ONE
VOICE! Presidential
elections always take me back to when I was a little girl growing up on a farm
with grain and cattle out on the prairies of North Dakota. Before the dawn of television (now I am dating myself!), I would sit up late
at night and into the wee hours of the morning listening to the tallies of the
votes for the candidates come over the radio stations. I adored my dad, so whatever he was
interested in, so was I. Everyone else
would be tucked into bed, and he and I would sit at the kitchen table with
pencil and paper and write down the counted votes as they were announced. My heart would beat fast, intrigued at the
process, and cheering on the outcome that my dad was hoping for. And I always knew “why” he had chosen one
candidate over the other, because he diligently taught me what he believed
would best preserve our nation’s freedom and all that we held dear.
My fascination with politics goes back even a generation prior,
and I have visions of my dad’s dad, sitting in his comfy chair, smoking his
pipe, and baiting arguments with anyone who would dare disagree with him! He absolutely
loved politics, and I’ve always said that when he got cut, his veins bled
little red “R’s” for Republican! Though
my family followed staunchly in his ways, my dad always gave the wisest advice,
teaching us not to just blindly follow a party, but that we should carefully
choose and vote for the candidate who aligned with the values and issues that
our hearts believed in and pursued, ultimately for the good of America and the
masses of individuals who call it home!
Through the ensuing decades, I have continued to experience a
fascination with politics, though that passionate interest has been tainted
with the gradual erosion and corruption and disillusionment that many are
seeing and feeling nowadays. Too many
candidates to count have lost their first love for our nation and what it was
founded on, and the fame and fortune that accompanies winning, has often turned
goodness into greediness. What is responsible for the negative changes that we
see in America?
Indicators point to changes.
And once said changes have taken place, we can look back and see
distinctive change-points that effected the spiral ~ be it upward or
downward. For decades now, America has
been spiraling in a downward spin, almost to the point of no return. We are only days away now from choosing who
our next President of the United States of America will be. Some would say it is too late now to do
anything about what is happening. Many
have just given up because of what they are hearing on the news. Most dangerous, though, is the choice of too
many who have decided to do nothing.
They believe that their one vote will not make a difference. What people do not understand, is that
someone wins because of single votes adding up to what becomes the final
tally, In and of itself, one vote does
not seem to matter. But if we all gave
up our one vote, another system of choosing our leaders would soon come into
place, and we would no longer have a vote.
Or a voice. Period. You see, our vote IS our voice!
People, make your one voice heard and known! Vote while you still can! Your freedom to do so is precious, even
priceless. It is the shed blood of
countless Americans down through our history that ensured our freedom to do so,
as they battled our enemies on war-fields, knowing they could lose their lives
to keep America’s freedom intact for all who would come behind them. That’s a sacrifice worthy of being treated
with the utmost respect, by our politicians and each of us who love our
nation. If we feel like our politicians
have lost their way, then it is time for us, the American people, to stand up
and be counted with our personal “one voice” being translated into “a massive
chorus of voices” that will make our wishes known to preserve our nation’s
freedom and return to the God of our forefathers!
“Stop!”, some of you are saying, “don’t’ bring God into
this!” Well, how can I not? Hang with me, because if you leave your
emotions out of this and look at the facts of our history, you will see the
trail of truth that has brought us to where we are today. America would not have existed as a free
nation this long had we not been founded on God and made Him a part of our
government. Read through our history
books and you will find countless times following the birth of our nation where
our leaders in the White House and our leaders on the battle fields called on
the Name of God for help to persevere and to stand strong against the enemy,
praying for supernatural triumph and victory, against all odds. And God answered, time and time again.
Open the pages of more recent history books and you will find
proof of the downward slide of our nation’s morals and values … and you will
witness an unparalleled unleashing of sin and corruption and an unabashed
turning of our backs on God. So why
should we be surprised when we see what we have held dear for so long – coming
apart at the seams, unraveling, and getting so threadbare that we can barely
recognize the America we once knew?
