Choosing a president, a congress, judges, a bureaucracy and civil service leaders requires some level of spiritual quotient, being able to discern spiritually the heart of God. Personally I am always fond of several candidates but we have the ability to discern as Christians who God has in mind for a particular position. In so doing I allow God to turn my heart towards His desire.

The Samuel Model

1 Samuel 16:7-13 records the 1st Presidential line-up and shows the preferred model for selecting a leader.

⁷ But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

⁸ So Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” ⁹ Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” ¹⁰ Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.” ¹¹ And Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all the young men here?” Then he said, “There remains yet the youngest, and there he is, keeping the sheep.”

And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him. For we will not sit down till he comes here.” ¹² So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with bright eyes, and good-looking. And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!” ¹³ Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel arose and went to Ramah.

In every circumstance there is always a man or a woman who God is pointing to for a particular task, someone He has raised up, prepared for such a time and we must discern who that is including the person himself. Also as an application God is pointing to each of us for particular specific tasks.

Like the ancient prophet Samuel who found several more mature candidates appealing, Jesse's sons, let's discern who God favors & allow Him to turn our hearts to agree with and to rejoice in His will. As a biblical model 1 Samuel 16:7 requires a level of spiritual quotient to discern the heart of God in light of personal & partisan likes. Like Samuel we have a propensity to choose by external profile such as Saul who was tall and commanding in stature.

Have you ever said "he looks like a president!" Saul looked the part because he was tall and commanding but David was cute, of an average height, had a healthy red color complexion, rosy red pink cheeks complexion, redhead, handsome appearance because of his countenance, striking beautiful innocent eyes. David was 'eye candy' but not presidential looking.

David was an 'Admoni' Hebrew for redhead, red all over as Esau was. David's brothers were more impressive in their overall presentation than David was. Picture a presidential debate and your propensity to judge based on visual and verbal stimulation. Samuel discerned God's favor was with David who didn't fit the profile of a king. Only spiritual discernment sees Gods choice.

God's hand was with David to be king. The term 'God's Hand' means to select by pointing to, to extend the scepter to, coronated already in God's mind, to lay your hands on to bless and to anoint, God has a tender feeling towards, favorable, wishing good things for, supervises, watches over you closely, keeps his hand on you applying loving pressure in order to guide  as a mother does with a young child when in public, desires a specific purpose designed just 4U. Have you felt any of these active in your life? 

The hand of God can be upon a human being for good or for bad. For good, it brings aid, while the negative connotation  judges, hinders and causes distress (Amos 1:8 ). What is fixed is God uses His hand to uphold and to guide the righteous (Psalm 37:24; Psalm 139:10 ). 

The Hebrew word for 'hand' is 'Yad,' Yadim (plural) hands and several tenses of the root word Yad is used throughout the Bible. The word 'Yad' can also mean a location far from you translated location or place. God's hand is a very significant expression for example the ten commandments were written by God's very hand thus the pointer used during Torah reading is also called a 'Yad' which is a silver metallic pointer in the shape of a long arm with a closed fist and the index finger pointing. Yad can also mean the finger of God. If God's hand is on you for good to bless you this can be discerned so that all can come into agreement with His specific plan for your life.

Samuel discerned the specific plan for David's life, agreed with it, celebrated it and communicated it to all so they in turn could agree and celebrate God's intentions for David. This level of spiritual quotient is very important to enable all to be at peace with God and to be blessed by God. In this sense or with this model is the following scripture fulfilled:

Proverbs 29:2New King James Version (NKJV) 2 When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice;
But when a wicked man rules, the people groan.

This model is crucial so that our cities, states and countries thrive and where the citizens live in peace. We experience groaning inevitably when we choose out of an evil heart, selfish heart or choose a candidate without acknowledging God in all our ways. Lets decide to choose God's person because He knows best the heart and true motives of the human heart beyond campaign promises made on the stump. Lets petition God for spiritual maturity so we can choose accurately especially when all the candidates are impressive with natural talent even charismatic. Lets ask God to send those who may have a high spiritual quotient among us until we get there ourselves.

