GOD’S ELECTION GUIDELINES: By David Maddox 
As we approach the coming elections in America at all levels it is critical for Christians to do exactly what Jesus commanded us to do if we are to be His disciples. He said that, “If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me” (Matthew 16:24). The key in that Scripture which is the hope for America’s future is that Believers will put down what they want in a politician who seeks be our leader and follow w hat God has said about selecting such a leader. The first standard God set He laid out for Moses for He knew that the time would come when His people wanted to select their own leader. His response to what would be acceptable for a Believer in choosing an earthly king (President – Governor – Mayor – any leader at any level) is that we “may indeed set a king over you whom the Lord your God will choose. One from among your brothers you shall set as king over you. You may not put a foreigner over you, who is not your brother” (Deuteronomy 17:15). So the choice is not ours but God’s and the first standard is that he or she be a Believer (a brother). That is not simply one who claims to be a Believer for they all do, but rather one who has shown in their life that they are a Believer by the way they live and by what they advocate. The battle for the heart of America has reached a critical level. We are told by some that we can as Christians believe what we want but we can no longer practice what we believe if that is against culture’s dictates. Laws must be changed they tell us to force our actions to be other than our beliefs. No nation in all of history has survived when it sets itself against God’s laws and seeks to force compliance by Believers – and that my friends is the path on which America is being led by those who are not our Brothers or Sisters. It is time for those who love the Lord and love this country to set aside personal desires in political leaders and follow the guidelines God has set in choosing our leaders at all levels. If we ignore this command of God then we will invite His judgment and persecution by those we will have give power over us – and the America which has written on its coin “In God we Trust” will become a footnote in history like all the nations before who have chosen to go against God’s commandments.
About David Maddox – After a legal career in both Texas and Arizona that spanned over 40 years as a civil litigator, God called David to leave his law practice and work full time as Discipleship Director for Time to Revive. That call is really the fruit of decades of prayer for revival and teaching God’s Word, writing discipleship materials and seeking to make disciples. David married Janet Whitehead in 1976 and they minister together from their Phoenix home. God has blessed them with four children and thus far seven grandchildren.