Lying About Lying 

     We may have sunk to a new low as a nation of character. 

     Lying occurs on both sides. We're thinking of truth and falsehood, regardless, and we know which word describes God. 

     Something peculiar happened Thursday night. Liberal CNN hosts began the debate with a difficult question for President Biden. Biden didn't respond well throughout. He looked spacy, and angry. 

     After the debate, people well known in Democrat and news media circles were critical. They frowned and shook their heads, saddened, as if they didn't know Biden has dementia. These people are fiercely one sided; truth be dammed. Was this response planned days ago? 

     Barack Obama, Gavin Newsom (remember that name) and South Carolina's congressman James Clyburn (who gave us Biden in 2020) came to his defense - not that he debated well, but they pretend to support him. 

     We don't know how they get Newsom on the ticket unless President and Mrs. Biden agree, he fulfilled his lifelong dream. Enough!    

     Friday, at a rally in North Carolina, the president shouted, "I may not be the debater I used to be, but I tell the truth!" Not so. He repeated some lies from debate night. And the other Democrats, including Newsom, lie daily. So, which liar will they choose to lead us?  

     Biden needs our prayers more than our votes. 

Tomorrow: Another president who crashed.

            Jimmy 

Words to Live By  

If you read nothing else in John chapter 4...

     Jesus said to the woman in Samaria, Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water spring up into everlasting life. 

     True worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. 

     My food is to do the will of Him who sent me, and to finish His work.

     And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.

 His Nation Asks More 

 Part 2 ... in Capt. Sam Brown's words

     "My second guardian angel was ... a kind dietitian in the burn unit. She saw the joy and resolve I poured into my recovery, and she saw past the scars and struggles I faced. Within a year, we were married. We now have three beautiful children.

     "I dedicated my life to helping war-wounded soldiers. Through volunteering and through a medical supply business I built and sold, I've helped get them the healing they need - both spiritual and physical. 

     "Just as 9/11 called me to enlist...the grave threats facing America call me into service yet again! Washington politicians - like my opponent - recklessly legislate away our freedoms and neglect our safety from their heavily secured DC offices. 

     "They undermine our financial security with endless spending and runaway inflation... they ignore the out-of-control illegal immigration crisis... they refuse to address crime on our streets." 

     "I put my life in Jesus' hands. My mantra has been, 'The life I live is not my own.' Washington needs servant leadership." 

Views: Sam Brown's new purpose is to defeat his freshman opponent for U.S. Senate, in Nevada. It's a race that could put the Senate into Republican hands. 

 (which are not as good as Jesus' hands)

Captain Sam Brown 

     Heard of him? We'll let him tell his story.

     "Raised in a military family, I wanted to serve in the U.S. Army. After witnessing the 9/11 terrorist attack, that desire hardened into an ironclad resolve. I was accepted into West Point. 

     "I deployed to Afghanistan. In 2008, I was responding to a distress call from one of my West Point classmates when my Humvee drove over an enemy IED. The bomb exploded under the fuel tank, leaving me soaked in diesel, engulfed in flames. I knew that I would die.

     "One of my men extinguished the flames. I went from certain death to the realization that Jesus had planned a life for me. Still, that life was hard to accept at first. 

     "As I recovered in the burn unit and endured dozens of surgeries, I truly thought I'd rejoin my men on the battlefield. But my military career was over. I felt like a leader without anyone to lead...a servant without anyone to serve. 

      "In the hospital, I had two guardian angels. We (Brown and his mother) found special meaning in Romans 5:3-5: we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character; and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit."

Second "angel" tomorrow

Capture Every Thought 

     But not the noise.

     From a column we read, "Martin Luther is thought to have said, 'You cannot keep birds from flying overhead, but you can keep them from building a nest in your hair.' 

     "A lot of our thinking is not worthy of the name 'thinking.'" 

     We can't avoid it entirely, but we don't have to feed it. By thinking along with Scripture and other truth, we make it harder for worldly chatter to break through. 

     In 2 Corinthians chapter 10, Paul wrote about "casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ." 

     Do we want to please our Savior or not?  

     Avoiding unworthy thoughts is part of "the good fight" Paul says. Initially, Satan appeared to Adam and Eve as a talking serpent. That wouldn't bite today. But the devil is still after our thoughts. 

     God gives us weapons that work against the "rulers ...authorities... powers of this dark world... and spiritual forces of evil."  

