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An Open Letter to James Talarico

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I woke up early Saturday morning with James Talarico on my mind. As I tried to go back to sleep, I literally said, “Lord, I don’t want to be thinking about James Talarico!!”

I couldn’t go back to sleep, so I got up, made a pot of coffee, and started to scroll on my phone through Facebook as the coffee was brewing expecting to sit down and have my quiet time with the Lord.

But what was the first thing I saw?! The following open letter from Pastor Jeff Mullen to Texas State Representative James Talarico. I wasn’t a follower of Pastor Mullen, although I am now, but one of my Facebook friends had shared this letter.

I knew this couldn’t be a “coincidence.”

I too have been posting about the false teachings of Talarico who claims to be a Christian pastor and seminary student while running as a Democrat for a Texas Senate seat. What has frustrated me, and maybe you too, is not only the way Talarico twists Scripture to endorse his party’s radical progressive liberal godless agenda, but that many people are gobbling it up because he’s trying to use Scripture to endorse sin.

They’re calling his false teachings “real Christianity” when it’s actually “real satanic.”

What I appreciated about Pastor Mullen’s letter below is that as one Facebook follower commented: “Such relevant insights, written in love while proclaiming truth.”

The only thing that Pastor Mullen didn’t address is Talarico referring to women as “neighbors with uteruses” and that his favorite people are trans children!

Talarico also recently gave the opening invocation as a current Texas State Rep where he addressed God as a “Holy mystery” with “so many names.”

He stated: “The Torah calls you Creator. The Quran calls you Peace. The Gita calls you Destroyer. The Dharma calls you Truth, and the First Epistle of John calls you perhaps the most beautiful name of all, Love.”

My response to him is the Book of John does NOT call Jesus “Love,” and He didn’t call himself Love. John opens with calling Jesus “the Word.”

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1

Exodus 20:3 states, “Thou shalt have NO OTHER Gods before me!” Talarico must’ve missed that important commandment.

Whether or not you live in Texas, it should upset you as a Christian that Talarico’s blasphemy is being passed off as “Christianity.”

You may be wondering, like me, why the Democrat party would try and run such a controversial candidate in the state of Texas. As I thought about it several reasons came to mind.

  1. The Democrat party before the 2024 election hired a very expensive “Christian” consulting firm to advise them on how to attract the Christian vote since their entire platform is anti-God and anti-Christian. But this firm was actually liberal woke. I remember laughing when I heard this.
  2. The Democrat party is so clueless about Christianity that they think Christians will vote for anyone who calls themselves a “Christian” even though he espouses and stands for the complete opposite of biblical doctrine.
  3. The Democrat party underestimated real Christians who can’t be intimidated, tricked, or manipulated.

The positive that’s come out of the media coverage of the Democrat darling Talarico is that more and more Christians are speaking out with the truth that counters Talarico’s false teaching. Like Pastor Mullen, many on social media, conservative news programs, and Bible believing Christians are countering Talarico with contextual biblical truths.

I hope you’ll read Pastor Mullen’s letter below and share this blog. It will also give you biblical responses when you encounter people who are believing Talarico’s heretical abuse of Scripture.

Remember even Satan knows Scripture and twists it to tempt and deceive.

Here is Pastor Mullen’s Open Letter to James Talarico . . .

I don’t typically write open letters…

Dear Representative Talarico,

My name is Jeff Mullen. As a pastor who spent thirty years shepherding God’s people, I have learned that what we believe about God shapes everything else. That is why I am writing this letter.

I do not write as a political opponent, but as a fellow citizen concerned about the growing confusion surrounding faith, truth, and Scripture. Because you frequently speak about Christianity, quote the Bible, and present your views as expressions of Christian conviction, I believe those claims deserve to be examined in light of God’s Word.

One of my greatest concerns is that many people know you are currently pursuing a Master of Divinity degree at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary while serving as a Texas State Representative and working toward ordination in the Presbyterian Church. As a result, many people understandably assume that your theological conclusions represent historic biblical Christianity. Your words, therefore, carry weight far beyond politics.

When theological claims are presented in the name of Christ, people naturally assume they are hearing biblical truth. My concern is that some of the positions you advocate may lead sincere people away from the clear teaching of Scripture and toward a version of Christianity that reflects the spirit of the age more than the Word of God.

Over thirty years of ministry, I have sat beside hospital beds, preached funerals, counseled struggling families, and watched countless people wrestle with questions of faith. One lesson stands above the rest: when we drift from Scripture, confusion always follows.

James warns that those who teach will be judged more strictly (James 3:1). That reality has humbled me throughout my ministry, and it should humble anyone who publicly speaks in the name of Christ.

For that reason, I offer these thoughts—not as an attack, but as a pastoral appeal for biblical clarity and faithfulness.

1. Concerning Your Statement That God Is Non-Binary

God is spirit and transcends human limitations. Christians agree on that. The question, however, is not how modern culture categorizes God but how God has chosen to reveal Himself. Throughout Scripture, God consistently reveals Himself as Father. Jesus taught His disciples to pray, “Our Father in heaven” (Matthew 6:9). Christ is the Son, and the Church is His Bride. These are not accidental descriptions but part of God’s self-revelation.

Every generation faces the temptation to reshape God according to its own values. Ancient cultures carved idols from stone. Modern cultures often carve them from ideology. Faithful Christianity begins by allowing God to define Himself rather than redefining Him according to cultural preferences. We do not improve upon divine revelation; we submit to it.

2. Concerning Your Statement That Other Religions Are Circling the Same Truth

Respect for people of different faiths is a Christian virtue. Surrendering truth is not. The suggestion that multiple religions ultimately lead to the same God stands in direct conflict with the words of Jesus Himself.

Jesus declared, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). Peter echoed that truth when he proclaimed, “There is salvation in no one else” (Acts 4:12). Christianity does not teach that all roads lead to God. It teaches that God has provided one Savior for the world. We can love our neighbors of every faith while remaining faithful to the exclusive claims of Christ.

3. Concerning Your Statement That the Bible Is Silent on Abortion

While Scripture does not use the modern term abortion, it speaks clearly about life in the womb. David wrote, “You knit me together in my mother’s womb” (Psalm 139:13). God told Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you” (Jeremiah 1:5). John the Baptist responded to Christ while still in his mother’s womb (Luke 1:41).

The consistent testimony of Scripture is that unborn children are known by God, created by God, and valued by God. The question is not whether the word abortion appears in the Bible. The question is whether the child in the womb is a human life bearing God’s image. Scripture answers that question repeatedly and clearly. Christians have historically defended the unborn not because of politics, but because every human life belongs to God.

4. Concerning Your Use of Mary’s Consent to Defend Abortion Rights

Mary’s response to Gabriel was not an assertion of autonomy but an expression of surrender. When told of God’s plan, she replied, “I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38).

The entire story of the incarnation celebrates the acceptance and protection of life within the womb. God Himself entered humanity through the womb of a woman. Mary’s example is not about the right to end life but the willingness to trust God with it. To use the incarnation as support for abortion requires reversing the very message the story proclaims.

5. Concerning Your Statement That Jesus Was a Radical Feminist

Jesus elevated the dignity of women in ways that challenged the culture of His day. He taught women, ministered to women, welcomed them among His followers, and entrusted women with proclaiming His resurrection.

Yet calling Jesus a radical feminist places a modern political label on One who transcends every political movement. Jesus did not come to advance an ideology; He came to save sinners and establish the Kingdom of God. Every political movement must ultimately be measured against Christ—not Christ against a political movement.

6. Concerning Your Statements About Biological Sex

Conversations about sex and gender involve real people and often deep personal struggles. Christians should approach them with compassion and humility. Yet compassion cannot require the abandonment of truth.

Scripture teaches that humanity was intentionally created as male and female. Genesis declares, “Male and female He created them” (Genesis 1:27), and Jesus reaffirmed that truth (Matthew 19:4). The Christian understanding of sex is rooted not in cultural tradition but in God’s design. Our identity is not ultimately discovered through self-definition but through submission to the One who created us. God’s design is not restrictive; it is wise and good.

7. Concerning Your Support for Same-Sex Marriage and the Reinterpretation of Biblical Sexual Ethics

Few issues create more tension in modern Christianity than sexuality and marriage. The temptation is either to compromise truth in the name of love or abandon love in the name of truth. Scripture calls us to neither.

From Genesis to Revelation, marriage is presented as a covenant between one man and one woman. Jesus affirmed this design when He quoted Genesis and declared that the two become one flesh (Matthew 19:4-6). The New Testament consistently teaches that sexual intimacy belongs within that covenant.

These teachings are not expressions of fear or hostility. They are expressions of God’s design for human flourishing. The call of discipleship is not the affirmation of every desire but the surrender of every area of life to the Lordship of Christ.

8. Concerning the Danger of Reshaping Christianity to Fit Culture

The deeper concern behind these issues is the temptation to reshape Christianity so it aligns more comfortably with the values of the age. The Church has faced this pressure for two thousand years. The source changes; the temptation remains the same.

Paul warned Timothy that a time would come when people would seek teachers who tell them what they want to hear rather than what God has said (2 Timothy 4:3-4). The role of Christian leaders is not to make Scripture acceptable to the culture. It is to faithfully proclaim Scripture, whether the culture applauds or rejects it.

During my years in ministry, I learned that God does not call pastors to make Scripture popular. He calls us to make it plain.

When culture becomes the lens through which we interpret Scripture, truth is eventually replaced by preference. The question for every generation is not whether the Bible aligns with the culture, but whether we are willing to align ourselves with the Bible.

The Biblical Responsibility of Leaders

Representative Talarico,

Politics is temporary. Elections are temporary. Legislative victories are temporary. Souls are not.

Scripture teaches that those who influence others bear a greater responsibility before God. James warns that teachers will be judged more strictly. Jesus warns against leading others astray. These truths should humble every pastor, teacher, author, influencer, and public servant who speaks in God’s name.

They certainly humble me.

For thirty years, I stood behind a pulpit knowing that one day I would answer to God for every sermon I preached and every truth I taught. The same is true for anyone who publicly speaks about faith and Scripture.

The older I get, the less interested I am in winning arguments and the more concerned I am about whether people know the truth.

My concern is not your political party. My concern is whether the Jesus being presented to the public is the Jesus revealed in Scripture or a version reshaped by the spirit of the age.

America does not need progressive Christianity or conservative Christianity. America needs biblical Christianity—faithful to God’s Word, centered on Christ, and unafraid to proclaim truth in love.

