As a result of the shutdowns during the COVID epidemic, we experienced a number of shortages such as toilet paper and hand cleaner and disinfectants.  At other times in our history there have been shortages of other basic needs such as for gasoline. I remember, while working in Oregon, that at one time we could only buy gas on certain days, and then had to wait in long lines and were limited to 10 gallons.  Shortages of products can affect our lives from just an inconvenience to creating an urgent situation.

     There is another shortage which I believe, at this time, is much more consequential for our nation, and that is a shortage of good leadership, from a national level on down to local levels.  This great nation of ours has had some amazing leaders in its short history and God has blessed us in so many ways and used us to minister to both the physical and spiritual needs of folks all over the world. There have been so many occasions throughout our history when God worked mightily either to establish or to preserve America against those who attempted to hinder or destroy our “experiment in freedom.” 

     But, as we have gradually departed from the Judeo-Christian principles of our founding fathers which were expressed in such documents as the Constitution, and our laws (based largely on the Ten Commandments), we have experienced a decline in strong, servant leaders to where we now have a glaring shortage, which has not only adversely affected the citizens of our nation, but our influence throughout the world.   

     Our elected leaders, who are to be representative of the needs and best interests of their constituents, often focus their attention instead on campaigning to keep their political careers going by catering to the voice of those who are attempting to “change” our nation away from following the principles of God’s Word and His desire and purpose for us. Instead of dealing with real issues, leaders are pandering to the Woke and LGBTQ crowd, to humanistic evolution, to climate change alarmists and the result is that our nation is floundering without a clear direction of purpose.  We are experiencing tragic moral and spiritual decline, with increasing violence, hate crimes, drug and human trafficking, and political unrest and division.  Many leaders don’t have the courage to stand up against the cultural tides (more like a tsunami!) as they cower in defending our Constitution, values, morals and truth. We risk losing the very freedoms and way of life that have defined this great nation. 

     Common sense is no longer common. It is, in fact, a rarity.  Basic truths regarding  things such as marriage, the home and family, the sanctity of life from conception to old age are being questioned. Logical thinking is seen as controversial or absurd. Our defense of truth and morality is seen as “hate speech” and is the basis for the need of counseling!  We are told to ignore the biological realities that there are only two sexes (Gen. 1:27) and that life begins at conception (Psa. 51:5). We are on a very perilous path where reality and truth is sacrificed on the altar of ideology. We have become like a ship without a captain, tossed by every wave and headed for destruction. The Apostle Paul warned the believers at Colossae: “See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world rather than according to Christ” (Col. 2:8).  That’s a warning we definitely need to heed today!

     When Israel desired to have a king like all the other nations around them, they selected Saul because he was tall and handsome (I Sam. 9:2). But Saul “acted foolishly” and did not “keep the commandment of the LORD which He commanded him” (I Sam. 13:13), so God “sought for Himself a man after His own heart” to replace Saul (v. 14).  God sent Samuel to the house of Jesse to anoint the one whom God selected, telling him: “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature…for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart” (I Sam. 16:7). Although David had his own weaknesses, he had a heart for God, and under his leadership, Israel prospered and for the most part walked in obedience to God.  In fact each king after David was compared to him. For example, though David’s son, Solomon did well for the first part of his reign, he disobeyed God’s command regarding multiple wives (Dt. 17:17) and “when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away after other gods; and his heart was not wholly devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of his father David had been” (I Kg. 11:4).  When Abijam, son of Jeroboam, became king over Judah, “he walked in all the sins of his father which he had committed before him; and his heart was not wholly devoted to the LORD his God, like the heart of his father David” (I Kgs. 15:3).  But, Abijam’s son, Asa “did what was right in the sight of the LORD, like David his father” (v. 11). 

     The condition and plight of a nation, a state, a local community (and also a church), depends largely on the quality of its leadership. Good leadership is the backbone, the glue, of any successful nation and right now ours is crumbling.  America desperately needs leaders who will uphold truth and godly principles, protect our freedoms and prioritize safety and sovereignty, not those who lay down a welcome mat to disaster and borders open to invasion by those who would destroy us. So, as I said last week, Pray, Vote, and put your Hope in God!

Forever His, 

Pastor Dave