Welcome to Election Day USA 2020! (Or any day thereafter.)
Are you ready for what comes next? Have you voted yet? Are you troubled at the possibilities? Does the potential selection of Mr. _ _ _ _ _ frighten you or cheer you? Do you worry about the state and direction of the United States? Do the polls trouble you? Are you afraid at the prospect of civil unrest, fraudulent shenanigans, riots, anarchy, or totalitarianism?
Perhaps you are a Christian and you just aren’t sure how to vote. Perhaps you think Mr. Trump is vile and vicious. Perhaps you think Mr. Biden is vicious and vile. Maybe you think one of them is a con artist and should be a convict.
Perhaps one of the selections below will help you…or make you feel worse. Whatever the case, let me tell you a little of how I look at politics and/or elections. (I think “normal” American citizens have the duty, honor, and high calling to vote.)
An American Second
I am a native-born resident of Oregon and citizen of the United States. I am also a born-again citizen of Christ’s heavenly kingdom. What effect does such dual citizenship have on my loyalties? My loyalty is to Christ. I pledge allegiance to no other kingdom.
To put it another way: I am a Christian first and an American second. […]
My primary citizenship makes me (or should, anyway) a model citizen in my secondary citizenship. But my first loyalty is to Christ and His kingdom. By His grace, I will not violate that loyalty and citizenship in the living out of my American citizenship.
I am grateful to be an American. I am thankful for my American citizenship. I do not despise either blessing.
So you see, being an American second does not make me anti-America.
It does make me unfit for certain aspects of American citizenship. […]
If my life doesn’t manifest Christ, my declaration of loyalty to Him is suspect. So is my claim to heavenly citizenship.
Read it all: An American Second
Whatever the Result
Maybe your man Trump will win and Hillary the Evil Empress will lose. Maybe your woman Clinton will win and Donald the Perverted Pied Piper will lose. Whatever your view of the candidates and whatever the result of the Presidential election, the state of your heart matters far more.
If all of us who name the name of Christ fail to show the Lord Jesus, we all lose individually and we all lose corporately.
Whatever the result of the election and no matter who is President after January 20, we ambassadors of the kingdom of Heaven must show forth the character and commission of the King of glory.
Read it all: Presidential Election 2016: Whatever the Result
Reflections: Election 2012
I eyeball the political scene without entangling myself in the political drama (or is it merely a play?). […]
What would have been the effect in the streets and in the courts of America had the outcome been closer or even reversed? […]
It wouldn’t have taken much to swing Ohio, Florida, Pennsylvania, and Virginia…and with them, the election. Might have fraud and voter suppression made the difference?
How discerning and stable can a country be that embraces divorce, abortion, homosexuality, sensuality, immorality, and materialism? […]
Perhaps you’re inclined to think that “they” chose for the American people, but the fact remains that God did the choosing. The sinister, mysterious “they” may have done a lot of scheming and orchestrating and whatnotting, but ultimately, the will of the Sovereign One held sway.
The Sovereign one has spoken — in that I rest.
Read it all: Reflections: Election 2012
The Darkness Deepens But Light Shines On
After decades of “There are no absolutes” and “Truth is subjective,” the consequences sweep America like a relentless, unceasing, all-engulfing tsunami.
The time has come for the United States to reap a whirlwind. […]
Regardless of its outcome, the election is likely to change little for the better related to the coronavirus pandemic, the anarchy, or the political scene. No matter who wins, we are about to step over the threshold into the most unstable, dangerous time in American history.
The true citizen of the kingdom of heaven lives as a heavenly ambassador. The true Christian brings a message of reconciliation to individual hearts. The true disciple of Jesus has spiritual solutions, not political ones.
America is long past a political, judicial, or Constitutional solution. […]
God reigns supreme, no matter who pushes and pulls the levers of earthly power. God’s plan will not be thwarted. All human authority flows from God and is established by Him. No matter what happens, it will all help contribute to the good of those who love God and are His called for His purposes. […]
Perhaps the thought of Biden winning (or Trump winning) traumatizes you, even though you follow Jesus — please look back to Jesus, again and again and again… The faithful followers of Jesus can find rest and peace in Him, even in the midst of their own fears and hopelessness. God has not lost control. Furthermore, He has known the end from the beginning. He is never unprepared. He is never at a loss. He is never not Sovereign. He is always able. The political victory of those we might not prefer poses no problem at all to God. […]
Be faithful, even if you are fearful. Don’t be blind to danger, but don’t stop looking to Jesus. God is on the throne and never will not be.
