Tag Archives: America

by | July 4, 2022 · 11:16 am

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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by | June 3, 2022 · 8:27 am

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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by | July 4, 2021 · 8:00 am

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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by | February 24, 2021 · 8:32 pm

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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by | November 5, 2020 · 9:03 am

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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by | November 4, 2020 · 5:34 pm

My Initial Thoughts On the 2020 Election Results

You have your opinions. I have mine.

It is hard to believe that I live in America. By that I mean it is hard to believe that the America I grew up with – one where people were patriotic, respected the office of leaders, and never considered sabotaging the whole electoral system – is the one in which people are so divided and the party platforms are so morally different.

Now that I think about it, there was a time when this country was equally divided, even more so, and that was a time when we took up arms to kill our brothers at the other end of our carbines and canon. Some have said that’s where we are headed once more. I hope not.

But I wonder, without scouring the history books (that haven’t been revised by modern liberals), I wonder if the people of our nation back in the 1860’s were as angry, manipulative, disrespectful, self-serving, God-hating, perverse, and vindictive as they are today? I kinda doubt it.

I mean, from the history that I’ve read, both the North and the South had men and women of honor and principle who differed to the point of war, but did so with integrity. How else did we become the most powerful nation on Earth? A nation that could never move past a political defeat, or even a military one, could never later unify as a patriotic people to defeat the Nazis, the Imperial Japanese, and even the Russia of the Cold War.

So, for four years after an embarrassing and unexpected defeat, the Democrat Party and RINOs (Republican In Name Only) have done nothing but seethe with anger and resentment for President Trump and have sought, through any means necessary, to undermine the President, even at the expense of the American people.

The reason we are where we are today is not because of differing ideologies or political worldviews. The reason we are in the shape we are in this very moment, a state of utter confusion and distrust of the political and electoral system, is not because Donald Trump talked dirty in a locker room or tweeted something “un-presidential.”

The reason we are boarding up our stores, banks, pharmacies, and places of worship is not because we are being invaded by an army of locusts or facing down the barrel of a Cat5 hurricane.

The reason we are in this mess the day after the election is not because President Trump colluded with a foreign power, was an inept leader, or that he has been the worst and most embarrassing president ever.

The REAL reason we are where we are today, right this moment, is because an uninformed, maliciously-educated, biblically-illiterate electorate was lied to, mislead, manipulated, used as pawns, incited, and incentivized by a perennially-corrupt, morally-bankrupt, socially-manipulative, traitorous main-stream media whose sole purpose for the last four years has been to overturn the election of a man they knew would not push forward a socialistic, barbaric, evil, “progressive” agenda.

There is NO reason, other than because of fomented hatred for the current President, that a sane, informed, patriotic, educated, God-fearing public would vote to have a bona fide corrupt politician with cognitive disabilities, along with Che Guevara’s dream groupie, lead them!

If the main-stream news media, along with the supporting entertainment industry, both nothing more than extensions of the Democrat Party, would have given credit where credit is due, then a three-time Nobel Prize-nominated, promise-keeping, job-creating, peace deal making President would have no problem getting re-elected. But all the average person hears is “Orange Man Bad!”

Mark my words, the media that will side so heavily with one party to corrupt the perceptions of the general populace in order to secure power and force a corrupt and immoral agenda will find no security in the eventual government they hope to bring about.

If you set a trap for others, you will get caught in it yourself. If you roll a boulder down on others, it will crush you instead. A lying tongue hates its victims, and flattering words cause ruin. – Proverbs 26:27-28 NLT

That’s my opinion, and I’m sticking to it.

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by | November 1, 2020 · 10:30 pm

Are You a Christian Citizen? This Sermon Is for YOU!

I wasn’t able to save and edit the sermon separately. If you don’t want to watch the first part of the worship service, then just fast-forward. It’s up to you; it’s still a free country 😉

However, if you want to see what it’s like to attend a smaller Southern Baptist church in middle-Georgia, one doing its best to recover from the craziness of lockdowns and virtual-only services, watch the whole thing.

Regardless, I want to share a link to this Sunday morning’s sermon which was streamed live on Facebook. God put a sermon on my heart that needs to be heard by every Christian in America, and beyond.

Years ago, the legendary Dr. Adrian Rogers preached a sermon on the responsibilities of a Christian citizen. The four points of his sermon outline made up the skeleton for mine. I’m no Adrian Rogers, but the Truth is the truth.

