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Turning Panic into Praise

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Many people are panicked right now and worried about how Russia invading Ukraine might affect them personally. Are we going to see WWIII? It’s understandable also to be concerned with the rising costs at the gas pumps and the grocery stores. This is especially disconcerting for people like us on a fixed income or those who find themselves living paycheck to paycheck with rising inflation.

But imagine those families in Ukraine living a normal life one day and the next hovering in a cold basement or bomb shelter because a crazed dictator has decided he wants their country for himself! Just like that, the Ukrainian people are thrown into panic yet we still see many video clips of them singing hymns and praying to God as they await their fate. No doubt, there will be many testimonies of God’s protection, provision, and intervention.

CBN News reports “Ukrainians are setting up bomb shelters and turning to God. They continue to pray Psalm 31 amid deadly uncertainty.”

O Lord, I have come to you for protection;
    don’t let me be disgraced.
    Save me, for you do what is right.
2 Turn your ear to listen to me;
    rescue me quickly.
Be my rock of protection,
    a fortress where I will be safe.
3 You are my rock and my fortress.
    For the honor of your name, lead me out of this danger.
4 Pull me from the trap my enemies set for me,
    for I find protection in you alone.
5 I entrust my spirit into your hand.
    Rescue me, Lord, for you are a faithful God. -Psalm 31:1-5

How My Own Panic Turned to Praise

My husband Dave is having his second knee replacement surgery on March 9th and there are so many things to do to get ready for him being in a recovery mode for a few months. If you follow me regularly, you know his first knee replacement surgery in May 2021 was difficult and we’re praying that this one will go much smoother, while also trying to be prepared if it doesn’t.

So a couple weeks ago, I woke up at 4 am in a panic thinking of our long to-do list. We live over an hour away from “civilization” in a small rural mountain community so there are many things we need to stock up on and many preparations to make in advance. After about an hour of mind reeling panic, tossing and turning, I was praying for God to quiet my mind when I sensed the Lord saying gently, “I will be with you, right beside you through it all.”

In relief, I said, “Oh, Lord, of course you will. Thank you for reminding me.”

Back to sleep I went as my panic turned to praise.

God was preparing me for the next week’s events that I could’ve never predicted. As if the Lord wanted to make turning panic into praise personal to us, a habit if you will, Dave and I had two back-to-back “panic” causing experiences. The first one was last Monday when we were at the VA Hospital for Dave’s Pre-op for his upcoming surgery. While in the X-ray department, Dave’s phone rang and I could hear the person on the other end describing our car, which was in the parking garage. As Dave was called to go in for his X-ray, he gave his phone to me and said, “Here, you get the information.”

Police Officer Joe proceeded to tell me that our car had been involved in a “minor accident” and could we come out to meet a police officer at our car. We agreed I would call when we had finished all our appointments. Of course, my mind started panicking again while praying, “Lord, how are we going to fit this in with all the things we have to do before Dave’s surgery? Will our one and only car be drivable? Am I going to be driving a wrecked car while Dave recovers for the next few months? Will we need an estimate and when do we have time for that?” You get the idea of what you’d be thinking too.

When officer TJ met us at our car, he proceeded to tell us how a little old man in a small car backed into us and the officer happened to be driving by as the accident happened. We breathed a sigh of relief as we could barely see the scratch on the back fender. Something about the officer’s gentle and kind way told me he was a Christian, so I asked him, and yes, he was!

Dave and I immediately started praising God for protecting our car, it could’ve been so much worse.

We went from panic to praise!

The very next day, we were back in the car headed to Boise again, but when we backed out of our garage, our driveway was a sheet of ice from the night’s rain. As Dave went to turn and navigate down the driveway, our car lost traction and spun out wedging us between two snow embankments. We were stuck! When we tried to step outside the car it was like being on a skating rink, even though we both had boots on we couldn’t walk on it.

We began frantically calling everyone we could think of to come help us, but all we got were voice mails. We were both panicking, but I kept a continual prayer going for the Lord to send someone to rescue us. After almost an hour, a neighbor drove by and stopped to help dig us out enough to free the car as we slid on down the driveway to the street below. We thanked God for sending Bob to our rescue, our calming guardian angel sent from the Lord!

We went from panic to praise!

Someone reading this week’s blog needs to go from panic to praise. I don’t know who or how many of you need to hear a word from the Lord, but I felt He wanted me to share with you the message learned from our experiences. We’re living in a time of what seems like one crisis after another, and yet, as Christians God wants us to still display the joy of the Lord and believe the words He told me when He said in the dark of night, “I will be with you!” Which He declares over 300 times in the Bible, yet still we forget and panic.

God is with all the Christians in Ukraine and in Russia. He was with those in Canada a few weeks ago, and He is with you and me every day, even when we panic. Yes, there will be trouble in this world but remember . . .

I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 NLT

But now, O Jacob, listen to the Lord who created you.
    O Israel, the one who formed you says,
“Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you.
    I have called you by name; you are mine.
2 When you go through deep waters,
    I will be with you.
When you go through rivers of difficulty,
    you will not drown.
When you walk through the fire of oppression,
    you will not be burned up;
    the flames will not consume you.
3 For I am the Lord, your God,
    the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. Is. 43:1-3 NLT

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9

Then I will rejoice in the Lord.
    I will be glad because he rescues me.
10 With every bone in my body I will praise him: “Lord, who can compare with you?
Who else rescues the helpless from the strong?
    Who else protects the helpless and poor from those who rob them?” Psalm 35:9-11 NLT

A Brief Sabbatical

I’ll be taking a sabbatical from writing for a few weeks. As I wrote in the above blog, my husband Dave is having his second knee replacement surgery on March 9 and I’ll be devoting my time and energy to his recovery. Many people want to comfort us with, “Well, it will be easier now that you know what to expect.” But Dave and I each look at each other knowingly and gently reply that because we know what to expect it’s definitely not easier!

We both covet your prayers as we go through this journey together yet again. We each know we’ll need to rely solely on God to turn any times of panic into praise.

You might enjoy reading an article I wrote for Crosswalk that just posted 23 Uplifting Bible Verses About Loving Each Other

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March 7, 2022
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When You Think You’re God!

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There is only ONE God, though many think they can take His place!

“If you’re going to remain ‘god,’ you’re going to need a Devil to fight. Find an enemy, create a crisis, and stay in power.” Tucker Carlson said facetiously.

Such a smart statement and so true as we watch demigods or wannabe gods doing exactly what Tucker describes. When people are fearful, they tend to be more complacent and controllable. They’ll wear masks, even in the car by themselves, as they watch those enforcing the draconian rules party hardy without masks.

Biden’s Crises

Carlson was talking about Biden at the time whose regime continues to want to hang onto the Covid crisis mandates while it’s now obvious that masks and vaxing won’t prevent Covid and Covid numbers decline. But mandates have power.

And there’s always a new crisis to draw attention away from the last Biden catastrophe. We have the shipping and supply chain crisis and the hospital staffing crisis all created by the vaxing mandates. The crime crisis from government defunding the police and the loss of officers due to the mandates.

These crises led to the inflation crisis, caused by Biden appeasing the progressive left while he tells us from a teleprompter that yes, we’re going to have to sacrifice but he’s doing everything he can to alleviate the pain. The pain caused by his ego and pride that won’t let him admit he made a mistake closing the Keystone pipeline and taking America from energy independence to foreign dependence and begging our enemies to pump more oil for us!!

Forbes recently reported that since 2021, Russia is the United States’ top source of imported gasoline and other refined petroleum products. Lithium, one of the main ingredients in rechargeable batteries used in cars, phones, and other products, chiefly originates in China. 

Who intentionally does that when according to the American Petroleum Institute, we have enough oil in North America to fuel every single passenger car and long-haul truck for the next 430 years! We have enough natural gas to provide electricity for every business and household for the next 535 years and enough coal to provide electricity for about 500 years. Not to mention supplying our allies so they’re not dependent on Russia for energy.

Why then did Joe Biden sacrifice America’s energy independence, cease all exploration for oil and gas, abandon pipeline development, and drive up prices of gasoline, heating oil, and jet fuel and make us once again dependent on foreign enemy oil? 

With Europe and North America buying oil from Russia, we filled Putin’s coffers giving him more than enough money to finance this New Green Deal War currently against Ukraine created by AOC, Bernie Sanders, John Kerry, and yes, Joe Biden. We cutoff our own strength and gave it to Putin. When you create scarcity of fuel, you give opportunity to bad people when you also give them lots and lots of money. If we weren’t satisfying proponents of the NGD, we could put Russia out of the energy business and out of money. Instead, Biden has done the opposite. Combine this new wealth with Biden’s White House repeated catastrophes and mistakes like the Afghanistan debacle, Putin is emboldened.

Many experts have said the invasion of Ukraine could’ve been avoided by simply turning the fuel spigot back on in the USA, the one Biden closed on his first day in office putting thousands out of work, and also announcing that Ukraine would never be in NATO! But when asked why he doesn’t do any of these things, Biden just smiles and picks his teeth, while innocent civilians’ blood flows on the streets of Ukraine! And you know that Putin has his eye on more countries.

