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Friends And Family
Conversations from the studios of God's Way Radio in Miami, FL.
WAYG-LP | 104.7FM
Friends And Family
LIVE For Jesus: Voting with Conviction and Faith
Can faith and politics coexist harmoniously? Join us as we explore this compelling question with insights from notable guests such as United States Senator Marco Rubio, Lieutenant Governor Jeanette Nunez, Mayor Steve Bovo, State Representative Alina Garcia, Lisa Lorenzo from the "Faith With Friends" podcast, ad more. We engage in a rich discussion on how voting is not just a political right but a moral duty for Christians. Our conversation goes beyond the ballot box to emphasize civic responsibility and the power of informed choices that align with one's faith.
Through a series of insightful chapters, we unpack the intricate relationship between faith, family, and government. Dialogue with the mayor of Hialeah sheds light on societal issues stemming from the separation of these entities and highlights the responsibility of people of faith to make their voices heard in the democratic process. Key topics like the legalization of marijuana and the expansion of abortion rights are discussed, emphasizing the need for a faith-guided approach to shape the future of our communities and uphold family values.
Our discussion also addresses common misconceptions about the separation of church and state, encouraging Christians to actively participate in shaping societal norms and policies. With heartfelt prayers and reflections, we call on our listeners to embrace their role as the "salt and light of the earth" through thoughtful and prayerful voting. Join us in this journey of faith and civic engagement as we strive to ensure a future that resonates with Christian values and principles.
I figured today we would tackle the topic. Why should a person vote? There's many people that during this season I'm talking to them. Just yesterday I was talking to someone and I said who are you going to vote? I didn't say who you're going to vote for, because that's one of the privileges of this nation you can make your vote and you don't have to tell anybody. That's between you and God. But to my surprise, the person said oh, I'm not voting, I'm going to sit this one out. And I thought to myself you're going to do what? And so I engaged the conversation. There I am in the bank, I'm standing on line, I'm talking to the teller and we just went into this conversation of 30, 40 minutes. I might tell you a little bit more about that, but today we want to hear from you.
Speaker 1:Should a Christian vote? You love God, you love his word. He's giving you new life. You live in the United States of America. There's a republic, there's a democracy, there's a freedom to choose your leaders, your political leaders. And should you vote? We want to hear from you A little bit of music.
Speaker 1:We're going to be right back Deep in my soul. There's a joy. I wonder how God feels when people vote or don't vote. And I know some of you Christians are saying, oh no, I can't stay on politics. Listen, we're talking about civic duty here. We're talking about stewardship. We're talking about responsibility. Don't bail out on me under that word of politics.
Speaker 1:You're not going to get away with it here at Life for Jesus this morning, and I still love you. I love that harmonica. Stevie Wonder's got nothing on him. Man, I haven't even got started. I got to get it. You're going to have to excuse me. I got to set down the thermostat. I'm already warm. Down deep in my soul, down deep in my soul. Joy down deep in my soul, down deep in my soul, down deep in my soul, down deep in my soul. Hey, good morning, good morning. So we have in our studio two ladies that love God, they love God's Word, they love Jesus, they love their country wives, moms, sisters in the Lord, and so I'm going to allow you to introduce yourself. First of all. Let's start with South Miami. Good morning, south Miami.
Speaker 2:Good morning Pastor Raz, good morning listeners. My name is Lisa Lorenzo.
Speaker 1:With Faith.
Speaker 2:With Friends podcast.
Speaker 1:Good Well, it's good to have you this morning.
Speaker 2:Thank you, Pastor.
Speaker 1:On this topic. Here should a Christian vote. I can't wait to hear from you. And then we have another guest. We want to say good morning to you.
Speaker 4:Hi, good morning. I'm Jeanette. How are you Good?
Speaker 1:It's good to have you with us, pleasant surprise, and so let's go with Lisa. Lisa, what do you think? What do you think the Word of God says, or what will be your experience about should a person vote or not vote?
Speaker 2:Well, I think we have a civic duty, like you said, as believers, we are supposed to influence the world. We are supposed to be light, our presence is supposed to affect those around us. So that leads us right into the voting polls, and I believe that Christians not only should vote, but are called to participate in this, where God has established us, to put our heart into those polls 786-313-3115.
Speaker 1:Having a conversation here this morning with Lisa, with Jeanette, and we want to have a conversation with you. I want to see who's going to be the first person to call Now. I wrote some notes to myself and one of the reasons that I think a Christian should want to vote is because they have a desire. They have a desire to live a well-ordered life. You know you want to have a life that's well-ordered for your children. I think that's one of the motivations to vote. You know you want to have a life that's well-ordered for your children. I think that's one of the motivations to vote.
Speaker 1:You know, when a person says I vote, I don't vote, how's that going to affect the next generation? Because the previous generation to us, they voted and it's affected us. You know I was able to come to church this morning. There was freedom. I didn't have to stop at a checkpoint. You know they didn't ask if I was my faith, you know, and all of that can change so quickly. We've seen that change and I was born in an island 90 miles south of Key West.
Speaker 1:So I have a lot of passion for this subject because I believe that a lot of the people in that island they didn't make a good decision. They were distracted by the rhetoric. You know, we could maybe talk a little bit about that. When you vote, how do you make your decision? Just the pretty words you hear, or do you look at a person? Do you look at their character? Do you look at their tracking record? Do you look at their involvement, you know? So one of the things I thought about is that man Christians should vote because they have a desire to have a well-ordered life for their children, for their family and for themselves. Lisa, jeanette, please jump in here. We're going to have a conversation, you know, I think, maybe. I think the listeners of Life for Jesus are courageous and brave, so I'm thinking they're going to call 786-313-3115. It's 712 in the morning and so, lisa, I don't know if you have anything you want to say about that.
Speaker 2:I just want to say that we have some very important amendments on this ballot. This year we have a presidential election and maybe somebody is listening and says neither of the people running on that ballot really represent me or Jesus really represent me or Jesus, and so to that person I would say which person's policies most represent what you stand for?
Speaker 1:Wow, we got a phone call here. I like it. Let's see who's calling. Hey, good morning. You're. Live for Jesus, and whatever town are you calling from?
Speaker 6:I'm calling from South Miami Heights on my way to Tamiami.
Speaker 1:Oh, my goodness, South Miami Heights is very close, goodiami, oh my goodness, south Miami Heights is very close and dear to my heart and I know you're the kind of young lady that your father is very proud of you and your father loves you very much, and how you've blessed you and your husband, how you bless your father with beautiful grandchildren, two grandsons, which that in itself is a reason to vote. But anyway, we want to hear from you, south Miami Heights. What do you have to say?
Speaker 6:Just very quickly, because I'm very excited about this topic and even how you were sharing yes, our guest being there. So one thought that came to mind as you were sharing the importance of why we should vote as believers is a quotation that says what one generation neglects, the next generation rejects. So I just thought, man, if my testimony, if my fervor, my fire for the Lord is only going to be mimicked 50% by the next generation, let me give it my all, let me give it 200%, so that the next generation can love the Lord, their God, with all their heart, soul, mind and strength. God bless you, guys.
Speaker 1:I can't let you go that easy.
Speaker 1:I can't let you go that easy. Nah, nah, nah, nah. You got material here to engage and ask questions and answer questions. But let me do a quick reset here You're listening to Live for Jesus, a live program Monday through Thursdays, right here at God's Way Radio. There's a phone number you could call 786-313-3115. We want to hear from you, the listeners. We want to hear. What do the listeners have to say? Should a Christian vote or should a Christian say you know, I'm out, I'm out.
Speaker 1:So I like what you said, that if, if a generation neglects something, the next generation is going to reject it. Man, I think those words are prophetic. You know, I hear people in, in, in, in, in the college campuses that they're they're like saying man, you know, I don't, I don't like neither one of them. They have no idea. I think maybe a generation has neglected being informed, being involved, you know, participating in the process. You know this honor that we have, that we could choose those that are going to implement rules and guidelines that will affect Should a how would I say this? I'm going to say very carefully Should a morally confused person that yet is promoting a lifestyle that is against the word of God, should that person be given a seat to read a story to impressionable kids in preschool. So, if you want me to identify it a little bit more, I can Should a drag queen, a drag person, should they be reading stories? And yet a pastor or someone that loves Jesus cannot read the Bible to that same kid in a public school system. And I think the people that are in the school board, they're going to make decisions that are going to influence one way or another.
Speaker 1:So, now that I have you on the line, we have Ms Lisa here, we have Ms Jeanette here. They might have a question for you, you might have a question for them. The first part here is should a Christian vote? And one of the reasons they should vote is they should have a desire to have a world-ordered life for their children, their family and themselves.
