Election Results

God works in all things (even in bad government).

1 Peter 2:13 Respect everyone, and love the family of believers. Fear God, and respect the king.

Romans 13:1-2 Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God. 2 So anyone who rebels against authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and they will be punished.

1 Timothy 2:1-2 I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. 2 Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity.

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You think your government is bad? Bad government is all over the Old and the New Testament, most of the people that have the opportunity to read this blog post will be in a country that gives them a better situation in life than the people that are mentioned in the Bible.

Remember the favor that the Israelite's enjoyed when they first arrived in Egypt? It didn't take long for it to disappear after Joseph's death. God allowed an oppressive government to rule his people and bring them great harm even though there isn't any indication that God's people deserved any of it. 

Hundreds of years earlier God told Abraham that it was going to happen, God allowed a paranoid, evil dictator to oppress his people as a part of a bigger plan that they probably didn't know about.

We forget that God's people in the Bible seldom knew as much as we presume to know about what God is doing and we are pretty sure that our point of view of God's story is what really matters. But each of us are such an incredibly small part of the whole story so it is pretty arrogant to assume that we know much about God's timetable.

The New Testament scriptures listed above are easy for Americans to read but application is not going to happen very easily, especially when another election is approaching, which seems to be always.

We forget that Peter and Paul wrote those scriptures to respect and pray for the Roman government that was so harsh to them. We are pretty sure that it is the end of the world if our candidates do not win.  

God is in control and his purposes will prevail even in bad governments. Maybe he sent them to judge us or just maybe we won't ever know why he allowed us to live under bad government. 

Daniel 2:20-21 “Praise the name of God forever and ever, for he has all wisdom and power. He controls the course of world events; he removes kings and sets up other kings.

We forget that this world must get much worse off before the end of time. I am not predicting that the end of the world is here if my candidate doesn't win but at some point the badness of our world will never turn around and improve.

Jeremiah 29:7 And work for the peace and prosperity of the city where I sent you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, for its welfare will determine your welfare.”

We are ambassadors in a foreign land, we are here to persuade and influence the government and the people of this land but ultimately we cannot force them to behave a certain way. We should strive to make things better in this world but we cannot force people that live in the kingdom of darkness to live like children of the light.

When things don't seem to be going the right direction remember, things are going in the right direction, according to God's purpose and plan.

My Election Predictions

Some bold predictions about our future.

1. God will still be on His throne regardless of who is elected (Isaiah 6:1).

2. Regardless of who is president, God will control their decisions (Proverbs 21:1: Ezra 6:22).

3. Regardless of who is president, Christians are to pray for them, not prey on them (1 Timothy 2:1-3).

4. Regardless of who is elected, we will get up… go to work… and honor God on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, etc, etc, etc.

5. Regardless of who is elected, it will happen in accordance with God’s will (1 Samuel 2:6-8, Isaiah 46:9-10).

6. Regardless of who is elected, it will not change the call God has given Christians to be salt and light in the world (Matthew 5:13-14).

7. Regardless of who is elected, God’s plan to bring about the return of His Son to set up His Kingdom will be that much closer! (Romans 13:11)

8. Regardless of who is elected, “Do not be anxious for anything (Including a presidential election!), but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God that surpasses all comprehension will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philemon 4:6-7)

9. Regardless of who is elected, Christians have no reason to fear or be afraid! (Revelation 2:10)

10. Regardless of who is elected, Christians are to obey the laws of the land (Romans 13:1-7) unless they conflict with the laws of God, then Christians obey God rather than men (Acts 5:29).

I borrowed this from Pastor Ron  

Looking For A Better Country

God's people usually find themselves living in a culture that is hostile to their faith.

 

Hebrews 11:13-16  All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth.

14  Obviously people who say such things are looking forward to a country they can call their own.  15  If they had longed for the country they came from, they could have gone back.  16  But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

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Do you get upset with the lack of morality in the world around you? Good! It should make you feel uncomfortable. Are you grieved that the world seems to be against what you believe and doesn't care about your morals? Get over it! God's children shouldn't feel too comfortable here in this world and we shouldn't expect the world to live up to our standards.

How do you think Noah felt? I think it is easy to rush through the story about the flood and miss the point of how immoral everybody in the world was with the exception of Noah. I suspect that the world was worse than it is today yet Noah was still living to please God and while he was building the ark he was evangelizing his neighbors. (2 Peter 2:5)

Matthew 5:10-12  God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.  11  "God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are My followers.  12  Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way.

In the Old Testament people like Joseph, Moses, Nehemiah, Daniel and his cool furnace friends, Esther and Mordecai all obeyed God and brought him glory. When God exiled his people from the Promised Land because they didn't obey him there was usually somebody that lived in opposition to the culture, somebody that didn't deserve to be exiled, somebody that had to live with the consequences of the sin of the rest of the nation. Those people didn't whine about the way the people around them lived and why they passed laws that did not honor God.