Everyone around Biden knew he wasn’t up to the job of President of the United States. I think he knew that himself. But from his earliest days, he made it clear his goal was to be President. Not for a noble goal of making America a better country but for making himself a resident of the White House, even though he leaves for home in Delaware every chance he gets.

We wouldn’t be in the impotent position with Putin as he invades Ukraine if we and much of Europe hadn’t become dependent on Russia for energy. What person in his right mind puts your country in that position and stays there?! Biden could change all that quickly, but instead, he embraces crises to stay in power and lives are lost.

Trudeau’s Crises

Trudeau was also trying to play God in Canada when he initiated The Emergencies Act and Martial Law because peaceful truckers were protesting the mandates he was ruthlessly enforcing. Then instead of negotiating with them like a true leader would do, he created another crisis by treating them like they were the enemy and arresting them, freezing bank accounts not only of the participating truckers but of anyone who supported them or even gave them a cup of coffee in the name of freedom.

Putin’s Crises

Why does Putin want to overtake Ukraine when his own people are protesting the invasion? He’s jailing anyone who isn’t in agreement. Lying, he tried to make Ukraine the enemy saying they were the aggressors and he was simply denazifing the country when everyone knew that wasn’t true, especially since Ukraine’s President is Jewish! Putin too has a god-complex and wants power, position, and prestige while stealing what doesn’t belong to him.

Pride. Ego. Control. Central themes in wannabe gods.

A Prophetic Word

It’s obvious that none of these men personally knows the One and Only true God of the Bible. Our God is kind, caring, and compassionate, while always just, fair, and omniscient. “God opposes the proud, but shows favor to the humble” (James 4:6). He wants peace and blessings for His people that He loves so dearly. But He also tells us to beware of the enemy and prayerfully suit up in our spiritual armor (Eph. 6:10-18) to take our stand against the inevitable evil.

I believe we’re actually watching prophecy fulfilled in our lifetime. The morning after the first attack on Ukraine, the Lord gave me Matt. 24:3-8.

3 As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” 4 Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. 6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains.

I’m not the only one God spoke this to. Pastor Greg Laurie has a short video clip explaining how he sees prophecy occurring as more signs of Jesus’ return and the last days prophecies are happening closer and closer together. Plagues, tyrant leaders, wars. His reference is the same one the Lord gave me in Matthew 24 and Laurie also mentions Ezekiel 38, where Magog is thought to be modern-day Russia with Israel in its sights.

One of the things that has always baffled me over the years was that America is not mentioned in the last days. I always wondered how could that happen when we’re recognized as the world’s super power? How could America the Great suddenly disappear from the global picture? Well, watching the damage that Biden and his people have done to America in only thirteen months, I suddenly see how it could become reality.

Was Biden’s election all part of God’s endtimes plan? We know that everything God does has a purpose and He can work all things out for good in the end.

I don’t say this to frighten you, but like Pastor Laurie says at the end of the clip that I shared earlier, we need to be looking up! Not living in fear but living in anticipation as we see the time drawing closer and closer to the rapture.

Believers need to be sure that everyone we love and care about also knows the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior. There’s no time to waste. No one knows the day or moment of Christ’s return, but He’s giving us so many clues that it could be soon. Take it seriously. What we’re watching now is only a small window into the horror of the tribulation and we don’t want anyone to have to go through that misery.

36 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,[f] but only the Father. 37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.

42 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. Matt. 24:36-44

Let’s continue praying for the people of Ukraine and for world leaders to realize they aren’t God, they’re elected to be shepherds and protectors of their people and seek God’s wisdom. They must surrender to God for guidance and direction as we watch God’s Word coming alive in our generation. It’s an exciting time and God chose us to be here at this moment in history. Pray to understand the role He wants you to take and then be sure you’re marching in the Lord’s army.

3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. Eph. 4:3-6

Note: If you don’t receive my monthly newsletter, I hope you’ll read my opening article in the Feb/March edition: Every Believer is a Winner! You can also sign up for my newsletter at my website.

“If you do not take an interest in the affairs of your government, then you are doomed to live under the rule of fools.” – Plato 

Russia-Ukraine war: ‘Pray for the safety of the Ukrainian people,’ says Chicago pastor | Fox News

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February 28, 2022
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Are You Willing to do What Must Be Done?

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“The question should never be, ‘What will happen if we try, but nothing happens?’ The question that should haunt us is, ‘What if God is about to turn the tide of evil in our favor, but we are too timid to do as the occasion demands?’”

The above quote is from Mario Murillo’s 2/17/22 blog, It Is A Reckoning. Mario also quoted 1 Samuel 10:6-7 in his article, 6 At that time the Spirit of the Lord will come powerfully upon you, and you will prophesy with them. You will be changed into a different person. 7 After these signs take place, do what must be done, for God is with you.

There are so many signs in our world today that something must be done and it’s exciting to watch people doing something about the tyranny and evil trying to control citizens in America and neighboring Canada. When the Canadian truckers first started the convoy to their Capital city Ottawa, I listened to many of the truckers interviewed on FOX News and Newsmax. My ears perked up when the very first trucker I heard was actually a pastor and he said that not everyone in the convoy were Christians. That was my first clue there were many Christians uniting with non-Christian truckers in a peaceful protest for the same cause: FREEDOM!

I saw videos on Social Media of these truckers singing hymns and praying on the steps of the Parliament. They even did a Jericho March around the Parliament Building in Ottawa for 6 days. Thursday, Feb 17 was Day 7. Like the original Jericho March (Joshua 6), they circled the building 7 times then met at the centennial flame fountain monument in front of Parliament for communion.

At 1:00 PM EST, they ended the Jericho March at the main stage. They invited all men, women, and children across the world to honk horns for seven minutes. It’s time to bring the walls down from around the hearts of all they said. They then heard messages from pastors.

These Canadian truckers are doing what they feel must be done for freedom and the Christians know that God is with them!

But like Pharaoh, their Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s heart gets progressively harder as he becomes even more tyrannical and unreasonable with the Truckers Convoy. Instead of meeting with them to discuss their issues, he’s freezing their bank accounts, stealing their wood and gas, commandeering donations from GoFundMe, arresting people, and doxing the names and contact information of citizens sending donations to help the truckers with food, gas, and accommodations, all while denouncing them as terrorists. The same Trudeau who walked and took a knee with the BLM protestors and never denounced their violence and destruction. These Truckers are shoveling snow, picking up trash, setting up bounce houses for the kids, praying and worshipping together. The only violence seems to be coming from the government.

One sweet Gelato storeowner had me crying with her as she told her harrowing story to Jesse Watters of the harassment she received when she was doxed for her small donation to the truckers. You can hear this sweet woman’s story here.

She was just doing what she felt must be done to show kindness to her fellow Canadians!

Three organizers of the Freedom Convoy, Tamara Lich, Chris Barber, and Pat King have been arrested, but for what? “Counseling to commit the offense of mischief.” Seriously, that sounds like a schoolyard concocted charge when they couldn’t come up with anything they were doing wrong. Canada has become a police state with orchestrated charges.

Lich, Barber, and King were just doing what they felt must be done to regain freedom in Canada.

A group of Canadian clergy sent an open letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau rebuking him for invoking the Emergencies Act to quell the Freedom Convoy and for other actions they described as “tyrannical.” “We are writing to you as representative pastors of Christian congregations from across the nation and as law-abiding citizens who respect the God-defined role of civil government and uphold the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the highest law of our land, which recognizes the supremacy of God over all human legislation.” Read the letter signed by 29 clergymen and remains open for other Canadians to sign.

These Christian Pastors did what they felt must be done to protect the God-given rights of all Canadian citizens.

Back in America, Jennifer Sey, a longtime Levi Strauss & Co. executive, says the apparel company has forced her out over her outspokenness against closing schools due to COVID-19. Sey forfeited a $1 million severance package that would have silenced her in order to continue espousing her views.

Sey, a mother of four, explained that she had long been an advocate for children and that Levi’s had always supported her in the past when she expressed other political views, but that all changed after Sey refused to stop speaking out against California shutting down public schools in the name of safety due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“I’ve been a Democrat my entire voting life,” Sey told FOX Business in an interview. “I feel the party has abandoned their principles and I find myself quite politically homeless . . . Free speech and kids are not ‘right wing’ issues and it should not be considered beyond the pale to stand up for these things or even be ‘right wing’ for that matter . . . It certainly shouldn’t make one unemployable.”

Jennifer says she was accused of being racist despite being a longtime supporter of racial equity and the mother of two Black children. Levi’s head of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion asked her to go on an “apology tour” for her views, but she refused. 

Sey wrote in her own article, Yesterday I Was Levi’s Brand President. I Quit So I Could Be Free I turned down $1 million severance in exchange for my voice, that she “was on track to become the next CEO of Levi’s” and that “the only thing standing in my way was me. All I had to do was stop talking about the school thing.”

Jennifer Sey did what she felt must be done to protect children, maintain free speech, and stop censorship!

Here’s one more and I’m sure there are more. At least, I hope so!

