Daily Jot readers are expressing their frustration about the nation: "A few months ago, I heard a youthful friend glibly say, "Well if we lose our freedom, we'll still have Jesus." My stomach curdled at those words as I thought, "You have no idea of what you speak."... "I write the congress people, but they don't care and just send back 'thank you ' letters, etc. So I guess most people feel that they can't do anything. We sign petitions that get passed around. What good do they do? News writes what they want and most people don't even get the true stories. Any suggestions for people?"... "What can I do to make a difference? I have written letters over the years to politicians. Seems to never make a difference...What more can I do?"
First off, we have to recognize the con game. Politicians encourage you to write or fax so that they can get your information and build a list on various issues. That way they can contact you to show you what a good job they are doing on issues of your interest. Organizations use petitions to get your name and email so they can raise money from you. Generally speaking, neither the politicians nor the lobbyists care a thing about what you think, they just want your information for their own purposes. Christian organizations are just as guilty. So beware. Your opinion doesn't matter much, just your money and your information. Having confirmed why writing and signing is not effective, what to do?
Mark 8:34 says, "
And Jesus called the crowds with his disciples, and he said to them, "Whoever is willing to come after me, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and let him come after me." The cross was very offensive because it represented the worst of torture and death reserved for the worst of people. Christ was saying that following him will be difficult. Turning a nation back to God is also difficult. Much of the church has become like the world. Many Christians are apathetic. 2 Chronicles 7:14 is overused and underplayed. We are a whole lot about action that takes place from a computer or a chair, but we need to be about Ephesians 6:13, "having done all, to stand." That is much harder.
Getting rid of the problem before us is like the example Christ gave regarding the demon that could not be driven out, only by prayer and fasting. Pray and fast for our nation. Beyond that we have to take action. So many will say that if you organize and take to the streets, you are being rebellious. I say that if we stand together overcoming evil with good, and we do it publicly in great numbers, we are not in rebellion, but crushing a satanic rebellion that has been allowed far too long. We need to put our arms and legs and voices in motion--in numbers. We need to be men and women of God speaking boldly as we ought to speak. Let us be mindful of these things as we repent and pray for our nation
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