LXXXVI. The New Asherah Poles

Does anyone really care about the presidential election coming up on Tuesday?  Do you think God judges us on which candidate we vote for?  Do you think we should vote based more on human reasoning, things that we feel are important personally or or biblical reasoning?  Does the Bible say anything about any of the issues we deal with today?  Actually it says quite a few things about politics or at least what leaders should be like.

 

There is an old saying that says an organization is only as good as its leadership.  If you have bad bosses to work for and they don’t know how to run the business it won’t make it.  Places like Nike and Ford only got to be as large as they are because of the way their leaders did things.  It is the same with countries.  If their leadership is bad the country falls apart but if it is good then it can last.

So picking the right leader is really quite important.  But why is important?  Most of the people would say because that’s what creates jobs.  But the Bible says in Psalms though that government is only there to protect people from each other not to take care of them.  God will do that.

We are supposed to listen to government.  Jesus recognized the role of government when he told his disciples to give to Caesar what is Caesar’s which was talking about taxes.  He even went to trial when he was accused.  He knew government had a purpose and we need to respect them.  But if it tells us to not to listen to God’s words then we have to remember that God’s word has more authority.  Even if that means it can get us into trouble we need to take a stand.

Daniel in the OT disobeyed the government when the king Darius told everyone that prayer to anything but him was a crime.  Daniel stood his ground and prayed to God anyway.  The ones who were in charge of making that law saw Daniel do it and told the king.  The king because he signed the law had to do something to Daniel in the form of punishment so he threw him into the lion’s den.  But Daniel trusted in the Lord and was saved.  The point here is that Godly values are higher than man’s values.  So what happens when man starts to think he knows more than God?  The men who thought they could overrule God were then thrown into the pit and eaten.

Before Israel moved into the Promised Land they were told not to worship false idols and false Gods that all of the people living there were doing.  It is even one of the Ten Commandments.  But when they got there they started to adopt the practices of the nations they had just got done defeating in battle.  One of the biggest things they started to do was use as a worship object something called the Asherah Pole. 

Asherah was a Sumerian goddess.  She was supposed to be the wife of God, his equal.  She was worshipped as one who had excellence and was powerful over the seas.  Now of course God has no equal.  By the way satan was supposed to be full of excellence and John’s vision in Revelation says he saw a creature coming out of the sea.  Anyway, this was a mythological creature created by the early Sumerians who did not follow the Jewish God called Yahweh or Jehovah. 

Asherah worshiping is mentioned over 30 times in the Bible.  The problem is the Jewish people did not get rid of this worship idol and even built poles in honor of her and each time God burned with anger against His own people.  He told them to tear down these poles.  Some kings did not do what they were supposed to do and neither did the people.  God then handed over the Israelites to certain nations.

When kings like Josiah tore down Asherah poles then Israel was seen a righteous and God returned to them.

Now I am not telling you to go mosques, Buddhist temples here in the US and tear them down.  This story is for us to understand that we are not to tolerate sin or things that lead us into sin.  We don’t have Asherah poles but we do have things that we have tolerated in this country too long.  We are not supposed to let “asherah poles” into our lives.  We are supposed to stand up against it and sometimes that means politics.  So how?

The most talked about topics in the Christian world are: Abortion, sexual impurity, and family values.

The Bible is very open and strict about these two subjects.  It says that God knows us in the womb.  He knows us because he made us; which means we have personality, a heartbeat and a life even before we can see the world.  There are many passages about sexual purity and how the family works.  I won’t bore you with the rest.  These aren’t the only three things that we need to deal with but they are important.

This is not to tell you which person people should vote for because there are over 75 candidates that are running for president.   Every individual has to make up their own mind.  But God is supposed to be part of our laws and moral standards whether people want to admit it or not.  And having people in the government allowing the “asherah poles” into our society is wrong.  God cannot be placed side by side with “asherah poles”.

However with that said, one political party argued about God this year and many of them in that political party were angered when the word “God” was put back into their ideas.  When we as Christians allow our leaders to kick God out and to act like He doesn’t matter, then shame on us and we get what we deserve.

·    Proverbs 29:2--- When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; but when the wicked rule, the people groan

God doesn’t care about your political party.  Abortion and things like that are wrong but there is a bigger problem in this country and that is disobedience of God’s word.  Abortion, and all that, are only a symptoms of falling away from God.  The Church for some reason isn’t teaching that anymore.  Christians have to take a stand like Daniel.  The Church needs to make a stand.

Because God said in…

·    II Chronicles 7:14---if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sins and heal their land.

Remember an organization is only as strong as its leader.  The Church needs to be a leader.  And if we are weak then so is our country. 

He may not care about your politics but he does care about what you stand for.  We have to stand for Godly values because in the end He is in control.  He gave us guidelines to live by.  He is the ultimate authority.

