A Consequential Election

 

Friends,

The past four months, since I wrote my article, 7 Lies Americans are Believing, I have been writing and saying these two phrases:

Pray. Love your neighbor. Speak up. Speak Out.

 . . . and . . .

 Don't be deceived. Liberty is at stake.

Here are the best things I've read and recommend to you from this past week:

Dr. Albert Mohler wrote one of the most thoughtful pieces I've read all year over a Christian's struggle with this election - and in terms of a moral, intellectual, and spiritual obligation to God - in his article, Christians, Conscience, and the Looming 2020 Election.

Mohler rightly says, Joe Biden "seems repeatedly to have trouble telling the truth and he surrenders to the rising leftist wing of his own party while claiming to be a moderate. More importantly, he is an enthusiastic champion of many of the most wretched policies that threaten the moral survival of our nation."

Dr. Wayne Grudem responds to Dr. John Piper in A Respectful Response to My Friend John Piper about Voting for Trump.

Franklin Graham wrote, "We stand at a critical crossroads as different worldviews compete for the heart of our nation. Many of our basic liberties, cherished by our Founding Fathers, are at risk of being lost. Religious liberty, freedom of speech, the definition of family and gender, and the protection of the unborn are up for grabs with this election cycle. These are key moral issues that are directed by God Himself and are not up to the court of human opinion. Let’s take a stand for God’s truth and vote according to the Scriptures." Read his letter, Our Basic Liberties are at Risk.

Speaker Newt Gingrich shares, "No matter where you live, you cannot believe polls. Nearly all the major national polls were dead wrong in 2016, and nothing substantial has changed in the way that these same Washington beltway pollsters are surveying Americans today."  Read Every Vote Matters here.

And finally, Wayne Grudem sums it up so well (and if you missed it - here's some well-researched facts - read Grudem's article 30 Good Things President Trump Has Done for America)  . . .

"These are two vastly different kinds of nations. The first one features increasing freedom, personal responsibility, and human flourishing. The second one features ever-increasing government control of every aspect of our lives, significant losses of freedom, and the implementation of many laws and regulations that are contrary to the moral teachings of Scripture. That is why voting for Trump seems to me to be the most loving, most faithful choice for a Christian."

See my article, 7 Reasons to Vote for Trump-Pence in 2020.

For faith, family, and freedom,

Dr. Rhett Wilson, Sr.

Pictures used by permission from Pixabay.

7 Reasons to Vote for Trump-Pence in 2020

 

"The stakes in the upcoming election could not be higher. . . . The things Americans have always cherished—representative self-government, free and fair elections, liberty under just law—will be at risk," writes Tony Perkins in his article, A Nation on the Precipice of Destruction

I will unapologetically vote for Donald Trump - again.

In 2016, I wrote a blog article called Why a Southern Baptist Pastor Will Vote for the Unvirtuous Donald Trump. Because a Biden-Harris ticket embodies many of the values and policies of a Hillary Clinton agenda, many of my arguments remain the same in 2020 as they did in 2016.

Four years ago many Americans, including millions of evangelical Christians, took a chance on casting a vote for the non-politician Donald Trump. With the options between him and crooked Hillary Clinton, we felt we had no choice but to vote Trump, even if we held our noses while voting. It appeared an option between a Samson or a Jezebel, and biblically speaking, Samson was a much better pick.

However, three and a half years into his presidency, Donald J. Trump is no longer the "unvirtuous" gamble, he is a proven leader with a consistent track record of accomplishment. The recent Republican National Convention was a great display of "Promises Made, Promises Kept."

(See my article, The Big Picture: Why Evangelicals Support Donald Trump)

The stakes are high, folks. Dr. Albert Mohler rightly states, “Our two political parties represent two radically different visions of the nation and its future, two different understandings of the role of government, two very different ways of reading the U.S. Constitution and even two different moralities.”

