I am voting for Ron Paul in Idaho’s primary caucus on March 6th. Most of my readers will probably not be surprised at that fact. Dr. Voddie Baucham has faithfully expounded the reasons to vote for Dr. Ron Paul, and I encourage you to read his article by clicking here. Like Dr. Baucham many acquaintances have raised questions about Ron Paul that I wish to address.
Lest someone accuse me again of idolatry, I do not think Ron Paul is perfect. His nomination and his election as President will not change our land. Only repentance and self-governance will. That being said, his attitude and manner in treating people is such that he lacks an air of arrogance, which is one of his greatest qualities. He is not a politician; he is a Statesman.
Also, I can not and will not vote for any of the other proposed Republican candidates because I care too much about my children and yours to contribute to the further destruction of our country. I know that I will have to stand before God someday and give account for my vote. I want to do so with a clear conscience. To chose any of the other options before us would be to betray my own conscience.
Foreign Policy
Those who disagree with Ron Paul’s foreign policy do so out of ignorance. His foreign policies are those of our Founding Fathers. They believed we should not meddle in the affairs of other nations, and instead focus on protecting our own land, and having a strong defense (which involved an armed populous with little spending - hence the 2nd Amendment). Congressman Paul is not ignorant about traditional American foreign policy. He’s seen many decades of a failed policy, as a veteran and a 12 term congressman. His opponents style Paul as blind to any threat of terror or war. Quite the contrary, he says we should prepare for just such a season and in the meantime gather our resources from every corner of the world and quit subsidizing foreign powers - either militarily or monetarily, often both.
And, we need to throw out the idea that American threat of violence is a way to win friends and influence people. The only thing it might be is a very temporary and artificial friendship - and that’s the last thing our country needs right now. Our current foreign policy isn’t working. Historically it’s un-American. It turns out to be un-Biblical, since God only directed Israelites to kill in the name of their own promised land not to pursue interests worldwide. God even forbade the Israelites to have chariots, the symbol of military power of the time. God’s sovereign power would otherwise be minimized. All of a sudden, American world hegemony doesn’t seem so biblical, does it?
If you’re not familiar with the Christian Just War Theory I encourage you to research it.
Abortion
Norma Mcorvey (Jane Roe of Roe vs Wade) just endorsed Ron Paul. She understands that Roe vs. Wade should never have been heard by the federal Supreme Court. The case was outside the jurisdiction of the US Supreme Court, because murder is under state jurisdiction. There is no federal law against murder. Each sovereign state, of the fifty states, is enforce its own laws, like a sovereign nation, as described by Alexis de Tocqueville. The national government, which is the federation of these several united states is only to act in areas specifically listed in the US Constitution, mostly settling disputes between the states. The several states existed before the federal government; they created it. The several states are the creator and the federal government is the creation. By extension, the states are to be the masters and the federal government is to be the slave. If the US Supreme Court had followed the Constitution, refusing to hear Roe v Wade, we would not have the blood of 54 million babies on our hands. God always brings justice to injustice, and He will punish those that broke the contract, ignoring the Constitution. It's a covenant issue. For the pro-life community to continually beg for a federal solution is not only against the structure of our system, but it is another crime against the Constitution.
The Law
Some hold the position that the state sovereignty and federal limitation doctrines of Ron Paul reveal his misunderstanding of law (including Biblical law). As a graduate of a Biblical worldview academy, and the daughter of its headmaster, I disagree thoroughly. Ron Paul has a profound understanding of the different kinds of laws as well as the separation of powers and jurisdictional boundaries.
Christians are often confused about the different kinds of laws God gave in the Old Testament. There are civil laws, laws specific to Israel, and ceremonial laws. Obviously, sodomy is an abomination. Disrespecting one's parents can lead to death. God also commanded men to offer goats and calves for their sins. Some law, like the tenth commandment are purely matters of the heart and could never be legislated, even if we tried. There is a difference between God's law (as written on our hearts and which - as it says in Galatians - we as Christians MUST follow), and Church law, city law, state law, or Federal law. Those laws which a Christian must follow (ie - we should not do drugs because we should not defile the temple of the Holy Spirit MUST be obeyed through self governance even though they are not and/or should not be a federal law.) Traditionally there is a divide between canonical law and civil law. Cannonical law was the jurisdiction of the clergy. The same issue was used by Pilot as a reason why he could not condemn Jesus. Jesus had broken no civil law, only religious law (according to the Pharisees). Pilot was a smart and principled man. He understood his jurisdiction and would not be swayed.
