PROMISES TO THE PRESIDENT

Just read this post from Pastor David Foster over at David Foster.tv. It contains some great thoughts about how we can respond to a new president.

Confession: While I've always found Obama to be smart, articulate and charismatic, I did not vote for President Obama. I've never been caught up in what some have called "Obama-mania."

At the same time, I believe it is essential that we pray for and respect our leaders (1 Timothy 2:1-4; Romans 13:1-2). Believing Christians should pray passionately for those in authority, even those with whom we may disagree.

Unlike some individuals who are actually encouraging people to pray for President Obama to fail, I'm NOT praying for his failure. That's simply illogical and I believe unScriptural. But I'm also not necessarily praying for his success. (I don't know that I've ever prayed for a president to be successful.) However, I am praying as Jesus taught us to pray, "...Your kingdom come, Your will be done."

I'm praying that God will direct the heart, attitudes, decisions and actions of our new President, and use Him to accomplish His purposes and plans. I'm praying for President Obama's wife and children who will be experiencing more scrutiny and pressure than you and I could ever imagine.

Proverbs 21:1 (NIV) says, "The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases."

Even though our new President holds views that I completely and very strongly disagree with - particularly in respect to the sanctity of human life, I believe the truth of Proverbs 21:1, and believe that God can and will direct his heart. So, I'm praying...

In the post below Dave Foster shares some great thoughts about how we can respond to a new leader... I would probably add one or two additional promises, but this is a great start... (I also believe these promises are a great model for us to use in how we relate to other leaders, beyond that of the president.)

What do you think? What promises will you make for our new President during this difficult period in American history?

Something to think about...


Dave Rave - Seven Presidential Promises

Well today is an historic day; the day we swear in President Obama, the first Black President in the history of our country. I am proud to be able to live long enough to see it.

It’s also historic in that there is a feeling of hope and new beginnings unlike anything I’ve felt in my lifetime. You might call it a sense of promise. For anyone to preside over a nation, you must have citizens willing to be presided over. So here are my seven promises to President Obama as he makes history and begins his presidency.

1. President Obama, I promise to pray for you each and every day that God would give you wisdom and favor and that He would protect you from those who are evil.

2. President Obama, I promise to respect you for not only what you have achieved personally and how you’ve taken advantage of all your opportunities, but the fact that you fulfill the role of President of my country, an office worthy of respect though the men who have occupied it have been imperfect, its ideal still abides; a Democracy ruled over not by a King, but by a President elected by the people.

3. President Obama, I promise to support you where I can and to reserve judgment over those things I disagree, believing that you may know more about the subject than I do.

4. President Obama, I promise to believe the best about you. I won’t listen to conspiracy theories and throw you under the bus at the first sign that you may not be doing something the majority of the people agree with.

5. President Obama, I promise to be the kind of American worthy of a great President.

6. President Obama, I promise I will not expect you to do for me what I should be doing for myself. I’m glad I don’t live in a Socialist state. I live in a Democracy driven by Capitalism, the idea that I am personally responsible for my actions. So I’ll not ask you to pay my house payment or feed me unless I have a catastrophic disability. I’m willing to pay my taxes and my fair share and fully take responsibility.

7. President Obama, I promise to remember that you’re human; that you occupy an office that no human can be expected to perform flawlessly. I’ll try to put myself in your place even though it would be hard to do.

This is a day of new beginnings for our country. I plan to be in on it. I’m not going to sit on the sidelines and throw stones. I want to be a part of the solution, the change that we all hope and pray will happen. As a man of faith it is my obligation and responsibility. And as a citizen, it is the covenant I signed up for.