Greetings!
Once again I have six timely topics I want to share with you. Thank you for reading this week!
- God is love
I’m reading through “Experiencing God Day By Day” for my daily devotionals this year. Written by Henry and Richard Blackaby, I’ve enjoyed the Blackabys’ messages from Scripture.
Today’s passage (Sept. 25) is titled “Believing God’s Love,” based on 1 John 4:16.
“The greatest truth in all of Scripture is this: God is love. Understanding this in its full dimensions will set you free to enjoy all that is yours as a Christian. But you must accept that God loves you.”
Blackaby expounds on how it could be difficult for someone who did not experience unconditional love growing up.
“If you cannot accept the truth that God loves you, you will be limited in how you can relate to Him,” he said. “If you will accept God’s love, however, you will be able to return love to God as well as to others (1 John 4:19).”
A person’s level of understanding of God can factor on how that person views life. The most important thing anybody can gain, when it comes to understanding and experiencing God, is how God loves.
“God loves you, not because you deserve His love,” Blackaby wrote, “but because His nature is love. The only way He will ever relate to you is in love. His love for you gives you an inherent worth that nothing can diminish.”
I remember having a conversation with someone long ago who told me they did not believe unconditional love is possible. This person was scarred from an abusive upbringing, so it can be understandable why they doubted.
The challenge I give myself and to you who read this is make it possible to demonstrate the love God has given you to someone who needs to know about God’s love.
- God working in Cambodia
It’s guaranteed that if Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra writes on article, I will comment on it.
I love the great reporting she does of Kingdom work throughout the country and the world. This week, Zylstra shared a great story about Jenny Mallow growing up in Cambodia, marrying a missionary and returning to Cambodia from Chicago.
Here’s a scenario I would suggest for you: find about an hour of quiet time this weekend (maybe Friday night, Saturday morning or Sunday afternoon). Then click on this link, and read Zylstra’s article. You will find it enjoyable, and maybe this could turn into an unexpected time of worship of God, praising Him for how He is working all over the world.
- I am third
Hall of Fame running back Gale Sayers died this week. He had a short but effective career running the ball for the Chicago Bears.
Brian Hobbs blogged this week, paying tribute to Sayers and the title of his autobiography “I Am Third.” It a great thought-provoker on how one should live the Christian life. Check out He was third.
- Electoral College tutorial
Earlier this year, I DHD’d about the Electoral College, and someone responded on the Facebook link with multiple lengthy retorts. I counted it a waste of time to read in its entirety, but they were definitely not a fan of the country’s application of the Electoral College in the presidential election.
In spite of the risk of this person giving lengthy rebuttals again, I think it is important to reaffirm why the Electoral College is important for our country to observe. The best explanation I found is given by Tara Ross. Here is a segment from her appearance on The Rubin Report. It’s worth the 11 minutes to watch, and there are other videos available from her discussion with Dave Rubin (I think it’s 40 minutes total) that are very interesting viewing:
- Most important voting issue
Albert Mohler has great editions this week of his podcast The Briefing. If you are a regular DHD reader you know I hold Mohler in high regard when it comes to cultural issues.
On Wednesday, Sept. 23, I was listening to The Briefing while on my way to work, and Dr. Mohler was getting me hyped when it comes to how I view voting in any election.
“I would argue that no one should vote for a candidate who would support abortion,” he said, “a vote that would lead to increased or sustained abortion rights in the United States, that would lead either directly or indirectly to a greater number of abortions performed in the United States. I believe it would be wrong to vote for a candidate whose position on abortion would mean that taxpayers would be coerced into paying for abortion, which means, as every research study I’m familiar with has demonstrated, there would be more abortions. There would be even more unborn babies who would be aborted in the womb… I believe the issue is so important that if we were to find a candidate who was right on every other issue and wrong on the issue of abortion, I would not support that candidate.”
Mohler was singing my tune! This is exactly how I view every election, my friends. I made a commitment to never ever vote for someone who did not support the Sanctity of Human Life. This means I cannot vote for someone who intends to allow the abortion industry to prevail instead of fighting to cause abortion to reach the point of becoming unthinkable.
Why is the abortion issue so important? Mohler gave an excellent explanation: “Abortion is not just on a list of issues of evangelical concern, it’s a fundamental issue precisely because if you get this question wrong, a matter as basic as human dignity and the sanctity of human life, it is unlikely you will get the other questions right.”
Yes, people come to different conclusions on why abortion is wrong, and there are multiple reasons. But most of the time, how you view abortion affects how you view other issues. Most importantly, knowing God is the author of human life (Gen. 1:26), it is the duty of Christian citizens to take seriously the issue of abortion when voting for any political candidate.
- How to view election voting
There are a lot of perspectives on how to vote in American elections. I know it is difficult for Christians of whom they should vote, especially in this year’s presidential election.
I have said in a previous DHD, I can respect someone not wanting to vote for President Trump. I did not vote for him in the 2016 election specifically because I was not certain how he viewed Sanctity of Life. I left the presidential section of my ballot blank, having it counted as an undervote.
I believe it is a Christian’s duty to vote, and I believe God should be honored in how you vote. That should be more important to the individual Christian than the election result.
Why? I actually found a great verse that helped solidify my view in Christian voting:
“The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord” (Prov. 16:33). I’m not a big fan of The Message, but here’s its version of this verse: “Make your motions and cast your votes, but God has the final say.”
God has allowed many different rulers to oversee countries throughout history. He has worked through both God-fearing and ungodly leaders. It can be challenging for many Christians how to vote in this year’s presidential election. But know this, God will still prevail, and ultimately He works through all the election votes to decide whom He wants to lead our country.
