Kings Crunch Knights

Six touchdowns. Six! Old Man #4 showed he's still got it after all. Put up 45 points all by himself! Mind you the team I squared off against mustered a grand total of 49. So why was the ageless wonder on my bench? Because when Daring Drew gets the 9ers at home you start him. Especially since the Old Man looked pretty old the previous week. And Drew didn't do all that bad throwing for over three c-notes with three TD's. 30 points at bad and once again the Daring One led the CPKings to victory.
But game balls go to the defenses of the 9ers, Skins, Cards and Ravens. No I don't own any of them but they stepped up big time for us Sunday. Both my RB's (Lynch and Turner) were pretty much shut down and shut out. The 9ers stopped Reggie 'skip, jump and hop' Bush for next to nothing and the Skins bottled up the Barbarian in similar fashion. And they did this on the road! The Cards decided to do their best impersonation of the Mets bullpen and fall apart just long enough for Jericho C to snatch two scores. The nightcap was provided by the Baltimore 'that's so Raven' defense who held Big Ben in check while at the same time allowing Santonio to slip by for the long TD I've been looking for.

Well onto next week and their are decisions to make. But we'll let that wait till Friday.

Go Pots
LL

We Are The Champions (of the NL East)

The Phiting Phillies Phinish in Phirst for the second straight year. Ryan, Utley, Rollins, Lidge, Myers, Hamels, Old Man Moyer and crew came through once again catching the Mets in the last couples of weeks of the season. Hopefully we'll last a bit longer in the playoffs then last time.



Go Phils
LL

Fantasy Football Friday

One of the fun things about playing fantasy football is the freedom of taking a chance knowing that it's only a game and (at least the way we play) no money is involved. There's also the thrill of seeing a long TD pass and then waiting to see if it's your first string receiver who nabbed it or some third string cat you've never heard of.

Which brings us to the first bye week of the season. For the most part the Kings intact. Drew Brees will start at QB with Michael Turner and Marshawn Lynch driving the ground game. I decided to drop the TB D and pick up the Jags especially since they have an enticing matchup against the flailing Texans this week. I also decided to replace my kicker with the kid from Denver whose showing some serious potential.

And now for the hard part. I went into this season with a what I thought would be a fairly strong receiving corps. Calvin Johnson led the way with Santonio Holmes and Jericho Cotchery. While none of these occupied the top tier of receivers with the likes of Moss, Owens and Wayne I thought they'd provide the good consistent production needed to put and keep the Kings on top. I also had Nate Burleson as a solid backup. We ended up at TE with Greg Olson who I thought might be a cool sleeper candidate only to have him become a big bust to this point. And apart from a beast like game by Johnson in week 2 my receivers have been just okay if less so. And now Burleson is out for the year and I need some help. I'm starting Cotchery as he may be finally developing some rapport with Brett Farve. I've also picked up two short term newcomers. Robert Meachem was supposed to be the next big thing in the Big Easy. He's got the size and potential to be a big time threat in an offense that will throw early and often. He's in for this week.

And now for the hard part which is where I need your help.

For now I've decided to bench Santonio Holmes and start Antonio Bryant of TB. Holmes hasn't done much so far and faces a Ravens D that's similar to the Birds. Why Antonio instead of Santonio? I think he can have a good enough game against a banged up Packers D that allowed Miles Austin to get deep on them. But what would you do? Stick with Santonio or drop the S and go out on a limb with Antonio?

Go Pots
LL

Kings Keep Rollin'

The Kings rode strong performances by Wild Buffalo Marshawn Lynch and Michael 'the Burner' Turner to our third straight victory. And now we've got some decisions to make. Our starting QB 'Daring' Drew Brees just lost Jeremy Shockey in addition to Marques Colston. And though I almost stepped out on a limb and started J.T. O'Sullivan in his place this past week I'm still willing to stick with the daring one at Frisco this week. My other backup is Brett 'I'll throw it to anybody, at anytime and anywhere' Farve. We don't have cable so I didn't see the Monday night game but from what I've read Brett looked bad. I'm thinking of dropping the mythical #4 and keeping Sully in his place.

