What's the Word?

Are your emotions up and down like the stock market? Over the course of my life, I do not know if I have ever sensed as much fear and anxiety among people due to the current economic climate.

How should we respond? Does God offer any hope? Maybe you are stuck in fear. Perhaps you are mad at God at the moment. Let me offer some biblical wisdom.

First we must remember that God does not promise to keep Christians from all trials. He does promise to keep us as we go through our trials. Jesus said, “I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Sometimes Christians tend to think that they should have a free pass from any trouble. It is simply not true. There are times we will have difficulties. Our promise is that He is with us in the midst of our difficulty – even financial troubles. Don’t forget who you belong to as a Christian. You are a child of God, and He will watch over you.

Second, we must learn to be content. The Apostle Paul wrote about this in the book of Philippians: “I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret to being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through Him who give me strength” (Phil. 4:11 – 13).

For many of us, godly contentment might be the most valuable lesson we can learn. Perhaps we tend to put way too much stock in worldly comforts. True contentment never comes from how much you have, or how many toys you own. There are enough rich people that have been miserable through the years. What about you? Are you content? Will you be okay if you have to downsize? If not, then you may have a real spiritual problem. I remember being on a mission trip to India several years ago. All of our luggage was lost and I was there for 10 days with a Bible, toothbrush, some tic tacs, and the presence of God. I have never been so content in all of my life. It wasn’t because I had more. It was because I had been stripped of all my material comforts and discovered what was really important.

Third, it may be time for a budget. Do you know where you money is going? Are you really spending wisely? This is a very practical step to help you control your spending.

Lastly, don’t stop giving. Often times, a person’s giving level is the first thing to go when their income gets tighter. We let fear get a hold of us instead of faith, and we may hold back our tithes and our offerings. I think that is the worst mistake that a Christian can make. Some people think they cannot afford to tithe. If we truly believe God’s word and trust our Heavenly Father, the truth is that we cannot afford to not tithe. Giving is an act of our worship towards God. We honor him when we give for His sake. Our giving is also an act of our trust in Christ. As we truly give, we are inviting Jesus into our financial picture and declaring that He is the answer to all of our needs. Through our faithful giving, we are putting our faith into action. Giving says, God is my source. God is my Provider. Our giving to God releases God’s hand into this area of our lives. And many have discovered that you simply can’t out give God. God doesn’t want you walking in fear. Remember whose you are, and walk in faith. And that’s the Word.

It’s over. A very long election season has come to an end, and America will inaugurate our first African American president in January. It is truly a historical moment. On Wednesday morning, some of you woke up very excited that Senator Barack Obama was elected as our next President of the United States. Some of you woke up very disappointed and perhaps even concerned because you disagree with a number of his political views.

Many people prayed fervently for God’s will and direction in this election. Some of you were convinced that John McCain needed to be the man in office and prayed to that affect. Others of you prayed for an Obama victory. I submit to you that the time for prayer has not ended. In many ways, the need for prayer has just begun. I encourage you to be faithful in your prayers for President-elect Barack Obama, his wife Michelle, and his two daughters. Ask God to speak to Obama’s heart and grant him true wisdom from above in all that he does. The apostle Paul said, “I urge then first of all that requests, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving be made for everyone – for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good and pleases God our Savior” (1 Timothy 2:2).

There is no doubt that our next President is walking into a very difficult situation. The American economy is still suffering. Our international relationships are strained on many fronts. The war in Iraq has no quick and easy solutions. Our new president will need a lot more than our cheers or our jeers. He will need our prayers. God has called us to pray for those who are in authority over us as leaders. The book of Proverbs says, “The King’s heart is in the hand of the Lord. He directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases” (Proverbs 22:1). We must truly seek God and believe that He can direct the heart of our leader.

Pray for the people that will surround our president as he transitions into office. Ask God to put wise and righteous counselors in Obama’s path. Please also seek God for greater unity in our nation, and greater unity within the church. As I read from Beth Moore (and agree), we should have zero tolerance for prejudice whether it is regarding party affiliation, color (whether Black, White, or Brown), economics, taxes and the like. It is not a sin for us to disagree with the president or a politician. It is a sin to be prejudice. It is a sin for us to curse our leader, when God has called us to lift him up in prayer.

This is an opportunity for many of us in the body of Jesus Christ to show forth his character. We should stand for what is right not from our feet, but from our knees. We must remember that ultimately God is in control of the nations. The Lord is still on the throne. We can trust God for His work to be done in America.

