God Fights for Prodigals When We Pray His Will!

“You know how it feels when you see any glimmer of hope in your prodigal.” —A praying mom

If you follow my blogs and newsletters, you know I wait on the Lord to tell me what to write about each week. God is so faithful to not only give me a word, but also back it up with confirmation that I cannot ignore. So I know today there are parents and grandparents in my reading audience experiencing sorrow over prodigals in your family because that’s what God has told me to write about in this blog. It’s not the first time I’ve written on this topic, in fact, I wrote an entire book about praying for our prodigals.

Last week, hubby and I participated in a prayer group where the common request was for prodigal children, most of whom were in the millennial age range in their thirties and early forties. That was the age of my own prodigal years. Even children raised in Christian homes sometimes want to explore their independence, which might mean venturing into the world’s ways. So, we prayed that night for the spiritual awakening, or reawakening, of all the prodigals.

Then the next night, Dave and I watched a recorded Flashpoint program, which aired originally on the same night the group was praying for prodigals. Gene Bailey, the host of Flashpoint, interviewed Pastor Kent Christmas about his new book, Turning Sorrow Into Joy: A Journey of Faith and Perseverance. Here’s the interview: Kent Christmas on FlashPoint with Gene Bailey Interview Segment 4.9.2024 (youtube.com). If you have a loved one engaging in sexual sin, I highly recommend you listen.

In the interview with Pastor Christmas, they referred to the previous night’s program when again the topic was praying for prodigals. Now God really had my attention, so we watched it also. Gene Bailey interviewed Pastor Tim Sheets of Awaken Ministries and his daughter Rachel Shafer who wrote together Come Home: Pray, Prophesy, and Proclaim God’s Promises Over Your Prodigal. Even as parents and grandparents agonize and grieve with tears on their pillow every night, Pastor Sheets and Rachel offered assurance that God will forgive returning prodigals.

They emphasized that while you wait, stay rooted in God. Your feelings and emotions will lie to you, but God’s Word is truth, as I wrote in last week’s blog Knowing and Speaking Only the Truth Will Keep Us Free!

Come Home contains 90 decrees in Scriptures to pray for bringing prodigals home.  In the interview, the authors mentioned several verses with the prophetic message of hope. Belief accelerates the power of God. Believe in a future where your children will come home physically and spiritually.

But now this is what the Lord says: “Do not weep any longer, for I will reward you,” says the Lord. “Your children will come back to you from the distant land of the enemy. 17 There is hope for your future,” says the Lord. “Your children will come again to their own land. Jer. 31:16-17 NLT

God promises He will fight for and save your children! You must believe and claim these promises and pray them over your children with unwavering faith.

Who can snatch the plunder of war from the hands of a warrior? Who can demand that a tyrant[a] let his captives go? 25 But the Lord says, “The captives of warriors will be released, and the plunder of tyrants will be retrieved. For I will fight those who fight you, and I will save your children. Isaiah 49:24-25

The Message translation of Isaiah 49:24-25 says: Can plunder be retrieved from a giant, prisoners of war gotten back from a tyrant? But God says, “Even if a giant grips the plunder and a tyrant holds my people prisoner, I’m the one who’s on your side, defending your cause, rescuing your children. And your enemies, crazed and desperate, will turn on themselves, killing each other in a frenzy of self-destruction. Then everyone will know that I, God, have saved you—I, the Mighty One of Jacob.”

Those verses emphasize that God’s on our side. He’s going to save our children. While we want to believe this, it’s tempting to take back our concerns and worries even after we cast them onto God. We should quit putting power into earthly circumstances and instead magnify God and His heavenly perspective as these following Psalms emphasize.

All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him, 28 for dominion belongs to the Lord and he rules over the nations. Ps. 22:27-28

They [prodigals] will receive the Lord’s blessing and have a right relationship with God their savior. Ps. 24:5 NLT

My Daughter and My Prodigal Story of Redemption

I wrote Praying for Your Prodigal Daughter: Hope, Help & Encouragement for Hurting Parents with input from my daughter of what she was thinking and feeling during her prodigal years. For seventeen years, I was a prodigal raising a prodigal until God reawakened my spirit at a Harvest Crusade where I rededicated my life to Christ. On the stadium floor, I knelt and told the Lord, “Your prodigal has returned. I will go where you send me.”

Kim didn’t receive well the dramatic change in my life. She was happy with the way we were living before. In spite of her resistance, I felt an urgency for Kim to also surrender her life to the Lord. I remembered a time when I stopped eating beef and switched to turkey burger. One day Kim, who was probably in middle school, said, “Mom, don’t you care about my health too?!” I thought she would still want hamburgers, but she wanted to be healthy like me. She hasn’t eaten beef since.

After my rededication, I heard a message on the reality of hell. I couldn’t stand the thought of my daughter going there. I had a dream that I looked down from heaven and heard her saying, “Mom didn’t you care enough about my spiritual health to not give up on me?” That’s when I began praying Scripture for my daughter daily, biblically, expectantly, persistently, sacrificially, unceasingly, and thankfully.

In Praying for Your Prodigal Daughter, Kim writes, “Mom, I saw the book Praying God’s Will for my Daughter in your bathroom one time, and I felt resentful that you thought I was ‘lost’ and needed you to pray for me. You turned your life around so completely, and I couldn’t relate to the new, ‘weird’ you. All the praying stuff was outside of my comfort zone. When I learned you were praying for me, it upset me. I felt that I could take care of myself and didn’t need your prayers.”

From the devotional Kim referred to above, I learned how to personalize and pray Scripture for her, which allowed me to pray God’s will while I journaled my will to release my feelings and concerns on paper. I share those journal writings throughout the book and include “40 Days of Praying Scripture for Your Prodigal” on page 313. Kim thanks me today that I never gave up praying for her.

Satan is Targeting Children!

Today, Satan is blatantly attacking the family and children more openly and abrasively than ever before.  Abortion for teenagers or gender changes without parents’ consent. Parents who want to know what their children are being taught in schools labeled domestic terrorists! Drugs are rampant and killing our children. Child suicide has reached record numbers. Schools are teaching young children about perverse sex practices as “sex education,” even as young as kindergarten. As “gay rights” became mainstream and legalized, Satan had to move it up a notch to transgenderism. Children are given drugs and surgically mutilated, irreversibly in many cases, and deceived into thinking they can change their gender from the way God created them. Drag grooming is considered entertainment for children, even though it’s a precursor to pedophilia.

This isn’t normal or biblical. It’s satanical. Satan really is coming after our children, but Christians have the weapons we need to ward off the attacks of the enemy. Prayer. God’s Word. Civic action like voting, running for office, and activism.

I’m not writing this article to promote my book, or any book, but there’s a reason God had these pastors and me write about saving our prodigals. Because we all need to know how to love and pray scripturally for children and grandchildren, while still maintaining a relationship with them without backing down from our biblical beliefs. Their very lives depend on it!

If you have a child or grandchild involved in sinful activities, it doesn’t make it right. Yes, I know it hurts and it’s painful. Parents often think they need to go along with what their child is doing or risk losing the relationship instead of being godly parents and getting them the emotional, spiritual, and mental help they’re so desperately crying out for, while also praying unceasingly for them. If they were a murderer, and some are, you still love your child, but you don’t decide that murder is acceptable because your child committed it. That applies to any and every sin.

I chose to unconditionally love but never condone. In God’s eyes, all sin is wrong, and all have sinned. Only repentance and asking forgiveness from Jesus for our sins places us in a right relationship with God. Salvation.

We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. 23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. 24 Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. Romans 3:22-24 NLT

Never Stop Praying!

Declaring God’s Word over your prodigal activates your own faith!

None of us know when Christ is going to return for believers. We watch the prevalent evil today and wonder how long it will be before the Lord says enough. No parent or grandparent wants to have a child or grandchild left behind. That was the urgency I felt when I was praying for my daughter’s salvation. Then I prayed for each of our eleven grandchildren to be saved with the assurance that I would someday see them all again in heaven. Yes, there’s been a few regressions, and I just pray all the harder because I know what God assured me with my daughter: God wants our prodigals back even more than we do!

Don’t give up and let Satan win the spiritual battle for your prodigal’s heart and soul. Though it may seem contradictory, the more rebellious, defiant, stubborn, and argumentative your prodigal becomes, the more you should cling to this hope and encouragement: God is working in his or her heart, and they’re resisting. But that means they haven’t surrendered completely to Satan and are experiencing tormenting guilt. God hasn’t given up and neither should you. There’s still hope.

I know it’s hard to do when your heart is breaking and you don’t see any change in the situation, but never stop praying for your prodigal. Pastor Christmas prayed and interceded for 14 years. I prayed Scripture for six years for my prodigal. Previous blogs from prodigal Alycia Neighbours whose story is in Praying for Your Prodigal Daughter, shared how long her parents prayed for her return: Never Stop Praying for Your Prodigal! and After the Party for the Returning Prodigal.

Alice prayed for 27 years. She said, “It’s all you can do when everything else is out of your control.” In the chapter on Praying Biblically in Praying for Your Prodigal Daughter, Alice told how she prayed Scripturally for her daughter, which is how I prayed for my daughter EVERY DAY! It’s simply personalizing and paraphrasing God’s Word as a prayer back to Him. Here’s an example of how Alice said she prayed Scripture for her prodigal.

“I’ve learned to pray for my daughter by praying back the Scriptures to God. For example, I pray Ezekiel 36:27-29 for Liz’s heart to soften and for her to return home: “God, give my daughter Liz a heart of flesh to replace her heart of stone toward spiritual things. Through Your Spirit, move her to follow Your decrees and carefully keep Your laws. Help Liz to return home Allow her to live in the land You, God, gave to her spiritual forefathers; may she be Your child, may You be her God. Save her from all her uncleanness.”

As another praying mom Suzanne said, “I know God isn’t done with her, and I choose to see her the way He does!”

 “Never stop praying!” 1 Thess. 5:17 NLT

Photo Credits: http://www.sharefaith.com

PS Hear the interview I did on Solomon and Jamila Jefferson’s podcast about praying for your prodigals, It’s Not How You Start But How You Finishclick here.

PSS The principles I share in Praying for Your Prodigal Daughter also apply to sons and grandchildren. There are questions at the end of each chapter for use in a Support Group or Bible study group.

