Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.
Daniel answered and said:
“Blessed be the name of God forever and ever,
to whom belong wisdom and might.
He changes times and seasons;
he removes kings and sets up kings;
he gives wisdom to the wise
and knowledge to those who have understanding;
he reveals deep and hidden things;
he knows what is in the darkness,
and the light dwells with him.
To you, O God of my fathers,
I give thanks and praise,
for you have given me wisdom and might,
and have now made known to me what we asked of you,
for you have made known to us the king's matter.”
-Daniel 2:19b-23
Those words of Daniel have been a tremendous source of encouragement to my heart and mind in the aftermath of this present election. Though Senator Obama was not my candidate of choice, as of January 20th, he will be my President and I will honor him and pray for him as such (Roms. 13:1-7; Titus 3:1-2). Though I do not condone his political convictions or ideology on several different levels, I without reservation trust the Lord and His sovereignty in the outcome of this election.
I also think, as it was with King Saul, that the Lord has given the people of our nation a leader that is the mirror image of their own depraved moorings, maginations and maladies. IOW, this is God's judgment on our nation; not one of God's blessing on our nation.
Here are some of the things that President-elect Obama seeks to invoke ASAP when taking office:
This is going to be an interesting four years... isn't it? A sober cause for prayer, for a greater and more bold proclamation of the gospel, and for Christians to biblically engage their communities unashamedly with the truth of Scripture. Here me straight on this: this is not a call for an accelerated political engagement by more evangelicals, but for a more vibrant and visible biblical demonstration of faith, local church involvement, missions, evangelism, worship, and the uncompromised preaching of God's Word from God's people and pastors.
1. Employee Free Choice ActETC.
2. The Fairness Doctrine
3. Freedom of Choice Act
4. National Civilian Security Force
5. Withdraw from Iraq immediately
6. Close Military Bases
7. Treat terrorists as if they were American citizens
8. A lack of Comprehensive Immigration Reform
9. Capital Gains Tax Increase
10. Defense Cuts
11. Liberal Judicial Appointments to the Supreme Court
12. Re-invoking Racial Preferences, Quotas and Affirmative Action
13. Establish Socialism as the New Democracy
14. Repeal DOMA
This is going to be an interesting four years... isn't it? A sober cause for prayer, for a greater and more bold proclamation of the gospel, and for Christians to biblically engage their communities unashamedly with the truth of Scripture. Here me straight on this: this is not a call for an accelerated political engagement by more evangelicals, but for a more vibrant and visible biblical demonstration of faith, local church involvement, missions, evangelism, worship, and the uncompromised preaching of God's Word from God's people and pastors.
Adding more fuel to the fire: the only leading "evangelical" spokesman being interviewed Tuesday night before Obama gave his acceptance speech was heretic and Sabellianist, T.D. Jakes. Two of Obama's spiritual advisors to date have been emergent religious liberals: Donald Miller and Brian McLaren. And furthermore, I just read today that social liberal and abhorrent emergent leader, Doug Pagitt, has announced that he will be running for the Minnesota state legislature in 2010.
(Such news needs no further commentary from myself.)
May I encourage you to do something today? Pray for our nation; pray for President-elect Obama; pray for Reformation to come to the church in America; pray for Christian men and women to really live out their faith in the public arena with the courage to speak what God has deemed eternal and essential. And may we begin with the gospel; and then practically in response to the second commandment to "love your neighbor...", support the rights, dignity and life of all unborn children.
May some evangelical leaders by God's grace
rise up and be the Nathan to the King
and John the Baptist to Herod.
So in the midst of this kind of darkness beloved, may we fearlessly live and proclaim the glorious good news of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. And in doing so, may we just not be hearers of the Word - but doers of it; being salt and light to this dying generation.
Enjoy these brilliant comics below that a reader of this blog emailed me yesterday.
