’s Project,” because of all the things He’s done to make it happen. So if He wants me to keep it up, I will. Part of walking in the supernatural is to hear God and do what He says no matter what else you think you want to do. We’ll see.

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Last week I watched with amusement the Family Leadership Summit, where each of most of the Republican candidates for president answered questions about pretty much everything, including God. I watched a lot of strange answers, including a guy who said that he never asks for forgiveness (apparently he doesn’t need it), but that he enjoys eating that “little cracker.” Most of the answers made me think that everyone was just trying to find that perfect balance between talking about God and not saying anything too crazy to lose votes. Political Christianity.

A lot of America is probably content with these kinds of answers. But if you’re a follower of Jesus, you have to get used to living in a foreign land – the natural world, where everything Jesus said and did often seems crazy to most everyone else. For a moment, I wondered what it would look like if a candidate for president was truly someone who believed in all that Jesus taught and modeled. Someone who believed in the supernatural. Someone who understood the transcendent force of love for all persons, even those who are unloved by the world. What would he say? Would he be called a “Republican?” Would he even be there?

In my opinion, if Jesus himself were in Ames Iowa that day, he wouldn’t have been labeled as either a Republican or a Democrat. If he spoke to anybody, he probably would have spoken of things that people simply wouldn’t have understood. Just like before, he would have spoken of wonderful things to give hope to all humanity, but he also likely would have spoken about things that would have made people want to kill him. The more I think about it, the more I believe that he wouldn’t have even gone in to the Summit – I think he would have spent his time looking for the poor and displaced people that were somewhere in the backstreets of Ames.

If you’re like me, and you want to follow this radical named Jesus, you have to realize that some things he said might be labeled ultra-conservative, while other things might be considered downright socialist. And so to truly follow Jesus, you’re going to have to get used to feeling like a complete outcast in the natural world. That’s to be expected. In Romans 12, Paul wrote, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.”  Jesus mentions being “not of this world” a few times, and one commentary explains one of those statements quite succinctly: “The Spirit of God in true Christians is opposed to the spirit of the world.”

If the whole political thing just frustrates and confuses you – especially when they talk about God – then that’s a good thing. In my opinion, that’s just you listening to the Spirit of God and not conforming to the pattern of the world.

Be blessed, everyone!


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