Home Archives for mother

Raising Kids to Follow Christ: Nurturing Lifelong Faith in a Turbulent World

0

As you’ve read in my previous blogs and newsletters, I have a heavy burden for protecting our children and grandchildren from the wiles of the evil one. Satan is no longer sneaky and sly in his tactics. He’s open, blatant, and ruthless in going after our children in the schools, libraries, entertainment, games, sports, sexualization, gender confusion, and child-sex trafficking, while liberal “progressive” politicians on the left and media are complicit with the devil’s evil demonic ways. As a grandparent, I find it horrifying to watch the legal system working as accomplices to the breakdown of the family and taking away the rights of loving parents.

Satan had a minor setback with the overturn of Roe v Wade, so he’s now targeting his evil attacks on the children given precious life.

Children Are A Gift From God

Children shine with exceptional and extraordinary worth that exceeds all other God-given blessings. These priceless souls arrive in our arms as eternal treasures bearing the very image of God. As stewards of these divine gifts, we have a duty to equip ourselves for their proper care. It sounds like such a daunting task, and at times, it can seem overwhelming. We need tools and insights steeped in Scripture and spiritual wisdom that will empower us when we feel inadequate to guide our children towards a lifelong commitment to Christ.

The Bible does tell us that parents bear a sacred responsibility when it comes to nurturing children in the ways of the Lord. Joel 1:3 instructs parents to impart the truths of their faith to their children, who in turn, will pass on this sacred legacy to future generations. The Woman to Woman Mentoring Ministry and platform God entrusted me with almost 30 years ago is exemplified in this verse.

Tell your children about it in the years to come,
    and let your children tell their children.
    Pass the story down from generation to generation. Joel 1:3 NLT

This cyclical transmission of faith serves as the bedrock upon which the continuity of Christianity rests, echoing the Great Commission found in Matthew 28:19–20. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Lee Ann Mancini Wants to Help Parents!

A book from an author friend of mine has come along at the perfect time to help parents and grandparents raise and nurture children for Christ and not the culture. Today’s Monday Morning blog is featuring author Lee Ann Mancini’s new release Raising Kids to Follow Christ: Instilling a Lifelong Trust in God. (No relation to my daughter Kimberly Mancini) Let me share with you some thoughts about Lee Ann’s book because we all have children in our family and community. We all should care about their souls.

Our culture’s current trend toward moral relativism amplifies the urgency of instilling a steadfast faith in our children. Lee Ann Mancini provides the solutions we need in her new parenting guide. Raising Kids to Follow Christ: Instilling a Lifelong Trust in God offers invaluable insights drawn from both scripture and cutting-edge research in childhood spiritual development. As the CEO of Raising Christian Kids and a distinguished professor, Mancini emphasizes the vital role of parental guidance rooted in love and joy, safeguarding children from the perils of faithlessness.

I often ask audiences when I’m speaking on mentoring, “Are you the men and women you want your children to become?” “Do you have the marriage you want your children to have?” “Do you have the faith you want your children to live out?”

Lee Ann also recognizes parents are the primary educators and spiritual mentors in the lives of their children. She stresses that the way we live proves the most significant character lesson we teach. Lee Ann says that our actions and attitudes serve as the blueprint upon which our children model their own beliefs and behaviors. Her book shares insights on how to exemplify a life centered on the Word of God so we can provide a living testimony of Christ’s transformative power. Faithfully measured, our personal steps will lead our children and grandchildren towards a deep and abiding relationship with their Savior.

Lee Ann emphasizes the cornerstone of parental efforts must rest upon the unwavering truth of God’s Word. Just as Jesus is the living Stone chosen by God, so too must His teachings form the solid foundation upon which our children’s, and grandchildren’s, faith is built. Amidst the storms of life, anchored in Christ, they can stand firm unwavering in their devotion to Jesus and unyielding in their faith convictions.

As many of us know so well, the journey of raising children in the faith comes with a myriad of challenges. In a world hostile to Christian values, we must remain vigilant in equipping our children and grandchildren with the spiritual armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18) necessary to withstand the onslaught of worldly temptations. Through prayer, guidance, and unwavering commitment, we can nurture within them a love for God and His Word thus empowering them to become beacons of light in a world shrouded in darkness.

Lee Ann esteems the calling to raise godly children as sacred, but she also shares her parenting advice with the hope of grace. It is never too early, nor too late, to inspire our children to love Jesus and develop a passion for His Kingdom. With fresh insights and transformative strategies, she welcomes us to embark on a journey of faith, nurturing the next generation of believers and disciples.

Raising Kids to Follow Christ serves as a wise and powerful companion as we navigate parenthood or as grandparents. The crises and shadows of life in this world will threaten to shake its youngest souls. Our children need the hope only Christ can offer. With a strong foundation, this generation can transform the future.

As we embrace our role as stewards of His precious gifts of our children, may we rise to the challenge with unwavering faith and steadfast resolve. We can depend on experts like Lee Ann Mancini to come alongside us in raising kids to follow Christ. Together, we can fulfill our true purpose and enjoy our greatest reward of raising a generation to love and follow Christ Jesus as their personal Savior.

An Overview of the Treasures Found in Raising Kids to Follow Christ.

In Raising Kids to Follow Christ: Instilling a Lifelong Trust in God, Lee Ann Mancini inspires parents, grandparents, teachers, and others to teach their children essential Christian principles to enable them to navigate the world with grace, integrity, and an unbreakable bond with their heavenly Father.

This book goes beyond surface-level advice, delving into the intricate matters of children’s hearts and minds and offering a blueprint for nurturing a deep and unwavering faith in Christ.

Raising Kids to Follow Christ offers:
• Decades of personal experience and training based on key essential principles in Scripture
• Practical strategies for addressing doubts, fears, and questions that arise in today’s culture
• Ways to help children control their emotions and actions in various situations
• Suggestions from some of today’s brightest Christian minds in children’s spirituality
• Empowerment for parents to become their child’s spiritual champion
• Easy-to-understand apologetics for children and adults
• Fun ways to connect your child’s heart to Christ

Raising Kids to Follow Christ is a collaborative journey inviting parents to learn, grow, and flourish alongside their children as they become bold in their witness and committed to their faith rather than the secular culture.

About Lee Ann Mancini

Lee Ann Mancini is the award-winning author and executive producer of the Sea Kids series, which can be viewed on Answers.TV, Pure Flix, Right Now Media, and Minno. Lee Ann earned Master’s degrees in Theological Studies, Christian and Classic Studies, and Biblical and Theological Studies. She serves as an adjunct professor at South Florida Bible College and Theological Seminary and hosts the award-winning podcast, Raising Christian Kids.

Raising Kids to Follow Christ: Instilling a Lifelong Trust in God would make a great Easter or Mother’s Day or Father’s Day or any day gift for the parents in your life. The children of today are the future of tomorrow. Let’s be sure they’re spiritually prepared to win the battle for their souls and for our world.

Please leave a comment here. I always reply.

March 4, 2024
Return to top of page

A Child Is Not a Problem to be Solved, But a Person to be Loved!

2

There once was a young boy whose mother had seven husbands. In a one-night-stand between husbands, she got pregnant. She chose to have her baby and a future husband chose to adopt her son and give him his last name. Do you know who that was? If you saw the movie Jesus Revolution, it was Pastor Greg Laurie!

In last week’s blog, No More Recreational Christianity, I talked about Pastor Jack Hibbs’ testimony of being a survivor of his mother’s botched attempt at aborting him with a coat hanger.

Steve Jobs, Apple founder, was adopted shortly after birth. Jobs’ biological parents weren’t married. He said, “I wanted to meet my biological mother mostly to see if she was OK and to thank her, because I’m glad I didn’t end up as an abortion.”

Some of you know the testimony my daughter and I share in my book Dear God, Why Can’t I Have a Baby?  It’s the story of my amazing grandson Brandon’s 15-year-old birth mother choosing to give him life so that my daughter and her husband could adopt him at two-weeks, and we could become his forever loving family. This teenage girl actually hid her pregnancy until the 7th month so she could keep her baby even though he was her second child! Somehow at her young age, she understood the value of life and didn’t impose her poor sexual choices on denying life to the children she conceived.

Many of you might have similar stories in your family. Our testimonies are powerful, and God can use each one to encourage mothers to choose life for their babies.

If you’ve had an abortion, you can ask Jesus for forgiveness and seek Christian counseling to help you with any regrets. You’re also a perfect person to encourage other women to avoid making the same choice. God can use all our experiences for His glory if we let Him.

March for Life 2024!

January is Sanctity of Life month. The 51st March for Life at the National Mall in Washington DC was on January 19 this year and the snow and cold temperatures didn’t deter thousands from marching for life. I’m not sure how they originally determined January to be the month to honor human life, but maybe it was to start the New Year with everyone remembering how important the gift of life is from God our Creator. A perfect segue from Christmas.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us.” Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good! (Genesis 1:1, 26, 31 NLT).

Why then are so many choosing to destroy this amazing gift of life and how has it become so political? Sadly, many things have become political rather than moral. For example, two moral bills supporting pregnancy centers and pregnant college students passed on January 18 by a Republican majority Congress, while every Democrat present voted immorally against them.

How could anyone with a conscience or heart vote against helping pregnant women and innocent babies? But Democrats vote in unison against the sanctity of life consistently. Could it be because one of their largest donors is Planned Parenthood, the biggest industry dedicated to murdering babies?!

The Pregnant Students’ Rights Act passed by Congress ensures that universities and colleges must provide information to pregnant students about rights, accommodations, and resources available. Congresswoman Ashley Hinson (R-IA), who authored the bill, said, “It’s unacceptable that pregnant women on college campuses are often pressured to have an abortion. My bill ensures young women are empowered to choose life and create the best future for themselves and their child.”

“Pregnant college students should never feel like abortion is their only option,” said Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL). “The Republican-led House took a huge step in empowering women to choose life by passing this legislation. I encourage my Senate colleagues to follow suit and work to ensure young women are aware of all the resources available to them and their babies while pursuing their education.”

“This vote should have been an easy one for every politician who claims to care about women’s rights, and those in the Democratic Party who voted to keep women in the dark about their legal rights should be ashamed,” said Students for Life Action (SFLAction) President Kristan Hawkins. “Still, this is a great day for the Pro-Life Generation as years of campus advocacy has led to this historic moment – the first SFLAction-inspired federal bill passing the House,” she added.

The Parenting Women and Families Act prohibits the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from finalizing, implementing, or enforcing a Biden Administration proposed change in regulations that would essentially cut funding for pregnancy centers.

“We applaud House pro-life leaders for their work in ensuring resources and funding are made available for women, children, and families in need,” stated Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life. “In a post-Roe America, it is vitally important that resources are made available to support mothers and their babies both before and after birth.”  

