Prayer Breakfast Proves We Need Prayer
The View from the Middle
As you might guess, because of the article I wrote just a few days ago, I found myself praying for our President and our country before the Prayer Breakfast this morning. I was praying that the President would use this opportunity to forgive his enemies, turn the other cheek and chart a course for civility, cooperation and progress for our country for the next few months at least. He, unfortunately, did not choose to do so.
Anger and hatred are mighty forces in the world and powerful tools of Satan to divide us, separate us from God and destroy any chance of peace and joy in our lives. I understand that the President and his family have been hounded and even persecuted since before he took office. I certainly don’t condone that, but we as Christians are asked to forgive our persecutors and reflect God’s mercy, love and wisdom to everyone.
The President opened his comments by taking shots and Mitt Romney and Nancy Pelosi. Now, I disagree with Mitt’s vote to convict the President on one of the two articles of impeachment, but it should be easy for the President to simply focus on the 250 members of both Houses of Congress that voted in support of him, included three Democrat members of the House.
He then took a shot at Speaker Pelosi. Remember that Nancy claimed that she didn’t hate the President and, in fact, was praying for him. I must admit, I’m human, and I doubted that Nancy was actually praying for Donald Trump and judging by her actions, I suspected that she really has hate in her heart for the President. We need to be praying for her also. But the President went out of his way to say that he didn’t like people who say that they are praying for someone when they actually aren’t.
With Ms. Pelosi sitting just a few seats to his left at the dais, the President had two choices. First, he could have just swept that memory from his mind and focused on his message about the persecution of people of all faiths around the world and the importance of religious liberty. OR, he could have actually reached out to Nancy and forgiven her without even mentioning her comments. He chose to do neither.
Finally, he talked about how Christians reflect the love of God, but had to toss in the idea that he, or even we as Christians, hate some people. Hate? At a Prayer Breakfast? He is obviously a new Christian and is struggling with some of the foundational principles of our faith. I was very disappointed with the tone of his speech and the opportunity lost to heal our divided country and move us all forward. He had a chance to give a great witness to his faith and forgive and forget, but he did not.
I encourage anyone who reads this post to pray for Donald Trump and for our nation. Pray also for Nancy Pelosi, Adam Schiff and Jerry Nadler. There is still time to forgive and move on, but Satan is a crafty, formidable and relentless force. I pray that our entire country will recognize his effort to destroy our “one nation under God” and reject the temptation towards hatred and anger.
MITT ROMNEY… A TRUE AMERICAN HERO!
ReplyDeletePresident Ronald Reagan must be rolling over in his grave! A great American who once lead the Republican Party, who fought tooth and nail against Communism. Reagan stopped the Russian communist aggression that tried to take over Afghanistan. Reagan stood before the world and spoke directly to Russia as he said... Gorbachev tear down this wall!
That is what the American Republican party use to be. A party that believed in freedom, justice, and democracy. The party that fought for liberty for all, not only for America, but for the entire world. A party that proudly stood with Reagan as the leader of the free world. Sadly now, those days are gone, that party no longer exist. We now have a party that is no longer lead by a great true godly American like Ronald Reagan. We now have a President who along with the Republican party (except for Mitt Romney) sides with Russian’s Communist aggression over America’s freedom and democracy.
If Ronald Reagan was alive today, and he saw a President of these United States, blocking funding to prevent Communism from spreading. To see a U.S. President working with Putin to rebuild the Soviet Union. To build back the wall that he tore down. If there was any way that he could come back from the grave, he would be standing before the world (alongside Mitt Romney) and saying… IMPEACH THIS PRESIDENT!
I remember as a kid, reading a story about "The Emperor’s New Clothes”, where the people was fooled by an Emperor as they were blinded by him so much that they could not see the real him. When a small child pointed out to them that his clothes were not beautiful but that he had no clothes on at all. Hopefully, what Mitt Romney have done will open America's eyes so they can finally see this President for who he really is. - Gregory St. James Mundy -
Excellent comments Kevin
ReplyDeleteTrump is who he is, and when a man tells you, as Trump has, that he has never felt a need to ask for forgiveness from God, the actions at the National Prayer Breakfast shouldn't surprise anyone.
ReplyDeleteFor those who are surprised and dismayed by this latest, one wonders why? Trump is who he always was, and the idea that he is simply struggling to become Christian is belied by virtually his whole life. The wonder is not that this is how he acts in the setting of the National Prayer Breakfast, but that others are surprised when he does.
And if you're still wondering how seriously Trump and his ilk take Christianity beyond the ability to get votes from it, here's an illustration:
ReplyDeletehttps://twitter.com/DonaldJTrumpJr/status/1225436957179830279
"5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:
“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’[c]”
7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’[d]”
Monday Morning Quarterbacks are always perfect. Playing in the real game is much different. How many of you have been hated openly and constantly for so long. You demand that Trump forgive those who slander him and his family, but refrain from forgiving him. You crtique his failure as a "new" Christian, or opine that he is of the Devil and not of the Holy Spirit, yet never critique the evil perpetrated against him and his family by the likes of Schumer, Pelosi, Nadler, Romney, et al. Remember, your words are easy to preach...but hard to live. I agree with your call for prayer, but first, we need to ask God to remove our own unforgiveness and self-righteousness. We can then seek to be filled by the Holy Spirit. Glory to God! Bob
ReplyDeleteKevin, I've talked to you before about this but I believe that President Trump is the "Saul" of our time and will usher in the "David" to bring America to the next level. We've been caught sleeping and apathetic to the radical left and needed some one to wake us up! My hope is that he will come to a deeper personal relationship with Christ but there is no denying what he has accomplished despite the barrage of ceaseless attacks that may have hardened his heart. A warrior is what we needed and is what we got. Sadly, I don't think the battle is over and we would be foolish to let up now. Let's not put our spiritual leadership in a "Saul" and hope that God will have mercy on us and restore America for His Glory!
