I expect many who read these postings are not Americans nor are they familiar with the robust political dialogue that we Americans take freely for granted. Most places in the world are not free to rip into the politicians and leaders to whom they are subject- here in America it is daily bloodsport.
Our 45th President is difficult to compare to any of the previous 44. Those men were generally accomplished politicians, with tactical skills on the political process carefully tuned to the political game, careful of their donors, careful of their private allegiances, and extremely careful to preserve their public images. That is what America has come to expect of its Presidents, and no one who appeared likely to stray from that expectation ever came very close to winning the most prestigious office in the present world.
Then”””””” along came Barack Obama. A man whose skin color stunned and amazed the whole nation, no one with black skin had ever emerged with such such a presence of authority, such perfectly pressed trousers, such mesmerizing speech, and such a vacant and mysterious past. It was like the Messiah had arrived, and he swept into office with almost effortless ease.
He was an empty suit. He was without even a birth certificate, an educational record, a legislative record, he was apparently a Muslim though many still can’t believe that even though he acknowledges it in his words, actions, and writings- and his 8 years in office left much of the American economy in shambles as the national debt skyrocketed to many trillions of dollars.
He bumbled his foreign policies, bumbled his military endeavors, and regularly insulted the very nation itself. In the meantime, he somehow accumulated for himself millions in personal assets. When he left office, he immediately purchased a multi-million dollar mansion next to the ocean he assured the nation would soon rise and devour with global warming.
The nation watched all this- many with their jaws hanging open in disbelief. It was an amazing departure from everything we expected of a President, and a serious disappointment to those who believed the Messiah had come.
Many were more than ready for someone to fix what Obama had broken.
So..... Donald Trump came down the escalator and said he wanted to give that repair job a try. Skeptical at first- everyone I know certainly was- but in the end it was either him or a woman who made Al Capone look like a Sunday School teacher. We voted in a rough and crude man with zero political experience.
No political experience, but lots of "president” experience.
Since then, the economy came rushing back, international trade deals that were like advanced calculus to previous Presidents were negotiated and began to produce at long last equitable trade relations, a wall is being built on the southern border that will force foreigners to use proper doors to enter the country, the military is being strengthened, the American embassy in Israel is now in Jerusalem, the ISIS terrorists have been organizationally decimated, and NATO strategic defense partners are paying their shares of that cost.
American family incomes are up about $5000 annually, unemployment is around 3.5%, and about 7 million jobs are un-filled- conditions unknown to many Americans.
In the meantime, as we speak a massive movement to control power and money within the government has been exposed- a corruption of unbelievable proportions. Operatives in the FBI, the CIA, and NSA believed that their power was secret and unassailable- but is beginning to unravel. The daily revelations of the corruption portend a huge eruption in the near future with truth that was never to be known being shouted from rooftops.
All because of this man- Donald Trump.
Personally, I am most surprised that he has not been physically eliminated by the dark powers he is exposing- and I thank God for that. He is a man I pray for, a man who seems to covet those prayers, a man who is extremely rough around his edges but is doing something none of us could dream of doing. The opposition to him is enormous, the attacks are full on, day after day- the energy he has to stand against all of it borders on the supernatural!
Oh yeah- "Christianity Today.” Almost forgot. An intellectual publication desperate to pretend it matters in the world of sophistry and insight.
A paper that reflects spiritual pride and academic mastery but has never in many years knelt next to desperate and broken men and women crying out to the God of forgiveness and miracles. It is a publication of self-serving irrelevance and now leftist pandering. The mark has been missed.
The Pharisees knew they had Jesus in just the right corner one day, a question that they prepared to have Him either crushed by the Roman government, or skewered by the Jewish populace. A question that left Jesus no place to hide.
"So, Rabbi- is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar?”
To say "No” was to encourage a political rebellion bound to certain failure- but one where the Pharisees could side with the Romans as Jesus was bound and executed as a political rebel.
To say "Yes” was to simply turn the crowds against Him, undercutting His appeal which caused such fierce jealousy among the Pharisees.
Jesus of course knew all of this- and easily slipped out of the noose. "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and render unto God the things that are God’s.”
Jesus knew not to tread on ground that He did not own, to opine on things where His authority did not fit. He had a mission to reach hearts, to turn those to God, to build a kingdom of those hearts- all in a world clamoring for other things. The editorial board at Christianity Today should pay attention to these things. But they won’t.
Jesus continues with His mission. And He is doing a marvelous job.
As Trump is doing his.
Thank You God. You do find some strange and amazing people to fulfill Your purposes in the world.
I watch in awe....
