What Now: How To Respond To The Election of President Elect Obama

I came across the article below and found it to be helpful in articulating what the Christian response should be following the election of Barack Obama, especially since the president elect was not the candidate I or many other Evangelicals voted for. We'd all be wise to follow the advice given by Curt Iles.
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Praying for Our President
By Curt Iles
Nov 24, 2008

DRY CREEK, La. (BP)--Since our recent presidential election, I've often thought of my deceased grandfather and an important lesson he modeled.

My maternal grandfather, Sidney Plott, taught me to pray for our president. In all of my years of memory -- from President Dwight Eisenhower to the end of George H.W. Bush's term -- he always prayed for the president. At every meal, he sincerely asked God's blessings and guidance on "Our President." It didn't matter who occupied the White House, "Grandpa Sid" believed Scripture mandated prayer and respect (Romans 13:1), and he faithfully prayed it until the very day of his death.

Although in the 2008 election I didn't vote for Barack Obama, he will be my president. I do not need to explain, or apologize for, my vote for his opponent, John McCain.

All that matters is the present; the American people have spoken and we've elected a president. He is my president, and I'll give him my prayers, best wishes and support. This doesn't mean I'll agree with all of his decisions, but it signifies I'll show him the respect due our nation's highest office.

In the last decade, I've had the privilege of traveling in Africa, Asia, Europe and Central America. On each trip, I've realized with gratitude the many blessings we Americans enjoy. Anyone who has traveled this Earth knows what a blessed nation we are.

However, I've often heard the scorn many residents of the world feel for our nation and its leaders. I've found this statement to be true: "The world dislikes America, but it likes Americans."

I've always personally been treated with respect in foreign places -- even in countries with divergent political and religious views from ours. Even so, my new friends have been quick to question and criticize our government.

I've tried to listen carefully, because every criticism presents us with a chance to learn. When I could, I've tried to explain or expand.

However, if I could be with those friends now, I'd say, "Watch us. We'll show you the American way to change governments."

In these travels, I've read the varied history of the countries and continents. In most places, regime changes have been bloody and full of retaliation. I've just finished a book, "The Fate of Africa," that details the post-colonial history of this continent I've come to love. It contains tale after tale of violence, oppression, and military coups.

But that's not how we do it in the United States of America.

A small news item from Nov. 5 illustrates this.

At 6 a.m. on the morning after our election, the Secret Service ended their protection of John McCain. Later that day, he and his wife Cindy drove home, without bodyguards or chauffeurs. Notice this -- John McCain drove himself home. He once again became citizen McCain.

This wouldn't happen in most areas of the world. The loser of an election often also loses their freedom, if not their life. But that's not the American way.

President-elect Obama and his wife Michelle visited the White House the other day, where President Bush and his wife Laura greeted them. All four of them exhibited dignity and class. It was symbolic of the peaceful transfer of power that is emblematic of our country. These two leaders, in spite of their past differences, were extremely gracious and helpful to each other in a transition of power befitting the United States of America.

I'm not sure what we should expect in our country's coming days. In my lifetime, there's never been more uncertainty as great challenges both at home and abroad confront us. But there is one thing I know: We are Americans and we'll get through this time together.

However, we move forward confidently knowing that God -- as He always has been -- is in control. Our job is pretty simple: Pray for our leaders and government to make good decisions.

Curt Iles, on the Web at www.creekbank.net, is a writer and speaker living in his hometown of Dry Creek, La. The latest of his six books is a historical novel titled "The Wayfaring Stranger."

© Copyright 2008 Baptist Press
Original copy of this story can be found at http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=29404

Mark Driscoll's new book Death By Love

Death by Love: Letters from the Cross (Click on this link to go to web site)

I have recently been reading, Death by Love, by Mark Driscoll and have found it to be a very practical guide to pointing people to a Christ-centered and cross-centered solution to their hurts, fears and truest needs. Having skimmed over the whole book, I feel confident in recommending this book. This is a great book for all of us who have been victimized by sin, Satan and the flesh and it points the way toward experiencing Christ exalting victory over these foes.

The language in the preface and introduction may be more scholarly than some of us are use to. The chapters are much easier to read.

