Praise — Page 3 — Woman to Woman Mentoring

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

There’s Power in Letting God Use Your Testimony!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I never tire of telling my story as HIStory.

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

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

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

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

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

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

REVEALING IS THE FIRST STEP TO HEALING.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

March 6, 2023

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Yes, He Gets Us, But Jesus Doesn’t Want to Leave Us How He Found Us!

By now, if you watched Super Bowl, or even if you didn’t, you’ve probably heard about the “He Gets Us” campaign. I’m often asked my opinion. Let me preface by saying, I’ll present what I’ve learned and discerned and then you can prayerfully form your own opinion of whether this campaign accurately glorifies Jesus. I welcome your thoughts and comments.

As I researched and prayed asking Jesus to give me wisdom, here’s the first three things I learned.

1. The originators’ motivation is to give Jesus what they refer to as a better “image” or “brand” than they think the church and Christians are portraying. They want to reach the younger generation with a “Jesus of love and understanding.”

2. Their website, offers choices like reading about Jesus in the Bible using You Version reading plans, which I’ve used too. I do much of my scriptural research on Biblegateway.com and they endorse He Gets Us.

3. There’s also a link on the He Gets Us website to join a chat group, but it doesn’t say who you chat with or who’s leading those groups. You can connect to a church, but what’s the criteria for belief statements of the churches? Can any church with any beliefs be on that list? You can also text for “prayer and positivity.”

I wasn’t impressed with the two commercials on Super Bowl. They seemed directed to a social justice Jesus who loves everyone, which is true He does, but Jesus does not love everyone’s sinful actions. Jesus hates sin that destroys the people He loves. That’s why He went to the cross to offer us redemption, forgiveness, and salvation from our sins. Sin separates us from God; reconciliation brings us back into a right relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ.

The caption on the black and white Super Bowl commercial. “Jesus loves who you hate,” made it sound like we all hate someone. But disagreeing with someone’s actions isn’t hate. Jesus’s message was hate the sin, love the sinner enough to free them from their sins.

²²We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. ²³For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. ²⁴Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. Romans 8:22-23

As a believer in Jesus Christ of the Gospel, I found the commercials confusing and not true representations of Christ, although the first one was endearing. We should come to Him as children.

There is an argument in favor of the campaign because it was Revealed: Hobby Lobby founder behind $3 billion effort to ‘rebrand Jesus’ (msn.com) and how could he be part of something that isn’t spiritually authentic? Here’s what he had to say about it . . . .

Green discussed his involvement in the campaign, and the Super Bowl ad spots, during a November 2022 interview with conservative talk show host Glenn Beck. “We are wanting to say — ‘we’ being a lot of different people — that he gets us,” Green said. “[Jesus] understands us. He loves who we hate. I think we have to let the public know and create a movement.”

Again, who is David Green talking about that we “hate?”

What’s Missing with the ‘He Gets Us’ Campaign?

The “About Us” page on the He Gets Us website opens with: “He Gets Us is a movement to reintroduce people to the Jesus of the Bible and his confounding love and forgiveness. We believe his words, example and life have relevance in our lives today and offer hope for a better future.”

The word missing in that introduction prior to forgiveness is “repentance.” I also question the use of “reintroduce people to the Jesus of the Bible” because Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and always, He doesn’t need a choreographed reintroduction.

The campaign founders describe themselves as “a diverse group of people passionate about the authentic Jesus of the Bible.” Who are these “diverse” people? Since “diverse” is a buzz word for CRT and DEI, what kind of diversity? They don’t explain.

They say, “We [who is we?] simply want everyone to understand the authentic Jesus as he’s depicted in the Bible—the Jesus of radical forgiveness, compassion, and love.” Which is true, but again confession and repentance of our sins comes before forgiveness.

They gloss over the actual Gospel with “Jesus is the son of God, who came to Earth, died, and was resurrected, then returned to heaven and is alive today.” What’s missing is the heart of the Gospel: how and why Jesus died a brutal horrific death on a cross to offer forgiveness of our sins by His blood shed for us. I don’t see sin, repentance, or the Cross mentioned anywhere on the website, which appears to be more a depiction of a feel-good Jesus.

Then again, the “diversity” element: “We also have included many voices in our work here—welcoming diverse perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences to help us address the many concerns and issues we all face.”

What I’ve concluded, along with others, is they’re describing a Universalism “religion” where Jesus loves everyone so no matter what kind of life you’re living, it’s okay with Him. All people will be saved because there is no hell! Heretical. NOT biblical.

Jesus was human so yes, He does get us, but He was not one of us. He was God. That’s the Deity of Jesus I see missing in He Gets Us Campaign.

“The Father and I are one.” John 10:30

Natasha Crain wrote an insightful article I encourage you to read 7 Problems With the He Gets Us Campaign. In her article she writes, “Jon Lee, one of the chief architects of the campaign, says the team wanted to start a movement of people who want to tell a better story about Jesus and act like him. Lee states, “Our goal is to give voice to the pent-up energy of like-minded Jesus followers, those who are in the pews and the ones that aren’t, who are ready to reclaim the name of Jesus from those who abuse it to judge, harm and divide people.”

“But in today’s culture, there’s a popular notion that Jesus was the embodiment of love and all things warm and fuzzy, whereas His followers who talk about judgment, sin, objective morality, the authority of Scripture, and so on, are hopelessly at odds with what He taught. The He Gets Us campaign plays straight into that misconceived dichotomy.”

Crain continues, “Christians who adhere to clear biblical teachings on hot topics like the sanctity of life, gender identity, and sexuality, for example, are consistently accused of “harming” others by even holding those beliefs. Those who speak the truth about what God has already judged to be right and wrong are accused of being “judgmental” themselves. Those who understand Jesus to be the Son of God—the embodiment of truth, not warm fuzzies—are accused of being divisive when rightly seeking to divide truth from error as the Bible teaches (1 John 4:6).”

She then asks, “So my question is, when Lee says that he wants to rescue the name of Jesus from those who “abuse it to judge, harm and divide people,” does he mean that he wants to give people a more biblical understanding of Jesus, or does he want to rescue an unbiblical, culturally palatable version of Jesus from followers who proclaim truth that people don’t want to hear?”

When I [Janet] researched Jon Lee, I found an article that describes his goal and premise: “Jon Lee has some words for evangelical leaders who argue that Christian ethics like kindness, honesty, and loving your neighbor don’t apply to culture-war politics. “Good luck,” said Lee, a principal at Lerma, a cross-cultural advertising agency based in Dallas. Lee is one of the chief architects of the “He Gets Us” campaign, a $100 million effort to redeem Jesus’ brand from the damage done by his followers, especially those who say one thing and then do another.”

I personally don’t know of any evangelical leaders who don’t believe in “kindness, honesty, and loving your neighbor.” This only reinforces to me, as Natasha Crain determined, that this campaign led by Lee is trying to paint Bible-believing Christians as not portraying Jesus. We are the “oppressors” against killing babies, gender manipulation, mutilating children, and same-sex sexual relationships.

But wait a minute . . .

Jesus loves the little children!

But if you cause one of these little ones who trusts in me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to have a large millstone tied around your neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea. Matt. 18:6

Jesus loves the two genders He created and affirms that marriage is strictly between a man and a woman!

⁴“Haven’t you read the Scriptures?” Jesus replied. “They record that from the beginning ‘God made them male and female.’^[^a^]” ⁵And he said, “‘This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.’^[^b^] ⁶Since they are no longer two but one, let no one split apart what God has joined together.” Matt. 19:4-6 NLT

Lee and those with him are confusing and confounding Jesus’ perspective on sin and the sinner. When Jesus met the woman at the well, He gently called her out for having five husbands and the man she was currently living with was not her husband. He didn’t say I love you so much and understand how hard it is to be a single woman so it’s ok that you’re living in sin. No, He told her she had found the living water in Him, so go and sin no more. (John 4:1-30)

Jesus loved her to salvation when He told her every sin she had ever done but offered her repentance, forgiveness, and freedom from her sins!

So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. ²And because you belong to him, the power^[^a^] of the life-giving Spirit has freed you^[^b^] from the power of sin that leads to death. ³The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature.^[^c^] So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. ⁴He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.

⁵Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. ⁶So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. ⁷For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. ⁸That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God. Romans 8:1-8

In Mark 9:40, Jesus said, “Anyone who is not against us is for us.” I encourage you to read some of the links I’ve presented and make up your own mind, but it seems like the He Gets Us campaign is falling in line with the liberal government’s attempt to criminalize biblical Christianity, although many liberals were really upset about the Super Bowl commercials.

The good news is He Gets Us is getting people talking about Jesus. Not often do you see the name of Jesus during a football game! You usually hear His name said in vain! We can hope and pray that people will seek out the true Jesus of the Bible and not just someone’s interpretation of who He is.

Satan tried to tempt Jesus in his humanness, but Jesus NEVER sinned in His holiness. Not one of “us” can say that.