Sunday begins the season's bye weeks which means it's time to surf the waiver wire for intriguing pickups for Sunday's game. So far I've decided to go with Josh 'who dat' Reed and Robert 'kings kid' Royal. Both play for the Bills which means both will get to start against St. Louis. And right now it doesn't look like the Rams could stop our community flag football team. Reed replaces Calvin Johnson who gets the day off and Royal (talk about a name fit for the CPKings) replaces my TE whose also on a bye week. For now I'm still sticking with Santonio Holmes but getting nervous. Well that's it for now dudes and dudettes. I'll hit you back Friday with the final lineup.

Go Pots
LL

This

I meant to mention this a couple of weeks ago. Registration has opened for the Miami Pastor’s Conference. The conference theme is 'What Christ is Saying To and Through His Church.' Featured speakers include Voddie Baucham and Michael Campbell. You can view conference info and register here. As I said last year this conference won’t necessarily change your life but I believe it’s a valuable time of fellowship for any and all who wish to see biblically reformed theology impact the Black community. 

And who knows if you’re good enough you might even be able to try out for the Fins. 

Peace

LL

That

The venerable Spectrum in South Philly is set to be demolished to make way for a new hotel/retail/entertainment complex. For years the Spectrum was home to the Flyers and Sixers and is the last Philly sports venue to host a championship team (83 Sixers though they won the championship on the Lakers home court). 

The Spectrum was where I saw the Temptations, the Jackson Five, Disney on Ice and the circus. It was a pretty cool place that holds some nice memories for many of us Philly folk. 

Peace

LL

The Other

Speaking of championships it’s been a long, long drought for Philly fans. But might that change soon. Monday eve. The Birds showed that they might have what it takes to make it back to the Big Dance. Yes they still need to fix a glaring problem in the middle of the defense and their last play on Monday shows that a big play, big target receiver is still needed. But the Birds can hang with Big D and probably the rest of the league. 

The Fightin Phils are attempting to somewhat repeat last year’s exciting pennant run and hit the playoffs for the second year in a row. If they continue to keep it together it’s possible that they too could bring home a 21st century trophy for the City of Brotherly Love. Though they may not be as good as the Mets and Cubs on paper and certainly would have an uphill climb against the Angels, Bosox or Rays the Phils could get hot at just the right time and bring home the bacon. 

Whatever happens it looks like there will be plenty of fireworks in South Philly over the next couple of months. 

Peace

LL

Then Some

We had another great night at our weekly bible study. One of the blessings of a small church is that we can fit about a third of us in one house and have a blast with a good meal (yesterday was salad bar night) good singing (how many of you remember  ’I’m running for my life’) and a good study. I’m always really encouraged by how the brothers lead the study by having us break into groups, borrow into the text and then lift insightful and enriching truths that move us to worship our Lord and witness of His gospel. The fact that I get to sit and just participate is icing on the cake (well almost but more on that later). I love just listening and hearing how the saints work through a text and see God’s character and nature revealed in His word. I’m also edified by their comments. 

The groups end in prayer and it’s especially precious to hear many of the teens and even children pray for their families, their own growth in the Lord and their neighborhoods. 

And now for the icing on the cake. It seems that more often than not we get to celebrate someone’s birthday with a sheet cake from a local bakery  along with the requisite ice cream. 

A good meal, wonderful fellowship, encouraging study, precious prayer and real icing on the cake. Priceless. 

Peace

LL

And Some More

Our brother Anthony Carter has begun East Point Community Church, a new church plant in the ATL. Let me be the first to encourage any who live near to check them out as soon as you can. If you don’t live near please begin to pray for this new fellowship that our Lord will use it to bring glory to the gospel of Christ and proclaim clear truth to those in Peachtreeville. Click here to learn more about this new outpost of grace. 

