In the thick, swarming midst of life’s unfairness, our options often narrow down to something so simple it seems clichéd:  Do the right thing.  Have the right attitude.”
–Mark Buchanan

“Without the capacity of rational argument, all our proof of God ceases.”
–Jonathan Edwards

I have been a student of U.S. history for many years now, including a master’s degree.  There have been many controversies in presidential elections and there have been questions concerning new presidents.  Examples are the elections of 1800 and 1824 in which the House of Representatives chose the President.  There was the election of Garfield, Hayes, Kennedy, and of course the election of Lincoln which led the secession of southern states. However, there is a different element today.  The atmosphere in the past was assuredly heated, but now there is evil and depravity.
Who, in their right mind would dare to throw human waste at the President?  Who would dare to act like spoiled brats that don’t get their way and will not show their faces?  Who would not try to work to help the nation instead of widening the problem?
The problem stems from the breakdown of several things:  the family, the pulpit, the morality of society in general.  When people begin to worship self rather than God, the only thing left is destruction.  Destruction of society.  When humans cannot reconcile the gender they were born with, there is a major problem.  In Rome, there was widespread homosexuality, but there was not marriage between same-sex.  What is the purpose?  Self-gratification and in that, the mockery of God.
The Amplified Bible reads, “[The wicked are sentenced to suffer] just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the adjacent towns—which likewise gave themselves over to impurity and indulged in unnatural vice and sensual perversity—are laid out [in plain sight] as an exhibit of perpetual punishment [to warn] of everlasting fire.” (Jude 7)  This was not just because of sin, but of the overt atmosphere of sin.  It was caused because evil was called good and good was called evil.  It was caused because people mocked and scorned the thought and commandments of God.  It was caused because of depravity and evil.
It is a shame that man, who was man in the image of God and was given special dignity, has fallen to such a shameful state.  Today, as change in our nation takes place, there should be prayers for the safety of all that are involved.

Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did.”
–unknown

“Enjoy it [life] while you can. Seize every scrap of legitimate happiness, but remember…life is not a picnic. There are tears in things.”
–William E. Sangster

Psalm 65 is one of my favorite Psalms. Several days ago my principal gave a devotion over verse 11, a verse I had never really noticed before.

“You crown the year with Your goodness; Your ways overflow with plenty.” (HCSB)

2017 is the year that is upon us. We have no idea what the year holds, the changes that may come, the obstacles and challenges of the year, but it is given to us by the heavenly Father. There are several things to be said about this, but I’ll hint on a couple.
First, the year is crowned with goodness. Don’t give in to the naysayers, especially about the inauguration. God is in charge. He plans goodness for our lives. However, be careful–what He plans for our lives is often thwarted by our poor decisions or the attacks of the devil. Even then, if we obey and listen to the Holy Spirit it will be good.
That brings me to a second point. Paul writes, “We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28, HCSB. Combine that with 2 Thessalonians 5:18, “Give thanks in everything, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (HCSB). Putting those two scriptures together and obeying and believing them help the year to be crowned with goodness. Remember, goodness doesn’t always mean plenty, material blessings, or earthly reward. Often goodness is when the Lord helps us through our stupid decisions. It is when He provides a way when the devil has sought to destroy.
We are given 2017, in the year of our Lord. What we do with it has largely been placed in our hands. We can squander it, or use it for the kingdom. But, I also want your attention to be drawn to another Psalm.

“This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” (118:24, HCSB)

Not only did the Lord give us this year, but He gives us each day. Days fulfilled eventually become a year. What we do with the time God has given us is very important. We should be good stewards of each day. Each day we should be keeping in step with eternity rather than slumming with the world. Look around at the world, the situation that is an ever-present danger. Remember the day and the year are given to us by the Lord and then meditate on the words of Paul. “Making the most of the time, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:16, HCSB).
I like the way the Phillip’s version reads, “Live life, then, with a due sense of responsibility, not as men who do not know the meaning and purpose of life but as those who do. Make the best use of your time, despite all the difficulties of these days. Don’t be vague but firmly grasp what you know to be the will of God.” (5:15-17)
In other words–this year is ours; a gift from God. He has great things planned. It is our life to live, and notice, “with responsibility”, and grasping the will of God for our lives.

With the world in turmoil, the inauguration on Friday, and the signs of the times, what are you doing?  One of the major dangers for a person today is to get sidetracked and to compromise.  People can hoard material things but also things of the mind.  Are you hoarding anything?

          “All to Jesus I surrender,
           All to Him I freely give;
           I will ever love and trust Him,
           In His service daily live.”
                 –J.W. Van DeVenter

Don’t become so humble that you are proud.  One of the deceptions of the devil is to sneak in thoughts of how humble we have become.  The humble person never recognizes his humility and the danger is that in doing a humble act we become proud of it.  To go to the cross; to go to Jesus keeps us humble.  Do not become entangled in the world.

          “All to Jesus I surrender,
           Humbly at His feet I bow;
           Worldly pleasure all forsaken,
           Take me, Jesus, take me now.”

Have you ever felt the power and presence of the Holy Spirit?  On those occasions He works in and through us to clean and build.  We need to become like David and pray that He seek any unclean thing in us, and then give us a contrite heart; a heart completely ground to powder.

          “All to Jesus I surrender,
           Make me, Savior, wholly Thine;
           Let me feel the Holy Spirit,
           Truly know that Thou art mine.

           All to Jesus I surrender,
           Lord, I give myself to Thee;
           Fill me with Thy love and power,
           Let Thy blessing fall on me.”

Paul tells us to take up our cross daily.  John says to separate ourselves from the world.  How can we surrender all if we live for self and become involved with the things of the world?  The key is to give up self; only then can we surrender all.

          “All to Jesus I surrender,
           Now I feel the sacred flame;
           O the joy of full salvation,
           Glory, glory to His name.

                   I surrender all,
                   I surrender all,
                   All to Thee, my blessed Savior,
                   I surrender all.”

You strive for justice, you move toward the light when you can, and you shake off the darkness that clings to you from living on this fractured planet of lost dreams and sharp heartache.”
–Steven James

“No, it’s not hypocrisy to have high ideals and fail to live up to them–it’s called being human. Even saints have their imperfections and flaws. The only people who aren’t hypocrites are those whose moral are so twisted, whose consciences are so seared, that they don’t believe in any ideals higher than those they actually live out.”
–Steven James

There are a few things that seem to be forgotten, and one of them is justice. There are many who cannot perceive what justice is, as they have been given cotton-candy all of their lives. If they did wrong in school it was never their fault and in came the parents to take their side. If they can’t work and get fired it was unfair.
Whiners and creampuffs tend to never have learned that their are consequences for their actions. The same is true with the high and mighty. There are some who believe they are above the law. The decry the actions of others, but when the light comes on them they cry “foul” or “unfair”. Plenty of examples of that now in the media.
How did we get to this point? Why do we see so many murders, say in Chicago? Why is there a cry for sanctuary cities to protect the guilty and the immoral? I’m sure there are myriad answers we could give, but the basic one is the we have gone away from God’s Word and sin is not tolerated.
Ah, but what is sin? You say it to the wrong group and it’s either a hate-crime or racist. Sin is doing things contrary to what God says is right and good. It goes against the moral standards set up in His Word. It is the fallen nature that needs a Savior, whom people are rejecting. Reject the Savior, Jesus Christ, and a person is in sin.

“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.”
–Galatians 5:16 (NASB)