We must recognize that even some laws in the Old Testament did not come with enforceable penalties (such as the law to leave the corners of your field for the strangers to glean). Not only must a person have a profound understanding of different kinds of law, they also need to understand the proper jurisdiction of each government. It is within the Church's jurisdiction to enforce God's law to not forsake the fellowship of believers and to excommunicate those who do. It is within the family's jurisdiction to punish disobedient children, and neither are within the civil government's jurisdiction. In the United States it is within each state's jurisdiction to punish murderers, homosexuals, make drugs legal or illegal, etc....it is NOT within the Federal government's jurisdiction. It's the beauty of the way our American system is set up. I think the waters can get very muddied when these two issues are combined and confused and both are very important. If you want to read more on this I recommend Dr. Herb Titus, one of our nation's best Constitutional lawyers and an expert on God's law as well. He was also one of Judge Roy Moore's top attorneys.
Homosexuality
There is a radio interview in which Dr. Paul says that he doesn’t know whether homosexuality is a sin. I was certainly disappointed at first. I listened to the whole interview and learned that Dr. Paul believes that homosexuality is a sin, and that it is also not within the purview of federal law. I agree with him. It should be a state issue.
We must also remember that Congressman Paul’s first profession is a Medical Doctor, and so he thinks in those terms. It seems that Dr. Paul is making more of a medical statement than a moral one. He questions whether homosexuality might be connected to a genetic cause. He either thinks it is a genetic disorder or that it might be a normal genetic trait. It is unclear in the interview.
Also, Ron Paul points out that just as bad as homosexuality in the military is heterosexual perversion. That's the greater point he was trying to make. Even in Christian circles, not to mention among pastors of many faiths, sexual sin is prevalent. A bit of humility and taking the beam out of our own eyes before we start digging for specks in the eyes of unbelievers is called for.
Even if you disagree...
If you are not a supporter of Ron Paul, you probably disagree with him on at least one topic. Fair enough. If that’s the case, here’s my challenge to you. Think about the last election cycle, or the cycle before that. Did you disagree with your candidate on anything? But, you still voted for him. Maybe it’s because you thought he was the best person for the job, or maybe because you like the idea of voting for a winner. Whatever the reason, don’t you think you ought to give a Christian man the benefit of the doubt? He has been married to the same wife for 54 years, delivered over 4,000 babies, has been elected 12 times in his district, and he has a 24-year consistent voting record. Could you also extend the same grace to him - though you might disagree with him on one or two points - that you did to the last person you voted for?
Conclusion
I thank God for leaders like Ron Paul who have consistently spoken, voted, and acted in accordance to a Biblical Worldview and the dictates of his conscience. Isn’t it about time that we respect and honor him for his years of service? And, isn’t it time that we raise up some more leaders like Dr. Ron Paul?
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Wait upon the Lord...
If I had to sum up 2011 in one word, the word that would roll off my tongue would be "change", and since as a general rule, change makes me nervous/ overwhelmed/ stressed out, this past year presented many difficulties. But, as the Bible promises us, " that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28) it is amazing to see how God used this change to push me to Him. Because He is the only thing in this whole world that does not change, if we are to find any sanity at all in this crazy life we must turn to Him.
Into 2012, change has continued to hold my hand on this path of life. Most of this is due to the fact that I am staring at a Graduation and a Senior Piano Recital happening in 5 months. With these wonderful milestones showing themselves on the horizon, fear can poke itself into your heart. Fear of the future, fear of failure, and mostly, fear of the unknown. But as we know, "perfect love casteth out fear..." (I John 4:18) and so the only way we can dispel these fears is to give them to God who is that perfect love.
The theme of change has extended into the my family as well. In just the latter half of the year, Josiah moved back, Elysse moved back, Liberty moved out, and we had at least 2 and up to 4 additional guests in our home on any given day.
With my older siblings being very much occupied with making these big decisions, I too felt pressure (mostly of my own making) to make a decision concerning "life after high-school". However, as I sought the Lord and His will, as well as talking to my parents numerous times, I came to the realization that this kind of decision could not be made the same way as you decide what you want for breakfast. Rather, this decision requires the ability to listen to what God says and to do it , even when it is not the answer you want or are expecting. I found that even when I did ask the Lord that He would show me His will and that His will would be done, I was already off thinking of reasons I should follow a certain path and not even attempting to open up my ears to listen to what God was trying to tell me.
One of my favorite songs is by Andrew Peterson entitled "The Silence of God" (If you have the chance I encourage you to look this song up on Youtube and listen to it as well as any and all of Andrew Peterson's songs... they are amazing). When I first sought the Lord, yet was not getting any response, I clung to this song as my answer: "The Silence of God". Yet as I continued on my decision-making path, I realized that sometimes you can make yourself believe God is Silent when you are simply not listening. I believe that somewhere through that journey I had stopped listening to the Silence when the Silence had begun to speak. I was choosing to wallow in the miserable fact that God had hid Himself from me, even as He was revealing Himself. It has been a long journey back, one that is not yet complete. I am still attempting to regain the ground I lost because of my pride in the fact that I could do it myself and my hurt that God would "abandon" me. This second journey has been much different than the first and the difficulties have seemed to come in different areas.
