How Can I Vote Like Jesus?

 “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; love and faithfulness go before You.” – Psalm 89:14

If you didn’t know it already, let me be the first to tell you: Jesus ISN’T running for President. Instead, we have two presidential candidates who aren’t in the same league as Jesus. So, choosing between them can be tough.

As a pastor-teacher, it is NOT my job to tell you who to vote for. My job is to teach God’s Word, which will equip you to think like Jesus. When it comes to deciding who or what to vote for, I believe we have two goals: 1) To determine the heart of Christ on the issues; and 2) To prayerfully decide which political candidates, propositions and measures are most in sync with the heart of Christ. 

In Psalm 89, a Jewish religious leader longs for God to restore the throne of Israel to one of King David’s descendants. From a New Testament perspective, we know that descendent to be Jesus Christ. The psalmist says: “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; love and faithfulness go before You” (v. 14). In this verse, I believe we find the heart of Jesus Christ’s kingdom: It is built on the foundation of righteousness and justice.

Interestingly, Republicans tend to place a greater value on passing policies that are righteous (morally right), especially when it comes to the unborn child, marriage, gender, and sexual purity. Meanwhile, Democrats tend to place a greater value on passing policies that are morally just, especially when it comes to health care, the treatment of minorities, criminal justice reform, and ending poverty. But these few examples just scratch the surface of the matters of righteousness and justice that are addressed in the two party platforms.

So, you have some homework to do. Review the Republican and Democratic party platforms that are available online. (Once elected, political leaders vote in line with their party platform more than 3/4 of the time.) DON’T assume that your favorite news source is telling you the whole truth. Almost all news sources these days are slanted, either to the right or the left. But you have the tools necessary to make God-honoring decisions about who and what to vote for. You have the Word of God. You have access to God’s wisdom through prayer. And the party platforms are just a click away. Read them with righteousness and justice in mind.

Here are two very important lessons that I’d like every one of us to take to heart:

Lesson #1: Our primary job as Christians is to lead people to Christ, not to an elephant or to a donkey. So, don’t let your politics sabotage your witness to unbelievers or your fellowship with believers. Let’s be honest: If Jesus was an American citizen, He probably wouldn’t be a Republican OR a Democrat. Jesus isn’t a “party” guy. So, don’t damage your witness by coming across like it’s your way or the highway.

Lesson #2: Pray for right and just leaders. Vote for right and just leaders. And if the candidate you vote for doesn’t win … pray for the person who takes office, just the same.

For months I’ve been praying every day for Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Governor Newsom and Donald Trump to be saved. I hope that you’ll pray for that as well. We need Christ-loving, Bible-believing Christians in our government now more than ever. So, pray for ALL of our leaders as you pray for our nation.

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church, meeting Sundays at 8:30 and 10 a.m. at 16209 Kamana Road in Apple Valley.

Be a Bridge Builder

“‘Then neither do I condemn you,’ Jesus declared. ‘Go now and leave your life of sin.’” – John 8:11

You probably don’t know this, but I love a good poem. And one of my favorites is a very inspiring one: “The Bridge Builder,” by Will Allen Dromgoole. It tells the story of an old man who came to a vast chasm while traveling on foot on a cold, gray evening. To cross it, he had to wade through a “sullen tide.” Although “the sullen stream had no fear for him,” once the old man had safely reached the other side, he turned around and built a bridge back the way he had come.

A fellow traveler asked the old man: Why, when his journey was nearly over, would he build a bridge he would never need to use? The old man explained that on his journey, he had seen a “fair-haired youth” who would be traveling the same way after him. The chasm that had been no problem for the old man, he said, might be a pitfall to the young man who would follow. The old man concluded: “He, too, must cross in the twilight dim; Good friend, I am building this bridge for him!”

