To vote or not to vote, that is the question

Mark Virkler's picture

Some Christians are thinking of staying home and not voting in the upcoming election. What are the reasons they give, and what would be the reasons I might want to vote?


Q&A

Reasons people give for not voting          

  1. Neither candidate is perfect - Yup, that’s because there are no perfect human beings outside of Jesus Christ.
  2. Neither party is perfect - Yup, that is because they are created by imperfect human beings.
  3. My vote doesn’t count - Every vote counts. If a moral and righteous person stays home, they are in effect saying to the immoral and wicked, "You vote, I won’t," and the nation will become more evil.
  4. They will do everything in their power to corrupt and steal the election - That’s the reason we must pray for evil to be exposed, undermined and removed and for revival and righteousness to be lifted up. Are you praying that way every day? I am.
  5. I am to be in the world but not of it (2 Cor. 6:17) - The Lord through Jeremiah tells the captives to pray for the peace and prosperity of the city and also to “seek” it (Jer. 29:7). According to Brown-Driver Briggs, this word means “seek with application, study, follow, ask for, require, demand.” It is more than just hoping and praying for your nation to prosper and be at peace. It is finding out how that can happen, applying what you learn, and demanding it. It is not a passive word but an active one.

Reasons to vote

  1. It is my responsibility to hold up a standard of righteousness in the land.
  2. I am to influence nations.
  3. I am to disciple my nation so I will vote for the person/party that is most closely honoring Biblical principles.
  4. I will not put my lamp stand under a bushel basket but on a hilltop.

Dig deeper

  1. Be an informed voter - Click on this blog for a description on how Patti and I become informed voters.
  2. A Clear Biblical Sermon on Church and Government
  3. Overview of the Republican and Democratic Platforms
  4. Americans warming up to pastors endorsing political candidates: poll (So if you want to know who I am going to vote for and why, read tomorrow/ Saturday’s blog)

Journaling

  • Lord, what would You speak to me?
  • How would you have me lift up a standard today?

Proclaim this Scripture: "For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this." (Isa. 9:6-7)

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Hearing God's Voice for Healing e-book

Mark and Patti Virkler | 281 Pages | Retail: $23.99

Explore the many methods Jesus used to heal. Recognize the significance of the fact that more than half the time, the word used for these healings was the Greek word for "therapeutic," which means "cure". Become aware of 28 therapeutic cures which are either mentioned in the Bible or, if not specifically mentioned, are compatible with biblical principles.

Price: $19.95

How Could I Have Been So Wrong? eBook

Mark Virkler | 80 Pages

This book is my story of how my cardiac event was resolved by combining the best in medical care, Christian spirituality, and nutrition. 

I was NOT supposed to have a cardiac event. I ate a healthy diet, exercised several times a week, consumed lots of great nutrition and sought to live destressed by abiding in Christ. This story contains the lessons I learned in the months of healing after having emergency surgery which involved five heart bypasses.

Price: $14.95

How Do You Know? eBook

by Mark and Patti Virkler | 180 Pages

How do you know? What is the process you use to discover truth? I did not ask that question during the first 25 years of my life. I used various methods for discovering truth such as: if my parents said so, then it was so. If my teacher said it was so, then it was so. If my pastor said it was so, then it was so. If my theology said it was so, then it was so.

Price: $17.95
How to Build a Winning Team eBook

How to Build a Winning Team eBook

by Mark and Patti Virkler | 105 Pages

Can I succeed like others have? What do I need to do? How do I go about it? What if I don't have the gifts necessary to do something great?  The wonderful truth revealed in Scripture is that God uses ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary feats, especially when they say, "Yes, Lord" to the destiny He has prepared for them!

Price: $12.95

How to Deal Effectively with Your Sexuality eBook

by Six Contributing Authors | 80 Pages

Question: How do I handle my sexuality? It is such an intense, persistent and driving force. I battle with pornography. How do I tame this monster within me? I see so many people and even Christian leaders fall, and I don't want to fall. I want this to work! I feel trapped and no-one is preaching a sermon on how to handle this. So I grit my teeth, try my hardest, and fail over and over again, and then get consumed with shame. Can you help me? Have you found any answers that work?

Price: $9.95
How to Receive the Baptism in the Holy Spirit eBook

How to Receive the Baptism in the Holy Spirit eBook

by Mark and Patti Virkler | 44 Pages | Published 2002

This brief booklet walks a person through the main obstacles to speaking in tongues, and shows how each one can be successfully overcome. It is down-to-earth, practical and biblical, and in it Mark Virkler shares the struggles he went through before he was able to speak in tongues. Some were theological issues and some simply practical issues, like the fact that if I am going to speak in tongues, I will need to speak. Otherwise, nothing happens.

Price: $2.66
How to Walk by the Spirit eBook

How to Walk by the Spirit eBook

by Mark and Patti Virkler | 136 Pages

Are you like many western Christians who have been taught little about how to sense their spirits? Do you have trouble even defining what spirit sensations feel like within you, much less recognizing them? This training was birthed from Mark’s passion to live out of his spirit, and thus release the anointing of God. The problem he faced was lack of clear biblical definition as to what his spirit felt like. So Mark looked up every verse in the Bible on heart and spirit.

Price: $13.95
Imagine That eBook

Imagine That eBook

by Rev. Jimmy D. Smith | 85 Pages

Beginning sometime around my 72nd year, my imagination really started to wake up again.  I was reading Dialogue with God, by Mark and Patti Virkler, when wheels began to turn.  In the weeks that followed I decided that this was a “do” book, not just a “read to learn” book. I began to do what the book suggested. Somewhere along the line I felt that the Lord gave me permission to experience the freedom of using my imagination to worship Him, to talk to Him, and more importantly to hear from Him.

Price: $7.95

Intimacy With God Through Journaling [Kindle Edition]

by Janet Gilham

It is a joy to celebrate the release of another new ebook of two-way journaling by one of our students, Janet Gilham! It was an honor to write the forward to this book, which contains 28 days of journaling. This makes it ideal to use for a month of your daily devotions. Each journal entry reveals the heart of God toward you and thus brings warmth and healing to our wounded hearts.

Price: $3.99
Intimacy with the Holy Spirit eBook

Intimacy with the Holy Spirit eBook

by Mark and Patti Virkler | 223 Pages

This book leads you in meditating on and journaling about several hundred verses that discuss the Holy Spirit. You will grow in intimacy with the indwelling Holy Spirit, and the anointing within you will increase! You will exclaim as the disciples did on the Emmaus Road: “Did not our heart burn within us…while He opened to us the Scriptures?” (Luke 24:32)! In addition to being led to journal through these verses, you will read numerous two-way journal entries from Mark Virkler, as well as a powerful five-page prayer at the conclusion of the book.

Price: $10.95

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