I feel like a major problem in the Body of Believers these days is the fact that they tend to let the world get them down. They tend to say, in essence, "Why try swimming against an impossible tide?". Or, in the case of a psychotic person, "Society has tried its best at raising, and even changing this person. It apparently failed, so why keep trying?". Or worse still, "Society has tried, time and time again, to try to create something good, yet it always fails. So why try to succeed when so many others have failed?"
I've been having a lot of discussion over the death penalty, war, Christians in the military, gun rights, and so forth. Keep in mind, a lot of this is my opinion and I don't try to pass all of this off as Scriptural fact. However, I do try to model my entire worldview, including in politics, around my Christian faith and the Bible. That being said, those who know me may know I'm a monarchist. I describe myself as a Christian Theocratic Monarchist- a monarchist who believes in an actively-ruling monarch (although, naturally, there would need to be a constitution so the monarch can't just go and off someone for no reason) who rules and is obligated to rule according to Biblical principles. I feel a great king is one that has a relationship with the King of Kings. I'm not going to go into the economic or political reasons I'm a monarchist, but those are the basics. I was born and raised in America, but have no pride for this land. I draw heritage from Britain (English, Scottish, and Irish), Germany, and Sweden, yet I do not view them as fatherland. The only nation I have pride in -- the only one I view as my true home -- is the Kingdom in which I was born again: the Kingdom of God.
I agree with the statement, "Evil thrives when good men do nothing.". Now, no man is truly good- only God is good. However, the statement could be rephrased: "Evil thrives when men fail to seek Jesus in everything they do." and even "Evil thrives when men fail to make a change.". The world can be discouraging. History is even worse in discouragement. There have been countless attempts to create something good, and the problem lies deep within the hearts of men: the selfishness of sin is the root of all of these problems in the world. However, as Christians, aren't we supposed to combat the evil of this world by carrying the love of Christ and taking His truth to the world? Jesus overcame the world, and through Him, we are supposed to be more than conquerors, taking His truth and the Gospel with us everywhere we go.
2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV) says, "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of sound mind.". Another translation (NIV) says, "For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love, and self-discipline." Through God -- the Holy Spirit -- we are equipped to do every good deed! This includes loving the unlovable, forgiving the unforgivable, and being Christ to those who need His light. It's all about asking Jesus for help and not relying on our humanity to give us the answers. The most psychotic criminal, the most abusive person... they are just as needy as the "innocent" passing bystander. Why should we limit ourselves to friends, family, and the "good" members of society? If God is for us, and if God is with us, why are we limiting ourselves to the per-se "easier" situations? We're not called to swim with the tide, but rather, against it. Now, I'm not trying to be self-righteous -- as nothing bothers me more than a self-righteous attitude -- but it's true that some Christians just simply don't want to love the unlovable. It's not even the fact that they can't do so on their own, they tend to not WANT to love the unlovable. Below is a passage from my upcoming e-book, Modern-Day Pharisees: Returning to a Calling of a Christian. Perhaps it will be encouraging to look toward Jesus and look at life from an eternal perspective rather than a temporal one:
I agree with the statement, "Evil thrives when good men do nothing.". Now, no man is truly good- only God is good. However, the statement could be rephrased: "Evil thrives when men fail to seek Jesus in everything they do." and even "Evil thrives when men fail to make a change.". The world can be discouraging. History is even worse in discouragement. There have been countless attempts to create something good, and the problem lies deep within the hearts of men: the selfishness of sin is the root of all of these problems in the world. However, as Christians, aren't we supposed to combat the evil of this world by carrying the love of Christ and taking His truth to the world? Jesus overcame the world, and through Him, we are supposed to be more than conquerors, taking His truth and the Gospel with us everywhere we go.
2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV) says, "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of sound mind.". Another translation (NIV) says, "For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love, and self-discipline." Through God -- the Holy Spirit -- we are equipped to do every good deed! This includes loving the unlovable, forgiving the unforgivable, and being Christ to those who need His light. It's all about asking Jesus for help and not relying on our humanity to give us the answers. The most psychotic criminal, the most abusive person... they are just as needy as the "innocent" passing bystander. Why should we limit ourselves to friends, family, and the "good" members of society? If God is for us, and if God is with us, why are we limiting ourselves to the per-se "easier" situations? We're not called to swim with the tide, but rather, against it. Now, I'm not trying to be self-righteous -- as nothing bothers me more than a self-righteous attitude -- but it's true that some Christians just simply don't want to love the unlovable. It's not even the fact that they can't do so on their own, they tend to not WANT to love the unlovable. Below is a passage from my upcoming e-book, Modern-Day Pharisees: Returning to a Calling of a Christian. Perhaps it will be encouraging to look toward Jesus and look at life from an eternal perspective rather than a temporal one:
Jesus wants us to be ever-transformed into His likeness, and one of His most dominant traits is His mercy. In the Beatitudes, Jesus tells us that those who are merciful will be shown mercy. To fully understand what it means to be merciful and forgiving, we just need to look at Jesus' sacrifice on the cross. The very ones who were beating and mocking them didn't deserve His mercy, yet He said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do." He knew that His suffering, humiliation, and even death, were only temporary- but a soul lasts forever. When we look at life from an eternal perspective, forgiveness becomes somewhat simpler. Perhaps it's not easier, but when you view things from an eternal perspective, you start to see the reason why Jesus forgives a person regardless of their sins: because of His never-ending love, He knows that forgiveness determines a person's eternity, and because He doesn't desire to see anyone perish, He forgives anyone who humbles themselves and comes to Him.