Track the beginning of our present day status of eroding freedom back to
1962 and 1963 when the Bible and prayer were taken out of the public
classrooms, and you will see the changing face of who America has become in
2016. Sad to say, we have strayed so far from the Constitutional rights
that our forefathers wrote into the laws of our land. In case we have forgotten, let me share some
of the words of our Declaration of Independence, unanimous in its acceptance by
all of the thirteen United States of America at that time, signed on July 4,
1776. “We hold these truths to be
self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their
Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and
the pursuit of Happiness, - That to secure these rights, Governments are
instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the
governed, - (and the last words
of the document, state this): “And
for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance of the protection of
Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes,
and our sacred Honor.” What this
should mean to us, is that OUR VOICE
COUNTS! OUR VOTE COUNTS! At least,
IT SHOULD!
Did you catch the meaning of this Declaration, that there are
truths that are “truth” … that we are ALL created “equal” … that we are given
and provided certain “Rights” by our Creator, including Life, Liberty, and the
pursuit of Happiness (which are the things that we hold most dear and
treasured; they are in fact, priceless) … that our “government, instituted among
men, derives its just powers from the consent of the governed” – people, this
is us, “YOU and ME!” So, in this election, I want you to know
just WHAT you are consenting to! WE have
the POWER, even though we have been blinded and swayed and deluded to believe
otherwise. WE get to say WHAT we consent
to. It is up to US to raise up and be
counted, to make our voice heard, and to make our vote count. YOU matter and YOUR RIGHTS matter. Now, more than ever!
Down through the ages, as recorded in Scripture, kingdoms have
been raised up and kingdoms have fallen.
Both the just and the unjust have reigned and ruled. Nations have demanded things of God, and
because He created us with a free will, He has given us our way – often to the
demise of what is best for us. So how
long will we go on demanding our own selfish ways that are not in the best
interest of the people of our beloved America?
Are we really so blinded that we cannot see what we are becoming? I, for one, believe in the intelligence and
wisdom of the people of our nation. I,
for one, believe that we can arise as a mighty force to effect necessary
changes for us to survive and thrive as we were intended to. I believe that we can make up our own minds
without being swayed back and forth by the emotional and skewed non-truths that
are running rampant in much of our news.
Once we decide what we believe
as individuals, then we need to take a step back from the tsunami of constant
news alerts, and get out that old-fashioned pencil and paper, and write down
just what it is that we believe and hold dear.
There is really only one source that we need to be accountable to, and
that is God’s Word. If our choices in
this election match up to God’s directives and guidance, we are on the right
track. Perhaps you have chosen to not be
called a Christian, or a God-follower.
Again, that is your choice … you get to choose who you will follow. I can respect you as a person for your
freedom to choose; though I would love nothing more than for you to personally
experience the greatest relationship there is:
that between God and man, woman, or child!
I encourage you to search out the list of issues that each
imperfect candidate states that they believe and will pursue and protect. Each of us is imperfect, too, if we are to be
honest with ourselves. We too frequently
expect more from others than from ourselves.
I encourage you to look at what best matches up with your head and your
heart as you pray for Divine wisdom to make the right choice for our next President
of the United States. Every decision
that he or she decides to make will significantly impact the future of what our
freedom will look like beginning from January, 2017 forward. America today has a choice of two different
faces. Your one voice, your one vote
will help decide which face America will have.
She was founded to be beautiful and free. Will you please help her remain that
way? If you’ve never believed that you
are important, I am affirming your importance now. Make your God-given rights known at the polls
on Tuesday, November 8th! Do
not let your voice and your vote be silenced by doing nothing.
I love how in the “faith chapter” of the Bible, (Hebrews 11)
there has been recorded a long list of names who are applauded and recognized
for their bold faith. I do not have
enough space here to explain the shortcomings of each of these heroes of the
faith, and yet God chose for their names to be included as examples for
us. I really believe that because He
allowed us to read about their sins and their failures, He wanted us to indeed
know, that in spite of us, in spite of our imperfections, we can still be used
in amazing ways for His Kingdom purposes!
I know … that’s pretty mind-boggling!!
To be the Queen of England or the President of the United States, or the
Prime Minister of Israel, we should be perfect in every way, right? Righteous to a fault, right? Of all people, God knows we are human. He created us, after all – He should
know! Actually, all He needs is for us
to be willing to be used by Him, and we might be surprised at what He will do
with us. With just our one little vote …
and with the candidate who we vote into office.
So help us, God! May God bless
the United States of America, I pray!
Serving Christ Joyfully . . .
Pastor Doug and Debbie