As Chuck Colson said, “This is no time for Christians to go into bunkers. This is a time to repent, to pray more. It is time for Christians to lead.” Let us lead in a way that will honor Jesus. Let us lead in a way that displays where our real trust ultimately rests. And that’s the Word.

“If I can just touch the hem of his garment, I will be healed.” This was said by a broken woman who was looking for healing. Bleeding for 12 years, she was considered an outcast. Due to her condition, she was not allowed into the temple nor was she allowed to touch another person. She felt cut off from God and from man. The doctors offered her no hope, but Jesus had come to town.

She believed that if she could just touch the hem of his garment that she would be healed. She did touch Jesus that day, and He touched her as well. He touched her more deeply than she had ever imagined. The scripture records, “Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering” (Mark 5:29).

She reached out to Jesus in faith, and she was rewarded with a divine release of power from the Son of God into her life. Her blood had been flowing out for 12 years. Blood is symbolic of life in the scripture. It was as if her life was flowing away, ebbing out of her. And then his life flowed in.

The same power of Christ is still available today. The power of Jesus still flows from Calvary’s cross. The apostle Paul referred to Jesus as a life giving spirit. He gives life to those who truly look to him in faith, for those who reach to him in faith. You can go ahead and ask him to give you his life even now.

Jesus didn’t just heal this woman physically though. She was freed from her suffering in her body, but Jesus wanted to touch her soul as well. The woman had snuck up behind Jesus in an anonymous fashion. As his power flowed into her body, Jesus knew something was going on. He stopped in the crowd having “realized that power had gone out from him” (Mark 5:30). Jesus turned to his disciples and said, “Who touched me?”

The disciples thought it was a ridiculous question. The crowd was so big and everyone was crowding around Jesus. They were thinking, “Who hasn’t touched you?” Jesus asked the question again though, “Who touched me?”

It wasn’t just the tug of a hand Jesus had felt. It was the tug of a heart. It was the tug of faith that he sensed. He knew someone had reached out to him in faith. Jesus scanned the crowd looking for who it was. He wasn’t about to let this woman just get lost in the crowd.

This woman came up to Jesus from behind. Jesus wanted her to come face to face with him though. He wasn’t satisfied just to be this lady’s healer. He didn’t want her to remain nameless and faceless. He wanted this woman to know that he knew… her. He wanted to become her God, her King, Her savior, Her lover, Her Heavenly Father.

This story lets us know that God always wants to make Himself personal to us. Jesus wanted a real relationship with this woman. He didn’t want to be just a mystical force who can touch and heal. He wanted to be a personal God who was real, loving and personal. He is not satisfied until we come face to face with him.

She finally fell at his feet, grateful for his touch, fearful of his rejection. Jesus said, “Daughter, your faith has healed you.” This woman had not heard tender words from a man in more than 12 years. She had the words unclean written on her heart. Just like that though, Jesus wrote a new name on her heart. Not content to just touch her physical body, He spoke love and acceptance in to her heart. Now she was healed, really healed and she would never be the same again. And that’s the Word.

How desperate are you? ABC and Wisteria Lane have the Desperate Housewives, and the Bible has men and women who are desperate for an encounter with God. There is one woman whose story has always been an inspiration to me (Mark 5:25 -34). In this passage, there is a woman who has been subject to bleeding for 12 years. It is a problem with her menstrual cycle and she can find no relief in spite of seeking medical attention. Due to her problem, she would have been considered unclean. She would not have been allowed into the temple, and she would not have been allowed to have any physical contact with another human. She was basically all-alone, cut off from God and man. She was desperate for God to touch and heal her.

This woman wanted to get well. She wanted to be whole. She wasn’t going to give up hope that God had a better life for her. This is important because I meet people all the time who don’t want to get well. They are unwilling to change. They remain a victim for the rest of their lives holding onto their misery, bitterness, or pain. They aren’t willing to take any steps in order to get well.

This woman had heard about Jesus though (Mark 5:27). Perhaps she had heard about how Jesus had touched a group of lepers. They were considered unclean too, but Jesus healed them. Whatever she had heard about him, there was a little seed of faith in her heart. She was desperate to find out if Jesus could heal her. As an unclean woman in that day and time, she would not have dared to approach Jesus face to face. Apparently she decided she would try and sneak a touch from him. She wanted to do a “drive by touch” on Jesus.

