A New Day- A MODERN DAY CRISIS

I've been torn between what I feel and what I should or should not say about our current political crisis.  To better understand what I mean when I say "crisis" it would be good to understand the meaning of the word.  Here it is:

That definition describes accurately my view, but it really resonates with me when it is described as a "crisis point in history."  How so?  Before I answer that I want to share a ground rule that I have operated under to this point.  I am not political and Influencers is not political.  We steer away from joining that arena, for we have a heart for all people, even those whose politics we dislike.  Our citizenship that is in heaven gives us a larger heart for our hurting world rather than a certain political view.  There are good and bad points with both so we try to do what Jesus said to do, which is make disciples.  Therefore, to this point I have felt comfortable with staying out of recommending a certain candidate, or promoting a political position.  I will stay with that practice, even with this devotional series.  However, I feel there is now an aggressive political assault on our Christian values and the moral underpinnings of this country, and this causes me to ask a question which is, "How am I using my influence?  What am I to do about it?"  I am torn with wanting to speak out and wanting to be silent.  Now I cannot be silent.  It is a crisis, and it is in a crisis that God's men step up.  But we do so wisely, and stick with the most critical issues.

If you know anything about our discipleship process (The Journey), you know that we put a premium importance on "self-feeding."  We want you guys to seek God's wisdom and hear from Him yourself and it not be a second or third hand message.  Most of the time Christian men are spoon-fed the things they believe and as a result they are ignorant of biblical truths and its application to their life.  This makes a man vulnerable.  Therefore, we teach men and women how to read and apply scripture to their life, and by this means grow in wisdom.  We don't teach them what to believe but rather how to find truth and how to discern it.  The scripture above speaks of the problem that was happening in Hosea's day.  At the center was ignorance and a failure to inform the people by the priests of the day.  Let me not repeat that failure.   I will tell you this.  You have been spoon-fed bias information from a liberal press and a political agenda it promotes.

Most of you have had your attention diverted by a confusing and disgusting personality war between two candidates, when the political war is between the ideologies of the two separate camps.  One ideology is a post-modern, existentialist mind-set where there is no absolute truth and religion is a burden to overcome.  This overcoming effort has been made the last few years and this particular candidate and the party represented wants to continue to foster it.  The other tries to stay with the traditional Judeo/Christian mindset that has been the foundation and core of this government.  One candidate is an activist wanting to create change that distances us from our moral and spiritual roots, and the other a capitalist who wants to rebuild a once good system and keep the values Christians know work.  These are their big differences.  However, what he or she hold in common is that each person is deeply flawed, and we all have a hard time trusting either of them.  For that reason, we need to leave voting for a particular person, but instead vote for the party that he or she represents.  That is what is critically important.

I realize that when you receive this devotional you will be voting a day later.  This gives you two days to know some important facts that you may not know.  I am providing you two links.  The first one is a sermon by Tommy Nelson, a gifted and wise bible teacher in Denton Texas.  I recommend that you take some time to watch this video, for it is very informative about the most important issues in this election (CLICK LINK BELOW).

Next I am providing a link to the top 10 comparative issues that the Democrat and Republican platforms espouse in their respective platforms.  This is an opportunity to compare the two camps, read what they believe and hear what their plans are if elected.  The information comes directly from each party's platform (CLICK LINK BELOW).

I ask you to take some time and read the information and watch the presentation.  I believe you will be given some facts that you need so you can be informed when you cast your vote.  Like I said, I will not recommend that you vote a certain way.  But I will say that this country is facing a crisis, and if we are not alert to the threats we face, our children and their children will be facing some grave concerns.  Possibly we can head it off, if it is God's will.

Lastly, above all pray that God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  Maybe He is at work right now and is responding to our prayers?  Even so, our work of prayer is not over for even if this crisis is averted, there will be more in the future.   We have been raised up for a time such as this.  Let's use our influence in the best way possible.