Speaker 1:Now, this is a scripture that I thought about. You should love God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, with all your strength. So if you love God, you want God to be influenced, the people, and when you have people that are maybe not that clear, then maybe you could go to the one that's most close to being influenced by God. So that would be my question for you. Okay, here we go. Let's land this plane South Miami Heights. How can a Christian make a decision when it looks like both parties are really not full on for God or really loving the word of God in all subjects, like the unborn child, for example? How can a Christian make a decision? Are we choosing the next pastor, Are we choosing the next spiritual leader, or are we choosing a political influencer that can maybe open or close to a pastor or to the Christian, god-fearing Jewish Judeo-Christian community? Do you understand my question?
Speaker 6:I think what we, as believers, need to do is to remember that, when it comes to leadership of our government, we are not voting based on personality but on character. We have to look at God's Word and see what principles a candidate is willing to uphold, what the track record has been and what has been accomplished in their time in office and in other responsibilities, and which of those results matches most closely with God's heart for our country.
Speaker 4:Wow.
Speaker 1:Yes, wow, well, the two guests in the studio and a very proud father, we're nodding our heads, because our heart is rejoicing. I like that character. You know what is the character of the person. How did they get in political office? Is it a character that shines because they care about the community? They've sacrificed their life or are they just being benefit from the position?
Speaker 6:Interesting.
Speaker 1:Interesting. Do you have any question for any one of our guests, miss Lisa or Miss Jeanette, or Miss Lisa Miss Jeanette. Do you have any questions for our listener?
Speaker 2:I think she made some great points. She should have been on the show with us this morning. Great Well you're going to we're going to have you.
Speaker 6:Speaking of future shows, I do want to see if Miss Lisa and I can tag team one day.
Speaker 1:I would love to yes yes, you're always welcome at Life for Jesus, and maybe you could have Miss Elisa at Threads of Grace.
Speaker 2:Threads of.
Speaker 6:Grace, yes, and I'm just so thankful for Miss Jeanette as well, and I can't wait to hear what other contributions they have to say for the show.
Speaker 1:Well, you know, one of the things that I must say about these two ladies is I don't know, maybe I'm off around, but ladies need to get their sleep, and so these ladies have sacrificed their sleep, their schedule. They've come here very early in the morning, and I think that exhibits an example of how we should be caring about who are going to be the next political leaders. Over the nation, over the what would I say? This, our county, our political process. But then Ms Lisa brought something else up. There's some issues on the ballot. What is going to be the nation's heart and character towards the unborn, towards using what used to be illegal substances to alter the consciousness? And now I think we have a ballot that are we going to make that completely legal?
Speaker 2:Exactly.
Speaker 1:What is that going to mean for people, for the motivation of young men and young ladies? I mean, what is this cannabis and what does this marijuana do to your character, to your motivation? And there's nations throughout the world that have allowed this. There's states Colorado is one of them and when you look at the motivation, when you look at the studies, it really doesn't look good for the nation if we approve this on a government, nationwide basis. I don't know if any of you ladies here have anything to say about that, or our guests, and feel free to disagree with me. I'm not here to just. I'm just here thinking and sharing my heart.
Speaker 2:So who's going to speak next. I think that you said it, pastor. Let's take a look at the states that have approved, which would be Amendment 3 on marijuana. Let's look at California. Let's look at the crime rate, the homelessness, the dropout in high schools. Is that what we wanted to invite into our community? Is that what we want to give to our children? And then, more importantly still, is amendment four. Do you want to remove every single right that a parent has? Do you want to allow any child, at any age, for any reason, to walk in unsupported?
Speaker 2:Just think about this for a moment. You have a young girl that's pregnant and with no counsel, with nobody helping her make this decision, she walks into an abortion clinic which, by the way, that blood is on our hands because now we will be paying for that abortion and walk out and her mother never find out, her father never find out what she's been through, the trauma that she's endured, no counseling, nothing. Just think about that. I heard somebody say yesterday on a commercial I'm pro-choice, I am not. Let me just say that I am pro-life all the way. But this woman said I'm pro-choice but I'm a mother, and this is fundamentally wrong. This is I mean. This is just a tool of the enemy to promote. This is not pro-choice, this is a pro-abortion amendment and, as believers, we should stand pro-life period because life is important to God.
Speaker 1:You know, throughout the Word of God it's very clearly that life begins even before the womb, when God has designed for someone to come to life.
Speaker 2:That's right.
Speaker 1:You see, with Jeremiah, before you were in your mother's womb, god says I knew you. And so it's important, you the listener, why should a Christian vote? Well, when you go vote on this amendment number four, right, yeah, which should be no? The vote should be no. If you're a Christian, if you stand for God-like principles of preserving life, of standing for the unborn, is very clear biblically. You know, jesus said let the little ones come unto me, because of such is the kingdom of heaven.
Speaker 1:And so, south Miami Heights, I don't know if you have anything to say about this why should a mom that was thinking of sitting this one out? You know, I was talking yesterday to a mom, to a grandma, and that's how I spoke to her. I said listen, don't you want to? Don't you want to vote for the? Look at your granddaughter? Uh, you know, don't you want to vote for for her to be protected? You know, as she grows up and and again, that people would say I follow jesus, but I'm not going to vote, which means that if you don't vote, the other people that do vote, they're going to have to say South Miami Heights, any closing statements, any final statements, that maybe somebody listening, maybe a mom that's thinking I'm not going to vote, that maybe they hear you and they would say I am going to vote. You got the mic.
Speaker 6:Even if it's just showing up to early voting or election day to vote no on Amendment 4, it's worth it, even if that's the only thing you fill out on your ballot, because these young ladies can't even get their ears pierced without parental consent. And the ramifications physically speaking, emotionally speaking of these deadly procedures and we're not just talking about the children and babies that it affects, we're talking about these young girls and their rights and their health being violated, it is not okay.
Speaker 1:Thank you so, so much. If you could say just a short, 15 second, 20 second mission impossible prayer. You got the mic.
Speaker 6:Lord, we beg you for mercy. We're so thankful for the state that we live in, for the state of Florida. Please continue to cover us and to guide our leaders, and thank you so much for the guests and the listeners and the host of Life for Jesus this morning. In your name we pray. Amen.
Speaker 1:Touche. You got me, girl. Okay, love you Bye-bye. Hey, pray about, maybe. I would love to hear the perspective of a teenager, or you know, two wonderful grandsons. What do they think should a Christian vote? Do they want their dad and mom to vote? Do they want grandpa to vote? Because that's another thing. It's time to wake up. It's not about you and your comfort, it's what do people around you expect and desire? Thank you for your call. We're going to go to the next call. God bless you. Hey, listen, I got somebody on the line here, according to phone ID. You can't imagine who's calling today for jesus. We're gonna be right with you, don't go away. So he returns or calls me home in the power of christ. Oh man, what a great song. Let's go to this phone call. Miss lisa. Yeah, I don't know if you know this person. Hey, good morning You're. Live for Jesus. What area of town are you calling from?
Speaker 8:I'm calling from the Brooklyn of the South, also known as the city of Hialeah.
Speaker 1:I love it. I love it. Brooklyn of the South, this is great.
Speaker 2:We have special callers today. Tune in and don't change the channel, because guess what? We're going to have some amazing callers on some special surprises. Here is our first one, which is our friend Jeanette, and I's friend Steve, also known as the mayor of the city of Hialeah, steve Bovo.
Speaker 1:It's wonderful to have you today on Life for Jesus. Sir, our subject today is should a Christian vote? Should a person vote? So here we are. You're not only a mayor I mean, that's part of what you do but you're also a dad and you're a family man. You're a husband. We want to hear from you your experience, your wisdom in life. Why would you say on this program today that the person listening, they should vote? You got the mic.
Speaker 8:Thank you, Pastor, and good morning, Lisa, and good morning to all those that are listening. I look at this simply and personally as the role of the family. Your government, that I have been involved now over 25 years at different levels of government, state and local government, your government, my friends, needs an intervention and needs an intervention by people of faith. There has been a drive down in many of us that there should be this disconnection, somehow between government and prayer and faith, somehow between government and prayer and faith, and they've done it so effectively over the course of the last, you know, 50, 60 years that many people would say, well, you know, religion shouldn't be involved, it should be a taboo subject. When we talk about government, what they fail to understand is that the individuals that operate government, that bureaucratic machine, the elected officials that operate government, that bureaucratic machine, the elected officials, the human beings that make government work, many of those people have faith and many of those people have been forced to keep their faith underground, in a desk and not and that, I think, is a fundamental problem that we've seen growing over a course of time when you ask yourself why so much violence, why so much situations that we didn't see growing up, kids going with guns to school. All this is a product, a systematic problem of trying to take God out of everything, out of the public space, out of schools, out of the government, and I think that is the fundamental problem that we've seen, if I may say, a demise in this country over the last 30 or 40 years. So I would tell you, Pastor, there are issues on the ballot here and I won't advocate for elected officials, but I will advocate for two amendments that I think are important to understand for those that are listening, and I know you've been covering them.
