The year was 1968 and the presidential election was under way.  Richard Nixon, Hubert Humphrey and George Wallace were battling for the nations top spot.  At Hamilton Elementary School, we were running our own mock election.  After losing the primaries to Mike Dills, who was our version of Nixon, I settled into my new roll and stood in as Spiro Agnew, Nixon’s VP.

            We went through all the necessary election hullabaloo.  There were fake buttons, bumper stickers and speeches.  With the help of my Mom, I came up with the coolest sign.  A drawing of an hourglass with the sand nearing the end and a slogan that read “Time’s running out-It’s time for Nixon.”  Mike Dills and I won the popular election at Hamilton Grade School, narrowly defeating another Mike who stood in for George Wallace. 

A couple weeks later, Nixon and Agnew won the real presidency and I felt my man had won.  By the time, I graduated high school my man was the first president to ever resign from office.  Spiro Agnew was convicted of taking bribes and had been gone for several months and history was threatening to remember Nixon and Agnew as the worst team to ever advance to the top.  Where I had once been so proud to back a winner, now I felt equally embarrassed to have supported someone whose most famous quote turned out to be, “I am not a crook.”    

            As the next president prepares to take office and after listening to two years of a variety of politicians, stating they have what it takes to fix everything, I thought a moment of reflection concerning the elections of our past presidents is in order:  GW Bush has Iraq and the economy.  Clinton had Monica Lewinski and the answer “It depends on what the meaning of the word "is" is.”  GH Bush said, “Read my lips, no new taxes” and then raised taxes.  Ronald Reagan, while under oath, couldn’t seem to recall much of anything during the Iran/Contra Hearings.  Jimmy Carter spent the last 444 days of his presidency trying to broker the release of 52 US diplomats that were taken hostage by the Iranian government.   Gerald Ford is most famous for giving a presidential pardon to Richard Nixon.  Then of course, there is Richard Nixon, who while on the verge of winning the election by a landslide over George McGovern, found it necessary to break into his offices and create the whole Watergate scandal.  I suppose I could go on through Johnson, Kennedy, Eisenhower and more.  After all, rumor has it George Washington never actually cut that cherry tree down.

            These are not bad men, it is that they are held to a standard that they fail to live up to.  Leaders should be held to a high standard.  Is it too much to ask a man to be honest in his dealings and truthful in his speech?  But it is also important to remember who set the bar of integrity so high.

            Hebrews 4:15 says, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin” (italics mine).  Is the standard too high? In 1 Cor. 11:1 we read, “Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.”  The goal is high and it may be impossible, but we are still called to live up to it and leaders all the more so.  Perfection is not something we can accomplish, but honesty is.  Over the years, I have been privileged to vote for president 8 times, 5 times I backed the winner, 3 times the loser.  There have been times that my man was less than acceptable.  That’s the way life is, marred with imperfections and failures because the expectations are so high.

            But Christ does not make mistakes, so when He casts a vote, His candidate is the man.   In John 15:16 Jesus said, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last.”  Did you get it?  Jesus chose you.  Jesus who is without sin chose you.  That means there was no mistake in choosing you.

Overall perfection is not our goal.  Getting through the moment is.  Accomplishing the task at hand is where our focus has to be.  Philippians 3:12-14, “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

However these elections come out, don’t let it get you down and don’t place your faith in it.  We have something that will carry us through and Someone more important to place our faith in.  No matter who wins the presidency, Jesus is still King.  We are still chosen by Him and as long as that remains true, and it always will, we win.

                   Happy Thanksgiving, 

Pastor David

God Blesses Us All the Time

By Colleen

The wind blows, the leaves fall and time moves on but never faster than the hand of God pushes it.  He arranges for the goodness in our lives to overcome the wrong and places joy in unspeakable times of sorrow.  A friend moves on to heaven and it sings for joy.  We feel the loss and grief, but God is throwing a welcoming party and joy has invaded the heart of our loved one.  We have God’s promise and His assurance of salvation for all who believe.

But not everyone believes.  If someone doesn’t know the way of salvation we are left behind wondering where their soul has gone.  No person is worthy to approach God or to ask for salvation.  But God’s loving hand is reaching out to reach all those who accept His Son.

God is not a liar.  His word the Bible says there is no name under heaven where by man may be saved except by the name of “Christ”.  It is totally, impossible for us to save ourselves or anyone else for that matter, God alone is able through the perfect unblemished work of Christ on this earth and the cross.

Satan comes to steal our joy but Jesus said He came so that our joy would be complete. You find rest for your soul in the most difficult of times when you know you know the one whom will never fail you and never reject you its as simple as asking Him in; asking Him to forgive your sins.  Its immediate, complete and finished in that very moment.  You can’t improve on it, you can’t make God want to forgive you more than He already does, He loves you sufficiently, fully and as much as is eternally possible now and always. He is never looking for ways or reasons to reject you ever. You could never give more than He already has for your sin. There is no earthly price greater than His own precious Son’s blood.  When Jesus looked from the cross and said it is finished it was.

            Thank you all who faithfully teach our children each week and give them the keys to unlock the kingdom of God as His word reveals their true identities in Him.  This world can be a discouraging place if we focus on what we don’t have but so amazing when we focus on what we do have and what is ours to come in the next world with Christ.

            Vacation in October? Good weather Yes! Blessed! Yes!  Just for good measure God allowed us to watch a doe and two bucks on our front lawn last night even a little battle as the bucks continued to establish who was mightiest. When I got up this morning, there was still a crescent moon and silently through the fog, the sun rose and its filtering rays drove away the dark.  Hmm… we don’t have to wonder if God is still in control. He is reigning over us whether we choose to live in sorrow or joy. We are truly blessed both now and forever.