Our True Identity in Christ Jesus

Greetings All!

     This week's thought has to do with who we are in Christ.  It underscores our true identity in Christ Jesus and can help us when we "feel" otherwise. We often have a heavy (even sad) sense of who we feel we are, or how we "think" God must view us, so it's good every so often to be reminded what God says about us, and how He views us in Jesus.

     The list below itemizes in "first-person language" who you really are and what you enjoy in Christ.  You can’t earn these qualities. They are a gift of God's grace to you as His blood-purchased and Spirit-born child. These traits are yours simply because you were born again into life with Christ. There is nothing you can do to make these characteristics more true of you, though you can make them more meaningful and productive in your life by simply choosing to believe they are true of you (After all, to believe them is to believe the Gospel).

     One of the best ways to grow and mature as a believer is to continually remind yourself who you are in Christ and what things are yours by virtue of being His child.  The more you understand and affirm who you are in Christ, the more your life and behavior will reflect the reality of your true identity in Him.  So, believer, take a moment to see if how you view you lines up with how God views you!  Enjoy!

I am a child of God (John 1:12).

I am a branch of the true Vine through whom the life of Jesus flows (John 15:1, 5).

I am a friend of Jesus (John 15:15).

I am justified (pardoned and counted totally righteous in God sight) because of Christ (Romans 3:24)

I am no longer a slave to sin, God has broken it's dominion or oppressive rule over my life (Romans 6:6, Galatians 5:1).

 I am free from any and all divine condemnation (Romans 8:1).

I am a fellow heir with Christ, loved as fully by God as Jesus Himself (Romans 8:17).

I am entirely accepted and acceptable in God’s sight because of all Jesus did for me (Romans 15:7, Ephesians 1:6).

I am a saint, washed and set apart for God (1 Corinthians 1:2, Ephesians 1:1, Philippians 1:1, and Colossians 1:2.)

I am righteous, sanctified and redeemed, because Christ Himself has become for me my righteousness, sanctification, and redemption (1 Corinthians 1:30).

I am a temple of the Holy Spirit who has come to dwell in me (1 Corinthians 6:19).

I am joined to the Lord Jesus and one with Him in spirit (1 Corinthians 6:17).

 I am a new creature in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17).

I am the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21).

I am one with all who are in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28).

I am no longer a slave, but a child and an heir who's soul cries out, "Abba, Father" (Galatians 4:6-7).

I am blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 1:3)

I am one chosen before the creation of the world to be holy, and blameless before God (Ephesians 1:4).

I am redeemed and forgiven for all my sins by the grace of Jesus (Ephesians 1:7, Colossians 2:13).

I am one who God predestined in love to be a grace-adopted child in His family (Ephesians 1:11).

I am sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise unto the day of redemption (Ephesians 1:13).

I am alive with Christ (Ephesians 2:4-5, Colossians 2:13).

I am God’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works (Ephesians 2:10).

I am a member of Christ’s body and a partaker of His promise of love, care, provision and salvation (Ephesians 3:6, Ephesians 5:30.)

I am a citizen of heaven (Philippians 3:20).

I am complete in Christ (Colossians 2:10).

 I am chosen of God, holy and dearly beloved (Colossians 3:12, 1 Thessalonians 1:4).

     Should you struggle to accept these things are true of you, pause and remember: These are not earned rights, privileges, or positions, they are yours as a gracious and free gift through Jesus.  Read and re-read them if you must, and if you struggle, pray that God might so impress and imprint them upon your soul that they become a given and accepted part of your self-awareness and identity in Jesus.

Living in the Grace of Jesus, Pastor Jeff

A Lesson in Integrity

Greetings All!

     This week's "thought" was sent to me by a friend.  It's basically a lesson in integrity in a world that often lacks it.  It came from the blog site: WONDERNEED ( runwonder.com ) and was the post for August 7th.  I thought it was a story worth passing on simply for the truth it teaches -- that in a world that has embraced moral relativism, some still look for people of godly character.  Enjoy.

How One CEO Taught His Employees a Lesson in Integrity

     "A successful business man was growing old and knew it was time to choose a successor to take over the business.  Instead of choosing one of his Directors or his children, he decided to do something different. He called all the young executives in his company together.  He said, “It is time for me to step down and choose the next CEO. I have decided to choose one of you..”  The young executives were shocked, but the boss continued: “I am going to give each one of you a SEED today – one very special SEED… I want you to plant the seed, water it, and come back here one year from today with what you have grown from the seed I have given you. I will then judge the plants that you bring, and the one I choose will be the next CEO.”

