So as I'm sure everyone who reads this is aware, Sarah is usually the blogger. I have felt the need though to share some thoughts from my perspective (bear with me)...
There is no doubt that we are in the midst of the most important Presidential Election in our lifetime. Now before you think, "oh he's going political" and stop reading, let me assure you that my main point is not the election. I do feel though that in light of the policies on economics, foreign policy, energy, etc. that we are weighing this year, what has been exposed of our nation is heartbreaking. Many of these issues I believe point directly to the failure of the Church to be what we have been called to be.
We have seen magnified during this political season the attitude of those wishing the government to fix all, provide all, and do all. A dangerous thought for certain. To quote the 38th President of the United States, Gerald Ford, "A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have." And after all has God not told us the Church to meet the needs of those around us? We have in our nation a culture that flees from inconvenience, confrontation, pain, and suffering. Sadly, the Church's are no exception to this. We have forgotten that it is in our weakness we are strong, that His grace is sufficient for us and his power is made perfect in our weakness (Rom. 12:9-10). We don't rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that it produces endurance, which produces character (Rom. 5:3-4). Yet where we fail most is in withholding the most precious from those in need...the Gospel. We come in contact with hundreds, maybe thousands of people a day, and are so busy with ourselves, so afraid of confrontation, so worried about what others might think, that we simply withhold the precious lifesaving message of the Gospel. When was the last time you shared the Gospel with someone? What does this say of our value of our Savior? The problem with our nation today is not simply attitude...it's a heart problem.
We sit idle while others go about the work of "redefining" marriage. We shun the sinner, rather than condemning the sin. Rather than plead with them to turn to the sweet Savior who gave his life for them, we simply avoid it altogether.
We become outraged at the brutality of war. Our streets are filled with protesters at the news of another soldier who has given their life for our nation. Now, do not misunderstand me here. My family is deep rooted in military service. I have the utmost respect and adoration for our men and women who serve our nation. I personally feel that when we protest we dishonor their sacrifice. These soldiers have enlisted willingly knowing that they may give their life for this nation. We belittle their patriotism when we say they are fighting in vain. My hope and prayer is that we will never lose another soldier. But if we do, may we honor them for their sacrifice rather than saying they were wasting their time.
One of our greatest failures is our silence on the issue of abortion. Since the invasion of Iraq in March 2003 there have been 4,189 casualties. It is a sobering body count for sure. Within the last 24 hours of you reading this (assuming you still are...lol), approximately 3,200 unborn have been aborted. 24 HOURS!! At the time of my writing this there have been 52,804,976 abortions since Roe vs. Wade in 1973 (you may check the current count now at http://www.teenshelter.org/abortioncount.htm). It is estimated that around 11 million people died during the holocaust, with 6 million being Jewish (close to two thirds of Europe's Jewish population), and about 1.5 million being children. Now again, trying to put this in perspective. On average there are around 1.5 million abortions each year in this country. We know that at eight weeks all the organs are present, the brain is functioning, the heart is pumping, the liver is making blood cells, the kidneys are cleaning the fluids. There are even clear fingerprints. Yet almost all abortions happen later than this date in the pregnancy (not that its okay before this time). Ultrasound has shown the unborn at eight weeks sucking thumb, recoiling from pricking, and responding to sound. Psalm 139:13 says, "Thou didst form my inward parts, thou didst knit me together in my mother's womb." The sad thing is that many who support abortion do not argue that the unborn are "human beings." For many the issue is the right of the mother. The unborn is completely not a factor aside from the inconvenience it might bring (bringing me back to my earlier point). We have taken the place of God, weighing for ourselves the greater good. Who lives and who dies. Ironically it seems that most who support abortion, oppose war, and capital punishment. (For info. on Senator Obama's views on Abortion please read http://betweenthetimes.com/2008/10/14/why-faithful-evangelicals-cannot-vote-for-barack-obama/). While I feel very inclined to keep on with this rant on abortion (and there is much more to say here), I will wind down with a few last thoughts.
First, this election is important. Big issues on the table, no doubt. Second, what will it take for believers to finally wake up? When will we become broken for the lost? When will we long for our Savior? When will we run to the Word of God for direction for our lives with the same urgency we run to the stock report to see how our 401K's are doing? When we will do the hard things to bring Him glory? What will it take? I'm not sure. What I do know is this. We serve a faithful, loving, merciful, just God in whom we can really hope. A true Messiah who was nailed to a cross and hung naked, giving his life for us while we were still sinners. Is there hope? Only one, it is the Son of God, Christ Jesus. These are just a few thoughts, from my perspective...