My prayer for you is the same prayer I pray for myself: that every belief, every ambition, and every public statement would be brought under the authority of Scripture. Because one day neither of us will stand before voters, political parties, commentators, or public opinion.

We will stand before God and give an account.

Respectfully,

Jeff Mullen

Pastor Emeritus

Follower of Jesus Christ

To follow Pastor Jeff Mullen on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/jeffrey.mullen

What are your thoughts on this blog? Please leave a comment here.

June 1, 2026
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Easter Is the Perfect Time to Share Your Testimony!

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As I was thinking about how to honor Jesus this Holy Week prior to Easter, the Lord clearly told me it’s by encouraging my readers to not only share the reason for Easter, but also what Easter means to each of us personally. Our born-again testimony.

10 Then I heard a loud voice shouting across the heavens,

“It has come at last—
    salvation and power
and the Kingdom of our God,
    and the authority of his Christ.
For the accuser of our brothers and sisters
    has been thrown down to earth—
the one who accuses them
    before our God day and night.
11 And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb
    and by their testimony.
And they did not love their lives so much
    that they were afraid to die. Revelation 12:10-11

Ten times in the Book of Revelation, John refers to the importance and power of our testimony. In 1 John 5:11, John explains our testimony: “And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.”

I have some questions for you to consider . . .

–When was the last time you shared your testimony?

–How did surrendering your life to Jesus change your life?

–What’s your born-again experience?

–What sets our faith in Jesus Christ apart from any other religion in the world?

–What does the cross and resurrection mean to each of you personally?

Why Must You Be Born Again to Become a Christian?

Jesus said to Nicodemus, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”

“How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”

5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

9 “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.

10 “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? 11 Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony.” John 3:3-10 

11 Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. 12 I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? 13 No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. 14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.” John 3:11-15.

Next, we have the verse so many of us have memorized since childhood.

16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. John 3:16-18

Those of us who are born again can become complacent about the power of our testimony. As Revelation 2:4 warns, we’ve forgotten our first love when we were so excited to tell everyone about the most important thing that’s ever happened in our life. Yes, above marriage, becoming parents, fame, fortune, position, possessions . . . Nothing compares to salvation and eternal life. Yet, it’s often our best-kept secret.

Just like Nicodemus, people may find it hard to believe our born-again testimony, but it should never mean we don’t tell it anyway. It also means that everyone who calls themselves a Christian must have a testimony.

–No one is a Christian since birth.

–No one becomes a Christian because they were born into a Christian home or had Christian parents.

–Being baptized doesn’t make you a Christian.

–Going to church every Sunday, doesn’t make you a Christian.

–Serving in Christian ministry, singing in the choir, fasting, reading the Bible every day, while all good things, does NOT make you a Christian.

–Believing in Jesus doesn’t make you a Christian. Even Satan believes in Jesus.

—Becoming a Christian means being born-again.

—Accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior believing that He died on the Cross and rose in three days to offer eternal life to everyone who believes and asks for forgiveness of their sins is a free will spiritual act of surrender, repentance, and forgiveness that only Jesus offers. No one can make this decision for you, and no one can force you to make it.

–Becoming a Christian is between the Lord and you.

—When you surrender your life and heart to Jesus, the Holy Spirit comes into your heart, mind, and soul. You’re supernaturally born again!

You might’ve asked Jesus to come into your heart in the silence of your home or in a stadium full of people. Maybe praying for salvation in church or with a relative, friend or mentor, or watching a sermon on television or reading a tract or the Bible. It doesn’t matter where you are or whether someone led you in a prayer.

For some people this is a quiet sacred moment, and others feel the ground moving under their feet. Some will weep. Some will laugh. Some may break out into song. Some know a change took place, but there wasn’t lightening or a noticeable outward sign, it was all within your spirit. That’s because God made us each unique with different personalities and responses, but every Christian has a testimony of accepting Jesus’ free invitation of salvation.

5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” John 14:5-6

My Born Again Testimony

Every time I speak at a conference or women’s retreat, I share my testimony. I also have “My Testimony” on my website with the heading “Born Again” and a picture of the summer camp I was at when I gave my life to Christ.

Like many of you, I also experienced backsliding years. I share that story on my website also and in many of my books of rededicating my life to Christ and being called into full-time ministry and writing.

Share Your Story—Make It Your Testimony

In Forsaken God? Remembering the Goodness of God Our Culture Has Forgotten, I stress the importance of remembering and sharing our testimony. Here are a few excerpts from chapter Twenty-Three, “Remember His Commission.”

“Your spiritual journey is your testimony that describes your life before you turned it over—or returned—to God and how you’ve transformed into a new creation in Christ.”

“You may not think you have a testimony if you’ve been a Christian most of your life and life has gone smoothly for you. Well, that smooth life didn’t just happen. 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 are a living example of how good God really is!

But if you have a hidden past you’ve been too embarrassed to talk about, now is the time to deal with those buried hurts and hang-ups. . . God can use every experience for good, but not if we don’t let him. The Bible tells us “the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23), so hidden sin holds us in a death grip that silently destroys us spiritually, and often physically, from the inside out. Exposed sin loses its power. We don’t have to waste energy and emotion worrying about others discovering our past. We can ‘thank God we’ve started listening to a new master, one whose commands set us free to live openly in his freedom’ (personalized from Rom. 6:18 The Message).

Think back to an experience where you know it had to be God who rescued you and how you might make that a testimony of his goodness . . .Every time you give God the glory for something in your life, you testify to God’s goodness. Your salvation testimony shares your life before Jesus, how he changed your heart, and how he spiritually saved your life. God has given you a story to share for his glory, so seize every opportunity to praise him and encourage others. I like this saying: sometimes God redeems your story by surrounding you with people who need to hear your past so it doesn’t become their future. When we don’t share our story, we don’t share his story.

You must be willing to share how God helped you through difficult times, and that requires vulnerability, approachability, and responsibility. It’s your witness to his faithfulness. It’s the opportunity to give purpose to a crisis. Otherwise, you might spend your life feeling sorry for yourself—living as a victim instead of victorious. Revealing is the first step to healing.

Your story becomes your testimony when the focus is on God and not on you. Don’t tell graphic details of anything to make someone else or you uncomfortable. 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!

If you haven’t written out your spiritual testimony here are some tips. Think of it in five parts:

  • Your life before Jesus.
  • How, when, why you realized you needed a Savior.
  • Making the commitment, or recommitment, and surrendering your life to Jesus.
  • The change in your life since becoming a Christian.
  • What being a Christian means to you.

In Psalm 71:15, the psalmist admits he’s not sure if what he says will help, but he’ll tell his story and let God choose how to use it: “My mouth will tell of your righteous deeds, of your saving acts all day long—though I know not how to relate them all.” Some people may reject or rebuff your testimony. That’s not a sign to stop telling it; you plant a seed, and God does the watering. Peter reminds us always to be ready to share our testimony.

But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16 keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. 1 Peter 3:15-16

So don’t worry about how God will use your testimony, or how someone will receive it. Just be willing to speak up when you feel the prompting of the Holy Spirit, and He’ll use it for God’s purpose. Sometimes it will be in a spiritual setting, other times when you least expect it. Be ready to share with or within . . .

  • Church
  • Bible study group or small group
  • Mentoring relationships
  • Others going through something similar
  • Conversations acknowledging God’s goodness in your daily life
  • Social media
  • Blogs
  • Unbelievers or skeptics
  • Support groups
  • Where else?”

Your Testimony Is Your Witness That Jesus Christ Lives!

Where does God want you to share your testimony this Easter, or anytime, and who needs to hear it?

Who needs to know the reason for your hope?

If you’re reading this blog and have never asked Jesus to come into your heart and been born again, here’s a prayer to pray if you’re ready now.

Salvation Prayer

Dear Jesus, I know I have sinned in my life and I want to tell you how sorry I am and I want to repent and change my ways. I ask you now to forgive me and cleanse me of those sins. Jesus, I want you to come into my heart and take residence there. I believe you are the Son of God and that you died on the cross to pay the price for my sins and then rose again in three days to offer me eternal life. Please fill me with the Holy Spirit and your love. Lord, I give you my life—make me a new creation in you. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

If you prayed the Salvation Prayer: Welcome to the family of God! God just wiped away your past sins and gave you a clean slate. You have been born again into a new life in Christ. Congratulations! Celebrate and tell others about the decision you just made to become a follower of Jesus Christ—it’s your testimony. You’re ready to grow and mature spiritually. Happy first Easter as a new believer.

To all my readers I leave with you this message from the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 1:4-9:

I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. 5 For in him you have been enriched in every way—with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge— 6 God thus confirming our testimony about Christ among you. 7 Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. 8 He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Note: As I’m writing this blog on Sunday 3/29/2026, President Trump has released a copy of a letter sent to him by Reverend Franklin Graham. I share it below as confirmation of everything I’ve written in this blog about how we become Christians.

In my blog last week, We’re One Nation Under God NOT Allah!, I said that the Christian faith is the only religion with a living spiritual Savior who died and rose again to offer us eternal life with Him. Jesus lives within the heart and soul of every Christian believer!

Please leave a comment here. I appreciate hearing your thoughts on my blogs.

March 30, 2026
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Respect and Appreciate the Men and Women Who Keep Us Safe by Enforcing the Law

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There’s so much on my heart and mind to write about that it’s been difficult to focus on one topic as I prayed about this week’s Monday Morning Blog. As my daughter Kim said, “Mom, it seems like every day there’s something new they’re protesting about.” She’s right. Events are coming at us so quickly that we can barely process before another one happens.

The federal government’s actions focused on making America safer and greater, instantly result in antagonistic anti-American protests by groups of people brainwashed, trained, and paid to not just protest but to interfere with and impede anything President Donald Trump sanctions, even when it will make their own lives better and safer. TDS is a mental and spiritual illness that is literally getting people killed!

First amendment civil protesters allow themselves to be arrested in order to emphasize just how important their cause is to them. Generally, with minimal or no harm to police and bystanders. Today’s protests, particularly in so-called sanctuary states where local government and law enforcement won’t work with federal ICE agents, aren’t rational, logical, peaceful, or civil! They’re often violent and dangerous. That’s how you know they’re fueled by Satan the father of chaos, lies, and confusion. Yes, hypocritical insane dangerous protests like the following are criminal and satanic:

  • Burning Tesla dealerships and keying Tesla cars that the Biden Administration and blue states like California were trying to force everyone to own. But when Tesla founder Elon Musk started finding graft and fraud in the swamp with DOGE, Democrats did an about-face and protested the very cars they had been promoting.
  • Protests on college campuses against Israel and Jews while endorsing sadistic Hamas terrorists.
  • Protesting the prevention of fentanyl coming into America that’s killing children and adults.
  • Protesting the capture of a brutal dictator like Maduro who the Biden administration had put a bounty on for his arrest.
  • Protesting making neighborhoods safer for themselves, their families, and neighbors. Impeding ICE from capturing criminals, monsters, violent gang members, terrorists, murderers, illegals, and child molesters who invaded our borders un-vetted under the Biden Administration and endanger every American.

