"If You Have Raced With Men On Foot....And They Have Wearied You....How Will You Compete With Horses?"

              Anti-ICE protesters invaded a church sanctuary in Minnesota....and it is in all the news. A couple of the pastors from that church are affiliated with John Piper's desiringgod.org ministry....and are faithful preachers to the Word....writing wonderful articles for that ministry. One of those faithful pastors is also somehow affiliated with ICE....or so the reports are saying. It seems very unwise to me....very unwise for a pastor to be involved in that....but it's only been one day and we do not know the whole story by any means. 
             I would though like to segue for a moment. During the pandemic....political pastors made a big deal about church closures....and Trump did his thing pretending to be a great defender of Christianity. The closures were not an attack on Christianity. Whether those in government health who were making those decisions....were making the wisest decisions or not....they were trying to limit Covid deaths. A win was needed in the 2020 election....Trump needed anger....and we took the bait....on church closures....on masks and vaccinations.....everything! From a theological perspective....most of those churches needed their doors shut anyway because the gospel had long since departed.  God expressed anger with similar worship in the Old Testament....many times actually....but in Malachi 1:10 He expressed it this way...."Oh that there were one among you who would shut the doors....that you might not kindle fire on my altar in vain."
             So today....those same political pastors are outraged.....but we need mortification....not indignation. Jeremiah complained to God....(chapter 12)....that the wicked prospered....but God rebuked his complaint....telling him that the people had brought devastation upon themselves....(something we do not want to hear today....and there are few pulpits telling us that anyway)...."Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard...." (Jeremiah 12:10) 
             Protests such as what happened in Minnesota are indeed part and parcel of what the world throws at us....but it going to get much worse.....thus God challenged Jeremiah with this in verse 5...."If you have raced with men on foot....and they have wearied you....how will you compete with horses?"