To Him Who Loves Us...

pastor lance

Pro-Life and Pro-Glock?

What’s up with the gun you ask? That my friends is no ordinary pistol, not by a long shot. That my fellow blogmates is a state of the art, standard issue, top of the line, combat ready United Federation of Planets Attack Phaser. In other words when needed this bad boy can do some serious damage. This is the little trick up your sleeve you want when confronted by two very big and very drunk Klingons in a dark alley on Rigel VII.  

Why a need for a weapon of this type? And why would the Federation which is dedicated to discovering and studying new life create and distribute a weapon that can easily vaporize a target at 100 feet? A couple of reasons. We at the Fed are peaceful, but not stupid. We know that not everyone shares our desire to explore the galaxy, check out new things and then cap off a hard day sipping Romulan ale in the holodeck. There are some dangerous species and dangerous beings out there. While we wish others no harm, we will if necessary defend ourselves and others who may not be able to. But the other nice thing about sassy sue (that’s our nickname for this little package) is its easy to use VPS feature. For you twenty-first century blokes VPS stands for Variable Power Setting. Simply put it means that with the press of a button I can set sassy sue from light stun to kingdom come. This gives me the advantage of instantly and completely incapacitating a potential threat without causing any lasting damage. 

While the Phaser is still a figment of science-fiction the reality of non-lethal personal defense weapons is not. I’m bringing this up to deal with a subject that frankly has troubled me for a long time. As a believer in Jesus Christ I’m convinced that each and every person is created in and bears the image of his or her creator. I’m convinced that a person is a person at the moment of conception and furthermore that the government should extend individual rights to these persons and protect them from harm. Furthermore, I’m convinced by scripture that all of humanity has a duty to protect and preserve life and that those who believe in Jesus Christ should especially take care to do all within our power to see that no harm comes to anyone. 

Those reasons contribute to my passionate anti-gun stance. I do not believe Christians should support, own, or encourage the use of these weapons of individual destruction. I realize that the Supreme Court recently ruled that citizens have a constitutional right to bear hand guns. I simply disagree with that decision as I don’t believe it promotes the culture of life that we as believers should seek to cultivate in this country. A handgun is not like an automobile. A reckless individual can misuse a car ending someone’s life. Yet the manufacturer did not make the vehicle with the intent that it would be utilized in this way. 

The handguns manufactured and sold in this country today are designed and built for one purpose and one purpose only; namely the destruction of human life. Thus in my view they have no place and can serve no constructive purpose in a society that strives to value life. 

This leads me to question how long evangelicals can continue to claim to be both pro-life and pro-Glock? I don’t believe we can convince those we accuse of promoting the culture of death if we are among the main champions of the latest version of the Saturday night special. But shouldn’t citizens be able to arm themselves in case the government seeks to overthrow our rights by force? Let me answer that in two ways. First, imagine you had a handgun, even a very good one. Do you really think you could take down the average military attack helicopter with it? The second amendment regarding bearing arms was written at a time when the government didn’t have vastly superior weapons than the average citizen. That has changed. The U.S. military now has the weapons and skills to level whole neighborhoods in a matter of hours. 

The other answer to that question goes to a deeper level. What rights do we enjoy as American citizens that are worth taking someone’s life over? Let’s imagine that the government decides that we can no longer own property for the express reason of congregating as a church. For that matter they decide that it’s illegal for Christians to gather anywhere for the purpose of worship in any sense of the term and will confiscate immediately any building whether public or private (including homes) used for that purpose and sell it to someone else. Would we take up arms with the intent of shooting and killing the police who came to seize our property? 

The issue is this: What scenario could we come up with that would justify the taking of a human life?

