4 Minute Devotions: Obama's Election

The election of Barack Obama has brought about a new wave of hope across the world; but are we in danger of idolizing him and replacing God?

Podcast version here

Isaiah 49:8 This is what the LORD says:” In the time of my favor I will answer you, and in the day of salvation I will help you; I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people, to restore the land and to reassign its desolate inheritances,

I’ve had some really nice emails from friends in Scotland, expressing their thankfulness about the election and their hopes for a better world. After Barack Obama’s historic win, the world seems to have regained a lot of hope. It appears to be a time of renewal and unity, instead of fear and apprehension.

It is a wonderful time and for black people across the world, who have been treated inhumanely for centuries, it must be an amazing time. To have a black man lead the most powerful nation on earth will bring hope to millions of Africans around the globe. People in the streets Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania were celebrating this historic victory, just as much as the African-Americans in Harlem, Chicago, and Atlanta.

But will Obama save the world? That’s a tough question and perhaps it’s unfair to set such a colossal responsibility upon his shoulders. He has new ideas about peace and prosperity; he has a charisma that is attractive and inspiring; he has the opportunity to restore our land and make up for the deficiencies of the last eight years, but will it be enough to change things for the good, or will his Presidency just become another pile of political promises that are destined to be unfulfilled or broken?

None of us know, but at least there is a new opportunity ahead of us. The President-elect does not need our adulation; he needs our prayers. Tragically, there are still people in our land who hate the idea of a black President. Barack Obama needs our prayers each day for God to protect him.

No matter what happens during Obama’s presidency, we need to remember that only God can truly save His people. Barack Obama will be the most powerful man on earth after his inauguration, but he is also just a vessel and just a servant of God’s purposes. If we ever replace our adoration of God for the adulation of our world leaders, we will be guilty of idolizing that which is only temporal; or as the writer of Psalm 146 so eloquently puts it:
Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save. (Psalm 146 v 3) NIV

Prayer: Lord God, we thank You for these wonderful times and for the election of Barack Obama. We pray that You will protect him and his family. We ask that You will sustain his Presidency. Keep us mindful that he is just a man. Enable him to shoulder the responsibilities of our great nation through You mercy and grace. This is Your world, O Lord, and we are all Your children. In Your Christ’s Name, we pray. Amen.

4 Minute Devotions: Constitutional Crossroads

Today is one of the most important days in the history of our nation. May God bless America and our next President, whoever he turns out to be.

Podcast version here

Jeremiah 6:16 This is what the LORD says:” Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.

This is the most amazing election I have ever experienced. I think the nearest election in comparison was Tony Blair’s win way back in Britain in the 1990’s. By that time, our family had crossed the Atlantic, but our relatives were really buzzing about the changes that were coming. After five elections and sixteen years of Tory rule, the people in Britain were crying out for change.

I don’t what will happen today, but this I do know. America is a winner. When so many people are fired up about voting, it means that the people are actually taking power back into their hands. Far too often, we take our freedoms for granted. But this year, things are wonderfully different, and I feel that God is truly blessing America at this moment in her history.

Whatever the outcome, the next President will really need our prayers. The economy is in a mess and its affecting all of our lives. We’ll be looking for strong leadership from our President and he will probably have to make some unpopular decisions in order to get us back on the right course. That’s when our daily prayers will become crucial. We want our President to be guided by God and protected by His Spirit. I’m going to try to pray for him each morning and night.

Let’s hope that together, we find the good way for our country and that we all walk in it. We are all weary of broken promises and governmental inefficiency. We don’t need anymore political filibusters or failed policies. We need our politicians to act, represent and carry out good government for all of our people. That way God will bless America and enable us to help the rest of the world.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, these are crucial times and we thank You for the beautiful and dutiful responsibilities that our citizens are fulfilling today. May the outcome of this election lead us to a brighter and better future, not only for the USA, but for the entire planet. In Your Holy Name, we humbly pray. Amen.

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

Patriotic Art: Voting - It's a Freedom Thing!

Get out and vote, if you love freedom!

Religious Art: Christ of the Polls

Christ does not belong to any party...



...and only He can bring the donkey and the elephant together.

Romney's Faith Shouldn't Affect My Vote...Oh yeah???

If the Mormon Church is so wrong on all of these beliefs, then why should I trust Mitt Romney to get things right for America?

Key tenets of the Mormon faith

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

-Nature of God: God once was a mortal who became an eternal being after a great trial.

-Jesus Christ: Christ was God's first-born spirit child, his only earthly child and the only perfect mortal.

-No Trinity: Mormons reject the idea of the Christian Trinity - God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit as one ethereal being. Instead, they believe the three are separate beings joined in a common purpose.

