"Hail to the Chief"

Watching the State of the Union Address is one of my favorite things to do as a student of history and lover of the pomp and circumstance that is as much apart of our government as the address-itself. I enjoy watching the spectacle that is the "State of the Union Address;" the attention to detail, the adherence to protocol and tradition that was established centuries ago. I take special pride in watching our country's first African American President-Barack Obama, ascend to the platform of this historic moment and deliver what has become our nation's most popular annual address. It seems just like yesterday that Pres. Obama was inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States just two years ago. And, as we are just days away from "Black History Month," where we collectively celebrate the achievements and accomplishments of some of the best and brightest African Americans our country has ever seen, we take pride in moments like this because it seems like  our greatest dreams and aspirations as a people have become a reality.  Watching Pres. Obama walked down the aisle behind such leaders as Congressman James Clyburn of South Carolina, I'm reminded of the immense struggles of the Civil Rights Movement as well as the greatest leader of the movement, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr articulate the merits of his dream.

 But, as much pride and optimism we may have in Pres. Obama, our ultimate faith and our trust cannot reside with him or with any man for that manner. Our faith and our trust must be in God and God alone. He is the only one that deserves our faith and utmost devotion. It is easy for us to get caught up in the loftiness of the position that our leaders hold, and the promises they make. But, at the end of the day their word can only go as far as their own humanity will allow. Many of us our guilty of making gods out of men by putting our faith and confidence in them, only to be let down time and time again. When are we going to learn that the wisest man to ever live was right when he wrote in the book of Proverbs the 3rd chapter and verse 5, "Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not to your own understanding, but in all of your ways acknowledge him. And, he shall direct your path." As wealthy and powerful as King Solomon was, even he understood at a very early age that wisdom must be the principle thing.

King Solomon's story is probably one of the most inspiring stories in the Bible. Here you have a young man becoming the successor to that of his father King David. He already had the loftiness of the position as King, but he realized that if he did not have the wisdom of God, he would ultimately fail. King Solomon was visited by God one evening, and was asked the question that every single person alive would love to hear from God, "what would you have me do for you?" And, Solomon could have asked for any number of things, fame, wealth, posterity, along with a whole host of other things. But, instead Solomon asked God for wisdom. He asked God for wisdom, "to go in and out amongst your people." And, God was so impressed with Solomon's request that not only did he give him what he asked for, but He also gave Solomon what he didnt' asked for as well. In fact, God told Solomon that he was going to be the richest, and most famous King to ever live, simply because he asked for the wisdom of God to handle the loftiness of this position of being King over Israel.

In these times of distress, these times of despair, these difficult days that Dr. King spoke of over 40yrs ago, we must put our utmost faith and trust in the only one truly qualified to be called the "Commander in Chief." Jesus Christ is the only one duly qualified to be the "Head of our lives." And, He should be the one that we defer to in times of plenty as well as in times of need. In Matthew 6:33, Jesus instructs us to "seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all of these things will be added unto you."  If Jesus Christ is not your "Commander in Chief," if He is not number 1 on your list of priorities, then you must ask yourself who is the leader of your life? Who are you looking to in your times of stress, in your times of despair? Who is leading your life? Is your faith tied to the politicians of this nation that say one thing today and something else tomorrow? If your commitment is tied to someone that has continuously let you down?  Or, maybe you are the one leading your life. "You are the master of your fate, you are the captain of your soul."  If any of this is true, then I can understand why nothing in your life is making any sense. Today, we must elevate our faith to someone that is incapable of failure; to someone that is incapable of error; to someone that is incapable of mistakes; and that someone is our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ.

We are not saying that Pres. Obama has not sought out the wisdom of God as King Solomon did in the scriptures, we certainly pray that he has. But, the goal of our writing today is to unequivocally proclaim and declare who the real Chief of not just the United States of America is, but the Chief of the entire world is and that is God-Himself. Isaiah said it very clearly and plainly in the 46th chapter of the book that bears his name, "For I am God and there is none else, I am God and there is none like me. Declaring the end from the beginning , and from ancient times those things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand and I will do all my pleasure." Our God is the only one that deserves our un-divided attention. Our God is the only one worthy to be proclaimed, "Commander in Chief!" 

God is my Chief, my question to you is simple, is He yours?

Your thoughts?

Be Blessed!

Pastor Nimmons
http://www.michaelnimmons.com/