Tag Archives: God

Why Your Vote Doesn’t Really Matter

why your vote doesn't matter

I know that the title of this article sounds really un-American. It is definitely politically incorrect. But just stay with me for a few minutes and I think you might just agree with me. Over the last few days, we have all seen these short little “sayings” sweep across social media:

 “I just voted…I did my part.”

 “Get out and vote…this is what our soldiers died for.”

 “Vote early and vote often.”

 “Vote biblical values.”

 “It is your American duty to vote…do it before they take your rights away.”

 “Every vote counts.”

I agree with the last statement that “every vote counts” if we are referring to what happens when I physically go down to the voting booth and cast my vote. One vote could win an election. There are instances where this is the case. That is why I have exercised my freedom and right to vote since I was old enough. My first opportunity to vote dates back to 1996. I voted for Bob Dole. Some of you don’t even know who that is. He lost the presidential election to Bill Clinton, who would later be publically shamed for his extramarital affair with an intern. Since this election, I have voted during every major election. I have been able to vote for a president five different times in my life. I have been on the winning side and losing side. I have seen plenty of political commercials which make me not want to vote for any politicians anymore. That is what this article is all about.

monicagateMaybe it is just me, but I have lost hope in our system of government to do the right thing. The last few elections, I have had a hard time casting my ballot for anyone because I feel like no candidate is really running in order to “serve the people.” But I vote anyway. I vote because it is the right thing to do. I vote because of peer pressure. I vote because I hold onto the hope that someday a leader will rise up and do what is right for his or her people.

As a pastor, I feel like I need to help people understand what the role of the government is in the life of the citizen according to the Bible. I have been convicted to pen a few articles with this question in mind: What does God want a government to look like and what kind of leader does God want to lead our country?

It saddens me to state that too few men and women who are in politics are actually the kind of leaders that would make God proud. That is why I have told a few individuals in my church to run for political office. But it might not be worth it for them to leave the private life and go into the public realm. Why? Because it seems that as a man or woman with godly values rises in political power, the media seems to make every effort to destroy his or her dignity with mockery and disdain.

watergate

For some reason, America keeps voting into public office a certain type of leader. The Bible talks about this type of leader with three descriptions.

The duplicitous ruler. I call this the chameleon leader. Many politicians have been caught on video saying one thing at one dinner party and then an entirely different thing the next month. His or her behavior is motivated by what will get him or her the most votes. This type of person has no firm values. Jesus called this kind of leader a fox:

At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, “Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you.” He replied, “Go tell that fox, ‘I will keep on driving out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal’” (Luke 13:31-32).

The conspirator. Did you know that Adolf Hitler rose to power claiming to be a Christian? Did you know that in the swastika (the ultimate picture of evil today), the Christian cross was embedded in it? And many Christians thought Hitler was the servant of God and therefore they were supposed to submit to him. Deception can run deep. From Watergate to Monicagate, our nation’s leaders have proven this ancient saying:

 Woe to those who plan iniquity, to those who plot evil on their beds! At morning’s light they carry it out because it is in their power to do it (Micah 2:1).

The deceitful governor. How many government leaders do you trust? How many of them have your best interest in mind? How many of them would love to sit down with you and serve you? Or would you walk away from a meeting with them feeling the way the Magi did? Those of us who know the Christmas story understand that King Herod didn’t intend to worship baby Jesus. Instead, it was his plan to find where the baby was born and kill the innocent infant.

Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared.  He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him” (Matthew 2:8).

These types of evil rulers should be resisted, but it seems like these men and women are on the majority of the ballots every election. According to Psalm 58:1, there are two things that government leaders will have to answer for:

  1. Do you tell the truth?
  2. Do you judge honestly?

If you are a leader of the American people, you will stand before a Judge someday and He will ask you these two questions. Can you answer in the affirmative? If not, maybe political office isn’t for you. But what about those of us who are not public figures? What can we do to change the system?  There are a few things that we can do:

Vote for politicians who tell the truth and judge honestly. No exceptions.

Involve yourself in the public realm. Get on public school boards, run for local offices, be political! Too many honest people sit back and complain and yet they are the answer to the problem.

Rebuke government leaders when they appear to be deceiving the people.   Call their office, send letters, let them know that you are unhappy with their decisions.

Instill the right values in as many young people as possible.

Pray for a revival to sweep this nation so that a new wave of integrity will rise out of the darkness.

I don’t think I am asking too much when I want to vote for an honest man. Maybe one of the main reasons Abe Lincoln is considered one of the most beloved politicians of all time is because of a word that was used to describe him. “Honest Abe.” Lord, please raise up another “Honest Abe” to lead this country.

 

Who will be president in 2164?

who will be president

If you are a Christian, you have probably heard that Jesus fulfilled dozens of prophecies predicted long before He came to this earth. I personally believe that these prophecies prove that He is the Savior of the world. But there have been a few times in my life when those Messianic prophecies were just not enough for the skeptics I was trying to convince. That is why over the years, through research, I have discovered two significant prophecies in the Old Testament which help prove the supernatural aspect of the Bible. These two prophecies help my mind and heart believe that the word of the Bible are truly God-breathed.