Read it all: Elections and the Elect: The Darkness Deepens But Light Shines On
The Sovereign One Has Spoken
Yesterday (November 7, 2000) millions of U.S. citizens went to the polls to cast their ballot for a new President. They had quite a few choices from which to pick, but only two of those men were politically viable. So American voters who wanted to use their ballots to actually help pick the next President needed to choose between Al Gore and George W. Bush.
Does God have a choice for US President?
Yes!
Not only does God have a say in political affairs, He has the final say.
Not only does God have a choice for US President, He makes the ultimate selection.
“The most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men” (Daniel 4:17).
This verse has always been true. And this verse will always be true as long as there is human government. Sometimes God sets up the best (King Solomon, for instance); sometimes He chooses from among the worst (Adolph Hitler comes to mind).
Read it all: Election 2000: The Sovereign One Has Spoken
Christian Citizenship
It is required in stewards
that a man be found faithful
Everywhere we look we see reminders of our role in life: stewards. God has entrusted into our care our bodies, our families, our possessions, our church, our school, our resources, our abilities, our opportunities, our friends and neighbors. I am sure you could lengthen the list with things I missed. God has convicted me recently of one which I did not include in the list. […]
On Tuesday, Oregon voters face an array of daunting decisions which will impact the state and its citizens and residents for a few years, at least. Oregon citizens have the civic duty and privilege to vote. To stay home is inexcusable. It is the dereliction of duty. It almost seems there ought to be a penalty for not voting. To not vote is to despise citizenship.
I won’t vote, though. I am not an Oregon citizen. I am merely a resident of this state. I was born a citizen of Oregon and of the United States of America, but some twenty years ago I pledged allegiance to a different country. “For our citizenship is in the heavens, whence also a Saviour we await –the Lord Jesus Christ–” (Philippians 3:20, Young’s Literal Translation). As a heavenly citizen, I have other duties and privileges. I must not be derelict in their execution.
Read it all: Christian Citizenship
If You Don’t Know Who to Vote For
The last number of years, I have been impressed with the dilemma of the public in finding men suited for public office. Repeatedly, I have heard people complain that voting is a problem of deciding between the lesser of two bad choices. It is this dilemma I wish to discuss.
In a democratic society, where leaders are chosen from the populace, the quality of the general public has a direct bearing on the quality of the leaders chosen. The people beget their own leaders in ways beyond the physical.
Obviously, then, the more commonly people in America practice fraud, immorality, selfishness, abuse, greed, and other forms of corruption, the more difficulty they will have at election time. If you have a basket of rotting apples, the longer you let the spoilage go, the less likelihood there is of pulling out a good apple.
Read it all: Just for You: If You Don’t Know Who to Vote For
Can a Deeply Religious Person Be a Government Leader?
This is not a theoretical question, I found out last January. As a matter of fact, a newspaper reporter asked the question and used the specific office of U.S. Attorney General. Then President-elect Bush had nominated a former governor of Missouri, John Ashcroft, to be attorney general. Ashcroft is noted for his profession of deep religious faith and his opposition to abortion, euthanasia, and for other positions that religious conservatives tend to take.
With an obvious knowledge of the Bible and its implications in practical life, the reporter noted, “The New Testament that Ashcroft believes in calls on everyone to ‘render therefore unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s.'”
He aptly noted that the people of the United States need to know what John Ashcroft would do when rendering to one will offend the other. […]
Politics is by its very nature the art of compromise. Even a professing Christian in politics is going to have to compromise Christian principles at times. Ashcroft’s supporters even pointed out that when he was governor of Missouri, he efficiently established a state lottery system in spite of his religious opposition to gambling. The state voted to establish a lottery, and it was up to him to see that it was carried out. As Attorney General of the United States, he would need to enforce the abortion laws on the books. […]
The Bible teaches a two-kingdom ethic — the kingdom of heaven and the kingdoms of this world. Romans 13, for example, clearly delineates the responsibility of the government (he) and of the believers (ye). The believers’ main purpose is to be salt and light, influences for truth, and witnesses of the power of Jesus Christ to transform laws. The purpose of the government is to maintain law and order, to protect the good, and to punish those who violate its laws. The attempt by many to blend these two purposes has resulted in confusion.
Read it all: Can a Deeply Religious Person Be a Government Leader?
