FREEDOM!

No matter who wins today, I am so proud of how many Americans are turning out to vote. Democracy and freedom are big winners today. It truly is a time when we can say , "God bless America."

And just for your enjoyement, here's the Freedom speech from Braveheart

Church in a State

I am very disappointed and greatly concerned over some Christians who are letting their fears and anxieties about next week’s election extinguish their rationality and diminish their faith. The demonizing of the candidates on both sides has revealed the ugliness of prejudice and the great amount of ignorance that still persists in the hearts and minds of our people. I am ashamed that Christian people, who should know better, are allowing the devil to prey on their fears and overturn their faith so quickly.

Romans 13:6 This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to governing.

I’ve read some alarming emails and blogs from Christians on both sides of the political realm, who are absolutely hostile to the other camp. Their hatred is spewed out venomously and in doing so, they actually deny their faith. Isn’t Jesus who said love your enemies? Wasn’t it Paul who wrote that the authorities are God’s servants?

Perhaps the day after the election, on November 5, we should all get down on our knees and ask God to forgive us for being so spiteful, unrelenting, and unchristian. We represent Christ all of the time, if we call ourselves Christians, so when we diabolically demonize our opponents, we are not only guilty of slanderous gossip and character assassination, we are letting ourselves becomes the pawns of Satan. That’s something that we should never allow to happen, no matter how passionate we feel about our politics.

It will be part of my Christian duty to pray each day for the new President, whether or not I voted for him. As a Presbyterian, I firmly believe in predestination, so whoever the people choose, God has already decided that person will lead our nation. And no matter what policies the next President tries to push through or accomplish, my duty is still the same: I will pray for him as God’s chosen servant. I may disagree with politics and politicians, but I try never to disagree with God’s choices.

Perhaps this devotional has angered you. Maybe you feel as if you’ve been rebuked. If so, then look into your heart and ask yourself this question: have I allowed my political passion to override my faith?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, sometimes You must despair about how Your Church expresses its political views. Remind us that we are called to be peacemakers and servants, encouragers and disciples, citizens of heaven, as well as earth. Keep us from being hateful, proud, and alarmist. Remind us that God is always in control. In Your Holy Name, we humbly pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment on today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Moving On

I’ve never seen my two college daughters so excited about politics. They actually believe that their votes will count this year, and that young people all over the country will make a real difference in the Presidential election. They don’t want to go back to the old style of “he said, she said” aggressive politics. They want to vote a leader into national office, who has new ideas, new approaches, and new solutions to the problems that we are facing in this new century.

I don’t blame them. During the last thirty years that I have voted for leaders on both sides of the Atlantic, I have never really been truly inspired by any candidates or politicians. They all seem to have a thirst for power instead thoughts for the people. They all tear apart their opponents and when it’s a close race, they resort to dirty tricks, false representations, and unworthy schemes to topple their competitors. They might succeed by doing this, but it makes the electorate more cynical about our leaders.

Bible Verse of the Day

Numbers 14:4 And they said to each other, "We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt."

When the Israelites were faced with uncertain times and a fearful future, they always wanted to go backwards instead of moving on. They believed that it would be better for them to become Egyptian slaves again, rather than forging a new nation for themselves. What they were saying was this: “we don’t like being responsible for ourselves. Take us back to the old ways when we didn’t have to think about tomorrow.” To the Hebrew children in the midst of the wilderness, the good old days were all about giving up their freedom.

Thankfully, God had other plans, and dedicated leaders like Moses and Joshua, would bring the people to their senses and show them that going backwards wasn’t an option if they wanted to have a future.

All of us go through fearful times. Whether it’s illness or finances, our careers or choices, when things go bad, we just want to return to the good old days when things were easier, better, and safer. But as Robert Burns once wrote, “Time and tide wait for no man,” so we can’t return to the past. We need to move on and bring a new series of tomorrows into our lives today. And no matter what we face, God will be there up ahead of us, leading and guiding us, encouraging and urging us to walk on, move on, and press on.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, sometimes we get anxious about the uncertainties of life and just want to return to the safety of the past and retreat into good old days. Help us to refrain from surrendering to our insecurities and instead looking forward to the opportunities that You have in store for us as Christians, as a people, as servants of God. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

Daily Devotions: Equal to God

King Herod met an ignoble end for claiming to be equal to God. Are our presidential candidates in danger of going down the same path?

Podcast version here

Acts 12:23 Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.

It’s a gory end to a cruel king. The executioner of John the Baptist and the mocker of Christ finally gets his just deserts. He’s reigned over his people with the same acts of cruelty and control that his father displayed before him. Herod bites the dust in a horrific way and nobody feels pity for the tyrant.

Why does God punish him like this? What finally pushes God over the edge to intervene and cause Herod to die in agony? From Luke’s account, it appears to be pride that has caused Herod’s fatal downfall. He is enjoying the applause of his people for persecuting the Christians. He rides that wave of popularity and makes a wonderful speech. His sycophantic audience proclaims that they have just heard a god speak, but instead of disclaiming this, Herod allows his narcissism to embrace the compliments. And that’s when God acts: Herod is struck down because he is claiming to be divine, something that he would not acknowledge about Jesus, he now claims as his own. It’s the age old temptation that goes back to the Garden of Eden – sinfully claiming to be equal to God.