PSSS For the week of April 15-21, 2024, signed copies of Praying for Your Prodigal Daughter purchased on our website will be reduced to $10, plus tax and shipping costs. We want to enable you to pray for your prodigals! (If PayPal charges you $18.00, we will credit you back $8.00)

Library Update

  • VICTORY!! Idaho’s Governor Little signed the Children’s School and Library Protection Act, finally addressing the widespread library porn issue in a meaningful way! It goes into effect this summer so I’ll  follow up with our local library to be sure they enforce it.
  • Gov. Little also signed Bill 538 that bars teachers from referring to a student by a name or pronoun that doesn’t align with their birth sex unless parents consent.
  • Last month, the governor signed House Bill 668, which blocks the use of public funds for gender-affirming procedures.
  • Gov. Little also signed House Bill 421. It states, “In human beings, there are two, and only two, sexes: male and female. In no case is an individual’s sex determined by stipulation or self-identification.” Most notably, in addition to ruling that sex and gender were synonymous, this bill “codifies in state law biological definitions for ‘woman,’ ‘man,’ and other sex-based terms, making [Idaho] the fifth to exclude men who identify as women from being legally recognized as female.”

Idaho is on a role! What’s happening in your state?

Please leave a comment here. I always reply!

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

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.

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Jesus Doesn’t Just Get Us, He Saves Us!

Like some of you, I watched the Super Bowl. I’ll admit, I know nothing about football, but I do enjoy watching the commercials. Dave forgot about that at first as he had recorded the game and we typically fast forward through all commercials, which we did do with the halftime show. Watching the commercials with an overtime game made for a long program, but the ending was exciting.

What I want to talk about in today’s blog is the two “He Gets Us” commercials during the game. You can read my thoughts on last year’s He Gets Us commercials @ Yes, He Gets Us, But He Doesn’t Want to Leave Us Where He Found Us.

My overall opinion of the 2024 He Gets Us commercials, Who Is My Neighbor? and Washing Feet, were much like last year. They reinforced the secular voices calling Christians who oppose a sinful culture as intolerant and haters. The commercials falsely portrayed Jesus and condemned Bible-believing Christians. That was the inference I got from watching them and I’m sure many others did too.

The two commercials depicted a social justice Jesus who loves everyone. He does love everyone, but He doesn’t love everyone’s sinful actions. Jesus hates sin that destroys the people He loves. He went to the cross to offer redemption, forgiveness, and salvation from our sins. These commercials don’t portray or even imply that gospel truth.

Who is My Neighbor? depicted a variety of people culminating with a final slide: “The one you don’t know, value, or welcome.” Insinuating that these people, or people like them, aren’t visible even to preachers, missionaries, evangelists, outreach ministries, churches . . . . Christians.

As believers, we know the biblical reference is Luke 10:26-37. A nonbeliever probably wouldn’t recognize that reference.

On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

26 “What is written in the Law?” he [Jesus] replied. “How do you read it?”

27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’[a]; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b]

28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

Jesus went on to share the parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:30-37.

The second He Gets Us commercial had a variety of people having their feet washed by people who looked different than them. The ending slides read, “Jesus Didn’t Teach Hate. He Washed Feet. Jesus Gets All of Us.” If you didn’t see the commercial, here it is. You can make your own determination. But what raised me up off the couch, just like last year, was their implication that if you oppose sins like abortion or homosexuality, you’re a hater. Feeding right into the Marxist, secular, and dare I say, partisan political agenda and propaganda.

Actually, Jesus only washed the feet of his disciples. In Luke 7:36-50 we read the story of a sinful woman who washed Jesus’ feet with her tears of repentance. “As she stood behind him [Jesus] at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.” (vs. 38)

Washing feet in the Bible isn’t only a symbol of humility and service, but also a powerful metaphor for spiritual cleansing and forgiveness. It symbolizes the spiritual purification and reconciliation offered through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. In 1 John 1:9, we’re told, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

The He Gets Us commercial didn’t portray the significance or true meaning of foot washing. Jesus does love all of us, but He wants us to repent from our sin, turn away from it, and ask for forgiveness. That’s the complete message of the Gospels. “Then Jesus said to her, ‘Your sins are forgiven.’” (vs. 48)

Questioned about the use of foot washing in a CBN interview, Jason Vanderground, president of the marketing firm Haven and co-creator of the He Gets Us campaign, said their goal was to get people to go to the He Gets Us website to ask their questions and learn more about the meaning of the ads. When asked how many people actually responded, he evaded the question and told a story about someone who talked to them in the streets of Las Vegas.

Pastor Inspired to Make ‘He Saves Us’ in Response to ‘He Gets Us’

Interestingly, in Northern Ireland, Pastor Jamie Bambrick was watching the Super Bowl and saw the He Gets Us commercials as a missed opportunity. I totally agree. He graciously said they might be well intentioned, but they “put a Jesus-shaped stamp of approval on the values and actions of our generation common today. Things Jesus considers sin and is strongly against like homosexuality and abortion.”

“I think a lot of Bible-believing Christians viewed [‘He Gets Us’ ads] and went, ‘You know what, this just isn’t a reflection of the Gospel, and it’s not a reflection of our heart toward the lost, either'” Bambrick said.

Pastor Bambrick emphasized that the He Gets Us campaign portrays a false gospel of what the church must do and therefore Jesus would do. The ads imply your sins are not a problem or something needing repentance. You see a message that all God wants the church to do is love, affirm, and accept everyone and their actions, even when sinful. We do love, but we don’t affirm every action and we don’t accept everything as being moral and right.

Christian Post reports that Pastor Bambrick believes the ads were implying that “if the Church calls people to repentance, if the Church calls people to turn from sin, that is preaching hate, which of course it isn’t. . . That is an act of love, it’s an act of grace” he said.

“My experience with most Christians is that we actually love those who are in sin, but we love them enough to want to see them set free from their sin,” he said. “We love them enough that we want to see them delivered and brought to newness of life in Christ; to turn from their sin and be saved from it — both obviously from the eternal consequences of sin, but also in this life, how much better it is to walk with Jesus.”

He went on to ditto my reaction that the perception from the He Gets Us commercials will be that Christians who are calling on the world to turn from their sins are haters preaching and teaching hate. These commercials played right into the playbook of attackers of Christianity who call us the “oppressors” because we’re against killing babies, gender manipulation, mutilating children, and same-sex sexual relationships.

The true gospel is not a message of hate; it’s a message of love that Jesus is calling us to share. He loves us enough to lay down His life to cleanse us from our sins while we were sinners. That’s not hate, that’s amazing love. Love says we see you as someone who can be rescued from your sin!

So Pastor Bambrick felt inspired to make a powerful video ‘He Saves Us’ of people with testimonies of life-changing transformations. The slideshow in Bambrick’s video includes Kat Von D, a tattoo artist and TV personality who became a Christian after renouncing witchcraft; Josh Timonen, who became a Christian after helping atheist Richard Dawkins write a book against God; John Bruchalski, an abortionist turned OB/GYN; and Steven Bancarz, who repented of New Age practices.

Other portraits include former jihadist Mohamad Faridi, former KKK member Mike Burden, former drag queen and prostitute Kevin Whitt, former porn star Brittni De La Mora, former gang leader Sebastian Stakset, former drug addict Jeff Durbin, former trans-identifying woman Laura Perry, and former lesbian activist Rosaria Butterfield.

All slides show their former and current life with the same music in the background as in the He Gets Us foot washing ad. Closing captions on He Saves Us are: “Jesus Doesn’t Just Get Us. He Saves Us. He Transforms Us. He Cleanses Us. He Restores Us. He Forgives Us. He Heals Us. He Delivers Us. He Redeems Us. He Loves Us. Such were some of you.”

Pastor Bambrick said he hopes his video shows “the heart of Jesus” and reflects the love Christians have for those who remain enslaved to their sins.

‘He Saves Us’ is one minute, as was the foot washing slideshow. The two He Gets Us ads totaled 75 seconds. 30 seconds of commercial time during Super Bowl costs $7 million, not to mention the cost of making them. What a waste of money and opportunity.

Pastor Bambrick made his video in an hour, posted it on X, and it immediately went viral with millions of views. Praise God! He said the majority of comments were encouraging and positive.

Here is more of his interview Pastor Makes a ‘He Saves Us’ Ad in Response to ‘He Gets Us’ Super Bowl Ad, and It Goes Viral | CBN News. I hope you’ll take a minute to check it out and especially watch He Saves Us and share.

Let’s hope that He Saves Us and even He Gets Us has people talking about Jesus. We can pray that they open doors for people to seek out the true Jesus of the Bible.

Jesus was perfect as a human. Not one of us is perfect. Even though if you look closely in the first frame of the foot washing commercial, the girl on her knees doing the foot washing is wearing a white T-shirt that says “perfect.” A subtle message that believers see themselves as perfect. Not so.

Jesus was and is God. That’s the Deity and saving grace of Jesus that’s missing in the He Gets Us campaign. “The Father and I are one.” John 10:30

He understands us. He loves us. He wants us to live holy lives. He doesn’t want us to live sinful lives. He Saves Us.

15 For we do not have a high priest [Jesus] who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Hebrews 4:15

Library Update

On Valentine’s Day, three of us attended the Garden Valley Library Trustees Board Meeting for the second time where we were successful in having removed from their November minutes the reference to us as “people in favor of censorship.” We continued to request that seven books targeted to children with obscene and pornographic material be removed from the library shelves and the online library catalogue.

I read the Idaho 1972 code on the definition of obscenity and pornography to minors. Another person shared the lack of trust in the library being a safe place for children, and a third person shared the American Library Association that presents books and policies to libraries is now being led by a Marxist Lesbian whose intent is to destroy capitalism, the family and subvert Christianity. The board said they would consider these requests, but we’ll need to continue attending future board meetings.

I’m interested to get your thoughts on this blog. Leave your comments here and I will reply.

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The Truth About Grace

Like many of you, I pray for the Lord to give me a word and verse He wants me to focus on to improve my spiritual witness and my walk in the New Year. At first, I chose ‘persistent’ for 2024, but my husband and friends quickly squelched that one reminding me that I already am a very persistent person in my faith and life. It must be a word where I need to improve.

As I prayed about my 2024 word, the Lord revealed that I needed a heavy dose of grace in my communication and actions. What I probably needed the most was patience, but we all know it’s not a good idea to pray for that or the Lord might give you an abundance of experiences requiring patience. However, patience is often required to exhibit grace.

The Scripture that best reflects my pursuit of grace is Colossians 4:6 “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”

I probably would’ve made a good lawyer because I do have skills to win an argument or get my point across, but I may win the case and lose the relationship. I first became awakened to focusing on grace when our Couples Group did The Chosen Bible Study, which covers the Sermon on the Mount. Lesson 3 was on Matthew 5:5 “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” In that week’s study, two Scripture passages hit home to me.

