A Privilege and Responsibility

With the election just a few days away I have been reflecting on the privilege and responsibility we have of voting for our nation’s leaders, as well as how our state will define marriage in the future. And even though, by now, most Americans are weary of all the campaigning and debates, I believe we are blessed to be part of such a process.
Our challenge of course is maybe not so much who we are voting for as what we are voting for. On one hand, yes we will vote for the candidates we believe will promote and uphold our Biblical values, and yet on the other hand we will also vote for the candidates who we believe will best protect and promote our idolatrous lifestyle. Obviously the issues are complex, and I don’t pretend to have the answers (…why I decided not to run for President). However, I do know the solution to the heart of America’s problems is not “creating more jobs in order to revive the economy.”
So where do we begin? I believe the rise and fall of a nation according to II Chronicles 26 is directly connected to our fear of God. It says in II Chronicles 26:5 that because King Uzziah feared God, he sought God for direction, “And as long as he sought the Lord, God gave him success.” To fear God means to walk in obedience to the will of God.
God revealed this promise to Joshua at the inauguration of his leadership over Israel, saying, “7 Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:7-10).
It’s quite obvious that most Americans and its leaders have lost their fear of God—and only God can restore that—only God can turn a nation back to him. In the meantime, the question for you and me: Do I fear God? Have I examined my life in order to identify those areas of idolatry that has separated me from God? Has Jesus’ new way of life as shared on the Sermon on the Mount become increasingly a way of life for me and my family? In what areas must I pray that God would grant repentance?
Praise God for his promise from II Chronicles 7:14, “If I ever shut off the supply of rain from the skies or order the locusts to eat the crops or send a plague on my people, and my people, my God-defined people, respond by humbling themselves, praying, seeking my presence, and turning their backs on their wicked lives, I’ll be there ready for you: I’ll listen from heaven, forgive their sins, and restore their land to health.”
May we be a people who respond with humility, walking in obedience in the fear of the Lord before a watching world.
Under His mercy, Mike

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