MAGA - Love Letter From Across the Pond

 

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We thought Reagan was the devil – then came Trump. America, we're rooting for you

Ian Martin, The Guardian (10/27/20)

Dear America,

HEY! How you guys doing? Longtime British Americanophile “reaching out” across the Atlantic. I’m here to heart you, USA. I’m like “hope the hurting stops soon” (strong-arm mid-tone emoji).

I guess you’re all making a list of The Worst Things Trump Did, then checking it twice because really, who’d believe it. And I know he’s primarily your monstrous problem. But even Brits are citizens of what we used to call “the free world”. Your president was once the leader of it. And one of the very worst things Trump’s done is to make Ronald Reagan look like an intellectual giant. Simply by comparison, Trump has humanised Reagan and elevated his memory to sainthood.

I’m currently researching the Gipper for a project and honestly, next to Trump he genuinely seems like … not the good guy, exactly? But definitely presidential. “Let’s make America great again” was Reagan’s slogan, of course. It was about “American values”, making America great in the world again. Trump’s slogan initially stood for rebuilding economic power. Now it’s shorthand for “let’s win the culture war I relentlessly inflame and sure, bring on an actual armed civil war if I lose the election”.

It never occurred to us that 40 years on we’d be contemplating someone so much more clueless, so very much stupider

Of course, Trump’s humanity is at such undetectable levels he makes literally anyone else look like St Francis of Assisi. Infuriatingly, even deadweight predecessors like the Bush dynasty look competent. But Reagan? Along with millions of others in the 1980s, I was there at marches and demonstrations, noisily railing against hated neoliberal Raygun, his nuclear missiles, his utterly insane space force. Oh how we disdained him, this doddery warmonger, this huckleberry clown of a politician. It never occurred to us that 40 years on we’d be contemplating someone so much more clueless, so very much stupider, than Reagan.

None of my business, dear Americans, I know. You’re absolutely right. It’s not my country, it’s yours. You’re the ones pledging allegiance from sea to shining sea. I should butt out. And yet. All this used to be my business, back in the day when Potus was de facto leader of “the west” and led the forces of laissez-faire capitalism against the Evil Empire of Communism. “Ideology”, we used to call it. Man, we thought Reagan was the devil incarnate 40 years ago. Now the news is basically “Self-Satirising Human Cronut Yesterday On Twitter Said …”

As I write this letter of solidarity, I’m watching the televised presidential debate for election 1980, 40 years ago. Jimmy Carter the bruised defender, looking for a second term. Reagan the interloper, the disrupter, landing blow after blow on Carter – the failing economy, the Tehran hostages, the correct pronunciation of “nuclear”. Reagan was the older man but he sounded younger. What is frankly astonishing is the dignity of the debate itself. Here were political enemies – diametrically opposed on every issue - politely disagreeing, listening, yielding when time ran out. Basic human respect. And you stop and think - how is this normal, being nostalgic for normality itself?

© Provided by The Guardian Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan during a debate in 1980. Photograph: The Ronald Reagan Presidential L/Reuters

Gallery: Presidential debates have always been political theater. Here are some of their most memorable moments. (Business Insider)

Trump often invokes Ronald Reagan as an inspiration, and you can see how the analogy crosses his mind, like tumbleweed. Reagan too arrived at the White House from the world of entertainment. But Reagan had been governor of California for two terms. And president of a powerful union, the Screen Actors Guild. And served in the military. Reagan’s primary domestic objective of “getting government off the backs of the people” undoubtedly helped Trump the young shark-eyed entrepreneur - greedy to build, greedy for profit, greedy for tax credits.

Reagan consistently said that a free press was a prerequisite for a free country, and that it should hold presidents to account. Imagine that: a president inviting scrutiny. Trump dismisses any story he doesn’t like as “fake news” and deals only with Fox – his Pravda, his Tass. Unlike Trump, Reagan was self-aware enough to know his limitations. He surrounded himself with smart counsel and experts. Trump lives in a bubble of sycophancy.

Related: Trump is right: this election is a choice between Thanos and Mr Rogers | Matthew Cantor

Some of the stuff Trump’s pulling isn’t new, it’s just louder. You couldn’t imagine any of the other presidents not wanting America First. And like Trump, Reagan was an authoritarian who sent armed police in to break up civil protest. Reagan was indifferent to Aids; Trump is indifferent to Covid-19. More than 89,000 people died of Aids over seven years under Reagan administrations. Covid deaths in the US over seven months under Trump are 225,000 and rising …

In his foreign policy dealings, Reagan believed in statecraft, that ancient art of diplomacy now apparently lost in the murk of history. He saw his primary task as leading the world to peace and was prepared to sit down with cold war adversaries to thrash out a disarmament program. Does Trump even have a foreign policy, besides “screw you”? A resurrected Reagan would be aghast at Trump meeting Commie-In-Chief Kim Jong-un three times to discuss nuclear weapons with no tangible results.

Reagan’s statecraft did not hinge on whether the particular head of state “liked him”. Reagan’s preoccupation wasn’t self-aggrandisement. He sought world peace, and found gratification in good deeds. When his mind had gone, his memories lost, all knowledge of being President entirely faded, he remembered this: he had saved 77 people from drowning as a young lifeguard. That, in his shattered mind, was his legacy. In Trump’s bizarro world, drowners are losers.