Jesus was perfect as a human. Not one of us is perfect.

So, trying to make Jesus our buddy who gets us is blasphemy because it removes His Deity. He does understand us, but He loves us so much He wants us to live holy lives. He doesn’t want us living harmful sin-filled lives.

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

The Younger Generation Is Not Seeking a “He Gets Us” Jesus

The He Gets Us movement claims their goal is to reach the younger generation but when we watch the grassroots revival that started at Asbury University almost two weeks ago, there was no “rebranding campaign.” It was unscripted. The Holy Spirit prevailed and these young people see and feel the presence of Jesus. Thousands have been drawn to Asbury to be a part of a real Jesus movement as I wrote about last week, Revival is Necessary for Survival of the Church.

Even Tucker Carlson took notice and interviewed the student body president on his show last week. But when the Carlson producers wanted to send a film crew to capture what was happening at Asbury, they requested them not to come. They didn’t want media publicity or any commercialization of what was happening in the Spirit. They didn’t want marketing. They want to stay humbly and purely seeking Jesus. Tucker Carlson was surprised, but also in awe at the authenticity of what is taking place at the revival.

On June 18, 2018, I wrote a blog on my website Why Is the Church Going Dark? I also write for Crosswalk.com and they read my blog and asked if they could post it, so I gave permission. They’ve run that article almost quarterly ever since and posted on Facebook. It continues to receive thousands of views and comments. An oft repeated claim is that dark churches better reach the next generation. Yet we’re watching an amazing revival in a well-lit chapel with stained glass windows in a university filled with young people. No loud bands or famous speakers. The Holy Spirit leads and as of this writing, it’s spreading to other college campuses.

This revival started with a young man suddenly standing up in chapel confessing his sins, repenting, and asking for forgiveness. Only Jesus! No “branding.” No marketing. No pyrotechnics. No tolerance of sin. Only organic repentance and recognition of the need for forgiveness of sin and reconciliation with our Great God. As one professor at Asbury University described it, “A chorus of forgiven sinners crying out in thanksgiving to an almighty God!”

That’s what I feel is missing with the He Gets Us Campaign.

Jesus so gets us that He seeks after each one of us so that none will be left behind. He loves us but He doesn’t want us to stay where He found us wallowing in our sinful life. He offers us a new beginning and new life in Christ. The old shall pass away and the new life abound. That my friends is the Jesus of the Bible so easily found by simply opening our Bibles.

I want to close with a firsthand account from a friend who visited the Asbury Revival. She couldn’t even get in the chapel or auditorium the line outside was so long so she sat on the grass under a tree and could hear the music and the testimonies over the sound system. Here is an excerpt of what she heard about our Jesus.

I heard this during a brief period of testimony. “We are not only the object of Jesus’ affection. We are the agent of it.”

That’s the message. Go. Show. Love.

In a world that screams hatred, we crave what’s holy.

We found it, finally, and it’s spreading. Thank goodness.

Hope and relief. That’s the best way to describe it, and the hills were singing their song.

Definitely worth the trip.

Go. Show. Love. That’s the message. May it spread across the world.

⁶Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. John 14:6 NLT

I would love to hear your comments and opinions, even if you disagree with me! If you received this blog by email, please leave a comment here.

February 20, 2023

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Has the Church Forgotten We Are the Conscience of the Government?

First, let me say Happy Blessed 2023 to you all! I took a break during the holidays from writing my Monday Morning Blog, and that break was extended by an injury to my right eye that took time to accurately diagnosis and get correct medication. I’m still using steroid drops so I’m going to try and make this blog short . . . well shorter than usual.

So many topics of discussion have been in our news lately that it’s taken great restraint not to break my writing sabbatical and pour out thoughts to you. Even today, it’s hard to narrow down my topic but I recently heard Eric Metaxas as a guest on Flashpoint, and he repeatedly made the statement: “The church is the conscience of the government.” When I researched that quote, I learned it was originally made by Martin Luther King Jr. and how timely that his birthday is January 15 as I write this blog to you.

“The church must be reminded that it is not the master or the servant of the state, but rather the conscience of the state. It must be the guide and the critic of the state, and never its tool. If the church does not recapture its prophetic zeal, it will become an irrelevant social club without moral or spiritual authority.”― Martin Luther King, Jr.

Metaxas is the author of the book Bonhoeffer who also pointed out in his day that the church was avoiding taking a stand against the evil that was right before their eyes in the 1930’s when the Nazis were methodically and mercilessly taking over Germany. We know the atrocities that developed into World War II. The church chose to just sit it out rather than get involved and millions of innocent Jews were arrested and annihilated . . . exterminated. The Nazi’s were proficient at anesthetizing the church, and when the church finally woke up, it was too late.

Anyone who grew up hearing Pastor Billy Graham interact with many Presidents during his lifetime, knows that he never backed down from confronting government with the Gospel and the Truth of the Bible. Many of those Presidents considered Graham their confidant and pastor.

Even still, we saw horrific laws passed like Roe v Wade, which again annihilated millions of innocent lives. The extermination of children went from being a moral issue to a political football that the church for the most part decided to also sit this one out.

Many Christians and pro-life organizations continued to fight for every life and miraculously after almost fifty years, we saw Roe v Wade reversed by the Supreme Court, and yet still most churches stayed quiet. There was no dancing in the streets, confetti, cheers, or celebrations of our victory because protecting life had somehow turned political and many churches erroneously thought they shouldn’t get involved.

They forgot, and still forget, that the church is to be the outspoken and visible moral conscience of the government not the reverse where the government dictates the morals and the church acquiesces, which is where we find ourselves today as the woke agenda is coming for our children with brainwashing and evil intent. Still much of the church is either quiet or even worse embracing wokeness that contradicts God’s Words and His ways.

The Devil is Drawing His Line in the Sand and Christians Must Choose Who They Will Follow

When there is moral rot within a nation, its government topples easily. But wise and knowledgeable leaders bring stability. Pr. 28:2 NLT

1 John 5:19 lays out the situation today. “The whole world lies in the power of the evil one.” Jesus confirmed the devil’s power over this world. He called Satan “ruler of this world” in John 12:31, 14:30, and 16:11. John 10:10 refers to the devil as “the thief” who comes to “steal, and kill, and destroy.” Satan’s ways lead to destruction. If our culture doesn’t change soon, it will be the demise of our country. But there is hope and that hope is found through Jesus Christ in our personal lives and in our government.

The new Republican led Congress just passed a Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Act and all but two Democrats voted against it!! 210 members of Congress voted for infanticide, that a baby who survives an abortion should be left to die if that’s what the doctor and mother decide.

Two Democrats were brave enough, and perhaps triggered by their conscience, to not vote against the bill. One voted for it, and one said “present.” We need to pray more Democrats listen to their conscience.

I applaud the Catholic Church who wasn’t afraid to express their support of the bill and condemnation against those who voted against it. Catholic Bishops Celebrate Born-Alive Act Condemn 210 Democrats Who Voted Against It.

“We commend the House of Representatives for passing legislation to protect innocent children from infanticide, and urge the Senate to follow suit,” said Bishop Michael Burbidge of the Diocese of Arlington in Texas. Burbidge is also chairman of the USCCB’s Committee for Pro-Life Activities. The bishop previously sent a letter to House members urging them to vote for the legislation. “Babies who are born alive during the process of an abortion deserve compassionate care and medical attention – just the same as any other newborn baby,” Burbidge added.

But where was the Christian and Evangelical church? Crickets!

This life-saving bill is expected to die in the Democrat-controlled Senate. How did life versus death become a Republican vs. Democrat political issue instead of a Bible-based moral issue?

Why do Democrats vote against allowing a born baby to live? Because voting for it would be admitting that an unborn baby is a human that is being murdered during an abortion. How many of those Democrats sit in churches on Sundays and claim to be a Christian? How many of their pastors are willing to talk about the horrors of abortion and the sanctity of life and call out their Democrat parishioners or any parishioner who would choose to kill babies?

We know many Democrats choose politics over faith just like Pelosi who always touts her “strong Catholic faith” and does everything “for the children,” but she was one of the 210 who voted to allow a live baby to die!

Democrats call it “extreme” to give medical care to a baby born alive!!! Every doctor takes an oath to do exactly that! I’ve said it before that these people have let the Devil influence their words, minds, and actions. They’ve sold their souls to a radical evil agenda. They’re blinded to human decency. Willing to sacrifice children on the altar of politics!

There are many so-called “political” topics, which are actually “biblical” topics, the church seems afraid to address. We’ve let the moral downfall of our country happen while Christians go to church every Sunday but often don’t hear how to apply God’s Word to the world they’re living in today.

Here are just a few sermon topics that come to my mind that every pastor needs to be addressing. If he doesn’t, he’s complicit in allowing the government to define our morals or lack of instead of encouraging parishioners’ consciences to take a righteous stand for good against evil!

