Skip to main content

Struggle In The Voting Booth

As I approach my one year anniversary in December at Northside I hope that it has been abundantly clear that I am not a preacher who gets his sermon topics from the headlines of the daily newspapers and political columns. I do not in any way consider myself to be a political or social issues preacher. The reason for this, which I hope will be abundantly clear in the sermon this morning, is that I believe that our primary need today in every generation is not a new leader, but a new heart – brought on by the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit.

But for the past couple of weeks I feel like I have been avoiding the elephant in the room by not speaking at least somewhat on the upcoming election. To be honest I am torn in many directions and what I really want to know is how does a Christian respond in times such as these?

On one hand I come from a long line of Democrats in my family and I must admit that the charisma and fresh ideas of Barack Obama are appealing to a certain extent. On the other hand I am committed , as strongly as I know how, to the belief that life begins at conception and that abortion is the taking of innocent life. On this single issue I have cast my vote on the Republican ticket for the past decade plus and may be left with this choice again this year. Neither Senator Obama, nor Senator McCain fulfills my expectations of what a President is to be.

My other option is to free my conscience and with a write in vote for a candidate that will most likely not recieve enough votes to recieve a mention on the evening news. Most people will say that this is throwing away my vote and ensuring that Obama will win.

None of these three options is an easy one.

I say all of that to say this; be wise in your decision making this November. Do not be swayed by outward appearances, slogans, or commercials, but be diligent to dig for the facts on the issues that are important to you. Ask God for guidance in the process and trust Him no matter the outcome.

Praying Through These Tough Times With You,
Pastor Mitch

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Generation of Mark 13:30

At the beginning of Mark chapter thirteen Jesus is leaving the temple area and one of his disciples points out the grandure of the temple buildings. Jesus' remark to that disciple concerns the fact that these buildings will one day be torn down. The disciples question Him further as to the times of these events, and so begins an extended teaching from Jesus on the end times.As Jesus' remarks are drawing to a close, He makes this comment in Mark 13:30: "Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place." (NASB) So the reader is left to wonder the meaning of this statement. Either our understanding of generation is wrong, or we are understanding what Jesus meant by "these things" wrong. I think there are at least two solutions. The word for generation (genea: Greek) could mean, as some side column reference Bibles note, "the human race". This is possible, since the events have not all happened and the human race...
15 comments
Read more

Is That A Bible I See Before Me?

The Weakness of Islamic Evangelism Lately I have been struck by the testimony of those who have suffered at the hands of kidnappers in Iraq. One issue that comes to the front of my mind is Islamic evangelism. Christian Science Monitor reporter Jill Carroll spoke to ABC News of her captors holding her at gunpoint and forcing her to read the Koran, which she did. After several days they asked why she had not yet converted to their beliefs. Explaining that she needed more time she continued to read. Again the question came to her about conversion. Finally and saddest of all, she told them that she would convert because she feared for her life. But this leaves us with a strange view of the Koran and the way that Islam chooses to do their evangelism. If the Koran were powerful in and of itself, those who seek to convert Christians to Islamic beliefs would not need to use guns in the process. That is, you should automatically appeal to your most powerful source. The fact that they use guns s...
2 comments
Read more

A Hero Who Will Never Die Again

Tuesday began like every other day of the week and it turned out to be extremely productive. In fact I was almost to the point of being proud of myself for all that I had gotten accomplished in a single day. As I was packing up my things for the day to head home I decided to check the news headlines at CNN.com. About halfway down the page I saw the title “Bandit star Reed dead at 71.” To most people this would have hardly even given cause for a second glance, but to me it was something so much more. Jerry Reed was the co-star of my favorite movie of all time, “Smokey and The Bandit.” I do not argue that the movie is great movie, by all rights it is not. It is filled with foul language and makes a mockery of police officers, neither of which I approve of. But the movie holds a special place in my heart. When I was five years old my parents took me to see this movie while we were on vacation in Knoxville, TN. It was my first movie in an actual cinema. The images on the screen were captiv...
Post a Comment
Read more