If you watched the Super Bowl, you saw Michele Tafoya on the sidelines interviewing the Rams about their big win. The program newscasters commented that this would be Michele’s last broadcast as she was retiring after eleven successful years at NBC. Then I saw her interview on Tucker Carlson where she explained she was leaving so that she can “give back to America.” I encourage you to listen to the interview because they also show clips of her on The View denouncing Critical Race Theory. Here’s a story she told on The View, which resulted in outrage from the liberal show hosts:

“My son’s first best friend was a little African-American boy. They were inseparable. Get to a certain age, they start having what’s called an affinity group, which means you go for lunch and pizza with people who look like you . . . There is a big, big focus on the color of your skin. Why are we even teaching that the color of skin matters? Because to me, what matters is your character and your values.”

When Tucker Carlson asked Tafoya why she would make such a bold and brave move leaving her career, she responded:

“This has been on my mind, I’ve been waking up every day with a palpable pull at my gut. My middle-ground, moderate viewpoint is not being represented to the rest of the world. And so rather than, you know, just banging it out on Twitter or Instagram every day, I thought, ‘I’ve got to do something.’ I have benefited greatly from the American dream, and I feel like for the sake of my kids and because I so love this country, I’ve got to start giving back.”

She quit a coveted and lucrative career to join a fight that will put her in the crosshairs of a global political movement that annihilates reputations and tries to cancel its adversaries.

“I don’t care if I’m attacked,” Tafoya told Tucker Carlson. “I really am not afraid of that, and I guess I feel like so many people now are afraid. Yeah. And I’m not. Listen, I know there are repercussions for whatever I choose to say. And I’ve talked to my kids’ school about it. You know, please don’t hold this against my kids. I’m speaking for me. I’m speaking for my family. But please don’t hold this against my kids.”

Jason Whitlock of Blaze Media describes Michele, “Michele Tafoya is fearless. Her obvious courage will be ridiculed, her reputation smeared. She’s a one-woman freedom convoy. Are you man or woman enough to join her?” [Read more of Whitlock’s article Michele Tafoya Risked Everything to Start Her Own Freedom Convoy]

Michele Tafoya is doing what she feels must be done to combat evil Critical Race Theory that’s indoctrinating our children and culture with racism and to also support conservative views not held by her employer.

What About You?

I’m sure you know where I’m going with this . . . what is God nudging you with a knot in your stomach when you wake up in the morning? Something you know must be done and He’ll be right there beside you as you do it? All the people I’ve mentioned in this article made a sacrifice of comfort, income, safety, security, conformity, employment . . . to do what they knew must be done. So don’t expect what God puts on your heart to be easy or without you giving up something in exchange for doing what you know is right and must be done.

It’s so easy to sit in the comfort and safety of our homes and not risk anything but simply complain about the atrocities and evil we see in our world today. It’s another thing to do something about it no matter the cost.

As you read your Bible and pray, ask God to show you through His Word: Lord, what do you want me to do that must be done?

Romans 8:28 assures us that every Christian is called for a specific purpose. 28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. (NLT)

Determine what you do best, what you’re called to do, and then just do it!

Therefore I, [Paul] a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. Eph. 4:1 NLT

Let’s celebrate and pray for all those who do not live in fear but choose courage knowing God is with us in the battle between good and evil as we do what must be done!

In God I trust and am not afraid. What can man do to me? Psalm 56:11

For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps. 1 Peter 2:21 NLT

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February 21, 2022
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A Society Crumbles That Doesn’t Recognize Sin!

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I often ask in my articles: When’s the last time your pastor spoke about sin? Called sin out for what it is: an abomination to God.

Why are so many pastors and Christians afraid to use the word “sin” when the New Living Translation of the Bible mentions sin 1792 times!

You hear in church that Jesus went to the Cross to offer forgiveness for our sins, but pastors usually stop short of actually delineating the definition of sin. Listing and outlining sins that break Jesus’ heart and soil your relationship with Jesus.

Here’s a good Scripture passage to start with that does require some explanation but that’s what a pastor is trained to do. Verse 16 also acknowledges that contrary to what we’re often told about not confronting a fellow believer over their sin because that might be judging, it’s what we’re called to do and pray for them!

16 If you see a fellow believer[a] sinning in a way that does not lead to death, you should pray, and God will give that person life. But there is a sin that leads to death, and I am not saying you should pray for those who commit it. 17 All wicked actions are sin, but not every sin leads to death.

18 We know that God’s children do not make a practice of sinning, for God’s Son holds them securely, and the evil one cannot touch them. 1 John 5:16-18 NLT

In deciphering this passage, I read a commentary by Pastor John Piper who answers the question of what is a sin that does not lead to death. “Here’s my [Piper’s] answer: the sin that does not lead to death (that is, eternal death or damnation — which is what I think John means) is any sin that we commit that we are, by grace, capable of truly confessing and repenting from. . . The sin that does not lead to death is any sin—that we are still, by grace, able to authentically, humbly confess, and repent from.”

1 John 3:9 NLT further explains that Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God.

So we know that even as Christians we still have a propensity to sin in this world (Romans 3:23), but as born-again Christians, we should recognize our sin, repent, and ask for forgiveness. We don’t intentionally keep on sinning.

8 If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. 9 But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts. 1 John 1:8-10

We can’t claim as believers that we’ll never sin again nor that every sin leads to damnation. But there is a sin that does lead to death and damnation and that’s the denial of Christ in your life.

So if you know someone who claims to be a Christian but they’re living a sinful life with no repentance, there’s a good chance they’re not actually saved and you want to pray that their eyes will open to the truth before it’s too late.

One commentary explains further: There is a sin unto death; which is not only deserving of death, as every other sin is, but which certainly and inevitably issues in death in all that commit it, without exception; and that is the sin against the Holy Ghost, which is neither forgiven in this world nor in that to come, and therefore must be unto death; it is a sinning willfully, not in a practical, but doctrinal way, after a man has received the knowledge of the truth; it is a willful denial of the truth of the Gospel, particularly that peace, pardon, righteousness, eternal life, and salvation, are by Jesus Christ, contrary to the light of his mind, and this joined with malice and obstinacy; so that there is no more or other sacrifice for such a sin; there is nothing but a fearful looking for of wrath and fury to fall on such opposers of the way of life; and as the presumptuous sinners under Moses’s law died without mercy, so must these despiteful ones under the Gospel; see ( Matthew 12:31 Matthew 12:32 ) ( Hebrews 10:26-29 ) . 1 John 5:16 – Meaning and Commentary on Bible Verse (biblestudytools.com)

Does God Ever Turn His Back on the Sinner?

Romans 1:18-32 lists sins that are so depraved that if the sinner will not truly repent from and stop sinning, God will turn them over to the sin and turn away from them. I can’t imagine the emptiness of a soul where God turns his back and says I’m done with you. Live your sinful life.

18 But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness.19  They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. 20 For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.

21 Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. 22 Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. 23 And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles.

24 So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies. 25 They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. 26 That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. 27 And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved.

28 Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done. 29 Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. 30 They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents. 31 They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy. 32 They know God’s justice requires that those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too. Romans 1:18-32

So Why Am I Writing About Sin Today?

I had an ah-ha moment listening to two people on a news program last week who provided a credible perspective on a question I think many of us have:

How could Democrats so unashamedly support and encourage sin?

  • Murdering babies.
  • Releasing dangerous criminals back onto the streets to kill and maim innocent people.
  • Allowing cartels to stream illegals, drugs, and sex trafficking, even of young children, across our borders.
  • Refusing to punish theft and robbery.
  • Lying, lying, lying!

How could they promote, even in our schools, homosexuality and transgenderism and deny that there are scientifically only two genders?

Where is there conscience?

I watched the National Prayer Breakfast where politicians from both sides of the aisle participated and professed faith, and yet the left is championing and even legalizing so much evil and sin?! How can this be?

The answer came from an unlikely place but it awakened me to the answer as to “Why?”

I was listening to Jesse Watters new Primetime Show and was startled when in his opening monologue discussing Democrat leaders instituting soft on crime policies, he said the following:

“Why is it so hard for Dems to hold criminals accountable? Psychologically, many on the left can’t process the concept of good and evil. They can’t recognize sin. It takes on too much of a religious connotation and they’re very much uncomfortable with the idea of judgment.”

Wow! I said to the TV screen: “That’s exactly it Jesse! You nailed it!”

Watters doesn’t typically speak on religious topics, so I was surprised that he articulated this phenomenon so clearly. It made perfect sense as I’ve asked myself so many times how the left could be endorsing and enforcing such evil. You can hear Jesse’s entire monologue here. I recommend listening to it because his conclusion was that the Democrats have their own “savior complex,” insinuating that they’re trying to replace the real Savior. They want to be gods!

Sen. John Kennedy of LA commenting on Jesse’s monologue said, “the Dems have all gone woke and “the ‘wokers’ motto when it comes to crime is, ‘hear no evil, see no evil, prosecute no evil.’”

It’s true. When is the last time you heard a liberal denounce the deterioration of civility as “evil,” unless they’re referring to a conservative?

