Category: Blog Page 139 of 171

Psalm 33:12 “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.”

Founding Father John Jay said:

“No human society has ever been able to maintain both order and freedom, both cohesiveness and liberty apart from the moral precepts of the Christian Religion allied and accepted by all the classes. Should our Republic ere forget this fundamental precept of governance, men are certain to shed their responsibilities for licentiousness and this great experiment will surely be doomed.”

American citizens grieve when leaders shed their responsibilities for licentiousness.  We are sorrowful that the great experiment of our nation appears doomed.  Yet, we rarely consider the important truth that this experiment was never to be founded upon anything other than Christ.  Blessings are to flow from faithfulness, not from freedom.

In this great experiment, Christian moral precepts were interwoven into our society.  Similarly, they are to be interwoven into our political consideration.  They are to be interwoven into our votes.  They are to be interwoven into those for whom we should vote.

We must be weary of ourselves when we set aside our moral precepts as we enter the voting booth.  We must be weary of those who claim that their moral precepts are not factors in their public policy.  We must be weary of our nation when we cling to anything other than Christian principles as a fundamental precept of governance.

PLEASE PRAY FOR AMERICAN LEADERS, ELECTED OR UP-FOR-ELECTION, TO EMBRACE CHRISTIAN MORAL PRECEPTS UNDIVIDED FROM THEIR PUBLIC PERSONA.  Our votes can steady a staggering nation by returning us to a Christian foundation.  Blessings can replace impending doom, but only by putting the Lord first.

II Corinthians 3:17 “Now the Lord is that spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”

Alexis de Tocqueville, the French historian and political philosopher, was struck by the impact that Christianity had on the United States he observed in the 19^th Century.   Though he was not a Christian, he wrote:

“There is no country in the world where the Christian religion retains a greater influence over the souls of men than in America, and there can be no greater proof of its utility and of its conformity to human nature than that its influence is powerfully felt over the most enlightened and free nation of the earth.”

Our nation’s Christian principles were unmistakable to the outside observer.  In fact, such observation yielded one compelling conclusion – the great influence of Christianity had produced a remarkable nation.  Christianity was foundational and fundamental to our national character; it was not to be ignored by those we elect nor was it to be severed from our vote.  Christianity’s integration into American character was a perfect match in that it reconciled human nature with liberty.

PLEASE PRAY FOR AMERICAN CHRISTIANS TO FOLLOW THEIR BELIEFS WITH THEIR VOTE.  Enlightenment and freedom were never intended to flow from human constructs.  Instead, they were intended to flow as gifts from the Lord based on the principles of Christ.  Our votes should be based on the same.

Psalm 37:4 “Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.”

William Arthur Ward wrote:  “We must be silent before we can listen. We must listen before we can learn. We must learn before we can prepare. We must prepare before we can serve. We must serve before we can lead.”

In order to be a true leader, one must be a true servant.  As we consider those whom we would elect, we need to seek those who would serve.  Otherwise, we risk getting leaders in name only.

As Christians in the electorate, we should support those whose desire for elected office stems not from following gain, but from following God.  The desires of the heart of a worthy leader result from a history of delighting the Lord.  The manifestation of such a heart is a life characterized by service that benefits others.  Any past devoid of selfless service is indicative of a heart that has never been molded by delight in God, resulting in an unqualified leader likely to be seeking office for the wrong reasons.

PLEASE PRAY THAT AMERICAN CHRISTIANS WOULD USE DEMONSTRATED SERVICE AS A PROMINENT INDICATION OF WORTHINESS FOR ELECTED OFFICE.  Too often, the noise of an election drowns out the ability to discern the source of a heart’s desires, which are critical indicators of those worthy of our vote.

Proverbs 28:2 “For the transgression of a land many are the princes thereof: but by a man of understanding and knowledge the state thereof shall be prolonged.”

Seven weeks from now we will be offered the right to vote in America’s midterm elections.  In reality, we should consider it more than a right; it is a privilege and a responsibility that we should neither neglect nor take lightly.  The next several PLUS posts will focus on this important privilege.

There are several reasons why America is in its current atrophied state.  The princes thereof have been many.  Yet, we will only reclaim this land one person at a time, one prayer at a time, and one personal revival at a time.  We will also only reclaim this land one vote at a time, one election at a time, and one elected official at a time.

As we vote, and we should, we must focus on electing those who demonstrate God-given understanding and knowledge.  They may not be perfect, but they must be principled.  Thomas Jefferson once said “God grant that men of principle shall be our principal men.”  We need principled principal men more than ever in our elected offices.

PLEASE PRAY THAT AMERICAN CHRISTIANS WOULD VOTE, AND VOTE ON GOD-GIVEN PRINCIPLE.  The only way to remove the princes who lack principle is to vote for those who demonstrate principle.  We must take our responsibility seriously to remove those who have led our land into transgression, and we will only do so one vote at a time.  This upcoming election offers our nation a prolonged existence if done right.

Isaiah 26:3-4 “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.  Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength.”

Francis Scott Key’s poem, inspired by the sight of the American flag waving over Fort McHenry after intense bombing, was almost immediately distributed to the public.  The first printing was made on September 17th, 1814, with the first publication a few days later.  What is lesser known today is that this poem and our current National Anthem contains not just one, but four stanzas.  Indeed, the fourth stanza poignantly reminds us of the pervasive faithfulness of our founders:

“Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand

Between their loved homes and the war’s desolation!

Blest with victory and peace, may the heaven-rescued land

Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.

Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,

And this be our motto: “In God is our trust.”

And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave

O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Time and again, we have been a “heaven-rescued land.”  As our founders did, we must recognize that “the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation” is worthy of our praise.  Above all, we must embrace the motto that “In God is our trust.”  PLEASE PRAY THAT AMERICANS WOULD RECOGNIZE THE NEED TO FULLY TRUST IN THE ONE WHO HAS EVERLASTING STRENGTH.  Perfect peace awaits those who do.