PERSONAL POLITICS

We are only 5 days away from the most historic election since the one which put our first President, George Washington, in office.

And the more I am observing the voting landscape, the more I am seeing people releasing a passion for who they support like never before. All one has to do is look at YouTube and watch the "NObama Girl" video or listen to actor Matt Damon say that the possibility of Sarah Palin being our next president is the equivalent to "a bad Disney Movie", and one will see clearly that this election has taken on a real personal appeal with a lot of people.

But, unfortunately, there are some who have taken this passion to new heights--heights that are uncalled for and ridiculous. To give you an example of what I am talking about, last night I had the privilege of talking with one of my church's most active and faithful members, and she revealed to me that she had been called a "sellout", have had friendships bruised severely, and have even had people step up violently in her face, due to the fact that she is standing by John McCain (which, to my knowledge, is only the third person I met in our congregation who is Anti-Obama). And while she was saying this, you could see her trying not to get so emotional because she made the proper decision not to go along with the crowd and make a decision based on her morals.

So, instead of being praised for not violating her conscience and being independent in her thinking, many people (including those who call themselves Christians) are criticizing her for allegedly "standing against progress".

Now in lieu of all this, one has to ask why? Why do we feel the need to damage relationships and verbally (or physically) hurt people because they choose to look beyond their skin color, economic status, or any other intangible and vote for the man whom they think would bring the most honor to the LORD? Since when has the right to think freely become Politically Incorrect?

Now, if you are a regular reader of my blog, you know it is no secret that I am as "NObama" as it gets. However, NEVER would I verbally or physically attack someone just because they did not see my political point of view. And I believe that people need to separate their political views from their personal relationships. The truth is, there will be many African-Americans who do not support Obama (I'm one of them) and there will be many Caucasians who will not stand by McCain (Matt Damon). And these free choices should not cause damage to relationships that have evolved over the duration of time.

So, in conclusion, realize the fact that whatever candidate you stand by is your choice! And the act of getting in people's faces, calling them names, or breaking off friendships because someone doesn't agree with you is over extreme and repulsive. And to those who are doing such acts, they need to be ashamed of themselves and beg the LORD to have mercy on their souls.

MY TRIP TO CANADA

As some of you know, my fiance and I (as well as her mother and aunt) took a trip to Ottawa, ON Canada a couple of weeks back for a wedding and, let me tell you, I had a blast up there!!!

Here are some of the pics from the trip:

The Happy Couple: Eric and Elizabeth (Beth) Dotson

My precious Debra and I

The Beautiful Ladies!!!!!!

The Fellas putting together favors!!!

You don't see this in South Florida

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO "THE HOLY BIBLE"?

Last night, I was leading a prayer service in my jail ministry, and I noticed that several of the inmates were carrying around versions of the Bible entitled, "The Story of God". Apparently, this version of the Bible is produced by the TNIV, and after some research, I have found out that they have produced other Bibles with these types of titles.

Now, I don't have time to complain in full about the dangerous errors of the TNIV or the lack of care or discernment from those who give these Bibles to the inmates (I can't tell you the amount of inmates that have come to my class over the years with New World Translations), but I do want to raise a very interesting question: What happened to calling the Holy Bible "The Holy Bible"? Today, we have Bibles called "The Message", "The Book", and "The Story". And with such controversy arising over whether we should put "In God we Trust" on our money any longer, one has to ask a more disturbing question: Has the word "Holy Bible" become offensive to today's society?

Have we gotten to a point where it is now politically incorrect to, not only call the Bible "Holy", but to call it the "Bible"? If the producers of these Bibles are expressing this as fact by renaming the Bible to fit the mindset of this generation, let me remind them of the words of our Savior: "If anyone is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels" (Mark 8:38).

Brothers and Sisters, the Holy Bible is called "The Holy Bible" because it is the infallible, inerrant authority for all mankind in regards of faith and practice. As the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith states:

"The Holy Scripture is the only sufficient, certain, and infallible rule of all saving knowledge, faith, and obedience" (Chapter 1: "Of the Holy Scriptures")

It was a book written by Almighty God, and when one reads, studies, and/or discusses it, it should be handled in that proper reverence. In short, to dumb down the holiness or authority of the Bible in order to make it appealing to unbelievers is nothing less than a slap in the face of God and a major act of cosmic treason. May God have mercy and grant repentance to those who, not only produce these types of Bibles, but also those preachers who use and endorse them as well as those individuals who buy them with little regard to the authority of Scripture.

INTERNATIONAL INTRIGUE

Last week I had the privilege of going to Ottawa, ON Canada to be a part of my fiance's cousin's wedding. And while there were a lot of things there that really brought back vivid memories of my growing up in Rochester, NY, there was one thing that shocked me more than anything I experienced: the absolute obsession that the Canadian people have over the McCain-Obama Presidential battle.



Although Canada had their own elections this past Tuesday, and have no initial stake in the outcome of our election, somehow everyone was enamored over what was happening in the States. For instance, I went to a Barber Shop and the guys in there were giving their views on how McCain would be a continuation of George Bush presidency and how Obama would be the ideal fit because he better understands how to handle the American economy. In addition to this, my fiance's aunt--who lives in Jamaica no less--was very critical of Palin and extremely pro-Obama (again, a person with no initial stake in the election).



Truly, this election is becoming larger than the United States, and one could make the argument that the outcome will be much bigger than American History, but the results may go down as one of the most important events in World History. And, in my opinion, this is exciting. So, as we prepare to vote on November 4th, we should keep in the forefront of our minds that our vote holds a lot more weight than just picking our 44th President. But, when it's all said and done, it could be the difference in how we are respected or ridiculed through the eyes of the world.