Political correctness

In Fort Smith two weeks ago, I listened to an African American preacher call on conference attendees to pray for President Trump. Why? The Scripture says that praying for national leaders is the first duty of the assembled church. It is not politically correct for a black leader to pray for a Republican president, especially Trump. But it is the "kingdom-correct" thing to do. The reason is that our divided political house reflects our divided spiritual house. If the church gets its act together, our nation will be blessed.

An attitude of partisan division is a terrible thing. A partisan spirit amounts to racial prejudice, only it's against a political tribe, not an ethnic group. Prejudice is prejudice, for whatever reason. It is a form of hate and bigotry. Anytime emotional rants or heated rhetoric drives people to unwise actions, sound judgment flees. Thoughtful people need to dial down the diatribe and listen.

Political correctness has infiltrated the news media. Mind-numbing thought control makes rational truth seem like radical lies. The thought of even looking for electoral fraud among the states is deemed "voter intimidation." Since when did verifying accuracy become an attack on minority's voters? Put everything into the light. Truth when it is examined becomes stronger. Error when it is examined becomes weaker.

Biased news uses selective sound bites as a means of propaganda. It supports the anti-God culture that dominates left-leaning politicians and their partners, liberal media operatives.

The media seems surprised that President Trump is not intimidated by them. How dare he mock them? Everyone always capitulates to their manipulations. How does Trump stand his ground? Because of prayer! Hundreds of thousands of Americans are praying daily for our government and for our president.

Whenever a radical reformer is needed, and when God's people turn to God in prayer, the Lord has someone ready to step up and take a stand for what is right and necessary. That someone may not be likeable.

Donald Trump has an Elijah spirit upon him. This grace or divine enablement helps him fight. He is not perfect. But his life experiences have made him tough to take on the assignment of leading our nation out of its financial and moral quagmire. He carries an anointing to destroy wicked schemes and concealed plots by the wicked. His assignment is to restore America to our spiritual, philosophical, and moral foundations so that our nation can be a light to the world once again as a free, prosperous, and righteous society.

Usually this kind of grace is manifested within the church upon God's holy prophets. It appeared before on prophets when God's people prayed. The archetype of this in the Bible was Elijah. He battled Jezebel and Baal worship to save Israel. He was not a prophet to the church but to a nation.

Donald Trump is not holy. He is a flawed man. God chose a heathen king, Cyrus, to save his people. The Lord can choose any person he wants to shift our nation toward being good and great. Like Elijah of old who mocked the priests of Baal, Trump mocks the mouthpieces of empty values who speak falsehoods.

Most of the organized church has become too tame to embrace Elijah. They remain passive, choosing the status quo. But a remnant is rising--the emerging church of the next generation. They follow new fathers of faith into more of Jesus' fullness. They are learning that holy prophets can point out pioneering builders, the next wave of men and women being sent by God to save our land. Keep praying. We're winning.

-- Ron Wood is a writer and minister. Contact him at [email protected] or visit www.touchedbygrace.org. The opinions expressed are those of the author.

Religion on 07/12/2017