I have been having some thoughts . . .
First of all, on the way to church Rob and I were discussing the upcoming inauguration of President-Elect Obama. Lots of discussion. I'll tell in a minute. It boiled down to the fact that we will be praying for this new president to be a good one.
After the praise and worship, the pastor came to the front. The topic of his message was posted in the bulletin. We were ready. When he started to speak, he was talking about the new president coming in and how everyone lies in wait for a president or leader to make a mistake so they can go in for the killing words. He said we are a world of complainers and we get used to it. Then he said something remarkable (quoted from another pastor):
"If you are complaining more for the president than praying for him, you are in sin"
Wow. Confirmation. This has been the point of most our discussions lately when it comes to the presidency. Who ever this man turns out to be in history and whether or not we voted for him, the office is now his and the authority must be respected.
I have been dismayed at the lack of respect shown for President Bush. Whichever good decisions he made, whatever mistakes he made, he was duly elected by the people and he deserved respect given by the people. Still does. It's a tough job.
It seems that we forget that our leaders are simply people. We hang our hopes on them. We forget that as we do, they put their pants on one leg at a time. Have you ever made a promise you couldn't keep? I have. They do. Human. Not God.
I wonder if all the hoopla for this inauguration is and will be leading people straight into disillusionment. It seems the press (don't even get me started) has made it even bigger by touting it for months. How many grade school kids across the country are going to perform? How many bands? How monumental does this have to be? What happens when Mr. Obama sits in the chair and can't fulfill his promise? Will those same millions of people and the press dump on him as they have done for the man who is leaving office? You betcha.
It won't matter then if he is black, white, yellow or brown. It will matter that people put expectations on him that they won't even pray to God about. There is no person on this earth who can solve it. We gotta do something. In 1Tim 2 there are instructions for Christians. Pray. If you are not Christian, what does your faith if you have such tell you to do? I only know that this new president needs our prayers and our support.
Every leader inherits some kind of mess. When you get that promotion to supervisor or manager or president/CEO, what happens? You have to pick up where someone else left off. You can't keep blaming stuff on your predecessor. You have to step up to the plate. It's your mess now. Do you then lay your head on your hands and say, "Oh, God!"? Wouldn't it be nice if those you left behind you would respect your new position, support you fully and pray for you to succeed? Yep. It doesn't happen often, does it?
There's been a lot more stuff running around in my brain about this. If I wrote it all here, it would be too much. My pastor hit the nail on the head for me this morning not only with that quote, but with his message from Col 1:15-23. I need to recognize who is the Leader of my life and put my faith in Him, not in man.
May the Lord richly bless your lives today,
First of all, on the way to church Rob and I were discussing the upcoming inauguration of President-Elect Obama. Lots of discussion. I'll tell in a minute. It boiled down to the fact that we will be praying for this new president to be a good one.
After the praise and worship, the pastor came to the front. The topic of his message was posted in the bulletin. We were ready. When he started to speak, he was talking about the new president coming in and how everyone lies in wait for a president or leader to make a mistake so they can go in for the killing words. He said we are a world of complainers and we get used to it. Then he said something remarkable (quoted from another pastor):
"If you are complaining more for the president than praying for him, you are in sin"
Wow. Confirmation. This has been the point of most our discussions lately when it comes to the presidency. Who ever this man turns out to be in history and whether or not we voted for him, the office is now his and the authority must be respected.
I have been dismayed at the lack of respect shown for President Bush. Whichever good decisions he made, whatever mistakes he made, he was duly elected by the people and he deserved respect given by the people. Still does. It's a tough job.
It seems that we forget that our leaders are simply people. We hang our hopes on them. We forget that as we do, they put their pants on one leg at a time. Have you ever made a promise you couldn't keep? I have. They do. Human. Not God.
I wonder if all the hoopla for this inauguration is and will be leading people straight into disillusionment. It seems the press (don't even get me started) has made it even bigger by touting it for months. How many grade school kids across the country are going to perform? How many bands? How monumental does this have to be? What happens when Mr. Obama sits in the chair and can't fulfill his promise? Will those same millions of people and the press dump on him as they have done for the man who is leaving office? You betcha.
It won't matter then if he is black, white, yellow or brown. It will matter that people put expectations on him that they won't even pray to God about. There is no person on this earth who can solve it. We gotta do something. In 1Tim 2 there are instructions for Christians. Pray. If you are not Christian, what does your faith if you have such tell you to do? I only know that this new president needs our prayers and our support.
Every leader inherits some kind of mess. When you get that promotion to supervisor or manager or president/CEO, what happens? You have to pick up where someone else left off. You can't keep blaming stuff on your predecessor. You have to step up to the plate. It's your mess now. Do you then lay your head on your hands and say, "Oh, God!"? Wouldn't it be nice if those you left behind you would respect your new position, support you fully and pray for you to succeed? Yep. It doesn't happen often, does it?
