(Two years have passed since I posted to this blog site; however, the election outcome on November 3, 2026, has prompted me to revive http://www.spiritualminutemen.org and remind Bible believers we are the salt and the light of the world (Matthew 5:13-16). If there is any hope of America’s greatness being restored, it will begin with revival among God’s people and in our churches.)

Reflecting on the outcome of the November 3, 2026, elections, I believe too many Americans now choose candidates the way they choose celebrities: by personality, likability, and the strength of a slogan.

When Samuel was sent to anoint a king, God told him, “for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). The ballot was never meant to be a popularity contest. It is a stewardship. Each vote either safeguards or erodes the principles our founders pledged their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor to secure: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. These rights come from God, our Creator, not from the state, for “where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty” (2 Corinthians 3:17).

God’s standard for leaders has not changed since Jethro counseled Moses to choose “able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness” (Exodus 18:21). When we elect leaders who treat our God-given rights as negotiable, the consequences are real. Tragically, Americans have once again chosen leftist, liberal officials who put government power above individual liberty. We awoke this morning to learn that the party set to control both the Senate and the House of Representatives is the same one that pressured social media platforms to silence views it dislikes and disparaged voices that love and embrace God, family, and country. During the COVID-19 pandemic, this party closed churches while keeping casinos, liquor stores, and big-box stores open and imposed mandates without regard for conscience or individual liberty.

Scripture commands, “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers” (Romans 13:1), and Christians should honor that authority. But the same verse reminds us that “the powers that be are ordained of God,” so government answers to Him. When the state forbids what God commands, we must answer as the apostles did: “We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). Our highest court agreed that several state governments overstepped their authority, and those governments were led by the same party Americans have once again put in power.

A Reality Check: Voters who prize personality over principle also overlook policies that weaken our nation. Sadly, both parties support runaway spending, which devalues the dollar and leaves future generations buried in debt. The incoming majority party is hostile to law enforcement, dismisses the need for secure national borders, and embraces rhetoric that pits Americans against one another by race, religion, and socioeconomic status. It supports candidates who tolerate antisemitism, forgetting God’s promise to Abraham: “I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee” (Genesis 12:3). Its leaders deny the created order of male and female, undermine the sanctity of marriage and family, and mock the Christian heritage that shaped our nation’s liberty.

Charisma fades. Principles endure. I fear that God gives a nation the leaders it deserves. The next two years will remind us all that “when the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn” (Proverbs 29:2). When “we the people” elect candidates who do not defend the God-given rights the Constitution was written to protect, we will learn the hard way that “righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people” (Proverbs 14:34).

The good news is that God is sovereign. “The Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will” (Daniel 4:17). Our God “changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding” (Daniel 2:21).

Friends, let us trust in God, not in man!

With the heart of a shepherd,

Travis D. Smith

Senior Pastor