Today the Electoral College will confirm what we learned in November: @JoeBiden is the legitimate President-Elect of the United States. @realDonaldTrump lost. I lost (ie, voted for the loser).
This is worth pointing out because learning how to react when God doesn’t give you what you want is a major element of Christian discipleship. It’s the element of discipleship most avoided by the Prosperity Gospel heresy that has taken the lead in claiming Trump won.
Paula White has been at the forefront of this movement. @ericmetaxas has said that he knows President Trump won because somebody he trusts “prophesied” it (prophecy is real, but this hogwash deserves scare quotes).
Yes. Hogwash.
We are tempted to buy the hogwash when we didn’t get what we wanted. Just like the cancer patient at a Benny Hinn crusade. Just like the person contemplating bankruptcy at a Creflo Dollar meeting.
But “declaring” a person cancer free doesn’t make cancer go away. And “declaring” yourself a millionaire doesn’t pay your bills. And “declaring” a valid, legitimate election to be “stolen” doesn’t change the results.
The better way is humility. These “declarations” don’t work because WE are not the ones who can speak things into existence. GOD can, but hasn’t. We must say to Him, “Yes, sir. You know best.”
This is difficult but necessary discipleship. We faced it in our infertility. Many have faced it in the loss of a child (and the Prosperity Gospel folks failed at praying that away recently, too).
But it brings GROWTH as a disciple to learn to say “Thy will, not my will, be done.” This is a moment to exercise that muscle.
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I applaud @JoeBiden’s call for greater unity and civility in American politics. For many topics, this should reasonably be within reach.
Immigration: there is no reason whatsoever for Republicans to oppose LEGAL immigration, as the Trump administration has done. Our economy thrives when we have healthy immigration policies, and the election results show clearly that many immigrants vote GOP.
Middle East: There is no reason for Democrats to dismantle President Trump’s very successful pro-Israel policy in the Middle East. Eschatology does not require a pro-Israel posture, but common sense does.
In the experience of the Babylonian Captivity in the Old Testament, God chose, with no hesitation that I can detect, to reduce an entire nation and a house dedicated to Him to rubble in order to purify His people.
I'm a New Testament believer, not an Old Testament Israelite, and I'm not claiming that this set of historical events tells us anything about me or about us, but certainly it tells us this much about God: That His priorities are ordered in a fashion that undergirds that choice.
I didn't vote for President-Elect Biden—couldn't do so if given the opportunity in a hundred million elections—but I'm not convinced that this is the downfall of American civilization that way that some of my politically minded pastor-friends seem to think today.
Earlier today I received an email from a beloved church member that made me feel really, really good about my preaching (I'm trying to work through a big COVID email backlog right now).
It wasn't a, "Wow! You're a great preacher," email (although this dear saint would say that)
Instead, she very kindly said she couldn't tell what my view about the rapture was from my sermons through The Revelation. She was curious.
Maybe some of the rest of you at @fbcfarmersville have wondered the same thing.
For what it's worth, I am a Premillennialist who believes in a rapture before the Great Tribulation. What follows is an explanation of why that wasn't obvious to you.
This week the CDC recommended that the country adopt a new approach to bringing back to work people who have had COVID—moving from a test-based strategy to a symptom-based strategy.
They have done this because they have identified a subcategory of people who keep testing positive after they are no longer sick and no longer contagious—so-called “permanent positives.” These may test positive for as long as 90 days after recovery.
I believe that God often uses dissent in the SBC, and I think that some of the responses to @BaptistNetwork may represent some measure of a rush to judgment or an overreaction. But with that having been said…
I see two major differences between this group and the Conservative Resurgence.
First, with regard to the Conservative Resurgence, the identified problems were well documented. Southern Baptist professors did not believe in biblical inerrancy. Their published writings and recorded lectures said so. Their own statements said so, doublespeak notwithstanding.
This week @KSPrior announced her intention to vote third party in November. I completely understand. I did that in 2016. And I believe that she is 100% right to resist the accusation that she is "throwing away her vote" by doing so. That's a thin, thoughtless argument.
But I'm not where I was in 2016, and I thought perhaps it would be worthwhile to offer some public accounting for my change in thinking.
First, I reached a point of being glad that the candidate who received my vote was not elected. Third-party candidates simply aren't vetted the way that major-party candidates are. That's not a reason never to vote for one; it's a reason to discount enthusiasm for them.