Thou shalt not murder!
Thou shalt not lie!
Thou shalt not commit adultery!
Homosexuality is abominable to the Lord!
Marriage is between a man and a woman!
Only women have a womb to carry a child! Only women can have babies!
God only created two genders, man and woman!
All lives matter!
Every child from the moment of conception has a right to life!
Robbing the innocence of children is a sin. Better to be thrown overboard with a milestone around your neck!
Parents teach your children how to live godly lives in an ungodly culture.

We’re seeing some turnarounds like the reversal by the Supreme Court of Roe v Wade and Coach Joe Kennedy winning his case for prayer to be allowed back into schools. But how many schools are actually allowing prayer? Instead, we see school boards more concerned with allowing a few sexually misguided children to be indulged at the expense of all children instead of receiving the counseling and help they need. Many parents are speaking out against this travesty, but again I ask, where is the church?

A few pastors are willing to take a public stand against tyranny and two of those are Pastor Jack Hibbs of Calvary Chapel Chino Hills and Pastor Dave Ax of Calvary Chapel here in Star, Idaho. Pastor Ax, along with Jack Hibbs, made a video encouraging parents and the community to go to the School Board Meeting in Caldwell, ID where they were proposing that “transgender” children be allowed to use whatever bathroom and locker room of their choice.

Many from the community showed up that night and when the audience applauded speakers who were speaking against this insane policy, the school board shut down the meeting. My point though is where do those school board members go to church? What are they hearing or not hearing from their pastors if they are church members?

I follow a Values Advocacy Council in the Boise Idaho area and here is an example of the urgent email they sent out about this meeting. If you scroll down in the email, you’ll hear the two pastors I just mentioned, with their plea to the public, especially parents, to attend the Caldwell School Board meeting. They were so successful, the School Board couldn’t deal with it!! Do you have anything like this in your area where the church is taking the initiative to enter the political arena and protect our children from evil lunacy? To be the conscience of the government?

Kudos to Pastor Hibbs and Pastor Ax! If you have a pastor who understands the important role of the church in this fallen culture, praise God! If not, talk to your pastor and remind him that the role of the church is to be the conscience of the government, the state. We’re seeing progress as we chip away at the evil, but there’s so much more for each of us to do in our own spheres of influence. God is giving us the opportunity to save America and it starts and ends with the sharing of the Gospel in and out of the church.

You and I, every Christian, are the ‘church.’ God gave each of us a conscience and the Holy Spirit speaks in and through us. I hope that you’ll listen to that still small voice that is challenging you to take a step of faith and go where He leads and follow the example of Jesus and His followers like the disciples and Paul who understood that God is the head of the government and were not afraid to proclaim that truth.

For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Is. 9:6 NLT

⁹One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision and told him, “Don’t be afraid! Speak out! Don’t be silent! ¹⁰For I am with you, and no one will attack and harm you, for many people in this city belong to me.” ¹¹So Paul stayed there for the next year and a half, teaching the word of God. Acts 18:9-11 NLT

To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32

Abortion survivors blast Democrats for opposing Born-Alive bill: ‘Disingenuous’ | Fox News

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January 16, 2023

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How to Celebrate a Peaceful Joyful Post-Election Thanksgiving

A resounding and fervent prayer request from our Bible study group prior to Thanksgiving following an election, went something like this: Please, Lord, help us to be a light on Thanksgiving with the eclectic group of people attending with differing political and faith beliefs.

Whether it was all family, all friends, invited guests . . . or a combination . . . most of us were apprehensive how the day would turn out.

In the fragile aftermath of the recent volatile election, I imagine many of you are having similar concerns and conversations. I remember my mom cautioning that if you want to keep the peace, never talk about religion or politics. As a kid, I never understood that warning. Believers are supposed to tell everyone about Jesus. Since being a Christian is our first identity . . . how could we not talk about our Savior? Isn’t everyone entitled to his or her own spiritual and political opinion?

Then I grew up!

If you follow me, you know I’m bold about my first role in life: being a born-again Christian. All other roles come second. But as I wrote in Forsaken God? Remembering the Goodness of God Our Culture Has Forgotten: “Bold doesn’t mean obnoxious. It simply means not being afraid to speak the truth, even in the face of adversity: ‘Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold’ (2 Cor. 3:12).” For example, if someone asks what I do, I answer, “I’m a Christian author and speaker.” They usually ask what I write, and I say, “Christian living nonfiction.” My response often opens the door for further discussion of the types of books I write and my faith.

For I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past. And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die. Philippians 1:20 NLT

So never be ashamed to tell others about our Lord. And don’t be ashamed of me, either, even though I’m in prison for him. With the strength God gives you, be ready to suffer with me for the sake of the Good News. 2 Timothy 1:8 NLT

Is Thanksgiving a Religious Holiday?

That could be an awkward question in some circles.

I was with a group of people and mentioned how I hoped people would set their differences aside on Thanksgiving Day, and one person said, “It’s just a time for eating a lot of food, watching football, and shopping online anyway.”

Me: “I’m pretty sure the first pilgrims who celebrated Thanksgiving didn’t have TV or Amazon.

Another responded: “Well at least Thanksgiving isn’t a religious holiday.”

I asked: “Who then are we thanking?”

Complete silence.

Of course, the answer is: God.

Abraham Lincoln made it an official national holiday “as a day of thanksgiving and praise to Almighty God, the beneficent Creator and Ruler of the Universe.”

The English colonists we call Pilgrims celebrated days of thanksgiving as part of their religion. But these were days of prayer, not days of feasting.

Yes, it’s a time of family and friends gathering, but as we sit around the feast together, we can’t thank each other, or aliens, or the “big bang” for giving us life, the sun, the moon, the trees, the ability to grow the food, the earth, the waters, the sky, sweet babies, and all the blessings we enjoy.

We read in Genesis that God spoke everything into being, and yet, many of us will be sharing turkey and dressing with people who don’t believe or discount the existence of God. They don’t know where they’re going when they die, or where everything we enjoy on earth came from . . . and maybe they don’t even care.

They’ll walk out of the room when we pray before the meal and may try and bait us into an argument over who we voted for and why. Or what happened to the expected “Red Wave?” Maybe after a few drinks, their conversation will turn ugly, even though innocent young eyes are watching how the “adults” interact.

My husband and I pray beseeching God to prepare us to be a light in the darkness . . . not to avoid the darkness because that would be the cowards way out . . . but to help us respond as if Jesus was standing behind us speaking through us. You’ve all been in situations where it seemed like Satan was standing behind or speaking through the other person . . . at least I have . . . so how can we have Jesus reflect through us? Granted, the other people might not recognize Jesus . . . but they’ll see there’s something different about us.

Biblical Ways to Have a Peaceful Joyful Thanksgiving

As I prayed and talked to the Lord, here’s a list I came up with. I’d love to hear your ideas too.

Don’t worry what to say. “Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.” Mark 13:11 (Jesus was talking to his disciples if they were arrested, but I think it could apply to us too if we felt our faith was being tested or put on trial.)

Speak kind words. “Kind words are like honey— sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.” Pr. 16:24 NLT

For your part, maintain peace. “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” Romans 12:18

Don’t instigate or respond to leading antagonistic discussions. “Interfering in someone else’s argument is as foolish as yanking a dog’s ears.” Pr. 26:17 NLT

Play with any children present. “We will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the Lord, about his power and his mighty wonders.” Ps. 78:4 NLT

Don’t drink. “Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Ephesians 5:18 NLT

Smile, Smile, Smile. “Fix my eyes on God— soon I’ll be praising again. He puts a smile on my face. He’s my God.” Psalm 42:5 The Message

Listen. “Fools think their own way is right, but the wise listen to others.” Pr. 12:15 NLT

Take a deep breath and think before you speak. “There is more hope for a fool than for someone who speaks without thinking.” Pr. 29:20 NLT

Less is more. “The more words you speak, the less they mean. So what good are they?” Ecc. 6:11 NLT— There’s “A time to be quiet and a time to speak.” Ecc. 3:7 NLT

Silently pray in your mind. “Pray continually!” 1 Thess. 5:17

Have a secret sign or word between you and someone else that signals: Let’s change the subject or move into the other room. “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor.” Ecc. 4:9

When you’re Hosting, pray and thank God for each guest. Ask to be a blessing and to share joy. Pray over your home and each chair at the table. Before the meal, pray as you normally would, your guests know they’re coming to a Christian home. “Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.” 1 Peter 4:9

If you’re a Guest—As you walk up to the home, pray to be a blessing and that God will stir up the fruit of the Spirit in your heart. If you’re hosts don’t pray before the meal, bow your head and pray over your food as you normally would. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” Gal. 5:22-23

Thanksgiving is a day for harmony and focusing on God and giving Him thanks and praise in whatever way He leads. Fiction writers have a saying: “Show don’t tell.” Which simply means, you don’t always have to speak Jesus with your words, you can show Him with your actions and people will want what you have!

Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name. Psalm 100:4 NLT

Past Thanksgiving Blogs

Here are a few past Thanksgiving blogs you might enjoy reading. I do give thanks for each one of you who have followed me on these Monday Morning Blogs, and I pray you have a joyful, peaceful, and God-filled Thanksgiving Day.

Acquiring Overshadows Thanksgiving

What Are You Most Thankful For?

Love Your Body During the Holidays

I also have a Bible study Face-to-Face with Euodia and Syntyche: From Conflict to Community that discusses many biblical ways to resolve conflict peacefully.

Thanksgiving Tablecloth Idea

In Forsaken God? Remembering the Goodness of God Our Culture Has Forgotten, I share a way to use your tablecloth as a conversation piece and make memories for generations to come. Here is an excerpt from the book. I hope it gives you some ideas. I’ll be taking our Thankful Tablecloth with us this Thanksgiving to my daughter’s house.

When my breast cancer journey started, I became keenly aware of making memories with my family. At times like that, you think seriously about your mortality and the legacy you want to leave with your loved ones. You appreciate each new day of life. The sun rising every morning is an act of God to celebrate.

Holidays like Thanksgiving have new meaning. Typically, Thanksgiving is a celebration where family and friends gather for a feast, and everyone says what they’re thankful for in the past year. But after finishing the dishes and putting away the leftovers, how many really remember what everyone said?

The Thanksgiving following my first breast cancer surgery in 2002, I had an idea of a Thankful Tablecloth. I purchased a Thanksgiving themed tablecloth with plenty of white space and a box of wash-resistant colored markers. After Thanksgiving dinner, I brought out the markers and asked everyone—kids included—to find a spot on the tablecloth to write what they were thankful for that year, sign, and date it. We traced handprints for the tiny ones with their name and age.

Today, we have years of thankful messages to read every Thanksgiving and remember the many acts of God’s goodness to us and the people who joined us at the celebration table each year. If we go to someone’s house for Thanksgiving dinner, I ask if I can bring our Thankful Tablecloth and markers.

When I go to be with the Lord, I pray my family will continue bringing out the Thanksgiving Tablecloth as a reminder through the generations of how good God has been to our family and friends.

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PS: My plan right now is to take a sabbatical from my Monday Morning Blogs until the New Year so don’t be alarmed if there’s not a blog in your inbox on Mondays until then. Of course, the Lord could always prompt me to write one and surprise you; but if not, I thank all of you for letting me chat with you on Monday Mornings. Dave and I wish each of you a blessed Christmas celebration of our Lord’s birth and a glorious New Year.

November 21, 2022

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When Did Bible-Believing Christians Start Being Labeled “Right Wing”?

The title of my September AHW Ministries newsletter’s opening article is “Lord, Bring Our Prodigals Home!” I wrote that article because of the recent interest and activity around a book I wrote almost fifteen years ago as a memoir of being a prodigal mom raising a prodigal daughter, Praying for Your Prodigal Daughter: Hope, Help & Encouragement for Hurting Parents. My daughter Kim shares her journey during that time too and each chapter also includes the story of other moms with a prodigal daughter and some of those daughters share their story.

The key to praying for my prodigal I discovered was praying and personalizing Scripture. Praying God’s Word back to Him for my daughter. Instead of just praying my will, I prayed for His will in her life. The back of the book has a section 40 Days of Praying Scripture for Your Daughter and this can also be applied to prodigal sons or grandchildren.

In the past few months, the Lord has brought Praying for Your Prodigal Daughter to my attention in a variety of ways. One of the contributing mothers in the book sent me a praise for her daughter’s return to the Lord and to her family after 10 years of praying. A few days later, another mother emailed me that she had just read the book and it was helping her in communicating with her daughter. Sales on the book have suddenly increased noticeably. A couple who has a podcast, “It’s Not How You Start But How You Finish,” contacted me for an interview on the book, which you can listen to here.

Again, I hope you’ll read the full article in my AHW Ministries newsletter of what God is doing with this book and listen to the podcast because I don’t want to repeat it all here for those of you who already read my newsletter. If you don’t receive my newsletter, you can sign up on my website or let me know and we’ll sign you up.

But here’s what I do want to talk about in this blog. Praying for Your Prodigal Daughter has been out since January 2008, so I hadn’t looked for a long time at the comments on Amazon. I’m not an author that is always checking my reviews because I’m usually on to writing the next book or article, but with all the activity lately, I decided to take a look. God wanted me to see a comment which was right on top.

At first, I chuckled, but then I was sad for the mother. It was the best “worst” review I’d ever had.

The reviewer returned the book, gave me only 1 star, and headed her comment “This book is for the deeply and devoted right wing Christians.” This was startling since it was my first time being referred to as a “right-wing” Christian. I’m always clear that I’m a Bible-believing Christian and in today’s culture that can set you apart because anyone can say they’re a Christian, but fewer and fewer people are connecting Christianity with the Bible and that’s a real travesty.

Here’s the first paragraph of the reader’s comment. I would encourage you to go to the page on Amazon if you want to read the remainder because it makes it even clearer why she thought my book was only for the deeply devout Christian and yet I ask: how can you be a Christian and not be devout?

“I have no judgment for the author or the tone of this book. For Christians who are devoted to God and extreme in their beliefs, this book is for them. My own struggles with my prodigal daughter led me to buy the book with hope to help guide me through my pain. However, the book is not so much about daughters coming home to their family as it is daughters coming home to Jesus. Over and over again, the dilemma was about the prodigal daughter coming back to Jesus and religion.”

I was elated that she got my point in the book that the answer to any prodigal’s life-changing return is first their return to Jesus! But I was deflated that she rejected this truth as too “right wing.” She added the term “religion,” but I talk about a relationship with Jesus NOT a religion.

My Thoughts on Being Called Right-Wing Christians

I don’t receive or acknowledge “right wing” as an acceptable term for Christians. I find it offensive to make it sound like we’re eccentric or on the edge to be extremely in love with Jesus and the inerrant Word of God, the Bible!

I don’t accept “Cultural Christian” or “Progressive Christian” as a description for any Christian because you’re either with the culture or with Christ. There’s no in between. The Bible is clear that we will have to be in the world while we’re alive, but we must not become of the world. Christ came to change the culture and turn people away from sin, not embrace sin as acceptable because it makes them feel good.

Christ came to make us holy NOT happy! What so many don’t understand is that when you let go of the secular culture and grab the hand of Jesus, you will be happy for eternity.

¹⁴I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. ¹⁵I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. ¹⁶They do not belong to this world any more than I do. ¹⁷Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth. John 17:14-17 NLT

I had a Facebook “conversation” where someone told me God did not create her or the climate. So I asked well then who did? She said that I needed to study biology instead of the Bible, which she referred to as “fantasy.” I said, well one thing the Bible and biology both agree on is that we’re all going to die and I know where I’m going to spend eternity. Do you know where you’re going when you die? The conversation ended.

The Bible tells us this world is but a bleep in the big picture of our life. Attempting to be a Christian who thinks that Jesus died on the Cross so that we could keep on sinning because He loves us so much or that the Bible doesn’t apply to today’s world is left-wing, wrong-wing, believing Satan-infused-demonic wing progressive lies and rationalizations.

Every Christian must make the decision to remain Christ-like and be a Bible-Believer no matter what names they call you. In fact, if someone isn’t calling you a name in today’s culture, you might not be wearing Jesus on your sleeve, and I’m not talking about a t-shirt.

Christians are not left wing or right wing, we’re under Jesus’s wing!

He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection. Ps. 91:4 NLT

In Praying for Your Prodigal Daughter, my daughter, Kim, came to the realization that being a Christian cannot be inherited or passed down through your family. Living in a Christian family doesn’t make you a Christian. It educates you and certainly wraps you in Christian love, but choosing Christ as your Lord and Savior is an individual decision only you can make.

Kim wrote about an experience she had in the Bible-based premarital course Dave and I gave her and Toby as an engagement gift, which they didn’t appreciate, but that is where they were both saved!

“Pastor Pete made it clear we couldn’t get to heaven on our parents’ faith—something I had been counting on—it had to be our own personal decision and relationships with Christ. That really got us thinking. I know that because we committed our lives to Christ, God has blessed our marriage.”

You’re either Holy Spirit-filled, or you’re not. I think God is putting the pressure on currently for the true Bible-believing Christians to step forward. The words I wrote in Praying for Your Prodigal Daughter, still ring true today because they were based on the premise that Jesus is the Only way, a truth that never changes.

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God. Phil. 1:9-11

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Hebrews 13:8

Note: Dave and I saw the movie SuperSpreader about worship leader Sean Feucht’s journey in starting the ministry Let Us Worship during a time when Covid was closing churches and not allowing people to sing in church. A powerful movie only in theaters until 10/6 so I hope you’ll find out where it’s playing in your area. Sean lives out Isaiah 6:8

Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?”

I said, “Here I am. Send me.” (NLT)

My book Praying for Your Prodigal Daughter is also available on my website signed and personalized.

