EL CAJON, Calif. (BP) -- Author and pastor David Jeremiah has recorded a video urging Christians not to vote according to their political party but to vote according to their values.
In the six-minute video, the senior pastor of Shadow Mountain Community Church in El Cajon, Calif., urges Christians to pray for the nation and to vote.
"As Christians, the Bible tells us that we are to be salt and light in the world, and the time has come for us to let our voices be heard and our votes be counted," Jeremiah says. "And this time when you vote, don't vote your geographical location. Don't vote your religious denomination. Don't vote your political affiliation. Don't vote your racial identification. Don't even vote your union obligation. This time when you vote, vote your values. Vote your beliefs. Vote your convictions.
"And if candidates want your vote, let them earn it the old fashioned way. Let them make commitments to your values, and let them know that you intend to hold them responsible."
America "seems to have lost her way," Jeremiah asserts, adding, "Spiritually, we have marginalized the Bible. We've trivialized marriage, and we've neutralized the church. America today is in great turmoil. It feels like the soul of our nation has been taken from us."
Christians, he says, "are fully aware of the precarious situation in which we find ourselves: economically, spiritually and politically." And yet "we feel rather powerless to do anything about it."
But he adds, "We are not helpless."
Jeremiah says Christians can do two things: pray and vote.
"The Old Testament teaches us that if we humble ourselves and pray, God will hear from heaven and heal our land," Jeremiah says. "And the New Testament assures us that the fervent prayers of righteous men can make a difference."
Voting, Jeremiah says, is an obligation.
"In the last election, less than half of those who were eligible to vote were registered. And of those who did register, less than half of them actually went to the polls and voted. Our young men and women give their limbs and their lives to ensure our freedom, and we don't even trouble ourselves to vote. No wonder we are in the mess we are in."
Jeremiah closes by telling viewers, "I have been asked this question over and over again: 'Dr. Jeremiah, do you think God is finished with America?' But that is the wrong question.' The right question is: Is America finished with God?"
Michael Foust is associate editor of Baptist Press. Get Baptist Press headlines and breaking news on Twitter (@BaptistPress), Facebook (Facebook.com/BaptistPress ) and in your email ( baptistpress.com/SubscribeBP.asp).
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