Whether a citizen of the United States of America or some other place, we have been left with certain responsibilities that transcend culture and national lines. But now that we are right on the edge of an election that has the potential to either ignite incredible violence and destruction or initiate the end of the Republic as we know it, the subject of this sermon is that much more important for Americans to hear.

I’d love to hear your feedback. Watch and listen to the message God gave me, then leave a comment below.

And pray for America.

Click on the picture to watch the video. Thanks!

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by | September 30, 2020 · 12:54 pm

What Were You Expecting, Shakespeare and Milton?

The … ummm … Debate?

I watched it, the first shouting and arguing match between to grown males. It wasn’t a “presidential” debate because there was little if nothing presidential about it.

But I sat through the whole thing. I sat through every interruption by Donald Trump and every name-calling response from Joe Robinette (that’s his middle name, if you didn’t know). And because I sat through the whole thing, like eating too many greasy hamburgers the night before, I woke up nauseated.

Winners & Losers

Simply put, there were no clear winners last night, except maybe the demonic forces whose leathery, flapping wings fanned the flames. POTUS was consistent  with his message and policies, never wavering on his mission; VP Biden was present and accounted for, maybe even on a little meth (just kidding).

Frankly, I can’t blame Trump for coming out of his corner like a bat out of hades (that’s a figure of speech because, as far as I’ve read, there are no bats in Hell). For the last four years he has had to put up with attack after attack after attack from the likes of Biden, and so the one made famous for saying “You’re fired!” fired salvo after salvo at the USS Sleepy.

But as for “Come’on, man!” Biden, the bar had been set so low for him that just being able to complete a sentence after an hour was a shock to Republicans and Democrats alike. No one I spoke with thought Biden would be able to survive 3 minutes in the ring with Trump. Yet, even after multiple haymakers to the jaw, Biden was still standing at the end and it was Trump who was flustered.

However, the real losers were the two parties, the American people, and every parent who’s tried to instill in their children a sense of decorum and grace under pressure.

The Lesson

Sure, I suppose there are many lessons we could learn from last nights fiasco. Once could be: Never ask Chris Wallace to babysit your pit bulls. Another might be: What did you expect? Shakespeare? Milton? This was Reality Trump and Plagiarizing Biden.

But the big lesson is one that every voter should remember, especially since last night exposed the raw humanity of these two men can be found in the following verse from Psalm 20:

“Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.” – Psalm 20:7

Whether chariots or horses, elephants or jackasses (sorry, donkeys), only God can get us out of the mess we are in right now. 

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by | July 4, 2020 · 9:54 am

Time to Exercise My 1st Amendment Right: I Will Tell You What I Believe

Unacceptable Fear

This morning, after I typed the name of the title and the heading just above, I took the picture you see: that of my laptop, a “Keep America Great” hat, and a painting called “Blue Tears” (one I did in honor of fallen police officers – just those who died in the line of duty by gunfire last year).

On this day, the day we celebrate the birth of this great nation, The United States of America, I decided to lay all my patriotic cards on the table, and then some. Hence, the picture of a pro-Trump (and pro-America) hat, along with an artistic statement of support for Law Enforcement (Police).

Unfortunately, because of the incredible threats of intimidation and backlash, along with the literal danger of physical harm, I have never posted a picture of this hat. But today, because I do not want to live in shame or fear, I will claim my right to tell you exactly what I believe with regard to this country.

Fear is unacceptable. Silence in the face of intimidation is cowardice.

What I Believe About . . .

Jesus

He was a literal, historic figure who was God incarnate, yet with a human nature. After being born of a virgin, He lived a sinless life as the “second Adam” and Lamb of God who would be crucified for the sins of mankind.  He is alive, today, after resurrecting from the dead in accordance with prophesy and His own promises. According to John 14:6, there is no other way to eternal life than through Him: the historically verifiable person who walked the shores of Galilee 2000 years ago and shed His own blood as a ransom and for an atonement that no other man past, present, or future could accomplish.

The cross of Christ is the answer for every problem in the world today. The gospel is the most important message we can share with every man, woman, boy, and girl in the world. And it is this gospel of Jesus Christ, as displayed in the inerrant, infallible Word of God, which is the same “good news” to every culture, every tribe, and ever person on earth, regardless of color or country.

But beyond that…

Police

There are far more good cops that bad ones. More people die every day from medical malpractice than all police acts of violence combined. Anyone marching in the streets calling for the end of hospitals? Every man and woman who put on an the uniform and shield (badge) deserve respect and honor until they do something to deserve otherwise. I #backtheblue.

Defunding Police.

