Tag Archives: America

How to Vote Like Jesus

Friends, let me be honest. The sermon I am sharing with you today is the best I’ve ever, EVER heard on this subject. It is absolutely spot on, biblical, and convicting.

This pastor does not endorse a candidate, but he makes it abundantly clear with Scripture what the God-given duty of an American Christian is. It’s your choice, but you have to actually make one.

To sit out this (or any) election is nothing less than passive disobedience to God. That’s what this pastor argues, and I believe he is correct.

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What Would Make Me NOT Vote for Trump?

Please allow me to share a LOT of words with you. That’s all they are, after all. Just words.

But words have meaning. Words are powerful. Words expose the heart. And sometimes, believe it or not, it takes more than a sound bite or meme to get the full picture.

So, at the risk of losing your attention, I want you to see my heart. I want to be transparent.

This morning a friend asked a legitimate question on Facebook. A friend of that friend gave an answer. To that answer I responded.

Read if you’re interested.

The Original Question

Is there a moral or a red line that Trump could cross that would turn you against him? He mentioned once that he could shoot somebody on 5th Avenue and he wouldn’t lose any supporters. I’m not being facetious, I am being very serious. Is there any one thing or more than one thing that would make you have second thoughts?

The First Response

You’ll never get an honest answer to this question but it’s probably no there’s nothing he could do to turn his supporters away.

My First Honest Answer

To begin with, teachers and professors often claim that “there is no stupid question.” However, there are questions that cannot be answered simply because of the flawed premise on which the question is based. For example, “Would you rather be eaten alive by a shark or an orange?”

Your question is not to the level of unanswerable, but it’s close. The problem is that it assumes that Harris has NOT already done something that would make us not vote for her. The fact is that, in order to not vote for Donald Trump, he would have to exceed the unacceptable level of Kamala Harris.

My vote is based on my love of country, along with my love of family and church. Both candidates have histories from which I can draw conclusions. Both make plenty of claims, but only one’s history supports his claims. Therefore, based on what is readily knowable, despite propaganda, Trump may or may not “make America great again,” but Harris will certainly cause it irreparable harm. Her radical support for abortion alone, not to mention everything else she would support, if not mandate, will only pollute the land even more with the blood of innocents.

Assuming all the accused evils of both candidates were blatantly observable and undeniable, I could not vote for Donald Trump if, and only if, he was a greater danger to the republic and the moral fabric of this country. But we are not comparing Hitler to Nero. Even if we were, only one of those set fire to his own kingdom. Which would you choose?

The Response to My Answer

I think I disagree – I think it is the hypocrisy that drives everyone crazy. He can do no harm no matter what and the other side it criticized for everything – that’s the bottom line. He’s just not a “good” person in any way, shape or form.

My Final Reply

But I have to ask… what harm has he done that is supposed to make me vote for Harris? Rape? Murder? Treason? If he did those things, then we’d have a problem. But is it just possible that the media, which is TOTALLY and unapologetically biased, done everything possible to deceive the public? Just think of how many things Trump claimed to be happening that was labeled as crazy. And how many of those things were proven true?

  • The Dems and the FBI did spy on Trump’s campaign.
  • China was responsible for Covid.
  • The Hunter Biden laptop was legit.
  • The Bidens were making money off of Ukraine and China.
  • All of the “crimes” he’s been convicted of…do you seriously believe that wasn’t a witch hunt?

[Let me add that several years and millions of taxpayer dollars were wasted on the Russia collusion hoax.]

You and others say unequivocally that he’s a “bad man.” There have been plenty of accusations, sure. But do you believe them? What about the credible accusations leveled against the Biden/Harris administration? What about the lying about Joe Biden’s health?

Think about this. I’m sure what Trump said about women is seared into your memory, that as a rich and famous man he could just walk up to any woman and grab her (privates) and nothing would happen. Was he lying? But did he do it? Was he just making a point?

Trump, like many men, including former presidents, have been unfaithful. Trump was even divorced. Yet, look at his family. How does he treat them? How do they love him? Is that a mark of a scoundrel? During the whole 4 years he was president, what immoral thing did he do? As much as he is hated, don’t you think it would have surfaced if he had been with an intern in the Oval Office? You see, it’s just too easy to claim he is evil with no impartial evidence.

