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George Barna’s American Faith & Culture Institute reports that in his election to the Presidency, Donald Trump “was the recipient of a miracle and America has been granted one more chance to repent and turn the nation’s hearts back to God.” Consider what was against him:
– He was facing an opponent with a deep network of campaign volunteers, party backing, and Mr. Obama working hard for her election.
– He lacked any political experience, which was evident in the debates.
– His campaign had virtually no local volunteers to turn out to vote.
– He was not only mistreated by the media—he made a game of calling them out for their lies and bias, a strategy no previous candidate had dared attempt.
– The Republican establishment party disowned him and many of its leaders said they would not vote for him
– His “favorability score” was the lowest of any presidential candidate ever.
– National polls consistently showed him losing the race.
Dr. Lance Wallnau, believes that God is using Trump as a “wrecking ball to the spirit of political correctness”, claiming that Continue reading
But beyond the observance of those important symbols, what can we now expect? If Donald Trump keeps his word to the American people—and he has certainly been no shining example of moral rectitude—but if he will keep his word to the American people, we will have at least one Supreme Court judge (and hopefully several) which will be a true Constitutionalist appointed to the Court. We’ll strengthen our military and give them the weapons they need. If Mr. Trump keeps his word, our policemen will be honored and once again unshackled to enforce Constitutional law, instead of sharia or socialist law! Illegal immigration will become a treacherous mountain path instead of the super highway it has been for years! We can expect American industry to recover from years of suffocating socialist regulation. But remember, Mr. Trump has no political record. Therefore, we can’t be sure he’ll do any of the things he promised.
By now it was noon, and a strange thing began to happen. The sky began to darken with an eerie blackness. For a few brief moments, the air was so still it seemed to choke you as the darkness deepened. Then the earth began to tremble. Lightning bolts were exploding against the ground. Then, unexpectedly, the voice of Jesus pierced the darkness. In a loud, wrenching voice Jesus cried out,
seen—Jesus suddenly breaks in with another statement. As He looks down from the cross, He sees His mother standing there beside one of His most devoted followers, whose name is John. Looking into the eyes of His mother with those amazing eyes of peace, He says, “Woman, behold your son.” (John 19:26-27) Then looking into the face of the youthful John, He says, “Behold, your mother!” Thus, He has fulfilled His last earthly obligation. Being the oldest son in the family, it is His responsibility to see that His mother is cared for in her latter years. He is dying, thus, He gives her to a trusted friend (and John fulfilled that obligation). Watching all of this, the soldier is becoming more convinced that Jesus is Who He says He is. And if He is God’s Son, then that fact demands He be listened to. If He was God’s Son, then He would be right about everything. And if there was only one God and He sent His Son to earth to be a man that would prove He cared about us. If this was true, the Creator was evidently trying to communicate something to us humans. What could it be?
blood of its Creator.
hardest part of this hideous work would be done. One more…
Jesus has just received the tremendous beating with a whip called a “cat o’ nine tails”, so named for the ripping effect it had on bare skin. In His heart Jesus now cries to His Father for strength to get up and finish this course. By a miracle he struggles to His feet and stands woozily, trying to regain His sense of balance. The soldier points commandingly to the cross prepared for Him. Jesus staggers to it, drops to one knee and—embraces the crude, wooden structure destined to bring Him to death. Straining to rise, He lifts the cross and begins to stagger in His weakness out into the street. Dragging His instrument of death, He sets His course for a hill outside of Jerusalem known as Golgotha, “the place of the skull”. The hill was so named because from a distance it bears some resemblance to the side view of a human skull. As if prophetically named, it would be the place Jesus’ head would finally hang in death.
While feeling the intense pressure, Jesus is doing what He has done all through His life—He is, with each new attack, turning to the Father and, in His heart, is drinking in the Father’s life. That life has strength and sanity in it, which preserves Him throughout this horrendous night. Make no mistake about it. When those accusations first hit His mind, He felt the same as you do when the enemy is attacking your mind. He felt the blows to His body just like you would feel them. The difference was that, as soon as He felt them, He would—in that instant—look to the Father for another drink of His strength, His life that flows as a river from the throne of God (Revelation 22:1). This was the way He had always lived, and He was showing us now, in the very worst mental and physical suffering, that we could still drink of the River of Life—indeed, we could have it flowing through us so that God’s life could also be viewed in us.
pounded into His head. And while everything in His body and mind told Him to run away from tomorrow, something deep in His spirit witnessed that He must submit to this death—that He must trust when He couldn’t see. And ultimately, though deserted by those closest to Him in this darkest hour of need, He chose what He had always chosen: To do the will of God. He chose to not just submit to, but embrace the will of His Father. And when He did, strength came. A special messenger from the Father appeared and touched Him, releasing strength into His weakened body and embattled mind. Now, though He had sweat blood due to the emotional pressure, His body felt much better. His mind was now at peace, as always comes with a surrender to the will of God. Joy—small, but strong—began to course through His being. He was now ready. And the time had come.
cross, His disciples weren’t thinking about His long-range mission: They were too busy enjoying the recognition they were receiving from the crowds from being associated with Jesus. They were “flying high”! But Jesus had not come to cater to our selfish desires. He would not play the world’s game of trying to build our own self-image by gaining the acceptance of others—neither will He allow His followers to do it. He must bring these disciples to the awakening of who they really were, of why they were here on this earth. All this “acceptance” would shortly meet an abrupt end.
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