And no matter who wins on Tuesday we need to pray for our leaders.

·    1Timothy 2:1-4 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving be made for all men, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life, godly and respectful in every way.

LXXXIV. The Dreaded Slippery Slope

Coming up on the election season (October through election day) we will without a doubt see all kinds of commercials that will try and persuade our thinking about the opposing candidate.  This is called propaganda, an action usually saved for dictatorial leaders who by any other means can not get elected legally or morally.  There is one type of propaganda that is probably used more than the rest and that is called Slippery Slope.  Slippery Slope: A tricky precarious situation, especially one that leads gradually but ultimately to disaster.  Such as:  If this one candidate gets elected grandma may be thrown over a cliff.  Although most slippery slopes are used only to put fear into the other side of the argument many slopes are real and need to be taken seriously.  If one uses drugs one may get addicted.  Slippery?  Yes.  Slope?  Yes.  Real?  Yes.  If one goes outside in the cold one may get pneumonia.  If one plays with fire, one may get burned.  Other slopes come in catch phrases and cliches.  Give an inch...take a mile.  This is a big one since it rings true with people's values and what they want.  If we give into certain things how much more will we want something else?  What a slippery real slope!

With all that said there are two main sets of values, liberal and conservative.  Sure there may be an in between person as a whole but that person will tend to be one way or another depending on the topic.  If one is completely in the middle on everything then that person just doesn't care about anything and that person will get nowhere in life.  Another slippery, but real slope.  Being a Christian though shouldn't we have a certain set of values that do not waiver?  Shouldn't we have a set of values that do not allow slippery slopes?  Last month's poll:  Which set of values is closer to what a Christian should have?  Here are the results.

• 47% said, Conservative
• 4% said, Liberal
• 38% said, They are equally important
• 9% said, Neither, no one should be limited in their values

The comment section of http://ideasoftim.blogspot.com/2008/08/7-liberalisms-failures.html explains what a typical conservative view is:

1. Sanctity of Life- stopping the act of abortion
2. Morality System- based on Judeo-Christian values
3. Preserving the Constitution- the original ideas, not the reinterpretation of it
4. Strong Military
5. Family Oriented- Nuclear family traditions
6. Market System
7. Low Taxes
8. Small government
9. Preserving American way of life.
10. Death Penalty- for heinous crimes

There are other issues of course. There will be variants of agreements. But if one disagrees with most of the above or thinks a clarification of or acceptions made to the above are needed then a conservative they will not be.

 

Over the years these values have been slipping down that slope and have been losing their value in American way of life.  And then we wonder why on www.realclearpolitics.com that about 66% of us think we are headed in the wrong direction.  Stop the slope.  Bring the true conservatism back.  Some will of course say that if we did that then we will have digressed thirty years and will have lost all kinds of progress made with civil rights movements.  This did not say bring the conservatives back, it says conservatism.  Follow this slippery slope.

 

Radio:  1920's  music and books and plays acted over the air waves, all family-oriented

Radio:  1960's music about drug use and promiscuous sex on air all the time but at least disguised

Radio:  1990's Howard Stern...

 

TV:  1950's family-oriented, I Love Lucy didn't even show them in same bed.

TV:  1970's family-oriented, Mike and Carol in the same bed after extending family

TV:  1990's NYPD Blue, first nudity shown on air

TV:  2010's  Jersey Shore (joke), On Demand, Pay per view

 

Movies:  1950's no rating system

Movies:  1970's G, PG, R

Movies:  1990's G, PG, PG-13, NC-17, R

 

We could go on and on about topics where the slippery slope actually was real.  So to say that the slippery slope is just a scare tactic and only extremists want these changes is inaccurate.  It happens.  Religions will hold less value soon.  Marriage is already being changed.  Taxes are being used for the wrong problems.  Abortion is being more widely accepted.  There is no more shock value because we are becoming used to it and immune to the slope.  Liberal values are that slippery slope.  They just keep sliding and opening what they think are opportunities and freedoms, but what they lead to is law suits and chaos.  Liberal values are not needed for liberalism has no set standards.  Maybe having a few liberal ideas are okay to have (but no one has shown any yet) but Christians need conservative values and need to vote for them.

Obama is not that vote.

LV. Political Activists

The two things they say you are not supposed to discuss with friends and family are religion and politics.  But this thought (and site) brings them together into one.  Here are the results to last month's poll:  Should Churches be politically active?

