Tired of trying to live the Christian life in your own power?

“So they set out and went from village to village, preaching the gospel and healing people everywhere” (Luke 9:6).

We had an election recently, an important one… one where voters selected from among candidates for Governor, Senators and a host of other offices right down to the local board that oversees our school system. The voter turnout was as low as fourteen percent in some counties and just above twenty percent statewide.

Let’s work the math.

First, consider that only about half of the adult population is registered to vote, so if only one in five registered voters turns out, that represents one in ten of those who could vote if they bothered to register and vote. Since half of those voting plus one vote can decide any election that means that a scant five percent of the people can decide any election. How much more complacent can we become about our opportunity to influence the direction of our nation?

Transition from elections to Christian evangelism and the figures only get worse. A recent study determined that ninety seven percent of professing Christians never share their faith! Why is it that only Mormons and Jehovah’s witnesses come to your door? Why don’t Christians?

In fact, according to the Barna Research Group, only fifty five percent of born-again Christians even believe it is their responsibility to even share their faith at all, much less do it. How can we question our responsibility to share Christ?

If we believe what we say we believe–namely, that Jesus is the Way the Truth and the Life, and that no one comes to the Father except through Him–and if we truly believe there is a heaven and a hell, and that there is no such place as purgatory, then we can’t go on ignoring the spiritual condition of the people around us!

Imagine seeing a group of firefighters polishing their engine outside a burning building with people trapped on the top floor! Nothing is wrong with cleaning a fire engine—but something is wrong with cleaning a fire engine while people are trapped in a burning building! Instead of ignoring their cries, the firefighters should have an overwhelming sense of urgency to rescue them. That’s the spirit that should be behind the task of evangelism.

Questions: The world is on fire and people are trapped in sin and dying. Do you have a compelling desire to rescue them or will you sit in a comfortable pew and wait for someone else to witness to them?

About the Author John Grant

“While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message” (Acts 10:44).

Over the years, I have toured many industrial facilities, always having an interest in how things are made, packaged and delivered to the customer. It has also been a good place to ask for votes at election time and I have shaken many hands on assembly lines and lines formed to change shifts.

So, when I was invited to tour a book bindery recently in Bogotá, Columbia it didn’t appear to be that exciting of an engagement, but when I walked through the doors and onto the assembly floor, my perspective suddenly changed. You see, this was no ordinary book bindery. It was a Bible bindery, where pre-printed blocks of printed paper are bound into a variety of covers and bindings, for shipment in several languages to a number of countries in the world.

As I stared at the rows of cardboard boxes, I was told that on that floor, ready to be shipped, were a little less than a quarter of a million Bible, in different sized, different bindings and in different languages, but all containing the same message of God’s redemptive love that runs like a scarlet thread all the way from Genesis to Revelation. I wasn’t looking at a book inventory, I was looking at God’s message to the world, all neatly packed in a well sealed, weather protected box destined for shipment to many people in many lands.

As I looked at the hundreds of boxes, I could only visualize the ultimate recipient of each one and what impact it would make on one life. I thought about how each Bible would get placed in the hands of the ultimate recipient and how someone would tell them and help them to grow in a more dynamic, personal and intimate relationship with Him so that they could become more like Him.

There is nothing more important in the world than knowing Jesus Christ and we know Him through his Word. It is powerful, it is divine, it is life changing….  and it has to be communicated. That’s our calling as followers of Christ, spread the Word. But how many of us keep the Word of God tightly wrapped up in a box, failing to share the greatest message in all the world to someone even as close as our next door neighbor?

Looking at those boxes touched my heart. I thought of all who had never had a Bible and had never heard the Word of God or had even an opportunity to appropriate His saving grace. I asked myself how often I take my faith for granted, keep it to myself and fail to share with others before it is too late.

Recently I came upon the scene of a bad automobile accident, right after it happened. People were running from every direction to help as they could, pulling bandages, or whatever they had from the trunks of their car to do what they could until the paramedics arrived. It was a tragic, yet beautiful sight to see people doing everything they could to help people they didn’t even know.

Yet, when we see someone lost without the security of God’s assurance and plan for salvation, how often do we drop what we are doing and run to help before it is too late? I am ashamed to say that all too often, I don’t respond they way I should. How about you? Can we both make a commitment to share God’s Word and make sure Jesus doesn’t stay trapped in the delivery box?

Questions: Do you care if those around you hear about Jesus?  How do you respond when you see someone in need? What steps could you take to become more aware of the needs around you?

About the Author John Grant

Daily audio podcast: A second daily devotional, Patience and Trust, today on the Men’s Devotional Blog

“The world is watching. And how they approach and deal with people who are, through peaceful means, trying to be heard will, I think, send a pretty clear signal to the international community about what Iran is and is not. … This is not an issue of the United States or the West versus Iran. This is an issue of the Iranian people.”

