I haven’t talked much about this election.

I haven’t talked much about this election. It’s not because I don’t care. I’ve watched the reports, read the articles, seen the forwarded e-mails and done a little research of my own. I don’t think that it’s overly dramatic to say this is one of the most important elections our country has ever faced. I would equate it to the providential election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860—a calm hand to lead our nation through the most turbulent of times.

I believe every election grows in importance because our nation grows increasingly polarized with each new term. Our newly elected President will face the issues of immigration, abortion, homosexuality, economics, national security, the environment, energy concerns and a burgeoning national debt. Any one of these would be a challenge but all of them combined present a formidable task for our leadership. Partisan politics has only handicapped the progression of our nation and special interests and selfish government have placed a huge obstacle to forward momentum in dealing with the real issues. (Anyone discouraged yet?)

I have prayed numerous times in the last months about what God wants for our nation. I have recalled the promises of Psalm 33:12 (Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD...) and 2 Chronicles 7:14 (…if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.) Here’s where I am today. Five key statements that every Christ follower should keep in mind as we race to November:

· Register and vote. We have absolutely no right to criticize if we don’t participate in the representative form of our democracy. Speak your mind, contact your leaders and don’t just sit back and…gripe (there are other words that could be used here but you get the point). DO NOT be afraid to speak out as a Christ follower. We have as much right to speak as the homosexual activists, the pro-death marcher, the anti-American preacher and the loud mouth who denigrates the Christian voice.

· Don’t listen to the media. They have proven over and over again their willingness to bend the truth and outright lie to make their point. Research facts for yourself and search your heart.

· Pray…over and over and over again. Pray about your involvement. Pray about your vote. Pray for the man who wins whoever he may be.

· Finally, pray (I know I just said that but this one is very specific) that the name of God is glorified. God was magnified in the Civil War and during the Great Depression. Grown men came to recognize God during the Watergate scandal, the Iran hostage crisis, double-digit inflation under Carter and race riots in Selma, AL. Don’t for a second believe that God cannot be glorified in even the darkest moments of our history. He can and He will be again if we will just pray.

· Remember that Obama is no Savior and McCain is not God. The One who will restore our nation and bring her to prosperity again was born 2000 years ago and died so we could be free in the truest sense. Don’t expect a man to do that for us.

God bless America! He is our only true hope. We don’t need change. We need Him.

Being transformed begins in the mind.

Being transformed begins in the mind. (Romans 12:1-2) This is true for all of us. The question is, what are we being transformed by? Transformation by the culture that surrounds us leaves us down, frustrated, depressed and discouraged. Why? Because this world is not what God wants for us. There is so much more. So, an economy that struggles, children that disobey, a spouse that doesn’t understand you or a job that seems like a dead end will never “renew” your mind. Renewal only comes from one source—God.

I challenged my staff with this thought this morning in our staff meeting. What are you doing on a daily basis to be sure that your mind is being transformed by renewal, not by a culture gone crazy? A steady diet of negative news or frustrating commentary will keep you from living the life God intended. That’s why it’s critical that you and I take time away (every day) to study the good stuff, to meditate on God’s promises and to truly be renewed by the hope that Christ offers us. Give it a shot. Once a day for three weeks—just you and God—and see if your life doesn’t begin to be transformed by His vision for your life.

“Do you want to get well?”

“Do you want to get well?”

There’s this interesting story in John 5. Jesus is walking past the pool of Bethesda on his way into Jerusalem. It’s a pool recognized for its healing power. Anyone who would dip themselves in the pool immediately after it had been stirred by God’s hand would find healing. There lies a man who had been paralyzed for 38 years. Can you imagine? Thirty-eight years of lying in the dust. No real hope; no real plan for getting better. You can almost feel the desperation as it pours from his flesh. His life has as much room for bitterness and regret as anyone. Along comes the Healer. He passes by the man and turns to him. In what had to rank as one of the most perplexing questions in all of Scripture, Jesus asks, “Do you want to get well?”

