Pondering the Attempt on Donald Trump's Life

Many thoughts enter our minds as we process the assassination attempt on Donald Trump last Saturday. There are endless talking points, and it seems everyone has an opinion. These are tumultuous times. But they are not without precedent. The 1960's certainly go down as one of the most violent decades in our nation's history. In November of 1963 our president was assassinated in Dallas. In March of 1968, the life of Martin Luther King was taken by an assassin, and then four months later Robert Kennedy, who had declared his candidacy for president, was assassinated in Los Angeles. And, of course, violence in our nation was not confined to the 1960's. We all remember the attempt on the life of President Ronald Reagan in March of 1981. Thankfully, his life was Providentially spared by God's kind mercies.

This brings us to consider the attempt on the life of Donald Trump. The assassin's bullet tore through his right ear. If the bullet would have been an inch to the other side the bullet would have entered his brain ending his life. If the former president would have moved slightly his life would have ended. From the shooter's perspective, an inch from 150 yards away is a mere twitch, a slight change in the movement of the air, or any of the other variables snipers have to take into account. And to consider this was an amateur, unskilled shooter, one might say it was by chance the bulletin found the target at all. "By chance?"

There is no "by chance" in the workings of God's Providence. The bullet followed a trajectory orchestrated by God. It moved according to God's command and it wasn't a molecule off target. Most people look with amazement at Trump's survival. Even the former president declared to a reporter, "I'm not supposed to be here. I'm supposed to be dead. By luck or by God, many people are saying it's by God I'm still here." Whether or not Donald Trump knows it, there is no question, this was an act of God's Providence.

God was merciful last Saturday. It could have ended as another political tragedy. It would have put this presidential race in turmoil and increased the division and hostility that has so divided our nation. God was merciful to a nation that has abandoned Him and forsaken His Law. May it remind us of how dependent we are upon the purposes of God and may it drive us to our knees begging Him for His continued mercies upon our land.

And while our former president was spared, another was not. The life of a beloved husband and father by the name of Corey Comperatore was taken. May this remind us clearly of the uncertainty of life. The days of every human being are ordered by the Ruler of all the earth. May this remind us to treasure our days, and always be prepared to enter eternity. 

 

 

The Greatest Threat to Worship

What is the greatest threat to worship in the church today? Is it the threat of government overreach? Coming on the heels of the recent pandemic, we understand the need for constant vigilance, but this isn't the greatest threat. What about the popularity of contemporary worship with bright lights and loud music, with beating drums and pulsating rhythm? While this may be a disturbing trend it is only a symptom of a much greater systemic threat. 

The greatest threat to worship today is a low view of God. We no longer hold God in high reverence. We no longer stand in awe of His radiance and glory. We no longer tremble before His infinite power. We don't see coming before Him as a weighty thing. We've lost the concept of the holy. This is reflected in how we approach God in worship.

Worship has become something that is casual and common. People arrive ten minutes late because God is small in their estimation. He is insignificant and is expected to conform to their schedule. People dress in casual attire because they see worship as a casual affair. They come with their coffee because worship is just another form of entertainment, where you sit back and relax and enjoy the show.

Our generation has lost the sense of God's glory. The Hebrew word for glory carries the idea of weightiness. It describes the fullness of God's divine being. When Moses asked God to show him His glory God told him it would be more than he could endure. Yet, we enter God's presence with little thought of His Divine majesty.

Uzza should stand as a warning to us, who dared to reach out and touch the ark of God. Or Nadab and Abihu, who dared to profane the worship of God with their unauthorized incense.

What is the solution? We need to repent. I mean personal repentance. It is too easy to look at others and smugly condemn their worship. But what about your own heart? You need to repent if you have forgotten the infinite greatness of God; if you enter worship without a sense of His presence; if you treat His worship as a common, casual thing. Worship demands preparation. We need to pray that God's Holy Spirit would prepare us for worship, filling us with awe and humbling us before His greatness.

We need to recognize that God is infinite in majesty. He is holy, holy, holy. As Jesus taught His disciples to pray He began, "Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name." God is with us in an intimate relationship, He is our Father--and yet He is in heaven--apart from, transcendent. His very name is Holy.

We need to enter the place of worship with the knowledge that we are leaving the profane and entering into the holy. Yes, it is true that God's presence is boundless, He is omnipresent. Yet, when Moses saw the burning bush, he was overwhelmed by the presence of God--God told him to take off his shoes because he was standing on holy ground. 

Such was the vision of Isaiah. He saw the heavenly hosts gathered about God's throne, calling out to one another, "Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts. The whole earth is full of His glory" (Isaiah 6:3). When the Apostle John saw the risen Christ it was no common affair - "I fell at His feet like a dead man" (Revelation 1:17).  May God grant us a fresh comprehension of who God is, and may it transform our worship.