Here are 7 reasons this evangelical pastor will gladly vote for President Donald Trump again in 2020:

1. Promises Made, Promises Kept

In spite of a rancorous media, largely intent from his election night to undo him, President Trump's list of accomplishments the past 3 1/2 years is stellar. Dr. Wayne Grudem offers an excellent analysis of many of these feats in his article, 30 Good Things President Trump has Done for America. I will not attempt a repeat of that here. I encourage and challenge you to read every word of Grudem's well-documented article.

The Family Research Council prepared some excellent resources with much research noting the promises made, promises kept. See the following: The Trump Administration Accomplishments

Here is another long list of the President's accomplishments.

He keeps winning for America.

2. The Left is the most dangerous threat in America today.

Today we are witnessing the Left / Leftists (as opposed to classic liberals or classic conservatives) hijack and take over the Democratic party. And they are making a frontal attack to take over and transform the United States of America.

The Left is an enemy to freedom, morality, religion, a free market, freedom of speech, and the list goes on. This is why, in 2017, Bernie Sanders remarked before a Senate committee that a person who holds traditional, Christian theology should have no place in the American government.

Dennis Prager explains, "Leftism — in its incarnations, such as Marxism, communism and socialism; expressed through egalitarianism, environmentalism and feminism; in its denigration of capitalism and Western civilization, especially America and Israel; in its supplanting of Christianity and Judaism; through its influence on Christianity and Judaism; in its celebration of race; and in its replacing of reason with romanticism — has almost completely taken over the news and entertainment media and institutions of education.

There is a largely (though not entirely) nonviolent reign of ideological terror in America. In almost every area of life, people fear antagonizing the left." See Fear of the Left: the Most Powerful Force in America Today.

The Democratic Party is pandering to lawlessness in our streets. Gun and ammunition sales are out the roof - stores who sell firearms say they have never seen anything like this. Millions of common people in America are afraid widespread violence is coming. 

Tony Perkins says, "At no time before have voters faced a clearer choice between two parties, two visions, two philosophies or two agendas... This election will decide whether we will defend the American dream or whether we allow a socialist agenda to demolish our cherished destiny." See his article, Two Visions, Two Philosophies, Two Agendas.

And Gingrich wisely warns, "If we want America to survive as a constitutional republic under the rule of law, which protects the right of free speech and is dedicated to the belief that each one of us is endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights, among which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, we have no choice but to fight to defeat the anti-Americans and reassert our nation.

Reagan would understand. Lincoln would understand. Freedom itself is at stake.”

See my article, 7 Lies Americans are Believing, which has been viewed more than 40,000 times.

See The Left: The Greatest Threat to Freedom and America.

See The Intolerance of Bernie Sanders and the Left

See America is Living through a National Disgrace

See Cancel Culture: The Death of Dialogue, Debate and Decency

See Fact-Checking the Democrats' Empathy

3. President Trump is a friend to faith, family and religious liberty.

Albert Mohler says, "The dangers to religious liberty we see today would shock the framers of our Constitution. We now see an ardent and aggressive hostility to religious freedom and any substantial religious belief. A rapidly secularizing culture presents entirely new challenges to religious liberty. Will Christian schools have the right to operate on Christian principles? Must a Christian wedding photographer, cake designer or florist be compelled to celebrate same-sex marriage? Will the Christian Gospel and the preaching of the Bible be classified as hate speech? 

These are not hypothetical questions. Every one of these issues has been in the headlines in recent years. The political divide in the nation extends to these headlines. By its own acknowledgment, the Democratic Party has drawn the support of more secular Americans. The Republican Party has drawn great support from America’s evangelical Christians. Given the leftward shift in the larger culture, this pattern will grow more acute election by election. America’s cherished First Freedom is at stake in this election." 

Grudem writes, "President Trump’s administration has repeatedly and continually worked to defend religious freedom, and his Justice Department has defended religious freedom in numerous court cases. . . . In addition, in the first year of Trump’s presidency, the Department of Justice issued a strongly-worded, 25-page memorandum detailing exceptionally strong protections for religious liberty."

