If Given A Bully Pulpit, What Would Your Message Be?

I’ve spent the last few days contemplating the current happenings in the US this week. We’ve had a change in leadership. For some, there is great hope and anticipation for what is to come. For others, there is much rending of garments and gnashing of teeth. One common theme seems to emerge in this swirl of emotion for the believers in Christ. Do you run to prayer and supplication for God’s glory to come to the nation or do you choose the route of fear? Have you fallen into a political echo chamber or are you seeking the face of God and truth? After all, there are many echo chambers that will tell you precisely what you want to hear whether it is right or not. In the last several years, it has become increasingly convenient to find a set of scripture that will bend to what we think is right, rather than what God has said is right in the scripture. 

Have you fallen into the echo chamber trap?

Where are you in this process? I must admit, in the last four years I have fallen into the trap of echo chambers. I am not the biggest fan of politicians to put it bluntly. I often wonder if they would do the right thing if an angel was standing there proclaiming the truth. They seem at times to be completely self-serving and in pursuit of one thing. Power. It has often been said that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Yet the scripture admonishes us to pray for those in authority over us. First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. Also, the scripture tells us to be subject to those in authority, for there is no authority except from God, and those who exist have been instituted by God. Have we been praying as God commanded us to pray or have we been consumed by an agenda?

Preaching the Gospel of Christ and pointing to God’s Word and fervent prayer will have much more impact than a personal agenda gospel. 

This week there was some controversy concerning a certain Bishop that spoke at a prayer service in Washington. Her words were considered by some to be consumed by a political agenda. When I heard her speak, I immediately thought of President Theodore Roosevelt describing the presidency as a “Bully Pulpit.” He said it was a magnificent opportunity to put forth an agenda to the world. The concept is a little different than our current notion of a bully. Here, in front of the eyes of the world words were uttered that were considered by some as divisive. I took some time to ponder this situation.  If I was given the same position and microphone that was watched by the world, would I say the same thing? The short answer is no, I would not. Before you launch into, “Wait, she is not advocating the gospel!” I want to share a few thoughts that God has put on my heart. There has been a pervasive and somewhat ear tickling doctrine that has slowly invaded the church over the years. Nothing overt, we perceive ourselves as too sophisticated for something as silly as the fanciful gods and ideas of old. After all, we have technology and all the knowledge of the world at our hands. 

God’s Word stands the test of time

 In our bastion of knowledge we have become prideful, believing surely God did not mean what He said in scripture. When dear readers, He did in fact mean for us to preach those ancient words that have endured for generations. 2 Timothy admonishes us to: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.  For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.  They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 

Do we have itching ears?

Are your ears itching? Do they long to have the scripture according to your flesh or the scripture according to God Almighty?  If a remarkable opportunity was missed by the bishop last week in the “Bully Pulpit” what could have been said? As I prayed and sought the Lord in this matter, I couldn’t help but return to this idea. The Gospel of Jesus Christ should have been shared. How He came to the world fully God and fully man and lived among us. He suffered, died, rose, and ascended to the Father on High. In that ultimate sacrifice, He graciously gave us Eternal Life with Him after we die. Until that time, He gave us a handbook to live by. Those words were written under the inspiration of God. Not an ancient book that kind of applies to us today. Those words give life and point us in the direction of loving God, loving our neighbor and it gives us the precepts to walk through life running towards Him in pursuit of holiness. 

The Gospel message is more powerful than any perceived agenda

I believe that the Gospel message has more power than any agenda any day. Think of the words of the Lord’s Prayer. Thy Kingdom Come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. What is the will of Heaven? For us to seek Him with our whole hearts. To know His Word inside and out so that we can hear and strive to live with a heart for God. 

The Scripture Looks to God Instead of Self

God gave us the scripture as a loving guide to live our lives. We hear so much self-centered tropes these days. “Let me take a selfie.” “My truth.” Little is left to look to God and to look outside of self. God’s truth is the truth. Keyboard warriors write the most callous and base words to perfect strangers without a single prick of conscious. Gone are the days of “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.” In years past, I often wondered what Solomon meant by the words: What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. History does indeed repeat itself, as time has gone by it has just become more worldly-wise. In Exodus, Moses left the Israelites for a short time to receive the Ten Commandments. While he was gone, the Israelites descended into orgies, drunkenness and they fashioned a golden calf to worship. This was repeated over and over again throughout the Old Testament. 

Israel is full of historical accounts of turning from God’s truth

The Israelites forgot the blessings of God and started worshiping Ba’al, Moluch, Ashtoreth. What if in our society those gods have become self, technology and an agenda that may not reflect the will of God? Would we notice it? Recently I embarked on a study that puts forth the idea that perhaps those same high places of worship that were named in the Old Testament just have new names these days. After all,  the nature of humanity that does not seek the heart of God will fall into the same historical trap. History might indeed repeat itself. 

Only God can judge our hearts

Only God knows what was on the heart of the Bishop in Washington and her motives in her speech. Personally, I can’t help but think a marvelous opportunity to lead people to Christ was missed in her message. And if history does repeat itself, God is calling to us, the church, (and the world) to draw closer to Him. How does one do that? Read His Word. Pursue sound doctrine. Don’t abide by the gospel of me. It will lead you down a self-destructive path of tears. What often happened when God sent signs to His people to turn to them? He sent His Word, His true remnant teachers, He sent signs in the Heavens, He was calling to those He loved from His heart to move away from their sin. After those repeated warnings, historically a shaking of some sort happened in the culture. I am not purporting that I know what God will do. I don’t. But we do have His Word to give us some direction. I must say, in all the prayers the words of Abraham Lincoln come to mind when he was questioned about this topic by a reporter, his response? “Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right.”

Look to Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith

Lastly, I ask you all dear readers who know Christ to turn to Him. Use your “Bully Pulpit” in life to live and proclaim His gospel to those who are around us. Where does that start? By praying for our leaders, by praying for our neighbors. By knowing that God gave us guidelines to live by in society (laws) and in our spiritual life. My heart hurts to see the church being hijacked by baseless politics. I don’t think that our founding fathers intended for things to get this vitriolic in our nation. After all, James Madison did write: Because We have no Government armed with Power capable of contending with human Passions unbridled by morality and Religion. Avarice, Ambition, Revenge or Gallantry, would break the strongest Cords of our Constitution as a Whale goes through a Net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.

Our founding father’s had great faith

I spent some time last week reading the inauguration addresses of the first few presidents, each one mentioned the grace of Almighty God and His will to found this nation on His principles. Please dear ones, don’t dwell in fear, but rather dwell in the hope and power of God’s timeless Word. He is, after all, the same yesterday, today and forever

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