Anyway, I’ll sign off. You have important stuff to do, like choosing a president. I wish you good luck; we’re all aware Kamala Harris is a result and a heartbeat from becoming America’s first female Potus. Things could be worse, no doubt. But they could also be better. The best to you and yours, my brothers and sisters.

I remain your most ardent admirer,

A Brit, Esq

Ian Martin is a comedy writer. His credits include Veep, The Death of Stalin, Avenue 5, The Thick of it and more

No Fear on Wayward Evangelicals and Donald Trump

Two items from the last Our Daily Bread post struck me.  The first being the staircase to the unknown, with fog and mist obscured ominously as time marches toward November 3.  The second was the Reflect & Pray section with the question "What are your deepest and most persistent fears? How can meditating on God’s promises help you overcome your fear and anxiety?"

Indeed next week all America is exercising our votes, either thru early voting, mail-in-ballots, or on Election Day, in what we consider as the most important election in our lifetime.  Regardless of the outcome on November 3, America is still walking into a bank of fog.  With the re-election of Donald Trump, I could only see the fog getting thicker, darker and more ominous.  With the election of Joe Biden, even though as America sigh a breath of relief as we get rid of the chaos at the top, our path is still not clear as our nation still have to search for its soul because it was utterly decimated during four years Trump presidency.  Donald Trump is the manifestation of many ills in our society.  Even when he no longer president, he will not stop causing chaos and division as Trumpism is the byproduct of the American social and political fabric in the last forty years.  It won't go away soon.

As for my response for the prayer question, personally I have no persistent fears now because I had been walking with God since my family broke up long long time ago.  

Then my deepest and most persistent fears were the upbringing of my two children as I was afraid that children of divorce will have high potential of developing deep scars and develop problems later in life.  That fear had turned out not to be as both are having successful careers.  Most importantly, my children developed into God-fearing Christians, married devout Christians, and on their way to build Christ-centric families of their own.  God answered my most fervent prayers and allay my deepest fear to show his glories.  God had been faithful to me and I, to limited extent, had been faithful to God. 

Since I had already put my life on the hands of God, I should not and will not have deep nor persistent fears as that could only mean backsliding on my commitment to God.  We all will have life's constant worries, but I will have no fear as my life belongs to Jesus Christ and I know his plan for me will always be good.  My only worry is whether I could be misreading the call of the Spirit and do things that grieve the Lord.

My view on our society and nation is completely different.  I do have deep and persistent fear for our society.  Much like my divorce long time ago, our nation's future now look uncompromising and ominous indeed.  Just like my fear on my children's character development then, I fear the deterioration of American character.  Instead of being the light upon the city on the hill and beacon of hope for people all over the world, we saw the deterioration and fracturing of the American political and moral character, much of it was driven by my religious evangelical community.

The past four years witness the constant attacks and subsequent erosion of U.S. democratic institutions by the President of the United States, the very one who should defend and strengthen them.  Even more pernicious, it was my spiritual homes, the Christian evangelical community, who was and continue to be, the abettor and enabler of Donald Trump's wrecking of American institutions and poisoning of democratic environment.

Since the time I began my personal walk with Christ, the evangelical community in the social and political realm, had gone to the harlots.  American evangelism had developed into a political culture with it's network of cultish institutions that strives to impose its cultural values on the rest of society.    Evangelicals had developed its political and cultural truths for others to abide by, dogma that cannot be transgressed, and liturgies to practice by.  Outward it proclaimed itself to be biblical and spiritual, but in true essence the evangelical political ecosystem turned itself into a toxic cauldron of materialistic, worldly, heathenistic mix with no semblance to what Jesus Christ asked for.

The past forty years evangelicals had corrupted Christian faith and fractured the American nation.  American evangelism had turned into a cultish communities with no regard to facts and truths, supporting authoritarians and dictators, paragon of personal and social controls, worshippers of mammon. With the community's anointing of Donald Trump and his installation of evangelical toadies into key federal departments and regulatory agencies to destroy what American relied on the past 70 years.  Because of evangelical politics, American politics had gone into the dark realm with no end in sight.

And yet, we will remember the Words of our faithful Father in Heaven.  In spite of all the dark forces, evangelical or otherwise, working in America, we are still God's favored nation.  The faith in our Father in Heaven will allow us to work thru this mess and to become an exemplary and Godly nation.  God promised we are the true lights of the city on the hill.  God-fearing people will pray for and strive to rid evangelicals of hypocrites, curing wayward Christians' thirst for power, unrighteousness and come back to Jesus Christ as exemplar of personal, social and political behaviors.

Godly people should not despair in this moment of darkness in the life of our nation.  We may seem to be polarize and divided, Satan may seem victorious and have his say at this point, but love, justice, and righteousness will prevail.  Are are seeing democracy is receding within our society and all over the world because of Donald Trump. But we need not despair because America is a nation of believers and we must keep it this way if we are to survive.  God will rid us the curse of Christian Nationalism because it was Satan's construct in his demonic attack on God's kingdom.  We have to remember Jesus Christ is more powerful than Satan and His will be done.  So we need not to worry about the nation's future as long as we are acting righteously and walk Jesus' walk.  Our God is the God of Love, Justice, and Mercy and we need not fear because Fear is what Satan wants.

Just like the beginning of my Christ walk, America's walk toward God's righteousness will be long and hard, at times we won't even get what we hoped for, but just like the walk of Joseph, God's plan will be fulfilled in his own time in his own way.  That is America's destiny.