Ok Lance riddle me this. It’s 3 o’clock in the morning, you hear a commotion in your house and are convinced that someone has broken in and intends to rape and murder your family. Do you just sit back and let them do so just to preserve their life? Good question. Again allow me to present a couple of possible solutions. If the issue is that owning a gun is necessary to protect my family then why stop at just having one gun in my home. Why shouldn’t I arm myself and family in case we’re attacked while out? Is it more likely that I’ll be attacked at three in morning while in my home or at 9 p.m. while walking home? But let’s say I do feel the need for a gun to protect my family and possessions. How many do I need? Why must I demand that the government protect my right to own multiple firearms one or more of which might fall into the wrong hands? And why would the NRA stand against a proposed law in the Commonwealth of PA that would require me to report if my gun is lost or stolen? 

The other answer to that question goes back to the beginning of this post. Technology is developing and delivering non-lethal weapons that can effectively take down an intruder without taking his or her life. Many of these weapons are now available to the general populace. For example, the Dept. of Homeland security is working with a company that produces a flashlight that projects a beam of light directly into the eyes causing temporary blindness, disorientation, nausea and even vomiting. (okay maybe that’s a bit messy for home use) The company that’s developed tasers for police departments are now manufacturing and marketing a slightly scaled down model for private use. I’ve even seen a combination flashlight/taser that can be carried around and used to incapacitate a would be attacker. This could be carried around easily and used in little or no time for personal defense. In other words we now have the technology to obtain devices that can effectively protect our families in a time of crisis without the danger of ending someone else’s life. 

That being the case one has to wonder why is it that those who are most ardently pro-life zealously align themselves with those who are the most pro-gun? I realize that there will always be those who for the sake of investing in, manufacturing and profiting off the sale of guns will seek to protect and extend their rights by any means necessary. But must we lend a moral voice to their cause? Can we really stand and say with a straight face that we are committed to promoting and cultivating a culture of life while bolstering an industry that creates weapons specifically designed and used to end human life? And this at a time when we and the society knows of the availability of non-lethal weapons to replace the guns we felt so vital to our private security. 

It’s time for the Christian community to promote the cause of life by laying down our weapons and refusing to support those who insist on filling our society with instruments designed for the sole reason of ending the life of one who bears the image of God. It’s time for us to realize that we cannot be both pro-life and pro-gun.

To Him Who Loves Us…

Pastor lance

Kings Cruise!

And go off he did. Calvin Johnson of the Detroit Lions enjoyed a rip-roaring day leading the CrockPot Kings to our second win in a row. And his timing couldn’t have been better. Brother Aaron was right in advising me to bench Michael Turner who turned in a dud. What I didn’t expect was the shaky performance of Drew Brees. Thankfully the TB D made Matt Ryan look like a rookie QB giving me a much needed boost. Chris Johnson did alright gaining a c-note on the ground though he didn’t hit pay dirt. I have no idea of what happened to Jericho Cotchery, but off games happen. 

But you know what they say. An ugly win is better than a pretty loss any and every day of the week. See ya on football Friday. 

Go Pots

Pastor lance

The Tennesee Two Step

Another Friday, another decision. For the most part my lineup is set. Daring Drew Brees will command the air attack and hopefully dissect a struggling Redskins defense. Also returning is Michael ‘the Burner’ Turner who lit up the dreadful Detroit D for 220 and two TD’s. He may not post that against a good TB squad, but I’d settle for a good day’s work of 100 yards and a TD. I need Santonio Holmes to bounce back from a poor effort in week 1 and rip through a Brown defense that looked like confused children against Big D. I’m also counting on the Lions to continue playing from behind thus giving Calvin Johnson plenty of oppts to just go off. For some reason Jericho Cotchery played pretty well against the Pats last year and now there’s a new sheriff in town so he should do okay. 

I picked up Anthony Fasano from waivers since it looks like he’ll get more targets with the Fish than Greg Olsen gets with da Bears. Robbie ‘nothing but the bottom of the crossbar’ Gould will handle the kicking duties and TB will bring the dreaded cover 2 against rookie QB Matt Ryan. 

