Unseen Consequences

The U.N. believes that, due to the world's financial crisis, more children will be driven into the sex trade. It is hard to think of anything more horrifying in this world. Yet another reason to pray, especially on this day when we have so much to be thankful for.

For Your Thanksgiving

Ten weird gourmet foods. My favorite? Live Baby Octopus:

Here’s a food that wouldn’t be so strange if it was served in any other manner. Even other foods eaten alive, like shrimp aren’t that strange, the main thing here is the whole life-threatening thing. Live octopi can choke you with their moving tentacles. It’s a real-life kill or be killed situation.

Dipping your dinner in alcohol is said to help knock them out momentarily and make them less deadly, but that is to be debated. Truly skilled baby octopi eaters will barely chew their meals before gulping them down, but amateurs generally choose to chew them thoroughly -which can take up to 15 minutes.

On The Sovereignty of God and Suffering

Charles Spurgeon:

There is no attribute more comforting to His children than that of God's sovereignty. Under the most adverse circumstances, in the most severe trials, they believe that sovereignty has ordained their afflictions, that sovereignty overrules them, and that sovereignty will sanctify them all. There is nothing for which the children ought to more earnestly contend to than the doctrine of their Master over all creation--the Kingship of God over all the works of His own hands--the Throne of God and His right to sit upon that throne...for it is God upon the Throne whom we trust.

On How to Glorify a Mountain Spring

From John Piper's The Pleasures of God:

God has no needs that I could ever be required to satisfy. God has no deficiencies that I might be required to supply. He is complete in himself. He is overflowing with happiness in the fellowship of the Trinity. The upshot of this is that God is a mountain spring, not a watering trough. A mountain spring is self-replenishing. It constantly overflows and supplies others. But a watering trough needs to be filled with a pump or a bucket brigade. So if you want to glorify the worth of a watering trough you work hard to keep it full and useful. If you want to glorify the worth of a spring you do it by getting down on your hands and knees and drinking to your heart's satisfaction, until you have the refreshment and strength to go back down in the valley and tell people what you've found.

Interview with Sara Groves

St. Sara is interviewed about her new Christmas record.

Snuggie

Three reasons I need this:

1. I realize now that all my current clothes are crap.
2. When Elizabeth starts playing soccer, I don't want to be the only idiot without a Snuggie.
3. I've been looking for an outfit to cast spells in.

EMP

From the WSJ, creepy:

Think about this scenario: An ordinary-looking freighter ship heading toward New York or Los Angeles launches a missile from its hull or from a canister lowered into the sea. It hits a densely populated area. A million people are incinerated. The ship is then sunk. No one claims responsibility. There is no firm evidence as to who sponsored the attack, and thus no one against whom to launch a counterstrike.

But as terrible as that scenario sounds, there is one that is worse. Let us say the freighter ship launches a nuclear-armed Shahab-3 missile off the coast of the U.S. and the missile explodes 300 miles over Chicago. The nuclear detonation in space creates an electromagnetic pulse (EMP).

Gamma rays from the explosion, through the Compton Effect, generate three classes of disruptive electromagnetic pulses, which permanently destroy consumer electronics, the electronics in some automobiles and, most importantly, the hundreds of large transformers that distribute power throughout the U.S. All of our lights, refrigerators, water-pumping stations, TVs and radios stop running. We have no communication and no ability to provide food and water to 300 million Americans.

This is what is referred to as an EMP attack, and such an attack would effectively throw America back technologically into the early 19th century. It would require the Iranians to be able to produce a warhead as sophisticated as we expect the Russians or the Chinese to possess. But that is certainly attainable. Common sense would suggest that, absent food and water, the number of people who could die of deprivation and as a result of social breakdown might run well into the millions.

Let us be clear. A successful EMP attack on the U.S. would have a dramatic effect on the country, to say the least. Even one that only affected part of the country would cripple the economy for years. Dropping nuclear weapons on or retaliating against whoever caused the attack would not help. And an EMP attack is not far-fetched.

One Sentence Movie Reviews

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull:

I waited 19 years for this?