• (27%)  No. Because our battle is not with flesh and blood.  This is the most important thing to remember.  No matter what happens in this world the most powerful force is to go to God with any and every issue.  But God does not say that this is where it should stop.  Many Christians wimp out by saying the above.  Actually in all reality those who answer this are probably Christians who have a hard time dealing with the fact that there thoughts do not coincide with Biblical views.  It is their way of reconciling their own thoughts with their spiritual life.  Hint:  it doesn't always work, nor is it always correct. 
• (27%)  Yes. But only on certain issues.  This is probably the best non-biblical answer.  See next answer for explanation.
• (22%)  Yes. No matter what.  Perhaps this one needs to be looked at a little more.  Some issues that do not deal with any spirituality are not needed to be endorsed or opposed by the Church, such as gun control.  This is not an issue that deals with the Church so why get involved as an organization?  Abortion?  Yes.  Marriage laws?  Yes.  Taxes?  Sometimes.  Freedoms of individual liberties?  Sometimes.  Religious freedom?  Definitely.  Candidates?  Yes.  Judges and certain laws?  Yes.
• (18%)  No. Because it would violate "separation of church and state".  This one is controversial because no matter what you say someone always misinterprets the issue and the amendment to the Constitution.  See http://ideasoftim.blogspot.com/2010/08/67-life-liberty-and-pursuit-of.html and the see the comment section as well.
• (4%)  No. Because then they would have to pay taxes.  This has to be the answer that people picked because they are trying to be sarcastic or are angry with the Church.  Churches should not have to worry about paying taxes.  Even Jesus said that we need to pay Caesar what belongs to Caesar.  They are a non-profit organization and should be treated like any other non-profit organization.  But since when does profit making constitute if you can be political or not? Private homes are non-profit (most of them).  Are they not allowed to be political?  Boy Scouts, YMCA, Salvation Army, and other organizations should be allowed to be political.  The old saying goes that if you don't like something you don't have to do it.  If these groups become political then you do not have to support it.

The Church whether people like it or not has been, is, and always will be a force to be reckoned with when it comes to politics.  Those who are Christian need to embrace this fact.  Not to abuse the power of the Church such as what was done by the Catholic Church during the age of feudalism, and not to force others into becoming all conformed like the practice of russification by Czar Nicolas I of Russia but to be the driving force of the culture so that the country can return to God and a higher morality system.

XXXVIII. Obama Nation, Part II

The following is of course a play on words from "Abomination" of desolation, which is a term the Bible uses to describe the ultimate evil.

Before you go on please reread the following post from October, 2008

http://ideasoftimreligion.blogspot.com/2008/10/xv-obama-nation.html

The man who sets himself up as God and desecrates the temple is supposed to be a man of peace. What man is more about peace than the man who wins the peace prize? Hmm????? If the first posting is anywhere accurate then what we are looking at is the opening of the seals. He is supposed to be a man who promises peace yet decieves the world with his lies. And apparently the world has been decieved by him. A man who has done nothing but "campaign" for his own benefit is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Did he get rid of nuclear weapons? Did he solve the Mid-East problem? Did he end any wars? Did he get 50 million people the right to vote? Did he keep our current allies happy by maintaining their security, i.e.; Poland? Did he solve the world economic problem? Heck, has he fixed anything in his own country yet? All of the answers to the questions above is "NO!". This is the same man who campaigned on the promise that he would withdraw our troops from Iraq the same day he would take office and has failed to do so. Which smart Americans knew was a promise that could not and should not be kept. Only stupid Amerikans were duped by that one. This is the same man who right now has no exit strategy for Afghanistan. The same man who criticized President Bush for not having one, is now sitting on his hind end not listening to military leaders about needs to be done (troop surge) and is allowing more and more military to die without cause. And this is the man who gets a peace prize. By the way, no one who has been in leadership of any country should be awarded any kind of distinction of this caliber in only 9 months of work. This is not a political ideolgical argument. This is a common sense fact. But the world has been duped by this man. If those who awarded him this prized did so on account of his dreams and speeches on peace then the world should get a peace prize as well. No one wakes up and says "I sure hope we have war today, it's too peaceful". We all want peace. We all want a better world. Just because one "hopes" for it and promises "change" does not make him the one we all should bow down to. Can any one answer: What has the man accomplished?

In the first posting is a list of a small timeline of events that may happen with Anti-Christ.

• a leader who rises up and becomes a world leader
• miracle performer
• will deceive the world
• will get rid of religion so he can be worshiped
• will have a false prophet go before him
• will come back from a fatal head wound
• pretends to be a man of peace and prosperity
• rules for 7 years, 3 1/2 of peace, 3 1/2 of war

Well, when the first posting was written only one of these steps were fulfilled. If he won the peace prize for nothing then he has done three of these steps. In less than a year he is on his way. Watch out Isra'el. Could Joe Biden be the false prophet? He might as well be. He's been a false lawmaker for decades. And he's not good at anything else, so why not?

XXXVII. Go out into All the World

One of the biggest commandments we are given in the NT is found in Matthew 28:19-20. Most people would know these verses as the Great Commission. Now Jesus said that the two Commandments that are most important are Love God and your neighbor, which are summaries of the Ten Commandments found in the OT. But how do we show love for our neighbor? Sure, don't lie about them, don't covet what they have, don't murder them or steal from them. But what is the greatest thing you can do for them? Show them Christ. How? The following is a result from the latest poll, "How Should We Witness?""

