40 Days Left - Let's Finish Strong!

I attended another simulcast conference this morning focused upon updates to the Proposition 8 strategies around the state. Todays meeting also marked forty days of prayer left until November 4th. It was really good for me personally to be present there this morning.

I have struggled lately with the realization that my own deep felt interest in the issue of protecting the definition of marriage is not as passionately felt by many people that I come in contact with, even many that are very near and dear to me. I have even felt that my own church is hesitant to get too involved with the issue. These realizations cause me to take stock of where I find myself. Am I out of touch here? Am I making too much of this perceived threat?

This mornings meeting was a great reminder of the following truths:

God designed marriage to be one man and one women

Churches need to be informed and careful as to how they respond politically

Whether apparent or not, there really is a lot of support for Proposition 8 out there.

Voter polling regarding this issue has traditionally been off by 7-8% to the negative
(Meaning public opinion is in favor of the measure 7-8% more than reported)

Previously the State of California ballot boxes showed a 62% support for similar measures, like proposition 22, back in 2006 (75% in the county where I live)

Satan wants me to become discouraged and feel unsupported in my efforts.

At this mornings meeting, Lou Engle of The Call Ministry painted a very convincing argument that we are living in a period of State sanctioned and legalized sexual immorality very similar to that, which existed under King Ahab and his wife Queen Jezebel. The Bible lists Ahab as the most evil of all the kings before him (1 Kings 16:30). He did not make wise choices:

A Little History:
Ahab was the seventh King of Israel. He reigned for 22 years (871-852 BC). He was the son of Omri. He married Jezebel, daughter of Ethbaal, the king of the Sidonians. Ahab, under Jezebel's influence, built a pagan temple, and allowed idols into Samaria. Elijah the prophet warned Ahab that the country would suffer from drought if the cult of Baal was not removed from the land of Israel. Baal worship was accompanied with sinful sexual acts; behaviour expressly forbidden in Jehovah's law.After three years of drought, Elijah challenged Ahab and his pagan priests on Mount Carmel. God sent down fire to ignite a sacrifice, but the priests of Baal could not summon Baal to do the same. Then the people realized that God was the only true God. (1 Kings 18:18-39). Then, rains came and ended the drought.

Elijah denounced Ahab as a murderer because of the stoning of Naboth, which Jezebel, had instigated. Elijah told Ahab that dogs would lick his blood outside of the city, just as they had licked the blood of Naboth. He also told Ahab that none of his male heirs would survive and that Queen Jezebel would be torn apart by the dogs of Jezreel (1 Kings 21:17-24).

It is not hard to see Lou Engle’s point, as beacons of Light in this dark world, we Christians have a right and, ...dare I say an obligation to protect the future of this country from those that wish to sanction immorality as a social norm.

Queerly Beloved

After the California Supreme Court overturned Proposition 22 in June, pro-family policy experts forewarned dramatic changes for marriages and weddings in California and across the nation. Not only would homosexuals be allowed to redefine marriage, every aspect of this timeless relationship would be altered. Attending weddings in the future will be a very different experience.

We now have concrete evidence of just how radical the post-Proposition 22 era will be. “Brides” and "Grooms" are no longer allowed to marry in the State of California, that privilege is only extended to individuals who allow themselves to be called “Party A” and “Party B” on marriage licenses.

According to Pacific Justice Institute, a young couple's marriage license was denied by the Placer County Clerk/Recorder because it failed to comply with California State registration laws. Their offense? Writing "bride and groom" next to the license's "Party A and Party B." Writing the gender-specific terms was an "unacceptable alteration" to the new ambiguous marriage licenses.

What's next? Will the State of California force ministers to use the terms "Party A" and "Party B" in the ceremony itself?

Voters must change the state constitution by passing the Marriage Amendment (Proposition 8) in November if they wish to preserve the traditional meaning of marriage. Unless Proposition 8 is passed, heterosexual couples will be forced to wed out of the state if they wish to be officially identified as bride and groom or husband and wife. This is a major slap in the face for traditional marriage.

To make sure every young couple is able to honor their covenant relationship, join the Yes on Proposition 8 campaign!

Obama & Biden... A Bridge to Nowhere?

Years ago a friend and I joked about creating our own company called "Change Incorporated". Our business plan (Ha-Ha) was to meet the demand for change in this world by… you guessed it, providing changes for people. We joked that we would demand artistic license to change whatever we were hired to change, as WE saw fit. It was a short-lived chuckle over a beer or two. Little did we know that the 2008 Democratic Presidential ticket would steal our idea!

The Barack Obama’s “Blueprint for Change” is a 59-page document detailing Obama’s game plan to build our government into a Goliath sized welfare wagon and will replace economic incentive with legislated handcuffs. When states try these sorts of maneuvers, businesses leave them for warmer climates. Such practices on a federal level could only further stifle the U.S. economy and pound a wooden stake in the heart of the country. The only jobs that government can create are government jobs and our government is large enough now. We desperately need to provide American Businesses with all the incentives we can so that we can stimulate businesses to create more jobs and restore the economy.