Speaker 8:Two of the amendments that are on the ballot for all of us that people of faith need to step up and take charge on this is Amendment 3 and 4. And the way I look at these two amendments, Pastor, is that it's an assault directly on family. Anybody that has tried to raise their kids tries to educate their kids on the harms of the use of drugs and the perils that drugs can be. Marijuana has always, always been a gateway drug, and what is being contemplated on Amendment 3 only makes it harder for parents to do their jobs and while it says and the ads are very misleading responsible adults at 21,. All that may be true, but I guarantee you one thing If marijuana becomes legal in a recreational basis, our children, our children, will be smoking marijuana and you and I, as a parent, will be disarmed when we tell them you can't do this. Not just because of the harms, but because it's illegal and they're going to literally take a tool away from us. But because it's illegal and they're going to literally take a tool away from us.
Speaker 8:And then Amendment 4 is probably one of the most disingenuous fronts. It's awful, Demonic, without a doubt. To families yes, I heard one of your callers earlier talk about, you know, parental rights for kids to get a piercing, tattoos, a Tylenol at a hospital. All that is valid, All that is absolutely true. Again, making it harder for parents to do their job.
Speaker 8:Imagine the twist and the devils in the details, right, Pastor, when you see where it says notification as opposed to consent. Those are two different terms completely. A notification could be, by the way, your daughter had an abortion and that's it. Yes, After the fact.
Speaker 8:Yes, you know, you are now eliminating, and I understand this is a very personal decision for families to make. I understand that and requires a lot of prayer, a lot of counseling. A lot of soul searching requires a lot of prayer, a lot of counseling, a lot of soul-searching. But imagine all that happening and eliminating a parent, a mother, a father, a couple, from being able to counsel their daughter, or perhaps even their son, whose girlfriend may be going through something like this, and there's conflict. You are eliminating completely the role of parent here, and I think that's why people of faith need to have clarity in their mind. If we don't like the direction of our country, if we don't like what's being proposed, the only tool that we have, the strongest tool that we have, is the exercise of voting. Our founders created a system not perfect but near-perfect system that guarantees our abilities, our abilities as residents to guide the direction, whether it's at the local, state or federal level, and I would encourage all those listening.
Speaker 8:This is our time to voice our opinions, our faith, and use it with the power of the vote and go out and vote. You could do it today, from 7 to 7, and you could do it for the next week and a half from 7 am to 7 pm every day, the election day, until November 5th, which is our last chance, and I would just encourage people do not fall to any other rhetoric. Go and vote. Your faith requires it and, for God's sake, our country needs you.
Speaker 1:Mr Mayor, so thankful for your thoughts that have been so clear. To go very clear, if I understood you correctly. By the way, let me do a quick reset here. You're listening to God's Way Radio. This is the program live for Jesus. Monday through Thursday, 7 or 4 in the morning. We're here. It's a call-in program. It's a call-in program, it's a text-in program. We have subjects and you, the listener, can call it's a free marketplace of ideas. So while we still have that freedom, we want to utilize it. So we're talking to one of our listeners today, mayor of the great city of Hialeah, as he also calls it, the Brooklyn of the South. I like that.
Speaker 1:But if I understood you correctly, there's two amendments, and one is to legalize marijuana and the other one is to, in a sense, open the gate very wide for abortions where there's no accountability, there's no responsibility, there's no freedom of involvement of a parent, a significant oversight in a child's life, in a young adult's life. And so, if I understand you correctly, for the listeners, how do you vote on these amendments? What does the yes mean and what does the no mean? And as you're thinking to formulate your answer, I love what you said, that one of the problems we have is, in a sense this is the way I put it is that people have been brainwashed to think that Christ is outside of the political system. And then I would ask that person is there any area in life that God's love and God's wisdom and God's participation should not address? And so if every area of life God should have a significant influence, then that means that we can't take God out of politics. We should welcome God in politics, because, as we've taken God out of politics, we're not doing better than we were doing before. So the question for you is, if you want to answer it. I mean again, there's freedom here In these two amendments, what does the yes vote mean?
Speaker 1:What does the no vote mean? That hopefully the listener that loves God and loves Jesus would know how to vote on these. And then the other question I would say is hey, in God being taken out of the main square and Christians casting their vote, why is it a responsibility for them to get in the main square, which you've addressed? But the specific question would be why should the Christian that's listening say you know what I'm going to vote. How do we get God back into the center of decisions that will influence lives to come. You got the mic.
Speaker 8:Yeah, absolutely, pastor. Look, I would tell you on these two amendments that we talked about Amendment 3 and 4, it's really a straight-up vote On these two amendments that we talked about Amendment 3 and 4, it's really a straight-up vote. If you vote yes on Amendment 3, what you're authorizing is the recreational use of marijuana for anyone 21 and older. In essence, what would happen is that you'll start seeing smoke dens open up in different communities, very similar to a cigar shop, a wine bar. You're going to see places where people are going to go and smoke. There will be no restrictions anywhere. No restrictions. Now I want people to understand. A yes vote begins a transformation of the state of Florida into what you see in California or New York. And for those that may not know, if you were to walk the city streets of New York, if you were to be in certain places in California Los Angeles, san Francisco, for example you will smell marijuana.
Speaker 1:I have to stop you a second. I have to stop you a second. I'm thinking about the listener. Listeners. Do you realize what's being said? That a yes vote on Amendment no 3 means that this is going to break out places throughout our neighborhoods, throughout the place where we live, where people gather to smoke like they do cigars, they gather to smoke marijuana. So now you have this group-level influence where a friend says, hey, let's go smoke some pot, and so it almost kind of like promotes and permeates our society with people that maybe they were on the fence or maybe they were not going to do it, and now they're doing it. The society is approving it. Am I understanding you correctly? Is this what you're saying?
Speaker 8:Yes, absolutely Absolutely. What you're, what you will start seeing, is a business and, make no mistake, there's a lot of money behind this. This is an industry that wants to profit greatly from our community, and so what you've heard in some of the ads are you know there'll be money for law enforcement, they'll be taxing it, you know it'll generate revenue, so people could clearly understand we are literally compromising our values and morals for money. That's what it really boils down to Selling out. So while this industry might profit and grow, what it does to our communities could be catastrophic.
Speaker 8:And I would tell you, in the city of Laialeah we already ban smoking in public parks. We've already extended and marijuana will be included in that prohibition. You won't be able to smoke it in public in the city of Hialeah. But, as I said earlier, one of my biggest fears and concerns is that it's that group of kids 14, 15, 16,. They already deal with enough issues, pastor. We're already dealing with vaping issues. We're already dealing with other kinds of exotic drugs that try to prey on our children.
Speaker 8:You know, we've all grown up in this community. We saw what drugs like cocaine and heroin and all these drugs have done to our communities all over the country, not to mention fentanyl that has come in. I mean, imagine you sitting down with your child at 15, 16, who many of them think at that point they already know what's life all about and they have all the answers and you trying to educate your child, or trying to explain to your child the dangers of marijuana. And again, as I said earlier, if that all else fails, you can say to your kid you know what? And it's illegal, you can't do it. And then the retort will be no, it's not. So this is problematic. A yes vote means you're opening the door to what they've done in California, in Colorado, in New York. I spent last winter in Montreal on a family vacation and I will tell you, montreal is a beautiful city except for the constant smell of marijuana all over the streets as people casually were walking and smoking.
Speaker 1:Incredible, incredible. Mayor, I want to thank you so much for being a part of our program this morning. I got our next guest on the line and I want to wish you like a great, not only day, but the time that you have left in office and that reelection. And thank you for not just being a mayor but someone that wants to bring godly moral principles to the city that you lead and you oversee, to the city that you lead and you oversee, a man that wants to bring the Word of God and the Bible to influence the lives of your citizens that you represent. You know godliness is something that God blesses. It's in the book of Proverbs. You know sin affects a nation, and so I want to thank you for the years that I've been able to watch you get involved and participate, and thank you so much. I don't know if you have any closing statements. This is your opportunity.
Speaker 8:Pastor, my only closing statement is folks, come out and vote, do not be shy about these items. You need to take the reins of your country and begin to guide it back to health. And, pastor, I do have a request from you. Yes, sir, today, when you close the program in prayer, I do ask you pray for, yes sir, cases completely thrown out the door. This is a pivotal moment in our country. Thank you, we need the prayers.
