Ten Reasons Why Christians Should Vote

I saw this on Nelson Searcy's blog... I though I would share it with you.

Ten Reasons Why Christians Should Vote

• Voting publicly recognizes that we submit to the authority of the political system in our nation as established by God. Romans 13:1-7
• Voting recognizes the equality of all people and their right to speak and be heard. Deuteronomy 10:17-19
• Voting is one way that we can obey God’s command to seek the good of those around us and our nation as a whole. Jeremiah 29:7
• Voting shows that we care deeply about who our leaders are as we are urged to offer prayer and intercession on their behalf. 1 Timothy 2:1,2
• Voting is a simple yet significant way we can do something about politics in our nation. ‘All that is required for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing’, Edmund Burke. Psalms 34:14
• Voting makes a difference the way a grain of salt makes a difference, and that is how we are to influence our society for good. Matthew 5:13
• Voting is a privilege not to be taken for granted. Those of us who reap the benefits of living in a democracy should play a part in upholding democracy.
• Not voting is a form of voting, as it will influence the outcome. We need to take responsibility for our actions, as well as our lack of actions. Luke 10:25-37
• Voting is part of our stewardship to use all the resources we have been given in ways that honor God; to waste a vote is to squander a gift.
• Voting is Biblical. The Bible contains numerous references to “casting lots.” (ex. Proverbs 16:33) Acts 14:23 shows that the early Christians elected elders by voting.

Pastor Noel

Fourth of July Message

I am very excited about what I believe the Lord has shown me in His Word to share with you on Sunday morning!

In the Scripture story of a man by the funny name of Hezekiah we see that he makes a grave mistake near the end of his life that tarnished his legacy and hurt his nation. I believe it is that same error that we are facing as a nation, and perhaps even as a church.

Sunday we will focus on Isaiah 39 and the passages that give us background to the story.

My prayer is that the Lord will shake us from our complacency and our selfishness as a nation, as a church, as fathers and mothers, and as the children of God!

I hope you will make plans to join us, even though it is a holiday weekend.

Pastor Noel

A Good Finish

A couple posts ago I said that Tuesday was a day with a good start and a good finish. Let me tell you about the finish.

One of our young church members, Matt Parker, who owns a consulting business based in Columbus asked me to attend an open house for some new offices he opened. It was an honor to attend.

At the open house were a bunch of people I didn't know, political leaders and consultants from around the state and even some who had flown in from around the country. Some of these were Matt's business peers, some were clients, some were potential clients.

During the program part of the evening, Matt shared how the business started and a little of their history and services. Then Matt got to the part about his faith in Jesus Christ. I stood there with a heart filled with pride, the good kind, as this young business man boldly talked about his relationship with Christ and then went on to honor the Lord in very specific words.

Unfortunately, few men today would have the courage to so boldly profess their faith before their business peers and clients. I am thankful to the Lord that we have some of those men, women, and young people in our church family.

It should thrill us all when our Lord is honored!

Pastor Noel

Congressman Pat Tiberi

In my previous blog, I noted that Congressman Space had agreed to meet with me for prayer in Washington this week. I also want to let you know that Congressman Pat Tiberi has agreed to meet with me this week for a time of prayer as well. I will be meeting with Congressman Tiberi this Thursday at 1:30 p.m. I am very much looking forward to meeting Congressman Tiberi. I am very thankful that he is the Representative from my district!

These two Congressmen, Tiberi and Space, lead the districts that include most of our church members. I submitted requests to our two Senators, and while initially I received confirmations from both of their offices, they have now informed me that they will be unable to meet with me due to scheduling difficulties.

The reason I am traveling to DC is to attend a special briefing for pastors where we will be informed about the behind the scenes status of issues and legislation that our church family and Christians everywhere are most concerned about.

This is a critical time in the history of our nation. This is a critical time for issues such as the sanctity of life, the definition of marriage, and the rights of parents. These are not merely political issues, these are spiritual issues... and biblical issues. Pray that our voice can be heard on these issues. Pray that our political leaders will have the godly wisdom necessary to make the right decisions concerning these issues.

Pastor Noel

Congressman Zack Space

I want to give credit where credit is due...

Congressman Zack Space's office just called to confirm that I could come by his office in D.C. next week to pray with him.*

I appreciate the opportunity. I believe we should all pray for all of our political leaders and I am thankful for those who will take time out of their busy schedules for something like this.

I look forward to praying the that the Lord add daily to the Congressman's wisdom, discernment, and courage. I look forward to praying for him personally, his health and his family. I look forward to praying that the Lord will always reveal Himself to the Congressman such that the Congressman will having a growing knowledge and appreciation of God's goodness and grace.

I ask that you pray for me as I pray for him on Thursday, May 21 at 4:15 p.m..

Pastor Noel


*...although they did also want to confirm that I just wanted to pray with him and not advocate any issues :). I wonder what would make them think I would have any policy issues to debate with the Congressman? Nonetheless, I will honor their request and his time.