One would imagine that the man’s heart leapt within him. Years of crushed dreams and fading hopes have now been given a second chance at life. Instead of responding with a thousand “yeses”, the man offers excuses for why he is where he is when the Master finds him. To his credit, though, when Jesus offers a plan for healing, the man responds and the rest is history (or should we say “his story”).

I’ve got a question. Do you really want to be well? You know who you are as I’m typing this (and you’re reading it). Do you really want to know wholeness and strength? Do you want to be released of your burdens and running free of the bondage that has held you to this point? Or, like so many, have you grown comfortable there in the dirt? Is your response to His healing just one more excuse for keeping things just like they are? Maybe you like playing the victim?

Get over it. (I say that in love). The Bible is clear that there is no infirmity, no failure, no addiction, no handicap that God can’t help you through. Sometimes it’s healing He brings. Always, it’s strength to live your life like He intended. You simply have to want to get well. You. Not your friends. Not your pastor. Not your church or your small group or your family. You.

So, quit asking for more prayer if you aren’t willing to get up and walk. Don’t call out for more accountability if you don’t want to receive it. And, by all means, don’t seek a hand up unless the hand you stick out is ready to be healed and whole and used by God for what’s next in your life. So, I ask it again: Do you WANT to be well?

He answered: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart..."

He answered: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" Luke 10:27 NIV

If you were at RCC just a few weeks ago, you heard me share this verse as part of our messages on the family. It was the Sunday that my wife, Lisa, joined me on the stage to challenge our women with God’s plan for their lives. You also heard Lisa make this statement, “The interesting thing about this command is that you can’t really do the second part well until you’ve learned to do the first.” She’s right. For a husband or wife to love their spouse, they must first learn the deeper love of God.

I thought about the implications as it relates to us as a church this week. I’ve challenged our staff to take one day a week to prayer walk. It might be somewhere in downtown near our offices. It might be their neighborhood or the park near their home. It may be the mall or the theater or the ball field. Just one day a week of praying for those around us. Part of that prayer, for me, as I have walked the streets of Franklin has been, “Give me your eyes so I can see this world as you see it, love it as you do and minister to it as you would.” Those kinds of prayers will change you. They have me. And, as always, the enemy has followed closely on the heels of those prayers to try and defeat me.

I invite you to join your staff in the weeks ahead in praying for “our Jerusalem.” Prayer changes things. It very well may change your heart for the people around you.

NOTE: Don’t forget Saturday evening’s event at the Cool Springs Theater. We’ve bought out the 6:30 showing of “Fireproof” and there are still discount tickets available. Five bucks a piece. Make plans to come and bring those you know. This is an exceptional movie with a timeless message. Hope to see you there.

“The gloves are off. You know that, right?”

“The gloves are off. You know that, right?” Those were the words of one of my friends this past Sunday immediately after our worship. He was challenging me to think about the position we put ourselves in when, as Christ followers, we dare to take on and expose the lies of Satan. Leave him alone and you’ll skirt by with minimal interference. But dare to take him on with the truth of God’s Word and you must prepare to do battle. My friend is right. Satan doesn’t go down easy. Never has. In fact, God’s word teaches us that he knows what his fate is. He’s been defeated for thousands of years. But he won’t go down without a fight.

The question my friend was asking me on Sunday is a worthy one. He was checking my heart to see if I am ready for whatever the “roaring lion” would be bring our way. I have to ask you the same. Will you go with me? As we take these next steps in our journey at Ridgeview, will you be willing to strip away all that remains of your old self and embrace all that God wants to give you? Will you stand arm-in-arm with the other followers at RCC who choose to challenge the lies of Satan with the timeless truths of Scripture? There is a battle that must be waged for the hearts of people that you know and love. It is worth the struggle that is to come. I can promise you that. But you must ask yourself, are you ready to come out swinging?