The 70th National Prayer Breakfast was truly pathetic. I didn’t hear anyone say Jesus even once and I think God was only mentioned in the salutation, “God bless America.” Democrat Senator Kristen Gellibrand introduced Biden as a “man of faith” and yet when he spoke, he never once mentioned his faith. He just predictably talked about himself. Harris patronizingly said she remembered going to church with her parents as a little girl but said nothing about having “faith” as an adult. The keynote speaker focused on you guessed it, racism.

Here’s what Rev. Billy Graham said at the National Prayer Breakfast in 1964. It’s still so true today! Sadly, our society is crumbling because those in power are progressively embracing sin, endorsing evil, and excluding the One and Only Savior, Jesus Christ!

“Home problems, business problems, health problems, family problems, personal problems. We want to scream at life. We want to bury our heads in the sand and say, ‘That maybe it’ll go away.’ But it doesn’t go away, it’s still there…Jesus said there would come a time in history when men would be pressed like this from all sides and He said there will be no way out. Except one. He said there will be one way out and only one. He said, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man can enter the Kingdom of God except by Me.’”

16 These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to each other, and render true and sound judgment in your courts; 17 do not plot evil against each other, and do not love to swear falsely. I hate all this,” declares the Lord. Zech. 8:16-17

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February 7, 2022
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Don’t Just Go to Church, Be the Church

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We’ve just come through a period we never thought could happen in America: the government shut down churches. In the beginning of Covid, everyone was still trying to figure it all out. But soon it became obvious that the closures were indiscriminate as large box stores like COSTCO and Home Depot and liquor stores were still allowed to remain open. They were considered essential and churches were not. I wrote blogs during that period encouraging churches not to acquiesce, but sadly, many did. Some closed their doors for over a year and many went online giving the government a taste of success in ruling over churches.

Praise God, many bold and brave pastors recognized the tyranny and fought against it to keep meeting. Some at great peril but they understood the church needed to be together to pray, worship, fellowship, encourage each other, and be available to those who were fearful and wanted to know more about the saving grace of Jesus Christ. Even saying the church is family didn’t impact the draconian “rules” because families were being told not to meet together!

You’ve heard it said that freedoms lost or surrendered are usually never regained. But thankfully, most churches have reconvened meeting again in person, and even with the continuing new variants, churches are staying open. Unfortunately, many Christians have not returned because they’re out of the habit or routine or they’re still living in fear. And that’s the enemy’s plan!

The media would have you think that surveys are proving the Christian population is diminishing, but you know better than to believe everything you read and hear. We live in an era where liberals are intent on demoralizing, demeaning, and denouncing Christians and everything we stand for and believe. Marxism/Socialism/Communism is anti-religion. Their cowardly tactic is shame and bullying. Trying to use the power of words, name-calling, and cancel culture to threaten and intimidate us into backing down from our faith and God’s Word. But those who live for Christ alone won’t be fooled or shaken!

I hope you stand with me in not being daunted by the enemy. But instead using this tumultuous time as an opportunity to be a vocal voice for the power of Jesus Christ to overcome evil in our world and in our life! As the apostle Paul told his mentee Timothy: “So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God.” 2 Timothy 1:8

Vine’s definition of ashamed is: “A strong feeling of shame preventing a person from doing something.” Is there something preventing you from doing what you know the Lord is asking of you to do?

If God wants us to do something and the Holy Spirit prompts us—regardless of how “politically incorrect” or unpopular it might be, we need to proudly declare the name of Jesus and follow the Great Commission He left for us to live out. We must unite together against the pressures of this world—no matter how many names they call us, laws they pass to quiet us, or how unpopular we become personally … our job as Christians is to speak and live the Gospel joyfully and fervently.

The True Christian World is Not Shrinking

Reality is that the true Christian population is not shrinking—Christians who would never back down in the face of adversity are actually increasing. What is shrinking is the gap between those who call themselves “Christian” hoping for a free ticket to heaven while following the world’s ways, and those who identify with Christ and are willing to follow Him wherever He leads, even if it means suffering for the Gospel, as Paul did.

Both Jesus and Paul were rivals to the accepted culture of their day and everything they did upset the social order. Why would we think it so strange when we encounter the same reaction and persecution?

Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. John 15:20

The pseudo-Christians are looking for a gospel they’ll never find: one that allows them to not make waves and keep their faith “private.” As that becomes more impossible, their faith becomes weaker and they fall away. Those “so called” Christians become lesser in number.

But to those who have the courage to be unpopular for Christ no matter what—their faith becomes stronger and their stance against the wrongs of this world becomes bolder. Yes, praise God, the true Christian population is increasing. Again, just like Paul tells Timothy, these Christians will:

 With the strength God gives you, be ready to suffer with me for the sake of the Good News. 9 For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time—to show us his grace through Christ Jesus. 10 And now he has made all of this plain to us by the appearing of Christ Jesus, our Savior. He broke the power of death and illuminated the way to life and immortality through the Good News.—2 Timothy 1:8-10

There’s Only One Kind of Christian

God shields every Christian who believes in living out the Bible—and only the Bible. A new term has caught my attention: “Bible-believing Christian.” I shake my head every time I hear it because there is no other kind of Christian. If you don’t believe the Bible is the inerrant Word of God, call yourself anything you want, but don’t call yourself a Christian because that’s blasphemy and heresy.

God ordains the steps of every Christian who has surrendered their life to Jesus and is born-again. We need to be using what He has given us in the time that we have here on Earth. God had a reason for saving us. So when we speak up for God, He gives our words power and He infuses us with courage. Holy God-fearing people love God and others and tell the truth about God to everyone, even when the audience is hostile.

Liberals and nonbelievers try to taunt us with the argument that Jesus loved everyone so Christians should love everyone’s sins. But they’re twisting the word “love” to mean what they want it to mean. To use “love” to justify sin is the exact opposite of what Jesus taught and why He went to the cross.

God loves His creations so much He sent His only Son Jesus to die for them to repent of their sins.

 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

It’s true that Jesus loved the world and that’s why He died for everyone to have freedom from sin—sins that God hates. Jesus didn’t go to the cross so we could keep on sinning, but so that we could live a life free from sin. That’s the true loving Gospel. Sharing the love of Christ and the Gospel with someone is the most loving thing you could do.

As Jesus said to the woman caught in adultery: “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.” 12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:11-12

Sin is Sin Even When Our Family is Doing It

I know firsthand that one of the hardest things as a parent is to watch our children or grandchildren choose to sin. I wrote a book about Praying for Your Prodigal Daughter so I know the heartbreak of feeling like you can’t do anything to stop them. But you can love them and pray for them. The worst thing you can do is enable them by overlooking their sin, indulging their sin, or trying to convince yourself that their sin isn’t really that bad.

Remember, every murderer is someone’s child, but that doesn’t make murder OK. Every alcoholic is someone’s child, but alcoholism is wrong. Every thief has parents, but stealing is a sin. If your child is indulging in alternate lifestyles, having sex outside of marriage, or experimenting with “transgenderism” or homosexuality—it’s all sin. God doesn’t make any mistakes. He made girls as girls and boys as boys and he created girls to fall in love with boys, get married, and then enjoy sex as they come together as one.

The most loving thing you can do for your sinning child, or anyone, is to pray for him or her to seek Jesus, ask for forgiveness, change their sinful ways, and live a righteous life. It’s painful and it takes courage, but my daughter is so glad I never gave up praying for her and today that’s our testimony together.

Christianity is the Only All-Inclusive Faith

When the world says that Christians are “exclusive” that only shows their ignorance of Christianity, the most “inclusive” religion in the world. Jesus is available to everyone. He died for everyone, but sadly, not everyone will accept His loving free invitation to eternal life with Him.

Hell is real and when Jesus returns, those who do not believe in Him will experience that reality.

 I leave you with a scenario that depicts this tragedy:

A young boyfriend and girlfriend were in a tragic accident and died. They’re looking down on the scene:

Girl to boy: “I have to leave you now.”
Boy: “I want to go with you wherever you’re going.”
Girl: “I’m going to be with God, but you didn’t accept him so you can’t come with me.”

Boy: “Did you know this?”

Girl: “Yes …”

Boy: “Then why didn’t you tell me?”
Girl: “I was afraid I would lose you.”

Who are you so afraid of losing here on Earth that you’ll have to say goodbye to them forever in eternity? Don’t be ashamed or fearful to share the Gospel. Someone’s eternal life depends on it.

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6

“When God sees you, for those of us in Christ, he sees his Son, Jesus. And when we get a glimpse of how beautiful he is and how beautiful he becomes in us, we want to join him in beautifying this world!” [A quote from Saddleback Church newsletter “Three important things to believe about Jesus”]

If you don’t receive my monthly newsletter, here is a link to January’s edition and you can sign up on my website to receive it monthly. The opening article is: Are You Ready?

In case you didn’t read last week’s blog I encourage you to read it today as we watch the horrific war on our police officers! Police Officers Have Our Backs; Let’s Have Theirs!

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The opening picture was created by Joshua Lutz, reppnforChrist.com. I saw it and knew immediately what the title of my blog should be. Originally, my title was Christianity Under Refining Fire! which also is a good one to describe the article don’t you think.

