Leading Christian Pastor: Make Your 2016 Vote A Biblical One

In many ways, America is at the crossroads. What path are we going to choose for our future as we prepare to elect the next president of the United States?

As a pastor, I urge every Christian to register and vote and be informed of where the candidates stand on important issues. I think it is completely irresponsible for Christians to not be a part of deciding who will be the next occupant of the Oval Office. We have this incredible privilege and right to have our voice heard, and we must take advantage of it.

But we should not vote emotionally. We should vote intelligently. And most importantly, we should vote biblically. The decision we make will affect generations to come.

[sharequote align="center"]We should not vote emotionally. We should vote intelligently. We should vote biblically.[/sharequote]

For me personally, among other things, I am looking for a candidate who understands the importance of the family to America. It’s been said that a family can survive without a nation, but a nation cannot survive without the family. And by a family, I of course mean a man and a woman committed to each other for life in a monogamous marriage.

The fact of the matter is, most of the social ills in our country today can be directly traced to the breakdown of the family, and specifically the absence of the father. Consider the following alarming statistics provided by the Families Civil Liberties Union in 2016:

• 85 percent of all children that exhibit behavioral disorders come from fatherless homes
• 90 percent of all homeless and runaway children are from fatherless homes
• 71 percent of all high school dropouts come from fatherless homes
• 75 percent of all adolescent patients in chemical abuse centers come from fatherless homes
• 63 percent of youth suicides are from fatherless homes
• 80 percent of rapists motivated with displaced anger come from fatherless homes
• 70 percent of juveniles in state-operated institutions come from fatherless homes
• 85 percent of all youths sitting in prisons grew up in a fatherless home
• Daughters of single parents are 53 percent more likely to marry as teenagers, 164 percent more likely to have a premarital birth, and 92 percent more likely to dissolve their own marriages
• 71 percent of teenage pregnancies are to children of single parents

God must have known what He was talking about when He gave us the template for the family consisting of a husband and wife staying faithful to each other and raising their children with a mother and father present.

I’m also looking for a presidential candidate that understands the importance of protecting the rights of unborn children. Life does not begin at birth; it begins at conception. Think of all the babies aborted over the years. It is just so tragic. Since the passing of Roe v. Wade, close to 58 million babies have been aborted. Who knows that one of them might not have found the cure for cancer, or even been the president of the United States.

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This is personal for me, for I was conceived out of wedlock. I’m so glad my mother carried me to term. I want a president who understands this and will stand up for the unborn.

I’m also looking for a president that understands the importance of the nation Israel — not just because Israel is the only pro- America and real democracy in the Middle East, but because this is the homeland of the Jewish people established in the aftermath of the Holocaust. God made an amazing prophecy to the ancient patriarch Abraham and his descendants, the Jewish people The Lord said, “I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you” (Genesis 12:3). One of the reasons God has blessed our great nation is because we have stood by the nation of Israel. I hope our next president understands that.

But there is an even more important decision before the United States than who our next president is; it is the decision about what role we want God to play in our nation. So many of our Founding Fathers understood the role of faith in America. And not just faith in general, but faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The God who loved us so much that He sent His own Son, Jesus Christ, to die on a cross and pay for our sins, and then rise from the dead.

America’s ultimate solution is to turn back to God.

Though given originally to the nation of Israel, this promise from God applies to any nation -- including ours -- that will put it into practice:

“if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” (2 Chron.7:14)

Greg Laurie is senior pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship® in Riverside and Irvine, California, and is hosted the national Harvest America Crusade live from AT&T Stadium on March 6.

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