Words

 

Fever pitched rhetoric has consequences.

Enough already! Just because I disagree with your politics or you disagree with mine makes neither of us evil. We are all merely pawns that the proletariat uses to accomplish their ends. As we point fingers at one another, leftist activists, politicians, and journalists that continually provoke both sides are laughing all the way to the bank. When we engage in hateful rhetoric with our neighbors, evil secures and maintains its’ power. As we fight amongst ourselves, evil actions are kept hidden in darkness, allowing the purveyors of evil to prosper. Hate is a tool that the father of lies uses to sow division and strife, poisoning our very souls.

A house divided cannot stand. If this nation continues on its current trajectory, another civil war is not out of the question. The hatred sown, almost exclusively from the left, is tearing the fabric of society apart. Friends and family discussing politics often evoke a knock-down, drag-out argument that can end in relationships forever fractured. Some on the left even refuse to interact with family members that are conservative. How ridiculous is that?

For all you on the left that have never even bothered to watch any of his interactions or events, Charlie Kirk was not evil or a nazi. Charlie Kirk preached the love of Jesus Christ and that you should use your intellect to think logically for yourself. There was no hatred. There was no homophobia or transphobia. He spoke the truth and offered an invitation to all viewpoints to engage in productive and respectful dialogue. And for that he was murdered. Those who celebrate his death are overcome by the evil one.

For all of you on the left, guns do not kill anyone, only those who use them to commit violent acts. Black on black gun crime has skyrocketed, yet in the increasingly rare occurrence when police shoot a black man, newscasters report it as if it is an epidemic. Police kill whites at 3 times the numbers of blacks, so the argument that blacks are unfairly targeted lacks merit based upon the facts.

For all of you on the left, the criminal justice system in the United States has so many checks and balances that protect criminal’s constitutional right from unjust convictions, that an only an estimated 1-5% of all incarcerated criminals have been unjustly convicted. That means that 95-99% of individuals, no matter their skin color, have been justly convicted and sentenced appropriately. So, those persons of color in prison have earned their just rewards, rendering the argument that persons of color are unjustly and disproportionally incarcerated, moot.

For all of you on the left, government is not the answer, it is the problem. Welfare has imprisoned generations of minorities, trapping them on the plantation of entitlements, eliminating God and fathers from the family unit. Healthcare costs have been inflated by penny on the dollar reimbursements by Medicare and Medicaid, causing providers to increase costs to private insurance companies to make up the difference. Obamacare provides subsidies directly to the insurance companies and not to the insured. That disastrous strategy will do nothing but drive up premiums! Public education continues to fail our children as legislators throw ever more taxpayer dollars at it to “fix” it. Over 80% of school budgets go to teacher’s salaries and benefits, so it is obviously not just about the children. This wasteful spending drives up property taxes, pricing potential home buyers out of the market and forcing homeowners, especially retirees, to forsake home ownership. In plain terms, when government intervenes, government fails miserably. Winners and losers should succeed or fail based upon merit.

For all of you on the left, perhaps it is finally time to follow the science. Biology determines that there are but two genders, male and female. Men cannot ever become fully functioning women and women can never become men, no matter how much they want it to be so. Gender dysphoria morphed practically overnight from a mental disease into a condition in need of “gender affirming care.” Any doctor performing any gender altering care to minors should be charged with malpractice and banned from the medical profession. “Transgender” adults, if you can reconcile your “life” choice with God, more power to you. Loving your neighbor does not require others to affirm poor decision makers within their fantasies.

The left is a clear and present danger to this nation. Democrats have hitched their wagons with the insanity that is the left. The left is doing the devil’s work, dividing and conquering this one nation, under God. The invective arising from leftist democrats is constant and deafening. The rhetoric masks their true intentions; They have nothing to better the lives of the American people other than casting aspersions at their “opposition” party and its leader, Donald Trump. Allowing democrats, in their current form, to have any power in the decision making in Congress, State, or local government, will be to the detriment of our Constitutional Republic.