Campi
Romans 13
40 comments:
I do not like much of what President Obama advocates . Nor do I believe you can enforce fair wages or distribution of wealth but shouldn't we as Christians be concerned with unfair wage scales that often favor the well to do . I work for a company that has as its motto to Honor God in our work but they pay as little as possible and offer no benefits or incentives even if one works hard and does well. In fact the comment has been made that if the owner is a "christian" then they are just like all the rest , out for themselves. So we should be concerned with fairness and justice but it will not come from enforced taxation but by hearts changed by the gospel who willing share the prosperity and pay without the scale being weighed down in ones favor .
shouldn't we as Christians be concerned with unfair wage scales that often favor the well to do
What would you consider unfair wage scales?
Why do you think they favor the well to do?
If "treat terrorists as american citizens" means not torturing them, giving them fair trials, and not violating their rights as God's image bearers then you may need to rethink your position on that one.
Can't you celebrate for 1 second the progress that Obama's election means for race relations while still maintaining opposition to some of his policies?
Imagine a hypothetical scenario where a politician with positions mostly other than yours was elected but managed to get Roe V. Wade reversed. I think you'd manage to celebrate the progress in the one area while maintaining your opposition in other areas. Why can't you do that here? Is it that you don't care about race relations? I'm asking, not accusing.
And furthermore, I just read today that social liberal and abhorrent emergent leader, Doug Pagitt, has announced that he will be running for the Minnesota state legislature in 2010.
Really? I am a social liberal? And a abhorrent?
Come on.
Meade,
I don't think the news for race relations is all rosy.
Among other things, the election revealed that many "blacks" voted for Obama simply because he is "black" (apparently failing to realize he's also "white"). That is racism. However, the "blacks" voting such refused to acknowledge it as racism.
Had I voted for McCain simply because he is "white" I would have been accused of racism. Why the double standard?
It would seem racism is alive and well and "white" people do not have a monopoly on it.
Doug Pagitt (or whatever your name is),
Yes, social liberal and abhorrent emergent leader would accurately describe Doug Pagitt.
Doug
If this is you, in the past you have been affirming of gay relationships and are on record as to denying the gospel that men like John MacArthur preach.
Do you still believe this?
I have tried to reach you by phone several times to discuss these things with you in detail but to no avail.
Grace and peace,
Steve
Gal. 3
Not to mention Obama's disdain for the Hyde Amendment. He is the most pro-baby murderer this nation has ever elected. How this should break our hearts and cause us to pray earnestly for Obama's salvation.
Meade: You have it all wrong.
Number one, Obama has done nothing in terms of race relations. Not one thing except exacerbate them.
Number two, racism is not for the government to deal with as much as it's for the church because the root is sin. You have to understand that black folks have believed by and large what they've been fed by the so called 'black leaders'. They've given in to a victim mentality that tells them that all white people are racist.
I just had a young man over last week for bible study and he got a message on his phone while we were going through Luke 12. After the study, he listened to the message. It said, "All white people are to report to the cotton fields on Monday morning." He's a young black man and was appalled by it yet he'd heard more black people than not saying that very same thing when Obama won.
It's not a good thing that Obama won. Time and time again in scripture, it points out that the king of the nation reflected the spiritual condition of the nation. With Obama being voted in, that's not good....at all.
P.R.E.Z.
The Truth Manifesto
rws:
I agree with you, IF there is truly injustice in wages, then we should similarly be concerned and speak out on the issue. But you do know Socialism aka wealth distribution is not about justice and fair wages, right?
At the risk of enraging my critics, let me offer the following: There's a whole lot of work the church needs to do for revival and/or reformation to happen, and the first thing it needs to do in the process is to leave behind partisan/ideological politics. For far too long evangelical Christianity in the U.S. has been tied to secular conservatism and the Republican Party to the point that probably most non-believers can no longer tell the difference.
