1. Pray for them. (I Timothy 2:1-2) – “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.” God can change or remove them.
2. Obey them while they are in authority (Romans 13:1) – “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.” (See also Titus 3:1, I Peter 2:13-17) If they ask you to disobey God, obey God anyway with a good spirit and accept the consequences (Acts 4:19) – “But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye:” See also chapter 5:29.
3. Counsel them. Make sure they know God’s perspective (Matthew 14:1-10). Use e-mails, letters, calls, meetings or surveys, but ask for a response. It cost John his head but he got an early trip to heaven. Herod is still praying his price, and will for eternity.
4. Replace them. In America, it is our privilege and responsibility to replace unwanted political leaders by voting, campaigning for better candidates, or running yourself if you are qualified and willing. (Luke 17:10) – “So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants, we have done that which was our duty to do.”
5. Turn them over to God. He can change them, dispose of them, or use their evil for good. (Proverbs 21:1) – “The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.” See also Acts 12:20-23.
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                            Church involvement in politics?

Dear Pastor:  Should the church be involved in politics?

The commanded place of the church is to propagate the gospel of Jesus Christ and train believers to observe all His commandments (Matthew 28:19-20). Christians are to be spiritual salt and light to society (Matthew 5:13-16), living a Christ-like, righteous life which also exalts a nation and brings the favor of God. Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people. (Proverbs 14:34)
The commanded place of the government is to protect the people (I Timothy 2:2), punish the evildoers (Romans 13:1-5), and praise the good citizens (I Peter 2:13-14). Christians are taught to pray for their governmental authorities. I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that be in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. (I Timothy 2:1-2)
In a country like America where people have a vote, the church’s teachings should
influence its members’ opinions concerning morality. Then they should vote accordingly. Also, counsel those in positions of authority as to what God says concerning the decisions they need to make. Remember in America the politicians are supposed to represent you. This is the primary approach by which the church should be involved in politics.
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Dear Pastor:  Do you think it is too late for America to come back to God?

As long as there are a good number of serious, born-again Christians here, there is real hope. Even Sodom could have been spared by the presence of ten righteous people. Genesis 18:32 – And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once; Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said I will not destroy it for ten’s sake. God saved wicked Ninevah, which apparently had no righteous people, but they took the
Lord’s warning of coming destruction seriously and repented. (Jonah 3:4-10) God knows what it will take to cause this country to repent. He has been sending some strong warnings through weather disasters and military threats lately. To me it is clear that apathetic, worldly and backslidden Christians are the main thing
holding back real revival in America. II Chronicles 7:14 still says, If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
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Dear Pastor:  We are working on a living will and wondering if it is right to withhold hydration and nutrition to help expedite death?

God says in Deuteronomy 32:39, “I kill, and I make alive.” Psalm 68:20 says, “…unto GOD the Lord belong the issues from death.” James 4:15 says, “For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live.” Hezekiah’s near death experience in II Kings 20 shows us God is to be in charge of life and death. Modern artificial life support mechanisms sometimes make it hard to tell if it is God or we who are taking life, but withholding hydration and nutrition is definitely pushing God’s will away for our own. The healthiest person will die a horrible death without food and water. In James 2:15-16, If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of
you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what does it profit? God makes it pain we are not to withhold daily food from someone who needs it. Matthew 25:41-46 indicates it is wicked to withhold food from the hungry and water from the thirsty, and to do so is as though you were doing it to Christ Himself.
Quality of life is not always the issue. Through the years while calling on people who were in a dying and sometimes comatose condition, I have lead many other patients or family members to Christ. God was still using those who were dying in their bad “quality of life.”
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*********************************************************************************Dear Pastor:  I am having trouble losing weight. Does the Bible have anything to say about that?

The Bible says little directly about weight loss, but I have found Bible principles that have
helped me.
1. Let your motives be in line with the two main biblical purposes for food: strength and health. “Blessed art thou, O land, when thy king is the son of nobles, and thy princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness!” (Ecclesiastes 10:17) “Wherefore I pray you to take some meat: for this is for your health:” (Acts 27:34a)
2. Control your appetite, stopping when you have eaten what your body needs – “And put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite.” (Proverbs 23:2) “Hast thou found honey? Eat so much as is sufficient for thee, lest thou be filled therewith, and vomit it.” (Proverbs 25:16) “Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me.” (Proverbs 30:8)
3. Don’t hang around gluttons. Proverbs 23:20; Philippians 3:17-19
4. Note some warnings to gluttons – “Be not among winebibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh: For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.” (Proverbs 23:20-21) See Deuteronomy 21:20-21.
5. Protect God’s body and testimony – “What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” (1Corinthians 6:19-20) “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31)
6. Pray and claim these two promises. “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” (Philippians 4:13) See also 2 Thessalonians 3:3.
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Dear Pastor: As a man, I have a real struggle with the way some females dress, or should I say don’t dress, especially in the summer. Any help would be appreciated.

