The national conventions of America’s two major parties will soon convene. The Republican National Convention will commence in a week, on July 18th, in Cleveland, Ohio; and a week after that on July 25th, the Democratic National Convention will begin in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
All signs point to both being tumultuous, with political activists already mobilized in the thousands, determined to wreak havoc. (See “Hacked messages of #BlackLivesMatter leader reveal Obama admin’s plan for ‘summer of chaos’ and martial law“)
Many Americans are looking to one or another of the presidential candidates as the solution for this country’s ills. Again and again, FOTM‘s TrailDust and reader Seumas urge and remind us that the solution is not found in this or that political leader, but in our individual repentance. They are right, for in the end, we have neither power nor control over others. We can only each change ourselves.
Book of Deuteronomy 13:10-14
Moses said to the people:
“If only you would heed the voice of the Lord, your God,
and keep his commandments and statutes
that are written in this book of the law,
when you return to the Lord, your God,
with all your heart and all your soul.
“For this command that I enjoin on you today
is not too mysterious and remote for you.
It is not up in the sky, that you should say,
‘Who will go up in the sky to get it for us
and tell us of it, that we may carry it out?’
Nor is it across the sea, that you should say,
‘Who will cross the sea to get it for us
and tell us of it, that we may carry it out?’
No, it is something very near to you,
already in your mouths and in your hearts;
you have only to carry it out.”
And so, the solution for our country’s ills is simple, yet seemingly so difficult for so many:
“return to the Lord, your God,
with all your heart and all your soul”
Please, loving God — God who loves us like a Father; God who loves us so much He suffered and died on a cross for our sins; God who loves us so much He sent His Holy Spirit so that we are not left “as orphans” (John 14:18) — with humility in my heart and tears in my eyes, I entreat You:
Psalm 69:6, 2-4, 14-15, 19
God, you know my folly;
my faults are not hidden from you….
Save me, God,
for the waters have reached my neck.
I have sunk into the mire of the deep,
where there is no foothold.
I have gone down to the watery depths;
the flood overwhelms me.
I am weary with crying out;
my throat is parched….
God, in your abundant kindness, answer me
with your sure deliverance.
Rescue me from the mire,
and do not let me sink….
Come and redeem my life.
Pray for America.
May the Peace and Love of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you,
~Eowyn
