Tuesday, October 4, 2016

Your Vote Matters...Seeking Clarity in an Election Surrounded with Uncertainty

The Presidential election is quickly approaching and in case you haven’t noticed, I have been rather public when it comes to who I will NOT be voting for, but I have taken a quieter approach as to who I will be voting for on Tuesday, November 8th.  The reason for my actions are simple…I don’t like any of my options!  As a Christian woman, I find it very disheartening that of all the people in this great nation, we have to choose one of these three candidates (yes, we actually have three options) to lead our nation for the next four years!  I’ll save you from my rants on why I don’t care for any of our candidates, because that’s not what this blog post is about.  Instead, I’d like to share with you how I have finally come to a confident decision as to who I will be voting for on election day!  I pray that this post may bring clarity to any of you who find yourself struggling to cast your support for a candidate.

 Let me begin with this.  I am first and foremost a Bible believing follower of Jesus Christ.  It is this that drives my actions in life and who I support and vote for is no different.  Although I may be registered as a Republican, my political party does not determine who I vote for.  If I were honest, I have a hard time identifying with any one political party.  I come from a family who used to be registered democrats, however as that party’s values and platforms changed, they eventually changed their political party to Republican.  Although the Republican party still values conservative ideas, there are still many Republicans that I can no longer agree with or identify with because of their shift in platforms and beliefs.  That is why I try to be educated on each candidate before voting, regardless if it’s a local, state, or national election.  As a Christian, I try my best to vote for the candidate that supports and stands for those ideas that are closest to what the Bible says.

In Matthew 7:15-20, we are told we will know a man by his fruits.  Therefore, as believers, we shouldn’t accept a person’s words at face value.  God’s Word says we should instead look at the fruit they bear.  Politicians may be the absolute worst when it comes to saying whatever will get them elected, only to abandon their promises once in office.  That is why it’s imperative to take what they say with a grain of salt and instead look at what fruit they bear.  We do this by looking at what policies they have supported in the past.  Check how they voted on certain bills.  Look at their previous actions, listen to past speeches, pay close attention to how they respond under pressure and when under intense scrutiny, find out which charities and programs they support financially, and watch how they treat people, especially before they were campaigning.  You will find out a lot about a person’s character by examining their fruits.  This Biblical principle is exactly the reason why I have had an extremely difficult time casting my support for any of our candidates!  I think it’s a fair assessment based on their fruits to say that both of the front running candidates need Jesus!   

So how does a Bible-believing Christ follower make a decision to cast their vote for someone you personally don’t agree with or identify with?  Well, let me walk you through the process that I have personally gone through to get clarity on this question. 

First of all, PRAY!  As Christians, we should be in constant communication with our Heavenly Father.  God’s Word says we should pray for all of our needs.  As we pray and communicate our needs to God, we must also be willing to listen.  God’s primary way to communicate with us is through His written Word and by the Holy Spirit.  God’s Word says in James 1:5 that if anyone lacks wisdom, let him ask God, and He will give it to all men liberally.  Once the primary elections were over and it was apparent who our presidential candidates were going to be, I wasted no time to begin praying and asking God for wisdom and clarity where there may have been uncertainty.  I’m so thankful for God’s faithfulness to do what His Word says He will do.  He is so good.

Next, DIG INTO GOD’S WORD!  As a believer, I wanted to go directly to God’s Word and find out what His Word said about this election!  God communicates to all believers through His Word, which is all we need to equip us for our Christian life (2 Timothy 3:16).  As I began to search God’s Word on what it has to say about government, I was blown away with the number of scriptures that mentioned governing authorities.  There are too many to list in this one blog post, however, here are the ones that seemed to jump off the page and give clarity.  I encourage you to take some time to read all of the scriptures that mention “authority, govern, elect, kings, etc.” and allow God to speak to you.    Here’s a good start.

