#1: God is in control. Too often, we believe that our country is going to doom and gloom when our candidates do not win and/or when some other candidate wins an office that we fear will not do a good job. I know many Christians who were very upset with the results of the election in 2008. Friends, we need to remember that God is still on His throne (Rev. 4:1-11) and is in full control of what is taking place. As a matter of fact, what is taking place is the will of God (Rom. 13:1). That’s right, President Obama is in office because it is God’s will just like it was God’s will when President Bush was in office. They are in the office, but God is still in control of all things. Because of that fact, we shouldn’t be so worried about politics.

#2: Be good citizens of the earthly kingdom. Based upon Romans 13:1-7 and 1 Peter 2:13-17, we have certain responsibilities toward our government. Here are some suggestions from these passages and others: 1) Submit unless it violates the will of God (Titus 3:1; Acts 5:29); 2) Pay your taxes (Matthew 22:21); 3) Honor and respect your leaders (Acts 23:5; Titus 3:2); 4) Pray for your leaders (1 Timothy 2:1-2); 5) Vote your conscience (Romans 14:23); 6) Make your voice heard in loving and legal means (Ephesian 4:15).

#3: Be passionate about the spiritual kingdom. We our citizens of heaven (Philippians 3:20) and we should set our minds on things above (Colossians 3:2). I have seen too many people get consumed with politics and spend a lot of time and energy trying to change Washington. As Christians, we aren’t called upon to change Washington, we are called upon to change souls (Matthew 28:19-20). We should be spending more time in the study of God’s Word that in listening to radio and television political talk shows. We should be spending more than in evangelism than in campaigning for some candidate. We have more important issues. We are soldiers of Christ and must not get entangled in civilian pursuits (2 Timothy 2:3-4).

In Luke 9:57-62, Jesus explains this type of commitment. He first observes that to follow Him basically means that you will be homeless (vv. 57-58). It will cost you something. You will have to make sacrifices for the kingdom of God. You cannot get pursue a life of the American dream. You cannot get caught up with materialism. You must be willing to set all of that aside to focus on the mission at hand. Are we willing to sacrifice vacations, do without bigger homes, newer cars, name-brand clothes in order to engage in the work of the kingdom? Are we more concerned with treasures on earth or treasure in heaven. Would we be willing to sell all that we had to follow Jesus? Is He our treasure?

Next, he observes that the work of the kingdom is more important than family affairs (vv. 59-60). At first, these words seem harsh. How could Jesus deny a man the right to bury his father? Basically, it comes down to priorities. The man had a mission from God that needed to be taken care of right now regardless of anything else. God must come first. We must have a radical relationship with Him that means that everybody else takes a backseat. While loving family isn’t wrong, loving them more than God is sinful. We must we willing to put the mission of God before our spouse, our children, our parents, our friends or anybody else. God and His mission must be number one in our lives.

Lastly, He observes that following Him means a single-minded focus of moving forward in the right direction (vv. 61-62). We cannot spend our time looking back to the past or being distracted by the cares and concerns of this world. We must firmly keep our eyes on Him and keep plowing at all times. There is nothing else that is more important that the work of the kingdom. We must have the focus and determination to see it through and finish the task at hand. The devil wants to get us distracted from the job so that we lose our effectiveness. We must have a radical zeal and passion for the work and understand the urgency of the job before us.

1) John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

2) Romans 8:31-39 – “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, ‘For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.’ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

3) Philippians 2:5-11 – “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

4) Psalm 23 – “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

5) Isaiah 40:28-31 – “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”

6) Ephesians 2:1-10 – “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

7) Revelation 21:1-4 – “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.’”

Proverbs 3:5-8 – “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.”

9) Psalm 1 – “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.”

10) Philippians 4:4-7 – “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

We want the “American dream” of owning our own home with the white fence with two cars, name-brand cloths, children in private schools and involved in as many extracurricular activity as possible. We need to heed the words of Paul, who wrote, “But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs” (1 Tim. 6:9-10). John W. Rockefeller said, “I have made many millions, but they have brought me no happiness.” W. H. Vanderbilt said, “The care of $200,000,000 is enough to kill anyone. There is no pleasure in it.” Henry Ford said, “I was happier when doing a mechanic’s job.” Andrew Carnegie remarked, “Millionaires seldom smile.” Instead of bringing the happiness that materialism promises, it only brings problems.