     In Ephesians chapter 6 Paul lists the weapons: truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, and the Spirit...the Word of God. 

Note: We are preparing a terrific series on "righteousness," the quality of being right with God...a word we seldom hear in our generation. 

           Jimmy 

 Favoritism Forbidden   

     "Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? 

     "But you have insulted the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court?"

     Who is doing this? Democrats? 

     This was happening two millenniums ago. So wrote Jemes in his letter to the 12 tribes, here in chapter 2:6-7.

Struggles of Life

     "Living in itself demands struggle. Those who receive everything without work eventually become lazy, insensitive to real-life values, and selfish. 

     "That strife and hard work we try to avoid is the primary building block in our personality today." 

     Sounds like something a teacher or businessman might say.

     It was Pope Paul VI 

                Jimmy

 A Return to Thinking 

     Following up on two blogs from a week ago, we quote Andree Seu Peterson:

     "Man has a problem in our thought life. We are like that guy who talks and argues with himself. The difference is we don't generally do it out loud. Philosophers have no clue how to fix it." 

     So, let's go to 1 Corinthians chapter 1, vv. 19-30: 

     "For it is written, 'I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.' Where is the wisdom, the philosopher of this age? 

     "Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles. 

     "For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom... God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of the world and the despised things - and the things that are not - to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. 

     And to Christians, Paul added: "It is because of him (God) that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God - that is our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written, 'Let him who boasts boast in the Lord." 

 

 

Nimrod's Legacy Today  

     Nimrod, great grandson of Noah, wasn't one of the 21 worst leaders in history. (See our Friday/Saturday blog) But he deserves an honorable mention. Bible scholars consider Nimrod the first "antichrist." 

     America haters inviting unvetted people from 177 countries to crash our border might consider the following...some of them on the list two or three times:

Animism (some voodoo) - Benin, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Indonesia, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Togo, Uganda. 

Cults - Congo, Malawi, New Zealand, Togo

Spirit worship, witchcraft - Ghana, Madagascar, Mozambique, Myanmar, Zaire, Laos, Liberia, Sierra Leone

Tribal - Guinea 

Spiritist - Jamaica

Mystical - Kenya 

Ancestor worship - Madagascar, Mozambique, Zaire, Laos, Lesotho, Liberia, Papua New Guinea

Astrology - Madagascar

Magic - Malaysia, Zaire, Zambia 

Head hunting - Malaysia

River spirits - Sierra Leone

     Most developed through the offspring of Ham, through Nimrod. Some of these practices have infiltrated the United States. There are billions more people in organized religions such as Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Shintoism and others. 

     Why is the world at war with normal citizens, Jews and Christians? 

            Jimmy 

Born a Second Time?  

     In chapter 3, John the disciple wrote that Nicodemus, a Pharisee, ruler of the Jews, took upon himself to visit Jesus, at night, secretly. He said, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him." 

     Not one for small talk, Jesus answered, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus was stumped. How can someone be born a second time?

     Jesus said, That which is born of flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Nicodemus, still puzzled: "How can these things be?"

     Answering with a puzzle: As Moses lifted up the serpent...even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. (His cross was a long way off) 

     For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 

     He who believes in Him (the Son) is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.        

     Later, some Jews were disputing with another John (the baptizer) about Jesus. John replied, He who comes from above is above all. And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies. He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true. The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand. He who believes in the Son has everlasting life...

 Note: John wrote this gospel 50 years or more after Jesus departed.

Like Old Testament prophets, he received God's message from above.

The Worst 21  

     You've heard of Qin Shi Hyang. No? He commissioned building the "great wall of China," and was one of the 21 worst leaders in history.

     Others include Gaius Caligula, Queen Mary, Henry VIII, Tsar Nicholas II and Vladimir Lenin. These were not just bad leaders. Many killed thousands of their subjects, or foreigners, often in cruel ways. 

     And not just men. Along with Queen Mary, there was Marie Antoinette and Countess Elizabeth Bathory. One of them drew innocent girls into her palace and killed them for no good reason. Look it up.

     There was Nero in Rome, Vlad III Dracula, Tsar Ivan IV, Leopold II...even a pope - Alexander VI. 

     This is more than ancient history. Four of them - Joseph Stalin, Idi Amin, Pol Pot and Benito Mussolini were doing their thing during my lifetime. Why isn't Hitler on this list? He wanted to battle until his last soldier died.   

