I don’t have to tell you that times are bad. Our nation’s freedom and existence are on the line. The turmoil is awful. Persecution of Christians is on the rise. Charlie Kirk lost his life last Fall.
Social Media has made matters worse. People, including Christians have spewed their emotions all over the internet. It doesn’t help.
We as Christians have emotions but we also need self-control. We are not completely free to express whatever we want to. Jesus gave us some boundaries and restrictions.
Matthew 5:13: “Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt has lost his savor, wherewith shall it be salted? It is henceforth good for nothing, but the be cast down and trodden under foot by men.”
Our testimony of the gospel is lost when it loses its meaning. It happens when our emotions take charge of us and not the convictions of our testimony. It happens when politics rule us and not the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Jesus had 12 disciples. Some of them were political zealots. Jesus taught them about the Kingdom, and they were changed from turmoil peace within.
Acts 1:6: Before Jesus ascended to the Father after his resurrection, his disciples asked of him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”
Verses 7-8: “Ad he said to them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the father has put under his own power. But you shall receive power, after that the holy ghost has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses to me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”
The disciples thought on politics even after Jesus was resurrected from the dead. This truth might shock you: America is not the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is the Kingdom of God. We must govern ourselves as ambassadors of that kingdom.
Ephesians 5:1-4: “Be therefore followers of God, as dear children; and walk in love, as Christ has also loved us, and has given himself as an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savor. But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness., let it not be once named among you, as becomes saints; NEITHER FILTHINESS, NOR FOOLISH TALKING, NOR COARSE JESTING (BOLD TEXT- emphasis mine), which are not convenient, but rather giving of thanks.”
Many Christians say they have free will to say and do anything they want. Our actions, good and bad, have consequences. We reap what we sow. Galatians 6:8: “For those who sow to the flesh shall reap corruption. But those who sow to the Spirit shall reap everlasting life.”
Everlasting life is what I possess in Jesus. It’s what I want continually. We must be obedient to what god says to us.
Here’s how we are to respond to those who oppose us and shamefully mistreat us:
1 Peter 3:9-11: “Not rendering evil for evil, nor railing for railing, but contrariwise blessing; knowing that you were called thereunto, that you may inherit a blessing. For he who will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking guile, let him seek peace, and pursue it.”
The scripture also tells us to not resist evil. In so doing, we put to shame the foolishness of ignorant men.
We want men and women to be saved. We don’t do this in our own strength. We’re witnesses of what Jesus di to purchase our redemption through the cross. We can control only so much of the political situation in the U.S. and the world.
Ephesians 5:8: “But now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.”
Richard Szalecki has a ministry called, REVIVE YOUR SPIRIT. His mission is Colossians 1:28-29: “Him (Jesus) we herald, warning every man, and teaching every man, that we may present every man mature in Christ. To this end I labor, striving with all His (Jesus’) energy, which works in me mightily. He is beginning to Co-Lead with Eva Popek, Pharmacist, on Small Group studies, “Jesus Rx: The Prescription For Life.” Richard and his wife live in Northwest Florida.
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