We, the people, have far more in common than the difference in our politics. We are all unconditionally loved by our Father in heaven, despite our shortcomings. For all the differences that seem to take precedence in our worldly lives, it is our spiritual lives that matter most. While it may seem difficult at times to love our neighbors as ourselves, without it our world will continue spiraling out of control. Hatred is easy, love takes a conscious and concerted effort. If we loved one another as much as Christ loved us, wars would end, families would unite, and communities would thrive. Placing God first in our lives is the greatest commandment, loving our neighbors as ourselves is the second. Embracing those two commands along with recognizing, confronting, and rejecting evil, is the recipe to heal our broken nation.

“Jesus declared, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:37-40

“You, little children, are from God and have overcome them, because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. They are of the world. That is why they speak from the world’s perspective, and the world listens to them. We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. That is how we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of deception.” 1 John 4:4-6

Voice of Reason

 

On the road back to sanity.

The first month of the second Trump Presidency has been a whirlwind return to common sense and the restoration of traditional values. For four long years the Biden administration intentionally incorporated woke insanity into the fabric of society. Now it is finally being unraveled. Love him or hate him, Donald Trump is leading the charge to re-normalize accepted “pronouns” instead of overemphasizing they/them. He is delivering on his promises, with a mandate from the majority that voiced their displeasure with the Biden/Harris administration on November 6^th. Our forebears entered into a covenant with God to instill Judeo/Christian values into this newly formed nation. Rejecting the evil that is paramount to the woke culture and reinstituting that which God approves, is long overdue.

The rollback of woke ideology is occurring at break-neck speed, and the people approve. Unfortunately, the woke leftists that apparently dominate the democrat party are doubling down on the absurdity of it all. Maine Governor Janet Mills preens to her woke audience, defies President Trump at a White House meeting of Governors, while threatening to see the President in court over her stated disregard of his executive order upholding Title IX and protecting women’s rights. Polls indicate that this is an 80/20 issue with a vast majority of people agreeing that biological boys should not compete against girls and that biological boys should be barred from using women’s locker rooms and bathrooms. Yet, the democrats persist in supporting the insanity that is the transgender agenda.

President Clinton and Obama, both democrats, tried to rein in the outlandish spending of our federal government by streamlining the bureaucracy. Clinton eliminated over 300,000 Federal workers and balanced the budget. Obama eliminated over 39,000. There was no hair on fire, assertions of threats to democracy, claims of benefits being denied, or accusations of violations of the rights of Federal workers. There really is no bias in the media, is there? By their actions, democrats support government waste, fraud, and abuse while they decry the Trump administration’s attempt to create a more efficient government that uses your tax dollars appropriately. Not what I would call a winning issue if they ever hope to regain power.

It has become all too apparent that democrats prefer to defend federal employees that deliberately undermine the current administration, and by doing so, oppose the will of the electorate they are charged to serve. Fraud, waste, and abuse of taxpayer’s money is a personal affront to all citizens of this great nation. Those enriching themselves, their families, and friends should be prosecuted to the greatest extent of the law. The love of money is the root of all evil and those that fall prey to that proclivity will be identified, investigated, indicted, thrown out of office, and learn what life behind bars is all about.

Interest payments on our national debt exceed the annual budget of our national defense. Trillions of dollars are spent without justification or records to where the monies went. Taxes continue to pay for a bloated bureaucracy that continues to grow and siphon the nation’s money that would be spent to positively grow the economy, create wealth, and jobs. This must end. Government must only provide the necessities, efficiently and cost effectively. That is not the case as our government has run amok, ruling rather than serving the people. Those who steal from the people are simply criminals, enriching themselves at other’s expense.