 1 Peter 5:5 ESV Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

Eph. 2:4-7 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been savedAnd God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

Then we came to Lesson 5, The Merciful and Their Mandate, with Matthew 5:7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.”

We were reminded that the ability to reflect meekness, mercy, and thus grace, comes from the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-25).

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. John 14:16-17

So my 2024 word is ‘grace’ and the Scripture I will pray repeatedly is Colossians 4:6. But what about the Spirit of truth?

Balancing Grace and Truth

John 1:17 says, For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.  Not Grace or Truth. Not Grace versus Truth. Grace and Truth. Yes, they can occur simultaneously, but it takes work. Displaying both grace and truth is a delicate balance, and often, we err towards one side or the other.

Christians often err on the side of grace resulting in sin not only tolerated, accepted, and overlooked, but made lawful and legal. We know the commandment “Thou shalt not kill,” but abortion is still legal in many states and called a “woman’s choice.” The Bible clearly states that homosexuality is a sin and marriage is between a man and a woman, but homosexual marriage is legal in America and called a lifestyle choice.

Sin has always been a choice, that’s why God sent His Son to earth to offer us mercy and grace. Not grace to keep on sinning . . . but grace to choose to turn from our wicked ways, seek forgiveness, and accept eternal life with Christ. An undeserved second chance to live a righteous life— the balance of grace and truth.

When faced with a sinful situation, many Christians fear sounding judgmental so their response is full of grace but evades the truth. This can appear to condone the sinful behavior. Or we’re so shocked or appalled at the sin we know God hates that we slam the person with biblical truth. Very few people are receptive to a condemning approach.

I tend to err on the side of wanting the truth told, but not always presenting it in a grace-filled manner. How do we not condemn, but not condone? How can we tell the truth, but still extend grace?

Truth or Grace?

“You’re late!” A greeting to the last arriving meeting members. Truth but no Grace.

“Where are you going to live?” A response to a Christian who announces she’s going to live with her boyfriend. Grace but no Truth.

“That dress looks terrible on you.” Truth but no Grace.

“It’s alright. No problem.” A reply to a friend backing out on an important commitment. Grace but no Truth.

“You’re going to hell if you keep up that behavior!” Truth but no Grace.

“Ok, I understand…” Said to the friend you babysat for numerous times, but when you ask to do a trade, she’s too busy. Grace but no Truth.

“Congratulations!” A gay couple tells you they are getting married. Grace but no Truth

Follow Jesus’ Example

Randy Alcorn wrote an excellent book, The Grace and Truth Paradox: Responding with Christ-like Balance. Randy points out that the early church drew thousands to Jesus by copying the only model they had at the time…Jesus Himself. Today, we often ask ourselves, “What would Jesus do?” Those people knew what Jesus would do. We could arrive at a number of adjectives describing the character of Christ that would let us know what He would do today, but Randy suggests all reduce to two character qualities…yes only two!

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” John 1:1, 14.

Jesus was full of both grace and truth ALL the time. He had the perfect balance of justice and mercy. Not grace one time and truth another time. Everything He did and everything He said embodied both character qualities. Notice that grace comes first in the verse because it was a new concept to the early Christians. They knew about the truth of the law from the Old Testament, but the grace of forgiveness that Jesus brought was brand new to them. 

Even in Jesus’ day, with his example for them to emulate, some like the Pharisees still chose to rely only on truth, and we call them legalists. Jesus pointed out that the law could only reveal sin, but only the grace of Jesus Christ could remove it.

We want others to know Jesus by what they see in our life, but then we have to ask ourselves what do they see in us? Are we full of grace and truth? Does it seem like a paradox sometimes? It shouldn’t. Randy points out that grace without truth, or truth without grace, are like a bird without one wing.

Don’t Bait and Switch

Communicating with grace and truth is not telling someone something flattering, then zinging them with truth. That bait and switch approach is never effective. They feel manipulated and tricked. Have you ever had that happen where you wonder: Did they just compliment or chastise me? Telling the truth should never cause confusion. It needs to be clear and concise.

Grace also doesn’t mean sugarcoating. That’s not what Jesus did. The passage in John 4:7-26 with Jesus and the Samaritan woman is a pattern for displaying grace and truth. Notice Jesus didn’t compliment the woman, then slam her with the truth. He first asked her a question, “Will you give me a drink?” which was a display of grace since Jews didn’t talk to Samaritans. The remainder of the passage is an example of Jesus telling the truth with grace. He didn’t avoid the truth because it would embarrass or put her on the spot. He confronted her with the truth of her sin of living with a man that wasn’t her husband then mercifully offered her the grace of forgiveness and eternal life. And what was the result? The woman left her sinful life and became one of the first women evangelists (John 4:28-30).

What About You and Me?

We can check ourselves with Randy Alcorn’s “Two Point Checklist” to help determine if we are a grace and truth Christian.

1.  Are nonbelievers uncomfortable around you?

It could be you are erring on the side of legalistic truth. People were drawn to Christ, who was both grace and truth, but ran from the Pharisees who had only the ‘truth.’

2.  Do all nonbelievers like you?

A red flag you’re erring on the side of grace. The true spirit of grace is that you love enough to tell the biblical truth and share the Gospel.

 Truth without grace:            Destroys          Crushes

 Grace without truth:             Deceives          Cowardly

Grace and Truth together:    Draws              Christ

God’s truths are guardrails in life to prevent us from going over the cliff into the sinful abyss, not tools for beating us over the head. Truth is a lifeline, not a weapon. Truth can release someone from bondage or rescue him or her from certain death. When we choose to bypass truth and go straight to grace, it’s no longer grace. Offering someone grace without the truth—the guardrail that protects and sets us free to know the true grace of Jesus—is sending them over the cliff in a loving way.

A quote from Randy’s book: “Truth without grace breeds a self-righteous legalism that poisons the church and pushes the world away from Christ. Grace without truth breeds moral indifference and keeps people from seeing their need for Christ. Attempts to ‘soften’ the gospel by minimizing truth keep people from Jesus. Attempts to ‘toughen’ the gospel by minimizing grace keep people from Jesus. It’s not enough for us to offer grace or truth. We must offer both.”

This balance is something most of us will spend a lifetime trying to achieve and only Jesus was perfect at it, but the Holy Spirit will help us if we ask. Tricia McCary Rhodes writes in Taking Up Your Cross, “To be humble is to live always with poignant awareness of God’s extravagant grace poured out in exchange for our complete inadequacy.” Isn’t that the TRUTH!

“If we get it wrong about Jesus, it doesn’t matter what else we get right.” —Randy Alcorn

In the first week of the New Year, I’ve heard the Holy Spirit repeatedly nudging me to remember grace or reminding me I bypassed it! The Holy Spirit and I are going to do a lot of communicating this year!

But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness. Ps. 86:15

How about you? Did you pick a word and Scripture to guide you through 2024? Please share it with me.

Leave your comment here and I will reply!

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Jesus Reveals the Opposing Fathers of Truth and Lies!

We know that Jesus coming to earth as a baby on Christmas was intentional. God sent His only Son to show those who claim to be His children how they should live. Yes, Jesus was human, but he was also fully God so He was able to withstand and endure what would be difficult for us to endure on our own. But after He went to the Cross to offer us salvation, arose from the grave three days later, and then ascended back to His Father in heaven, He left us with the Holy Spirit to guide us through the temptations and trials of daily life.

When we attempt to excuse our failures with “I’m only human,” that’s an invalid misnomer. The Holy Spirit lives in the heart of every believer guiding our conscience, choices, decisions, and actions. The Holy Spirit explicitly warns us when we’re going astray. If you’re a believer in Jesus Christ, I know you’ve experienced this nudging in your spirit.

Why am I choosing to talk about the truthful character of our Lord and Savior at this time of Christmas celebration? Because our world is full of lies, lies, lies, and more lies, and many are becoming deceived. I’ll talk about that more in a moment, but let’s first look at what Jesus says about the Father of truth and the father of lies.

We know that Jesus never told a lie. He was the personification of truth and righteousness. Jesus told him [Thomas], “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. John 14:6 NLT

 Jesus also made it crystal clear in John 8:31-47 where lies originate.

31 Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. 32 And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

But the people argued with Him.

33 “But we are descendants of Abraham,” they said. “We have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean, ‘You will be set free’?” 

Jesus patiently but bluntly explained.

34 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin. 35 A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free. 37 Yes, I realize that you are descendants of Abraham. And yet some of you are trying to kill me because there’s no room in your hearts for my message. 38 I am telling you what I saw when I was with my Father. But you are following the advice of your father.”

Again, they argued that Abraham was their spiritual and physical father.

39 “Our father is Abraham!” they declared.

“No,” Jesus replied, “for if you were really the children of Abraham, you would follow his example.  40 Instead, you are trying to kill me because I told you the truth, which I heard from God. Abraham never did such a thing. 41 No, you are imitating your real father.”

They replied, “We aren’t illegitimate children! God himself is our true Father.”

Then Jesus went straight to the heart of who their “true father” was if they didn’t believe His Father’s truth.

42 Jesus told them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, because I have come to you from God. I am not here on my own, but he sent me. 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! 46 Which of you can truthfully accuse me of sin? And since I am telling you the truth, why don’t you believe me? 47 Anyone who belongs to God listens gladly to the words of God. But you don’t listen because you don’t belong to God.”

Wow! Jesus just said that those who do not believe in the biblical truth are actually children of the devil who love doing the evil things that Satan loves. So lying is consistent with being a follower of the father of lies, Satan. Lies don’t come from Jesus who can’t lie or sin, so Satan is putting the words and thoughts into someone’s mind and mouth when they tell a lie.

Sadly, most lies usually have just enough truth in them to cause confusion and doubt. You have to tell some truth to sell a lie. This plays on Christians’ and American’s empathy, but a lie is always an inversion of the truth. That’s where our world is now while we watch the media lie, terrorists lie, politicians lie, and yes, our President lies and keeps on lying.

When confronted with the proof of bank records, text records, phone records, email records of his trail of corrupt lies, how does Biden respond? “Lies, lies, lies!” One reliable newscaster explained, “What else could he say to cover up his own lies? If he’s not going to confess to the truth, he has to keep on lying and call his accusers liars. That’s rich!”

