Strengthening the American voters Spiritual Backbone against trumpism's evil and its senatorial enablers.

MAN'S backbone is symbolic of self-control, strength of will, and resolute decision—all vital for life's great achievements.
Grit, courage, drive, stamina, push, and action are not the characteristics of a spine less individual. Instead, lethargy, indifference, apathy, and denial rise to reveal the true nature of a coward.

Christian life is more than they [people professing present truth] take it to be.
It does not consist in mere gentleness, patience, meekness, and kindliness. These graces are essential; but there is need of courage, force, energy, and perseverance.

Dear brother, you need more faith, more boldness and decision in your labors.
You need more push. . . . Our warfare is aggressive.

To meet the spirit of compromise and formalism that is weakening the church's spiritual stamina, we need to diagnose, prescribe, and carry forward a program toward revival and reformation that will enliven the church. One basic ingredient of this plan must be self-control, the strength of will toward resolute decision.

You now have to learn the great lessons of self-control which ought to have been mastered in earlier days. God brought you where your surroundings would be changed and where you could be disciplined by His Holy Spirit, that you might acquire moral power and self-control to make you a conqueror. It will require the strongest effort, the most persevering and unfaltering determination,and the strongest energy to control self.

It is the grace of God that you need in order that your thoughts may be disciplined to flow in the right channel, that the words you utter may be right words, and that your passions and appetites may be subject to the control of reason, and the tongue be bridled against levity and unhallowed censure and faultfinding. . . . The greatest triumph given us by the religion of Christ is control over ourselves. Our natural propensities must be controlled, or we can never overcome as Christ overcame.

Good news for man everywhere is that self-control can be restored. What man cannot do for himself the Lord has done for him and can now do in and through him. Scripture is filled with this assuring message. It is the very central theme— man's restoration is possible through Christ.


This call for self-control is a call for temperate living. Temperance is the Bible word for "self-control"—now printed in all modern translations by the best scholars.

Temperance, or self-control, is the only answer to intemperance in all its forms. It is a spiritual principle that is demonstrated through every aspect of life, and when this power is regained, spiritual life will be strengthened and the backbone stabilized against all the forces of intemperance. "One of the most deplorable effects of the original apostasy was the loss of man's power of self-control. Only as this power is regained, can there be real progress.

Note well the fact that temperance, or self-control, is the foundation experience of practical godliness and spiritual life. "Temperance alone is the foundation of all the graces that come from God, the foundation of all victories to be gained." —Ibid., p. 201. Galatians 5:23 significantly shows temperance (self-control) as the fruit age of the Holy Spirit.

From this foundational experience of practical godliness will flow blessing and victory to every experience of life and offer rewards in every decision of life—physical, mental, social, and spiritual.

Why is it that this spiritual doctrine of self-control in all things, victorious living that brings sanctification of life, is so neglected?

"Satan knows that he cannot overcome man unless he can control his will."—Ibid., p. 16. "Our only hope of regaining Eden is through firm self-control."

The dedicated preacher and Christian will not only strive for self-control through obedience to the principles of healthful living but will teach these principles of temperance that others, too, may be overcomers.

In all our large gatherings we must bring the temperance question before our hearers in the strongest appeals and by the most convincing arguments.

The Lord has given us the work of teaching Christian temperance from a Bible standpoint.

Our message is a message of reform. This includes the call for self-discipline and strict adherence to the laws of our being.

The great subject of reform is to be agitated, and the public mind is to be stirred. Temperance [self-control] in all things is to be connected with the message.

When through the grace of God the church's spiritual backbone of self-control is strengthened, renewal and revival of spiritual power will follow. The church will then offer mankind everywhere a positive alternative to intemperance and evil, the warning against the forces of intemperance will be given, and many will follow on to know the Lord more fully.

On June 12, McConnell will surpass the 11-plus-year run of former Sen. Bob Dole of Kansas to become the longest-serving Republican Senate leader ever.

