Life as a Christian Woman

Thanksgiving is such an interesting word. It is a time to give thanks, historically, for what God has blessed us with. But how brilliant is it to have the word “giving” tagged on to the end! While we are giving thanks for what we have, we need to give to those who are not as blessed.

… When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required. Luke 12:48

Many of us have so much more than we need. We live in a world filled with lost souls, homeless people and hungry bellies. It is so easy to close our eyes to this need, settle in after a huge turkey dinner and sleep the afternoon away.

But folks, if you are reading this you are blessed. You are blessed to have a computer. You are blessed with eyesight, and the ability to read. And I dare say, your blessings go farther than that.

It’s time to share the wealth.

It doesn’t have to be money. What about time? The Salvation Army is in desperate need nationwide for bell ringers. No skills required, just the willingness to ring a bell and smile at passers-by. Donations nationwide are down, not just because of the economy but because of a lack of people volunteering to ring the bell.

If you don’t want to stand in the cold, how about hosting an “on-line” red kettle for the organization?  For information, visit this link.

Need other ways to donate? How about looking for old blankets in your home and taking them to a homeless shelter? Or joining in a canned food drive? Why not select a child from an angel tree, and make someone’s Christmas special? Or spend time at a senior citizen’s home, just talking. Many of these elderly have no family, and long for company.

But perhaps this is the most radical thought of all: Don’t limit your giving to the holidays. We all seem to jump on board in November/December. Guess what? There are 10 other months, months that have just a much need for love, caring, and heartfelt donations as the holiday season.

I was listening to ESPN radio today, and the host was talking about Michael Jordan. To be specific, he was talking about Jordan’s work ethic, and how it carried him to multiple NBA titles. Jordan said that once he learned to “love the process,” he began to take his game to new levels.

What he meant by that statement was that once he realized that the hard work prior to the game was what led to success in the game, suddenly the running, lifting weights and practices didn’t seem so bad. The process led to ultimate success.

He began to love the process.

And that should apply to most things in life, including growing our faith. The process can seem tedious. It’s so much easier to sit down and watch television as opposed to spending time studying God’s word. Yet the process of Bible study is what can lead us to ultimate success: a deepening of faith and bringing others to Christ.

What happens when you skip the process, go directly from A to Z? Your spiritual growth will be stunted, your walk with God less smooth. When talking to others about Christ, you may struggle to find the words, or know the scripture.

A good parallel is how a car runs. You turn the key and start driving, but what goes on under the hood makes the difference in how well the car drives, or even if it drives. You can have a loose fan belt or a misfiring spark plug and your car will still run, but not nearly as smoothly. The process that gets the engine moving is every bit as important as the final result, because without the process, there is no final result!

We need to fall in love with the process, learn to love it. Revel in Bible study, rejoice in church, learn to listen to our hearts in prayer. The process will guide you to a deeper relationship with God, a closer walk with Jesus.

Now that’s a goal worth shooting for!

I am a reality show junkie, and one of my favorites is the “Real Housewives” series on Bravo. Now don’t be confused… it is a stretch to call these ladies “housewives.” The point of the series is to follow 5-6 women who run in the loftiest of circles. The series began by following women in Orange County, California, but has since added New York and Atlanta to the mix.

In the series, we see these women go to extreme lengths to impress the other women in the group, their families, even complete strangers. They move with an attitude of “I don’t care what others think of me, I’m happy with myself,” yet they crave acceptance and approval from everyone.

In short, they are living horizontally.

When you live horizontally, you look at the world through the eyes of those around you. You see your failures and successes magnified in their response to you.

When you accept Christ into your life, your vision must change from horizontal to vertical. You must look up for the Father’s approval, rather than at the world and those around you. You can put on the most expensive dress, carry the latest handbag, and be dripping in diamonds. But God sees past all of that. He looks at the heart.

Don’t get me wrong, we all want to be liked, we yearn for approval from those around us. We want to be the funniest, smartest, cutest, the one that folks want to be around. But none of that matters to God, and in the end, that is who we must impress. And it’s pretty easy to impress Him… just accept His son as your Savior. Acknowledge your sin, and that Christ came to wipe it away through his death and resurrection.

Abraham Lincoln once said: You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time.”

I’d like to add to that: But you can’t fool God… ever.

The “Romans Road” has been used by Christians for years to explain the concept of salvation to those who are living without Christ. It is so simple, so basic, and you don’t have to be a Biblical scholar to master it. In many denominations, the holiday season is a time to share the gospel with those outside the faith, those who are lost and in need.