• 71% said our lifestyles should be an example
• 65% said in everything we do should be a witness
• 60% said through charity
• 40% said through sermons and church
• 37% said something else besides the choices
• 31% said by mail
• 28% said through politics
• 17% said through church activities only
• 14% said door to door
• 2% said we shouldn't try and leave them alone

This was actually quite sad to see these results. At least 4 of the choices should have been 100% with maybe even one more. If you are a Christian, you are called to live a life that is an example. Be holy for He is holy, 1 Peter 1:16. If your life is not an example of what Christ called you to be then you are NOT witnessing. You are destroying. This goes for choice #2 as well. In everything you are to be witnesses. This goes beyond just your reputation. This is about your character. The difference is this: Your reputation is about what people think about you when they are around you. Your character is what you do even when they are not around. Are you still the same person? In everything be a witness. If you can't witness to yourself how are you supposed to witness for Him? Of course we will all fall short. We will all sin and not be perfect but that doesn't mean we have the freedom to not care and not try. We are called to give to charity. We are supposed to be good stewards of our money and one of those ways is to care for others. This is different than being forced into charity. We are supposed to give with a cheerful heart out of our own discord. Only 40% said be witnesses through sermons. Yet, most of the church today is focused on seekers. How can you focus on those who are wanting to know more about Christ if you do not have a sermon that tells about Christ? Now church is more than just the sermon and the sermon should have something in it that makes even the mature Christian think and want more. But too many sermons and programs deal with "40 days of purpose" and "how to be a better person". If you teach about Christ these points will be hit anyway. Why have a six week program called "if you only had 30 days to live"? Last time this was checked, 30 days is shorter than six weeks. Teach Christ and the rest will follow. These are the ones that should have been 100%. Ashamed.

Mail, politics, and door to door. Three things that probably bug people to either see or talk about or have happen to them. But are they witnessing tools? Yes! However, if you get something in the mail that does not spark your interest or seems like it is just junk mail, do you actually read it or throw it away in the nearest recycle bin? Exactly. Are churches spending way too much money on mailing and advertisement through the mail? Perhaps not because a life is worth it, but maybe create something more readable and interesting to the public. People can't stand politics in discussion and many think it should not be used with religious ideas. But we are also called to a royal priesthood and a holy nation. Now this is not exactly what this verse means but it still can be used as an example. We are a "nation", a universal nation of believers. We need to take a stand against the ideologies that take a stand against Godly values. We need to be active and vote for those who lift up Christian morals as well as a sound policy, not just for those who give empty promises of change and economic prosperity. What is wrong with door to door evangelism? People are always going door to door trying to sell things such as window replacement, newspaper circulation, lawn care and stuff. They have a product they believe in and want to show people. What happened to this idea in witnessing? We are too complacent in our own homes and think all of that should happen in the church. If we can't get them into church then that idea will not work.

Who knows what the 37% of other would be so if you have an idea let all of us know. And the 2% who said leave them alone are probably my friends who do not believe in God yet still go to all of the Christian blogs and websites to argue their case. Which actually is a good thing because maybe we are all they have which is another reason why we have to be a good witness.

XXXIII. What are we up against?

Do you know what you are up against in this world? First of all, 2000 years ago Jesus said that the world will hate you because of Him. Two thousand years have passed and His words ring true.

If you are a Christian, you are hated!

If you talk about God in public, it has to be a generic god. It can be a supreme being. It can be an intelligent designer. It can even be a creator in a sense. You can mention Mohammed. You can give facts about Buddha. You can quote Confucius. But mention Christ and you are an idiot.

You can become a Muslim terrorist and you are separated from other Muslims. But if an abortion clinic bomber happens to be "Christian" then all of a sudden we are thrown into the same bunch as that one person.

You can be a liberal and you are considered passionate. You can be a moderate and you are considered mainstreamed. You can be a conservative and just be considered old. But if you are a Christian conservative then you are a right-winged fanatic.

You can teach science and you are allowed to because you are helping someone learn fact. You can teach language arts to help develop some one's speaking abilities. You can teach history because you are using the past to explain the present and future. You can teach all of these because you are teaching someone how to better themselves. But if you use this education to teach about Christ then you are "preaching" and forcing it down other's throats.

You can send someone to a psychologist because they need help with their mind. You can send someone to a physical therapist because they need help with their body. You can send someone to see a psychiatrist because they help with their feelings. But you can not send someone to see a minister, even though they need spiritual help (and they usually need spiritual help first) because apparently God doesn't intervene or the problem is with our surroundings and has nothing to do with spirituality.