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I apologize if you receive an email of this blog twice, but we’re having problems with MailChimp our delivery mechanism and it didn’t send out the blog to the majority of our mailing list the day it posted so we’re reposting it again.

October 3, 2022

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We’re In a War of Words with the Devil

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What’s a Christian to Do and Say?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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July 25, 2022

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“God Made the Decision!”

¹⁴And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. ¹⁵And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for. 1 John 5:14-15

Each Monday morning in early June, I anxiously searched to see if this would be the Monday SCOTUS released their decision on the Mississippi Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that could overturn Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. But even after the unprecedented leak of Justice Alito’s preliminary opinion leading to the illegal intimidation and protesting at the personal homes of the Constitutionalist Justices, they stayed silent on their final decision. The Democrats in their now typical two-sided justice refused to call out the violence against churches, prolife and pregnancy centers, and even the attempted assassination of Justice Kavanaugh. The biased Attorney General did nothing to stop the illegal invasion of the SCOTUS’ neighborhoods. Yet still SCOTUS did not reveal their decision.

Thursday night, June 23, our church Couples Small Group met at our home for a time of food, fellowship, and prayer. As we prayed, one of our sweet ladies asked me to pray for the upcoming abortion ruling. As I prayed, I felt the Holy Spirit taking over and the words weren’t my words but His. I prayed for God’s will to be done on earth and especially for protection for the justices and their families, but also for them to do their job boldly, bravely, legally. Not to be intimidated or influenced to vote any differently than their conscience and the Constitution guided them.

Then, Friday morning, June 24^th it felt like Christmas when I saw the news flash that the Supreme Court had ruled to remove abortion as a federal issue, in essence nullifying and reversing Roe v. Wade which had justified the killing of over 63 million babies for 49 years! Many of us wondered if we would ever see our prayers answered in our lifetime, and yet here it was happening. Just as I had prayed the previous night, Justice Alito wrote,

“We do not pretend to know how our political system or society will respond to today’s decision overruling Roe and Casey. And even if we could foresee what will happen, we would have no authority to let that knowledge influence our decision. We can only do our job, which is to interpret the law, apply longstanding principles of stare decisis, and decide this case accordingly. We therefore hold that the Constitution does not confer a right to abortion. Roe and Casey must be overruled, and the authority to regulate abortion must be returned to the people and their elected representatives.”

Which means, now the battle for the lives of innocent precious babies will be fought in each of the 50 states. Thirteen states already have trigger laws just waiting for this decision to ban abortion and other states are also working on variations of banning, but blue states are digging in with even more liberal abortion rights laws with California becoming a “sanctuary abortion” state for death to unwanted or inconvenient souls!

I hope you’ll take time to read the 10 Key Quotes From Justice Alito’s Opinion Overturning Roe v. Wade!

We all know that this long-awaited decision and righting of a horrific wrong, was the result of Donald J. Trump choosing three Justices that believe in adhering to the Constitution, which sadly seems to only be a conservative position as the liberal dissenting Justices want to bypass the Constitution, ignore it, or make their own rules.

The majority Justices were clear that their decision was not motivated by politics but instead adherence to our ruling document the Constitution. As Justice Alito said, “Roe was egregiously wrong from the start. Its reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences. And far from bringing about a national settlement of the abortion issue, Roe and Casey have enflamed debate and deepened division. It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.”

“Our opinion is not based on any view about if and when prenatal life is entitled to any of the rights enjoyed after birth. The dissent, by contrast, would impose on the people a particular theory about when the rights of personhood begin. According to the dissent, the Constitution requires the States to regard a fetus as lacking even the most basic human right—to live—at least until an arbitrary point in a pregnancy has passed. Nothing in the Constitution or in our Nation’s legal traditions authorizes the Court to adopt that ‘theory of life.'”

“Roe found that the Constitution implicitly conferred a right to obtain an abortion, but it failed to ground its decision in text, history, or precedent. It relied on an erroneous historical narrative; it devoted great attention to and presumably relied on matters that have no bearing on the meaning of the Constitution; it disregarded the fundamental difference between the precedents on which it relied and the question before the Court; it concocted an elaborate set of rules, with different restrictions for each trimester of pregnancy, but it did not explain how this veritable code could be teased out of anything in the Constitution, the history of abortion laws, prior precedent, or any other cited source; and its most important rule (that States cannot protect fetal life prior to ‘viability’) was never raised by any Opinion of the Court party and has never been plausibly explained.”

“We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled. The Constitution makes no reference to abortion, and no such right is implicitly protected by any constitutional provision,” Alito wrote.

In other words, there is NOTHING written or implied in the Constitution that gives anyone the “right” to abort or kill their unborn child. Killing babies should never be considered a “right,” morally or legally, but that’s what pro-death advocates are demanding, and it will now become their mantra as abortion is decided by the states.

Let’s be clear: overturning Roe saves the lives of human beings! Democrat and Republican babies, liberal and conservative babies, white black brown ALL babies!! This should not be a political issue. It’s actually not even simply a spiritual or strictly “Christian” issue as so many try to label it. It is a fundamental, biological, proven scientific fact that sex between a man and woman is how babies are created and we can now watch and hear them develop.

“Choice” begins with the choice to have sex. Sexual freedom to create life shouldn’t mean legal freedom to kill that inconvenient or unwanted life! Period. Looking at an ultrasound of a squirmy baby forming in the womb, how could anyone vote to approve the barbaric poisoning or dismembering of that child?

The history of the demented shooter in the horrific murder of those precious children in Uvalde was that he carried around bags of dead animals he killed, and that was a clue to his mental instability. Yet abortion clinics can have trash bags outside their clinics of dead human babies they kill and that’s considered normal!

This demonic demented torturous slaughter of children, even up to and after birth, is what the pro-abortion pro-death abortion-on-demand politicians, advocates, activists, and extremists are screaming should be legal. Demented people who intentionally kill pregnant animals can be prosecuted, but many feel that humans should be able to legally kill their own children in their mother’s bellies with no consequences?!

Demonic, deceived, evil is what I see in the face of a President and House Speaker who profess to be “very Catholic,” whatever that means, but vow to find a way to continue infanticide. It’s a sick disease of the soul. They’ve sold their soul for political power, and like everyone, they’ll answer to God for their choices.

I always hope a reporter will ask Pelosi which one of her children, grandchildren, or great-grandchildren she wishes she didn’t have when she gives her ludicrous speeches about women needing to eliminate their own children. She often mentions she should know how they feel because she had five children in six years. So is she saying she wishes she could’ve aborted one or more? Instead of using her platform to encourage women that you can still fulfill your dreams, as she did even as a mother of five, she maintains that women must have the “right” to kill their children. Yes, that’s demonic and deranged.

Whether you love or hate President Trump, when asked if he played a role in the SCOTUS decision, he responded, “God made the decision!” I would add that God made the decision to let him be President #45 at a very decisive time in the history of our country. And God made a decision to let the world see the evil festering in the Democrat party when He let Biden steal the election. The country had to see what the left does when they don’t get their evil way and I pray that Christian Conservative Republican candidates will run the board red in November. Elections have consequences and we’re watching the results right now.

Let’s stop complaining and start campaigning for the next generation of Conservative politicians to take back our country for God, family, and patriotism. The SCOTUS ruling has showed us it can be done! Even if you’re in a so-called “blue state” don’t give up. The battle has just taken on a new dimension.

I share with you parts of a commentary from Dr. Robert Jeffress. Please go to the link at the end to read in its entirety.
“It is a resounding victory for millions of yet-to-be-born children who will now get to live out their God-ordained lives… Those who value life cannot afford to become weary in well-doing. The overturn of Roe is also an affirmation of the right and responsibility of Christians to get involved in the political process. There is only one reason Roe was overturned: in 2016, conservative Christians worked together to elect Donald Trump, and President Trump kept his promise to appoint pro-life justices to the Supreme Court. Had Hillary Clinton been elected—as some Christians hoped would happen—Roe would still be the law of the land today.

“This week’s historic ruling is a reminder that elections have consequences. Elected leaders determine policies that can influence the moral and spiritual direction of a country. In the 1940s, German Christians (with only a few exceptions) remained silent as Adolf Hitler rose to power and murdered six million Jewish people. Thankfully, Christians in our country have refused to remain silent about the holocaust of unborn children. Together, they effected a leadership change that in turn resulted in a policy change that will save millions of lives.” Commentary on Dobbs Supreme Court Ruling from Dr. Robert Jeffress – Pathway to Victory (ptv.org)

My Faith Votes reminds us that when a pregnant woman visits a Pregnancy Resource Center, she’s often given a gift of baby items. A simple pack of diapers can humanize the fact that a baby is growing in her womb. Imagine if we each took action in our community with this one simple step! Please join us by pledging, right now, to show care and compassion to these mothers in need…we’ll even help you find the Pregnancy Resource Center closest to you.

