There is a story about a little boy who sees his Daddy, the Pastor, writing something in his office.  The little boy asks: “What are you doing Daddy?” 

His Dad answers: “Writing the sermon for Sunday.”

The little boy then asks: “How do you know what to write?”

His Dad answers: “God tells me.”

So then the little boy asks: “If God tells you, why do you have so many words crossed out?”

God doesn’t talk to us all the time.  There is a reason that every week when we start church, we pray for God to open our hearts and minds to hear His words. 

There is a battle going on in the world so I thought I should start with a something I heard once in the Army.  Long ago I was told by Battery Commander (Army talk for “my boss”) something that every Second Lieutenant should know.  It was something that I used for the rest of my 45 year career with or in the Army.  He said “Being powerful is like being a Lady.  If you have to say you are, you are not.”  It is a great rule for everything in life.  I remembered it this week when I was looking for daily scriptures for our web page.  I could very easily tap into a web page that has the scriptures already made up, but I want to use ones that strike me as important so I search through certain thoughts and let what pops up guide me.  I scatter the days randomly with the idea that God will put the right scripture on the right day.  I just have to look for the ones that feel right.  A couple popped up this week as I was hovering over the days before the upcoming election in November.  The first was: 1John 4:6 We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.  The second was 1John 9:31 We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will.

Who is not from God will not listen to us.  Bible scripture is the basis for Christianity.  No one can argue with that.  Or should I say no one who is truly Christian can argue with that. But Satan can quote scripture with the best of them…… for his own purposes.  That is why I say that all scripture must be taken in full context.  A good example is Ephesians 6 5-8. It was used to justify the aberration that is slavery.  Most people know that slavery is very wrong.  There is a terrible problem when scripture is taken out of context.  This scripture is actually about being a soldier of God – it does not suggest that slavery is right. Ephesians 6 ⁵ Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. ⁶ Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. ⁷ Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people, ⁸ because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether they are slave or free.  So you can see that Satan twisted that scripture in a bad way.

Another problem is interpreting scripture.  When someone tells me “What this scripture means”, I turn off the switch on my ears.  Why? Because scripture is not meant to be interpreted.  It is meant to be followed.  If you want interpretation, read Paul’s letters. Paul interprets Jesus’ meaning by association and Divine guidance.  Divine with a capital D.  Another issue is when someone says “my church says or my pastor says”.  It should only be “The Bible says”.  There are too many churches and pastors who have drifted away from what God says.  My wife and I quit going to the Catholic Church because that church was saying things and allowing things that are not mentioned in the Bible.  We still love that church but they would grant forgiveness and the next day, the sinners were sinning again.  That is important because forgiveness is the key to everything.  In the Book of John 8:7-11 Jesus said when presented with an adulteress: ⁷ When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” ⁸ Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.   ⁹ At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. ¹⁰ Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” ¹¹ “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”  Sin no more.  Leave your life of sin. I care not what one of our country’s politicians has done before IF he or she leaves their life of sin.  Take the forgiveness that Jesus earned for us and sin no more.  Our country needs that to happen.

Now you see why these previous two scriptures are important to our country and they don’t need interpretation either.  Listen again: We are from God, and whoever knows God, listens to us; but whoever is not from God, does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.  That is pretty simple.  Whoever knows God listens to God.  The second scripture was 1John 9:31 We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will.

So why does that tie into the upcoming election?  It is not to tell you how to vote.  That is your decision.  For us, in our church, every Thursday morning, we try and assemble for 30-60 minutes of prayer.  That period of prayer has one focus.  It is to pray for our country and our leadership.  I believe that most of our country’s leadership is not listening to God.  God’s tenets are where?  They are in the Bible.  If you do not hear God’s voice clearly speaking to you, you can still read his word for guidance.  Whether we are talking about Politicians or us simple people, the scripture says God does not listen to sinners.  Our country and you have a choice to put yourselves in a position of forgiveness and to sin no more.  If you say your beliefs are important, vote for your beliefs instead what is better or more comfortable for you personally.  You need to vote for what feels right and in accordance with the Word of God.  I could put together a huge list of political issues that have Christian importance ranging from abortion to death penalty to hate crimes to forever on.  I just know personally, if I come out of the voting booth, and I have not voted in accordance with the Word of God, I will feel guilty for doing something wrong.  I pray that you will come out with an uplifted heart for having made good choices not just in your voting in the elections but how you make your daily choices.  We are from God, and whoever knows God, listens to us; but whoever is not from God, does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood. 

Oh and why is being powerful like a lady?  God is all powerful.  He doesn’t need to tell you that.  Don’t forget that he doesn’t need to tell you that.  So He won’t tell you that but you need to listen.  Listen to his written word, and if so blessed, his spoken word.  Peace be with you all.