January 31, 2022
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In a Word: TRUST God!

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Monday Morning Blogs are back after my holiday sabbatical from writing. I hope you all had a blessed celebration of our Savior’s birth and are ready to start the New Year with God as your Shepherd and Guide! I’m refreshed and refueled, ready to face 2022 with God as my Savior, Provider, Healer, Protector, and so much more.

2022 is starting out with many of the same challenges and struggles carrying over from the past year with new ones on the horizon. But one thing we as Christians can always count on every year: Our God Reigns! He never changes and He is faithful to His faithful followers no matter the circumstances we find ourselves encountering.

Proverbs 3:5-6 is a familiar verse and one we must hold close to our hearts and live out, not just memorize!

Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. Pr. 3:5-6 NLT

As Christians, we use freely the phrase “trust in the Lord,” but recently I was challenged to consider what does it really mean to solely trust God.

A familiar hymn we sing in church, Trust and Obey, says there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey. Who doesn’t want to be happy in Jesus?! It seems the only way to do that is to not only trust in Jesus, but to also obey His Word and His Ways. It’s two-fold!

My Trust and Obey Encounter for 2022

In the past few years, I’ve prayed for a word from God that He specifically wants to use in guiding my life in the upcoming year. A word I would pray every morning to direct my actions and thoughts throughout the day. I don’t take this “word” selection lightly. I pray about it and look for confirmations the Lord always provides. When I select one, I find it helpful to share my word with friends so they can encourage me to stay faithful to apply the chosen word in my life, and I do the same for them.

2018’s word was Calm, a real challenge for excitable me! 2019 was JOY. 2020 was Glorify. 2021 was Resilience, which a friend advised me not to choose because it’s kind of like praying for patience. Resilience could mean I would encounter many obstacles and hardships, which indeed was the case. But praying for resilience every morning helped me face all those difficulties knowing that God was right beside me to help me endure with grace and bounce back with determination.

Sometimes, I make my words into acrostics:
J-ubliation O-ngoing all Y-ear

C-all A-lways on the L-ord M-oment by moment

I’ve always toyed with choosing “Trust,” but it never seemed the right fit even though I had written it down as a potential yearly word several times. Yet there it was again this year as the New Year approached and I was wrestling with the Lord if trust truly was the word He wanted for me. I wasn’t settled in my spirit on it, and like resilience, I wondered what I would face that would call on my trust in the Lord. After all, don’t I already trust You Lord?

Then on New Year’s Day, we were invited over to some friend’s house for a lovely Italian turkey luncheon. As I talked with one of the guests, I glanced over her shoulder and there on a side table was a wooden plaque that caught my eye. I quietly walked over to it and snapped a picture because I knew the Lord was telling me that TRUST was my word for 2022.

Like most of you, I don’t know what’s going to happen in the coming year in our personal lives or the life of our country, but I do know that every morning, I will need to trust that God does know and like the old hymn Trust and Obey goes on to say . . .

Not a shadow can rise,
  Not a cloud in the skies,
But His smile quickly drives it away;
  Not a doubt or a fear,
  Not a sigh or a tear,
Can abide while we trust and obey.

Not a burden we bear,
  Not a sorrow we share,
But our toil He doth richly repay;
  Not a grief or a loss,
  Not a frown or a cross,
But is blest if we trust and obey.

But we never can prove
  The delights of His love,
Until all on the altar we lay;
  For the favor He shows,
  And the joy He bestows,
Are for them who will trust and obey.

Then in fellowship sweet
  We will sit at His feet,
Or we’ll walk by His side in the way;
  What He says we will do;
  Where He sends, we will go.
Never fear, only trust and obey.

source: https://www.lyricsondemand.com/miscellaneouslyrics/christianlyrics/trustandobeylyrics.html

I’m not saying anyone is more spiritual for having a “word” for the year, but I am saying that trust in God is the core foundation of our faith. Without trust in the Lord, we’re left with misplaced trust in ourselves and/or a failing world which shouts, “trust the science,” when a good portion of the world doesn’t trust God’s scientific creation of two genders, marriage is between a man and a woman, or birth starts at conception! How could we ever trust the fallible government instead our infallible God?!

 Even when his enemies closed in on him, David could still compose his own song about trusting God in Psalm 31. Here are a few verses and I would encourage you to read the entire Psalm . . .

O Lord, I have come to you for protection;
    don’t let me be disgraced.
    Save me, for you do what is right.
2 Turn your ear to listen to me;
    rescue me quickly.
Be my rock of protection,
    a fortress where I will be safe.
3 You are my rock and my fortress.
    For the honor of your name, lead me out of this danger.
4 Pull me from the trap my enemies set for me,
    for I find protection in you alone.5 I entrust my spirit into your hand.
    Rescue me, Lord, for you are a faithful God.

I hate those who worship worthless idols.
    I trust in the Lord.
7 I will be glad and rejoice in your unfailing love,
    for you have seen my troubles,
    and you care about the anguish of my soul.
8 You have not handed me over to my enemies
    but have set me in a safe place.

14 But I am trusting you, O Lord,
    saying, “You are my God!”
15 My future is in your hands.

Love the Lord, all you godly ones!
    For the Lord protects those who are loyal to him,
    but he harshly punishes the arrogant.
24 So be strong and courageous,
    all you who put your hope in the Lord!

Praying for each of you to have a blessed and joyful 2022 as you trust in the Lord even when you don’t understand what He’s doing. Someday, it will all be made clear to us, but for now, we trust and obey.


Those who listen to instruction will prosper; those who trust the Lord will be joyful. Pr. 16:20 NLT

“Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.” Corrie ten Boom

PS If you did pick a word for 2022, please share with us in a comment!

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January 10, 2022
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Christmas Isn’t About a Tree; It’s About God’s Love

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You may have read the title to this blog and said, “Of course, I know that!”

I love having my grandchildren help us decorate our Christmas tree and I especially enjoy the lights. Hubby puts the lights on a timer so they come on in the morning before I wake up and go off at night after I’m in bed. I wake up to our beautiful lit tree and enjoy it until I put my head on the pillow at night.

So this blog is not a discussion of whether or not Christians should have Christmas trees. As long as we’re not worshipping our tree but instead worshipping our Lord, Christmas trees bring joy and beauty to our festive celebration of the birth of Jesus.

What I do want to talk about is the recent trend by evil deranged people burning down Christmas trees. Several well-meaning media reporters equated the burning of the trees as an attack on Christians because Christmas is a Christian holiday. I think it’s a stretch to think the arsonists were going after Christianity, but I did appreciate that the newscasters were emphasizing that Christmas is a Christian celebration.

But at the same time, there was a subtle implication that Christmas trees signify a Christian Christmas. Burning down a Christmas tree is a sick twisted even satanic crime, but a decorated tree doesn’t represent our faith. Our faith is in the birth, death, and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

The Christmas I went through radiation for breast cancer, we didn’t have a Christmas tree. I didn’t have the energy to put one up, but we did set up a mini manger scene. A friend brought us some hay from the feed store, we laid a baby doll wrapped in a blanket on top of it and put stuffed animals all around. That’s where we placed our presents.

For years after, we set up the manger scene along with a Christmas tree. It helped display the real meaning of Christmas to the grandchildren and anyone who visited us.

Make no mistake, Christianity is under attack by the liberal secular cult of “wokeness,” and that is something we do need to be aware of and resist. It doesn’t usually present itself in the form of burning flames that we can visually see but in a new religion of man-made “social justice” rules founded on various groups’ definition of how we should live, not on how God and the Bible designed for us to live.

If we’re not careful, their “statement of woke faith” can begin to creep into our own thinking as we start using their language, terms, and subjecting ourselves to their atheistic beliefs, which oppose and reject God.

In an article “Where ‘woke’ came from and why marketers should think twice before jumping on the social activism bandwagon,” Andrew Sullivan was quoted on what he wrote about woke social awareness as an equal but opposing position to Evangelical Christianity:

And so the young adherents of the Great Awokening exhibit the zeal of the Great Awakening […] they punish heresy by banishing sinners from society or coercing them to public demonstrations of shame […] We have the cult of social justice on the left, a religion whose followers show the same zeal as any born-again Evangelical.

In an article by Jose Gomez, How Should Christians Respond to the Challenge of Wokeness, Gomez wrote, “secularization means ‘de-Christianization.’ For years now, there has been a deliberate effort in Europe and America to erase the Christian roots of society and to suppress any remaining Christian influences.

“In your program for this Congress, you allude to ‘cancel culture’ and ‘political correctness.’ And we recognize that often what is being cancelled and corrected are perspectives rooted in Christian beliefs — about human life and the human person, about marriage, the family, and more.

“In your society and mine, the ‘space’ that the Church and believing Christians are permitted to occupy is shrinking. Church institutions and Christian-owned businesses are increasingly challenged and harassed. The same is true for Christians working in education, health care, government, and other sectors. Holding certain Christian beliefs is said to be a threat to the freedoms, and even to the safety, of other groups in our societies.”