The burning question: who is Satan using to finance these violent criminal protests with terrorist-like training and pay?

National Law Enforcement Appreciation

Did you know that Friday, January 9th was National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day? With all the news in Minnesota, tragically this day was severely neglected, and I didn’t see much appreciation. I barely saw anything about it on social media and heard nothing on the news. And yet, these men and women devote their very lives to saving and protecting our lives. National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day was established in 2015 by multiple organizations to publicly express gratitude for officers across the United States. One of the leading organizations behind the initiative is C.O.P.S – Concerns of Police Survivors. According to the group, it’s essential that officers know their demanding career path is recognized and valued by the people they serve.

Many of you know that my father, Officer Robert E. Reed, was a California Highway Patrolman killed with his own gun in the line of duty by someone he had pulled over for going the wrong way on the freeway. My father gave his life to save others, which is a possibility all law enforcement officers encounter every time they put on the uniform and go out the door to protect their fellow citizens.

In the case of ICE and Border Patrol Officers, they’re protecting you, me, our loved ones, and even the protesters and their families from people the Biden Administration indiscriminately let into our country knowing that many countries like Venezuela were opening their jails and prisons and letting out the worst of the worst to freely cross into our country. How does anyone think Tren de Aragua and MS13 gang members and other criminals with rap sheets in their own country got into our country? Most of them didn’t hop on a plane and pay their way to get here, they illegally were let into our country to terrorize and even kill our citizens.

The last administration refused to follow the border laws because they wanted to unjustly infiltrate in a voting base since they couldn’t get patriotic American citizens to vote for them and their ungodly policies. That’s why the Democrats and mainstream media are fighting so hard against the commonsense justice of deporting and/or arresting illegals many of whom have continued their crime and fraud sprees against innocent American families.

Well, we’re about to find out who is funding this domestic terrorism as Vice President JD Vance announced in a Press Conference last week, a new position in the Justice Department, an assistant attorney general. Hopefully, in addition to investigating fraud across the nation, they’ll also unveil bad actors training and paying American citizens in anti-ICE training centers to harass law enforcement officers by throwing rocks, bricks and ice, even Subway sandwiches at them. Using personal cars to block or ram into ICE vehicles and even ICE agents. Yell, spit, and hit officers, blow whistles, make noise when their trying to rest, dox and threaten their families.

Anti-ICE training centers remind me of Hamas and Islamists suicide bomb trainings. The indoctrination of Americans participating in this domestic terrorism brainwashing can be lethal, like the woman in Minnesota who instead of following law enforcement orders to get out of her car, was told by her lesbian partner to “drive baby drive” to get away aiming straight for the ICE agent in front of her. The partner was filming it all like she was making a documentary maybe to post on social media or send to the training center to prove they’d earned their pay! That’s my speculation, but even the partner was crying that it was her fault because she made Renee Good come to harass the ICE agents all morning, along with their dog in the car.

If you had asked them why they were protesting to protect criminals, while they were becoming criminals themselves, what would’ve been their answer? Maybe something like “This was what we were trained to do.” “I don’t know.” “I hate Trump!” Or as one protester told Laura Ingraham who asked why she wasn’t at work, “I’m getting paid here.”

What’s God’s Opinion About Lawlessness?

“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but too bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.” (Romans 13:1-4)

Traci Coston wrote on her Facebook page that lawlessness is the spirit of the antichrist and I agree. “Rules are not a terror to good conduct. When a government is acting in righteousness, and the people respect their authority, all will be well. I don’t panic when I pass a cop car if I’m going the speed limit. But we are seeing a generation of people whose hearts are far from God (the Minnesota woman was living a homosexual lifestyle), who are unable to tell right from wrong, rebel against authority because of their inability to perceive wickedness from righteousness. And this is just one, horribly sad, example of someone paying the price for that rebellion.” Traci Coston

The prospect of the righteous is joy, but the hopes of the wicked come to nothing. Pr. 10:28

TRUTH CHECK: ICE Is Not “Attacking Communities.” They Are Enforcing the Law.

Janet Elaine Parks, who I encourage you to follow on Facebook because she presents factual researched commentary on current events that are good for us to know and share when hearing lies, propaganda, gaslighting, or misinformation. The following is from Parks’ Facebook post:

The media narrative around ICE has become emotionally charged and deliberately misleading…

You’ve heard the claims:

• “ICE is terrorizing communities”

• “ICE is targeting families”

• “ICE is acting like a rogue force”

“This administration is anti-immigration!”

You have even seen the most dramatic scenes of ICE attempting to do their job taking down individuals and of course, these scenes are shown and often published without the full context. But when you strip away the rhetoric and look at what ICE actually does, the picture is very different…

Let’s deal with facts…

WHAT ICE ACTUALLY IS …

ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) is a federal law-enforcement agency under the Department of Homeland Security…

Its mission includes:

• enforcing immigration law

• targeting criminal networks

• removing individuals who violate federal immigration statutes

• combating human trafficking, drug trafficking, and transnational crime

ICE does not write immigration law.

ICE does not decide immigration policy.

ICE enforces laws passed by Congress.

Source: U.S. Department of Homeland Security – ICE Mission Statement (Established 2003; current mission reaffirmed in DHS public guidance, 2024–2026)

WHO ICE TARGETS (THIS MATTERS)

Contrary to media framing, ICE enforcement priorities historically focus on:

• individuals with final orders of removal

• repeat immigration violators

• individuals with criminal convictions

• gang members and transnational criminal affiliates

• those who ignore court hearings or violate release conditions

Even under administrations with broader enforcement, the majority of ICE removals involve people already flagged in the system.

Source: Congressional Research Service (CRS) – Immigration Enforcement: ICE Removal Statistics Publications: 2019–2025

“ICE IS TERRORIZING COMMUNITIES”: WHAT THE DATA SHOWS

ICE arrests occur through:

• targeted operations

• warrants or administrative removal orders

• known addresses tied to individuals already in violation of law

ICE does not conduct random street sweeps.

ICE does not arrest people based on race.

ICE does not enforce state or local laws.

Claims of “indiscriminate raids” are not supported by arrest data.

Source: ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) annual reports Publications: FY 2020–FY 2025

WHY COMMUNITIES FEEL “IMPACTED”

Here’s the uncomfortable truth the media avoids:

When immigration law is not enforced for years, enforcement later feels sudden …even when it’s lawful. The disruption isn’t caused by ICE. It’s caused by:

• years of non-enforcement

• mixed messaging from politicians

• false promises that laws wouldn’t be applied

• delayed court backlogs

Enforcing the law after ignoring it doesn’t create cruelty …it reveals policy failure.

Source: Department of Justice – Immigration Court Backlog Reports EOIR Statistics, 2022–2025

MEDIA FRAMING VS LEGAL REALITY

The media often uses emotional language like:

• “ICE stormed neighborhoods”

• “ICE ripped families apart”

• “ICE targeted communities”

But enforcement of federal law is not an “attack.”

It is the function of a sovereign nation.

Every country enforces borders.

Every country enforces residency laws.

Every country removes people who violate entry conditions.

The United States is not unique in this it is normal.

Source: OECD Migration Policy Reviews; DHS comparative border enforcement briefings. Publications: 2021–2024

COMPASSION AND LAW ARE NOT OPPOSITES

You can believe:

✔️people deserve dignity

✔️due process matters

✔️families should be treated humanely

AND still believe:

✔️laws must be enforced

✔️court orders matter

✔️borders are real

✔️enforcement isn’t optional

Those positions are not contradictory …they are foundational to any lawful society.

FINAL TRUTH

ICE didn’t create the immigration crisis.

ICE didn’t write the law.

ICE didn’t make political promises it couldn’t keep.

ICE is enforcing statutes passed by Congress statutes that still exist whether the media likes them or not.

Calling law enforcement “evil” for doing its job isn’t justice. It’s deflection.

Faith. Family. Freedom.

I, Janet Thompson, would add that calling law enforcement “evil” for doing their job is deception and demonic! As Christians, we need to pray for all law enforcement officers and their families and praise God that there are men and women who are willing to sacrifice their comfort and even their life to uphold the laws of the land.

__________________

A Word from Pastor Jack Hibbs

For Christmas, I asked for Jack Hibbs new devotional “Watching Waiting: A 40-Day End Times Devotional” because I do feel we’re in the end times. Here’s a quote from Day 8:

“In these days of deception, the need for discernment and steadfastness in the faith cannot be overstated. Believers must be vigilant against the subtle deceptions that permeate society guarding their hearts and minds with the truth of Scripture. By immersing themselves in the Word of God and deepening their relationship with Him, they can withstand the onslaught of falsehood and remain rooted in the unchanging truth of the Bible.

Know this: in these Last Days, you will see increased attacks on your thinking coming from deceiving spirits, invisible entities that will lie to you. Your only defense against spiritual deception is having Scripture embedded in your spirit. If you don’t know the Bible, you’re susceptible to deception. Remember, everything we read in Scripture has already been tested, tried, and attacked. Yet here we are reading statements made 2,000 years ago that fit perfectly with tomorrow’s news. This shows the timeless relevance of God’s Word.”

If you haven’t read last week’s Monday Morning Blog, now would be a good time. Here’s the link, Can I Have a Word with You in 2026!


But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people. 2 Tim. 3:1-5

I highly recommend reading this opinion article by David Marcus: Impeding Federal Law Enforcement is not protest, it’s just crime.

Please leave a comment here.

January 12, 2026
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What Are You Willing to Sacrifice For Your Beliefs?

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It’s good to be back with my Monday Morning Blog. I took a brief sabbatical from writing while hubby Dave had his 3rd major surgery in a year. This time it was a total shoulder replacement. If you know of anyone who has experienced this, or maybe you have, it’s no fun and requires a great deal of help from the caregiver. In our case, that would be me. So my brain was often in a fog keeping up with meds, chores, and being available 24/7. I’m happy to say we’re just over a month since surgery. He’s started physical therapy and becoming more independent even though he still is in a shoulder sling so only has the use of one arm as of this writing.