Speaker 1:Thank you. I can't let you go. I'm going to pray. I'm going to pray right now. You're listening to God's Way Radio. This is the program Life for Jesus, and it's wonderful to hear an elected official say he wants prayer, he wants the influence of God. This is how we make our decisions and who to vote for. And he's not running for office right now, so it's not a political pitch, it's a principle of the heart.
Speaker 1:Father, god, we pray right now for Mayor Steve Bovo and thank you, lord, thank you that you've placed him as the mayor in the city of Hialeah. Continue to give him wisdom, continue to give him your spirit, continue to give him your guidance. Lord, may your word resonate in his mind, in his heart, in his soul, as he is, father deliberating over decisions, as he's looking at priorities. Father, raise up a hedge of protection around him his wife, his children, his family. Father, his staff that he would have godly staff, the chief of police, people in key places. Father, forgive us that we've so abandoned your influence in our life and we're paying a price. Lord, may we get back, may we see revival. Bless Mayor Steve Bobo and the city of Hialeah with your word, with your truth, with the Savior Jesus Christ. I pray in Jesus' name, amen. Amen.
Speaker 2:Thank you, sir. Thank you, mayor Bobo, god bless you.
Speaker 1:Bye-bye, thank you.
Speaker 5:Absolutely Love you both. Be well Bye-bye, thank you.
Speaker 1:So we had somebody on the line. I didn't have a caller ID so I didn't know who it was. So I hope that they will call back and you're listening to Live for Jesus. The program today is Should a Christian Vote? We want to hear from you, 786-313-3115. You can call in.
Speaker 1:We're having some other special guests call in today. In our studio we have Miss Jeanette, we have Miss Lisa here with us. Ladies, I just want to thank you for coming in today and we're not even done yet. It's 742. We still have a little bit of time. You know, we can always extend the program if calls come in and people should a christian vote and should a citizen vote. Should people sit this one out in the state of florida? That's where we live. So I don't know if any one of you ladies want to emphasize. Why should the citizen here in this state especially vote, as we have this election coming up? Ms Lisa, I have to say to you that one of the first reasons that a Christian should vote was the desire to have a world order life. Well, I think we have another caller coming in. Let's go to this caller. I got suspense here. Any of you ladies want to welcome him. That'll be great. Go ahead. Hey, how about you, jeanette? Welcome the caller.
Speaker 4:Hello, who is Any of you ladies want to welcome him? That'll be great.
Speaker 5:Go ahead, hey how about you, jeanette? Welcome the caller. Hello, who is this? It's your husband. Where are you?
Speaker 4:I'm on the show that you're calling in.
Speaker 1:I love this. I love how United States Senator Marco Rubio, even when his wife says hello, I can see his heart is still beating. I love it.
Speaker 2:He wants to know where are you?
Speaker 4:wife says hello. I can see his heart is still beating. He got. I love it. He wants to know where are you. Why aren't you home making me breakfast? Yeah, we'll do it, but dominic eat.
Speaker 1:That's the first important question before he left sir, thank you for being on the program today. Our subject is should a christian vote? Should a citizen vote? We want to hear from you your experience, your perspective of life.
Speaker 9:You got the mic well, according to everybody else. You know we should listen to Taylor Swift, who she tells us to vote for. So, for us as Christians, why shouldn't we be engaged? Why shouldn't people care At least? Why isn't our opinion just as important and not more so? You know we're constantly looking for indicators in society. Celebrities have a right they're Americans, they all have a right to give their opinions about the direction of our country and certain issues, but why aren't views that are informed by faith, shouldn't those be reflected in the public square? They should be and they need to be. I would say another thing, and it's something we don't talk enough about is called the common good, and that's promoting the common good and that really is.
Speaker 9:The purpose of government service is to do things that are good for the most among us. You know, for the most people possible among us, what's good for society, what's good for culture, what's good for your country that's called good, and so there you promote things that are that try to help people have both the freedom, the liberty and the opportunity to fulfill their potential, their god-given potential, because god has given every person uh has a plan for everyone's life, and you want to live in a country that provides both the opportunities and the freedoms to be able to achieve and fulfill that. Well, the way you promote the common good, among other things, is through who you vote for. Who do you pick to be your leaders? Are they people that are promoting the common good, or are they people that are going to basically be in favor of promoting what's good for a small group of people at the expense of everybody else? So these are important things.
Speaker 9:I think it's actually public service voting, participating in civic life. It's a high calling, especially in a free society where we have the opportunity to actually pick our leaders. We're blessed to be able to do that. Most people in the history of the world did not live in a place where you got to pick your leaders. Your leaders were whoever killed the last leader.
Speaker 9:Your leaders were, whoever, the son of a previous king, that was your leader. You didn't get to pick them, but here we get to actually choose our leaders at every level, and not only is that a blessing, but it's a responsibility and a high calling, and so all these things need to be reflected, but I think it is important. Values are at the core of everything what your laws say what's legal and illegal.
Speaker 9:It's informed by values about what's good and not good, and there is a set of values that I think have been very good for this country that are based on Judeo-Christian principles. I think our history reflects that and it's important that that's reflected in our policies today in this country, and one of the ways to do that is to have people whose lives are centered on those values of participating and voting and participating in public life.
Speaker 1:Well, I want to thank you so much for your participation and contribution. First of all, I love what you said. You know, if we're allowing other people to influence our vote and we're saying, that's OK, I don't even want to mention the person's name, you know, why shouldn't we allow people that believe in God, people that follow the word of God, people that have been used by God to influence our society, our people? So, senator, that's a great point. We talk about this thing of separation, church and state, which is there to really hold back the state from influencing the freedom of the church and we totally got it wrong, we totally twisted.
Speaker 1:And then it's funny because I believe that believers have acquiesced. They've kind of like sunk in under this false motion. But if I'm a citizen, if I pay taxes, I have the right to express my opinion and my heartbeat, which needs to be protected, Please.
Speaker 4:Which needs to be protected? Which? Is why we have to go and vote.
Speaker 9:Pastor, if I could add, the next time someone says separation of church and state, I would ask them to show you where that is in the Constitution. Those words separation of church, those words appear nowhere in the Constitution.
Speaker 9:Exactly Interpretation it doesn't say separation of church and state. It says the establishment clause, which basically means that we can't have an official religion, like nobody can pass a bill next week saying the Baptist Church or the Catholic Church or the Pentecostal or the Episcopal Church is the official Church of the United States. That's basically what the clause says that there cannot be an official Church. Nowhere does it say government has to be hostile to faith communities, and I think the people who wrote those words would be shocked to learn of the hostility that exists today, since they reference faith and they reference a belief in God in the very founding documents of this country. They begin by saying that we hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights life, liberty and justice.
Speaker 9:Those are the starting words of the country.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I do this. It's 747,. We want to get you to heaven. I always do that. It's 747. We want to get you to heaven. I always do that with the sevens. But I just want you to clarify.
Speaker 1:So that means that the people that think that there's a separation between church and state, it's a wrong interpretation. Those exact words are not there. So it's time for believers to get back in the game and participate and share the godly values that they have. And you said something about common good. You said that we should elect people that are for the common good, not for a special interest. That, in a sense, is manipulating, a direction that a nation would go. And then you said values that why should a Christian vote? Because you have values? And if you don't elect people that have good values, then what is the choice? What is the result? Senator, thank you so much. Your busy time, your schedule, any closing statements, anything else. You would want to say that hopefully the person listening if I have this Miss Sally Christian, you know, or John Believer and they're thinking I'm going to sit this one out why should they, as a citizen of Florida especially vote in this election?
Speaker 9:Well, first, because our faith calls us not to be of the world, but it does call us to be in. In essence, we still have to live life in the community that we're in and you have to promote the common good, what's good for everyone, in the spirit of charity, which is a virtue, and part of it is, you know, participating in neighborhood groups and church groups, community groups, but part of it is voting. It's taking on the civic life of saying I'm going to elect leaders, not that are perfect, not that I believe 100% of what they believe, not that I agree with them 100% of the time, but the people who I think will make the best decisions for my country, my community and where I live. And as far as values, everything's based on values. Every time you pass a law, they're all arguing about values Do this because it's the right thing. Well, what are you basing the right thing on? What you want to do or what you think is good?
Speaker 9:And we have a set of values in Christianity that are grounded not just in divine words but are grounded in human experience, and are grounded in 5,000 years of written history that we know they make sense, we know they work because they were written by the manufacturer. Just like your car comes with a guide, so does our life. It comes with a guide. And, by the way, if you look at the Ten Commandments, it's at the underpinning of all of our laws, laws and the laws of, you know, virtually every Western country. So you know, my request is two things First, participate in civic life.
