Vote for Jesus

Yesterday at Delta we took a long look at Romans 13:1-7 to discover what exactly God has to say about the Christian's responsibility in and to the government.  The audio should be up soon at www.deltachurch.net for those you who weren't there.  I just want to highlight the takeaway points in how we as Christians exactly "vote for Jesus":

• Submit yourself to Jesus.  Following Jesus as King of Kings and Lord of Lords begins with you and in your heart.
• Work for conversions.  We can’t expect those in public office (or who want to be in public office) who don’t love Jesus to lead according to God’s standards…so we need to do the work of making disciples.  Faith can’t be forced by physical means like voting; that’s not how we influence our city, state, & nation with the Gospel – the influence of the Gospel is proclaimed and lived out by Christ-followers to those who are disconnected and far from God.
• Stay informed.  Christians are already caricatured as unintelligent, archaic, backwoods, NASCAR fans…don’t fuel that fire…love God and your country with your mind and don’t make simply emotional and single-issue decisions.
• Don’t look to the government for a moral compass.  We’re dealing with fallen, sinful people…add on top of that politicians!  Jesus is our only true and reliable standard for righteousness…everyone else falls terribly short.
• Trust in God’s sovereignty.  If your guy doesn’t win, that’s OK – the person that God wanted there to achieve His purpose for His glory is sitting in the seat of authority.

My challenge to everyone is this: if you indeed want our unChristian nation to become a Christian nation, it begins with you and you bringing the Gospel to those who are lost and disconnected from Jesus, including those in government.  So, how can you do that?  Where can you volunteer?  If your line of work can get you a government job, can you work there?  What boards or committees can you be a part of?

So I encourage everyone to do your duty as a citizen and vote tomorrow!  And if you are a Christ-follower, remember your citizenship that is in heaven and honor Jesus with your vote, however He leads you to do that.

You can check out a short video piece about Delta and our "Vote for Jesus" day yesterday on our local FoxNews affiliate here in Springfield: http://www.myfoxspringfiel

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