As spiritual courage has begun to take root, voters must learn some key principles that help us in our quest to be courageous.

What’s the right thing to do? In the last few years, I have been disciplining myself to ask, “What’s the right thing to do?” When faced with a situation where were tempted to do what’s politically expedient, we force ourselves to wrestle with this question. And most of the time we have a clear sense about what’s right. Following through is not easy and there have been plenty of times we have wimped out.

Paul was very clear when he said, “Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody.” Courage is like guardrails on a highway. You may not know where the road will twist and turn, but godly courage will keep you out of the ditches of sin and compromise and political expediency.

Separate decision making from problem solving. 

This principle should be engrained in all voters where everybody knew the right decision, but the potential problems kept things stuck . . . sometimes for years. By separating decision making from problem solving, we don’t let the problem cloud our ability to make the best decision.

Once the best and right decision has been made, then we can dig in and start to problem solve.

God is faithful. For most this stands true theologically, but in the upcoming years many more may find it to be true as well even experientially. When we've done what we believed to be right and acted with spiritual courage, God has been faithful to show up with provision and presence.

This doesn’t mean everything will go smoothly just because we do what’s right and live with courage. Look at the life of Joseph. He suffered for doing what was right; nevertheless, his trust in God carried him through dark and lonely days.

As Paul closes the book of 1 Corinthians he gives four imperatives that are as relevant today as they were in the first century.

Be on guard. Stand true to what you believe. Be courageous. Be strong.

Has trump proven self doer of God's Word or merely hearer who redundantly deludes self and others?

James 1:22-25

22 But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.

 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror;

 24 for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was.

25 But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.

The secret lies in the prosperity gospel.

MANY titles bestowed on Donald Trump—from president to commander-in-chief—are hard for non-supporters to digest. 

But the honorific that most puzzles the world, perhaps, is that bestowed by American conservatives who praise the swaggering tycoon as a man of God.

Where Skeptics remember Trump stoking sectarian rage at campaign rallies they also remember which White House aides called President Trump a leader bent on uniting the great faiths, who will bring a “message of tolerance and of hope to billions” during stops in Saudi Arabia, Israel and Rome.

Being 'doer of the Word' means rejecting hypocrisy, cover - up(S).

Webster’s Dictionary defines the word application as "the act of putting to a special use or purpose."

Every day we read the Bible. Every day we pray. But not every day do we act like a Christian. Why?

It’s because we forget to become doers of the Word. The Bible is very clear that if you and I don’t become doers of the Word, we are like the man who looks in the mirror and forgets what we look like after we walk away.

All the knowledge of the Bible and all the sermons in the world will not make you a good Christian unless you actually apply what you know and what you hear to your walk. For example: Love your neighbor. If you don't know or get to know you neighbor, how can you love them?

Another example: The Lord’s Prayer says, “Forgive us as we have forgiven our debtors.” Is that a prayer we really want to pray? Lord, forgive just like those I forgive? Would God actually forgive you if that were the case? Have you really forgiven others? If not, watch out what you pray for. 

Are you and I really applying the words of God to our life? Or are we just going through the motions? The dictionary says application means "the act of putting to a special use or purpose." For what special use are you using God’s Word? Is it for knowledge? That’s not too special.  

God wants us to share His Word. He wants us to apply what we learn and hear to our lives, our families’ lives and to each person we come in contact with.

So I ask you: Are you a forgetful hearer or an effectual doer of God’s Word? There is a difference.

Five Definitive Characteristics of Righteous Leadership.

America do something this morning which is seldom done under Trumpism, connect with the Scriptures, put together a coat of arms, have a motto that summarizes  goals in life, what is meant to achieve as a child of God, and the way faith was going to carry on it's work as under God healer in nation and of nations. 

So, Americas thought life must begin where yes, I'll take that motto and although challenging will try to live up to that as to be doers of the word in recognition requires taking all of the Scriptures, everything in these Scriptures will now be taken very seriously in Trust. 