Quick Update & Surprise

I just heard from our Mission team in Kenya... all is going well...

Interesting thing happened today...

I am going to be at a conference in Washington D.C. in May, so today I called the offices of Congressman Tiberi, Congressman Space, Senator Brown, and Senator Voinovich and asked if, as a representative of our church, I could have a brief time to sit with each legislator in his office to pray with him and for him. All four said, "Yes".

I am surprised and excited!

Pastor Noel

How To Pray For The President

Randy Alcorn, one of my favorite authors wrote a great article on praying for the new President. Read it here.

Pastor Noel

Feeling Better

O.K. I'm feeling better now.

The election didn't go the way I hoped and prayed, but it is over. I will pray often these next four years for President Obama, his wisdom, courage, leadership and humility. At the risk of sounding too trite, Romans 8:28 does promise us that all things will work together for God's good purpose. I will trust in that.

It has been a difficult week, half because of my disappointment with the election and half because of something that was brought to my attention on Tuesday (more on that this Sunday night). But I feel better by the hour.

Well, what is going on?

Last night was 'Party with the Pastor' night at AWANA. The kids are great!

Today is my study day. I love study days! I am shut up in my home office for a day of reading, praying, studying, and preparing for upcoming messages.

I am working on three messages today...

The first message is part II in our Heart2Heart series. The main focus Scripture passage is Malachi 3. The second message is for our Soma-Kristou worship this Sunday evening. I'm taking a week off from the "Calculus of Salvation" in Romans. I'll keep my title and Scripture passage under wraps for that message until then. My FBC Heath readers will see why on Sunday, but I can say I will be preaching from Joshua and Acts. The third is a message for a missions conference I will be kicking off in Illinois next Friday. Projection slides and outlines for that one need to be turned in by Monday. I have been thinking about preaching a 'missions' message from Romans 1:8-15 for a year now. I will see today if that passage will work out as well as I hope.

By the way, a friend of mine in Alabama had an adoption fall through last night because of some unusual complications. It is a tough day for that family. If you know someone going through the adoption process, pray for them.

Pastor Noel

I Can't Sleep

It is about 4:40 a.m. The alarm clock doesn't go off for another 50 minutes, but I can't sleep. All I can do is think about today's presidential election. I know by now most people have heard all they want to hear about the election. But I'm not really writing this for my readers. This is as much personal therapy as anything. (And I'm afraid by the end of the day I am going to need some personal therapy.)

I am very concerned that our country is going to make a tragic decision today and I am afraid many believers will be complicit in that decision.

Personally, I am not a fan of either candidate. Personally, I have not been pleased with the way they have conducted their campaigns. Personally, I believe both candidates have promised some things that they have no intentions to follow through with. Personally, I believe neither candidate has a complete grasp of the real problems that America faces.

I have some strong views about subjects such as immigration, taxes, national security and so on. And while one candidate is much closer to my views than the other, neither man espouses my convictions or instills my confidence in these areas.

So what am I going to do, and why am I so concerned?

There are about four issues and reasons driving my actions and concerns, but I will point out just one...

I have two precious daughters. I love them with every fiber of my being. The quickest way you could start a fight with me is to try to hurt one of my little girls. I am a fairly calm, quiet person, but there are few things I wouldn't do to protect my girls. I have never been in a physical altercation in my adult life, but I would not hesitate to stand and physically defend either of my girls against any kind of physical attack that might occur. And I am no different from 99% of the dads in the world.

I feel very strongly about protecting my children, but I feel pretty much the same about protecting your children. I feel pretty strongly about protecting all children. I cannot imagine being in a public place and watching someone beat and injure a child without doing everything within my power to stop them. Again, I am no different from 99% of the people in the world.

So what does that have to do with the election?

I will cast a vote today for John McCain because I feel like in doing so, I'm doing all I can in this election to protect children. I may not agree with all of his viewpoints... I may not support all his policies... I may not have 100% confidence in his judgement on all matters... but, he has publicly stated that he will do all he can to protect the unborn, and he has a pretty good track record of doing so.

Barack Obama, who I imagine is a nice man who loves our country, has clearly stated the he supports free access to abortion and would like to see that access expanded. And he has expressed this view fairly consistently through the years. I cannot support a man who will not even try to protect the lives of the millions of aborted children every year.

Some will say, "Noel, there is a big difference between protecting your daughters or a neighbor child walking down the street and trying to protect unborn babies."

I would say, "I don't see any difference at all!"

Some will say, "Noel, John McCain may not follow through on his promises to put in place conservative judges on the Supreme Court."

I would say, "He may not. And if he doesn't, I will be very angry. But I've got to make the best choice I can make today. When a child is being injured, that is no time to make an ideological stand, that is no time to shrug our shoulders because there is no perfect solution. No! That is the time to choose the best option we have available to protect the child."

Some will say, "The whole political system is corrupt. It has failed. There is no point in voting."