“Choose for your tribes wise, understanding, and experienced men, and I will appoint them as your heads.” Deuteronomy 1:13 

“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities.  For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.” Romans 13:1

“A wise man’s heart inclines him to the right, but a fool’s heart to the left.” Ecclesiastes 10:2

“But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, ‘Give us a king to judge us.’  And Samuel prayed to the Lord.  And the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they rejected me from being king over them.  According to all the deeds that they have done, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are also doing to you.  Now then, obey their voice; only you shall solemnly warn them and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.’ So Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking for a king from him.” 1 Samuel 8:6-22

“Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good.  For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.  Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.  Honor everyone.  Love the brotherhood.  Fear God.  Honor the emperor.”  1 Peter 2:13-17

“And they prayed and said, ‘You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.’  And they cast lots for them.”  Acts 1:24-26

After meditating on these scriptures and praying for wisdom and understanding for this election, here is what I have concluded.

First of all, God’s Word clearly supports us having governing authorities (Romans 13:1) and God’s Word gives us clear guidelines as to who to elect for these positions.  We should elect officials who are wise, understanding, experienced, and who bear good fruit (Deut. 1:13).  During the primaries, I was able to cast my vote confidently for a man that I felt upheld those Biblical characteristics.  However, the people voted and their voices were heard and it was apparent that they were looking for someone different.  They were looking for a much different kind of leader than I was.  So what do I do now?  Although, the circumstances were different in scripture, I believe God gave us clear instruction on what to do when the people make a choice for a leader that isn’t necessarily what we desired.  He tells us to “obey the voice of the people, but warn them” (1 Sam. 8:6-22).  So whether or not I agree with the people, I feel it’s my Biblical duty to obey the voice of the people and vote for one of the three final candidates.  Once I had clarity on the fact that sitting at home on election day was NOT an option based on God’s Word, I then began to pray for wisdom on WHO to vote for!  Ecclesiastes 10:2 pointed me in the right direction!  This scripture blew my mind!  I don’t know why, but I guess I have always thought that terms such as “the left” and “the right” were rather new political terms!  Little did I know that this was a term the Bible addressed and God’s Word is very CLEAR as to which side we as believers should stand for!  I came across this comparison chart below not long ago and found it helpful.  It's just a glance at some of the major platforms, but you can find a more extensive comparison here.


As you can see, each of the candidates have differing views on policies and tax plans.  However, as I go to the polls on election day, I will be choosing the candidate that sides closest with what the Bible says.  I will cast my vote for the candidate that is pro-life because the Bible is (Gen. 1:27, Gen 1:28, Psa. 127:3, Exo. 20:13 just to name a few).  I will cast my vote for the candidate that is pro-Israel because the Bible is (Psa. 122:6, Gen. 12:3, Isa. 60:12 just to name a few).  I will be casting my vote for the candidate that will allow me to live in religious freedom and not consider my sincere beliefs a crime.  I will cast my vote for the candidate that will nominate Supreme Court Justices whose “hearts are inclined to the right” and will affirm and protect the laws written in the Constitution rather than create new laws (Ecc. 10:2).  There are many important differences in each candidate’s policies and ones certainly worth looking closely at, however, I believe the Bible gives clear direction for believers on the views that we will be held accountable for.  It is for these reasons, I will be voting for Donald Trump in this 2016 Presidential election. 

We need to be praying for our candidates.  They need Jesus!  We need to pray that the candidates will have a teachable spirit and be willing to surround themselves with Godly men and women for wise counsel.  All it takes is for a small seed to be planted and with the help and nurturing of the Holy Spirit, hearts can and will be changed.  With God on our side, we can still be the greatest nation as “one nation under God”.  Do not sit this one out fellow believers.  Do not allow lies and name calling prevent you from casting a vote.  Look past the person and look at the issues, especially those addressed in God’s Word.  If we take a good look at God’s Word, I believe we all can confidently cast our vote on election day without any remorse or fear.  And then in four years, let’s do better!  Let’s get it right in the primaries and pick candidates that bear good fruit!!!  Can I get an “Amen”?!


Love to you all!  Blessings!

Wednesday, September 14, 2016

Back to the Basics

God is good.  The devil is bad.

It may seem like a fairly basic and cliché’ thing to say.  However, this is a key concept for us to grasp in our faith!  I purposely put a period after each of these statements.  God is good, period!  End of story!  The devil is bad, period!  End of story!  No ifs, ands, or buts about it!  Everything that comes from The Lord is good! 