It also means not only the scriptures, but Jesus. Do you remember in the prologue to John's Gospel, "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God … and the Word became flesh."? Jesus is the very Word of God. So you look at his life and you try to model yourself.

If you're going to listen to the word, you have to listen to Jesus. Again, this becomes very challenging. If you just take today's Gospel, what was Jesus upset about? Because people were pretending to follow God, but they had made up their own human traditions. Jesus says, "You're hypocrites. You claim to follow God, but you're following your own ways." Following God means listening to Jesus and not being hypocrites.

When we think about that and how Jesus challenged those scribes and Pharisees, we should right now recognize the failure(S) of our leader(s) especially where the false pride of Trumpism and its devils advocates were allowed to dominate and become all we've heard over the past weeks. Disgraceful!

What must be recognized while dealt with is the reality behind why the GOP allowed its incumbents to go back to work and repeat crimes over and over again as one of the worst calamities that has ever happened in national history.

If you're a doer of God's word, you would not be protecting  and moving  around from one place to another where  abuse happens again and again. Being a doer of God's word would mean rejecting that kind of hypocrisy and living a life of full integrity. We have failed. It's a huge challenge for America  now under the leadership of Donald Trump to try to bring us back to a real integrity of following the word of Jesus. 

I'm sure some of you remember Vatican Council II over 50 years ago now, as the time you began to understand the church, not just as the hierarchy, the bishops and the institution, but as the people of God. All of us are the church. 

The document from the council called "The Church in the Modern World" opened with the statement: "The joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the men of this age, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted, these are the joys and the hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the followers of Christ."

What that document was teaching us (that was the first sentence), was not that the church is here to help us get into heaven, no, the church is here to help us to transform the world, enter into the world as church, the body of Jesus, the teachings of Jesus that can transform the world into the reign of God. That's what that document was teaching us, not just that we're trying to get to heaven, but we're trying to transform the world doing action for justice. Just a short time later, a few years later, the Synod of Bishops meeting in Rome in 1971 issued a document called "Justice in the World."

Among the things that document teaches is very challenging. This teaching that action for justice and participation in the transformation of the world — these are constitutive parts of the teachings of the church. Action for justice and participation in the transformation of the world constitute the very work of the church. That means we have, again, to try to enter into what's going on in the world, transform it, change this world until it becomes the reign of God where everyone is treated with human respect and dignity, everyone has an opportunity for a full life.

Transforming our world to make it a world of justice and peace is a work that is very profound, but it's one that all of us are called to. I recognize over the years whenever I see that passage about being doers of the word, I'm challenged. I'm challenged to not just take this message and read it, and then put it aside some place, but to read it and to try to bring it into the life of our church, the life of our world, and to follow Jesus who is this Word of God. Be a doer like Jesus was where he reached out to the poor, reached out to those who are vulnerable, welcomed them, and welcomed the refugee. He himself was a refugee.

Jesus shows us so much if we only watch him and listen to him. 

That motto continues to challenge us in the Hope all of us were challenged as we listen today to the words of St. James, 

"Be a doer of the word." Enter into the work of the church to transform our world into the reign of God, the reign of God where everyone has the chance for a full human life where we build a world of peace and justice. This is what we are called to do if we follow Jesus, if we are doers of the word who is Jesus.

Fear not, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel! I will help you, says the Lord; 

your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.

God is on your side and God has got your back in Christ Jesus Name.

We have too many leaders who believe their position mandates their influence shall lead by forced coercion - a “my way or the highway” mindset that makes them more like dictators.

“You can’t just say, ‘We’re going to keep people out.’ You have to deal with the constant osmosis of population.”

Trump has said his wall will cost $8 billion; CNBC estimates it could really cost $15 billion to $25 billion, plus more for maintenance.

SAUL’S DISOBEDIENCE AND ITS CONSEQUENCES – LEADERSHIP LESSON

Christian Leadership requires obedience to God’s preferences, impulses, and desires above your own! The failure of obedience can have heavy consequences, much more than being taken to your room.

