The Revival of America

Are you inundated with email from well meaning friends and family on all manner of polyspeak these days? Me too. It's flat out overwhelming...and annoying.

I thought I shoud sort out my thoughts and write about the current political arena and when I faced the blank page, I found an equally blank mind. Frankly, I'll be glad when this election is over and I don't have to listen to all the campaigne commercials on tv and in my inbox.

But here's what's on my heart. America is definitely in a slump. A slow decline. One side wants to blame the administration - President Bush and all Republicans. The truth is, the "administration" is managed by the democratic majority in the House. So, that begs the question, who's really responsible for the present economy - Republicans or Democrats?

I'm going to pose a third part. Us. Everyone. All parties.

Some people want to hold the banks, mortgage brokers and real estate corporations for the bad economy. They sold cheap, insanely creative loans so anyone could buy a house whether they showed dure responsibility or not.

But we're the ones who bought into the lies ignoring our inability to manage our own portfolio and make wise decisions about interest only loans with devastating consequences.

So let's stop playing the blame game. The banks didn't twist your arm to force you to buy a home you can't afford. The President didn't cause our economy to slide. Some of us made some unwise choices and things are a bit upside down. This is nothing we can't overcome. This is America! We're the greatest nation in the world and we will bounce back!

Most importantly, we need to take a rigorously honest inventory of ourselves and admit where we've been wrong and do whatever we need to get back in the groove. Stop blaming institutions and politicians or whoever else we're blaming and say, "what's my part in this and how can I make it right?"

Next we need to really look at who might best lead our country as we begin to recover from this mess. Stop looking at all the negative rhetoric, splat mail and candidate bashing ads. Let's look at the possibilities and the hope, from a Christian/Biblical perspective.

First, as Christians, we must ask ourselves who will best represent the principles we hold dear. In this blog, I'm not going to take any sides. I want you to think about what those principles are, then look at each candidate, basing your decision on the best match.

Think of it this way, suppose you're out shopping for a new home. You see a home you really love, in a beautiful neighborhood near schools, shopping, and everything you could hope for. The house appears to be sound and well cared for. Everything seems perfect. You're ready to put your money down and then....you learn there's been serious sewage problems in the house, there's an infestation of termites, the foundation is cracked and water is seeping into the basement. Suddenly your dream home has turned into a nightmare. Do you think you still want to buy that house?

Let's look at our values and be sure the house we're moving into isn't infested with termites. Biblically, as Christians, we must inspect the whole house and look for any deterioration or warning signs of impending problems. The person we want to run our country needs to share our family values, protect life, understand the need to care for widows and orphans but also build up an economy that is self-supporting, minimizing the welfare state and maximizing the best options for affordable healthcare.

Social medicine may seem like a wonderful thing to some, but let's take a reality check. The nightmare begins when you or your loved one needs urgent major care where time is of the essence and the social system prevents timely intervention. Conversations with those in countries that utilize social medicine confirm this. People with far more education and insight can speak to this much better than I can:
http://claude.betancourt.us/blog/socialized-medicine-not-the-way-to-go/

All I can say is, I hope every Christian will exercise their God-given right and responsibility to vote this November and that each of you will also take the time to really dig deep into what each candidate stands for and against to make an informed decision. We need a revival of basic Christian tenets in our nation to turn this country back to God.

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/compare-candidates/index.html

http://2008election.procon.org/?gclid=CKn5yO2B6ZUCFSJIagodmjA0eQ

2 Chron 7:13-16 14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 15 Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.

Father in Heaven, open our eyes, show us the way, speak to our hearts for Your sake and glory. May each of us seek Your will, follow Your leading and vote for the man who will best honor You and turn this nation around for the sake of the gospel. In Jesus' name, amen.