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Tuesday, November 4, 2008

A Letter to the President Elect - Barack Obama

November 4, 2008

Mr. Barack Obama
The President Elect
United States of America
P.O. Box 8102Chicago, IL 60680

Dear Mr. President Elect,

I am writing to you in response to your speech on the eve of your election as the 44th President of the United States of America. A great honor, a great moment in the history of this country and a moment I have prayed ardently for many months now. I had hoped the results would be different, but accept now that God’s will was for you to be the man of the hour in this historic moment in time. (Acts 17:26)

Mr. Obama, I am writing to you because my heart bursts with an exhortation for you and Mr. Biden, your Vice President Elect. Mr. Obama, please first learn from the history that has preceded you. As you make history, please honor history and do not subject us to the mistakes and shortcomings of those who have gone before you. President Hoover has much to teach you as he led this country in the greatest economic crisis of the last century. The Great Depression. Do not repeat his mistakes, and Mr. Obama – do not tax the wealthy. I am one of those middle class Americans who would not vote for you because of your tax plan – Michelle the Bible study teacher. It is destined to destroy us, not make us better. No one will benefit. Government must be smaller not larger. We need to stand on our own two feet, not on the coffers of the taxed and tried.

Learn from the fall of great civilizations built by great orators and philosophers like Aristotle and Plato, by Caesars who ruled in excess and Senates that ran amuck in the greatest republic that ever lived. Call this nation what it is Mr. Obama. Tell the truth from the White House as you promised and tell this nation we are a REPUBLIC, not a DEMOCRACY. We are ruled by law and not majority. Even your election was governed by the body politic and not the popular vote which is indeed too close to call. Greece and Rome fell because it persecuted Christians, slaughtered Jews and Christians alike and gave into the excesses of lust, greed and bloodthirst that came calling as entertainment. Our nation has been trending this way for too many years. You have a chance to be a different kind of President.

You said tonight, that you are my President, too. Even though I did not cast my vote in your favor, you are indeed my President. I wish to hold you to that promise, Mr. Obama. As my President, I expect you to be better than your words and trust more in the God who “sets up kings and deposes them.” (Daniel 2:21) If you desire to keep your place in this great office you will have to be better than your words and your promises. You will have to move away from the radical nature of your youth and the liberal policies you have promoted because you lead the greatest nation in the world and this nation will no longer stand for and tolerate mediocrity in its leadership. We will not settle for a President who leaves our borders unguarded and our people at risk. We will not settle for anything less than the best, and if you are the best then you must be honest.

I am praying for you Mr. Obama in these days leading up to your inauguration that you would be humble in heart, a DAVID like King David and wise like Solomon and Joseph. That you would appoint Esthers and Deborahs to your cabinet and as judges. That you would surround yourself with Samuels, Nathans and that you would not be a king in the legacy of Saul who abused his power and became so caught up in his own grandeur that he lost sight of the truth – that God had given him the power and God could take it away. You have a greater opportunity here, Mr. Obama than just being the first African-American President of the United States, you have the opportunity to be the President who is credited with truly returning this nation to its roots. Judeo-Christian roots that honored God from the opening session of the constitutional conventions to the inaugural invocations. Mr. Obama, I am a strong believer in Christ and I ask that you honor the faith and the Christ that you profess by honoring the Constitution that bears His truth woven into its very laws. Mr. Obama, restore honor and dignity to our White House and the most high office that you have now been elected to. Mr. Obama, please stand for unborn children who need a voice --- you are now an advocate of irresponsible choices to kill off a generation of Americans in the name of Freedom. What of that baby’s right to live, to have a chance at life. My son, who was born to a 17 year old unwed mother, died three years ago at the age of 17 years. His life was and still is a blessing to me though I thought I would never be able to raise a baby and even contemplated abortion in a weaker moment – so many couples in this nation go to bed at night aching to hold a baby in their arms, but cannot find one to adopt. I never regretted choosing life for my baby.

Please Mr. Obama, impress upon this nation the truth about God and the reason for the more than 200 years of protection and prosperity we enjoyed until recent years - because this nation had the protection and favor of God. Israel forsook that favor and protection… And they went into Captivity for more than 400 years. They lived in captivity so long that when Jesus came along and pointed out their captivity to them they said, we have NEVER been slaves to anyone and we are not slaves now. We live in a nation enslaved to idols, Mr. Obama. And this government has done much to create those idols and destroy the greatness that was promised to its forefathers so many years ago. God has a plan for you, but you have to choose him to find it. I pray you do.