The story says, “She came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, ‘If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.’” I love the fact that this woman decided to go after Jesus. She was going to press in and go after him. She was desperate to touch Jesus in hopes that he would somehow touch her. If her broken body and soul could somehow come in contact with the essence of this man Jesus, perhaps his very nature would change her.

She could have sat at home and played it safe. She could have thought, “Well if he is really God, then he can come find me. If God wants to heal me, then he knows where I am.” Some people are like that. They just sit there and wait for God to come to them - not this lady though. She went to touch Jesus. It was a great risk and a great step of faith. She risked the social embarrassment from those in the community. She risked rejection if anyone saw this “unclean” woman stepping beyond her allowed social boundaries. She could have been scolded by a Pharisee, or rejected again by the rest of the crowd.

What about you? Are you willing to go after Jesus no matter what someone else says or thinks? How desperate are you to get a hold of Jesus? Do you want to get well, or do you want to hang on to your bitterness, your anger, your fear? Are you waiting on God to pick you out of the crowd, or give you a holy zap? Or are you ready to press in to Him, and go after him?

This woman pressed in to Jesus, and she wasn’t disappointed. Regardless of the cost, regardless of the risk, she was desperate to touch Jesus. She did, and she would never be the same again. And that’s the Word.

What is the highest place on earth? You might say that Mt. Everest at more than 29,035 feet above sea level is the highest place on earth. I beg to differ though. There is a higher place. I am sure some of you have discovered this place, and perhaps some of you have not. I would like to direct you to the 5th chapter of the Gospel of Mark to show that place to you.

I have always appreciated a couple of stories in Mark 5 that run together. The two stories are about a synagogue ruler named Jairus whose 12 year old daughter was ill (and died) and a woman who had been suffering an affliction for 12 years. The story of the woman is actually inserted right into the middle of Jairus’ story. She basically intrudes upon Jesus as he is going to help Jairus’ daughter.

There is an interesting contrast between this man Jairus and this woman. As I have said, Jairus was a synagogue ruler. We are told his name and what he does. The woman was merely an unknown person. Her name is not even mentioned. We are just told about her affliction. She had been “subject to bleeding for twelve years” (Mark 5:25). Basically, this woman was suffering from a continual menstrual flow that had not stopped.

As a synagogue ruler Jairus would have been an important and well-respected man in the community. Everyone would have known Jairus. He would have been a popular person due to his role as a spiritual leader. The woman was an unknown nobody, and even an outcast. According to the OT, a woman was considered to be unclean during her menstrual cycle. That meant she was not allowed to touch or be touched by others. She couldn’t go into the temple during this time. Basically she was cut off from God and from man. She was the unknown outcast living her life in obscurity.

Jairus would have been a man of means. He would have been well compensated for his role as a ruler of the synagogue. The woman was broke. She had spent all that she had on doctors.

Jairus had 12 years of happiness with his daughter come to an end when she died. The woman had 12 years of affliction and discomfort finally come to an end after Jesus healed her.

As you can see, these are two completely different people from opposite sides of the track. One was wealthy, prominent, and popular. The other was poor, obscure, and an outcast. And yet they both shared some things in common. They both had a great need. Jairus had a critically ill daughter slipping towards death. The woman had an issue of blood that the doctors could not help to heal. They were both desperate with nowhere else to turn. They both ended up turning to Jesus though.

It is very interesting at how both of them approached Jesus. Let me share these verses, and notice how each one of them comes before Christ: “Seeing Jesus, (Jairus) fell at his feet and pleaded earnestly with him…” (Mark 5:22). “Then the woman … came and fell at his feet, and trembling with fear, told him the whole truth (Mark 5:33).

That day, Jesus raised Jairus’ daughter from the dead, and He healed the woman from her affliction. Even though these two were quite different, they both found their answers at the feet of Jesus. Both Jairus and the woman fell at the feet of Jesus, and they both had life changing encounters with Him.

Do you know what they discovered? The highest place on earth is not Mt. Everest. The highest place on earth is at the feet of Jesus. There is no greater place to go. There is no higher place to climb to. Whoever you are, wherever you are, whatever you face, I encourage you to fall at the feet of Jesus. And that’s the Word.