The New Testament gives us examples like John the Baptist, Peter, Paul and ultimately Jesus. The world hated the man that was the ultimate example of love and so they will also hate us as well. The gospel message was spread across the world because faithful men were willing to endure persecution. (John 15:18-21, 2 Timothy 3:12)

God's people have seldom ever lived in a culture that welcomed them in and had great respect for what they believed. We can get mad about the decline of Godly values in America but we should realize that God's people have never had it so good.

God's people should be easy to spot in a hostile culture but too often we are easy to spot for the wrong reasons. Throughout history we have been the people that have made the news for what we are against and for taking an ugly stand for it. Jesus told us that the world will know us by our love but a lot of people say that they know us by our hate.

Be Still and Wait
Psalms 37:7-9  Be still in the presence of the LORD, and wait patiently for Him to act. Don't worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes. Stop being angry! Turn from your rage! Do not lose your temper--it only leads to harm. For the wicked will be destroyed, but those who trust in the LORD will possess the land.

That verse is great advice for us as we live in this world full of evil. Don't worry, don't fret, don't get mad about it! Is it keeping you awake at night? Are you obsessed with watching or reading the news? Are you afraid of the future?

Just be still and wait. What! That's isn't natural! We like to handle things ourselves. We like to help God do what he needs to do. But God tells us to get out of the way, "I am at work here and you don't know what I am up to."

Just be still and wait. In a hostile culture you are forced to rely on God and lean on his strength. We have no human power to lean on, our reliance on people or things gets stripped away when God is all that's left.

Matthew 12:18-21  "Look at My Servant, whom I have chosen. He is My Beloved, who pleases Me. I will put My Spirit upon Him, and He will proclaim justice to the nations. He will not fight or shout or raise His voice in public. He will not crush the weakest reed or put out a flickering candle. Finally He will cause justice to be victorious. And His name will be the hope of all the world."

Lord help me to follow your example, help me to be still and wait for you and help me to trust in you when the world around me seems to be drifting so far away from the truth found in your word.

Privileges Of God's Children: Chosen

So unworthy yet God picked me.

1 Peter 2:9-10 But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God's very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for He called you out of the darkness into His wonderful light. 10 Once you had no identity as a people now you are God’s people. Once you received no mercy now you have received God’s mercy.”

John 15:19 The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you.

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Choosing teams for sports was a very humiliating experience for many people growing up. If you are in the first fifty percent of the class that was picked you were okay but if you were standing there for too long then it started to get embarrassing. As far back as the Old Testament God has had a chosen people, it is clear throughout the Bible that some are picked and some are not, it is a difficult concept for our little heads to understand.

There must have been thousands of people on earth but God chose Abraham, out of Abraham's two sons God chose Issac and out of Issac's two sons God chose Jacob, it had nothing to do with the individual that's just the way God wanted it to be. Even Paul said that he was the least likely person to be picked to be an apostle. (1 Corinthians 15:9)

It doesn't seem fair to us but just because we don't understand doesn't mean it is wrong. God is not to be measured by our understanding of what is just and fair. There are so many things that we do not understand about God and his ways but we do know that he is right and just in every decision that he makes. I am glad that God's wisdom and intellect is so much larger than mine, it makes a problem for me when I insist on trying to be a know it all, still I am glad that God is that big. (Psalm 89:13, Isaiah 55:8, Romans 11:33)

Before Christ came the nation of Israel was God's chosen people but now the body of believers have become a nation of chosen people, regardless of race or ethnic background, we have become members of God's kingdom. We are the kingdom of people that have been saved from the kingdom of darkness and now we have a new home which we haven't seen yet. (Exodus 19:4-6, Colossians 1:13)

God's chosen people should look like God

Colossians 3:12-14,17 Since God chose you to be the holy people He loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 Make allowance for each others faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. 14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. 17 And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.

All of the blessings and privileges that have been given to such an unworthy person that God chose for himself should have an effect on me and cause me to live for him. If I am truly grateful for God's mercy that I have received then I should be willing to show others the goodness of God. His goodness toward me showed me how to love, how to be merciful and humble and I should be willing to do the same for those around me.

I praise you Lord that you chose to save me, that you gave me a clear picture of how depraved that I am and that you gave me the ability to believe in faith that you love me and died to redeem me.

You Can Make Things Better

Christians need to influence the world for good.

Jeremiah 15:17-19  "I never joined the people in their merry feasts. I sat alone because Your hand was on me. I was filled with indignation at their sins.  18  Why then does my suffering continue? Why is my wound so incurable? Your help seems as uncertain as a seasonal brook, like a spring that has gone dry."