Do you realize that not one soldier died over seas while Trump was president? No new wars. Not a bomb dropped. Three peace treaties were signed in the Middle East. We became energy independent. He moved the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. He strengthened religious liberty by ditching the Johnson amendment which limited speech from church pulpits. And he ended Roe v Wade, just as promised. And he’s a bad man?

If you are still reading, let me describe what will happen should Harris be elected. For one, the weaponization of the DOJ against political opponents will be permanent. Based on what has already been done, further, more dramatic catering to LGBTQ causes will have a major impact on churches, Christian schools, Christian business, Christian or conservative media, parental rights, and free speech. Tax law, such as taxes on unrealized capital gains, will cripple our economy, bankrupt our farmers, and destroy investment. And make no mistake, there will be more war, particularly involving China [and Taiwan], Iran, and Russia.

I know I’ve written a lot. I’m sorry. But I truly believe that what you think of Trump is the result of years of corrupt media propaganda and lies told by the sexually deviant groups that hate God and Christians. It’s just too obvious.

To Wrap It Up

There an old proverb that says, “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.”

Donald J. Trump is not an angel. He may even be a bad person. Yet, he is the only candidate for the office of President of the United States who will take a pay cut to serve, willingly risks his life for this country, and cares more for the sovereignty of our borders than the feelings of hostile regimes.

We have enemies, but only one flawed human is the most qualified choice to confront them. I’m voting for him.

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Reflections On the Trump and Harris Debate

A lot has been said about the debate on the 10th of August. Nearly all the Democrats believe their candidate for president won. It was a mixed bag in the Republican camp, on the other hand. That being said, I would like to offer my take, what I think happened.

At the end, I would like to make some predictions, should Kamala Harris become POTUS.

And the Winner Is…

Having won debates in school, I know a little about how to do it. That being said, from a stylistic standpoint, I believe Vice President Kamala Harris won her first debate with President Trump. She caught him like the Japanese did the US Navy at Pearl Harbor. She shocked those who underestimated her with a display of uncharacteristic verbal skill and acuity.

There were no “word salads,” only cutting, coherent sentences fired from the mouth of a seemingly seasoned trial lawyer.

Trump was a battleship and Harris was a nimble Mitsubishi Zero. He was only able to hit her a few times and found himself most often on the defense. This time the battle went to the Democrats.

She wants another debate, I hear, just like the Japanese wanted to wrap up their victory with a final battle at Midway. But let’s not forget how that turned out. It did not go well for Hirohito’s navy.

A Strategy Revealed

Another thing I witnessed was Harris continuing with a strategy previously used by her boss. Just like Biden did all the time, she brazenly applied Joseph Goebbles’ doctrine to her method of attack: if you tell a big enough lie, and you tell it often enough, it becomes truth.

She did this with her “no late-term abortion” lie; the Charlottesville “fine people” lie; the “inherited chaos” lie; the “anti-military” lie; the “Trump is a racist” lie; the “bloodbath” lie; the “first day dictator” lie; the “personal gain” lie; and the “he’s always lying” lie. And sadly, which is par for the course, the media never called her on it, for they have been doing the same thing.

My Prediction

If the American people continue to put 2 and 2 together, they will look past the polished rhetoric delivered during the debate and see the steaming pile of feces for what it is.

The economy IS in shambles; babies ARE aborted late term; she WAS the beneficiary of a soft coup; she DID lie about the health of the current sleeping president; she WILL push for mandatory gun buy backs; she WILL destroy private insurance; she WILL continue to use the legal and justice system to squash opponents; she WILL NOT fix the border she never visited; she WILL attack parental rights; she WILL NOT bring peace to any conflict; she WILL raise taxes on the middle class; she WILL push more industry out of the country; and she WILL bring us closer to global war through her continued nasally weakness. And don’t think for one moment that being the first “black woman” president will ease racial tensions – they WILL get worse.

Other than that, if I understand it correctly, should Harris win the next election, we will finally be unburdened from the past and there will be joy.

Has anyone got an extra vomit bag?

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Two Thoughts on Rumors and Conspiracy Theories

Hey, everyone. I just want to say two things about all the “did you hear?” stories that keep coming up.

The FIRST thing is: even trusted “sources” can relay bad information.

What you hear might actually be factual, but information can be true and false at the same time when context and interpretation are skewed. Remember, even your “sources” have world views and agendas. If you cannot go to the ORIGINAL source of the information and see for yourself what is being reported, be careful what you repeat.