And now for the ‘out on a limb’ start of the week. I’m going to sit Marshawn ‘lance you’ve got to be crazy to bench me’ Lynch. He’s got a tough match up against a good Jags D that usually plays well at home. In his place I’ve put rookie RB Chris Johnson. Johnson did some damage against the Jags and now for dessert gets the dysfunctional Bengals and their paper tiger D. Why take the chance? CJ is an explosive player who can both run and catch. Last week Joe Flacco the Raven QB scrambled 42 yards to the house against the kittens. I see CJ breaking a few big ones on the way to a 150 total yards and two scores. 

Go Pots

Pastor lance

The Troublesome Choice of Sarah Palin

Imagine it’s the beginning of August. You're hanging out with a group of friends following service and talking about the usual stuff. Someone brings up an issue for which he would like some advice. A friend of his is considering taking a very demanding position at a major Fortune 50 company. The promotion would make her the vice-president of the company. Initially the group has few reservations about this although there’s slight concern with the general trend of women holding positions of authority over men. However no one has any real objections since this isn’t a ministry setting. 

Having established that for the most part it’s alright to have a female v.p. in a high powered, demanding position you then get into a few details of your friend’s life. You reveal that she’s in her mid forties and is already the head of the one of the companies smaller divisions. She also recently had a child who is now about five months old. Along with that she has a thirteen and seven year old. After a pause someone asks for more information about the new position. You respond by saying that it is a very demanding position which involves a good deal of travel. Now your friends begin to question why she would accept a position that would take her way from her young children so much. A couple of them grab bibles and after turning to the second chapter of Titus remind you (as if you didn’t know) that the scriptures command mothers of small children to remain at home to raise their children and support their husbands. While this doesn’t mean that a mother can’t work outside the home her priority should be to remain their to raise her children if at all possible. Some even begin wondering why she stayed on as head of the small division following the birth of her last child especially in light of the fact that she has a child entering teen-age years and one in the first years of elementary school. 

Finally, you drop the bomb. Your friend also has a teenager who has become pregnant out of wedlock. Blank looks accompanied by incredulous gasps tell the tale of the group reaction. After assuring you that they don’t condemn this sister for her child’s choice nor question her parenting skills they do wonder out loud why she would in any way even consider taking a more demanding position knowing that her teenage daughter will soon be a mother who will need all the help and support she can get. The discussion seems to be over when you launch one last volley. 

You mention that this is a historic opportunity and that due to her age and the timing of the offer it’s very unlikely that it will come around for her again. Furthermore, if things go well this position could lead to becoming the CEO of the company where she could do a great deal of good for families just like theirs and be a strong witness for the gospel of Christ. One of the group, a stay at home mother with a similar family situation looks you straight in the eye and with strong conviction declares that God has already told the church how mothers are to make a difference in this world. They do so by staying home, loving their husbands and raising the next generation of believers who will be salt and light in our country. With that the discussion ends and you prepare to tell your friend that the vast majority of those he’s asked about this have counseled that her primary calling is to remain at home raising her children. And in light of her present family situation it would be unwise and perhaps even unbiblical to make an unnecessary career move that would mandate her spending an even greater amount of time away from them. 

Now brothers and sisters let’s be straight with each another. How many of us would have actually encouraged a woman with a newborn infant, a budding teenager, an elementary aged child and a daughter who will give birth within the next few months to take a promotion that would actually mean much more responsibility and time away from her family? You might say ‘but no one asks how Barack Obama will care for his two small children should he become president’. True they have not and probably still won’t. But it’s been conservative evangelicals who’ve declared with relish that mothers with small children must remain at home with those children if at all possible. We’ve used this as one of the arrows in our quiver in the ongoing culture war with the ‘Liberal elite’. We’ve chided and yes judged those women who put career over family for the sake of pride and position. And that’s what’s made Sarah Palin’s acceptance to be John McCain’s running mate so troublesome. 