Mr. Obama you have a choice to make. Choose wisely. God offered Solomon anything he wanted, and Solomon asked for Wisdom. God will give you wisdom if you will seek His will and ask Him for it. I pray for the Spirit of God to baptize you and to anoint you for the days you will serve this great office of President. I will be praying for you, for the hearts of our people, and for God’s will to be done.

Mr. Obama, I believe we have become a godless nation, serving money and ambition and greed. We serve ourselves as a nation. I have told people throughout this election season that I feel sure that our nation will receive the President her heart has been crying out for. I thought, and pray tonight against, that you are the President of a people whose heart has turned hard and cold against God. The nation of Israel cried out for a King, and God wanted them to honor Him as King. But they cried out again for a king and so he gave them Saul. A reading of the book of 1 Samuel reveals the heart of a man who sought the approval of men and became more concerned for his own power and office than for the God who had granted him that position of favor. Turn the hearts of the people back to God and prove me wrong. Prove me wrong. I am praying for you, and will pray for you everyday of your Presidency. My God asked me if I was willing to respect you, a man I did not elect, as President. I committed myself to honor the office of President and the authority you will assume in that office. But, I pray you will be a man I can honor and respect because of his character as well as his office. I pray you will be better than your words. Congratulations on the history-making moment that you have enjoyed tonight. I pray for you, Mr. Biden and your families.

May God bless you, protect you and grant you wisdom and this nation peace.
Blessings from Texas.

6 comments:

For My Father's Glory said...

Yes, indeed we are rejoicing in the goodness of God. And, prayer is the most powerful thing God has given us, we are to press on in praying, yes, for every elected official, including our President-Elect. We trust in the God that is bigger than any circumstances. We continue to pray for the Lord's favor on our nation. We are indeed humbled.
Thank you, Michelle, for leading the way in honoring our retiring President and our President-Elect in these letter.

Esthermay Bentley-Goossen said...

WOW! ...right now today -- less that twenty-four hours after the fact -- you have far more faith and a far more positive outlook that do I.
:-(
I just don't have it in me to belive the Mr. Obama -- or ANYONE working for him -- would get past the first paragraph of this letter. Will you actually send this to his administration? You should.

I am with you 100% on the praying and am working on details in my head to make it part of my blog's ministry over the next months....

It is our command to pray for this man. And I can think of no more appropriate time -- or specific individual in this nation's history -- when that prayer is required.

Just me-Jerri said...

wow- moving-I was floored when McCain did not win. Cannot imagine the collective sigh from Christians around the country when it was announced. Now is not a time to rest..we all need to dig deeper into our prayer time for our nation. I pray that his heart is open to hearing God and that he is not too self important to seek direction from our heavenly father. Loved your letters!

Unknown said...

Must we always have to be twice as good. I am a Christian who voted for President Elect Obama. I gave funds, knocked on doors and made phone calls. I have never been so involved. But you know the one thing I will remember most is that when I went to some of the rallies here in Orlando I saw people of all colors and backgrounds. I saw people who would otherwise not even speak to each other holding each up, making sure children where not tramble and giving assistance to people who look different than they. I saw a person hurt and the crowd assist in getting her to the medical people. I saw "Jesus" in people being able to put aside their differences yet I also saw hate in the eyes and voices of fellow christians I work with who said in the name of the Lord they could not vote for Mr. Obama. Yet these Christians discriminate and think nothing of it. I voted for years for candidates not because they were black but because of their belief. For the first time in my life I felt proud to be an American because for a couple of months I was able to be apart of a group of people regardless of race. You see I met the Christian who used the "N" word while holding the Bible in one hand...it's okay to commit adultry. McCain did not win why is so hard to accept that. Had the Lord wanted him to win...he would have because we know that in the end it's all in God's hand. Mr. Obama is not perfect yet we want to hold him to a standard higher than anyone else. Did you spend this much time holding Bush to the standards you want Obama to. I stumble across you letter and was sadden that you forget that the Christians who voted for Obama voted for a president for ALL the people and not just a select few. I am African American and been discriminated more by the so call Christians like you who have no clue what it's like to have to deal with this every day of your life. It's only because so many of us are Christians that we are able to "turn the other cheek". Blessings to you and take the time to get to know some of those Obama Christians they really spreaded the love. Did Jesus not take the fish from the little boy and give to all those people who did not bring lunch..

Unknown said...

Diana,

This is coming to you in my comments because you have written a rather lengthy response to my post which I can reply to no other way. If you happen back by please send me a way to correspond with you over this matter in a comment - if it contains an email address... I will not post it.