Click here to go to the web site to view the first chapter of the book. The video link below previews the book. The following is from the editors of the book.

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Real people. Real sin. Transformed lives. A compilation of heartfelt letters written from a pastor to his people that explains Jesus’ work on the cross.

Death by Love is a unique book on the cross of Jesus Christ. While many books debate the finer points of the doctrine of the atonement, what is often lost are the real-life implications of Jesus’ death on the cross for those who have sinned and have been sinned against. Written in the form of pastoral letters, Death by Love outlines the twelve primary effects of Jesus’ death on the cross and connects each to the life of a different individual.

Driscoll, one of America’s most influential pastors, and Breshears, a respected theologian, help readers understand, appreciate, and trust in Jesus’ work on the cross in a way that will transform their lives. Both deeply theological and intensely practical, this book shows how everyone can find hope through the death of Jesus Christ.

About the Author

MARK DRISCOLL is the founding pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, one of the fastest-growing churches in America. He is president of the Acts 29 Church Planting Network and the Resurgence Missional Theology Cooperative.

GERRY BRESHEARS is professor of theology and chairman of the division of biblical and theological studies at Western Seminary. Dr. Breshears has taught at numerous Bible colleges and seminaries around the world and is a frequent guest on various radio and TV programs.

The Goal of God's Love May Not Be What You Think It Is

By John Piper October 14, 2000
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Do people go to the Grand Canyon to increase their self-esteem? Probably not. This is, at least, a hint that the deepest joys in life come not from savoring the self, but from seeing splendor. And in the end even the Grand Canyon will not do. We were made to enjoy God.

We are all bent to believe that we are central in the universe. How shall we be cured of this joy-destroying disease? Perhaps by hearing afresh how radically God-centered reality is according to the Bible.

Both the Old and New Testament tell us that God's loving us is a means to our glorifying him. "Christ became a servant ... in order that the nations might glorify God for his mercy" (Romans 15:8-9). God has been merciful to us so that we would magnify him. We see it again in the words, "In love [God] destined us to adoption ... to the praise of the glory of His grace" (Ephesians 1:4-6). In other words, the goal of God's loving us is that we might praise him. One more illustration from Psalm 86:12-13: "I will glorify your name forever. For your lovingkindness toward me is great." God's love is the ground. His glory is the goal.

This is shocking. The love of God is not God's making much of us, but God's saving us from self-centeredness so that we can enjoy making much of him forever. And our love to others is not our making much of them, but helping them to find satisfaction in making much of God. True love aims at satisfying people in the glory of God. Any love that terminates on man is eventually destructive. It does not lead people to the only lasting joy, namely, God. Love must be God-centered, or it is not true love; it leaves people without their final hope of joy.

Take the cross of Christ, for example. The death of Jesus Christ is the ultimate expression of divine love: "God demonstrates his own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). Yet the Bible also says that the aim of the death of Christ was "to demonstrate [God's] righteousness, because in the forbearance of God he passed over the sins previously committed" (Romans 3:25). Passing over sins creates a huge problem for the righteousness of God. It makes him look like a judge who lets criminals go free without punishment. In other words, the mercy of God puts the justice of God in jeopardy.

So to vindicate his justice he does the unthinkable - he puts his Son to death as the substitute penalty for our sins. The cross makes it plain to everyone that God does not sweep evil under the rug of the universe. He punishes it in Jesus for those who believe.

But notice that this ultimately loving act has at the center of it the vindication of the righteousness of God. Good Friday love is God-glorifying love. God exalts God at the cross. If he didn't, he could not be just and rescue us from sin. But it is a mistake to say, "Well, if the aim was to rescue us, then we were the ultimate goal of the cross." No, we were rescued from sin in order that we might see and savor the glory of God. This is the ultimately loving aim of Christ's death. He did not die to make much of us, but to free us to enjoy making much of God forever.

It is profoundly wrong to turn the cross into a proof that self-esteem is the root of mental health. If I stand before the love of God and do not feel a healthy, satisfying, freeing joy unless I turn that love into an echo of my self-esteem, then I am like a man who stands before the Grand Canyon and feels no satisfying wonder until he translates the canyon into a case for his own significance. That is not the presence of mental health, but bondage to self.