Tobias continued, “In longstanding narrow-mindedness, every Democrat present voted wrong and failed to support these reasonable measures because the bills do not promote abortion. Once again, leaders in the Democratic Party have shown their allegiance to the abortion industry and its extremism.”

I wanted to watch the National March for Life on TV, but the only channel Dave found it on was a Catholic channel. CBN carried it too, but he found the Catholic channel first and as I listened to their discussion after the march, it was so encouraging to hear the commentators and guests, even young children and college students, talk about what they’re doing on their school campuses to promote life for every baby.

Biden who professes to be a “good Catholic,” is the most pro-death President in my lifetime. So why would a Catholic President fight against every attempt to protect the unborn, even trying to pass bills that remove the tax status and funding from Pregnancy Care Centers? Pro-Abortion Biden has weaponized the legislature to try to codify abortion up to birth. Barbarianism. What Catholic or Christian even thinks of such an atrocity? Only someone who has sold their soul to the devil for power and money. The abortion industry, aka killing babies, is lucrative to everyone involved.

Herod in Matthew 2:13-18 had all the boys two-years-old or younger slaughtered trying to kill the newborn king he had heard was born. Baby Jesus’ life was spared.

Pharaoh thought the Egyptians were multiplying too fast and he might lose power, so he had all the baby boys murdered at birth. When that wasn’t working, he had the babies drowned in the Nile, but baby Moses survived that genocide attempt and was adopted.  

Also, in the Old Testament pagan child sacrifices were made to Molek.  “‘Do not give any of your children to be sacrificed to Molek, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the Lord.” Lev. 18:21

We falsely think we’re such a civilized culture today that we would never let something like the above scenarios happen. Yet millions of baby sacrifices have occurred in their mother’s womb as the babies are horrifically poisoned, chemically burned, crushed, suctioned, injected, or impaled, and often pulled out piece by piece. Even with the end of Roe v Wade, some states like New Jersey allow the infanticide sacrifice of babies through all nine months. Barbarism in the 21st century.

The next major battle is the abortion pill as the Supreme Court reviews a case involving access to mifepristone, which the FDA has approved. Justices are set to review a ruling by a federal appeals court to allow distribution of this abortion pill indiscriminately by mail, essentially performing home abortions. Many say the abortion pill is four times more dangerous than surgical abortion and girls and women end up in emergency rooms. The drug blocks nutrients and starves the baby to death.

Our secular culture and ruling government continue to spread the lie that babies are expendable if they’re inconvenient or unwanted. Kamala Harris is visiting school campuses touting the lie that abortion is a woman’s Constitutional right. She shows her ignorance of the Constitution.

After telling his own abortion-sparing life story when his unmarried parents chose to give him life for which he thanked them, House Speaker Mike Johnson pointed out in his March for Life speech that the Constitution and Bill of Rights says, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Johnson continued, “All men are created equal, not born equal.” Equality originates in the womb, not at birth. Then he affirmed, “Our rights come from God, not the government. Your value is given to you by your Creator.”

Christians Must Change a Culture of Murder to a Culture of Life

One of the March for Life speakers said, “Abortion is like hiring a hitman. It’s murder of a human life. There’s no other way to consider it.”

Speaker Johnson reminded us of others before us, like President Lincoln and Susan B Anthony, who changed public opinion and encouraged us that we can do the same.

Abortion is the only weapon the Democrats have in the 2024 election because they don’t have any accomplishments to brag about since they’ve done nothing in the past three years except try to turn our free country into a Marxist dictatorship.

Pro-lifers, conservatives, Republicans, Christians need to change our approach in discussing abortion because what we’re doing right now isn’t reaching the majority of people, especially women. We’re characterized as not caring about women’s “rights.” I think the March for Life has realized that as their theme this year is “With Every Woman, for Every Child.”

Pastor Greg Laurie shared his testimony and gave the closing prayer at the March for Life before the marchers took off walking. He also wrote an article Why Pro-Life Is the Only Biblical Position. I hope you’ll take a moment to read it now. He speaks with conviction as a Bible-preaching pastor and a life spared for a purpose. He said it took a while to realize his life was planned by God, as is every life, even those who were not given a chance to breathe.

In the article, Pastor Laurie said, “Our culture tries to dehumanize these babies with rewordings and euphemisms. They call murder ‘terminating a pregnancy’ and they label unborn babies as ‘fetuses,’ ’embryos,’ ‘globs of cells,’ ‘uterine contents,’ or ‘products of conception.’ But the reality is that they are innocent children, made in the image of God, and they have every right to live. If you don’t agree with that then, frankly, you disagree with the Bible.”

Sadly, many churches are moving away from the Bible and that never ends well.

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. —Psalm 139:13–16 NLT

I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations. —Jeremiah 1:5 NLT

Pastor Greg points out God says, “I formed you in your mother’s womb.” God doesn’t say, ‘I waited until you were born to have a plan for you, because you were not yet really a human, but only a mass of tissue.’”

God has a plan for every child, even before birth, but He lets us make our own choices. Sadly, many people today are choosing pro-death instead of pro-life. This isn’t helping women who most certainly will be emotionally, mentally, or physically damaged from taking the life of their child. Silently enabling this choice instead of sharing the truth with love and grace is not biblical.

We as a church must never stop encouraging people to choose God because God changes everything in a person’s life. Before that, they’re not going to listen to Scripture because they either don’t believe in God or don’t care what the Bible says. They’re going to live life their own way. That’s really the root cause of abortion and all evil.

Churches Must Get Involved to Save Human Lives

It’s been a long time since I’ve heard a sermon on the sanctity of life. January 21, 2024, Sanctity of Life Sunday, would’ve been a perfect day to give one. But here’s what we can do . . .

  • We can use our vote. Pastor Laurie writes, “To refrain from voting is irresponsible and bad stewardship. Scripture tells us, ‘To him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin’ (James 4:17 NKJV). We should vote for the candidates and policies that best reflect the values we find in Scripture, and that includes voting pro-life.”
  • MyFaithVotes.org provides voter guides for how to vote as Christians biblically in upcoming elections.
  • The church was always supposed to be the place where those in need could go to get help and praise God there are Christian operated pregnancy resource centers across the United States that help the mother and child before and after birth for free. We can find one and offer to volunteer or donate.
  • Start pro-life prayer groups at your church.
  • Attend local prayer rallies for life.
  • If you have a testimony, share it.
  • In my book Mentoring for All Seasons, I have chapters on how to mentor young women considering abortion and those who have had abortions.
  • Don’t apologize for being Pro-Life. Remind everyone you’re in a discussion with on this topic that they were given life. Ask if they’re glad their mother chose life? No one has the right to deny another person the same opportunity.

This truly is our generation’s human rights movement. We’re making progress with Roe v Wade being overturned, but the battle isn’t over in the states. The battle won’t end until abortion, the killing of unborn babies, is unthinkable. A civilization is measured by how it treats its most vulnerable.

“Let’s all pray and ask God to send a spiritual awakening to our nation—we really need it.”—Pastor Greg Laurie

Please leave a comment here. I appreciate hearing your thoughts and I always reply.

January 22, 2024
Return to top of page

Why The Serpent is Still Going After Women!

6

Have you wondered, like I have, why after all the years of fighting and voting for women’s rights and equal treatment with men that suddenly and slyly those rights are disappearing?

I’m not talking about the false claim that women have a right to kill their unborn babies because as you’ll see in this article, calling that a “right” is straight from Satan and not the Constitution.

No, I’m talking about things like a Supreme Court Justice who can’t even define a woman and she herself is a woman!  A college student receiving an F from a female professor because she used the “unacceptable” term “biological woman” in her article. The former Democrat Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, trying to force rules to prohibit in Congress the use of terms like mother, grandmother, daughter, sister, woman, female, even though she herself is all of those. Oh, yes that brings up trying to eliminate pronouns signifying ‘she’ or ‘her.’

Matt Walsh traveling all over the United States asking “What is a Woman?” and only receiving an answer in a remote village in Nairobe and from his own wife. If you haven’t seen this excellent documentary, I highly recommend it and Elon Musk has made it free on Twitter. You should be able to access it on the link I provided above or at this one.

Democrat and progressive liberal legislatures and school boards voting to allow men to participate in women’s sports, use women’s locker rooms and bathrooms even in schools.

Men wanting to pretend they’re women by dressing in women’s clothes claiming they are now a woman just because they “identify” as one, even though they are biological males with all their male parts. But as one crazy professor told Walsh and many who are deceived believe, “Sex is how you’re born; gender is how you identify!” Wrong!!

I could go on, but you’ve seen the trend yourselves. Why the sudden war on women while encouraging men to become more feminine and using terms like male toxicity if a man acts like a man?

The blatant attempt from the political left to blur the lines between male and female, even with the propaganda that children or anyone can change their gender, is rampant in medicine, politics, government, education, and sadly even invading the church!

Would it surprise you to know that none of this is new? It all actually started back in the first book of the Bible, Genesis, with the first humans God created, Adam and Eve, and will probably continue to escalate until the book of Revelations is fulfilled with the rapture of the church and the tribulation of those left behind.

You’ve heard me and others say repeatedly that this is all satanic. Satan is behind every effort to eliminate genders and thus the human race!

It All Began in Genesis 3!

Sin entered the world in Genesis 3 where God clearly says what the ongoing repercussions of rebellion will be for the woman Eve, the man Adam, and the serpent the Devil.

We know that Satan first approached the woman Eve with the same question he asks many today about whether God really said you should follow His Words and His ways.

“The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?” (3:1)

At first, the woman stood by her beliefs and faith in what God told them, but the serpent planted doubt in her mind.

2 “Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. 3 “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’”

4 “You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. 5 “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.”

Satan challenged Eve with a lie that she wouldn’t die and she fell for the temptation to achieve the same power as God. But what Eve overlooked was that the serpent introduced a word she hadn’t even heard of before “evil.” It seemed like a benign concept to her. What’s so bad about evil anyway?

6 The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. 7 At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.

When Eve gave into the temptation to have equal power with God and ate the fruit of the tree and shared some with Adam, both immediately felt something new to them, shame. They had disobeyed God and experienced the remorse of sinning.

The verses go on explaining how God met them in the cool of the night and spoke to them. Not only did they experience evil, shame, and sin, they now experienced fear and thought they could hide their sin from God. But God sought them out asking “Where are you?” (v. 9)

Adam replied why they were hiding. “I was afraid because I was naked.” (v. 10)

God asked them if they’d eaten from the forbidden tree and Adam blamed it on Eve. So God addressed Eve directly, “What have you done?” (v. 13)

Then Eve realized another previously unknown evil, deception!

