Yesterday, President Obama announced that he would not participate in the National Day of Prayer. And while some conservatives see this as just another slap in the face to our Christian values and heritage, others are rightly seeing this as a good decision. I mean, how can a man who supports homosexuality and abortion be someone who shares the values of our God and savior?
You may argue that the NDOP is supposed to be ecumenical, so it should not be limited to the Christian God, and in some sense, you might be right. But just considering plain justice and righteousness, if we come to God unrepentant about such obvious sins, not to mention the others that we excuse, can we consider ourselves spiritual?
Truth be told, the NDOP is run and dominated by Evangelicals, and has been for some time, even though it is an officially declared national observance. But that was done back when we actually commonly believed in the Biblical God as a populace. Not so now.
Anyway, these are 'secondary' doctrines over which Christians can disagree, but they are not unimportant. Self-proclaimed Christians who think this way may in truth be born-again believers, but they are not thinking biblically. This is the same as saying one can be a Christian but support slavery. Sure, you *can* support such evils and be a Christian, but is your support really Godly, or sinful and a shame to yourself and God?
Reproduced below is the newsletter I received today from American Vision, entitled Why Obama Should NOT Participate in Day of Prayer. And I say AMEN.
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Organizers of the National Day of Prayer
are upset that President Obama is not officially participating in the
observation. He will pray privately, as he does every day, the
president’s spokesman said. His only public acknowledgement will be to
issue a White House proclamation. Well, I’m kind of glad. I’m tired of
politicians who take the name of the Lord in vain. Please tell me how
someone who supports abortion on demand, homosexuality, and
generational theft by government edict should serve as the national
spokesman for a day of prayer.
Of
course, President Obama is not the first president not to acknowledge
an official observance. There were no official observances during the
Clinton administration. While President George W. Bush did hold a
formal White House event during his tenure as president, the Bush White
House also recognized the Islamic observance of Ramadan with a White
House dinner.
Maybe
God is telling His people something this year. Joshua expected a
victory against Ai. Israel won its first encounter with Jericho without
a casualty. Why should the battle with Ai be any different? The spies
thought Ai was weak enough that only “two or three thousand men need go
up” (Joshua 7:3). Thirty-six Israelites were killed, and the rest were
pursued and assaulted by the men of Ai with the result that “the hearts
of the people melted and became as water” (v. 5). Bible believing
Christians have become disheartened
You
know what the Israelites were thinking. “Maybe we should not have
ventured to participate in this social thing. We were at least safe
when we were ghettoized beyond the Jordan.” There was even fear that
things would get a lot worse once the “Canaanites and all the
inhabitants of the land” heard about the defeat (v. 9). Joshua, voicing
these concerns to God, did what today's political remorseful are
recommending. “Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell on the earth on
his face before the ark of the LORD until evening, both he and the
elders of Israel” (v. 7). In a word, he prayed . . . hard. What did God
tell him to do? “So the LORD said to Joshua, ‘Rise up! Why is it that
you have fallen on your face? Israel has sinned, and they have also
transgressed My covenant which I commanded them’” (v. 11). In effect,
God told Joshua to stop praying and act on the evil that brought them
the defeat!
Prayer
is not a magical formula, an incantation that brings forth God like a
Genie from a bottle. Prayer is an admission of weakness. It is in
weakness that God can best use us (2 Cor. 12:10). But true faith and
trust are not exercised if we do not act on the belief that God will
work for us even in our weakness. Prayer is not the end but the
beginning of the work God has called us to do. J. I. Packer says it
this way:
The
Spirit does what he does. His supernaturalizing of our lives enables
Christians, as a matter of fact, to do much for the Lord that they
wouldn't be able to do otherwise. That's the whole doctrine of gifts
and ministry. It's my part to see what God calls me to do, to ask the
Lord to enable me to do it, then to get up off my knees and go
confidently into action, watching to see what help I shall be given,
and finally to give thanks for what the Spirit did in and through me.
There
is sin in the Christian camp. Entire denominations support abortion and
homosexuality. Those who claim to be Bible-believing Christians
maintain that abortion should be a protected right and homosexuals
should have special rights protecting behavior that the Bible calls an
“abomination.” The sins of Achan—“the mantle of Shinar” (humanism) and
“silver and gold” (mammon)—are the sins of the church. After we fall on
our face, let's be careful not to cover our ears. We might just hear
God's voice saying to us, “Rise up!"
