​It's election cycle again, and I've almost let myself lose my peace of mind. What I mean is that I let all the news, debates, social media, etc. suck me in to the point where I just about went bonkers. My brain can't process it all. It makes me sick, physically, to see and hear all the trash that goes on between candidates, not to mention seeing people get behind certain candidates as though they are the Messiah himself.

I've written about voting before, so I'm going to keep it simple. I'm a Christian. This means everything I do needs to be filtered through Holy Scripture. Whether that makes sense to me or anyone else doesn't matter. Scripture calls me to trust in Yahweh and not lean to my own understanding. Scripture calls me to not be wise in my own eyes, but let Yahweh direct my path (Proverbs 3:5-7).

What I'm going to share in this blog post is going to make some people roll their eyes. Others will laugh and mock. There will be some people who think I am complete bonkers. But, I cannot let any of that bother me, because I'm trusting in Yahweh. I'm not worried about getting praised by man. 

I'm sure it sounded weird to the Israelites when they were told to march around the walls of Jericho (Joshua 6:1-16). 10 out of 12 Israelites that spied out Canaan land thought there was no way they'd defeat the giant Canaanites (Numbers 13-14), even though Yahweh had told them, "I'm giving you this land." Dipping 7 times in the Jordan River seemed senseless to Naaman the Syrian (2 Kings 5:1-14). Looking at a bronze-cast snake on a wooden pole seems ridiculous, when someone tells you that's how you'll get healed of poisonous snake-bites (Numbers 21:4-9). I could go on, but my point is that Yahweh's methods aren't man's methods. Yahweh honors those who trust His word in spite of how strange it sounds to the ears of man.

When we look to Holy Scripture we are given clear, specific criteria for appointing men as leaders in a governmental capacity. Deuteronomy 17 gives us the qualities of a proper King. He must...

Other passages do the same. Leaders must be Yahweh-fearing, trustworthy, and hating bribes (Exodus 18:19-21). They must be wise, understanding, respected, and show no partiality (Deuteronomy 1:13-17).

If we believe what Yahweh says, we should make sure that the men we appoint for high offices meet these criteria.

People often say, "You're not going to find a perfect man." I say, "Of course, nobody said we had to find a perfect man." Yahweh never said, "Only appoint a king that is sinless." Yahweh did however give us qualifications for a king or leader. When we look for men to appoint in leadership, we will find that some meet these qualities better than others.

​To ignore these qualifications is ignoring Yahweh. To vote for a man who blatantly doesn't meet these criteria is in essence saying, "Yahweh, I've decided that I know best. I know what our country needs, and I'm not going to trust You, nor do what You tell me to do." Yahweh didn't put the criteria in Scripture to merely take up space. They aren't there for frilly edges. They are there because they are important. We need leaders who are men of Yahweh. We don't need someone just because he speaks well, is rich, and knows how to entertain. We need someone who we can look at and say, "Yahweh would be pleased to have that man ruling our nation."

Here's where people will think I'm nuts, but I don't care. Like I said, I'm trusting Yahweh. He always honors our faith in His word.

I'm writing in my vote for President, and the name of the man I'm writing in is Arnold Bowen. I've known this man closely for 20 years. I've talked to him before, and he has expressed to me what he would do if elected President. He is an elder, and has much wisdom, natural and spiritual. He reads in Yahweh's law every day and studies to show himself approved. He is level headed, and would not take a bribe. He is not interested in power for himself, but would be a humble servant to the people. He loves and fears Yahweh, and I believe he would do his very best to please Yahweh in all of his decisions for our country. 

For these reasons my vote goes to him for our current earthly leader. I'm placing my faith in Yahweh and His word in casting this vote, and I fully believe that Yahweh will bless my endeavor to remain true to His word in this area.

People will say this is ridiculous; that it will make no difference. But these people are thinking in the carnal, not the spiritual. As I've said previously, Yahweh's methods are not man's methods. What I am doing has the backing of Yahweh. This means that Yahweh will honor it, whether I or anyone else can see with our fleshly eyes just how this will take place. 

I was thinking today about this blog. I have not written on it since January of this year 2012. It's not that I've not had any thoughts it's just that I don't seem to find the time to write all of my thoughts down!

This is what I am thinking about today. Here we are almost 4 years since Barak Obama was elected US President. He has now come out as openly supporting homosexuality, and any one who has done even a little research knows that he is pro-choice rather than pro-life. In case you missed it, Mr. Obama is for murdering unborn children. This is what it is called Biblically - murder, not abortion.