In that spirit, I thought I was due for a a refresher course, and far be it from me to leave my readers out! So here goes:

The Romans Road walks us through four steps: Why we need to be saved, How God provided us that salvation, How we can receive that salvation, and What the results of salvation are.

WHY DO WE NEED TO BE SAVED?
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23
We have all sinned. On this point there can be no argument. No one can “earn” their way into Heaven. It is beyond our reach, beyond all the good works that we could perform in our lifetime.

HOW DOES GOD PROVIDE US THAT SALVATION?
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 6:23
Our sin can only lead us to death, but God, in His infinite grace, has provided eternal life in Him through the death and resurrection of His son, Jesus Christ.

HOW CAN WE RECEIVE THAT SALVATION?
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8
The third verse along the Romans Road combines the first two points… we are sinners, but God sent Christ to die for us, to take our sins upon him and clean the slate.

WHAT ARE THE RESULTS OF SALVATION?
That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9
The results of confessing our sins and accepting Christ as our savior are immense. We will be saved, we will spend eternity with our Lord and Savior and with our God.

That’s it. That’s the Romans Road to Salvation. When you add your own testimony, your own personal walk to the mix, you have a wonderfully personal and yet powerful message of salvation.

So simple, yet so many in this world refuse to acknowledge Him and His path. And so many have never heard.

Look around you this holiday season. Not off in the distance, but right next to you. Look across your dinner table, or next door. Has everyone around you accepted Christ as his or her savior?

If not, why not begin a walk down the Romans Road?

Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life—in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing. But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.

Philippians 2:14-18 (New International Version)

You get what you get, and you don’t throw a fit.
Preschool teachers around the world

One day I was helping out in my daughter’s class, and I heard the teacher say this phrase. I loved it, and made it my mantra at home. Whenever Emi wanted something other than what she had (I don’t want strawberries, I want oranges!), I would repeat the phrase above and she would settle down and deal with it. I tried it out in Vacation Bible School, and the kids there would accept that as an answer, too.

I didn’t really take it much further than that, but in reading Philippians 2 this week, I discovered that Paul said much the same thing to the early Christians at Philippi. He begs them, if they feel Christ’s love, comfort and encouragement, to share that same spirit and purpose. As the chapter continues, he reminds them to do nothing out of “selfish ambition or vain conceit” (vs. 3), but urges them to be humble.

However, the verses that stand out to me the most are 14-18 (see text above). Basically, he is saying that we need to just “deal with it.” And he’s right. So often we complain about such ridiculous things, when instead we should be thankful…. thankful for God’s grace. If we believe that “…in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28), then we need to understand that where God has placed us, whatever the situation may be, there is a divine reason.

So we need to get on with it.

So many of us are living on a razor’s edge these days. Our economy is bad and getting worse, it seems, almost daily. The unemployment rate is growing with no end in sight. My husband and I, like many of you, watch the news and worry…. will his job be safe? Will we have an income to provide us with food and shelter? And what of the world that we will be leaving our daughter?

But we also acknowledge that none of this is ours. All we have, all we have been given, is God’s. He freely gives, and He freely takes away. And He both gives and takes for divine reasons, and sometimes we don’t understand those reasons at all! But if we are faithful to Him, as He is to us, we can rest in the knowledge that He will give us what we need, when we need it.

These are hard principles to understand, and harder still to put into practice. I have laid my worried about the future on the altar of God many times, walked away and said, “There, that’s done. Now I am free of that worry!” But I always end up back at that altar, picking the worry back up and trying to carry it all over again.

You’d think I’d learn after awhile, but I’ve always been pretty stubborn.

So here is my vow for today… and although I promise I am going to try to stick to it, I also know that I will probably have to renew the vow a few dozen times before it sticks…

I will take whatever God has to give me, and I will accept it in love, as I know He has sent it in love. I will do my best to divine His purpose for my life and my family’s life in whatever He sends…

And I won’t throw a fit!

When I had a baby, I thought she was the most beautiful thing in the world. Bright blue eyes, dark hair, my bundle of joy. I was so proud of my little girl. I was equally sure that the rest of the world thought my little girl was the most beautiful baby girl ever born.

One day we were out at the mall, when a woman came up to admire Emi as I pushed her in her stroller. I puffed up with mommy pride. Then the woman said, “What a handsome little boy!”

What?

I muttered “She’s a girl” and the woman remarked how beautiful she was, but the damage was done. I couldn’t believe that my precious, delicate little baby girl could be mistaken for a… BOY!