Have you ever tried to surf the net for blogs and/or discussion groups? The following is not an endorsement: but there are mock presidential election sites that let you run for president by allowing you to develop your own platform, debate, and run against others. Blog sites are filled with angry people who are missing life. Many are those who have become atheists in their walks of life. If you take time to read some of these people's ideas, you would realize how sick of a human race we have become. You would learn how distorted true relationships with the eternal God are. You would see hatred come across in so many ways and you feel so alone with your thoughts because once someone finds out that you are a Christian, you become a target for their hostilities.

Stand strong. Keep your faith. Learn what you can and do not become content with where you are. Be passionate and show compassion. Be encouraged and be encouraging. Live to learn. Love to live. Learn to love. Because you may not know what you are up against.

XXV. The Christian Politician

Can you mix religion and politics?  Yes.  Should a Christian really worry about the political world if they have the promise of being taken care of by the Father?  Yes.  God does not want apathic workers.  Here are some clarifications of Christians and politics:

1. Politics, although nowhere near the top priority of a Christian, should still not be neglected.
2. Although God is not a democrat or republican there is still a better choice when it comes to upholding Christian values.
   a. Voting for a candidate that stands for non-Christian values is not proper for a Christian
   b. There is no valid rationalization behind the thinking process of voting for a person standing for non-Christian values. It is still improper. Voting for Obama was wrong. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090123/ap_on_go_pr_wh/obama_abortion_ban
   c. Not voting is inaction and we are always called to action and thereby not the proper thing to do.
   d. The economy does not match morals. Voting due to the economy is okay when all things are constant, but not okay when values such as homosexuality, abortion and civil rights are on the list.
3. Setting high moral standards is a duty of Christians and politics can be used in that manner.
   a. "Forcing" people into our values is better than having them force theirs upon us!
   b. Yes, although moral standards have to be changed at the source before anything really happens, but having laws helping with that tasks is better.
4. High-moral leaders have always set the standard for countries, very biblical.
5. No matter who the leaders is, hopefully everyone prays that they make wise and moral decisions.
6. The US may not be God's gift to the world but it is by far the closest than any other in history.
7. The founding fathers may not have had complete Christian values set for this country but they by far closer than what we have today.

This should help all to understand and no one should put politics above faith.

XXIII. Why Church Anyway?

This is the result of last month's poll.

• 100% Church is for worship
• 100% Church is for learning
• 66% Church is a place to get re-energized spiritually
• 25% Church is a place to get saved
• 25% Church has some other reason as well
• 8% Church is a place to get financial help

It was good to see that not many said the Church was a place to get financial help. This idea has beaten the Church to a pulp. Need a place to stay? Go to the Church. Need food on your table? Go to the Church. Need bills to be paid? Go to the Church. Need morals to go out into the world? Nah...keep them in the Church. To say that the Church is a financial institution like a bank is to abuse what the Church is. Now that is not to say that the Church is not to go out and help financially. Because the Church is called to do that and it should help financially whenever they can. But the Church should not be a place where people should take advantage of others which is what happens in today's world. The Church should be out in the world helping others anyway before they have to come to the Church for help.

What is the 25% that said it is for other uses? What are those uses? Help if any has an answer.

It is a place to get spiritually energized. This should have been 100%, not just 66%. No one goes to church to get depressed. People go to get uplifted. People go to help others, which can energize you. People go because they are hurting and need someone to help them. Sometimes worship is not on the mind of some when they walk into the doors. Hopefully by the time they leave it will be because they have been re-energized. Worship teams...remember that! You have been given a huge load of burden.

Two things are for sure. Church is a place of worship and learning. The building, although not the Temple itself, is a place where people can come together and worship Christ. It is also a place to learn about Christ and His life, His love and mercy, His desires for us and His commands. It's not the only place but it is one of them. Why was the original "temple" built? It was so man, who although should be a spiritual being, could worship in a physical capacity. It was a place where man could meet with God. God did not need the building, man did. A true church will have so much geared towards these two things that people will be begging for more because it will light the Spirit's fire within them.

Notice the last piece here. Only 25% said it was a place to get saved. Here's a hint: IT'S NOT! The Church was built for believers. The church building was built for believers as well, as a place to go to again to meet WITH God, not to MEET God. Can it happen there? Yes. Sure. Was it made for that reason? No. Sidebar: This is one reason why scripture says that speaking in tongues when done around non-believers should not really be done. They will not understand it. It will be out of their element. It edifies the believer as a believer. Edify means to instruct.

Too many times churches become "seeker" churches. They focus on the non-believer during the service and only them. The church is not for the non-believer. It is no THEE place to get saved. The real saving comes when the Church goes out its doors and spreads the Word. This is not to say that some programs or sermons or lessons or anything of the sort can not be geared towards those of little or no faith, but there definitely needs to be something for those who are there for pure worship and learning deeper stuff.

