I am voting for...

​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...

• Be a man Yahweh chooses (vs. 15)
• Be a fellow brother; no foreigner (vs. 15)
• Not have his heart set on material gain (vss. 16-17)
• Not acquire many wives for himself (vs. 17)
• Write out a copy of Yahweh's instructions (vs. 18)
• Read Yahweh's instructions every day (vs. 19)
• Learn to fear Yahweh (vs. 19)
• Learn to observe and follow Yahweh's instructions (vs. 19)
• Be a humble man (vs. 20)

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.

​Then I put my brother Hanani in charge of Jerusalem, along with Hananiah, commander of the fortress, because he was a faithful man who feared [the Almighty] more than most. (Nehemiah 7:2 HCSB)

​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.