The world knows how we feel about the importance of the home and the mother’s role within it. In many ways conservative evangelicals have been the lone voice extolling the virtues of stay at home motherhood. For instance, in a 2006 article by Mary K. Mohler the following statement was one of many used to support the importance and value of stay at home mothers; “We firmly believe that the finest daycare, the sharpest nanny, or even my mom or his mom would not pass our qualifications for one reason: they are not me.  Do we have an inflated opinion here? No, not at all. We believe there is no one on this earth who can love, nurture, and care for our children like I can. God made me the mother of Katie and Christopher. No one else has that distinction.” You can find the entire article here. 

Over the past thirty years or so there can be no doubt that most evangelicals accepted as gospel that a mother’s place was in the home and not the high powered and high pressured environment of the corporate world. That’s not to say that evangelicals condemned any and all employment outside the home. But to act as if we've championed the rights of moms to climb the corporate ladder armed with a blackberry in one hand and baby bottle in the other is just not true and we know it. But what’s more damaging the world knows it. 

While I have nothing against Governor Palin personally and think she could make a very good vice president I just don’t believe many evangelicals have thoroughly thought through what a Palin vice-presidency and possible presidency might mean for them. In accepting with great zeal her historic choice evangelicals have once again doubled back on what they themselves declared was an unmovable, authoritative scriptural mandate. A generation ago evangelicals claimed that ethnic segregation was the clear will of the living God. When asked about becoming involved in politics they made it equally clear that politics have nothing to do with the gospel and thus should have no place in the church. Now they’re willing to accept a woman who if things work they way many of them hope could end up spending the next four to sixteen years away from her young family. Look folks, we can only cry wolf so many times. If scripture mandates that mothers with young children remain home to raise those children and support their husbands than that goes for vice-presidential candidate Palin just as much as it does for the liberal mom who leaves her infant in daycare so she can continue the climb up the corporate ladder. 

And if we’re willing to accept with little question and no real dissent Governor Palin’s nomination what happens the next time we decide to lecture the country on the biblical view of ’just war’, ’small government’, ’strong defense’ or the right to pack our pistols?  

To Him Who Loves Us…

Pastor lance

 

 

 

Kings Crown Competition

Led by monster performances by Daring Drew Brees (thanks for the advice Aaron) and Michael 'the Burner' Turner the CrockPot Kings scored over 100 points in our first win of the FF season. 

Stay tuned for next week's matchup madness. 

Go Pots

pastor lance

All My Rowdy Friends

Alright crew. For the next eight weeks or so we’ll probably have much to talk about regarding the election, the direction of the country and the place of politics in general. But in an effort to keep it somewhat light I’d like to spice up the convo from time to time by asking your help with something that is very, very important.

What is that you say? Who should I start in my fantasy football league. The CrockPot Kings enter our third season looking to finally capture the holy grail. Last year we survived an atrocious start to come on strong in the end, make the playoffs and end up in third place.
But that was before I had my blogging buddies to help a brother out. I’m sure with your sage advice I’ll finally climb to the top of the CLF fantasy football mountain.

So let’s get down to business. In week one I can start either Daring Drew Brees or Back for an Encore Brett Farve. Both had a good preseason. Both have ample weapons at his disposal although in my view Daring Drew has some serious juice to sling the rock to. The downside to Drew this week are the Bucs who have one of the better defenses in the league. As far as I know Miami does not which is one for Old Man #4.

So who should start and who should sit. Drop me a line with your thoughts and I’ll let you know the results Monday morn.