     We round out the meanies: William III of Orange, Maximillien Robespierre, Genghis Khan, Ivan the Terrible and Oliver Cromwell. 

     Don't include Joe (dementia) Biden, inept as he is and infamous for telling tall tales. But there is concern.

     During Bill Clinton's presidency, we counted some 28 suspicious deaths among "important" people. We don't suspect Clinton directly, but if any of those were murdered, someone(s) in the Democratic machine did the deed(s). 

     If our hunch is right, when Barack Obama took over, anti-American Dems realized killings might someday backfire, harming their reputation. So, they rule by controlling every agency - in government and out - that they can. 

     Comes the day Republicans are no longer threats on election day (people of faith are already called "potential terrorists") don't be surprised when Washington returns to Clinton era sins, and worse. Leaders who lie routinely and encourage millions of non-vetted immigrants are capable of anything. 

         Jimmy

  

     

     

The battle, part 2

America's War Against Itself  

     Under Democrats, the Treasury Department asks for "suspicious" information on you and me, and hands it to the FBI. They might suspect "terrorism" in a gun purchase, a Betsy Ross flag, even a Bible - a "sign of potential homegrown terrorism." 

     The vice president of Hillsdale College (which remains free of government money) says, "Bureaucratic despots will remain in power no matter what happens in November. Today's ruling class ignores the will of the people."

     He adds, "These elites attack our rights of freedom of speech, assembly, religion, due process, and gun ownership, among others. All to enforce their destructive vision of society." 

     It is tempting to despair, when forces in news media, entertainment and Big Tech work to suppress free speech, opposition activities and education as we once knew it. Marxist gender studies, anyone?

     Remember how President Obama, when first in the Oval Office, traveled to several nations apologizing for the United States and promising a new beginning? He is still involved, no doubt.  

     Hillsdale has hope - the only hope, they say - through education in the Constitution, principles of liberty, free market economics, American history and faith. They support K-12 education programs and free online courses, which some millions are taking.    

Simply a battle between truth and falsehood

              Jimmy 

Life's Battle Continues  

  Part 1

     Before the national basketball season ended, baseball season had 45 percent in the books, not counting playoffs. Before all baseball is finished, almost half the NFL season will be history. 

     Someone is fiercely competing most days of the year. All sports teams abide by the same rules in their respective leagues. 

     If only our year-around political parties did likewise. Differences have existed probably since the signers of the Declaration of Independence mounted their horses to ride home from Philadelphia. Years later, maybe you heard about it...I think they called it the "Civil War." 

     As people discovered oil, invented telephones, cars, trains, airplanes weapons and so much more, the U.S. became special. Human nature being what it is, more people became special, and wealthy. Was success a positive, or a motivation to do wrong? Probably both.  

     We can't blame oil, gun powder and satellites for our dismay. Indian tribes were sometimes quarrelling before the Mayflower arrived. Before that, "The war between the house of Saul and the house of David lasted a long time" (1 Samuel 3:1). Wars with other nations were normal. David even had to side with the Philistines for a while. All was not well between Israel and Judah until Solomon's reign.    

     So. The "United" States needs to change its name. But what new name will please 51 percent of voters?

Tomorrow Part 2: Bureaucratic despots will remain in power.

        Jimmy

A Lamb Like No Other 

     The Bible refers to Jesus as the Lamb of God. Like a docile lamb, He allowed himself to be crucified to pay for my sins and yours. 

     Decades later, as John wrote in Revelation chapter 5, the disciple heard thousands of angels sing, "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain..."  

     Back to the first days. Jesus went up to Jerusalem. John 2:13. And he found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves and the moneychangers doing business. When he had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple...poured out the changers' money and overturned their tables. 

     Doesn't seem like a docile lamb. He was defending the purpose of my Father's house.  

     When the Jews asked him, "What sign do you show us to us, since you do these things?" He answered as He often did throughout his ministry. Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Of course, they thought He meant the real temple, but He was speaking of the temple of his body. 

     During the Passover feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs which He did. But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because he knew all men. He knew what was in man. (John 2:24-25) 

 (You and I don't fool God for a second)

Fighting the Right Battle

     What do we think? - Part 2

     If you missed yesterday's blog, please go there to see our problem. Return here for knowledge God provides - to believers - to overcome our troubled thought processes. 

     "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will" (Romans 12:2). 

     Christian or not, we mostly grow up with various positive and negative viewpoints about our culture. The apostle Paul would tell us (Christians) bluntly we're fighting the wrong enemy. 