The ideas Senator Obama puts forth in this liberal manifesto sound encouraging, generous, magnanimous and enabling, kind of like the mythical “free lunch”, but these ideas are dangerous and ill conceived. This so called “Blueprint” has NOT had the benefit of the plan check process. Almost every “supposed solution” that Obama promotes has a huge price tag associated with its realistic establishment. The document outlines the creation of countless new government agencies and subsidies. Translation: Bigger government and more taxes. Also included is the extensive use of the Internet to operate the business of the United States government. No doubt he’ll be getting most of his assistance from Al Gore with this part of the plan, unless Al is too busy saving the planet.

In all fairness, new ideas are needed to improve the mess that we are in. Real reform is required in numerous departments in Washington, but larger government and more taxes would move us in the wrong direction. When families struggle with managing their finances, they too often think that more money is the solution to the problem. But the problem is management, not money. Statistics prove that more money just makes for a larger problem. The same is true with government. Additionally, Obama’s blueprint for change has Grand titles and notions but little substance. Even Hillary Clinton during the primaries pointed out that there are very few specifics outlined in the document.

So, how do we obtain REAL REFORM?

We elect people who are real reformers. People with a proven track record, with the ability to take on the old school, wasteful crowd of politicians, no matter the party and put the needs of the people first. Senator McCain & Governor Palin are such people and have reformers records to prove it. Obama is a two-year-old U.S. Senator with the most liberal spending record in the senate. His running mate is a dyed in the wool liberal, a plagiarizing 30 year old senator with the 2nd highest spending record in the senate. Neither has spent any time reaching across the aisle to create a unified bipartisan coalition of reform. Their plans for America are poorly planned and un-supported, much like a “Bridge to Nowhere”.

Governor Palin already has experience in dismantling such useless structures. She and John McCain have a Blueprint of their own. It includes a widely swinging wrecking ball of reform for Washington. McCain has promised to veto the very first pork barrel spending bill to hit his desk when he is president and to let the nation know just who authored it.

We don’t need “bridges to nowhere” or “blueprints that can’t pass plan check”

Profile in Courage

Many by now have been introduced to Governor Sarah Palin and have witnessed the meteoric rise to national attention in just these last few weeks. This well loved and respected governor of Alaska (80% approval rating) was introduced to the country as a God fearing, pro-life, pro-gun, reformer candidate. Her pro-life stance is personified in Trig, her 4-month-old child with Downs’s syndrome. Her desire to deliver and raise a child with such a challenge in these times of abortion on demand, speaks volumes to the conservative, pro-life American community. Here is a woman, who practices what she preaches, whose word is her bond. During her career in politics, the headlines have painted her to be an aggressive reformer. She is principled and unashamedly submits her principals to scrutiny.

Well, the media has lost little time in attempting to find fault with her. Revelations regarding her seventeen-year-old daughters pregnancy are being used to try and make her appear as a hypocrite. There is an argument being made that, if it is revealed that your family has flaws in areas you espouse to be core values, then you must just be spinning the truth and your stated beliefs are just fluff, packaged for general distribution to the voters to win you a spot on the American stage.

But when it comes to your core values and your moral compass, it is not your circumstances that prove your sincerity, but your actions when under the pressure of dealing with those circumstances. People are imperfect. Bad stuff happens, even with the best of intentions. It is the reason why we are all in need of a Savior. It is times like these when the moral compass is needed most to stand firm and do the right thing. Governor Palin would prefer no doubt to not have the issue of her daughters pregnancy be plaguing her campaign right now – the highlight of her career in politics. But the facts are the facts and she has rightly and appropriately addressed the issue by loving and supporting her daughter and embracing this new life, because that is a true expression of her core values.

Bravery does not imply the absence of fear, but the ability to rise above the crippling power of fear and not be controlled by it. The courageous person, especially one with intellectual courage, must learn to endure suffering and hardship in the interests of the truth and to continue attacking harmful falsehoods even when it is risky and painful. For the Christian courage comes from a deep confident understanding in God’s providential care of His children.

Both Senator John McCain and Governor Sarah Palin are Brave leaders of America; reminding us that Core Christian values do matter and have a place in the voting booth

Obama's Inexperience - Exposed

The Democrats' golden boy, Barack Obama, showed once again this week that he is not ready for the presidency. In trying to make himself appear to have experience, he's now claiming that "running for president" gives him experience to be president. That is the craziest thing I have ever heard. That would basically qualify anyone who runs for president to have the necessary experience. He was trying to draw contrast between himself and GOP Vice Presidential Nominee Gov. Sarah Palin. As noted on FOX News, in an interview Obama said:

"Well, my understanding is that Governor Palin's town of Wasilla has, I think, 50 employees. We've got 2,500 in this campaign. I think their budget is maybe $12 million a year. You know, we have a budget of about three times that just for the month. So I think that our ability to manage large systems and to execute I think has been made clear over the last couple of years," Obama said.

This is ridiculous on many levels. First, for Obama, who's running for president, to try to make himself look better by going after Palin, who's running for vice president, shows that Obama can't even keep his eye on the target. His opponent is McCain, and voters will be voting for either McCain or Obama.
Second, Obama tries to compare his operation to Gov. Palin's by using budget and personnel numbers when she was MAYOR. The Obama campaign seems to forget that she is governor of Alaska. As McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds notes, "It is a testament to Barack Obama's inexperience and failing qualifications that he would stoop to passing off his candidacy as comparable to Governor Sarah Palin's executive experience managing a budget of over $10 billion and more than 24,000 employees."

Obama is too liberal and too inexperienced to be president. Hopefully America will see the light. There is too much at stake.