Fulfilled prophecy is the greatest reason to believe that the Bible is trustworthy. The Bible contains precise fulfilled prophecies. The Bible has to be reliable about the things of this earth if we are to believe it about the things of heaven. Some biblical prophecies are so specific, so unambiguous, and so accurate that we must conclude that the writers were inspired by God. Biblical prophecy names places, events, and even people in great detail. We might wonder the when and why, but when we read it, it is in plain language. I would like to present two significant prophecies that can be used to help convince any skeptic that the Bible might just be a supernatural book.

Prediction #1: King Cyrus of Persia. How would you like to predict who will be the president of the United States 150 years from now? And at the same time, describe what will be his most important foreign policy decision? Isaiah does so in Isaiah 44. Read the words of Isaiah with me.

It is I who says of Jerusalem, “She shall be inhabited!” And of the cities of Judah, “They shall be built.” And I will raise up her ruins again…It is I who says of Cyrus, “He is My shepherd! And he will perform all My desire.” (Isaiah 44:26-28)

Cyrus is mentioned as the man who will let the Jews return to their land and rebuild Jerusalem. Isaiah has more to say:

Thus says the Lord to Cyrus His anointed, whom I have taken by the right hand…so that you may know that it is I, the Lord, the God of Israel, who calls you by your name. (Isaiah 45:1-3)

Ezra records the fulfillment of the prediction:

Now in the 1st year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so he sent a proclamation throughout all his kingdom. (Ezra 1:1)

Understanding the timeline is important here in this passage. Isaiah was written approximately 700 B.C., while Cyrus began his reign in 559 B.C. Also, King Cyrus sent the Jews back to Jerusalem in 538 B.C. Isaiah named Cyrus and predicted that he would send the Jews back to Jerusalem 141 years before he became king! God put His own reputation on the line by naming Cyrus!

This is a big deal. Now, if you don’t believe that the Bible is true, then you can’t really get too much out of this prophecy. But I think that this is one of the greatest prophecies in the entire Bible because God (through Isaiah) names a man/king before he is even born. For me, this deepens my faith.

This would be like predicting that Barack Obama was going to be president, but you predicted it in the 1860s. Just think about how hard it would be to predict who will be the next president in 2016. Maybe it will be a Democrat, but it could be a Republican. Or maybe an independent. And this is only two years away. Or, how would you like to predict who will be the president of the United States 150 years from now? In 2164, you are able to state the name of the next president, and at the same time, describe what will be his most important foreign policy decision.   Very impressive, you might be thinking.

Prediction #2: The four kingdoms. Daniel predicted the rise and fall of the Babylonian, Medo-Persian, Greek, and Roman Empires in such detail that even honest skeptics must admit that he received his visions from God. Nebuchadnezzar had a dream, and Daniel was the only man who knew what it was about. God gave Daniel a vision of the dream. In his first vision, he saw a statue of a man:

The gold head represented Babylon.

The silver breast/arms represented Medo-Persia.

The bronze belly/thighs represented Greece.

The iron legs represented Rome.

After telling the king what he had dreamed, Daniel interpreted it for him:

You, O king, are the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, the strength, and the glory…You are the head of gold. And after you there will arise another kingdom inferior to you, then another third kingdom of bronze, which will rule over all the earth. Then there will be a fourth kingdom as strong as iron. (Daniel 2:37-40)

If you have any doubt about the kingdoms predicted, they are actually identified in Daniel 8 by name:

The two-horned ram that you saw represents the kings of Media and Persia (8:20).

The shaggy goat is the king of Greece, and the large horn between its eyes is the first king (8:21).

Before these kingdoms even existed, they were named by God! What is most startling is that Daniel gave vivid details of the rise of Alexander the Great and that after his death his kingdom would be divided among 4 rulers:

A mighty king will arise, and he will rule with great authority and do as he pleases. But as soon as he has arisen, his kingdom will be broken up and parceled out toward the four points of the compass, though not to his own descendants, nor according to his authority which he exercises, for his sovereignty will be uprooted and given to others beside them. (Dan. 11:3-4).

Well over 200 years after Daniel wrote, Alexander, who had no heirs, arose. After his death, Alexander’s kingdom was divided among his four generals.

Next time you are talking with someone who doubts that this ancient book is trustworthy, ask him or her about these two prophecies. A few years back, I sat down with a self-proclaimed skeptic who did not believe that the Bible was worth reading. So I took him through these passages. His eyes lit up when he saw the name Cyrus on the page in the Bible decades before he breathed his first breath and he just shook his head when he saw the Medo-Persian and Greek Empires listed in the Bible before they even existed. But even with that evidence, he still would not believe. It is because head knowledge must become heart knowledge. It is when we believe in our hearts that God raised Jesus Christ from the grave that we are saved. So, while it is great to prove that the Bible is true, we must remember that a skeptic’s mind is blinded to truth and he or she will not experience that “light bulb” moment until he or she surrenders their heart to God. But remember, sharing these two prophecies with them might bring them a step closer to believing someday, and that is exactly what God asks us to do.