Listen, life happens and bad things happen to all believers.  God prepares us for this in His Word. 

“In the world you will have troubles.  But take heart!  I have overcome the world.”  John 16:33

People get sick, loved ones die, people lose their jobs, and unexpected expenses leave us in a bind.  Kids rebel, marriages experience difficult times, people are mean, life is unfair!  There are many disappointments, things don’t go as planned, and often times we find ourselves battling the same thing over and over and over!  These are just a few examples of the “troubles” that God refers to in His Word.  When these troubles come, we shouldn’t be surprised.  We live in a fallen world where the enemy has come to kill, steal, and destroy us.  We know he’s coming after us, but Jesus tells us to take heart and be at peace, because He has overcome the world!  In other words, He’s saying, “Chill out!  Take a deep breath.  I have already worked this out and given you victory over this problem.  Just walk in obedience to My Word, let the Holy Spirit be your guide, and trust Me!”  Yet, despite His warnings, we somehow are knocked off our feet and we allow these troubles to distort our perception of God and somewhere along our journey, our formula gets distorted!

God = Good    -->     God = Mostly Good (but sometimes unfair and harsh)
Devil = Bad     -->     Devil = Still Bad

Our faith always starts out so strong when troubles come.  We pray, we read the Word, we believe, we stand firm!  Our faith sustains us!  However, as time goes on, we grow weary or oftentimes, we just don’t understand!  In an effort to make sense of life’s circumstances, we begin to question God’s nature.  When we don’t see the answers to our prayers right away or possibly don’t see the answer at all that we have desperately prayed for, we begin to accept the lies that the enemy is feeding us…all in an effort to make sense of what has happened in our lives or in the lives of others!  We begin to convince ourselves that this must all be in God's plan, God must need me to go through this so I can accomplish His will, or God needed to get my attention so He had to knock me off my feet.  Meanwhile, Satan is just giddy as he craftily schemes to deceive believers and cause them to question God’s goodness.  When we begin to question God’s goodness, we begin to worry and let guilt and fear reside in our heart and mind.  Hello…Fear paralyzes faith!  Satan knows when our faith is paralyzed, he has us right where he wants us because we are absolutely ineffective and get stuck in our troubles!

When Jesus died on the cross, He not only died for our sins, but His death redeemed us from the curse! 

“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.’”  Galatians 3:13

Have you ever taken the time to read the list of curses for disobedience under the old law?  Here is a short list according to Deuteronomy 28:15-67! 
-       You will be cursed everywhere you go. (vs. 16)
-       The means in which you gather wealth/blessings will be cursed! (vs. 17)
-       Your womb will be cursed. (vs. 18)
-       Your food will be cursed. (vs. 18)
-       You will be confused. (vs. 20)
-       You will fail at everything you try. (vs. 20)
-       You will be plagued with diseases, sickness, fever, and inflammation. (vs. 21-22)
-       You will die from sickness, disease, heat, and drought. (vs. 22)
-       You will be defeated before all of your enemies. (vs. 25)
-       You will be plagued with boils, tumors, sores, and the itch, all which cannot be cured. (vs. 27)
-       You will be afflicted with madness, blindness, and confusion. (vs. 28)
-       You will be oppressed and robbed, with no one to rescue you. (vs. 29)
-       Your wife will be taken and raped. (vs. 30)
-       You will lose your home, land, and food. (vs. 30)
-       Your children will be given away. (vs. 31)
-       You will hunger and thirst, be naked and in poverty. (vs. 48)
-       You will have prolonged disasters and severe and lingering illnesses. (vs. 59)
-       You will experience every kind of sickness and disaster not recorded. (vs. 61)
-       You will be given an anxious mind, eyes weary and longing, and a despairing heart. (vs. 65)
-       You will live in constant suspense, filled with dread both day and night. (vs. 66)

This isn’t even the full list of curses under the old law, but because of Jesus, WE HAVE BEEN REDEEMED FROM THEM ALL!!!  Praise the Lord!!!