Hellboy 2: The Golden Army:

Is there a machine that will insert me into the mind of Guillermo del Toro?

WALL-E:

Nearly perfect.

The Old Testament on Broadway!

Well, sort of. Fox News:

Cannibalism, rape, a bear that mauls children — this is the Bible?

They're among six stories from the Old Testament acted out in "Terror Texts," a musical at Northwestern College in Orange City.

Adding to the shocking nature of the stories are the theatrics, with actors decked out in Goth attire, a rock band and a mosh pit.

Getting on my knees right now and pleading to God that he bring this show up my way.

Whole thing.

Calvinism is Irrational

Or so says Michael Patton, cleverly. He writes,

...the Calvinist is not satisfied with a redefining of God’s predestination. To the Calvinists, man is fully responsible for his choice, yet God’s election is unconditional. Therefore, there is a tension that is created between human responsibility and God’s election. This tension is left in tact since, according to the Calvinist, it is best understood this way in Scripture. To redefine predestination to suit one’s need to alleviate tension seems to be a very rationalistic approach to doctrine. While there is nothing wrong with using one’s reason to understand truth, there are problems when reason takes priority over revelation.

This is one of the mistakes that I believe the Arminian system of conditional election/predestination makes. There is no need to solve all tensions, especially when the solution comes at the expense of one’s interpretive integrity. There are many tensions in Scripture. There are many things that, while not irrational, just don’t make sense. The doctrine of the Trinity, the Hypostatic Union, creation out of nothing all fit this category. So does human responsibility and unconditional election. God’s sovereign unconditional election can stand side-by-side with man’s responsibility without creating a formal contradiction. We may not know how to reconcile these two issues, but that does not mean God does not know how. Their co-existence does not take away from their collective truthfulness.

I believe that the Arminian system sacrifices biblical integrity for the sake of intelligibility and doctrinal harmony. The Calvinistic system allows tension and mysteries to remain for the sake of Biblical fidelity.

I have had people say to me (often) that they are not Calvinists because the system attempts to be too systematic with all its points for the sake of the system itself. I think that it is just the opposite. The Calvinistic system creates more tensions than it solves, but seeks to remain faithful to God’s word rather than human intelligibility.

Read the whole thing.

It looks like this post is an indirect rebuttal to a similar, contrary piece by Ben Witherington on Piper and the supposed "negative Calvinists." Worth a read.

Mueller on Faith

More amazing stuff from his autobiography:

The following guidelines will help a believer build his faith:

1. Carefully read the Word and meditate on it. Through reading the Word of God, and especially through meditation on it, the believer becomes acquainted with the nature and character of God. Besides God's holiness and justice, he realizes what a kind, loving, gracious, merciful, mighty, wise, and faithful Father He is. Therefore, in poverty, affliction, death of loved ones, difficulty in service, or financial need, he will rest on the ability of God to help him. He has learned from the Word that God is almighty in power, infinite in wisdom, and ready to help and deliver His people. Reading the Word of God, together with meditation on it, is an excellent way to strengthen faith.

2. We must maintain an upright heart and a good conscience and not knowingly and habitually indulge in things which are contrary to the mind of God. How can I possibly continue to act in faith if I grieve the Lord and detract from His glory and honor? All my confidence in God and all my leaning on Him in the hour of trial will be gone if I have a guilty conscience and yet continue in sin. If I cannot trust in God because of a guilty conscience, my faith is weakened. With every fresh trial, faith either increases by trusting God and getting help, or it decreases by not trusting Him. A habit of self-dependence is either defeated or encouraged. If we trust in God, we do not trust in ourselves, our fellowmen, circumstances, or in anything else. If we do trust in one or more of these, we do not trust in God.

3. If we desire our faith to be strengthened, we should not shrink from opportunities where our faith may be tried. The more I am in a position to be tried in faith, the more I will have the opportunity of seeing God's help and deliverance. Every fresh instance in which He helps and delivers me will increase my faith. The believer should not shrink from situations, positions, or circumstances in which his faith may be tried, but he should cheerfully embrace them as opportunities to see the hand of God stretched out in help and deliverance. Thus his faith will be strengthened.