I’ve missed providing my commentary on the world’s events recently, but I’m ready to re-engage with some thoughts here. What the Lord has been showing me is the great divide that is taking place in our world today. Many have bravely exposed the source of that divide; others have remained silent counting the cost too high to speak up.

It’s no longer just a political divide. It’s a spiritual divide between good and evil and it’s invading churches, friends, and families.

This great divide isn’t new. Jesus was the Great Divider and because of that, He triggered many people who objected to what He said and did. The Bible and the Gospel triggers unbelievers. I purposely used the word “trigger” here because so often you hear pastors, teachers, school boards, even parents scolding or even punishing anyone who says something that might ‘trigger’ the opposing side or someone with a differing opinion.

Today, we see the left proposing and even justifying the use of violence if someone says something they disagree with that triggers them. We saw the ultimate culmination of that demonic thinking with the assassination of Charlie Kirk. Instead of the left backing down and acknowledging the terrible result of their violent rhetoric, they’ve doubled down with many celebrating his death or even using it as a threat against conservatives to intimidate us from questioning them and speaking our own beliefs.

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

That verse clearly sets the precedent for what Christians and conservatives are experiencing today with this cultural divide. If you’re a vocal professing Christian/conservative, you’ll probably be persecuted for your faith, values, and politics.

However, Jesus says, don’t let these persecutors intimidate or silence you because there’s also people like yourself living by a biblical worldview. If you’re willing to risk persecution and attacks to teach and share the Gospel and biblical values, other like-minded people will listen and also obey the teachings of Jesus in their personal and political lives.

Unfortunately, there are many pastors today who try to walk a neutral noncommittal line between these two groups to avoid loss of parishioners and tithing, or fear of complaints—persecution—by avoiding anything that would “trigger” someone in the congregation.

They appease the few rather than mature the flock.

I recently heard of a church where the young pastor was preaching a series on sin. Not skirting around sin but speaking directly to specific sins and what the Bible says about those sins. God hates sin and He’s not tolerant. Some congregants were so upset that they either stopped coming to church or said they would return when the series was over!!

Can you imagine that? I can. I’ve asked many times before when was the last time your pastor spoke about sins like abortion, homosexuality, adultery, same-sex marriage, lying, cheating, cursing? This brave pastor was willing to suffer the “persecution” of triggering people with the truth so he could teach those who wanted to know how to live biblically in a world that increasingly celebrates and legalizes sin.

This pastor was willing to cross over the great divide between good and evil, as every pastor should!

Jesus Triggered People Politically and Scripturally

Jesus shared the truth no matter what the cost. He knew, and even said, not everyone would accept it. The Gospel would divide people, but He didn’t come to unify, negotiate, or compromise good with evil. He came to earth and sacrificed His life on a cross to give everyone a chance to turn from his or her evil ways, repent, and follow Him. To cross over the divide from evil to good.

“Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn “‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—36 a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’”  Matt. 10:33-36

Jesus was political. God created government. It was His idea.

By me kings reign
    and rulers issue decrees that are just;
16 by me princes govern,
    and nobles—all who rule on earth. Pr. 8:15-16

Jesus’ life and mission carried with it political implications. His life was ended in a political execution because He challenged the status quo of the spiritual and government political leaders of the day.

In the opening of Mark’s Gospel, we find these words, “The kingdom of God has come near.” Mark 1:15

A new kingdom threatened the Roman government leaders and the Jewish religious leaders who each had their own kingdom reigns. Jesus knew that, but He never let it stop Him.

Jesus was not afraid of appearing political. While His kingdom is much different from any earthly kingdom, He wants His followers to adhere to Matthew 6:10 “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” A prayer I pray every morning and try my best with the Lord’s help to live by and encourage others to do the same. 

Jesus was clear that the government shouldn’t interfere with the church. “Then he said to them, “So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” Matt. 22:20

America has no “separation of church and state” either. It’s a lie from the devil. You won’t find it in the Constitution or Bill of Rights. The Johnson Amendment has been revoked by President Trump so churches and nonprofits can endorse candidates and encourage congregations to vote without losing their tax exemptions.

First Liberty Institute’s win in the Supreme Court for Coach Joe several years ago meant you can pray in schools, have crosses, Ten Commandments, and manger scenes on government land. Currently, First Liberty is representing high school seniors whose schools are preventing them from putting a Bible verse or faith-based imagery on their parking spots.  No Space for Faith? Another High School Senior Told She Can’t Decorate Parking Spot with Bible Reference – News – First Liberty

Unfortunately, many churches are still acting with their hands tied for fear of appearing “political,” while we’re watching our culture crumble around us. Half of the founding fathers who wrote the Constitution had seminary degrees and a large portion of the Constitution and Bill of Rights was based on the Bible. Preachers fought in the Revolutionary War for us to have religious freedom.

Yet over the years, a country based on Judeo/Christian laws and values has watched the church adapt, accept, or even endorse cultural sins. Remain silent while ungodly politicians and laws rule our country. Schools indoctrinate our children in Marxism and sexual perversion. Doctors murder unborn babies or mutilate children. Forgetting and failing to defend our country’s creed, “In God We trust!”

What Are You Willing to Sacrifice For Your Beliefs?

It’s been refreshing to see so many Christians, even pastors, step forward and run for office because they want to make a difference. They want to turn America back to a country with a biblical worldview. If you listened to Charlie Kirk’s memorial service, you heard many politicians and cabinet members sharing not only their faith, but the Gospel. They’re criticized and polarized regularly by the media and the left, but they don’t let it stop them from serving the American people.

I know they sacrifice. They’re doxed and horrible lies said about them. Their families and they need added security because you can be sure the evil one will try to take them down just as he did with Charlie Kirk.

I personally have lost both a speaking gig at a church and a writing a column in a Christian magazine because I share my political position publicly. To know me is to know I’m a Christian Conservative with a biblical worldview.

Often, I’ll write a blog and know there will be unsubscribes, but I just share a chuckle with the Lord when the same day there’s new subscribers. Like you, not everyone in my family agrees with me, but we find love is stronger than politics. I will admit though that it can cause division just as Jesus said in Matthew 10:33-36 above.

“We’re not just here to observe culture. We’re called to influence it. That means recognizing the space where God has given you authority and learning how to move with wisdom and presence in that place. It’s one thing to know you have a calling; it’s another to understand where and how to walk it out. In Daniel 2:44, we read that the Kingdom of God will not pass away and that it will ultimately influence every other domain. That influence doesn’t float down from the clouds. It happens through people like you. People who discern their mountain and take their place as salt and light in education, business, media, arts, government, family, and faith.” Lance Wallnau

What is your calling and what will you sacrifice to live out your beliefs both spiritually and politically? The world may hate us, but a great crowd of witnesses in heaven are cheering for us!

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:1-3

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Is. 41:10

This is an excellent article well worth reading. There are so many great quotes; it’s hard to pick just one. Here are two from The Anglican Church’s Split: When the culture wins over Scripture.

“The pattern is clear: When the Church accommodates culture, it loses its reason for being. But when the Church stands on the Word of God, even when costly, it offers something the world cannot: truth, hope, and the unchanging Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

“A church that won’t stand on Scripture will not stand for freedom. A church that bends to culture on marriage and gender will bend on education, parenting, and religious liberty. The call is clear, hold fast to the historic faith. Do not be moved by cultural pressure. God’s truth has outlasted every empire, every ideology, every revolution. It will outlast this one.”

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

Please leave a comment here.

October 27, 2025
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Let’s Celebrate June as “Life Month”

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I’ve always looked forward to June as the official kickoff of my favorite summer season. But like many of you, I’ve found myself dreading being inundated and assaulted with a fringe activist group trying to force their choice of lifestyle on the public. Pride parades and rainbow flags mock and jeer at the very God who withholds his righteous judgment on the earth.

The entire gay/trans agenda is about attempting to normalize perverted sexual desires and actions taken out of bedrooms and flaunted in streets, stores, commercials, entertainment, media, government, sports, schools . . . culture. “Gay” or “trans” has become such a part of culture that many intelligent people have disassociated it from what it actually is all about, SEX!

Terms like gay, trans, and even pride make the perverted sexual movement sound mild and neutral, which is their goal. How many people would be comfortable having heterosexism indecently displayed in public on flags and paraded down the streets? Why then do we tolerate homosexual displays?

Most people have just closed their eyes and ears, taken a big gulp, and bought into the lie that they have to smile and “tolerate” lewd sexual immorality. Any pushback called “hate” or “intolerance.” Well, God does hate this behavior. He doesn’t tolerate sin, and if you’re a Bible-believing Christian, you shouldn’t either. We don’t have to tolerate perversity.

The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate. Pr. 8:13

We show love to our own families, friends, congregants, and culture when we help people choose a lifestyle pleasing to God. When we go along with pride in sexual perversity, we’re going counter to God.

Every family encounters prodigals of some sort, but that doesn’t make their ungodly choices right just because they’re our children, friends, or family members. We acknowledge that their behavior is sinful and wrong and passionately pray for them to find their way to God or back to God. If we truly believe in heaven and hell, we want our children and family in heaven with us. If they’ve chosen sin, whatever it might be, they’ve chosen hell. It breaks our hearts, but it breaks God’s heart even more.

Long before June was designated as sin month, June 2 has been the day for 24 years that thousands of people from around the world join in a day of prayer for those who are walking away from God, their families and making destructive choices. We don’t celebrate prodigals, we pray for their eyes to open and turn from their wicked ways so why would any Christian participate in pride activities except to evangelize in love.

An encouraging headline jumped out at me as I was preparing to write this blog. “Boise Pride Season Kickoff canceled due to low attendance.” I first saw the article on Idaho Liberty Dogs Facebook page. Their introduction to the post read, “Shout out to those of you who stood with us last year to protest Nampa Pride “all ages event” and exposed the public nudity that occurred around the presence of children. This is a win! Thank you and congratulations!!!”

So many things to unpack from this, but the one that stands out the loudest to me is that moral common sense citizens stood up against the lewd perversion and public sexual exposure openly flaunted and even celebrated on the streets of Idaho. We can make a difference when we’re brave enough and bold enough to speak out against sin and satan.

Yes, satan! Only deceived and demonized people would think a public display of perverted sex would be acceptable to God or Jesus. Yet, sadly, there are churches and so-called “Christians” who proudly fly the perverted sex flag in the name of inclusivity, which actually excludes the God they profess to worship.

