“The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.” –Henry David Thoreau

Quiet desperation leads people into anxiety, accusation, anger, and an abundance of mental health issues. It annihilates inner peace.

I believe that God is calling people (of all ages) who are burning with His inner fire to help bring His people out of the pain, pride, and political dominance of Egypt and into the peace of the kingdom (direct heart-to-heart government) of God. To do this we need to demonstrate the presence, power, reality, character, and love of God in our daily lives.

The early Christians “turned the world upside down” by doing things Christ’s way instead of following their own thoughts, feelings, desires, and opinions. They had the faith and humility to rely on spiritual weapons instead of on human anger and/or physical weapons. Are we willing to do the same?

The biggest problem in America (and other countries) is our divisiveness. We have to share our country with people we disagree with. If we continue to demonize and to try to dominate each other, we will blow America apart. Then no group or party will have what they want, and we’ll all continue to suffer from (and escalate) chaos and violence.

If we love America and don’t want to destroy it, it is essential that we begin to find ways to work together so that we can “ensure domestic tranquility” (peace with one another) and all of us get part (but not all) of what we want. When a presidential debate looks like two angry and scared children pulling on the same stuffed animal, the future is dim for America.

It’s time for God’s people to turn away from the worldly Egyptian-style weapons of self-righteous divisiveness, arrogant accusation, and continual blame. It’s time to show kindness and compassion to the people we disagree with. It’s time we start “speaking the truth in love.” Jesus meant it when He told His followers to “Love your enemies,” and to “Bless those who curse you.” If you are unwilling to do what Jesus said, are you truly a Christ-follower?

The Bible warns us of misinformation and disinformation. The Bible calls it deception and this world is filled with it. I love Jesus and do my best to follow and obey Him moment-by-moment, but I can easily be deceived by the cunning of the devil and of human beings. I’m sure there are many times in your life when you (like me) have been deceived and tricked into false self-destructive attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors. We all have. (Even now, none of us fully knows the truth because “we see through a glass darkly.”)

We need to listen to and believe the Bible and the Holy Spirit, not to our own supposed ability to know if something is true or false, (or right or wrong). The Bible calls that “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” Eating from that prideful tree messed up Adam and Eve. And it messes up all of their descendants as well.

Whatever your age, be a peacemaker (both within your own heart and in your nation and the world). (I believe that the term “elder” in the Bible doesn’t refer to a church office. I believe that it refers to senior citizens of the kingdom of God who passionately and humbly love, follow, and obey the risen Jesus day after day.) Young or old or in between, will you be one of those people?