Monday, April 19, 2010

Priorities...2nd Edition

And then there was e-mail! And someone asked, "That's good?"
Today's e-mail glut was quickly unglutted with my Secret, Dick Tracy "Delete" key that came in Friday's mail.
But one thing was kept; a forward of an opinion piece by retired, Texas, Constitutional Attorney, Michael Connelly. I read it, then took the dogs for their morning walk.
If one wishes to get excited about the goings on in the world and in our nation's capital, there's plenty of fodder for feeding. While the dogs were walking and sniffing I was thinking and sniffing my way through the question; "As a Seventh-day Adventist Christian, what should be, and (most importantly) what is, the focus of my witness?"
Connelly writes about the Health Care issue and points out what he considers to be examples of the Congress ignoring and overstepping bounds of authority. I wondered aloud, "What if they are trampling on the Constitution? What if it is true that their motive is one of amassing power and authority?  Are these of critical mass that should occupy the prayer, study, and efforts of the Church?" I answered, NO!
I will explain: We know that a time of trouble is coming such as never was on the earth [Daniel 12:1]. We know from EW that this nation will eventually set aside the principles of freedom upon which it was founded and that the combined forces of The Beast and Apostate Protestantism will try to force all mankind to worship the Beast and his image. Further, we know who is the Beast and what is his mark. These were known to the 15th century reformers and is taught by many churches today; not just Seventh-day Adventists.
Therefore, if Connelly is correct that health care legislation is a power grab that violates the constitution, then we should see this as a warm-up before the "real" game gets underway. And if it is a warm-up, our hearts should be warmed by the realization that the final game for the "championship trophy" is about to start. We should remember that Christ is coming soon. We should remember that while it is called Today we ought not to harden our hearts.
And what is the trophy? It is the Church Triumphant in Christ Jesus. It is His people purified and dressed in His Righteousness. It is a Church that has come out of tribulation, led by His strong arm, that will stand on the sea of glass [Revelation 4:6].
No...now is not the time to be distracted from our purpose and objective: To tell the truth about the character of Jesus, His government, and His governance. We do not have time to allow ourselves to be drawn into debating the evil governings of those who would be leaders, but are not. Actually, they are followers; the problem is this; most are following Satan who will soon dress himself in white, pretend to be truth, and, if he could,  gladly deceive the whole world.
Don't be turned aside from the Objective. Connelly may be correct but that is none of our (assigned) business.
The following link will take you to Snopes, to Connelly, and to other opinions. e.c.

http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/connelly.asp

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