It Does Matter.

The time is quickly approaching for you to exercise your input into the state and national leadership profiles.

Some of you took advantage of early and advanced voting. I cast my vote yesterday opting for character. As I said in my last entry, character does matter. It is unfortunate that many people are believing what the main stream media is saying. They say the election is over. They have chosen the next president. Don't believe them. They want you to give up, they want you to be depressed, they want you to be hopeless. I've got great news for you. It's not over until the last vote is counted.

Get out to the polls and cast your vote. Be a part of the process. Your vote does matter. I cast my vote for smaller government, real tax cuts, and victory in Iraq. I hope you do the same.

Politics

I really want to rant, but I won't.

Don't be fooled. Both parties desperately want your vote and will do most anything to get it.

The smear tactics are out in full force. There are a dizzying array of facts flying around. They might be facts, but they might be lies. It is incredibly difficult for the average American citizen to sort all of this out.

So what's a guy to do? Can Joe or Jill American know the ins and outs of Wall Street? How about foreign affairs? Would you be willing to sit across the table from a man like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and talk about the future? If that name is not familiar to you, he is the president of Iran. He believes that Israel should be, "wiped off the map." He also believes that the Holocaust never happened. What should be done with Social Security? What about Medicare? What about all these people who are in danger of losing their homes? Should the government help them? Is the answer more money for the people of America? After all, the government recently approved a $750 billion bail out plan for struggling financial markets.

These are difficult questions to answer. Call me crazy, but I must admit that I have educated opinions on many of these issues, because this stuff is exciting to me. My wife is not at all excited about it, and I think many people share her sentiments. Let the leaders handle this, right? After all, they get paid the big bucks.

So if we are to let the leaders take care of these things, who should we choose to represent our best interests? What should we base our vote on? It really comes down to a single principle: character. As Christians, we are involved in progressive sanctification . . . we're growing more and more like Christ each day. We should be known for our character, our integrity, our honesty. You may not know where I stand on a certain issue, but if you know my character, you can probably determine my position.

We need to look at the candidate that most closely aligns with the character of God. No, I'm serious, keep reading. Evaluate the issues and the candidate's positions on those issues and line all of it up with Scripture. It is not a choice between good and evil (although some may think it is). That decision would be easy. Its a choice between bad and worse. Both candidates have some left field ideas. Go with the candidate that most closely aligns himself with biblical principles. There are some great websites out there that can help you sift through the rhetoric and get to the issues. Here are some links to help you out:

• Factcheck.org
• ProCon.org
• Votesmart.org

In my opinion, the choice is clear, but it doesn't mean happy days are here again. I encourage each of you to educate yourself on the facts and vote on November 4th. For Christians, in the long run, it really doesn't matter who the president will be because we know who the King is.

Black Friday?

No it isn't.

I'm sure many of you have been following the plummeting stock market. Our retirement accounts, our investments, and our children's college funds are declining markedly. What in the world is going on? What are we going to do?

While I'm not a financial adviser, I am familiar with biblical principles of finances. Many Christians are wringing their hands watching the market as it rises and falls with each day closing at 8451.19 points today. What does all that mean? For most of us, it doesn't mean anything . . . . today. All the worrying in the world isn't going to drive the market up. Here's the biblical advice: don't trust in your finances. Jesus told us, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal." (Matthew 6:19-20)

Here's the bottom line: our treasure is not here, our eternity is not here. As the roller coaster market continues, and it will for a while, take this time to thank the Lord for being the guardian of all the treasures you've layed up in heaven. They'll be there when you get there.

The ultimate bail-out plan was carried out when Jesus willingly gave His life for each of us when He died on the cross. Unlike the government's bailout plan, this one didn't cost us a penny, but it cost Jesus everything.

It's Time to Stand Up.

On Sunday nights we are looking at a video series entitled "Speechless - Silencing the Christians." I am amazed at the stories contained in the series so far. Christians being told what they can or cannot say in school, in public, and at the workplace.

You need to know what you can say. We say things like. "We live in the Bible belt, we'll never be silenced." We can be so naive. Something recently happened in Clay County, FL not far from here. As we approach the elections, the speech police are watching and listening. Don't think an elementary school is immune to the tactics of those who seek to silence the Truth of the Bible. I'm pleased to say school officials did the right thing in this case, but don't think that's always the case. In fact, in our church, one mother said her daughter was told she couldn't mention Jesus in the classroom. That is simply not true.

It's time to stand up for what is right. We've been silenced too long. It's time to speak out and it may be more important now than it ever has been.

Be prepared.

Tropical Storm Fay has reminded us that living in the Southeast may be paradise, but sometimes paradise can be interrupted by annoying occurrences such as tropical storms and hurricanes.

Just as weather storms are sure to come, storms of life are sure to come. This is nothing new. Our enemy continues to roam the earth seeking someone to devour. Satan has devious plans to destroy Christians who are most threatening to his work. Not every Christian suffers at the hand of Satan or his demons. 2 Timothy 3:12 says, "Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted." As a Christ follower, if you want to live in the world and be part of the world (sounds like an oxymoron, doesn't it?), then chances are, nobody's going to bother you . . . unless you count out the Holy Spirit.