There's been a lot more stuff running around in my brain about this. If I wrote it all here, it would be too much. My pastor hit the nail on the head for me this morning not only with that quote, but with his message from Col 1:15-23. I need to recognize who is the Leader of my life and put my faith in Him, not in man.
May the Lord richly bless your lives today,
If you would like prayer . . . firestormkids04@aol.com
11 comments:
Hi Penny!:)
Yes I hope that people can be happy
that thye have someone to fill a
dangerous, extremely difficult job
just because he or she wants to help America! Good point!
love,natalie
Wow, Your journal entry sounds like several conversations Gordon and I have had, or thought I have been having.
Prayer is what I plan to do regularly for this country and it's leaders.
Barbara
You're so right. God truly has convicted me this and I am still struggling on praying for him, so rediculous that I am.
We're in Germany on an Army Post and don't have tv like you guys in the states, we have AFN (Armed Forces Network...it breaks down to no commercials, but most of the same tv programs, news, etc) but the little "comercials" we do have are all these "Moments in History Inaguration" I think my biggest issue is, is not EVERY inaguration a Moment in history? As you said when he's not able to fulfill his promises, people are not going to care what color his skin is.
So, I'm not off to pray, just as I've prayed for our Current President. I may struggle more to support President-Elect Obama, but I will give him respect as the President of our Nation and the Commander and Chief and ultimate boss of my husband.
God Bless
Hi Penny! I'm not sure I can agree the current president's problems are explained or excused as simple human mistakes made honestly and in good faith, but that's done now regardless. I'm with you in the need to pray for the new administration, that they may have wisdom, humility and, what may be most important of all to governing, the ability to keep us all from becoming complacent. As Barbara Bush, who wasn't president but probably should have been, once said, "What goes on in the White House is not nearly as important as what goes on in your house."
Best regards...
Ben
http://ben-better-left-unsaid.blogspot.com/
Since I know and understand the Bible-- I know what will happen probably in the near future. America has made it's choice and will now reap the whirl wind and I figure that we will be that much closer to the Lord's coming for His Saints, etc. Being an old soldier, I salute the UNIFORM or office-- not the man. Heaven is my home, and according to Matt. 6:9, the first and fore most thing we ought to be praying for is: for God's name to be sanctified, and His Kingdom to come!
I expect things at home to get very interesting.
Warm Regards,
Tom S
tschuckman@aol.com
Great entry Penny! :) Happy Belated Birthday to you! :)
good entry and wise pastor; our pastor prayed last weekend at church for Mr. Obama; I cried this morning and I asked the Lord to forgive me because there was a Godly man in office for 8 years who, granted, made mistakes but he had faith and belief in Jesus and I did not pray diligently for him and have prayed more for Mr. Obama than Mr. Bush; that just saddened me when I realized that; oh what our country could have been like if His (the Lord's) people who were called by his name would have repented and prayed and lifted up Mr. Bush more often in prayers rather than criticism
I was also gently reminded by the Lord not to judge this morning and when I looked up what judge meant in my Bible dictitionary, I realized I am going to need to be very quiet over the next 4 years, but I will pray and I will pray diligently because our country needs the Lord; that is where our hope is for sure!
betty
Wonderful entry Penny. You hit the nail on the head with every word. I hate the lack of respect that was given, not only to Bush, but to McCain and Palin as well. As a nation we better get on our knees and pray for our leaders earnestly. Thank you Penny.
Hugs, Joyce
What a wonderful entry Penny! I could not agree more. I do feel sad that Bush has been blamed for so much. We really do not know what Bush did and I also tired of people blaming him. Maybe he did more good than bad. God only knows. I plan to give my prayers and support to Obama and to trust God that he allowed this man to win the presidency and even though I do not agree with all of his viewpoints, I felt he gave a great speech and filled Americans with renewed hope if they were really listening at all. He said the same thing, it is up to us, mostly, the people, to make a difference. We can make a big difference if we pray. Amen Penny and thanks for sharing your thoughts. God Bless You and Rob,
Lisa
Thankfully, Penny, in God's mighty wisdom he allows people like us to disagree yet remain friends and comrades in the work ahead. Yeah I agree, the country's in a mess and no President can heal it alone, we must be more than talking heads and actually DO something pro-active. I can't agree with the "sin" thing since it's our free will in action that allows folks to say "I don't support Mr. Obama" but surely the office deserves respect, even if you don't agree with the man. Personally, as I've just posted, he seems energetic and anxious to get down to business which is heartening. Changes ahead in many ways - this should'nt be history-making it should be the norm. Good post.
Hi Penny- I know you already know my thoughts. I will be and have been praying for Obama and all our government. I will not support him for many, many reasons which are already being made by the strokes of his pen- but I will pray that he will come to know Jesus as his savior, and seek His will for our country as well as his family. God Bless you Penny.
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