Tag: Christian

Election Day – Finally

I’ve already made my predictions (Part I, Part II, Part III). I am now ready to vote–finally! Actually, I have been for a few years. It’s pretty simple for me: straight Republican for this election; however, I won’t be pushing the “Straight Republican” button on the machine. Why? There’s just more satisfaction for me for selecting each candidate. Here’s my list:

  • President: Mitt Romney (Paul Ryan VP)
  • US Senator: Tom Smith
  • US Congress (4th District): Scott Perry
  • Attorney General: David Freed
  • State Treasurer: Diana Irey Vaughan
  • PA General Assembly Representative: Stan Saylor
  • Auditor General: John Maher

To be completely honest, I’m not even sure yet if I’ll vote in the morning before work, or in the evening after I get off of work. I’m leaning for the morning. And of course, I’ll be up late watching the results come in. I remember doing this for the first time in 2000 (I was 13 then…yes, I’m a nerd for this stuff!), staying up until 2AM, going to bed, then waking up to hear that the election was still a tossup. Hopefully, it won’t be this time around.

As an aggregate from what I’ve heard, I’ll give you a taste of things to watch out for, to see which way things are trending.

  1. 6:00PM EST | Indiana is one of the first “battleground-ish” states to close its polls (though it should have no problem going for Romney). Indiana has to be called early for Romney. If it takes a few hours, Republicans will be in trouble.
  2. 7:00PM EST | Florida and Virginia are the big states to close at this time. If both are called for Romney before 9:00PM, this will be a good night for Romney.
  3. 8:00PM EST | This is the big one. Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Michigan all close at 9. Of course, there could be some polls open later because of long lines, but overall, between 8PM and 10PM, I think the election will be decided. If any of these states get called for any candidate before 9PM, the night will look very bright for that candidate. If Romney wins ONE of these, the contest is OVER. If Obama holds all of them (especially Ohio), it will be tough for Romney to win–nearly requiring a miracle.
  4. 9:00PM EST | Colorado comes up at this hour. If Ohio ends up swinging in Romney’s favor, and he ends up losing several of the other tossups (like Virginia, New Hampshire, or Iowa), Colorado will push him over the top, theoretically. If Obama picks up Colorado, along with Virgina and Iowa after Romney wins Ohio, then Mr. Obama could still eek out a victory. Wisconsin is of course here as well. Romney would have to have it if he loses Ohio. Otherwise, the state doesn’t mean quite as much to either candidate.

And a few tips from me to my fellow conservative voters:

  • Don’t let the exit polls that might be leaked in the afternoon do ANYTHING to you. Don’t say, “Oh, it looks like Obama’s going to win. I’ll just vote next time.” That’s what the Democrats want you to do. That’s what they tried to do in the 2004 elections when Bush won, as well as the recent Wisconsin recall election. If we would have went by the leaked exit polls in Wisconsin, then Walker would have lost handily. Note: he won by 5 points.
  • Make sure your vote is counted. If somehow you are not on your precinct’s registration list (because you moved recently, ended up at the wrong polling place, etc.) make sure you get to the right polling place.
  • Don’t let long lines hinder you. If the polling place is about to close, make sure that you stay in line.

And on a much more important note:

If Mitt Romney is elected President, the Senate flips to Republican control, and the House stays solidly red, then guess what? In the long run as Christians, this means pretty much nothing. Yes, I am a conservative. I believe in free-market, capitalist economics. I am pro-life, pro-gun, pro-freedom of religion, and pro-limited-government. But my political beliefs are gong to change our country to what it needs to be at heart. I am reminded of this so much when reading biographies of historic preachers (Edwards, Moody, Spurgeon,  Torrey, Finney, among others)? They never were involved in preaching a “vote this guy in, and revival will come” gospel. What did they pray for? A Spiritual Awakening: one preaches the Living Christ; that floods the aisles with converts; that mends families; that rescues the needy; that strives for Godly Holiness. This is what we need as a nation. Sure, a political victory is great to have. But what does it matter in eternity? Vote on Election Day. Vote for God’s moral values. Vote for freedom. But never forget Whom we serve for eternity!

I would recommend reading Joel Rosenberg’s Implosion for more on this subject.

What the United States Truly Needs

Which course is America currently on, according to history? In which ways could the United States literally implode? Does God still have a plan for America? These questions, and many like them, are well presented, documented, and answered by Joel C. Rosenberg in his most recent work, Implosion: Can America Recover from Its Economic and Spiritual Challenges in Time?

Cover

Being a fan of Mr. Rosenberg’s political thrillers, it was not difficult to pick up Implosion. I found this non-fiction book very relevant, in my opinion, to the situations our nation faces in the present. The exciting and gripping style that the author uses in his fiction writings shows itself at times in Implosion as well. Facts are presented in an easy-to-understand manner, definitely not feeling too cumbersome. Several chapters of theories as to what could cause the United States to “implode” are revealed in a way that causes the reader to think, but without trying to create or expound upon conspiracy theories. Rosenberg is very mainstream in his hypotheses, yet still remains thought-provoking.

I bought this book on Amazon for my Kindle (like pretty much every book I’ve bought in the last two years), and found the quality of Tyndale’s Kindle publishing to be of high-quality, yet again. There were no obvious typos or formatting errors that I saw.