Did you hear about the day when the apostle Simon Peter asked Jesus to go away? That’s right, (Simon) Peter couldn’t stand for Jesus to be in his presence any more. Let me give you a little more insight into the story. Over recent weeks, I have been sharing from the 5th chapter of Luke. In this passage, Jesus gets into Peter’s boat and teaches the crowds. Then he asks Peter to launch out to the deep and let down his nets for a catch. Peter had been fishing all night and caught nothing. He most likely didn’t want to do what Jesus said, but he did. He wasn’t expecting to catch anything at all, but when he pulled in his nets they were overflowing with fish to the point of almost breaking the nets. The boats began to sink in the water because they were so loaded with fish. This is when Peter wasn’t sure he wanted Jesus in the boat anymore.

Scripture records, “When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, ‘Go away from me Lord; I am a sinful man!’” At this point, the boat wasn’t the only thing about to sink. Peter’s heart began to sink as well. The weight of the full nets and the weighted down boats seem symbolic of the weight of God’s presence in the boat with Peter. In the person of Jesus Christ, Peter came face to face with the weight of God’s holiness and power. And Peter seemed to feel the weight of his own sin pulling him down into the water.

I think Peter saw how shallow his existence had been. He truly understood he was unworthy to have this man Jesus in his boat, much less to have him in his life. Peter was a selfish, stubborn, prideful human who wanted life on his own terms.

“I am a sinful man,” Peter cried. He was thinking, “I am undone. I am sinking under the weight of all this.” He felt so unworthy that he bid Christ to go away. It seemed that the presence of Christ reminded him of everything that he should be, but everything that he was not. He became a broken man. He no longer called Jesus Master, instead he called Lord. It was a word that held much greater weight. It meant Master of all – God. Peter knew in his heart that he was not right with God.

When you really encounter Jesus, you will come in touch with your own sin. As Jesus calls you deeper, you will get a glimpse at how shallow your life may be. In those moments when you feel the weight of God’s holiness and your sin, part of you will want to run away from God. You too may ask him just to go away and leave you in your misery.

Jesus didn’t leave Peter though. As Peter cried out in sorrow for his sin, Jesus saw something in him. Jesus didn’t see a man worth drowning. He saw a man worth saving. In Peter’s humility, Jesus saw a man that he could actually use. Peter understood that he was nothing without Jesus. Peter’s sin became something that would cause him to run to Jesus instead of from Jesus.

So instead of hopping out of the boat, walking on water and leaving Peter, Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Don’t be afraid. From now on you will catch men.” It was an invitation to follow Jesus and to be used by Jesus.

Have you ever felt so unworthy that you just wanted Jesus to leave you alone? Don’t run from him. Run to him. You just may be in the perfect place for God to use you – humble, broken, and surrendered to Jesus. And that’s the Word.

Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch. This is what Jesus told Peter to do after a long night of fishing. Peter didn’t yet know who Jesus was. He seemed to be just another rabbi passing through town, coming to teach God’s Word to the people. There was something different about Jesus though. His invitation for Peter to launch out into the deep (Luke 5:1 – 11) seemed to be a call to a deeper life with God, a deeper purpose.

For Peter to respond to Jesus’ call to launch out to the deep is very telling. Something must have been stirring in his heart because his natural inclination would have been to tell Jesus to go jump in a lake. Peter and the boys had been fishing all night long and caught absolutely nothing. In the Sea of Galilee, one would usually fish at night in the shallow waters. Jesus is asking Peter to go out into the deep water in the middle of the day. He is basically asking Jesus to do everything contrary to what Jesus had been trained to do.

This wasn’t just a hobby for Peter. He wasn’t just a weekend fishermen whose idea of the perfect bridal registry was the Bass Pro Shop. This was his career. This was his life. He was a trained fishermen on these waters from his earliest years. Jesus was basically asking Peter to hand over the keys to his business. He was asking Jesus to trust Him with his trade. Jesus wanted Peter to make this decision even though it seemed like the wrong advice. He wanted Peter to do what made no sense to his natural mind.

Simon (Peter) answered Jesus, “Master, we worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets” (Luke 5:5). We know Peter must have had some great respect for Jesus even though it was very early in their relationship, because Peter called him Master. The word can mean “leader, commander, and boss.” Basically, Peter is telling Jesus, “Jesus this doesn’t really make any sense at all. As a matter of fact, I think it is crazy. But I have so much respect for you that I will do it just because you say so. I will launch out to the deep and let down the nets for a catch.”