Why do I say “so-called?” Because no Bible-believing Christian can read Scriptures like the following and think a perverted sinful lifestyle is okay with God. God loves everyone, but he doesn’t love sin. He wants everyone to repent from sin, turn from their wicked ways, ask for forgiveness and repent. That’s what love does. God doesn’t want anyone going to hell, but the road to heaven is narrow and few actually choose it.

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

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. Matt, 7:13-14

Remember the city of Sodom and Gomorrah. What was the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah? According to Genesis 19, the sin involved homosexuality. The very name of that ancient city is where the term sodomy derives: “copulation between two men, whether consensual or forced.” Clearly, homosexuality was part of why God destroyed the two cities. The men of Sodom and Gomorrah wanted to perform homosexual acts on what they thought were two men.

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

26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. 27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error. 28 Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. Roman 1:26-28

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Rom. 6:23

Why June Is “Life Month”

When you look at the above Scriptures how many of you would tolerate a month dubbed “Thieves Month”? Or “Adulterer’s Month”? Or “Pornography Month”? Or “Murderers Month”? Or “Drunkards Month”? So why would anyone, especially Christians, even use the term or acknowledge “Pride Month” when God hates pride, especially when it represents a sexual sin He calls an abomination.

I’ve heard suggestions to rename June Veteran’s Month or Family month and those are good ideas too, but here’s why I’m in favor of calling June Life Month.

A commentary by Owen Strachan in The Washington Stand, “June Is Life Month, Not Pride Month,” Owen wrote:

“From many angles, the entire tone of June in America has shifted. It is one of aggressive approval of a heart attitude that the Word of God rebukes in no uncertain terms: pride. To be proud in one’s natural instincts and desires is to go against God at full velocity. It is to put oneself under certain threat of eternal judgment. Sin, after all, is at base nothing other than pride — it is choosing one’s way over God’s way, and one’s instinctual desires over God’s eternal truth. How we Christians should tremble and pray for all who exult in Pride Month. How we should reach out to them, and proclaim Christ in love to fellow sinners just like us.”

As Christians, we should be commemorating and celebrating that in June 2022, the U. S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade. God decided to strike Roe down in the very middle of Pride Month! Think about that. As Owen Strachan says, “What a rebuke! What an otherworldly intervention. . . believers should celebrate genuinely God-given victories. We who are saved by grace would be ungrateful children indeed if we did not honor this great outcome in the public square, one akin to the ban on slavery in Wilberforce’s day. Toward that end, here’s my encouragement: all through June, celebrate “Life Month.””

Yes, God is love and God loves life! He created life and we should celebrate that especially as Christians!

When my grandson was only nine years old, he could see that God was against homosexuality because “there would be no people.” He understood at that young age that a man and woman having sex together created life, something two men or two women together cannot do because that wasn’t God’s plan for sex or proliferating the earth.

Many homosexuals and male women imposters have experienced trauma, difficult family dynamics, or mental illness. They’re searching for love and acceptance literally in all the wrong places. Young people are groomed and radicalized on TikTok. This is tragic.

A generation is throwing away their future by trying to be something God never intended for them to be. They believe the lie that they would be happier if they could just become another gender or find their significance and identity by pretending they’re something they’ll never be. They’re broken people with damaged lives, and the Gospel is the only answer to the void in their hearts they’re trying so desperately to fill. They need Jesus. They need to know that they’ll find their identity and self-worth in being the best man or woman God created them to be.

We need to be Christians who share the truth with them in love. Pray for the lost and show them a better way of living. Pray diligently for anyone living a lie to seek spiritual and psychological counseling.

Neil Mamann of Values Advocacy Council says, “In my conversations with former homosexuals, many shared that what kept them from hearing the Gospel was being told they were going to hell simply for being gay. What ultimately led them to Christ, however, was hearing the Gospel from people who, while never condoning their sin, genuinely cared for them and shared that Jesus loved them. After coming to faith, they came under conviction and chose to leave that lifestyle.”

So, I encourage you not to be silent this month. Don’t be intimidated or threatened by a pagan culture. Don’t go along to get along. You’ll never find that acceptable in the Bible. The most loving thing you can do for all people is to share the Gospel loud and clear and pray that many who have been deceived by satan’s message of deception and lies will hear God’s message of love and forgiveness not just in June but every day until Christ’s return.

I hope you’ll celebrate June as Life Month. Look for opportunities to counter evil with good!

“The gospel needs to go to the place where it is the least welcome.” Pastor Gabriel Render

PS I was confirmed about writing this blog when I prayed this morning with Pastor Jack Hibbs on his daily LIFT prayer June 1, 2025. You can listen here and join us every morning on Facebook or YouTube.

If you have a prodigal or know someone who does, you will find Praying for Your Prodigal Daughter: Hope, Help & Encouragement for Hurting Parents applicable to daughters, sons, and grandchildren.

Please leave a comment here.

June 2, 2025
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What’s Your Part in the Everyday?

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Today I’ve invited my friend and fellow author Cheri Swalwell to share a guest post with you. I know you’ll enjoy it as she asks, “What’s Your Part in the Everyday?” Here’s Cheri . . .

I love the account of Esther in the Bible. Seven chapters weaving a story of faith, courage, and ultimately God’s display of His justice for the Jewish people. People, even nonbelievers, know how Esther was born for such a time as this, (Esther 4:14b). While that is one-hundred percent true, she wasn’t the only hero of the story. Readers remember her bravery and courage to step in front of the king, knowing she could be put to death if he didn’t extend his gold scepter to her, but I believe that act of bravery was birthed in the years beforehand.

The Bible doesn’t go into detail about her childhood except that Mordecai, her cousin, “had taken her as his own daughter when her father and mother died.” (Esther 2:7). Throughout the seven chapters of Esther, we see Esther listening to and obeying Mordecai’s wisdom, (Esther 2:10 and 2:20) as well as Mordecai staying close “to find out how Esther was and what was happening to her.” (Esther 2:11). The Bible paints a picture of a loving adoptive father and an obedient adopted daughter.

We’re also told of a time when Mordecai was sitting outside the king’s gate, keeping a protective ear out for Esther, and he uncovers an assassination attempt on the king’s life. “But Mordecai found out about the plot and told Queen Esther, who in turn reported it to the king, giving credit to Mordecai.” (Esther 2:22).

When Mordecai reaches out a second time to Esther, this time to reveal Haman’s plot to destroy the Jews, Esther reminds her uncle that if she approaches the king without being summoned, it could be her death sentence. Mordecai’s answer is one many readers are familiar with: “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:13-14).

Esther then tells Mordecai to pray and fast for three days while she and her attendants do the same. The story ends with Esther setting a trap in front of the king to uncover Haman’s wickedness. But before her trap could be completed, God reminded the king of when Mordecai saved his life. He was so grateful he chose to celebrate Mordecai’s good deed. The final scenes include the Jews being allowed to fight back against the attack set in place by Haman’s wickedness, resulting in Haman and his ten sons ultimately being impaled on the pole Haman originally built to impale Mordecai.

We all remember Esther being born “for such a time as this.” However, let’s not forget Mordecai’s wisdom, love, and dedication to Esther, the king’s desire to honor those who rescued him, as well as the king’s humility to revise the edict he issued under false pretenses. I truly believe that without everyone choosing to do their part, Esther’s moment in history would have been much harder to fulfill.

Obedience in the Little Moments Strengthens our Faith

In December 2019, I received a prayer jar from my Sister-in-Christ for Christmas. I was excited to begin using it at the start of the new year, but felt God was calling me to “pray with a twist.” Instead of simply saying, “God, I need help with …” or “God, please fix …,” I started each prayer request with “Thank You, God, You’re going to heal …” or “Thank You, God, You know the answer to this toughie …”

Fast forward three months and we started the now infamous lockdown. When the general atmosphere of the world turned anxious, I turned to God. Not knowing at that time how long the shutdown would actually last, I felt God telling me to put my “Thank You, God” prayers to the side and change the prayer jar to a blessings jar. I knew God was using this avenue to help my family collect the blessings we saw during this season in history instead of focusing on all they were missing out on or the fear spiraling around us.

I also began to notice various ways people were stepping up and out of their comfort zones. Church members were volunteering at food banks, teachers were riding on school buses to hand deliver food to students who wouldn’t otherwise have a meal, while other strangers started fundraisers to help those in need.

I was still working full time from home, surrounded by my kids in various stages of online learning, and we were taking care of my in-laws, which meant trying to keep germ exposure to a minimum. However, it’s not in my DNA to sit idly by while others serve. My prayer became one of “What part do You, Lord, want me to play in this season of our lives?’ And then I waited.

It Started with a Song and a Prayer

January 2020, I had a close group of friends, all teachers from the same school. The month before the shutdown, a mutual friend and I invited a group of those teachers to our church for a women’s breakfast – a time of eating and fellowshipping together. It was the first time we did that, and we weren’t sure if anyone would show up. We were pleasantly surprised that not only the ones we invited came, but they brought others along as well. We filled two full tables at the event.

It was so much fun! We added another friend to our group that morning, a young mom who was new to the area. When we moved to the sanctuary to begin the service, she happened to sit in the row that had been taken over by all my teacher friends. The best part? She fit right in.

When I asked God above what my part was to play during the lockdown, His answer came quickly. He told me to text a worship song and prayer every weekday morning to each of my friends, including the new mom I had met a month earlier. Even though we couldn’t be together in person, we could still start our day “together” focusing on God’s promises, instead of life’s problems. We could be encouraged to see God in our everyday moments instead of saving Him for special occasions or once a week.

Days turned into weeks; weeks turned into months. The lockdown ended, people reentered the work force and life looked a semblance like it used to. Monday through Friday, I continued to text my group of friends as a way for us to keep growing our relationship with God through praise and worship and prayer. The list grew from ten, to twenty, and beyond.

I chose to text them individually versus a group text, so that if they had specific prayer requests that might be more personal, they didn’t have to worry about the whole group reading about their struggles. The group grew from my teacher friends to include old childhood friends and new friends I acquired through normal interactions. After faithfully texting people each weekday, one ordinary day God took my heartfelt prayer, “What’s is my part?” to the next level.

What started as a way to stay connected during the lockdown soon became a monthly membership to help others experience that same growth in their relationship with God. Every week we read and apply God’s Word (the Bible), sing praise and worship to God, spend time in prayer, and learn about relevant topics from a biblical viewpoint. Altogether, it keeps our focus on the ways He blesses us throughout each and every day, filling our lives as described in John 10:10: “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” (NKJV)

In June 2021, JESUS in the EVERYDAY was born. The heart of the membership is to help people recognize Jesus hugs (blessings) throughout their day, celebrating the blessings of God instead of zeroing in on what went wrong. It gives people a chance to grow their relationship with God at their own pace, enjoying the journey instead of rushing through as though it’s a race. It’s a way to arm ourselves with God’s promises and truth before stepping out into the world. It helps prepare us with biblical answers to tough questions to help point our friends and family to the truth.