4. The last important point for the strengthening of our faith is that we let God work for us and do not work a deliverance of our own. When a trial of faith comes, we are naturally inclined to distrust God and to trust in ourselves, in our friends, or in circumstances. We would rather work a deliverance of our own than simply look to God and wait for His help. But if we do not patiently wait for God's help or if we work a deliverance of our own, then at the next trial of our faith we will have the same problem. We will again be inclined to try and deliver ourselves. With every fresh trial, our faith will decrease. On the contrary, if we stand firm in order to see the salvation of God, trusting in Him alone, our faith will be increased. Every time we see the hand of God stretched out on our behalf in the hour of trial, our faith would be increased even more. God will prove His willingness to help and deliver at the perfect time.

Scriptural principles may be used to overcome the difficulties in business or any earthly calling. The children of God, who are strangers and pilgrims on earth, should expect to have difficulty in the world, for they are not at home here. But the Lord has provided us with promises in His Word to cause us to triumph over circumstances. All difficulties may be overcome by acting according to the Word of God.

Cats-O-The-Week

Awesome Surfer Speak

Fight Porn

...with the help of Mark Driscoll in his free online book, Porn-Again Christian. Download the entire thing here for printing.

Neti Pot

Number one item on my Christmas wish list:

Is Obama the Anti-Christ?

Michael McKinley from 9 Marks:

I don't know if Obama is a Christian or not. If he's not, then he's antichrist in the sense that anyone who is not for Jesus is against him (Luke 11:23). But then so is my next door neighbor who smokes pot in his garage until 5:00 AM on Sunday mornings. Whether or not the president-elect is for Jesus or against him isn't my call to make.

But more importantly, this question seems to take a very America-centric view of eschatology. Monsters like Hitler, Idi Amin, Pol Pot, and Josef Stalin have all risen and fallen and have not been the harbinger of the end times. But this guy wants to socialize our health care, and Jesus is supposed to be so enraged that he will come storming back to save us?

Please. The Christian faith is doing great. Christ's church is being built. The gospel is exploding in other parts of the world. It's not the end of the world... just because you think America's going down the tubes or because you don't like the guy elected to lead one branch of the government for the next four years.

If you're struggling... just take a deep breath, put down your copy of Left Behind, and pray for the president-elect.

Well said. Though I am sure the Antichrist won't be a champion for the unborn.

God Exists

Or, ten arguments that say he does.

To the Riches of the Lord Only

George Mueller, On February 8th in the evening:

The little donations that came in today are precious, but they are not enough to meet the need of tomorrow. Before nine o'clock in the morning we need more money to buy milk. Truly, we are poorer than ever. Through grace my eyes do not look at the meager supplies and the empty purse, but to the riches of the Lord only.

The Faith of our New President

Joe Carter writes today on a transcript that was just released of an interview on the faith of Barack Obama. He writes:

If you tell me that you’re a "Christian" I take that to mean that you subscribe to a common set of doctrines outlined in either the Apostle’s Creed or the Nicene Creed. Both of these creeds are ecumenical Christian statements of faith accepted by the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, and almost all branches of Protestantism. They outline what it means to be a "mere" Christian.

Included within these creeds is the belief that Jesus is the "Son of God", that Christ is a divine being. From this interview it does not appear that Obama believes this is true:

FALSANI: Who’s Jesus to you? (Obama laughs nervously)

OBAMA: Right. Jesus is an historical figure for me, and he’s also a bridge between God and man, in the Christian faith, and one that I think is powerful precisely because he serves as that means of us reaching something higher. And he’s also a wonderful teacher. I think it’s important for all of us, of whatever faith, to have teachers in the flesh and also teachers in history.

This is, of course, exactly wrong. Jesus is not merely a "bridge" between God and man, Jesus is both fully-human and fully divine. Obama’s statement is more akin to something his role model Ghandi would say, rather than the claim made by an orthodox believer.

In fact, nowhere in the interview did I ever get the impression that Obama subscribes to even the most basic beliefs that are typically associated with being a Christian.

