What are Christians to Do Now that Donald Trump will be President????

Donald J. Trump will be the 45th President of the United States

Every time I write this it seems a bit more real and I accept it.

According to the National Catholic Reporter 

Christians who described themselves as evangelical and born-again gave Trump 81 percent of their votes, up 3 percentage points from their support for Romney. Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton garnered 16 percent of their votes.

Let me say I am not surprised.

I know many Evangelical Christians were not voting for the man Donald Trump but for the platform which includes a firm Pro Life and appointing Conservative Supreme Court judges.  I can empathize and can totally understand people voting their convictions because I do the same. I believe in affording everyone the same respect that I want them to give me.

My Question to Christians is:  What Now?

I don't make it a secret that one of my problems with religion is con man preachers who prey on the miserable and hopeless people by working them up into an emotional frenzy while producing little to no results.  

From jump I said that Donald Trump reminded me of Con Man preachers that I have seen.  

• Work the crowd into a frenzy by saying things the want to hear
• Con People out of their money and then pretend to be the victim so the crowd sympathizes with him
• tell miserable and hopeless people what they want to hear
• have massive failures and no real results of success but brag and have lots of showmanship
• have bad hair

Ok That last one was mean but it's true.  

But my Question is:  What are Christians going to do Now that Donald Trump will be President?

There are many frightened and scared people in the United States right now.  Are Christians going to ignore them or are they going to say:  "You are my neighbor I feel your pain and I will stand up for you even if I don't agree with you.  I will stand up for you and not allow you to be treated badly because your are a human being and you are my neighbor."

In the Parable of the Good Samaritan Jesus was asked to define who our neighbor is:

Luke 10:30-37 (TLB)

The man wanted to justify his lack of love for some kinds of people,[a] so he asked, “Which neighbors?”30

 Jesus replied with an illustration: “A Jew going on a trip from Jerusalem to Jericho was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes and money, and beat him up and left him lying half dead beside the road.

31 “By chance a Jewish priest came along; and when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. 

32 A Jewish Temple-assistant[b] walked over and looked at him lying there, but then went on.

33 “But a despised Samaritan[c] came along, and when he saw him, he felt deep pity. 34 Kneeling beside him the Samaritan soothed his wounds with medicine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his donkey and walked along beside him till they came to an inn, where he nursed him through the night.[d] 

35 The next day he handed the innkeeper two twenty-dollar bills[e] and told him to take care of the man. ‘If his bill runs higher than that,’ he said, ‘I’ll pay the difference the next time I am here.’36 “Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the bandits’ victim?”37 The man replied, “The one who showed him some pity.”

One of the reasons the witness for Christians is so bad is because some do not show pity or mercy for anyone except themselves or their interests. 

Then we have "The Donald"

•  He has been married 3 times, cheated on at least 2 of them (Don't get mad get everything!  Thank you Ivana!)
• Has Publicly said he doesn't need to ask God for forgiveness
• Quoted TWO Corinthians
• Said terrible things about a war hero
• Made fun of a disabled man
• Was Vulgar towards women
• Cheats people  and doesn't pay them

If you can show pity and excuse a man like this, then will you be willing to show pity and love towards your Muslim neighbor, scared LGBTQ people, frightened undocumented people, etc? 

One thing Non Believers may ask is:  How come it is okay to show pity and mercy for a man like Trump but a sinful abomination to show mercy to the above groups?

Looking to Man For Salvation

The people of Ancient Israel begged God for a King and so he gave them one with not great results.  I honestly feel that some Evangelicals are looking for an earthly king to lead their cause.  I hope they don't believe "The Donald" is that man.

I've been disturbed to hear people say that Donald Trump will protect Christians from persecution.  First of all:  What Persecution?  People are being persecuted in Iraq, Pakistan, China, and Africa.  I haven't heard of churches being destroyed or heads being chopped off like they are in those places.  

Nobody is trying to tell you what to preach (despite what erroneous news reports say) and even if you were being persecuted the only one that can save you is Yahweh.  Not man nor the supreme court.

Jesus says this about persecution in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:11)

When you are reviled and persecuted and lied about because you are my followers—wonderful! 12 Be happy about it! Be very glad! for a tremendous reward awaits you up in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted too.