XVIII. God is in Control

Now that Barack Obama is the president-elect what do we do? Do we panic as Christians? Do we take action? Or do we simply let things be? Why did Barack Obama get elected and what do we do about it since, he is a man who is part of a political movement that allows abortions to go unchecked and opening the door for homosexual marriages and we should not endorse such an action? The first thing we need to remember is God is in control. God puts authority into government positions. The following are some points about the election, response to the election and what the Bible says about such things.

1. Throughout the Bible God has allowed certain leaders to rise up and lead. If they were lousy or unGodly leaders then the Bible is pretty clear on why it happens. One reason is that God allowed it to happen because we deserve it. We have become apathetic in our faith and actions. Or two God did it to make His people become aware of the problems and make us more active. We see this time and time again. The Israelites went into captivity in Egypt. God heard their plea and they were delivered. Did they stay faithful? No. So God allowed the Philistines to enslave them time and time again. Each time a Godly leader would rise up and bring them back out of captivity. Were they satisfied with Godly ways? No. So God allowed Nebuchadnezzar to enslave the Israelites for 70 years. But due to the faithfulness of Daniel, Zerubbabel, Ezekiel, Jeremiah and the like He heard their cries and rescued them again.
2. We need to listen to man's laws. But some laws are not based on commission (action) but omission (inaction). When our government allows things to happen, it doesn't mean we have to practice the same detestable things. But when the government stops us from being Godly then we have the right and obligation to correct them and not listen to their laws. Either way we need to pray for our government to make wise decisions so the wrath of God does not effect us.
3. Barack Obama was elected because Christians became apathetic! We have let the laws walk all over us without doing anything about it. This however was not omission but commission. When they take Christmas away that is an action. When they allow homosexual marriages to be part of our culture that is omission. But when they say we are not allowed to say anything about it then it is commission and we have to make a stand. Allowing abortion to go on is omission. But when they say we have to pay taxes for it then it is commission and we have to take a stand against it. But 30% of Christians voted for a man who allows the commission to go on. Go back to point #1- we deserve what we get.
4. Do not put your faith in any president. The Bible warns us not to put faith in any man. No matter what the promises are. Promises are words. Principles are action and that is what we should vote on.
5. The Church allowed the man to be elected because we have become part of the culture. You can't tell the difference between the Church and the Culture anymore. 2 Timothy chapter 3 says that in the end times people will be lovers of their own selves, boasters, unGodly, disobedient, lovers of money, to say the least. Most would think Paul was talking about the world. But this is the Church as well. Shame on us! We have let the culture drive us when we should be the drivers of the culture. We let it into the pews and there are no more barriers. It is like when the Israelites put up the Asherah Poles. We say we are Godly but then walk around the poles as well. Uhhh, the poles are destestable!
6. Each church should take one person either in government or an influential person to pray for.
7. God is not GOP or DEM. But He still has principles for us to abide by. Supporting a side that says these are not problems is a PROBLEM!

Pray for the country. Pray for our leaders. Pray for those who will fall by the way side listening to lies. Pray for the morality of this country to return.

XVI. Final Election Thoughts

From a distant friend:

Hello Tim. This 'Obama' thing has me confused. Unless the polls are being manipulated, nothing that matters, MATTERS. I keep scratching my head, thinking that God is surely going to place the right people before us.

...I find it incredible, but I fear MONEY has become the 'moral code of ethics' for a large number of Americans. Whether or not Obama can 'deliver the bucks' he has made the promise to 'fill your pockets' for the lazy and sleazy of our nation.

...I'm gritting my teeth. I'm going to the 'private' booth to vote my conscience. I'm praying for some of my own church members to 'get a conscience' in their voting practices.And I'm asking God to help me 'cope' with an America I never imagined.

It is confusing, my friend. Many who claim to be Christian will vote for a man who does not stand up for Christians values like he should. And they will claim that God is neither DEM or GOP so they can vote with a clear conscience. This is a horrible rationalization. They say since it is not them who are doing the abortions or marrying of homosexual couples then it's not their fault it happens. Well, Jesus said if you are not for me then you are against me. If you support someone who supports these actions then you are guilty by association.

I don't care about politicians being black, white, purple. I don't care if they are male or female. I don't care if they are 35 or 75. Short or tall. Urban or rural. What I care about is their stance on how to solve the morality and the sliding of American values.

We are in a war. Yes, it was a Republican president who "finalized" the deal. But, we are in it now. We have to succeed. If we acted on the first couple of terrorists attacks back in the 90's we wouldn't be in this mess.

We never found WMD's. But we removed a dictator forever. They say we were lied to so we would go to war, but that means we were lied to by our whole government! Not just one man.

We have an economic crisis. Yes, a Republican president is in the White House during this time but it didn't start in October, or 2008, or the 21st Century even. No one seems to understand that. No one knows their history. We have had thousands of jobs lost since 2001. But many were lost forever due to 9-11. Many were only short termed jobs created in the 1990's that were expiring due to policies of a former president.