Our Family Choice for Life Story

Lest you think I’m writing on this topic without knowing personally the difference the life and death of an unborn baby can make to a family, let me bring home to you how giving life to a child influences generations to come in a family.

I have the blessing of almost thirty years married to my godly husband Dave because his mother Barbara’s birthmother chose life for her, and she was adopted. Barbara married Al and my husband Dave was born and he fathered three children, who gave birth to eight grandchildren because their grandmother Barbara was given life.

My daughter Kim’s grandmother, Jean, on her dad’s side was adopted, and because Jean’s birthmother chose to give her life, Jean gave birth to Kim’s dad, my first husband, and we had my precious daughter Kim.

Kim and her husband have three children. They adopted their first child Brandon at two weeks. His Hispanic birthmother was only 15 and Brandon was her second child she bravely chose to carry. Because of her choice to give Brandon life, we have a handsome 17-year-old grandson who has worked since he was 15, while remaining a straight A brilliant student in school and just bought his first car. Brandon is who I thought about as tears flowed reading the SCOTUS decision honoring the sanctity of life. I can’t imagine our family without him. He is such a blessing and loved so dearly.

How many other Barbara’s, Jean’s, and Brandon’s didn’t get the opportunity to experience life and be a part of a family generational tree because their birthmothers walked into a Planned Parenthood clinic? Thank you Jesus that more of the children You create in their mother’s womb will now have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

“You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.” Psalm 139:13-14

PS You can read more of our family’s adoption story in Dear God, Why Can’t I Have a Baby? A Companion Guide for Couples on the Infertility Journey.

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June 27, 2022

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How Do We Love Those Who Reject God and His Ways?

“Loving people unconditionally is not the equivalent of affirming their life choices at the expense of biblical truth.”

The above quote was a post on Facebook by my friend Susan Reinhardt. I was browsing through posts while praying for the Lord to reveal what to write about this week when I came across Susan’s post and realized this was a theme the Lord had been giving me all week.

Since the leak of the SCOTUS draft opinion by Justice Alito on the unconstitutionality of Roe v Wade and stating that abortion legislation should be decided in the states not at the Federal level, we’ve all watched the screaming, yelling, vulgar signs, and vile words of the Pro-Abortion activists taking to the streets. Pro-death protests that women should be able to kill their own children have occurred nationwide, many involving violence. Protesters have targeted the homes of conservative Supreme Court justices, vandals have targeted at least five pro-life crisis pregnancy centers across the U.S., and Catholic churches have been threatened and vandalized.

Sometimes, the protestors admit to being Satanists, but Satan is rejoicing with all the protests. I’m sure many of the protestors are women who’ve had abortions and are seeking affirmation to alleviate their guilt. Then there are those who are just following the crowd or it’s something they were told was a woman’s right and they’ve never even considered that there’s another person involved with rights, the innocent baby. Or they haven’t read or heard details of the torture and gruesome realities of abortion.

You hear some of these activists interviewed and they’ve been force-fed by the media, Planned Parenthood, liberals, Elites, and Democrats that even though science proves there’s a living feeling moving human baby waiting to be born, they’ve believed the lie that it’s not really a fellow human being until its first breath. Lies! Lies! lies!!!

Satan is the father of lies and deception and without the Holy Spirit to help discern the truth, lies can seem believable. Just like Eve was deceived in the garden by the serpent Satan who had her doubting and questioning, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” Gen. 3:1

I’ll admit when I saw the angry, illiterate, disgusting words and signs of the protestors, I was appalled, repulsed, and angry. I’m sure many of you are too. Then I saw a sign one young woman was holding, “I wish my mother had aborted me!” The only emotion I felt was sadness for her. What little self-worth does someone possess who would rather they were never born so she’s championing that no child should have the right to life.

I realize that most of the protestors do not want to have a rational conversation, but that young woman was crying out for help. Was anyone listening? She needed someone to tell her there’s a God who created her with a purpose for her life and He wanted her to be born.

My mother once said to me, if she had known all the illnesses she was going to have in her lifetime and might pass on to her children, she wished she had never had me! I’ve never forgotten her words and I can’t imagine that I wouldn’t have had a chance to live the life I’ve enjoyed or accomplished what the Lord had planned for me, especially to be known and loved by Him. That poor girl holding the “I wish I hadn’t been born sign” needs to know she is loved by God.

A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, be able to teach, and be patient with difficult people. 2 Tim. 2:24 NLT

Our Battle is Not Against the Protesters or Pro-Death Advocates!

I heard a woman who leads a pro-life organization interviewed and it was pointed out to her how the pro-life groups are the exact opposite of the pro-abortion groups. Pro-life groups are typically smiling, praying, singing, holding life-affirming signs, and trying to have rational conversations with those who oppose them. When asked how she tries to combat the pro-abortion groups, she said many of them don’t really understand the barbaric torture of abortion and I wish we could just have open discussion with them. But most of the time that’s impossible. They just want to scream and not listen.

You may have seen last week during a Congressional hearing when a young pro-abortion activist said she believed that yes men can get pregnant!! It was hard not to just laugh at the absurdity of her belief, but it begs the questions: What did she not learn in biology? Where did she receive her brainwashing? Is she mentally ill or mentally incompetent? Could she give an example of that ever happening in history? Satan smiles at her illiterate response and God cries.

In the same hearing, a Planned Parenthood doctor wouldn’t answer if she had seen or removed baby body parts during abortion. Even she couldn’t verbalize the horror of what she does as a “doctor” while killing a baby in the womb. A doctor that took an oath to save life works for an organization whose sole purpose is murder under the false pretense of “healthcare.”

The Democrat led White House is already preparing for the nationwide violence they expect from their radical constituents when the Roe v Wade ruling is announced. Instead of telling their people not to riot or take violent actions and to be sure their protests are legal and peaceful, they’re expecting violence because that’s what the liberal left, progressives, and Elites do when they don’t get their way.

The woman leading the pro-life organization understood the evil one has deceived these people. Paul clearly tells us in Ephesians 6:10-13 who the real enemy is and how to combat him!

¹⁰Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹²For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ¹³Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

As Christians, What Should We Do for These Lost Souls?

Satan is blinding people to the truth and he’s unwilling to let the captives go. Even some news commentators have mentioned that the opposition we’re watching by the pro-abortion advocates and government officials seems like a spiritual battle. They can’t deny what their eyes are seeing.

Our job as Christians is to pray that the truth would set the captives free from this satanic woke cult that has invaded their heart, mind, and soul and replaced their sense of reason, common sense, and morality! I know that’s hard to do when they can be so belligerent and their actions are so detestable, but they’re lost and destined to eternal damnation. As my pastor says, they are our mission field. When we think of it that way, I don’t know about you, instead of feeling angry, I feel sorrow and even compassion for them. They are who Jesus came to save not cast aside as hopeless!

For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. Luke 19:10

Many people have the false belief that because Christians are to display Christ’s love, we cannot call out people’s sin. But that makes no sense. How will they ever be convicted that their actions are wrong if someone doesn’t help them see the truth? Jesus did not agree with sin. He went to the cross to provide forgiveness for sin, but the sinner has to acknowledge their sin and repent, and then they can receive forgiveness and be blessed with eternal salvation. That’s the Truth and Good News of the gospel and there is no shortcut.

³If the Good News we preach is hidden behind a veil, it is hidden only from people who are perishing. ⁴Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God. 2 Cor. 4:3-4 NLT

It’s easy to love those who think like we do and agree with us, but it’s challenging to love our enemies or those who don’t believe like us. We are living in times when the spiritual battle between good and evil is prevalent and evident. As Christians, we must stand up for good and abhor evil. We don’t go along with evil to get along. We don’t accept evil so as not to make waves, even when it’s happening within our own family. We stand up for truth and morality always! We keep showing the love of Christ while not condemning but not condoning.

I share being in this exact situation in my book Praying for Your Prodigal Daughter: Hope, Help, & Encouragement for Hurting Parents. My daughter never doubted my love for her, but she also knew that I didn’t agree with her actions at the time. They weren’t ok just because she was my daughter. I prayed daily for her for six years, never agreeing with her sinful choices but always loving her with a mother’s unconditional love and one day she accepted Christ as her Savior. Today, she’s a godly wife and mother.

I know many of you are in a similar situation right now. You have a loved one who is making bad choices. You still want a relationship with them but you don’t know how to do this without agreeing with the way they’re living. My advice to you is don’t change or waiver from your beliefs and truths. You stay consistent in living biblically but you show kindness, compassion, and love rather than condemnation. Keep communication open. Keep praying. Keep loving. Keep close to Jesus. Don’t waiver in your faith or beliefs, but don’t stop loving.

Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. Eph. 4:15

Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good! Romans 12:9 NLT

To learn more about the Purple Sash Revolution.

To read my recent post on abortion There’s Hope for America Breaking Free from Demonic Paganism!

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Since next Monday is a holiday, there won’t be a Monday Morning Blog but God willing, I’ll be back June 6^th! Enjoy your Memorial Day weekend.

