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Ivan G Thompson
a book bubble about
The Making of a Great America Where the Church and the Founding Fathers Fell Short
Religion & Spirituality
Author Insight
Prayers for Supreme Court Answered
Recently I posted a prayer for the Supreme Court and its decision on balance of powers related to this book excerpt. Prayers answered: The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected President Trump’s assertion that he enjoys absolute immunity from investigation while in office, allowing a New York prosecutor to pursue a subpoena of the president’s private and business financial records. In a separate case, the court sent a fight over congressional subpoenas for the material back to lower courts because of “significant separation of powers concerns.” Since both cases involve more work at the lower level, it seems unlikely the records would be available to the public before the election. Combined, the decisions offer the court’s most detailed examination of presidential power and congressional authority in decades, and Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. wrote for the majority in both 7-to-2 decisions. The court seemed to avoid some tough questions in an attempt to achieve greater agreement. All members of the court rejected a sweeping claim of immunity promoted by the president and his lawyers. “In our judicial system, ‘the public has a right to every man’s evidence,’ ” Roberts wrote in the New York case, citing an ancient maxim. “Since the earliest days of the Republic, ‘every man’ has included the President of the United States.”
Book Excerpt
The Making of a Great America Where the Church and the Founding Fathers Fell Short
Book Excerpt
You may wonder,
as a Christian, if I pray for the President. Of course, I do. I pray for him, his family. I pray that he would have wisdom. I especially pray that he'd have wisdom when it seems he isn't listening to the advisors that he has placed around him. This is an important point as the president is a part of a national leadership team of elected and appointed officials.
Recently, however, it seems that the American people have forgotten that we don't have just one national leader, like a king. Though the President has shown great admiration for Vladimir Putin, he is not in the same position as Putin, who can make decisions unilaterally, without opposition and accountability.
We have a president and three branches of government that are a check and balance to each other. Our three branches of government and the American concept of Democracy reflect the incredible foresight and wisdom of the Founding Fathers. We should pray for all of the branches of government in America, as they are all are part of God's established authority as outlined in Romans 13:
Rom 13:1-3 (NIV) “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended.”
The President of the United States is subject to the laws approved by Congress and the Supreme Court. If the President is rebelling against these laws, he is rebelling against the governing authorities, and he will rightly bring judgment upon himself.
We are all called to subject ourselves? to the governing authorities. Colin Powell's quote illustrates this point with a recent example of the President's behavior:
"And I see things happening that are hard to understand. A couple weeks ago the President put a circle around south east Alabama, saying it's going to get hit by a hurricane. He put it on top of the meteorological prediction," he said. "In my time, one of us would have gone to the president and said, 'Mr. President, you screwed up, so we've got to fix it, and we'll put out a correction.' You know what they did this time? They ordered the Commerce Department to go out and backup whatever the President mis-said. This is not the way the country's supposed to run, and Congress is one of the institutions that should be doing something about this."
Powell concluded, "The media has a role to play, we all have a role to play, you've got to remember that all these pieces are a part of our government. Executive branch, Congress, Supreme Court, and of the Fourth Estate, and we've got to remember that the Constitution started with, 'We the People,' not 'Me the President." (Colin Powell) (Becker, 2019)
The Bible says in a multitude of counselors, there is safety (Prov 11:14, 15:22). It also says that we should pray for all who in authority that we may live peaceful and quiet lives (2 Tim 2:2). In that regard, I also pray for the President's staff, the Congress, and the Supreme Court.
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