     "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms" (Ephesians 6:12). 

     We can confess our sins, trust the Lord's grace, be baptized, join a church, tithe...and still struggle to love God and our neighbors - the two essential commands. Why? Because we're entangled in our sometimes, poisonous thoughts. 

     The devil hoodwinked the first two humans, in Genesis chapter 3, well before "mankind" as we know it existed. He is still leading humans into poor judgment today. 

     Jesus was clear: We must be "born again" to have any hope of salvation. Once we have our new nature, he wants us to continue growing in faith, hope and love. The devil is defeated, but he and other fallen angels still intrude - with God's permission - on minds that rely on their own knowledge. 

     "Let not sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey its lusts" (Romans 6:12). 

NOTE: We may revisit this topic in the near future.

      

     

What Do We Think We Think? 

     In The Power of Now, the author wrote, most people are under control of "compulsive, involuntary thought processes." We "comment, speculate, judge, compare, complain, like, dislike, and imagine negative outcomes." He calls it worry. 

     Worse, he guesses, "about 80 to 90 percent of most thinking is repetitive, useless, dysfunctional, often negative, and also harmful." 

Have we succeeded in making you dislike yourself? 😎

     The author says our minds are concerned with keeping the past alive. The other day we saw two women on TV making similar comments. We can hold on to memories for decades. Consciously or not, we assume "that one day we're going to be happy, at peace." 

     Author Anne Lamott likens this to a radio station playing in our head 24 hours a day. In one ear comes "a stream of self-aggrandizement. In the other, self-loathing, the list of all things one doesn't do well." 

     People like Freud, Jing and Peterson had their say about internal voices in the psyche.

     What does God's Word say? Is there an answer in the spiritual domain? See our next Views, to be loaded Monday night around 8 p.m., Eastern time.  

            Jimmy   

 John's Purpose for Us 

     In his Gospel, a fisherman, John, wrote "that you may believe and have life in His name." Whose name? He who educated John and other uneducated disciples some 50 years earlier...Jesus, the Christ. 

     It is likely John was writing to believers, that they would resist the world and continue in their belief and fellowship with the Father and the Son. Two millenniums later, we believers also benefit from John's information, and others, and face the same challenges as those in the church's first century.

     More highlights from John chapter 1:  

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born - not of blood (parents), nor of the will of man, but - of God. 

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory.

For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son...He has declared Him. 

 

Column by Mike Pence and Mike Pompeo 

     "The unexpected death of Iranian President Raisi should remind the world that no oppressive regime can last forever, as they are intrinsically unstable. Just as the Soviet Union collapsed under the weight of its own sins, so too will this be the fate of the tyrannical regime in Tehran. 

     "The United States must be prepared when that day inevitably arrives - and that requires supporting the courageous Iranian citizens who continue to resist the regime from within.

     "Raisi's appointment as president in 2021 was widely viewed as a sign of the regime's growing frustration at its inability to quell growing dissent within its own borders. 

     "Despite Raisi's bloody crackdown, the resistance only grew stronger. In recent years the resistance mounted the most sustained anti-establishment demonstrations since 1979, Thousands of teachers, workers, retirees, and students courageously took to the streets across the country. 

     "America and her allies should have learned by now, the regime is incapable of moderating on its own. Every olive branch extended by Western nations over four decades has been snapped in two. Tehran cannot be nudged in the right direction by the naive left running the Biden administration, just as they were undeterred by the same cast of characters in the Obama administration. Only a campaign of maximum pressure can change the future of Iran.

     "President Biden should make it clear that Iran will pay a steep price if it continues to escalate the war in Israel through its terrorist proxies. The president should fully support Israel's effort to eradicate Hamas and secure the border from Hezbollah in the north. 

     "We know beyond a shadow of doubt that Iran can be a great nation once again." 

Views  appreciates this message from two trustworthy men. However, there is another concern. Iran/Persia is or will be under the thumbs of Gog and Magog (Ezekiel 38 and 39) in the last days. Gog and Magog appear elsewhere in the Bible. Here, this may refer to high ranking demons, with hatred toward Israel. God will "bring" the enemy from "the far north," then destroy it.   

 

Jesus' Best Friend 

     Christians especially are interested in the life and writings of John, a fisherman, called by Jesus to be a disciple. And 50 years - more or less - after Jesus returned to heaven, he wrote his Gospel. 

