Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.

Matthew 6:13, ESV

I believe many Christians are heaving a sigh of relief as the new President is sworn in. They realize that we have been going in the wrong direction, and they are convinced we needed a change in leadership for our nation. I share that conviction, but I am also convinced that this is but the start and not the end. I do not believe that a mere change in leadership has ever been the cure for what ails this nation, but I do believe that it is a necessary part of that remedy. Eight years ago, I thought the same thing. As a matter of fact, it was the beginning of the same President's term that I believed we were somehow saved, and that all would be made right... but I was to find that this was a foolish notion, and that this change was in reality a challenge to evil that was met with a furious reaction.

And that reaction by Satan's children caught me off guard!

Now don't get me wrong, for I am not referring to any particular political party - I believe that Satan and his minions have infiltrated both. And we could have expected nothing less, for this nation is filled with people who are far more interested in serving the evil one than they are in serving God. If you don't believe that, I would encourage you to examine history, and especially the history of God's chosen people - the nation of Israel. Start with the Prophet Isaiah and read through the end of the Old Testament. I believe it will open your eyes! At times, it will seem like you are reading from the headlines of today's news, rather than the history of a people who lived nearly 3,000 years ago.

Like America today, Israel of that era was much more wicked than they were good. They were shedding the innocent blood of unwanted babies by sacrificing them to false gods. We do the same today by sacrificing them to the gods of convenience and selfishness. Just how wicked does a person have to be before they slaughter their own child? Just how blind does a Christian community have to be to think that God will let them go unpunished for sitting quietly and idly by while it happens? Just how hardened does a conscience have to become to think you can vote for someone who tells you that they stand for the shedding of this most innocent of blood? Just how gullible do we have to be to believe the words of those who say they will oppose this heinous behavior, but then do nothing to stop it? 

Like America today. Israel of that era was much more evil than they were righteous. They were indulging in sexual immorality in every imaginable way. America today seemingly has pornography lurking behind every corner. Turn on your phone, your TV or your computer and you will see what I mean. Fornication is a light thing now. Adultery is casual. Homosexuality is actually honored - there are companies and even some false-churches that are seeking out men and women involved in this particular sin to come and be part of their group. We have lost our minds! More accurately, we have lost our moral compass.

And we have truly lost our minds if we think a change at the top will solve the problems that run all the way to the bottom. Changing leadership is a start - and hopefully a good one, but it is nothing more. In two years, there will be another election. If the results are typical, the party that doesn't have the Presidency will gain more power. They will do so because an intellectually weak and morally corrupt citizenry cannot see that their actions as well as the sinful actions of those they are tolerating is the problem. Unless we come to our senses in a genuine repentance, things will be worse in two more years, not better.

So, what can we do?

First, we need to get our own lives right. There are countless Christians who are convinced that they can take part in evil, in addition to throwing their support behind wicked men and women. This has to stop! We have to humble ourselves, turn away from this reckless path that we are on, and return to God and His ways. We have to remove the wickedness from our own churches and return the cleansed church to the One Whom it belongs to in the first place. We have rejected Christ as our leader and have gathered around us wicked men and women who tell us that sin is good and that those who oppose sin are judgmental. We need to wake up from those lies!

Then, once we have cleaned up our own lives and restored the holiness of Christ's church, we can then turn our attention to those we vote for. As the founders of this nation pointed out, we need to prefer Christians for our leaders. As they pointed out, we need to realize that our Constitution was made for a righteous people and that it is wholly inadequate for the governing of any other. We need to understand that failing that, our nation will fail. We need a wholesale "dumping" of most of our leaders - Republican, Democrat and Independents! We can no longer tolerate the ones who have been harming our nation. They are worse than the opportunistic carpetbaggers who helped to keep the post-civil war nation divided and impoverished at the expense of their own greed and lust for power. Unless a man or woman has an allegiance to God, they can never be worthy of taking a position of service in a nation.

The next two years are going to be filled with turmoil. There will be problems from the inside and out, and if we are relying solely upon a new leader to solve our ills, we are going to be sadly disappointed. The change we need is one of the heart and one of the soul. It will begin with us, but it will continue with what we decide we can tolerate, so our tolerance for evil must come to an end. Perhaps more than anything else, we need to pray - first for forgiveness, then for wisdom in knowing how to proceed from this point. Only then can the needed purging of evil begin.

If we will do these things, I believe we will have a very real chance at returning this nation to the godly standards of the past when things truly were better. Before we can do that, we will have to return to God ourselves. I am very much aware of my own limitations to understand things and I realize, therefore, that I might be wrong, but I believe we have about two years. If that's anywhere close to being accurate, we better get to the work now! I believe that our nation, our children, and especially our Father in Heaven are worth the effort it will take.... don't you?