Gas prices were high. But we got through it. And now they are on the low side.

The only thing that bothers me about the last eight years is that we have gotten worse in our morality. And that is our own fault. We let it all happen. And now we want to blame the Republicans for all the mess that has happened. We fell asleep. And come Wednesday morning our lives will change. We will have elected the most liberal person of all time as a leader into the most important position in the world.

Confusing? No, Condemning! We have condemned ourselves. America as a nation might be lost. Search your history. When change occurs to this multitude, countries fall. Democrats promise change and never have fulfilled that promise. This man might. Maybe the Reverend Wright was right. Maybe God is damning us. Maybe He is allowing this man to become our leader due to our apathy.

Good luck my friends. Hope we make it.

BTW, this will be the only time I personalize my message as a post.

Tim

XV. Obama Nation

Could he or couldn't he be? Is he or is he not? Many Christians are starting to think it but not many are saying it. Is this the Man of Lawlessness? Is he the one who the Bible warns us about? Could he be the one who leads the nations astray with the lie? Is the he the one who causes the abomination of desolation?

Hmmm...abomination...obamanation. Coincidence? Of course, this is because it is just a play on words.  So remember this when you read this post.

But...

The Bible says or at least hints at:

• a leader who rises up and becomes a world leader
• miracle performer
• will deceive the world
• will get rid of religion so he can be worshiped
• will have a false prophet go before him
• will come back from a fatal head wound
• pretends to be a man of peace and prosperity
• rules for 7 years, 3 1/2 of peace, 3 1/2 of war

The Bible also tells us signs of the time

• wars and rumors of wars
• earth will go through pangs
• people will be lovers of their own selves
• people will be disobedient
• people will listen to lies and not the truth
• economic prosperity then economic hardships

Back to the point.

Do we have wars and rumors of wars? Uh...Iraq, Iran (Babylon and Persia). Do we have a weird changing of the seasons? Uh...global warming. Is the earth going through pangs? Uh...earthquakes, more hurricanes. Are people loving their own selves? Uh...yeah... Are they disobedient? Uh...duh... Are they listening to lies? Hello...LA Times, CNN, Michael Moore. Do we have economic troubles? Wake up America!

But that doesn't mean Barack Obama is the anti-Christ.

Is he a leader who rises up? Community Organizer, State Senator, US Senator, President? Check. Is he a miracle performer? None so far. Is he a deceiver? Well, he is leading people into believing his plan of socialism will work. He is leading people into believing he is a Christian. Has he gotten rid of religion? He has denounced his church. Does he have a false prophet? Biden-Vice President. Has he come back from a head wound? No. Is he a man of peace? Says he is. 100,000 Germans believe so. Liberals believe so. Is he a man of prosperity? Hollywood says so. Liberals say so. Will he rule for 7 years? Well, presidents can go 8.

Obamanation? Maybe not but boy is he close. People have flocked to him like he is the savior. Actor George Clooney said that when he met him he just wanted to follow him around and listen to him. Halle Berry claims she would lay down palm branches in front of him everywhere he went. People follow him and almost worship him because he says he is a man of change, a man of peace and a man to get our economy going again. Go to Youtube and you will see the craze that is over taking the world with him.

Predictions? If these all happen then you might want to start walking on your knees. Obama becomes president, which will happen. Obama has already denounced his church. He will then try to embrace other religions as a sign of peace such as bringing Christians and Muslims together. Biden will go out before him claiming how great the man is. He will go to other nations to try and put an end to world problems. He said he would meet with leaders by himself to talk about peaceful endings. In March, 2009 Israel will attack Iran because the US will have not done anything to subside the havoc Iran is threatening to do. In June Obama will go to the Middle East where he will have a peace summit and talk about a new peace treaty that he himself has negotiated. It will be signed on June 6. It will be backed by Russia. Peace will seem right around the corner. It will be "iffy" for a couple of years. In March/April (Easter time) 2012, right before he starts campaigning for his second term he will be assassinated, but comes back to life more powerful than ever. This time all religions will be forced into worshiping him. This will end the 3 1/2 years of peace. He will turn his attentions to those who now follow Christ. He will be re-elected by lies since the Christian vote will be dwindled. He will become THE world leader and have war for the other 3 1/2 years. But, Christ will return and the rest is history...or the future.

Now of course many of this probably will not happen but just in case it does, remember where you heard it first.  Just a prediction, not truth.

???

XII. Election Thoughts

Saw this at http://www.str8heartphil.blogspot.com/ It is something to think about while you are at the polls.

Both presidential candidates have proclaimed this year’s Presidential Election as a time of change! As Christians we need to participate in this atmosphere of change and vote for candidates that agree with what we believe is right, with what the Bible says, and what our Lord God Almighty says is right. Let’s look what God has to say about four issues of this election in which we can choose to change America.

