31 But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you.
32 Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
33 Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys.
34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
35 "Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning;
36 and you yourselves be like men who wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks they may open to him immediately.
Ultimately, believers in Christ are called to love our God passionately and to love others as we love Him. Period. The Bible instructs us as to what that is to look like. We can set our minds on bringing glory to God, on putting aside selfish desires so that He might be seen in us. We don't put our trust in the kingdoms of this world, but in the truths of the Kingdom of God. We are placed in this world for a reason, but, because of Jesus, we are not of this world.
Today's Scripture is highly relevant, in light of an intensely political election season that ended with Doug Jones being elected to the U.S. Senate. I believe it can really help us to focus on our main call as believers in Christ - the political process is vital in our democracy, our earthly kingdom, but we serve a heavenly King who has called us to be part of His Kingdom activity on earth. Matthew 6:33: "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you."
It's Day 13 of 25: A Christmas Advent-ure, from the Faith Radio Advent Guide. The overall theme is "Let's Worship Jesus," and today we enter the third set of items, focusing on worshipping Him for His promises.
With just a few ballots out, Democrat and former U.S. attorney Doug Jones will be serving in the U.S. Senate, replacing Luther Strange, who was temporarily appointed to occupy the seat of Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Roy Moore, the former Alabama Chief Justice, has refused to concede.
It was a rough-and-tumble race in a state where Republicans have held all statewide elected offices and that Donald Trump won by 28% just last year. So, what was Jones' path to victory?
According to a Fox News analysis:
How impactful were those allegations regarding sexual misconduct on the part of Moore? Fox says that: "by a narrow margin, Alabama voters believed the women – by a 49-44 spread. Nearly two-thirds (64 percent) said the allegations were important to their vote – and those voters went overwhelmingly for Jones." Over two-thirds went to Jones.
The main struggle for Christian voters, I believe, was the reputation of Moore vs. the validity of the allegations against him. Jones' support of abortion rights made that a non-starter for a number of Christian voters, and saw Moore as more aligned with their position. But, there was no doubt hesitancy when considering the allegations. It certainly became a matter of prayer and critical thinking. More from Fox:
Well, first and foremost, our call to be people of God, salt and light, does not change with electoral shifts. Our mandate is the same. We are to seek first His Kingdom and seek to glorify Him in all things.
Also, it's important to keep in mind that, according to the book of Daniel, God is the one who raises and deposes "kings;" so we accept the results as the will of God for this hour.
Now, there is this question: Was a message sent? You could say that Roy Moore lost because of allegations and many believed them to be false. That could have a sad implication for the future, because it could give those who run political campaigns a license to run with unproven allegations in order to damage another candidate; yes, it's been going on for years, but the depths seemed lower in this one.
Does this say anything about the future of the evangelical church? There are those that say because white evangelicals overwhelmingly supported Donald Trump, that represents a lack of morality of the evangelical church. Evangelicals supported Roy Moore by roughly the same margin; and so there will be an attempt to characterize Moore voters in the same light - uninformed "evangelicals" who tarnish the "brand."
Well, in the purest sense, an "evangelical" is someone who lives by the Word and invites others into a relationship with Jesus Christ. An evangelical, hopefully, votes in accordance with his or her deeply held values and, as Stuart Shepard and I have discussed throughout the years, will vote for the candidate that best lines up with those values.
The Church of the Lord Jesus Christ is more than a "brand." And, I don't believe electoral politics determine how effective we are in the culture. Our effective witness is, and as we grow in the Lord, become active in our communities, and serve Him wholeheartedly - that is how hearts are changed.
Terry Mattingly, at GetReligion.org, highlights seven different positions of evangelicals in the election:
The witness of the church does not turn on who wins elections. There are those that claim that a vote for Jones or Moore has negatively impacted the church. I would like to think that God is not affiliated with any party and is, in fact, bigger than any party affiliation. He will use the leaders that He has chosen and will use His people in the process of selecting those leaders.
More to come tomorrow...
+++++
Today's Scripture is highly relevant, in light of an intensely political election season that ended with Doug Jones being elected to the U.S. Senate. I believe it can really help us to focus on our main call as believers in Christ - the political process is vital in our democracy, our earthly kingdom, but we serve a heavenly King who has called us to be part of His Kingdom activity on earth. Matthew 6:33: "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you."
It's Day 13 of 25: A Christmas Advent-ure, from the Faith Radio Advent Guide. The overall theme is "Let's Worship Jesus," and today we enter the third set of items, focusing on worshipping Him for His promises.
With just a few ballots out, Democrat and former U.S. attorney Doug Jones will be serving in the U.S. Senate, replacing Luther Strange, who was temporarily appointed to occupy the seat of Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Roy Moore, the former Alabama Chief Justice, has refused to concede.