Just like an approaching hurricane, you have time to get prepared. The time to ready for the storm is not when the wind starts blowing, and the time to get ready for the storms of life are not when they arrive. We need to prepare for the storms of life now. We need to stand firm against the attacks of the enemy. We need to get into the Word of God, learn and its powerful truths. We need to put on the full armor of God and stand prepared for battle. Our soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan defending freedom would never think of going into battle without their battle gear and we should be no different.

I believe the problem stems from who we think Satan is. A 2007 Barna poll found that 46% of born-again Christians deny the existence of Satan; he is only a symbol of evil. Did I miss something? Are they reading from the same book I am? No wonder we're in such a sorry state in the church. We're wrestling against our brothers and sisters in Christ and ignoring our arch enemy and the arch enemy of God. It's time to rethink our spiritual battle plan. Satan is real and he wants to destroy us. Be ready, dust off the armor that God has issued to you, and stand firm. It's what is needful and it's what God expects of us.

Are you ready?

Did I hear this right?

Perhaps some of you have heard of the story of the Florida man that won the lottery. It seems that Robert Powell won 6 million in the Florida lottery and wanted to contribute some cash to his church. I'm not sure how the church found out about Mr. Powell's intentions, but when the pastor did, the church refused to accept the $600,000 donation. The pastor offered no explanation as to why the church would not receive Mr. Powell's donation citing the confidentiality of member giving. Wow.

I want to be very clear on this. I am against playing the lottery. Although you won't find any verses in the Bible that say, "Don't play the lottery," the Bible teaches that Christians are to have a strong work ethic and should avoid get rich quick type schemes. We know the verses and even like to quote them using our spiritual voices; Matthew 6:21: "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." And of course the ever popular 1 Timothy 6:10: "For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil." There are many others, but the kicker is found in the second part of 1 Timothy 6:10: "and some by longing for it [money] have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs." Paul provides biblical guidance why we shouldn't long for money. He knows the dangers. That's the fallacy of the lottery that lottery officials don't want you to know. When you yearn or long for riches, you'll end of finding yourself with grief instead. The answer is not more money.

You don't have to believe me, you can do your own research. Many lottery winners are worse off than they were before they won the lottery. How can that be you might ask? Why do poor people stay poor while the rich keep getting richer? The following statement may sound harsh, but it is true. Poor people continue to do what they did to get poor and rich people continue to do what made them rich. You don't see many rich people playing the lottery. There's a reason for that.

All that being said, what would I do if someone came and wanted to offer a donation that resulted from something questionable? First, I don't interview people and ask them how they made their money. Second, you have to realize that money is amoral. It is not good or evil. Are we supposed to evaluate how every dollar that is given to the church was earned? Are we supposed to refuse the dollars that are earned if the giver works at a brewery? Or a distillery? Or a tobacco farm? Or what about the Christian that works as a server in a restaurant and is required to serve alcohol? It's an awful slippery slope to climb when you look at it like that. Of course there are professions I'm sure the Lord would just as soon see eliminated from the world, but let's face it, we still live in a world where sin reigns and as long as we're here, we're at war with an enemy that does not rest.

Would I, as a pastor, accept a donation from someone who won the lottery? Well yes I would. I heard someone once say something like, "The devil's used that money long enough, it's time for the Lord to use it."

You want our address?

Just Look Around You

Last week I had an opportunity to spend some time at my in-law's house in Maggie Valley, NC. I really needed to get away . . . a change of scenery.

Seth and I loaded our motorcycles on Monday morning and headed out. Kari and Amelia came the following day. The weather was absolutely perfect. Warm days and cool nights. Seth and I rode the Blue Ridge Parkway, from the Smokey Mountain National Park to Asheville, NC. This is some of the most glorious riding there is. Sweeping turns, magnificent views, wonderful mountain air, and a mix of the aromas of mountain flowers and freshly cut grass. I rode over to Deal's Gap on the border of North Carolina and Tennessee to ride on U.S. 129 known as the "Tail of the Dragon." It is a motorcycle rider's dream. It is an 11 mile stretch of road that has 318 turns.

Some of my best prayer time has been on my motorcycle, especially on the Parkway. The beautiful scenery certainly declares the handiwork of God's hand. I often wonder how anyone can look at the beauty of nature and not know that there is a Creator that carefully handcrafted every mountain, every rock formation, every tree, every flower, and every blade of grass. The physical beauty of the world as we see it could not have happened by chance. In Paul's fantastic treatise of our faith, he says that God wrote the truth on each of our hearts so that we'll know there is a Creator. (Romans 1:19-21) As authentic Christians, we need to stand against the deception of Satan. There is a God and we must acknowledge His greatness.

I agree with David, "The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands." (Psalm 19:1)