     One man, named Jim, was there that day and he, like the others, received a seed. He went home and excitedly, told his wife the story. She helped him get a pot, soil and compost and he planted the seed. Everyday, he would water it and watch to see if it had grown. After about three weeks, some of the other executives began to talk about their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow. Jim kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew. Three weeks, four weeks, five weeks went by, still nothing.  By now, others were talking about their plants, but Jim didn’t have a plant and he felt like a failure.

     Six months went by — still nothing in Jim’s pot. He just knew he had killed his seed. Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had nothing. Jim didn’t say anything to his colleagues, however. He just kept watering and fertilizing the soil – He so wanted the seed to grow.  A year finally went by and all the young executives of the company brought their plants to the CEO for inspection. Jim told his wife that he wasn’t going to take an empty pot. But she asked him to be honest about what happened. Jim felt sick to his stomach, it was going to be the most embarrassing moment of his life, but he knew his wife was right. He took his empty pot to the board room. When Jim arrived, he was amazed at the variety of plants grown by the other executives. They were beautiful — in all shapes and sizes. Jim put his empty pot on the floor and many of his colleagues laughed, a few felt sorry for him!

     When the CEO arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted his young executives. Jim just tried to hide in the back. “My, what great plants, trees, and flowers you have grown,” said the CEO. “Today one of you will be appointed the next CEO!”   The CEO spotted Jim at the back of the room with his empty pot.  He ordered the Financial Director to bring him to the front.  Jim was terrified. He thought, “The CEO knows I’m a failure! Maybe he will have me fired!”  When Jim got to the front, the CEO asked him what had happened to his seed – Jim told him the story. The CEO asked everyone to sit down except Jim. He looked at Jim, and then announced to the young executives, “Behold your next Chief Executive Officer!  His name is Jim!” Jim couldn’t believe it. Jim couldn’t even grow his seed.  “How could he be the new CEO?” the others said.

     Then the CEO said, “One year ago today, I gave everyone in this room a seed. I told you to take the seed, plant it, water it, and bring it back to me today. But I gave you all boiled seeds; they were dead – it was not possible for them to grow.  All of you, except Jim, have brought me trees and plants and flowers. When you found that the seed would not grow, you substituted another seed for the one I gave you. Jim was the only one with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it. Therefore, he is the one who will be the new Chief Executive Officer!”

     In a world where we can tend to think that the road to success is simply a matter anticipating what others want, and then seeking to give them what we think they want (even if it means violating what we know to be right and true), this story stands as a helpful corrective. The honest person, or the person of integrity, as we all know, does not always "win out" in the end -- from a worldly perspective. Many people without solid integrity rise to the top, while those who have integrity get left in the dust.  In many cases honesty and truthfulness and a refusal to do what is wrong can be a problem when it comes to climbing the corporate ladder.  I knew a man who had to step down from a good paying managerial job because he was asked to change (tell an outright lie) on an employee accident report where the company was indeed at negligent and at fault, so that his employer would not be sued by the injured workers for their lost wages.  His honesty resulted in his losing his job, not a promotion.

     Yet, that's the choice we must all make.  Do what's expected and wanted, or do what is right.  Tell the truth, or manipulate the truth to our advantage. Do what we are asked (though immoral) or refuse to do it and accept the consequences -- whether they are good (by the world's standards) or bad (by the world's standards). Be a person of integrity because we know that's what God wants, and Christ calls us to, or do whatever enables us to get ahead in the world.  After all, many things that are legal are not moral, holy, or righteous in the sight of God.

     It brings us back to the ultimate question:  "What good is it if we gain the whole world and lose our soul?"   Every twisting of the truth...  every breach of integrity...  every overly-inflated charge (like the OT weighted scales)... chips away at the substance of our character and makes us less and less of what God wants us to be.  As Jesus told his disciples, "Let your yes be yes and your no be no; whatever is more than these is of the evil one" (Matthew 5:37).  When confronted by a moral dilemma, our goal should never be,"what will benefit me (in the worldly sense),"  but what honors God the most?  What does honesty and integrity demand?  For only then can it truly be to our benefit.

In the Glad Service of Jesus, Pastor Jeff

Extravagant Grace

Greetings All!