Was Peter disappointed for doing what Jesus said to do? If he had pulled up an empty net, I am sure he would have been frustrated. Imagine he had pulled up just a couple of fish, just enough for a fish nugget meal from Long John Silvers. Peter might have thanked him for dinner, but he still would have been disappointed.

The story says “When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break.” This haul of fish was abundant and overflowing. It is a picture of supernatural fullness. Jesus surrendered what was his, and put it into the hands of Jesus. Jesus blessed him in a supernatural way. After a futile night of fishing that turned up nothing but empty nets, Jesus filled the nets of the seasoned fishermen to the point of overflow and abundance. It is a real picture of what we can do on our own versus what Jesus can truly do when we surrender what it is ours and put it into his hands.

Does it always make sense to do what Jesus calls us to do? No. Does it sometimes seem contrary to what we think we should do? Yes. He is the Master though. We must come to a place where we do what He says just because He says so. “Because you say so…” That is reason enough to obey Jesus. He said so! And that’s the Word.

It’s time to launch out to the deep. This is the invitation that Jesus gave to Peter 2000 years ago, and He gives us the same invitation as well. One day, Jesus was sitting in Peter’s boat teaching the crowds as they sat on the shore. Peter was in the boat cleaning his nets while Jesus was teaching. It was a divine set up for Peter. Don’t you know that the words probably began to penetrate his heart as Jesus was speaking about the Kingdom of God to the people? I imagine Peter began to long for a true relationship with God as he listened to Jesus speak. I bet his heart was racing as Jesus talked about the abundant life God has for us.

Then finally Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Put out into deep water and let down the nets for a catch” (Luke 5:4). The King James Version says, “Launch out into the deep.” Jesus was asking Peter to go out into the deep waters with Him.

This invitation to go from the shallow water out into the deeper waters seems to be an analogy that goes way beyond the depth of the water. The depth of the water just seems to be an illustration that Jesus used to talk about life.

It seems the real invitation Jesus was giving to Peter was to go from a life of shallow meaning and little purpose to a life of much deeper meaning. Jesus wanted to rescue Peter from a shallow and meaningless existence and invite him into the deeper purposes of God.

When you truly encounter Jesus Christ, he will challenge your lifestyle. What are you living for? What is really important? Isn’t it true that we get so easily caught up living in the shallows all of our lives. Let’s face it, when the big decisions we face are things such as what movie the family is going to rent from Blockbuster this weekend, what TV shows we are going to TIVO, and where we are going to eat, we are stuck in the shallow end of life. When the major focus of our life becomes making more money so we can buy more stuff with our money, we are stuck in the shallow water of life.

Ask yourself if you are really developing a life of depth? Are you developing a life of meaning, purpose and substance? I am not talking about being serious all the time. It is great to have fun, enjoy a good meal or a good movie. Isn’t it easy though to get stuck swimming around in the shallow business of life so much of the time. And from time to time, we may hear a voice that is calling us to come deeper – deeper to a life of greater existence. Sometimes I feel I need to just cry out to Jesus and ask Him to save me from a shallow life.

Launch out into the deep. It was an invitation to go deeper with God. It still is an invitation to go deeper. God wants us to grow deeper in our faith and trust. God calls us to greater surrender. God calls us to get in over our heads and see what He can do in and through our lives. Have you ever been in a place where you were in “so deep” that you had to completely depend upon God to show up?

Yeah, Jesus had a real purpose in mind when He invited Peter to go deeper. What about you? Are you ready to launch out into the deep? Or will you spend your life stuck in the shallows? And that’s the Word.

“Come follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men (Matthew 4:19). This was the call Jesus gave to some fishermen by the shore of the Sea of Galilee many years ago, and it is the same call that He gives to you and me. This call may be greater than you ever imagined. Jesus was considered to be a rabbi as he traveled around to different towns in Israel. In that day and time, the Jewish children were educated at the synagogue. At the age of 6, they would enter into the school of Bet Sefer where they would study and learn the Torah, the first 5 books of the Old Testament. By the age of 12, they would have memorized the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.

For most of the Jewish children, they stopped school at age 12. At that time, the boys would go and learn the family trade or business – fishing, carpentry, agriculture, etc. The girls would go into a stage of preparation for the day that they would be married. A few of the students from Bet Sefer would show a unique grasp and ability with the scriptures. These top students would have the opportunity to go on to further study at the school of Bet Midrash.