What Can Christians Do to Avoid Wokeness

1. Don’t use their terminology.

I heard Mario Murillo speaking on how Satan is using wokeness to infiltrate our language. The example he used was “transgender.” This is not a word or a concept we would find in the Bible, and we know it’s unbiblical because God only made male and female. He does not create anyone trans or gay. I would add fabricated terms like “gender fluidity” “gender identity” “nonbinary ” “gender confusion” again are words and concepts with no legitimate substance or credible meaning because our Creator God is not the God of confusion. If anyone is confused, where do we as Christians know they should turn? To God and the Bible.

Yet, we as Christians probably find ourselves falling into the trap of using the same language as the woke cult instead of confirming what we know to be true. Why would we do this when they certainly do not use our language in fact their mission is to destroy Christianity because we are anti everything they are for.­­­­

2. Share the Truth in Love

Christmas is a perfect time of year for Christians to proclaim loud and clear what we believe and know to be true: Jesus came into the world as a baby to be our Savior from the sin that so easily entangles us in this world. He came to call sinners, which is everyone, to repentance. He came to seek and save the lost and give His life as a ransom for all who would believe in Him.

With love and joy we can share that Good News. We pray for those who are lost because we know that all things are possible with God. We don’t enable sin but help the broken and broken-hearted to find healing.

We’re never ashamed of what we believe, we don’t compromise or succumb to the world’s ways or give credence to their misconceptions and misguidedness. We pray that God will give us wisdom to live for Him in every area of our life. When people encounter us, they should see the pure love of God. Our every action, thought, and response motivated by love because God is love and God lives in us.

We celebrate CHRISTmas boldly, bravely, and broadly whether or not we put up a Christmas tree. We love our neighbor, praise God for forgiving our sins, and prepare for the imminent Day of His return. Christmas is God’s answer to the Fall. Christmas is redemption. Jesus came to earth to show us the way of love. The Devil can’t manifest in the presence of God’s love.

7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

17 This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. 1 John 4:7-12, 17

Here is another interesting article about Christians and wokeness. How Should Christians Think About “Wokeness”? (frc.org)

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December 13, 2021
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They’re Coming for Our Children!

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We all have children in our life! Whether our own children, grand or great grandchildren, nieces, nephews, friend’s kids or neighborhood children, they all matter to God and they must matter to each of us! I hope you’ll continue to read even if you don’t have children in your life right now, because the fate of our future country will soon be in their hands.

Then people brought little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked them. 14 Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” 15 When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there. Matt. 19:13-15

We know that God loves the little children and His design and desire is that they’re raised in a godly home with parents who teach them right from wrong and how to grow up into upright citizens who will be an asset to those around them and our country. Not every child has that blessing and that’s where the church can step in and embrace these children in the community and schools.

Sadly, we’ve let mentioning Jesus or God be completely removed from conversation in schools, and yet, evil practices like Marxist Critical Race Theory, Black Lives Matter, and gender disunity or “fluidity” are embraced and encouraged. Is it any wonder we have generations of children growing up with drug and alcohol addictions, cutting and eating disorders, anxiety, and tragically suicide is at an all-time high among children. Even those raised in good Christian homes can suffer from these afflictions because they spend the majority of their life in school and not in their home.

That’s an alarming thought, but it’s true.

I’ve said many times before that Satan focuses on disrupting the family and capturing the minds of our children. He doesn’t want generations of Christians growing up in the world; he wants generations of confused radicalized children indoctrinated with his evil ways. That’s exactly what we’re watching as Critical Race Theory is infused into not only curriculum, but the minds of teachers and teaching methods.

Even when racism isn’t directly infiltrated into schoolbooks, it’s become a method of teaching where children are separated by race and every subject is taught through the lens of racism, diversity, and equity. You can watch at this link an interview with three mothers and a school administrator explaining how CRT seeps into curriculum.

Wokeness is a disease spreading through every area of life but especially worrisome is how it’s infecting the vulnerable minds and spirits of our children. It’s a worldview founded in the basic principles of Marxism. Many teachers today are indoctrinated into this radicalized ideology and so it comes naturally for them to teach from that perspective.

We read every day about the firing of conservative teachers who rebel against teaching liberal woke principles! Fired for trying to bring patriotism, sanity, honesty, and clarity into the classroom. We need to pray for good teachers refusing to do the wrong thing!

When teachers were silenced from saying the name of Jesus in schools, I often wondered how Christian teachers coped. As Christians, Jesus is the center of our life. Everything we do and say reflects the perspective of Jesus. Our identity is in Jesus. I know many teachers adjusted by letting Jesus shine brightly through their actions, countenance, and the way they dealt with issues. But how difficult it must be to keep Jesus under wraps in your workplace!

I loved when Tucker Carlson asked Glenn Youngkin, the Christian Republican who just won Governor of Virginia, what Youngkin’s advisors thought when he was so open during his campaign about being a Christian. Youngkin responded that he would never ask them. Being a Christian is who he is and not something he’s ashamed of or could ever hide. He didn’t have to attack Critical Race Theory because he based his campaign on the scriptural and constitutional antithesis that all men are created equal!

Parents Have a Sacred Duty and We Need to Support Them!

We often profess that God can, and will, bring good out of troubling times. Nowhere is this more evident than when the pandemic required kids to participate in school from home via zoom. We started hearing of parents’ alarm at what they heard teachers saying and doing. Many teachers were trying to ban parents from listening in on school sessions, but parents were listening and they heard the woke, racist, gender confusion curriculum their children were learning and often the biases of liberal teachers infused into lectures and behavior.

This wasn’t true of all teachers, but even one bad teacher can harm a child for life!

Today, parents are fighting back! You know school boards are trying to hide their guilt when they take steps to silence the truth from being revealed by alert mama bear and papa bear parents confronting them. So alarmed are school boards that they asked the DOJ to label any parent who questioned them as “domestic terrorists!” And the DOJ did!!!

During the 2016 campaign, Franklin Graham did a prayer tour to all 50 Capitols. My daughter, grandkids, Dave, and I all went to see him on the steps of the Boise Capitol. I remember Franklin saying then that Christians needed to run for local office if we wanted fair and just laws governing us, and he specifically mentioned school boards! It almost seems today like he was a prophet as we watch the damage liberal school boards are doing to our children. But praise God, conservatives ran in recent elections in many states, including in my daughter’s school district, and won!

I heard one parent recently warn parents to stay vigilant. If you don’t fight for the children, no one else will. Pay attention and don’t let your guard down even if you have a conservative school board, know what the individual teachers are teaching.

I’m not insinuating that all teachers are liberal and woke but when a five-year old comes home and asks her mother if she’s evil because she was born white, you know there’s a big problem.

Don’t Let Schools and Government Replace Parents

I would advise parents to get to know your kids’ teachers no matter what the age of your children. I remember my mother going to back-to-school night and knowing my high school teachers. I also remember being moved out of a class because my mom didn’t like how a teacher handled her classes or relating to me. I’m glad my mom cared enough to get involved.

I’ve read many disturbing stories of school counselors encouraging gender fluidity in children and discussing gender change options without ever including the parents! That’s wrong!

Then there’s the promiscuous sex education trying to normalize the gay agenda and gender confusion. I hate to even give these terms and concepts validity because they’re manmade excuses for giving credence to Satan’s attempts to distort God’s creation. What God calls sinful, depraved, and wicked sex practices, the LGBQT agenda receives credibility for and it’s allowed to seep into school curriculum as accepted lifestyles. Children are even encouraged to experiment sexually. Again, it’s evil (Romans 1:18-29) and has no role in public education. Parents need to stand up and take back their rightful place in their children’s social and sexual education. The schools have definitely taken too much liberty.

Here are a few warning quotes from Mark Levin’s book American Marxism.
“Especially pernicious is the American Marxist’s control over our public school and college classrooms, with the full support and active role of the two national teachers’ unions—the National Education Association (NEA) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT)—where your children and grandchildren are being taught to hate our country and are brainwashed with racist propaganda… As the Heritage Foundation reports: “The dissemination of curricular content and instruction based on CRT in K-12 schools is second only in scope to the presence of CRT in post-secondary instruction, where CRT originated.”

“Without your knowledge, let alone consent ‘districts around the country have integrated CRT into school curricula. Both of the nation’s largest teacher unions support the Back Lives Matter organization, with the National Education Association specifically calling for the use of Black Lives Matter curricular materials in K-12 schools. The curriculum is ‘committed’ to ideas such as a ‘queer-affirming network,’ which have nothing to do with rigorous instructional content, and promotes racially charged essays such as ‘Open Secrets in First-Grade Math: Teaching about White Supremacy on American Currency.’”

I also want to warn you about children potentially being asked in school if they want the COVID vaccine without obtaining parents’ permission and/or making it mandatory for attending school. I am not an anti-vaxxer, but please please do your research before you let children be subjected to a vaccine where there is no long-term data. We know that even though children seem to be getting the new Delta Variant easier than the original COVID, the majority of them are not seriously ill and recover quickly. It is not a deadly illness for children but the vaccine could have lasting consequences, which even the FDA admits they’ll only know by giving it to kids now. Don’t let your children be part of this experiment unless you have peace with it.