-Pre-existence and the afterlife: Before their mortal birth, humans existed in pre-mortality and were born in the spirit world to heavenly parents. Mormons also believe in the resurrection and teach that most people will receive some measure of salvation and have a place in a three-level eternal kingdom.

-One true church: Mormons say their faith is not Protestant, Catholic or Orthodox but holds a unique place as "restored New Testament Christianity." Founder Joseph Smith said God told him none of the existing churches were practicing Christianity as it was intended.

- A living prophet: Mormons believe the head of their church is a living prophet, seer and revelator who can communicate with God.

- Book of Mormon: The text on which the church is based is said to have been translated from an ancient language inscribed on gold plates. Mormons believe it is an account of Christ's interaction with inhabitants of the ancient Americas before he ascended to heaven.

- Second Coming of Christ: Smith believed the Garden of Eden was originally in North America, near today's Independence, Mo. Mormons migrated to Missouri in 1831 because Smith taught that would be the new Jerusalem, where Christ would return.

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.

Munich

Romans 8:6, 7 The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. (NIV)

I was in High School when it happened and it deeply shocked me. I couldn’t believe that Arab terrorists had managed to penetrate the Olympic campus in Munich, Germany, and subsequently murdered 11 Israeli athletes. The Olympic Games were meant to be above all of that hatred. Nations were supposed to set aside their differences and compete for medals, instead of being at war. It was a sacred time for all of humanity to showcase the best, fastest, and strongest in the world. But thirty five years ago, on September 5, 1972, all of these noble ideals were destroyed forever.

Ever since then, we’ve all lived under the shadow of terrorism and had to deal with fear. At times, there seems to be no security and that religious madmen threaten our civilization. Bomb plots and terrorist conspiracies still abound. Even today, three people have been arrested in Frankfurt, Germany, for conspiring to blow up a US Airbase. Those sinful minds idolize and worship a savage deity, and as the scripture says today: they are hostile to God.

I don’t know what motivates people into thinking that killing others is a glorious way of honoring God. I don’t understand what goes on in their lives that make them want to terrorize the world in order to appease their tyrannical deity. The god that they worship is not the God that I know. The destructive deity that they zealously proclaim is no part of the Trinity that I love, adore, and acclaim.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are the Prince of Peace and we pray that Your mighty peace can be experienced by everyone on earth. In times like these, we regret man’s inhumanity to man. Help us, as Your disciples, to counter terrorism with faith, hope, and love. Grant us the courage to express and share our Christian faith, so that others may be touched by Your Holy Spirit and changed for all of eternity. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

Tubular Polls

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Foreign Ways

Scottish accent Audio version here

I Kings 8:43 …then hear from heaven, your dwelling place, and do whatever the foreigner asks of you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your own people Israel, and may know that this house I have built bears your Name. (NIV)

There’s talk of amnesty and deals for the 12 million illegal aliens in this nation. The President and Congress want to find a solution to a problem that is beginning to affect us all. There’s no easy answer to this, and it certainly won’t be resolved overnight. As a legal immigrant and naturalized citizen, I find myself struggling with this issue. Part of me wants to see as many people as possible receiving the blessings of this nation; the other half of me wants to make sure that they follow the rules to get in here.

It’s a highly controversial issue and one that inflames a lot of passion in ordinary people. Fears about the collapse of the economy, the health of the nation, and the education system are normal reactions to a major influx of immigrants to any nation. You only have to look at examples from history to know that the immigration anxieties we are experiencing have been going on since Biblical times. What we’re feeling has been expressed, experienced and endured by hundreds of nations across the centuries. It’s not something new to us, and as long as people live and move all over the globe, it will continue to happen.

The Jews of the Old Testament respected and tolerated foreigners in ways that we have perhaps forgotten. They even had special scriptural laws which pertained to the well-being of the foreigner in their midst. This was because of their experiences in Egypt – God had delivered the immigrant Hebrew people from oppression and slavery. Centuries later, they were called to treat foreigners respectfully in their own nation.

But it was also a two-way process. Immigrants were expected to uphold the customs and traditions of the sovereign people. When Solomon dedicates the Temple, he expresses this by asking God to favorably answer the prayers of worshipping foreigners – foreigners who believed in the One, True and Living God of the Hebrew people.

So, perhaps the solution to the problems of illegal immigration is two-fold. Firstly, we tolerate and treat one another respectfully, for we are all God’s children; and secondly, foreigners in our midst need to respect, uphold and practice those traditions that are dear to the American people. It seems to me that the Bible is giving us this as the way to resolve these issues.

Prayer: Lord God, we are all Your children. We need to remember that when You look at the world, there are no boundaries, walls or fences, no nations, nationalities or races. We all belong to You and the world is Your possession.

Grant us patience, faith and love to overcome prejudice, fear, and loathing. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.