“The serpent deceived me,” she replied. “That’s why I ate it.” (v. 13)

The Lord pronounced the punishment for the serpent Satan, the woman Eve, and her husband Adam that would last through all generations until He provided a cure for repentance from sin through Jesus Christ.

14 Then the Lord God said to the serpent,

“Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all animals, domestic and wild. You will crawl on your belly, groveling in the dust as long as you live.15 And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike[b] your head, and you will strike his heel.”

16 Then he said to the woman,

“I will sharpen the pain of your pregnancy, and in pain you will give birth. And you will desire to control your husband, but he will rule over you.[c]”

17 And to the man he said,

“Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat,
the ground is cursed because of you. All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it.

I want to focus on verse 15 as we watch the current satanic attack on women.

15 And I will cause hostility between you the [serpent] and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike[b] your head, and you will strike his heel.”

Satan had taken the form of a serpent to deceive the woman, Eve. In Revelation 12:9, he’s a dragon. The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.

The website Got Questions explains what has transpired ever since between Satan and women. As part of the curse, enmity—mutual hatred and ill will—will exist between the woman and the serpent. Later, the same enmity will continue between the serpent’s seed and the woman’s seed or offspring—mankind as Eve is the “mother of all living,” Genesis 3:20. Woman’s offspring will remain enemies with Satan throughout all generations. The serpent’s offspring are demonic forces and also those people who follow the devil and accomplish his will.

Jesus called the Pharisees a “brood of vipers” in Matthew 12:34 and said they belonged to their “father, the devil” in John 8:44. In short, God says that Satan will always be the enemy of mankind. It follows that people who side with Satan will be at perpetual war with God’s elect and that we are engaged in a very real battle between good and evil (Ephesians 6:12).

We also see Messianic Prophecies in Genesis 3:15 “you will strike his heel.” That is, the serpent will bite the heel of “the woman’s seed.” This passage points to the promise of Jesus’ birth, His redemption, and His victory over Satan. The woman’s offspring is Jesus, literally the offspring of a human woman. Being the Son of Man, Jesus is the perfect representative of humankind. The devil’s offspring were the evil men and demonic forces who like a snake, lay in wait for the Savior and struck at Him. Their venomous conspiracy condemned Jesus to be crucified.

But we know the serpent’s strike was not the end of mankind—offspring of the woman—because Jesus rose on the third day overcoming death and offering permanent victory for those who believe in Him.

The striking of the Messiah’s heel was a picture of the wounding and death of Jesus on the cross. Satan bruised Jesus’ “heel,” but Jesus showed complete dominance over Satan by bruising his “head.”

Satan Has Not Conceded Defeat

Satan through his demons has never given up the fight with the woman to try and prevent her from producing more generations, especially those who would follow Christ. Here are some of the ways he continues to deceive women and accomplish his goal of preventing proliferation of humans and counter God’s command to Adam and Eve in Genesis 1:28 Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. 

  1. Abortion—Satan deceives women the same way he did Eve with fear, doubt, and lies that she has power over her own body and she’s not really carrying a human baby, God’s creation, in her womb. Did God really say abortion isn’t okay to kill my baby? Every abortion chocks up another success for Satan to stop mankind from reproducing.
  2. Gay agenda and gay marriage—two people of the same gender cannot sexually reproduce.
  3. Gender Confusion—women trying to become men and vice versa may surgically destroy their reproductive capability by chemical or surgical castration, puberty blockers, opposite sex hormones, or gynecological surgery. Sterilizing children and adults.
  4. Trans—Men pretending they’re women, mocking womanhood by being culturally accepted for “identifying” as a woman and competing in areas which should remain exclusive to women, i.e. sports, bathrooms, locker and dressing rooms, women’s contests, and not sexually performing as a man to reproduce.
  5. Confusing children about their gender or lying to them that they can change their gender and convincing schools and teachers to promote these lies has now turned schools into Satan’s playground.

God told Adam and Eve to be fruitful. Gay’s often say it will be the end of the world if their way of life isn’t tolerated, but indeed, it will be the actual end because two males or two women cannot reproduce. My grandson understood that biological truth when he was only nine.

Anyone who doesn’t understand that this is all satanic does not know the Bible and has given into the same lie that Satan uses over and over “Did God really say . . .?” Even Satan knows and misuses the Bible when he convinces pastors and Christians to just love everyone now living in their sin and not make any attempt to share the Gospel truth with them. Those are cowardly churches and cowardly Christians.

No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him. 1 John 3:6

Satan has succeeded at convincing culture to just let everyone live however they want and anyone who objects to evil being forced on us is called names and may be punished by losing jobs, arrested, shunned, ostracized, . . . Satan’s most effective tools against truth are deception, fear, self-preservation, and apathy.

As I wrote last week, Why Did It Take Beer to Motivate Conservatives and Christians to Boycott Woke? it’s encouraging to watch people finally pushing back because Satan knows no limits or boundaries. He’s coming for our children because they would be the next generation women produce and he’s not waiting until they’re of age to go after them. He’s got his target on them from birth. Satan temporarily lost some power over killing babies in the womb, so he’ll go for them as soon as they can walk and talk, or even as infants if you saw some of the ‘pride” products at Target.

What I don’t understand is why more parents aren’t waking up to Satan’s evil strategy, especially moms?! Who would take their children to drag shows or library readings, gay “pride” parades or events? It’s so obviously focused on perverted sex. I asked the question recently on social media, “Would you take your child to a strip club?” Yet, just this past week there was a gay “pride” show advertised as family friendly where one of the “performers” stripped and you could hear the audience gasping and laughing. Were there children in that audience? If so, Satan is cheering the loudest of all!

 “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.” Matt. 7:13-14 NLT

If you received this blog by email, please leave a comment here. I reply to all comments.

June 12, 2023
Return to top of page

Three Lessons Beyond the Story of His Only Son!

0

Last week, Hubby Dave and I saw the latest movie from Angel Studios, His Only Son. I was thrilled that just like Jesus Revolution, this new Christian movie stayed in theaters long after its Pre-Easter release and the five day expected showing. That’s because many Christians poured into theaters to support His Only Son.

When I looked over at Dave during the movie to see if the sounds he was making meant he was falling asleep, I discovered to the contrary, he was crying. The story of Abraham, Sarah, and Isaac brought my tenderhearted husband to tears more than once.

If you haven’t seen the movie, I don’t want to give away too many details, but it’s the familiar story of God asking Abraham to sacrifice his long-awaited son, Isaac, born to elderly parents. The son that God had told Abraham would bring descendants outnumbering the stars in the sky. It’s a beautifully filmed movie with superb acting as it brings the Bible story of Genesis 22 to life. If you haven’t seen it and it’s still in your theaters, I encourage you to go, enjoy, and maybe cry at a father’s love for his son, but his even greater love for the Father in Heaven who Abraham trusted and obeyed, even when asked to perform a seemingly impossible sacrifice.

Interwoven into the story was a brief glimpse of Sarah’s servant Hagar when Abraham and Sarah attempted to go ahead of God. In today’s blog, I want to fill in some of the blanks with lessons from the story of Hagar and Ishmael, discussed in conversation during the movie if you listen closely, but not depicted.

We can learn from the consequences of Abraham and Sarah’s poor decision about using Hagar to circumvent God’s plan. Consequences still felt in the Middle East today.

Who Was Hagar?

When we first meet Hagar in the Bible, she’s an Egyptian maidservant to Sarai (later called Sarah), the wife of Abram (later called Abraham). Sarai was infertile and desperately wanted a child. God had told Abram that he would have an heir, a son, and yet as time passed the aging couple still didn’t have a baby (Gen. 15:2-5).

Mistakenly, Sarai thought the Lord had kept her from having a baby so she came up with her own plan to give Abram a family. (Gen. 16:2) In those days, a maidservant had no rights and was required to comply with whatever her owners told her to do. When her barren and desperate mistress Sarai decides to use Hagar as a surrogate to provide her husband Abram with a child, Hagar has no option but to obey. Abram agreed and slept with Hagar and she became pregnant.

The movie alludes to this, but tastefully never shows Abram and Hagar in any sexual scenes, not even an embrace. This seems like an odd practice to us today, but it was actually an ancient custom in biblical times to ensure the birth of a male heir.

What Happened Next to Hagar?

When Hagar learned she was carrying Abram’s child, she felt superior to Sarai and the Bible says she “began to despise her mistress” (Gen. 16:4). Maybe Hagar was upset that her mistress forced her husband on her, or she felt rejected that Abram didn’t treat her as a wife, and she took her frustration out on Sarai. Whatever the reason, she wrongly thought that her pregnancy empowered her to treat Sarai with contempt.

When the relationship between the two women deteriorated and became hostile, Sarai complained to her husband. Abram told her that this had been Sarai’s idea in the first place and Hagar was hers to do with what she wanted. He wasn’t going to get involved with their dispute. Sarai took that as permission to mistreat Hagar, so pregnant Hagar ran away into the desert. But what she didn’t expect was an encounter with God, which we don’t see in the movie.

7 The angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur. 8 And he said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?” “I’m running away from my mistress Sarai,” she answered. 9 Then the angel of the Lord told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.” Gen. 16:7-9

The angel of the Lord also told her she would have a son and name him, “Ishmael, for the Lord has heard of your misery.” (Gen. 16:11)

So obediently, Hagar returned, gave birth to her son, and stayed on as Sarai’s maidservant. Sixteen years later, Sarai, renamed by God, Sarah, finally had her own miracle son as God had promised, but like any older brother, Ishmael started teasing his little toddler half-brother Isaac. Sarah was having none of this and demanded that her husband, now called Abraham, send Hagar and her son away . . . this time permanently. The movie eludes during a conversation that this took place, but we don’t see it happening. We hear about Ishmael, but never see him.

The child [Isaac] grew and was weaned, and on the day Isaac was weaned Abraham held a great feast. 9 But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking, 10 and she said to Abraham, “Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac.” (Gen. 21:8-10)

Abraham, now the father of both sons, protested but to his surprise, God intervened and incredulously told him to let them go. Listen in the movie for when Abraham discusses why he let them both go.

11 The matter distressed Abraham greatly because it concerned his son. 12 But God said to him, “Do not be so distressed about the boy and your slave woman. Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring[a] will be reckoned. 13 I will make the son of the slave into a nation also, because he is your offspring.” (Gen. 21:11-13)

Reluctantly, Abraham agreed and sent Hagar and Ishmael out into the desert with food and water.

14 Early the next morning Abraham took some food and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He set them on her shoulders and then sent her off with the boy. She went on her way and wandered in the Desert of Beersheba. (Gen. 21:14)

God has lessons for us to learn from every biblical story and He tells us the story of Hagar in the Bible so we can apply what she learned to our own lives. Here are three important life application lessons.