There are two types of people in this world: those who build bridges and those who burn them. Which type are you? There’s no doubt that Jesus Christ was a bridge builder. One clear example of this can be found in John 8, when some Pharisees bring a woman to Jesus who was caught committing adultery. They said to Jesus, “‘Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?’” (vs. 3-5). As usual, the Pharisees were trying to trip him up. But as usual, Jesus was way ahead. His simple way of dismissing these charges was to doodle on the ground for a few moments before standing up and saying, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her” (v. 7).

That got rid of the crowd quickly. But that’s when Jesus’ ministry to the woman really began. He stood and asked her, “‘Woman, where are they?  Has no one condemned you?’ ‘No one, sir,’ she said. ‘Then neither do I condemn you,’ Jesus declared. ‘Go now and leave your life of sin.’“ (vs. 10-11).

You’ve probably heard it said that God loves the sinner, but hates the sin. This account in John 8 illustrates this truth beautifully. Jesus built a bridge of mercy and compassion to this woman who didn’t deserve it. Why? Because he loved her. She was one of his most precious creations, and he didn’t’ want to see her die in her sin without God and without hope.

But in that love, Jesus didn’t ignore her sin. He didn’t overlook her adultery. He told her, “Go now and leave your life of sin.” With those words, Jesus demonstrated the perfect balance between compassion and speaking the hard truth. Usually you and I focus on one or the other. Sometimes we’re very compassionate to those who have messed up royally, but we don’t correct them. We don’t point them to the truth about their sin, so they end up doing the same stupid thing over and over. And at other times we’re quite good at spewing truth all over someone who’s goofed up, but we do it with very little compassion. The truth hurts by itself; we don’t need to beat people over the head with it.

Remember what the Apostle John writes about Jesus in John 1:17: “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” In John 8, Jesus shows us the perfect balance between grace and truth, between mercy and justice. He speaks the truth in love—building a bridge of grace and truth to a broken woman who was lost and dying in her sin. And Jesus has called you and me as his followers to do the same.

When’s the last time you reached out to someone who felt they didn’t have a friend in the world and you showed them the compassion and love of Christ? Jesus was a bridge builder. He came to build bridges to sinners and save them. He built bridges to fishermen, lepers, prostitutes and tax collectors; he built bridges to those who were sick, hurting and hopeless. And, thank God, he built bridges to you and to me. So, if you and I are serious about following him, we need to put down our matches and lighter fluid and start building bridges instead of burning them.

As I shared in last week’s column, 2020 has been a pop quiz given to us by God to prepare us for tougher tests up ahead. And honestly, many Christians haven’t been doing very well on this quiz, especially in regard to building bridges to people who desperately need God. Many Christians have very strong opinions about COVID, and at times this year we’ve burnt bridges with friends and family who believe differently. And if you haven’t noticed this in the past few months, many Christians have some VERY strong opinions about politics. At times this year we’ve carried out a scorched-earth policy on friends and family who hold different political views.

It’s easy to forget that the clock is ticking. We don’t have much time to reach those around us who are lost and dying without Jesus Christ. Two weeks ago I did a funeral for a 19-year old man who found himself in a very dark place and took his own life. Last week I assisted with a funeral for a young woman whose life ended tragically on her 24th birthday. Friends, life is so short. We don’t have time to burn bridges with those who need to hear the good news of Christ’s hope, peace and healing. Let’s finish 2020 strong—building bridges for people who need both grace and truth.

Dane Davis is the Pastor of Impact Christian Church. Please join us for our live worship service Sundays at 9 a.m. at 17746 George Blvd. in Victorville. Or, join us online at 10 a.m. on our YouTube channel (Impact Christian Church) or on Facebook.

The Problem of Suffering

“The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.”

– Job 1:21

I wish I had a dollar for every time I heard someone ask, “If God is all-powerful and He is just, then why do good people suffer?” Over the centuries atheists and agnostics have asked this question. Most Jews and Christians have—at some point or another—asked it as well. And honestly, most answers to this question have been dead wrong.