Conservatives and many Christians are pushing that we must go out and vote for the alternate candidate or else we are in for disaster. Do I believe we are in for disaster if Obama gets re-elected? You bet I do, lol, but I judge all things by the Scriptures, specifically the law of Almighty Yahweh. So, if you ask me if I am voting for Mitt Romney or even writing in someone like Ron Paul my answer is: not hardly. I feel like I would be slapping Yahweh in the face if I placed a vote in favor of any man that did not meet HIS standards and qualifications for leadership. I have yet to see any man run for the office of President who is concerned with the law of Yahweh. Therefore I have not voted.

Call me unpatriotic or ridiculous if you will, but I am really not all that concerned with what people call me. My concern is this - what does my heavenly Father think of my actions? And based upon Yahweh's revealed will as found in His instruction manual (Torah) I know exactly what He would think of me if I cast a vote for a man like Mitt Romney. He would be disappointed at best and His wrath would burn against me at worst. He would think, "Matthew, why are placing your trust in the arm of flesh? Why are you overlooking all of the things that disqualifies a man like Romney for a position of leadership?"

Do I believe Romney is a better choice than Obama? Yes, I actually do. I also would rather be shot with a 22 than I would a 50 caliber, but if I have my first choice I'd choose not to be shot at all. As believers in Yahweh and Yeshua, our standards should not drop so low as as to base righteousness of the man who is least guilty of sin against Yahweh. This is what is ridiculous. Be vary careful about who you vote for. You will be held accountable for casting your approval on that person. You may very well be partaking in another man's sins.

Yahweh... THY kingdom come...


Matthew Janzen

What do I think about voting? Well, I've been thinking about it alot lately. I must say that it stirs up a great amount of mixed emotions in me. On the one hand, I've never voted (even locally). People that hear this immediately think my actions stem from not wanting to get involved in politics, but that's really not the reason. I've always taken the position that if there was a Christian man who believed in God's law running for an office in government, I would vote. The problem is that I've not found one yet. Maybe they've ran and I didn't know about it, but most men that I'm familiar with that are running this year and that have ran in years past are wicked, wicked men. Yes, against the backdrop of such a sinner like Barack Obama certain men can "look" holy. But should Obama be the backdrop? Really; shouldn't the backdrop be the Bible? I think so, and all true Bible believers should agree that the Bible (not a man) is the moral standard for us today.

Let me just take a few more lines to speak about how wicked a person Barack Obama is. I would say that he may be the most wicked person to ever run for the office of President. It baffles me (to say the least) that a person who calls themself a Christian can, with clear conscience, vote for a person who is pro-infanticide (abortion). This man supports abortion in all shapes and sizes; first, second, third trimester, partial birth abortion, etc. He even seeks to promote a bill which states that if an abortion is "botched" (if the baby is birthed and still alive after an abortion is performed) the doctor(s) are not required to give this child medical attention. Anyone who thinks that this is okay is nothing short of a son of Belial in my mind, and in Yahweh's mind. There are many other issues I could go into concerning Obama's wickedness, but this one issue, the issue of life, is enough to steer me as far away as I can get from this candidate. You should be ashamed if you are voting for him. I pray that Yahweh would punish those who put such a person in office.

What about John McCain? Is he a righteous man? No way!!! It's equally amazing that people think that McCain is some kind of "maverick." The only reason people feel this way about this man is because of the person he is versing - Obama. Of course, to a Christian, McCain is less evil than Barack Obama on issues like abortion, but how does he stand up to God's standard for a king (Deuteronomy 17)? He falls way short. He doesn't believe God's law is or even should be the standard. He hasn't written out a copy of the law, and he doesn't read in it everyday. "How do you know Mr. Janzen?" The Bible tells me that I know them by their fruits. I've listened to McCain speak and I've read his position on issues like abortion, same marriage, immigration, etc. Had he been reading in Yah's law he would take Yah's position. Furthermore, look at who's running for Vice President. Sarah Palin seems like a nice woman, and I feel bad for how ruthlessly the media has treated her, but she shouldn't be running for the office of the Vice President as a woman. Of course most people would not like this statement, but the office of leadership is not for women Biblically. Isaiah 3:12 states it well that when Israel has turned her back on Yahweh, children oppress them and women rule over them.

So what should you do? As I see it you have two, maybe three, choices. You can either:

1) Not vote at all.

2) Vote for the man you think best meets the standard of Scripture. This may be a third party candidate such as libertarian or the constitution party. This may even be a write in.

3) Vote for the lesser of the two evil men that are getting the coverage allowing them to have the possibility of being elected.

I know people who take each of the positions I've mentioned. I'm not advocating which position is right. I can see voting for a third party or writing someone in you truly believe will follow God, however, does this third party candidate even have a chance? I don't think so. You could look at the issue as though we've been dealt a hand and we need to play that hand the best that we can. Had our forefathers in this nation never played the hand at all, would we even have as many freedoms as we have now?


Matthew Janzen