But here’s the SECOND thing, and it’s really, really, important. Don’t be blind to the obvious while in search of the hidden.

We are so likely to jump on the bandwagons of juicy, new conspiracy theories that we will ride them off the cliff of insanity, ignoring the obvious street signs and billboards as we zip past.

I say all this because despite all the hidden agendas, secret societies, and billionaire evil donors out there, it DOES make a difference for whom you and I vote or support. OBJECTIVE MORALITY based on an Immutable Standard does exist, and it is our job as citizens to be the first to vocally and politically advocate for it.

Political parties and their candidates are always quick to tell us what we want to hear, but their track records are not secret. As long as we don’t erase history, all we have to do is look back to determine what kind of future will unfold. Therefore, more important than bringing to light dark agendas and conspiracies, we should not be silent when fundamental, foundational Truths are destroyed right before our eyes.

Ultimately, we are not responsible for the plots hatched around boiling cauldrons, but we will be held responsible for how we steward the obvious.

Truth and Freedom Under Attack

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June 6th… Would We Do It Again?

d day

Eighty years have passed since the pride of the Allies, 156,000 strong, stepped out of landing craft and jumped out of airplanes into the mouth of a monster ready to eat them alive.

Eighty years have passed since young men from America, England, and Canada (and we must not forget Australia, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, France, Greece, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway and Poland) landed on beaches called Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword.

Eighty years ago, long before the fancy rock-climbing walls which are so popular in today’s health clubs and gyms,  the 2nd Ranger battalion “led the way” up the 100 ft. cliffs of Pointe du Hoc.

Eighty years ago, on the 6th of June, 2,499 American and 1,914 from the other Allied nations, a total of 4,413, gave their lives for the sake of freedom.

Eighty years ago men were stepping on the backs of their comrades as they sloshed through red water, breathed in the mist of war, and wondered if they would live to see the ground only yards (meters) in front of them.

On June 6, 1944, eighty years ago, it was said of those who landed:

They fight not for the lust of conquest. They fight to end conquest. They fight to liberate.” — President Franklin D. Roosevelt, radio broadcast, June 6, 1944

It is the 6th of June, 2024, but are we still a people with the stomach to liberate? If we were the ones living eighty years ago, where would we be today?

Ask those who take a knee, or hide in a locker room when the anthem is played.

Ask those who protest the same American flag that their African-American ancestors fought and died for – the same ancestors who fought in segregated units, but were still ferociously proud to be Americans. What did the pilots of the Red Tail Squadron do when the flag was raised and the anthem was played?

For that matter, what did Tuskegee Airmen Dr. Harold Brown, a pilot with the renowned 332nd Fighter Group in World War II (an all-black squadron) say when asked the following question during a recorded conference call: “Why [when the slavery trappings, the discrimination was all there] would you raise your right hand and swear to defend this country?”

“Oh, that’s very, very simple, in my opinion. I was a citizen of the United States of America! This was my country, too! Even though it had some shortcomings, it was still the greatest country in the world. There is no other country I would ever trade for it.” (Feb. 28, 2018)

Ask those who are burning the American flag because “America was never great.”

Ask the protesters who don’t even know why they protest.

image

The reflection pool at the WW2 Memorial in Washington, D.C. Each gold star represents 100 Americans who died or remain missing during the war.

It cost a lot to buy eighty years of freedom. Would we do it again?

They would have to be willing to fight to defend something, and too many no longer believe what was purchased with the blood of others is worth fighting for.

Would we be willing to do it again?

If not, God help us.

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Critiquing “God Bless the U.S.A.”

Unlike so many ungrateful and uneducated, particularly the hate-filled liberal left and the creepy, cringe-worthy, pro-baby-killing activists, I love America!

Yes, I love my country! And just like Lee Greenwood, “I’m Proud to be an American!”

However, regarding Greenwood’s famous song, there are some points I’d like to address. It’s not that I dislike the song; it’s just the fact that Greenwood got a couple of things wrong.

Lucky Stars

Below is the first verse of “God Bless the U.S.A.” Let’s begin with that.