My heart is for President-Elect Obama and for the resurrection of honor and dignity to be restored to this nation through his presidency.

I did not vote for President Obama because I disagree with his position on Abortion and the rights of the unborn, his position on taxation and funding the government, and his position on keeping us safe from terrorists attacks in the future, namely negotiation.

I also have grave concerns regarding the sanctity of marriage, my freedom to observe my religion without fear of sanction by the government and body politic that is so threatened under radical liberal leadership. I pray that my concerns are unwarranted, but I can reasonably disagree with a man's choices and still pray for him and honor him. As I am doing now for President-Elect Obama.

I did not agree with much of what President Bill Clinton did, and feel that President George Bush, our current President, was not as fiscally responsible as he should have been. But I also see that President Bill Clinton's turn in office led to many of the problems our current President has had to deal with in his term. And, that the Democrat and Moderate base of Republicans now holding office are as much a part of the problem I am asking our President-Elect to address based on his own profession of faith.

I don't believe he is evil, that he will be a "bad" President or that he has "bad" intentions. I also believe that had his turn on the ticket been run as a conservative with conservative and moral positions I could align myself with - I would have voted for him. I don't expect anything less of him than I would've expected from a President John McCain. I, too, would have asked him to come back to the conservative nature of his party and be a voice for restoration of dignity to the office of President... Something that Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton have played as large a role in destroying as President George Bush (both father and son).

I did not choose not to vote for our President-Elect because of his color, and I did not write this letter to him because he has to be "twice as good." I wrote to him because my heart is overwhelmed for this nation and its people. I see a trend away from Judeo-Christian values (read the Barna reports, from George Barna... you can google him...). I hate to think a good President could be undone by the whim of the people, but that is exactly what happens more and more in this country. Even Reagan - who was a wonderful, honorable President is now being dismantled by those who hate conservatives.

You make valid points as I did not attend any rallies for President-Elect Obama, nor did I attend any held for Senator John McCain. I was very understanding even though I disagreed with the premise of your comment until you get to the part where you say I have persecuted and discriminated against you, specifically, because of your race. Race is not an issue for me. I do not feel you are less than I... nor I more than you. And, certainly make no judgments for or against Mr. Obama's moral nature based on his race. Not where Mr. Obama is concerned. My concerns and position are based on his history and his choices and his own words.

I am honored to have been witness to such a historic and grand moment and I celebrated and praised God for the victory it must be for those whose lineage of slavery and oppression is extreme as well as those who fought for and voted for Mr. Obama. What a blessing to bear witness to that moment.

I wrote a heart felt letter to the President Elect with a prayer for his good and the good of this nation. I asked him to honor God's will and plan for his life... if that is wrong, then I stand guilty. I pray earnestly for his protection, for him to have godly wisdom and for his decisions to be such that honor God. As a matter of fact, I removed all politically driven posts that I had written about the election prior to his win the same night I wrote this letter. I disagree with you and the President-Elect about a financial plan that works for America and I offered him my opinion. Which he said he would weigh even more when we disagreed. Can you not do the same?

In closing, I would like to say that I almost chose not to display your comment on my blog. But, felt this response would be better. I pray you are able to read it. I pray you are blessed and that for the sake of every American, this man, President-Elect Obama, is exactly who you have seen him to be. As for my personal "predjudices"... One of my close friends and pastors at church is African American and we both love the Lord with the same heart and zeal. Our politics may disagree, but we can see each others hearts. Something I challenge you to go back and read that letter again with fresh eyes and see if it is not a heart felt plea over a rant. I believe whoever takes the office of President in the future has to be better than the words they speaks... ANY PERSON. Those are the words Kevin Costner used in the voice of his character, Bud in the movie Swing Vote, actually.

May you be blessed tremendously by God for your concern for our country, its coming President and the days ahead. I pray as you do that all will be well for this nation in the days ahead, especially for President-Elect Obama.

Carefully consider all you read before you post a response and perhaps next time you will view it through unbiased eyes. Not voting for a candidate does not make me a racist when my reasons are good, sound political reasons, which in my view are the reasons I did not vote for President-Elect Obama.

Rachel said...

Michelle, this post caught my eye and I read through it and thought it heartfelt and full of the concern many have of our country's future (myself included) when I clicked to leave a comment I saw these last two. Again, I feel your response was just and kind. Thank you for expressing so graciously the thoughts I have as well. What a treasure in today's political environment! lovingly, rachel