It seemed so obvious to me that I took for granted that it seemed obvious to everybody. When I looked at her, I saw Emilee. She looked dainty, cute, precious, pretty, all those adjectives that we give to little girls. But to the rest of the world, she was just a little baby, and unless I had her all decked out in pink, her gender was a guessing game to passers-by.

Sometimes what seems so obvious to us is difficult for others to comprehend. When a person becomes a Christian, it’s like a light bulb goes off. But their friends and family, if not already saved, may think the newborn Christian has gone off the deep end!

For that reason, it is so important to grow your faith and your testimony. I have commented before that we often think that once we are saved the hard part is over, but in reality the work has just begun. We must immerse ourselves in God’s word, and prepare ourselves to present the Gospel to others. We have to prepare ourselves to explain God’s love in it’s purest, easiest to understand way. We must be able to relate to non-Christians.

Tomorrow I am going to write on the tried and true method of sharing the Gospel, the path to salvation that is known as the Romans Road. For those who have never studied the Romans Road, it is an easy way to explain salvation to those who are lost.

See you tomorrow!

Bringing in the Sheaves

Sowing in the morning, sowing seeds of kindness,
Sowing in the noontide and the dewy eve;
Waiting for the harvest, and the time of reaping,
We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.

Bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves,
We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves,
Bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves,
We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves,

Sowing in the sunshine, sowing in the shadows,
Fearing neither clouds nor winter’s chilling breeze;
By and by the harvest, and the labor ended,
We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.

Going forth with weeping, sowing for the Master,
Though the loss sustained our spirit often grieves;
When our weeping’s over, He will bid us welcome,
We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.

Words by Knowles Shaw, Music by George A. Minor

Remember the old hymn “Bringing in the Sheaves?” That song used to totally confound me! What in the world did farming have to do with church?

I haven’t thought much about that hymn in years. It isn’t sung much in modern churches. But as I was preparing to write today, I was thinking about planting seeds in peoples’ hearts and realized just how much of Christianity can be compared to the various acts involved in farming.

In farming, we till the soil, preparing it for the seed. In Christianity, we pray for hearts to be softened, to be prepared to hear God’s words of eternal truth. If we don’t do this necessary preparation of prayer, we are throwing seeds upon the hard ground.

In farming, we place the seed in the ground, and cover it with soil. In Christianity, we tell our story of redemption, of healing and love, to those who are lost. Then, once we have planted that seed, we cover the seed in prayer.

In farming, we water, fertilize, nurture the soil to aid the seed in it’s development. In Christianity, we continue to nurture the hearts of the lost through contact, testimony and prayer.

In farming, some of the plants, despite water and sun, wither and die. In Christianity, Satan’s control over the lost can be so powerful as to keep someone from realizing the fact of eternal salvation.

And finally, in farming, at the end of the season, we bring in the harvest. In Christianity, we hope to see the harvest of souls when we meet our Heavenly Father.

We may never see the results of the seeds we have planted, at least not here on earth. But imagine the joy when sitting at the Father’s feet, when you come face-to-face with someone who you prayed for, witnessed to. Talk about a happy day!

Now re-read the words to the hymn “Bringing in the Sheaves,” printed at the top of this blog. Makes a lot of sense, huh?

I'm the Rockette in the middle... OK, not really.

It seems like everyone wants to define their own reality these days. Never was this more apparent to me than when I picked up a copy of People Magazine a few months ago and read the headline “Pregnant Man Gives Birth.”

Huh?

Thomas Beattie grew up at Tracy Beattie, even finishing as a finalist in the Miss Teen Hawaii USA beauty pageant. But following gender reassignment surgery to remove breast tissue and legally become male, Beattie began taking testosterone to complete the transition from woman to man. However, Beattie kept an intact uterus in the hopes of having children someday.

After marrying Nancy, his wife now of five years, they decided that Beattie would carry a child, as Nancy is infertile. Beattie quit taking the testosterone and was artificially inseminated, resulting in pregnancy. Beattie delivered a baby girl on June 29 of this year, and has recently announced a new pregnancy.

Here is my problem. Beattie is not a pregnant man. Beattie is a pregnant woman, who has been surgically altered to be more “man-like,” but obviously still has the reproductive organs of a woman.

In short, Beattie is a woman. And that is reality.

We can’t change reality, no matter how badly we would like to. Personally, I would like to be 5″10′, and weigh 120 pounds. I would like cascading brunette hair and green eyes. And I would like to be a Radio City Music Hall Rockette. But my reality is very (very!) different.