God’s heart is for His children. He desires that we all accept Jesus into our hearts, surrendering our lives to Him, and be forever together with Him in heaven. “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9).

Some people think the salvation prayer is a “one and done prayer,” but that one prayer is only the beginning. The most important mission we have on earth is to follow Jesus’ example found in Luke 4:43: “But he said, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.”

What’s Your Part?

Thankfully, the lockdowns are behind us; however, there are even more people who are lost, broken, and hurting than ever before. They desperately need to hear the truth of God’s message of hope and salvation. I want to encourage all of us to ask God in our quiet time “What’s my part?” in helping those who are lost and desperately need to know how much You, God, love them.

I get excited when I think of the endless possibilities of how God will use you to share His good news to this hurting world! Like Esther and Mordecai, everyone remembers Esther and the famous words: “For such a time as this,” but Mordecai’s role in the story was equally important. Ask God to show you what you’ve already been doing to help further His kingdom. You might be surprised at His answer. Maybe it’s the little things you do daily that He is pleased with the most.

I continually ask God, “What’s my part?” in pointing people to Him during each changing season of our culture. Is that a question you’re willing to ask, and then step out in obedience, when He answers?

Come join the monthly membership and our community as we each seek to grow closer to our Heavenly Father. We’re excited for you to become part of our family as we celebrate seeing JESUS in our lives, everyday!

Bio:

Cheri Swalwell is a Christ follower, writer of Christian fiction and nonfiction, Cheer UP Podcast co-host, JESUS in the EVERYDAY YouTuber, and JESUS in the EVERYDAY monthly membership hostess. Visit www.cheriswalwell.com to learn more about the ministry and for encouragement to see JESUS in your everyday life.

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April 21, 2025
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‘Maybe’ Is Not In God’s Vocabulary!

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I was praying last week with the Jack Hibbs LIFT daily morning prayer, which I’ve mentioned in blogs before, when he said something that caught my attention. He said you won’t find “maybe” used in the Bible. Actually, it’s in there but only three times, and never used by God or Jesus. Twice ‘maybe’ is used as a taunt to deny that God exists in 1 Kings 18:27 and Jonah 1:6, and another time in 1 Kings 18:5 by Ahab saying maybe they can find grass for the horses and mules. That’s it!

So think about that. God is never indecisive, wondering if maybe we should do one thing or another. His Word, the Bible, is always specific, confident, instructive, definitive, and direct. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Tim. 3:15-17

We’re the ones that interject maybes into the Scriptures and question the intent of what God is actually saying. Sometimes we want to give the benefit of the doubt or question His intent, but God says I tell you the Truth and you should absolutely follow it in your life. Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32

You might question that many people interpret the Bible differently. That’s true. The Bible might speak to each of us differently in our individual situation. But if we rely on the Holy Spirit’s guidance in exegesis of Scripture in context, and not on what we want the Bible to mean, Christians will usually agree on the interpretation.

A good example of misinterpreting Scripture is people saying that God is the God of love, so you need to love everything everyone does because God loves them. That’s what someone wants the Bible to mean, not what God actually says.

If you counter and ask, “Where does God say, ‘maybe’ it’s okay to sin in this area because I love you?” Of course, they can’t find anywhere it says this because God hates sin. Sin destroys the ones He loves. What God does say is that He loves us all so much, He sent His only begotten Son to die on a cross for those of us who ask for forgiveness for our sins, repent, and become followers of Jesus for eternity. (John 3:16)

When you look at all the red-letter words of Jesus in the Gospels, you won’t find Jesus ever using “maybe.” His words when he preached and taught are full of unqualified, unambiguous, unquestionable, and unwavering wisdom, lessons, and truth to live by.

Jesus didn’t say ‘maybe’ He was the only way to heaven and there could be other beliefs or ways. Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6 No maybes.

Jesus didn’t say ‘maybe’ if you follow me, you might be saved. He said you will be saved. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.” (John. 10:9)

Jesus didn’t say you should ‘maybe’ repent and turn from your wicked ways. He said you must repent to be His follower. “I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent.” Luke 5:32

Jesus didn’t say ‘maybe’ that one sin will be okay because overall you’re a good person. He said go and sin no more. Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.” John 8:11

We’re the ones that try to soften the Gospel and Jesus’ own words by interjecting doubt or suggesting that ‘maybe’ Jesus didn’t really mean what He said.

Sadly, many pastors today want to make their congregations feel good about their sinful lives, insinuating that maybe it’s not all that bad if it makes you happy or it’s not hurting anyone. That’s a false gospel by a false teacher.

God is much more concerned with our holiness than our happiness.

Maybe In Our Vocabulary!

‘Maybe’ is noncommittal, non-decisive, and reluctant. Maybe we’ll come to your party. Maybe I’ll read the Bible. Maybe I’ll follow most of what the Bible says. Maybe we’ll go to church this weekend. Maybe we’ll come visit.

The Christian life is committed, decisive, and never reluctant. The antithesis of ‘maybe.’

God is looking for bold Christians who are fully committed and fully decisive in their spiritual and personal life. No maybes about it!

Our family rule at the Thompsons is let your yes be yes, and your no be no. All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one. Matthew 5:37 

‘Maybe’ and ‘try’ are ways to keep all your options open without making a full commitment. Maybe you will, maybe you won’t. Or other times you don’t want to tell the person no, so you use ‘try’ or ‘maybe’. When I hear those two words, it means the person isn’t reliable. They’re not being forthright. I can’t count on them.

 When you ask someone about anything that has a yes or no answer and they answer with “Maybe,” or “I’ll try,” they most likely mean no. They’re just afraid to give the honest answer, “No.”

If someone says for example, “I’ll try to be on time.” I’ll counter with “That doesn’t sound very committed. Are you going to be on time or should I not expect you?” I want an answer I can depend on, knowing that circumstances can change but they’re going to make an effort. Just tell me yes or tell me no, but don’t say try or maybe.

A favorite stall of some is I need to check my calendar, but since most people today have a calendar on their phone, that’s pretty easy to check. I would prefer to hear, “We won’t be able to make it, but thanks for thinking of us.” Then they can always call later if their plans change and that’s always pleasant news.

There are certain situations where we want to pray before committing. That’s often advisable. In fact, many of us can think of a time we wish we had taken time to pray before saying yes. If that’s the case, then give a timeframe where the other person can expect you to respond. Stick to that time commitment.

Do you think that’s too strict or not flexible enough? Well, God is strict in His commands to us knowing that if we follow them with commitment, perseverance, and diligence, we’re going to be a better witness to others and live a fuller life in Christ.

How many of us who are married would’ve answered, “I’ll try” or “Maybe” when the pastor asked if we would love, honor, and cherish our spouse? If we want the ceremony to continue and the marriage to last, we say, “Yes” loudly, boldly, and committed.

Sometimes we say “maybe” because we’re really not sure what we want. It can mean numerous things, from “I’m not sure I want to do this,” to “I want to do that, but I’m not sure if I can” to “this doesn’t sound like how I want to spend my time” to any number of combinations that make us unsure.

Many times, kids that have lived with divorce and are trying to please both parents find themselves saying maybe or I’ll try because they don’t want to hurt either parent by saying no. Or even worse say “I’ll try” or “maybe” to both parents knowing they can’t be at both places. They live with that worry and angst hanging over them because eventually one of the parents is going to be disappointed when they don’t show up. It would’ve been better to tell one parent no but let’s make other plans to get together. That’s a hard lesson to learn.

If we can learn to say no when it’s not a sure yes, there’s clarity for everyone and actually much less stressful.

Like me, most people are looking for truth they can depend on. If we want to be good witnesses for Christ, we need to be the kind of people others can depend on to live by our words. Sometimes, we’re so uncomfortable saying no, we think we need to give long explanations to justify our reasons. That can lead to lying or making up a story. Not necessary. Not godly. Leviticus 19:11 commands “Do not lie. Do not deceive one another.”

When you know your maybe really means no, you’re essentially lying to the other person. That’s why “maybe” and “try” are not in God’s vocabulary, but “yes” and “no” are. God never vacillates in the way He wants us to live. He sets boundaries and guidelines for us. We need to go and do likewise.

Freedom isn’t the ability to say maybe. It’s the ability to say no or yes and own it.

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March 24, 2025
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Jesus the Great Divider

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Were you surprised to see the title of this blog? We’re more accustomed to hearing about Jesus as the spiritual Unifier and Prince of Peace. Last week, some people found fault with my discussion of Jesus and politics. I always welcome dissenting points of view, but I do stand by everything I wrote last week in the blog The Lies Satan Uses to Deceive Christians and Churches. I always back my words with Scripture plus my understanding and discerning of both God’s Word and how the Holy Spirit guides me. I don’t come up with these topics on my own. I’m led by the Holy Spirit.

I’m sad and a bit disappointed when I learn that some people are afraid of sharing my blogs for fear of being censored. Fear is an extremely effective tool of the enemy. Unfortunately, many Christians stay silent in the face of adversity and even blasphemy against our Lord. Don’t you think we as Christians should be the ones telling everyone about Luke 12:8-10, which will determine where they spend eternity?

I tell you, whoever publicly acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man will also acknowledge before the angels of God. 9 But whoever disowns me before others will be disowned before the angels of God. 10 And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. Luke 12:8-10

To His followers Jesus assures us . . .

11 “When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, 12 for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.” Luke 12:11-12

Back to the subject of today’s blog. How does Jesus divide? Well, for starters, He explains this clearly in Luke 12:49-53 where the heading for this passage in my Bible reads “Not Peace but Division”
49 “I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! 50 But I have a baptism to undergo, and what constraint I am under until it is completed! 51 Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. 52 From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

You might wonder if the division in the family examples mentioned in Luke 12:51-53 happened because some family members were Christians, and some were not. That does happen as we all know who have unbelievers or those with different faith beliefs in our families. It can make for awkward family gatherings when the topic turns to politics or religion. But that kind of spiritual division also occurs in families where all dissenting parties claim to be “Christians.” A perfect example happened last week when a group calling themselves “Evangelicals for Harris” (an oxymoron) ran an ad against President Trump with a clip showing Billy Graham at one of his evangelical crusades.

