Now What?...

The election is over, this is a once in a lifetime                  chance we have as believers

     Good morning sisters (and brothers)! A new chapter in America and the world has been decided. So now what? What are we suppose to do? How are we suppose to respond to the divided country we have? And make no mistake it is not a two split divide but multiple divides. As believers I can feel the Holy Spirit growing stronger in myself, but maybe not the way you think. We now have a huge responsibility ahead of us and it will need to be done differently then ever before. What do I mean? Well, for that I am going to let the Bible speak to it. This is huge and we can't afford to let the enemy within or the enemy of this world derail us so close to His coming. 

Step 1: Submit to Authority

Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human authority... For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God's slaves." 1 Peter 2:13,15-16 NIV

     There it is right there. Regardless of who won the presidency, who will win the senate and so on, God's command is to submit to that authority. I believe as believers we can now do this because we have been humbled the past four years. You may say "I did not submit", really? Did you obey the laws set in place these past four years? Well we didn't have a revolution so whether you chose to or not the Spirit in you was obeyed. Now we must do it again, with the Spirit living in us we can all obey this command. I hate skipping verses as I did above. I strongly urge you to read ALL of 1 Peter 2 because it is so good and revealing to what God expects of believers when it comes to ALL the authorities over us. Okay, that was the first potential hard pill to swallow. However, I love you all too much to not tell you the Truth of God's word.

Step 2: The response

Brothers (and sisters), if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of meekness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." Galatians 6:1-2 ESV

     The application for this scripture has become so distorted. So many believers do the opposite of meekness, in turn we further hurt the people we were called to help (note the scripture said ANYONE, not just a believer). The definition of meekness (or gentleness) is controlled strength sisters! This process is to be so delicate that we risk falling into the temptation of agreeing with where a person stands OR the other outcome when not handled correctly is we harden our hearts by our words, we lose our meekness and lash out in self-righteous anger, pride, boastfulness, etc. We are called to love all people by action, show humility towards them as we call out the sin. In doing so we are so vulnerable and empathetic with them as they allow God to work in them.
     Our nation is now divided, not just the red and blue, but believers against believers, us and the lost. The enemy did an amazing job of not only doing this in our country but also within God's own church. The infighting HAS TO STOP! Whether you want to allow the Spirit to show you or not Harris was once an innocent baby that the world and flesh had not yet corrupted (not talking about original sin). She was that baby that you should have voted to not allow harm to come to in the womb. Yes, as believers we are to protect the unborn from all evil threats, I share my testimonies in other blogs on this topic. All of "them" were once sweet, playful, happy little babies and toddlers and children until sin crushed them.
     So I am begging you, when you see anyone for Harris acting sinfully, remember this. Love them so tenderly and empathize with them so compassionately that seeds are planted for God to use. If you see pride and boosting for Trump call them out on it! God has given us the opportunity, the Church the opportunity, to unite this country for what Jesus stood for. However, we can't do it if we are attacking ourselves from within. If you know believers that voted differently than you, love on them. Half this country is hurting badly this morning, empathize with them. Feel what they are feeling and use your meekness to comfort them. 
     You can not look at this picture below and think evil. We were all like this at one point. Fight to remember this when you go out and love and comfort those who are hurting. And EXPECT them to lash out because hurt people hurt people. Stay with them, don't abandon them in your hurt or lash out back at them.

Step 3: The HOW

..., but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God." James 3:8-9 ESV

     I love our first amendment to free speech. I do and I will stand with it until I die. That being said, sisters we have utterly failed to see God does NOT give us a first amendment. In God's word we are told there are thing we CAN NOT SAY. Knowing this is the key to being able to respond the way Jesus always did. 
     Sadly I saw a great deal of this very thing with this election. Some believers literally were fighting fire with fire and it went against the very One they were fighting for! However, I also saw other believers let the Spirit speak and their words flowed with the wisdom of the Spirit. One church in particular took on the election in prayer and NOT the way you would think. They wrote letters of prayers to the FUTURE president and mailed them to the White House BEFORE the election yesterday. These prayers were unbiased and overflowing with love and wisdom from God. I loved it so much I did the same thing. Sadly that was the way ALL believers should have responded to this election. And please note, I am not perfect, I clung to 1 Peter 2 these past several weeks to keep me in check, but I am only human and have sinned in this election as well. 
     But now, but now, we have a chance to make the Church a uniting front for America. A place for the hurt to come and just be loved on. As Job's friends were at their most comforting time... silent; we the believers need to practice this. People don't need to hear us speak but to feel us love them and cry with them in their pain and remind them who is truly in control. We must be gentle as doves but wise as serpents. We have had four years of judgement on us but in that time the revivals (that were not in the news) kept going ever since The Jesus Revolution came out. I truly believe God has shown grace and mercy to this country with who he put in office but the believers must NOT become complacent again. This was a battle and only a battle against the spirit of the enemy and he won't stop. We will have to continue to fight back with the instructions God gave us, the war is won, but the battle count is on going.

Final Thoughts...

     In the end my beloved sisters, the president is nothing more than a sub-governor. No matter who holds that seat Jesus is still the King over them and us. They will all be held accountable for the work they did holding that office. Until His return we are to advocate for Him as ambassadors. We do this by submitting to the authority He placed over us, we love the hurt and correct tenderly the sinful, and WE HOLD OUR TONGUES and unite through our works. I always tell my kids before they speak as themselves: Is it kind, is it true and is it necessary? If it does't fit those three boxes don't say it. Instead share your testimonies to those going through fires you have walked, pray with them, or just be silent but present. The Spirit has been sent to us to do greater works than Jesus did, so let's honor Him by doing just that! God bless, love you all!