Ronald Reagan famously said, “In this present situation, government is not the solution; government is the problem.” In the forty years since he said this, government is not only the problem, but it also hinders the very structure of this nation. It has metastasized like a cancer leaving surgery as the only option. Government must be cut down to size and begin to function as the founders intended. If the democrats refuse to conform and serve the people, they will be left behind as an insignificant minority that they truly have become. Get on the train or it will pass you by. The people are watching and waiting for a return to sanity from the “loyal opposition.” Unfortunately, I only see democrats doubling down on insane leftist ideology, making them prime candidates for the next species facing extinction, and rightfully so!

Loving your Neighbor

 Is meaningless without first loving God.

Jesus declared, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:37-40.

While these two commandments are the foundations of our faith, our love of our Lord supersedes the call to love our neighbor and ourselves. This current generation has lifted the love of self to transcendent heights. Mainline churches feed this narrative by affirming those who choose to elevate their desires above all else. We absolutely can love our neighbor as ourselves without affirming that which separates them from God’s love. Once our human desires supersede our identities as followers of Christ, we no longer worship Him, we worship ourselves.

In deference to the Beatles song, love is not all you need. The dichotomy of loving, while correcting, is a difficult road to travel. Our unrelenting judgementalism often closes the door while eliciting anger and resentment from the very people we are to be reaching out with love. While we endeavor to help the lost find Christ, our spiritual ineptness often shuts down any opportunity to do so. Question is, how do we “gently instruct” the misguided back to Christ before they are lost to the evil one?

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 

Even though we were enemies of God, Jesus went to that cross and died for us, and through our faith in Him, grants us forgiveness of all our sin and guarantees a place with him throughout eternity. Is this too great an ask? By faith alone. He only wants our heart, nothing else. Heavy stuff. God wants all His children to be with Him in eternity. It pains Him greatly if even one of His children are lost to the evil one. God loves all His children unconditionally. By His grace and mercy, He forgives all sin, no matter what! But, in order to partake in His eternity, faith in the Risen Christ is necessary. If our well-intended actions push away those in need of God’s grace, we are not building God’s Kingdom. We have become an impediment to it.

Human sexuality is the vehicle used by the evil one to divide and conquer. Humankind’s innate selfishness is the tool that sharpens the sword that separates us from God. Perverting humankind’s diversities creates an easy avenue to divide and create dissention based upon insignificant differences, such as skin color, socio-economic status, political and religious beliefs. We are all God’s children. That makes us all brothers and sisters. Even that pink haired, nose ringed young lady who shouts out her distain for Christianity. Even that young man who identifies as a woman. Even those who spew hatred towards others that have different opinions than themselves. God loves and wants each and every one of His children to come to Him.

With Jesus’ death on the cross and resurrection, God opens reconciliation to all who believe. Without legitimate discourse, human to human reconciliation can never be reached. The goal is to engage in real discussion, which also includes listening without judging. It is not our job to judge. This is a tall task as it remains all too easy to remain bound by the law. While the Gospel frees us from the consequences of the law, the law teaches what God expects of us. Sexual immorality is mentioned over 6000 times in the Bible. Any sexual relations outside of the sacrament of marriage is called immoral. The sacrament of marriage is reserved for one man and one woman. What of our neighbors in a same-sex relationship? Those that identify as transgender? Those who have multiple sex partners in and out of relationships? We are wondrously formed by God, each designed for His purposes. No matter how we look, what our strengths or weaknesses, talents or lack of talents, or our status in life, God has a place for you in His plan for us. Just believe!

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  He died for everyone. His mercy and grace is available to all, no matter what. He loves the worst of us, even me and you.

We are called to testify to our neighbors about Christ’s love for them. We are to share the joy we receive from being loved by Him. We are called to plant seeds that the Holy Spirit can nurture and grow. We are not called to cast judgement or try to save the lost of our own volition. We must find a way to reach out in Christian love with the hope that the door may open, if just a crack, for the Holy Spirit to take root. The late Pastor Tim Keller had a way to disarm the most fervent denier. Listening, while posing questions about the person and their beliefs. Often, the person discovered that their own arguments lacked validity, opening the door to rational discussion. Be immersed in His Word. Pray for guidance. Wear your spiritual armor and listen to the Holy Spirit when an opportunity to testify arises.