That said, the Republican Party lost the last two elections for one reason and one only: It was finally exposed as seeking power for itself and at the expense of everyone else and did so by using racial, class and cultural warfare to divide the country along those lines. (If you think that's the rationalization of some liberal wimp, keep in mind that former Nixon aide Pat Buchanan actually laid out the specific plan in a New Yorker article that was published in May.) Over the past couple of years, specifically due to the incompetence of the Bush Administration and the lobbying scandal of two years ago, it has become clear that conservatives are almost by definition poor stewards of government -- they wanted the position but not the responsibility it requires. John McCain's unstable response to the financial meltdown doomed his presidential candidacy.
Evangelical leaders consistently complained that their "cultural issues" were always put on the back burner, but when you consider that legislators have too many other duties to be distracted by grand moral crusades (watch C-SPAN or visit a legislator sometime) and that such "cultural warriors" were always in the minority, that should not surprise. I was thus not shocked when conservatives, Christian or not, began to take aim at Barack Obama; in fact, in my ovewhelmingly "blue" city the National Rifle Association paid for newspaper covering bags with the message "Defeat Obama!" that were delivered the day before the election.
What can we expect in the future from "evangelicals?" Unfortunately, as things stand now and based on this entry, much of the same. There's a saying among African-American Christians that "God don't like ugly"; yet we still won't change either our attitudes or our tactics. Those cartoons, far from being funny, were indeed plain nasty and simply not worthy of Christian witness. If we don't change we'll find ourselves on the outside looking in -- permanantly -- because God will have put us on the shelf as unfit to be used of Him. That's a sobering thought, no?
bluedeacon said: "Those cartoons, far from being funny, were indeed plain nasty and simply not worthy of Christian witness."
Surely this blog's own Rules of Engagement should have prevented the posting of these three cartoons?
Quote: Rule 2 - "No foul humor used to attack another person."
Foul?
Stan -- Yes, foul.
A good rule of thumb: If you would be offended if someone would make that kind of comment about you or others you agree with, then you ought not to do the same to anyone else. After all, it's part of the Sermon on the Mount.
BlueDeacon,
Those cartoons were foul?
Give me a break.
Stan -- See my previous post. If, say, a liberal cartoonist wrote something offensive about John McCain, you'd probably be the first to complain. But because the target is Barack Obama it's OK and even blessed by God. That's hypocrisy in anyone's book.
You see, in my experience conservatives don't really have the courage of their convictions; they spend much of their time tearing others down to build themselves up. It's one reason why conservatism is regarded as mean, selfish and uncaring, and it's also one reason why McCain lost the election. Face it -- the "culture war" is over and the ideological right has lost.
BlueDeacon,
If, say, a liberal cartoonist wrote something offensive about John McCain, you'd probably be the first to complain.
Do you actually read newspapers or news magazines? The cartoons mocking Bush, McCain and Palin can be pretty rough. Yet, I am not the first to complain. In fact, it would be the exception rather than the rule that I would complain about political cartoons.
It seems to me that you make a lot of incorrect assumptions regarding other people's attitudes. These false assumptions have unfortunately skewed your outlook on life.
Do you actually read newspapers or news magazines? The cartoons mocking Bush, McCain and Palin can be pretty rough.
I work for a newspaper.
But that's beside the point: It's one thing to see something like that in a secular newspaper; it's another animal entirely to put in on a Christian website and associate Jesus with that. Now, He was a jerk at times, but He was always fair.
Bluedeacon,
Uh-h-h, did you just call Jesus a jerk?
Terry -- From the perspective of their critics, all prophets are jerks and Jesus certainly was a prophet (but, of course, far more than that). You think He was always a nice guy? Well, "nice guys" don't get crucified.
BlueDeacon,
It sounds like you didn't like the message of the cartoons so you're crying like a baby. Grow up.
It sounds like you didn't like the message of the cartoons so you're crying like a baby. Grow up.
Wait until you're offended and folks start attacking Christians. Do I then have your permission to tell you the same?
BlueDeacon,
Wait until you're offended and folks start attacking Christians.
That's a good point. I NEVER get offended. Only "black" Americans get offended.
Never say never ... :-)
BlueDeacon,
Sarcasm.