Raise Your Children in a Godly Home!

Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it. Pr. 22:6

As a kid, I remember always being taught to respect authority, especially teachers and police. I think it’s important today that while we teach our children and grandchildren to be respectful, we now need to teach them to recognize red flags of a teacher or someone in authority that is not teaching them what they’ve learned at home to be right, moral, and the way God wants us to live.

Keep communication open so children feel comfortable coming to you when they hear something at school that doesn’t jive with what you’ve taught them as a parent or grandparent. Parents more than ever need to be sure values instilled in your children come from you!

When my daughter was in high school, she came home saying she was going to believe in both Creationism and Darwinism. She had learned at church that God created the earth, but was taught differently in school. I was surprised, but glad she told me so we could have a discussion and I could help lead her in the direction of truth.

More than ever parents need to ask their children what they’re being taught and help them know how to navigate a world that thinks differently than they do. If children have a firm biblical foundation, they won’t tend to be influenced by an alternate worldview.

Help your children feel safe talking to you and look for signs of confusion. Ask specific questions beyond, “How was your day?” Especially from a boy, you’re just going to get “fine.” Know the classes their taking and conversationally engage them in discussing what they like about their classes and a few “what are your learning?” type questions. Not as an interrogation, but sincere interest.

Pray for all schoolchildren, especially those close to you. Dave and I pray every night for our grandchildren and I pray for them in the morning.

I’ll close with another quote from Mark Levin’s last chapter “We Choose Liberty!” in American Marxism.
“I am often asked on radio what are ‘we’ going to do about recovering our country. Too often, what is meant is—what is someone else going to do to save America. That mind-set is simply unacceptable. If we are to rally to the defense of our own liberty and unalienable rights, then each of us, in our own roles and ways, must become personally and directly involved as citizen activists, in our own fate and the fate of our country.”

I would add that each parent and grandparent must have a mind-set to take a role in not only saving our country for the sake of our children, but saving our children for their own sake!

Note: I had no idea what to write about this week. My mind was blank but God woke me up Friday night and this blog topic kept me awake for several hours. I knew what the Lord wanted me to share. I hope to write some thoughts on the climate-control hoax soon, but nothing is more important right now than the fate and future of our children, the next generation.

Children’s children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children. Pr. 17:6

One generation commends your works to another;
    they tell of your mighty acts.
5 They speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty—
    and I will meditate on your wonderful works.[a]
6 They tell of the power of your awesome works—
    and I will proclaim your great deeds.
7 They celebrate your abundant goodness
    and joyfully sing of your righteousness. Psalm 145:4-7

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November 8, 2021
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Yes, You Can be Biblical and Political

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Have you ever considered that a large portion of the Bible is political?

Look at the names of some Books in the Bible: Judges, 1 and 2 Kings, and Romans.

The Bible is replete with stories of political leaders called and used by God to work with Him in advancing His kingdom on earth and biblical heroes who engaged in politics for the good of the people.

Moses opposed the political rulings of pharaoh and Moses’ persistence against unjust rulings eventually freed the Israelites from political bondage.

The Lord then raised up judges, some were very good and some were very bad, until eventually, the people had a bad King Saul, then a good King David, with many good and bad kings to follow.

Joseph, after many trials, was appointed to the political position of prime minister of Egypt saving the Egyptian people and his own family from a famine.

Esther could have stayed silent while a diabolical plot annihilated her people. But she rose to the occasion and got involved politically realizing she was born for such a time as this.

Daniel and his friends refused the mandates of the king to eat certain foods and later Daniel continued praying to God even when it was forbidden politically. God rescued him from the lion’s den and he went on to hold a prominent political position.

All the prophets boldly spoke out and warned against the impending doom and destruction awaiting the people by kings and politicians.

Nehemiah continued building the wall despite political opposition.

Paul was always taking a political stand against Roman magistrates. In Acts 16:22-24, the magistrates gave orders to beat Paul and Silas and imprison them for sharing the Gospel, but God redeemed their suffering and even the jailer and his family became Christians. Roman government officials were opposed to Paul but God always used it for good. Paul never backed down from calling out the political unjust laws and corruption that went against God’s laws.

John’s exile to Patmos by Roman politics gave us the book of Revelation.

Jesus NEVER cowered to the political opposition that plagued his ministry, even having a violent outburst in turning over tables of greed and corruption. He called out crooked and unjust politicians for their misdeeds and some like Matthew and Zacchaeus were saved.

Yes, the Bible is full of politics and I’ve only given you a few examples.

Our couples Bible study group is now reading Dr. David Jeremiah’s new book Where Do We Go From Here? How Tomorrow’s Prophecies Foreshadow Today’s Problems. Read the “political” chapter titles referred to in Bible prophecy:

A Cultural Prophecy—Socialism

An International Prophecy—Globalism

A Biological Prophecy—Pandemic

A Financial Prophecy—Economic Chaos

A Theological Prophecy—End Times People

A Political Prophecy—Cancel Culture

A Spiritual Prophecy—Spiritual Famine

A Geographical Prophecy—Jerusalem

The Final Prophecy—The Triumph of the Gospel

In the Introduction, Dr. Jeremiah, a modern-day pastor who understands the relevance of the Bible and politics, wrote what Christians must do: “We are not helpless, and our world is not hopeless. Even as the world collapses, the Lord is building His church. We can say something, do something, pray something, preach something, and live by the convictions of Christ.”

Remember what Peter and John said when confronted by unjust politicians who wanted to silence them in Acts 4:

8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! 9 If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, 10 then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. 11 Jesus is “‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’ 12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

13 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. 

18 Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! 20 As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

What the government tried to do to biblical heroes of the Bible like Paul, Peter, John, Silas, and Jesus they are trying to do to Christians right now and the Bible gives us the examples of what we need to do. Biblical love is deep in our heart but now we need to develop our inner courageous warrior that won’t back down or surrender to unjust political tyranny. We need to enlist and engage in the Lord’s army.

Christians Are Also Responsible American Citizens!

I love what Pastor Chuck Baldwin says in his article I Did Not Relinquish My Citizenship When I Became a Pastor. “One of the great fallacies in America today is the assumption that because one is involved in church ministry he is disqualified from being involved in political affairs. This is totally contrary to the values and principles that made this nation great. If one will read American history, he or she will discover that pastors and religious leaders had as much to do with fighting The War for Independence and bringing into existence this great republic as did the political figures of that day. Furthermore, most of the political figures in Colonial America were Christians.”

Did you know that fifty of the fifty-five men who signed the Declaration of Independence were faithful member of organized Christian churches?! Deeply religious Christian men incorporated godly principles into our Constitution. Baptist pastor John Leland was an abolitionist and instrumental in the Bill of Rights. Presbyterian pastor, John Witherspoon, and many other Christians were influential in the founding of freedom in America. They were political Christians who loved the Lord and loved their country enough to get involved.

Have you heard of the The Black Robed Regiment? January 21, 1776, John Muhlenberg climbed into his pulpit in Woodstock, VA to preach wearing the black clerical robe, the traditional dress of preachers in the 18th Century. He read from Ecclesiastes 3:8 “There is a time of war, and a time of peace.” Then he removed his clerical robe revealing a colonial officer’s uniform beneath. He stepped out of the pulpit and challenged the men of his congregation to join him in the fight for liberty.

And there were more black-robed pastors just like him who took a strong stand for liberty and encouraged their congregations not to settle for anything less. The Black-Robed Regiment had its historical beginnings during the Revolutionary War when pastors from across the colonies arose and lead their congregations into the battle for freedom. 

There are modern-day Black Robe Regiments and I read this commentary on one of their websites: The Black Robe Regiment of Pastors.
“Unlike today, the church during this time served as the center-point for political debate and discussion on the relevant news of the day. Today’s church leaders have all but lost that concept of leading their congregations in a Godly manner in all aspects of their worldly existence and are afraid to speak out against the progressive agenda that has dominated our political system for the past century. Through this time the church and God himself has been under assault, marginalized, and diminished by the progressives and secularists.  The false wall of separation of church and state has been constructed in such a manner that most are unaware of its limited boundaries. The church and the body of Christ has been attacked on all fronts and challenged by the progressive courts and groups such as the ACLU while we have sat idle in consent.”

Every pastor needs to put on his “black robe” and boldly and bravely preach the Spirit of Truth. Raising their flock up to courageously prepare the world for the return of Christ and not passively succumb to a regime that is trying to silence objection and remove freedom of speech. Because even as we watch many companies denying religious exemptions from the vaccine mandates, it won’t be long before they come after the Bible which describes as sin much of what the woke world is embracing right now.

A man in a dress was just named the first “woman” four-start admiral in the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps.

A boy in a skirt was allowed to go into a girls’ bathroom and brutally rape and sodomize a 14 year-old girl and the school covered it up until her father was arrested at a school board meeting for trying to talk about this travesty. The boy was transferred quietly to another school where he raped another girl!

But that poor father only trying to seek justice for his daughter at a school board meeting was used as an excuse to label parents as “domestic terrorists”!!

