It’s Time to Wake Up
Whether your belief is Christian, Jewish or any other, (including atheist), You Have Beliefs -- and VALUES. Those values should dictate how you vote because they affect how people are treated and allowed to flourish.
If you subscribe to this Call To Action Update, you’re probably aligned with the basic values of freedom and Americanism even if you don’t consider yourself Christian. If we agree on these basic beliefs, you will cheer what Arizona leader and Minister Hal H. Sacks wrote in a recent post on the website for Vote Core 4. (Most of that post is here, but his full message is worth reading.)
We’re sharing his wake-up call on why it’s critical to love your neighbors by engaging in the political process. As Sacks says to his fellow believers, “The power to unite the Christian nation at the ballot box is not found in shouting against the issues we oppose, but instead standing for the issues that unite us.”.
If believing Christians would fight for the soul of our nation and the protection of every citizen, then America would return to the hope it once was-- for everyone
Regardless of where or whether you worship God, we can all unite on Freedom. You’ll find hope and a reason to keep fighting for America—tomorrow on election day and beyond. ~ Kim
Guest blog by Hal H. Sacks (D.Min)
BridgeBuilders International Leadership Network
History has shown that if the Church remains silent and shirks her responsibility to instill and guard godly values in our community, we ultimately will become captive and silenced by spiritual forces that work through those who oppose God’s Spirit and His truth.
One only needs to watch our local and national news and walk around our communities to realize that godly values are vanishing. No candidate will be the “perfect choice,” but whomever we elect will influence the course of this nation. And our vote, or absence of our ballot, IS A VOTE in one direction or another.
As we approach this season of decision in our country, we are called upon to choose who will represent us in governing our nation’s destiny— this has huge implications for the destiny of the Church in America as well. This played out in Germany when Hitler came to power and forbade the churches to preach the gospel, demanding them to line up with his autobiographical manifesto, Mein Kampf (My Struggle).
Recently, in one northern state in India, the Hindu-ruled government passed laws that forbid Christians to evangelize. Anyone who wins more than two people to the Lord Jesus Christ can be arrested and stripped of their job, property, and inheritance.
DON'T SAY, "IT CAN'T HAPPEN HERE!"
We cannot say, “It can’t happen here.” We were already told how to conduct church during the pandemic. Now we are being told what is appropriate and inappropriate to say about gender and sexual confusion, not only in personal conversations but also from the pulpit. In Canada, it is considered a “hate crime” to preach the truth about God’s design for male and female and what the Bible has to say about homosexuality.
We are in spiritual warfare. Which direction will America go? Will we embrace the ideals upon which our nation was founded: “one nation, under God, with liberty and justice for all”? One only has to watch the news and experience life around us to realize that these values are on the verge of becoming nonexistent.
I am not speaking of “Christian nationalism.” I’m talking about the responsibility we have been given to represent godly values to our family, friends, neighbors, and congregations, and to guard our liberties so that we can share our faith without repercussions. God’s Word reminds us that good decisions bring blessings and bad decisions have consequences. We must be diligent to become informed and make wise decisions. God’s Word calls us to discern the times in which we are living (1 Chronicles 12:32). We must understand the upcoming election’s significant issues from a biblical worldview.
Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life we must follow.
THE ENEMY WANTS TO DIVIDE US
The enemy wants to divide the Church because he knows that if we ever come together around biblical values, we will be a strong transformative force and a light to the world.
A growing number of pastors and Christian leaders are calling Christ-followers to unite around biblical values and to make informed choices when they vote in the upcoming elections, deciding who will lead our schools, cities, state, and nation.
If we want to continue to receive God’s blessings and protection upon this nation, we must pray and act upon what is right in God’s eyes. The power to unite the Christian nation at the ballot box is not found in shouting against the issues we oppose, but instead standing for the issues that unite us.
“Let’s Let Go of Judgments and Politics and Unite Around Biblical Truth.”
We need to choose qualified leaders who uphold biblical values. While there are other important issues at stake, here we highlight "4 CORE Values" that every Christian can agree on:
SANCTITY OF HUMAN LIFE: Life begins at conception and defending it is of utmost importance. God formed us in our mother’s womb (see Psalm 139:13). Life is precious in the sight of the Lord, and His Word teaches us not to murder (see Exodus 20:13). (NOTE: As Christians, voting for life does not mean we are exempt from caring for babies brought into the world who need a loving home, or from coming alongside single parents who need help in raising a child alone.
SCHOOL CHOICE and PARENTAL RIGHTS: Those we vote for will determine the educational ideological agendas local schools will promote. We need school board members who will hold schools accountable to focus on excellence in academics rather than promoting immorality and political agendas. We need legislators who will vote for curriculum transparency and the right of parents to know what is going on in the lives of their children when they are away at school. When we vote for those who will protect Arizona’s School Choice bill, we protect parents' rights to stay in the driver’s seat when it comes to their children’s education. We make it possible for kids and families to access the education that best fits their needs, including for those who live in poorer neighborhoods to have access to better schools.
STRENGTH IN BINARY SEXUALITY: God made us male and female; we are made in His image (see Genesis 1:27). The agenda to create a sexless society is creating such confusion that suicide among teens is rampant. The further we move from God’s view of creation, the more confused our children are becoming. There is a difference between respecting an individual to make free will choices and forcing all children to embrace non-biblical standards of human sexuality. “If anyone causes one of these little ones…to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea” (Matthew 18:6).
ACKNOWLEDGING AND RESPECTING BORDERS: All nations have borders and boundaries established by God. These drawn borders protect their inhabitants and bring order to society (see Deuteronomy 32:7-8; Numbers 34: 1-12; Acts 17: 24-26). Refusing to respect and protect our borders and properly vet those who are crossing our borders into the United States has created a new reality of human slavery, sex trafficking, drug dealing, and fentanyl addiction. (NOTE: As Christians, voting for secure borders does not mean we are exempt from showing kindness and hospitality to foreigners who are in our nation legally or who sojourn (travel or temporarily stay) among us (see Acts 17:26-27).
Cheryl and I are aligning with God’s Word and standing with other Arizona pastors and Christian leaders to call the Church to unite around biblical values and godly truth in the upcoming elections. As Christians, we have a voice for righteousness, and as American citizens we have the privilege of electing those who govern us. Let's stand together to influence our nation with God’s truth.
Hal H. Sacks, D.Min
Since 1981, when Hal and Cheryl Sacks co-founded BridgeBuilders Int’l, their initiatives have brought measurable and miraculous results as they’ve mobilized intense targeted prayer on issues such as sex, drug and weapons trafficking on the border and in schools.