But the first step is for God-fearing Christians to get rid of the liar and deceiver Donald Trump as United States President.  He is the ugly face of American evangelicalism.  All God-fearing Christians, with God's help, must exorcise him from their hearts and start relying on God instead.

Christians!  No votes for Donald Trump!

Strong and Courageous

As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. (Joshua 1:5)

Each night, as young Caleb closed his eyes, he felt the darkness envelop him. The silence of his room was regularly suspended by the creaking of the wooden house in Costa Rica. Then the bats in the attic became more active. His mother had put a nightlight in his room, but the young boy still feared the dark. One night Caleb’s dad posted a Bible verse on the footboard of his bed. It read: “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; . . . for the Lord your God will be with you” (Joshua 1:9). Caleb began to read those words each night—and he left that promise from God on his footboard until he went away to college.

In Joshua 1, we read of the transition of leadership to Joshua after Moses died. The command to “be strong and courageous” was repeated several times to Joshua and the Israelites to emphasize its importance (vv. 6–7, 9). Surely, they felt trepidation as they faced an uncertain future, but God reassuringly said, “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you” (v. 5).

It’s natural to have fears, but it’s detrimental to our physical and spiritual health to live in a state of constant fear. Just as God encouraged His servants of old, we too can be strong and courageous because of the One who promises to always be with us.

By:  Cindy Hess Kasper

Reflect & Pray

What are your deepest and most persistent fears? How can meditating on God’s promises help you overcome your fear and anxiety?

Faithful Father, thank You that You’re always with me. Help me to remember Your promises and to trust in You when I’m afraid.

Today's Scripture

Joshua 1:1–9

Insight

Joshua, a leader from the tribe of Ephraim, was one of the twelve spies Moses sent to survey the land of Canaan. Moses changed his name from Hoshea, meaning “salvation,” to Joshua, meaning “Jehovah is salvation” (Numbers 13:8, 16). He had been Moses’ aide since his youth (Exodus 24:13; 33:11; Numbers 11:28; Joshua 1:1). God commended him as one who followed Him wholeheartedly (Numbers 32:11–12). Joshua and Caleb were the only two persons who were twenty years old or more when they left Egypt who were permitted to enter the Promised Land (Numbers 32:11–12). Even Moses wasn’t allowed to enter (Deuteronomy 3:23–29).

https://odb.org/2020/10/25/strong-and-courageous

Noah's Flood and American Evangelicals

I was doing my weekly Bible Study Fellowship homework on Genesis 5-7 relating to Noah’s walk with God, his faith in Him, and his obeying God’s instruction.   One homework question relates to how is the flood an encouragement to some and a warning to others.

Most every one knows the Bible's story of Noah's Ark and his saving his family and all other creatures on earth from God's flood that destroyed the evildoers of this earth long time ago.  The story of Noah in the Bible showed that mankind had gone evil to such extreme that God regret His creation and had to start everything anew.  God left a way out for humanity through a righteous man, Noah, and promised he would never flood mankind again and gave us rainbows as a sign of this hope of humanity's redemption.

The lesson of the Flood is cogent to me because everyday we all should strive to walk the way of the Lord, seeking His mercy and guidance in our thoughts and what we do.  I pray that we can be like Noah in Genesis 6 and 7 and like Isaiah in today's Scripture, putting out all the noise of the world and in the stillness of the moment, hearing God's voice over and above the dins of our worldly life.

Noah showed us the way out of God's wrath by Faith.  But God also promised destruction and utter annihilation for men following their evil ways.

For my evangelical brethren all evils evolve around abortion and homosexuality.  This fetish with sex matters and human creation process in the past forty years was a toxic brew that Satan set up for Christian evangelicals to fall into that culminated with their anointing of Donald Trump as the Christian king.  Instead of putting their faith in God and Jesus' love evangelicals place their trust in Guns and Donald Trump.  For this original sin out comes all evils escape from the Trump Pandora Box.  Thru the Flood story God is promising evangelicals destruction if they don't come out of their evil ways perpetrated by Satan's siren call for an evangelical world.

Evangelicals claimed their anointing of their King Cyrus Donald Trump will bring God's Kingdom on Earth.  Instead they brought out militia, racists, QAnon, riots, looting, chaos, divisions, and paving America the way to authoritarianism.  They brought inexperienced evangelical fakes into key government position to sabotage government institutions, Department of State, Labor, Justice, HUD, CDC, Census Bureau, etc. upsetting the morale of government experts and threaten civil servant experts who dare to speak the truth and expose these evangelical usurpers.  Trump and the evangelicals made the swamp thicker than ever.   And evil upon evils, they encourage Donald Trump and their fellow evangelical toadies to disrupt the voting process and if they lose the election, refuse to concede.  Satan really got evangelicals on the hook.  There will never be peace on earth and good will to men with Donald Trump on the evangelical throne.