A spiritual quotient is ones ability to commune with God intimately, deeply and the ability to hear and to understand what God is saying. We each are gifted in many areas and some Christians are gifted to be able to live closely to God and to commune with God at a very deep level for the benefit of the entire Church, to encourage, to edify the Church and society.  The truth is one can know who God desires for a given position even before the debates. The debates may verify what we already know. Remember society may reject God's man or woman but if times are critical as in the case of Joseph who was promoted from the status of prisoner to the status of prime minister Genesis 41:38-46 God will intervene. No matter the outcome, as Christians we "have faith in God."

Because we love God deeply a Christian learns to give a back seat to our personal preferences rejoicing in God's preferences.

There is another Biblical model - The Cyrus Model

God used as a precedent to be considered in subsequent similar circumstances. We must be able to discern this provision of God placed in a secular leader who is influenced by God to meet God's righteous objectives. As a precedent look back at God's relationship to Cyrus an ancient Persian leader from present day Iran 576 B.C.E. Geo-political influences can cause us to exclude foreign leaders, those at home who are secular for example, those of another partisan persuasion, those who are populist by motivation who extol God and country or those of another belief system entirely from being the answer to national and global problems. When there isn't a person available among our group God can achieve His goals through non-traditional means as He did by way of Cyrus, an Iranian leader. God can effect change through a leader whose heart attitudes are known to God, who shares similar values but who has different religious beliefs. These basic values derived from the seven Noahide Laws which are according to the Talmud, universal laws God gave to Noah. These are laws of common decency, humanity and benevolence, such as do not steal, be kind to animals, do not murder, don't be promiscuous, estblish a just court system, don't deny God and put God first.

Isaiah 44:28, 45

28 who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd,
and he shall carry out all my purpose’;
and who says of Jerusalem, ‘It shall be rebuilt’,
 and of the temple, ‘Your foundation shall be laid.’

45Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus,
whose right hand I have grasped
to subdue nations before him
and strip kings of their robes,
to open doors before him—
and the gates shall not be closed:

Here are critical facts about Cyrus the Great. King Cyrus the Great mentioned by Isaiah was a Zoroastrian as was the Persian King Darius I, 550 - 486 B.C.E, the belief system dated approximately 1,000 B.C.E., an ancient religion that preceded Islam in ancient Iran whose monotheism and beliefs are similar to Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Zoroastrian beliefs align with those of Abrahamic religions but certainly has different foci. The religion is almost a perfect fit and almost fully congruent to Abrahamic religions especially Christianity which can be disconcerting to young Christians and seekers. Cyrus although not a Jew already had strong values similar to those of Judaism and felt so strongly he implemented policies that were consistent with his values and many of his beliefs.

The 'wise men' who visited the young Jesus in Bethlehem bringing Him gifts were literally Zoroastrian priests also called Magi, who shared similar values with Judaism and today Christianity just as King Cyrus did. Why did the magi feel such a strong affinity to the person and status of Jesus? Because the beliefs and concepts within Zoroastrianism include the virgin birth of a Savior and the beliefs are almost the same as those of Christianity the more recent belief system except for the lordship of Christ. What can be troubling is Zoroastrianism that preceded Christianity by approximately 1,000 years may have influenced Christianity and it's concepts as well as Judaism and Islam. However, the concepts of Zoroastrianism were derived from Noahide Laws, the laws given to Noah. Zoroastrian beliefs include the following:

1. One single sovereign god referred to as Ahura Mazda who is supreme who is an all powerful God worthy of being worshipped .

2. Satan an evil spirit, Angra Mainyu, who will be completely destroyed at the end of time and who opposes Ahura Mazda

3. Free will of man to choose to serve God or to follow evil.

4. The virgin birth of a Savior referred to as Saoshyant.

5. Creationism not evolution.

The focus of Zoroastrianism is Ahura-Mazda the sovereign God honored monotheistically as the one true God. God knew Cyrus' heart, his values and the similarity of beliefs and values of the ancient Zoroastrian religion based on Noahide Laws.

 Ancient archeological cuneiform wedge-shaped inscriptions, pictograms and syllabograms such as the Cyrus Clay Cylinder discovered 1879 and dated 539 B.C.E, Herodotus Histories Book 1, Achaemenid Inscriptions 640-590 B.C.E and Greek texts of Plato, show Cyrus was a devout man and valued the welfare of others, treating others with dignity, being humble when dealing with others, and being trustworthy. Inscriptions indicated Cyrus' Zoroastrian belief system motivated him to shun wealth but nevertheless to embrace meeting goals. It is easy to see why God would choose a 'Cyrus' to release the Jews from Babylonian exile.

