"To God belong wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are His. What He tears down cannot be rebuilt....To Him belong strength and insight; both deceived and deceiver are His....He takes off the shackles put on by kings....He silences the lips of trusted advisers....He reveals the deep things of darkness and brings utter darkness into light. He makes nations great, and destroys them; He enlarges nations, and disperses them. He deprives the leaders of the earth of their reason; He makes them wander in a trackless waste. They grope in darkness with no light; He makes them stagger like drunkards." (Job 12, NIV)
Flag of Maldives
Maldives was the country to pray for on Open Doors' Prayer Force for today. One Believer recently told Open Doors, "As long as there is no Bible in my language, there is no hope for my people." Maldives is ranked 13th on the Open Doors' "World Watch List," a list of the nations which have state sponsored persecution of the Followers of Jesus Christ. Their government is Islamic and very authoritarian. Our text reveals the end of Maldives. I wonder, however, what will the end be of The United States of America.
I do not quote Job's friends but I do quote Job, because the "friends" received rebuke from the Lord God and Job received affirmation, "....because you have not spoken the truth about Me, as my servant Job has." Today's text is, "....the truth about Me...." Our text describes the dealings of the Blessed Trinity among men and nations. No personage nor nation is outside of the declaration of our text; and this includes America. "He makes nations great, and destroys them; He enlarges nations, and disperses them." As proud as Americans may be, America is no exception to our text.
I can frankly tell you that I will not vote for Hilary Clinton nor Bernie Sanders, for some very large reasons: They affirm laws which legalize the murder of the unborn and tout the virtues of homosexuality, lesbianism, and transgenders' access to restrooms of their choice. They have little or no interest in helping other nations to stay free from global authoritarianism. Some "intellectuals" may look at this as small mindedness. They are just examples of, "He deprives the leaders of the earth of their reason....They grope in darkness with no light...." I will vote in November, and so must every Follower of Jesus. It looks as though the cliche, "the lesser of two evils" will be the theme of my vote as never before. I exhort the Followers of Jesus in America as well as those of other nations, Do not allow the reprobates to determine who rules in your nations. Study carefully every party's platform and look for any positions which align themselves with Jesus Christ and His Kingdom. In America, it is the Republican Party. Trump is the least like this of any Republican for which I have voted since Goldwater, yet..............
Yes, this is a devotional, a devotional to call you and me to our text. Read it carefully again and see the hand of Jesus in the affairs of men and nations. See how any individual or nation will fair as they embrace either Jesus Christ and His Kingdom or Satan and his kingdom. This is a very, very serious matter. I do not fully understand our text and the implications in the perspective of history, but I do know that, "every tongue [will] confess that Jesus Christ is Lord"/King.
Father, in Jesus' Name, please give me the understanding I need to continue to walk, "in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation." Amen.
I do not quote Job's friends but I do quote Job, because the "friends" received rebuke from the Lord God and Job received affirmation, "....because you have not spoken the truth about Me, as my servant Job has." Today's text is, "....the truth about Me...." Our text describes the dealings of the Blessed Trinity among men and nations. No personage nor nation is outside of the declaration of our text; and this includes America. "He makes nations great, and destroys them; He enlarges nations, and disperses them." As proud as Americans may be, America is no exception to our text.
I can frankly tell you that I will not vote for Hilary Clinton nor Bernie Sanders, for some very large reasons: They affirm laws which legalize the murder of the unborn and tout the virtues of homosexuality, lesbianism, and transgenders' access to restrooms of their choice. They have little or no interest in helping other nations to stay free from global authoritarianism. Some "intellectuals" may look at this as small mindedness. They are just examples of, "He deprives the leaders of the earth of their reason....They grope in darkness with no light...." I will vote in November, and so must every Follower of Jesus. It looks as though the cliche, "the lesser of two evils" will be the theme of my vote as never before. I exhort the Followers of Jesus in America as well as those of other nations, Do not allow the reprobates to determine who rules in your nations. Study carefully every party's platform and look for any positions which align themselves with Jesus Christ and His Kingdom. In America, it is the Republican Party. Trump is the least like this of any Republican for which I have voted since Goldwater, yet..............
Yes, this is a devotional, a devotional to call you and me to our text. Read it carefully again and see the hand of Jesus in the affairs of men and nations. See how any individual or nation will fair as they embrace either Jesus Christ and His Kingdom or Satan and his kingdom. This is a very, very serious matter. I do not fully understand our text and the implications in the perspective of history, but I do know that, "every tongue [will] confess that Jesus Christ is Lord"/King.
Father, in Jesus' Name, please give me the understanding I need to continue to walk, "in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation." Amen.
When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but include1d a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
Hebrews 12:2
Hebrews 12:2
