by Suellen | The Church Awakening
Christians have often stayed away from politics. The process can be so negative, with all of the mud-slinging, each side seeming to slander the opponent with impunity. It often creates strife – even in families. When debate starts, people seem to dig in their heels on their point of view, and the divide gets stronger than ever.
When it’s so negative, some people just “stay out of it.” They want peace at all costs, so they just ignore the dialogue and pretend that nothing unusual is going on. After all, they say, “This is the world, not God’s kingdom.”
I have a different view. In fact, when I wake up every morning and count my blessings, one of the greatest is that I live in a free society. I don’t have to be concerned about the authorities stopping my Christian worship. I don’t have to dress a certain way, or limit the number of my children, or worry about my daughters and granddaughters being able to attend schools and pursue their dreams.
Because our nation has been blessed by God, their are many more perks we can list. Warm or cool houses, running water, electricity, good sanitation, ample food…the list goes on and on. We are truly a blessed people.
I’m quite sure that the reason for this is that our God has had His hand on our nation from the beginning. Even Christopher Columbus noted in his diary that He felt that Providence had miraculously allowed his small crew to make the journey to the new world. Later, when the first adventurers started coming to the new country, they were seeking a place where they could worship their Christian God freely. Then, when the first settlers signed the Mayflower Compact dedicating the new country to God, our nation was started in covenant with God Himself. What a significant foundation.
The ingenuity and creativity we have enjoyed, the entrepreneurial spirit we have demonstrated, and the standard of living we have come to expect, all have come from God’s blessing. We have had His guidance and protection from the beginning.
So why is it so important to involve ourselves with politics? We have been entrusted with a tremendous responsibility. In our free society, we have the right and responsibility to vote for the people who will lead us, make laws, and activate other decisions which affect our lives. For us not to vote, indicates that we don’t honor our freedom to do so. And for us to vote the way God wants us to, we need to know what the candidates stand for.
Successful democracy depends on an educated populace. We can’t afford to stick our heads in the sand and just hope that “God’s will is being done.” He is counting on us to pay attention and vote for His will.
So go beyond the surface, and find out what the candidates believe. Don’t just look at what they say, look at what they do.
As you do your research, ask yourself these questions. Do they honor this great country and the constitution, which many believe was inspired by God? Do they honor religious freedom? Do they honor all life – even the defenseless, like unborn babies? (Oops, I’m giving myself away). Do they want to provide opportunities for people to pursue their dreams, or do they want to control the process?
Listen to the debates, and take a look behind the rhetoric to assess the truth.
Then, make your plans to vote for God’s candidate on November 6. We need to exercise our right to vote. We don’t want to lose the privilege God has given us to live in this free country. A country which is free to strive for “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
We electors have an important constitutional power placed in our hands; we have a check upon two branches of the legislature . . . the power I mean of electing at stated periods [each] branch. . . . It becomes necessary to every [citizen] then, to be in some degree a statesman, and to examine and judge for himself of the tendency of political principles and measures. Let us examine, then, with a sober, a manly . . . and a Christian spirit; let us neglect all party [loyalty] and advert to facts; let us believe no man to be infallible or impeccable in government any more than in religion; take no man’s word against evidence, nor implicitly adopt the sentiments of others who may be deceived themselves, or may be interested in deceiving us.
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by Suellen | Successful Living, The Church Awakening
We know that we need to have faith in God to live our lives to the fullest. But how do we get it? Where does faith come from?
One day when my daughter, Leslie, was young, she came home from school very excited. As she slammed the door and threw down her books, Leslie told me that she had prayed with a friend to receive Jesus as Savior. She went on to say that she had asked Jack if he believed in his heart that Jesus was raised from the dead. He tensed every muscle in his body, scrunched up his face, held his breath, and gasped, “yes.”
Aren’t we like that? We feel as if we need to try harder to somehow conjure up the necessary faith. We strain harder, but it just doesn’t happen.
Well, there’s a reason that we can’t conjure it up. Faith doesn’t come that way. We can’t force ourselves to have great faith by tensing our bodies or holding our breath. Faith is a natural outgrowth of meditating on the word of God.
Romans 10:17 says “faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.” So why two “hearings?” That word for hearing in the Greek is “rhema.” It refers to God speaking to you. In other words, when you read the Bible, God begins to speak to your heart. It’s truly a supernatural thing that happens. You read and meditate on the word of God and you begin to hear God speaking to you personally. As you hear that, you find yourself believing.