The President of the United States laughs off our freedoms as insignificant in his insane tyrannical vaccine mandates.

What Is God Doing?

Have you wondered why God would let us come under the jurisdiction of such an evil corrupt administration? I’ve prayed about that and given it a lot of thought and there are those I respect who agree with me that God is unearthing the deep dark swamp as the world watches the un-American way they’re governing. I have to think that many of those who voted for Biden must be seeing the truth about him because they’re paying the same price at the gas tank as we are. They’re losing their jobs if they don’t get the jab. Their stores have empty shelves and they’re watching their grocery bill climb. Their kids are forced to wear masks at school. They can’t ignore the travesty and tragedy of Afghanistan and on and on.

The devil is overreacting thinking he’s got us now so he’s not trying to be coy or sly. But he underestimates the wisdom and discernment of God’s people.

Granted there are many who hated President Trump so much they would never admit the horror we’re watching come out of the White House every day. Sadly, I know of Christians who have been blinded, though it’s hard to imagine how they can’t see the reality that bumbling Biden is not capable of leading our country. There are handlers from the Obama administration and probably Obama himself who are pulling all the strings. But many are seeing the truth along with Independents.

If President Trump had won in 2020, the deep dark forces would’ve continued their devious efforts to make it difficult, if not impossible, for him to be successful in accomplishing what our country needs and deserves from a President. So maybe what we’re enduring is the Lord’s way of cleaning house in Washington DC.

Pastors and Christians must be willing to participate in a righteous rebellion against the affront on our Constitutional and religious freedoms the left is attacking. The Religious Restoration Act does not require us to legally prove our faith, but we do need to spiritually prove our faith with our actions.

Pastor David Jeremiah warned in Where Do We Go From Here? “Hopefully, we’ll be able to continue as law-abiding citizens of our various nations, but anytime the government tries to force us to violate our biblical beliefs, we have a responsibility to speak up.”

Peter and the apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than any human authority. Acts 5:29 NLT

Never underestimate the power of the church and of prayer! Be sure you’re in a church that prays together and mentors you in how to be a witness for Christ in a culture that wants to eliminate Him. Jesus can change society for good through his faithful people with a sense of civic responsibility who are strategically placed in neighborhoods, cities, counties, states, and the nation.

There are also currently Christians in Congress, Senate, Governors, local legislators and more will be running for office next year. They are biblical and political and praise God, they’re going into the Lion’s den to protect our liberty and freedom. We need to pray for them because they’re under spiritual and political attack. They need our support.

Plato noted, “One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.” 

With your help I can advance against a troop[a];
    with my God I can scale a wall.

31 “As for God, his way is perfect:
    The Lord’s word is flawless;
    he shields all who take refuge in him.
32 For who is God besides the Lord?
    And who is the Rock except our God?
33 It is God who arms me with strength[b]
    and keeps my way secure.
34 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;
    he causes me to stand on the heights.
35 He trains my hands for battle;
    my arms can bend a bow of bronze. 2 Sam. 22:30-35

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October 25, 2021
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America Has Forgotten Its First Love!

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When the godly are in authority, the people rejoice. But when the wicked are in power, they groan. Pr. 29:2 NLT

The word wicked means those who are morally wrong, hostile to God, anti-God and that describes many who are in authority today in our country.

A country that denies God as its Creator and moral Compass is headed for doom and disaster.

Our founding fathers knew that and so they based the Constitution and Bill of Rights on biblical godly principles. They were men who went before the Lord seeking His guidance. Our country was established on Judeo/Christian values that recognize God created the earth, He created each of us, and people who honor their Creator will succeed. Those who try to deny God and go against the laws of God will fail miserably.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Gen. 1:1 NLT

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

I always laugh at the term “climate control.” Man doesn’t control the climate, God does. Man can barely attempt to predict the weather. But man has no say over when it rains or when there’s a drought or hurricane or the sun comes up in the morning and the moon at night.

Only God knows when He will say it’s time to end the world as we know it. Only God!

35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. 36 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,, but only the Father. Matt. 24:35-36

Many have foolishly tried to play God or give the impression that they had godly powers, always for personal gain, but eventually they’re unveiled as the charlatans they are.

America Has Forgotten Its Identity is in Christ Alone!

Last week Jason Whitlock, a black Christian sports journalist, podcaster, and host for Blaze Media for the show Fearless with Jason Whitlock, appeared on the Tucker Carlson show and clearly put into perspective what’s happening in our country today. Here’s what he said:

“We should be taking our identity in Christ not in skin color. Not in these superficial things your sexual preference or your gender identification. All of these identities have taken precedent over what used to be our primary identity: Are you a believer? Are you a Christian? Once you identify as that, now I can see the commonality between Tucker Carlson and Jason Whitlock.” [Tucker nods his head in agreement and says “Right”]

Jason continues, “We’re both believers. We’re both Christians. We both love our country. Those things that unite us they’re telling us to disavow and embrace things like skin color and sexual orientation, gender identity, those things that separate us they want us to lean into and lean away from God. That’s the mistake we’re making here in this country.” 

Jason gave a sermon right there! And who is the “they” he’s referring to trying to divide us? I wrote about them last week in my blog: We’re No Longer One Nation United Under God. It’s those on the left, including Biden and his administration, who want to turn America into a Marxist/Communist country. The only way they can succeed is to create division among the population and denounce and marginalize Christian Conservatives and our beliefs. They want to deny God!

Jesus wrote about what happens when a church forgets its first love. Imagine what’s going to happen to a country that forgets its first love!

4 “But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first! 5 Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first. If you don’t repent, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches.” Rev. 2:4-5

Removing the lampstand from a church meant that they would fail as a church. That’s exactly what’s going to happen to our country if we forget our first love, Jesus Christ. America will fail.

We’re Watching Authoritarianism Replace Democracy in America

The latest attempt is to silence parents protesting in School Board meetings about the racist, sexual deviant content of what their children are being taught and the fascist attempt to mask all children and even force them to be vaccinated, which has already started in California.

Biden has made it clear the government is coming for our children by characterizing parents who want to have a voice in what their children are being taught as potential domestic terrorists, when it’s the government using a fascist game plan to suppress opposition and take over our country.

I hope that parents aren’t intimidated and continue to take a stand for protecting their children from indoctrination and harm. Don’t let the government have your children. Be respectful and passionate but let your voices be heard. God’s word, not the government, is the final authority and benchmark on how parents are to raise their children.

Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it. Pr. 22:6 NKJV

Next, the Biden administration wants the IRS to monitor every person’s bank account over $600! Oh, and that will require 80,000 new IRS employees, but of course only those who’ve been vaccinated. They want to know if you buy a new couch or computer or sell something on EBay! They’re not going after tax fraud in big business and the wealthy; they’re scrutinizing the middle class struggling to survive or spying on where you give donations.

The left think they’re clever the way they hijack the conversation and come up with their own definition of terms. Justice is really revenge. Equity disguises discrimination. Public safety justifies mandates. Women’s health legalizes murder. Their main goal is to control words and repeat them enough until we start using their words and thoughts too. We must not let that happen.

3 Most importantly, I want to remind you that in the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth and following their own desires. 2 Peter 3:3 NLT

So What Do We Do?

We keep close to God by reading His Word DAILY and praying asking what He wants us to do. He has a plan for each of us. We were all born for such a time as this.

I’ve said many times that God has a purpose for you and me. You’ll not experience fear or frustration when you feel like you’re doing something to make a difference.

“When people quit talking to God, they quit talking to one another. And people who quit talking to God soon get very lonely and depressed. They are actually lonely for God, hungering for communion with Him, yearning for His close love and nearness; but instead of recognizing these needs as spiritual, they blame their lack of fulfillment on their husbands or wives.” ― David Wilkerson

While it’s terribly infuriating and makes us even angry to watch the damage our current administration is doing to our country and our world relations, they are showing their hand clearly and God told us this would happen.

In 2 Timothy 3:1-5 we read, “But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God–having a form of godliness but denying its power. “

Gather together with those who love the Lord like you do for encouragement and support, but also use whatever platform the Lord gives you to share Jesus with those who don’t know Him. Like Jason Whitlock, look for open doors to explain why you can still smile and be hopeful in the midst of the turmoil and chaos we see all around us.

I end conversations and encounters with everyone and anyone cheerfully saying, “Have a blessed rest of your day.” It’s amazing the responses I receive, all positive. Some seem a little surprised but say thank you. Others reply, “You have a blessed day too!”

Remember we don’t belong to some secret society! Just the opposite! Jesus came to earth that all might be saved and He told us not to hide our light but to let it shine brightly for all to see.

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. 5:14-16

That’s exactly what Jason Whitlock did on public TV and it’s what we can do in our private life.

Interesting that the prophet Isaiah could’ve been talking about America when he wrote,

I, yes I, am the Lord, and there is no other Savior. First I predicted your rescue, then I saved you and proclaimed it to the world. No foreign god has ever done this. You are witnesses that I am the only God,” says the Lord. Isaiah 43:11-12 NLT

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October 11, 2021
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