The cure for this bondage is to see that God is the one being in the universe for whom self-exaltation is the most loving act. In exalting himself - Grand Canyon-like - he gets the glory and we get the joy. The greatest news in all the world is that there is no final conflict between my passion for joy and God's passion for his glory. The knot that ties these together is the truth that God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him. Jesus Christ died and rose again to forgive the treason of our souls, which have turned from savoring God to savoring self. In the cross of Christ, God rescues us from the house of mirrors and leads us out to the mountains and canyons of his majesty. Nothing satisfies us - or magnifies him - more.

Originally published in Dallas Morning News.
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Please include the following statement on any distributed copy: By John Piper. © Desiring God. Website: desiringGod.org

There Will Be A Day

I heard on the radio Jeremy Camp's new release There Will Be A Day, on Monday the day before I did a funeral for a 2 month old that died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

When you look at an infant that is so beautiful and don't have any answers as to why, all one can do is point to the hope of a greater day and a glorious reunion for those who are in Christ. There is no hope of bringing that beautiful child back but there is the hope of being able to go to that child. After David lost his child in death he said, "Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me." 2 Samuel 12:23.

We long for the day when everything that is wrong in this world will pass away and there will be a new heaven and a new earth. There Will Be A Day powerfully captures that longing and the hope for that day. Just click the "play button" on the picture below to the left of the itunes logo. There are other links on the gadget below of interest, just click.


Lyrics:
I try to hold on to this world with everything I have
But I feel the weight of what it brings, and the hurt that tries to grab
The many trials that seem to never end, His word declares this truth,
that we will enter in this rest with wonders anew

But I hold on to this hope and the promise that He brings
That there will be a place with no more suffering

There will be a day with no more tears, no more pain, and no more fears
There will be a day when the burdens of this place, will be no more, we’ll see Jesus face to face
But until that day, we’ll hold on to you always

I know the journey seems so long
You feel your walking on your own
But there has never been a step
Where you’ve walked out all alone

Troubled soul don’t lose your heart
Cause joy and peace he brings
And the beauty that’s in store
Outweighs the hurt of life’s sting

I can’t wait until that day where the very one I’ve lived for always will wipe away the sorrow that I’ve faced
To touch the scars that rescued me from a life of shame and misery this is why this is why I sing….

There will be a day with no more tears, no more pain, and no more fears
There will be a day when the burdens of this place, will be no more, we’ll see Jesus face to face

There will be a day, He’ll wipe away the stains, He’ll wipe away the tears, He’ll wipe away the tears…..there will be a day

Post-Election Analysis: True or False?

A friend sent the following "True-False Test" to me today, the day following the election. It is timely and very helpful in giving us perspective on the presidential election. Take the test, and then ask yourself how you should respond to the election results.

True/False:
The day after the election, regardless of who wins, Jesus will still be King.

True/False:
The day after the election, regardless of who wins, our responsibilities as Christians will not have changed one iota.

True/False:
The day after the election, regardless of who wins, the greatest agent for social change in America will still be winning the hearts and minds of men and women through the gospel, not legislation.

True/False:
The day after the election, regardless of who wins, my primary citizenship will still be in this order - (1) the Kingdom of God, (2) America, not vice-versa.

True/False:
The day after the election, regardless of who wins, the tomb will still be empty.

True/False:
The day after the election, regardless of who wins, the cross, not the government, will still be our salvation.

True/False:
The day after the election, regardless of who wins, our children will still be more concerned with whether or not we spend time with them than with who is President.

True/False:
The day after the election, regardless of who wins, my neighbor will still be my neighbor, and loving him/her will still be the second greatest commandment. (Do you know the first?)

True/False:
The day after the election, regardless of who wins, the only way to see abortion ultimately overturned will still be winning men and women to a high view of life through the gospel of Christ.

True/False:
The day after the election, regardless of who wins, the only way to see gay marriage ultimately defeated will still be winning men and women to a biblical view of marriage through the gospel of Jesus Christ.

True/False:
The day after the election, regardless of who wins, my retirement will still not match my treasure in Heaven.

True/False:
The day after the election, regardless of who wins, "Jesus Is Lord" will still be the greatest truth in the Universe.

True/False:
The day after the election, regardless of who wins, we will still know that God is in control.