Many skeptics have used the problem of suffering as an opportunity to cast aspersions on God’s character: “Perhaps good people suffer because God is not as powerful or as just as we once thought Him to be. Maybe God wants to squelch suffering, but He’s powerless to do so. Or perhaps He’s powerful enough to do so, but He chooses not to because He doesn’t care.” When faced with this question of human suffering, skeptics have responded by saying, “Good people suffer because God is NOT all-powerful, and He is NOT just.” To the average agnostic, it’s as simple as that.

Yet to the Jews in both Old and New Testament times, this answer was completely unacceptable. It flew in the face of everything they believed about God. You see, they believed with all their hearts that Yahweh is the all-powerful Creator of heaven and earth. And they believed the Old Testament Scriptures that testify to God’s goodness and justice time after time. Therefore, the Jews came to the conclusion that every person’s suffering is a direct consequence of his/her guilt before our holy God. In other words, if I sin a lot, I will suffer a lot. But if I sin a little, I will only suffer a little. To most Jews, it was as simple as that.

Do you recall what Jesus’ disciples asked him in John 9:2 when they saw a man who had been blind since birth? They asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” It seemed so obvious to the disciples: The ONLY reason this man was blind was because someone had sinned. Otherwise, our all-powerful, all-just God wouldn’t have allowed him to be born blind. So, when faced with the question of why good people suffer, the Jews’ typical response would have gone something like this: “God IS all powerful. And God IS perfectly good and just. Therefore, good people don’t suffer.”

Well, the truth is: The answers offered by both the skeptics and the Israelites were wrong. And to them and to all others who hold false views of God’s character and/or human suffering, God gave the Book of Job.

Perhaps you’re familiar with the story: Job was a man who lived to the East of Israel around the same time as Abraham. We are told in chapter 1 that he was “blameless and upright” and “he feared God and shunned evil.” You might call Job “God’s pride and joy.” Job was a very dedicated follower of God, and he was also the richest man in his neck of the woods. But with God’s permission, Satan unleashed his fury on Job—stripping him of all his wealth and even murdering his ten children in one fell swoop. By the time we reach the end of chapter 1, Job is a broken man, lying on the ground grief-stricken and baffled by his misfortune. Yet in the midst of his unimaginable suffering, he cries out to God saying, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.”

Over the next thirty-six chapters, Job struggles to find meaning behind his suffering. He begs God to answer the “why” question. Yet surprisingly, God never gives Job a satisfactory answer. The LORD never reveals to Job that he was the apple of His eye. The LORD never informs Job that Satan was the instigator and perpetuator of his intense suffering. And He never reveals to Job that his very faithfulness to God in the midst of his suffering both shamed Satan and brought much glory to the LORD.

So, the Book of Job does not give Job or us a satisfactory answer to the question of why good people suffer. [This “why” question is answered later in Scripture: in Luke 18:19, James 1:2-4, 1 Peter 1:6-9, Hebrews 12:4-13 and John 9:3.] But the book does answer two similar and equally important questions about suffering. To the question: “Is there such a thing as innocent suffering?”, the Book of Job answers with a resounding “Yes!” The Book of Job clearly demonstrates that God IS all-powerful and just. But even still, sometimes—through no fault of their own—the innocent suffer.

And to the second question: “How should I respond to my suffering?”, Job gives us a marvelous answer: “The Lord gave and the LORD has taken away. May the name of the LORD be praised.” In other words, when suffering rushes in—even through no fault of our own—we as Christ’s followers are called to ride out the storm in humble worship and praise. Like Job, we may never know why we suffer, but we can and should trust, obey and worship our great God in the midst of our pain. Ultimately, He will see us through.

Dane Davis is the Lead Pastor of First Christian Church in Victorville. For more information,

visit www.fccvv.com  and join us for worship tomorrow at 10 a.m.

Too Rich to Make It to Heaven?