No one should be surprised at what’s happened to our country under this presidency. If you’ve ever been around a pathological liar, as I have, you know they believe their own lies and think if they say them loud and long enough, you’ll believe them too. But like all liars, the truth eventually leads to their downfall unless they turn to Jesus and let the gospel truth set them free of the burden of sin. There will still be consequences to pay, and sadly we as a country are paying the price, but sincerely turning to Jesus and asking for forgiveness will be their eternal salvation even though there will be an earthly penalty.

The cultural battle we’re experiencing today is a replica of the spiritual battle taking place in the heavenlies. Jesus came to earth to die on a cross to save us from satanic evil. We know our role as Christians is to suit up in the armor of God and not give up or give in.

The Belt of Truth in the armor of God is the absolute truth that holds all the other parts of the armor of God (Eph. 6:10-18) together. When we don’t operate out of God’s Truth, we’re conceding to losing the spiritual and the cultural battle. Truth is more than information. God’s Word is the sword of the Spirit, but without the Belt of Truth, our sword falls at our side useless.

It is loving to speak God’s truth. Not in a mean-spirited way or beating someone over the head with the Scriptures, but when Satan confronted Jesus in the desert, the only response Jesus gave was to quote Scripture. But beware that Satan knows Scripture too and he always uses it for evil.

God’s Word is a weapon that the Holy Spirit will use to give life to the world, but we must know our Bible to use it and live by it effectively. Polls show that there are 28 million less Bible readers than a year ago!! I pray that doesn’t include you.

If there’s no truth there’s no conviction, no repentance, no salvation. If you know someone, like our president, who is living a lie . . ., tolerance, indulgence, or silence is not loving or kind.

You’ll never read in the Bible about Jesus tolerating sin. God was very specific in Romans 1:18-32 to outline exactly what God considers sin and His anger towards anyone who purposely sins. For those who choose to keep on sinning, He will turn them over to the life they’ve chosen and the resulting eternal consequences. He did NOT say it’s OK to keep on sinning and I’ll tolerate it. Neither should we tolerate it.

An Update on Our Battle for Truth in Our Local Library

On October 16, 2023, I wrote a blog Be Alert for Where and When the Lord Wants You to Get Involved! I talked about a group of us attending our local community library board meeting to address the obscene pornographic, sexually explicit, and alternate-lifestyle smut books targeted to children that the library now had on its shelves and online. Some gave testimonies of the horrific acts that occur when young minds are exposed to pornography. We all questioned and pointed out the immorality of these books and stressed the imperative need to protect innocent children from exposure to them in our public library.

 One young woman read graphic sections from one of the books, S.E.X. The All You Need to Know Progressive Guide to Get You Through Your Teens & Twenties. She wisely advised a mother who brought her two young children to the meeting to send them out of the room. The irony was that the mother did that and yet she was at the meeting to support keeping the books!

All of us who spoke against the books received a handwritten note in the mail from the Library Director thanking us for giving our “valuable time to stand up for your beliefs.” However, the public minutes of the November Library Board meeting read, “the Board praised the public on their very civil behavior at the meeting. Board discusses how they should respond to input. Kerri (the Library Director) suggests they draft a letter to send to each person who spoke in favor of censorship explaining the Board’s position as it pertains to the Collection Development Policy. Linda will write the letter and forward it to the lawyer for approval.” [emphasis added]

Not one of us called for “censorship,” but instead implored library leadership to take action to protect children from accessing the books in question. The use of the term “censorship” expresses the Board’s bias, not the truth. That’s how slanderous words convey and promote a lie.

Ironically, they also talked in the November board meeting about modifying the Board by-laws to only allow public input a few times a year instead of at each meeting. The hypocrisy is that they didn’t see this as censorship; however, apparently, they did decide to not change the by-laws.

The Obscenity Law defined by the Supreme Court says according to Miller v. California, 413 U.S. 15 (1973) “obscenity is to be determined by applying “contemporary community standards” not “national standards.” 

I’m requesting the board retract out of the minutes the inflammatory phrase “spoke in favor of censorship” to reflect the truth that we were local citizens concerned about inappropriate books targeted to children. I’m also praying for the members of this board who have been deceived into thinking exposing children to obscene pornography is culturally and civically appropriate.

Apparently, some of our group who spoke against the books have received the letter referred to in their minutes stating they plan to keep the books in the library! I haven’t received my letter yet, but I’m not giving up and I’m not giving in to moral bankruptcy in our little town. I suggest looking into what’s available to children in your local library also.

We cannot let our guard down or let lies live on. Christmas is about John 1:14, 17

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. John 1:14, 17

But never forget, especially during the celebration of the birth of our Lord and Savior . . .

Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8 NLT

Please leave your comment here. I reply to all comments and appreciate hearing your thoughts on the blog.

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10 Ways to Share the Gift of Jesus This Christmas

If you go online and search lists of words that best characterize Christmas, you’ll find words like gifts, family, friends, decorations, busyness, happy, magical, celebration, dazzling, lights, baking, winter, shopping etc. Those are all appropriate words that apply to Christmas, but sadly when most people think of Christmas, they don’t think in biblical terms unless they’re Christians. Even some Christians busily preparing for Christmas don’t readily consider the foundational reason for Christmas. Instead, many first think of words that describe the commercial, cultural, and even secular aspects of Christmas.

Some people, like the Pro-terrorists-Hamas activists at New York City Rockefeller Center’s tree lighting ceremony, are suggesting that Christmas be canceled this year! How dare they? How quickly they forget that Christmas is a celebration of the birth of Jesus! Or could it be because Jesus was a Jew that’s exactly why they want it canceled?

Christmas is also a federal holiday formally recognized in the United States by the House of Representatives, the Senate, and President Ulysses S Grant who signed a bill designating Christmas into law as a legal holiday in 1870. It’s actually the only federal Christian holiday, even though it has become greatly secularized. So to even suggest Christmas be canceled, you know it’s the work of the enemy trying to deny the Christian celebration of our Lord and Savior’s birth, a Jew born in Judea in the city of Bethlehem.

Federal businesses have attempted to prohibit employees from showing any Christmas displays because “it might offend someone who doesn’t believe in Christmas.” Denying Christmas is offensive to me! It’s a weak excuse that should offend every Christian and be illegal.

Christmas is a federal holiday whether it offends someone or not. Post offices, banks, schools, federal offices close on Christmas. Secularists in schools now call Easter a “Spring break” and since it falls on Sunday, they’ve gotten away with minimizing the Christian significance. But not so with Christmas and we must not let them. Every employee in every business should be allowed to decorate their desk or work area for Christmas.

As we watch the Islamist countries joining against the tiny country of Jews in Israel, God’s chosen Holy Land, while activists and protesters threaten Jews in America, you can be sure that Christians are next. We must never bend or succumb to any attempts to change language or prohibit the public celebration of our Savior’s birth or His resurrection. Even though the Christmas tree isn’t biblical, it’s associated with Christmas even at the White House, so Christmas trees and manger scenes should be allowed in public places.

BTW—the heart of the word Christmas is Christ! The English term “Christmas” comes from the combination of the words “mass” and “Christ. Never forget that it’s CHRISTmas!

What Can Christians Do to Remind People of the True Meaning of Christmas?

Unfortunately, this year Christmas won’t be celebrated as usual in Bethlehem. The city’s municipality announced the traditional Christmas decorations and lights in Manger Square “will not be put up in an effort to show solidarity with those suffering in Gaza.” Bethlehem Pastor Stephen Khoury doesn’t agree with the decision. “So if they want to not do the light celebrations, that’s fine. I don’t like it, but it’s a decision. They’re not holding us back from doing prayer services and doing a Christian religious service. They’re not holding us back or stopping us from doing that.”

In a CBN article by Chris Mitchell, “As Christmas Decorations Go Dark in Bethlehem, Pastor Shines Light of Jesus with Tent Display,” Pastor Khoury outlined his plan to keep the focus of Christmas on Jesus. “So, here’s what we’re doing: where we tell people to let the lights go out, but let the light of Christ shine, let the decorations be taken down, but let the symbol of Christ’s promise be heard, and stand – what we’re doing in the month of December, and probably till the early January is, we’re going to set up a tent.”

 “We’re going to call it the nativity encounter Christmas tent, the Hope tent,” Khoury told us. This nativity encounter tent is, we’re going to get people to walk through this tent . . . And it’s a Bible discovery experience. And people can feel –touch something – dealing with what it would have looked like during Christ’s days in Bethlehem 2000 years ago. And they walk out the other side getting the message that the miracle has happened here.”

“We are bringing it back to ground zero and that the Christmas season, it’s about Jesus. He’s the reason for this season. And that’s what I plan to do throughout Christmas. And we invite the world to pray, to stand and to come volunteer with us at this tent,” he said.

That started me thinking about ways Christians could keep the focus on Jesus Christ this Christmas. I love how Samaritan’s Purse, who does the Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes, sends their teams to help in areas of crisis, disaster, and pandemics like Covid, always making it clear they’re helping and serving in the name of Jesus Christ as they share the Gospel wherever they go. Even the shoeboxes include the Gospel message.

How can we imitate a similar outreach as individuals this Christmas and openly share the true reason for Christmas, the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. His birthday should be a reminder of the reason He humbled Himself to come into the world as a baby to die on a cross to offer forgiveness and eternal life to you, me, and everyone who believes in Him.

Following are 10 ideas to share the gift of Christmas with others, remembering that helping others actually helps us. I’m sure you can think of more.

  • Give the Gift of Encouragement. Instead of writing letters to Santa, have children write letters to people who need encouragement this Christmas or include them in your Christmas card list. For example: military, first responders, police, medical staff, nursing home residents, or hospital patients. Be sure to include a Scripture or two from the biblical Christmas story.

So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing. 1 Thess. 5:11 NLT

  • Give the Gift of Hope. Adopt a disadvantaged family in your church or community. Bless them with Christmas presents like age-appropriate Bibles, Christian authored books, personal necessities, toys, or provide a special meal. Include a Gospel track* with the food and goodies. Ask if you can pray with them for any prayer requests.

I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance. Eph. 1:18 NLT

  • Give the Gift of Joy. Find simple ways to bring a smile to someone’s face during the Christmas season. For example, pay for the car behind you at a drive-through and give the cashier/server a Gospel track* to include with their order. Give an extra track to the server and be sure to leave a nice tip.

You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever. Ps. 16:11 NLT

  • Give the Gift of Kindness. Offer your time and energy to someone in need. Hang lights for an elderly neighbor or help decorate their house. Wrap presents for an overwhelmed new mom or someone recovering from an illness or surgery.

Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Col. 3:12 NLT

  • Give the Gift of Words. Speak words of affirmation and affection to your friends, family, customer service, waiters/waitresses, store employees . . . Take time to write a personal note in your Christmas cards or Christmas letter.

Kind words are like honey—sweet to the soul and healthy for the body. Pr. 16:24

  • Give the Gift of Faith. Read the biblical Christmas story with your family. If you read a chapter in the Book of Luke starting December 1, you’ll finish on Christmas Eve. You still have time to catch up. Look for opportunities to talk about what Christ’s birth means for your life today.

Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see. Through their faith, the people in days of old earned a good reputation. By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen. Heb. 11:1-3 NLT

  • Give the Gift of Peace. In the midst of the hustle and bustle of the season, and the unsettling news reports, set aside at least one “silent night” a week for the family to be home. Light a fire if you have a fireplace, curl up with cups of hot chocolate or tea, play worship Christmas music, and take a few moments to rest and reflect on the true meaning of Christmas.

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. John 14:27

  • Give the Gift of Hospitality. Invite someone to your home who may not have family close by or host a Christmas open house for your neighbors, friends, family, fellow workers, or Bible study group.

Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay. 1 Pet. 4:9 NLT

  • Give the Gift of Time. Help nursing home residents write Christmas letters and read the Christmas story to them from the Bible. Offer to baby-sit so busy parents can go on a date or Christmas shopping together. Spend a few hours volunteering at a shelter. Help with Christmas festivities or services at your church or community.

Serve one another humbly in love. Gal. 5:13

  • Give the Gift of Love. Presents under the tree won’t make you or anyone else happy for long, but the presence of Jesus will! The happiest Christians are evangelistic all the time, not just at Christmas. Engage people with the love of God.  

“Love is never wasted for its value does not rest upon reciprocity.” C.S. Lewis

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35

For this is how God loved the world: He gave[a] his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 NLT

That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, 10 but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. 11 The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! 12 And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.” Luke 2:8-12 NLT

*You can purchase Gospel tracks from places like Christianbook.com, but I also found a Souls for Christ Ministry that offers free printable tracks to make yourself.

If you missed my November newsletter, the opening article is “An Urgent Message of Christmas” and includes my Christmas poem “Time to Sit with You.” Here’s the link.

Please leave a comment here and share your thoughts and ideas with others. I reply to every comment.

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Only One World Event Will Bring Peace in The Middle East!

For the past two weeks, we’ve read the horrifying reports of the unprovoked surprise heinous attack of Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists, targeting women, children, families, and the elderly in Israel and Israel’s declaration of retaliation war. War that Israel says won’t be over until they completely wipe out the threat of Hamas. But as this war rages on, other Arab countries surrounding Israel are attacking from all directions. Hamas and Hezbollah – clients of Iran and controlling Gaza and Lebanon respectively – are the attackers, with Syria shelling and threatening. 

In America, we also saw the unexpected pro-Palestine protesters on college campuses chanting “Israel, Israel, you can’t hide. We charge you with genocide.”  Or “free, free Palestine, long live Palestine.” “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” essentially calling for killing of all Israeli Jews. A coordinated insurrection in the Capitol while voting was occurring for a new House Speaker saw sit-in protestors from the pro-Palestine groups “Jewish Voice for Peace” (JVP) and “IfNotNow” wearing black T-shirts that read “Not in our name. Jews say cease fire now.”  Where is the responsive outcry and denouncement we saw from January 6th? (For more information on these groups see note at the end of this blog)

Hamas’ evil carnage led Israel justifiably to defend itself against current and future attacks. Israel will not walk away from American and Israeli hostages in Gaza, and neither should America.

Hal Lindsey reveals the obvious: “How can anyone seriously defend rapists, human butchers, beheaders of babies, slaughterers who burn people alive in their own homes, and who parade the dead through the streets? Yet we’re seeing their defenders all over the world. In a stunning bit of irony, some use their defense of debauchery as a form of virtue signaling.”

The chanters and protesters are promoting annihilation of Jews in our ally Israel and cheering for terrorists! How did such a large sect of anti-Semitism fester in our country? Many propose it’s coming from college professors indoctrinating, actually brainwashing, students. How did the professors become such Jew haters? Willful ignorance or spiritual darkness.

I wonder how many churches have had, or will have, the discussion of how the friction between Palestinians and Israelis began in the Book of Genesis. Or how no human intervention or even “Abraham Accords” will ever bring peace to the Middle East until one major world event happens.

I see well-meaning Christians posting on social media crying out for peace in the Middle East. However, biblical history and prophecy reveals that only one person can bring about peace. It’s not a President, a statesman, a country leader, a contract, a covenant, agreements, not even President Trump though he came close . . . no act of man will result in lasting peace in the Middle East or anywhere in the world until the glorious return of Jesus Christ!

When Did This Middle East Conflict Start?

In 2021, I wrote an article for Crosswalk “3 Important Lessons We Can Learn From Hagar in the Bible.” While some might not have considered it a particularly relevant article at the time, it reveals the background story of what we’re watching in real time with the war in Israel. Hagar was part of a drama that would influence conflict in the Middle East for thousands of years to come. You’re probably familiar with the story, but maybe not the connection it has with the war we’re watching take place today. Let’s review the beginning of the ongoing feud between Palestine, which is not a country, along with Arab countries against Israel.

When we first meet Hagar in Scripture, 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).

Sarai became impatient with the Lord and thought He had kept her from having a baby and came up with her own plan to give Abram a family.  “So she said to Abram, ‘The Lord has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her.’” (Gen. 16:2)

A slave in those days had no rights. When her barren mistress Sarai decides to take matters into her own hands and use Hagar as a surrogate to provide her husband Abram with a child, Hagar has no option but to obey.

When Hagar discovers she’s pregnant, she foolishly acts superior to her mistress, forgetting this was just a surrogacy arrangement. Maybe pride led her to flaunt her growing baby bump in front of Sari. She could give Abram a child and Sari couldn’t. Now it was obvious that their infertility was Sari’s fault and not her husband’s. This child would technically be Hagar’s and Abram’s baby, Sarai’s blood wouldn’t be flowing through his veins but Hagar’s Egyptian blood would. Sari’s blood boiled with jealousy.

The relationship between the two women became hostile and Sari complained to her husband. Not wanting to get involved in this female dispute, Abram told Sari that Hagar was hers to do with what she wanted. Sari took that as permission to treat Hagar harshly and mistreat her.

Feeling lonely, hurt, abused, used, and rejected, Hagar ran away. Anything had to be better than what she was experiencing at the hands of Sari. But what she didn’t expect was an encounter with God. He heard her cries of affliction.

The angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur. 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. Then the angel of the Lord told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.” Gen. 16:7-9

It was hard to hear that God wanted her to go back and endure abuse, but there was more.

11 The angel of the Lord also said to her:

“You are now pregnant
    and you will give birth to a son.
You shall name him Ishmael,[a]
    for the Lord has heard of your misery.
12 He will be a wild donkey of a man;
    his hand will be against everyone
    and everyone’s hand against him,
and he will live in hostility
    toward[
b
] all his brothers.” Gen. 16:11-12

Hagar returned and had her child and named him Ishmael. But alas, this wasn’t a happy ending. When Sari, now renamed Sarah, sixteen years later had her own miracle son Isaac as promised, Hagar’s son Ishmael started teasing his little toddler half-brother Isaac. That was the last straw for Sarah, and she demanded that her husband send Hagar and her son away for good.

The father of both sons wasn’t so agreeable this time. To his surprise, God intervened and told him it was God’s will to let them go. There was a plan for each son.

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 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)

Right there you have the declaration from God of two nations. One would be the promised nation of Abraham, but God had revealed to Hagar about the other son,He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers.”

Modern day Palestinians are the Arabs who are primarily the descendants of Ishmael. Some of the modern-day Palestinians are also likely descendants of Lot (one of Abraham’s relatives whose two daughters gave birth to the peoples of Moab and Ammon, (Genesis 19:36 – 38). Some are also possibly descended from Esau, the twin brother of Jacob (Israel) and son of Isaac (Genesis 25:25 – 26).

Although the Palestinians are in Abraham’s lineage, they weren’t given the same blessings and inheritance as Isaac. Isaac was Abraham’s only promised son conceived with Sarah. Therefore, God declared that Isaac would inherit the birthright (firstborn) blessings, which included Canaan (Genesis 15:16 – 21, 17:6 – 9, 21:10 – 13).

And the Lord appeared to him (Isaac) and said, “Do not go down into Egypt. Live in the land which I shall tell you of. Stay in this land, and I will be with you and bless you, for to you and to your seed, I will give all these lands; and I will establish the oath which I swore to Abraham your father. And I will multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and will give to your seed all these lands . . .” (Genesis 26:2 – 4, see also 15:16 – 21, 17:6 – 9, 21:10 – 13).

What Will Bring About Lasting Peace in the Middle East?

Old Testament prophets saw what God was going to do in the future, but like us today, they didn’t know the timing. Zechariah foresaw the nations streaming to Jerusalem to learn about God from the Jews. “‘And many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the Lord Almighty and to entreat him.’ 23 This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘In those days ten people from all languages and nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, ‘Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you.’” Zech 8:22-23

Isaiah saw a time when animals and humans would live in peace together.

The wolf will live with the lamb,
    the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling[a
] together;
    and a little child will lead them.
The cow will feed with the bear,
    their young will lie down together,
    and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
The infant will play near the cobra’s den,
    and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest.
They will neither harm nor destroy
    on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord
    as the waters cover the sea.
Is. 11:6-9

The New Testament writers reveal the only answer to worldwide peace. There will continue to be wars until this one event ushers in the Kingdom of Peace—Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, returns to earth to reign for a thousand years (Rev. 20:1-6)! Hallelujah!! But this won’t occur until after the church is raptured (1 Cor. 15:52) and the seven years of terrible tribulation (Matthew 24:29-31).

What Do We Do Until the Prince of Peace Returns?

  • Learn from Sarah’s impatience to wait on the Lord’s timing!

Sarah and Abraham’s contrived plan to fulfill God’s promise instead of waiting for God’s perfect timing and plan didn’t end well. We can’t outsmart or out due God. His plans always are for good and will prevail, but we’ll pay a price when we’re impetuous and prideful thinking we know better than God.

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)

  • Pray for reconciliation and peace in our own families.

Just as God promised, Ishmael founded a nation, but to this day his descendants continue to be in conflict with the nation founded by his half-brother Isaac. This is a family feud passed down through generations and won’t be resolved until Christ’s return. But we can work in our own families to stop generational infighting.