This group claims that hard-left neo-Socialist, anti-Israel, pro-Hamas Kamala Harris, who supports murdering babies up to and after birth with abortion on demand, mutilating and castrating children, indoctrinating children in school with sexual deviancy and gender lies, invasion of America by illegals, authored the California grab and dash theft law, funded Antifa and violent protestors bailouts, “Better Reflects Christian Values.”

Some so-called evangelical “faith leaders” joined this blasphemous group for Harris, including Billy Graham’s granddaughter, Jerushah Duford, who is the daughter of Virginia “Gigi” Graham Tchividjian, Billy Graham’s oldest daughter. Duford participated in a virtual event sponsored by “Evangelicals for Harris” led by Ekemini Uwan who declares “whiteness is wicked,” police need to be destroyed and rebuilt, and churches should pay global reparations to “People of African descent.”

Billy Graham’s son and Duford’s uncle, true Christian Evangelist Franklin Graham blasted the fake “Evangelicals for Harris” organization for using footage of his late father in an attack ad against former President Trump who he argued if his father were alive, would support Trump.

Franklin tweeted, “The liberals are using anything and everything they can to promote candidate Harris. They even developed a political ad trying to use my father @BillyGraham’s image,” he wrote in a social media post. “They are trying to mislead people. Maybe they don’t know that my father appreciated the conservative values and policies of President @realDonaldTrump in 2016, and if he were alive today, my father’s views and opinions would not have changed.”

The Evangelicals for Harris account replied, “Praying for you” along with a heart emoji beneath his post and later said in a retweet that Graham has “forsaken the gospel.” They need to look in the mirror!

The Billy Graham extended family is living out the division described in Luke 12:49-53 as perhaps many of you are too. The two sides cannot unify, agree, or have peace over the definition of what it even means to be an evangelical or a Christian, let alone politics. They’re divided.

Common Sense vs Insanity!

Evil has taken off its mask and openly rebelled against the Word and ways of God, especially in this election cycle. Good can never unite with evil.

As voting and professing Christians, we have a choice to limit evil. When a church, pastor, or Christian objects to the obvious evil on display in our culture today, we’re defending and representing Christ in the spiritual battle between good and evil in our world.

One political side rejects the biological and spiritual reality of male and female with irreversible biological differences, which in the beginning God created! So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them (Gen. 1:27). How could a commonsense Christ-follower reject this biblical reality?

One political side rejects the biological and spiritual reality that God creates at conception a human being with a spirit, soul, and purpose! Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart, (Jer. 1:5). How could a commonsense Christ-follower reject this biblical reality?

One political side rejects the biological and spiritual reality that “Pro-choice” is pro-murder. “You shall not murder” (Ex. 20:13). How could a commonsense Christ-follower reject this biblical reality?

One political side rejects the biological and spiritual reality that God created family! Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him. 4 Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth. 5 Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them (Ps. 127:3-5). How could a commonsense Christ-follower reject this biblical reality?

At the DNC Convention this week, anti-God, anti-family, genocidal Planned Parenthood is rolling in with a mobile health clinic offering free vasectomies, medication abortion, and “emergency contraception,” aka the morning after pill (EC)! The Democrats support Planned Parenthood, a huge donor.

One political side rejects Israel and champions anti-semantic, pro-Hamas policies. “3 I will bless those who bless you [Israel], and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you (Gen. 12:3). How could a commonsense Christ-follower reject this biblical reality?

How could a Christ-follower, Bible-believer be okay with the values, policies, and beliefs of the Democrat platform that completely contradict the Bible? Yet, there are those who profess to be “Christian” who would still vote for allowing the tearing apart limb by limb, poisoning by injection, or breaking the neck of God’s babies in the womb, gender and sexual mutilation of children, destroying the family, and abandoning Israel?! What Scriptures are they using to justify this barbaric, anti-God agenda?

Still some leaders in the Christian church tell pastors not to speak about these atrocities or choices. When the political realm comes into our Christian moral lane, is the church really being political if they resist or are they being biblical? As Fr Pavone of Priestsforlife.org says, “For a church to call this out it’s a church defending church.” I would add defending Christ who has already determined the dividing line between good and evil. No compromise.

If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 1 John 1:6

Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 1 John 2:4

Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? 2 Cor. 6:14

The Divine Divide

The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble. Pr. 4:19

The biggest sin isn’t division, it’s what side you choose to take. No one can ride the fence on these issues because Satan is sitting on the fence. Jesus instructs us to pick a side. Every Bible-believing Christian must make the most important “choice” in life as to whom you will follow. We can’t follow a little bit of Jesus and a little bit of the world. We can’t go along to get along.

So Jesus said to them, “The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. John 12:35

To open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’ Acts 26:18

God actually created the concept of division from the beginning of time. In the beginning, God divided the light of day from the dark of night.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.  Gen. 1:1-4

Then throughout Scripture, He refers to good as light and evil as dark. The godly who are saved, live by faith in the light spiritually and morally divided from the demonic lost in the dark.

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

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 1 John 1:5

For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light. Eph. 5:8

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 1 Peter 2:9

Jesus, the Great Divider Between Eternal Life or Eternal Death

Jesus put a line in the sand with the Gospel and finalized it at the Cross. He offers grace and mercy when we ask Him for forgiveness, repent from our sins, and receive Him as our Lord and Savior. But that choice is only offered to the living. There’s a great divide between Heaven and Hell.

Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. Eph. 5:11

And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. John 3:19-20

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 1 John 1:5-7

I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. John 12:46

Sadly, some will still choose darkness or not live fully in the light and that breaks Jesus’ and our hearts. We can’t make the choice for them, but we can present the truth, live the truth, pray for their salvation and willingness to step out of the dark into the fullness of the light. As for each of us who know Jesus as our Lord and Savior, there is no fellowship with the world’s ways as we remember this earth is not our eternal home.

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Matt. 5:14-16

The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Rom. 13:12

“The way of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, which shines ever brighter until the full light of day. But the way of the wicked is like total darkness. They have no idea what they are stumbling over.” Pr. 4:18-19

The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Rom. 13:12

For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. 1 Thess. 5:5

Please leave a comment here and I will reply on the website blog, so check back for my replies.

August 19, 2024
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5 Ways To Avoid Condoning Sin!

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God hates sin and we should too! He sent his One and only Son, Jesus Christ, to a bloody cross to offer believers forgiveness for their inevitable sins not for a free pass to keep on sinning. Yet today, we see sin glorified, accepted, legitimatized, and even legalized in our culture and sadly, few churches or Christians are horrified by this affront on God or willing to speak out against it. Do you think that might be overstated or not true? How many pastors today are teaching about what the Bible says about condoning sin? Or even what is sin. Some churches and Christians have let the culture normalize sin and have adapted to it themselves.

What Does it Mean to Condone Sin?

Condoning sin means accepting sin. God doesn’t want Christians condoning sin as it leads to pain, destruction, and separation from Him.

The dictionary defines ‘condone’ as to regard or treat something bad or blameworthy as acceptable, forgivable, or harmless. Condoning sin means you accept, allow, and yes approve of that sin in your life and in the lives of others.

 Sin is condoned in today’s culture. Many rationalize allowing sin to invade their own lives and the lives of others. Sins like murdering children through abortion, same-sex marriage, living together, gay or trans lifestyle . . . lying. A government that no longer respects God or His principles legalizes the mutilation, indoctrination, and sexual grooming of young children.

Some Christians are even afraid of speaking out against sin for fear of being called names or accused of “judging.” Recognizing sin for what it is–going against God and the Bible–is what Jesus, Peter, the disciples, and Paul spent their life doing to help people repent from a sinful life. We don’t say they were “judging.” We understand that they were trying to open peoples’ eyes to the truth that sin kills, and repentance saves. Yes, they all suffered for speaking out against sin, but many lives were saved because of their dedication to love people enough to help them change and turn from their wicked ways.

Yes, none are perfect and we all sin in our humanness, but our goal as Christians is to become aware of our sins, ask forgiveness, and as Jesus said to the woman at the well, “Go and sin no more” (John 8:11). Jesus wasn’t judging her when He pointed out every sin she had ever done; He was offering her living water, which was Himself.

Paul wasn’t judging all the churches he wrote to when he pointed out their sins. He loved them enough to say the life you’re leading now is wrong and you must repent. Paul, Peter, the disciples, and Jesus never condoned sin and we as Jesus’ followers shouldn’t either! We take a stand for righteous living ourselves and encourage others to do the same. Their very life both here and in eternity could depend on it.

We don’t condemn, but we never condone sin regardless of how many sinful laws are passed! Christians remain steadfast to the truth in the Bible.

What Does the Bible Say about Condoning Sin?

There will always be sin in the world because Satan is the author of sin and as long as he’s allowed to roam around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour, his intent is to entice with sin that opposes God’s ways. That’s exactly what sin is, going against God. You can profess to be a Christian, but if you’re willfully choosing to sin, you’re controlled by Satan not God. Sometimes we can’t see it in our own life, and we need other believers to gently, lovingly, and compassionately use Scripture to point out to us where we’ve slipped into Satan’s grip and bring us back into the fold.

Someone who had been previously married once asked me to condone her having sex with her boyfriend since neither of them were virgins anymore what did it matter? It mattered because God’s Word says sex is between a husband and wife. Again, like Jesus told the Samaritan woman at the well, the man you’re living with now is not your husband. That’s a sin.

Others want justification to live together for financial reasons. God can’t bless something He condemns for any reasons. Parents want to condone gay or transgender lifestyle because their children have fallen into that sinful trap, but it’s still heartbreaking sin.

The entire Bible addresses not living in or condoning sin but repelling it. Here are a few refresher verses, but there are so many more.

There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: 17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, 18 a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, 19 a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community. Pr. 6:16-19

Do you ever feel like God isn’t hearing your prayers? Could it be you’re condoning sin in your own life, the culture, or someone near you?

But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear. Is. 59:2

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Rom. 6:23

Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, 20 and that he may send the Messiah, who has been appointed for you—even Jesus. Acts 3:19-20

26 If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, 27 but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Heb. 10:26-27

The arrogant cannot stand in your presence. You hate all who do wrong; 6 you destroy those who tell lies. The bloodthirsty and deceitful you, Lord, detest. Ps. 5:5-6

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

But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil. Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God. 1 John 3:8-9 NLT

Following is where God through Paul clearly spells out His definition of sin and God’s response. God’s wrath against sinful humanity that we see tolerated today is reflected in these verses. Read them carefully.

18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.

21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.

