Celebration!! Even after disappointment...

Well, by now everyone knows the results of the election.  For some, it is a great time of celebration and for others it is a time of disappointment.  I will admit that I was disappointed in the results of the election. But, I still believe that God is sovereign and holds the nations in His hands.  Two passages of scripture that I greatly appreciate right now are Psalm 2 and 2 Timothy 3:1-7.  I will post them at the end of the blog. I think these passages give such a great picture of where we are in our country right now. For now, I will pray for my leaders and pray that Christians learn the true meaning of taking up our cross and following Him!

On note of celebration, today is mine and Mike's anniversary!!  I can't believe that 3 years have already gone by. But what a great 3 years they have been. I truly couldn't have a better partner in life than Mike.  He is a genuine picture of a husband who loves me as Christ loves the church. I pray that I can continue growing to be the wife he needs as we strive each day to out give and out love the other.  Because that is the "secret" I have learned in this thing called marriage. The more I focus on him, the less selfish and needy I am. I know we have a long way to go in this marrage thing and a lot to learn, but I can't wait!

And lastly, today is our sweet Lincoln's birthday! He is 3 as well. For those who don't know, Lincoln was born the day we got married.  As Christmas approached Mike and I had talked about getting a dog.  Little did I know he had already found a breeder for Maltipoos and even found a litter that had been born on our wedding day.  Mike surprised me with a picture of Lincoln and all the doggie items we would need on Christmas morning. We picked Lincoln up on December 26 and he weighed a whopping 15 ounces.  Yep...I said ounces :-)  Now he is full grown and weighs in at a hefty 8 pounds...hehe! He is such a sweet puppy and we are thankful for all the laughter and playfulness he brings to out lives. Here are two pics of him.  The first is him at about a pound and the second was taken just a couple weeks ago. Love to you all!

Psalm 2

Why do the nations conspire
    and the peoples plot in vain?
² The kings of the earth take their stand
    and the rulers gather together
against the Lord
    and against his Anointed One.
³ “Let us break their chains,” they say,
    “and throw off their fetters.”

⁴ The One enthroned in heaven laughs;
    the Lord scoffs at them.
⁵ Then he rebukes them in his anger
    and terrifies them in his wrath, saying,
⁶ “I have installed my King
    on Zion, my holy hill.”

⁷ I will proclaim the decree of the Lord:

He said to me, “You are my Son;
    today I have become your Father.
⁸ Ask of me,
    and I will make the nations your inheritance,
    the ends of the earth your possession.
⁹ You will rule them with an iron scepter;
    you will dash them to pieces like pottery.”

¹⁰ Therefore, you kings, be wise;
    be warned, you rulers of the earth.
¹¹ Serve the Lord with fear
    and rejoice with trembling.
¹² Kiss the Son, lest he be angry
    and you be destroyed in your way,
for his wrath can flare up in a moment.
    Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

2 Timothy 3:1-7

But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over weak-willed women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth.



VOTE!!

I posted this back on August 28 and thought that in light of tomorrow I would post it again.  I don't say who I was going to vote for in the post below, but I will say now that I will be wearing red and voting red tomorrow :-) I hope this post shows the true importance and value to voting! If you don't want to read the whole thing, I recommend the last 2 paragraphs :-)  Love to you all! A new post to come soon...I promise!

I promise that I am not going to be one of these people that uses her blog over the next 2 months to explain why I think you should vote for a certain person or party.  In fact, I am not even going to mention who it is I am going to vote for...although I think you might have a pretty good idea before I am done :-) I only have one purpose in this blog and that is to share why I think it is important we as Christians exercise our right to vote. And why apathy is a disease among Christians.

Have you ever thought about whether or not Jesus would have voted if he lived in our society? I am sure there would be many variations of answers to this question and I am not going to answer it with a yes or a no.  But I think the Bible sheds some light on Christ's interaction with government officials.  What I find interesting is that Christ never stayed away from those in Roman authority.  If anything, he was bolder in his conversations with them. Just a few of his interactions included calling Matthew the tax collector as one of his disciples (Matthew 9, Mark 2 and Luke 5), the healing of the Centurion's servant (Matthew 8, Luke 7), the chief tax collector Zacchaeus (Luke 19), Jesus' trial before Herod Antipas (Luke 23) and Jesus before Pilot (Matthew 27, Mark 15, Luke 23 & John 18&19). Probably the most well known passage when it comes to dealing with the government was when the Pharisees tested Christ by asking if it was lawful for them to pay taxes as the people of God (Matthew 22, Mark 12 & Luke 20). His answer to them was to give unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's.  Most people interpret this fairly literally as meaning that we need to pay taxes. This is true, but I think at the heart of this passage is also Christ modeling respect for the government that God has ordained to be in control at the time.