     Today's 'thought' could have been written by me (the first part at least)!  For it sounds very similar to conversations I've had with people who see the God of the Old Testament as somehow being different from the God of the New Testament -- as if God's nature changed between the Testaments!  The extreme example of this was Marcion (85-160 A.D.) who not only deleted the Old Testament from his Bible, but all the verses from the Old Testament that were quoted by the authors of the New Testament! (By the way 25.5% of the material in the New Testament is quotations of the Old Testament.)  He had a very small Bible!   This particular entry is found in the book, "Extravagant Grace" edited by Traci Mullins. It was written by Marilyn Meberg.  I offer it for your consideration.  Enjoy.

     "Not long ago a woman named Betty corralled me after a conference and confided: 'You know what I just love about the God of the New Testament?  He's just so much more pleasant than that one in the Old Testament.  What I mean is, the modern God is so much more liberal...  I mean liberal about the sin stuff and everything. You know that woman at the well that Jesus was chatting with? You know, the one who moved through husbands like cheesecake?  Well, Jesus was so nice about all that.  And then of course there's that woman doing you know what right in the middle of the day.  And Jesus didn't even have a fit about it!  I love that about him!'

     I wonder if Betty's sentiments are more common than we might think. Quite frankly, I understand right where she's coming from. Sunday school, church, and vacation Bible school were all a part of my life as I grew up, and I can vividly remember thinking that the stories I heard about how God wiped out whole cities, including women and children, was scary. I was convinced he was powerful, but never in a million years would I believe he was pleasant.  As I grew older I decided not to read the Old Testament at all.  If I were to be perfectly honest, I thought God was arrogant, narrow-minded, and barbaric. Of course, I never admitted that to a living soul, and I certainly didn't tell God!  I didn't want to risk being struck by a plague!

     During my junior year at Seattle Pacific University I had one of those 'aha' moments in the middle of Dr. Demaray's class on evangelism. He pointed out that in the Old Testament God was graphically illustrating his utter intolerance of sin. That's why those people who lived in total disobedience were wiped out. The law was: You sin, you're warned, you don't heed the warning, you die!  Dr. Demaray went on to explain that when Jesus became the embodiment of the world's sin, God, who cannot tolerate sin, turned momentarily away, thus provoking the anguished cry, 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?' It wasn't that God's heart was indifferent to the death of his Son; he simply cannot compromise his holiness by even looking upon sin.

     It began to make more sense to me why God seemed so inflexible about sinful people, but it still made him a bit scary. It took a few more years for me to finally fit the Old Testament God and the New Testament God into one integrated, harmonious whole. That all happened when I joined a Bible study on the book of Romans and finally learned the meaning of justification...  Romans 5:1 states, 'Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.'   Chuck Swindoll clearly defines this extravagant gift of justification through God's grace.  'It is the sovereign act of God whereby he declares righteous the believing sinner while still in his sinning state. It doesn't mean that the believing sinner stops sinning. It doesn't even mean the believing sinner is made righteous in the sense of suddenly becoming perpetually perfect. The sinner is declared righteous. God sovereignly bestows the gift of eternal life on the sinner at the moment he believes and thereby declares him righteous while the sinner still lives a life marked by periodic sinfulness.  God takes the guilty, believing sinner who says, 'I am lost, unworthy, guilty as charged, and undeserving of forgiveness' and extends the gift of eternal life because Christ's death on the cross satisfied His demands against sin, namely death. And God sees the guilty sinner (who comes by faith alone) as righteous as He sees His own Son."

     Do you realize what that means?  Even though we still sin and often can''t seem to stop, God declared us righteous when we believed and received Jesus. And because the sin thing stays with us like onions after lunch, we desperately need God's grace. We deserve to be overtaken by locusts, but instead we're embraced by forgiveness and miraculously accepted as righteous by the very God who will not tolerate wrongdoing of any kind!  I realize now that without knowing God's utter intolerance of sin, I could never begin to appreciate how incredible is the grace with which he embraces me.  The God of the Old Testament is the same God who ordained the Cross of forgiveness and grace. Someone needs to explain that to Betty."

     As a pastor I too have wrestled with some of the things God commanded in the Old Testament. They do seem harsh. And I have struggled seeing Jesus ("who is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of God's being" - Hebrews 1:3) carrying them out.  Yet I have never embraced the Marcion heresy of thinking there were "two different God's"  -- the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New.  Few truths stand out with more clarity than the declaration of God in Malachi 3:6, where He says, "I am the LORD, I do not change."  In fact, given the biblical understanding of God as Triune (one God indivisibly manifest in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) the same truth is stated by the author of Hebrews when he states that, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever"  (13:8).  The issue is not whether God in His essential nature changes (an impossibility according to God's own declaration in Scripture). But whether the God who is consistently and unchangeably the same changes His approach to sinners in light of the Cross.