     In an inner circle with Peter and James, John outlived all the disciples. Jesus, dying on the cross, told John to care for his mother, the once virgin Mary, then a widow. (Mary's other sons were not chosen.) 

     Unbelievers should explain how John could write what he did 50 years after Jesus departed. From time to time we will provide some of John's special insights, possibly written to counteract heresy about the person and deity of Jesus. Beginning with chapter 1:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.

     We will skip over most of John's letter, sharing exceptional passages that John left for history. Not to suggest that you skip over the rest of his letter in your daily reading.  

     This last and best friend of Jesus from his generation emphasized truth. Look here for more "truth" to feed your faith. 

Freedom From Woke Ideology? 

     Clay Travis, conclusion 

     "Some women are being taken advantage of by men pretending to be women...and by the woke cheer leaders in media and elsewhere. Women need to be tough and speak the truth.

     "Women fought for a long time to get equal numbers of athletic scholarships. Those hard-won gains are being sacrificed on the altar of left-wing orthodoxy...more accurately described as a kind of mental illness rooted in a denial of reality. 

     "Men, and especially fathers, must speak out in defense of women's sports. A big part of the solution must be women who summon the courage to defend the truth.  

     "The woke Left talks about so-called white male privilege, but is anything more unjust than men claiming the right to compete in women's sports? This radical denial of scientific reality undercuts the ideals of excellence and meritocracy in sports competition throughout history. 

     "I believe that one day soon - even in sports media - we will free ourselves from woke ideology and return to reality and speaking honestly. Only when that happens will sports return as a source of unity rather than division in American culture."

Next: a surprise 

Left Wing Politics   

     Speech by Clay Travis, continued

     "When it was not denigrating America, the National Basketball Assn. was cozying up to communist China. The NBA forbids a negative word about China (where it has expanded its audience and profits).

     "The NBA supports the transgender movement. The league pulled its 2017 All Star Game out of North Carolina, because the state passed a bill to protect women by keeping men out of their bathrooms. Meanwhile, it held games in Middle Eastern countries where being gay is a crime punishable by death.

     "An overwhelming number of Americans have tuned out professional basketball. You may be unaware of this, because the sports media in our country is even more woke than mainstream political media. Those who embrace woke ideology are turning their backs on truth and on sports ideals of excellence and meritocracy. 

     "There are many large and wealthy organizations and companies (with attitudes like the NBA). I like to remind people what happened when Bud Light hired a man who claims to be a woman to sell its beer. Many consumers quit drinking Bud Light. Consumption dropped by 30 percent.

     "By definition, men's sports are never going to include women who pretend to be men. It's simply a fact. And men won't allow women to define what masculinity is." 

Tomorrow: Men taking advantage of women

Unity or Division? 

     A question for Americans: Do sports unify us, or divide us? 

     This blogger is a lifelong Ohio State fan. A man who sits near me in church is a Michigan fan. Serious opposition but we are united in occasional sports entertainment. We know the rules, and we accept the outcome, if disappointed. And we are united in faith. 

     Clay Travis, host of a radio program and founder of a sports media company, spoke at Hillsdale College in April. He talked of woke people who are dividing Americans through sports. Some highlights:

     "In 1998, almost 36 million viewers watched Chicago play Utah in game six of the National Basketball Assn. finals. A record. At that time there were 70 or 80 million fewer people in America than today. 

     "Fast forward to the 2020 finals. Lebron James and the Los Angels Lakers defeated the Miani Heat in another game six to win the championship. This was the least watched finals game in generations, with only 7.4 million viewers. The NBA lost 80 percent of its audience during a time when the U.S. population grew by 30 percent. 

     "What explains it? The NBA embraced woke ideology. 

     "The league painted the slogan 'Black Lives Matter' on its basketball courts. It postponed a playoff game because a black man, a serial domestic abuser, armed with a knife, was shot by police. The police had been summoned to the scene by a black woman who called 911 because she was terrified of the man. 

     "WNBA players wrote the man's name on their jerseys. Then players in both leagues began replacing the names on their jerseys with left wing political slogans. Professional basketball identified itself with the belief that America is systemically racist, rotten to the core."

Tomorrow: NBA and communist China

     

Ancient Israel/Today's America 

        Part 3

     What's old B.C. got to do with our A.D.? 

     The Lord described Saul before he was appointed king. Saul was a regular man, even humble, who became a dictator and tried to kill David.

