My Privilege

I’m going to share some things today that will encourage some and infuriate others…but this blog is about what’s on my mind. So I am going to share my thoughts…

This coming Tuesday we will vote to select the next president of the United States of America. I know there are strong feelings on both sides. I wanted to let you know that I will be voting for John McCain. Here is my reason singular: the pro-life stance of the John McCain/Sarah Palin ticket.

There are an average of 4,000 babies aborted every day in the United States. This is government-sanctioned murder. The bible quite clearly states that there will be an accounting for the shedding of innocent blood, which is exactly what abortion is.

Barak Obama is a pro-death candidate, and also voted in favor of partial-birth abortions (where a baby is born all except its head, then killed). This is the major difference between these two candidates.

A big part of this economic crisis is the result of God trying to get our nation’s attention, so that we can repent of this sin and avoid His judgment upon our nation. I feel that if I vote for Obama, it is as if I am executing these abortions myself. As a Christian, I must use God’s word as my standard for everything I do and every choice I make. And God will hold me accountable for my choices.

With all that being said, if I wake up Wednesday morning and Barak Obama is my president-elect, I will pray for him. I will pray that God’s wisdom will guide him. I refuse to be angry and vindictive, and I will not create a culture of dishonor toward him Because just as it is my duty to vote for leaders who rule in the fear of God and according to His commandments, it is also my duty as a Christian to honor and pray for those in authority.

I have voted in every presidential election since Richard Nixon. It is a privilege to vote and participate in this democracy called the United States. I urge you to get out and vote. But please remember this: that as a Christian, you will be held accountable by God for the vote you cast.

 

It’s Time For A Change

Last week I blogged about having an orphaned heart. I’ve been thinking about how much orphan-hearted thinking affects the way I view the world and the people in the world.

There are three basic needs of every human heart: the need to be loved; the need to be accepted; the need to belong. The orphaned heart has a hard time thinking there is anyone who could possibly love and accept them, and a hard time believing that they could possibly belong. Our very souls have been poisoned by orphan-thinking. We cry out to belong but recoil from the opportunity because we can’t take the chance of being hurt again. So as a result, we put up walls to keep everybody at a safe distance and justify our ‘cold love’ as ‘protection’. What really started out as walls to keep our hearts safe ends up becoming a prison that we cannot escape.

So what is a person to do? Friend, you must realize that people are neither the problem, nor the answer. The problem – and the answer – both lie in changing our wrong thinking. I want you to know that you have a Heavenly Father that loves you unconditionally. It is hard for us to really accept that sometimes because our distrust of people translates into a distrust in God. Your idea of what a ‘father’ is may not be a very good one, but God is not a man. He is not like us!

God loves you so much that He sent His Son to die for you and me. God does not give His love based on our performance. It is an unconditional love that is extended to us no matter how much we’ve messed up. We can come to Him with all of our weaknesses and insecurities, and He will accept us just the way we are.

Friend, you are valuable and important to God, and He loves you very, very much. You may be wondering if anybody cares about you…and I am telling you that God does, and that your life matters. You are not alone! Stop listening to the voice in your head that is telling you that nobody loves you and nobody understands you. That is just your orphaned heart crying out for an answer to its pain.

God chose to create you – that is how important you are to Him. He wants to be your Father! Climb up into His lap and let Him be your Father. He will fill that empty void.