If tomorrow all the things were gone
I worked for all my life
And I had to start again
With just my children and my wife
I’d thank my lucky stars
To be livin’ here today
‘Cause the flag still stands for freedom
And they can’t take that away

Truly, there are not many places on Earth where a person could start with nothing (more than once) and wind up a success. Yet, despite her detractors, America is a place exactly like that. Literally, the framework of this nation exists to encourage those on the bottom rung to strive for the top of the ladder.

So, yes, I’m proud to be an American, where not only am I free (for now), but so is everyone else. America is a land of second, third, and fourth chances!

However, it wasn’t luck of any kind that secured our liberties. Today, I thank my God to be living in this great nation!

The stars had nothing to do with it.

Stands for What?

Greenwood sings, “’Cause the flag still stands for freedom, and they can’t take that away.” Well, that’s not the case anymore, is it?

There used to be a day when the Stars and Stripes meant hope, rescue, safety, and yes, freedom. Wherever the American flag was hoisted, freedom would be defended. But so many in this country have been lied to or are lying. They think the flag represents oppression, violence, subjugation, slavery, racism, etc., etc., etc.

Yet, they have the freedom to run their mouths without fear of losing their heads. Ironic.

Stars and Stripes or Rainbow?

That leads me to the second verse, or at least one line from it.

“Well, there’s pride in every American heart…”

Not so, Mr. Greenwood. Not so.

Oh, sure, I’d say that the majority of America feels a sense of pride for our nation, but these days there are more people praising Lenin, Che Guevara, and Mao Zedong than ever before.  

And then there’s the month of June. Anyone got “Milk”?

Where’d You Get That?

Finally, let me speak to a statement in the chorus. It is the highlighted one below.

And I’m proud to be an American
Where at least I know I’m free
And I won’t forget the men who died
Who gave that right to me

And I’d gladly stand up
Next to you and defend her still today
‘Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land
God bless the USA

One of the biggest misconceptions concerns the source of true freedom. For that matter, I dare say most Americans fail to understand a very basic and fundamental reality regarding their freedom.

What most fail to understand is that our freedoms, the ones guaranteed in our Constitution and fought for everywhere from court rooms to battlefields, are from God, not government.

The “men who died” did not give us the right to be free: God did. It was our Creator who designed us to intrinsically long for liberty – liberty from oppression, slavery, and chains of any kind. God also gave us the liberty to accept Him or reject Him, which is at the heart of our First Amendment and the very reason the Pilgrims came here.

Our Constitution is not a document which grants freedoms. It is a document written to uphold and protect the inherent, self-evident liberties available to all.

As it was written, “We hold these truths to be self-evident” that we were created by our God with certain “unalienable rights,” among them life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Only in America, where these rights have been treasured and protected for so long, do we now have those who hate the very place that guarantees their right to preach its destruction.

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Let’s Discuss Why Biden and the Democrats are Wrong on Gun Control (Yeah, I’m going there)

This morning I am sitting down at a table with my laptop and Bible. I have a Bible study in James to conduct in a little over an hour from now.

But at this moment I feel the need and the desire to explain why the Biden administration, along with the Democrat Party, is wrong in their attempts to enact “common sense gun control.” In the recent weeks there have been over 30 people die in “mass” shootings and the tragedy of that is beyond description, yet the answer to the problem is NOT taking away the freedom to own firearms from law-abiding Americans.

In a recent statement, President Biden made an impassioned appeal to do something sweeping and unprecedented.

“As a nation, we have to ask, when in God’s name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby? When in God’s name, will we do what we know in our gut what needs to be done? … We have to act. Don’t tell me we can’t have an impact on this carnage…” 

Joe Biden

However, what is truly in our gut? How has the “gun lobby” affected the rise in cold-blooded murder? What should we REALLY be doing in “God’s name”? Let me tell you.

The thing that’s in the gut of Americans is the nauseating, stomach churning truth that what’s been going on in our country is not the fault of guns or lobbyists – it’s much deeper than that. The true problem, along with the solution, is one the Biden administration and the liberal left refuses to acknowledge for fear the implications will ultimately undermine their agenda.

I know it’s a long passage to post, but you really need to see it all. It’s just 10 verses, but it’s totally applicable to this discussion.

[1] What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you? [2] You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. [3] And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong–you want only what will give you pleasure. [4] You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God. [5] What do you think the Scriptures mean when they say that the spirit God has placed within us is filled with envy? [6] But he gives us even more grace to stand against such evil desires. As the Scriptures say, “God opposes the proud but favors the humble.” [7] So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. [8] Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. [9] Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. [10] Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.