This is completely different from Go Vote for people who will spare you persecution.  

Man will not be able to save us or provide us real hope.  Barack Obama was not able to do it.  Hillary Clinton would not have been able to do it and Donald J Trump will not be able to do it.  Only GOD can provide us hope and any other teaching than that is FALSE TEACHING IMO.

I also believe that people elected Donald Trump because they were looking for someone to lead them.  People don't have much to believe in these days.  People have lost faith in institutions including the church.  

I think it's time for a FOR REAL "Come to Jesus" session for believers.  Several of the ministries I follow have said the same thing.

What are Christians to Do in the Era of Trump?

First Christians must root out the false teaching: Goodbye Prosperity Gospel, Fluffo Gospel, and Legalism

The prosperity gospel needs to go.  It has gotten people to the point where they believe Christianity is all about making money and having the perfect lifestyle to show off on Instagram.  

The Fluffo Gospel also needs to die.  People have deep problems and the reason they are so emotionally invested in political candidates for salvation is because they have nothing concrete to believe in.  If they go to church and hear nothing but the Fluffo Gospel this will not provide any real roots when something actually does happen.

Legalism also must go.  Now those churches that preach and teach legalism are already dying on the vine at a rapid rate but they need to become extinct.  Legalism is ineffective and there is no power in a legalistic church.  We will need real power behind us if we are going to make an impact.

Learn the Teachings of Jesus

Growing up in a legalistic background I did not know what the Greatest Commands of Jesus were until I went off to college.  I started to become amazed at how I had never even read the teachings of Jesus.  We focused on rules and such but not the teachings of Jesus.  It is only after I dropped the Legalism is when I began to see and experience the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Stand For Something and Be Convicted about it instead of just being against everything

I gained so much respect for Mitt Romney, The Bush Family, and John Kasich during this process.  None of them would let selfish ambition dictate how they were going to stand up for their convictions.

John Kasich (a Vocal Believer) especially earned so much of my respect.  He shared his willingness to listen and support others of different beliefs and he REFUSED to bend on his non support of Donald Trump even when offered the kingdom of the Vice Presidency because it went against his beliefs. THAT is someone I would follow because he stands firm in his convictions and has the credibility to back it up. 

That's what gives you witness:  Credibility and actually living what you're saying.

Stop Being Pharisees and Hypocrites

I remember reading about the Pharisees and thinking:  "Oh my. This sounds familiar" The Pharisees can tell everyone else they are wrong and going to Hell but they have no proof that they know the Lord or have any good results.  All they have are rules and misery.

Churches will  not attract people when you talk about what everyone else is doing wrong but Pastor Con Artist is up there swindling the people out of their money and church members do not conduct themselves ethically and have zero moral standards.

13 “You are the world’s seasoning, to make it tolerable. If you lose your flavor, what will happen to the world? And you yourselves will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. 

Honestly 80% of churches are at this point so it's time for change.

Get Ready! Get Ready! Get Ready!

I truly believe that this is when all of the people who have left churches due to the lack of compassion for humanity and huge inward focus will FINALLY have a voice.  

During my research this year on Leaving Church, nearly all of the people surveyed said they left because church has become too immature, superficial, and all about keeping the church going as a religious social club.  Many do not feel church is about Glorifying God serving the people anymore.

During hard and challenging times is when people will looking for something and it's time to get ready for that.   I don't believe the next revival will take place in most of these churches.  They have zero power.  

Prophets will arise but they won't be from the status quo.   You can't be status quo to lead a real movement.  It's always the rabble rousers.

More than anything

Christians need to hold firm to the fact that GOD is the only one that can save them.  He is the only one they should be trusting in and He is the only one that they should count on to save them from destruction but more than anything this is what Christians are to do in the era of Trump:

Matthew 22: 36-40

Sir, which is the most important command in the laws of Moses?”37 Jesus replied, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind.’ 38-39 This is the first and greatest commandment. The second most important is similar: ‘Love your neighbor as much as you love yourself.’ 40 All the other commandments and all the demands of the prophets stem from these two laws and are fulfilled if you obey them. Keep only these and you will find that you are obeying all the others.”

To God be the Glory!