In the first chapters of Implosion, the author answers, in detail, many questions that the average American citizen (or politician for that matter) may have concerning the Bible, and specifically: end times prophecy. Several questions are answered about whether America is mentioned in Biblical prophecy, and what role she could play in the future events of this world. Again, Mr. Rosenberg is very realistic in his assumptions. In no way does he delve into implausible, manufactured theories that rely simply on being culturally outrageous. He is clear and objective in prophetic matters.

About one-third of the way into the book, Joel C. Rosenberg begins to play out multiple scenarios that could cause the United States to implode upon herself. From economic collapse and terrorism, to natural disasters and the rapture, facts are presented for each case, and how this nation could become nearly insignificant in world events in the near future. Then, as if to show the reader the truth behind all of the facts, the author declares the true implosion of America that has already begun: spiritual apathy.

After showing the reality of America’s overall spiritual condition by different modern and historical figures, the author takes the reader back 250 years ago, to the First Great Awakening. During that time, men such as George Whitefield, Jonathan Edwards, and the Wesley brothers were used by God to literally transform colonial America from hard-necked “religious” pragmatists  into an overall Spirit-sensitive group of people. What seemed like insurmountable spiritual deadness was completely trodden down to make place for a historic Christian revival: with souls saved, lives turned around, and families mended.

Even 70 years after the First Great Awakening, though, a coldness had once again developed towards Godly things. The Enlightenment had put a damper on churches, to the point where most Protestant ministers even seemed unregenerate. Then, through prayer, fasting, and God’s Divine Providence, a revival spread from the ports of the east coast to the furthest frontiers. Whole families and towns were born-again. Church attendance and the number of churches in general rose tremendously. It was because God is more powerful than any human tendency toward spiritual decay; and because just a few of God’s people, again, prayed, fasted, and sought the Lord concerning the state of their neighbors.

What Joel Rosenberg brought to light at the end of the book was the need–not for a political revival–but a true, Spirit-driven Great Awakening. I have to admit, I have been paying very close attention to this current election cycle. It is very easy to get caught up into the politics of everything, and attach your hope of the future of the United States to a candidate. In no way am I saying that we should be disengaged (quite the opposite, in fact, as Rosenberg explains); however, as Christians, we must examine ourselves and not throw our hope into any political change. An American change back to the roots of her founding can only happen if America’s people seek the God of their founding.

Mr. Rosenberg concludes Implosion with a challenge for Christians to look inward. Are we seeing revival in our own lives? Are we praying for national revival? Are our families gathering around the Bible together daily to worship the Lord? Or are we simply too concerned about earthly things to make time to pray and seek God through His Word? Implosion was a refreshing, encouraging, and challenging book that I think any concerned American should read. I picked this book up thinking it would be political, but found that it was not just the typical current-events rant. Implosion doesn’t simply list out all of the problems with America: it gives the honest and Biblical solution.

Twenty Years

Pastor Randy Starr

Today, at Mt. Zion Baptist Church, Brogue, we celebrated the twentieth anniversary of our Pastor, Randy Starr, shepherding our congregation.  What a day!  Preaching were Pastor Dave Bottrell and Pastor Keith Sweitzer, both sent out as church planters from our church.  Everything was uplifting: from the singing, to the testimonies, and definitely the preaching.  The testimonies were terrific: from “old-timers” to new members, thanks was given to God for a faithful pastor.  We are proud to call ourselves members of Mt. Zion.

Our church is made of a host of different types of people, but the majority tend to be hard-working farmers, hunters, and contractors.  Pastor is not naturally any of those things.  That doesn’t matter, though, to God.  Pastor Starr was called to Brogue in 1990 to lead a country church down the path of biblical living, soulwinning, and excellence.  And we all love him.  Praise the Lord that He called a willing and obedient man to our church!

My first impressions of Pastor Starr were a little bit fearful: I was in my senior year of college, engaged to be married, and preparing for graduation and ministry.  I was told, when moving to Brogue, that Pastor Starr is very disciplined and thrills himself in organization and planning.  I thought that was great, but not quite to the extent I heard.  I heard stories of notebooks of organization and planning lining every wall (almost true!), everything being very sharp (true!), and a strong leader (true!).  Someone told me if I didn’t do things right at Mt. Zion, Pastor Starr would rip my head off!

Then we got here…one of the first things that welcomed us late that night was a card from Pastor and Mrs. Starr–simply encouraging.  I sure noticed the organization and detail orientation from Pastor, but I also noticed something far more prominent in this man’s life: compassion for people.  Pastor loves his congregation, and is very concerned with their relationship with God.  When he would give counsel, it was not always what people wanted to hear, and sometimes they wouldn’t follow his biblical counsel.  I have seen people break Pastor’s heart, but he still loves them, prays for them, and welcomes them right back in, as if nothing had ever happened, after they get right with God.  This is something you could never learn in a college textbook.  Compassion comes directly from a Holy Spirit filled person.  If there’s anything I have and want to continually learn from Pastor, it is his love for people!

For a long time, I saw Pastor’s love for the church, and heard people say how encouraging he is.  I didn’t know it myself until my wife and I counseled with Pastor.  “This is what a pastor is supposed to be: stern, yet encouraging; loving, yet honest,” I thought.  What a Godly example and heritage Pastor Starr is to our church, and to me personally.  And Mrs. Starr–my wife just loves her: again, the compassion, sincerity, and friendliness in times of hardship, all of which are an example to her as well.

This is the kind of pastor I desire to be some day: a forceful preacher, a seeker of the lost, and a shepherd to God’s church.  Praise the Lord for twenty years of faithfulness!

1 Timothy 3:1-7

This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?) Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

…all fulfilled