Speaker 9:And well, three things. Participate in civic life it's important, I mean that includes voting. Number two, by the same token, of all the people in the world, the ones who should not be despaired by bad news all the time, because it can drive us a little crazier Christians, because, ultimately, christians know how the story ends Like. We know the ending of the movie. Right, it ends with victory, not defeat. And, by the way, the same word that we rely on teaches us that the road to that final victory is not going to be paved with gold and prosperity. It's going to be paved with affliction and persecution and difficulties. We know that we are called to a cross, not to fulfillment, enjoyment and everything we do. So we really shouldn't, of all the people in the world.
Speaker 9:The ones who should not despair, no matter how much the news tells you that the world's about to fall apart, are people of faith. And my third is you know, pray for our country, pray for the people making decisions and pray for our leaders, no matter who they are, that they're elected, that God's hand will help, guide and influence them in the decisions they make. Remember, god can use and has used and the Bible is full of examples of it flawed people who have done extraordinary things because God has used them at that time and place for his purpose.
Speaker 1:Thank you so very, very much. I pray for you, your family, your wife, and pray that God would continue to bless you, guide you, give you wisdom beyond your years influence. And thank you so much for being part of the program this morning.
Speaker 9:Thank you.
Speaker 1:Pastor, I appreciate it. Thank you, god bless you. Bye-bye.
Speaker 10:As well as live streamed at calvarymiamicom. Thanks for listening to God's Way Radio 786-313-3155.
Speaker 1:We're going to have someone calling another guest. This is the program Live for Jesus. Monday through Thursdays, 7.04 in the morning. We get started right here at God's Way Radio 104.7 FM. On your radio dial you could also download the free phone app. You go to the Apple Android Store, you type in God's Way Radio and after you got that app, I always like to say this now you got connected. Now you could go beyond the radio signal coverage area and still be connected. You know, our subject this morning is why should a Christian vote? Ladies? What a great caller. Now I know you're going to have a special bias, of course, ms Jeanette, but I mean the last three things he said. First of all, participate. Second of all, don't react out of affliction. Don't give up. A lot of Christians are saying I don't care, they're both the same. Listen, they're both not the same. No, they're not the same. Thank you, go ahead.
Speaker 4:They're not the same.
Speaker 1:They're not the same. There's different tracking record, there's different performance levels.
Speaker 2:There's different policies.
Speaker 1:Different policies, different interest group backing them up, and one of the groups wants to bring righteousness to the nation. The other group wants to destroy the nation by permissiveness. But then I love what the senator stated. He said pray for our nation. If we could get people to pray, I know that they will vote. I think one of the reasons of being indifferent and inactive is that in your prayer life is not too active. You know, when you pray, you care. I mean Jesus right before going to the cross. What's he doing? He's praying. Prayer activates interest and action for God. So that's very interesting. So I think I think we have a caller on the line. We're expecting a caller, 786, whenever they, whenever they call, we're going to. But let's go to this phone call right here, right now, and hopefully the next call will come in. Hello, you're listening. Hold on a second, please Don't go away. Good morning, your life for Jesus. What area?
Speaker 10:of town. Are you calling from? Hi, good morning.
Speaker 1:Good morning to you.
Speaker 10:I know that voice?
Speaker 1:How are you this morning Doing well? So what neighborhood are you representing? To give people anonymity, we usually go by neighborhood. So some people say well, I'm from Hialeah, I'm from Coral Gables. You could tell us the neighborhood. Or if you want to tell us your name, we're welcome. You could go whatever you want. You got the mic.
Speaker 10:Well, good morning Pastor. This is Jeanette Nunez and I'm actually out of town today, so I'm not in Florida, but happy to call in and happy to chat with you this morning on such a beautiful day.
Speaker 2:Thank you so much For those who don't know, the humble Jeanette Nunez, calling from out of town, would be the Lieutenant Governor of the state of Florida.
Speaker 1:That's so great to have you on the program today. And the subject today is why should a Christian vote, why should a citizen vote? I love what you said the other day. I think it's a very special line. You can't go to church and lift up your hands and say hallelujah and vote like an atheist the next day. I thought, man, that conviction expressed there makes God smile. I thought, man, that conviction expressed there, it makes God smile.
Speaker 10:So my question to you again would be why should a believer, a Christian, vote? Well, I think we all should agree that Christians have a unique and a special responsibility on so many levels, right On the Great Commission, on how we should act, how we should be the hands and feet of Jesus. We're called to be the salt and light of the earth, and so I think we need to take those things to heart. And when we are going into this election season, which we're very close, two weeks away to November 5th Election Day, so many people are already voting. It's early voting in most counties in the state of Florida I know Miami-Dade it started on Monday and here we have a series of candidates, elected officials to vote for. Of course, the president at the top of the ticket, and then on down to US Senate, congress, state representatives, state senators, city council, school board members, and then the amendments, and there's a lot of candidates, a lot of issues that we're faced with. But, as Christians, I think we need to go in and we need to first of all, pray Pray for our country, pray for our state, pray that the Holy Spirit will give us the conviction and the wisdom that we need to vote appropriately and recognize that there are no perfect candidates. We have broken candidates. They're all sinful people. They stumble, they fall, just like every one of us. But we have to not only we have to separate the candidates from their platform, from their policies. What are they upholding? Are they upholding Christian values? Are they promoting families? Are they promoting life? And then look at it from that perspective. You know, the Book of Romans is chock full of good, solid biblical wisdom as we move forward in this season, and I think what we need to recognize is that it talks about God's sovereignty. It says that all things work together for good for those who love God, that are called according to His purpose, that everyone should be subjected to the governing authorities, because there is no authority except those that are established by God. And so I know, oftentimes we throw up our hands, we lament, we say, oh, you know, we hope this person gets elected or that issue gets supported. But we have to recognize that God is in control and he's sovereign. But apart from that, we also have to do our responsibilities. We, as Christians, need to vote, we need to make sure so many stay home. There are statistics that will blow your mind that when you think of all of the people that they prescribe. They proclaim the truth in the gospel, they proclaim that Jesus is king and yet they stay home and I think that's, you know, utterly irresponsible.
Speaker 10:We have so many issues that are in front of us and I know we talked previously, when I called in, probably like a month ago, pastor Russ. We talked about the issue of abortion and let's be very clear they can call abortion whatever they want. The left can call it whatever they want. The radicals they call it health care, they call it compassion, they call it women's rights. If you look at what the actual definition of abortion is, it is the intentional killing of an unborn child, it is intentional murder. So we cannot justify in our minds, we can't find excuses, we can't, you know, parse words, we cannot try in our minds to reconcile which is the intentional taking of a life with women's rights, with choice, with my body, all those things. So you know, for me that is the. There are so many other issues in Kansas that we could talk about, about why Christians should vote.
Speaker 10:But, that really boils down to the single most important issue and reason, if you're a Christian, that you should go out and vote. So I really do hope that everyone that's listening I suspect if they're listening to your program they already have made up their minds to your program. They already have made up their minds. But if they haven't, I hope they realize that this is truly an example of what we should be ensuring that we do not promote in the state of Florida. Florida has done great things to limit abortion and they also have.
Speaker 10:The other side has given so many lies. They send out mailers, they put TV ads saying that you know the life of a mother. That is totally false. If you look up the actual statutes today and I'm happy to send them to you after the program you can see exactly where there are exceptions for the life of the mother. There are exceptions for instances of rape, incest and human trafficking.
Speaker 10:So many lies that have been issued out in this whole political season. But I think as Christians, again, we have a responsibility to not only be truth and to be a part of what you know, what God calls us to do be the hands and feet of Jesus, to show compassion for single mothers or young girls that perhaps are struggling with this decision, to make sure that they know they're loved and they're supported, and there's so many great organizations that can help them walk through a difficult moment like an unplanned pregnancy. But there is no reason no reason at all. You should eliminate parental rights for minors. There's no reason why you should just allow blanket abortions up until the time of birth, and that's what this amendment will allow.
Speaker 1:Lieutenant Governor, I want to thank you so much for being part of the program today. I used to think that every—take it for granted that every listener to Life for Jesus would vote and they would know how to vote. But with 70,000 miles, I realized that, man, I'm shocked sometimes, the people that don't vote. But that's why I want to highlight some of the things that you said Show compassion, that voting is showing compassion. I love another thing that you said how abortion the definition is intentional murder of a defenseless unborn child, and so that should be reason for anybody listening to go out and vote on Amendment 4. And one way of the vote is going to promote abortion. The other way to vote, which is a no vote, is going to defend the life, is going to allow the influence of God, for life through the word of God to continue. And so if you don't vote, then who? And if you don't vote now, then when? But then I love what else you had to say. You said consider the person you're voting for, their platform and their policies, and so how when you say, well, I don't like either one of them, well, which one has the best policies and which one has the best platform? And if you don't fix it in one election, well, be involved in this election, so maybe in the next election it gets better and better and better.
