The Morning After the Election

Something To Think About

SOMETHING  TO THINK ABOUT On this morning after the election I just finished my breakfast, yet already:   I rejoiced with a friend who will be united with his wife--complicated immigration matter.  The solution has nothing to do with who won the election.  The right bureaucrat finally did the right thing.  I believe it is an answer to prayer.   I participated in an email conversation last night and this morning.  I'm privileged to help get some people who can help together with some people who need help.  Other than the tax on the gas we will burn, no government funds are involved.  It's the church being the church.   That issue above involves children.  I'm glad to say those children are, and will be, cared for.  Family and church family are pulling together to accomplish what an army of bureaucrats can't.   I've already touched base with three or four of God's choice servants this morning.  None of them were elected.  They were equipped by God and appointed by the church.     In spite of the best intentions of both major political parties and all the third, fourth, and fifth party candidates there is still another storm brewing up north.   I've been troubled this morning by the need for God's people to seek reconciliation wherever possible.  I'm fairly sure there is no government program for that.    My knees are still sore and my coffee still tastes good.   I'm not saying nothing has changed, but not everything has changed.  Lots of things, maybe most things, probably the most important things haven't changed.   Whether your side won or lost, I hope you will join me in saying, "My hope is in the Lord." It's STTA. Find lot's of information about how God stepped into our world to meet needs we cannot meet on our own here.

The Most Important Thing I'll Do On Election Day:

SOMETHING  TO THINK ABOUT I have no doubt, that right now, some enterprising business people are gearing up the machinery for a new batch of "Don't blame me" stuff.  You know, bumper-stickers, T-shirts, etc. that say "DON'T BLAME ME.  I VOTED FOR  xxxxx.  Over the past months we have seen incredible examples of blame dodging.  If one is going to be a successful candidate in our modern political world she or he needs to suit up in Teflon.  Every accusation needs to be dodged or parried with "Not my fault," or a "There is the blame!" I just read a prayer by an incredibly Godly, very effective government operative.  What a contrast! If ever one could claim, "It's not my fault!" it was Daniel.  He was just a kid when a conquering force took him and made him a servant to the victorious king.  Everything we read about him indicates that he was a man of sterling character, yet when he prayed (Daniel 9): He confessed the sin of his people.  He saw that the state they were in was because they had not heeded God's warnings. Rather than whine, he acknowledged that what had happened and was happening to his people was just and right. His conclusion was that God keeping His word was much more important than the difficulties in which his people found themselves. (Pretty much the whole prayer) After his confession, Daniel went on to humbly ask the Lord for relief.  He stepped up and did the most effective thing he could do--he prayed.  There was no "You owe me!"  Rather Daniel made this plea:  " . . incline Your ear and hear! Open Your eyes and see our desolations and the city which is called by Your name; for we are not presenting our supplications before You on account of any merits of our own, but on account of Your great compassion." (Daniel 9:18) I've heard a number of campaigners and talking news-heads tell me that voting is the most important thing I can do today.  Well, I do plan to vote, but that is far from the most important activity I'll be involved in.  Daniel and I are going to pray.  I encourage you to join us. It's STTA. Find lot's of information about how God stepped into our world to meet needs we cannot meet on our own here.

The Election, Questions About Character:

SOMETHING  TO THINK ABOUT One of the falsehoods floated in recent decades is that character doesn't matter.  Let me be blunt.  It does!  How can you stand in the Lincoln memorial, read those immortal words and think otherwise. Read the record of the Old Testament Kings.  Their accounts make plain that the ethical direction a leader gives has a profound effect on his nation.  A leader's moral compass will guide a nation to either ruin, or what the Old Testament calls Shalom.   It's complicated.  Political candidates are made up and packaged to look good.  At one time politicians kept skeletons in closets.  With today's armies of researchers it is hard to keep secrets, so candidates have spin doctors to make their faults look OK, and their opponents verbal gaffs sound absolutely toxic.  It is hard.  Let's just not buy into the cynical view that all of them are crooks, so it doesn't matter who we choose, or that technical skill always trumps moral uprightness.   Character matters.     Lord, I have the privilege and responsibility of voting.  I want to cast my vote in a way that is honoring to You and best for my country.  Help me to honestly, and fearlessly look at the issues before me.  Lord, I pray that truth will come to the fore, and that Your will will be done.  Amen    It's STTA.     Find lot's of information about what God stepping into our world means to us here.