  • Share Jesus and the Gospel

We don’t know when the rapture will take place, but many feel it’s an imminent event. We only have until then or until the Lord takes us home to do the work He’s assigned every Christian here on earth. We’re all called to be missionaries, evangelists, and witnesses for Him. I like the way Dr. David Jeremiah puts it, “Find a way to do what you’re good at and leverage it for the Kingdom of God. Don’t live for yourself live for the Gospel. Love for the salvation of others. Live for testimonies.”

  • Don’t live in fear at the trouble we’re watching in today’s world.

We’re living in the predicted biblical times that will occur before the end comes. When the Prince of Peace returns, there will be peace on all of the earth, not just the Middle East. Until then, we pray for His return and for those who aren’t ready for His return!

Pray for the unsaved Jews who haven’t accepted Jesus as their Savior and for the safety of the tiny Christian community in Gaza that they would have the opportunity to share the Gospel.

 “In a world of turmoil and despair, you must find your peace above and beyond the natural realm. Arise in spirit and know that I am God and that I will lead, guide, direct, and protect you when you put your trust in Me. I am your firm foundation and your very present help in trouble. Believe it!” Psalm 46:1-4—“Small Straws in a Soft Wind” by Marsha Burns,

Some excerpts regarding Hagar are from Everyday Brave: Living Courageously as a Woman of Faith

Note: I encourage you to listen to the Mark Levin Sunday night 10/22/2023 program Life, Liberty, and Levin to learn more about how Hamas is infiltrating America. The JVP, Jewish Voice for Peace, views itself as the “Jewish wing” of the Palestine Solidarity movement and seeks to end the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, Gaza strip, and East Jerusalem. They were founded by radical Marxist Jews. IVP is part of a network of NGO’S that promote manufactured definitions of apartheid to extend ongoing campaigns that seek to delegitimize and demonize Israel.

The Free Beacon says JVP advertises itself as the: “largest progressive Jewish anti-Zionist organization in the world.” They are strongly in opposition to the nationhood of Israel and they are obviously very active here in America.

Please leave a comment here. I reply to all comments.

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Loving God and America is “Dangerous” in 2023!

People come and go over the generations, but demons remain the same from the days of Noah, Elijah, Ahab, Jezebel, and Jesus until today.

Satan is real and his army of demons are continually at war with God’s people. Jesus dealt with demons that understood His true identity and obeyed His command. He cast out demons from a man with an impure spirit – “My name is Legion; for we are many” – into a herd of pigs that rushed over a steep bank into a lake and drowned (Mark 5:1-13).

Author, Lit. Col. Robert Maginnis (ret.) writes in an opinion article, “Today, Satan’s demonic army is very active. They manifest themselves through various practices such as divination, witchcraft, channeling and wizardry (Deuteronomy 18:10-12). They deceive, attack the human mind with the intent of control, and they leverage power to take captive people, especially the prominent.” The Scripture Maginnis refers to here also says in verse 10, “never sacrifice your son or daughter”!

Hal Lindsey reminds us that, “Like it or not, we live in a war zone. Bombs of deceit, violence, and rage explode all around us. This spiritual war is not hypothetical, and it is not a metaphor. It is a real war with real casualties and real collateral damage. But a spiritual war is not to be fought with guns, fists, or missiles.”

The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:4-5

Just like Jesus doesn’t change, neither does Satan. That’s hard to hear and accept, but it’s true. Satan’s goal is the same as it’s always been to tempt, deceive, and destroy God’s created people with sinful and evil practices and choices.

I encourage you to listen to a podcast with Charlie Kirk and Pastor Mark Driscoll. Pastor Driscoll’s recent book New Days, Old Demons: Ancient Paganism Masquerading as Progressive Christianity, describes how the entire apparatus of modern wokeness—transgenderism, child mutilation, abortion, even drag queens—is simply a repeat of themes from the Old Testament starting with Ahab and his evil immoral wife Jezebel, whose evil ways passed down from Genesis to current times.

 There was never anyone like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the eyes of the Lord, urged on by Jezebel his wife. 1 Kings 21:25

In the podcast, Driscoll explains that the Bible doesn’t just retell what happened in the past, but forecasts what will always happen in the future. The same political and cultural issues chronicled in 1st and 2nd Kings are the evil issues we see in our culture and politics today. Progressive, woke, soft-woke Christianity / pastors are rooted in the same demonic realm.

If we tolerate evil demonic forces, they will dominate! Jesus told the Church in Thyatira in Revelations 2:20-21, “But I have this complaint against you. You are permitting that woman—that Jezebel who calls herself a prophet—to lead my servants astray. She teaches them to commit sexual sin and to eat food offered to idols. 21 I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. Rev. 2:20-21

Praise God there are spiritual warriors amongst us today who aren’t afraid of the demonic principalities coming against them because these men and women of faith allow the Holy Spirit to guide and lead them. I want to highlight two mighty warriors for God who understand that Satan and his demons work through men and women blinded by evil who want to replace God with government. These men of valor are saying not on our watch!

I hope you stand with them and me in agreement. Even though we don’t have the platforms of these two courageous Christians, and many others, we can support them in prayer, encouragement, and however the Lord leads you.

Two Modern-Day Spiritual Warriors

The first Christian warrior I’m going to discuss is Sean Feucht because he made national news right here in my home state of Idaho when he brought his Kingdom to the Capitol tour to Boise and received demonic pushback. This isn’t the first time it’s happened to Sean, but it became big news because Idaho is considered a red, conservative, Republican-dominated state. Beware: that position isn’t guaranteed nor is it one we can rely upon complacently as evidenced to what happened to Feucht here in my beloved Idaho where Sean was called “dangerous” by the local newspaper, The Statesmen, for daring to bring God and worship to the steps of the Capitol.

You can read the entire news coverage with details here “Christian singer mocks Idaho newspaper calling worship gathering ‘dangerous.’ ‘Good news is that God wins’. But a synopsis is that ahead of his scheduled stop in Boise, the Idaho Statesman’s editorial board wrote an opinion article attacking Feucht and his allies as “dangerous activists” and “charlatans” “who want to inject their brand of Christianity into government.” The Idaho Statesman’s article spewed the following hate propaganda . . .

“Feucht and his group are playing on the same, tired, worn-out, BS, far-right ‘fears’ that evildoers on the Left are coming for your children, through the schools, through the libraries, at Pride festivals and drag shows,” the opinion piece read. While conceding that his “hate speech” was protected under the First Amendment, the editorial board warned it was still “dangerous.” “The danger comes when these groups impose their religious views on others and inject church into the state through the power of government, as we’ve already seen in Idaho through the most restrictive abortion ban in the country, attempts to put a bounty on libraries and bans on gender-affirming care for transgender youth. No one is telling these groups to abandon their religious beliefs. We’re just telling them to keep their religion in their church and out of our government.”

The Statesman doesn’t think using the power of government to kill innocent babies in the womb, sexually mutilate and castrate children, and allow the teaching of perverse sex in schools is “dangerous,” only biblical principles are “dangerous.”

If you read the full hit job in the Statesman titled “Keep Your religions out of our government. Dangerous activists coming to Idaho Capitol,” you’ll see that a group of “faith leaders” in the Northwest (Feucht went to Olympia WA and Salem OR Capitols before coming to Boise) sent a letter to legislative leaders to denounce “the appearance of these faith peddlers, whose views are full of hate.” Here’s an excerpt from these so-called “faith leaders” who must’ve all gone woke to protest Christian worship at Capitols and reject biblical principles!

Here’s an excerpt from the letter: “As faith leaders in the cities of Salem, Olympia and Boise, we are writing to inform you of an anti-LGBTQ+ speaker coming to each of our state capital cities this week and ask you to speak out against anti-LGBTQ+ bigotry,” the faith leaders wrote in a letter to state legislative leaders. The letter from the ‘faith leaders’ continued: “Sean Feucht has spent the past year capitalizing on anti-LGBTQ+ sentiments by railing against Pride Month, even embracing the exclusionary label of ‘Christian nationalist,’ and declaring that people with his narrow view of Christian theology should make all laws in the United States. “We reject these attempts to cloak bigotry in religious language, and we ask you to do the same.”

Sean Feucht’s response:

“It’s all part of the King coming back,” Feucht said at an event in Tulsa, Oklahoma. “That’s what we’re practicing for. That’s why hell hates that we’re worshiping at every Capitol across America. That’s why we get called, ‘Well, you’re Christian nationalists.’”

Feucht understands why his Christian beliefs cause friction. “When you’re doing something BIG for the kingdom of God, the opposition is LITERALLY Satan. The good news is that GOD WINS,” he wrote on Twitter, after Satanist counter-protesters showed up to the Boise event.

“I don’t begrudge the Statesman for what they wrote—they are well within their Constitutional right. We both exercised our rights under the same amendment. What they wrote is not so much a critique of the Let Us Worship Movement as it was a shameless plug for the LGBTQ agenda. To stand on the Bible is dangerous in the year 2023, especially when that truth conflicts with the LGTBQ agenda,” he wrote.

He also tweeted: More than 12,000 “dangerous” God-fearing, America loving worshippers flooded the capitols in Washington, Oregon & Idaho! Thank every one of you for TAKING A STAND for Jesus in your state!

In another satirical tweet mocking the media article and protesters, Sean wrote: “Beware! Kids singing with flags! Hurry up and ban flag waving DANGEROUS Christian kids from the capitol before someone gets hurt!”

On a Facebook post he wrote: “’He who sits in the heavens laughs.’ Sometimes you gotta just laugh at the enemies pathetic attempts to stop the spread of an unstoppable kingdom. He’s weak. He’s lost. He’s got no new tricks. PRO TIP FOR 2023: Laugh your way through victorious living.”

Sean mocked those trying to mock God! He uses humor to combat their vicious attacks and he always prays that some of the Satanists, abortion-rights protesters, LGBQT mafia, and media find salvation at his worship events. He’s reported that many have come to accept the Jesus they initially came to denounce. Still, he concedes, “To stand on the Bible is dangerous in the year 2023.”

As protestors and satanists yelled profanities the entire two hours the Boise Capitol allowed the worship event, Sean’s team passed out individual communion packets. The entire worshipping crowd took communion together with Sean on his knees in front of the Capitol declaring the blood of Jesus over the building and the city. The worshippers did a joy dance around the Boise Capitol and Sean rang the Freedom Bell he said was the first one he’d seen accessible at a Capitol. Then he sang a song about freedom. “I can hear those Liberty Bells rattling rattling the gates of hell. I can hear those Liberty Bells ringing ringing. It’s the sound of freedom. The gates of hell will not prevail!”