Speaker 1:So, Lieutenant Governor, I cannot thank you enough for taking time from your busy schedule to call in the program today. You know that you're welcome here anytime, and not just because you're an elected official, but because you are a wife, you're a mom, you're a friend and you're a woman of God that loves God and loves God's Word. Now I have some guests here today, so I'm sure that maybe they want to greet you or say something to you so people know that we're not here alone. They might say I think Pastor Raz said he's got people there, but he's there by himself, and so, ladies, help me out. Lieutenant Governor, I think somebody wants to say hello to you.
Speaker 2:Good morning.
Speaker 4:Good morning Jeanette. Lieutenant Governor.
Speaker 10:Always great to hear you both. They talk about women that love God and women that are always uplifting and so special in terms of how they are constantly just providing so much hope and so much inspiration and so much support. Because, you know, we go through life, we go through seasons, we go through ups and downs, and to have women that are part of your circle, that you know are always going to support you and they help you through the difficult moments and they celebrate you in the happy moments and, you know, through every season of life. It's wonderful to hear both their voices and to be able to share in this very important topic.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much. May you have a wonderful day. I don't want to put Lisa in a spot, but if you want to pray for our lieutenant governor, a very short prayer, it would be great. Yes, Heavenly.
Speaker 2:Father, I thank you. I thank you for a woman that serves you wherever you place her. Lord, I thank you for the position of authority that you have placed her for. We are blessed in the state of Florida to have so many leaders that actually love and know God. I pray that, whatever she does throughout the day, you would go before her, open doors that only you can open and use her Father, as a light for your word. We love you, jesus. Bless her, protect her In your name. We pray Amen.
Speaker 1:Amen, amen. Thank you so much. God bless you.
Speaker 10:Thank you. Thank you so much. And to all your listeners, I hope they really just make sure that they pray for the next several days as we get ready to vote for really important positions in this election, in particular these amendments I'm so, so concerned about. But like I said at the beginning, God is sovereign and he's in control, so we have to trust.
Speaker 1:Amen. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you, Pastor Oz. Thank you so much. Thank you. God bless you. Thank you, Pastor Oz. Thank you, ladies Bye Thank you Bye. And I'm sure that we prayed for the United States Senator, but if we didn't, would you please like to pray a short prayer for the Senator also, please?
Speaker 4:Thank you, heavenly Father, for our Sen senators, for the elected leaders that you have given us, father, to protect our rights and even our faith. I want to pray for my husband, senator Marco Rubio, for who he is as a father, who he is as a husband and who he is as a leader for this country, that he continue doing what you called him to do, lord, father, and please protect him. Protect him from everything that comes at him and from everything, unfortunately, the world can offer. Thank you, lord, for everything that you do.
Speaker 1:In.
Speaker 4:Jesus' name I pray this Amen, amen. Amen.
Speaker 1:Yeah, nothing like a wife praying for her husband.
Speaker 1:I miss my wife for many reasons, but the main reason I miss her is that nobody prayed for me like my wife. 786-313-3155. I think we have somebody else on the phone here. We're going to extend the program a little bit. We spoke to our next programmer and he's allowed us to extend the program. You're listening to Life for Jesus, an extended version of Life for Jesus. I just dropped that call. Or please have her call back 786-313-3155. And so the program today is Should a Christian Vote, and I think we got our next caller. Let's welcome them. Hey, good morning. You're Live for Jesus, and what area of town are you calling from? Or, if you want to say your name, you have two lovely guests here that they got a smile from knowing that you're calling. So you got the mic. Good morning.
Speaker 7:Good morning. Good morning, this is State Representative Alina Garcia and I'm calling from the area of unincorporated Miami-Dade. And the reason why I'm calling is because it's really important that people that do believe in God go out to vote, because if we don't go out to vote, if we don't go out to vote, then people that don't believe that are non-believers are the ones that make the laws. And you know, if you don't believe in God, then you don't believe in the Ten Commandments and there's a lot of things that you don't believe in. You can believe in euthanasia and all kinds of things that we really don't want and that are not good for our society. So my name is Alina Garcia and I'm the state representative for District 115. And I'm also running for supervisor of elections, because elections are very important. Elections are very, very important and our vote is our voice. So it's important to have a strong voice and it's important to vote on all those things that you know there's a lot of things on the ballot.
Speaker 7:We have six amendments, and you know. Amendment number three is to legalize marijuana for recreational use for people 21 and over and amendment number four is to extend abortions until it's viable right. Abortions are already legal in the state of Florida up to six weeks, but they want to extend it until it's viable right. Abortions are already legal in the state of Florida up to six weeks, but they want to extend it until it's viable. What does viable mean? You can have an abortion. You should never have an abortion, in my opinion, but you can have an abortion at seven months, at eight months. There's no restriction.
Speaker 4:That's right, there's no restriction.
Speaker 1:You know I'm so thankful.
Speaker 4:Let me do a quick reset here and once it gets in the Constitution, there's nothing you can do about it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, let me do a reset here. You're listening to God's Way Radio 104.7 FM on your radio dial. This is the program Live for Jesus, monday through Thursdays at 7 or 4. Our subject today is should a Christian vote? Should a person vote? We're talking to one of our elected officials, alina Garcia. She is a state representative running for supervisor of elections and we're getting her heart and her opinion on should a person vote.
Speaker 1:Now let me clarify in a sense what you're saying. You're saying that this Amendment 4, if it's passed, this late-term abortion means, like it's already been exercised in some places, that the baby can actually be born and even after the baby's born, the baby can be set to the side and allowed to die, because it's defined within that late-term abortion. In other words, how late term is late term and how do you define that? But you're saying to us that, also, the person that goes to vote, if it's not a person of light, if it's not a person that's salt, if it's not a person that knows God and knows of God, then the people that don't know God, they're the ones that are going to vote, and then we're going to have to live under their code instead of the biblical code, which is, by the way, how this nation was founded. It was founded by people that love God, fear God and read God's word. So interesting thing that you're saying Any closing statements that you may have, or, ms Lisa, ms Jeanette, if you have any questions for Ms Alina, please feel free to jump in here.
Speaker 1:You got the mic.
Speaker 2:I think it was interesting what Alina and Jeanette were saying, which I forgot about that for a second. If you think, well, I'm going to sit this one out. Well, let me tell you what sitting this one out, when it pertains to Amendment 4, means this will not be on the ballot again. This will change the Constitution for the state of Florida period. This will not be next year, will be on the ballot again, and I can vote against it. That's it, it is done.
Speaker 4:Our legislators will not be able to do anything about it. They won't be able to vote on anything, add or include anything, because it will be in our Constitution. And, by the way, just amendment three, I mean just on amendment four, amendment three as well there will be no restrictions the other thing is.
Speaker 7:The other thing is about amendment four is that it's taking away the parental rights.
Speaker 7:Oh, yeah if you go to a hospital and you're a minor, you need a parental consent in order for somebody to give you an aspirin, but you will be able to have an abortion without parental consent if you are a minor. They have to notify your parents, but they don't have to. You don't. The parents don't have to consent. So it's taking away all the parents' rights. And if you want to change the law of abortion, you can always lobby your state representatives and your and your, and and your senators and you could change it. You know a lot of people are arguing that it should be 12 weeks. Well, if you want to change it to 12 weeks, you know you should go and do it in the legislature, not make it part of our constitution, that's right.
Speaker 7:You know, in the 21st century it's. You know, we don't want to be known in the 21st century as as a community of death, because, at the end of the death, an abortion is death to a child that could be born. Alina Garcia, number 78 on your ballot, please, please, please, go out and vote. Go out and vote, vote early, don't wait until the last day. Make plans, make sure your mom votes, your sister votes. If we vote, we win and we, as a people of faith, we need to please go out and vote and vote with our faith. You know there's a separation of state and religion, but that doesn't mean that we can't love God and can't do His work. So go out and vote. And number 78 on your ballot Alina Garcia, for Supervisor of Elections. And I love those ladies. Lisa and Jeanette, Thank you for all you do on behalf of our community.
Speaker 1:Well, if you permit me, we'd like to pray for you, so give us a second, of course of course.