Our country was founded with the conviction that the government would not tell the church what to do, but that the church would influence the government. 

Waggoner and Smith write, "Religious freedom protects the right of Americans to speak and live consistent with their convictions. It also serves to restrain government and allows competing claims about truth in the marketplace. Democracy thrives with robust debate. In fact, countries that vigorously protect religious freedom are more stable, democratic, prosperous and less violent. In the United States, religion contributes greatly to a healthy society and economy. And finally, civil liberties travel together. The loss of religious freedom signals the loss of other freedoms. History confirms this time and again." 

See CissieGraham Lynch and Abby Johnson Urge Americans to Vote for Religious Liberty andLife

AG Barr Blames‘Militant Secularists’ for War on Religious Freedom

The "Equality Act," which Joe Biden has promised to sign into legislation during his first 100 days of office, according to Franklin Graham, is "the most crushing threat to religious liberty in our nation’s history."

Kelly Shackelford, said, “They want to make sure there’s no religious freedom defense. … In every scenario, whether you’re a parent, you’re a woman or a girl, you’re a nonprofit religious group, you’re an employer or you’re a medical professional—you name it—in all scenarios, religious freedom [would be] subsidiary and LGBT and gender-identity rights [would] trump, in all cases, religious freedom and people’s right to conscience.” Shacelford is the President of First Liberty Institute.

Jerry Pierce shares The Equality Act: What it Would Mean.

See The Equality Act: A Clear and Present Danger

In their new release, Mandate 2020, The Heritage Foundation shares, “It is regrettable that America, the freest and most religious nation in the West, currently finds its most essential rights under threat. Only the vigilant spirit of republicanism, combined with a thoughtful plan to oppose the left, will forfend future curtailments of these rights. Should the free exercise of these rights be lost, America will cease to be a free nation.”

Read Trump's Religious Freedom Record is a Stubborn Fact

See Family and Religious Liberty Accomplishments of the Trump Administration

See International Religious Freedom Accomplishments of the Trump Administration

See Trump Administration Accomplishments on Life

4.  Our liberty is at stake, including the future of the courts in America.

Leftism is an enemy to liberty.

Our Founders intended for the judiciary to be the safeguard of the government. Today, they would be shocked to know the federal courts are a key issue in a Presidential election. Mohler shares, "For the last several decades, the federal courts have usurped the democratic process. Moral and political progressives, frustrated at their inability to win in the legislative process, decided to transform the courts into engines of moral and cultural revolution."

Kelly Shackelford explains, "For Biden and the left, the judicial branch is viewed as a super-legislature—another avenue to accomplish their policy goals if the democratic process 'fails.' President Trump and conservatives have traditionally viewed the judicial branch as one that should not be influenced by political considerations but act as a neutral guardian of constitutional principles and arbiter of disputes between legislative and executive branches. . . .

[W]hen the judiciary wanders into the realm of policymaking—as it has for the past several decades by judges who believe the Constitution is a 'living document'—the politics of judicial nominations become more significant and rancorous. . . .

Over the next four years, there will be many more vacancies to be filled on the U.S. District Courts, the Courts of Appeals and, potentially, the Supreme Court. Few can argue against the notion that we need men and women in the judiciary with the humility to refrain from making policy and the integrity to uphold the Constitution as written, regardless of the direction the cultural winds may be blowing. Although we don’t get to vote on the judges, we do get to decide who appoints them. It is an awesome responsibility and one that may well determine what kind of country we leave to our children and grandchildren." 

The Kavanaugh hearings were a national disgrace, where the Left proved all gloves were off and they will attempt to destroy anyone who gets in the way of their agenda. We must secure the path for justices to be on the federal courts who will protect and preserve liberty.

5. The economy benefitted greatly these years.

Regardless of what the fake news cycle claims, the Trump administration in three years built the strongest economy in the history of the United States. Just consider a few examples:

+ The lowest unemployment rate in 50 years.

+ The lowest black and Hispanic unemployment rates ever recorded.