The only way to fight satanic demonic spirits is with the Spirit of the Lord, which Sean and many of us “dangerous Christians” fully understand. For more information about Sean’s Let Us Worship Ministry go to his website and learn when he’s coming to your Capitol or city.

The second Christian activist I want to highlight is actor/author Kirk Cameron who has several faith-based children’s books published by Brave Books. Cameron has been trying to host faith-based story readings for children at libraries to counter drag queen story readings and receiving pushback initially having 50 libraries prevent him from coming. He sent them all letters asking them to reconsider and many did, but he’s also had to contend with drag queens, Satanists, and trans people showing up to harass him and the audience of parents and children.

 In spite of the attacks, Cameron pushed forward and declared August 5 to be a See You at The Library national event with over 300 libraries across the country booked by everyday patriotic people to read books to children that cherish family, faith, and patriotism. Kirk says he’s “passing the baton to the people.”

But two days before Kirk and Riley Gaines were to read books to children and families on August 5th in another so-called red state at the Huntsville Alabama Library coordinated by Moms for Liberty, the Huntsville-Madison County Public Library System said it would no longer accommodate the book-reading event “due to concerns about logistics and security” as popularity for the event grew.

Cameron and Brave Books used law firm First Liberty Institute to send a letter saying it was “prepared to vindicate this violation of our client’s civil rights in court,” as a discrimination against religious groups. The library reversed course and allowed the book reading limited to 225 attendees and the police restrained 100 protestors outside.

“We must stand our ground and fight for our public institutions,” Brave Books CEO Trent Talbot said. “The foe we fail to meet at the gate in our own generation is the foe we let into the city for the next.”

Cameron said, “I believe this reconciliation between us and the Madison Public Library is a testimony to the strength and power of moms and dads gathering in prayer for the blessing of their community. Both sides rose to a higher ethic than we often see in today’s polarized society.” He also said, “By seeking the common good and love for our neighbor, we found a solution … See you at the library!”

Gaines said, “We’ve seen this before. The library has come up with an excuse to prevent us from sharing wholesome messages to children and their families because they don’t want to be associated with it.” She added, “The people have shown they want to attend this event and to support the mission of Brave Books. Situations like this embolden activists and ANTIFA. She also said, “I’m happy to say the event now a go again, and we will continue forward with full force! It’s times like this where we must stand our ground as conservatives but more importantly as Christians.”

Here’s an alarming fact. Brave Books uncovered a video discussed in an interview with Cameron where the federally funded American Library Association headquartered in Chicago teaches librarians specifically how to stop Kirk Cameron from coming to their library!  The methods included permitting rooms to be booked only by local library cardholders as well as offering “alternative,” diverse programming on Saturday at the same time as the “See You at the Library” events. An ALA executive, in a live-streamed presentation suggested that members hold a “library-sponsored Pride festival the same day and fill the library with rainbows” to share messages of “inclusion and diversity.”

Yet the ALA has no problem with drag men reading to and sexually gyrating in front of children in their libraries. That’s demonic!

Be Dangerous for Jesus!

It’s true that the Bible, Christians, and Christianity are dangerous to Satan, demons, and all forms of evil! That’s why the Lord tells us “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.” Eph. 6:12

Just like God created earth with a physical and spiritual realm, He created humans with an earthly body, soul, and spirit. We take great care of our physical bodies but can neglect that we have a choice as to the spirit that resides inside us. Either the Holy Spirit or a demonic spirit will take residence in our heart. THERE’S NO OTHER CHOICES. NO NEUTRAL.

We see the spiritual forces of evil manifested in our culture, government, laws, schools, libraries, medicine, and people who consider God dangerous. What they’re saying is that to them Satan is safe.

Lord, help the deceived understand that heaven and hell are as real as God and Satan. 

The teaching of your word gives light, so even the simple can understand. Ps. 119:113 NLT

If you haven’t seen my July newsletter, I encourage you to read the opening article 4 Prayers Asking God for a Hedge of Protection. Here’s the link.

I love to read your thoughts. Please leave a comment on the website blog and I’ll reply.

*The opening picture is of Sean Feucht’s worship team and the worshippers in front of the Boise Capitol on July 30, 2023. I hope it wasn’t too big, but I wanted you to get the full effect.

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You Were Born For Such A Time As This!

Yesterday, April 9, 2023, we celebrated the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the tomb. A day revered by believers and denounced by unbelievers for centuries, still it remains one of the most significant days in history. As I mentioned in last week’s blog, the day you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior should be the most significant day in your own personal history. A day that should’ve changed everything in your life and set you on a path of living for Jesus and discovering the purpose and plans He has for you.

If you’ve allowed the world’s situation or your personal situation to distract you from letting your light shine for Jesus, Easter is always a good time to reflect and re-center on making sure every decision you make and every breath you take glorifies Jesus. That sounds like a big undertaking, and it is. It’s not something we could ever do on our own. But the Holy Spirit is everywhere residing in each Christian’s heart and mind always guiding and directing us to do the next right thing, even with all the distractions and obligations. It’s especially difficult with the arrows continually directed at us from the enemy who seems to become bolder and crueler daily.

Many think that the blatant visibility of Satan in a culture that labels Christians the enemy if we don’t agree with sin, suggests the eminent return of Jesus. It’s true, Jesus could come back for His people at any time, but until that glorious day, He has each of us living at this very moment in history for a specific purpose. It isn’t random that we’re alive while evil is called good, and Satan is trying to silence the church and take our children into his clutches.

Twice in the past week, I’ve heard a speaker refer to Esther whose fellow Jews, including her, were facing extinction by evil Hamen. Queen Esther’s uncle Mordecai pleaded with her to help save her people, even though it could mean immediate death just by asking for an audience with King Xerxes. Her uncle challenged, “And who knows but that you have come to your position for such a time as this.” After three days of fasting and prayer, Esther courageously said, “If I perish, I perish.” The King gave her an audience and she ultimately saw Hamen hung on the gallous that he had built for her uncle.

Esther was willing to set aside her queenly luxury to get involved in the politics of the King’s court to save not just herself, but her people. She risked her life to take a stand against injustice, immorality, evil, and extinction and God put her in the perfect era and place to do exactly that. God has done the same for you and me to be born right now for such a time as this. It’s exciting and exhilarating when you look at the world through that lens.

My birthday this year was on Easter. That’s only the second time in my lifetime; the first time I was three. This year, I felt God’s reminder that I’m still alive for a purpose. He’s helped me survive three breast cancer battles, a congenital malformed spine, and numerous other health and personal issues so I could devote my remaining time and talents to sharing the goodness of God and encouraging people to turn from the destruction of following the evil deceiver, Satan. That’s not always comfortable or easy, but like Esther, it’s worth the risk.

As Aware Christians, We Can’t Avoid Getting Involved!

Last Sunday, Dave and I attended the second free AWARE Biblical Citizenship & Liberty for Idaho Conference hosted by Mountain Heights Calvary Chapel in Meridian, Idaho. I want to share the encouragement and call to action we received that day. It was such a blessing to be in a room with several hundred like-minded Conservative Christians eager to learn more about how we could make a difference in our community for morals and justice to prevail.

In past blogs, I’ve mentioned the Values Advocacy Council (VAC) ministry, which helps Idahoans know what’s happening politically in our state and how we can get involved by contacting our legislators, school boards, and governor.

Last session, the Idaho Legislators passed the Child Protection Act to stop gender mutilation surgeries and opposite-sex drugs given to minors, but our Governor was threatening to veto it depending on how many calls he received supporting or protesting the bill?! The VAC gave us the numbers to call, and 19 Pastors went to the governor’s office with a petition with 5000 signatures telling him NOT to veto it and the rest of us called and emailed the Governor’s office.

We had a victory, and the Governor signed the bill so no longer can doctors and hospitals perform these barbaric “sex-reassignment” surgeries or give cross-sex hormones or puberty blocking drugs to gender-confused children in Idaho! Praise God!!

Another politically involved ministry, The Idaho Family Policy Center, sent out an encouraging email, “We can’t overstate the importance of this victory—and we definitely owe it in part to your biblical citizenship and your support of this ministry.”

Did you notice that these are both ministries involved in politics. The Idaho Family Policy Center ministry drafted the Child Protection Act four years ago. It’s the third legislative session they’ve introduced the bill and championed it. Idaho’s children will be protected because ministries got involved in politics!

One of the speakers at the AWARE Conference, Neil Mammen, is the President of Values Advocacy Council, and has written a book Jesus Is Involved in Politics! Why Aren’t You? Why Isn’t Your Church? The premise of his book is that you can’t separate politics from Christianity and the church. We don’t want a Christian government; we want Christians in government. Christians getting involved to protect God’s laws just like Christians and pastors did with the Vulnerable Child Protection Act here in Idaho.

As Christians, it’s our duty and obligation to remind the government that their job is to enforce God’s laws, not create laws that go against the biblical foundations of our Constitution and the Bill of Rights, which lists what government can’t do to us, not what they can.

Just because I live in a red state doesn’t mean I can be complacent, actually just the opposite. Satan doesn’t like red states and he’s using his henchmen, including the Democrat party which has turned Marxist, to try and turn conservative red states into tyrannically governed blue states.

In Idaho, and other states, Christians and churches are fighting back, and our Idaho children will be protected from this child abuse atrocity, but for sure, there will be future battles. The Governor vetoed another bill protecting children from pornography in libraries and schools and the legislators failed by one vote to overturn his veto. But it’ll be on the docket repeatedly until it’s passed. Christians know how to persevere.

I’m reading Jesus Is Involved in Politics! Why Aren’t You? Why Isn’t Your Church?. Here’s a synopsis from the author’s brochure.

“If you say Christians, churches, or pastors should not be involved in politics, you are essentially saying that child sexual abuse should be legal. It sounds harsh, but the truth is much harsher, because if you take a stance against being actively involved in politics, then you are basically also saying that death games & forced temple prostitution should still be legal.

Here’s just a partial list of abuses Christians and churches in the past have helped to overcome: slavery, racism, segregation, kidnapped brides, death games, gladiatorial combat, infanticide, child labor, child abandonment, child prostitution, child sexual abuse, child marriage, the superstitious killing of twins, elder abandonment, widow burning, cruelty to prisoners, & cruelty to animals.”

“Every one of those practices and thousands of others in history were made illegal only because pastors and elders got their congregation involved in politics and started changing laws in their nation and also in other nations.”

