By: Dale Weckbacher
Joshua 24:15
And if it seems evil
to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve,
whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the
River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and
my house, we will serve the LORD."
NKJV
This statement by Joshua tells us that in his life, his Lord
was the only one he intended to serve.
Joshua did not casually come to this belief in his life for in the
course of his life he had witnessed the miraculous deliverance of Israel from
Egyptian bondage. He had witnessed how
God preserved and guided Israel for forty years in the wilderness. He had experienced the grace of God by
preserving him for his faith while others doubted when he was sent to spy out
the Promised Land (Numbers 14:6-9). In
addition, Joshua’s faith in God grew as he witnessed God miraculously enabling
the outnumbered nation of Israel to inhabit the land promised to them by
God.
The situation for God’s people has not changed for even
today Christians are persecuted for their faith. In many parts of the world this persecution
is physical with many living under the threat of death for their faith. (1) In nations like the United States these
persecutions take on the form of loss of friends or as we recently have seen
loss of livelihood. (2)(3) Christians also face the possibility that
acceptance of radical Muslims into free nations like the United States may
bring on life threatening persecution of Christians even in nations where
religious liberty is protected. (4)
Each one of us who has accepted Jesus Christ as our savior
has experienced a Joshua moment where we have decided Jesus Christ is the only
King and Lord of our lives. For some of
us this is a rags to riches story of miraculous deliverance from drug abuse,
lives of crime, or sexual promiscuity.
Some have miraculous stories of deliverance from religions such as Islam
or even satanic worship. For others the
story may be less spectacular and be a story of realization that all of our
good works were worthless in the sight of God (Isaiah 64:6) and that we need to
accept Jesus as our savior in order to escape the death penalty of sin in our
lives (Romans 6:23).
However, instead of taking us immediately to heaven to be
with our Lord and King when we choose Jesus as our savior, Jesus sent us the
Holy Spirit to empower us to live in this world full of persecution (Acts1:8). This is because it is not the will
of God the Father that any should die in their sins (2 Peter 3:9), even though
some do because they choose not to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
Election years reveal the desire for people to seek some
great, even messianic, leader to solve their problems. Each election many people emerge and run for
office promising to be the leader people are looking for. During these political campaigns, candidates
often resort to personal attacks upon their competitors in order to eliminate
them from the campaign opening the door for them to emerge as the leader sought
after by the masses.
This, however, does not mean we as Christians are not to
participate in the electoral process for even God Himself knew Israel would
seek after an earthly king (Deuteronomy 17:14-16). In fact, how we as Christians vote is an
opportunity for us to shed light on the benefits of being led by Godly
leadership leading in accordance to the principles of the Word of God. Let us therefore be lights in this electoral
process by voting for and supporting leadership leading by Godly principles.
However, what are we as Christians to do when neither
candidate is a believer? In the United
States the answer to this question is simple.
The constitution of the United States in its first amendment defends the
right of all individuals, including Christians, to practice their
religion. Since the responsibility of
government is the defending of the Constitution, we must vote for the candidate
who will best defend the right to religious freedom even if they are not a
professed believer in Jesus as Savior.
Like Joshua, I profess Jesus as the only King in my life and
will do whatever I can to let the light of the Gospel shine in my life (Matthew 5:16). As part of letting this light
shine I will support those professing Jesus as their Savior in elections and in
the event none of the candidates makes that profession, vote for those
defending my right to practice my religion by letting the light of Jesus shine
from my life and when the opportunity presents itself, share the Gospel with
others.
Will you join me in being lighthouses for Christ in this election?
1. The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission.
Christian Persecution: Quick Facts: Reliable and Informative Snapshots of the
Focus Issue. erlc.com. [Online] [Cited: April 30, 2016.]
erlc.com/issues/quick-facts/persecution/.
2. Smith, Samuel.
Oregon christian Bakers Ordered to Pay $135K After Refusing to Work Gay
Wedding; Told to Stop Speaking About 'ObeyGod, Not Man'. www.christianpost.com.
[Online] The Christian Post, July 3, 2015. [Cited: August 26, 2015.]
http://www.christianpost.com/news/oregon-christian-bakers-ordered-to-pay-135k-after-refusing-to-work-gay-wedding-told-to-stop-speaking-about-obeying-god-not-man-141137/.
3. McBride, Sarah. Mozilla CEO resigns, opposition to gay marriage drew fire www.reuters.com. [Online] Reuters, April 3, 2014. [Cited: March 26, 2016.] http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mozilla-ceo-resignation-idUSBREA321Y320140403
4. Sidway, Ralph.
Muslim Persecution of Christians - Call it What it is: GENOCIDE. www.jihadwatch.org.
[Online] Jihad Watch, December 10, 2015. [Cited: April 30, 2016.]
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2015/12/muslim-persecution-of-christians-call-it-what-it-is-genocide.
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