Leadership Needed

What a mess this world is in and we human beings began it. Now more than ever we need God’s mercy on this planet. Mercy is when God doesn’t give us what we do deserve. And in light of our behavior as the United States of America – we should be expecting lots more divine discipline than merely a time out or an hour of standing in the corner.
Mercy is freely given to those who seek God first and ask for it. When we finally get to the point when we admit that what we are doing is wrong and humbly cry out for forgiveness and make a genuine commitment to look to heaven’s will before we try it out the earth’s way – only then will we see more blessings than bombs falling from the skies again.
In my opinion, our president has not been a good example of leadership for such a time as this. Elected officials should not build for their people an environment of pride and stubbornness. This shows more insecurity than it ever exudes strength! Nothing good happens when one becomes an isolated maverick and purposely ignores the laws of the land and the counsel of those placed around him or her for a reason.
And how does one rally the people to have confidence, courage and respect for authority when he himself doesn’t usually practice what he preaches? A man who calls himself a leader but has nobody behind him when he turns around is just out for a long walk. But the problem that calls for our need for some passionate praying is that the destiny of our nation is in his wisdom or lack of it.
I do pray regularly for our president and for all of our governing officials just as the Bible commands us. And the beginning of wisdom is to fear God and recognize who you really are and who you are not! When a human being believes that he himself is the ultimate authority we are in big trouble. No Perfect Presidents Allowed!
The Democrat FDR walked this country through the greatest of challenges by talking to the people and not just at them. He once preached, “In these days of difficulty, we Americans everywhere must and shall choose the path of social justice, the path of faith, the path of hope, and the path of love toward our fellow man.”
The Republican Ronald Regan could both motivate the troops and mourn with the brokenhearted and he would do so by relating to the ones that he was charged to direct. He once boldly declared, “We are never defeated unless we give up on God.”
There have been many huge opportunities these past few months for our president to make a stand or a stirring statement or encourage the country, but he has been uncomfortably silent. It makes me wonder and cry out, “Where are the heroes now when we need them more than ever?” Dion’s classic song “Abraham, Martin and John” seems more relevant now than in the 60’s when it was written!
I do wish our president would call out upon our country for a day of fasting and prayer. A day where we confess our wrongdoings, look to make things right with one another, make steps to help stop the deadly behavior that is undermining our homeland from the inside out and seek the Lord. Even the leader of the most pagan nation on earth at its time in history – Nineveh – called out for his citizens to tear their clothes and pour ashes on their heads and repent. (You can find that story in the book of Jonah.)
But I can already hear the snickers of some of you who are reading this and asking, “Is Pastor Rudy serious? We are much more advanced than those fairy tales of old. And what God would we pray to in our multicultural society?” But we have a choice here in America! We can choose to worship the God who made us in his image or stay imprisoned to the people who have attempted to create god or worse yet, no god at all, in their own imaginations!
If you go against the grain, you must get ready for some splinters; but now more than ever, we believers need to pray first and then be ready to make some bold moves on behalf of the Jesus we say we serve. We need to speak out and make others aware on behalf of the Christians being beheaded and persecuted all over this world.
We need to pray for the Middle East and for Israel. Allow your world to be bigger than what is happening in your own backyard. Let’s gather more often as the Body of Christ in public places to pray and worship the Lord as he promises to inhabit the praises of his people.
Let’s look for daily open doors so that we may be Jesus in skin to others around us. Let’s offer hope to the hopeless and grace and truth to those who are lost and confused.
Living in this place has given me both a headache and heartache. I tell God often that I wish I could have born in a different era in our history. We may be more technologically advanced than ever before but our spirits are shriveling up and dying.
We are an egocentric society. We have left the greatest commandment that tells us to love God and love others. But even in our faithlessness, our Lord is faithful and true and no matter how bad we get it wrong – he will one day put it all right!
So I roll up my sleeves and press on and ask God to use me as an instrument of grace and truth. Will you do the same? Will you look for those places where God needs to raise up a leader, a truth teller, a loving and empathetic servant of the King?
I close with this verse from 2 Chronicles 7:14, “Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.”