I was discussing politics with my karate instructor after class one evening.  I had sent him my columns about President Trump and Doug Collins, so we've had some talks about related matters lately.  He asked me if I've read Nehemiah, and I confessed that it has been a while.  He had been reading it, and he began to explain that many parts of it jumped out at him as parallels to what we are seeing played out in our nation today.  I must give credit to Master Haymore for the inspiration for this piece. A little background is helpful to put the book of Nehemiah into perspective.  The Jews had a series of wicked, unfaithful kings through the centuries.  God's people often lived under the thumb of other nations because of their rebellion to God.  After the death of Josiah — one of the few good kings — there were several wicked kings, each of whom reigned for short periods of time, leading up to...(Read Full Article)