Lesson #1: God Never Rejects Us

Hagar must have lamented her painful mistreatment and abandonment. Why was all this happening to her? When her hurt and despair sent her fleeing into the desert the first time, she was surprised but also very relieved and blessed when God met her there. She realized that even in her lowly position in life, she was important to God and He hadn’t rejected or forgotten her.

It was hard to hear God wanted her to go back to Sarai and endure abuse, but then God gave her a name for her son, Ishmael. God said He would even multiply Ishmael’s descendants. Wow, that was quite a promise, which God did fulfill in later years.

Hagar agreed to God’s plan and called the Lord, “The God who sees me, for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.” (Gen. 16:13)

God heard her cries of affliction. Amazingly, a slave girl was the first recorded appearance of God face to face in Scripture. Others had heard His voice or seen visions, but here was God in person.

Like Hagar, when it seems like others are rejecting you, God sees and hears you. Don’t let rejection define you; allow it to refine you. Hagar had the confidence and security in God to humbly return to Sarai and Abram and fulfill her role in biblical history.

Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me! (Ps. 66:20)

The Lord will not reject his people; he will not abandon his special possession. (Ps. 94:14 NLT)

Lesson #2 God is Near to the Brokenhearted

When Abraham sent Hagar and her son Ismael into the desert, it looked like they would surely die when the supplies Abraham had given them were exhausted. Now her precious son who God had given her and even named would starve to death. It was too much for her to bear. She couldn’t watch as he curled up in a fetal positon under a tree, but she couldn’t block out his starving moans and wails.

15 When the water in the skin was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes. 16 Then she went off and sat down about a bowshot away, for she thought, “I cannot watch the boy die.” And as she sat there, she[b] began to sob. (Gen. 21:15-16)

But, what was she hearing now? Could it be a second encounter with God?! Yes, He had heard the cries of her son and asked her what was wrong? The Angel of the Lord spoke to this distressed mother yet again and reassured her not to be full of fear or sadness. Just as He had promised, God reaffirmed that her son’s legacy would be a great nation.  

17 God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. 18 Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.” (Gen. 21:17-18)

When we’re in deep despair, our tendency often is to shut out the world, and sometimes that includes shutting out God. But God is the one who understands our distress like no human can. Sometimes He will put people in our life and speak through them to comfort us, but what He longs for us to do is bend our ear towards Him and listen. Let His presence comfort you with the hope that He’s going through this with you and He always has a plan if we open our eyes to see our opportunities and listen to the wisdom He whispers in our prayer time.

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. (Ps. 34:18)

Lesson #3 God’s Plan Is Always the Best One to Follow

When Hagar opened crying eyes, to her astonishment there was a well of water in the middle of the desert. Only God! She ran to fill her wineskin and gave her thirsty son a refreshing drink.

19 Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink. (Gen. 21:19)

Bravely, Hagar believed God and trusted that even as a single mom rejected and stranded in the middle of nowhere, if God said it was so, then she would trust Him and obey again. God was faithful to His promise.

20 God was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in the desert and became an archer. 21 While he was living in the Desert of Paran, his mother got a wife for him from Egypt. (Gen 21:20-21)

While we often focus on Abraham and Sarah, God has a powerful lesson in the story of Hagar. Through no fault of her own, she became entrenched in the couple’s contrived plan to fulfill God’s promise themselves instead of waiting for God’s perfect timing and plan. We can’t outsmart or outdo God. His plans always are for good and will prevail, but we’ll pay a price when our impetuous and prideful thinking is that we know best.

22 The Scriptures say that Abraham had two sons, one from his slave wife and one from his freeborn wife.[a] 23 The son of the slave wife was born in a human attempt to bring about the fulfillment of God’s promise. But the son of the freeborn wife was born as God’s own fulfillment of his promise. (Gal. 4:22-23)

Just as God promised, Ishmael became a great nation but to this day, his descendants continue to be in conflict with the nation founded by his half-brother Isaac.

Everyday Brave Hagar

I include Hagar in Everyday Brave: Living Courageously as a Woman of Faith because she didn’t let the hard life that she encountered defeat her. She had a personal experience with God and He protected and provided for her. She courageously understood that God was the One she could depend on and trust. He would make a way when circumstances seemed impossible.

Even when we don’t see God face-to-face like Hagar did, or maybe have trouble feeling His presence, our faith assures us of the truth that we’re never alone. God has promised to never leave or forsake us even when others disappoint or even abandon us. God is always just a prayer away.

God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” (Heb. 13:5b)

If you received this blog by email, please go to the website at this link and leave a comment. I always appreciate hearing from you and reply to each comment.

April 17, 2023
Return to top of page

What is the Biblical Truth Behind Gender Roles?—Part 2

8

Last week, we looked at the lies being told and sold to our culture, but especially to our precious children. If you haven’t read Part 1 yet, here’s the link. I want to also add an update to that blog, What is the Biblical Truth Behind Gender Roles—Part 1.

As a recap, in the previous blog, I talked about the pushback Kirk Cameron was receiving at libraries when he requested to read his new children’s book As You Grow about the Fruit of the Spirit and how in Arkansas, trans protestors showed up to heckle him and those attending. What I didn’t know at the time of that writing was that the protestors also had to listen to a former transgender woman, Laura Perry Smalts, read aloud Brave Books’ Elephants Are Not Birds authored by Ashley St. Clair.

The title of the article, which I hope you’ll go to because it includes some amazing pictures and a video is “Former Transgender Person Reads Anti-Trans Book to 500, Including men in Drag: ‘I Want Kids to Hear the Truth!’”

A synopsis of Elephants Are Not Birds is the message “Most can see that there is a distinct difference between an elephant and a bird but in this story, we’ll see that even those lines are blurred when the lies of Culture the Vulture are accepted as truth by Kevin the Elephant.”

During the story hour, the crowd also heard Smalts’ testimony of how she used to find it difficult loving herself the way God created her, but faith had a huge effect on her journey. The presence of trans activists, men dressed in drag, actually drove home Smalts’ story to everyone in the room, especially the children.

Here’s the full comment about the event from Kirk Cameron.
“The small group of protesters, which included some grown men wearing silly makeup, dressed in skirts and heels, pretending to be women, listened to the reading of a kids’ book about God’s view of gender called, “Elephants Are Not Birds.” At the close of this sweet and funny story of a singing elephant named Kevin who was tricked by a vulture named “Culture” into thinking he might be a bird, the reader [Laura Smalts] then asked the 300 children, “Do you think elephants can be birds, even if they strap on silly wings and a beak?” In unison, and with great laughter, all 300 children confessed with gusto, “No!” I felt sad for the men in skirts. As it is written, “You have taught the little children to praise you perfectly. May their example shame and silence your enemies.” (Psalm 8:2).

Today, I want to explore four truths regarding genders and explore what God says in the Bible about His creation of humans and the plans He has for them. I hope you’ll ponder the Scriptures I’ve selected to support each of the four truths. First, let’s look at some of the misinformation spreading about the two genders and their roles in relationships.

What Do We Get Wrong About Biblical Gender Roles?

When I married my husband 30 years ago, I had recently rededicated my life to the Lord at a Harvest Crusade. I committed to God to live the rest of my life as a biblical Christian, wife, mother, and now grandmother. My daughter was not a Christian at the time and was appalled that her once independent successful businesswoman mom was now in her words, “Going to be a doormat.” She was skeptical of Dave, who actually is a gentle, kind, godly man, but she feared he was going to dominate me.

It wasn’t until she became a Christian several years later when she and her fiancé accepted Christ in a biblical marriage class that she had an awakening regarding the truth behind biblical gender roles

Many people and some churches have misconceptions about biblical gender roles. The attempt by culture to redefine genders has invaded every area of life. Wokeness discards and dismantles biblical and biological truths and tries to normalize lies. I’m not a biologist, but I do know what a man and woman are and I’m sure you do too.

Gender isn’t defined by how someone thinks, “identifies,” or chooses to act. God’s beautiful design for humanity is only two genders, which He calls male and female, or man and woman. You won’t find in the Bible “transgender,” “cisgenders,” “binaries,” “gender identity,” “drag queens,” “queer” “gay” or any of the manmade genders or pronoun reassignment allegories. God didn’t use those terms and we shouldn’t either.

Here’s the truth about what God says regarding the two biblical gender roles that should guide the thinking and actions of every Christian and pastor.

Truth #1 God Created Only Two Genders!

As substantiated by biology and the Bible, gender is determined at birth as male or female by observable genitalia. Yet, today we live in a world where gender identity has become a fluid concept and at last count, the delusional believe there are 81 genders and growing. That absurdity seems laughable and yet the woke culture is on a mission to not only spread that lie, but enforce it in laws attempting to erase the reality of God’s two genders: male and female.

At birth, God designed each human cell to contain 23 pairs of chromosomes. Twenty-two pairs look the same in both males and females. The 23rd pair, the sex chromosomes, differs between males and females. Females have two copies of the X chromosome while males have one X and one Y chromosome, thus determining their sex. That’s a scientific and biblical undeniable, unalterable fact!

Even infamous atheist scientist Richard Dawkins declares there are only two sexes as a matter of science: “That’s all there is to it.” Dawkins added that those who have tried to cancel JK Rowling for making the same point are “bullies”!

Once again, science agrees with Creation and confirms God is the Creator of two genders and only two!

“I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb.” Jer. 1:5

One revealing article admitted we’re born male or female, but erroneously added you can then learn to be whatever gender you want. Mind and emotional control is at the center of this demonic lie causing confusion and even bodily mutilation in young children and people of all ages.

Confusion or ambiguity is not from God. For God is not a God of confusion but of peace. 1 Cor. 14:33

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. Gen. 1:27 ESV

When God created mankind, he made them in the likeness of God. 2 He created them male and female and blessed them. And he named them “Mankind” when they were created. Gen. 5:1-2

Truth #2 Marriage Is Between a Man and a Woman

God designed men and women to unite as one in marriage with the capability of creating new life. They become helpmates, each spouse using the gifts God gave them.

Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper for him.” Gen. 2:18 

“Haven’t you read,” he [Jesus] replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’?” Matt. 19:4-5

And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Gen. 1:28 ESV

God gave women the blessing of carrying and giving birth to babies when that’s possible. Clearly only women can get pregnant and anyone who thinks otherwise is deceived or delusional.

11 Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. 12 For as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything comes from God. 1 Cor. 11:11-12

Did not he who made me in the womb make them? Did not the same one form us both within our mothers? Job 31:15

The husband’s role is spiritual leader of the home protecting and loving his wife while wives acknowledge his leadership and both husband and wife submit to following Christ.

Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. 22 Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. 25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing[a] her by the washing with water through the word. Eph. 5:21-26

7 Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers. 1 Pet. 3:7

Truth #3 Sex is Between a Man and a Woman

God uniquely and deliberately created man and woman to fit perfectly together sexually. He clearly states that sex is between a heterosexual husband and wife. We must not be afraid to proclaim and live by this truth! Anything else is an abomination to the Lord.

For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. Rom. 1:26-27 ESV

 22 “‘Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable’”. Lev. 18:22

A woman must not wear men’s clothing, nor a man wear women’s clothing, for the Lord your God detests anyone who does this. Deut. 22:5

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality. 1 Cor. 6:9 ESV

10 The law is for people who are sexually immoral, or who practice homosexuality, or are slave traders,[c] liars, promise breakers, or who do anything else that contradicts the wholesome teaching 11 that comes from the glorious Good News entrusted to me by our blessed God. 1 Tim. 1:10-11 NLT

Truth #4 Parents Are a Male and a Female

Parents consist of a male father and a female mother, not two fathers nor two mothers, although there often are single parents for a variety of reasons. When there are two parents, Dad is the head of the family but both Mom and Dad work together as a team raising the family.

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise—so it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on earth. Eph. 6:1

She carefully watches everything in her household and suffers nothing from laziness. 28 Her children stand and bless her. Her husband praises her: 29 “There are many virtuous and capable women in the world, but you surpass them all!” Pr. 31:27-29 NLT

Sexual and Gender Distortion is from Satan, the Father of Lies!

You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. John 8:44

Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Is. 5:2

Often, we’ll hear that the Bible doesn’t speak to gender or sexual issues, but that’s lying misinformation straight from Satan. Christians must address the gender crisis today speaking the truth with clarity and authority from God’s perspective as stated in the Word of God, the Bible.

 Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them. Eph. 5:11

Silence in the face of Satan’s lies conveys condoning and apathy to the many who will face eternity separated from God in hell. We could make an eternal difference in their life by sharing God’s truth. I wish more pastors understood the mantel God gives them to speak out against evil. That’s not political; it’s biblical! People need to hear where their sin leads.

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 1 Cor. 6:9-10 ESV

4 Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin? 5 But because you are stubborn and refuse to turn from your sin, you are storing up terrible punishment for yourself. For a day of anger is coming, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. 6 He will judge everyone according to what they have done. 7 He will give eternal life to those who keep on doing good, seeking after the glory and honor and immortality that God offers. 8 But he will pour out his anger and wrath on those who live for themselves, who refuse to obey the truth and instead live lives of wickedness. 9 There will be trouble and calamity for everyone who keeps on doing what is evil—for the Jew first and also for the Gentile.[a] 10 But there will be glory and honor and peace from God for all who do good—for the Jew first and also for the Gentile. 11 For God does not show favoritism. Rom. 2:4-11 NLT

“We love to tell people that God loves them and has compassion on them. And of course, that is true. Yet we are reluctant to say they are sinners who are separated from God. We need to tell the truth. Our culture needs to hear the truth. Yes, it’s easier to blend into the background and avoid offending anyone. But do we want to offend God? If we don’t tell the whole truth, then we will.”—Pastor Greg Laurie

I’m happy to report that our Idaho Governor, Brad Little, just joined two other state governors in signing a bill barring transgender students from using any school facilities like bathrooms, locker rooms, or overnight field trip facilities not consistent with their biological gender, regardless of their “gender identity.” Many Idahoan Christians, churches, and advocates like the Values Advocacy Council made their voices heard in getting this bill passed and signed.

Biology and morality should always triumph over confused “identity.” You are the gender God made you to be!

If you received this blog by email, please leave a comment on the post. I appreciate hearing from you.

March 27, 2023
Return to top of page

Why Aren’t More People Speaking Out to Defend Women?

2

Maybe you cringed with me on International Women’s Day when a man pretending to be a woman was given the International Women’s Day Courage Award by Jill Biden and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. Couldn’t they tell the difference between a man and a woman? They both stood smiling with this obvious imposter as if it was normal when he gave them both a peck on the cheek! Blinken flinched, but he took it like a true woke liberal.

It looked like a Saturday Night Live skit, but tragically, it was real life today.

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, R-Ark., responded on twitter, “It’s International Women’s Day – a good time to remember that Democrats can’t even tell you what a woman is.”

Gov. Sanders said in her rebuttal to Biden’s State of the Union speech, “The choice is no longer between right or left. The choice is between normal and crazy.”

Other Twitter comments on the International Women’s Courage award given to a man:

“Nice of FLOTUS to encourage the diminishment of women on ‘international women’s day.’ Erasing women is abusive,” Dana Loesch, host of “The Dana Show,” tweeted.

“International Women’s Day: Not just for women anymore,” conservative Twitter personality Andrea Katherine wrote in reply.

“Why are the Democrats working overtime to push the trans agenda?” news commentator and former congressional nominee Karoline Leavitt asked. 

Legitimate question. Why are Democrats pushing the trans agenda when they pretend to be protecting women’s rights while simultaneously trampling on women’s rights?

When it comes to the left’s attack on women, which Biden essentially declared in his inaugural speech about furthering trans rights, they’ve gone crazy. He appointed an obvious man masquerading as a woman, Richard [aka Rachel] Levine as assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services, which USA Today named as one of their “Women of the Year!” USA Today has gone crazy too!

We have a Supreme Court Judge appointed by Biden who can’t define a woman!

This liberal woke craziness is causing harm to and dismissal of real women. What do I mean by real women? A female human being who God created biologically and anatomically as a woman at birth.

Only a woman menstruates.

Only a woman has ovaries and ovulates.

Only a woman has a uterus and fallopian tubes.

Only a woman can carry a baby in her womb.

Only a woman has a natural female anatomy.

Only a woman has two XX chromosomes.

A woman cannot be a man and a man cannot be a woman. No matter how many surgeries or hormones, you cannot change DNA, create new DNA, or change biological sex. This was never disputed until a few mentally and sexually disturbed people decided to go on a war against women. The Democrat party championed and rewarded this ludicrous propaganda campaign to the detriment and harm of real women and real men.

Sadly, fewer and fewer people are willing to speak the truth for fear of “offending” the few who think they can be whatever gender and pronoun they choose. This socially deceptive, offensive, and harmful political manipulation and mutilation of genders is normalizing insanity. It’s harming mentally disturbed adults who obviously need counseling and subjecting our innocent children to this evil distortion of truth.

Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Is. 5:20

It’s demonic.

Who is speaking out against this evil?

Not the schools that let boys invade the privacy of girls’ bathrooms and locker rooms.

Not the sports industry allowing biological men to compete in women’s sports!

Not woke businesses encouraging equity instead of equality. Equity instead of quality and competence.

Not the politicians more influenced by a small perverted community than the sane majority they were elected to represent.

Not the media, except for a few brave souls like Tucker Carlson willing to say this is insane. I encourage you to listen to his monologue “Women’s Awards are Now Going to Men.”

Nothing is More Misogynistic than Erasing Women from Womanhood!

Why are the feminists not protesting in the streets? Because they’re steadfast liberals! Even though liberals are trouncing on women, feminists show true loyalty to woke ideology, not to women!

Until recently, everyone would’ve laughed at the idea of men wanting to be women. What man in his right mind would want to dress and pretend to be a woman?

What’s changed?

Who’s behind the infringement on women’s dignity, rights, and safety?

Who’s behind the war on women?

The answers started back in the Garden of Eden when the serpent, the Devil, chose to tempt Eve with the forbidden fruit. Paul worried about this in the Corinthian church, But I fear that somehow your pure and undivided devotion to Christ will be corrupted, just as Eve was deceived by the cunning ways of the serpent. 2 Cor. 11:3 NLT

Eve succumbed to Satan by asking the question often used to justify sin today, “Did God really say?” The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?” Gen. 3:1 NLT

The disgraced Satan has always been at war with God. He wanted equality with God and when that failed, he tries anything and everything to stop God’s people from multiplying and filling the earth.

Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Gen. 1:28 NLT

Then the people began to multiply on the earth, and daughters were born to them. Gen. 1:6 NLT

Since God only gave women reproductive anatomy, the Devil is the commander, plotter, and originator of the war on women and misgendering. Organizations like Planned Parenthood, the pharmaceutical industry, and even some in the medical profession are enlisting in Satan’s army.

Just as Eve learned, there are consequences for anyone manipulated by Satan and his emissaries. One of Satan’s most effective tactical weapons is using lies to create confusion. If he can create enough doubt and confusion, his evil battle successfully rages on.

43 Why can’t you understand what I am saying? It’s because you can’t even hear me! 44 For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 So when I tell the truth, you just naturally don’t believe me! John 8:43-45 NLT

What Are Satan’s Strategies in the War on Women!

  • The Battleground of Abortion

Women believe the lie that they’re not carrying a baby; it’s just tissue and cells. Even with the advent of sonograms, hearing the heartbeat, and knowing that each cell contains the baby’s DNA . . . millions of women still choose to kill their babies. Satan uses semantics to confuse them that it isn’t really murder. Just “ending or terminating a pregnancy.” “A woman’s choice.” “Women’s healthcare.” “My body, my choice.” “Reproductive rights.”

Women are deceived into believing their life will be better without the life of their baby. Millions of women have a hole in their heart grieving the children they didn’t allow to be born. Only Jesus can help mend that hole and He will if asked.

Imagine how fanatically devoted to politics and power to deny and prevent a woman’s most life-affirming experience.

Female babies killed every second. Satan laughs.

  • The Battleground of Genders

God was very specific when He created only two, genders: Male and female.

So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Gen. 1:27 NLT

God explained their roles. Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.” Gen. 2:8

God’s Word says that marriage is exclusively between a man and a woman who will populate the earth. But ‘God made them male and female’[a] from the beginning of creation. 7 ‘This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife,[b] 8 and the two are united into one.’ Mark 10:6-8

Even with animals, God instructed Noah, “Also take seven pairs of every kind of bird. There must be a male and a female in each pair to ensure that all life will survive on the earth after the flood.” Gen. 7:3 NLT

Only Satan could try to subvert God’s plan for the continuation of humanity by causing what we now call “gender confusion.” Again, confusion does not come from God.

Some “confused” men are demanding legal rights to pretend they’re women. Logically and anatomically, this is ludicrous and lewd, but instead of rationale people standing up to protect women, the government is bending to social pressure from a fringe element and allowing “transgender” biological men to invade all the private spaces of biological women, even competing in sports against real women!

In 2021, a biological man was named “Miss Nevada!”

A biological 43-year-old male who “identifies as a woman” from New Zealand will compete in women’s weightlifting at the Olympics and this atrocity is now invading all women’s sports, including weightlifting in the United States.