As a man, I have a real struggle with the way some females dress, or should I say don’t dress, especially in the summer. Any help would be appreciated. The problem with immodesty has increased and will continue to do so though God clearly speaks against it. (I Timothy 2:9-10) – “In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in
modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair or gold, or pearls, or costly array. But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works.” Unfortunately, unspiritual women often dress immodestly because they want to. That alone should turn the spirit of a man off, though it tends to turn his flesh on. It disgusts me that some females try to grab my attention and that of others by exposing breasts, legs and whatever else they can. Godly men should be attracted by modesty, purity, a joyful spirit and a Christ-like
character. Stay away, if possible, from public and private places frequented by immodest females. Turn
away when you do see them. (Psalm 119:37) – “Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken thou me in thy way.” (Job 31:1) – “I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid?” (Matthew 5:28) – “But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.” Paul’s admonition to Timothy in I Timothy 5:2 has helped a lot. – “The elder women as
mothers; the younger as sisters, with all purity.” Treat older women as mothers, and the younger as sisters with all purity. If my physical sister were to dress immodestly, I would be embarrassed and ashamed, so that is how I view immodestly dressed females. One last thing. The naked or uncovered parts of females are intended for the eyes of their husbands according to God, and not for my eyes to behold. (Proverbs 5:18-20) – “Let thy
fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth. Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love. And why wilt thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger?”
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Dear Pastor: I know the Bible tells us to be witnesses and to share the gospel with others, but I don’t feel very confident about doing it. Can you help me?

I have been doing it for 59 years and I’m still trying to gain more confidence. Just start where you are. Giving witness simply means telling others the story of how Christ saved you. The gospel means the good news of salvation through accepting Jesus Christ by faith alone. I started with using the Roman’s road:
1. We are all sinners – For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)
2. We receive eternal life as a free gift – For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23)
3. God showed His loved for us – But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)
4. We must trust Christ alone for our salvation – That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Romans 10:9-10, 13) I also started passing out gospel tracts (brochures) by the hundreds. I have written a training book on tract distribution. If you send me your address, I will send you a free copy.
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Dear Pastor: II Timothy says Christ abolished death. Why do people still die?

Physical death is the separation of the spirit and soul from the body—“For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” (James 2:26) Spiritual death is separation from God. “And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.” (Luke 16:26) The second death is where people are going through the dying and suffering process continually forever in the lake of fire.—“Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.” (Matthew 25:41) “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” (Rev. 20:10) “And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” (Rev. 20:14-15)
Christ abolished spiritual death and the second death. By one perfect sacrifice, Christ paid for all sins of all mankind so that every person could escape both the spiritual and the eternal second death if they chose to do so, by simply receiving Him by faith.—“But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God:”
(Hebrews 10:12) “And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.” (I John 2:2) “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.” (John 1:12)
In heaven even physical death will be abolished for the believers’ eternity—“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”
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Dear Pastor: In I Chronicles 29:29 it mentions the book of Gad. Is this a lost book of the Bible?

It never was a book of the Bible. Just because a book is mentioned in the Bible does not mean it was intended to be a book of the Bible. The books of Nathan, Shermaiah, Iddo, Jehu, Jasher, Shaphan, and many more are mentioned in the Bible, but were never inspired by the Holy Spirit to be Scripture. II Timothy 3:16 – All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. The fact that the book of Gad and many other such books are lost and not in existence offers
fuller proof they were not intended to be included as books of the Bible because God promises to preserve His Word forever. Matthew 24:35 – Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. Psalm 119:152 – Concerning thy testimonies, I have known of old that thou hast founded them for ever. Isaiah 40:8 - The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever. I Peter 1:25 – But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.
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Dear Pastor: Is there such a thing as reincarnation?

Reincarnation only exists in the mind of the deceived. It means the rebirth of a soul in a different body. It is a false chance after chance after chance to improve one’s self. God is plain in Hebrews 9:27, “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” You decide in this one-time, earthly life whether you will believe on and receive Christ alone for salvation or not. If you do believe on and receive Him you have everlasting life, but if you do not, you shall not see life (see John 3:36).
This was demonstrated in Luke 16:19-31. Lazarus died and was taken to heaven. The rich man died and went to hell. In requesting the smallest mercy of having Lazarus come and dip the tip of his finger in water and place it on the rich man’s tongue for a moment of relief, he was denied. Then he was told that no one could pass from heaven to hell or from hell to heaven. God warns us not to listen to false teaching. Galatians 1:8 – “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let
him be accursed.” Ephesians 4:14 – “That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive.”
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