Why I actively deregistered as a voter. A "shakespearean-ish poem" for our times.

Hello, everyone.....

Warning: I feel a b-rant coming on...... 

Ever been so UD-DER-LY disgusted that ya just wanna kill ALL the sacred cows? I'm in such a season. But, of late, more likely to kill the sacred donkey & elephant in da room. We're in freefall, so it's time to be frank. In lieu of exercising my sacred right to speak w/a conventional "political" voice via elections, I've opted to refrain until there's revival.....& I don't mean under a tent. This rebuke is to the ecclesiastical establishment.....esp. strongly political laypersons w/a "consumer mentality."  Most who read these are involved in service, so understand that this is just a general statement about the inactive American Church......In my spheres, this commitment to political silence has already shouted louder than would have my 1 vote. Ultimately did this to underscore Zechariah 4:6. Naturally, many have "forbidden" me to complain if I don't like the results. What they've missed is that my beef w/the establishment Church is my primary focus......And withdrawing my cherished evangelical vote is how I sound the alarm. I will reregister if & when we get our own house in order.  If O.T. Jews could tear their garments to express mourning, lemme express mine in this manner.....And I promise I'll return to being Mr. Positive in the next blog. Scout’s honor. Anyway, it's also a lot less painful than sewing my lips shut, as many protesters have been known to do.

Whoa--ho--hohhh, there! Why this kerfuffle? Many reasons. But the turning point was a "prayer meeting for our elected officials" 2.5 yrs ago. As I struggled to pray for certain politicians (1 Tim. 2:1-4), attending seemed a great way to jumpstart my disobedient heart. Five mins. after the obligatory prayer (deeming it an official "prayer meeting"), the recruitment to get us to run for office began. Long story short, I later informed the organizer by text how grieved I was at their bait & switch.......& pointed out that they'd “dropped” God's Name as a front for their agenda (the agenda, of which wasn’t inherently wrong), violating Ex. 20:7....I then pledged to deregister as a voter. Don't kid thyself.....folks like this are often, if not usually, more concerned about personal freedom than God's Glory. That's the hard truth. 

Although one party comes closer to a Judeo-Christian world view, that same party has done more to yield a mere form of godliness (2 Tim. 3:5) among its faithful than it has done good....Many church-going folks from the ranks of that more Judeo-Christian-ish party are destined for the same hell as their counterparts. Through voting, Democrats think they'll achieve justice & Republicans think they'll restore morality.  But, w/o the Spirit, it's a fool's errand to think that either party will produce honorable behavior......The GREATEST injustice & the GREATEST immorality is that few believers pray & serve, as evidenced by the shrinking Church.....And some may even see voting is some kind of ministry. To make things worse, the gov't, designed by God to wield the sword, (Romans 13:4) has wilted into a mission of mercy. Meanwhile, the Church, which should be about mercy, has often either been judgmental or striving to correct itself w/a PR campaign of permissiveness.......The result:  Many are swept into the cults of political obsession where human beings are seen as demographic voting blocs &/or as ISSUES rather than image bearers....And that politics will save us.....Yes, salt admonishes freefalling societies but light is God's Spirit imparted through personal engagement. (Matt. 5:13-16)  Every problem is worsening because we’re great at salt but not light. Our urban cores amply demonstrate this trend. 

The 2020 election cycle cost $14.4b dollars to sway 159m voters! According to my calculations, campaigns spent $90.57 per voter. How would you have spent this $? And then the countless man hours. How could all of those campaign volunteers have better spent their time? 

I won't say that the establishment Church NEVER births organic movements, but it's rare.....Both right & left are marked by indignation & whining about what's wrong yet do little to serve (Matt 9:37-38)....A word picture: Imagine living in a town w/no fire department. YOUR house is on fire, but passersby only tell you the obvious. Isn't the Church essentially doing the same?

