Though I do not support Barak Obama I can’t say that I buy into the whole ideals that everything I am is wrapped up in the political process.  I remeber my Sunday School class discussin politics briefly and many people say they fear what will happen if Obama is elected.  My question was and still is why?  When i notion the fact that if Obama is president it is because God has allowed him to be people some how can not fathom such a thing.  I would challenge those who believe in Jesus Christ to let their vote count but also let their life count.  As usual I think John Piper has said it well in this short clip.

Russell Moore’s sermon manuscript, Joseph Is a Single-Issue Evangelical: The Father of Jesus, the Cries of the Helpless, and Change You Can Believe In, is now online. Here’s how it closes:

The question for us, then, of whether we are truly pro-life or not, has very little to do with how many signs are in our yards or what bumper stickers we put on our cars. Indeed, it may be the case that after this election the abortion debate will be over in this country politically. 

But even if that’s the case, it’s not over. Our churches are to follow in the walk of faith, which means that–like Joseph walking away from stability and comfort–our churches must be different, they must be counter-cultural, the kind of place where the teenage mother is welcomed and loved, where abandoned children are received, and where a culture that is in love with death can come and hear a message saying that life is better than death because there is a man, an ex-corpse, a former-fetus, who is standing as the ruler over all the nations and the universe. And he is not dead anymore. 

 What we must have is a church in which the gospel we give is the kind of gospel that leads people out of death and despair and toward the kind of life that is found in confessing a name–a name that was first spoken by human lips by a day-laborer in Nazareth, “Jesus is Lord.”

 If we follow this kind of pure and undefiled religion, it doesn’t mean we will be shrill. It doesn’t mean we will be culture-warriors. It doesn’t mean we’ll be belligerent. It will mean that we will have churches that are so strikingly different, that maybe in ten or fifteen years the most odd and counter-cultural thing a lost person may hear in your church is not, “Amen,” but is instead the sounds of babies crying in the nursery.

 And hearing the oddness of that sound, when they look around at the place in which all of the Lord Jesus’ brothers and sisters are welcomed, protected, and loved, the place in which the lies of a murderous and appetite-driven dragon are denied, the lost person might say, “What is the sound of all these cries?” And maybe we’ll be able to say with our forefather Joseph, “that’s the sound of life. That’s the sound of hope. That’s the sound of change.”

 You might even say, it’s “change you can believe in.”

You can also listen to the MP3 online.

This Sunday we were looking at the life of Jonathan a little bit in our small groups.  As we talked about Jonathan and David’s relationship we all agreed that indeed Jonathan was real friend and we discussed a little bit about what is a real friend.

I know that in my life I have had many people that have said they were my friend but when push came to shove in reality instead of showing me friendship I was shown a boot in my seat.  It comes easy to tell people we are their friend but unfortunately words mean little and actions mean so much.  When adversity strikes and troublesome times come you begin to see who really is your friend and who in reality may have pretended to be your friend for whatever reason.

When we looked at the life of Jonathan and we saw loyalty, trust, love, and Jonathan’s unswerving ability to stand with David no matter what the cost.  I see in Jonathan what I would love to have in any friend.  Unfortunately a friend like Jonathan seems rare.  What causes people to look you in the face and tell you they love you but then to give you the boot and forget all about you.  Unfortunately I had to go through some of the most difficult times of my life without some that said they were my friends.  I am unsure what causes people to say they are your friend and yet during those times when you need a friend the most they do not call, they do not email, they do not really do anything.  How unfortunate it is when our friendships are based on feeling instead of on God.  How unfortunate it is when instead of loving our friends we disown them, as if they are some piece of garbage that we really know longer need.

I am so thankful for those that have been just like a Jonathan to me, they know who they are and I am also thankful for those that I have had the opportunity to be a Jonathan to.  So do you have real friends?  You know the ones that are like Jonathan who will stay by your side through it all.

Despite Obama’s claims last night the record is clear even from his own words watch this.

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Theologian Dr. John Frame:

“…in some cultures (like the ancient Roman, in which the New Testament was written) there is not much that Christians can do, other than pray, to influence political structures and policies. But when they can influence them, they should. In modern democracies, all citizens are ‘lesser magistrates’ by virtue of the ballot box. Christians have an obligation to vote according to God’s standards. And, as they are gifted and called, they should influence others to vote in the same way.

This is not to say that political choices are always obvious. Often we must choose the lesser of two evils. Candidate Mershon may have a better view of one issue than Candidate Beates, while Beates has a better view on a different issue. It is an art to weigh the importance of different issues and to come to a godly conclusion. Each of us should have a large amount of tolerance for other Christians who come to conclusions that are different from ours. Rarely will one issue trump all others, though I must say that I will never vote for a candidate who advocates or facilitates the killing of unborn children.” [The Doctrine of the Christian Life (P&R 2008). p. 617.]

Preacher/author Dr. John Piper:

“…When we bought our dog at the Humane Society, I picked up a brochure on the laws of Minnesota concerning animals. Statute 343.2, subdivision 1 says, ‘No person shall . . . unjustifiably injure, maim, mutilate or kill any animal.’ Subdivision 7 says, ‘No person shall willfully instigate or in any way further any act of cruelty to any animal.’ The penalty: ‘A person who fails to comply with any provision of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor.’

Now this set me to pondering the rights of the unborn. An eight-week-old human fetus has a beating heart, an EKG, brain waves, thumb-sucking, pain sensitivity, finger-grasping, and genetic humanity, but under our present laws is not a human person with rights under the 14th Amendment, which says that ‘no state shall deprive any person of life . . . without due process of law.’ Well, I wondered, if the unborn do not qualify as persons, it seems that they could at least qualify as animals, say a dog, or at least a cat. Could we not at least charge abortion clinics with cruelty to animals under Statute 343.2, subdivision 7? Why is it legal to ’maim, mutilate and kill’ a pain-sensitive unborn human being but not an animal?

These reflections have confirmed my conviction never to vote for a person who endorses such an evil—even if he could balance the budget tomorrow and end all taxation.”

Princeton prof Dr. Robert George on 10/14/08:

“Barack Obama is the most extreme pro-abortion candidate ever to seek the office of President of the United States. He is the most extreme pro-abortion member of the United States Senate. Indeed, he is the most extreme pro-abortion legislator ever to serve in either house of the United States Congress…”

This was snagged from a blog I read here