James 4:1-10 NLT

It would seem to me that if we were serious about acting in God’s name, we should consult His revealed Word.

You see, God never said anything about guns, did He? He never said weapons of any kind were evil and killed people. No, what He actually said was that people and nations who forget Him will turn to violent means to get what they want.

That’s where we are, today.

What has changed in the religious fabric of our nation since we “boomers” were children? To what levels of depravity has our culture reached in its attempt to obliterate self-control and free itself from accountability? Is it not ironic to see the progression of gun violence mirror the departure from moral absolutes and our identity as a Christian nation?

Think about what has changed in less than 50 years…

  • Where have the gun racks in the back of pick-up trucks gone? Remember when your dad could leave a shotgun and a rifle in plain sight and not worry?
  • Remember when BB guns were common children’s toys?
  • Remember when kids brought their own .22 cal. rifles to school for marksmanship training?
  • Remember the days before toy pistols had to be colored bright orange?

What changed? Did guns become more deadly? Did ammunition develop a mean streak? No, we’ve simply emptied ourselves of moral responsibility and our guts growl with a spiritual hunger.

When you get hungry enough, you’ll eat anything, even if it will make your sick or kill you.

Gun control – the banning or taking away weapons – will not fix the problem. People with hearts that love their neighbor more than themselves can sit in a room full of AR-15s and never once feel inclined to shoot somebody.

We all know this in “our gut,” but some of us are too afraid to say it.

I’m not.

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How to be a Free and Happy Nation

Ever wonder what preachers used to preach around this time of the year? Check out a few excerpts from a message preached only 18 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

We could learn a few things.

“A people under a free government will be happy, as long as they are virtuous and wise.  They may become vicious and corrupt.  They are then liable to be influenced by private connections, party spirit, bribery or flattery, promises or rewards, or the artifice and intrigue of crafty and designing men.

When this is the case, they give up their security, lose their liberty, and sink into slavery….

“…Our free government was a happy, but a costly purchase; let it not be lost by drowsy inattention, and implicit confidence…

The day is coming, when liberty and peace shall bless the human race.  But previous to this, truth and virtue must prevail, and the religion of Jesus must govern men’s hearts. Then the horrors of war will cease, and the groans of slavery will no more be heard.  The rod of the oppressor will be broken, and the yoke will be removed from the shoulders of the oppressed.  The scepter will be wrested from the hands of the wicked, and the pomp of  the proud will be brought down to the dust.  The whole earth will rest and be quiet: they will break forth into singing…” 

– from “The Happiness of Free Government and the Means of Preserving It,” preached by JOSEPH LATHROP, D. D. on July 4th, 1794

I think the “vicious and corrupt” are now running the show. As a result of our “drowsy attention” we have elected men and women of the lowest character, thereby giving up our security, our liberty, and the hope of freedom-loving people around the world who look to us as a shining city on a hill.

We are sinking into slavery.

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America Was Established On God, But Then…

I admire this nation formed by God. I respect the brave men and women, motivated by God, who fought to establish this country. The precise structure …

America Was Established On God, But Then…

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For Such a Time As This

As I woke this morning, names started coming to mind.

I would like to share them with you.

Of the following names, try to think what is common among them all.

Deitrich Bonhoffer
Jim Elliot
Joseph (the one with the coat of many colors)
Brother Andrew
Cory Ten Boom
Harriet Tubman
Frederick Douglass
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Casey Jones (the railroad engineer)
Todd Beamer (flight 93)
Abraham Lincoln
William Wilberforce (member of Parliament)
Sir Winston Churchill
Horatio G. Spafford (It Is Well With My Soul)
Rosa Parks
William Wallace
Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie, Col. William Travis
Oskar Schindler
Moses
Esther

If you haven’t figured it out, there may be other similarities, but all of these names have at least one thing in common: You would have never known them had it not been for their moments of adversity, the challenges forced on them, or the stands they took in the face of injustice.

Consider the words of Mordecai to a fearful and hesitant Esther:

Mordecai sent this reply to Esther: “Don’t think for a moment that because you’re in the palace you will escape when all other Jews are killed. If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?” – Esther 4:13-14 NLT

Dear friends, whatever the future of this country, God has us here “for just such a time as this.”

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