We’re told it’s discrimination to not let confused men “identify” as women with all the privileges, but what about the rights of real women? Why isn’t this male gender invasion considered discrimination against women?

Every human understands there are basic physiological differences between men and women. In the 21st century, liberals have decided ideology trumps biology.

Women Must Speak the Truth Before Our Rights Become Extinct!

A woman must not wear men’s clothing, nor a man wear women’s clothing, for the Lord your God detests anyone who does this. Deut. 22:5

I love Lisa Bevere’s Facebook post, “God would have never granted women a voice if He intended for them to remain silent.”

One woman said on Twitter that women are so polite it hurts to speak up. But speak up we must even when it hurts!

In the movie Jesus Revolution, my favorite line was from Kay Smith, “The lies are always loud; truth is quiet. And simple.”

50 years later, we’re watching lies screaming from the White House into every house and those who know the truth remaining silent. Some erroneously think if we don’t say anything about the insanity and immorality, it will stop. Just the opposite is true.

We don’t need to scream, but we do need to share the truth every time we hear or see a lie. We’ll never solve a spiritual problem with a political answer.

We must stand up for our young girls being infiltrated and indoctrinated with lies normalized by a government and culture with a sinister motive.

We must stay educated on the issues facing women and consider them from God’s perspective. Educate and mentor our children and grandchildren in the home and in our churches.

If you know someone influenced by false teachings or ideologies, take time to talk and pray for and with them. Share God’s purpose and plans for men and women and why He made us different and unique with specific life roles.

Don’t be afraid to stand up against wrong. Like the woman who protested when a male came into the women and children’s area of a spa in California and exposed himself. She was shocked that other women were afraid to come forward and confront the spa owners for allowing such an atrocity. She wasn’t afraid, and good for her!

Silence in the face of wrong is wrong itself!

Our tendency is to avoid adversity, but Jesus never avoided sharing the truth even when it wasn’t welcomed.

The spiritual battle isn’t between Democrats vs Republicans or liberals vs conservatives. It’s between wrong vs right, evil vs good. It’s easy to say we know who wins in the end so let’s not get involved, but other people are hurt when we don’t engage.

The Christian life isn’t standing quietly on the sidelines; it’s standing boldly on the Lord’s side of the spiritual battle.

What Satan means for evil, God will use for good! He’ll use those of us willing to join Him in the fight for truth. I hope you’re in the Lord’s army. I am.

Our battle isn’t against flesh and blood, aka the liberals, progressives, Democrats, atheists, imposters trying to be women. No, the battle is against the spiritual principalities of evil. 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Eph. 6:10-13

If you received this blog by email, please leave a comment here.

March 13, 2023
Return to top of page

Christians, You Each Have Your Own Jesus Revolution Testimony to Tell!

2

11 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. 1 John 5:11-12

I’m sure by now you’ve seen the movie Jesus Revolution, plan on seeing it, or heard about it. If you haven’t seen it, I encourage you to go now, or if that’s not possible, read the interviews and reviews people are sharing on social media and watch a trailer. Without a doubt one of the most professional Christian movies I’ve seen told with raw vulnerable frankness. A true story of a generation who had tried everything from sexual promiscuity to LSD and was still searching for “truth” and fulfillment. Their desperate quest eventually led them to find truth in Christ alone.

The movie tells how Pastor Chuck Smith and Greg Laurie meet during the “Jesus freaks” movement initially led by hippie Lonnie Frisbee in the late sixties and early seventies in Orange County, California that spread across the United States and changed the world. “Jesus Revolution” graced the cover of Time Magazine five years after their cover asked, “Is God Dead?”

Pastor Chuck, as he was fondly known, was pastoring a dry failing church until he opened his heart and his church doors to a generation hungry to know Jesus. A revival and revolution blew open the doors of his church as the congregation overflowed into a tent to accommodate not just the hippies but everyone eager to hear about the saving grace of Jesus through His sacrifice for them.

A seventeen-year old Greg Laurie with an alcoholic mother married seven times but never to his father, tried escaping his painful home life in the drug culture where he meets his girlfriend Cathe. Both were searching for “truth” in all the wrong places. When they watched Cathe’s sister almost die from drugs, Cathe convinces Greg that maybe they should investigate what this Jesus movement says about truth.

When you see evangelist Pastor Greg Laurie today leading Harvest Church and Ministries you might never expect to hear the life he led before accepting Jesus as his Savior. Like so many of us with sordid backgrounds, he shares his testimony openly and honestly to give hope to others who might think they could never be forgiven for their past or used by God.

Pastor Greg says today, “I hope my story can inspire young people in difficult circumstances to know that God can intervene in their life and change their story. We don’t determine what hand we are dealt in life — but we do determine how we will react to it.”

How Dave and My Life Intersected with Pastor Chuck and Pastor Greg!

If you’ve read my book Praying for Your Prodigal Daughter: Hope, Help & Encouragement for Hurting Parents, you know I had my prodigal backsliding years after divorcing my daughter’s father. For seventeen years, I was a prodigal raising a prodigal. I became a Christian after the murder of my CHP father when I was ten. I lived out my faith until I went into the world as a successful businesswoman and single mom. I continued going to church and taking my daughter, but I wasn’t living the Christian life or being a good role model for her.

When she turned sixteen, it became apparent I needed to change because she was following my wayward choices. I also told God I wouldn’t date another man I didn’t think was from Him and I joined a small group at church. There I met Dave and we started dating, but I soon broke up with him because I thought he might be too good for me.

He was persistent and kept asking me out, so finally I went to a Harvest Crusade in Anaheim Stadium with him. This was now 1992 and Pastor Greg Laurie was fulfilling the prophecy that Lennie Frisbee had made over him in the early 70’s that one day Greg would be speaking to thousands! Dave and I attended the third Harvest Crusade and Pastor Greg was indeed speaking to a stadium that holds 50,000 people when Pastor Greg asked the audience, “If you died tonight, are you ready?”

I knew I wasn’t! As Crystal Lewis sang “Come Just As You Are,” I went down with hundreds on the stadium floor rededicating my life to the Lord and telling Him this prodigal had returned. I would go where He led. I had no idea the plans the Lord had for me to become a Christian author and start a Woman to Woman Ministry that is still blessing women today. Praise God, He never gave up on me!

That night Dave and I sat in the parking lot until it emptied talking about our relationship when I heard God say to me, “You asked for this godly man and I gave him to you. Now rededicate yourself to this relationship.”

I did and we were married five months later, December 19, 1992! I had heard on the radio that Pastor Chuck Smith of Calvary Chapel was hosting a Caribbean cruise and I suggested to Dave we go on the trip for our honeymoon. We had asked God to help us meet other Christian couples, and even though this wasn’t our home church, we were open to wherever the Lord led us. It was so fun because we were the “honeymooners” on the cruise!

Soon two of Dave’s kids came to live with us and we would go to the Monday night meetings at Calvary Chapel depicted in the Jesus Revolution movie that were still continuing all those years later. Dave and I also went each year to the Harvest Crusades as counsellors to those surrendering or re-surrendering their life to Christ. It was such a joy when Pastor Laurie brought Harvest Crusade to Boise, Idaho last year and our church took a bus down from our mountain community.

There’s Power in Letting God Use Your Testimony!

“Your mess can be turned into a message and your test into a testimony.” Greg Laurie

While waiting to enter the theater to see Jesus Revolution, Dave and I started chatting with a group of three women. They didn’t know anything about Pastors Chuck or Greg, so I shared some of our story with them. When I asked what church they attended locally, only one answered. When the movie was over, I saw the woman who had said she went to church on her knees in front of one of her friends who was crying. I knew she had just given her heart to Jesus because of the powerful testimonies in the movie of real-life searches for truth found only in Jesus. Salvation offered not just during a movie or revival, but available to each of us in our personal lives.

I started to walk by them, but the Holy Spirit prompted me to stop and give them a group hug. Then the Lord led me to make the following statement: “Because the movie takes place in Orange County California where Dave and I both lived for many years, it brought back such memories seeing all the beautiful places and beaches we knew so well.” Then I said, “This movie gives me such hope for California. If God did this once, He could do it again!” They agreed.                        

There’s no greater witness to God’s goodness than sharing what He’s done in your life. No one can question your testimony because it’s your personal Jesus Revolution experience. Once I was lost, but now I’m found by the saving grace of Jesus my Lord and Savior. A revival or a revolution can start with one person. The joy and peace found in Jesus is contagious.

In Forsaken God? Remembering the Goodness of God Our Culture Has Forgotten, I share two biblical testimonies of King Nebuchadnezzar from the Old Testament and the apostle Paul from the New Testament. Both of their testimonies are recorded in the Bible and they each humbly shared their story publicly to influence others to trust in God’s goodness available to all sinners.

King Nebuchadnezzar tells of his prideful attitude thinking he was greater than God in Daniel 4. Paul shares his testimony in Acts 22:1-16 that he was formerly a Jewish religious zealot persecuting Christians until he met God on the road to Damascus. King Nebuchadnezzar’s and the apostle Paul’s testimonies are examples and encouragement that God can change anyone’s heart: once I was prideful, now I am humble. Once I was blind, now I see!

As we mature spiritually, we move beyond just remembering God’s goodness for our own benefit and start retelling our testimony to help others. We all have varied testimonies in our life in addition to our salvation testimony.

I never tire of telling my story as HIStory.

You may not think you have a testimony if you’ve been a Christian most of your life and life has gone smoothly, but God has been walking beside you guiding your life every step of the way. That’s your testimony to others who worry about losing something by turning their lives over to God. You’re a living example of how good God really is!

Maybe you have a hidden past you’ve been too embarrassed to talk about, but now is the time to deal with those buried hurts and hang-ups.

Like Pastor Greg and me, God redeems your spiritual revival story by surrounding you with people who need to hear your past, so it doesn’t become their future.

It’s the opportunity to give purpose to a crisis.

God will bring people across your path and the Holy Spirit will prompt you to share, just like He did with me and the ladies in the theater.

Every day you encounter opportunities to share your Jesus Revolution testimony, and every time you tell it, you’ll remember how good God has been to you and offer hope to others!

REVEALING IS THE FIRST STEP TO HEALING.

Your story doesn’t have to have a “happy ending” for you to share it. Someone might need to hear that even though things didn’t go like you hoped, God has been faithful and He will be in their life too.

When people ask me how I’ve made it through life’s difficulties, the best answer is, “I couldn’t have done it without God.” That’s your best answer too. It opens the door to share your story . . . your testimony.

YOUR STORY BECOMES YOUR TESTIMONY WHEN THE FOCUS IS ON GOD, NOT ON YOU.

