Giving Christian's a Bad Name...

I was reading the article that I posted from AzCentral about the pastor who prayed for the death of President Obama, and I became angry. I am a Christian. I am a sinner, saved not by anything I could do, but by simple grace by faith in Christ. My priorities in life are God, my family, my country, then everything else. I did not vote for Obama, I do not like his politics, and I can not wait for him to be voted out of office. With that said, I was floored, offended, saddened, angered, and disgusted by this article.

God talks a lot about our leaders, and he gives us VERY specific instructions. They are:

1. We MUST pray FOR our leaders. 1 Timothy 2:1-2 "I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercessions and thanksgiving be made for everyone-for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful an quiet lives in all godliness and holiness."
2. We must OBEY legitimate & lawful commands our leaders, for NO MAN is in a leadership position unless God has allowed him to be there. Romans 13:1 "Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established" Titus 3:1 "Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men." (note: legitimate & lawful are those commands that do not go against what God has taught us to do.)

Barak Obama is our President, like it or not. We are to pray that God guides him, that God uses him for the good of our country, that God protects him & his family. Whether or not he chooses to follow God's will is his decision. He will have to stand before God & Christ some day and account for his actions. I pray that he IS able to hear, "Well done, good and faithful servant." If God can move mountains, he can certainly touch the heart of a simple man. President Obama's spiritual well being is between him and God.

What angers me about his article is the fact that this man is being held out as a Christian leader and all other Christians are being judged by his actions. I do not know if he is truly a Christian or not. Only Christ & God know that. My Jesus calls me to LOVE everyone. I am not to hate any one. Hate their sin, yes. But just as Christ was able to separate the person from the sin in His life (look at his friends!!!) and as He continues to do everyday when He accepts another sinner into his family, so am I called to look at the person and their sin as two separate things. I was also told by my Lord to leave the acts of vengeance to Him (so hard to do at times). Praying for someones death seems awfully vengeful to me. I am supposed to pray for God's Will. Since he appointed Obama to a leadership position, I must assume that He has a purpose for him, and praying for his (Obama's) death is going against God's purpose.

Christians are being persecuted more and more every day. We are being PC to avoid offending people. We accept being told that we can not pray in schools, government, courts, etc., but every other religion is allowed to. We are called intolerant, yet accepting religions who would see Christians and/or Jewish people wiped off of the face of the Earth is expected. (They are not intolerant, just culturally diverse). Come on! All those who call themselves by His name, it is time to stand up! Stop doing stupid things to make the further persecution of Christians acceptable. Stand up for your rights, stand up for what IS right, but STOP making a mockery of our God, our Saviour, and our Faith.

We are not about hate, and our anger should only be righteous and focused on God's will. Name calling, telling people God hates (fill in the blank), or praying for the death of those we disagree with is not what Christ died for. He died so the EVERYONE may have the opportunity to come to know Him and accept His saving Grace. (sadly, not everyone will, and a lot of those are OUR fault!) We need to start showing the face of Christ to the world. We need to speak the truth in love, to love people, to show them the Truth, and then allow Christ to change them through the power of the Holy Spirit. We do not have to roll over and accept bad government or let them make bad decisions, but we are to fight back in a way that glorifies Christ. Maybe God has allowed Obama to become president because our actions have been telling Him that is what we wanted. If you want Obama out of office, pray for him to be voted out, and pray for God to raise up a leader that will return the US to our roots in Christianity. But stop praying in hate and unrighteous anger. You are hurting rather than helping.