Quotes About Voting

Greetings All,

     Today is election day in Pennsylvania, and in our particular town they use our church as the voting site. It went as it does every election day (national or local).  As I walked from my car to the building to come to "work," I was stopped in the parking lot 4 times by different smiling individuals telling me the pro's of their candidate and trying to sway my vote before I got to the polling both.

     "Sorry," I said with a smile in return, "I'm just coming to work."  Once I said that I realized their enthusiastic interest in me was very short-lived!  It didn't offend me.  It's understandable. After all, there were other people walking in at the same time and they didn't want to miss the chance to sway them before they got to the voting booths too.

         Why the push?  Because we know life is about choices, and those choices lead to change (be it good or bad).  People know it. The Bible teaches that -- through the providence of a sovereign God our choices are used by Him to mold and form the future as He chooses to guide and direct it. That's why much time, and effort, and money goes into seeking to sway people's beliefs and opinions.

      Some persuasive methods are more overt and some are more subtle, but we are all constantly being "persuaded" to think or believe in one way as opposed to another.  Be it through politics, education, Hollywood, or religion -- through movies, commercials, editorials in the newspapers, billboards, Twitter, Facebook posts, the way news-worthy events are reported (with approving or non-approving glances), or what's actually considered important enough to report as opposed to what's left out -- there are very few people who don't seek to sway the opinions of others in some way. It's not wrong, it's just part of life!

           So for today I thought I would offer you some quotes that have to do with voting.  I am not sure if each person quoted lived up to the values they set forth, but I did think each quote was itself worth considering.  I prefer to keep politics out of the church, and have sought to keep it out of the pulpit. But as a reality of life in this country, and other countries, Christian's do need guidance on how to carry out their involvement. I hope these quotes give you some food for thought as you vote in accord with what your God-guided conscience allows.  Enjoy.

“I met those of our society who had votes in the ensuing election, and advised them
1. To vote, without fee or reward, for the person they judged most worthy
2. To speak no evil of the person they voted against, and
3. To take care their spirits were not sharpened against those that voted on the other side.”

John Wesley, 1703-1791  (Founder of the Methodist Denomination) 

"Let each citizen remember at the moment he is offering his vote… he is executing one of the most solemn trusts in human society for which he is accountable to God and his country." 

Samuel Adams, 1722-1803

"Providence has given our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty, as well as privilege and interest of a Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers." 

John Jay, 1745-1829 (First Chief Justice of the U.S. 

Supreme Court)

"When you become entitled to exercise the right of voting for public officers, let it be impressed on your mind that God commands you to choose for rulers, “just men who will rule in the fear of God.”  The preservation of government depends on the faithful discharge of this duty."

Noah Webster, 1758-1843 (Author of Webster’s Dictionary)

"Now more than ever the people are responsible for the character of their Congress. If that body be ignorant, reckless, and corrupt, it is because the people tolerate ignorance, recklessness, and corruption. If it be intelligent, brave, and pure, it is because the people demand these high qualities to represent them in the national legislature."

James Garfield, 1831-1881 (20th President of the United States)

"When the righteous rule, the people rejoice; when the wicked rule, the people groan." 

William Paterson, 1745-1806  (Signer of the Constitution, and Supreme Court Justice quoting, Proverbs 29:2)

"Voting at elections is one of the most important rights of the subject." 

Alexander Hamilton, 1757-1804  (Author of The Federalist Papers, Secretary of the Treasury)

"It will be conceded that a Christian’s first duty is to God. It then follows, as a matter of course, that it is his duty to carry his Christian code of morals to the polls and vote them … If Christians would vote their duty to God at the polls, they would carry every election, and do it with ease …  If the Christians of America could be persuaded to vote God and a clean ticket, it would bring about a moral revolution that would be incalculably beneficent. It would save the country."

Mark Twain, 1835-1910 (Colliers magazine, September 2, 1904)

"Nobody will ever deprive the American people of the right to vote except the American people themselves—and the only way they could do this is by not voting." 

Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1882-1945 (32nd President of the United States)

"[S]ecularists are wrong when they ask believers to leave their religion at the door before entering into the public square. Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, William Jennings Bryan, Dorothy Day, Martin Luther King—indeed, the majority of great reformers in American history—were not only motivated by faith, but repeatedly used religious language to argue for their cause.  So to say that men and women should not inject their "personal morality" into public policy debates is a practical absurdity. Our law is by definition a codification of morality, much of it grounded in Judeo-Christian tradition." 

Barack Obama (44th President of the United States,  "Call to Renewal Keynote Address," Call to Renewal Conference on Building a Covenant for a New America, June 28, 2006)

"Proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all its inhabitants.”

Partial quote of Leviticus 25:10 inscribed on the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia

"Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence."

I Timothy 2:1-2

“He who rules over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God.”

II Samuel 23:3

“Choose wise, understanding, and knowledgeable men from among your tribes, and I will make them heads over you.”

Deuteronomy 1:13

As I said, food for thought.   In His Service, Pastor Jeff

They Calmly Sang On

Greetings All,

   In light of the many terrorist attacks in November alone -- Beirut, Lebanon (43 dead, 240 injured); Paris, France (130 dead, 368 injured);  Nigeria (55 dead and over 100 injured in two separate attacks) I thought this entry in Ray Ortlund's Blog - Christ Is Deeper Still, was a good word to all believers in Jesus. The entry is "They Calmly Sang On" (Nov. 20, 2015).
     It is written in light of an event that occurred in the life of John Wesley (founder of the Methodist denomination).  What Wesley witnessed on a ship at sea was so startling to him that although he was heading to America to do missions work, it made him realize he didn't yet know Jesus. The Moravian's (of whom he writes) were devout Christians from Germany who had experienced an extraordinary outpouring of the Holy Spirit in mid-August of 1727. It is often referred to as, "The Moravian Pentecost."  From that point on (and lasting for nearly 100 years) their zeal for prayer and missions and godliness (evidenced most notably in their humility and willingness to both suffer and sacrifice for Jesus) has seen few rivals.

     Of the event referred to by Ortlund in his blog entry below, Wesley wrote in his journal on January 25, 1736 that the Moravian's, or simply "the Germans" as he called them:

"...had given a continual proof of their humility by performing those servile tasks for the other passengers which none of the English would undertake; and for which they desired, and would receive no pay, saying, “it was good for their proud hearts,” and “their loving Saviour had done more for them.” Every day had given them occasion to show a meekness which no injury could move. If they were pushed, struck, or thrown down, they rose again and went away; but no complaint was found in their mouth..."

     Wesley then states that as they gathered on the ships deck for a worship service (remember this is in late January!) an intense storm whipped up: "As they began the first psalm the sea broke over the deck, split the main-sail in pieces, covered the ship, and poured in between the decks, as if the great deep had already swallowed us up."

     Ortlund picks it up from here. Enjoy.

They Calmly Sang On 

     "John Wesley finally saw how little he knew of Jesus in the middle of the Atlantic, on board the Simmonds, when a storm suddenly broke out.  A group of Moravian missionaries happened to be having a worship service on deck at the time.  Wesley records that, when the storm became intense, “a terrible screaming began among the English.”  But “the Germans looked up, and without intermission calmly sang on." 

     "I asked one of them afterwards, ‘Were you not afraid?’  He answered, ‘I thank God, no.’  I asked, ‘But were not your women and children afraid?’  He replied mildly, ‘No; our women and children are not afraid to die.'”  Wesley then knew that something was missing from his life.  [On May 24, 1738] he found it in Christ.  He found all he needed to face life and death in Christ alone.

When the next 9/11 hits us, may we serve others in every way we can.  But through it all, and even right now, may we not yield to hysteria.  May we calmly sing on, because we have in Christ a hope that nothing in this world can destroy. Our serenity will make an everlasting difference to others."

-----------------------------------------------------------

     Wesley would actually finish that entry of January 25, 1736 by writing: "From [the Moravian's] I went to their crying, trembling neighbors (the Englishmen), and pointed out to them the difference, in the hour of trial, between those who fear God, and those who fear him not."

