Compelling Love

Prayer of Dedication
Let us pray that we will all know and experience the love of God in Christ more fully than ever. By the power of the Holy Spirit who lives in us, may we fulfill all that God has ordained for our lives even before we were born. Let us also pray that our nation will fulfill the calling God ordained for us at our beginning, that we would be a covenant people, walking faithfully with Him and proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ around the world.

At a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13, 2024, when Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump realized that a bullet had ripped through the tip of his right ear, he crouched down and the Secret Service agents swooped in to cover him. Minutes later as he rose to exit the platform, seeing the anxious concern in the faces of attendees, he lifted his arm high and pumped his fist in the air three times declaring, “Fight! Fight! Fight!” He later said that he had no fear because he knew God was with him. He also knew that it was only by a miracle of God that he was still alive. He said this near death experience changed him, making him more appreciative of God than ever.

Significantly, this event occurred in Butler, Pennsylvania. According  to Wikipedia, “While each of the Thirteen Colonies contributed to the American Revolution, Pennsylvania and especially Philadelphia were a center for the early planning and ultimately the formation of rebellion against King George III and the British empire, which was then the most powerful political and military empire in the world. Philadelphia served as the nation’s capital for much of the 18th century.

During the 19th century, Pennsylvania grew its northwestern, northeastern, and southwestern borders, and Pittsburgh emerged as one of the nation’s largest and most prominent cities for a period of time. The state played an important role in the Union’s victory in the American Civil War.”

The word “butler” is defined as “the chief male servant of a household”.
Exodus 21 describes the law concerning servants in biblical times:

Exodus 21 (NKJV)
The Law Concerning Servants
¹ “Now these are the judgments which you shall set before them: ² If you buy a Hebrew servant, he shall serve six years; and in the seventh he shall go out free and pay nothing. ³ If he comes in by himself, he shall go out by himself; if he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him. ⁴ If his master has given him a wife, and she has borne him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master’s, and he shall go out by himself. ⁵ But if the servant plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,’ ⁶ then his master shall bring him to the judges. He shall also bring him to the door, or to the doorpost, and his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him forever.

The pierced ear marked a servant who had voluntarily dedicated his life to the service of his master. Leviticus 14 describes a ceremony for being cleansed by the blood of a sacrificial lamb being applied to the tip of the right ear, the thumb of the right hand, and the tip of the big toe of the right foot. Oil was then applied, representing an anointing for service.

Leviticus 14 (NKJV)

²⁵ Then he shall kill the lamb of the trespass offering, and the priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering and put it on the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot.

²⁸ And the priest shall put some of the oil that is in his hand on the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, on the thumb of the right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, on the place of the blood of the trespass offering.

In Butler Pennsylvania, a chief servant of the people of the United States had the tip of his right ear pierced and bloodied, and some of us believe that he was also anointed  by the Holy Spirit for service to this nation for another four years. Like Joseph, who was a chief servant in Egypt, Donald Trump could say to his would be killer, “But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.” (Genesis 50:20) The parallel verse in the New Testament is Romans 8:28 “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”

For many, this event evoked memories of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963. Many were inspired by the words he spoke in his January, 1961 inaugural address, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” That spirit of dedication to service is also exemplified by Donald Trump, who has been willing to endure many years of attacks and persecution by his political opponents for one reason only: he loves our country and the ideals for which it stands.

In Donald Trump’s July 19, 2024 nomination acceptance speech, he declared, “Every moment we live is a gift from God. Be bold, dynamic, relentless and fearless. Remember the love, sacrifice and devotion of our nation’s founders; by faith in each other, in their country and in God, they prevailed. With dedication like theirs we will win our share of a glorious destiny. United as never before, we will make America great again.”

The fruit of a life dedicated to God is success in all that matters most. If we love and obey Him, our love and joy will be perfected, as Jesus describes in John 15.

John 15 (NKJV)
Love and Joy Perfected
⁹ “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. ¹⁰ If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.
¹¹ “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. ¹² This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. ¹³ Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.

The greatest dedication and love of all is that shown by our Heavenly Father in giving His only Son, and by Jesus Christ in laying down His life, so that by believing in Him we may have eternal life.

John 3:16 (NKJV)
¹⁶ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

David Krause, dhkrause2@gmail.com, https://compellinglove.net/