Today is Reformation Sunday and as I celebrate in my heart the boldness that Luther had to confront sin and false actions, I know that many of us will have a choice to stand for truth on November fourth. I attended two church services where I heard testimonies of how missionaries (from the U.S. and abroad) are reaching the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
One choice a local church made eleven years ago to send missionaries into Iraq is now bearing fruit that includes schools, churches, pastors, and missionaries from Iraq. In fact, the Christian education is so "top notch" that government officials, whom are mostly Muslim, are sending their children to the Christian schools. Iraq's Ministry of Education exclaimed two weeks ago, "Please build more Christian schools so our children can get a good education". Little does he realize that full and eternal impact that these schools are having in his nation and elsewhere.
Think about what would have happened had the U.S. pastors said, "The vision to go into Iraq is just too hard. It's not worth the risk. I choose a different country". One choice can have far-reaching and lasting effects that will impact future generations.
A friend of mine wrote a bold and eloquent, but very truthful email outlining the reasons why he will be voting for McCain-Palin come Tuesday. Since I agree with everything my friend wrote, I have asked his permission to post the letter below. He did a much better job of summarizing the issues surrounding the elections than me. I know the letter is long, but please ready it anyway:
Dear Friends,
As you may know, although my work involves me in the political process in Virginia from time to time, I am not a political activist. However, this year, I am convicted and convinced that the national election for President, Senate and House of Representative offices is the most important election in our lifetimes.
What I have learned in the past few days has caused me great concern for the future freedom of our people. I heard an interview in which Sen Obama said he felt the Warren Supreme Court was not radical enough, that the Constitution was flawed and that more needs to be done to bring changes. The context of these remarks was about what the federal government could do, instead of the constraints placed upon it by the framers and the need to bring about more radical changes.
Much has been said about his views on “spreading the wealth around” or the redistribution of wealth. He is capitalizing on the human weakness of greed, when he appeals to the public about placing a higher taxes on the “rich.” We, of all people, should understand that God is the one who blesses some in this way and not others. Is it for the U.S. government to take it upon itself to redistribute this wealth? Currently, he defines “rich” as anyone making $250K or more each year. I would like to make that income myself and it sounds pretty appealing, but who is to say that that amount will continue to be the official dividing line between the “rich” and the not rich. I suspect that when government revenues fail to cover all of the spending the government wants, the dividing line will be adjusted down and it will continue to be readjusted down until nearly everyone who works and earns an income will be taxed at exorbitant rates.
Clearly, Obama is not satisfied with the “constraints” imposed on the government by the Constitution. He will undoubtedly appoint activist judges that agree with his views, and who will find rights in the Constitution through their own interpretations, that are not there (like a woman’s right to privacy which serves as the basis for choosing to kill her baby in the womb, or now, almost completely out of the womb).
His record on gun control and the 2nd Amendment was made clear by his position and votes in the Illinois Senate on a bill making it a crime for someone to use a firearm in self-defense and his position on the need to “register” gun owners.
I smell a very authoritarian government on the way, one that reinterprets and restricts the God-given rights acknowledged by the framers of our Constitution; one that implements “political correctness” to extents that are yet unimagined. Up to this point, I suspect that you may agree with most of what I have said.
Now, I will take it a step further. I have heard that some within the “faith community” are reluctant to vote for the McCain-Palin ticket because they don’t trust them completely or that McCain’s commitment to God is either unknown or suspect. These well-intentioned fellow believers think that by either sitting out the election or by voting for some unknown third or fourth party candidate is somehow being more faithful to God. I don’t argue with anyone’s convictions, but I would ask those who believe this way, if this is really the course you think God would want for you, your children and the country.
Does God want our country to go down the road toward a Communist state, one that denies Him and persecutes His people? Maybe He will bring that about through the foolishness of the American people who don’t know Him or His ways, but we believers should not help to usher in this kind of government.
Make no mistake about it, this is where we will be headed if Sen Obama is elected President. The handwriting is on the wall. Only the blind could miss it. I encourage you to vote for the McCain-Palin ticket and encourage all your friends to do the same. If elected, they will undoubtedly make mistakes and decisions we don’t like. What President hasn’t? But, they won’t reduce and eliminate our freedoms and lead us into a Communist society. I don’t like everything McCain supports or has introduced. He wasn’t my first choice during the nominating process, but he is certainly my first choice now (can you guess).
Some folks talk about not voting for the lesser of two evils. I don’t believe this election offers us a vote between the lesser of two evils. I believe it offers us the choice of a vote for freedom vs a vote for greater evil in our land than we have ever seen.
Think about this. If Sen Obama is elected, there will be the most leftist government we have ever had, with the President, Senate and House, all in the hands of folks who “know what’s in our best interests” and aren’t afraid to take action on it. A President Obama will certainly appoint activist judges, not only to the US Supreme Court, but to the numerous unfilled judgeship at every federal court level in the country! Why are there all these unfilled judgeship? Because the Democrat majority in the Senate has been holding them in reserve for just such an opportunity.
With activist judges, who do not respect the US Constitution, in place all across the country, we can kiss our legislative process goodbye. The judges will simply interpret laws the way they want them, like the Kelo decision that gives local government the right to condemn and take any privately owned property it wants. That was just a foretaste of what will come.
Is this the kind of country we want for our children and grandchildren in America? If you are in the camp that has genuine doubts about voting for McCain-Palin, please pray fervently for God’s direction and exercise your right to vote in the election on Nov 4th and encourage those you know to do the same. We cannot afford to sit this one out.