     Clearly everyone would wish and pray that terrorist activity would stop. Yet from what we are seeing, it appears that may not be the case in the near future. And though we would hope it never comes near to us, or our loved ones (or anyone else for that matter), it still doesn't erase the questions which the possibility thrusts upon us, like:  How would we personally face danger or death, like those who know and fear God, or like those who don't?   Do we really believe?   Do we really trust that our lives are in the hands of our loving Father who governs the universe? Could we, like the Moravian's, be calm and unafraid in the face of death because we know Jesus?  Do you know Jesus?

In the Grip of His Grace,  Pastor Jeff

Recovering the Legacy of Anne Dutton (1692-1765): Forgotten Female Baptist Theologian of the 18th Century

Greetings All,

     This week I was given a copy of the January 2015 issue of The Banner of Truth.  While reading it I came across an article entitled, "George Whitefield's Impact Upon The Trans-Atlantic Baptist Community,"  by Michael A. G. Haykin.  I have always enjoyed reading about Whitefield (the most famous evangelist of the First Great Awakening) and so I started skimming the article.
     Yet, as a result of what I found there I'm not going to focus on Whitefield as much as I'm going to focus on a little known woman, and friend of Whitefield, named Anne Dutton.  For during a time when women were restricted from many aspects of ministry, she carried on a significant ministry using her pen.  According to Michael Sciretti, who wrote his doctoral thesis on her, she was "probably the most prolific woman writer in the eighteenth century, Baptist or otherwise."  She became well-known on both sides of the Atlantic.

     Anne was born in the early 1690's. She became a "Particular Baptist" (Calvinist Baptist) around 1713, and married a Baptist gentleman named Thomas Cattell in 1715. They were only married for four years before he died in 1719.  Anne married a second time in 1720 to a Baptist pastor named Benjamin Dutton.

     Over the next 20 years she wrote books, poems, pamphlets and tracts, and corresponded with numerous well-known Christian leaders including George Whitefield, Howell Harris, John Wesley and William Seward.  Her purpose? To inspire them, "by infusing them with confidence, intention, steadfastness, and courage, boldly urging them to greater service and devotion to Christ and the gospel." (Sciretti)

     William Seward, Whitefield's co-worker, wrote to Anne in 1739, and when she responded, Seward confessed it was, "full of such comforts and direct answers to what I had been writing that it filled my eyes with tears of joy."  In the mid-1740's her husband Benjamin headed to America preaching and promoting Anne's books, only to drown on the return trip in 1747 when the ship he was traveling on went down in the Atlantic. 

Anne had corresponded with Whitefield from 1739-1744, a lady he considered her a close friend.  It was a crucial period for Whitefield as he was forming his doctrinal convictions about Calvinism.  He wrote to her, "Help me by your prayers. It is an ease thus to unbossom one's self to a friend, and an instance of my confidence in you." 
     A few months later, after visiting her, he would confide in a friend, "her conversation is as weighty as her letters."  Whitefield then encouraged her to write to a number of his friends in America, saying, "I am willing your usefulness should be as extensive as may be. May the Lord bless you ever, more and more."
     In the debate that arose in the 1740's regarding Wesley's doctrine of attainable Christian perfection, Anne was instrumental in clarifying the biblical position. She actually helped Whitefield, "think through the issue biblically and stand firm on his convictions." (Haykin)

     From I John 3:2 and II Corinthians 3:18, for example, she maintained:

     "Our imperfection in holiness, which arises from the being and working of sin in our corrupt nature, is necessarily implied... for the Apostle says, "When He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is." He does not say we are like Him,... but we shall be like Him. And he gives the great cause of this great effect -- for we shall see Him as He is. Sight of Christ is the cause of likeness to Him. Sight of Christ, partial in this life, produceth partial likeness. Sight of Christ total in the life to come will produce total likeness to Him. First in our souls, during a separate state, and then in our whole persons after the resurrection of the just. Then, and not till then, shall we be perfectly like Christ, in holiness and glory. Holiness, which is the glory of the soul, is the effect of us beholding the glory of the Lord, as 2 Cor. 3:18: 'But we all with open face, beholding 'as in a glass' the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image, from glory to glory, as by the Spirit of the Lord."  Whence we may likewise note, that the change of the soul into the image of God, is imperfect, with respect to degrees, and a progressive work while in this life. It is from 'glory to glory.' The New Testament saints, if compared with the Old, have an open-faced view of the glory of God in Christ; and a more glorious change into His image. But if compared with that vision of God which we shall have in glory, we see but darkly."