“How heartless, cruel, & mean spirited can we be to say Christians should not be involved in politics? Is this really the stance we want to take? Is this Christlike in any shape, fashion, or form?”

Jesus confronted the Sadducees, Pharisees, and elders who were like the Senate, Congress, and White House of our day. Jesus loves the little children, and He has compassion for a woman worried about her pregnancy, but He would NEVER tell her to kill her baby. He would expect the church to offer her alternatives, protection, and care for herself and baby.

Jesus is not ok with children being sterilized, mutilated, sexualized, and lied to that they can become another sex. He’s not ok with two men or women marrying. These are not political issues; these are biblical moral issues so why is the church silent? Why are so many Christians afraid to speak the truth? The Bible isn’t silent!

The Gospel and Jesus tell us that the truth will set us free. Don’t we want others to be free from the sin that so easily entangles and the lies that are ruining their lives?!

The church and Christians should be taking an active role in helping confused, scared, and mentally ill people. Imitating Jesus by confronting the issues with compassion, love, solutions, and most importantly, the truth so that no one will become a victim to Satan’s lies.

Our Christian Republican Congressman Russ Fulcher was one of the speakers at the AWARE Conference and took questions from the audience. He said when he walks into the Congressional chambers in Washington D.C., he feels the spiritual battle enveloping the room, but he also can sense the prayers of his constituents. He told us the best way to support him is in prayer. So pray for your federal and local officials. Not just the ones you agree with but pray for everyone to have a spiritual awakening.

Rick Green of Patriot Academy and Wall Builders reminded us of our biblical citizenship responsibility. 40 million Christians do NOT vote! Faith without works is dead.

14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. 18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. 19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. James 2:14-19

We don’t want politicians in government; we want patriots! So we need to do our homework and research the voting records of the people we’re electing.

 Green also cautioned the church has lost our commission to go beyond the church walls and take the Gospel to the world. We’ve stopped making disciples.

We need to remember that our freedom comes from God who is in every aspect of our life, yes even politics. There is nothing in our life that God isn’t Lord over! Everything is under His jurisdiction. The church must be salt and light, but our culture is spoiling because there’s not enough Christian salt preserving the country we love.

 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. 14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matt. 5:13-14

Pastor Marty Yost of Mountain Heights Calvary Chapel who hosted the conference also echoed Rick’s message reminding us that yes there are Rinos in politics, but there are also what he calls “Binos”—Believers in name only—who have forgotten the Great Commission which Jesus appointed to every Christian.

18 Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. 19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations,[a] 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.” 28:18-20 NLT

Jesus didn’t say Christian believers, disciples of Christ, have the authority to go into every part of the world except politics. Jesus said go everywhere that He is, and He is everywhere.

If you’re still uncomfortable with the word “politics,” focus on how God wants you to get involved in fighting immorality and unrighteousness in places where you can have a godly influence and pray for those in government.

17 Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it. James 4:17

If you received this article by email, please go to the blog on my website and leave a comment. I reply to all comments and appreciate hearing your thoughts.

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It’s Holy Week and Our God Still Reigns!

It was difficult deciding what to write as we start Holy Week before Easter with such sadness and turmoil in our world. But as I prayed about whether I should focus on the evil we’re all watching take place or the God whose only Son went to the Cross under evil circumstances to offer us a way out of personal sin and guilt, I quickly knew the answer when God gave me several clues as He always does.

First, as I posted on Facebook the pictures of those six precious innocent Chrisitan children and adults at The Covenant School in Nashville, Tenn. gunned down by a mentally ill suicidal transgender woman who looked into the eyes of those three children, a substitute teacher, the custodian, and the head of the school. . . then pulled the trigger . . . I saw the epitome of evil.

Evil begets evil!

There is an evil belief system infecting our culture that people can play God and become their own gods. Doctors who should be helping troubled gender dysphoria patients receive treatment to learn how to live in the bodies God gave them are instead lying to them that they can become the opposite gender by being pumped with hormones and sterilizing drugs and mutilated with irreplaceable castration, hysterectomies, and mastectomies at ages when children often think they can fly too.

Those doctors, medical professionals, and facilities are as evil as the ones killing unborn babies. Instead of offering redemptive healthcare, which they take an oath to perform, they’re participating in child abuse and infant genocide. And as evidenced by the militant attitude of the trans movement and pro-abortion advocates, no one is happy or successful in trying to play God.

The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good. Psalm 14:1

As I changed my Facebook cover photo to the pictures of those six who were mercilessly gunned down, God prompted me to also change my profile picture to the opening picture of this blog. He was guiding my hurt, heartbreak, pain, anger, and frustration back to focus on Him, the One and Only true God.

Then the title of this morning’s (3/31/23) Our Daily Bread was “Rest Assured in God” with the verse from Isaiah 26:3 You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. Karen Pimpo wrote in the accompanying article, “When our world is troubled, how can we find rest? The Bible’s clear: there’s peace for those who trust in God, regardless of their circumstances.”

While browsing through Facebook before I sat down to write to you, I came across a post from Fox & Friends on their Faith & Friends concert series of a performance with Phil Wickham of his new song “This is Our God.” I’d seen that post several times, but this morning I opened it up weeping as I listened to the timely words of the song. I hope you’ll go to the link and worship too.

It was clear God was reminding me that our only hope is belief in our Comforter and Savior, Jesus Christ, and nothing should distract us from this truth. With so many being lied to and even murdered because of Satan’s lies, our mission is to tell everyone of God’s overriding truths. The families burying their loved ones this Holy Week will mourn the loss of their loved ones while celebrating that they are in the arms of Jesus. Heavenly joy, but earthly sorrow for now.

“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:32

“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” 1 Cor. 15:55

Good Begets Good and Our God is a Good God!

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. Is. 53:5-6

Isaiah 53:5-6 is the message of Easter we can’t ever overlook in the tragedies and unjustness of our culture. J. J. Packer said, “We are cruel to ourselves if we try to live in this world without knowing about the God whose world it is and who runs it.”

What is happening in our world doesn’t distract Jesus. He cares about what is happening in our heart!

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.—Ezekiel 36:26

What should we do this Holy Week to prepare our hearts for an Easter celebration?

1. Fill your mind with Words from the Lord and not from the media.

Let’s take a break from the biased media and focus our minds on the reason our Lord and Savior went to the cross—to offer us eternal life regardless of what happens in this life. We don’t want to die, but if Jesus is in our heart, we have the assurance that we will be alive with Jesus for eternity. That should calm our hearts and comfort those who have lost loved ones or maybe just received an unwanted diagnosis.

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.—Romans 12:2

I heard Pastor Greg Laurie say once in a Palm Sunday message, “There are five gospels . . . you’re the 5th! You are the temple of God.” Read the four Gospels, Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John. Get to know Jesus up close and personal. Walk with Him in His shoes; listen to His words and stories.

  • What was He trying to get people to understand?
  • What does He want you to understand?
  • Look for His personal message to your generation and how to influence the next generation for Christ.
  • What does He want you to do during the crises in our country? In our world?

If you were giving the sermon this Easter, what would you include?

2. Tell people what Jesus means to you. Why you love Him. That even while you were a sinner, He still loved you enough to die for you!

Our church has a Cowboy Breakfast as an outreach for the community on Easter Sunday, and Facebook just reminded me that I was the speaker 10 years ago. It was my privilege to share the Gospel and I didn’t worry what faith or lack of faith in those attending. Easter is about salvation through belief in Christ Jesus and that was my message.

My then 6-year-old granddaughter, Katelyn, shared the microphone with me to recite John 3:16. I was so proud of her! The next year she told me, “Grammie, I want to share John 3:16 at the Cowboy Breakfast again.” Since I wasn’t the speaker, she didn’t get that opportunity, but I pray she never hesitates to share the Gospel message.

God blessed Katelyn and me with a boldness that Easter morning to share the Gospel unashamed of our Savior with gratitude for His sacrifice and rejoicing at His resurrection. Here’s what one attendee wrote to me later:

I wanted to let you know how much I appreciated your message at the Cowboy Breakfast. It was clearly presented and probably the best explanation that I have heard so that people are not confused about making a commitment to Christ. So often people are afraid to say what is needed because they are concerned about offending their audience. It was important that you were clear on what sin is and how to make a personal commitment. I also received feedback from members of our Vineyard Home Study Group that were pleased that the truth could be so clearly spoken.

Thanks again for the time and effort that you put into preparation for those who needed to hear this message.

Other years, members of our church share their testimony with friends and neighbors who attend the breakfast. My husband Dave gave his testimony one year.

When is the last time you told someone your testimony of surrendering your life to Christ? It’s hands down the most important and meaningful day in your life. Yes, it’s greater than the day you married, gave birth, bought your dream house, or signed that important contract. Your rebirth in Christ should top them all!

Yet, we eagerly tell the story of these less significant events in our life, but often are reticent to tell the story of Jesus coming into our life.

We know He is with us every day, but do we give Him the credit and the glory for the things we know He has done and is doing in our life?

This week ask yourself why you don’t talk more about Jesus?!

Then share your salvation story with someone! Reflect back on the day the death and resurrection of Jesus really meant something to you. Tell people why it still does.

There is no greater witness to God’s goodness than sharing what he has done in your life. No one can question your testimony because it’s your personal experience.

Your story becomes your testimony when the focus is on God, not on you.

Your testimony simply shares your life before Jesus. How he changed your heart and spiritually, maybe literally, saved your life.

God has given you a story to share, so seize every opportunity to tell it.

Sometimes, God redeems your testimony by surrounding you with people who need to hear your past so it doesn’t become their future.

Who needs to hear this Easter what Christ has done for you and could do for them?

At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.—Titus 3:3-7

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

You might also enjoy an article I wrote for Crosswalk, 5 Refreshing Ways to Welcome Renewal Beyond Easter.

Have a blessed Easter the way the Lord leads you to celebrate this glorious day and honor the sacrifice He made for each of us who believe in Him to have eternal life forever!

No matter what happens in our world, remember that Our God Reigns!

Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: “Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Rev. 19:6

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

Also, if you don’t receive my monthly newsletter you can sign up on my website. Here’s the link to the March Newsletter with the opening article, “Are Your Women’s Ministries and Your Hearts Open to Teens?” I would appreciate receiving your response.

I also want to make you aware of a free e-book to share with parents and grandparents by Brandon Showalter and Jeff Meyers, Exposing the Gender Lie: How to Protect Children and Teens from the Transgender Industry’s False Ideology.

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