     What do we see in the Lord's descriptions? Never mind the chariots and horses, grain and vintages, menservants and maidservants, cattle and donkeys. 

     Today we have airplanes and aircraft carriers, computers and drones, satellites and atom bombs, printing presses and television, elevators and moving walkways. Same inclinations as those in B.C.  

      Do you see communism, Marxism or any other dictatorship in the Lord's description of Saul, the coming king? 

     This is America, you say. We have a constitution, freedoms of all kinds. We have elections. 

     On paper. Today's Democratic Party has zero interest in our constitution. They "defend" it daily, by voice. Not by allegiance. 

     The Republican Party isn't as driven. Even if a pro-American is elected this fall, dictatorial people will still occupy seats in Congress, the Dept. of Justice, Education, Defense and other agencies. 

     Not until permissive God comes to reign and Satan is in shackles will life be good, as God defines good. We look forward to the new heaven and new earth (Revelation 21, 22).  

               Jimmy

So, They Want a King   

     Part 2 

     We learn in 1st Samuel chapter 8 the Lord himself told aging Samuel "...it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king." What will God do?

     He tells Samuel, "Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will do." 

     "This is what the king will do: He will take your sons and make them serve... Some he will assign to be commanders...and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots.

     "'He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. Your menservants and maidservants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use. 

     "'He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the Lord will not answer you in that day." 

     "No! they said. We want a king over us. Then we will be like all the other nations." 

     Samuel repeated to God what the people said. The Lord replied, "Listen to them and give them a king." 

Next: Dictatorships today?

Finding Ourselves Centuries Ago   

       Part 1

     The U.S. won independence in 1783. Our human inclinations go back...way back! 

     Philistia was a culture from about 12000 BC to 6000 BC. Its territory ranged from present Gaza part way up the Mediterranean coast. Its people somehow immigrated from the Aegean Sea region, next door to ancient Greece, which shared its customs and beliefs. 

     Around the middle of that period, the people of God, Israelites, were without human government. Samuel, whose mother Hanna gave him over to full time service to the Lord, became judge. He circled through various communities, judging as needed, always returning home to Ramah. 

     The Lord himself was "King" over Israel. 

     Philistines were like other nations, prone to war. They gave Israelites trouble, and as we wrote before, even captured the sacred Ark of the Covenant. Samson was the "giant" in their army, until young David killed him with a slingshot.  

     In 1 Samuel chapter 8, Samuel was aging. The elders told him, "You are old. Appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have."  

     This displeased Samuel, so he prayed. The Lord told him: ...it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. As they have done from the day I brought them out of Egypt until this day...

Next: What the Lord told Samuel 

Students for Justice 

     Who doesn't want justice? But what if "justice" for one means death for another?

     Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) have chapters on more than 200 American campuses. The chairman of American Muslims for Palestine co-founded SJP over two decades ago.

Source: WORLD magazine

     On its website, SJP says freedom for Palestine is also a struggle for black liberation, gender rights and sexual freedom. Enemies include state violence, colonialism, capitalism and imperialism. SJP refers to Israel as "the Zionist entity," and often quotes "From the River to the Sea." 

     We all know what that means. 

     Muslims and Marxists have joined hands to bring down the U.S. republic. Once accomplished, they will return to being enemies of each other. 

     Hours after the brutal October 7 attack on Israeli citizens, while we focused on the news, SJP already was describing the assault as "a historic win for Palestinian resistance." Like, they knew it was coming?

     Never mind that when Israel gave Gaza over to the Palestinians, no Palestinian took leadership. The people instead voted in Hamas to lead them. Meanwhile, in the U.S., SJP and a progressive advocacy group believes in "educating, agitating and organizing for a more just and peaceful world."

     They blame the crisis on "Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people." Israel gave Gaza to Palestinians and provided water and other help to Gaza all along, while Hamas was digging tunnels into Israel. Students, wake up!  

     They say it will be a "peaceful world" when Israel and the U.S. are no more. God allows Satan to take advantage of the time he has left. But God is working, and people are being revived and saved. 

         Jimmy

America's Finest Hour? 

     December 7, 1941 - "a day that will live in infamy."  

     June 6, 1944 - "America's finest hour." 

     So says historian Alex Kershaw about the day, 80 years ago, when 156,000 men (73,000 Americans) from 12 nations stormed the beaches at Normandy, France. Within minutes, some 2,400 were killed and 1,200 wounded. Before the battle ended, 4,400 allied soldiers died, 2,500 of them Americans. 5,000 were wounded.

