Slideshow image

Dear friends,

The nation of Canada has an upcoming election in September, which I want to speak into for us as a congregation. Anida and I are unable to vote since we are not citizens of Canada and are only on a path to PR status at this point. In that sense, I feel would be a little presumptuous of me to speak in anything more than general terms.

I have voted in a few extremely pivotal elections in my life, none more so than the first free and democratic election in South Africa in 1994, after which Nelson Mandela was elected as the first president of the fledgling, post- apartheid democratic South Africa.  At that time, we felt and saw God moving in great power in that country.  What could have been a bloodbath of retribution became a miracle.  Mandala himself went on to be something of an icon in the free world.

The miracle of South Africa in 1994 didn’t come about by chance or luck. It came about because a nation literally went to its knees before God. This is no exaggeration; South Africa fell on its face before Jesus.

At the risk of some exaggeration, I do believe that the nation of Canada stands at just such a pivotal moment come September 2021 when you go to the polls. There are things afoot in this nation; things of an ethical nature; things of which I am not necessarily free to speak; things that tear at the very fabric of freedom and the sanctity of individual liberty, choice and conscience; things upon which the free West was founded. These are some of the things which are at stake in this election and some of the things that are being used unethically, as emotional leverage to hinge the election upon.

We need to pray for miracles at this time. I cannot tell you how to vote.  Indeed, I am only just starting to come to grips with the lay of the land politically here and have never really been a party-political animal.  

I want to urge all of us who can exercise a vote please to do that prayerfully and please to exercise that freedom.  Please do not stay away from the polls. You cannot register a protest vote, so please do cast your vote.

I humbly suggest a way of approaching the elections.  Lay down all your previous party-political loyalties, whatever they might have been in the past.  Come before God and ask: ‘Holy Spirit show me how to vote.’  When you pray, don’t pray your opinions, plead for God’s mercy upon this nation and the world.

Next blog I will speak into the foundations and departure points for doing ethics from a Christian worldview. It is very important in these times that we understand how to articulate who we are and how we live and regard ‘each other / one another.’

Grace & peace to you and see you on Sunday. 

Please be reminded that we are now again required to mask at gatherings

Melt                                                                                      

​