Jesus became the curse for us when He hung there on the cross!  Listen, folks!  God sent His one and ONLY Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross because He LOVED us!!!  This past week, I was teaching a Bible lesson to my girls about the crucifixion of Jesus.  As I read the story to my girls and described to them what happened to Jesus on the cross, there came a moment where I could no longer continue.  I began to sob uncontrollably and both of my girls looked at me with concern.  My sweet Myka at one point even said, “It’s okay mom, you don’t have to keep reading.”  Bless her sweet heart, she hates to see people cry.  Once I composed myself enough to continue, I explained to them that these weren’t sad tears, but on the contrary, they were happy tears.  I explained to them that I was crying because this story reminds me of just HOW good our God is!  My mind can’t seem to comprehend why God would send His one and only Son to die a criminal’s death on the cross for MY sins...MY SINS!  But, even more, my mind can’t comprehend how Jesus chose to walk in obedience to His Father’s will when at any moment, He could have struck those men dead and healed Himself!  But Jesus…

Jesus loved and trusted His Father SO much that He obeyed, even though He didn’t understand. At one point, moments before His last breath, He cried out to His Father in Heaven, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”  Do you know why He felt forsaken by His Father?

For three hours, darkness filled the sky in the middle of the day and the ground shook.  During those three hours before Jesus died, all the things that you have done wrong and all the things that I have done wrong, all of our sins, were put on Jesus.  God the Father in Heaven looked at God the Son on Calvary’s cross and saw our sins on Him.  God the Father HATES sin; He cannot even look at sin; and He poured out His anger and wrath upon Jesus (His own son) for three hours.  Jesus took our eternal punishment for our sins when He was hanging there on the cross and He experienced hell's fury.  It was so horrible that I think God didn’t even want the people to see how horrible it was, so He draped the sky in blackness during those three hours.  During those three hours, he poured out his wrath on Jesus because of my sin and because of your sins.  Jesus became the curse that I deserved and that is what made him unrecognizable…not the beating, but the sin and curse that was put upon Him!  That's what my Jesus did for me!

I am redeemed of the curse because of my Jesus! 

Because of Jesus, I no longer have to suffer the curses of the old law!  When he took the curse upon Himself, He in essence took it from me!  So read back through that list of curses again.  Once you ask Jesus into your heart and repent of your sins, you have been delivered from all of it…sickness, disease, tumors, confusion, madness, oppression, poverty, failure, defeat, etc.!  That doesn’t mean Satan won’t still try to put it on you!  But it’s not ours to keep!  We have been redeemed of the curse!  It’s already been done and there is nothing you can do to change that, nor is there anything more that Jesus can do to change that!  He already redeemed us!  We just have to believe that and operate our lives as if it’s so...even when our circumstances appear to contradict that truth!  Don’t ever give the enemy the satisfaction of making our circumstances bigger than what Jesus did on the cross!  It’s covered by the blood of The Lamb!  Jesus took it upon Himself so that we didn’t have to!  Now, that’s reason to praise Him!

I want to encourage you today.  Whether you are battling an illness, have been given a bad report, are struggling with severe anxiety, having marital problems, or struggling financially…God is NOT trying to teach you a lesson!!!  Many of our troubles here on Earth are often brought on by our own foolishness, but more than not, our troubles are a direct attack from Satan himself!  God has nothing to do with it so stop giving God credit for Satan’s attacks! Remember…God is good!  He doesn’t need to use bad things to complete His work in us!  Now, oftentimes, when we face hard times, it has a way to draw us closer to God and get us back on track.  I believe that is one reason believers begin to believe that God allows those bad things to happen to us, but that is just not His nature!  His nature is good!  That’s why in His Word He tells us that “He works all things for good!”  When Satan attacks us, God is able to take the very thing that Satan meant to destroy us, and God can work it for His good!  That’s because He is a loving God who sent His precious Son to redeem us!  Too many of us are holding onto our sufferings, claiming that it’s God’s Will for us and a testing period.  Let me encourage you today because Jesus already proved to Satan that he’s defeated and we don’t have to hold onto those sufferings any longer!  We have been redeemed!  Begin praising The Lord for His goodness!  Begin thanking Him that you have been redeemed from sickness, poverty, anxiety, and failure!  God is good!  He is faithful!  And He loves you!  Whatever you are going through today, remember this truth today…

GOD IS GOOD!!!