ReplyDelete"You demand that Trump forgive those who slander him and his family, but refrain from forgiving him."
ReplyDeleteI demand nothing of Trump. I would never expect a man who does not believe he needs forgiveness would have the capacity to forgive others.
"You crtique his failure as a "new" Christian, or opine that he is of the Devil and not of the Holy Spirit, yet never critique the evil perpetrated against him and his family by the likes of Schumer, Pelosi, Nadler, Romney, et al."
Political disagreement is not "evil." It's political disagreement. If I think that Congress has abdicated too much of its warmaking power under the Constitution to the President, and you disagree, neither of us are "evil." We simply have different political views. We have been conditioned by the two party system, abetted by a media complex that profits by pitting us against each other in that way, to think that about the other though. Trump Jr.'s tweet is yet another illustration of that. Romney could not simply disagree with Trump and we all move on. No, he must be shunned, driven out of the party, and compared unfavorably with Satan according to the new model.
It's that entire worldview that we as Christians should be rejecting, not any particular politician.
"but there is no denying what he has accomplished despite the barrage of ceaseless attacks that may have hardened his heart"
ReplyDeleteWhat has he accomplished? In exchange for the mocking of disabled, the blind eye to the lies about paying a porn star, the pointless criticism of even the dead, the repeated "G-d***t" from the stage, etc., what have we gained?
"A warrior is what we needed and is what we got."
What is he battling for? Greater executive power in the Presidency? Is that really what we're after? A wholesale change to the checks and balances system of our Constitution?
A coarsening of American culture? A belief that whatever lies one tells, as long as it's "our guy" telling them that it's ok in service of whatever political movement our guy wants? It's ok if "our guy" is never someone we would tell our kids to emulate or look up to as long as he's being mean to people we disagree with?
Is that really what we're fighting for? Is there no principle or standard we won't toss aside to "own the libs"? Or to support "our guy"?
I for one never saw my faith or the Constitution of the country I love as being based on fighting for one man or trying to hurt those I have political disagreements with. But I used to think my former party, the Republican Party, believed in more than that, and I was wrong there too.
I think we should ask for more, and at a minimum we should ask for what David French discusses here: https://frenchpress.thedispatch.com/p/if-the-president-is-going-to-be-so
""You crtique his failure as a "new" Christian, or opine that he is of the Devil and not of the Holy Spirit, yet never critique the evil perpetrated against him and his family by the likes of Schumer, Pelosi, Nadler, Romney, et al.""
ReplyDeleteTo add - I'm not critiquing his failure as a "new Christian," I'm saying that he has never indicated he wanted to be considered a Christian. Granted, I admire men who are less, shall we say, reality TVish and emotionally high strung, but even allowing for that difference, I've never actually heard Trump say he wanted to be considered a "Christian." I've heard him say many times how thankful Christians should be for Donald Trump, but can you point me to one where he says how thankful he is for the changes Jesus has brought in his life?
Again, that's a sincere question. If he has and I've missed it, I would certainly like to know about it. I distinctly remember when GWB was asked who had the most impact in his life (or words to that effect) and he said "Jesus." Do we have anything remotely close to that from Donald Trump?
I am not opining he is of the Devil and I certainly hope the Holy Spirit works in him, and what you did there by taking what I did say and then trying to extrapolate it into something I did not say is indicative of the way we've been conditioned to interact. I would encourage you to reject that way of thinking.
I do pray for Donald Trump, and I wish him the best. That does not mean I must turn a blind eye to his actual actions and words nor swallow my tongue when I believe them to be wrong. In considering any human, I think we should all think of CS Lewis' quote:
“There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations - these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub and exploit - immortal horrors or everlasting splendors. This does not mean that we are to be perpetually solemn. We must play. But our merriment must be of that kind (and it is, in fact, the merriest kind) which exists between people who have, from the outset, taken each other seriously - no flippancy, no superiority, no presumption.”
When I listen to or read the words of Donald Trump, like any other man, I try to keep that in mind and respond accordingly.
This article sums up my feelings about President Trump, and why I support him. I don't know if he is a Christian, but I believe that he has been annointed by God to serve in this capacity in
ReplyDeleteGod's Kingdom at this point in time. The Biblical analogy to King Cyrus is a good one.
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2020/01/gods_anointed_leader_isnt_always_what_we_expect.html?fbclid=IwAR0K7TlR7VGrmTXuF6EFBWt4qceqFolCYPHzDd9tYXpzR906pPOonBP5Ge8#.XjGtGr1IPUe.facebook
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DeleteThat argument could be analogized to any awful person who has a position of power. Strangely they only get trotted out to justify the bad actors in the Republican party.
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DeleteTimely in my inbox today, an evangelical take on the embrace of Trump:
ReplyDeletehttps://frenchpress.thedispatch.com/p/will-somebody-please-hate-my-enemies
" I’ve never voted for a pro-choice politician, and I don’t ever intend to. But in more than three decades of pro-life work, I’ve understood two things quite clearly—the defense of the unborn does not justify sin, and the battle for the unborn is far more spiritual and cultural than it is legal and political."
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