….. and here are the most important reasons why! The NPP bigwigs themselves acknowledege that had they won the elections there would have been chaos in Ghana. And God heard their silent prayer and gave victory to the NDC. Likewise, the NDC openly declared to God that there would be “bloodshed in the country unless ….”, and of course the “modern” God (not the Old Testament God) seeing the truth in this, relented and awarded them the victory. To be a good Christian, you must relent your ways and realize that conversion is not simply one act but the beginning of a life-long commitment. Don't be hard on yourself if and when you fail, pick yourself up, trust in God and go forward. In opposition, the NDC never gave up. Many times after they walked out of parliament, they came back to fight again, even after losing critical issues like trying to deny Ghanaians in the Diaspora voting rights (ROPAA), they were back again and again to fight another battle in the name of their “Junior Jesus”. In Matthew 5.43, Jesus says, "You have heard love your neighbor and hate your enemies, but I say love [be kind to] your enemies also..." The NPP did not do this, preferring to vent on their NDC enemies and resort to jailing all those who had broken any of the 10 commandments. Jailing Abodakpi, Peprah, Tsatsu, Selormey and others. In comparison, the NDC only jailed journalists and agitators vying to introduce changes to society, which were not God ordained. "All Christian scripture is inspired by God and profitable [for something] for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; (2 Timothy 3:16). If you open to a part of he Bible that is not meaningful to you consider skipping a chapter or two and try again or close your Bible and open it again. It is understandable that the part of the Bible that says “thou shall not kill” is not palatable to both parties. The murder of the judges, murder of Ahulu Ahongar, the serial killing of women, the death of Mobilla, the Ya Na and the “extra-judicial” disappearance of many during the P(NDC) era. So the Lord looked at all this and said “it is time”. Only the NDC can reveal the truths of all these deaths. He must have heard all the exhortations by Jerry John and firmly decided to bring him forth again to fix all this once and for all. Jeremiah John Rawlings repeated consistently during his sojourn in opposition that he knew who and what happened in all these cases. His prayers have been answered. Christians set aside time for meaningful prayer. They make intercession for people who do not pray enough for their own development, i.e.: children, cousins, friends, enemies and family, etc. For 8 years, the NDC prayed for the NPP to grow up and learn to lead and now they have to take over and lead the way again. The NPP were similarly rewarded in 2000 when their prayers were finally heard up high after 19 years. God heard the NDC after only 8 years. To be a good Christian you must to be nice and cheerful to people, be patient with people who anger you; work on trying to forgive those who may have hurt you. You must learn to love your enemies. God loves everyone, and we need to, also. Say farewell to selective loving. If you have a hard time loving your enemies, pray to God for help. We all know now, that JJ reached out to Kufuor many times because of his “love for Ghana”. This must have scored major points with God. Christians “work and pray for others''' to the best of their abilities, helping others in many ways. When they were in opposition, the NPP were constantly demonstrating, holding press briefings, accusing the NDC of this and that, never giving them any peace, even refusing at one point to participate in voting; and they nearly did so again in Tain last month. All this God saw and even though the NDC held similar demonstrations, God could see that they used other vehicles, like the CJA, women groups and other youth elements to achieve the same results. He must have taken all this into consideration this year. To treat others kindly, as you would like to be treated. Even simple acts of kindness like creating an awards ceremony so that as you praise yourself, you also share the accolade with others is important. Except the Lord, being an all-seeing God, saw through Kufuor’s scheme and immediately knew that another agenda was on the table. Clearly, Kufuor was only looking at saving himself and not his fellow NPP supporters when the time came (certainly not Nana Akufo-Addo). Even the late attempt to roll back some of the charges on “innocents” like Nana Konadu, Sipa Yankey, Tsatsu Tsikata and over 500 others (who are not important!) was seen by God as an attempt to manipulate him. Kufuor even publicly apologized! But that was after the fact and the Lord does not like changing what he has already completed. Living the Christian life through your actions will make others want to follow God. Christianity implores us to stick up for our beliefs, be conservative and liberal and not profit off poverty. Well, both the NPP and NDC ignore this tenet completely! The NDC certainly profited a lot in their time, which is why God asked them to stay back in 2000. But this time, they lobbied intensely and made major promises to God. Atta Mills promised to reduce the price of fuel within the first 100 days in office and has vowed to convert all the slums into cities. Unfortunately, Kufuor’s lame attempt to increase salaries came too late. He could have done both the salary thing and the fuel, as well as the pre-mix fuel in Cape Coast much earlier. Now, that might have had some impact, because God loves the poor. He also loves America! But adultery? When Kwesi Botchway “black mambered” the Canadian ambassador, he set the NDC back severely. It would have been okay even after Kufuor drew even with Gizel Yatzy, (no proof, except there is an all-knowing God up there) but Richard Anane had to go and trample on God’s chosen country and of all places, in Alabama with Alexandra O’Brien. At that point the die was cast! The Supreme court in Alabama used to have a stone casting of the 10 commandments on its front steps. Christ’s followers make special efforts to fellowship with other believers. It is a wonderful thing that God wants Christians to unite in church and Bible study and politics. Christians do not think of others as hypocrites and they give credit for any good to those that deserve it. This may be called being accountable, being open to share your views or any misgivings and weaknesses. I think on this one God was conflicted, hence the very thin margin in the winning votes. Reform yourself: it's crucial, but not for salvation, only to do well and to be right (in line with the Truth). You must also have the Reform party in your team. They showed the NPP the way in 2000 and this year provided technical support to their alma mater, the NDC. You must "put off" the old man and "put on" the whole armour. One may sin against himself and possibly against God's purpose and plan by just carelessly maintaining old habits. The Bible says "Therefore, rid yourselves of everything impure and every expression of wickedness, and with a ''gentle spirit'' welcome the word planted in you that can save your souls." Invoking James 1:21, God is clearly looking ahead, warning Prof. Mills and his team. The old men are still hanging around and woe unto those who do not heed the word in 2012. The heart of Christian faith is love, not an obligation to check off boxes of success, but to live as Jesus, not just a label such as “Junior Jesus” or “Order of the Volta”. As long as you are aspiring to be like him, you are on the right track. God will always be there to help you through it, one step at a time, one 4-year term at a time, one Ghanaian thumbprint at a time. Credit: Sydney Casely-Hayford, [Sydney@thenewghanaian.com]