Recently, during a Christian Post interview, Dr. Robert Jeffress, Senior Pastor of First Baptist Dallas, called Christians who refuse to vote for megalomaniac Donald Trump, "fools". I'm proud to say, I'm one of those fools Jeffress is talking about. I'm glad to be considered a fool by man, rather than be deemed a fool by God.

#NeverTrump: Because I love Jesus

One of the essential differences between Christians and unbelievers is that we are new creations in Christ, therefore, we love what He loves (righteousness) and hates what He hates (sin). We don't make decisions based on our fears or affinities like the world does, but we make our decisions based on God's Word, and desire His perfect precepts (Ps 19:7-9; Prov 14:8; Prov 16:2-3, 9)—even if that means we may have to suffer temporarily (Ps 119:67, Is 30:18, 20-21). We trust our lives wholly to our good, sovereign and loving God and Father (Rom 8:28-29).

I've been voting for 29 years and am fully aware I'm not voting for a pastor; I'm voting for the next President or our great nation. Which means I'm not looking for the best Sunday School teacher-like characteristics. What I am looking for is someone who's a servant-leader that cares for others more than self; who's wise; has a firm grasp on foreign policy and can converse intelligently with foreign dignitaries; will uphold and protect our Constitution (not rewrite or ignore it), and does not support, in any manner, the killing of the innocent and the promotion of all that God calls evil.

Donald Trump: A Modern Day Barabbas

In three gospel accounts (Mk 15:7, Lk 23:18-19, and Jn 18:40) we're given a glimpse of Barabbas, the evil man the crowd chose over the good Lord Jesus Christ. The people voted for Barabbas because he said and did things that others were afraid to say and do. He was a loud, demanding and commanding leader, who charmed many to follow him because he appeared strong, unhindered by political correctness and deceptively looked as if he fought for the good of his nation. But God said Barabbas was a murderer, thief, and insurrectionist (someone who hates established government authority and leads a rebellion against it). Therefore, according to God, Barabbas was not the right person to vote for.

Supports Murderers: Donald Trump has donated an undisclosed amount of money to the world's largest baby killing factory Planned Parenthood Barrenhood and continues to speak well of them as a leader in women's health. Trump funds murderers for hire.

Thief: Donald Trump is well-known for doing whatever benefits Donald Trump the most. And if that means filing four bankruptcies so he doesn't have to pay his creditors what he owes, then so be it. Unfortunately, his thievery isn't limited to the business world. His thievery extends to extra-marital affairs in which he proudly brags about all the married women he's bedded and "stolen" from their husbands.

Insurrectionist: Donald Trump has been very clear that he hates established government and that's one of the main reasons why he's running for President of the United States of America...to run our country like his businesses, rather than lead the people of our great nation. He sees our country as just another commodity that he wants to win, rather than see our country as a people, precious people.

I don't care what next big name Christian rallies behind Donald Trump. I'm not impressed with the big names in this world or even in the Church. I'm impressed with Jesus Christ who alone is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. Therefore, I refuse to cast my vote for a modern day Barabbas like Donald Trump. I will vote for the candidate who most closely aligns with my Savior's precepts, and that's Senator Ted Cruz. If Ted Cruz doesn't win the GOP nomination, I will either write in a candidate, or not cast a vote at all in the next Presidential Election. Saying we have to vote for Donald so Hillary won't win, is like saying, "We have to vote for Jeffrey Dahmer so Charles Manson won't win." Trump and Clinton are two peas in a pod and I refuse to vote for one of two equal evils.

Though Trump's self-aggrandizing, Barabbas ways aren't hidden, the majority of evangelicals are voting for him anyway. Why? I believe it's because we have too many slumbering Christians in our country due to the lack of Bible reading, studying, and meditating. We live in a time where many Christians get their theology from heretical books, TV shows and movies, claiming that these things are more exciting and relatable to them than God's holy Word. Shame on us. We need to repent of our spiritual laziness and apathy, and ask God to help us live as children of light, rather than like a sow, who after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire (2 Pet 2:22).

We need to wake up—and follow hard after Christ.

"There are many ways of promoting Christian wakefulness...Let the eye of faith be constantly looking unto him; let your heart be full of him; let your lips speak of his worth. Friend, live near to the cross, and thou wilt not sleep. Labour to impress thyself with a deep sense of the value of the place to which thou art going. If thou rememberest that thou art going to heaven, thou wilt not sleep on the road. If thou thinkest that hell is behind thee, and the devil pursuing thee, thou wilt not loiter."

-Charles Spurgeon

The condensed version of, "I told you this would happen, but you wouldn't listen." is, "I told you so." It's been ingrained in me and I think, most, if not all of you, that saying "I told you so" is wrong. It's considered to be harsh, inconsiderate, unkind, jabbing; and therefore, the most unloving and graceless thing to say to anyone after they've neglected to heed wise counsel, and find themselves in an unsavory and often, painful situation.