It’s not a “tell all” and it’s not a time to tell someone else’s story. Stick to details that pertain to you.

Don’t dramatize how bad you were; characterize how good God is!

When anyone tells me about an encounter with God, or a memorable circumstance in his or her life, I always ask if he or she is writing it down because God is going to use it as a life-experience revival testimony.

Pray for God to give you the opportunity to share your testimony often and authentically.

“I would hope people realize that God is still in the business of changing lives. What happened to us some 50 years ago can still happen for people today.” –Greg Laurie

But as for me, how good it is to be near God! I have made the Sovereign Lord my shelter, and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do. —Ps. 73:28 NLT

If you received this blog by email, please leave a comment here. I’d love to hear your Jesus revolution story.

March 6, 2023
Return to top of page

Balancing Work and Life on Labor Day and Everyday!

0

I’ve always looked at Memorial Day and Labor Day as the bookends of summer. Both are now three-day weekend holidays that also commemorate the end of one school year and the beginning of the next—although today’s schools don’t stick as closely to that schedule anymore.

You probably have memories of Labor Day picnics, family reunions, and barbecues as the official end of summer; but beyond that, few stop to think about why we even have the day off. What is Labor Day anyway?

History of Labor Day

In 1894, Grover Cleveland made Labor Day a federal holiday after a failed attempt to break up a railroad strike. Observed on the first Monday in September, Labor Day pays tribute to the contributions and achievements of American workers.

Traditionally, all stores closed on Labor Day so workers could celebrate the holiday. Today, most stores are having Labor Day sales and their workforce is hard at work on a day dedicated to resting from work. Many people work on Labor Day without realizing: Hey, I’m a worker that has contributed to my company and I should have a day of rest!

Pray for Those Who Can’t Take the Day Off

Not every worker can take the day off and rest today. Those employed in the service industries often find holidays their busiest time: firemen, first responders, hospital employees, police, restaurant workers, gas stations, and now we can’t seem to go a day without a grocery store open. Seems like we could stock up on Saturday!

My father was a California Highway Patrolman and he took his turn at working every holiday. Labor Day is notoriously a heavy traffic day as travelers return from the three-day weekend and officially the last summer holiday. If you have to be on the road, drive carefully, courteously, and obey the speed limits. 

Pray for every police officer you see. They have a family keeping a plate of ribs or a hamburger warm for the end of their shift.

Work or Rest?

The Crosswalk.com article, Labor Day: Your Need for Both Work and Rest by Nick Batzig, caught my attention. It started out …

“As we come to celebrate another Labor Day, it may be beneficial for us to step back for a moment and consider what Scripture has to say about the rhythm of work and rest—i.e. the cyclical configuration by which all the events of our lives occur.”

The article discussed God’s original plan for work and how that all changed when Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit and why God wants us to have times of rest and refreshment. Batzig listed several changes over the years that have resulted in work being motivated by prestige, self-esteem, peer pressure, fear, anxiety, and lack of purpose outside of work, rather than simply providing for our family. The following point resonated with what I see happening in families today:

“Whereas traditional societies said that you got your meaning in life through your family, and through basically fulfilling a fairly prescribed social role—either as a mother or father, or a brother or sister, or husband or wife, or a son or a daughter…You just needed to find a way to make a living because family was what everything was about. But we’re the first culture in history that says, ‘You define yourself by defining what you want to be and by attaining it—and then you have significance.’ There’s never been more psychological and social and emotional pressure on work to be either fulfilling or at least lucrative. There’s never been a culture like that.

Learning to Balance Work and Life

Work has taken on such a priority in our culture that businesses are paying female employees to get an abortion or fly to a state that offers abortions rather than giving them time off to have their baby. I’ve heard it said by liberals with twisted values that instead of women taking maternity leave or quitting work to raise their children, abortion is better for the economy. Encouraging women to murder their babies so they won’t miss a day of work. That’s sick!

The companies, politicians, and economists subscribing to keeping women in the workforce rather than letting them experience motherhood, obviously value work over family. But the company isn’t going to be there for her when she ages, quits, is laid off, or becomes ill. The company doesn’t carry on her legacy or DNA. The company doesn’t love her like only a child can.

Family is the future of America. It’s how God designed us to live.

So God created mankind in his own image,  in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” Gen 1:27-28

Making work a god that’s worshipped is evil.  “You must not have any other god but me. 4 “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea.” Ex. 20:3-4 NLT

Valuing work more than family is also from the evil one.

I’ll admit that I’m a recovering workaholic. The only way I’m able to balance work and rest is to prioritize the things that are the most important to me—serving God and my family. My ministry is About His Work Ministries, so I’m fortunate to serve God through my work of writing and speaking. I also make sure to schedule times of rest with my hubby, and we often plan those times into speaking event travels and trips to see our grandkids.

We also serve in ministry together as Dave assists me with About His Work Ministries, travels with me when I speak, and we co-lead a couples Bible study. But when I’m spending time with my family—my husband, children, and grandchildren—I set aside “work,” even ministry work, and focus on family.

That doesn’t leave much time in my schedule for “extra” activities, and so I’ve had to learn to say no to some good things. Before I say “yes,” and find myself with no time to rest and refresh, I’m trying to remember to do two things:

1. Pray and ask God if it’s something He wants me to do. Does it have Kingdom value?

2. Assess if I have the time and energy to add this activity to my calendar, and if so, what should it replace?

If I sense God telling me to go for it, I know I must remove something from my calendar, or I’ll become unbalanced trying to get all the work done and rest will suffer. If you want to study more about what the Bible has to say about living a balanced life, you might enjoy my Bible study, Face to Face with Priscilla and Aquila: Balancing Life and Ministry.

What do you do to find times of rest and refreshment in a world that values work over rest and family?

Finding rest on Labor Day
https://womantowomanmentoring.com/publications/bible-studies/#Balance

If you received this blog by email, please leave a comment here.

September 4, 2022
Return to top of page

We’re In a War of Words with the Devil

14

Have you noticed how many new words and terms suddenly and slyly invaded our cultural vocabulary? Most do not reflect conservative or Christian values and yet we find ourselves using them because the left has done a very good job of normalizing them.

I heard a statement recently that jarred my thinking: “Marxists makeup words and their own definition to create a narrative, then those words become mainstream!” Yes, mainstream even among Christians. Marxism attempts to brainwash the population into subconsciously accepting their terms and narrative.

George Orwell said, “The best way to control a society is to control its language first!”

Think about some of the words and narratives introduced into everyday conversation and given new meaning. Here are just a few:

Abortion, the killing of unborn babies in the womb, is redefined as “healthcare.”

Marxists’ goal is depopulation. Fewer babies born, less people to have to worry about converting and controlling. The Old Testament describes evil enemy invaders opening up the bellies of pregnant women to kill their babies. Today with modern science, they just kill the baby in the womb. The Marxists have convinced enough people that this is a good thing, that they’re rioting and protesting in the streets that unborn babies must be killed!

Anarchists are vandalizing and attacking pregnancy centers devoted to helping mothers carry and deliver their babies, even with Socialist members of Congress like Senator Liz Warren incredulously demanding that pro-life pregnancy centers should all be destroyed! Don’t let babies be born and their mothers cared for after birth, but only give women a choice to kill their babies! How barbaric and yet revealing of the progressive left’s agenda.

The Marxist narrative around abortion has led to terms like “Pro Choice,” which should actually be “Pro Murder” because the baby certainly has no choice to live. Pro Choice makes murder sound righteous. Marxists are anti-family and killing the next generation of babies certainly reduces the number of families and the population.

We counter Pro Choice with “Pro Life,” but we should actually say “Pro Babies” or “Pro Babies’ Life.” Or Pro-family! We need to clearly articulate what lives we’re talking about and why they must be saved from slaughter.

Black Lives Matter or BLM came into prominence during George Floyd’s death. A criminal and drug addict was suddenly immortalized with statues and because of the bad acts of several policemen, all police were demonized. BLM is a self-described Marxist organization that professes in their manifesto that they want to dismantle the traditional family and what better way to gain control than to eliminate law and order. Large corporations and private citizens blindly contributed to this Marxist organization. You were criticized if you said the reality that All Lives Matter or pointed out that BLM has done nothing for the black community!

How did a Marxist group get so much power in America? Brainwashed Americans gave it to them.

Defund the Police and reimagine the police became the motto of left liberals and radical activists. When did you ever think you would hear that being a battle cry? What happens when there are no police? Crime escalates while domestic terrorists like ANTIFA and BLM rule the streets in a Marxist takeover of society.

Woke wasn’t a real word until 2017 when it was actually added to the dictionary meaning a slang word for social justice, another Marxist term. Both concepts came from the BLM movement. Woke is now mainstream indicating politically left-leaning ideology.

Stay woke has become words of action. Woke activists call on others to stay woke. Wokeness has now invaded every area of our life, starting with the White House and throughout government, the media, corporations, and education.

Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Systemic Racism theorists erroneously argue that American social life, political structures, and economic systems are founded upon race, which (in their view) is a social construct. Systemic racism, in the eyes of critical race theorists, stems from the dominance of race in American life. https://criticalrace.org › what-is-critical-race-theory

In announcing a legal coalition, Conservative Chris Rufo rightly explained that “Critical race theory is a grave threat to the American way of life. It divides Americans by race and traffics in the pernicious concepts of race essentialism, racial stereotyping, and race-based segregation—all under a false pursuit of ‘social justice.‘” He continued: “Critical race theory training programs have become commonplace in academia, government, and corporate life, where they have sought to advance the ideology through cult-like indoctrination, intimidation, and harassment.” What is critical race theory? | Fox News

CRT or racism is also invading the military and being taught to our children in schools that some are the oppressed and others are the oppressors, determined by the color of your skin. What better way to take over a population than to divide them by race and have them attack each other.

What does God say? There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Gal. 3:28

Transition is a new favorite word from the left. They never clearly articulate what we’re transitioning to but it’s clear by their actions that they’re attempting to transition America from a democratic Republic to tyrannical Marxism.

Then we come to the homosexual movement, which is not only being normalized, but also legalized and accepted. Sadly, many Christians are okay with that. Well God isn’t! You won’t find any of the following terms in the Bible, but He does give His thoughts on homosexuality.

Gay and Gay Marriage–never sanctioned or intended by God. We even let them hijack our blessed rainbow.

4 “Haven’t you read,” he [Jesus] replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? Matt. 19:4-5

Gay pride—God hates pride, especially when you’re proud of your sin.

Transgender, cisgender, binary and whatever else they come up with—God made two genders, male and female that’s it. Everything else is concocted by man’s confusion or evil desires.