1. Abortion. Psalm 139: 13 & 14—You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
Not only does God orchestrate life, He respects it. Can we afford not to respect life? Do we continue to abort babies God is knitting together at the rate of 4000 a day, minds that would create new knowledge, consumers, workers, and taxpayers?

2. Homosexuality. Leviticus 18:22—Do not practice homosexuality, having sex with another man as with a woman. It is a detestable sin.
Our country is dangerously coming close to accepting and legalizing homosexual marriages. The economic and moral consequences will be great if we legitimize this sin caused by a lack of self-control. The only choice of lifestyle God encourages is for us to choose the kingdom lifestyle, the Christian lifestyle.

3. Family Values. Hebrews 13:4—Give honor to marriage, and remain faithful to one another in marriage. God will surely judge people who are immoral and those who commit adultery.
We cannot choose to allow our society to crumble any further. Let’s choose to keep the family operating under God’s values and not the "whatever feels good" humanistic values.

4. Economics. 2 Chronicles 7:14—Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.
As a nation that claims to be under God, we need to humble ourselves, pray, turn from our sins of abortions, homosexuality, and lack of family values—then God will heal our economics.

These are the important issues of change this election year. These changes will affect our nation in terms of economics, morality, and our quality of life. These issues transcend party loyalties, personalities, and ideologies.

My prayer is that Christians will band together for change in America so that God’s principles will prevail over politics and our values will prevail over the promise of a quick extra few bucks.

May God bless you and our great nation,

Phil

Phil has some good points. And what it all comes down to is: Vote for the candidate who best mirrors the image of Christ and not for what may be popular. These scriptures are promises for those who trust in ADONAI. Thank you, Phil.

VIII. Christian Democrats?

Can you be a Christian and a Democrat? Well you have to weigh the evidence yourself. If you go to the Democratic Party website and start reading their platform, you can easily say yes you can. But platforms are sometimes disguises.

Two of the planks are called Advancing Democracy, Development, and Respect for Human Rights and Renewing the American Community. These on the surface sound like the right things to do, and they would be the right things to do. However, under the surface one human right that they forget is the natural right of LIFE. A baby even in the womb has life yet they do not recognize it. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who claims to practice Catholicism, can not even admit that the Catholic faith recognizes the child from conception. She made up a lie that says the Catholic Church hasn't made a decision about when life starts. The Catholic Church is now up in arms over this comment by her and states the official comment on life is that it begins at conception and has said so for 2000 years. Go RCC!!!!! http://www.catholic.org/politics/story.php?id=29033.  A direct quote from the platform says: "The Democratic Party strongly and unequivocally supports Roe v. Wade and a woman's right to choose a safe and legal abortion, regardless of ability to pay, and we oppose any and all efforts to weaken or undermine that right,". If there is a democrat who says otherwise then they are out casted.

A question they do not ask themselves is who deserves these rights? The correct answer should be: every living soul. Yet, if there is a dictator who is killing people by the masses, they will be the ones who refuse to help them out. Bosnia...nothing, Rwanda...nothing, Iraq...nothing.

They claim to be a party for the people. On the surface, this is a fantastic idea. Yet, when it comes to pick their choice as leader, they feel they do not have to listen to their constituency. They have something called "Super Delegates" that are not bound by any accountability. If Hillary Clinton would have won the most delegates during the primaries, these 823 special people (25% of total count) can basically overrule them. This is called cheating the people.

They believe in stem cells being used as a form of medicine. This may start out as fine but there are those who want to start to clone, seriously! This is where it becomes morally and ethically wrong. God is the only one who can create life. He puts the souls into mankind. If we grow people then we become God-like. This has had disastrous results when men have tried these things in the past.

Their platform claims that they want to have faith based programs. But in reality they have joined with groups that try and destroy the Christian faith, i.e. the ACLU. They do not admit this. But there are too many overwhelming facts that say the opposite. Taking the 10 Commandments out of every public building. First of all, the 1st Amendment doesn't even mention separation of Church and State. And the part they claim it does say it, it is talking about government places not public places. Taking "Under God" out of the pledge, taking "In God We Trust" off the money. Taking away prayers in school, bible readings from all public arenas. This is the hidden agenda of the DNC, hence Barak Obama and Joe Biden.

They want to destroy traditional values of the family.  They support homosexually active people and want to change the definition of marriage. This is one of the first commands given by God.

You can try to be a democrat and uphold a Christian lifestyle, but it may be too difficult in reality. Do not kid yourself. Do not try and rationalize it. You will lead yourself right into a lie.

Can you be a Christian and a Democrat? Not really. But you be the judge.

By the way, the Republican Party is not the saving grace either, but it's better than the alternative.