It was a rough-and-tumble race in a state where Republicans have held all statewide elected offices and that Donald Trump won by 28% just last year. So, what was Jones' path to victory?
According to a Fox News analysis:
Jones carried the day by rolling up strong margins among blacks (93-6 percent), younger voters (62-36 percent), and women (55-43 percent).
Men went for Moore by 10 points (54-44 percent). His greatest areas of strength were working class whites (32-67 percent for a 35-point margin), white men (33-65 percent and a 32-point margin), and white evangelicals (21-77 percent, 56-point margin).And according to this research, 95% of black women and 89% of black men voted for Jones. CNN exit poll data showed the number at 98%, with 93% of black men voting for Jones.
How impactful were those allegations regarding sexual misconduct on the part of Moore? Fox says that: "by a narrow margin, Alabama voters believed the women – by a 49-44 spread. Nearly two-thirds (64 percent) said the allegations were important to their vote – and those voters went overwhelmingly for Jones." Over two-thirds went to Jones.
The main struggle for Christian voters, I believe, was the reputation of Moore vs. the validity of the allegations against him. Jones' support of abortion rights made that a non-starter for a number of Christian voters, and saw Moore as more aligned with their position. But, there was no doubt hesitancy when considering the allegations. It certainly became a matter of prayer and critical thinking. More from Fox:
Jones won those who said personal morality was very important to their vote by 16 points, 57-41 percent. On the other hand, Moore won those who said partisan control was very important to their vote, 57-41 percent.
Eight-in-ten (79 percent) said abortion was important to their vote. Moore won those who said abortion was very important to their vote by 30 points. A majority of Alabamans (54 percent) believe abortion should be illegal – and they broke for Moore by an even wider 46-point margin, 72-26 percent.About the evangelical vote, Christianity Today stated:
According to exit polls, 44 percent of Alabama voters Tuesday were white born-again or evangelical Christians (self-identified). In the last two elections with state-level exit polling, 2008 and 2012, their share was 47 percent—making them “the only group showing slight signs of slippage,” according to an analysis by The Washington Post.So, what do we take away?
Well, first and foremost, our call to be people of God, salt and light, does not change with electoral shifts. Our mandate is the same. We are to seek first His Kingdom and seek to glorify Him in all things.
Also, it's important to keep in mind that, according to the book of Daniel, God is the one who raises and deposes "kings;" so we accept the results as the will of God for this hour.
Now, there is this question: Was a message sent? You could say that Roy Moore lost because of allegations and many believed them to be false. That could have a sad implication for the future, because it could give those who run political campaigns a license to run with unproven allegations in order to damage another candidate; yes, it's been going on for years, but the depths seemed lower in this one.
Does this say anything about the future of the evangelical church? There are those that say because white evangelicals overwhelmingly supported Donald Trump, that represents a lack of morality of the evangelical church. Evangelicals supported Roy Moore by roughly the same margin; and so there will be an attempt to characterize Moore voters in the same light - uninformed "evangelicals" who tarnish the "brand."
Well, in the purest sense, an "evangelical" is someone who lives by the Word and invites others into a relationship with Jesus Christ. An evangelical, hopefully, votes in accordance with his or her deeply held values and, as Stuart Shepard and I have discussed throughout the years, will vote for the candidate that best lines up with those values.
The Church of the Lord Jesus Christ is more than a "brand." And, I don't believe electoral politics determine how effective we are in the culture. Our effective witness is, and as we grow in the Lord, become active in our communities, and serve Him wholeheartedly - that is how hearts are changed.
Terry Mattingly, at GetReligion.org, highlights seven different positions of evangelicals in the election:
* There were evangelicals who backed Moore, big time, and they were crucial to his primary base.
* There were some evangelicals who backed other candidates in the primaries and then they reluctantly backed Moore. Some did this publicly, while others did so silently – so that's really two different camps in there.
* There were evangelicals who opposed Moore from Day 1, but bit their lips and voted for him rather than casting a vote for Doug Jones, a Hillary Clinton-empire Democrat who could be described as a member of the Planned Parent [sic] All-Star team.
* There were evangelicals who could not cast a vote for Moore, so they wrote in another conservative name.
* There appear to have been lots of evangelicals who were so depressed by the whole drama that they stayed home.
* There were some white evangelicals who voted for Jones, along with waves of African-American evangelicals.There is a characterization of evangelicals as being uninformed and more concerned about winning elections than winning souls. That is patently unfair. Voting is just one of the many activities in which Christians participate.
The witness of the church does not turn on who wins elections. There are those that claim that a vote for Jones or Moore has negatively impacted the church. I would like to think that God is not affiliated with any party and is, in fact, bigger than any party affiliation. He will use the leaders that He has chosen and will use His people in the process of selecting those leaders.
More to come tomorrow...
No comments:
Post a Comment