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I have often wondered what to make of my involvement in politics as a Christian and a citizen of heaven (Phil 3:20), while living in a country and constitutional republic government that gives me the ability to vote. Should Christians vote? I am a Christian. I am a citizen of heaven, and I also happen to be an American. I am extremely grateful to live in a nation that affords me the opportunity to vote and be a part of shaping what this country is, and I'm thankful for all the sacrifices that have happened along the way to make it so. However, I do not exercise my right to vote; I believe that my place in the political arena is prayer. Before you pick up rocks to stone me, hear me out. This seems so controversial, especially to mainstream Christian culture here in America, in which I hear all the time that it is my God given responsibility to vote (or you can enter any rights argument here; such as civil rights or feminists rights for example), typically followed by which way I should vote or which candidate I should vote for. But when I read of Jesus and his involvement in the political arena of His day (which was undoubtedly just as corrupt for there is nothing new under the sun - Ecc 1:9), he didn't seem to be directly involved. Except to pay taxes and to be obedient to the governing authority (c.f. Rom 13), Jesus himself refused to become a political leader even when others tried to force Him to do so (Mat 22:15-22; Jn 6:14-15). So why is it that as Jesus’ followers, we try to primarily enact change through people in office to execute the will and morality of God, especially without prayer, when Jesus who claimed to be THE truth (Jn 14:6) and was said to be God’s exact representation (Heb 1:3), didn’t choose that method? Certainly to set up a kingdom, couldn't Jesus have been more "successful" if he used the governmental and political systems of his day? But he didn't come to set up a kingdom of man, much to the chagrin of some of his followers (Jn 18:36). Instead he chose a method of love and self-sacrifice. A method that left a relatively small number of followers at his life’s end, but followers that were so dedicated, so moved, that they in turn changed the world. And so it is today. Don't mistake me here, there is nothing inherently wrong with being involved in the political arena as a Christian or voting (and I applaud those who do so in a way that is glorifying to Christ [Col 3:17] - but that is probably more rare than we think unfortunately). I will say however that being involved in politics can be fraught with the dangers of slander, selfish ambition, back biting, and deception - things that do not represent Christ. If you are involved in the political arena, or get involved, please do so in a way that displays Christ, since you bear his name as a Christian. And if you decide to vote (or get involved in politics to whatever degree), will you first follow the scriptures (1 Tim 2:1-2) and pray before you do so? Ask yourself: do you truly trust God to put those in authority that he wants (Rom 13:1-7) for his own glory, or deep down do you think he is asleep at the wheel and not overseeing the process? Are you willing to rely on the only true power he has given you as a Christian, the power of prayer (Jam 5:16)? (Of course you can utilize lesser powers that God has allowed you to have as well, such as voting, through the political process if you should so choose). Christians have a civic responsibility to culture and society for sure, to show God's heart to the world around us through a myriad of avenues (cf. Mat 5:14), but as Christians let us not place our hope, power, and influence in the world over the Lord, for ALL authority in heaven and on earth has been given to him alone (cf. Mat 28:18). #politics #prayer #culture

As Christians we are to be slaves to God and obey human authorities that God has placed over us, whether they are benevolent or not. #biblestudy #politics

