A VOTE OF REPENTANCE

“Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD…”

The words in this twelfth verse of the thirty-third psalm have rung true for generations. When a nation makes it’s God the Lord, that nation will be blessed. The United States of America was founded by men of God, in the name of Jesus Christ, to be a beacon of light in this dark world. That is exactly what this nation has been…a light in the darkness…until recently.

I won’t get into much detail, but we have slowly forsaken God in this nation. If you were to look back at when we started to turn our backs on God, a good place to start would be when we started revising the truth of America’s godly history in the name of economics(around 1930). Then, of course, our lack of trust in Christ was obvious not long after WWII, when our courts began to incrementally remove the blessing of God on this nation.

Now, beloved, we have removed God from our government, our schools, even most of our churches…yet we wonder why this nation is losing the blessing and protection of God Almighty. You can look at the gas prices, the economic crisis, the violence in our schools, and the obviously corrupt leadership of this nation. Have you yet asked the question, “Why?” Why are all of these things happening to us? Could it be that God is allowing these things? Of course he allows these things. But, the bigger question is this, “Is it God’s hand which is bringing these things upon us?” Just read Deuteronomy 28. Of course God is bringing these things upon us. You might say, “A loving God would never…” Beloved, God is bringing these judgments upon this nation because he is a loving God. All he is saying is, “Please, turn back to me. Repent and I will heal your land.”

Well, I guess you are wondering why I named this article, “A Vote of Repentance”. I have talked with several Christians about the upcoming election. When I am asked what I think about John McCain, I have been largely frowned upon. My answer is simple, “I cannot and will not vote for the lesser of two evils.” That’s unpopular, especially when you have someone like Obama on the other side. Well, I can’t say that I don’t understand the motives of someone that would say that. No Christian should ever wish Obama in office (someone needs to tell that to these popular TV preachers like Paula White and T.D. Jakes). But here is a major flaw I continue to find in the people who are supporting McCain. The major argument I get is that anyone would be better than Obama.

Let’s take a detour really quickly. After the Rick Warren “Civil Forum”, it would be easy to say that McCain is the guy we want. But, don’t just believe the guy because he says he is pro-life. Do a little research and you will find that he believes that abortion is OK in cases of rape and incest. Now, is that something we should overlook? John McCain said that he believes that life begins at conception. So here’s the question for Mr. McCain, “If life begins at conception, is there any instance when we should murder that child?” He’s already answered that. And he is dead wrong. It is never OK to kill an innocent person.

“So what are we supposed to do…not vote?” Absolutely not. Your vote is the currency of your virtue. What if I were to tell you that God has raised up a man for such a time as this? There is a man running named Alan Keyes. I would encourage you to go to his website at http://www.americasrevival.com. I’m not his spokesman, but I have to tell you that this is the man that God has raised up to lead this nation. Where is he going? Back to the God of the Bible.

This letter is only to encourage all of you to seek God. Ask the Lord what he really desires of you. I am not, at all, casting judgment on any of you. But I have to tell you the truth. If you do your research on Mr. Keyes, you will find that he has a heart that pants after the Lord. His will is to bring this nation back to Jesus Christ. So ask yourself this, “If this is the man God has raised up, can I vote for someone else?” Beloved, it matters not of what we think his chances are. The only thing that matters is doing the will of the Father.

Let me finish by saying that I don’t believe that the fate of this once godly nation rests on the shoulders of any man. No, it’s only when the church of Jesus Christ repents. And, beloved, that is exactly what a vote for Alan Keyes would be…a vote of repentance.

In Christian love,
Adam Tennant

“GET A LIFE!”

Hello beloved,

I would like to share with you today, a statement I often get from passersby while standing in the streets for the sake of the gospel. Anyone that has ever gone out on the streets has most likely heard it. Due to the fact that we make the choice to go to the abortion mill on a Saturday morning, when we could be doing so many other things, people assume that we need to “get a life”. At first, I usually smile when I get this comment because of it’s absurdity. But, then I am saddened because I realize that that individual has not yet found life. The truth is, that person, if he or she were to die today, would have to embrace the consequences of all the decisions he or she has made; none of which have anything to do with life. That person would go straight to hell. And it’s our job to do all that we can to try to prevent that.

Most of the time, you won’t have a chance to talk to these people as they drive by. But, you’ll run into them if you go out to the malls to witness to them. And sometimes you will find that you can’t explain anything to them. They are just fools delighting in their folly and answering them will make you take part in their foolishness.

Remember, you have to use discernment when witnessing. If they are completely unreceptive, move on. By the way, they might be yelling at you, but their anger is actually directed elsewhere. It’s Jesus that they hate.

Well, let’s move on to the scripture. Solomon opens a window to us of how we may attain life. Proverbs 8:32-36 says, “32 Now then, my sons, listen to me; blessed are those who keep my ways. 33 Listen to my instruction and be wise; do not ignore it. 34 Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway. 35 For whoever finds me finds life and receives favor from the LORD. 36 But whoever fails to find me harms himself; all who hate me love death.”

So, how do you attain life? You must find Wisdom. Matthew Henry says that “Wisdom, here is Christ, in whom are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge; it is Christ in the word, and Christ in the heart; not only Christ revealed to us, but Christ revealed in us.” I agree with him; Wisdom, here is Christ, and it is only through Him that you will find life.

And, now, look again at verse 36b, “all who hate me love death.” That is why we are told to get a life, when we are actually standing for life. And though these individuals that hate God  might be a minority in America, the minority are obviously the ones making the rules. How is it that a nation, set apart for the advancement of the gospel, can kill over 1 million babies a year? That’s simple. The ones that make the rules hate God and love death. The very ones that think they have a corner on what life really is, have not the slightest. And they aren’t going to know until this nation repents and turns back to the Word of God.

That’s right, the Word of Almighty God. From Genesis to Revelation, life is a key subject. In Genesis chapter one, we read that God created all living things. Then, in chapter two, we read that God put, in the middle of the garden, the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The latter of which, God told Adam not to eat of or he would surely die. In chapter three, we read that Adam rebelled against God, by eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Therefore, he died. So, all the way back in Genesis chapter three we find that death entered the world through the sin of one man.

Now, in Romans chapter five, we find Paul once again going back to bring us the truth. Paul explains that through Adam’s sin, death was brought into this world. This way of death came to all men, because all sinned. But, then he gives us the glorious news of how, we that are dead, can attain life. Verses 17-18 says, “17 For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. 18 Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men.” So, by the righteous act of Jesus laying His life down for us, we can be justified, therefore we can be made alive.

Then, in verses 20-21, we read that, “20 The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, 21 so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” The law is the mirror that reveals our sin. It doesn’t make us sin more, it just makes us discover our sinful nature. Therefore, we have the choice to repent of our sins, put our faith in Christ, and by grace receive eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

In chapter six we find that this gift of righteousness brings us life, only after we die to sin. Romans 6:1-11 says, “1 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. 5 If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— 7 because anyone who has died has been freed from sin. 8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10 The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. 11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.”

So, next time someone yells at you to get a life, you can rest assured that you have a life. If you have repented of your sins and put your faith in Christ, you can count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. That is a life that they know nothing about. But remember this, they aren’t going to know about this new life unless you tell them. That’s what it’s all about. He died to give us new life, that we could show others how to find it. Paul died to sin and found new life. Yet he also laid down his physical life, so others would know how to attain this new life. So, to sum it all up. It’s great to know that we really do have a life, but are we willing to tell others how to attain it?

In Christian love,
Adam Tennant