     The movie Saving Private Ryan portrayed Omaha Beach, where the fiercest action took place. 

     Thirty-seven men from a small community, Bedford, VA, in the Appalachians were there. Twenty were killed...the worst loss per capita in our country. 

The Allies needed a decisive victory, and the tide of World War II shifted. Lasting peace followed. Europeans stopped killing each other.  

     The boys of Bedford as they are known never expected to be in war. America was isolationist...until Pearl Harbor angered most everyone. Hitler declared war on the U.S. the next day. 

     In 1996 Congress agreed to build a D-Day monument at Bedford. Workers mixed Virginia soil with sand from Normandy. On June 6, 2001, President George Bush dedicated "a fitting memorial to D-Day...a place that was home to the men and women who helped liberate a continent." 

     Three months later, 9/11. And June 6, 1944 remains our finest hour. - not so fine for grieving families. After all, that was America's "greatest generation." 

Frustrating the Lawyers 

Part 2

     Lawyers can be frustrated with pro-life clients who willingly undergo arrest and cause enormous time and resources to defend them in cases that are almost impossible to win. But convictions matter. Pro-lifers believe they're doing right, and willingly pay the price.

     Heather Idoni once was detained immediately. Her response, "Well, I guess my prison ministry started early." Wanting to make an example to deter other pro-lifers, jailers did not allow in-person visits. 

     She said, "I can't ask for joy and no pain. I'm offering up to share the Lord's sufferings. Whatever the Lord has for me, it's to His honor and glory. And I'm good with it." 

     What did the jailer have for her? Solitary confinement because she was sharing food with other inmates. 

     Last September it was reported that Donald Trump promised to pardon or commute the sentences of "every political prisoner who's been unjustly persecuted by the Biden Administration." That may be a political line, and it may happen if he is elected, recalling how he kept other promises in 2017. That won't stop abortions, however.

     Idoni's son, Carman said, "Obviously, our true hope is in Jesus, so I know not to put too much hope in humans." Other family members say they don't regret her decision to block abortion facility doors. She told her husband Jim to read Ephesians 6:19-20.

"Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should."

Next: America's finest hour

Abortion Warfare  

Part 1 of 2

     After Roe vs. Wade was nixed, returning the issue to the states, one might think the issue has receded. Nope. 

     It remains a factor in November's vote, and the Biden Administration is fighting pro-life activists with long prison sentences. Access to clinic entrances has been the law since President Clinton, but opponents have seldom been imprisoned. 

     With some voters, abortion may be issue no. 1, while most of us consider the economy, border security etc. the major concerns. In the wake of the Dobbs decision, the Biden administration is going all out to showcase its support for "reproductive rights" in an election year.  

     Heather Idoni has been in custody since August. Hers and other cases bring the possibility of more than a decade in prison. Idoni has been jailed at least 15 times, not for protesting across the street, but with other pro-lifers, blocking the entrances to abortion facilities. 

     We can question people breaking the law, any law. These pro-lifers are dedicated to saving lives, and they know the risk of prison and fines. 

     The other side fights for "reproductive health services," a crazy definition of murder if there ever was one. Our "Justice Department" is actively working for the murderers, legal as they are, while punishing those fighting for life.   

To be continued

America's Root Problem    

     Picking up where we left off, we quote columnist Lynn Vincent. 

     "I have friends who have spent significant time with (Donald Trump). To a person, they tell me that...he's actually very personable: attentive, encouraging, interested in others, the opposite of self-involved. It may be that Trump is...obnoxious like a fox. 

     "As for Joe Biden, even children know (he) is not in possession of all his faculties. ...people propping him up...seem almost guilty of elder abuse. 

     "Here's my bottom line: Not Biden, a sock-puppet* for cynical socialists. And not Trump. I loved many of his policies. I voted for him twice and will again, if I must choose between Trump and the Party of Death. 

     "Still, I would rather see our nation get back to focusing on neighborhoods, not the Beltway. On faith and family and Little League, instead of noxious, nonstop political theater. Both Trump and Biden guarantee four more years of Beltway hysteria - and this in a nation whose key institutions are already politicized and disintegrating fast. 

     "Despite the opinions of sincerely divided Christians, neither Trump nor Biden can save America. America's root problem isn't political, but a systematic abandonment of God."

* Sock-puppet: a hand puppet made from a sock. 

A false identity created in order to promote their own opinions or views.