Speaker 1:Father, we pray for Alina Garcia. We pray for her and we pray that you would guide her, that you would empower her to continue to contribute to our society In this position, lord, that we pray that you would grant a supervisor of elections. How important the election process is, that it would be untainted, that it would be pure and that it would be fair. So, lord, give her wisdom, give her wisdom beyond her years, and I thank you for a governor that has taken the Dominion machines out of the process. And, lord, help Christians stand to the occasion that this is the time. There's no next election. This is the time to vote. This is the time to stand for righteousness, because if this time is not utilized, we may forfeit the opportunity. Lord, may this amendment of death to unborn children and lack of accountability on behalf of young girls, may it not pass under our watch. Lord, may your people take a stand, get activated and do the right thing. We pray in Jesus' name, amen.
Speaker 2:Thank you, state Representative Garcia. We're thankful and we are praying for you. Number 78. I just want to say something quickly.
Speaker 1:Please.
Speaker 2:For somebody saying well, all these politicians are calling. They have one thing in common, which is the most important thing, and that's not that they serve their community. That is, they love and serve God. And that's why we've invited them to call, because we know that they know God, they love God, they live for God and we want to show there are people who love God, that serve our community. Let's us, the Christians, get out and support those values so that we can make a difference, so that we can impact the world around us.
Speaker 1:I like that. I like that very much. You know, we can make a difference. We're supposed to be the salt and the light and last I've heard salt and light does not operate in a vacuum, and Jesus said it. It does not operate under. You don't light a city, you light it and you light the city, you don't put it under. Exactly so, christian listening, you need to vote, you need to get out there and vote. Miss Lisa, miss Jeanette, you know why should?
Speaker 7:a Christian vote.
Speaker 1:I had here that if they love Jesus, that should be motivation to vote, because Jesus said let the little ones come on to me, because of such is the kingdom of heaven. So the whole idea here is that the Christian is thinking I'm going to sit this one out. How could you not get involved and stand for the unborn child, which is an expression of your love for Jesus? I don't know if you have anything to say on that matter?
Speaker 4:I would add that, first and foremost, you always want to go out and vote Because first you want to protect always their freedom to religious right, to be able to spread the gospel, to be able to talk about the Lord. So, just on that you have to always go and vote. And then, of course, you have the most important amendments that we have to stand by because of what our faith says.
Speaker 1:I so appreciate what you're saying, and what came to my mind is, if you listening right now, you're that person that says I don't get involved, I don't like politics.
Speaker 1:Well, if every Christian did what you're doing in this election, what will be the result within the next 24 hours, within the next year in life as you know it? So, what behavior do you want to take? Do you want to take the behavior that other people would imitate and emulate, or do you want to show your children that, hey, maybe the choice is difficult and you could give me that excuse, maybe for presidential candidates or different candidates. But listen, if you don't vote in this election, you got two amendments that are going to affect the community, the life. It's going to affect it, and you have an accountability, responsibility to express God's heart. What is God's heart on the matter? And, ladies, maybe you could help me here too. I also want to clarify that people, sometimes they make the mistake. They think that when you're choosing a president, for example, you're not choosing a pastor, you're not choosing a religious leader you're choosing.
Speaker 2:We were just talking about this yesterday. We were saying, okay, let, what if we just look at who would slow down the darkness? Who, which candidate would most? I'm not saying either one of them are going to preach a sermon on sunday and crack open their bible. But as I look at these two candidates, which one is ushering in darkness and which one is most likely to slow down the progression of darkness? And you know, is open to the influence of believers in their lives, not, like we spoke earlier, telling somebody oh, jesus is Lord. Well, you're in the wrong rally. Well, thank you for clarifying that.
Speaker 2:Thank you for clarifying that. That helps me to understand what Vice President Harris believes Christians should do they should leave her event and go to the other event if they're going to speak about Jesus being Lord.
Speaker 1:It's an interesting observation because it expresses and you know what gets me God is so fair, God is so just In 2020, we went through this thing I don't even want to mention it, we went through this pandemic, you know, or plandemic, whichever way you want to put it. But it's interesting to see how some elected officials their target was the faith community, so you could have Walmart open.
Speaker 4:You could have liquor stores open, but churches had to remain closed, but the churches had to be closed. Which is why I was saying. That's why it's very important Just with that alone, it's important to go out and vote.
Speaker 1:And, as we look at it, another thing they were trying to here. They got into the situation of now you can't sing, even in church, that's right. Here you got in this situation and so you, the believer, I mean I'm not trying to take you, you could make whatever decision you want to make, but I want to bring some accountability to our decisions, that if we say, well, I'm not going to vote, what are you saying? I mean you could at least make a decision for someone, a platform that's going to stand more for the people of God and give freedom for the people of God.
Speaker 1:And we saw to my two guests here this morning, ms Jeanette, ms Lisa, how even Calvary Chapel, miami, how part of the senior pastor's heart was to open. He says, man, depression is going up, suicide is going up, addiction is going up, and what do you mean? That you're going to close down the avenue that could bring light? You know speak, wisdom, you know. And power, you know prayer to power. So, so important for you to know that you have an opportunity to vote. Ladies, do you have any other comments, any other questions, anything?
Speaker 2:else. We just want to clarify. We've talked a lot about amendment three and four and the answer for that vote, because it is confusing is no. Every other amendment you can vote yes on. I have voted yesterday in the amendment but three and four. Vote no for three and four. Close the door. Shut the door. Three and four no.
Speaker 1:Three and four no I like that because number three is to legalize the use of marijuana publicly and in a sense promote it in our society and our neighborhoods like never before. It's like an open door to as one of our callers earlier said, it's a gateway drug. So when a society promotes that, what's going to be the result on the society, on the kids, on the children? And then the other amendment is the one that says it in a sense promotes abortion. In a sense it legalizes the abortion to a point that again, help me out on this what in a sense is it doing? How far is it opening the parameters If there's any restraint on abortion? What does this Amendment no 4 do that? It not only takes away, I think, any restraint, but now it makes it part of the Constitution, which means that you cannot turn it around in a next election or in legislation.
Speaker 2:Right. You are fundamentally changing the Constitution of the state of Florida and it says the word viable, but there is no description for the word viable. So a mother can be in labor and smoking marijuana high and saying you know what? I changed my mind. I don't want to have the baby anymore and it would be legal for a doctor to abort, to kill the infant just as she's giving birth. That is the kind of radical that is the country that think about. That is that? What is that how you're going to represent our state like, like uh, state representative. Candidate for supervisor election alina garcia said if you want to change some things, go to your legislator and try to change them. If you believe it should be eight weeks instead of four weeks or whatever, go and change that. But changing the amendment is fundamentally changing our state in entirety, forever. That's right you know it's so interesting.
Speaker 1:I just thought of Balaam, how this individual was hired to curse Israel, to curse the nation. And every time he tried to curse the nation, he couldn't do it because God wouldn't allow them. And so Balaam said I can't curse the nation, but I will tell you how to bring them down. He promoted immorality. He promoted the behavior that, as they would perform and be activated in that behavior, balak, balaam, god, they would be so drawn away from God that destruction would come. Florida has been an incredible state, and so what I see here is that, hey, if we can't curse Florida, let's have the state of Florida adopt some policies and guidelines that they would withdraw from God, and the blessing that Florida as a state has had, it will be gone, it will be diminished. And so for you, the believer, I would say, if that's not enough reason for you to get in and vote, and on this, this amendment number four, vote no. We have no idea the repercussions if these two amendments pass, not just on what is legal but, spiritually speaking, on how it's going to affect the future of our state. I just thought about that as you were talking, you know you're listening to Life for Jesus, an extended version of this program. We're talking, you know you're listening to Life for Jesus, an extended version of this program, and it's a call-in program. It's a text-in program. I haven't been able to even check the text messages.
Speaker 1:But why should a Christian vote? Another reason that I had here, ms Lisa, ms Jeanette, is because if you live by the Scriptures, you know the Bible says that to him that knows how to do good and doesn't do it, well, that's sin. So if you live by the scriptures and you know what God approves, what is proper maybe you ladies can speak about that Is that enough motivation to vote? If you're living by the scripture, if you're going to be the salt, if you're going to be the light, if you're going to be a preserving agent in our society, should that be enough reason to vote or not? What do you have to say about that?
Speaker 2:Well, I mean throughout the scripture. Even when we're instructed to pray for belief I'm sorry, to pray for kings and people in authority God is calling us to be active in that right and so, as we pray, as we seek you know, if you I'm not trying to promote any organization, but I think of the Christian coalition you don't know how to vote the Christian coalition. You can go online and download a guide and they don't tell you how to vote. They show you the difference. This person stands for abortion. This person doesn't. This person stands for open bathrooms to any gender. This person doesn't.
