1 The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord, Like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes.
2 Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, But the Lord weighs the hearts.
Throughout the Scriptures, you see where God used governmental authorities to accomplish His purposes - it's a principle that is still in effect for us today, and something to contemplate as the United States transitions to new leadership. We also recognize that the Bible addresses the purpose for government. We don't necessarily know the purposes of God, and the Bible shows us that some leaders were actually instruments of His judgment. But, we can be challenged to pray for those in authority, that, as 1st Timothy 2 outlines, believers might live "quiet and peaceable lives."
The prophet Daniel, who was brought into the service of the Babylonian king during the captivity of the people of Israel, had a challenge - tell the king what he had dreamt and the meaning of it. In the
book of Daniel chapter 2, we read:
20 Daniel answered and said: "Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, For wisdom and might are His.
21 And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise And knowledge to those who have understanding.
22 He reveals deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, And light dwells with Him.
The inclusion of evangelical Christian leaders in the events surrounding the Inauguration of President Donald Trump has been stunning and surprising. No, this is not the leader that many Christians would have chosen when describing their ideal President perhaps 18 months ago. But, the thrice-married real estate magnate who has operated gambling casinos and made disrespectful comments about women and disparaging comments about people with whom he disagrees is now President.
So, we have to get used to saying President Donald Trump. And, we have to accept that the God who raises up and deposes leaders, according to the book of Daniel, is now our leader. By the way, even though he will go down in history for many as a champion of abortion, gay rights, and the erosion of religious freedom for Christians, Barack Obama was also raised up as President according to the sovereign hand of God.
God will not give America the leader it wants necessarily, but will give us the leader we need - and He speaks and operates through the electoral process. Throughout the Bible, we see that God chose leaders who are imperfect, some of them downright wicked. Even David, who was described as a man after God's own heart, had some very apparent flaws. Nebuchadnezzar enslaved the Jewish people, but God worked in his life. Some have likened Donald Trump to Cyrus, a secular king who was sympathetic with the cause of God's chosen people.
We don't know what God might do through Donald Trump in the next four years, but I'm thankful that there are Christian leaders who apparently have his ear. The evangelical advisory board that was active in the campaign will continue to operate during the Administration, as member Dr. Richard Land announced on The Meeting House yesterday. There were a number of Christian leaders who spoke at the traditional worship service at St. John's Episcopal Church in D.C. this morning. Christian prayers and comments were offered at the Inauguration. And tomorrow, the customary service at the National Cathedral will feature some voices that have been heard on Faith Radio.
As Christianity Today reports:
The CT report says:
+++++
The prophet Daniel, who was brought into the service of the Babylonian king during the captivity of the people of Israel, had a challenge - tell the king what he had dreamt and the meaning of it. In the
book of Daniel chapter 2, we read:
20 Daniel answered and said: "Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, For wisdom and might are His.
21 And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise And knowledge to those who have understanding.
22 He reveals deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, And light dwells with Him.
The inclusion of evangelical Christian leaders in the events surrounding the Inauguration of President Donald Trump has been stunning and surprising. No, this is not the leader that many Christians would have chosen when describing their ideal President perhaps 18 months ago. But, the thrice-married real estate magnate who has operated gambling casinos and made disrespectful comments about women and disparaging comments about people with whom he disagrees is now President.
So, we have to get used to saying President Donald Trump. And, we have to accept that the God who raises up and deposes leaders, according to the book of Daniel, is now our leader. By the way, even though he will go down in history for many as a champion of abortion, gay rights, and the erosion of religious freedom for Christians, Barack Obama was also raised up as President according to the sovereign hand of God.
God will not give America the leader it wants necessarily, but will give us the leader we need - and He speaks and operates through the electoral process. Throughout the Bible, we see that God chose leaders who are imperfect, some of them downright wicked. Even David, who was described as a man after God's own heart, had some very apparent flaws. Nebuchadnezzar enslaved the Jewish people, but God worked in his life. Some have likened Donald Trump to Cyrus, a secular king who was sympathetic with the cause of God's chosen people.
We don't know what God might do through Donald Trump in the next four years, but I'm thankful that there are Christian leaders who apparently have his ear. The evangelical advisory board that was active in the campaign will continue to operate during the Administration, as member Dr. Richard Land announced on The Meeting House yesterday. There were a number of Christian leaders who spoke at the traditional worship service at St. John's Episcopal Church in D.C. this morning. Christian prayers and comments were offered at the Inauguration. And tomorrow, the customary service at the National Cathedral will feature some voices that have been heard on Faith Radio.
As Christianity Today reports:
The National Prayer Service, hosted at the Episcopal cathedral Saturday morning, will feature two former presidents of the Southern Baptist Convention, the granddaughter of Billy Graham, and Greg Laurie, the evangelist behind the popular Harvest America crusades, among a total of 26 faith leaders.
Representatives from Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Mormon, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, Buddhist, and Bahá’í traditions are also participating in the event...Those two former SBC presidents are Jack Graham and Ronnie Floyd, who are both members of that advisory board, as is pastor David Jeremiah. Alveda King, Harry Jackson, and Cissie Graham Lynch, daughter of Franklin and granddaughter of Billy Graham, are all on the list of participants.
The CT report says:
Trump has requested a series of Scripture readings and prayers rather than a sermon.
“As a Baptist, I’m compelled by my faith to pray for the leaders of our nation and to ask God’s blessing on them, for they cannot succeed outside his providence and without his guiding hand,” said Jack Graham, pastor of Prestonwood Baptist and former chairman for the National Day of Prayer.One of the participants this morning at the private worship service at St. John's was James Robison. According to the website, The Stream:
Late Thursday night, Stream founder and publisher James Robison took to Twitter and Facebook to issue a prayer request to all believers. Robison publicly announced that he will be praying over President-elect Trump and his family early Friday morning. He asks that we join with him in that prayer.Also on that website, Dr. Michael Brown wrote this, from the perspective of someone who has been critical during the past of the new President:
So, I’m encouraging you to have a godly attitude towards our new president. I’m encouraging you to pray for him with the heartfelt desire that God will make him into a great president rather than for you to stand on the sidelines, rooting for his fall. According to the Scriptures, the former attitude is godly; the latter is not.
Let your attitude, then, as a past critic be: “I have grave concerns about President Trump, but I’m hoping that I’m wrong about my concerns.”Not only did Brown address attitude, but also expectation, writing:
Could it be that Trump is not quite the man you think he is? Could it be that he has more going for him than you realize? Could it be that many Americans had solid reasons to vote for him and that he could get a lot done for the good of our nation? Could it be that, despite his very rough edges and non-presidential tweets, God is already working in his heart?All in all, like Trump or not, he is now our President. But, Jesus is our King - so we trust our leadership and our nation at large into the hands of Almighty God. We can move forward with expectancy that God will do His work in the hearts of His people and bring people who don't know Him into a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
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