19  This is how the LORD responds: "If you return to Me, I will restore you so you can continue to serve Me. If you speak good words rather than worthless ones, you will be My spokesman. You must influence them; do not let them influence you!"

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Jeremiah was having a party, not the kind of party that everybody else was having, Jeremiah was having a pity party while the rest of the nation was having a good time. Jeremiah was trying to live to please God, he knew how unhappy God was with the rest of the nation of Israel, he knew that nobody else cared about God.

The prophet complains to God again because of the unjust treatment he suffers, he has done no harm to the people, and in fact he has pleaded on their behalf for God’s mercy upon them, yet they still hate him. All alone and discouraged, Jeremiah feels that even God has failed him, he feels like he has lived to please God for no good reason.

You must influence them; do not let them influence you!" -Jeremiah 15:19

Standing up for what's right isn't going to be easy most of the time. God said to Jeremiah that he needed to live a life of faith no matter what the circumstances were and without regard for the way the rest of the world lived, they shouldn't influence him to turn his back on God rather he should be the one that uses his influence to urge the people around him to get right with God.

Godliness makes a nation great, but sin is a disgrace to any people. -Proverbs 14:34

There are advantages as individuals for living to please God, to have his favor and peace and blessings in our lives, there is also a great benefit for the nation that seeks to live for God. Imagine what our nation would be like if a massive number of individuals lived to please God then our nation would enjoy great blessings and peace.

We don't have the ability to force the country to return to Godly values but we do have the responsibility to let our light shine in our area of influence. Just like in Jeremiah's day, the rest of the country may not choose to go with God but that doesn't change our God given duty to exert our influence for good.

Why should a Christian get involved and vote?

America At The Cross Roads

This election will prove which path America wants to take, will we take the Godly path?

Jeremiah 2:5-6,11 This is what the Lord says: "What did your ancestors find wrong with me that led them to stray so far from me? They worshiped worthless idols, only to become worthless themselves. 6 They did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord?'

11 Has any nation ever traded its gods for new ones, even though they are not gods at all? Yet my people have exchanged their glorious God for worthless idols!

Jeremiah 6:16 This is what the Lord says: “Stop at the crossroads and look around. Ask for the old, godly way, and walk in it. Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls. But you reply, ‘No, that’s not the road we want!’

Jeremiah 8:4-5  “Jeremiah, say to the people, ‘This is what the Lord says: “‘When people fall down, don’t they get up again? When they discover they’re on the wrong road, don’t they turn back? 5 Then why do these people stay on their self-destructive path? Why do the people of Jerusalem refuse to turn back? They cling tightly to their lies and will not turn around.

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Choices, they are so important, each election that we have is an opportunity for good choices and for bad choices.

God's people have been known to make good choices and then quickly turn away, the earliest leaders of the nation of Israel warned them that their choices had huge consequences, advice that they took for a short while. Moses told the people that they had a"choice between life and death, between blessings and curses" (Deuteronomy 30:19-20) and later Joshua told the people to make up their mind (Joshua 24:14-21). It wasn't long before they turned against what they had decided and went their own way.

Just like the people of Israel, America has made bad choices, we have pushed God out of our lives, out of our government and even out of our churches. We have decided that the size of our wallets and the pursuit of our own desires is more important than the timeless truths of God's word. Are we going to live by God's moral standards? That is the issue that will be decided with this election.

"People wonder whether guys like me... would only support a fellow evangelical? Well, friends, I want to tell you something. Of the four people on the two tickets, the only self-professed evangelical is Barack Obama. And he supports changing the definition of marriage. Believes that human life is disposable and expendable at any time in the womb, even beyond the womb. And he tells people of faith that they have to bow their knees to the god of government and violate their faith and conscience in order to comply with what he calls, health care... I care far less as to where Mitt Romney takes his family to church than I do about where he takes this country."

- Mike Huckabee

I wish that Mitt Romney were a Christian and I wish that Barack Obama were a better Christian if he is one. No matter what errors I see in each man's faith and belief system, I need to be sure that I vote for the man that will lead America back toward the Godly path that this nation started down. I am responsible to to be a good influence on the culture that I live in.

We will never have the perfect Godly man to vote for, after-all they are mere humans, I have to look past their flaws and vote for someone that will take us closer to God's standards. I need a man in the White House that can say:

"As President, I will protect the sanctity of life. I will honor the institution of marriage. And I will guarantee America's first liberty: the freedom of religion."

Can your candidate say that?

Our choices for this election are just as clear as the choices that the Israelites had during the time of the Old Testament. I pray that we make the right one.