"Call me crazy, but in the history of conversations, has the phrase 'I told you so' ever really generated a positive response? I'd say no, it has not...'I told you so' is a negative and counterproductive way of saying, 'I’m right and you’re wrong,' that does neither party any good. Even if the person in the wrong has been stubborn and refused constructive advice, that does not give another person the authority to rub their face in it...

"If you must say something, please do so the properly way. That is, be a friend and not a bully. Instead of saying, 'I told you so,' look to your sensibility and maturity for guidance. Try to offer a positive spin on the situation that will make your friend feel better."

-Richie Frieman, Modern Manners Guy

After a short hiatus from writing, I thought I'd kick off this new year by sharing an article from someone else.

Before today, I'd never heard of Dr. Everett Piper, President of Oklahoma Wesleyan University and author of "Why I Am A Liberal and Other Conservative Ideas". But after hearing Janet Mefferd read Dr. Piper's article about why he will not be sliding down the evangelical slippery slope of Jerry Falwell, Jr., President of Liberty University and Pastor Robert Jeffress, Senior Pastor of First Baptist Dallas (who also endorsed Donald Trump), I was greatly encouraged and am now following him on Twitter.

Sometimes reading articles, tweets, and various social media posts about what "Christians" in America are saying and doing these days, often puts me in a somber mood. It seems our world is riddled with  a soft, man-centered, and emasculated false form of Jesus. A false Christ that's all "love", but not righteous, holy or just, as opposed to what Scripture says about God in Jeremiah 9:23-24. So when I chance upon something like Dr. Piper's article, my spirit is encouraged and my heart leaps with joy and thanksgiving to God for His faithfulness!

With that said, it would be wrong of me not to share this tremendous blessing with you. Dr. Piper's article is full of biblical truth, love for God, love for people and most importantly, exalts the true character of Christ our Lord and how His people live in this world, without being of it (Jn 17:15-16).

[The following article was reprinted with permission from Dr. Everett Piper]

On January 18, Jerry Falwell, Jr. welcomed Donald Trump to Liberty University to speak in the school’s chapel. As the college president who wrote the “this is not a daycare” article that received so much national attention recently, I have been asked by the media if I would be next: Will I be inviting Mr. Trump to Oklahoma Wesleyan University to speak in our chapel service? My answer has been simple and brief. No, I will not.

In selecting speakers for Oklahoma Wesleyan, party affiliation and political positions do not matter. Personal conduct, public statements, theological integrity and moral consistency do. In short, unless it is an open debate where different sides of the issue will be presented, we choose speakers who generally promote our university’s mission and who do not stand in opposition, either in word or deed, to what we claim to hold dear as a Christian community. I believe I owe it to our students, faculty, staff, board, donors and church to do nothing less— and frankly, Donald Trump simply doesn’t represent OKWU’s behavioral, theological, moral or political ideals.

“But, we need to defeat Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders,” many have said: “Your criticism of Trump only helps them. You need to stop attacking those on ‘our side!’”

My response:

Anyone who is pro-abortion is not on my side. Anyone who calls women “pigs,” “ugly,” “fat” and “pieces of a–” is not on my side. Anyone who mocks the handicapped is not on my side. Anyone who has argued the merits of a government takeover of banks, student loans, the auto industry and healthcare is not on my side. Anyone who has been on the cover of Playboy and proud of it, who brags of his sexual history with multiple women and who owns strip clubs in his casinos is not on my side. Anyone who believes the government can wrest control of the definition of marriage from the church is not on my side. Anyone who ignores the separation of powers and boasts of making the executive branch even more imperial is not on my side.

I’m a conservative. I believe in conserving the dignity of life. I believe in conserving respect for women. I believe in conserving the Constitution. I believe in conserving private property, religious liberty and human freedom. I believe in morality more than I do in money. I hold to principles more than I yearn for power. I trust my Creator more than I do human character. I’d like to think that all this, and more, makes me an informed and thoughtful citizen and voter. I’ve read, I’ve listened and I’ve studied and there is NOTHING, absolutely nothing, in this man’s track record that makes Donald Trump “on my side.”

I refuse to let my desire to win “trump” my moral compass. I will not sell my soul or my university’s to a political process that values victory more than virtue.

No, Donald Trump will not be speaking at Oklahoma Wesleyan University.

As Christians, we are, by God's redemptive work of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, supernaturally transferred from the domain of darkness into the Kingdom of the Son of God. Therefore, we are commanded by Christ our Lord, to be the light of the world—to be holy (that is, set apart) from the enslaving, self-indulgent deeds of this world. We have been freed to live holy, upright and self-controlled lives—filled with the Holy Spirit—bearing good fruit in the name of our Lord Jesus (Titus 1:8, Col 1:10-14).

"Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified."

