Dereliction of Duty - Job 12:24-25

He takes away the understanding of the chiefs of the people of the earth, and makes them wander in a pathless wilderness. They grope in the dark without light, and He makes them stagger like a drunken man. - Job 12:24-25

    Revisiting the recent SCOTUS decision on gay marriage one would be remiss were he or she to overlook the glaring fact that God’s all-powerful hand was at work in the chambers of the court and in the Oval Office. “Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens.” - Romans 9:18. And it would not be the first time in history that our heavenly Father hardened the hearts of those in power. One need only look back to the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision to see another heinous example of our Supreme Court (I use the term lightly) over-stepping the grounds of common decency, in the least, and an outright violation of the 6th Commandment at worst.
    Throughout history God has hardened many a human heart. “And the Lord said to Moses, ‘When you go back to Egypt, see that you do all those wonders before Pharaoh which I have put in your hand. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go.’” - Exodus 4:21 The fact that God hardens one’s heart, however, does not mitigate the actions of the sinner. The sinner has still transgressed the laws of God. Each and every sinner intrinsically knows true moral right form wrong, yet he or she still makes the choice to sin. When a sitting President or Supreme Court judge chooses to do evil rather than good the sin remains with them! When these “chiefs of the people of the earth” commit such overt sins it is certainly a dereliction of duty.  And with their sin they will ultimately face the coming judgment of God - “But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God . . .” - Romans 2:5
    In times such as these we must remain faithful and know in our hearts that God is still in complete control. “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” - Romans 8:28.
    Let us continue to trust in His purpose and pray that God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
   

Mission: Accomplished - Galatians 1:24

And they glorified God in me. - Galatians 1:24

    We often hear the stories of lost souls wondering, pondering, the “why” of their existence here in this life. I refer to these unfortunate folks as lost in the sense that they are seeking the answer to a question which for all intents and purposes should be readily available to them. If they but knew where to look. This is the part where we Christians come in.
    When Paul wrote Galatians, near the end of the first chapter he spoke of his former self - a persecutor of Christians. He was a man known and feared by the fledgling Christian community. So much so that when news of his conversion came to them they glorified God for His grace that Paul was the recipient of. They knew that the effectual grace God had bestowed upon Paul had changed his life. As a result of what these Christians saw in Paul they fulfilled one of the foundational doctrines of the Christian faith: they glorified God! (WLC: - Q.1) But then how does this answer the seeker’s question, “Why am I here?”
    As Christians, are we living examples to those unbelievers around us? When they see us do they immediately recognize that we are “different” either from the world around us or from our former selves, for those who knew us before we enjoyed the grace of God? Let us look again at Paul’s admission - “And I was unknown by face to the churches of Judea which were in Christ.  But they were hearing only, ‘He who formerly persecuted us now preaches the faith which he once tried to destroy.’” - Galatians 1:22-23. And they glorified God! Paul’s “new man” was so convincing that even the Christians he once persecuted glorified God because of the change in him. Do others watching our lives feel so inspired by us that they glorify God because of what they see? If not - why not?
     “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.” - Galatians 5:22-23. If we are exhibiting the fruit of the Spirit in our lives both those who believe and those who have yet to believe will know that we are different. And that difference just might answer the question of  why we are here: we are here to glorify our heavenly Father.