"Language, as well as the faculty of speech, was the immediate gift of God." ~ Noah Webster



Thursday, December 29, 2011

Following

I have always followed politics. I have always been concerned about what is going on in our nation. I believe that as Christians, we have a responsibility to work to keep the freedom of religion we enjoy in this country.

If Christians won’t protect that freedom, then think about with whom we are leaving that responsibility.  If Christians will not be concerned with the decline in morality in our nation, then think about with whom we are leaving that concern – or more likely lack of it. The innocent lives often discarded?  Who will speak for them? Because of these kinds of issues, I have always had a strong political “bent” that many may not understand.

It is often said our brave soldiers in uniform put their lives in danger for those that would rail against them. Our American soldiers know this and are prepared to protect all of us anyway.  God bless them!

Likewise, I believe we can make the same statement about those protecting our religious freedoms. I have always believed that there are those Christians who are blessed with the marvelous gift of evangelism – the "Billy Grahams" of the world, so to speak.  But I also believe there are Christians who are gifted to protect the "freedom of religion" in our nation and the right we have, to speak of our faith. These names will be no less known than that of Reverend Graham, but probably a whole lot less popular; individuals such as Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, and Jay Sekulow, among others. Individuals such as these have worked diligently to preserve our American freedoms, and sounded alarms that awakened complacent Christianity at a time we needed to be awakened.

I find it troubling when we as Christians, do not always recognize these men for their work in the Kingdom of God.  I have never understood how we can refuse to acknowledge that these men also are doing the work of our Lord, and that they too, have been gifted from the Lord for their work.  Their contribution is every bit as important as those who strictly evangelize; for without them, that freedom to evangelize might have been lost a long time ago. Furthermore, men in these positions are not neglectful in other areas of God’s work.  They too, work diligently in spreading the Gospel; and organizations like Pat Robertson’s Operation Blessing are usually first on scene to bring aid during natural disasters across the globe, for example.

With all that said, I understand that politics does not lie in everyone’s interest. Some would rather not waste their time with these kinds of things…or they may believe in taking another direction than I do. God most likely has an entirely different office for some. I believe God would not have some distracted by such things. Instead, I believe God has freed up evangelists to do the work He has for them, while trusting the Jerry Falwell’s to do another type of work in which He has equipped them.  Basically, there are some Christians behind the scenes that actively “have the backs” of those that are gifted to evangelize.

Without a doubt, we are all commissioned to spread the Good News. This is absolutely our responsibility. There will be times we do that first hand, and there will be times that we do that by simply supporting others; for example the overseas missionary; or even the television evangelist. Evangelism is so very important! I only hope we don’t discredit, or underestimate the importance of “the soldier” who is left defending those freedoms through the nasty business of politics.

My in-box is full of messages from groups asking action against things that are taking place in our nation.  Never before in my life, do I remember such a time when so many things are going wrong! Never before have there been so many matters that require our attention so that our freedoms might be preserved.  There is so much taking place, at times it almost feels overwhelming.  There is no way one can attend to it all…and we don’t have to! And we certainly don’t have to panic; we have a God, to Whom we can turn. 

However, I also believe I have a responsibility to at least respond to some of these issues at hand; to work toward the things that I believe, as much as I am able; to respond to what God has put in my path. I do believe this is a crucial time for America, and if we are to remain the most evangelistic nation in the world, the one who is always the first to bring aid to a hurting world, now is the time we must work harder than we have ever before worked.

In the past, I have used Butterflies and Rainbows to express and share some of my concerns.  With so much taking place, and with so many things heating up, I have decided a blog entitled “Butterflies and Rainbows” is not really the best place to express some of my views and thoughts.  Really it is not fair to readers that do not wish to be involved in such things, or that might believe differently.  So, I have decided to create an additional page for the concerns I have for what is taking place in our nation.  If you are interested, you can read my posts at http://watchfrommywall.blogspot.com/.  I will continue posting at Butterflies and Rainbows for lighthearted and carefree issues of life.  Heavier posts will be at Watch From My Wall.

Either way, I hope you will continue reading at least one or the other of my blogs!  ;-)

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