It will be 2012 before you know it, and here in American people are already getting involved in the coming elections. And not just people! Fallen angels are also planning for their part in the upcoming elections.
The Lord brought this topic to my attention by bringing a verse to my mind. "You husbands in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way . . . and show her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered." (I Peter 3:7 - all quotes from the NASB)
The phrase that the Holy Spirit seemed to be calling to my attention was "so that your prayers will not be hindered." If a man did not honor his wife as a spiritual equal ("a fellow heir of the grace of life") and live with her in an "understanding" way, his prayers would be "hindered." Let's continue to follow Peter's argument. I've underlined the key words that relate to the 2012 election.
"To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit; not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing. For, 'THE ONE WHO DESIRES LIFE, TO LOVE AND SEE GOOD DAYS, MUST KEEP HIS TONGUE FROM EVIL AND HIS LIPS FROM SPEAKING DECEIT. HE MUST TURN AWAY FROM EVIL AND DO GOOD; HE MUST SEEK PEACE AND PURSUE IT. FOR THE EYES OF THE LORD ARE TOWARD THE RIGHTEOUS, AND HIS EARS ATTEND TO THEIR PRAYER, BUT THE FACE OF THE LORD IS AGAINST THOSE WHO DO EVIL.'" (I Peter 3:8-12)
If I desire life and love and want to see good days, I must keep my tongue from evil. Specifically I must be kind and humble, blessing those who insult me and seeking peace in my relationships. If I do this God's ears will be attentive to my prayers. If I don't, my prayers will be hindered. I think if you take a few moments to re-read the last three sentences you will agree that this is a really, really big deal.
For my American readers I would suggest that it will be really, really hard to follow this teaching in the midst of the political civil war that is now raging in the United States of America. You can divide up the American population into three main political groups: conservatives, liberals, and independents. The conservatives and the liberals have conflicting visions for the future that are so contradictory that what we are now experiencing is nothing less than a political civil war. And in the next two years it's going to get really, really ugly. The 2012 election will be one of the most divisive and bitterly contested elections in American history. The rhetoric is going to go right through the roof.
This is not a plea that we should all find some way to compromise. Everyone should make the best arguments they can for the positions that they believe in. A political civil war is not a bad thing. I think it's wonderful that we can fight this out without using bullets. That's what politics is for. So let's have a really robust debate. Let's all stand up for what we believe in. But let's not get carried away so that our prayers are hindered and we have fewer good days and less life and love.
Before we were converted Paul said the we "walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience." (Eph. 2:2) When we become Christians we don't automatically escape from all of this. It requires an understanding of what's at stake and a commitment to live in a different way. Paul says that we should not "be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." (Romans 12:2) If we don't take intelligent, spiritual action, we are going to be swept away the strong winds of worldly thinking that are already blowing.
The Bible makes it clear that the powers of darkness are organized. It's a kingdom. It's a government. It probably has a bureaucracy. Somewhere out there is an evil spirit who takes a special interest in you. You are on his caseload. He doesn't spend his whole life perched on your shoulder but he comes to visit from time to time to tempt you and generally mess with your soul. Let's imagine for a minute that you are that evil spirit and that you are attending a team meeting with the other evil spirits. Your supervisor evil spirit is about to speak.
"Okay, guys, we have a really big election coming up in 2012. Our opportunities here are virtually limitless. Both sides probably think that we are going to be using our powers to help the other side win. That's really great because, basically, the results of the election are not our primary focus. As always, our main focus is to weaken the spiritual power of the church. Every year fewer and fewer people go to church and those who do go to church obey less and less. Spiritually the country is moving in our direction and more and more things are coming under our control. And the only thing that can stop us is prayer. If the Enemy doesn't pour our His spirit to revive and renew the church we are eventually going to get our way in this country no matter who wins this next election. That is why we have to do everything we can to poison and pollute the souls of believers so that their prayers will not be effective."
"So I want everyone to remember our election slogan for this year. 'It's about the bitterness, stupid!' Encourage both sides to insult one another. Do everything you can to encourage anger and hatred. It doesn't matter if millions of church members get involved and become politically active if their political activity poisons their souls and hinders their prayers. Just keep the poor fools focused on political outcomes and try to keep them from paying attention to spiritual realities and we will be the real winners of this election, no matter who is in the White House or who is in control of their pathetic little House and Senate."
Let me ask you a soul searching question. If you are a conservative, when was the last time you prayed for Barak Obama? If you are a liberal, how often did you pray for George Bush? Paul said that "first of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority." (1 Timothy 2:1, 2) Paul wrote these words from a Roman jail. He was soon to be beheaded by the very Roman emperor he was encouraging people to pray for!
I am telling you the truth! You can not spend hours and hours of your time reading or listening to political commentators who have bitterness in their hearts and not become like them! Please understand what I am saying. It is a good thing to understand what is going on. If you want to give money, man the phone banks, put up yards signs, or participate in other ways that's perfectly all right. But understand this very clearly: the commentary and the campaign materials on both sides will more than likely contain material that will be toxic to your soul. The only solution is to limit your exposure and the only antidote is to pray.
Every exposure to news and political commentary must be mixed with prayer. We must pray for our political opponents until the mention of their names or the sight of their faces on the tube no longer raises our blood pressure.
And if the church does not heed this admonition we all know who will really win in 2012. He doesn't have a birth certificate because he was never born; he was directly created by God. Back in the good old days he was one of the highest angels and his name was Lucifer, which means "light bearer." These days we call him Satan, which means "adversary." In the Four Spiritual Laws Bill Bright wrote that "God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life." The opposite is also true. "Satan hates you and has plans to mess up your life." In 2012 I believe he has a plan to limit the effectiveness of the payers of the church. His troops are marching under a banner that says, "It's about the bitterness, stupid!" Don't get caught in his trap. Don't let your prayers be hindered. Don't let Satan win in 2012!
[Here's a good suggestion. If this spoke to you, if you needed to hear it, write out the campaign slogan on a 3 X 5 card: "It's about the bitterness, stupid!" Put it by the TV, radio, computer monitor, or anywhere else you need to put it to remind you to guard your heart and to pray! And one more little note. If I wrote this properly, and you don't have any personal knowledge of my political views, you shouldn't be able to get one single hint by reading it that I am a liberal, a conservative, or an independent. The truths expressed in this piece transcend politics and apply to Christians of all political leanings.]
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