Today I wrap up this series by telling you why your vote matters. There are millions (maybe billions) of people who wish they had a say in their government. The privilege to vote came at a high price as thousands of men and women gave their lives for this freedom. To cop out and just not vote is to dishonor that sacrifice.

Don’t just go and throw your vote away because you do not know what is going on. Educate yourself. Pray hard. Find out where the candidates stand on the issues that affect you. If you call yourself a Christ follower, you must set the Bible at the center of your decision. Then go stand in a very long line and vote.

Stop whining and complaining about the election. If we allow the horrible campaign tactics of the candidates to jade us, we all lose. Whatever you do, don’t stay home from the polls. Take your faith in God and His Word with you as you vote. Act like a true believer when standing in line. Hold your head up. Put that sticker on your shirt and proudly let people know that you exercised your right to vote.

Don’t belittle others who do not vote the same as you. An open dialogue is healthy. Tearing each other down makes us no better than the candidates. Not talking about our views isolates us.

I encourage leaders to lead by example. How will the people who follow you know where you are going unless you tell them.God put you in a place of leadership for times like this.

Once you have voted, why not come back here and tell us all who you voted for and why.

This week, we are taking a Biblical look at the political decision process. Allow me to touch on a few points that have guided me in this process.

There are many, many issues facing our country today and all of them are valid. I want to have more money, smaller government, better healthcare, stronger military and on and on. But, there are a few issues that I believe are non-negotiable when it comes to a Biblically based answer.

Today, I will only address one issue. Why? Because I cannot let the other issues outweigh this one. I wish I could be a multiple issue voter. But, this one is too big to ignore.

ABORTION

I believe this is an issue that is so huge that we can not let it pass. Every day, thousands of babies are murdered in the United States. It feels better to say pro-choice or a woman’s right to choose. But, something is wrong when a teenage girl can have the government finance the murdering of the baby in her womb without her parents knowing and you can go to prison and pay a stiff fine for disturbing sea turtle eggs. What does it matter if the eggs aren’t real anyway? Isn’t it a double homicide if you kill a mother and her unborn child?

Now, I know that even with a Republican, pro-life President in office for the last eight years has not overturn Roe v. Wade. I am not convinced that electing a pro-life President this term will even change it. But, I must try. If I give up and risk the lives of another 5,000,000+ babies that will die*. I cannot vote for a President who opposes righteous legislation to save the lives of the unborn.

Psalms 106 talks about the Israelites sacrificing their children to idols. You may be saying that this is different. But, I would argue that the majority of abortions are a result of sin and the need for convenience. I encourage you to read this article from John Piper.

Before you vote, take a look at the two resources below, read your Bible, pray really hard and then GO VOTE!

I know. I know. I promised to write about the election this week and I have been a huge slacker. Things have been so nuts that I haven’t done early voting yet either. But, I will.

Today, I want to lay some ground work for my posts over the next few days by sharing a video with you. This come from Ed Young at Fellowship Church. So, take the next 36 minutes and 29 seconds to watch.

Prepared over the next few days to be either encouraged, challenged and/or offended. I will write about how I am applying the truth of scripture to my voting decision. I am still deciding whether or not to blog the name of the candidate I am voting for. If you want to know, ask me in person. But, it probably will not be hard to tell after this week is over.

Here is my question to you. How have you reconciled your candidates platform with the Bible?

Let me start by saying how much I love our church. Today, we welcomed Pastor Syvelle and Lovie Phillips from Evangel Bible Translators. Pastor Syvelle serves Dad and me as one of three non-resident elders. Lovie leads God Loves Kids, a ministry that sponsors children in orphanages in Africa and India. I have personally been to one of her orphanages in Uganda and personally vouch for the success they are having.

Pastor Syvelle brought a message as a loving father figure. His text was simply,

Better is open rebuke than hidden love. - Proverbs 27:5

Yeah, not quite the message you expect to hear from a missionary looking for a big offering. That’s why I love Pastor Syvelle. His message was filled with grace and compassion. But, it did not gloss over the truth. I love that about him. You can listen to the message this week on our website or on the podcast. It should be up by the end of the day on Tuesday.

After church, we all went to lunch and I asked Pastor what he would change about the last 60+ years of ministry. He said,

“I would have honored Lovie more in the early days of our ministry.”

and

“I would’ve handled issues with staff faster.”

You can’t put a price on counsel like that. So, to all of my fellow pastors, I pose this question - How are you honoring your spouse in ministry?

Go ahead, share with us.