The Flood is an object lesson for American evangelicals.  Four years ago many evangelical Christians may not have followed or knew about Donald Trump's evil and contemptable behaviors throughout his entire life and career.  The most they knew about was his reveling in touching females' private parts and that they forgive for the promise of goodies Donald Trump about to give them.   But after he ascended the throne of presidency almost every single facet of his life and being had been exposed, examined and analyzed.  For the last four years Donald Trump had shown the world what a corrupt, unscrupulous and evil person he is.  He made no effort to conceal himself and all that he stands for.  He had a way of making all his evils virtuous.  He lied, blasphemed, misused the Bible, dog-whistling supremacist memes, instigate society chaos and division, licking up to authoritarian and dictators, eroding democratic and government institutions, avoiding paying tax, corruption ad nauseum.  And yet, with the blinker Satan placed on them evangelical refused to see these evils, just like the evildoers in Noah's day.

If evangelical leaders like Franklin Graham resemble the prophet Nathan at all, they would have the courage and wisdom to rebuke Trump's policies and personal behavior like Nathan did to King David. Instead, these false teachers sucked up to Donald Trump and seek his favors, behaving more like those Baal prophets serving up to Jezebel's desires, prostrating and licking up to King's Ahab's court. Evangelicals were drunk with ecstasy when Trump let them sing Amazing Grace inside the White House's East Room - not knowing in God's ear all those song and dance were screeching noise came out of the devil's den - and allowed these preachers lay hands for a good photo-op.  They will go back to their church and encourage their flocks to follow their lead to abide by Trump's evils and heathen ways.  God's warning to evangelicals is that if they don't repent, they will be destroyed just like the evil perpetrators in Noah's days.

In November 2016 American evangelicals showed themselves the anointers of the Devil's Apprentice.  Throughout the past four years they prostitute themselves inside Ahab's court and gave full throat to his power grab and send its own members to aggrandize power and join in with their loots.  Then God send signs and wonders to this American Pharoah and his evangelical followers.  God gave the Russia investigation and showed Trump's contempt for Congress and clear obstruction of justice.  Then God gave his impeachment where he compromised national security and American honor for his own political purpose.  God send the Covid-19 plague and Trump botched it all up with his lies for his pursuit of his re-election, resulting in 210,000 American deaths and 8 million infections.  Finally, God send the subsequent economic breakdown that send millions of people to unemployment and family difficulty.  And yet the evangelical false teachers and rebellious prophets who proclaimed themselves "children of God" follow this charlatan and refuse to acknowledge God's signs and call him a Christian man and the greatest president for the evangelical Christians.  Indeed, Donald Trump is not the President of the United States the past four years who serves all Americans.  Instead, he is the President of the Evangelical Confederacy.

In the past forty years evangelicals were wondering in the American Sinai and they thought Donald Trump is the Joshua who can bring them to the evangelical Promised Land.  What they got was an American Pharoah and they become his chariot warriors.  God send all these signs and stiffen Donald Trump and evangelical Christians' necks.  If they don't repent quickly, evangelicals and their Pharoah, in their pursuit of slaves and political power, will be drown and destroyed by the closing of the Red Sea.

The Noah story when juxtaposed with Jonah's story created a clear contrast.  The minor prophet Jonah was supposed to give God's warning to the inhabitants of Ninevah of their pending destruction if they don't change their evil ways. The king and inhabitants heeded Jonah's words, repented, and saved from God's wrath.  Will evangelicals repent like the inhabitants of Nineveh, or they are more like the people in Noah's day?  We will know this November.

This November's president election American evangelists will show the world and to God whether they are God's children or the prostitutes in Ahab's court.  If evangelicals give the kind of support they give Donald Trump four years ago it will be the doom of American evangelicalism.  The world will see that the true face of evangelicalism is not of Jesus Christ but that of Donald Trump.  Nothing evangelicals say or do will mean anything that could construe as sanctifying.  Their message of personal salvation will not carry the fragrance of Christ but rather the stench of Satan.  Satan would feel victorious indeed.

My Christian brethren, God is all merciful and provide options.  You can cast a vote for Jesus Christ, just like Maryland governor's write-in for Ronald Reagan.  That will show God and the world that evangelical Christians are humble enough to repent and evangelical politics still have a whiff of human decency.  Let's pray this will turn out the case.  Amen!

 

Listening Beyond the Stars

Seek the Lord while he may be found. (Isiah 55:6)

Imagine life without mobile phones, Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth devices, or microwave ovens. That’s the way it is in the little town of Green Bank, West Virginia, known as “the quietest town in America.” It’s also the location of the Green Bank Observatory, the world’s largest steerable radio telescope. The telescope needs “quiet” to “listen” to naturally occurring radio waves emitted by the movement of pulsars and galaxies in deep space. It has a surface area larger than a football field and stands in the center of the National Radio Quiet Zone, a 13,000-square-mile area established to prevent electronic interference to the telescope’s extreme sensitivity.

This intentional quiet enables scientists to hear “the music of the spheres.” It also reminds me of our need to quiet ourselves enough to listen to the One who created the universe. God communicated to a wayward and distracted people through the prophet Isaiah, “Give ear and come to me; listen, that you may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you” (Isaiah 55:3). God promises His faithful love to all who will seek Him and turn to Him for forgiveness.

We listen intentionally to God by turning from our distractions to meet Him in Scripture and in prayer. God isn’t distant. He longs for us to make time for Him so He can be the priority of our daily lives and then for eternity.

By:  James Banks

Reflect & Pray

Why is listening to God so vital in your life? In what ways do you plan to take time for Him?

Help me to be quiet before You today, loving God, even if it’s only for a moment! Nothing matters more than being with You!