May 23, 2022

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There’s Hope for America Breaking Free From Demonic Paganism!

The title of last week’s blog was God Is Up to Something Big! That almost seems prophetic with the events of the past week and the answer to so many prayers with the SCOTUS “leak” that Roe v Wade will be overturned after the murder of over 63 million precious children in our country alone in the past fifty years since it became law. We should be rejoicing and not let victory be tainted by the way we heard about it that has set Democrats and pro-abortion advocates into a frenzy.

I want to preface this blog with a word to anyone suffering from the guilt of having an abortion and not yet asked and received the Lord’s forgiveness. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9

My friend Pat Layton has a beautiful ministry Surrendering the Secret I would encourage you to look into. “A ministry designed to help women (and men) heal from the hurt of abortion. Abortion affects people of all walks of life. At STS we, provide resources for women that have had abortions, and opportunities for others to help support these women.”

Paganism in America

I often read the Bible in a year. This year, I’m using the CBN.Com reading schedule where I read from the Old and New Testament each day. As I study, I see a stark resemblance to the world we’re living in today. No longer are we a country governed by our foundational Judeo-Christian beliefs, morals, fairness, and justice or even a belief in God We Trust.

We now have a political party in charge who worships nature through a false religion of climate control/change. Encourages mothers to murder their unwanted babies, censors and controls any dissention from their demented platform, and a President who calls anyone who is a patriot and believes in God, country, and the sanctity of life, “the most extreme political organization that’s ever existed in recent American history.”

Actually, Biden’s regime is the first administration in my lifetime who wants to destroy America, trash the Constitution, and turn us into a Marxist/Communist country. I would call that an “extreme political organization.”

When you look into the eyes of those who are demanding women have the demonic “right” to kill their unborn babies, even infanticide after birth, and who can’t define a woman and believe men can get pregnant, you see evil deception, greed, power, and pride.

Paganism! Hedonism!

King Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, was also enticed by paganism, but the Lord saw everything just like He’s watching all the evil today, and He said there would be consequences to the king who once wisely saved a baby’s life. (1 Kings 3:16-28)

1 Kings 11:1-8 tells of Solomon’s downfall:

Now King Solomon loved many foreign women. Besides Pharaoh’s daughter, he married women from Moab, Ammon, Edom, Sidon, and from among the Hittites. ²The Lord had clearly instructed the people of Israel, “You must not marry them, because they will turn your hearts to their gods.” Yet Solomon insisted on loving them anyway. ³He had 700 wives of royal birth and 300 concubines. And in fact, they did turn his heart away from the Lord.
⁴In Solomon’s old age, they turned his heart to worship other gods instead of being completely faithful to the Lord his God, as his father, David, had been. ⁵Solomon worshiped Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molech,^[^a^] the detestable god of the Ammonites.
⁶In this way, Solomon did what was evil in the Lord’s sight; he refused to follow the Lord completely, as his father, David, had done. ⁷On the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem,^[^a^] he even built a pagan shrine for Chemosh, the detestable god of Moab, and another for Molech, the detestable god of the Ammonites. ⁸Solomon built such shrines for all his foreign wives to use for burning incense and sacrificing to their gods.

Chemosh was the name of the chief pagan god of the Moabites. Molech represents the most repulsive of acts in God’s sight, the ritual sacrifice of children to a pagan god. Just like abortion sacrifices children to the gods of pleasure, convenience, selfish ambition, and money.

I wonder if all the protestors, activists, and politicians demanding that abortion remain legal have ever watched the movie Unplanned where we see a callous doctor vacuum a fetus out of a mother’s womb. Or read about the tortures children experience during abortion when saline is injected in-vitro into their heart to stop it from beating or instruments used to tear the baby apart limb by limb in their mother’s womb. If you can stand to hear details, Dr. Anthony Levatino, a former abortion doctor, graphically described the procedure to Congress.

The tortured, burned, dismembered bodies of these babies are thrown into trashcans or sold for research. That’s the reality of abortion. Most people would be aghast if this atrocity happened to puppies, yet people and politicians are actually protesting that every woman should have the “right” to mercilessly kill their unborn child. Barbaric. Hedonistic ritualistic sacrifice of humans. Paganism!

I recently heard an abortion survivor at seven months share her story. She’s a beautiful woman who founded an abortion survivors’ organization. She has a family. She had a right to life just like every aborted child had a right to its life.

Biden in defense of abortion falsely claims “Roe says what all basic mainstream religions have historically concluded, that the existence of a human life and being is a question. Is it at the moment of conception? Is it six months? Is it six weeks? Is it quickening, like Aquinas argued?”

This is an outright lie when he knows his own Catholic “religion” vehemently opposes abortion. Actually, it doesn’t matter what “mainstream religions” say, it only matters that God says, “Thou shalt not kill!” Period. No discussion or rationalization. And with modern technology and science, we absolutely do know that human life begins at conception. Now we can hear the baby’s heartbeat and literally watch the child develop in the womb! We know a baby in the womb experiences fetal pain and has viability in the second trimester and in some cases even earlier.

When an interviewer asked Dr. Levatino to give a gestational timeframe for acceptable abortion, he responded, “You were always you!” In other words, NEVER!

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

While lobbying for abortion and not once condemning the “leak” or supporting SCOTUS, Biden said, “abort a child,” and then declared, “I believe I have the rights that I have not because the government gave it to me . . . but because I’m just a child of God: I exist.” Yes, Mr. President you exist with rights because your mother chose life and not death for you. But God does not give the right to murder. Every aborted child is a child of God with a right to exist! Using God in your defense of abortion is blasphemy and an abomination to our Great Creator. *

Let’s read on to see what God said to King Solomon about abandoning the Lord’s ways.

⁹The Lord was very angry with Solomon, for his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. ¹⁰He had warned Solomon specifically about worshiping other gods, but Solomon did not listen to the Lord’s command. ¹¹So now the Lord said to him, “Since you have not kept my covenant and have disobeyed my decrees, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your servants. 1 Kings 11:9-11 NLT

No one is fooled. The Democrats were behind the SCOTUS vile leak to rev up their base because the odds are against them in November and to take the focus off inflation, crime, rising food and gas costs, and the invasion at the border. They were ready with their protestors and speeches moments after the leak. They know they’re on a trajectory to lose “their kingdom” and long ago they discarded ethics, morals, and scruples. We saw that with the last election.

What Do We Do Now?

With God we will gain the victory, and he will trample down our enemies. Ps. 108:13

1. We pray for wisdom of when and what to do and say. We pray for the safety and protection of the Supreme Court Justices and their families and that they don’t waiver under pressure but vote with integrity. We don’t stay silent in the face of deception and evil. We pray for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. (Matt. 6:10)

2. We speak the truth and educate those who often don’t even know that they’re championing and protesting for mothers to kill their children.

3. We vote for anti-abortion, family-friendly truly Conservative Christian political representatives and do our homework before we vote. When abortion comes back to the states to vote, we’ll have our work to do all over again, especially if you live in blue states.

4. We support parents speaking out against the pornographic perverted sex and racist CRT taught in some schools today. I wrote more about this is my blog “They’re Coming for Our Children!”

When its age appropriate, children should be taught the biological fact that when a male sperm permeates a female egg a child results and it can happen the first time you have unprotected sex! That’s how babies are made. Don’t have sex unless you’re ready to take on that responsibility. I think it would be good for sex education to show videos of babies developing in the womb so that children won’t be deceived into thinking there’s not a real person with moving arms and legs and eyes, nose, and a mouth that smiles.

Kimberly Fletcher, founder of MomsforAmerica.us says parents need to teach their children the truth about abortion and that it is barbarically taking a life. Raise children to understand the difference between death and the value and sanctity of life. Understanding evil versus good should be taught in every home. Children are hearing lies and hyperbole and home should be a safe place to hear the truth and ask questions.

5. If you haven’t seen the movie Unplanned, watch it now to reaffirm your anti-abortion, pro-life conviction and recommend it to anyone you know who is pro-abortion, pro-death. Here’s the trailer.

6. Churches should offer counseling and ministries to provide hope and tangible help to women dealing with unplanned pregnancies. For those who have already had abortions, help them find spiritual healing that comes from seeking God’s forgiveness.

I’ll close with this story. On a panel show discussing the Roe leak, a liberal left Democrat who was distraught with the possible overturn of Roe spewed angrily, “What am I supposed to tell my daughters?!”

With those words, he epitomized the reality of what abortion has become to many, including parents, a form of accepted birth control.

I said to the TV screen, “You tell your daughters not to have promiscuous sex outside of marriage. You tell them don’t have unprotected sex unless you’re ready to have a baby. You remind them that sex is the beautiful way God created for a husband and wife to come together as one to give the gift of life to a child. You tell them abortion snuffs out a life.

They shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land was desecrated by their blood. Ps. 106:38

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Psalm 139:13

This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live. Deut. 30:19

Here are blogs I wrote previously.

