Thursday
HISTORIC ELECTION PRESENTS IMPORTANT CONCERNS FOR US
THIS HISTORIC ELECTION PRESENTS
IMPORTANT CONCERNS FOR US, AS
CHRISTIANS: WHAT CAN WE
EXPECT FOR AMERICA?
The day after a national election when both the
Executive and Legislative branches of our national
government become solidly under the control of
one political party is a day when future expectations
are difficult to define.
The incoming messages from our readers during
the hours following the announcement of the Obama
victory have literally "run the gamut" from bitter
sarcasm to utter despair, with a few "let's make
the best of its" thrown in.
During this this period of waiting . . . the 75 or
so days until the new administration takes over in
January . . . we may get some indication of what
we may expect. One problem is that we know so
little about the new president. As we have pointed
out previously, for some reason known probably
only to him, his birth records are sealed . . . his
college education records are also sealed . . . even
his health records are sealed. We know he was
raised as a Muslim, but for the past 20 years has
been a member of a violently liberal church in
Chicago, but there is no available record of his
baptism into the Christian faith.
It is difficult to know what to expect, since he has
no record of accomplishment in his very limited
legislative experience -- three terms in the Illinois
state legislature, and less than 150 days in the US
Senate before announcing he was a candidate for
the presidency.
He is a superb public speaker. He has spoken
eloquently about America needing a change.
Interspersed with some disheartening promises
have been some promises of actions which sound
good. In fairness we should certainly respect him
for the office he will hold, and remember that he
is to be our president. And perhaps more than any
other president in our history, he needs our prayers.
So this is not the time to commend or condemn.
We simply have to wait and see what happens.
Given the Democrat majorities in both houses of the
Congress, and a Democrat president -- there isn't
much we can do but watch . . . oh yes, and pray.
The Evangelical conservative Christian community
in America is not dead. It has been misguided and
misled. We need a new leader of the caliber of Jerry
Falwell and James Kennedy. Even though the
theological concept of "revival" is not really a New
Testament expectation, God's promise of responding
to His people is an eternal one -- "If my people,
which are called by my name, shall humble
themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn
from their wicked ways; then will I hear from
heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal
their land." (II Chron. 7:14)
And there were some indications of a turning from
wicked ways in this week's elections -- in three states
(Arizona, California and Florida) amendments to the
state constitution were adopted by vote of the people,
establishing marriage as between a man and a woman
-- in other words, banning homosexual marriage.
With these three, the number of states which have
voted for constitutional amendments on marriage
now totals 30. However, already the city of San
Francisco (our domestic Sodom, Gomorrah) has
announced it will challenge the vote in court, and
a gay couple recently married in California have
hired a high power attorney to challenge the
constitutionality of the new amendment. The vote
of the people used to have some real meaning.
We often quote a Founding Father, but today
we quote from the Word of God: "Blessed is the
nation whose God is the LORD; and the people
whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance."
(Psalm 33:12)
Some Random Afterthoughts . . .
Yes, it was an historic election, and also for this
reason: this was the first presidential election in 28
years (since 1980) when there was not a member
of the Bush or Clinton families on the ticket.
The International Day of Prayer for the
persecuted church throughout the world is Sunday,
November 9. While we enjoy freedom to worship
as we choose here in America, in countries around
the world our brothers and sisters in the Lord are
suffering discrimination, severe physical abuse, and
very often death because of their Christian faith. If
your church is not planning a special observance on
Sunday, you can personally take time to pray for
these faithful followers of Jesus Christ who are being
persecuted today.
And persecution might even begin for Christians
here in America. Perhaps not "persecution" as we
normally think of it, but limitations on the freedoms
we have always taken for granted -- such as the pro-
life movement, and the defense of marriage movement.
President-elect Obama has promised to get rid of the
Defense of Marriage Act, and to actively promote
the Freedom of Choice Act. These are concerns to
be discussed in the weeks ahead, as the Church faces
the need to return to the Biblical principles of Christian
life and witness as salt and light in the world about us.
Sometimes the numbers don't make sense: An
8 year study "Changes in American Megachurches"
by Warren Bird and Scott Thumma, found that in
the year 2008, the average megachurch attendance
was 4,142 -- but the average sanctuary held only
1,794. To cope with this discrepancy, during the
past 5 years, one third of all megachurches have
adopted multi-site structures to accomodate the
increased crowds. The summary? "Megachurhes
are getting bigger without getting bigger," according
to a report from the Hartford Institute for Religious
Research.
The historic Christian heritage of America:
"There is no country in the whole world in which
the Christian religion retains a greater influence
over the souls of men than in America; and there
can be no greater proof of its utility, than that its
influence is most powrfully felt over the most
enlightened and free nation of the earth." -Alexis
de Tocqueville, 1835
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