+ Massive elimination of wasteful government regulations - an estimated 25,000 pages.

+ Tax cuts, giving a tremendous boost to small businesses

We elected a businessman, an entrepreneur, - not a politician. And in spite of a global pandemic, which was totally out of his and anyone else's control (well, maybe not some Chinese scientists), he kept his promises toward the U.S. economy.

Look at the Decision Magazine Election Guide here.

6. Trump is a friend to minorities and women.

One of the many high points of the Republican National Convention (as opposed to the negativity of the Democratic National Convention) were the testimonies of numerous minorities and women who strongly support our President. Just listen to the following stories - just a small sampling from the RNC:

BurgessOwens at RNC: Democratic Party a a dour, dark, depressed party

Black Americans Need to Leave the "Mental Plantation" - Vernon Jones at the RNC

Jack Brewer at RNC: “Dad, can you please just tell everyone that all lives need to matter and that God loves everyone?”

From Cotton to Congress - Senator Tim Scott at the RNC

He Keeps Fighting for Black Americans - Herschel Walker at the RNC

Sister Deirdre Byrne at the RNC: As followers of Christ, we are called to stand up for life against the politically correct or fashionable of today.

Cissie Graham Lynch at RNC: Trump a Fierce Advocate for People of Faith

Jones said, “The Democratic party does not want black people to leave their mental plantation. We’ve been forced to be there for decades and generations, but I have news for Joe Biden. We are free. We are free people with free minds, and I’m part of a large and growing segment of the black community who are independent thinkers, and we believe that Donald Trump is the president that America needs to lead us forward.”

7.  Vote policy and platform - not personality. 

This election is not about party or personality, It's about policy and platform. See my article, The 5 Ps of Voting this November.

Kamala Harris, judged by her record, is the most radical, Leftist VP nominee in the history of the Union. She scored as the most liberal Senator in 2019.

Research guru George Barna said, “The 2020 election is not about personalities, parties, or even politics. It is an election to determine the dominant worldview in America.” 

Dr. James Dobson writes in his October 2020 letter, “This vote has awesome implications for future generations and the nation we love. It is about our Constitution and the immutable, God-given rights it protects. It is about values, and truth, and greatness, and hope. That is why the notion of choosing a president based on frivolous personality characteristics is so unfortunate.”

Dr. Michael Brown asks, “When it comes to the November elections, which party is more likely to protect our religious freedoms? Which presidential candidate is more likely to push against the marginalizing tactics of the radical Left?” 

See Where the Parties Stand here.

And David Clossen writes, "Although neither political party perfectly represents Christians, party platforms allow us to make thoughtful judgments regarding who we will support at election time. These platforms, which serve as proposed governing philosophies, allow Christians to see if and how the political parties prioritize issues on which the Bible clearly speaks.” 

Don't vote past - because your parents or grandparents voted one way.

Don't vote party - because you've always voted for one political party.

Don't vote personality - because you do or do not like a particular candidate.

Vote for the policies the person has accomplished (look at their record).

Vote for the entire party platform of that candidate's party: 

"The declared policies of a candidate, and of a candidate’s party (Democrat or Republican) give a good indication of what the candidate will do if elected. In this year’s election, there is a vast difference between the policies of the two parties and their candidates. The Democrats have moved further to the left, in the direction of a highly government-regulated, oppressive, anti-Christian, quasi-socialist country, than we have ever seen in our history. Is there no level of harmful policies that a party could advocate that would cause you to rise up and do what you could to stop them?" (Grudem) 

See Comparing the Democratic vs. the Republican Party Platforms.

See The Light and the Darkness: Biden Got it Backwards

It is No Contest

Governor Mike Huckabee shares, “I am often challenged as to how a practicing Christian believer and former pastor can support Donald Trump with his many character flaws. First of all, it’s not my place to judge someone else’s character. I’ve also never made it a secret that I find some of the President's language, tweets and behavior to be less reverent than I would like. But God has not sent us any perfect people in the past 2,000 years. When choosing a President, you have to consider more than whether you approve of someone’s personality and temperament. You have to consider what that person will do for (or to) America and the world.

