First Baptist Dallas Pastor Robert Jeffress has an encouraging message for President-elect Donald Trump who has been hard at work selecting picks for the cabinet of his incoming administration. Jeffress has been a long time associate of Trump’s and offered up a message of healing and hope as we near the Thanksgiving holiday. Boy, do we ever need to hear messages like that, especially those that contain the gospel and can help heal the division that has ripped our nation apart over the last several decades.
“We did have a very contentious election,” Jeffress stated in his message, going on to acknowledge the polarization that has spread throughout the country. However, he went on to say that the nation will ultimately look at the next four years as a time for coming back together. “We’ve had many contentious elections throughout history. But I think now that the election is over, now that President Trump has been re-elected, I really sense on both sides of the aisle there’s a desire to come together and get something positive done for the country,” he went on to say, via The Christian Tribune.
Jeffress further dispelled the narrative pushed by the mainstream media that Trump will step into office and rule like a dictator. “You know, I think people who worried or [even] heard that, if he’s elected, he’s going to create this dystopian theocracy that’s going to oppress people — I don’t think any of that is true,” he said.
“I’ve seen and I’ve known the president for 10 years,” he continued, citing how well he knows Trump. “And I think he is able to transcend political differences and able to work on what’s best for America. So I hope all Americans will pray for him and give him a chance to do what he promised to do.”
Jeffress also indicated that spiritual advisers will play a major role Trump in Trump’s second administration. “Back in 2016, when President Trump ran for the first time, his campaign created a spiritual advisers committee. Once he won that 2016 election, that ended and it morphed into a more informal group of people who talked with the president when he requested that.”
He then said, “So I think that will continue. I’ve known President Trump, as I said, for 10 years, and we’ve been friends. And we stay in frequent contact either through text or phone calls. And I look forward to that friendship continuing for many years.”
Jeffress then made a very important point that all Christ followers need to be reminded of, which is that we need to always place our full faith and trust in God, not in the government. “God is in control of everything that happens, and we can trust in that. And I would also just remind Christians, especially, that the Bible teaches that government’s responsibility is to leave us alone as we practice our faith.”
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The pastor then finished by saying, “We’re never going to bring about spiritual change through government. It’s not government’s job or ability to change the hearts of people. Only the Gospel of Jesus Christ can do that. And that’s something we have to practice.”