Huckabee hunts for Evangelicals and gets their vote

Those Iowan evangelicals : Who voted for Huckabee and why.

By Ted Olsen, Christianity Today

The analysis you've probably read this morning or heard last night was that Mike Huckabee won the Republican caucuses in Iowa because of evangelicals. The WashingtonPost.com headline right now: "Evangelicals Fuel Huckabee in Caucuses." You probably also heard a lot of references to Pat Robertson's second-place Iowa win in 1988.

"Evangelical Republicans in Iowa chose one of their own in Mike Huckabee," writes Liz Sidoti of the Associated Press. "He made his religious beliefs and his rock-solid opposition to abortion, gay marriage and gun control central parts of his campaign — and it paid off."

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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?

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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.

Free Faith in the Land of Liberty

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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.