Go Pots
Pastor lance

A King, Not A Candidate

The teams are set, Labor Day is over and as of now the next ten weeks will go a long way to determining who will be the leader of the free world for at least the next four years. Many believe that this could be one of the most important elections of our lifetime. The next administration could shape how America faces the important issues of abortion, healthcare, foreign policy, climate change and the economy. Should either Senator Obama or McCain get elected and then win re-election we could be living in a very different country than the one we have right now. Beyond that there is the reality that eight years from now many of our children will be entering the next phase of their lives and beginning to take their place as adult citizens of this nation.

However, as important as this election is, it is not the most important issue in our lives or the lives of those we know, work with and live among. And it is not the most important factor that will weigh upon the lives of our children within the next several years.
Why? For one America is a temporary country and thus the blessings of being an American citizen while important are only temporary.

Secondly, there is another kingdom that exists among the nations and countries of this world that while not seen is nonetheless very much real. And as important as they are the blessings of American citizenship are simply not effective in this kingdom.

Thirdly, the kingdom of the living God will have a far, far more profound effect upon both the temporal and eternal lives of those Americans we know and are acquainted with.

Fourthly as great as this country may be the eternal kingdom of God will be infinitely greater. It is infinitely more valuable, infinitely more durable, infinitely more beautiful, infinitely more precious and infinitely more righteous.

And lastly but certainly not least the kingdom of which we speak is ruled by a king we can believe in, hope in, count on and rely on with total and absolute confidence.

The issue for us then is preparing ourselves and our children to press, pursue and actively participate in the eternal kingdom of the living God which is ruled by Jesus Christ.

And therein lies another golden providential opportunity the citizens of the kingdom have to highlight, emphasize and proclaim the kingdom of the living God. In a recent post entitled ‘Let The Games Begin’ I exhorted the saints to take the opportunity to be witnesses of the gospel by speaking respectfully of those with whom we disagree. Now I’m encouraging the saints to pray for opportunities to tell of the eternal kingdom of our Lord to those who will vote with us and those who will not. What’s more I want to pray that the citizens of the kingdom of the living God will have the same kind of enthusiasm and zeal for our King that the delegates of the respective political conventions have for their candidates who at most will enjoy a temporary rule over a temporary country.

Look, whether we want to admit it or not whoever winds up in office will not solve all of the countries problems, cannot heal all of our national ills, and will still leave much that is undone. I for one doubt that either candidate will lead the country toward the brink of complete ruin or unparalleled overall prosperity. They are fallen men, who will surround themselves with fallen people and lead a country filled with fallen citizens. While I have no idea who might run for this nation’s highest office in 2016 you can bet the house, ranch and two bus tokens that he or she will promise to address the issues of education, the economy, taxes and of course champion the cause of the middle class.

I’m not saying that this election nor the institution of government is irrelevant or even marginal to the lives of God’s people and the rest of the country. I am saying that the people of God must take great care to make a clear distinction between the two kingdoms. One is temporary, flawed, fading and destined for destruction. The other is eternal, perfect, glorious and destined for absolute triumph. And no matter how bad you think your life and the lives of your fellow citizens could be under a democratic or republican administration trust me they will survive. And if you don’t believe me just take a quick peek at history. Democrats did indeed survive twelve years of republican rule in the White House from 1980 until 1992. Following that republicans managed to get through eight years of democratic rule from 92 to 2000. The moral of that story is simple: should your guy lose it will not be the end of the world.

But the end of this world is in fact at hand. And when it ends the fact that you cast your vote for Senator Barack Obama or John McCain will be the least of your concerns. And the issue for our fellow citizens won’t be whether they voted, supported, campaigned, donated to and fervently followed either of these two public servants. No dear ones the issue will be where they stand with the King of kings and Lord of lords. And the issue for us now is whether we will take this opportunity to declare our undying love and loyalty to our immortal, eternal, invisible yet very present King or if we’ll squander it away in hopes of getting our guy in the White House.

When this election is over will the people of God be known as just one more constituent group to be pandered to or will we let it be known that as important as this election is our allegiance is ultimately not to a candidate or even a country, but to Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood.

To Him Who Loves Us…
Pastor lance