Today's Scripture

Isaiah 55:1–7

Insight

Having one’s thirst quenched and being satisfied with fine food are metaphors for the blessings that will flow from God’s covenant with David. We share in these blessings through Jesus Christ, the Son of David, who fulfilled God’s promise to David of an eternal dynasty through his descendant (2 Samuel 7:12–16). Through David and his descendant—Jesus—God would give an endless “witness” to the world that Yahweh is “the Holy One of Israel” (Isaiah 55:4–5). The church is later described as such a witness (Acts 1:8).

https://odb.org/2020/10/18/listening-beyond-the-stars

S.O.S. Ministries

During the Columbus Day weekend I had the good grace of God to have met some brothers from the S.O.S. Ministry.  The outreach took advantage of the good weather and staked out various spots around famed San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf, handing out tracks to passers-by and preached about the acceptance of Jesus Christ as their personal savior.  They even set up a tent manned  by two former hippies singing Creedence Clearwater Revival type folk rocks infused with Christian lyrics.

God bless the Good News

And good music

I made friends with these brothers-in-Christ in short order and had good conversations with them since we are of the same wavelength as far as the teachings of Christ are concerned and we are all born-again Christians.  Furthermore, we carried the same missionary spirit in our zeal to share the Good News of Christ to bring people to Christ's family.

we are all good folks

Our conversations invariably turned to this year's presidential election and my concern its outcome to the people of this country, democratic institutions, and the role Christians play in this election.  Here is where I and my Christian brothers diverge.  Ours was a fruitful and friendly conversation and I laid out my concern for the spread of Christianity in our support of Donald Trump and these brothers explained why they are Donald Trump fans.  The common thread was that while they questioned Donald Trump's faith and personal behavior, they are voting for his policies and they love all his policies.

I gave my deep appreciation for these brothers to spread Christ's message because otherwise I would have join them as well.  God is giving the opposite calling - by calling out that evangelical Christians are walking the wrong road not only in their support for Donald Trump, but also in their actions and practice the past forty years heeding Satan's siren calls.

In this encounter with the brothers' effort my question is that by associating Christianity with Donald Trump we are actually driving the people we tried to save away from what we are trying to preach, that is, the Good News of love, hope, faith and salvation.  I told these brothers that Donald Trump is the face of American Christianity and no matter how we cut it, his ugliness and hypocrisy is what people see in us.  Nobody would listen to us and the passers by could only see us as obnoxious fools and the perpetrator of Donald Trump's presidency and not as Christ's disciples.  In fact, Donald Trump is seen not as the President of the United States of America but of the Evangelical Confederacy.

I found it surprising that these S.O.S. brothers did not find objectionable to my characterization that Donald Trump is the Christians President (a simple calculation would show that 90% of Trump supporters are evangelical Christians of various creeds and denominations, Catholics included), even though none of us consider him born-again.  The fact is that God did not worked miracle making Donald Trump the King Cyrus of modernity.  It was evangelical Christians who anointed him to be King in 2016 and may very well doing so again this year.  The only reason Donald Trump ascended the throne is that American evangelical Christians went wholeheartedly for him.  To evangelical Christians Donald Trump is the best President we ever had.

The tragedy behind evangelical Christians is that outwardly they convinced themselves of their disavowal of Donald Trump's unsavory personal behaviors and expression, they only love him for all his policies and political orientations (I wouldn't call political philosophy because Donald Trump has none but whatever he likes at the moment).  That says it all.  Christians are too proper to say the f-words but profess all of Donald Trump profanities-laden ideas.  My S.O.S. brethren also justified their Trumpian politics by that they are separating Christ from politics, telling the world that personal salvation is gain solely thru our final act of proclaiming the name of Jesus Christ as our Savior.  We don't even want to mention Donald Trump at all.

They tried to tell non-believers and convinced themselves that personal salvation is distinct from our evangelicals politics of loving and abetting Donald Trump.  Thereby they are asking non-believers and passers-by that it's perfectly okay to embrace the ugliness and mean-spiritedness of Donald Trump and whatever evils he is doing to people and political institutions.  Yet at the same time they could go to heaven just by dipping into water and proclaim our acceptance of Jesus Christ as Savior.  If you don't heed our call for your salvation, you would be thrown into Hell for eternity.  We evangelicals of course will not suffer such fate because through our born-again experience and baptism we had profess and proclaim Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.

Well, that's not how it works, in the world nor in the realm of God's Kingdom.  That's call Cheap Grace and to anybody who have any common sense, cheap words.  The scenario as it'll work out is that the Trump evangelicals will ended up more like the Rich Man looking at the beggar Lazarus he once disdained and undocumented workers on the side of the Lord and they are the one who left behind with moaning and gnashing of teethes. In their lifetime they met Jesus Christ asking for help and they turned Jesus away. 

Even though he is not born-again, in his very gut and nature Donald Trump is an evangelical Christian and that's why evangelical Christians love him.  I'm not saying that Donald Trump every week piously going to church or know the creeds and dogma of evangelical Christianity and that he actually believes in Jesus Christ, but his worldly convictions, psychological make-up, personal behavior are what American evangelicals are really like and want to be.  Christians are too proper to exhibit Donald Trump behaviors.  But given the opportunities and non-opprobrium evangelical Christians are like Donald Trump.  That Donald Trump went ahead with his exhibition was indeed wonderful to evangelicals since they all want to say what he's saying but the words of teaching of the Scripture inhibit Christians from acting that way.  He is the very sinner that evangelicals are but could not exhibit by their propriety as exhibited by Mike Pence.