There is no doubt that we are in the midst of the most important Presidential Election in our lifetime. Now before you think, "oh he's going political" and stop reading, let me assure you that my main point is not the election. I do feel though that in light of the policies on economics, foreign policy, energy, etc. that we are weighing this year, what has been exposed of our nation is heartbreaking. Many of these issues I believe point directly to the failure of the Church to be what we have been called to be.
We have seen magnified during this political season the attitude of those wishing the government to fix all, provide all, and do all. A dangerous thought for certain. To quote the 38th President of the United States, Gerald Ford, "A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have." And after all has God not told us the Church to meet the needs of those around us? We have in our nation a culture that flees from inconvenience, confrontation, pain, and suffering. Sadly, the Church's are no exception to this. We have forgotten that it is in our weakness we are strong, that His grace is sufficient for us and his power is made perfect in our weakness (Rom. 12:9-10). We don't rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that it produces endurance, which produces character (Rom. 5:3-4). Yet where we fail most is in withholding the most precious from those in need...the Gospel. We come in contact with hundreds, maybe thousands of people a day, and are so busy with ourselves, so afraid of confrontation, so worried about what others might think, that we simply withhold the precious lifesaving message of the Gospel. When was the last time you shared the Gospel with someone? What does this say of our value of our Savior? The problem with our nation today is not simply attitude...it's a heart problem.
We sit idle while others go about the work of "redefining" marriage. We shun the sinner, rather than condemning the sin. Rather than plead with them to turn to the sweet Savior who gave his life for them, we simply avoid it altogether.
We become outraged at the brutality of war. Our streets are filled with protesters at the news of another soldier who has given their life for our nation. Now, do not misunderstand me here. My family is deep rooted in military service. I have the utmost respect and adoration for our men and women who serve our nation. I personally feel that when we protest we dishonor their sacrifice. These soldiers have enlisted willingly knowing that they may give their life for this nation. We belittle their patriotism when we say they are fighting in vain. My hope and prayer is that we will never lose another soldier. But if we do, may we honor them for their sacrifice rather than saying they were wasting their time.
One of our greatest failures is our silence on the issue of abortion. Since the invasion of Iraq in March 2003 there have been 4,189 casualties. It is a sobering body count for sure. Within the last 24 hours of you reading this (assuming you still are...lol), approximately 3,200 unborn have been aborted. 24 HOURS!! At the time of my writing this there have been 52,804,976 abortions since Roe vs. Wade in 1973 (you may check the current count now at http://www.teenshelter.org/abortioncount.htm). It is estimated that around 11 million people died during the holocaust, with 6 million being Jewish (close to two thirds of Europe's Jewish population), and about 1.5 million being children. Now again, trying to put this in perspective. On average there are around 1.5 million abortions each year in this country. We know that at eight weeks all the organs are present, the brain is functioning, the heart is pumping, the liver is making blood cells, the kidneys are cleaning the fluids. There are even clear fingerprints. Yet almost all abortions happen later than this date in the pregnancy (not that its okay before this time). Ultrasound has shown the unborn at eight weeks sucking thumb, recoiling from pricking, and responding to sound. Psalm 139:13 says, "Thou didst form my inward parts, thou didst knit me together in my mother's womb." The sad thing is that many who support abortion do not argue that the unborn are "human beings." For many the issue is the right of the mother. The unborn is completely not a factor aside from the inconvenience it might bring (bringing me back to my earlier point). We have taken the place of God, weighing for ourselves the greater good. Who lives and who dies. Ironically it seems that most who support abortion, oppose war, and capital punishment. (For info. on Senator Obama's views on Abortion please read http://betweenthetimes.com/2008/10/14/why-faithful-evangelicals-cannot-vote-for-barack-obama/). While I feel very inclined to keep on with this rant on abortion (and there is much more to say here), I will wind down with a few last thoughts.
First, this election is important. Big issues on the table, no doubt. Second, what will it take for believers to finally wake up? When will we become broken for the lost? When will we long for our Savior? When will we run to the Word of God for direction for our lives with the same urgency we run to the stock report to see how our 401K's are doing? When we will do the hard things to bring Him glory? What will it take? I'm not sure. What I do know is this. We serve a faithful, loving, merciful, just God in whom we can really hope. A true Messiah who was nailed to a cross and hung naked, giving his life for us while we were still sinners. Is there hope? Only one, it is the Son of God, Christ Jesus. These are just a few thoughts, from my perspective...
