I'd like to play a bit of devil's advocate here. The President of the United States who apparently likes the notion of ruling, fear mongering, hate, obfuscation and lies, fancies himself as a real man of God. I think Paula White has convinced Trump that he is a messiah, if not thee Messiah come again. Trump is easy pickings for this pseudo religious pro-birth maniac. He now thinks he is also King of the Jews , or so he has tweeted. But here's the rub. Cannot God pick anyone she chooses to as an implement of her Divine plans? The answer is yes of course, God unequivocally can and has in the past. Look at Paul, eh? However, the preposterous idea that Trump is the chosen one is not witnessed by his actions on myriad levels. The lunacy of Trump as the chosen one is more preposterous than a gay Republican / Conservative.
The truth is, God has chosen so many that would seem illogical to choose or patently unqualified ( just like Trump ). What follows those, for those that accept the calling, is a change of heart and a witness to that change by actions of sincere and abundant love, forgiveness, empathy, and inclusiveness. None of these are witnessed by Trump. In fact, the man seems to have gone out of his way to exemplify his non-believer, unfaithful status by every action he has lived and he continues to act unrepentantly.
The hallmark of our salvation and forgiveness as Christians is a change of heart. It is a willingness to look deep inside ourselves, acknowledge our faults and errors, in confession or in some less dogmatic way, and change our course of actions towards God. This does not involve our own self centered view of life, our own perhaps bastardized scriptural justifications of our own agendas, but a heartfelt submission to God's message of love. That love is exemplified by the life of Christ, Buddha or the message of any world religion.
There is that ancient expression that 'they will know we are Christians by our love'. This expression solidifies the idea of Christian faith and that the message has been received in one's heart. You cannot claim Christianity or that you are the chosen anything, least of which a messiah, while maintaining a course of action that gives witness to other God's, be it self, materialism or satan. All of these three seem more associated with Trump than anything else. His feebleness of mind that he is saved or the one who will bring salvation only bears false witness to a warped and empty shell of some kind of belief system unassociated with Christianity.
Even though I scoff and laugh at the idea of a log cabin Republican, I have to also laugh at my own, hopefully, gentle hypocrisies and errant thoughts of certain salvation. In my own ways I am no better that Trump, those log cabin republicans or even so many pro-birth anarchists. Ironically I say, we are not to judge. As in 1 Thessalonians 5:21 however, we are to test everything and keep what s good. That speaks to a kind of judgment that I adhere to and it is the basis for this blog entry and condemnation of what clams goodness but clearly is rancid fodder for an errant faithful.
For good quality testing and submission to a life exemplified by Christ in love, charity, forgiveness and hope, I pray.
Mark 15:22-32
Then they brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means the place of a skull). And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh; but he did not take it. And they crucified him, and divided his clothes among them, casting lots to decide what each should take.
It was nine o’clock in the morning when they crucified him. The inscription of the charge against him read, ‘The King of the Jews.’ And with him they crucified two bandits, one on his right and one on his left.Those who passed by derided him, shaking their heads and saying, ‘Aha! You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself, and come down from the cross!’ In the same way the chief priests, along with the scribes, were also mocking him among themselves and saying, ‘He saved others; he cannot save himself. Let the Messiah,the King of Israel, come down from the cross now, so that we may see and believe.’ Those who were crucified with him also taunted him.
It was nine o’clock in the morning when they crucified him. The inscription of the charge against him read, ‘The King of the Jews.’ And with him they crucified two bandits, one on his right and one on his left.Those who passed by derided him, shaking their heads and saying, ‘Aha! You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself, and come down from the cross!’ In the same way the chief priests, along with the scribes, were also mocking him among themselves and saying, ‘He saved others; he cannot save himself. Let the Messiah,the King of Israel, come down from the cross now, so that we may see and believe.’ Those who were crucified with him also taunted him.
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