God is a God of the impossible. This entire universe is an impossible miracle made possible only by an Almighty God. So why is it that so many insist on sitting back and theoretically saying, "This is impossible according to the world, so I'm not going to try."? We all do this, but in order to carry out the impossible mission of doing God's will, we need the help of the God of the impossible to do His will and accomplish what the world views as impossible. Think about it: God's miracle-working in our lives is a great testimony to His love, His power, and His knowledge!
Or what about the criminals, the most stone cold-hearted individuals on this planet? Do they deserve mercy and love and compassion? Of course not, but neither do we. We deserve nothing other than an eternity separated from God, yet through Jesus, we can be saved. So why are we holding the Gospel back from the men and women in prison or on death row? Why are we so okay with the death penalty on these individuals when we were headed there as well? Why aren't we leaving Christ to do the judging of life and death, and rather, fight for the lives of those the savage government are trying to end? Why are we letting the United States, who tries to rule the world its own way, keep its barbaric methods and get away with it? The US is one of the few first-world nations that still has the death penalty, that still allows its citizens to have access to firearms, yet it wants to sit on the throne of the world? Why are we letting that happen? Seriously.
Now that I got that little rant out of the way... for the most part, monarchists are just supporters of monarchy. They're content with supporting existing monarchies, and supporting the establishment of new monarchies. However, this is where I differ from the rest of the monarchists: I am not content with merely supporting existing monarchies... I want to create a new one, or transform an existing one into something new. I want to do something impossible. Will I succeed? Only God knows, but I know for a fact that He is going to use me to do something incredible for the Kingdom of Heaven. It could be something that is subtle in this life but life-changing for someone into eternity, and that would be great, but I know God must have given me this strong passion for Him, monarchy, BEING a royal, and making a difference for some reason. Will this royal dream be fulfilled in this lifetime? Maybe. However, I do have a sense of peace knowing that I am a royal either way, in the eternal Royal Family through Christ. That doesn't mean I can't strive towards this royal dream in this lifetime though.
God is a God of the impossible, which means that if I have a dream and it's part of His will, that dream will come true. It doesn't mean I'm about to jump off a cliff and expect to live. We have common sense for a reason. However, if we let common sense take charge in our lives, it becomes an idol and blocks the light of God in our lives. It serves as a tool by which Satan makes us think that something that looks impossible, truly IS impossible and that you shouldn't even try, but in the Bible, there's a particular story: God told Joshua to take the Israelites and conquer the Promised Land. Joshua sent spies into the land -- a wise strategy by the world's standards, but not necessary since God was with them anyways -- and the spies came back, basically saying, "Impossible. Simply impossible. The land is filled with giants and they'd slaughter us.". The spies truly believed it was impossible and completely forgot that God was with them. So they continued wandering.
Fear and belief that the impossible really is impossible limit us and hold us back from wonderful opportunities. Now, before you jump and claim I'm teaching a prosperity Gospel message here, keep in mind: on our own, nothing is possible. However, the Bible says that with God, nothing shall be impossible. I feel that as Christians, we need to start taking that statement to heart. Again, I'm not talking about being a daredevil and base jumping without a parachute, or launching yourself out of a cannon or anything of the like, but what I do mean is that if God gives you a passion or dream that you think is impossible, remember that with God, EVERYTHING is possible. We can't do it on our own. We just can't. We aren't God. God doesn't give us passions and dreams just to abandon us and say, "Go do this on your own." He gives us these passions and dreams to use to bring Him glory. So even a dream that seems as alien and out-of-reach as becoming a royal in a world filled with people obsessed with democracy isn't alien and out-of-reach in reality. And I know that despite this truth, even among people who KNOW that God is a God of the impossible, I get funny looks and rolling eyes when I speak about this dream, as if they think I'm just a child dreaming a dream world. Maybe that's the case and I'm just too stubborn to realize it... or maybe all the countless dreams and visions God grants are telling me something.
"You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek". "The next David". "A man after God's own heart". These are three statements ring through my head often. Even to this day, I wonder if the first two are just Satan trying to put pride into my mind and heart as he has been trying to do to me recently, but I don't think Satan would be encouraging me to be a man after God's own heart, as that would do absolutely nothing beneficial for him.
So to conclude, I ask a question: is it possible that I will become a royal to rule by God's principles like Melchizedek and David? The world says "No." I say "I don't know." The Lord says "Trust in me."
