Father God, when you chose Israel, it was not even a nation. It consisted of one man, Abraham, and his desire to walk with You. The good, the bad and the ugly ... they all came later. But there was a force separating them from you. As the mighty angel stood before the garden gate with his sword of fire, so the power of the institution of sin, held you back from embracing them. You loved them from a distance. But you loved them.

Now we are the good, the bad and the ugly but still precious in Your sight; our right standing is in Christ Jesus. That is the only difference. We ourselves practice selective humility, obedience and pretty much everything else the nation of Israel did. Please forgive us and help us to forgive others. Especially others in the body. Your Grace does not mean entitlement or favoritism.

Our President is not a perfect leader. We are asked to choose between two imperfect men at this time. Your salvation is not gained by works. We know that. Neither man could come to you and be accepted on their own merits. Neither could either be rejected by just being, "too bad". They stand before you alone on their own records of achievement and personal losses. No debate.

So Righteous Judge, what do You ask from us? What do you search for in the heart of man? What makes you raise up one man over another? You have a Plan. This is about You, not all about us. You will use the man you choose to guide us to where You want us to be. You will hold him accountable to Your Word, and us too.

We are told, humility means to walk quietly and carry a big stick. But too often we use that stick to hit others over the head who do not agree with our way of thinking. We all do it, even our elected leaders. Yes, these actions speak louder than words. They hide our witness. We pray for our president as we pray for ourselves.

Help us to guard our own hearts and discern Your voice above all. May we agree to exchange that big stick we carry, for the one you choose; a cross for the good of all mankind.

Lord, our President is our president. We pray for him as he asks for and appreciates our prayers. May he view this burden on his shoulders as a cross you have appointed him to carry and know that his efforts are not in vain. May we pray for him when he stumbles and trust that you know the road ahead and will walk beside him.

And Lord, I appreciate this page created to support our president with prayer. Bless all who work diligently to keep it up. Prayer opens up doors that cannot be opened otherwise. Prayer breaks any lock that You did not place. Be glorified, Holy God. Bless our President Trump with wisdom and peace. In Christ's name we pray. Amen.

 An elephant is a noble beast of burden. Sharing the room with one can be a bit, "all consuming," but they are other-wise amiable creatures. Swinging trunks and tails and tusks are how they operate. Unsuspecting lolly-gaggers may loose their footing but will surly, bounce back.

Donkeys are very down to earth, burden lifters. That toothy smile can be deceiving, but genuine when you get to know it. They are a bit untrusting when you come from behind and their kick can knock you into the next election year, but just announce yourself and let them know that you friend, not foe.

Having a donkey in the room, can be "all assuming". Assuming, that is, there is something to assume and there usually is. The elephants generally provide it. The only burden presently which the donkeys have not been able to bear is, the elephants. And likewise.

Elephants and donkeys didn't ask to become a part of our political system. They would be otherwise friends. One is slow and thoughtful ... but solid. The other is quick and progressive. Nothing wrong with that. We need both. We just also need some wisdom in the mix.

So whether you decide to ride a donkey into the 2020 elections or an elephant, just don't be one.

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I started thinking about the word, politics. What exactly does it mean? I think that an adequate breakdown would be as follows: poly generally refers to multiples. Tics describes a succession of odd behaviors. A succession of multiple odd behaviors. Perfect definition, right? It seems that's not it at all.

Polis comes from the Greek and means city. Politikos refers to affairs of the city. How boring. I like my definition better. Although, I will add the city part. A succession of odd behaviors in the city ... as well as in the country. And affairs? Yeah, those happen too.

So now, we know sometimes, you've just got to laugh whether it's funny or not. Too much "serious" can do you in! It doesn't mean you are caving. Only that, you have decided to step aside and look at the ridiculous side of things. Stop reacting and get a fresh start.

Kind of like one smell or fragrance cancels out another. A distraction like coffee, will clear your nose and prepare you for another smell. If you have burned supper and don't want to start over, serve coffee with the meal. It won't fool anybody's taste buds but maybe, if it doesn't smell burnt ... it will go down a little easier. now exactly what's going on. Elephants and donkeys didn't ask to become a part of our political system. They would be otherwise friends. One is slow and thoughtful ... but solid. The other is quick and progressive.

An elephant is a noble beast of burden. Sharing the room with one can be a bit, "all consuming," but they are other-wise amiable creatures. Swinging trunks and tails are how they operate. Unsuspecting lolly-gaggers may loose their footing but will surly, bounce back.

Donkeys are very down to earth, burden lifters. That toothy smile may be deceiving, but genuine when you get to know it. Having a donkey in the room, can be ... "all assuming". Assuming, that is, there is something to assume and there usually is. The elephants generally provide it. The only burden presently which the donkeys have not been able to bear is, the elephants.
That's my story and I am sticking to it. (O:

 

Willful ignorance ... how do we avoid it?

Humility. Not false humility. True humility which is less common. Humility is a measuring stick we use on ourselves first before we use it on others. It doesn't measure percentages. Whether you are 40 percent or 60 percent, you are still wrong.

Take care of the the 40 percent before you go after someone else's 60. Willful ignorance may win a battle or two, but it will not win the war. True Humility, on the other hand ... is hard to fight against. People will go through the motions, but their own hearts will convict them.

 Truth doesn't fail. It demands hard answers. It stands in the face of fear. It is neutral and rejects partiality. It is not political or partisan. It stands alone if necessary. It makes us work for answers and it is not for the faint of heart.

Truth cannot be engineered, legislated and it cannot be denied. It can be overlooked but it will not go away because it was here before we were.

People fail the truth, looking for assumptions or easy answers. Just like a sailboat skimming across the top of the waters, thinking that smooth, shiny surface is all there is. But no, there is a whole other world beneath them. And that world matters too.

Some want to re-write the truth because they don't approve. Some want to misuse the truth, forgetting that none of us are perfect and we all like to bend and twist it a little...or a lot.

The truth is, we need the truth, even when we don't want it. Even when it doesn't fit our own agenda. Even when it's not politically correct. Because it applies to both sides. Most importantly it keeps us humble. Humility, that's another hard one. Think life is hard? You are right. When we live it right!