I personally think this is one of the most ignorant and stupid suggestions of all time. Those who support this idea are about as bright and mature as the 4-year-old who thinks he’d be better off on his own without parents to keep him out of the cookie jar.

Black Lives Matter

Of course they do! And, to make it clear, I understand that for many what this means is that “black lives matter, TOO,” just as much as everyone else.

But when it comes to the Black Lives Matter organization founded by self-proclaimed “radicals” Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi, I believe it is an anti-American, anti-nuclear family, danger to American and Western society, particularly the very freedoms every color of American fought and died for. I also believe the whole premise of this organization is built on the false narrative of “systematic and institutionally-sanctioned racism.”

President Donald J. Trump 

I didn’t vote for him in the primary election – I voted for Ted Cruz. However, I did vote for him over Hillary Clinton in the general election. Faced with the choice between what each promised they would do if elected, I knew I could not support Clinton.

President Donald Trump is NOT the greatest danger to American civilization and the safety of the world. For that honor all you need to do is look at those who topple monuments to historic figures who fought against slavery while supposedly protesting those who supported slavery.

Uninformed fools will cut off the very branch of the tree that supports them.

Hating 45 (Trump Derangement Syndrome)

Let’s be honest, folks. If you hate President Trump, it’s probably because you are either pro-abortion, hate any restriction to your sexual autonomy, want to silence any religious voice who disagrees with your sexual proclivities, or you simply believe the constant twisting by the main-stream media and radical-left celebrities who fear their sexual autonomy might be limited.  On the other hand, maybe you were so invested in electing the first woman president that the shock of losing broke your brain.

Grand Funerals

Being buried in a Bronze Promethean casket from Batesville ($24,000 min.) doesn’t make you a good person or erase the fact that poor decisions can have catastrophic consequences.

Confederate Monuments

Ironically, those who call for the removal of these monument are supported by the very Democrat party to which those who supported segregation and racism belonged. If they insist on tearing down Confederate monuments, then they should certainly include Democrat icons such as Pres. Franklin Delano Roosevelt (who interned Japanese Americans in camps), Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson (who used the n-word more often than “Jesus Christ”), and Sen. Robert C. Byrd (form Exalted Cyclops of the Ku Klux Klan).

But truth be told, it’s not about racism or trying to erase a painful past; it’s about erasing and eradicating who we are as a nation and replacing it with something radical, oppressive, atheistic, and Marxist.

Racism

How do I define racism? Well, I believe racism is the belief that one particular “race” is either superior or inferior to another. What racism is NOT is the preference of one ethnic culture over another. It is NOT racist to be inclined to the characteristics of one ethnicity over another. Racial profiling is NOT racist if it is based on statistics, especially when the overall benefit to the profiling will positively affect every ethnicity.

Racism is sinful, unbiblical, and an affront to the very nature of our Creator God. Having “prejudices” for or against particular cultural norms is NOT being racist; it’s showing preference. However, you can be a racist and be prejudiced at the same time, but it should not be assumed that one is automatically a racist if he/she has certain prejudices. For example, I married a white woman because I am white and preferred (had a prejudice toward) women who have the same skin color and cultural customs as myself. That was not a “racist” choice.

It is NOT racist to note our physical differences, either. Just as long as our physical differences are not used as an argument to suggest that one “race” is inherently better than another. God has designed each of us, and there is nothing wrong with acknowledging the fact that we are not all physically the same. It is wrong, however, to suggest that one color of human should be subjugated to another, for we are ALL equal before God.

Gun Violence and Guns

The old adage is still true: “Guns don’t kill people. People kill people.” Anti-gun laws (which are in opposition to our 2nd amendment to the Constitution) do nothing to change the heart that pulls the trigger. That same heart can thrust a blade or swing a club.

“When was America ever great?”

When it acknowledged the right you have to publicly ask a stupid and uninformed question without fear of government retribution.

“America, America, God shed His grace on thee! And crown thy good with brotherhood, from sea to shining sea.”

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by | February 6, 2020 · 5:39 pm

Were the Democrats Better Than Jesus and Paul?: A Look At the State of the Union Sit-Fest

Politics

You know what they say, don’t you? “A pastor should avoid politics at all costs.” Or, maybe it’s, “Never talk about politics from the pulpit…or online…or at the dinner table…or with a friend…”

The reason is because I am called to minister to people of all political persuasions. It’s foolish to alienate potentially half the people I address by offending them with an opposing political view, ESPECIALLY if that political opinion has nothing to do with the Bible, particularly the Gospel.