As Christians we believe that God is in control of the nations. Psalm 47:8 says "God reigns over the nations; God is seated on his Holy throne."  We see this throughout the entire Bible as God ordained what nations would rise up and what nations would fall.(Isaiah 7-24 will give you further proof). The most prominent examples we see are Assyria and Babylon and how God used these godless nations for His purpose. These truths are exciting to us mere mortals who can rely on a God that holds the whole earth in the palm of his hand. Unfortunately, I feel that Christians have used God's Sovereignty among the nations to justify their apathy towards anything that has to do with the government.  In this case, voting. I can't tell you how many times I have heard Christians say that God already knows what is going to happen and my vote isn't going to change anything. Yes, God does know what is going to happen and He is in control, but we have a role to play as the body of Christ as we live out His will.

Merriam-Webster defines apathy as a lack of interest or concern. Can you imagine what would have happened if Abraham was apathetic about leaving the land of his fathers, or if Moses was apathetic to the plight of the Israelites in Egypt, or if  David told Samuel he didn't care about being King?  What about if the disciples and Paul had just said "hey, God is sovereign, He will get the Word out one way or another, he doesn't need me."  Yes, God's purpose would have been accomplished if these men had said no, but each of them had a role to play in the will of the Lord and He used them in incredible ways. Can you imagine the blessing they would have missed out on? Can you imagine what we would have missed out on?

Please don't think I am trying to elevate voting to a pedestal it doesn't deserve. The Great Commission is by far the most important mandate we have as modern day Christians. So please don't misunderstand the purpose of the preceding paragraphs. My goal is to show you just how important we are in the framework of the Christian body. God has roles for each of us to play and in the nation of America he has given us the role of constituent with the freedom to vote for our leaders and further his Kingdom.  Why would you want to miss out on doing your part in a role that God has blessed you with?  A role that not all people on this planet get to have.

Dictionary.com defines voting as a formal expression of opinion or choice, either positive or negative, made by an individual or body of individuals. I thought this was a great definition because it speaks to the positive and negative aspects of voting. Unfortunately though, Christians aren't bothering to even be positive or negative about the vote because they just don't bother to vote to begin with. Yes, there is the problem of feeling like we don't have a true man of God to vote for and that this country is sinking further and further into moral despair and there is nothing we can do about it.  When we say this though, do we really believe that God is sovereign? There are two men for us to vote for this November, two flawed men that were created by God just as you and I were.  They are no better and no worse sinners and just as much in need of the saving blood of Christ as you and me. The only true difference is that they have a platform God didn't see fit to give us. How do we make a choice between the two you might ask....I believe prayer is the key, followed by knowing the facts about each candidate and their platform. This will help you make the best decision. (I would love to tell you who I think that is...and again, you can probably guess based on my conservative principles and the fact I have been a staunch republican for many years. But, I truly feel that the vote is your choice and prayer is the key....no matter who the candidate you choose, because God has a purpose in how he speaks to you....especially if we believe He is sovereign).

Basically, our nation is in a moral disaster. We have a choice to make as believers, will we try to turn the tide and make a stand by using our God given right to vote? Or, will we sink even further in our apathy and cause the generations behind us to live in a country that is no longer truly free? Are we really willing to hide behind the God we have pledged to serve and not get out on the front lines and be willing to stand for His mandates no matter the cost? If we aren't willing to do the small things, what makes us think God will ever entrust us with big things?

So go vote this November!  Not because I told you to or because someone guilted you into it and not just because it is your right as an American. Go vote because you are a part of something bigger, you are a part of the body of Christ!  I will leave my place of voting on November 6 with a smile on my face and joy in my heart no matter the outcome.  Why?  Because I know that God is Sovereign and I did my part in His plan whatever it may be!