Jesus said, “Take care, and be on guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions” (Luke 12:15). Paul wrote, “They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life” (1 Tim. 6:18-19). He also said, “Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content” (1 Tim. 6:6-8). The author of Hebrews wrote, “Keep your life free from money, and be content with that you have, for he has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Heb. 13:5). The idea behind this passage is that God’s presence is the basis for contentment. If we have God, we have everything. If you don’t have God, we have nothing.

Life according to monopoly is caught up with the things of this world. However, those things are temporal and can be taken away at any moment (Matt. 6:20). We cannot take our possessions with us and we cannot use them to buy a ticket into heaven. Life according to godliness is caught up with the things of the world to come. These things are eternal and will never be taken away (Matt. 6:19). With these treasures, we are rich both in this world and in the world to come. God will provide our necessities in this world (Matt. 6:33) and provides “all spiritual blessings in Christ” (Eph. 1:3) both in the here and now and in the life to come. I, for one, am tired of trying to serve two masters, which is impossible anyway (Matt. 6:24). I, like others, have made many past mistakes. I am choosing to change my ways and to live within my means. I hope that you will make the same choice if you haven’t already.

One of the hardest things I had to do recently was to overcome the stigma of having a mental health disorder. If I had a physical ailment, I would not hesitate to tell people that I was struggling and ask for prayers and seek the appropriate help. However, I, like so many others do, was initially ashamed to admit my mental health problem, let alone tell anyone about it and seek the appropriate help. That was a huge mistake. I battled my mental health problems for almost seven months before I truly got the help that I needed. Good mental health is as vital as good physical health. No one would live in physical pain if there were someone out there to help. No one should live in mental pain either because there is help. I am a living witness of that fact.

What does the Bible have to say about this issue? First, it gives us examples of people of the faith who have struggled with mental health issues. For example, Jeremiah wrote, “My endurance has perished; so has my hope from the LORD” (Lam. 3:18). He was distraught because of the destruction of Jerusalem and had some mental health struggles. Another prophet who struggled was Isaiah, who wrote, “Like a swallow or a crane I chirp; I moan like a dove. My eyes are weary with looking upward. O LORD, I am oppressed; be my pledge of safety” (Isa. 38:14). Also, Job struggled during an extremely difficult time of his life. He said, “My inward parts are in turmoil and never still; days of affliction come to meet me. I go about darkened, but not by the sun; I stand up in the assembly and cry for help. I am a brother of jackals and a companion of ostriches. My skin turns black and falls from me, and my bones burn with heat. My lyre is turned to mourning, and my pipe to the voice of those who weep” (Job 30:27-31). Further, David wrote, “My tears have been my food day and night […] My soul is cast down within […] I say to God, my rock: ‘Why have you forgotten me?’ […] Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?” (Psa. 42:3a., 5b., 9a., 11a.). He also wrote, “I suffered distress and anguish. Then I called on the name of the LORD: ‘O LORD, I pray, deliver my soul” (Psa. 116:3c.-4). Even the man after God’s own heart struggled with maintaining positive mental health in all situations as many of his psalms reveal.

Furthermore, one of the wisest men ever to have lived knew about mental health struggles. Solomon wrote, “A man’s spirit will endure sickness, but a crushed spirit who can bear?” (Prov. 18:14). He also wrote, “Even in laughter the heart may ache, and the end of joy may be grief” (Prov. 14:13).  And again, he wrote, “A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones” (Prov. 17:22). Once more, he wrote, “Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down” (Prov. 12:25a.). He was able to write these words by both his wisdom and his own experiences as evidenced in the book of Ecclesiastes. One final example worth mentioning is that Jesus himself struggled at times. During the night before the crucifixion, Jesus is said to have been “in agony” (Luke 22:44). Certainly, He had every right to be in inner agony, but it demonstrates the fact that inner struggles are real and happen to the best of people.