So it was this Persian leader who God used to release the Jews from their Babylonian exile and to rebuild the Jewish temple. Isaiah had discernment and was able to articulate what he discerned to his community so that each had the opportunity to agree with what God was doing and not be fearful. When leaders are elected who seem strange, non-traditional, we can discern what God is doing and we can begin by listening to their comments in support of justice, equity, Noahide Laws, the Ten Commandments and impartial treatment for religious groups such as your own. Cyrus felt so strongly about human rights, a firm tenet of his religion, his actions were proof of his convictions. This non-traditional model can only be discerned because the person influenced by God often unaware may seem foreign to us and may traditionally have been among those who have been outside our national, political or religious circle. When God uses the 'Cyrus model' to select a leader often the leader seems like a fish out of water, totally different in every way to predecessors. Only spiritual discernment can aid to bring comfort, acceptance and an attitude of support.

I'm All in & Hope UR2!

Chinese Version

選擇總統、國會、法官、官僚機構和公務員領袖需要一定程度的靈商，能夠在靈性上辨別神的心意。就我個人而言，我總是喜歡幾個候選人，但身為基督徒，我們有能力辨別上帝對某個特定職位的心意。藉著這樣做，我讓神將我的心轉向祂的願望。 塞繆爾模型 撒母耳記上 16:7-13 記錄了第一任總統的陣容，並展示了選擇領導人的首選模式。 7 耶和華對撒母耳說：「你不要看他的外貌和他的身材，因為我不喜悅他。因為耶和華所看的事物，與人所看的事物不同；因為人是看外貌，主是看內心。 8 耶西就叫了亞比拿達來，叫他從撒母耳面前經過。他說：“主也沒有揀選這個人。” 9 耶西就帶沙瑪過去。他說：“主也沒有揀選這個人。” 10 耶西就叫他的七個兒子從撒母耳面前經過。撒母耳對耶西說：“耶和華並沒有揀選這些人。” 11 撒母耳對耶西說：“少年人都在這裡嗎？”然後他說：“還剩下最小的一個，他在那裡放羊。” 撒母耳對耶西說：「你派人把他帶來。因為在他來這裡之前我們不會坐下來。 12 於是打發人把他帶進來。主說：「起來，膏他；因為就是這個！ 13 撒母耳就拿起盛油的角，在他弟兄中膏立他。從那天起，主的靈就降在大衛身上。於是撒母耳起身往拉瑪去。 在每一種情況下，總會有一個男人或一個女人被神指派去執行一項特定的任務，他已經興起了一個人，為這樣的時刻做好了準備，我們必須辨別誰包括這個人自己。