Tomorrow, some of the people in this country will vote.  Whatever candidate wins will bring about a new direction.  He will be placed in office by the ones who bought into his rhetoric the most.  Whoever has motivated the most people to follow his empty promises will win. 

I have not tried to use my space here to push any agenda except the agenda of Christ.  I sincerely do not believe that any political party has His agenda in mind.  And that is okay.  Jesus knew the worldly kingdoms would never seek to merge with the Godly Kingdom.  Instead, He warned repeatedly about the danger of trying to merge His Kingdom with the worlds. 

I do not think that any politician on the national scene is concerned in the least about the things of God.  I wish this was not so.  And I wish the people of God would realize the seriousness of forsaking our mission, which is personal, and relying on government to do it for us. 

Being absorbed with “self” is nothing new.  It was there in the beginning.  But it just seems to be so much more powerful today.  Is there anyone out there concerned with the destination of lost souls?  Is there anyone out there concerned with fulfilling our mission of making disciples?  Is there anyone willing to sacrifice on a personal level instead of relying on government?

I don’t know if I am doing enough.  I surely don’t know if you are.  I am tired of sounding so pessimistic and it feels like all I write is words of warning. 

I watched the people of God for so many years to see the faults, the hypocrisy, and the reliance on anything other than God.  I am now one with you in this great Kingdom.  And I see it as great only because of our King, not because of us. 

I know that almost every election is looked at as the one that is the most important of all time.  This one is shaping up to be that one, for real.  We are either going to vote in a man who will not really get anything done, or we will vote in a man that could take this country further down the path to destruction.  You decide who’s who. 

The pessimism is not my heart though.  I am optimistic because I know to whom I have given my life.  I have given it to Jesus Christ, my King.  No matter what happens in this nation, in this world, I know my destination.  I am safe, secure and will be taken care of. 

My heart grieves though for those that are deceived.  Those that do think they are voting in a change for the better.  I do not pretend to be prophetic but, I will say this, no matter who is elected tomorrow it will not be for the better. 

Do not rely on this world, or its leaders, or its policies, or its agendas for your joy and peace.  Become a citizen of the only eternal Kingdom.  Then you will have peace.

So, as far as tomorrow goes, vote if you want.  Then let God have it.  If enough are aligned with His precepts and principles, He will work it all out the way it needs to be.  After you vote, let it go.  Don’t give in to letting it become the obsession for the day.  Whoever gets the most votes will win and after you are done voting, you have no more say in the matter. 

So why not give the rest of the day to God and go talk about Jesus to someone rather than talking about Obama or McCain.

Love you all

Tags: Beginning, Believe, candidate, Election, God, Government, Hypocrisy, Jesus Christ, King, Kingdom, Lie, Life, Love, Personal, Power, rhetoric, Self, Sin, Vote, War, warning, Work, world

There was once a group of people that were led by a loving, just ruler.  He had their best interests at heart and He provided for them in all ways.  Materially, physically and spiritually.  He was stern at times but always quick to dispense mercy and grace. 

But the people were not happy.  Their ruler was not like the rulers that surrounded them in other kingdoms.  Their ruler was never seen and chose to give out His instruction through other men and sometimes directly to individuals.  And His main goal for His people was to spread the knowledge of who He was, all of His love, mercy, grace, provision and instruction, to all people. 

This ruler was the perfect ruler but He was not good enough.  The people He tried to lead wanted something else.  They wanted a king that was a man from among themselves.  This ruler, who by now you know was God, warned them that it would not work out the way they wanted.  But He gave them what they wanted.  He gave them Saul.

From that very first earthly king, things never went the way they should have.  There were a couple of good kings to the Israelites, but none of them ever came close to keeping them in proper relationship with God.   

This post is my response to the questions I put forth on Tuesday.  And for all who responded I seriously thank you and value your input.  I am not being pretentious in saying what I am about to say.  These are new thoughts for me, after spending lots of time in prayer over these issues of voting and the choices laid out before us. 

We are ambassadors of our own King if we have chosen to be a part of the Kingdom of God.  We are supposed to serve Him and His Kingdom.  But instead we seem to think it is the Government of the United States job to uphold our ways and laws.  We seem to think that it is actually the reverse of the way it is.  That this country and its rulers are the ambassadors.  Jesus told us that we are of another Kingdom.  And He told us, while we are here to give to this kingdom what belongs to it but to give to our Kingdom what belongs to Him. 

