Saturday, November 3, 2012

November 4, 2012


"First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way." 1 Timothy 2:1-2   
 
You have no doubt seen the You Tube video with the four-year old girl who was crying because she was tired of seeing and hearing Mitt Romney and "Bronco Bama".
 
No doubt some of you feel the same about all the ads, debates and news shows about the candidates.
 
So, what should campaign weary Christians be doing just 48 hours from election day?
 
"First then, I urge supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people"
 
We need to be praying!
 
Supplications are heartfelt requests for God to provide something that you deem essential. It might be protection for the candidates. It may be for wisdom and courage for you. It may be for a fair and just election.
 
Prayers are requests made in accordance with God's Word and His will.
 
Intercessions are prayers for the spiritual condition of our leaders and our nation. They are for calling upon God for His mercy upon our land. They are calling for salvation for our President and Congressmen and mayors and councilmen. Pray that evil be restrained and righteousness prevails.
 
Thanksgivings are just that! Thank God for the peace and freedom that we enjoy in this land. Thank Him that you were blessed enough to have been born in America. Thank Him for those who have served and sacrificed to preserve our freedoms.
 
We do not need political commercials or strategies or advisers, we need a divine and supernatural movement of God's Spirit upon our nation. That only comes through supplications, prayers, intercessions and thanksgiving!
 
Months and months of campaigning is 48 hours from coming to a conclusion. Prayer is how
should be spending your time between now and the moment you walk into that booth.

November 3, 2012

"For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone." Ephesians 2:14-20
 
In three days we will go to the polls and choose between two flawed and imperfect candidates. One of them will lead us for the next four years and have a significant impact on our daily lives and future.
 
But, thank God, we get the privilege of casting a vote and having a voice in the eventual outcome!
 
That great freedom was purchased for us by the bravery, sacrifice and blood of courageous patriots throughout the generations who loved freedom more than life. Think of them when you cast that ballot on Tuesday.
 
What a blessing we have as Americans! Only by the grace of God were we born in thise great land. Therefore, it behooves us to be responsible citizens so we can pass the blessings of this great nation to the next generation and continue to be a blessing to other nations around the world.
 
Those of us who are Christians have an added responsibility to be exemplary citizens of the USA because we are also citizens of another Kingdom - the Kingdom of God. You and I represent that Kingdom in this world.
 
Our citizenship in that Kingdom was also purchased by the blood of One Who loved our freedom greater than His life. Jesus, the Son of God, became the Lamb of God to take away the sins of the world. He did all He could to help bring the power and principles of His perfect Kingdom into this imperfect world. And as troubled as our world and our nation is, imagine what it would be like without the influence of Christians and biblical truth.
 
So, we hold dual-citizenship and we are called to bring as much of the Perfect Kingdom as we can into the fallen kingdom to preserve it and to persuade others to believe in Christ and enter the eternal Kingdom through faith in Christ.
 
I close with this challenge. Since you will spend the vast majority of your life in the perfect, holy, everlasting Kingdom of God, and since that is influenced by how you live in this perishing world, how should you live today? Which kingdom should you live for? Which values should you cherish? What should you love and Who should you live for?