The students at Bet Midrash would learn the Tenah, the remaining books of the Old Testament from Joshua through Malachi. This school lasted until they were about 16 years of age. At the end of Bet Midrash, there was another weeding out process. For many this was now the end of their education and they would enter into a normal lifestyle. The elite students, however, would go on to pursue a rabbi and become one of their students or disciples. A disciple would study directly under the rabbi as one of his pupils.

The goal of the disciple was not just to learn from the rabbi. The pupil wanted to be like the rabbi. When a young man finished the school of Bet Midrash, he would seek to go and find a rabbi. When he found a rabbi that he wanted to follow, he would ask, “Would you be my rabbi? Can I come and follow you?”

The rabbi would ask the student a series of questions to see how knowledgeable he was, and how devoted he was. The rabbi wanted to see if the young man had a true fire and desire to become a rabbi. Even at this level, many young men were turned down. They just didn’t make the cut. Very few went on to become a disciple of a rabbi, and even fewer went on to become a rabbi themselves one day.

Now with all of this in mind, think about Jesus’ call that he gave to Peter, James, John and Andrew many years ago. They were fishermen at the Sea of Galilee. Most likely, they had gone to the school of Bet Sefer as young boys and that was it. They were most likely told that they didn’t make it to the next cut. They were not the All Stars, and so at 12 years old they returned home to learn the family trade as fishermen. It was to this group of ordinary fishermen that Jesus came and called them to “Come follow me.” Jesus didn’t go after the All Stars. He went after the guys who didn’t necessarily make the cut and called them to be his disciples. Jesus was telling these ordinary guys that they could become like Him. They could be his followers. He could shape them and use them. And Jesus says the same to us. You may not be an all star, but Jesus calls you to be his follower any way. Follow Him! And that’s the Word.

Well, it is shaping up to be quite an election season. History will be made this November as we elect a new president and vice president to office. We will either have our first African American president of the United States, or we will have the first woman to ever serve as the second in command. It truly is memorable for our country.

Regardless of your political leanings, I think we must agree that both Barack Obama and Sarah Palin are two incredibly impressive candidates. Obama is an incredibly charismatic man who has rallied great hope for change among many Americans. Palin is a force to reckon with in her own right as she teams with John McCain as the Republican nominees for the White House. While I have maintained some interest in politics through the years and always seek to vote, I have never enjoyed taking in the whole process quite so much.

There also seems to be a great sense of urgency among many people concerning the upcoming election. The dividing lines between parties are as strong as ever. The cries for political change are ringing loud and clear. People are concerned about the economy, concerned for our soldiers, concerned about foreign policy, concerned about terrorism, etc. Both candidates believe they offer the leadership that is so needed in our nation at this time.

I just want to offer a few reminders for us during this season. It is our natural human tendency to put our hope in human leaders. Many get excited about “their candidate,” and think he/she is the answer for all our nation’s issues and problems. I have seen both Democrats and Republicans do this through the years. While strong leadership is incredibly important, I think that Christians need to remember that the true hope for our country will never be found in the White House. I do not mean that as any disrespect for the office of the president. I will honor whoever has the privilege to serve as our next president even if I disagree with his policies.

Our hope as a nation though is ultimately found in an office that is higher than the oval office. Scripture gives us this admonition: “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord” (Psalm 33:12). God promises to bless a nation who honors Him. We are also given this bit of wisdom from the book of Proverbs: “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people” (Proverbs 14:34).

I know that many in our country may not agree, but scripture indicates that God’s blessing and protection of our nation (or any nation) are affected in large part by our nation’s attitude toward God. The song “God Bless America” became a heart cry for many in our nation after 9/11. Many of our nation’s leaders end their speeches with “May God bless America.” God’s blessing on our country is a great desire. Shortly after 9/11 though, I remember seeing a “God bless America” sign on the marquee of an Atlanta strip club. It struck me funny and odd to see the sign on such an establishment. Why would God want to bless an establishment like that? It’s wrong. And yet the sign seemed to me to be an indication of how we have cheapened the idea of God’s blessing on our nation.

Our nation needs God’s hand to guide. This is an important season for our country. So I encourage you all to pray daily for our country as we continue this important season. Pray for God’s guidance in the lives of our candidates. Ask God to bring us the best possible leader for our nation at this time. Let’s humble ourselves and ask God to bless us as a nation though we don’t always deserve it. Ask God to shed his grace upon our nation again. May God truly help us and bless America. And that’s the Word.