What the non-believers see evangelical Christians is that our profession of faith are merely fig leaves that covers up our shames to justifies our sense of sanctification.  While Adam and Eve realized their shames and went about to cover them with Paradise's leaves, American evangelicals unfortunately could not even see our own nakedness and we exposed our shames and call that glories. We could sing, praise, or studied the Scripture all we want, but in our core we are little Donald Trumps and Donald Trump personifies who we truly are.  The world had seen through our hypocrisy even as we could not bring ourselves to admit it.  We saw ourselves only thru the lens that the world could not see our holiness because of their worldliness.  After all, we Christians are in this world but not of this world.  That they could not see the goodness of Donald Trump is really their fault and not ours.  And yes, in Donald Trump the world is seeing evangelical Christian and all that we stand for.

This November 3 is the reckoning of American evangelism.  We had four years of Donald Trump and praise God he showed all of us what he's like.  He wouldn't deign to use any fig leaves to cover himself but unashamedly exhibit all of who he is.  To Donald Trump, his shames are his glories.  This November evangelicals are to show God and the world whether Donald Trump's glories are evangelicals' glories as well.  And when rest of the folks in America witness that Donald Trump's glories are indeed the glories of American evangelicals, you can be sure no matter how long and enthusiastic my brothers at the SOS Ministry going out to preach, hardly anyone will listen because their political actions so contravene what they are preaching. The world can see the fruit of the Christ these brothers professed to love so much was Donald Trump and to him and not Jesus Christ we are serving.  Why listen to the S.O.S. Ministry at all?

And when the assets of Donald Trump become evangelicals glories, you can tell our preaching of the Good News of Jesus Christ goodbye because all the people see and hear, and rightly so, are the Bad News of Donald Trump.  People are seeing Trump's shameless glories radiating from evangelical Christians.  It will be these SOS brothers who will need SOS even more than those others whom the Ministry tried so hard to outreach.

My evangelical brethren, God is waiting for us to change our wicked ways.  God does not like our sacrifices and offerings because we are not done out of a good and conscionable spirit.  In the Book of Genesis before Cain killed Abel God had a patient conversation with him "Why are you angry?  Why is your face downcast?  If you do what is right, will you not be accepted?  But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door, but you must master it."

For the past forty years, evangelicals were always angry and downcast.  Even with their anointing of Donald Trump as their King, they are still angry and downcast, rejected by the world they tried to shape it as their own, never humble enough to take ownership of their sins and defects but attributed their rejection to the worldliness of others.  Evangelicals want more political power and never received enough.  They are angry at the world for not receiving their message of personal redemption.  They are angry for all their sacrifice and preaching people were turning away.  Even young people who grew up in evangelical churches turned away from the teachings of their childhood.

God's message to evangelical Christians is telling them to master their sin and turn away from their worldliness and un-Godly ways to live the full life of the Lord.  Make peace and not enemies.  Have patience and act out with love and not condemnations.  And most of all, walk away from the lures of Satan and all the serpent's temptations of money, immoralities, and political power.

Just like to Cain, God is providing a way out.  The first thing is to turn away from the worship of the Devil's Apprentice.  It will be hard but it's the first step for evangelical Christians' redemption.  Like addicts who struggle to turn away from their drug habits, it will be hard for evangelicals not to give up their crutch for Donald Trump.  But in the story of Cain and Abel they must before they descend into the situation in Genesis 4 verse 8 when Cain planned for and finished off Abel.

And who is Abel?  American Democracy but that's another story. 

What the world sees now is the fruit of the evangelical spirit is Donald Trump and not of love, patience, and perseverance.  It is high time that evangelical Christians start mirroring the image of God and not letting themselves bearing the images of Donald Trump.

 Vote for "Jesus Christ", NOT "Donald Trump"

 

A Critical Reaction

The one who is patient calms a quarrel. (Provert 15:18)

Tough words hurt. So my friend—an award-winning author—struggled with how to respond to the criticism he received. His new book had earned five-star reviews plus a major award. Then a respected magazine reviewer gave him a backhanded compliment, describing his book as well-written yet still criticizing it harshly. Turning to friends, he asked, “How should I reply?”

One friend advised, “Let it go.” I shared advice from writing magazines, including tips to ignore such criticism or learn from it even while continuing to work and write.

Finally, however, I decided to see what Scripture—which has the best advice of all—has to say about how to react to strong criticism. The book of James advises, “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry” (1:19). The apostle Paul counsels us to “live in harmony with one another” (Romans 12:16).

An entire chapter of Proverbs, however, offers extended wisdom on reacting to disputes. “A gentle answer turns away wrath,” says Proverbs 15:1. “The one who is patient calms a quarrel” (v. 18). Also, “The one who heeds correction gains understanding” (v. 32). Considering such wisdom, may God help us hold our tongues, as my friend did. More than all, however, wisdom instructs us to “fear the Lord” because “humility comes before honor” (v. 33). 