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. Gen. 1:27 ESV

Drag Queen Crossdressers—there’s even a verse in the Bible against this demented practice, which is now also being used to groom young children.

A woman must not wear men’s clothing, nor a man wear women’s clothing, for the Lord your God detests anyone who does this. Deut. 22:5

As if it wasn’t enough that this ungodly movement has been normalized in our society, they’re now invading our schools teaching sinful lifestyles to small children. We can’t teach the Bible in schools, but the left is eager to teach Satan’s sexual perversion to impressionable children.

Are you seeing a theme here? When my grandson was only nine-years-old, he said it was obvious that we were not supposed to be homosexuals because how would we repopulate the earth?! He knew that it takes a male and female to have babies, even though the crazy liberals would have you believe that men could get pregnant.

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Gen. 1:27-28 ESV

The homosexual agenda and all its variants are designed by Satan to create confusion and normalize demonic practices and policies to destroy the American Family and the population.

For God is not a God of confusion but of peace. 1 Cor. 14:33

Notice the new plague Monkey Pox is transmitted through homosexual men having sex with each other, especially those with multiple partners. That’s exactly how AIDS was first transmitted. Do you think God is trying to get our attention that our society is blindly falling into Satan’s web?

What’s a Christian to Do and Say?

Another new term that stops many people from speaking the truth is cancel culture. If you mention any of the points I made above, you risk being canceled, maybe from social media (another new term) or from your liberal friends or family, but other times your job may actually be at risk if you refuse to accept the craziness or use the wrong pronouns.

I was alarmed that so few Christians and churches were celebrating the overturn of Roe v Wade! Were they afraid to actually admit that they were opposed to murdering babies? We should’ve heard an eruption of praise and joy that reached the heavenlies, yet I didn’t even see many professing this amazing act of God among my Christian friends on social media. Does Facebook and Twitter hold so much power that we don’t speak openly for fear of being canceled? If you follow me, you know I won’t succumb to that kind of tyranny. None of us should!

We have a choice as Christians. Do we tolerate this insanity, or do we refuse to be indoctrinated and dominated by satanic demonic ways of life? Do we go along to get along or do we boldly stand for truth and what we believe, even when it’s uncomfortable and yes even when it’s with family members. Their eternal life depends on it.

We all have different styles of communication and God will give us the words and the timing if we let Him.

I recently heard this interesting quote, “Nice is not a fruit of the Spirit!” If you were facing Satan face to face, you wouldn’t conform and be nice to him. You wouldn’t nicely give him an audience, so he could try to tempt you like he did Eve or intimidate you from speaking truth.

As Bible-believing followers of Christ, we aren’t mean or unkind, but we are unashamedly bold and brave! We don’t back down from speaking and standing up for God’s truth! If not us, then who?!

6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 1 Cor. 13:6

The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right; his ears are open to their cries for help.
16 But the Lord turns his face against those who do evil; he will erase their memory from the earth. Ps. 34:15-16 NLT

Jesus was not nice to demons and did not tolerate sin or evil. He boldly spoke the truth and called the Pharisees just what they were, vipers.  

34 You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. 35 A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. Matt. 12:34-35

33 “You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? Matt. 23:33

And Paul wrote in Romans 1:24-27 to those who wanted to live intentionally sinful lives.

24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.

26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. 27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.

And for those who are championing the murder and sexualization of children, Jesus didn’t hold back.

“If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. Matt. 18:6

God couldn’t be any more direct: Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Is. 5:20

I’m writing a blog for Crosswalk “What Is the Biblical Truth Behind Gender Roles.” When it posts, I’ll share it with you. But for now, pray about what God wants you to do in this rapidly changing social environment.

In summary, let’s stop using Satan’s words and ideologies and just call it what it is, evil. Another writer asked me once if they could reprint a blog I’d written about abortion murdering babies in the womb, but she asked if she could change the word murder because it might offend some. You can imagine my response was that the article needs to stay as written or don’t use it.

That’s exactly my point: Don’t be so afraid of offending others that you stop opposing evil!

So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to perform signs and wonders. Acts 14:3

If you received this blog by email, please leave a comment here!

July 25, 2022
Return to top of page

Don’t Look to Headlines, Look to God!

5

I don’t know about you but when I hear the words “liberal world order,” I bristle. Liberal world order is apparently what globalists, including Biden, meant all along when they spoke of a “new world order” and a “new normal transition” as the Biden Administration tries to destroy America and create their new Marxist version of our country.

When asked about how families are to contend with inflation and the rising cost of gas, Biden Administration official, Brian Deese, reiterated what Biden said on the global stage: “This is about the future of the liberal world order and we have to stand firm.” What Is the ‘Liberal World Order?’ Biden Adviser’s Remarks Spark Derision (msn.com)

Was that a slip of the tongue or was Deese telling us the devious Biden plan?! By standing firm, he meant suffering with outrageous gas prices as America enriches China, India, and Russia with America’s oil reserves. Watch food outages appear in our own country rich in agricultural potential while prices at the market double and triple.

Who agreed to standing firm for this “New Liberal World Order” being forced on us? I can only think about the prelude to the antichrist who will one day rule over the global liberal world order.

Klaus Schwab, founder of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, uses the “Great Reset” to refer to the globalist vision for the future. The elite met there again in May to reassert their control over politics worldwide. Liberal World Order: “As Long as it Takes”? (townhall.com)

While the phrase “new world order” is generally used to denote a significant geopolitical change, it can also designate a theory that stipulates a secretive globalist authority is seeking to control the world under a totalitarian regime and strip sovereign countries and its citizens of their freedom.

Is that what the Biden Administration is planning for us? Is that why they’re so afraid of the patriotic populist uprising of citizens who want to keep their national identity, national pride, and freedoms?

Populists don’t want to be melded into other nations where only “the elite”—an amorphous entity made up of a political, economic, cultural, and media establishment that places its own interests along with those of other interest groups such as immigrants, labor unions, and large corporations over the interests of “the people”—would benefit. While citizens become servants as the elite take what we own and force us to follow their new rules.

Is that why so many on the progressive left were denouncing July 4th and the celebration of America’s freedom from England’s tyrannical rule?

The left has already created a society devoid of joy, romance, beauty, and wonder while trying to rob the innocence of our children. Disneyland has stopped welcoming “girls and boys”! The National Education Association is trying to erase mothers. Some have equated our current culture to living in a science fiction novel where evil is rewarded and good is punished. Criminals have all the rights and the innocent lack justice. A drag queen crossdresser and a man who dresses like a woman achieve key positions in the White House administration not because of knowledge or ability but “diversity.”

People can lose their jobs by refusing to use woke pronouns or young children can even be sued in school! Motherhood is demeaned and people scream angrily in the streets for the “right” to kill babies.

2 When the righteous thrive, the people rejoice; when the wicked rule, the people groan. Proverbs 29:2

While we are indeed groaning under the rule of incompetent globalists, there is reason to rejoice that righteousness is returning to our country.

Don’t Lose Hope!

We’re seeing a shift from the wicked plans of this administration for America. We’re winning and we’re not going to take it anymore!

We must remember that God is on the side of virtue, morality, and justice! He has NEVER lost a battle. We’re going to have a future heavenly world order here on earth by God’s power and we’re starting to see it now. The left, liberals, progressives, Biden, Pelosi, or a liberal world order doesn’t intimidate God and we shouldn’t be intimidated either. God is exposing all their ill intents, deceits, and criminality.

God is not at the mercy of demons or demonic people. After all God created the world and set it in order!

He [God] lifts the poor from the dust and the needy from the garbage dump. He sets them among princes, placing them in seats of honor. For all the earth is the Lord’s, and he has set the world in order. 1 Samuel 2:8 NLT

The Lord of Heaven’s Armies has sworn this oath: “It will all happen as I have planned. It will be as I have decided. Isaiah 14:24 NLT

May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Matt. 6:10 NLT

We need to start celebrating our wins and keep praying for future victories.

June 24th with the SCOTUS overturn of Roe v Wade was a long-awaited victory that we must never forget or minimize the years of tireless work and prayers of so many faithful saints. Christians everywhere should be praising God and celebrating a win for life.

Coach Kennedy’s Supreme Court win allowing prayer on a school campus was a victory for religious liberty.

Maine parents’ win in the Supreme Court prohibits the exclusion of Christian schools from state funds, vouchers, and resources opening the door for school choice. Again, another win for religious liberty.

SCOTUS struck down a New York handgun-licensing law that required New Yorkers who want to carry a handgun in public to show a special need to defend themselves which violated the 2nd Amendment.

We’re really on a role if you think about it!

We Must Take Our Direction from God and Not the World!

I believe because Biden is trying to change America from a republic to a dictatorship, from independence to dependence, from greatness to a joke, from God-centered to godless, God will exploit this evil for His own gain and glory. If we stay strong in living out our faith, sharing gospel love, praying, and evangelizing, we will see our country turning back to God. We’ve seen the devastation that comes from exploiting evil and people will be ripe for a better way of life and we have just the answer they’re seeking: Jesus Christ!

God is giving us power and marching orders and time to disrupt the liberal global world order. It’s not time for Revelation to be fulfilled yet, but it could be coming soon. People need to get ready; they need the Lord. They may love our country but the question we must ask is, “Do you love Jesus?”

Don’t look to the headlines and be filled with fear and anxiety, look to God and be filled with joy and anticipation.

You know the saying, ‘Four months between planting and harvest.’ But I say, wake up and look around. The fields are already ripefor harvest. John 4:35 NLT

Following is a Psalm of King David who was under attack just like our country is under attack from within today. I don’t know who God has planned for our country’s next President, but let’s pray that he is a good and righteous leader who loves the ways of the Lord and God will give us strength, boldness, and courage while we wait.

In times of trouble, may the Lord answer your cry.
    May the name of the God of Jacob keep you safe from all harm.
2 May he send you help from his sanctuary
    and strengthen you from Jerusalem.[a]
3 May he remember all your gifts
    and look favorably on your burnt offerings. Interlude

4 May he grant your heart’s desires
    and make all your plans succeed.
5 May we shout for joy when we hear of your victory
    and raise a victory banner in the name of our God.
May the Lord answer all your prayers.

6 Now I know that the Lord rescues his anointed king.
    He will answer him from his holy heaven
    and rescue him by his great power.
7 Some nations boast of their chariots and horses,
    but we boast in the name of the Lord our God.
8 Those nations will fall down and collapse,
    but we will rise up and stand firm. 9 Give victory to our king, O Lord!
    Answer our cry for help. Psalm 20 NLT 

Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21 NLT

If you received this blog by email, please leave a comment here.

July 11, 2022
Return to top of page
Next Page »
Return to top of page · Copyright © 2024 Crown Laid Down Designs All Rights Reserved · Our Privacy Policy