同樣，作為一種應用，上帝也為我們每個人指明了特定的任務。 就像古代先知撒母耳發現幾個更成熟的候選人（耶西的兒子）有吸引力一樣，讓我們辨別上帝偏愛誰，讓他轉動我們的心，同意他的旨意並為他的旨意而喜樂。作為聖經模型，《撒母耳記上》16:7 需要一定程度的靈商，才能根據個人和黨派的喜好來辨別神的心意。就像撒母耳一樣，我們傾向於根據外部形象來選擇，例如掃羅，他身材高大，身材高大。 你有沒有說過“他看起來像個總統！”掃羅看起來很適合，因為他身材高大，威風凜凜，而大衛卻很可愛，中等身高，健康的紅色膚色，玫瑰紅的粉頰膚色，紅髮，因為他的面容而顯得英俊，一雙美麗無辜的眼睛引人注目。大衛很“養眼”，但看起來不像總統。 大衛是希伯來語“Admoni”，意思是紅頭髮，就像以掃一樣全身都是紅色的。大衛的兄弟們的整體表現比大衛更令人印象深刻。想像一場總統辯論以及您根據視覺和言語刺激進行判斷的傾向。撒母耳看出上帝眷顧大衛，但他不符合君王的形象。只有屬靈的洞察力才能看到​​神的選擇。 神與大衛同在，使他成為王。 「上帝之手」這個字的意思是透過指向來選擇，將權杖延伸到已經在上帝心中加冕的地方，把手放在上面祝福和膏抹，上帝對上帝有一種溫柔的感覺，有利，希望有美好的事情，監督、密切關注你，把手放在你身上，施加愛的壓力，以便像母親在公共場合對待年幼的孩子一樣進行引導，渴望有一個僅為 4U 設計的特定目的。您在生活中感受到這些活動嗎？ 神的手可以加在人身上，無論是好是壞。好的方面，它帶來幫助，而消極的含義則審判、阻礙和造成痛苦（阿摩司書1:8）。固定的是神用手扶持並引導義人（詩篇37:24；詩篇139:10）。 希伯來文“手”的意思是“Yad”，Yadim（複數）手和字根 Yad 的幾個時態在整本聖經中都有使用。 「Yad」一詞也可以表示遠離您翻譯的位置或地點的位置。上帝之手是一個非常重要的表達方式，例如十誡是上帝親手寫下的，因此在閱讀托拉時使用的指針也被稱為“Yad”，這是一個銀色金屬指針，呈長臂形狀，緊握拳頭，食指指向。 Yad 也可以指上帝的手指。如果上帝的手在你身上，賜福給你，你就能看出這一點，這樣所有人都會同意祂對你人生的具體計劃。 撒母耳看出了大衛一生的具體計劃，同意它，慶祝它，並將其傳達給所有人，以便他們反過來同意並慶祝上帝對大衛的意圖。這個靈商的水平對於所有人都能與神和好、蒙神祝福是非常重要的。在這個意義上或透過這個模型，以下經文應驗了： 箴言 29:2新欽定版 (NKJV) 2 義人掌權，百姓就歡喜；義人掌權，百姓就歡喜。 但當惡人統治時，人民就會哀嘆。 這種模式對於我們的城市、州和國家的繁榮發展以及公民的和平生活至關重要。當我們出於邪惡的心、自私的心做出選擇，或選擇一位候選人而不在一切方面承認上帝時，我們不可避免地會經歷嘆息。讓我們決定選擇上帝的人，因為祂最了解人心和人心的真實動機，超越了競選時在樹樁上所做的承諾。讓我們祈求上帝賜給我們屬靈的成熟，這樣我們就可以準確地做出選擇，尤其是當所有候選人都具有令人印象深刻的天賦甚至魅力時。讓我們祈求上帝派遣那些可能在我們中間擁有高靈商的人，直到我們自己到達那裡。 靈商是指一個人與神親密、深入溝通的能力，以及聆聽和理解神所說的話的能力。我們每個人在許多方面都有恩賜，有些基督徒有恩賜，能夠與神緊密地生活，並與神進行深層的交流，以造福整個教會，鼓勵和造就教會和社會。 事實上，人們甚至在辯論之前就可以知道上帝希望誰擔任某一特定職位。這些辯論可能會驗證我們已經知道的事情。請記住，社會可能會拒絕上帝的男人或女人，但如果情況危急，就像約瑟從囚犯地位晉升為首相的情況一樣（創世記 41:38-46），上帝就會介入。無論結果如何，身為基督徒，我們「對上帝有信心」。 因為我們深深地愛上帝，基督徒學會了讓我們的個人喜好退居二線，並以上帝的喜好為樂。 還有另一個聖經模型——賽勒斯模型 上帝將其作為先例，以供以後類似情況考慮。我們必須能夠分辨上帝對世俗領袖的這項規定，祂受上帝的影響來實現上帝的正義目標。作為先例，回顧上帝與居魯士的關係，居魯士是公元前 576 年來自現今伊朗的古代波斯領袖。