Carter concludes:

1. Obama is not a orthodox Christian. He may call himself a "Christian" in the same way that some Unitarians use the term to refer to themselves. But his beliefs do not seem to be in line with the historic definition.

2. In the 20 years that Obama attended Trinity, did he never hear a clear exposition of the Gospel? Did the Rev. Jeremiah Wright never once preach on the need for a saving faith in Christ? If not, then that is more scandalous than any of the anti-American remarks Wright made from the pulpit.

3. Although I already pray for Obama (as the Bible commands me to do) I now realize that I also need to pray for his eternal soul and not just that he be an effective leader of our nation. I also pray that he will find a spiritual leader who will help lead him to a true knowledge of Christ.

Read the whole thing to hear more of how Obama understands Christianity.

Spiritual Discipline

Maintaining a life devoted to practicing the spiritual disciplines is not easy. Most of us are not super disciplined people. Like the cereal we eat, we get bored or distracted and change things up. That's not very helpful when trying to become better prayers and readers of scripture.

I don't have any silver bullet answers to this problem, but there are some things that have helped me as of late:

1. You've got to remove things to add things. You won't be inclined to pray, to read the scriptures, or to meditate if you don't have time to do it. However, if you intentionally remove some things, you'll have the chance to fill that open space with something good. For example, I have stopped listening to the radio entirely. No more politics, no more sports. I don't even listen to music that much. I have filled that void with either (1) silence/prayer or (2) listening to something edifying, like a sermon or the Bible on CD (more on that in another post).

2. Read biographies of Christians who have practiced the spiritual disciplines well. I am almost through with George Mueller's autobiography. He was a truly astonishing man who depended entirely on God for everything. And more importantly, his prayers never went unanswered. That is encouraging to me and makes me want to hit my knees. Other Christians who had great spiritual discipline were A.W. Tozer and Jim Eliot.

3. Listen to and read Piper on prayer. He preaches on prayer at least once a year (maybe twice). It is always a great encouragement to pick up my prayer life after listening to him. Piper's another person with great spiritual discipline.

4. Have people hold you accountable. There's nothing like other people in your life helping you live a life of God-centeredness. Get into a group that will hold you accountable to reading the Bible regularly and praying.

On Questioning God

Is it right to question God when experiencing tremendous hardship and grief? Al Mohler answers this question well (as always) here. His answer is rooted in his belief that God is sovereign over all thing. In my estimation, it's the only rational and satisfying way to understand suffering. I hope you read it.

Pray/Give for the People of the Congo

From CT today:

Earlier today, an e-mail from National Association of Evangelicals president Leith Anderson called our attention to renewed conflict and an exacerbated humanitarian crisis in the North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire).

The situation there “in dire need of our attention,” wrote Anderson. “Violence has forced more than 250,000 to flee their homes in the last two months alone.” In the past decade, approximately 5 million have died as a result of the violence.

Similar appeals have appeared from a variety of NGOs, including Mercy Corps and the International Rescue Committee.

Anderson’s message focused on the resources provided by World Relief (a subsidiary of the National Association of Evangelicals and—full disclosure—the employer of Barbara Galli, wife of CT Senior Managing Editor Mark Galli). World Relief has posted a video appeal from Lynn Hybels, advocate for global engagement at Willow Creek Community Church, South Barrington, Illinois.

Anderson is urging evangelical churches to show Hybels’s passionate video over the next few weeks and to encourage their members to respond to the crisis in the DRC.

Below is a picture of two children in the middle of the crisis. From the AP:

Protegee, carrying her sibling on her back, cries as she looks for her parents through the village of Kiwanja, north of Goma, eastern Congo on Thursday Nov. 6. A fragile cease-fire in Congo appeared to be unraveling Thursday as the U.N. said battles between warlord Laurent Nkunda’s rebels and the army spread to another town in the volatile country’s east.

On Being Able to Go to God for Help

George Mueller wrote in his journal on November 13:

I took one shilling out of the box in my house. This shilling was all our money for today. More than a hundred people must be provided for, and this is not the case once in a while, but very frequently.

