Remembering Veterans & God

Every four years, America puts herself into the position of electing a new leader. It is a time of harsh words and emotional upheaval. It produces many scars that last long beyond the election process, and all too often, it produces bitter enemies where once before, there were friends.

And then it all climaxes on a night in November. That is when every American’s vote is counted, and in simple terms; the candidate who receives the most votes wins. When the results come through, many are elated and joyous while many others are heartbroken and devastated.

We have just been through that election cycle, and I saw the faces of those who won. The candidates are happy and relieved the whole thing is over. Those that chose him had tear-filled eyes and gladness in their hearts.

I also saw the faces of those who lost. They were also filled with tears, but they had the tears of heartbreak and the emptiness of those who have been abandoned. I am among those who voted for McCain. I voted for him simply because Obama condoned too many things God has already condemned, such as; the murder of babies and the acceptance of homosexual marriages, which God has only ordained to the man and woman.

But the die has been cast, and the winner has been declared. Now, what do we do? The easiest thing for us to do would be able to trash the other party for a variety of reasons, but that would not be what God has already instructed us to do.

1 PETER 2:13 -

‘Submit yourselves (for the Lord’s sake) to every authority instituted among men: Whether to the king (as the supreme authority) or to governors who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right.’

This verse tells us what Americans are supposed to do now that that the electorate has chosen Barack Obama to be our next president. Let’s quickly analyze this verse so we really do understand it.

1) We are to submit ourselves to his legal authority. As long as we do not have to do anything unbiblical, immoral, or illegal, we are commanded by God to follow the law of the new president.

2) We are to submit ourselves to the president’s authority ‘for the Lord’s sake.’ Mind you, I did not say for our sakes, but only for God’s sake. How better could we walk the walk of a Christian than by doing what God says – even when it means we lay aside our own personal feelings?

3) That verse says the governors will be in charge of punishing those who do wrong and rewarding those who do right. God is telling us that if we do not obey the law of the land, we are doing wrong and deserve to be punished, but if we do obey the law of the land, we will be doing right and will be rewarded.

I have heard people tell me this week that they feel lost and forgotten now. My question is: Why? There is a passage is GENESIS that explains why this cannot be.

GENESIS 1:26-27 reads,

‘Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth and over all the creatures that move along the ground.’ So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female – He created them.’

How many of you fully realize that God is the most loving and most powerful thing you will ever meet? And if He is so loving and so powerful – how could He forget you or let you feel lost? Those feelings are from Satan, and they are given to you so your focus will slip away from the Lord and onto the devil. Don’t let them do that to you!

So, bringing this week to a political close, let me quickly remind you to let it go if your party lost, and to let it go if your party won. If you lost, you will have another chance to win in four years. If you won, don’t gloat because that is a sure way of losing in four more years. Instead, focus on God and live like a Christian. That way, no matter who is in power here, you have God’s power in your heart.

(Let us take this time to pray for all of our leaders, current and newly elected.)

This week, we will celebrate our American Veterans. That is what I would like to talk to you about today; remembering those who gave some and those who gave all so that we could be here today, enjoying what we enjoy in this most blessed of nations.