Election questions:

SOMETHING  TO THINK ABOUT Who can be counted on to make the right choices?   One of the difficulties of modern politics is we have somehow come to believe that we deserve specifics. Mr./Mrs Candidate, If there is an invasion by air and sea on both coasts, in the midst of a hurricane in the East and massive grass fires in the West, how would you respond?  Oh, and I forgot to tell you, Solar flares have shut down all  communications.  Please be specific.   Is the candidate who can best memorize lists the best choice, or do we want someone who has the kind of "gut" we can trust? Be careful.  One extreme is a wonk, who might have all the facts with no ability to use them, while on the other pole you find a cowboy whoshoots from the hip, with the resultant carnage.   It seems to me, though, that since we don't know what the specific scenarios of the future look like, having a leader who has specific solutions to problems that may not come to reality isn't worth much.  In the Old Testament the king was to "write for himself a copy of this law . . . It shall be with him and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, by carefully observing all the words of this law and these statutes,"  (Deuteronomy 17:18-19)      It was important that the king have a right heart, so that when important decisions came up he would make a right choice.  Character does count.   Lord, I have the privilege and responsibility of voting in just a few days.  I want to cast my vote in a way that is honoring to You and best for my country.  Help me to honestly, and fearlessly look at the issues before us.  Lord, I pray that truth will come to the fore, and that Your will will be done.  Amen    It's STTA.     Find out about a decision even more important than next Tuesday's here.

Election Questions, #1

Something To Think About

SOMETHING  TO THINK ABOUT As we approach Election Day, we need to remind ourselves that our vote--and I sincerely hope you will vote--actually means something.  We are not merely deciding who the next American Idol will be, or registering our opinionin a cola taste-test; we are choosing leaders who will affect our lives, and the lives of millions of others.  We cannot, and should not attempt to, avoid the question of what our choice has to do with the issue of life itself.   With the harsh contrast that is the result of decades of debate, and rancor that is beyond debate, the two polarized positions are called "pro-life," and "pro-choice."  If the pro-life side is passing out the labels they are apt to brand the other side as "pro-abortion."  If the pro-choicers are choosing the descriptions they are likely to call the other side "anti-abortion" or "anti-choice." The fact is most pro-choice folk don't want their daughter to have an abortion.  In general they are in favor of protecting life.  While the pro-life position is dealing with an absolute--dead or alive--they certainly are, by and large, not guilty of the heartlessness assigned to them by their political enemies.  They have a great deal of compassion for women facing tough choices. In politics everything has to be reduced to what can be expressed on a bumper sticker.  Life is more complicated than that.  One complication has to do with the perception that some voters have that some pro-lifers are more interested in protecting the life of the unborn than they are in caring for the already born.  It is a valid consideration.  Still . . .   When we touch the screen this coming Tuesday, the choice we make will say something about what we really believe about human life, and our responsibility toward it.  The vote we cast will, in part, influence our society, and determine the guiding principles by which it is ordered.   Is freedom of choice so important that it must be maintained even if it involves the taking of a life?   or, Is human life a sacred trust, such that its preservation requires the limiting of choice in certain situations? I'm not saying the choices are easy, or always clear, but God has placed us in a country where we have responsibilty to vote, this Tuesday.  Let's do it carefully, and prayerfully.    Lord, I have the privilege and responsibility of voting in just a few days.  I want to cast my vote in a way that is honoring to You and best for my country.  Help me to honestly, and fearlessly look at the issues before us.  Lord, I pray that truth will come to the fore, and that Your will will be done.  Amen    It's STTA.    * I say, "most" because some Americans have already voted, and some you are citizens of other nations.  If you are in either group, I certainly encourage you to join us in prayer.   Find lot's of information about what God stepping into our world means to us here.