And where most of us would despair, Mueller praises:

It is infinitely precious to have the living God as a Father to go to for help.

(from his Autobiography, p. 143)

Obama Zombies

Hehe.

Top Ten Things Americans Ask Brits

Oh man, I love Ricky Gervais.

More on the Significance of the Election of an African-American

Eugene Robinson, in his op-ed, in this morning's WaPo:

It's safe to say that I've never had such a deeply emotional reaction to a presidential election. I've found it hard to describe, though, just what it is that I'm feeling so strongly.

It's obvious that the power of this moment isn't something that only African Americans feel. When President Bush spoke about the election yesterday, he mentioned the important message that Americans will send to the world, and to themselves, when the Obama family moves into the White House.

For African Americans, though, this is personal.

I can't help but experience Obama's election as a gesture of recognition and acceptance -- which is patently absurd, if you think about it. The labor of black people made this great nation possible. Black people planted and tended the tobacco, indigo and cotton on which America's first great fortunes were built. Black people fought and died in every one of the nation's wars. Black people fought and died to secure our fundamental rights under the Constitution. We don't have to ask for anything from anybody.

Yet something changed on Tuesday when Americans -- white, black, Latino, Asian -- entrusted a black man with the power and responsibility of the presidency. I always meant it when I said the Pledge of Allegiance in school. I always meant it when I sang the national anthem at ball games and shot off fireworks on the Fourth of July. But now there's more meaning in my expressions of patriotism, because there's more meaning in the stirring ideals that the pledge and the anthem and the fireworks represent.

It's not that I would have felt less love of country if voters had chosen John McCain. And this reaction I'm trying to describe isn't really about Obama's policies. I'll disagree with some of his decisions, I'll consider some of his public statements mere double talk and I'll criticize his questionable appointments. My job will be to hold him accountable, just like any president, and I intend to do my job.

For me, the emotion of this moment has less to do with Obama than with the nation. Now I know how some people must have felt when they heard Ronald Reagan say "it's morning again in America." The new sunshine feels warm on my face.

HT: JH

Billy Graham is 90

Read Piper's reflection on him here. My favorite section (and most challenging):

He is famous for saying that he preached too much and studied too little.

One of my great regrets is that I have not studied enough. I wish I had studied more and preached less. People have pressured me into speaking to groups when I should have been studying and preparing. Donald Barnhouse said that if he knew the Lord was coming in three years, he would spend two of them studying and one preaching. I’m trying to make it up. (Christianity Today, September 23, 1977)

This is especially ironic in view of Pollock’s 1966 description of Billy’s habits of study:

Beyond all else Billy Graham studies the Bible, the supreme authority for his belief and action. Every day he reads five Psalms, covering the psalter in a month, and one chapter of Proverbs, the book that “shows us how to relate our own lives to our fellow men.” He reads through a Gospel each week, using commentaries and modern translations, and constantly returns to the Acts of the Apostles. He annotates throughout the Bible. “Sometimes His word makes such an impact on me that I have to put the Bible down and walk around for a few moments to catch my breath.” He learns great stretches by heart…. (Pollock, 248)

A Suntan, That's It

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi (Reuters):

I will try to help relations between Russia and the United States where a new generation has come to power, and I don't see problems for Medvedev to establish good relations with Obama who is also handsome, young and suntanned.

Why It is Important that this President is Black

Everyone (most everyone) on the right came out after Obama's win and said, "Well, it's good that the country has grown up enough to elect an African-American president." I scoffed at that. Not because it wasn't good, but because it didn't matter to me. "Who cares? Our only concern should have been the ideas he stands for, not the color of his skin." But that was naive. For two reasons: (1) I am not a racist, and (2) I did not grow up in a racist culture. It took Anthony Bradley, a brother in Christ, theologian and author, to show me that the election of Barack Obama is huge.

Please read his phenomenal article he wrote for World Magazine. He writes:

When CNN announced that Barack Obama had the electoral votes needed to win, the euphoria in the room I was in was deafening. I had never experienced anything quite like it. Many of us stood still in shock while others jumped and danced followed by people weeping.