     I found it interesting that Whitefield and others found such great help (emotionally, spiritually and theologically) from Mrs. Dutton's counsel and writings. Her name is all but forgotten and unknown to most, but her spiritual legacy carries on through the more well-known men she encouraged through her books and correspondences.

     Quite a testimony, and I hope an encouraging one, for all those who work tirelessly behind the scenes lending aide to those on the "front lines of ministry."  We sometimes forget how important the ministry of "encouraging the saints" really is.  Maybe some day someone will re-publish Anne's books that even more may benefit from her spiritual insights and biblical wisdom.

Blessings to all -- especially you behind-the-scenes workers for the Gospel,  Pastor Jeff

Words of Wisdom

Greetings All,

     This week's "thought" is comprised of many short but wise quotes. I have been preaching on the topic of wisdom from the book of Proverbs, and the following quotes follow that same format of short, wise, insightful proverbs. I offer you many in the hope that a few will hit home and give you food for further thought. Enjoy!

“God loves each of us as if there were only one of us.” St. Augustine

“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose.” Jim Elliot

“The will of God will not take us where the grace of God cannot sustain us.”  Billy Graham

“Employ whatever God has entrusted you with, in doing good, all possible good, in every possible kind and degree… Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.”   John Wesley

"Faith is a living and unshakable confidence -- a belief in God so assured that a man would die a thousand deaths for its sake.”  Martin Luther

“Faith is taking the first step even when you can’t see the whole staircase.”  Martin Luther King Jr.

“God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.”  John Piper

“Faith does not eliminate questions, but faith knows where to take them.”  Elisabeth Elliot

“We may speak about heaven as a place where there are no tears, no death, no fear, no night; but those are just the benefits of heaven. The beauty of heaven is seeing God.”  Max Lucado

“A woman’s heart should be so hidden in God that a man has to seek Him just to find her.”   Max Lucado

“Jesus said, “Love…as I have loved you.”  We can never love too much.”   Amy Carmichael

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”   Martin Luther King Jr.

“Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows; it empties today of its strength.”  Corrie Ten Boom

“The Christian life is not a constant high. I have my moments of deep discouragement. I have to go to God in prayer with tears in my eyes, and say, ‘O God, forgive me,’ or ‘Help me.’”  Billy Graham

“Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither.”  C. S. Lewis

"Live your life as if you were someone else's only role model. Live your life so that all you want your children to be they see in you."   Anonymous

"Strength and struggle go together, The supreme reward of struggle is strength. Life is a battle and the greatest joy is to overcome. The pursuit of easy things make men weak. It is following the paths of least resistance that make both rivers and men crooked."   Paul Parlette

I trust at least one of them was helpful. Have a blessed week. In His Service, Pastor Jeff 

Rule of Life

Greetings All,      I trust you were all spiritually enriched this past weekend by the opportunity (provided by the Church calendar year) to focus exclusively on the resurrection of Jesus.  It was a great day here in Perkasie, PA as we entered back into our newly renovated sanctuary for the first Sunday morning service since early January!       Our "thoughts" for this morning reflect something of the mindset of Jesus, who, as we are told in Acts 10:38, "went around doing good..."    The same was said of His disciple Tabitha.  She was apparently so intent on following His example that Acts 9:36 can say of her that she "was always doing good and helping the poor."           I hope these thoughts challenge and motivate you to do the same.  Enjoy.        "No man or woman of the humblest sort can really be strong, gentle, pure and good, without the world being the better for it; without somebody being helped and comforted by the very existence of that goodness."   Phillips Brooks        "I expect to pass through this world but once.  Any good thing, therefore, that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to any fellow creature; let me do it now; let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again."  Stephen Grellet         I conclude by offering you John Wesley's well-known Rule of Life:   "Do all the good you can, By all the means you can, In all the ways you can, In all the places you can, At all the times you can, To all the people you can, As long as ever you can."   In the Bond's of Christian Fellowship,   Pastor Jeff   Dr. Jeffrey F. Evans