地緣政治的影響可能導致我們排除外國領導人，例如國內的世俗領導人、其他黨派的領導人、出於動機而歌頌上帝和國家的民粹主義者或其他信仰體系的領導人，這些領導人完全不能成為解決問題的答案。當我們的團體中沒有人可用時，上帝可以透過非傳統方式實現祂的目標，就像祂透過伊朗領導人賽勒斯所做的那樣。上帝可以透過一位領導者來實現改變，祂的內心態度為上帝所知，他們有著相似的價值觀，但有不同的宗教信仰。這些基本價值觀源自諾亞七法則，這些法則是根據塔木德，上帝賦予諾亞的普遍法則。這些是共同道德、人性和仁慈的法律，例如不偷竊、善待動物、不殺人、不亂交、建立公正的法庭制度、不否認上帝和把上帝放在第一位。 以賽亞書 44:28, 45 28 他論到古列說：『他是我的牧人， 他將實現我的一切目的」； 他論到耶路撒冷說：“它必被重建”， 論到聖殿，“你們的根基必被奠定。” 45 耶和華對祂的受膏者古列如此說： 我握住了誰的右手 在他面前征服列國 剝去國王的袍子， 在他面前打開門—— 且門不得關閉： 以下是有關居魯士大帝的重要事實。以賽亞提到的居魯士大帝和波斯國王大流士一世一樣，都是瑣羅亞斯德教徒，公元前550 - 486年，其信仰體係可追溯到公元前約1000年，是一種早於古伊朗伊斯蘭教的古老宗教，其一神教和信仰類似猶太教、基督教和伊斯蘭教。瑣羅亞斯德教的信仰與亞伯拉罕宗教的信仰一致，但肯定有不同的焦點。這個宗教幾乎與亞伯拉罕宗教尤其是基督教完美契合，幾乎完全一致，這可能會讓年輕的基督徒和尋求者感到不安。居魯士雖然不是猶太人，但他已經擁有與猶太教相似的強烈價值觀，並且強烈感受到他實施了符合他的價值觀和許多信仰的政策。 在伯利恆拜訪年輕的耶穌並給他帶來禮物的「智者」實際上是瑣羅亞斯德教的牧師，也被稱為賢士，他們與猶太教和今天的基督教有著相似的價值觀，就像居魯士國王一樣。為什麼東方三博士對耶穌的人格和地位有如此強烈的親近感？因為瑣羅亞斯德教的信仰和概念包括救世主的童貞女誕生，並且除了基督的主權之外，這些信仰幾乎與基督教（較新的信仰體系）的信仰相同。令人不安的是，早於基督教約 1000 年的瑣羅亞斯德教可能影響了基督教及其觀念以及猶太教和伊斯蘭教。然而，瑣羅亞斯德教的概念源自諾亞德律法，即賜給諾亞的律法。祆教貝爾包括以下內容： 1. 一位至高無上的神，稱為阿胡拉‧馬茲達，是一位值得崇拜的全能神。 2. 撒旦，邪惡的靈魂，Angra Mainyu，在時間的盡頭將被徹底毀滅，反對阿胡拉·馬茲達 3. 人有選擇服事上帝或追隨邪惡的自由意志。 4. 一位救世主由童貞女所生，被稱為 Saoshyant。 5.神創論而非進化論。 瑣羅亞斯德教的焦點是阿胡拉·馬自達，這位至高無上的神被一神論尊崇為獨一真神。上帝知道居魯士的內心、他的價值觀以及基於諾亞德律法的古代祆教的信仰和價值觀的相似性。 古代考古楔形文字、象形文字和音節文字，例如1879 年發現、公元前539 年的賽勒斯粘土圓筒、希羅多德歷史書1、公元前640-590 年的阿契美尼德銘文以及柏拉圖的希臘文本，都顯示賽勒斯是一位虔誠的人，並重視尊重他人、尊重他人、謙虛待人、值得信賴。銘文表明，賽勒斯的瑣羅亞斯德教信仰體系促使他迴避財富，但仍然擁抱實現目標。很容易理解為什麼上帝會選擇「居魯士」來將猶太人從巴比倫流放中釋放出來。 因此，上帝使用這位波斯領袖將猶太人從巴比倫流亡中釋放出來，並重建了猶太聖殿。以賽亞有洞察力，能夠向社區闡明他的洞察力，以便每個人都有機會同意上帝的作為，而不用害怕。當選出看似奇怪、非傳統的領導人時，我們可以辨別上帝在做什麼，我們可以從聆聽他們的評論開始，支持正義、公平、諾亞德律法、十誡以及對宗教團體（例如您的宗教團體）的公正對待。賽勒斯對人權有著強烈的感情，這是他宗教的堅定信條，他的行動證明了他的信念。這種非傳統模式只能被識別，因為受上帝影響的人常常不自覺地對我們來說可能看起來很陌生，並且傳統上可能屬於我們國家、政治或宗教圈子之外的人。當上帝使用「居魯士模型」來選擇領導者時，領導者往往就像一條離開水的魚，在各方面都與前輩完全不同。只有精神洞察力才能幫助帶來安慰、接納和支持的態度。