“‘Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!  It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God…. With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.’” 
- Mark 10:24-25, 27

Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem when it happened, and Matthew, Mark and Luke all document the account. A man ran up to Jesus, fell on his knees in front of him and asked him: “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” In other words, the man wanted to know what he must do in order to make it to heaven someday. Matthew tells us that the man was young. Luke tells us that the man was a ruler, and all three gospel writers tell us that the man was rich--very rich.

So, the rich young ruler wanted Jesus to tell him what he must do to make it to heaven. Did he need to make ten pilgrimages to Jerusalem? Did he need to give alms to twenty beggars? Did he need to have perfect attendance at synagogue? Certainly there were a few hoops that he needed to jump through, something specific he could do to secure his ticket to heaven. So, how did Jesus answer this young tycoon’s question?

Surprisingly, Jesus didn’t at first. Jesus started by responding to the man’s question with a question of his own: “Why do you call me good? No one is good—except God alone.” First and foremost, Jesus wanted the rich young ruler to understand that nobody on this planet is truly “good.” God alone is “good.” Next, Jesus pointed the man to the Ten Commandments, specifically commandments five through ten: Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud (a paraphrase of the tenth commandment “Do not covet”), and honor your father and mother.

The young man must have been grinning from ear to ear as he responded, “Teacher, all these I have kept since I was a boy.” Jesus had just told him what he already knew: He was very good at following rules and obeying laws, and if law-keeping could possibly get anyone to heaven, it would get him there. But then Jesus burst the rich young ruler’s bubble as he turned to him and lovingly said, “One thing you lack. Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” Mark tells us in Mark 10:23, “At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.”

As the rich young man walked away Jesus spoke these infamous words: “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” The twelve disciples couldn’t believe their ears. They knew without a doubt that it is impossible to squeeze a camel through the eye of a needle. So, in shock, they asked Jesus, “Who then can be saved?”

With this simple statement the disciples were expressing a popular belief in their day, the belief that everything in life comes easier for the rich, including salvation. The disciples (just like most of us today) were convinced that life was much easier for the rich. For example, it was easier for the rich to put food on the table, to pay the bills, to cover medical expenses, to find friends, and to receive justice in a court of law. And in their minds it seemed clear that if all of these other things in life came easier for the rich, so too did salvation. After all, the rich could afford to give extra large tithes. The rich could afford to sacrifice as many animals as necessary to atone for sin. The rich could afford to bribe rabbis or priests or whoever else they needed to bribe in order to receive a “Fast Pass” to heaven.

But in a few quick seconds Jesus blew that faulty theology out of the water. Jesus revealed this truth: When it comes to heaven, it is impossible for a rich man to get there. Why? Because neither the rich man nor the poor man are truly “good.” Both the rich man and the poor man are sinners who stand guilty before a holy God, and God’s justice requires that they be punished. Therefore, there are no hoops that any person (rich or poor) can jump through in order to make it to heaven. Working our own way to heaven is “impossible.” Earning heaven is “impossible.” Jumping through enough hoops to make it to heaven is “impossible.”

But not with God. With God all things are possible. Jesus provides a way for both the rich and the poor to make it to heaven: by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Ultimately, this is the truth that the rich young ruler refused to accept. He was prepared to do whatever it took to secure his own salvation as long as it didn’t require him to rely upon someone else. He was willing to kneel before Jesus, but he refused to relinquish control of his life to Jesus. He walked by sight and refused to walk by faith. So, he made his choice. On that day he had to choose one God to serve: Jesus or his money.  Sadly, he chose his money.  And he went away in despair having turned his back on the only one in the universe who could secure his place in heaven: Jesus. I hope and pray that you won’t do the same.

Dane Davis is the Lead Pastor of First Christian Church in Victorville. To hear Pastor Dane’s messages or for more information about the church, visit www.fccvv.com. Services can be viewed on the church's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/fccvictorville.