There has been a lot of talk in the past several days about there being evil on "all sides" of the issue after the recent #Charlottesville tragedy. And while I generally don't get that involved in politics, news of this has reached even my ears. Yes I think we all inherently understand that evil is always on "all sides", as in "evil is in all of us" ... but that is like saying, "There certainly are a lot of grains of sand on the seashore." It's stating something so obvious that it doesn't really mean much ... especially when there is such blatant and obvious evil that is not being specified or called out (I understand Trump specified the evil later ). Don't get me wrong, this is not really about Trump. This is about us as Christians. Whatever your political stance and preferences, and whatever your thoughts about our current president in the United States, we must remember as Christians we are citizens of heaven, of a different kingdom ... under the rule of a different king. And it is as such that we must find ourselves not trying to just be politically correct, but rather kingdom correct ... both in our thinking, our actions, and our speech (including our social media outbursts for heaven sakes!). For our king taught that hatred, violence, and enmity, not to mention retribution upon our enemies (including ones you think you have on capitol hill) - is strictly forbidden for followers of Jesus. Jesus blistered the leading majority constituents (those that held the most power and influence) of his day, calling them hypocrites, hard-hearted, children of hell, blind guides, wicked, snakes, broods of vipers, and that they would not escape being condemned to hell (Mat 23). And don't forget his campaign manager calling them a brood of vipers as well (Mat 3)! Jesus apparently didn't have a problem calling out evil when he saw it, no matter where it resided, or what kind of trouble it got him in. He even called it out amongst his closest friends and followers, calling the apostle Peter "Satan", stating that he did not have the things of God in mind but the things of men (Mat 16). Jesus also said that everyone on the side of truth listens to him - implying that we do what we hear (John 18:37; c.f. Jam 1:22). Let's listen to Jesus for a moment (who we claim as our king ... right?): “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?" (Mat 5:43-47) "Everyone will hate you because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved." (Mark 13:13) "For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander." (Mat 15:19) "But when John rebuked Herod the tetrarch because of his marriage to Herodias, his brother's wife, and all the other evil things he had done," (Lk 3:19 - there's that pesky campaign manager again) "This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed." (Jn 3:19-20) "The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that its works are evil." (Jn 7:7) As Christians who follow our Lord Jesus, let's not be afraid to call out evil , no matter where we see it. And let us call it out first and foremost whenever we see it in the mirror (Mat 7:3-5). #righteousness #racism #sin #diversity #prejudice #peace #politics #culture #kingdom

Should Christians vote? Jon discusses the intersection of the kingdom of God and politics. What does it look like to be aliens and strangers in the world, yet still be in the world? #kingdomofGod #voting #politics

An Interview with pastor Angel Maldonado and found of the And Campaign where we discuss the intersection of faith and politics and how this organization seeks to help Christian believers not compromise their biblical faith while fighting for social justice in the civic arena. Books referenced interview: Compassion & Conviction, (&) Campaign The Politics of Jesus, Yoder #politics #discipleship #race #socialjustice #justice

Continuing the Finding Our Place in God's Story series discussing what politics are like in God's kingdom and how it differs from Babylon, and how that should inform us as Christians in our modern American political landscape. #sermons #politics #kingdom #discipleship

In this session of our Jesus Centered series we take a look at politics. How does Jesus' kingdom impact and affect our political involvement and civic engagement? Jon encourages us that no matter how we choose to engage the politics of the world, or not, we do so through an explicitly Christian worldview.

What if Jesus meant every word he said? Dean Taylor is president of Sattler College in Boston and author of A Change of Allegiance , a book that chronicles his journey of faith to wrestle with the question, " what if Jesus meant every word he said ?" While a soldier in the United States Army, Dean wrestled with the idea of Christian nationalism as he and his wife sat in the bunks reading their Bible every night. They simply couldn't get past Jesus' abundantly clear teaching to love your enemy. What if Jesus really meant every word he said ... Referenced Just War Debate: "It's Just War" : https://youtu.be/K4xQaDDKY7k #interviews #nonviolence

In this interview with Tim Mackie of The Bible Project , we discuss the origins of The Bible Project and how two friends threw some videos up on Youtube that have now become a full blown Christian animation studio that is impacting how people understand, read, and engage the bible. #technology #biblestudy #spirituality

An interview with Dr. Douglas Jacoby where we discuss postmodernism and how it effects us as Christians, many times without us even knowing. #postmodernism #culture

An interview with Dr. F LaGard Smith where we discuss the narrative of "big E" evolution in our culture, and why Darwin has a problem with sex. #evolution #culture #sex

In this interview with John Eldredge of Ransomed Heart Ministries and author of Wild at Heart, we discuss what life is like in the midst of the pandemic and how we can use this as a gospel moment and be part of spiritual revival. PauseApp.com #coronavirus #culture #meditation