“The whole being of any Christian is faith and love. Faith brings the person to God; love brings the person to people.” Martin Luther

 

 

 

 

Back to the Future

 Once a violation of human rights, now the new normal.

On January 21, 2022 the World Health Organization published a report that indicated over 200 million young girls have undergone female genital mutilation (FGM) in 30 predominantly Muslim countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. FGM is a federal crime, 18 U.S. Code 116, and any participation in this act is considered a human rights violation, punishable by up to 5 years of imprisonment or deportation. This procedure is conducted on young girls, without consent and is medically unnecessary and dangerous. FGM is still prevalent in many majority Muslim-communities in the United States. As recently as 2020, many celebrities have denounced this as a crime against humanity, although US Representative Ilhan Omar, originally from Somalia where it is still widely practiced, has refused to do so.

Fast forward to today and an obsession with transgenderism has replaced sanity when dealing with the mental health issues of children and awkward teenagers. A boy that picks up a doll or is “in touch with his femininity” is encouraged to change his gender. A girl that has an interest in sports or seems masculine is encouraged to become a boy. In California, parents are not informed if their child decides to undergo puberty blocking, changing their gender identity or given name to correspond with their chosen gender. Any attempt to physically alter or allow a juvenile to change their pronoun or name without parental consent is child abuse. Far too many persons that undergo “gender modification end up regretting their choice, that is permanent, inalterable and has numerous health risks.

We are called to love our neighbors as ourselves. What we are not called to however, is to affirm each other within our sinful nature. Driven by the leftist media that affirms transgenderism, those that self-identify as transgender require all to validate their choice. Transgender supporters push an agenda that attempts to convince children to experiment with and normalize deviant sexual behavior. Why destroy children’s lives in order to feel better about themselves and their choices? Why steal our children’s innocence? As an adult, what you do is between you and God. Leave our children alone. Those that affirm and support this lunacy enable the insanity to spread throughout society.

Drag queen story hours are embraced by those that believe that they are being tolerant and acceptant of differing lifestyle choices. Christians and conservatives requesting equal time to communicate family values are accused of promoting hate speech and exclusion. Children are vulnerable to suggestion, especially from those they trust; teachers, clergy and as they grow older, their peers. Children do not possess the mental acuity necessary to process sexuality nor the emotional maturity to understand these concepts. All children go through phases that can call into question the customary gender roles that they exhibit. In almost all cases, children, if left to their own design, will return to gender roles that are appropriate to their biological sex.

Public education, on the other hand, has enabled numerous “woke” teachers to infiltrate the school system. These teachers have been indoctrinated with leftist ideology and are more than willing to usurp parental authority. Either by a deliberate lack of oversight or acquiescence by school administrators, these teachers encourage children to be whatever gender they choose, while deliberately hiding these life-altering decisions from their parents. Alternate lifestyles are promoted as normative and children are often persuaded to experiment with their sexuality by classroom education and assigned reading. Parents, not public education, are responsible for instilling values and morals in their children. Parents, who fund public education with their tax dollars, have the absolute right to know exactly what teaching methods, reading materials and curricula are used in the classroom. Parents have the right to address their grievances to local school boards without being declared domestic terrorists.

Transgender activists look to incite violence over their perceived lack of respect and misguided hatred of conservatives. A trans day of vengeance was planned for March 31^st and April 1^st in Washington DC. Monday, March 27th, a 28-year-old woman, transitioning to male, kills 6, including 3 children at Covenant Christian School in Nashville, Tennessee, and the media attempts to make her the victim. Police do not reveal the killer’s transgender identity until they are specifically asked. President Biden immediately politicizes this tragedy and calls for an “assault weapons” ban. When will this insanity end? When will these mentally ill people receive the treatment they deserve?