I was so confident that Obama was going to win the election I skipped a McCain-Palin party last night to attend an election night gathering co-hosted by two St. Louis R&B and hip-hop radio stations. Although I disagree with Obama’s views on abortion and his economic philosophy, among other things, I wanted to witness the reaction and celebration with an all-black crowd. I was not prepared for what happened: Euphoria and weeping about a man representing an idea.

Bradley Continues:

Leading up to Obama’s victory speech, the DJ would insert the question, “Are you guys ready for the first black president?” The room would then erupt in cheers and whistling. Then it hit me: For the folks in this room this election was not about policy but an idea. I’ve been told my whole life that a black man could never become the nation’s president. I will never forget hearing those words escape the mouth of Peter Jennings a few years ago on the “ABC Nightly News,” as he reported the findings of a study on race.

I stood in front of the television stunned and discouraged.

Last night, however, the idea that someone other than a white man, a mixed-race man, in fact, could become president became a reality. The realization of this idea created a contagion of cheers and weeping. I wish my grandparents, who lived under the tyranny of Jim Crow laws in the South and through the turmoil of the civil-rights movement, could have lived to see what happened last night. They would be very happy.

John McCain had no idea how powerful his words were when he said, “This is an historic election, and I recognize the special significance it has for African Americans and for the special pride that must be theirs tonight.” On hearing this, the room erupted again in celebration. Who would have ever imagined the first lady of the United States would be a black woman?

For many in the room I realized that “change” was not so much about political change but cultural change. There was a determination to vote a man into office that represented a possibility—namely, that a black man could be president.

He concludes, focusing attention on Evangelicalism:

A black pastor friend in North Carolina called and asked, “Anthony, can you believe it?” We were sobered by the fact that evangelicalism essentially has no Asians, Latinos, or blacks that share the influence and respect of men like John Piper, Tim Keller, John MacArthur, Mark Dever, James Dobson, Chuck Colson, and so on (unless the topic is related to race). Oddly, conservative evangelical’s favorite black go-to guy is a Roman Catholic named Alan Keyes. Is that the best evangelicals can come up with?

Even though some conservative evangelicals, in talking about me, have said “Bradley’s an ignorant baboon,” there is hope for change in an idea in evangelicalism, too. Concerning this election, my theology frees me from anxiety about America in a world sustained by God, but it raises a new interesting set of questions about the church in America and whom we consider our leaders.

Again, the whole thing is phenomenal. Though I am terrified that Obama will make it easier to kill babies, I am happy that one good idea has broken through: the color of your skin should mean nothing. God is slowly restoring relations among the races. No, he won't make us all look the same. Rather, we will someday say joyfully, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus," (Galatians 3:28).

My hope for the country is that we would quickly move past this. Ultimately, race doesn't matter. Ideas matter. It is most excellent that our president is African-America. It is highly unfortunate that this African-American man's ideas are so godless.

And yet, we can rejoice for now. Our president is black.

Eric Redmond on Voting

Yet another thing to read. This is good, though. It is from Eric Redmond, an African-American pastor and author, on his dilemma in the voting booth last night. He writes:

So I made two very difficult choices: First, I chose to vote rather than stay home. Second, I voted for lives of the unborn rather than for approval from the vast majority of my own ethnic community. The latter choice took the risk of being reproached for the name of Christ, for I only voted for life because of the fear of my Lord (cf. Ex. 1:15-2:12). I know such a choice risks invoking the ire or dismissal of the overwhelming majority of the African American community. Yet, on a most historic Election Day, I could not allow my personal pro-life stance to crumble under the weight of being perceived as a traitor to the African American cause for victory, for that goes against all godly wisdom:

If you faint in the day of adversity,
your strength is small.
Rescue those who are being taken away to death;
hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter.
If you say, “Behold, we did not know this,”
does not he who weighs the heart perceive it?
Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it,
and will he not repay man according to his work?
Prov. 24:10-12, ESV

I cast my vote in the hopes of rescuing those being taken to the slaughter. I could not vote in such a way that I would have ignored the blood flowing from fertility clinics, for I know that the Almighty would repay my cowardice. My hope in his word is that he will remember me and graciously and provide for my life, repaying me with mercy.