     We live now in the Church age, or the epoch of grace, where mercy is being offered to the nations through the proclamation of the Gospel.  But we must remember that it's mercy offered in light of the wrath to come. For the Bible makes it clear that after the Gospel has been preached to all nations the end will come, and then God's wrath against sin will be exercised upon all who have not sought the shelter from it that He offers in Christ (Isaiah 61:2, I Thessalonians 1:10, I Thessalonians 5:1-3, II Thessalonians 1:5-10).  After all, if there is no coming day of wrath, there is no reason to seek shelter in Christ, and nothing that anyone really needs to be saved from. Such a belief would make the Gospel completely irrelevant.

     The Bible makes it clear that all sin will be punished. For believers it was punished in Jesus on the cross, but for those who reject Christ, it will be punished in them.  For the Gospel offer is not simply, "grace from now on, for all, forever."  It is, "grace for all who will come to Christ now, for the day of wrath (or judgment) is coming"  (Isaiah 61:2, II Corinthians 5:16-6:2).  People sometimes forget that the book of Revelation, which brings the New Testament to a close (and speaks of what will happen when the time of God's favor is finished), looks very "Old-Testament-like."

     So, it is true: God has not changed.  As a Holy God He always has, and always will, oppose and punish sin. And as a loving God He offers Christ to rescue from the coming wrath all who will trust in Him.  For those who are in Christ by faith their sin has already been punished. They are saved from the wrath to come (I Thess. 1:10). But for those who persist in their unbelief and refuse God's loving offer of grace in Christ, each day that passes draws them closer to the day (when if they continue to persist in that unbelief) they will experience His wrath in themselves. That's why we pray, and preach, and share the Gospel. As Marilyn Meberg writes: "The God of the Old Testament is the same God who ordained the Cross of forgiveness and grace.  Someone needs to explain that to Betty."

In the Service of the Gospel, Pastor Jeff

The Grace of Salvation

Greetings All,

     Though I've been sending these "thoughts" out for years I realized today that I've never sent one out from Max Lucado (yes, a one-sentence quote once, but no extended thought).  So, I thought I would remedy that!  Max is a best-selling Christian author. Most of you will recognize his name. It's hard to say how many books he's written or sold -- in the millions for sure (at least on the books sold side)!  His skill?  Making hard to understand truth understandable to most anyone.  He has an uncanny way of simplifying the complex and putting the cookies on the lower shelf. This particular thought has to do with The Grace of Salvation (or how one is saved), and comes from his book, "A Gentle Thunder."  Enjoy.

     "What is it, then, that God wants us to do?  What is the work he seeks? Just believe.  Believe the One he sent.  'The work God wants you to do is this: Believe the One he sent" (John 6:29 NCV). Someone is reading this and shaking his or her head and asking: 'Are you saying it is possible to go to heaven with no good works?  The answer is no. Good works are a requirement. Someone else is reading and asking, 'Are you saying it is possible to go to heaven without good character?'  My answer again is no. Good character is also required.  In order to enter heaven one must have good works and good character.

     But, alas, there is a problem. You have neither. Oh, you've done some nice things in your life. But you do not have enough good works to go to heaven regardless of your sacrifice. No matter how noble your gifts, they are not enough to get you into heaven.  Nor do you have enough character to go to heaven. 

     Please don't be offended (Then, again, be offended if necessary.) You're probably a very decent person. But decency is not enough. Those who see God are not the decent, they are the holy. 'Anyone whose life is not holy will never see the Lord' (Hebrews 12:14 NCV).  You may be decent. You may pay taxes and kiss your kids and sleep with a clear conscience. But apart from Christ you aren't holy. So how can you go to heaven?

     Only believe.
     Accept the work already done, the work of Jesus on the cross.
     Only believe.
     Accept the goodness of Jesus Christ.
     Abandon your own works and accept his.
     Abandon your own decency and accept his.
     Stand before God in his name, not yours.

