POST-ELECTION CONCERNS

Maybe you don't know how much I've struggled with voting this year. I learned some things about the President that were unsettling. Just to name a few: celebrating Ramadan in the White House, appointing an openly homosexual man as ambassador to Romania and recognizing his "partner", telling Charlie Gibson on GMA that Christians, Muslims and non-Christians all go to heaven, his increase in funding for Planned Parenthood, his vigorous support for pro-abortion candidate Arlen Specter who just today announced that he would oppose pro-life judicial nominees as chairman of the judiciary committee. I won't go into all the particulars concerning my struggles. I voiced my concerns to my DH and he still felt it Bush was the wisest choice. I supported my husband and voted for the President on Tuesday. I echo the sentiments of Doug Philips over at Vision Forum that we must pray for our President especially since he claims to be a Christian.

Something happened on Tuesday night that really disturbed me and I wish to share it with you. I think what happened on Tuesday represents a serious and troubling trend in the broader Evangelical community in this country. We had a homeschool meeting on election night. Before we started we opened up in prayer and one lady came up and wanted to pray a special prayer concerning the election. That was great. We all got on our knees which was even greater. Picture 30+ homeschool moms on their knees in prayer for the election. However, what this woman prayed sent up red flags in my spirit. She began to pray things that in a sense set George W. Bush up to nearly be the American Messiah. She said, "Lord, if you're not coming back soon then please re elect President Bush but if you are coming soon then let whoever wins, win." That was the basic gist of her prayers. I have sensed the same urgency from other believers. They are placing their hopes for America on George W. Bush. Last night at Wednesday dinner at our church one of our ministers got up to bless the food and said, "I hope your guy won last night." Everyone gave a loud cheer. I've gotten emails from friends who are so vigorous in their support for Bush that I think if he had lost they would have been devastated.

My friends, George W. Bush is not America's messiah. I see a disturbing trend in the church. I think we tend to latch onto any person popular culture or politics who claims to be a
Christian. We place our hopes in them to change this nation. "Yes," we say, "now we'll have influence because ____ is a Christian." I am tempted to feel this way anytime some Olympian thanks God for their victory. I was tempted to feel this way last week when I found out that Curt Schilling was a Christian. When George Bush announced during the primary debates in 2000 that Jesus was the person who most influenced him, the Christian community understandably was thrilled. To have a man who acknowledges the Lord's influence in his life be a contender for president was exciting. However, I think we have put the blinders on since then. I'm not saying the President isn't a Christian. I cannot look into his heart, only God can. I'm just saying that we need to look at his fruit. We also need that this our hope for reformation and revival in this country does not reside in a president. It resides in our Lord Jesus Christ, the King of Kings.

If we want to have influence for our Lord in this nation we need to get back to living holy lives before His face. Feel free to comment by clicking on my name at the end of the post.


Blessings