President-Elect Obama

Tuesday, November 4, 2008 was, without question, a historic day for the United States of America.

I am happy for President-elect Obama and what he has accomplished and my heart goes out to him as I imagine this is bitter sweet with the passing of his grandmother.

My prayer for our country is that we can finally close the door on racism and move forward. Clearly, there is no limit to what a man or woman can achieve in this fine country because of the color of their skin. We cannot change the past, but we can choose to let it remain there and move forward.

There is no doubt that I wish this monumental event would have occurred with a conservative African American, but there is no reason to wish in hind-sight!

To my conservative Christian friends, I would like to point out a couple words of encouragement and instruction from the Bible.

First, God appoints leaders--both good and bad (Romans 13:1). We can trust in His sovereignty and control over world events. We long for the day when He ultimately restores creation according to His standard. There is nothing out of, or beyond, God's control.

Second, we are to pray "on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity" (1 Timothy 2:1-2). The bottom line is the presidency is a difficult job. Period. If there was ever a time for us to be praying for our president and national leaders, today is the day. Why don't we commit to pray for our leaders on a regular basis?