     "Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved, but anyone who does not believe will be punished" (Mark 16:16 NCV).   It's that simple? Yes, it's that simple. It's that easy? There was nothing easy at all about it. The cross was heavy, the blood was real, and the price was extravagant. It would have bankrupted you or me, so Jesus paid it for us. Call it simple. Call it a gift. But don't call it easy.  Call it what it is.  Call it grace." 

     It's an affirmation of the Gospel truth that salvation is by grace alone, though faith alone, in Christ alone.  The Heidelberg Catechism (written in 1563) put it this way.

Question & Answer #60:

Question:  How are you righteous before God?

Answer: "Only by true faith in Jesus Christ.

Even though my conscience accuses me 

of having grievously sinned 

against all God’s commandments;

of never having kept any of them,

and of still being inclined toward all evil,

nevertheless,

without any merit of my own, 

and out of sheer grace,

God grants and credits to me the perfect satisfaction, 

righteousness, and holiness of Christ,

as if I had never sinned 

nor ever been a sinner, 

and as if I had been as perfectly obedient 

as Christ was obedient, for me.

All I need to do is accept this gift with a believing heart."

     The Law of God in the Old Testament demands two things of us: Perfect and flawless obedience, as well as punishment for all disobedience.  And the grace proclaimed in the Gospel is this: what God demanded of us, Christ supplied for us, in both his life of perfect obedience and his death for sin.  And these two together (and only these two together) become the righteousness that God credits to the believing sinner that they might be saved.  "Upon a life I did not live, upon a death I did not die, I stake my whole eternity" (Horatius Bonar).

     What could bring more comfort, peace, assurance, joy and gratitude to any believer's heart than to know that Christ is our perfection, and Christ is our pardon, and therefore our eternal acceptance with God rests upon Him and not us (I Corinthians 1:30-31).  This is grace in its most extravagant form. And in understanding it, how could our hearts not overflow with joy, be filled with gratitude, or burn with a desire to live for such a kind and merciful God?

In The Bonds of Christian Affection, Pastor Jeff

What Jonathan Edwards Can Teach Us About Politics - Part 2

Greetings All,

As promised last week, this week's thought contains Jonathan's Edwards last three thoughts on the Christian's involvement in political things.
     Once again, it is taken from the article by Gerald R. McDermott entitled, "What Jonathan Edwards Can Teach Us About Politics."
     Hopefully you have been introduced to Jonathan Edwards (as he was one of the godliest and greatest thinkers to pass through the American scene).   Some of his writings are hard to follow (as those who have read, "The Nature of True Virtue," or "The Freedom of the Will" can testify).  Yet they are well-worth the time if you want some intellectually and spiritually challenging reading for your summer vacation!  With that being said, here are the last three of Edwards' six points on "public theology."   (To refresh your memory of the first three see last week's post at - www.thoughtfortheweek-jeff.blogspot.com )  Enjoy!

     "4.) Christians should remember that politics is relatively unimportant in the long run.  The key moments of history, Edwards taught, are not important elections or decisive wars, but spiritual awakenings. Therefore, the most important thing Christians can do for the good of their country is to pray for revival. Spiritual transformation brings more positive change to the world than political or social revolution.  From God's perspective, "one true Christian, however humble his birth and low his standing; however poor or ignorant or unknown (is more valuable than) many great men of the world, kings and princes, men of great power and policy... that are honored and make a great figure... [but] are wicked men and reprobates." God delights to "choose the foolish things of the world to confound the mighty... and things which are not, to bring to naught things that are" ((I Corinthians 1:27-28). For this reason Edwards did not hesitate to use a four-year-old girl's piety to recommend revival in a public treatise published in an era when children's and women's testimonies were widely considered unreliable. 

     5.) Christians should beware of national pride (or patriotism).  Edwards commended patriotism as a natural and loving response to the needs of one's nation. But, in words reminiscent of Samuel Johnson's remark that patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel, Edwards warned that patriotism often serves self-interest.  It is particularly susceptible to self-deception, he argued, because its loyalties extend to a large number of people, making such loyalties appear altruistic. Look at the Romans, he suggested; they considered love for country to be the highest of all virtues, yet they employed their patriotism "for the destruction [subjugation] of the rest of mankind."  Edwards would be very wary of contemporary calls to regard America as a Christian nation needing to return to its lost Christian roots. No nation has ever been Christian, he insisted. There has never been a country where the majority of citizens were born-again or even regular church goers [Edwards even testifies that at the height of the revival only 25% of Nothhampton were true believers, with about the same colony-wide].  Most citizens of so-called Christian countries are not regenerate, and even the regenerate have an abundance of sin. No people has ever been righteous, least of all the colonial New England to which he preached. Edwards condemned eighteenth-century New England for it's religious hypocrisy, social strife, lack of compassion for the poor, and exploitation of the Native Americans.