When I look at how President Trump has defended life, religious liberty and Israel, and how he has worked so hard to restore American strength, protect the innocent, end terrorism, and create jobs and rising wages for all Americans – and I compare that to the far-left, job-killing, tax-raising, government-bloating, free speech-destroying, student-indoctrinating, religion-crushing, gender-confusing, crime-condoning, border-erasing, abortion-at-all-stages agenda of the Democrats – it is simply no contest.”

If you are still one of those persons who thinks they cannot vote for the "unvirtuous" Donald Trump because of his past sins, I challenge you to read the following:

Letter to an Anti-Trump Christian Friend

Trump Should Not Be Removed from Office: A Response to Mark Galli

Why a Southern Baptist Pastor Will Vote for the Unvirtuous Donald Trump (2016)

If You Don't Like Either Candidate, then Vote for Trump's Policies

Grudem, again, says,It is not the fault of evangelical Christians that Republican party policies have increasingly favored policies consistent with Christian values, while Democratic Party policies have increasingly strayed from Christian values (this happened initially and most notably over the issue of abortion rights but then it spread to many other policies). Since that has happened, it seems to me that evangelicals face an easy choice of which party to support. (In fact, many of the policies favored in the 2016 Republican Party platform are the same as those advocated in my book, Politics According to the Bible.)"

Don't be deceived. Liberty is at stake.

Make the right choice. You may not have that opportunity again.

Watch my videos:

7 Ways to Speak Up and Influence the Culture

4 Ways to Help America

7 Lies Americans are Believing

See my following articles: 

7 Lies Americans are Believing

Christians - Engage Politics and the Public Square

The Big Picture: Why Evangelicals Support Donald Trump

4 Ways to Help America

See my review of Stephen Strang's book, God and Donald Trump.

Picture used by Pixabay  by permission

The 5 P's of Voting this November

Elections have consequences, and no doubt the Presidential election of 2020 will have enormous ones for the future of our nation, perhaps for several generations.

Research guru George Barna says, "The 2020 election is not about personalities, parties, or even politics. It is an election to determine the dominant worldview in America."

When the television became a normal part of American homes, one keen observer warned there would come a day when people would stop thinking for themselves and would believe whatever was told to them through the television. The futurist said there would consequentially come a day when Americans would vote a totalitarian government into power.

Don't let the sound bytes, the Hollywood moguls, or your favorite CNN or FOX News commentator be the extent of your digging and learning! We live in the information age, and we can do a lot of research ourselves beyond the headlines.

Here are 5 Ps to remember when voting:

1.  Past

"My grandaddy always voted Democrat."

"My mother is a staunch Republican."

While that may be true, and you love your forefathers, that is not reason enough to vote a particular way today. 

Remember, it is not your granddaddy nor your mother's day. It's a different day with high stakes. Evil forces are at work in our nation to bring moral and legal changes that our grandparents could have never imagined.

2. Party

Just because you have always voted one party ticket is not enough reason to do so now. There are consequences to our voting.

I will vote for any party candidate - Democratic, Republican, Libertarian, or any other third party - that I believe (a) most reflects biblical morals and ethics, (b) will be a friend to people of faith, and (c) will do the most good for Americans.

3. Personality

"I don't like him."

"He is too rude."

"He gets on my nerves."

Listen, we're not voting for our date at the prom, a Sunday School teacher or pastor, or for Mr. Congeniality. We are voting for en entire movement.

Voting or not voting for someone because I don't like them is actually a very one-dimensional line of reasoning.

The choice is not between two personalities. "The choice is between two packages. Wayne Grudem writes, he question now facing the nation is not, 'Does Donald Trump have an exemplary moral character?' or,  'Does Donald Trump have flaws?' or even, 'Do I like Donald Trump?' The question is, 'Which of two package deals is better for the nation?'