The election in Iran, where previous president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was retained power in the country, have resulted in calls for a recount, protests, and violence in the country. Threats (and acts) of violence against protesters of which Mr Obama elsewhere said “We call on the Iranian government to stop all violent and unjust actions against its own people,” Obama said in a written statement. “Suppressing ideas never succeeds in making them go away.” (CTV)

Recently, “Iran expelled the BBC’s correspondent in Tehran yesterday and accused Britain of pouring agents into the country to sabotage the election.” This came after Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, called “Britain the “most treacherous” of the Western powers that were fomenting unrest in Iran.” (Times Online)

As the unrest and violence in Iran continues, what role should other countries play? What response should we have as individuals and nations when we hear about injustices in the world?

Image credit: marctonysmith

Where were you when Obama won the election? When he proclaimed that “change has come to America”? Because now the day has come for the Illinois Senator to be sworn in as the 44th President of the United States and become the first African-American to carry the title.

The long road to the White House will finally come to an end in a ceremony to be held at noon on the steps of the United States Capitol on January 20. But Obama is the first to acknowledge the road ahead is even longer.

“It took a lot of blood, sweat and tears to get to where we are today, but we have just begun. Today we begin in earnest the work of making sure that the world we leave our children is just a little bit better than the one we inhabit today.”

Where will you be on Inauguration Day? What hopes come along with the Obama presidency for you?

image credit: mike_1630

Long or short, change or no change, expensive or even more expensive, an important point to make is that voter turnout dropped to a record low this year, according to CBC.

The turnout figure of 59.1% was slightly below the previous lowest turnout figure of 60.9%. That happened when Paul Martin’s Liberals won a minority government in 2004.

The highest voter turnout in Canadian electoral history occurred in 1958, when 79.4% of registered voters took part in the election that saw John Diefenbaker return to power with a majority government. (cbc.ca)

In the coming days many will take a guess at why voter turnout is so low in a country where voting in an election doesn’t require voters to take their lives into their own hands. While Afghan women in burkas risk possible death to take part in an election, Canadians are passing on their privilege. Perhaps we don’t feel our vote will make a difference, or perhaps like many other liberties, freedoms and privileges we take choosing our leaders for granted.

Maybe life is so good north of the our neighbor with the financial crisis and home forclosures that we’ve decided it will stay this was on autopilot.

Why do you think voter turnout is so low in Canada (and the United States)? Do you think it would be higher if we knew what it was like to lose this right? Do you think that could happen in this generation?

Image credit to Stephania Zamparelli

Since her nomination, every aspect of Sarah Palin’s life has been scrutinized heavily in the press. We’ve heard all about her pregnant teenage daughter Bristol, her Down syndrome diagnosed baby, and her previous political successes, first as mayor (of Wasilla, population approx 7,000) and as the first woman and youngest governor ever of Alaska.

There also seems to be a considerable amount of disdain for the former “Miss Congeniality” winner (Miss Alaska pageant, 1984). Says one commenter:

Mrs. Palin has been the target of sexist and class-based sneering since she was picked by John McCain to be his running-mate. This has obscured the fact that she didn’t reach her present public position – of Governor of Alaska – by being a shrinking violet. For a woman to succeed in such a masculine-dominated world as American politics requires her to be a fighter, to be articulate, to be clever and to have the courage of her convictions. (Source: Telegraph)

Do you think Palin faces unfair disadvantages because of her gender and age? Is it appropriate for topics like her daughters pregnancy to be made issues in a political campaign? And overall, what is your opinion of Palin as a vice presidential candidate?

Image credit: NewsHour

More election issues:
Economy:  Home foreclosure’s emotional toll
Environment:  7 Ways to go green

Only 41 per cent of the province’s 2,252,104 eligible voters cast ballots in Monday’s election, a record low. "It’s rather exceptional," Peter Loewen, an associate at the University of Montreal’s Canada Research Chair of Electoral Studies told CBC News on Wednesday. He said the figure is the lowest turnout for a Canadian provincial election in the last 50 years. (Source: CBC News)

The expert quoted in the article notes that the problem of low voter turnout is likely to continue to get worse. Why do you think voter turnout is continually decreasing, especially among young people? Is it laziness? Apathy? Distrust of the political system? Voters not feeling like their votes make a difference? Lack of a candidate that represents voter’s values? Or something else?

The county has more than 3,000 of the machines in a warehouse, stacked up to the rafters, perhaps never to be used again. In a series of controversial decisions last year, California Secretary of State Debra Bowen decertified the vast majority of electronic voting machines in the state, arguing that they were vulnerable to tampering and have defects that could corrupt vote counts. [Source: LA Times]

Do you trust electronic voting machines? Why or why not, and do you think they should be used in upcoming elections? Personally, although I am certainly a "technology guy" (spending hours at work and play on the Internet daily) I tend to adopt the "if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it" maxim with regards to electronic voting. What do you think?