Blue Deacon,
"And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace." (Is. 9:6b)
Herbert Lockyer has compiled the definitive list of biblical names for Jesus.
"Jerk" is absent from them, even in the Greek.
"And this is the judgment, that the light is come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light, for their deeds were evil.
"For everyone who does evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed." (John 3:19,20)
Even Pilate, who ordered His crucifixion, said, "I find no fault in this man."
Jesus was not crucified because He was a jerk.
He was crucified because He was good.
I think you owe Him an apology.
Terry
Amen and I agree!
Blue
Make this right or consider yourself permanently banned from this site. I won't tolerate that kind of disrespect to the Lord Jesus Christ. How dare you sir!
Steve
Phil. 2:5-11
Terry -- Tell that to the Pharisees, with whom he locked horns with on a few occasions. Remember that he pointed out their inconsistencies and called them out due to their hypocrisy, often using the strongest of language. As I said, all prophets were similarly looked down on because of their refusal to toe the line, especially when they had their noses up in the air.
BlueDeacon,
Tell that to the Pharisees, with whom he locked horns with on a few occasions.
That is far from being a jerk.
From Merriam-Webster:
4 a: an annoyingly stupid or foolish person b: an unlikable person ; especially : one who is cruel, rude, or small-minded
You were way out of line.
Remember what I actually said -- from that perspective.
BlueDeacon,
You stated: He was a jerk at times, but He was always fair.
Terry Rayburn then asked you: Uh-h-h, did you just call Jesus a jerk?
Your response: From the perspective of their critics, all prophets are jerks and Jesus certainly was a prophet (but, of course, far more than that).
I fail to see a denial in your response. Perhaps you intended that to be a retraction of sorts but I don't see it.
Perhaps their is another word or phrase that better describes Jesus' actions toward the Pharisees. "Jerk", regardless of whose perspective, doesn't seem to fit the bill.
bluedeacon
Consider yourself banned from this site for disparaging and unapologetic remarks directed about the Lord Jesus Christ.
Steve
I must say that I was particularly disturbed by your post. I am a born-again Christian, and have been for the past decade-and-a-half. I believe that, because of the sin nature that all humans are born into, I, and everyone else, is in desperate need of the saving power of the blood of Jesus Christ. I believe in the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit. I believe that the Bible is the Word of God. I believe that abortion is morally wrong and that homosexual sex is a sin.
I am also a registered Democrat and a proud progressive, and I make no apologies for that. While I don't agree with every Democrat on every issue, I feel, based on my personal beliefs, my faith, and my life experiences, that the core values of the Democratic party (which are defined by things like FDR's New Deal, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965) best reflect my own values. I do not believe that my political views are in conflict with my faith.
But back to me being offended by your post. I do not appreciate you describing the election of Barack Obama as an un-Christian thing to do. Obama winning is not like Saul becoming king of Israel. It's not a punishment from God or a reflection of our nation's shameful sin. Those of us who actually vote based on more than one or two or three issues looked at the long list of challenges confronting this country, and many of us decided the best person to address these issues is Obama.
Now, of course, the counter-argument is that Senator McCain had the more Christ-like stand on many of those issues. However, it is my personal belief that on the issues that matter, it is Obama, not McCain, that has the correct approach. I could go through the list of critical issues and explain in detail why I feel Obama is more reflective of my values than McCain, but I fear that if I were to do that, my comment would be longer than your blog post.
Finally, let us remember that both of these men are self-professed Christians. On more than one occasion Senator Obama has publicly discussed the meaning of his faith and his own personal conversion experience. Instead of stabbing our Christian brother in the back by portraying him as the coming evil of the age, we should be celebrating this historical moment, and committing ourselves to supporting him in an uncommon way, because he and our nation certainly face uncommon challenges.
I guess my point is, voting for Barack Obama doesn't make me any less of a Christian, and the tone of your post really hurts me, because it suggest Christians are more willing to fight each other than the many common problems we face.
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