.......Predestination notwithstanding, the Lord holds us responsible for souls & to serve the same, but our historical record is appalling. Humanly speaking, that “other Abrahamic religion", (basically an old-world Judeo-Christian cult), emerged in 610 A.D. because mission didn't happen on the peninsula where it started. Likewise, before our very eyes, this transgenderism insanity has emerged because youth work didn't happen yrs ago. Where's the Church on mission? The 1st cent. Church was a mess but they DID turn the world upside down in just a few yrs. And that was long before Constantine.  But know that there's still hope even at this late hour. A Chinese proverb says, "The best time to plant a tree was 20 yrs ago. The 2d best time is now". Pray for revival & start serving somewhere if you're not. 

This may come as a shock, but I actually do STRONGLY prefer one of the candidates. However, making this statement is of greater importance. So, this ain't a campaign to get everyone to follow my example. I've also arrived at the belief that it really doesn’t matter who wins. Does anyone really expect a peaceful transition of power? Any unrest we've seen or the present chaos you now see now is the calm before the storm. Not saying this is the end, but at least expect a major paradigm shift. No. The Lord didn't speak to me in a vision. Just stands to reason when we look at recent history. We need prayer, revival & service. 

Deregistration has changed my life in the following ways: 1) As politics had been a personal idol, I've never felt so LIBERATED. For the 1st time, I really FEEL like this earth is NOT my home.....2) I'm now 100% focused on the GREAT COMMISSION as I'm no longer baited into political arguments. (2 Tim. 2:4) 3)...I've been inoculated, am "post-political" & no longer have political views.....just views.....This corroborates that the MATERIAL WORLD IS PRECEDED, both chronologically & in power, BY THE SPIRIT WORLD....4) So, OUR PROBLEMS ARE SPIRITUAL before they're ever political or even social. The crisper alignment of these 2 dimensions has brought me an additional joy I've never known.....5) I'M NO LONGER A NEWS JUNKIE....in part because I often can't tell the real from the fake (from both right & left)......This is in tandem w/the Powerful Delusion mentioned in 2 Thess. 2:11-12. And even if some conspiracy theories end up being true, what can WE really do about it? Let's just serve Jesus in His Kingdom......because the endless dissection of conspiracies would be yet another fool's errand. But, PRAISE GOD! I CAN TRUST MY BIBLE!.....6) Such acknowledgment has accentuated MY NEED FOR PRAYER. (2 Cor. 10:4).....7) I've even learned by faith & obedience HOW TO PRAY FOR ELECTED OFFICIALS I don't like.....8) I'M UNDERSTANDING WHY WE'RE SO RESENTED by so many outside the Church.....We're so out of touch w/their sorrow yet insist on setting the moral tone for society. Yes, I want society to have morals. 

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I got into a protracted tangle w/a Trump worshiper on a Christian website who fancies himself "a watchman".....But all he does is watch.....& complain....never even prompting prayer points. In order to understand the context of the poem below, which I wrote for him......he said that he didn't give a rat's hindquarters (actually used a more vivid term beginning w/the letter "a") that Trump hosted a gay wedding at Mar-a-Lago. He also resigned me to eternal flames. So I wrote him a poem. Enjoy......

"Watchman" 

"Watchman, watchman.....what’cha watchin’ as thou dost sneer from yonder perch?
Is it the lower classes, the unwashed masses or others ignored by the Church?

Watchman, watchman.....what’cher passion? To curse the darkness bleak?
Or luminesce to souls in distress and see power surge from the weak?

Watchman, watchman.....watch thy mouth, from which unholy diction proceeds.
How didst thou cope with such daily soap from thy mother whilst blithering screeds?

Watchman, watchman.....thou hast presumed to “deny” me the gift of a rat's derrière.
But ‘twas never my quest, in deed or in jest....
Yet I commend thee for thy savoir faire.

Watchman, watchman......when didst thou ascend from thy wall to the right hand of God?
Wast thy discernment of souls shown thee in scrolls?
Doth Christ heed the course of thy nod?

Watchman, watchman.....hast thy tenured watch rendered Kingdom hope from fear?
Thy spiritual gift at the foot of the cliff is marked by thy impotent sneer.

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The song below by Rich Mullins sort of overlaps w/the theme of this blog post. The nations are raging against God, each other & internally. Come quickly, Lord Jesus. 

​​For getting back to the reason why we were put here.....and the nations......

......Just another witness to His Glory.