The world seems to dictate what we want to be. Powerful. Thin. Beautiful. Rich. Strong. But we need to follow God’s view for us: Faithful. Holy. Righteous.

Not nearly as rewarding here on earth, but infinitely rewarding in the future. And for Christians, that is where we would like our reward to be!

For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. TItus 2: 11-14

I will tell you up front that I am not a fan of so called “New Age” religion. I feel it is revisionist in its approach, much more concerned with making everyone happy as opposed to telling the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The scriptures are straightforward…

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.    John 14:6    New International Version (NIV)

The only way to Heaven, to God’s kingdom, is through Jesus Christ and his redemptive love. He came here, he took on our sins, he took those sins to the cross where he died in our place, he was buried and rose again on the third day. He ascended to the Father’s throne, and will return again. His intercession on our behalf is why we are saved, by his grace and grace alone.

There is no wiggle room. Christ did not say, “I am the way, the truth and the life, unless you find a better way. Oh yeah, and if you live a good life but don’t believe in me, that’s ok, my Father will overlook your unbelief and let you into Heaven anyway.”

Nope, folks, you gotta believe in one Savior, Jesus Christ. End of story.

So imagine my disbelief when I was directed to a video of Oprah Winfrey, who claims to be a Christian, saying emphatically that there are many paths to Heaven, that there isn’t just one way. And when an audience member stood her down and said, “What about Jesus?,” Winfrey’s response was an indignant, “What about Jesus!”

Oprah states her opinion that there are many ways to the “Truth”

The scary thing is that hundreds of thousands, if not millions, get their “theology” from watching Oprah. Her following is loyal and ardent. She is mesmerizing.

But she is wrong.

In the video, she repeatedly says that “there cannot possibly be one way” to Heaven. Yet the scripture says the opposite.

The danger in this type of theology is that many will follow it, will believe these lies that having a good heart matters more than believing in Christ as the Son of God.

A good heart should be a part of every Christian, but some rely on these good hearts to save them, which won’t happen. It’s like the old analogy: All beagles are dogs, but not all dogs are beagles. The message here would be: All Christians should have a good heart, but not all people with good hearts are Christians.

Numerous verses in scripture point out the fact that works cannot save us:

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. Ephesian 2:8-9 NIV

He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.  Titus 3:5-7 NIV

As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. James 2:26 NIV

Frankly, to deny the scripture is to deny Christ.

If you want to know where to get your theology, you are in luck. As Christians, we can go straight to the source… God’s holy word, the Bible. When you immerse yourself in His word, there can be no misunderstanding.

His age is the New Age!

We are no longer a Christian nation. I consider us a post-Christian nation.
Rick Howerton

I heard those words tonight from pastor and small group specialist Rick Howerton. I have a great deal of respect for Howerton, as a former pastor at my church and the man who baptized my husband. Howerton travels the country teaching and leading small groups, and has written numerous books on the subject.

And I think he is right.

This past week we have seen thousands take to the streets in California to protest the passage of Proposition 8, which amended the California state constitution to restrict the definition of marriage to that between a man and a woman. The proposition passed with a majority of 52% of the vote, and went into effect the day after the election.

Crowds marched and protested in front of churches, particularly the denominations that had come out strongly in favor of Prop 8. There have been threats of burning churches down in retaliation. Just a few years ago, such statements would have been unthinkable; Thousands more would have taken to the streets in defense of our faith.

What can we do? We can’t afford to sit idly by and let our faith be commandeered by those who want to destroy it. We can’t allow ourselves the luxury of letting others fight the battle for us.

Each of us must take up the banner of Christ! We must defend our faith, we must grow in our faith and be prepared to stand up for our Christ. Silence is the same as denial. To sit in a crowd and hear others trash our beliefs, and not respond, is to deny God.

It isn’t easy. It never is. We are not the mainstream in many ways now. We are the “outsiders.” Our path is rocky and full of dangers… but it is the path of righteousness.

I don’t think it is too late; it is never too late for a revival within a church, city, nation or world. But we must be willing to fight for our faith, to raise our children to be strong in their faith. We must be prepared.

Press on!

My family left on a short weekend trip today, and I’ve been looking forward to it all week. You see, I love the fall, and I love the colors of fall. And today’s trip went right through the heart of the hills, with trees of varying colors as far as the eye could see.

It was both awesome and awe-inspiring, all at once.

The reds, burgundies, golds, yellows and oranges were a technicolor treat for the eyes. As our drive progressed, rain clouds moved in, which only added to the beauty. The colors against the dark blue of the rain clouds was amazing.

