Saturday evening (7/13) we witnessed an assassination attempt on a former President of the United States.  Those words are written with significant weight and sadness but I am thankful to say the attempt was unsuccessful.  

Over the coming days there will be lingering questions that will need to be answered but we can each agree that this was an act of pure evil that is not and cannot be justified.  Violence is not the answer to political disagreements and murder, even attempted, and is called a sin unequivocally in Scripture. 

We live in a deeply divided time where people from different political parties have true hatred in their hearts for others. I pray this incident will be a wakeup call that lowers the temperature of our political climate rather than raising it further-that their might be actual dialogue and decency and some starting place of mutual respect for each other’s humanity. The Lord Jesus came into this world and by His life, death, and resurrection, has overcome sin, death, and hell. His resurrection from the dead assures us that, in Him, we also will be raised and never die again.

Our hope and confidence can remain strong because the foundation on which they rest remains unmoved by the wickedness of this world. Now, more than ever, our world needs the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are that light (Matthew 5:14-16) and must stand firm in this evil day by putting on the whole armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18), which means that we must “put on Christ” (Romans 13:14)-we must let our faith in Him and all that He is for us be strengthened.

My prayer is that we will see this as an opportunity for the Church, as Christ’s Body in the world to lead by example in our faith and our speech and our conduct. Here are some ways we can lead as Christ-followers in this broken world 

Faith

We continually hear language coming from both sides that “if the other guys wins, all is lost.”  As believers, we know better than to put our faith in an election or any human leader. Jesus Christ is still on the throne and has never left, He is Lord, and He is grieved for the lostness in this world and as believers we have a job to do to reach out with the only hope we have, the Gospel.

Speech:

We must be careful in what we say, in what we post and in what we share.  We must be aware of our voices on Social media and in real life.  Also, parents this is a good time to talk to your children about the events they likely witnessed us watching in the last few days.  Our post, voices, and focus will be seen by the watching world and in many respects are true reflects of our hearts (Luke 6:45, Matt.12-34 – 35)

Conduct:

Are we people whose lives reflect the transformational work of the Gospel of Jesus Christ as we seek to become more like Him every day? Conduct “worthy of the gospel” includes standing firm together in one spirit, striving for the faith of the gospel with one mind (1:27). Such conduct entails mutual love and concord, humility, and unselfishness (2:2–4). Rivalry, conceit, and self-interest are to be avoided, as well as grumbling and complaining (2:3–4, 14).

SCRIPTURE:

As I prayed about what Scripture to best use to begin our prayer time, I felt led to the words of Our Lord Jesus Himself in the Sermon on the Mount that we often call “The Beatitudes.”

“And He opened his mouth and taught them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

– Matthew 5:2-12 (ESV)

GUIDED PRAYER

• We should all stop to pray for President Trump and that those responsible will be swiftly apprehended and brought to justice. We should pray for anyone else injured by this despicable incident.
• For Donald Trump and the families who were harmed and most personally affected by the shooting
• For leaders, those who are willing to serve in public office
• For the Church
• Commit to praying for our leaders, those who are willing to serve in public office, and appeal to our Lord that His reconciling work would be poured out on this nation to overcome the hatred that is so prevalent in our culture.”
• For the Lord’s reconciling work to be poured out on this nation to overcome the hatred that is so prevalent in our culture.