As I watched the victorious candidates relish their moment of glory for winning the Iowa caucuses, I was struck by their oratorical skills. Each of them had something powerful to say and they expressed it eloquently. However, what I can’t remember hearing was any of them giving thanks to God for what they had achieved. That makes me both worry and wonder about the candidates. Are they getting so powerful that they forget the source of their power?

It will be interesting to see how the rest of this presidential campaign develops. I hope that one of them acknowledges the hand of God in their road to the Whitehouse. Leaders who lead without being led by God can end up ignoring both the wishes of the people and the will of God. Let’s hope and pray that some sort of humility before God will be sincerely evident amongst these politicians in the days to come.

Prayer: Lord God, these are exciting times for our nation, as well as being serious. We pray that a leader will truly rise up who acknowledges Your hand over their lives. Bless us as a nation with strong candidates and great leaders, but remind us that our hopes lie within You, and not with ourselves or our leaders. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

Taking Back the U.S. for Christ

February conference in Oregon aims high.
Source: www.ReligionAndSpirituality.com

The "2008 Restore America, Know the Truth, Change the Culture" conference will take place Feb. 22-23 at Rolling Hills Community Church in Tualatin, Ore., a few miles south of Portland. The conference is designed to show how Christians can restore their historical American culture.
Georgene Rice with KPDQ-FM will be Master of Ceremonies. Speakers include former lesbian activist and magazine editor Charlene Cothran, former Muslim terrorist Kamal Saleem, syndicated columnist Starr Parker, Terri Schiavo's attorney David Gibbs III, historian Marshall Foster, movie makers Jonathan and Debra Flora and WorldNetDaily.com Vice President David Kupelian.

Read the rest of the story here

Free Faith in the Land of Liberty

Podcast version here

I know that by the end of the year we will be fed up and saturated with electioneering, but let’s remain thankful that we live in a time where democracy and freedom still rule this great land. All over the world, there are places where people live under cruel dictators and absolute tyrants. Their lives are made miserable by the fear and terror that these despots use to control their lands. Thank God that in the United States we have democratic elections, primaries and caucuses that allow the people to make their leadership choices every four years. We may not always get the perfect President, Senator or Governor that we would like, but at least we all have the opportunity to vote them out of office and bring in someone new on a regular basis.

Acts 12: 19 After Herod had a thorough search made for him and did not find him, he cross-examined the guards and ordered that they be executed.

Herod was an absolute tyrant, just like his father before him. He persecuted Christians because it suited his reign. The Christians had become the scapegoats Herod needed to divert the Jewish people’s attention away from him. So long as he persecuted their enemies, his rule would not be challenged.

It amazes me how resolute and tough the first Christians were. They experienced and endured all sorts of injustice and intolerance. They won the public relations battle because they were not aggressive or vengeful. They won over the hearts and minds of many because they advocated a path of faith and hope mixed with peace and love.

As always, we can learn from their example. If we as Christians want to re-win the world and make a positive impact on our society, then we have to lose our belligerent, aloof, and grandiose ways. The world owes us nothing and we are not entitled to its respect if we keep demanding our rights above all others. All that the world will see is a bunch of religious fanatics who want to suppress society, instead of a community of faithful people who want to support the world.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, You dealt with tyrants by expressing the truth about Your Kingdom without resorting to aggression, anger, or violence. You want us to do the same, so please help us to depart from claiming to be victimized; instead enable us to proclaim Your victory in the world by showing faith, hope, peace, and love, especially during those moments and times when we feel aggrieved and oppressed. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

Whose Cup? Playing politics with religion is a dangerous game...

...because God knows the motives inside every politician's heart.

Reality Check

Sir Winston Churchill once said, “The price of greatness is responsibility.” These days, people seem to equate greatness with celebrity, bestowing leadership upon those who can act the part, smile at the cameras, and say what we want to hear. Charm and poise have replaced grit and determination. Our leaders must look good to make us feel good. Our Presidential candidates must be charismatic, handsome and dynamic, rather than honest, hard working, and sincere. In other words, we're in love with the illusion, instead of looking for substance.

We're looking for the best candidate to win the next election, and so we bank all of our money on the illusionists – TV actors turned politicians; liberal mayors seeking the limelight; and political flip-floppers hoping everyone forgets the past. We get sucked into this at each election and we end up getting the leaders we deserve: flip-flopping liberal actors.

In our rush to beat the opposition, we forget that we are laying the mantel of responsibility of this great nation upon the shoulders of one person. The price of greatness for our nation lies in the hands and heart of the candidate we elect, and we had better hope that person knows what responsibility looks like. Celebrity may charm the nation, but it cannot lead the world. In the years that lie ahead of this nation, integrity, strength, and character will be needed in the Whitehouse. Stardom will grow stale and popularity will pale. We need a leader who will lead, not one who just wants to win the race.

Teddy Roosevelt once said, “Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.” When we go to choose our candidate for the Whitehouse, we need to look at the hard work ethic and strong character of the person we nominate. We need to find a Churchill for our nation and a Teddy Roosevelt for our people.

There is one candidate whose military service, political track record, and vision for the future encapsulate these vital characteristics. He is not a celebrity, and his ambition is for America, not himself.

His name is Duncan Hunter.