And then, just as I thought it couldn’t get any better, the sun broke through, low on the horizon to the west. The sky burst into shades of deep purple and pink, fading in the the dark black of night.

It took my breathe away.

My five-year-old and I grabbed our cameras (mine digital, hers the princess model), and took pictures, lots of pictures. And as I look at those pictures now, I remain in awe.

God has a unique ability to turn our world into His personal canvas. He throws paint from the skies every spring, showering us with pinks, purples, blues and greens. And every fall He provides us with a different canvas, one with the rich colors that will lead us into the cool grays of winter. The leaves fall, becoming an organic blanket to take the earth through the winter.

Take time to enjoy God’s world. There is so much negative in today’s world, so much hatred. Stop. Take a deep breath. Enjoy the living pictures that God is providing you.

Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
Ephesians 4:3

When Paul wrote his letter to the Ephesians, he was shackled and in chains. But through his pain and captivity, he wrote a compelling letter that is one of the lights of the New Testament.

The fourth chapter of Ephesians has a lesson that is so appropriate for Christians today. We are all part of one body, the body of Christ. We are the church… not the buildings and grounds, not the staff, us. And we have to find a way to get along, to work as one.

That doesn’t mean that we have to agree on everything, in fact we most assuredly won’t. But we can’t expect to bicker, gossip, demean and criticize each other, and still be within God’s will.

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit — just as you were called to one hope when you were called — one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it…

…It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does it’s work.

Ephesians 4: 1-6, 11-16.

These verses speak to our calling as one body of Christ. In Heaven we will not be Catholic, Jew, Pentecostal, Baptist, whatever. We will be saved members of the body of Christ, bought with his blood.

Paul goes on to speak of the preparation that we must go through, to grow into the mature spiritual beings that he wants us to be. Once we reach that level of maturity within the Spirit, we will see through the charlatans, the snake oil salesmen who have a great pitch, but are void of the real message.

I especially love the final verses, where Paul draws the correlation between the body of Christ and the human body. Every part of the body has it’s job, reliant on others yet working independently.  Can you imagine if your arms fought over their role within you? Or your left leg wanted to go one way, while your right leg chose the opposite direction?

We must strive for unity. Without unity, we can’t advance Christ’s agenda, and that must remain our goal.

It’s finally over.

I will not miss the ads, the debates, the constant barrage of opinions and rhetoric. I will not miss the unsolicited phone calls asking me to support issues and candidates. I will not miss actors telling me who to vote for, or economists attempting to explain which candidate is better for the stock market.

And now that Barack Obama has been elected president of our great nation, it is time to put away blue state/red state ideals and come together. No matter who you voted for, your prayers now need to be focused on this man that has been chosen to lead.

In 1 Peter we read:

Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.
1 Peter 2:17 (New International Version)

We are called to show respect to our leaders. But beyond that, we are called to pray for them, to intercede for them with God:

I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone, for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 1 Timothy 2:1-4 (NIV)

So now it is time to put our differences behind us. We must join together as “One nation, under God” and continue the fight that God has laid out before us.

So rather than grumble that your candidate wasn’t elected, intercede for those who have been elected at all levels of government in this nation.

After all, prayer is a mighty sword!

Today is a big day in the United States. Today we we go to the polls and elect our next president and vice-president, along with other offices depending on your location. You may be voting for congressional seats or senatorial seats, mayors or city council.

Our votes will be watched by the world. While voting is a personal choice, the ramifications of our votes will be felt world-wide.

So how will you spend your time before you cast your ballot?

Some have studied the issues and chosen their candidate based on shared goals and ideals. Still others will vote based on party alignment. And others will vote based on “image,” how the candidate presents him or herself.

Unfortunately, too few voters will spend any time in prayer, seeking God’s will.

When I looked up leadership in the Bible, a passage from Luke came up. Christ was making his final decision about who to call as disciples, to follow him and assist him. But beyond this, Christ also knew that these men, these flawed humans, would be the leaders who would take the message of the risen Lord to the world after he had returned to his father’s house. In other words, he would be selecting men to enter training by his side to become the first Christian leaders.

What exactly did Christ do before making his choices?

One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles. Luke 6: 12-13.

He prayed. He went to his father and asked for guidance, for discernment and wisdom.

If Jesus was compelled to reach out to God in prayer, shouldn’t we?

So today, before you enter the voting booth, spend time in prayer, asking God’s guidance and wisdom as you make your choice.