It is written in 1 Timothy 2:7, “For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” The apostle Peter recorded in 1 Peter 4:7-8, “But the end of all things is at hand: be therefore sober minded, and watch unto prayer. And above all things have fervent love among yourselves: for love shall cover a multitude of sins.”

It is not sound-mindedness when some Christians question the Christianity or salvation of other Christians—because they are expressing their political beliefs. This is wrong-mindedness. This political election cycle has viciously divided many of us who should have God’s love and affection one for another. Sober-mindedness needs to be employed. We need to have unity.

Because of what I have written in The Daily Jot about Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, some claiming to be Christians—have called into question my salvation. They say that I cannot be Christian and support a man like Donald Trump.

Let’s see, Trump has recently gone on record as saying supports the sanctity of life, would appoint pro-life, conservatives to the Supreme Court, work to repeal the rule not allowing pastors of 501C3 churches to speak on politics; he would reverse the policies against Israel; defeat the Islamic State; stop illegal and dangerous immigration; and stand up for Christians being persecuted around the world. He also said he would bring jobs back to the US and reduce taxes.

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is ardently pro-abortion and admires Planned Parenthood’s racist founder Margaret Sanger. She has committed to appoint “progressive” (meaning Communist) pro-abortion justices to the Supreme Court.

Hillary Clinton believes pastors should not be protected by the First Amendment. She plans a TRILLION-dollar-plus tax increase. She will continue the U.S. policies against Israel and promote non-vetted Islamic immigration into the US. She will continue the globalist economic policies that keep Americans out of work. Her reckless custody of national security secrets and endless trail of scandals speak volumes. Clinton will continue the unsecure and dangerous US border policy.

Which candidate more aligns with the biblical definition of leadership selection found in Exodus 18:21-able men, respecting God, men of truth, hating covetousness (taking what you have and giving it to themselves or others)?

And people want to question another’s salvation for supporting Trump?

Elections tend to bring out the worst in people because emotions run high. Putting personal offense ahead of common sense is wrong-minded and lacks discernment. Justifying a non-vote or a vote for someone who can’t win based on principle, is nothing short of cowardice. Going to the websites of both candidates, studying up—choosing the one that more closely matches with Christian beliefs is making an informed decision and exercising sound-mindedness.

Respectful discussion demonstrates love.

Have a blessed and powerful day!

Bill Wilson
www.dailyjot.com

One of my favorite Bible verses is a warning from Jesus Christ concerning the latter days. It’s found in Matthew 24:4 and says, “Take heed that no man deceive you.” Saying that in the last days, perilous times shall come, the apostle Paul echoes such a warning in 2 Timothy 3:13, “But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.”

Deception is key to taking well-intended people off the track of what is right and good. To combat deception, we need discernment, which is found in the Holy Scriptures and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. We need a lot of wisdom to discern these days. Those wishing to deceive often do it by trying to co-op your support through peer pressure.

Have you noticed the way the media tries to ply your opinion?

For example, from now to election day, various media will be conducting their own polls to show you what America is thinking. Take heed that they do not deceive you.

ABC, MSNBC, CBS, the Washington Post, the LA Times, the Chicago Tribune, the New York Times—all of these media outlets and more will be conducting their “polls” to show you how America will vote on election day.

Take them with a grain of salt because just as these outlets’ stories are biased and passed off as unbiased news, so too, are their polls. Their sampling practices are weighted toward their bias. I know this from my days in politics.

When running a large political campaign, polling data is imperative. Accurate polling data can mean the difference between winning and losing in a tight race. It can give you trends, messaging guidance, issues, demographics and a whole lot more. But it has to be accurate or your entire campaign will be off.

So politicians do not use media polls. They hire a polling company to conduct an accurate poll based on a scientifically drawn, unbiased sampling of the voters. The media, admittedly weighs their samplings toward a Democratic bias because they draw more voters from the Democratic voting base. Also, online polls are suspect because it is difficult to verify who is actually giving the information and how many times they are giving it.

Constitution.com reports:

Media polls are driven by the desire to achieve a certain outcome.  That is why you think Hillary is leading Trump by 10 points. If you were paying attention, one of these polls had Hillary up by 15 points before the GOP convention.  After the convention, Trump was up 15 points, a 30% jump!  Statistically impossible.  After the democrat convention, Hillary was up 10 points, a 25% swing.  Again, can’t happen. The media is jerking our chain.  DO NOT believe them.  The only polls that can be believed are internal polls that are rarely made public.

A truly statistically balanced poll taken by Constitution.com paints a totally different picture: Trump 67%; Clinton 19%; Undecided 13%. Interesting, right?

Have a blessed and powerful day!

Bill Wilson
www.dailyjot.com