Speaker 2:Educate yourself on. I'm going to put up today on my social media faith with friends podcast. I'm just going to put up my guide of how I am voting. You can look at it, you can decide for yourself, but if you're, if you say okay, I'm going to go and vote, but I have no idea how. I need a little guidance. Faith with friends on Instagram. Or you can go to the Christian Coalition for Miami-Dade County and it will show you every single candidate that we have, every amendment and what it does. Educate yourself, do not stay home. Open. Early voting is open right now.
Speaker 2:You can go to any place, any polling site in the county and vote. Don't wait till Election Day. The lines are going to be long. If we're seeing Georgia, their numbers are out of control up there breaking records.
Speaker 1:People are voting.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:Maybe some people that haven't voted they're getting involved, which might turn around again. The nation, you know, often we pray for revival and I'm praying for revival, and revival obviously is when the Spirit of God moves upon a nation and a nation repents and they see God. But I'm wondering if part of that revival would be that believers that have been sitting out too long, they've been inactive, they haven't been participating in the process, if maybe they would be inspired to. You know what? If you don't speak now, then not only will you lose your opportunity to speak, but your actions will affect future generations that will not enjoy what we have enjoyed.
Speaker 4:I think that sometimes what happens with voters is they feel like I don't want to be part of this political divide, I don't want to deal with what's happening out there. I see what it does to people family, friends and I don't want to be a part of that. But voting is not a part of that. That's not what you're saying when you vote.
Speaker 4:What you're saying when you're voted you're protecting your god-given right for you to be able to first of all express your faith. That's number one. Number two, and not only that, but protect our family and our children, because these amendments do not protect our family and our children, doesn't give us, as a parent, the right to be able to, if your child has a problem, to be a part of that issue.
Speaker 4:And even to protect your children from drugs, because marijuana is a drug and it affects families every single day. People die because of that, children die because of that, and we're basically saying there's going to be no restrictions on the use of marijuana.
Speaker 1:Exactly, it's interesting that you bring that up because again and I have to do this in radio, because radio studies show that people listen for a time and then they tune out, sometimes they tune back, sometimes new people are tuning in, so that's why I do the reset. You're listening to God's Way Radio. This is the program Live for Jesus, monday through Thursdays at 7.04. We have two guests in the studio today Ms Jeanette, ms Lisa.
Speaker 1:Our subject this morning is should a Christian vote? Should you listening? Should you get to vote? There's early voting going on. If you're going to wait to the last minute, there's the voting day but day. But, miss Jeanette, what you just brought up is that some people, it's true, they think this process is so tainted you know there's mud being thrown, it's so dirty I'm going to stay completely out of it but what you're saying is that voting it's different than that. Voting is not the process. Voting is the time of decision making and you can be a person that's part of that decision that hopefully we're lean more to light than to promote darkness and it's our responsibility.
Speaker 4:It really is our responsibility to our community, to our children, like you were saying, to the generations to come. It's, it's important yeah because, it does make a difference. One vote makes a difference now?
Speaker 1:here's the question. We have somebody the line. We're going to get to this caller here. Here's the question that we're going to come after this call. Some people say, well, you know what, I'm going to sit this one out and I'm not going to vote. Now here's the question. Isn't that a vote?
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's right you know you're either going to vote for one amendment or you're going to vote yes or no. But if you're not voting, you think you're like pontius pilate. But let's talk about pontius pilate. Pontius pilate washed his hands because he says I'm not gonna get involved with this. But he was involved in it because he could have made a decision to stay the false um processing of jesus christ. He could have made a decision for jesus christ not to have gone to the cross, but he decided, hey, I'm washing my hands, I'm going to sit this one out, but biblically speaking, he still held responsible and accountable for not being part of the process. So again, I'm not trying to administer any guilt, I'm just trying to get us to think that when you say you know what, I'm not going to vote, oh, you are voting, you are voting, but anyway, let's go to this caller here.
Speaker 1:Hey, good morning, you're live for Jesus. We got very little time. It's 829. So I can only give you 15 seconds. 30 seconds, we got to lead the way to the next programmer. What area of town are you calling from? Good morning, from South Miami Heights. Good, good to have South Miami Heights Quickly what do you want to say, pastor Raj?
Speaker 5:you said it and I'm glad you did, but I thought of Pontius Pilate, for the person who would want to just do nothing. I didn't go well in that biblical example when you just wash your hands because something still happens. If we don't take a stand, and if we take a stand for nothing right, we'll fall for anything. 2 Timothy 1.7 says for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, which I believe there could be an argument for how well, this is too difficult, I don't know what to choose, it's not even what I really want, so I won't do nothing.
Speaker 5:I could see an argument on how that could be perceived as cowardice. And rather, he gave us a spirit it says in 2 Timothy 1.7, of power, love and self-control or sound mind. And so that is, I believe, leading us toward do a hard work and make a decision. And you know, some people might say, what if I get it wrong? That's okay, that's why the God at the end Romans says he's in control of all authority. But I think not doing something is now you're the one that it falls on.
Speaker 1:Well, I thank you so much for your call. I'm sure if I contact your father-in-law you've made him very happy. You've done well in calling. It's funny how God did this. The book ends.
Speaker 2:you know the first call and the last call and I have to say that this young man on the phone has such a special place in my heart. I consider myself like. He's like my brother, but I'm a little too old, so he's like a son to me. I love Adrian. Thank you so much, adrian, for calling and I just want to say I love everything that you do for our community, for our first responders yes you're an amazing young man and, yes, how wonderful that your wife opened the first call and you are last.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much, sir. God bless you, love you. Thank you so much, sir. God bless you, love you, god bless. Thank you. So, ladies, we got to wind it up here. Thank you so much for being our guest this morning. I pray, I trust that the Lord used the program, used you, that if I could just get one person that was going to sit this one out to say I can't do it, you know I'm going to go vote, I think in closing it'd be good to say both of you maybe have some light on the subject to that person that says but I don't know, I don't know who to vote for, I don't know what decisions to make. That's why I said it out. Hey, there's ways of getting informed. You addressed it a little bit, but maybe you want to address it again. Our lieutenant governor said that she would even mail out. You know the information, so don't allow lack of information to be a motivation not to vote.
Speaker 2:And as a believer, we have another. We have access to another form of information. It's called the Holy Spirit. He grants us wisdom generously when we ask with right motives, and so, as a believer, you can pray, you can ask God for wisdom, and I have a feeling that God will give you the wisdom to educate yourself and get out and vote.
Speaker 1:Yeah, if you're a believer, if you're a Christian, if you love your family, if you love children, if you love your nation. There's really no choice here, but the choice of voting, the choice of life. Ladies, if each of you would say a short prayer, I can't think of a better way to end the program than to have prayers from you. So maybe, ms Jeanette, you want to go first, and Lisa, you close us off.
Speaker 4:Okay, heavenly Father, thank you first and foremost for today, for waking up and being a part of this show, for being here, and, father, I want to say thank you for this great nation, for being able to have the freedom to vote, to be able to have the rights that you have given us, our God, our God-given rights, to be able to speak your name and to even have conversations about things that we don't agree with. Many other countries don't have that opportunity. Father, thank you so much for everything that you always do for us. Thank you for the Holy Spirit to guide us and to give us the wisdom and to always remember that it is important that we don't just live for ourselves, but we also live for our community, for our children, for our families, and it is important to continue doing what is right, no matter whether it's political or if it's not. Please, lord, always guide us for the right principles and, because of love, father, for the love that you've given us and for others.
Speaker 2:I thank you, Father God. I thank you for Jeanette joining us today.
Speaker 2:Thank you, for Pastor Raz, the open door to share. Lord. I want to pray specifically for Mayor Bovo of Hialeah, for United States Senator Marco Rubio, for Lieutenant Governor Jeanette Nunez and our State Representative Alina Garcia, who have called in today. Fill them, guide them, use them, protect them, lord, and I pray. If there's anybody sitting at home saying I'm disgusted by the candidates and I just won't vote, I pray that today this conversation has prompted them to get out and vote and, like Jeanette Nunez said our Lieutenant Governor, don't vote. You can't go to church on Sunday and worship and then vote like an atheist. Vote according to your biblical values. Vote for the person that's policies will best represent you Not necessarily all of them, but whose values most represent and reflect the heart of God. I just pray for this radio station, for Pastor Oz. I pray for every listener, lord. May today they be filled with your spirit, may they walk in your truth, draw them to your word. Father, god, in Jesus' name, we pray, amen.
Speaker 1:Amen. You've been listening to Live for Jesus Monday through Thursday, 7.04 in the morning here at God's Way Radio 104.7 FM. On your radio dial, remember free phone app.