     Edwards would also be critical of those who assume that America's future must be bright because God has favored her with so many blessings. This Northhampton (Massachusetts) prophet acknowledged that New England had been the recipient of unprecedented blessings, both spiritual and political. But, in a move missed by nearly all Edwards scholars, he said that such blessings could be a sign of impending judgment.  It is a familiar pattern in [biblical] history, he observed, for God to pour out spiritual revival just before He unleashes terrible judgement. Revival came to the Jews in Jesus' time, just 40 years before Jerusalem was brutally destroyed. God dealt similarly with Israel's ten lost tribes, the churches of North Africa and the Middle East after the rise of Islam, and the Protestant churches in France after the Reformation. Therefore, Edwards warned that it is foolish for a people to think its religious and political freedoms will guarantee a happy future. If a society is morally and spiritually corrupt, it will collapse despite having wonderful freedoms. Edwards repeated this warning to colonial New England during the French and Indians Wars.

     6.) Christians should care for the poor. Edwards was sharply critical of those churchgoers who, "pretend a great love to men's souls [but] are not compassionate and charitable towards their bodies."  When Boston's liberal preachers Charles Chauncey and Jonathan Mayhew were preaching that the poor were undeserving and their poverty was their own fault, Edwards told his congregation they should not be content until poverty was eliminated from their community.  It was not unusual for Puritan preachers to teach charity to the poor.  But Edwards was unusually fearless when confronting those he considered negligent. When Northhampton built a new church building that placed the poor in the worst seats, Edwards boldly declared that those with the best seats may have no seats at all in heaven.  He charged those who gave only their [unwanted things, or their worthless things to] the poor with lying to God, like Ananias and Sapphira, who God struck dead for their dishonesty (Acts 5:1-11).  In the 1740's Edwards established a deacon's fund specially for the poor and regularly called on wealthier Christians to make "frequent and liberal (generous)" contributions.

     Edwards taught that charity to the poor is at the heart of biblical theology.  Preaching from Matthew 25, he said that God is present in the poor, whom he constitutes as the "receivers."  Since we cannot express our love to God by doing anything to profit him, God wants us to do something profitable for our poor neighbors, whom he delegated with the task of receiving Christian love...  Edwards supported a state welfare program.  Since all human beings, even true Christians are naturally selfish, he contended, private -- even church -- charity is unreliable.  Hence, government shows it's "wisdom" when it administers a welfare program to assist the deserving poor.  Those who are poor because of laziness, or prodigality, however, do not merit such assistance.  Biographer Samuel Hopkins, who lived in Edwards home for six months, said Edwards himself was a stellar example of giving to the poor but usually gave secretly. One time, for example, Edwards heard of a family in another town that had fallen upon poverty because the father had become sick. Edwards, who rarely had enough to make ends meet, made arrangements to have the man receive a bundle of money without knowing from whom it came. On his deathbed, Edwards (who was well-known and well-respected) ordered that his own funeral be conducted "without pomp and cost." Any money that might have been spent for that purpose was instead to be given to the poor and needy."

     This gives you an idea of what one of the most God-centered and Christian thinkers in American history thought of a Christians attitude and involvement in politics and social issues. I trust that as this election year proceeds, you might consider his thoughts, since they come from a zealous evangelist, ardent revivalist, biblical thinker and godly husband and father.
     After all, as being "in the world but not of the world," the Christian is not really able to avoid "politics" completely.  Believers are simply asked to think, act, and hold to truly Christian ideals as they live out their faith within the realities of an imperfect society run by imperfect people like him or herself.
     In fact, in keeping with Edwards, what matters most are not the ideas, platforms, or policies held by any particular political party, for each one is terribly flawed and cannot escape being corrupted by the lure of money and the desire for power. Contrary to the persuasion of some, our country will never truly be "fixed" so long as it is run by sinners (be they sinners who are Democrat or Republican, or whatever other party one affiliates with)!  A host of individual citizens, committed to that which honors and reflects the nature of our just and merciful God, will do more to bring about healthy changes in society than any party's agenda or platform.  That's how I see it anyway, and I think Edwards would agree.

In His Service, Pastor Jeff

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