The Populist Appeal of Trump's Narcissism.
The fact that he often comes across as an egomaniac is irrelevant to the message, almost beside the point.
Populist messages rely on simplistic answers to complex problems and promote an us-versus-them warfare mentality. 

Like Mr. Trump, populists engaged in battle have traditionally ridiculed their opposition; but in the narcissistic endeavor to prove himself a winner at the expense of all those “losers,” Trump relies on righteous indignation, blame, and contempt as weapons of war. Many disaffected voters are drawn to him precisely because of those traits and not in spite of them.

Pride, false pride: Knowing the difference.

Modern civilization is based on the notion of pride and false pride.
The notion of (false) pride has spilled over into identity politics.Thus, we support a particular candidate because his or her election gives "my" community a sense of pride. 


Is not identity politics nothing more than the extension of false pride based not on the candidate's capabilities but rather on his or her arbitrary characteristics such as race, religion, ethnicity or gender?

Perhaps that is why the Talmud teaches us: "If ever a man becomes proud, let him remember that a flea preceded him in the divine order of creation (Tofesta: Sanhedrin 8:8). The same sentiment is expressed in the Midrashic literature when it notes that King Solomon asked a tiny ant in the palm of his hand: "Is there anyone in the world greater than I? The ant's answer: "I am, since God sent you to carry me!"

Overcoming Bias.

Prejudice distorts what it sees, deceives when it talks, and destroys when it acts.

Paul’s words to the believers at Colosse instruct us today, saying that our speech and behavior toward fellow Christians should reflect our oneness in Christ.


“[You] have put on the new man,” Paul said, “where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all” (Col. 3:10-11).

Self-pity resides in our sin nature, which the Bible refers to as our “old man” (Rom. 6:6) or “flesh” (8:12).

King Saul indulged his self-pity until his soul was barren, his spiritual walk halted, his anointing lost, and his destiny aborted. We must eliminate, not indulge, self-pity.
Self-pity’s effects are powerful. It traps us in a revolving door of spiritual stagnation that keeps us from finishing the race set before us.

It renders us weak and unfaithful in duty and encourages self-indulgence (excessive self-comfort). It moves us to slander our adversaries. It distorts our view of others, events, and ourselves.

9 Essential Qualities of a Godly Leader.

President Theodore Roosevelt once said, “The leader leads, and the boss drives.” The Boss often plays the Boss Card. They force obedience, strictly because of their position and status. But, as author and expert John Maxwell says, “Leadership is not about titles, positions or flowcharts. It’s about one life influencing another.”

After you have read this, odds are you are picturing someone known in a leadership position that drives more than they lead and It’s up to us the american general taxpayer to demand out of our incumbents too put their human tendencies aside and embrace these principle under God as God wants them to be.

Presidential non-negotiable's in regards to what makes any incumbent the effective Spiritual leader - under God - a great nation founded upon principles deserves.

When it comes down to it, the most important elements of leadership are very simple as summarized in these ten fundamental commandments:

1. Thou shalt model what you preach

The most powerful leaders are those who walk in private what they preach in public. Those leaders who personally live out the principles they expect from others maximize their influence and effectiveness as leaders.

2. Thou shalt develop leaders of leaders who can succeed you

As soon as a person becomes a senior leader they need to start working themselves out of a job by empowering others to do what they are already doing. Those they pick should fulfill the qualifications Paul laid out in 2 Timothy 2:2. Consequently, when a person is able to do a job about 80% as good as the senior leader, the senior leader should delegate the job responsibility over to them.

Those who don’t have this attitude are never entrusted with more by God because they limit their capacity due to having too much responsibility, and thus no leverage to go to the next level of assignment. Those who refuse to delegate will only produce followers who don’t mind being limited in regards to leadership capacity because they don’t like to think for themselves.