With this journey have come many challenges, challenges that at some points seem almost unconquerable and each time I meet them I am tempted again and again to take the "easy way out" and not meet them at all... and time and time again there is Christ, knocking on the door of my heart with his unmeasurable love that overwhelms me and I realize that I can't conquer anything, only HE can. Yet, once again, it seems that with each one of God's declarations of His faithfulness, the Enemy's sayings that I don't need God seem to become louder and louder. Caught in the middle, knowing exactly what you should do, yet realizing that it is in someways what you don't want to do is quite an interesting experience. To know that what you must do can only be done by surrendering the whole of your being over to Christ once again, but also feeling as if by surrendering you will lose something but knowing that if you don't you will lose something greater....
As I have been working through these thoughts and feelings as specifically relating to my decision, the words that keep running through my head are those of Ecclesiastes 3:1-8,
"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace"
To everything there is a season....
In this season of my life, I believe that if I do want to accomplish God's plan in my life then I must seek in the Scriptures the promises of God and hold fast to them even as He holds fast to me. One of the promises in Scripture that God brought to my attention early last summer at the end of a day filled with worrying over the future was Isaiah 40:31, "But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." This is an amazing promise, one of strength and power in the Lord... yet, it is also a command to "wait" and not wait in any way or on any thing but to "wait upon the Lord" and HE will "renew your strength.".... He is truly the ONLY one who can renew your strength and He will if you but ask and wait on Him... we truly have an AMAZING God!
Into 2012, change has continued to hold my hand on this path of life. Most of this is due to the fact that I am staring at a Graduation and a Senior Piano Recital happening in 5 months. With these wonderful milestones showing themselves on the horizon, fear can poke itself into your heart. Fear of the future, fear of failure, and mostly, fear of the unknown. But as we know, "perfect love casteth out fear..." (I John 4:18) and so the only way we can dispel these fears is to give them to God who is that perfect love.
The theme of change has extended into the my family as well. In just the latter half of the year, Josiah moved back, Elysse moved back, Liberty moved out, and we had at least 2 and up to 4 additional guests in our home on any given day.
With my older siblings being very much occupied with making these big decisions, I too felt pressure (mostly of my own making) to make a decision concerning "life after high-school". However, as I sought the Lord and His will, as well as talking to my parents numerous times, I came to the realization that this kind of decision could not be made the same way as you decide what you want for breakfast. Rather, this decision requires the ability to listen to what God says and to do it , even when it is not the answer you want or are expecting. I found that even when I did ask the Lord that He would show me His will and that His will would be done, I was already off thinking of reasons I should follow a certain path and not even attempting to open up my ears to listen to what God was trying to tell me.
One of my favorite songs is by Andrew Peterson entitled "The Silence of God" (If you have the chance I encourage you to look this song up on Youtube and listen to it as well as any and all of Andrew Peterson's songs... they are amazing). When I first sought the Lord, yet was not getting any response, I clung to this song as my answer: "The Silence of God". Yet as I continued on my decision-making path, I realized that sometimes you can make yourself believe God is Silent when you are simply not listening. I believe that somewhere through that journey I had stopped listening to the Silence when the Silence had begun to speak. I was choosing to wallow in the miserable fact that God had hid Himself from me, even as He was revealing Himself. It has been a long journey back, one that is not yet complete. I am still attempting to regain the ground I lost because of my pride in the fact that I could do it myself and my hurt that God would "abandon" me. This second journey has been much different than the first and the difficulties have seemed to come in different areas.
With this journey have come many challenges, challenges that at some points seem almost unconquerable and each time I meet them I am tempted again and again to take the "easy way out" and not meet them at all... and time and time again there is Christ, knocking on the door of my heart with his unmeasurable love that overwhelms me and I realize that I can't conquer anything, only HE can. Yet, once again, it seems that with each one of God's declarations of His faithfulness, the Enemy's sayings that I don't need God seem to become louder and louder. Caught in the middle, knowing exactly what you should do, yet realizing that it is in someways what you don't want to do is quite an interesting experience. To know that what you must do can only be done by surrendering the whole of your being over to Christ once again, but also feeling as if by surrendering you will lose something but knowing that if you don't you will lose something greater....
As I have been working through these thoughts and feelings as specifically relating to my decision, the words that keep running through my head are those of Ecclesiastes 3:1-8,
"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace"
To everything there is a season....