I believe that one of the greatest miracles in our world today is the Bible. God, over hundreds of years, spoke to men and gave them His wisdom. He laid down His plans and revealed His nature. Centuries before Jesus came to the earth, God spoke through Isaiah and others, telling of the sacrifice that Jesus would accomplish. At first people didn’t understand it, but later, when Jesus fulfilled the scripture, men were able to “get it.”
If you haven’t read your Bible much in awhile – or ever – I challenge you. Begin to read it on a regular basis. And don’t just read it. Find some scriptures which are especially speaking to you, and say them over to yourself throughout the day. Ponder them. Let them stay in the forefront of your mind. You will begin to believe what you are saying.
Just as the physical food you eat automatically becomes nutrition for your body, this spiritual food of God’s word will strengthen and develop your spirit and you will find yourself growing in spiritual strength. Your faith will grow by itself as you feed your spirit.
Life is truly an adventure when we nourish our spirits this way. God’s plan is such a great one, if we will just get in on it!
Forever Upward!
Suellen Estes
![Are You A Real Christian?]()
by Suellen | Prayer, Successful Living, The Church Awakening
Are you a real Christian? That may seem like a strange question. What does an “unreal” Christian look like and who could possibly be one?
In Matthew 6:1-18, Jesus talks to the crowd about just such a thing. He said to beware of “practicing their righteousness before men to be seen of men.” Now of course, He wasn’t talking about being a true witness, or about “letting their Gospel light shine.” He was talking about being a phony.
He said that when you give, not to sound the trumpet and give in a haughty way. There are those who are big givers, but want everyone to know about it. They brag about the large sums and they ceremoniously display their generosity.
Then He said that when you pray, not to try to show off your scriptural understanding or your great ability to pray. It’s easy to understand what He is talking about here. You know how there are some who do know a lot of Word, but want to make sure that others know they know.
Finally He said that when you fast, not to put on a gloomy face and show off your spirituality by letting everyone know that you are fasting. (The same would apply when you are fasting your desires so that you could give to His causes).
What’s the big deal about letting others know what you are doing? Well Jesus knew that the real “you” is the one you are when you are alone- when no one is watching. When you want to give, pray, or fast – not because it makes you look good to others, but because it’s who you are. You want to be close to your Father God, and you want more of His operation in your life. You want to hear His voice and be obedient.
One of the problems about the “being seen of men” syndrome, is that you can actually even fool yourself by your displays. Think of the well-known ministers who have looked so magnificent to the church, and then have been exposed as phonies. I am sure that the very fact that they saw themselves displaying great spirituality even blinded them to their sin – or at least the seriousness of it. They thought of the good they were doing and excused the secret sins.
The real “you” is who you are when you are alone and no one is watching. Ultimately, as Christians, our accountability is to our Creator and no one else. He is looking at the real deal. His relationship is with the true person, not with a poser. And the success of our Christian walk depends on what is real in our lives, and not on what others think.
In fact, if “what others think of you” is predominant for you, a snare is sure to follow. One of the saddest passages in scripture to me is in John 12:42-43.
Nevertheless many even of the rulers believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him,
lest they should be put out of the synagogue;
for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God.
Isn’t that sad? Many who believed in Jesus helped to crucify Him because they wanted man’s approval more than God’s.
That’s what can happen to any of us in smaller ways, if we live our lives to be seen of men. We will ultimately compromise our true beliefs. We will ultimately rationalize our bad decisions. We could ultimately find ourselves denying our Lord.
So, forget what men think. In your heart of hearts, establish that secret true, passionate journey of life with your Maker. Let your giving, your prayers, and your fasting be between you and Jesus. He is the one you answer to – and He is the one who rewards your life.
If your secret life is real, then others will know it. They will see the fruit of humility, compassion, and faith that comes with that life. When you do pray or speak in an assembly, the anointing of a true believer will shine through. Your words of witness will be strong, and the Holy Spirit will work with you with signs following.
And you will be a real Christian.
Forever Upward!
Suellen Estes
Christians have often stayed away from politics. The process can be so negative, with all of the mud-slinging, each side seeming to slander the opponent with impunity. It often creates strife – even in families. When debate starts, people seem to dig in their heels on their point of view, and the divide gets stronger than ever.
