Every few years, when conservative Christians think things are getting rough, there are 2 things, 2 themes that seem to rise up and bring a lot of attention. One of them is a Texas thing, but both are somewhat controversial, and both elicit strong emotions. I am almost 65 years old, and these two things come up around the same cycle for some reason, not exactly sure why, but I have a theory. Both of these things bring a lot of attention and make a lot of money for those who are proponents, and purveyors of the cause. They also elicit a lot of negative response towards anyone who may question them or actually verbalize their disagreement or question the beliefs behind them. Let’s explore. Thing #1 – Rapture of the church, or 2nd coming of Jesus To look at this teaching, you need to understand that many evangelical Christians believe and follow rapture theology. I was a child when I first heard the word, although, rapture theology has been rising in popularity since the mid to late 1800’s. This is a basic belief that Jesus is coming back to ‘rapture’ or take His believers to heaven. leaving the unbelievers behind. Many disagree as to exactly what point in history this will happen, but some believe it will be before the tribulation, which is supposed to be a horrible time in the earth. I understand my language above may sound like I am not a believer. I am a strong believer and have studied this extensively, but that is not the point of this blog, so I am not going to get into ‘teaching’ on the subject. You will see my point in a moment. A few years ago, a very popular charismatic pastor spoke extensively about the rapture coming during the 4 blood moons. Many others did the same thing. The blood moons came and went, and no rapture. During the 60’s & 70’s it was a thing. Most believers sat back and didn’t engage in the political arena because Jesus was going to come and take them away from what was going on at the time. There have been countless other times when this teaching rose up, and especially the last couple of years. But we are still here. Thing #2 – Texas Seceding from the Union or secessationism. This is growing in popularity among far-right wing conservatives right now. There are entire plans around it and many are promoting and even supporting this. The most recent push seemed to gain popularity last year, around the election. The people behind this say we can secede and we have everything in place to become our own country again. It sounds awesome until you really start digging into the solutions they are proposing. But it is still a very popular ‘thing’ right now. Conversations around this topic bring lots of questions, but many of the answers are the same. That we have all the things in place to do this, but no in-depth answers. And while it has been discussed in depth for many years in times of struggle, we are still part of the union. So again, while it cycles around, nothing has changed. The power brokers behind it are the same, but the situation has not changed. My theory is that both of these ‘things’ are rooted in 1 answer. Escapism. Escapism defined is "the tendency to seek distraction and relief from unpleasant realities, especially by seeking entertainment or engaging in fantasy." These two things pop up in Texas when don't think the government or the world is going the way we want them to, and when we are scared we will lose our freedoms and our rights. The thought of Jesus coming to take us out of here is glorious. But God didn’t leave us here to hold the fort, he left us here to have dominion. We are supposed to overcome the enemy by being Kingdom. Not escaping and leaving it to it’s demise. When we connect with Him, study and know Him, and allow His purposes and plans to flow from us, we can shift the atmosphere and our nation by our very presence and we will see His Kingdom manifest here in the earth, in America and in Texas. The reason we are all in the mess we are in today, is because too many of us were focusing on the escapism of the rapture rather than getting involved and making sure we didn’t lose ground. My parents generation were so focused on the rapture, they didn’t stand against Roe v Wade and look how many lives have been lost. Churches believed and taught we shouldn’t be involved in the political arena, so we sat back and allowed the enemy to take our country away. Secessationism is also a form of escapism, believing that by seceding we can, collectively escape the pain and hurt that is going on in America. The problem is that the same political spirit behind the evil in our government is the same political spirit behind the powerbrokers of secessationism. They are lining their pockets with solutions that sound great, but in reality would leave Texas in a mess. Take any issue or topic and follow it through to it’s logical conclusion and see where you end up. Currency, commerce, federal properties in Texas, not to mention property taxes, foreign policy with neighboring states, military presence, and border security…around the entire state. While there may be solutions that have been discussed by some pretty smart people somewhere, what kind of financial obligation is it going to take to put all of this into place, especially while we are trying to exit the union? This will cost us a lot more financially than we are having to pay now, regardless of what these leaders tell you. Then in a few years, when Texas is not the Eutopia promised, new people will be elected into office and want to rejoin the union. Then all of that time, effort, and money has been wasted and we will have to rebuild. We don’t need to escape, we need to engage. When you are focused on escaping, you are not focused on real solutions. A temporary mindset produces temporary solutions. A permanent mindset produces permanent solutions. In both of these things, we are not coming up with long-term solutions to any of the big problems, spiritual or otherwise. In the church, or the body of Christ, we need to return to the true word of God and stop the compromise. In the state of Texas, we need to raise up godly leaders with long term solutions that can change the political landscape away from the corruption we have seen and back to ‘we the people.’ We are to be a covenant people, a covenant nation. America is a covenant nation, Texas is not. As a great spiritual leader recently said, Texas is to lead, not secede. God is bringing revival to America, we don’t want to miss that here in Texas. I want to be clear on both of these points. I’ll be front and center when Jesus returns, and I’ll be in Texas when it happens. But in the meantime, I’ll be working to change both the political landscape and the spiritual purposes for God’s will and way, not mans. I don’t want to escape, I want to make a difference, and I know you do too.
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AuthorI'm a wife, Mom, grandma, teacher, friend... Lived a while and still have some living to do. Archives
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