But what am I to do when something happens in the political realm and Scripture has something to say? Do I remain silent? Do I avoid even the least offense? Do I say, “That’s only for you people to discuss on your own, not in church, and not with me”?

What if the Bible offers advice that could radically change the negative atmosphere of politics and actually bring our nation’s leaders closer together for the sake of our nation?

Well, it does!

Broken Legs

If you had the opportunity to watch President Trump’s third State of the Union Address (the one where Nancy Pelosi ripped up the paper she fumbled with for an hour), what you saw was a sad, sad sight: nearly all the Democrats had broken legs. It’s true! Hardly any of them could stand up for anything, even news that the state of the Union was great!

Oh, the Republicans in the room were quick to leap to their feet when they heard African-American unemployment was at an all-time low, but the party of 90% of blacks remained in their seats! You KNOW that had to be painful! Broken legs, I tell you.

And what about that time it was announced that we are no longer dependent on foreign oil (the thing that nearly crippled us back in the 1970’s)? What about the news that manufacturing jobs had increased (along with factories coming back to America)? What about the news of lowered prescription drug prices and fairer trade deals with China? For each one of these bits of great news, the Democrats remained in their seats, groaning from the pain in their broken legs, unable to stand and celebrate the common good of our country.

But was it broken legs? Or, was it nothing more than hurt feelings, bitterness, anger, hatred, and spite? What if they were thinking that any good news is bad news as long as Trump is still the President? What if they were unwilling to celebrate anything, or anybody (even a 100-year-old Tuskegee airman that got promoted to General), if it meant admitting Trump was responsible? Their broken legs (or angry feelings) were more important than the people who sent them to Washington.

Jesus and Paul

But I would like to direct your attention to a couple of different instances where both the followers of Jesus and the friends of the Apostle Paul found themselves in a similar situation as the poor, crippled Democrats.

In one case, John came to Jesus upset that there was “one casting out devils” in His name (Mark 9:38-40; Luke 9:49-50). He told Jesus [paraphrased], “We told him to ‘Stop it!” because he wasn’t part of our group.” How did Jesus reply?

Forbid [him] not: for he that is not against us is for us. – Luke 9:50

Then later, in his letter to the Philippians, Paul confirmed that there were some people preaching Jesus, but with selfish motives. Did he protest? Did he let his broken legs keep him in his seat? Not hardly!

It’s true that some are preaching out of jealousy and rivalry. But others preach about Christ with pure motives. They preach because they love me, for they know I have been appointed to defend the Good News. Those others do not have pure motives as they preach about Christ. They preach with selfish ambition, not sincerely, intending to make my chains more painful to me. But that doesn’t matter. Whether their motives are false or genuine, the message about Christ is being preached either way, so I rejoice. And I will continue to rejoice. – Philippians 1:15-18 NLT

Do the Democrats think they are better than Jesus and Paul?

The Common Good

Who are these people that go to Washington, D.C.? Are they not servants of the people who sent them there? Do they represent political parties alone, or do they each take an oath to defend the Constitution of the United States of America, the place where ALL Americans live, regardless their party affiliation?

Jesus and Paul understood that there were people out there who didn’t belong to their inner circles, some of which even had impure motives for what they were doing. Yet, both Jesus and Paul rejoiced that good was being done, nevertheless. People were being freed from demons in the name of Jesus, and people were getting saved after hearing the gospel preached by jealous, self-serving preachers.

Why is it, then, that the Democrats sat like they had broken legs when news of the common good was rampant? Why is it that they could not rejoice at an improved economy, decreased poverty, or lower drug prices that ease the burden of sick people in every political party?

The Answer?

I really don’t have an official answer; I can’t see inside their hearts. However, we could rephrase the question and ask John and the concerned Christians in Philippi why they had problems with people doing the right thing?

Maybe John thought: “Hey! That guy with the orange hair is casting out demons in Jesus’ name!“

Maybe the Philippians said: “Dear Paul, there’s a guy over there who said bad things about you, even called you names, and he’s telling people about Christ!“

All we know for sure is that both John and the Philippians were wrong for not clapping their hands, as both Jesus and Paul made clear.

Therefore, if the nation as a whole, both the just and the unjust, felt the rain of prosperity as the result of an orange-headed, egotistic outsider, not celebrating the common good makes the Democrats who refused to stand appear petty, childish, and motivated by something other than the people’s best interests.

Maybe they need to hate President Trump less and love our country more.

NOTE: If you don’t like what I just wrote, simply print it off and rip it in two.

Image result for pelosi rips

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