In this season of my life, I believe that if I do want to accomplish God's plan in my life then I must seek in the Scriptures the promises of God and hold fast to them even as He holds fast to me. One of the promises in Scripture that God brought to my attention early last summer at the end of a day filled with worrying over the future was Isaiah 40:31, "But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." This is an amazing promise, one of strength and power in the Lord... yet, it is also a command to "wait" and not wait in any way or on any thing but to "wait upon the Lord" and HE will "renew your strength.".... He is truly the ONLY one who can renew your strength and He will if you but ask and wait on Him... we truly have an AMAZING God!
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Update.
Wow! 2012 has arrived. It sure got here in a hurry.
Since my last post, I survived another semester of college and am on the precipice of yet another. I figured it would be a good idea to recap some of the stuff I mentioned there and take a look ahead. (Considering I probably won't blog again until after this upcoming semester.)
Well, Boise State football came and went. It had more ups than downs, but the downs were pretty down, so to speak. Nevertheless, I'd call it a general success. I was nice to see Kellen and the boys go out on a high note. Getting to see the game in Toledo was very cool. High-fiving Kellen and Co. afterwards was cool, too. It's never too early to start the countdown to next season, but I'll at least wait until I'm done with this blog.
I recently finished my third semester at Hillsdale College. Looking back I find it ironic that the two classes I said I was looking forward to the most I found least enjoyment in at the end. God is laughing at me, so I'll laugh along, eventually. I did well in most my classes, and I look forward to doing even better next semester. Speaking of looking forward, I will once again be focusing on my to main areas of study, Politics and Philosophy, with three and two courses in each discipline respectively. This should be fun. And being the far out, crazy person I am, I am planning to take a sixth academic course as I will be beginning Spanish 101 towards my B.A. requirements. This should be interesting. Mostly, my goal is not dying.
I am still a member of the George Washington Fellowship. My writing and research commitment to this program was not especially onerous this last semester, and I hope that will continue as my class schedule fills up even more. Hopefully, this research service will provide a useful diversion from some of my more tedious class work.
Rugby once again provided a bright spot in my semester despite the complications and losing. I think I am improving as a player and I plan on moving into a greater leadership roll moving forward. For this, I cannot wait. Well, I can, but it will be hard.
As far as the goals I set, I did check out more clubs and will see about greater involvement this next semester; YAL is on hold because of time commitments; I was able to deepen several friendships, now for adding width to the depth, and more depth; spiritual maturity came as well but with downs as well. Prayers are especially appreciated here. As far as being a Godly influence, time will probably tell how well I'm doing. Hopefully, I'll get to see it.
Things keep getting busier, but as the business grows so does my excitement for God's plan.
A always, feel free to contact me on Facebook, by e-mail, or via this blog.
Jacob Barrett
P.S. 234 Days.
Since my last post, I survived another semester of college and am on the precipice of yet another. I figured it would be a good idea to recap some of the stuff I mentioned there and take a look ahead. (Considering I probably won't blog again until after this upcoming semester.)
Well, Boise State football came and went. It had more ups than downs, but the downs were pretty down, so to speak. Nevertheless, I'd call it a general success. I was nice to see Kellen and the boys go out on a high note. Getting to see the game in Toledo was very cool. High-fiving Kellen and Co. afterwards was cool, too. It's never too early to start the countdown to next season, but I'll at least wait until I'm done with this blog.
I recently finished my third semester at Hillsdale College. Looking back I find it ironic that the two classes I said I was looking forward to the most I found least enjoyment in at the end. God is laughing at me, so I'll laugh along, eventually. I did well in most my classes, and I look forward to doing even better next semester. Speaking of looking forward, I will once again be focusing on my to main areas of study, Politics and Philosophy, with three and two courses in each discipline respectively. This should be fun. And being the far out, crazy person I am, I am planning to take a sixth academic course as I will be beginning Spanish 101 towards my B.A. requirements. This should be interesting. Mostly, my goal is not dying.
I am still a member of the George Washington Fellowship. My writing and research commitment to this program was not especially onerous this last semester, and I hope that will continue as my class schedule fills up even more. Hopefully, this research service will provide a useful diversion from some of my more tedious class work.
Rugby once again provided a bright spot in my semester despite the complications and losing. I think I am improving as a player and I plan on moving into a greater leadership roll moving forward. For this, I cannot wait. Well, I can, but it will be hard.
As far as the goals I set, I did check out more clubs and will see about greater involvement this next semester; YAL is on hold because of time commitments; I was able to deepen several friendships, now for adding width to the depth, and more depth; spiritual maturity came as well but with downs as well. Prayers are especially appreciated here. As far as being a Godly influence, time will probably tell how well I'm doing. Hopefully, I'll get to see it.
Things keep getting busier, but as the business grows so does my excitement for God's plan.
A always, feel free to contact me on Facebook, by e-mail, or via this blog.
Jacob Barrett
P.S. 234 Days.
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