Tag: Decision making

A Christian Perspective

Deception in the mid-term elections

Loring Schultz

Read: Joshua 9 NLT – The Gibeonites Deceive Israel – Now all – Bible Gateway

“But when the people of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, they resorted to deception to save themselves.” Joshua 9:3-4a NLT

People waiting in line and voting at polling booths during U.S. midterm election
Voters line up and cast ballots at a busy midterm election polling station.

Desperate people will resort to deception when they are in fear or in danger of not getting what they want. The campaigns for the 2026 mid-term elections in the United States is starting to heat up with the summer heat. People are desperate from both major parties either to retain power or over seat the incumbents. Desperation will cause one to do and say anything that will prevent them from going down in defeat, or more accurately, that their opponent takes a seat in the United States Congress. Political campaigns have not been noted for their honesty and integrity for decades, but as the stakes become more larger and more pressing, we can be sure of a bumpy ride until election day and all the votes are counted whenever that will be.

Deception is as old as our first parents, Adam and Eve. Satan, who had tempted them with deception, is at the root of every lie in any political campaign today. Jesus had this to say about Satan, “He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (Jn.8:44b nlt) And the apostle Paul tells us Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. (2Cor.11:14) That’s the worst kind of deception, appearing to do and say all the right things as a person of integrity only to pull the mask off after election day. American voters have their homework to do in analyzing every statement made and how it compares with previous statements and more importantly previous actions taken by the candidate. Are they feeding us an illusion, being fraudulent, or outright lying, or all three?

Christians have a sure-fire way of determining the sincerity and integrity of a candidate. First, examining how do their statements and policy proposals line up with scripture? Second, we should be in prayer for wisdom to discern if the candidate can be trusted if they are telling the truth. The greatest example of not seeking the Lord in prayer is found in the Old Testament book of Joshua. The result of not asking the Lord for guidance caused Israel to fall for the deception from the Gibeonites, who were desperate and fearing for their lives. The United States is in desperate times. The future governing of every citizen is at stake. All candidates seeking office with their campaigns are desperate. They want to win. May we be praying for wisdom to discern the truth and not fall for the deception of Satan’s lies.

Devotionals

Where is your trust?

Loring Schultz

The following devotional was written on February 9, 2020

“It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.” Psalm 118:8-9 KJV

            Have you ever thought about where you place your trust? There are many days when we need help and guidance as we travel on the road of life. Where do you go and who can you trust? Do you go to others who are smarter than you? This is not a bad idea if they are qualified to help. Perhaps you rely on the government and those in positions of authority. Again, these are sensible choices for help in areas beyond your expertise or in seeking justice. Do you rely on yourself, not trusting anyone, no matter the situation? Not exactly the best idea! But there is one that you can trust completely in everything, the Lord God Almighty!

            So where is your trust? I must ask myself the same question. In preparing this devotional this week, I became aware of some significant changes in my place of employment. My first reaction was how we get through this. What adjustments need to be made? What resources do we need? I applied the appropriate management plan of action, but in reality it got the best of me as it so often does. Then the Lord reminded me, in over forty years of management, there has never been a time when He had failed to provide for me. I failed to trust Him first before proceeding with the plan of action.

            The psalmist writes, “It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man,” and that includes yourself. . “It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.” Put your trust in the one who knows you intimately, even better that you know yourself. Trust the Lord who created the universe and gave you life. He knows a lot more than you and I. He will lead you in the right direction. Where is your trust?

For further study in trusting God, Read Psalm 146;

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+146&version=NIV
Devotionals

Then It Happened

Loring Schultz

2 Samuel 11:1 NASB — Then it happened in the spring, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him and all Israel, and they destroyed the sons of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed at Jerusalem.

          “Then it happened” Have you ever had a “then it happened” moment. Everything is going well. Health, finances, personal relationships, friends and family are having the best of times. In fact it couldn’t be better. Life is good, and “then it happened.” Something out of blue disrupts your life and those around you. It comes along unexpectedly when you least expect it and it happens. Some “then it happened” moments you have no control over, but there are some fortunately you do have control over. These controllable “then it happened” moments never need to see the light of day if you are where you are supposed to be, doing what you are to be doing, rather than being at the wrong place at the wrong time.

          King David had a “then it happened” moment. The Lord had protected David from the hand of King Saul who was determined to kill him. After the death of Saul, David became King of Israel. The kingdom was securely in his hand. The Lord had continually blessed David, and then it happened. David was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Although he was in the comforts of his own home, he was not where the King of Israel needed to be at that time. David was to be out with Israel’s army in the battlefield, but David sent Joab and his servants as he stayed home.

          As the story unfolds, David was on the rooftop of his house late in the evening, perhaps he couldn’t sleep or he had nothing else to do and was bored. He noticed a beautiful woman, Bathsheba, bathing in the privacy of her own home from a distance. There’s an old saying, “idle minds are the devil’s workshop,” and here an idle king fell into the devil’s trap. Inquiring about the woman, David sent for her and the two had relations resulting in a pregnancy. If the story ended here it would be bad enough, but it gets much worse. Cover up and conspiracy leading to the murder of Bathsheba’s husband is the fallout from this sin of adultery. 2 Samuel 11:27 says, “…..But the thing that David had done was evil in the sight of the Lord.”

          Temptation has been around since the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Temptation was obviously around in David’s time, and you can be sure it is around today. How do you avoid temptation? One way is avoid any situation that could possibly lead you in the direction of temptation and sin. Along with that, remain faithful in your responsibilities to be where you are to be at any given time, and not in the wrong place at the wrong time.

          As you go through life be obedient to God and His Word, following His lead, and you will never need to worry about having that “Then It Happened” moment.

Read the story: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Samuel+11&version=NASB

Devotionals

Enter the Light

Loring Schultz

“The entrance of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple.” Psalm 119:130 NKJV

            When entering a dark room, the first thing we do is turn on a light. If we enter a room we haven’t been in before, we search for the light switch using the limited light illuminating from outside the room. In either case, when the room has light, we can now move around and conduct our business.

            There are many dark rooms we enter in life. Some are daily decisions to be made and others major decisions made only occasionally in our lifetime. All have the uncertainty in the shadow of what’s ahead. If only there was no shadow at all with enough light to enter, we would be confident we’re making the right move.

            The Psalmist wrote, ‘The entrance (or unfolding) of Your words gives light.’ The Bible contains everything we need to know in making those decisions of uncertainty. We need light to shine through the shadows of both the daily decisions and the life changing ones. Seeing that we make decisions daily, it stands to reason, the light always needs to be on. Daily reading of Scripture is a must for every Christian if we are to be in His will and make the right decisions.

            Our Lord will not abandon us to make our own decisions without His guidance and for that we should be thankful. He has given us His Word in clarity so that all could obey it. The Psalmist also wrote, ‘It gives understanding to the simple,’ and that means all of us. God’s Word is the light which illuminates our ability to understand His message to us, most importantly for salvation, but also for those decisions to be made in the shadows of a dark room.