“Y Tu ….Barack & Nancy”

     In March of 44 B.C.E (Think Thornton Wilder’s “The Ides of March” or Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar”) Julius Caesar, the Emperor of Rome, was having a difficult month.  He was thought to want to retain too much power by his peers. He was immensely popular with the people but unpopular with the envious Roman Senate. One of his trusted advisors was a man named Marcus Junius Brutus, a leader in the Senate.

    In a meeting with a group of Senators, he found himself suddenly surrounded by people he had to this point felt comfortable with. To his surprise, many of them brandished knives and all of them, including Brutus, stabbed Julius Caesar to death. (FYI, he was replaced by Augustus who “restored faith” in the Roman Republic). Julius Caesar’ last words on March 15, 44 BC some 2068 years ago, were said to be directed at his close friend involved in the stabbing. He is reported to have cried with his last breath “Y Tu Brute”, bemoaning this huge betrayal.

     Fast forward with me to a Beach House in Rehoboth, Delaware. The President of the United States, Joseph Biden is running for re-election. He is quarantined at the beach house with covid. He is having a bad month. He humiliated himself in a debate with his rival. He is behind in most of the polls including those in the essential battle ground states. He is having some trouble with his parties’ Senators and House members. President Biden is being pressured to pull out of the race. It looks like he won’t win. He has sworn he won’t leave unless God Almighty or a doctor tell him he can’t run. Short of these, he’s all in. 

     Understandably, the President feels he should be given a chance to turn this around.  After all he has been through a primary process (Which by the way costs each state a significant amount of money) winning millions of votes and gaining almost all of the delegates. He had raised a boat load of money (In the 100’s of millions). He has the support publicly it seems of most of his party. He’s been down before and come back. He thinks he can do it again.

    Ironically, somehow Sunday, he heard from the almighty (aka former President Barack Obama). He said “no way Jose” to Joe Biden. Coincidentally, the good doctor (aka former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi) had a diagnosis for him. She charted him as DNA (Do not resuscitate). Sooner than he’d like he finds himself surrounded in spirit by “his friends”. One by one they thrust their statements into him. “Not cognitively up to the job” they declare. ” For the good of country” they pine. Their words are like daggers. He is humiliated beyond belief. Since he is an octogenarian, someone should have called the Adult Protective Service hotline. It was that bad.

     It was clear to President Biden that his political career was over.  Today (Sunday, July 21, 2024) at 2:13 PM he gave up the ghost. In a simple statement, released on X (formerly Twitter), he announced his withdrawal. He said “My fellow Democrats, I have decided not to accept the nomination and to focus all my energies on my duties as President for the remainder of my term.”  It was a death announcement. Obituary to follow. Tonight, if you listen real closely outside that beach house in Rehoboth you can hear a hoarse covid strained voice crying out. That voice is saying with its last political breath ” Y Tu Barak and Nancy, Y Tu.

Pastor Dave Watson

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Saturday night, July 13, 2024 at about 6:15 PM former president and current presidential candidate Donald J. Trump dodged a bullet….and so did we. 

    In a small western Pennsylvania town, Butler by name, Trump’s thump and stump speech was interpreted by multiple rounds from a sniper’s rifle fired only 130 yards away from the former president. Provincially, the sniper’s fire only grazed Trump’s ear drawing blood. Tragically three male attendees were wounded, one fatally, by the gun fire. They were hit while shielding their families (Please remember and pray for the family of Corey Comperatore who passed from his wounds). Coincidently (providentially) Trump had moved his head just slightly. If he hadn’t maneuvered in just the right manner and at just the right time Donald Trump would be dead. Stone cold dead. Truly he dodged a bullet… and so did we.

   It is by God’s intervention alone that the former President is among the living today. It is miracle that he could release a statement saying, “Thank you to everyone for your thoughts and prayers yesterday, as it was God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening,” Truly Mr. Trump dodged a bullet…and so did we.

     There are already accusations and ranker across the great republican and democrat divide. Rightly or wrongly the blame game is in full swing.  Picture the anger, the threats, the actions and reactions if the assassination attempt was successful. Right now the population is suspect of our government. We are just one or two incidents away from a full-blown revolt. The nation is polarized and volatile.  A civil war it seems is more likely than civil discourse. Please remember the words of Jesus “a house divided against itself cannot stand”.

    The events of the last few days affirmed what we all already knew. The state of our republic is not healthy. The rhetoric and ranker is out of hand. The anger and the hatred is palpable. The unimaginable is now thinkable. The unthinkable is now imaginable. The America we love is on the verge of something bad, very bad. Something is very wrong with the soul of our nation.  I’m reminded of the words of Benjamin Franklin in 1787 when our Constitution was first ratified. Franklin famously said “You have a republic, if you can keep it”.  Sadly, for the first time in my lifetime I have my doubts.

    Please understand that what is going on right now is not only in this world that we can see but also in that world that we cannot see. It is a battle between the forces of darkness and the forces of light. It is primarily not between political parties or social ideologies. It is between good and evil, between God and Satan. It is spiritual in nature. It is won or lost not with earthly weapons but spiritual ones, weapons mighty for the tearing down of strongholds. Plainly and simply, it is won on our knees.

     Saturday night, July 13, 2024, Donald J. Trump dodged a bullet…. and so did we. Miraculously and wondrously, Trump escaped the now neutralized (dead) 20 year old assassin. God in His wisdom and mercy gave Mr. Trump a lifeline, an extension of life. He sent his angels to distract the shooter or deflect the bullet or to move the former president’s head. God intervened. Donald Trump, the person, the husband, the father, the grandfather, the entrepreneur, the builder, the reality tv star, the former president and the current candidate once again for president was spared by God. Thank you God!

    Saturday night Donald J. Trump dodged a bullet….and so did we. In my opinion, our God has given our nation a reprieve, a season to seek God’s face in prayer and to seek God’s pleasure through repentance and a change in behavior. A season as well, to seek to heal the political wounds that are getting deeper and deeper as the days go by. Our nations soul needs a spiritual awakening.

     God’s church needs to lead the way. We, God’s people, need to repent of our idolatry. We have made politics and political candidates something they were never intended to be for us. They aren’t our solution, the Lord is. They aren’t the answer, Jesus is. They can’t solve our problems, only Almighty God can. We don’t trust in government; we trust in God. We don’t pray to the government we pray to the LORD. And speaking of prayer, we have been praying sporadically and casually when we should have been praying frequently and intensely. We have taken our responsibilities to be salt and light as Jesus described us way to lightly. We are now seeing the fruit of our lukewarm Christianity.

     Please, I urge you, I plead with you, I beg you, from now through the foreseeable future, pray for our nation, for our political leaders and for God’s church. Pray like the survival of your nation depends on it, because it does.

Saturday night, July 13, 2024 at about 6:15 PM former president and current presidential candidate Donald J. Trump dodged a bullet….and so did we…for now.

In His Service,

Pastor Dave Watson

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