Read the whole thing.

Content

I am oddly content the morning after. And I was relatively hopeful that McCain could pull it out, despite the polls. But when FoxNews called Ohio for Obama, and I knew it was over, I quietly walked over to the TV and turned it off, content.

Though I know Obama will do everything he can, even if passively, to make abortion in America more accessible, I am satisfied that he will be my president. That's only because God is my God. And God is Obama's God (even if his beliefs are errant). And that means God is entirely in charge of Obama. Entirely. President Obama will do nothing outside of the sovereign control of God, and that leads me to contentment.

Nevertheless, our task is prayer. I am learning that more and more. I am in the middle of George Muller's Autobiography. Overseeing many orphanages in the 19th century, he lived a life of faith and prayer, always expectant that God would provide for him. Thoughts of his life permeated my soul last night as Obama won state after state. "Pray," I thought. Pray for Obama, for my state, for my leaders, for the voters, for the world. God will give us everything we need. Read this excerpt from Muller's work (p. 41-42):

In March I was again tempted to doubt the faithfulness of the Lord. Although I was not worried about money, I was not fully resting upon Him so that I could triumph with joy. One hour later the Lord gave me another proof of His faithful love. A Christian lady brought five sovereigns for us, with these words written on paper: "I was hungry and ye gave me meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink."

On the morning of April 16 our money was reduced to three shillings. I said to myself, "I must now go and ask the Lord earnestly for fresh supplies." But before I had prayed, two pounds were sent from Exeter as proof that the Lord hears before we call.

Some may say that such a way of life leads a Christian away from the Lord and from caring about spiritual things. They say it may cause the mind to be occupied with questions like: "What shall I eat, what shall I drink, and what shall I wear?" I have experienced both ways and know that my present manner of living by trusting God for temporal things is connected with less care. Trusting the Lord for the supply of my temporal needs keeps me from anxious thoughts like: "Will my salary last and will I have enough for the next month?” In this freedom I am able to say, “My Lord is not limited. He knows my present situation, and He can supply all I need." Rather than causing anxiety, living by faith in God alone keeps my heart in perfect peace.

May we be filled with faith like Muller, praying all the while that God would do as he pleases and that we would be happy.

Stuff to Read, the Day After

Much to read today on the election of Barack Obama. Here is some stuff from my corner of the world you might find interesting:

Al Mohler.
Michael Gerson, here and here.
Denny Burk.
Randy Alcorn.
Justin Taylor.

Finally, Doug Groothuis:

Weep

Weep for America,
you who have tears
left for truth.

Weep for the continued
and soon to be intensified
slaughter of the innocents.

Weep for the supernatural stupefaction
that has overtaken us.

Weep that character
no longer counts,
that image is everything.

Weep that America has forgotten her
birthright.

Weep.

If the Patriots Can Lose the Superbowl...

...Barack Obama can lose this election.

UPDATE:

John McCain is no Eli Manning.

The Choice for President Seems Clear

Pro-Life, or Anti-Abortion?

Stinging, true words here from Dan Edelen:

Well, conservative Christians are most definitely prolife, right? Not really. What we are is antiabortion. We are by no means prolife. If we were truly prolife then orphanages would be relegated solely to Dickens’s Oliver Twist, and nursing homes would be empty, instead of filled with our elderly parents. Again, what we are against and what we are for are not the same thing. We have to stop pretending they are.

HT: Z

For Your Good

The Apostle Paul, Romans 13:1-7:

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

The Only Reason to Weigh In

From Randy Alcorn's blog today:

The only reason I weighed in on this election is because of the biblical and moral implications of child-killing. And yes, I still do believe that with all the other issues that matter, and there are many of them, not one of them (either in viciousness, defenselessness of the victims, or total fatalities) outweighs the holocaust of children, over a million of them each year. And while numerous people keep asking me why I'm not speaking up for children already born, my answer remains the same--no presidential candidate favors the legalized killing of children who are already born.

Read the whole thing.