(a) Donald Trump and Republican policies or

(b) Joe Biden and Democratic policies?

There are no other choices. The nation will either have the option (a) or option (b) as a whole package for at least the next four years, and probably longer. If I withhold support from Trump, that makes it easier for Biden to win, and thereby for Democratic policies to bring (in my opinion) great destructiveness to the nation (more specifics below.)

In making a choice between package (a) and package (b), questions about a candidate’s character of course are relevant. But, to my mind, the question is not, 'Does Donald Trump have flaws?' but rather, 'Is Donald Trump so clearly unsuited to be president that our only valid choice is to accept package (b) and the great damage to the nation that (in my opinion) will flow from Joe Biden and Democratic policies?' When I ask the question in that way, the answer is clearly No, and it isn’t even close. Package (a) is far preferable."

Agreed. There are no other choices.

4. Policy

Instead of voting based on the past, a party, or personalities, we should vote based on policy.

What has Joe Biden accomplished and what has he voted on the last 47 years in office?

What has Donald Trump accomplished and what has he voted on the last 47 months in office?

Policies affect people and society in practical ways.

The Family Research Council prepared some excellent resources with much research noting the promises made, promises kept. See the following: The Trump Administration Accomplishments

Read Trump's Religious Freedom Record is a Stubborn Fact

See Family and Religious Liberty Accomplishments of the Trump Administration

See International Religious Freedom Accomplishments of the Trump Administration

See Trump Administration Accomplishments on Life

Here is another long list of the President's accomplishments.

5. Platform

The other P that should influence our voting is party platform. The Democratic Party and the Republican Party both adopt a platform - an agenda they intend to work on and towards the next four years. Historically, the parties and Presidents stick to their party's platform about 60-70% of the time, so they are good indicators of what to expect.

Grudem again writes, "The declared policies of a candidate, and of a candidate’s party (Democrat or Republican) give a good indication of what the candidate will do if elected. In this year’s election, there is a vast difference between the policies of the two parties and their candidates."

David Clossen writes, "Although neither political party perfectly represents Christians, party platforms allow us to make thoughtful judgments regarding who we will support at election time. These platforms, which serve as proposed governing philosophies, allow Christians to see if and how the political parties prioritize issues on which the Bible clearly speaks.” 

Dr. Michael Brown asks, “When it comes to the November elections, which party is more likely to protect our religious freedoms? Which presidential candidate is more likely to push against the marginalizing tactics of the radical Left?” 

See Comparing the Democratic vs. the Republican Party Platforms.

Your vote matters. Make it count.

Picture used by permission from Pixabay.

7 Ways to Pray for America

 

Someone asked me today what I've been praying for our nation. These are certainly troubling days with seismic shifts in culture. No doubt, we desperately need the intervention of Almighty God. 

Here are 7 ways to pray for our country:

(1) God's mercy on us.

Billy Graham said years ago that if the Lord doesn't judge the United States of America for her sin, he will need to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah. 

When the biblical prophet Amos saw a revelation of God's pending judgment on Israel, he immediately began interceding before the Lord:

"Oh Lord God, please forgive! How can Jacob stand? He is so small!"

And the Bible records, "The LORD relented concerning this: 'It shall not be,' said the LORD' " (Amos 7:2-3).

Christians need to plead with God to give us mercy, spare us what we deserve, and grant more time for repentance.

(2) for deception to be exposed

We live in a day of many deceptions. Entire social engineering movements understand how to create cultural narratives that thrive off of fake news and untruths. 

Unfortunately, much of the mainstream media perpetuates these cultural narratives. Remember the habitual fibbing of Bill and Hillary Clinton? The phony Russian scandal? The hyped-up impeachment? The slanders against Justice Kavanaugh? The full video footage of George Floyd's arrest hidden for months?

The Left's social engineering thrives off of deception.

(3) for truth and repentance to rise

The Bible says that the rise of lawlessness and Satan's rule is accompanied by all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved (2 Thess. 2:10 ESV).

