Righteousness

Exalts a Nation...

My name is Bob Coster, and I am running a campaign for good government.

It has occurred to me that we often confuse bureacracy with government. By nature, it is big and impersonal. As average folk, we consider government a necessary evil in the daily operations of our communities. Somehow, it's connected to politics, and every few years we're asked to choose from a list of candidates, whose names appear on a ballot. But the national perception is that it doesn't really matter who gets elected. Our lives will continue on uninterupted as before. Our main concerns are attending to our daily lives. We become concerned if gas or grocery prices sharply increase. We care about the wellbeing and security of our family, and that our neighborhoods are safe. Though we don't relate to the daily bureacracy of institutions, we have had faith in them.

It has been said, that is you drop a frog into a pot of boiling water it will jump out. But if you put a frog in a pot of water, and only turn up the temperature a few degrees at a time, it will sit there till it boils to death. As a cold blooded creature, it is the nature of the frog.

For those of us who are older, we have seen major changes happen to the social landscape of our country and society. Not all of it has been good, and we are alarmed. The younger generation has not witnessed these changes, so they have no point of reference. Like the analogy of the frog, we see the pot that our country is sitting in. It has taken America decades to slowly arrive at this spot without hardly noticing what is happening. Because it is important for me to leave an enduring legacy for my children, I have seen an opportunity to make a difference, and that is through sharing the good news about good government to the common man, which centers on the promises of God.

What we know and how we act affects how we live. Our children are watching how we live, and their future is dependent on the values we instill in them.

People are religious, but God is not. Unlike bureacracy, where government is impersonal, we have a relationship with God as our heavenly Father, and that relationship is personal. The origins of government were established in heaven, and the foundation of God's government rest on His righteousness and justice. Good government is good because God is good. Though we live on earth, God has given us a picture of good government. Where there are natural rights given to man, there is natural law given as well, and that law is found in the natural government of the family. There is no bureacracy in family. There are different roles for different members, but they are based on love, in relationship to one another. The administration of government in the family is harmonious. At times it is hilarious, sometimes serious, but alway with love for each other at its center. It becomes the legacy of the family heritage, and through this the family is honored.

The Bible is not a religious book either. It is laid our historically, and prophetically. Because God is not bound by His creation and knows the end from the beginning, these are woven together seamlessly. To make things interesting, He often sets the past, present, and future to poetry and song. I found that this makes His word really stick by making it memorable and quoteable.

God has laid out his plan of salvation as a narrative through the lives of people. The Bible is comprised as a series of progressive covenants, which are deeply intimate and personal with those through whom the covenant was made. These covenants establish governments. So the Bible is one enormous book about government, from beginning to end. It is why I intend to use the Bible as my sole source of authority when teaching about government. In bureacracy we are a number. In our relationship with God, He knows our name.

Jesus began his ministry with these words: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

The need of the hour for us as common folk is to listen to these words carefully. Repent simply means: You're going in the wrong direction. Turn around and go in the right direction. This is the message for America.

Righteousness is on the Ballot this November 

One of the questions we need to ask ourselves as Americans is: Is justice a matter of popular opinion? If so, whoever influences our opinions controls what justice looks like. The danger of political power is that it can be used for both good and evil. Political parties are lining up their candidates in the control of political power, and they are competing for your vote. In some states, the issue on the ballot is the legalization of abortion, and the fate of the unborn will be decided at the polls. Politicians understand that voters vote with their emotions. In absent of critical thinking, a slogan or a phrase encapsulate the message. There's not a person in America, who believes an innocent person should condemned for crimes they didn't commit. That would be injustice. But if, for the sake of gaining political power, we can deny the innocent of their humanity, we can then treat them as property. We have done this before in America, and we will do it again. Therefore, it is not justice we seek, but license. Our sins always come back to haunt us.

What was written 3000 years ago is, applicable today: " Who will rise up for me against the wicked? Who will take a stand for me against evildoers?... Shall God have fellowship with the throne of iniquity, which devises evil by law? They gather together against the life of the rigtheous, and of the blood of the innocent they condemn." -Psalm 94

We consider our sins to be personal, but there is such a thing as national sin. To condemn the innocent is to stand in condemnation of ourselves. National healing will not precede national repentance. Justice demands the presence of righteousness because righteousness is its twin.

What I mentioned before is true: Good government is good because God is good, for righteousness and justice procede from His throne.

The final decree is this: " Judgement will again be founded on righteousness, and all the upright in heart will follow it." -Psalm 94