-1 Corinthians 9:25-27, ESV

According to our Father God, there ought to be an unmistakable difference between the way holy children of God live their lives and how the children of the world live their lives. This doesn't mean however, that Christians can't and shouldn't enjoy a hearty and lovely Thanksgiving celebration with family, friends and strangers. What it does mean is that a Christian's Thanksgiving ought to be founded and filled with love, gratitude, and humility toward God Almighty for all His goodness to us, rather than be an occasion where gluttony is celebrated.

So how does one go about making a Christian's Thanksgiving look unmistakably different from the Thanksgiving of unbelievers? That's coming up, but before I share the practical applications of this biblical perspective, I'd like to take a short excursion into the past.


The 'First' Thanksgiving

There are many arguments about when the "first" Thanksgiving celebration took place. Did it take place by the first settlers of our country (the Pilgrims), in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1621, or was it established by our country's first President, George Washington in 1789? The answer is...yes. Though the Pilgrims did not officially have a name for their three-days of feasting and celebrating, this occasion was specifically held as a time to give thanks to Almighty God who endured them through much hardships (including many deaths) during their first year in the New World.

In 1789, President George Washington made an official proclamation for our country "to recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness". This was to take place on Thursday, November 26, 1789 (read the full proclamation here). Unfortunately, this proclamation waned as the American people forgot that it was by God's gracious and merciful hand that they prospered, won wars and could freely worship Him as He commanded (much like the Israelites did after God freed them from slavery in Egypt).

Thankfully, exactly 74 years later (to the day, on October 3) President Abraham Lincoln made another proclamation to the people of our country to observe a day of, "Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens" (read full proclamation here). Lincoln's proclamation was different from Washington's in that Lincoln suggested a day of Thanksgiving to be observed on the last Thursday of November, annually, rather than on a single, designated day. Lincoln's proclamation was observed every year by Presidents that came after him. In 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a bill designating every fourth Thursday of November to be our nations official day of Thanksgiving.



Now, back to the present. How do we, as children of light, celebrate this day of Thanksgiving in a way that's notably different from the way children of darkness celebrate it? For starters, don't plan on making a meal you can't handle. We all have limits and we need to be wise enough to know what our limits are so we're not unkind and/or arrogant towards others (Prov 14:8). Next, begin the night before by reminding your hearts who God is and what He has done for you by reading Deuteronomy 8; Psalms 5, 9:1-2, 27, 40, 103, 116:5-14, 145; Jeremiah 9:23-24; Luke 11:27-28; Acts 4:13; Romans 6; 1 Corinthians 10:31; Philippians 2:3-4; 1 John 2:15-17 and 4:9-12. Then prepare a short devotional to share with those God has blessed you with to celebrate this day of Thanksgiving. Include a hymn or another song of praise to our great and awesome God during this devotional time. Make sure not to choose a song where people will have to do vocal acrobats in order to keep up with the melody. Choose a song of praise and thanksgiving that exalts the name of Christ and can be sung by even a five-year-old.

As you prepare and bring your festive and delicious foods to the table, rather than play the martyr and do it all yourself, select a few helpers (young and old) to set the table and bring out the scrumptious feast for all to enjoy. Once everyone is seated, the head of the household should ask everyone to hold hands, and offer a humble and heartfelt thanks to God for the abundance of His goodness in Christ Jesus and the magnificent gifts we've receive through Him. As plates are being filled, beginning with the oldest person at the table (because you want wisdom to lead) have everyone share what they're most thankful for this season. Encourage your guests to share Scripture verses as they speak about God's goodness to them.

After this time of sharing thanksgiving and praise for God's awesome deeds in the lives of those sitting around your table; delight in conversations that are holy, gracious, appropriate and honorable. Refrain from conversations that include lewd and inappropriate/degrading jokes and other forms of irreverent babble (Eph 4:25, 29-32 and 5:4). If there are some in your gathering that engage in the latter, don't be afraid to lovingly ask them to stop and continue to encourage godly conversations so that everyone might enjoy this time together (Prov 27:5-6).

Once the main meal has been eaten and everyone is enjoying delectable desserts, read a verse or passage of Scripture (like the ones I suggested above, or one that's near and dear to your heart). Then invite everyone to play games, watch football, and/or simply enjoy the goodness of God and the gift of fellowship.

Be sure to keep an eye and prayerful heart out for anyone in your midst who needs a warm hug, a loving ear, biblical counsel, etc.

Whatever you do, whether you take any of my suggestions, or have many God-honoring, Christ-exalting traditions of your own, remember it's not about the food (or you), it's about God and the people He's brought into your home. Resolve to love God and others well, so that your Thanksgiving celebration will be a holy, acceptable, and a cheerful offering to God our Father.

"Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot. Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil—this is the gift of God. For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart."

-Ecclesiastes 5:18-20, ESV

Happy Thanksgiving!