By:  Patricia Raybon

Today's Scripture

Proverbs 15:1–2,31–33

Insight

The wisdom found in the book of Proverbs has similarities to the New Testament book of James, which has been referred to as the “Proverbs of the New Testament.” The words of Proverbs 15:1, “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs anger” reflect the wise words of James 1:19–20. From the first to the last chapter of James, allusions to or quotes from the book of Proverbs can’t be missed. Both Proverbs 2:6 and James 1:5 note that God is the source of wisdom. The wisdom of Proverbs 10:12 is heard in James’ final words about “cover[ing] over a multitude of sins” (5:20). And, as with many places in the book of Proverbs, James 3 reminds us that wise living includes the careful use of our words.

Reflect & Pray

What’s your typical reaction when you’re criticized? In a dispute, what’s a humble way you can guard your tongue?

Dear God, when criticism strikes or a dispute hurts, guard my tongue in humble honor of You.

Donald Trump: Intruder to American Democracy and Christ's Church

The question posed in today's Our Daily Bread asked "What 'intruder' might God be asking you address to another?"  For the past year God had prompted me to do my part to warn American Christians and especially Evangelicals* with whom I'm very much a part of to extricate themselves from the stranglehold Donald Trump and the Devil had on them.

This idea of Donald Trump as the Intruder of American democracy and God's kingdom did not come about upon this reading of Our Daily Bread but instead came my revelation from God back in August 2019.

My former abode

Back then I was living in a damp and cold room in back of a garage.  My kitchen was a microwave oven and the sink was the garage sink.  It's only source of daylight come from a narrow glass slit situated right below the ceiling which is only a tad above the backyard's ground level.  You can call that room below grass level. I was satisfied with that arrangement because that was what God provided and everything God provides is good.

That day I spend the whole day for my nephew's move.  The work was hard and long but really not out of the ordinary because I had perform much more strenuous tasks before.  I went back home, took a short rest, drank a cup of milk, and settled down for the night.

Around three in the morning I woke up by a cramp on my right thigh.  That in itself wasn't strange because it happened before after one long 20 miles jog and the cramp disappeared after some massaging I went back to sleep.  The cramp went away a short massage and I tried to go back to sleep.  But then after 5 minutes the cramp came back, not only that, my left leg started to cramp up just like the right.  This was the first time in my life that I have cramps on both legs. It was painful!  Every time I lied down in bed the cramp would act up and the only way I could prevent it from happening was slanting on my chair.  So much for getting back to sleep.

The position with no thigh cramps

While convalesing on my chair I wondered what I did differently.  I realized I drank from a freshly opened gallon of milk, except it was expired and tasted a bit strange. 

bought expired milk because it's cheap

You may ask why I drank from a carton of spoiled milk.  Well, I always pride on my body in that I could eat any kind of food, expired or not, and never got any food poisoning nor diarrhea and this was the umpteenth time I drank expired milk.  No germs or bacteria could hurt me.  Moreover, spoiled milk causes diarrhea but not cramp.

Since lying back down to sleep could only be an excruciating option, I prayed to God to see what message He's telling me.

Back then in August 2019 our country was in the tail end of the Mueller investigation.   President Donald Trump and attorney general William Barr put up all sort of obstacles for Robert Mueller that would be inconceivable in Richard Nixon's time.  It was clearly obstruction of justice that Donald Trump could never gotten away with it 50 years ago but he was doing it with impunity now.  The was the period before the impeachment, the pandemic, economic collapse, George Floyd, and the Trump tax return.  It was very clear Donald Trump and his enablers were thumping their fingers at key elements of the institutions of American system of justice and accountability.  He and his enablers were eroding the key element of American democracy that meant to check executive rogue behaviors.  The Russian investigation was doomed from the get-go.

My upbringing was not to waste food.  As long as I could ingest it I would, spoiled or not.  This is a very bad habit I could not get rid of.  After all, I never suffered bad consequences for this, no stomach aches nor diarrhea, the sure sign of food poisoning.  I could finish that whole gallon of expired milk.

gone went the cheap milk

Then I realized God is telling me to pure that gallon of spoiled milk down the garage sink.  In spite of my immunity to spoiled milk, God was telling me to get rid of it because it's no good for my body and spirit and Donald Trump is the spoiled milk of America. We must pour him out and stop drinking his spoiled contents.  As a disciple of Christ and born-again Christian God was telling me to warn my spiritual brethren wake up and expel Donald Trump and Trumpism from God's community.  After that revelation I went back to bed, no cramps, no nothing.  Everything's fine after I woke up, though in late morning.

For decades we elevated our American system as the paragon of democracy.  We are the city upon the top of the hill as we set upon ourselves as the plumb line other lesser nations to emulate.  We looked down at third world countries as barbaric banana republics.  With the dissolution of the U.S.S.R. we have shown our system of republicanism and capitalism as the end of history with the Washington Consensus.  Even with the backsliding of Poland and Hungary to undemocratic practices with their president and prime ministers start destroying their incipient democratic institutions we observed with self-satisfying detachment because we think ours are too strong to sink down to their levels.  This is the American illusion of our strong culture and institution, just like my own view of my impregnable immune body.

Then to our astonishment came 2016, what was considered as unthinkable happened.  The American election system drank and took in the spoiled milk in Donald Trump, abetted by evangelical Christians.  What followed were four years of cramps and paroxysm that culminated in the innocuous Mueller Report, impeachment, trade wars, pandemic, economic breakdown, George Floyd, tax report, and the Supreme Court tragedy.  Our body politics is telling us we cannot take it anymore.  What was impossible is happening.  This is God's warning.

