With my shoulder seperation slowing down my activity level, I spent the weekend reading former Attorney General John Ashcroft's book, Never Again: Securing America and Restoring Justice. I don't know about you, but I am not enjoying the media's portrayal or attention that is being projected into politics. In fact, such an early attention being given to a presidential election that is so far away, is turning me off. I wonder how many others are also being turned off?
I found John Ashcroft's book enjoyable and surprisingly refreshing for several reasons. First he is a deeply committed Christian, secondly he was born and raised up in an Assembly of God minister's home, and thirdly, his father preached at my ordination service in 1984. The media and liberal politicians battered John during his tenure as Attorney General. Thus reading the book provided me a great deal of insight into John's handling of misinformation and outright lies. What stood out throughout my reading was Jesus' warning, that world would hate his followers. Jesus teaching about how to rerspond to such attacks are summed up in the Sermon on the Mount:
Matthew 5:11-12 NIV
"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."
As I read John's book, I am deeply thankful for a man who attempted to live according to Jesus' words and not according to the ways and thoughts of men. The political races are just beginning to heat up. I suspect that we are going to hear and see a lot nasty things being said and done. We need to pray for our country - and for a revival to sweep across the political scene. Policticians need to stop talking about their religion and begin living out their faith in a Godly manner - no excuses!
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