Second, the Bible provides comfort to the hurting. We serve a God “who comforts the downcast” (2 Cor. 7:6). He is able to deliver us from the “many waters” (2 Sam. 22:17) of pain and suffering. In Him, we are able to take “refuge […] till the storms of destruction pass by” (Psa. 57:1). During times that we are “so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself”, we learn to “rely not on ourselves but on God” who “will deliver us” (2 Cor. 1:8-10). As a result, we can “hope” in Him for He is our “salvation” (Psa. 42:11). As we walk through the “valley of the shadow of death,” He is with us and will “comfort” us (Psa. 23:4). When our “spirit faints,” God knows our way and will brings us “out of prison” (Psa. 142:3, 7). He will “never leave you nor forsake you” because He is your “helper” (Heb. 13:5-6). God is there to help us with any struggles that we have, whether they are physical or mental. He will provide the “mercy” and the “grace” we need “to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16).

As a church, we need to be a people of comfort as well. We need to “weep with those who weep” (Rom. 12:15b.). We need to “encourage one another and build one another up” (1 Thess. 5:11). We need to “strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble” (Heb. 12:12). We must remember that “if one member suffers, all suffer together” (1 Cor. 12:26). Thankfully, I have a church family like this and they were a source of blessing to me during my struggles.

If you are hurting, then please know that there is help. You have a God who loves you and will deliver you. You have godly Christian men and women who care and will comfort you. It may take time. It may require professional therapy and/or medication. It may be a constant battle for a lifetime. However, there is hope. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. Don’t be ashamed of your struggles. Go to your knees in prayer. Confide in a good friend. Get the help that you need. You are a precious child of God and He wants you to enjoy the life that He has purposed for you.

For example, Paul wrote, “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Col. 3:17; ESV).  In other words, everything that a Christian teaches or does must be in accordance to the authority of Jesus Christ.  In order for something to be in accordance to Jesus’ authority, one must have Scripture affirming the teaching and/or action.  Otherwise, one cannot claim that it is in accordance to Jesus’ authority.  Therefore, as old fashioned as it may be, one must have “book, chapter & verse.”

Without Scripture, man would be lost.  Solomon wrote, “There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death” (Prov. 14:12).  Jeremiah wrote, “I know, O LORD, that a man’s way is not in himself, nor is it in a man who walks to direct his steps” (Jer. 10:23).  Imagine being in the middle of New York City with no map or any type of directions whatsoever.  Without ever having been there before or stopping to ask someone for directions, the chances of your finding the way to your destination would be almost impossible.  Now, imagine trying to find your way from Earth to Heaven with no directions at all.  That would be absolutely impossible.

Thankfully, we have directions.  The Bible is our guide.  It is our map to Heaven.  It contains the words of eternal life (John 6:68).  It has the words by which we will be judged (John 12:48).  It reveals to us everything that we need for life and godliness (2 Peter. 1:3).  It is the very breath of God (2 Tim. 3:16).

Therefore, we must study the Scriptures in order to know what God wants (2 Tim. 2:15).  I’ve had people ask me questions like, “What does the church of Christ teach about this?”  My response has been and will continue to be that it doesn’t matter what the church teaches or what I have to say.  The only thing that matters is what God says.  Churches have and, unfortunately, some will continue to teach things that are contrary to God’s Word.  Preachers have and, unfortunately, will likewise continue to teach false teachings.  However, God’s Word is right 100% of the time.

We must stand in the Scriptures alone.  We must be willing to make whatever changes are necessary in order to be consistent with God’s Word.  We must never elevate man-made traditions to being equal or above God’s Word (Matt. 15:9).  We must abandon any traditions that contradict God’s Word.  We must never bind any non-contradictory traditions on others as if they were God’s Word.

I am convinced that most of the problems that we see in the church today have arisen because of a departure of being “people of the book.”  Just like Israel was being destroyed in the days of Hosea for a lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6), the church will be destroyed if she abandons God’s Word.  If the problems have come because of a departure, then the solution is a return to the Bible.  We must “go back to the Bible.”  Let us hold true to the words that we have all sung from the days of Vacation Bible School: “The B-I-B-L-E.  Yes, that’s the book for me.  I stand alone on the Word of God.  The B-I-B-L-E.”