In order to get back to God's grace, we must pour out our spoiled milk, Christian evangelicals' spoiled milk, to make America as a true nation of God.  Christian evangelicals are deceiving themselves and blasphemed God by proclaiming Donald Trump as King Cyrus and God's "broken vessel" when God is presenting this Devil's Apprentice as the personification of the dark side of American Evangelism.

God is telling Evangelical Christians their way is the crooked way and they have to see what everyone can see in broad daylight that Donald Trump is His abomination.  Evangelicals must stop their undying worship of Donald Trump with all his warts and ugliness.  It's high time to stop excusing his evil ways by saying that King David sinned as well.  They could not see the difference is that King David had the heart for God and Donald Trump has the heart for the Great Deceiver himself. All the things he said and done throughout his narcissistic life were abominations in God's eyes and everything Christians did for or enable him will be remembered in the Book of Life and abominations as well. Donald Trump is the Devil's Apprentice who leads evangelicals  to their final destruction at the Lake of Fires.

Donald Trump is the "spoiled milk" and we must pour him down our kitchen sink. He is the Intruder who's out to destroy American democracy and the Intruder in God's kingdom.  This November 3 the American electorate must expunge this cancer in American politics and Christians must expel this Intruder from their system.  American Christians cannot afford to join their megachurch false teachers to their doom on Judgment Day.  Good Christians will caste their votes for Jesus Christ and not the Devil's Apprentice and the Prince of Chaos.

Former shared bathroom.  Here is where Trumpism should go - down the toilet

==============

It's been a long time since my revelation in the spoiled milk in Donald Trump.  My previous postings were mere repost from other sources.  You may call this writer's block but I'm not a writer but merely an ordinary engineer.  You may call this useless because unlike Donald Trump, I don't tweet or know how to use Facebook.  I'm not a religious leader like Tony Evans, Franklin Graham, or the pastor of my daughter's former church, John MacArthur.  I'm only an evangelical participant in the well-regarded weekly Bible Study Fellowship, not even a group leader. You may call this exercise of futility because nobody would this blog anyway.

But it doesn't really matter because I'm doing this out of God's prompting.  Just like all God-fearing Christians, I am God's servant and strive to be His good disciple. God has His plan.

Just like Pharoah in Moses' days, American evangelicals are a stiff-neck bunch.  God gave them signs and warnings in impeachment, modern plague, wild fires, storms and hurricanes but they don't budge.  God had hardened their hearts just like he hardened Pharoah's.  God's message is His displeasure of seeing His own children be the enablers of Donald Trump's evil ways.  God is distraught because they have no faith and took matters in their own hands.  God is angry over their lust for money and political power.  The patient God is waiting for them to repent because God is a God of Mercy and does not want to kill the Evangelicals' first borns.  Would evangelicals reflect on their sins and conscience?  Only God knows.

These are His message for American Christians.  For this I obey.  I will write as much as I could in this final month of the presidential election.  I pray for God's help because all these times Satan had sowed doubt on my effort.  But I know God will prevail.

============

*By Evangelicals I include both Protestants and Catholic evangelicals.  They include the largest Protestant denomination Southern Baptists, Pentecostal, Prosperity Gospels and other charismatic movement.

 

Removing the Intruder

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. (Ephesian 5:25)

It wasn’t quite dawn when my husband rose from bed and went into the kitchen. I saw the light flip on and off and wondered at his action. Then I recalled that the previous morning I’d yelped at the sight of an “intruder” on our kitchen counter. Translated: an undesirable creature of the six-legged variety. My husband knew my paranoia and immediately arrived to remove it. This morning he’d risen early to ensure our kitchen was bug-free so I could enter without concern. What a guy!

My husband awoke with me on his mind, putting my need before his own. To me, his action illustrates the love Paul describes in Ephesians 5:25, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.” Paul goes on, “Husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself” (v. 28). Paul’s comparison of a husband’s love to the love of Christ pivots on how Jesus put our needs before His own. My husband knows I’m afraid of certain intruders, and so he made my concern his priority.

That principle doesn’t apply to husbands only. After the example of Jesus, each of us can lovingly sacrifice to help remove an intruder of stress, fear, shame, or anxiety so that someone can move more freely in the world.

By:  Elisa Morgan

Today's Scripture

Ephesians 5:25–33

Insight

In Ephesians 5:26–27 we find an example of a Greek hina clause. This type of clause is used to express purpose. It’s often translated as “in order that” or “so that.” In verses 26–27 (niv) it’s twice translated simply as “to.” A final occurrence appears at the end of verse 27, which translated literally reads: “but that she might be holy and blameless.”

Each of these clauses expresses a purpose for Christ’s sacrificial love for the church. The first purpose is for the church’s sanctification, to be set apart from the sinful world and found in God’s kingdom (v. 26; see Colossians 1:12–13). The second is that Jesus might present the church, His bride, to Himself. The final purpose is so the church would be “holy and blameless” (Ephesians 5:27).

Paul uses this example of purposeful love to instruct husbands in how to love their wives. A husband’s love ought to have a purpose—to imitate Christ’s love for the church.

Reflect & Pray

What “intruder” might God be asking you to address to help another? How might you allow someone to help rid your life of certain “intruders”?

Dear God, thank You for the gift of Your Son who’s removed the intruder of sin from my life and reconciled me to You!

https://odb.org/2020/10/03/removing-the-intruder