What If Abortion Had Been an Option for Mary?

Why You Should See #Unplanned Movie

Prisoner’s of Choice By Patti Smith

*Note: I’ve told you in earlier blogs how God often confirms the topic I’m to write about. I hope you’ll take a moment to read an article in Blaze News by Steve Deace “The most demonic moment in the history of the presidency?” I had already written the above blog when I read Deace’s article, which conveyed similar thoughts the Lord had given to me. It was an ah-ha moment over my Friday morning coffee. Here’s Deace’s closing paragraph . . .

“If you are a Christian, you must realize that the president of the United States just brought down curses and judgement upon your nation no different than the wicked kings of ancient Israel did. He is telling you that the heavens demand human sacrifice. He is telling you, this “devout Catholic,” that salvation comes from rogue tyranny and power over others instead of from the cross. In other words, Nero still lives.”

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May 9, 2022

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God Is Up to Something Big!

I’m back! For those of you who follow my Monday Morning Blog, I announced at the beginning of March that I would be taking a brief sabbatical while my hubby had his second knee replacement surgery. I know some of you have been praying for us and we’re so grateful for all the prayers and the help we received from family, our church family, and friends.

It’s a difficult surgery, as any of you who’ve experienced it knows; you practically need to learn to walk again with a new prosthetic knee. I’m happy to report that Dave’s doing well, progressing with physical therapy, and diligently doing his exercises and recumbent bike riding at home.

So much has been taking place in the world, it’s been hard for me not to chime in, but I’ve been in a season of caregiving for hubby and praying for our country’s leaders who are being led by the devil and not by the Lord!!

Your Testimony is Your Best Witness

On April 24, I celebrated a milestone moment in my own testimony. I want to share a bit of it with you here to confirm what God can and will do for anyone who truly surrenders his or her life to God.

In the summer of 1992, I rededicated my life to the Lord at a Harvest Crusade led by Pastor Greg Laurie at the then Anaheim Stadium, in Anaheim California. I’d been a Christian since I was eleven but backslid horribly in my thirties and early forties as a single parent for seventeen years. At that life-altering crusade, Pastor Laurie asked, “Are you ready to die tonight?”

I knew I wasn’t and when he gave the invitation for those who wanted to give their life to Christ or rededicate their life I joined hundreds down on the stadium field. I told the Lord, “This prodigal is returning to you completely. I surrender all of my life to you Lord. No turning back!” I had no idea how seriously the Lord would take my words, or what would be ahead of me, but I was ready to follow Jesus with my entire life, heart, and soul.

On December 19,1992, just a few months after the Harvest Crusade, I married my godly husband Dave, who I had just broken up with prior to the Crusade; but I heard the Lord say to me that night, “You asked for a godly man and I gave him to you, now rededicate yourself to him too!”

When we’d only been married a year and I still had a fulltime career, I started attending Fuller Theological Seminary obtaining a Masters of Arts in Christian Leadership, with an emphasis on equipping the laity. Within three years after I rededicated my life to Christ, I left my business career and started the Woman to Woman Mentoring Ministry, which is still a vibrant biblically based ministry in many churches today and new churches are continually starting the ministry with the resources I wrote twenty-five years ago!

Five years after the Harvest Crusade, I began a writing ministry and speaking ministry, “About His Work Ministries. I had NEVER written a book before, but God has since used me to write twenty-one books and Bible studies for His glory!

So when I heard that Greg Laurie was bringing Harvest Crusade to Boise, fairly near where we now live in Idaho, that was exciting. The first attempt at the Boise Crusade was in 2020 but it was canceled because of Covid. Now in April 2022 Pastor Greg and Harvest Crusade was coming to Boise!

As I reminisced about my first Harvest Crusade in 1992, I realized that Dave and I would be celebrating our thirtieth anniversary this December so the 2022 Harvest Crusade in Boise would also be my 30-year anniversary of rededicating my life to Jesus. I knew I had to attend. Dave wasn’t up to it yet, but our church was taking a bus since we’re about 1 ½ hours from the Crusade, so I took the bus and met my daughter and son-in-law there.

I wasn’t disappointed. I was encouraged and inspired yet again! When Greg came to the point in the program that touched my heart 30 years ago where he invited people who wanted to make Jesus their Lord and Savior, people were up out of their seats and flooding the auditorium floor. There were so many people coming down the second night, the fire marshal had them stop coming but they stood in the aisles. Here are the glorious responses from that weekend. Praise God revival is happening in Boise and I got to see it firsthand.

God is Springing Up Revival Throughout Our Country!

On the Thursday and Friday nights prior to the Saturday and Sunday Boise Crusade, Flashpoint Live held an event at the Mabee Center in Tulsa Oklahoma. If you’re not familiar with Flashpoint on the Victory channel on Tuesday and Thursday nights, here’s a link to check it out. Dave and I watch this program to get a Christian perspective on today’s news and to give us hope when it feels like our country is hopeless.

But the point I want to make is that Flashpoint experienced the same overflow of attendance of 10,000 people and 1650 responding to make a first-time decision or recommitment for a Christ-centered life. Again, just like in Boise, the stands started emptying as people poured down to the floor, which became so full some had to remain standing in the aisles.

Two seemingly unrelated events and yet so related in sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

People are hungry for something to provide peace and purpose in their life as we watch the world crumble all around us. Only Jesus has that power! Only Jesus has the answers! Not the government flailing in the dark as they become more and more the minions of the Devil. Their evil deeds are unveiled daily, but never fear. God sees it all and will react at the perfect time.

Our job is to continue sharing the light of the Gospel by telling whoever will listen what God has done in our own life. You don’t have to be an evangelist like Greg Laurie or Mario Murillo or Franklin Graham. You just need to live boldly and bravely for Christ in all your actions, deeds, and words.

Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Matt. 9:37

I love this quote from Mario Murillo in his blog To Save Freedom: “You are constantly hearing the religious empty suits telling you to stay out of the political arena. But if we lose freedom, you will rue the day that you ever listened to their fake morality. You are not a “Christian Nationalist.” You are a sincere Christian who opposes evil, no matter what camouflage it wears or how it rebrands itself.”

So when was the last time you shared your testimony, or what God is doing in your life now, with someone who needs encouragement and hope? Maybe you need to remember it for your own encouragement! Let’s join God in taking revival to the nation!

Billy Graham said in his book Till Armageddon, “The will of God will never take us where the grace of God cannot sustain us!”

Even in darkness light dawns for the upright, for those who are gracious and compassionate and righteous. Psalm 112:4

You can read more of my story of being a prodigal raising a prodigal in my book Praying for Your Prodigal Daughter: Hope, Help & Encouragement for Hurting Parents.

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May 2, 2022

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

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

There’s Power in Letting God Use Your Testimony!

Yes, He Gets Us, But Jesus Doesn’t Want to Leave Us How He Found Us!

What’s Missing with the ‘He Gets Us’ Campaign?

The Younger Generation Is Not Seeking a “He Gets Us” Jesus

Has the Church Forgotten We Are the Conscience of the Government?

The Devil is Drawing His Line in the Sand and Christians Must Choose Who They Will Follow

How to Celebrate a Peaceful Joyful Post-Election Thanksgiving

Is Thanksgiving a Religious Holiday?

Biblical Ways to Have a Peaceful Joyful Thanksgiving

Past Thanksgiving Blogs

Thanksgiving Tablecloth Idea

“God Made the Decision!”

Our Family Choice for Life Story

How Do We Love Those Who Reject God and His Ways?

Our Battle is Not Against the Protesters or Pro-Death Advocates!

As Christians, What Should We Do for These Lost Souls?

There’s Hope for America Breaking Free From Demonic Paganism!

Paganism in America

What Do We Do Now?

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Don’t Lose HOPE for America

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

There’s Power in Letting God Use Your Testimony!

What’s Missing with the ‘He Gets Us’ Campaign?

The Younger Generation Is Not Seeking a “He Gets Us” Jesus

The Devil is Drawing His Line in the Sand and Christians Must Choose Who They Will Follow

Is Thanksgiving a Religious Holiday?

Biblical Ways to Have a Peaceful Joyful Thanksgiving

Past Thanksgiving Blogs

Thanksgiving Tablecloth Idea

My Thoughts on Being Called Right-Wing Christians

What’s a Christian to Do and Say?

Our Family Choice for Life Story

Our Battle is Not Against the Protesters or Pro-Death Advocates!

As Christians, What Should We Do for These Lost Souls?

Paganism in America

What Do We Do Now?

Your Testimony is Your Best Witness

God is Springing Up Revival Throughout Our Country!

Subscribe to My Newsletter

Search This Site

Receive My Weekly Blog

Blog Archives

Grab and Share My Button

Golden Scrolls Finalist

BibleGateway

Subscribe to My Newsletter

Categories

Latest from My Weekly Blog

Subscribe by Email to my Blog

Subscribe to Our Weekly Blog

Contact Janet

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