Great Stuff!!!

I am copying this from Stephen Mansfields BLOG. You can read his stuff on his websight, "TheMansfieldGRoup". He is a fantastic writer and insightful historian. Here are his renderings concerning the presidential race:

"It was a bloody political fight. The two candidates wanted that Congressional seat and they wanted it badly. And one of the candidates was willing to throw the low blow to win.
This man had been a Methodist preacher, a tough, stout fiery pulpiteer of blunt opinions. He decided early in his campaign his opponent wasn’t a true Christian and that the largely church-going electorate ought to know it. So he opened fire. He told his audiences that his opponent denied Christ, welcomed drunkards as true believers, and never attended church. Perhaps worse, the man’s wife was an Episcopalian and therefore couldn’t be further from God. The voters had to choose, the preacher insisted, between a respected man of the cloth and a notorious infidel.
The preacher’s plan was calculated, well-executed and intended to strike the mortal wound. But it didn’t work. The former preacher, whose name was Peter Cartwright, lost the election badly. And we should be glad he did, for this bloody political battle took place in the Illinois of 1846. The name of the victorious infidel? Abraham Lincoln. Later, as our sixteenth president, Lincoln would summon the nation to faith and prayer more than all but a few of our chief executives have, his famed Second Inaugural Address ranking among the great political sermons of American history. Not bad for an infidel.
John Kerry would do well to learn from this episode in Lincoln’s life. On March 28, Kerry quoted James 2:14 to a St. Louis congregation, the scripture that says faith is of no profit without works, and then questioned aloud whether George Bush has genuine faith. Citing “our present national leadership,” Kerry said, “When we look at what’s happening in America today, where are the works of compassion? Because it’s also written, ‘Be doers of the word and not hearers only.’”
Mr. Kerry shouldn’t throw stones. He ought, first, to get consistent with his own faith. Kerry is a Catholic and by definition has affirmed the doctrines of the Church. Yet the candidate is at such variance with Catholic teaching on abortion and same-sex marriage that the Bishop of Kerry’s home diocese won’t admit the man to the Lord’s Table, the central experience of Catholic worship. Strange that Mr. Kerry feels the need to offer spiritual correction to President Bush.
What is more, while our current president is a man of deep and unapologetic evangelical faith, there is no record that he has ever questioned the faith of his opponents or doubted the sincerity of their religious opinions. In fact, though Bush is often portrayed by his enemies as a narrow Bible-thumper and pawn of preachers, the truth is that his administration has been graced with large-heartedness on religious matters. The president could not have been more affirming of law-abiding Muslims following the terror of September 11, 2001, and his administration is among the most religiously and racially diverse in American history. Like Lincoln and unlike Mr. Kerry, it isn’t Bush throwing religious punches in the current political fray.
Finally, it is odd to hear Kerry chastise Bush about an assumed divorce between faith and public policy. It is Bush who hopes to serve God in office while maintaining First Amendment boundaries. Mr. Kerry’s Democrat Party is notorious for candidates who believe one thing privately while urging another publicly. How many times do we hear a Democrat say, “Well, personally I’m opposed to abortion, but I will not vote my private opinions on the floor of the Congress?” If Mr. Kerry is going to start calling for a consistent line between private faith and public politics, he’ll have to switch parties first.
Religious attacks in politics are the refuge of the small and the insecure. Abraham Lincoln rose above them and won. President Bush will as well. Once again, Mr. Kerry is on the wrong side of history.

Great Stuff--

God Comes Near

Your life is today... You are living in the current state of what you said 1 year ago would be "When I..." You are living in your future. When I do this... then I will be doing what God wants me to do... then I will be fulfilled... The tragedy of "tommorrow thinking" seems to rob us of so much...primarily- walking with God today. James says, "..Come near to God and He will come near to You.." Wow. I don't have to wait until I have something paid off, or some career checklist checked, or family goal realized.. I can draw near to him now. I am always amazed at the difference between the days I am walking with Him and the days I am doing my own thing. Night and day. POwerful or powerless. LIfe giving or tiresome..

I want to take the plunge.. dive in.. go for it... Kingdom living is such the adventure. The past two days have taken a wild twist. For some reason (God's grace being one primary) I quit fighting for control and tried to let go some more. The results were astounding. It is so simple yet we make it so complicated. He bears fruit when he is in charge. So just do it. Take one minute. Remind yourself who's in charge and give Him the pleasure of hearing your heart. Who knows...He might just come near to you....