As Shelly said, even the rulers we think are the right ones turn out to be something other than what we perceived. 

We happen to be in a country where we have been given the “right” to vote.  This “right” has been given by the Constitution, not God.  There is simply no justification that I can find for anyone saying that we are obliged to vote.  God allows it but would not require it. 

And this is the most important part of this post.  If we are going to exercise our “right” to vote, then we better vote for that person that lines up mostly with the heart of God.  If we do not, then we will be held accountable for that vote. 

But as for the question I proposed, I do not believe a person of another faith, even if that person might not make it to eternity with us, cannot have a heart closer to God than someone who declares themselves Christian.  And surely they might be better able to run this country.  

And if you haven’t seen what I am implying yet, I am not sure we should even be concerned with voting.  And know that I expect to get some flak from this.

We have a King.  And instead of listening to Him and doing as He says we waste, yes waste, our time in all the intricacies of the political process. 

Just answer this.  Have you spent as much time talking about Jesus as you have talking about McCain or Obama?  Have you spent as much time reading the bible as you have reading the reports on either of the candidates?  Have you spent as much time seeking Truth as you have the latest sound bite or lie about any politician?

When God calls someone to do something, He knows they can get it done.  Not necessarily that they will.  There is no way in the corrupt system we have now in the US of A, that a politician can be Holy and be an effective leader of this nation at the same time.    Therefore I do not believe God is trying to put any of them in the position.  And He really does not have to. 

God anointed Saul as king.  He anointed David as king.  Then He anointed Jesus as King.  We do not need another. 

I wish these facts were not so.  I wish we could vote the right candidate in and all of the terrible things going on in this nation, which grieve and anger our Lord, would be made right.  But even more, I wish that we would try to start doing what He wants us to do.  Then we could change this nation.  It is never going to be up to the elected officials to bring about the Godly change we need.  It is going to be up to us. 

2Ch 7:14  if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

The people of God must do these things.  Not the House, or the Senate, or the Judiciary, or the President, but only the people of God.  We want to blame everybody but ourselves.  And like when God called all the people to clean themselves up and come up the mountain to meet Him, we want someone, maybe another Moses, to do it for us. 

God help us and have mercy on those we have failed to reach.

I love you all so very much

Tags: Believe, Bible, Eternity, God, Government, Grace, King, Kingdom, Knowledge, Love, Mercy, Perfect, Prayer, Value, Vote, Work

Here we are again.  I want to say thank you once again for all of the insightful comments last week about the Starbucks issue.  While important, it was also a little less intense than some of what I seem to put forth.  And don’t forget, your comments are not only appreciated but desired on all posts.

As for this week, I thought we would take a look at the election process.  Not politics per se, but just a question about whether we should look for one thing in a presidential candidate or not.  Next week the people of this country will be electing our next president.  Each individual has a certain list of things they will base their choice on.  Some of these things are strictly personal, some are based on political party affiliation, some on economic policy, some on fringe agendas, and the list could go on forever.

But I want to discuss one thing in particular. 

The president of the United States of America is the president of all, I repeat, ALL citizens of this nation.  All ethnic persuasions, all ages and sexes, and all religious groups.  The Christians, the Muslims, the Hindus, the Buddhists, and even the atheists all have to rely on him to do the work he is elected to do for them, whoever they might be and no matter who they worship. 

So the question is this;

Should it matter what faith a candidate subscribes to? 

Additionally, how much does it matter to you, if you believe that it does?

Please remember to be irenic and say what you have to say as if you were discussing it with Jesus. 

What say you?

Love you all.

Tags: Election, Faith, Government, Leadership, Politics, Townhall, Vote

I do not really want to write a lot of political commentary on this blog.  But a thought came to mind that I just have to get out of me. 

The liberal Democrat will let you know in many wonderful words and beautiful sentiments how much they care for everyone.  And at the same time, if they are in politics or entertainment, they simply do not conceal their attitudes of superiority and arrogance. 

The conservative Republican, on the other hand, does not usually portray any concern for the common man.  But their actions sometimes do show they care a little bit.  But they are much better at hiding their condescending thoughts about us.

The thing that seems obvious about both sides is simply that they care mostly only about themselves and will say anything to promote what they care the most about.  I am talking about those on both sides that are in the limelight.  The prominent, important people in our world.

But my real question is, are we any better?

 Rom 3:10  … “THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE;

Evidently not

Love you all

Tags: Character, Conservative, Government, Identity, Leadership, Liberal, Politics, Republicans, Self, Vote