The prophet Isaiah warned, Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands far away; for truth has stumbled in the public squares, and uprightness cannot enter. (Isaiah 59:14 ESV)

Dennis Prager writes, "In the hierarchy of leftists (as opposed to traditional liberalism) values, truth is below other values. . . . Leftist denial of what is true is so widespread that we have a term for it, political correctness. There is no comparable right-wing political correctness, i.e., denying truths so as not to offend right-wing values or certain groups. . . . So deep is the left's hostility to truth regarding the sexes that a president of Harvard University was forced from office after suggesting that men's and women's brains process math and some science differently. . . . Few liberal activist groups tell the truth. Not because their members are liars - but because whatever the left advocates it deems more important than truth." See Does the Left Value Truth?

A healthy society cannot function long without truth. The Left continues to push the needle further and further so that we reject things that are true. 

Here is just one example. 

Dr. Albert Mohler writes, "We are witnessing a revolution in morality that is nothing less than a revolt against human nature. The LGBTQ revolution is like a tsunami, reshaping the entire society. Marriage has been redefined, morality has been revolutionized and the ordering of human relations has been turned upside down. The most radical front of this revolution—the transgender movement—has now demanded the rejection of the “gender binary” and the embrace of a totally fluid concept of human gender and personal identity. We are becoming a society of total confusion about what it means to be human, male and female. 

The movement to deny biology and human nature is progressing with unbelievable speed. A society that, for example, allows biological males claiming to be female to compete in athletics against biological women is a society that is embracing a confusion that would be fatal to any human society. We all know that the revolutionaries are demanding much more than boys competing in girls’ athletics. One side in our political divide is enthusiastic about pushing this revolution and using the coercive power of government to advance it. The other side will resist it. This divide is at stake in this election." 

We need for truth to become normal again - and we need to repent for believing things that are not true.

(4) for wisdom and courage for our leaders to make the right, though not always popular, decisions

Politicians who play to public opinion polls rarely make wise choices for the people. We are living in a day when many times the right decision brings the wrath of the mainstream media and the Leftist mob. Dennis Prager argues that the most powerful force in America today is fear of the Left - what they will say and do to punish you if you do not submit to their agenda.

Pray for wisdom and courage for leaders to make the right decisions.

(5) for discernment for the people - to see above the media's rhetoric and see what is actually happening,

Discernment is the ability to see between differing options, voices, and paths, and choose correctly. It's the ability to differentiate between fool's gold and the real thing. To see through the fog to what is actually there.

We live in a day where discernment is often greatly lacking. 

(6) for love, compassion, kindness, and forgiveness

The Judeo-Christian ethic is marked by the need for common decency - practicing The Golden Rule. Problems in our society will not be solved by adding hate to hate.

The apostle Paul wrote, Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive (Colossians 3:12-13 ESV).

Sometimes we need to stop focusing on what other people owe us - and instead treat others the way we want to be treated.

(7) and for God to remember the covenant of America's settlers and Founders.

I believe the United States of America is a covenantal nation. No, that does not mean that she is the second Israel or that her covenant is on the same level as ones in the Bible.

It does, however, mean that the overwhelming majority of her settlers and Founders shared a bias toward biblical Christianity and "their thinking and lives were influenced by a Christian worldview" (The American Patriot's Bible).

When you read the original writings and correspondence of these Framers, you see a common understanding that they were dedicating this place and this nation to the God of the Bible, asking Him to preserve them. This understanding dominated our nation's self-understanding for more than 100 years. 

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story wrote, “One of the beau­tiful boasts of our municipal jurispru­dence is that Christianity is a part of the Common Law. There never has been a period in which the Common Law did not recognize Christianity as lying at its foundations.” 

Though revisionists and Leftists have worked for years to dismiss these facts, we can ask the Lord to remember. In the Bible, when God's people were in great distress, they often prayed for the Lord to remember the covenant He had with them.