My vote not just my choice, my responsibility:

SOMETHING  TO THINK ABOUT It is less than a week until Election Day  for most of us.*   I had an interesting conversation recently--interesting not so much because of what was said, but because of the unspoken commentary that was going on in my head.  My friend gave a familiar litany of some very real problems.  I agree with most of his/her observations, but if I know my friend, and I think I do, her/his vote will be cast in a way that will support the very trends being railed against. My friend is not alone. Between now and next Tuesday, let's do some thinking together.   In the American system each of us citizens is not only the ruled we are the rulers.  My influence is not great, in a numeric sense, but itis real.  Tuesday, Lord willing, I will vote, and my vote will impact the future of my nation.  Bottom line: My vote may be but a penny in an economy measured in trillions of dollars, but it is MY penny, and I am responsible to spend it well.  Apparently votes will be cast for a guy who claims to be a time-traveler, and two guys known for consuming strange beverages, one hydrogen peroxide, and the other blood (more here).  I think we would agree that such frivolous vote-casting is not good stewardship of our political resource.  The problem is, whilesuch votes will be counted by the hundreds, other wasted votes will be counted by the millions.  If we believe, and want for our nation,  one thing, and cast our vote in a way that will result in the opposite, that sounds like a waste to me.  This will happen all across our land on Tuesday.   Over the next several days, let's look at some questions to ask ourselves.  One of the frustrations with political campaigns, debates, etc. is the oft heard complaint: "He never answered the question."  We can't fix the dodging of others, but we can agree to be honest with ourselves, so let's begin with a prayer.   Lord, I have the privilege and responsibility of voting in just a few days.  I want to cast my vote in a way that is honoring to You and best for my country.  Help me to honestly, and fearlessly look at the issues before us.  Lord, I pray that truth will come to the fore, and that Your will will be done.  Amen    It's STTA.    * I say, "most" because some Americans have already voted, and some you are citizens of other nations.  If you are in either group, I certainly encourage you to join us in prayer.   Find lot's of information about what God stepping into our world means to us here.

Almost, Isn't Good Enough

SOMETHING  TO THINK ABOUT I just read the book of Amos in my through the Bible program.  Amos' ministry came just before that of the better known prophet, Isaiah.  His target audience was the court of king Jeroboam of Israel.  To put the book in a 21st Century setting, he was a rancher from Montana confronting the elites of Washington DC and Wall Street.  With in-your-face political incorrectness Amos challenged them to turn from their comfortable, self-reliant wickedness to the Lord.     Here is one of his lines that would be talked to death on cable news:  "Listen to me, you fat cows living in Samaria, you women who oppress the poor and crush the needy, and who are always calling to your husbands, "Bring us another drink!"  (Amos 4:1, NLT)    Amos reminds me of John the Baptist; neither of them were afraid to speak truth to power.  John the Baptist was imprisoned and beheaded.  One of King Jeroboam's toadies told Amos, "Go, you seer, flee away to the land of Judah and there eat bread and there do your prophesying!  But no longer prophesy at Bethel, for it is a sanctuary of the king and a royal residence."   (Amos 7:12-13).  I see significant parallels with my world today.  Americans are mostly comfortable, yet threats are all around.  If we don't like what we hear we just change the channel, or surf to a different site.  The problem is, though we can avoid hearing God's message, we can't avoid the reality that is behind it.  Amos makes that plain in Chapter 7. Like Isaiah, Amos often speaks in powerful pictures.  Here are a couple of snapshots: "Just as the shepherd snatches from the lion's mouth a couple of legs or a piece of an ear, so will the sons of Israel dwelling in Samaria be snatched away." "I overthrew you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and you were like a firebrand snatched from a blaze; yet you have not returned to Me," declares the LORD. (Amos 4:11) People arrogantly looked forward to the day of God's judgment assuming they would be rewarded, but Amos paints this scene: "As when a man flees from a lion and a bear meets him, or goes home, leans his hand against the wall and a snake bites him." (Amos 5:19) You can run, but you can't hide--not from the Lord.  I encourage you to turn to Him .  It's STTA.