Volume 2, Issue 1

October 3, 2024

Hi First name / friend!
 

As Christians, we know that the Holy Spirit works in our lives, sometimes to direct us on a certain path, sometimes to prevent us from going the wrong way. We often hear Christians talk about “having peace” about a certain decision or “not having peace” about following through with something. But is that really the litmus test for how we should live? Should our steps be dictated simply by a feeling of peace?

 

How do we know that what we are feeling is truly a conviction and not simply discomfort? How do we know our feelings are coming from the Holy Spirit and not our natural tendency to want to please people? What if our desire to stay out of the fray, keep the peace, or justify our sin has clouded our judgment and made us believe it is the work of the Holy Spirit?

 

As with everything in life, we must go to the Word and determine if our feelings are founded in truth. While we may not find a specific answer to our situation, we can be absolutely assured that the Holy Spirit will never convict us in a way contrary to Scripture. And Scripture promises that it contains everything we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3).

 

 

A current example to flesh this out is the repeated message I’m hearing from Christians who believe the Holy Spirit has convicted them not to vote in the upcoming election. If their issue is simply not choosing one of the presidential candidates but still voting the rest of the ballot in their area, I can understand the issue while completely disagreeing with their position. But if the issue is a flawed belief that Christians should not be involved in politics, let’s see what the Bible has to say.

 

I honestly cannot find a single place in Scripture where we are given a pass to opt out of politics, while there are countless examples in Scripture of people who did not want to be involved in politics, yet that is exactly what God expected of them:

 

The list could go on with Joseph, Elijah, Nathan, and many others. Throughout history, God’s people have been expected to participate and to make the nation where God placed them better, even if they were there under duress. Jeremiah 29 tells us that God commanded the Israelites, who were in captivity, to do what they could to make Babylon prosper. How much more should we want the place where we live in freedom to prosper?

 

One thing that keeps coming to mind is Christ’s words to the Pharisees who were trying to trick him by asking if they should give their hard-earned money to Caesar by way of paying taxes. Christ answers in Mark 12:17: “Jesus said to them, ‘Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.’” The most basic thing we can “render to Caesar” in our culture with our government is our vote. 

 

The “separation of church and state,” which was intended to keep the government out of church not Christians out of politics, is a uniquely American phenomenon. Even in biblical times, the church and the state were often one entity, and most countries today have a national religion. Did you know that many of our states were founded by churches and the bulk of our Constitution is based on a sermon? We were founded as a Christian nation no matter how the rewriting of history tries to hide it. But we are seeing first hand what happens when the church abdicates its responsibility to be the guardrail of the state.

 

So if you believe that you should not vote this election season, please do your due diligence to make sure it is out of conviction and not discomfort. Not voting should be a very difficult decision, as it is still casting a vote. We will all stand before God one day and answer for the choices we’ve made, and that shouldn’t be taken lightly.

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I want to take a minute to tell you about Cooper Roy and ask you to pray for him. Cooper is a young man who is friends with my son, Micah. A couple of weeks ago, Micah and Cooper did a photoshoot as Cooper wanted to help Micah promote his new t-shirt line. 

 

Last week, we were notified that Cooper was involved in a terrible car accident. He was northbound on a highway behind another car. The car in front of him slowed down because the driver noticed another vehicle coming towards them going the wrong direction. When the car slowed down, Cooper went around it, and hit the south-bound vehicle in a head-on collision. He was driving a small car and couldn’t see the danger ahead.

 

Cooper sustained many serious injuries: His ankles, legs, and hips were crushed to the point there was the danger of him losing his left leg. His right arm and hand were injured, and he did lose his left pinky finger. His face was also crushed in the impact along with his ribs. And he suffered a punctured lung. Providentially, his back and neck and right arm were not broken and none of his internal organs were damaged.

 

The driver of the other vehicle was an older man who died at the hospital from the injuries sustained in the accident.

 

For the past week, Cooper has undergone extensive surgeries in an effort to save his leg and reconstruct his face. He has been communicative and alert periodically throughout the whole ordeal. He was intubated until they did the face reconstruction, at which point they did a tracheotomy, so he hasn’t been able to speak.

 

As of this writing, Cooper is in a lot of pain. As uncomfortable as that is for him, I say “hallelujah!” because it means his nerves are firing. I’m especially grateful that he has feeling in his left leg. But the doctors are walking a fine line with medication because they don’t want to do damage to his liver. He has also been running a fever, which again has been difficult to manage without medication or ice, which slows the blood flow. He has developed a blood clot in his “bad” leg, and he has also developed pneumonia. They are trying to resolve all of this with medication since he can’t be moved.

 

The doctors took Cooper off of the ventilator yesterday and capped his trache, so he is now able to speak (as much as possible with a wired jaw). His parents were overjoyed to hear his voice as he said, “I love you!” (I’m not crying; you’re crying!)

 

To add another layer to this story, the woman who was in the car in front of Cooper was saved last night! She has been impacted by these events and calls them her “pivotal moment.” Please pray for Erica as she begins this journey of faith.

 

I tell you all of this because I would like for you to pray for Cooper. The pictures of Cooper’s car prove it truly is a miracle he is still with us. He has a long road ahead of him with surgeries, skin grafts, and physical therapy, and he is only 20 years old, the same age as my Micah. This one hit really close to home!

 

As you pray for Cooper, please also pray for his parents, Brian and Mickie, and everyone in their close family. This is affecting all of them, and they have spent countless hours sitting in the hospital waiting room or by his bed.

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P.S. My apologies for the lateness of this newsletter. It was supposed to go out on Tuesday night, but I didn’t want to send out a rushed newsletter instead of a quality newsletter. Also, I am still processing everything that happened last weekend at Share the Arrows, so I will share more that in the upcoming weeks. Thank you for understanding.

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