Nathan James Norman
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Nathan James Norman

Husband. Father. Pastor.
Storyteller. Reader. Comic Fan.
Slave of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Orchard Church

What Effect Will the 2016 Presidential Election Have on the Sovereignty of Christ?

11/2/2016

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What effect will the 2016 presidential election have on the sovereignty of Christ?

None.

The election, like many before it, has prophets working hard to convince the public we are in the midst of an apocalypse: "Vote for my candidate, otherwise the earth shall crack open and hell-fire will bubble over onto you and your children and your children's children."

It is true that elections have consequences. And these consequences are rather high. So the apocalyptic language feels true.

If I am being honest, I also feel the pull. My heart teeters on the edge of being completely convinced of the message.

But this is a confusion of the City of Man for the City of God, as Augustine put it. The City of Man is coming to an end, but there is an enduring City - an eternal Kingdom - which is here now, and is coming in power. The eternal City of God cannot be stopped nor its purposes thwarted.

The ultimate power is not in the U.S. presidency. The ultimate authority and direction for the course of human history does not depend on the outcome of the 2016 election.

I have found myself in the Scriptures even more in this season, because my mind needs to be renewed. I need to be reminded by the prophets of the One True God, over and against the prophets of the false political gods, that Christ is sovereign over all.

Below I have compiled a brief list of Scriptures I have found challenging and comforting during this season:

Psalms 20:7-9
Some take pride in chariots, and others in horses, but we take pride in the name of Yahweh our God. They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand firm. Lord , give victory to the king! May He answer us on the day that we call.

Hebrews 12:28-29
Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us hold on to grace. By it, we may serve God acceptably, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.

Isaiah 31:1-3
Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help and who depend on horses!
They trust in the abundance of chariots and in the large number of horsemen.
They do not look to the Holy One of Israel and they do not seek the Lord ’s help.
But He also is wise and brings disaster.
He does not go back on what He says;
He will rise up against the house of wicked men and against the allies of evildoers.
Egyptians are men, not God; their horses are flesh, not spirit.
When the Lord raises His hand to strike, the helper will stumble and the one who is helped will fall; both will perish together.


Hebrews 13:14
For we do not have an enduring city here; instead, we seek the one to come.

John 18:36
“My kingdom is not of this world,” said Jesus. “If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I wouldn’t be handed over to the Jews. As it is, My kingdom does not have its origin here."

Habakkuk 3:17-19 (Read the Whole Book)
Though the fig tree does not bud and there is no fruit on the vines,
though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls,
 yet I will triumph in Yahweh;
I will rejoice in the God of my salvation!
Yahweh my Lord is my strength;
He makes my feet like those of a deer and enables me to walk on mountain heights!


Psalms 33:22
May Your faithful love rest on us, Yahweh, for we put our hope in You.

Revelation 22:20
He who testifies about these things says, “Yes, I am coming quickly.” Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!

Which Scriptures have you found comfort in during this season?


Scripture References from the Holman Christian Standard Bible.


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An Abortion Article 

1/31/2013

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Salon.com ran this article by Mary Elizabeth Williams last Wednesday. You can read the article "So What If Abortion Ends a Life?" in its entirety here.

I am not going to comment beyond this: Whatever side of the debate you are on this, I think Williams adds some clarity of the issues here. And regardless of where you are in your views on abortion, I love you, I care for you and I want to have a positive relationship with you.

Here are some excerpts (underlines are mine):

Of all the diabolically clever moves the anti-choice lobby has ever pulled, surely one of the greatest has been its consistent co-opting of the word “life.” Life! Who wants to argue with that? 

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I know that throughout my own pregnancies, I never wavered for a moment in the belief that I was carrying a human life inside of me. I believe that’s what a fetus is: a human life. And that doesn’t make me one iota less solidly pro-choice.

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Here’s the complicated reality in which we live: All life is not equal. That’s a difficult thing for liberals like me to talk about, lest we wind up looking like death-panel-loving, kill-your-grandma-and-your-precious-baby storm troopers. Yet a fetus can be a human life without having the same rights as the woman in whose body it resides. She’s the boss. Her life and what is right for her circumstances and her health should automatically trump the rights of the non-autonomous entity inside of her. Always.

When we on the pro-choice side get cagey around the life question, it makes us illogically contradictory. I have friends who have referred to their abortions in terms of “scraping out a bunch of cells” and then a few years later were exultant over the pregnancies that they unhesitatingly described in terms of “the baby” and “this kid.” I know women who have been relieved at their abortions and grieved over their miscarriages. Why can’t we agree that how they felt about their pregnancies was vastly different, but that it’s pretty silly to pretend that what was growing inside of them wasn’t the same? Fetuses aren’t selective like that. They don’t qualify as human life only if they’re intended to be born.


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It seems absurd to suggest that the only thing that makes us fully human is the short ride out of some lady’s vagina. That distinction may apply neatly legally, but philosophically, surely we can do better.

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My belief that life begins at conception is mine to cling to.

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And I would put the life of a mother over the life of a fetus every single time — even if I still need to acknowledge my conviction that the fetus is indeed a life. A life worth sacrificing.

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Election Results

11/7/2012

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After a year of hype and political theater it is perfectly normal for those who voted for Obama to feel jubilation, and for those who voted for Romney to feel deflated.

I had once posted the following comments on a blog that is no longer live, back before the 2008 election:


"A brief quote from John MacArthur was posted over at Jollyblogger concerning the elections. When asked if he was concerned where the next elected president would take this country MacArthus replied:

'I’m not concerned about that for 5 seconds. It has nothing to do with the kingdom of God — absolutely nothing to do with it. The Lord will build his Church; I’m concerned about his Church. I’m concerned about the name of Christ, the gospel, the glory of God, the purity of the Church, the clarity of the teaching of the word of God. Jesus said it as clearly as it could be said when he said to Pilate, ‘My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight.’ His kingdom has nothing to do with this world.  You could argue that the Roman power was oppressive, and even deadly, as indicated in Luke 13 when Pilate’s men went in and sliced up the Jews who were     worshiping in the Temple. You can make the case that Jesus should have done something to obliterate slavery, or overturn Roman oppression, and free the people of Israel. It has nothing to do with that — ‘My kingdom has nothing to do with that. My kingdom is not of this world.’

Obviously, as a human being, I would like to see someone who is moral; I’d like to see someone who is a Christian have an opportunity to influence things from a viewpoint of Christianity. But this has nothing whatsoever to do with the advance of the kingdom of God. I am much more concerned about the kingdom that is not of this world than the kingdom that is America.'

Now, obviously we need to vote (if we can) and pray for God’s will to be done. And I truly believe that God is in control over all things . . .

. . . but tomorrow morning, if your propositions did not get passed, or your guys didn’t get into office I pray that we will all still be able to glorify our Father, knowing that He is in control still."

I would add to these thoughts that regardless of who you voted for, believers are call to pray for President Obama (1 Timothy 2:1-4 ), and after the effects of the political theater have worn off in a day or two believers need to be more concerned about what they are going to do, more than what the president may or may not do.

My hope is not in politics. Legislation has no power to transform people or culture. At the end of the day I, and every Christ-follower, are called to build relationships with our neighbors, co-workers, family members and enemies and tell them that the God of the universe made them in His own image, and that he sent his son Jesus to die so they can have a right relationship with Himself. If I’m going to put my hope in anything, it’s the life-transforming power of Jesus’ resurrection and in the power of the Holy Spirit to change individuals and culture.

Neither Mitt Romney, nor Barack Obama as president would ever possess a power and authority that comes close to the life-changing gospel.
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