I ask another question: if impossibility was a factor to God, would the universe exist? Atheists and skeptics say "God doesn't exist, but the universe does, so impossibility is still a problem." I say "No. There's no way this all just happened. The universe is a miracle made possible only by the God of the impossible." The Lord says (through Isaiah):
Or what about the criminals, the most stone cold-hearted individuals on this planet? Do they deserve mercy and love and compassion? Of course not, but neither do we. We deserve nothing other than an eternity separated from God, yet through Jesus, we can be saved. So why are we holding the Gospel back from the men and women in prison or on death row? Why are we so okay with the death penalty on these individuals when we were headed there as well? Why aren't we leaving Christ to do the judging of life and death, and rather, fight for the lives of those the savage government are trying to end? Why are we letting the United States, who tries to rule the world its own way, keep its barbaric methods and get away with it? The US is one of the few first-world nations that still has the death penalty, that still allows its citizens to have access to firearms, yet it wants to sit on the throne of the world? Why are we letting that happen? Seriously.
Now that I got that little rant out of the way... for the most part, monarchists are just supporters of monarchy. They're content with supporting existing monarchies, and supporting the establishment of new monarchies. However, this is where I differ from the rest of the monarchists: I am not content with merely supporting existing monarchies... I want to create a new one, or transform an existing one into something new. I want to do something impossible. Will I succeed? Only God knows, but I know for a fact that He is going to use me to do something incredible for the Kingdom of Heaven. It could be something that is subtle in this life but life-changing for someone into eternity, and that would be great, but I know God must have given me this strong passion for Him, monarchy, BEING a royal, and making a difference for some reason. Will this royal dream be fulfilled in this lifetime? Maybe. However, I do have a sense of peace knowing that I am a royal either way, in the eternal Royal Family through Christ. That doesn't mean I can't strive towards this royal dream in this lifetime though.
God is a God of the impossible, which means that if I have a dream and it's part of His will, that dream will come true. It doesn't mean I'm about to jump off a cliff and expect to live. We have common sense for a reason. However, if we let common sense take charge in our lives, it becomes an idol and blocks the light of God in our lives. It serves as a tool by which Satan makes us think that something that looks impossible, truly IS impossible and that you shouldn't even try, but in the Bible, there's a particular story: God told Joshua to take the Israelites and conquer the Promised Land. Joshua sent spies into the land -- a wise strategy by the world's standards, but not necessary since God was with them anyways -- and the spies came back, basically saying, "Impossible. Simply impossible. The land is filled with giants and they'd slaughter us.". The spies truly believed it was impossible and completely forgot that God was with them. So they continued wandering.
Fear and belief that the impossible really is impossible limit us and hold us back from wonderful opportunities. Now, before you jump and claim I'm teaching a prosperity Gospel message here, keep in mind: on our own, nothing is possible. However, the Bible says that with God, nothing shall be impossible. I feel that as Christians, we need to start taking that statement to heart. Again, I'm not talking about being a daredevil and base jumping without a parachute, or launching yourself out of a cannon or anything of the like, but what I do mean is that if God gives you a passion or dream that you think is impossible, remember that with God, EVERYTHING is possible. We can't do it on our own. We just can't. We aren't God. God doesn't give us passions and dreams just to abandon us and say, "Go do this on your own." He gives us these passions and dreams to use to bring Him glory. So even a dream that seems as alien and out-of-reach as becoming a royal in a world filled with people obsessed with democracy isn't alien and out-of-reach in reality. And I know that despite this truth, even among people who KNOW that God is a God of the impossible, I get funny looks and rolling eyes when I speak about this dream, as if they think I'm just a child dreaming a dream world. Maybe that's the case and I'm just too stubborn to realize it... or maybe all the countless dreams and visions God grants are telling me something.
"You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek". "The next David". "A man after God's own heart". These are three statements ring through my head often. Even to this day, I wonder if the first two are just Satan trying to put pride into my mind and heart as he has been trying to do to me recently, but I don't think Satan would be encouraging me to be a man after God's own heart, as that would do absolutely nothing beneficial for him.
So to conclude, I ask a question: is it possible that I will become a royal to rule by God's principles like Melchizedek and David? The world says "No." I say "I don't know." The Lord says "Trust in me."
I ask another question: if impossibility was a factor to God, would the universe exist? Atheists and skeptics say "God doesn't exist, but the universe does, so impossibility is still a problem." I say "No. There's no way this all just happened. The universe is a miracle made possible only by the God of the impossible." The Lord says (through Isaiah):
Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand,
or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?
Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,
or weighed the mountains on the scales
and the hills in a balance?
Who can fathom the Spirit of the Lord,
or instruct the Lord as his counselor?
Whom did the Lord consult to enlighten him,
and who taught him the right way?
Who was it that taught him knowledge,
or showed him the path of understanding?
Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood since the earth was founded?
He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth,
and its people are like grasshoppers.
He stretches out the heavens like a canopy,
and spreads them out like a tent to live in.
He brings princes to naught
and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.
No sooner are they planted,
no sooner are they sown,
no sooner do they take root in the ground,
than he blows on them and they wither,
and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.
“To whom will you compare me?
Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One.
Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens:
Who created all these?
He who brings out the starry host one by one
and calls forth each of them by name.
Because of his great power and mighty strength,
not one of them is missing.
Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.