I would say, "That is a cop-out. If it has failed, it is because people haven't stood on their convictions and voted. How does refusing to take this seriously and voting for one of the two candidates fix the 'corrupt system'?"

I believe too many believers are taking this election too lightly. I think that is a tragedy.

Will the election of John McCain solve all of our nations problems? No.
Will the election of John McCain usher revival to America? No.
Will the election of John McCain return our country to her Christian roots? No.
But will the election of John McCain over Barack Obama save the lives of at least a few unborn babies here and around the world? Yes! Even the most skeptical person would have to admit it would.

So if you are going to play around with your vote, if you are going to vote for some mystical concept of change, if you would rather have free insurance than protect the lives of the unborn, then please don't tell me, please don't email me... facebook me... or ask me to read your blog. I am just not in the mood for it today.

I don't want to hear about your high and mighty ideals and your lofty musings about never compromising to vote for someone you don't completely agree with. When it comes to protecting children there is no room for those kind of arrogant attitudes. If there were ever a time to 'get in the frey' now is it.

And this is just reason one of four that I can't sleep.

Pastor Noel

Sea Turtle Eggs

Read this great article about Ed Young Jr., who pastors Fellowship Church in Grapevine Texas. Don't stop at least until you get to the part about the Sea Turtle Eggs. (The link to the actual article is here.)

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Ed Young Jr.: Scripture is best voter guide
By Michael Foust Oct 20, 2008

GRAPEVINE, Texas (BP)--Scripture provides guidance for Christians in deciding which candidate to support on Election Day, Texas pastor Ed Young Jr. told his congregation Oct. 19.It was the second part in a sermon series Young has dubbed "Politicked." The pastor of Fellowship Church in Grapevine gave five categories believers should examine about each political candidate."Once we ask ourselves these five questions and once we answer them, then we'll be ready to vote for the right person," he said.The five categories are:

-- Character.

"Everything begins with character," said Young, pointing to Proverbs 29:2: "... If we elect righteous leaders, our government will be righteous, and if our government is righteous then the laws will be righteous."

Christians should take a political candidate's private conduct seriously, Young said.

"Character can be defined as who you are when no one's looking," he said. " ... For a long, long time, people have said, 'Who you are in private does not really affect who you area in public office.' ... That's absolutely, friends, nuts, because who you are in private is who you are. Who you are in private is who you are in public."

-- Conviction.

Reading from Proverbs 28:1 -- which says the "righteous are bold as a lion" -- Young said, "We need to elect lionesses and lions in this day -- people who are not politicians, but people who are statesmen, people who are leaders." That conviction, he said, must be based on God's Word.

He mentioned the "gay agenda" as one area where society is moving away from scriptural teachings.

"God has told us from cover to cover that there is only one context where sex should be enjoyed and practiced and celebrated -- marriage.... The Bible tells me and it tells you that during the end of time ... what is right [will be viewed as] wrong and [what is] wrong [will be viewed as] right."

Referencing those who compare the homosexual movement to the civil rights movement, Young said, "I've known a lot of former homosexuals but I've never met a former African American."

-- Courage.

"Does this candidate display courage?" Young asked. "Can you look at this candidate's life -- the history of him or her -- and say, 'You know what? He stood up for courage there. She stood up for courage.' ... Courage is the God-given ability to stand.... Conviction is belief. Courage is behavior."

Pointing to Proverbs 11:3, Young said, "The other day I heard a candidate being interviewed, and here's the response the candidate made to a question on morality, ... 'Well, for me as a Christian.' ... That was a relativistic answer. … The relativist says, 'What's right for you is true for you and what's true for you is true for you.'"

Giving an example of the absurdity of relativism, Young said someone could say, as part of the relativistic worldview, "What's true for me is to fly airliners into the sides of skyscrapers and kill hundreds and hundreds of people."

-- Compassion.

Giving the biblical definition of compassion, Young read from Proverbs 31:8-9, which says, "Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy." He also read from Proverbs 24:11, "Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter."

Abortion, Young said, is an issue where a political candidate must show compassion."

We're taking the lives, of ... 3,200 babies a day -- taking the lives of developing babies -- when you'll get thrown in prison and pay an astronomical fine if you disturb the eggs of developing sea turtles," he said. "What's right is wrong and [what's] wrong is right."

-- Constituency.

Young said examining who supports and opposes the candidate can help determine who to support."

I can meet your friends, without even meeting you, and tell you what kind of a person you are," Young said. "Who applauds this potential candidate and who opposes them? We better wake up and smell the coffee, here, friends. If the mainstream secular media supports a candidate or an issue, there is a great chance that something is sideways, [and] you better look at that one very, very closely. Who opposes them? Who is for them?"

Michael Foust is an assistant editor of Baptist Press. Young's sermon can be viewed online at www.fellowshipchurch.com.

© Copyright 2008 Baptist Press
Original copy of this story can be found at http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=29160