THE FINISH LINE

No matter who is in the White House, ADONAI REMAINS ON HIS THRONE. The King of Kings has not changed nor will He. Jesus Christ  is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). Our citizenship in the United States of America is secondary—not primary. Our first allegiance is to Father God, our Creator, our Savior and Redeemer; God sits on his holy throne (Psalm 47:8b).

Since the beginning of our nation, there have been differing opinions on what is best for us. Some who read this are grieving deeply for our country while others are rejoicing over the change in leadership. More than the opposing policies, what concerns me is the animosity and disrespect between their adherents. This polarization has alienated friends, divided families, and disavows our name–the United States of America.

No matter who is in the White House, OUR DIVERSITY COMES FROM GOD HIMSELF. If you’ve traveled, you’ll have experienced a variety of climates and cuisine, cultures and customs, languages and governments. God created all this uniqueness; it will be represented in Heaven where we will be united in worship of Him, the author of diversity and unity.

• After this, I looked; and there before me was a huge crowd, too large for anyone to count from every nation, tribe, people and language. They were standing in front of the throne and in front of the Lamb, dressed in white robes and holding palm branches in their hands; and they shouted, “Victory to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” (Revelation 7:9)

No matter who is in the White House, WE ARE GIVEN THE PRIVILEGE OF CHOOSING WHOM WE WILL SERVE: Choice is both a privilege and a command given to us by God himself. He will not be disrespected.

• Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me (Revelation 3:20). The choice of relationship is ours.
• But if you refuse to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the god of the Amorites in whose land you now live? As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord (Joshua 24:15). Joshua, Moses’ replacement in leadership of Israel, did not call his nation to be loyal to himself. Rather, he asked the Israelites who their god was.
• I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me (Exodus 20:2-3). The ten commandments were given to Moses after Israel came out from under the bondage of Egypt.

No matter who is in the White House, the BIBLE TELLS US AND JESUS SHOWS US HOW TO DEAL WITH AUTHORITY.

• I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and understand the truth (1 Timothy 2:1-4).
• But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare, you will find your welfare (Jeremiah 29:7)ESV
• How did Jesus deal with the oppression of the Roman Empire? Well then, Jesus said, give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God (Matthew 22:17, Mark 12:17, Luke 20:22). He paid his taxes to Caesar, but he gave his life to the Father.
• Jesus spent much time in prayer and took his orders from Father God. Jesus looked beyond Israel and beyond Rome. He carried out his God-given mission and changed the world. What if we did the same? So Jesus explained, I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does (John 5:19).

No matter who is in the White House, WHAT IS GOD’S COMMAND REGARDING THOSE WHO OPPOSE US? Do we argue them into a corner and treat them with disdain and disrespect their opinions? Our biblical instructions may seem odd, even inappropriate, but they are clear. We are to Love those who oppose us, Pray for them, and Forgive them! To do so is not weakness but obedience.

• In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says: You have heard the law that says, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say, Love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect (Matt. 5:43-48).
• To teach us how to pray, Jesus gave us what we now call The Lord’s prayer. It contains this important phrase: Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us (Luke 11:4).
• From the cross, Jesus did indeed practice what he preached. Jesus said,  Father, forgive them; they don’t understand what they are doing (Luke 23:34 CJB).

No matter who is in the White House, PRAY FOR OUR FAMILIES, OUR NATION, AND OUR FUTURE.

• Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened (Matthew 7:7-8, Luke 11:9-10). James 4 tells us we have not because we ask not, and when we do ask, we do so with wrong motives. These are strong, motivating words in our New Testament.
• A beautiful, Old Testament example of worthy prayer: Then, there at the Ahava River, I proclaimed a fast; so that we could humble ourselves before our God and ask a safe journey of him for ourselves, our little ones, and all our possessions. For I would have been ashamed to ask the king for a detachment of soldiers and horsemen to protect us from enemies along the road, since we had said to the king, “The hand of our God is on all who seek him, for good; but his power and fury is against all who abandon him.” So we fasted and asked our God for this, and he answered our prayer (Ezra 8:21-23).