Conversely, the highest and hardest calling for senior leaders is to develop leaders who develop other leaders of leaders. Most leaders never develop anything more than followers. Leaders who develop leaders of other leaders are able to produce themselves in those who leave a legacy of developing leaders for many generations.

3. Thou shalt prioritize investing in people more than programs and marketing. It is very tempting for a senior leader to put all their focus on implementing programs and marketing that will draw more people into the church or organization. 

Yet our first priority should always be pouring into people. Those who spend most of their time administrating programs will never develop strong and deep disciples because the biblical discipleship process takes years and can only be done through personal interaction (both intense and informal).

4. Thou shalt communicate a divine, compelling vision worth following

It doesn’t matter how gifted a leader, a speaker, or a strategist you are — if you do not have a compelling vision from God, then other key leaders with potential will not follow you. Those with high leadership caps not only look at the leader they want to follow but they need to feel an emotional and divine tug regarding vision that speaks to their need for having a purpose (Acts 11:23).

5. Thou shalt learn to release others to help fulfill the vision. Effective leaders are not lone rangers and do not try to accomplish a vision without a team. After investing in the lives of other potential leaders, the next priority is to discern where to place those you are mentoring.

Like a sports coach, the key to high performance in an organization is to release each person to serve in a team in the areas best suited for their personality, gifts, and calling. The leader’s vision must become a shared vision if it is to come to pass!

Some are more suited for administration and minutia, and others are more suited for the big picture and people. Trying to put a big picture person you are mentoring in an administrative role would not only hurt the organization’s performance but could crush that person’s confidence and frustrate them.

6. Thou shalt hold yourself and your followers accountable

All effective leaders allow for much freedom when it comes to ministry but have high standards of personal accountability when it comes to their marriages, families, and walk with God. Those who don’t hold their leaders accountable in their ministries and home life could eventually lose the respect and focus of key people in their organization. In the worst case scenario, people might begin doing their own thing and developing their own vision, which will result in division.

7. Thou shalt practice Matthew 18:15-17

Along with holding other leaders accountable, senior leaders need to insist that everyone who serves in the ministry with them must walk in the principles outlined by Jesus in Matthew 18. This has to do with walking in the light and in transparency with one another, without which people who work closely together will eventually develop bitterness and resentment, and give themselves over to gossip, which could destroy the culture of an organization.

Senior leaders who are too afraid or passive to confront other people in their organization will eventually self-destruct due to holding back bad feelings. This could lead to physical and emotional stress, marital failure, and deeply rooted resentments and bitterness.

8. Thou shalt affirm those who bear fruit and redeem those who fail

Effective leaders learn to praise those who minister effectively and try to redeem those who are failing. If you quickly throw those who fail under the bus without trying to redeem them, then you will not develop the loyalty needed to have a strong core. This could result in a lot of turnover on your staff. Those people senior leaders successfully process out of failure into success will more likely be loyal to the senior leader for believing in them instead of dropping them. This kind of gratitude and loyalty will then spread and become part of the culture of the organization.

9. Thou shalt hold to high standards of excellence and integrity in service

Along the lines of accountability, every leader needs to hold high standards both for their own life, ministry and performance as well as those who are serving along with them. 


Everyone and everything in the organization must have a spirit of excellence: the administration, communication, accountability systems, teaching, and physical appearance. If any of these areas become sloppy it could bring down the quality and culture of the entire organization.

10. Thou shalt walk in wisdom and humility regarding the future

All effective leaders must be able to see where their organization needs to go in the future based on demographic and cultural shifts. Leaders who do not change their approach with changing times will eventually be bypassed by the next generation who will gravitate towards those who speak their language and meet their needs.

In order to do this effectively, leaders must always be humble enough to question themselves regarding their personal walk, their goals, their methods and the way they are attempting to meet the needs of their community. Those that are presumptuous and too arrogant to ask themselves these questions will eventually marginalize their influence.

Fear not, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel! I will help you, says the Lord; your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.

The Word of God is at Work - are you Listening?

Vigilantly guard your souls.