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

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

28 Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. 29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31 they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. 32 Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them. Rom. 1:18-32

5 Ways We Can Avoid Condoning Sin

1. Pray for God to Give Us Wisdom to Confront Sin

Many use Matt. 7:1 as an excuse not to confront sin in others because they consider it judging and God will be the final judge. It’s true that God will be the final judge, but we are His hands and feet on earth helping spare others of the final judgement of eternity in hell. We don’t judge by comparing them to ourselves or thinking less of them. We love them enough to want to see them repent, be saved, and live a life pleasing to God.

Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. 2 Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. Gal. 6:1-2

2. It’s Biblical to Confront a Fellow Believer Who Is Sinning.

When we see a fellow Christian sinning, maybe cheating on their spouse or at work, using drugs, swearing, mistreating their family, sleeping around, we’re called on to lovingly confront them, pray with them, and encourage them to repent.

15 “If your brother or sister[a] sins,[b] go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. 16 But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ Matt. 18:15-16

3. We Can’t Condone Sin in the Life of Our Family, Friends, or Self.

In Praying for Your Prodigal Daughter, I shared that my daughter always felt loved, but I never condoned her living with her boyfriend. I didn’t treat them as a couple. Just because it’s our child who’s choosing a sinful lifestyle, it’s still a sin and an affront to God. We compromise our own faith when we accept or condone wrong behavior . . . especially in our own life. I acknowledged my sins to God and my daughter and asked forgiveness for the times I’d sinned while raising her.

We always extend unconditional love, but never bend in our beliefs. We pray for our family and friends like their life depended on it, because it does.

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

4. Take Action!

It’s easier to look the other way and not get involved, but as we watch sin legalized, even codified, in our country, how can we as concerned Christian citizens condone sin? We must speak out against it. Vote against it. Support candidates who condemn legalizing sin.

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

5. Overcome Fear!

It can be uncomfortable to take action against sin because you’re taking a chance of being called all sorts of unpleasant names or rebuffed. But if you live so that everyone knows you’re a righteous follower of Christ, who cares what they call you? Our goal is to please an audience of One, Jesus Christ, not man.

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

Staying Silent is Condoning Sin

With every law passed condoning sin, it not only affects us, but future generations. Avoiding the confrontation of sin isn’t the way of the Holy Spirit. When you encounter sin, you’ll be convicted to say or do something. God will give you the opportunity and the words. It’s up to us to humbly, but boldly, follow the Lord’s leading. He will put words in our mouth. Yes, God is a God of grace, but Paul puts it best.

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. Rom. 3:23-24

What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death [to sin]? Rom. 6:1-3

Why am I talking about sin today? Because we’re watching blatant sin exposed and indulged everywhere and the world is in turmoil. All the signs are here that the rapture could be coming soon. As the opening picture depicts, people get ready, Jesus is coming! Keep looking up!

Please leave a comment here and I will reply.

There won’t be a blog for the next two weeks, but I’ll close out the month with my newsletter. If you don’t receive my monthly About His Work newsletter you can sign up for free here.

July 8, 2024
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6 Ways to Respond to Vileness, Vitriol, and Violence

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Last week, I wrote about a local business owner, Mark Fitzpatrick, who decided to counter “gay pride” month with “Heterosexual Awesomeness Month” at his establishment, The Old State Saloon (OSS) in Eagle, Idaho. Here’s the link to that blog if you haven’t read it yet. I did preface there that while we don’t drink, many restaurants we eat at do have a bar, we just don’t imbibe. Old Sate Saloon is no different, so they have our full support. Mark is a vocal Christian and I’ve since learned there’s a Bible Study on Sunday mornings at OSS for people who might never set foot in a church. Their Facebook post today, Saturday, as I’m writing this week’s blog read: “Don’t forget! Bible study Sunday morning at 10 am. This week we have a special guest teacher, David McClellan, who will be covering Ephesians 3.”

Their regular Sunday morning Bible study teacher wrote on OSS’s Facebook page: “Some people raise their eyebrows when they learn I teach a Bible study each Sunday morning in a Saloon. If you’re in the Treasure Valley, it’s 50 E State Street in Eagle. Start time is 10 am … we wrap up no later than 11. Everyone 21+ is welcome.” With that, he posted the opening meme in this article.

Mark Fitzpatrick’s fun, yet bold and firm, stand for heterosexuality and his Christian faith has gone viral across the nation, but predictably it’s also brought out vileness and vitriol on the Old State Saloon’s social media pages. So far, praise God, I haven’t heard of any violence, which we’ve prayed against for him all month. Mark said in the beginning that he was surprised at the vile vitriol in social media comments on their Facebook page and they would be removing any offensive comments using slander, foul language, or profanity.

I posted my last week’s blog, God Created Us Heterosexual and Idaho Celebrates That As Awesome, on OSS’s Facebook page, and as you might expect, the hate and vitriol flowed along with self-righteous comments. I’m sure many were also trolls with nothing better to do than write nasty, profane, and often heinous verbal attacks. I’ve learned to never engage with these sick people and just ignore them as they pour out their vitriol against my ministry, Christianity, and me.

I actually feel sorry for each one as I read their hateful ignorant slander with blasphemous memes against Jesus and Christians. Tragic that they’re living a lie and resort to vicious vileness that I doubt they’d be willing to say to Mark or my face. I doubt some of them even read my blog because no one left a comment on my website post. They were looking for a bigger audience on OSS’s Facebook page, which has attracted hundreds of comments since the publicizing of Heterosexual Awesomeness Month special events.

As I’ve been writing and speaking in the public forum for years, I’m not naive that people exist who troll on their phone or computers looking for an opportunity to spew vile words, while calling you hateful names and slinging accusations. They’re lost, deceived, maybe lonely, and either have never heard the Gospel or have rejected it. They need prayer, but not indulgence. They want you to respond so they can keep going, but when you ignore them, they don’t know if you’ve even read what they wrote. That surely frustrates them. What a sorry way to live!

Satan’s Offensive Playbook is Vileness, Vitriol, and Violence!

In the wake of the horrific Hamas attack on Israel, we’re watching violence on college campuses. Brainwashed kids protesting in favor of terrorists and creating mayhem are being allowed to setup encampments on the campuses, until they inevitably start destroying and defacing property. Sometimes they’re not even arrested or held accountable. It’s as if the college administrators are afraid of the students or think if they indulge them, they’ll get tired and go away. These kids obviously were never taught how to peacefully, politely, and intelligently express their viewpoint. Often, they have no idea what or why they’re even protesting. But they do know how to express vileness, vitriol, and violence!

Vile language and behavior, profane vitriol, and destructive violence do not come from the Holy Spirit, Jesus, or God. That means the only other spirit in our world, a satanic evil spirit, is producing this behavior. Have you noticed on the news during clips of violent protests or gay parades and speeches, all you hear are bleep, bleep, bleep, because the media can’t let those vile profanities be heard on television. So, the protestors aren’t saying anything intelligent, just a series of bleeps

Public TV also can’t show the true vileness of the lewd acts being performed in the streets during gay parades, often in front of little children, so you’re only seeing sanitized short clips, which are bad enough. And what about parents who expose young children to these vile obscenities and actions instead of protecting them from profanity and sexual lewdness?! These parents are letting their children be mentally and visually influenced by obscenity and immorality. Normalizing it as acceptable. After all, if your parents think it’s okay, it must be okay.

The father of godly children has cause for joy. What a pleasure to have children who are wise. Pr. 23:24 NLT

Adults and children persuaded by satanic actions and rituals instead of godly purity and morals are opening themselves up to demonic behavior. I doubt the parents taking their children to gay parades or drag queen story hours are taking them to Sunday school. A power play of Satan versus God. We know who wins in the end, but how many souls will be lost along the way.

The Bible tells of people possessed or influenced by demons. From these examples, we can find some symptoms of demonic influence and gain insight as to how a demon possesses someone. Here are some of the biblical passages: Matthew 9:32-33; 12:22; 17:18; Mark 5:1-20; 7:26-30; Luke 4:33-36; Luke 22:3; Acts 16:16-18.

Demon possession is not always as dramatic as in biblical times, but it can cause the individual to say and perform evil acts. Judas being the main example. Or King Saul, after rebelling against the LORD, was troubled by an evil spirit (1 Samuel 16:14-15; 18:10-11; 19:9-10) with the apparent effect of a depressed mood and an increased desire to kill David. There’s a wide variety of possible symptoms of demon possession, such as a physical impairment that can’t be attributed to an actual physiological problem, a personality change such as depression or aggression, supernatural strength, immodesty, antisocial behavior, violent anger, spewing obscenities, lewdness, and sexual depravity.

In Judas’ case, he opened his heart to evil by his greed (John 12:6).  Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve (Luke 22:3). So, it’s possible that if one allows his heart to be ruled by some habitual sin, it becomes an invitation for a demon to enter, which always leads to ungodly behavior and a mindset against God as the apostle Paul told us in the following verses.

21 Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. . . 24 So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies. 25 They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. 26 That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. 27 And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved.

28 Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done. 29 Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. 30 They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. . .  Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too. Romans 1:21, 24-29, 32 NLT.

So How Should Christians Respond?

If you’re encountering vileness, vitriol, or threats of violence on social media or in person, here’s how I try to handle it. Maybe it will help you too.

  • Don’t try to one up, reason with, or engage them.

Attempting to change their mind is unlikely to succeed, but it will usually intensify the debate and consume considerable time and energy. Even though you’re sure you have the perfect response, in my experience, I’ve never seen anyone concede or surrender their opinion or verbal attack. Typically, they become more hostile while their vile vitriol escalates.

  • Ignore them.

I know that’s hard to do because you want to help them see the truth, but they’re just looking for an argument and you’ll only become more frustrated and irritated yourself.

  • Delete their comments and consider blocking them.

You’re not obligated to leave their vitriol on your social media and blocking them will prevent them from returning. You can also report them to the social media administrator. A troll is just looking for an argument and you have better things to do with your time.

  • In person, change the subject.

Offer your point of view if you want, but if the conversation is deteriorating, tell them to have a blessed day and move on. Don’t ever let Satan cause you to match their vileness, vitriol, or violent behavior.

  • Pray for them.

Hard as it is, Jesus tells us to love and pray for our enemies (Matt. 5:44-45). Maybe, just maybe, their eyes will open and the blinders fall off because they’re headed for a mental, emotional, and spiritual crash, if not already there. Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Eph. 6:18

  • Our offensive playbook is the Word of God, the Holy Bible.

Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Eph. 6:17

The apostle Paul also advised, Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone. Rom. 12:18 NLT

Please leave your comment here. I reply to all your comments and appreciate receiving them.

June 17, 2024
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