Anne Graham Lotz recently prayed at the Prayer March 2020 in Washington, D.C., “Hear all the prayers that have been prayed on the Mall today. O God, would You hear? Would You forgive? Would You heal? We ask this, please, for the glory of the Name of Jesus, the Son of God, the Son of Man, the Lion of Judah, the Lamb of God, the Redeemer, the Savior, Jesus. We pray in His Name, Yeshua.”

Pictures used by permission from Pixabay or taken by the author.

What’s at Stake in America’s 2020 Election

 

"Every four years, citizens of this nation face a massive decision and vote to elect a president of the United States. The framers of the Constitution understood that the presidency itself was both revolutionary and unprecedented. The role was outlined in the Constitution, but it was made real in the person of George Washington—the only man the founders could envision as the nation’s first chief executive. 

In war and in peace, in prosperity and in pandemic, Americans have exercised the vote because we understand that this is the most important role we play in deciding the future of the nation, the shape of its laws and the character of its government. 

Every four years, we are told that this election is the most important vote of our lifetime. In a very real sense, it is. The reason is now clear— the issues that loom before this nation and its voters are growing more urgent, and the divides between the two major political parties grow only wider. In 2020, America’s Christians must realize that our two political parties represent two radically different visions of the nation and its future, two different understandings of the role of government, two very different ways of reading the U.S. Constitution and even two different moralities."

Read the entire article here by Albert Mohler at Decision Magazine.

Picture used by permission from Pixabay.

Where the Parties Stand

 

"Every four years, as delegates from both major American political parties gather to officially nominate a presidential candidate and running mate, the party platforms are finalized and adopted, and policy positions are set for at least the next four years. 

In August, with the coronavirus altering how the conventions conducted their business, the Republican Party met in Charlotte, North Carolina, streamlining its official proceedings and relying on its 2016 platform to stake out a consensus of who it is and what it believes. The Democratic Party, meeting in Milwaukee, chose to adopt a new party platform. What follows is a comparison—drawn from those platforms, the Democratic and Republican party websites, and public statements—on where the two major parties stand on key issues for evangelical voters." 

Read the entire article here by Decision Magazine staff here.

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What’s at Stake for the Family

"Our culture tells us that gender is fluid, marriage is not the sacred union of a man and a woman and that a fetus in the womb is simply a mass of cells. Our nation celebrates the polarization of our society with identity politics and jeers at those who try to unite us. 

Unfortunately, in this moment of crisis, many followers of Jesus have started trusting in the political agendas of the Donkey or the Elephant for deliverance. We have forgotten that we are called to follow a higher set of principles—the agenda of the Lamb. 

The Lamb’s agenda calls us to submit to the government out of reverence for God but be willing to speak up when there is a clear violation of Biblical values. The Lamb’s agenda leads us to reject socialistic and communistic ideals that threaten personal freedoms and to speak Biblical truth to our culture and our leaders.”

Read the entire article here by Samuel Rodriguez at Decision Magazine.

What’s at Stake for the Courts

 

Thanks in part to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 presidential election will be one unlike any other. However, one issue that proved to be a deciding factor for many voters in 2016 will remain as important, if not more, during this cycle: judicial appointments. 

Prior to the 2016 presidential election, Justice Antonin Scalia’s death turned the nation’s attention to who the next president would nominate to fill the vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court. Then-candidate Donald Trump made the bold move of going beyond the usual platitudes about the judicial philosophy to which his nominee(s) would adhere and instead published a list of names of potential nominees for the American people to see for themselves. Like much of Trump’s campaign, it was unconventional, and it worked. 

This year, with rumors of potential retirements and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s continued health issues, the Supreme Court is back at the center of the political stage. Like any candidate running for reelection, President Trump now has a record on this issue that voters can consider. As vice president, Joe Biden praised President Obama’s appointments to the Supreme Court—Justices Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor—two of the high court’s liberal justices. The progressive left expects more of the same from a possible President Biden. 

Read the entire article here by Kelley Shackleford at Decision Magazine.

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