I once went on a business trip to the Middle Eastern nation of Bahrain. It’s an island in the Persian Gulf that’s its own country, very near Saudi Arabia. I was there for less than a week, I think during the month of June.
One night as I was in my hotel room, I turned on the TV, looking for something I could understand. While I flipped through channels I came across the weather forecast. I didn’t catch what they were saying, but when they threw the 4-day outlook up on the screen, it made me wonder why they even had the weather as a segment on the news. The highs for the whole forecasted period only varied by a degree or two. I mean, what do you think the weather forecast in a Middle Eastern desert area in summer looks like? It was hot at night, and then…spoiler alert…sunny and really hot during the day.
Sorry for my low-quality image. Overnight lows don’t go below 90 degrees. Daytime highs over 115 degrees.
Some things you kinda don’t really need to be filled in on, but it’s nice to hear anyway.
We’re living in a longer-range scenario where that applies, too. For those of you that are Christ followers, let me provide just a little bit of that reassurance to you.
Our world is a fallen place. It’s dark, it’s evil, and it will get worse before it gets better. Those that follow Christ will be laughed at, scorned, and persecuted. Some will be killed, and some Christian practices will eventually be outlawed. Spoiler alert: despite all that, in the end God wins.
We know where we are now, and we know how things end. The thing we don’t know is what happens in between now and then. Our job in the interim is to be faithful to what we’ve been called to do. Go and make disciples of all nations. Spread the gospel and encourage other believers. Pray for revival. There are many unsaved souls out there. By living out your calling, you’ll play a part in rescuing some of them.
Lord, thank you for being in control of everything and for the blessing of salvation. Help us all to live for You and be a blessing to the world by helping to share You with others. Amen.
This is a little bit of a continuation from last week’s post, where we took a look at some presidential candidates for the next election cycle. This time I’m not talking about presidential candidates, but instead will be taking a look at the things the president will need to spend his or her attention and political capital on.
We’re looking at the presidential term of January 2025 to January 2029. As the field of presidential candidates on both sides of the aisle takes shape, consider how these candidates will deal with the following issues. You never know what the most pressing issues will be, but here are some likely scenarios.
On the domestic front:
During that time period our economy will probably still be looking to really hit its stride and get inflation down to pre-pandemic levels. I can’t blame the Fed for raising interest rates, but as we’ve been seeing with a few high-profile bank stories recently, stuff is starting to break. More banks will likely follow. Prior to the bank failures, the Fed recognized that it needed to push rates higher than anticipated to get inflation under control. Now their job gets more complicated because they need to figure out a way to push rates higher without causing large amounts of collateral damage to the economy. That means they move slower, inflation sticks around longer, and it’s generally more painful for the average Jane and Joe.
Politically, we are still a highly polarized nation. There’s supposed to be a healthy amount of political debate, but when you have people getting harmed because of their political views, something has gone horribly wrong. We need someone that can create a degree of unity and foster the idea that it’s okay to agree to disagree and that political opposition is not something that needs to be silenced.
It will get harder and harder to ignore the growing Social Security shortfall. When you’re driving 70 mph on the highway and you see all lanes of traffic stopped up ahead, you can either start slowing down right away and have a gentle adjustment, or you can wait a little longer and then slam on the brakes to avoid catastrophe. The Social Security issue is similar. Something needs to be done. We can either start suggesting uncomfortable things now (shallow benefit cuts, small tax increases, or some combination thereof) or ignore them a bit longer for the sake of winning an election and then be compelled to take drastic action when the situation can no longer be ignored.
The education front has become a hot-button issue recently. Formerly, education meant that students gained proficiency in academic subjects. Many educational institutions seem to have decided that teaching kids is too hard, and instead they’ve taken it upon themselves to prioritize non-education topics above academics, seemingly to minimize the influence of parents. What is the appropriate level of influence parents should have in deciding the curriculum their children are taught? What level of involvement should the school have in steering children toward gender reassignment (and to what degree should the school intentionally keep a student’s parent(s) in the dark about the steps it’s taking to alter the student’s natural body? The education issue was a prominent one in Virginia’s election of Governor Youngkin in 2021.
While domestic politics are what usually help voters decide which candidate gets their vote, the next election will have very important ramifications as we look beyond our country. On the international front:
Hopefully by 2025 Russia will be out of Ukraine. That may be wishful thinking. By that point we may be further entangled. Russia’s downing of an American drone, followed by U.S. politicians calling for retaliation against Russian fighter aircraft illustrate how quickly this whole thing can spiral and suck us into something major. It’s very difficult to foresee how this will end. The Russian psyche is big on not surrendering, so there’s no easy way to convince Russian leaders to simply turn things around and head back home. As things get further bogged down for Russia and Putin runs low on weapons and troops, waving the white flag is not an option for him, and he’ll turn to whatever he has left in his arsenal to try to get his way. Putin will probably try to spin the capture of some small amount of Ukrainian territory into a major victory, but only if he can’t make any substantial headway in achieving his original goals. He’s avoided the use of Weapons of Mass Destruction thus far, but one has to wonder how many conventional weapons he’s got left. Naturally we tend to think things will get better if Putin were somehow thrown out of power. If that were to happen though, who would step into that power void, and would they be even more ruthless than him? They don’t have to be pure as the driven snow, but can/would the powerful people in Moscow agree to put someone more moderate in charge of the government? That’s difficult to believe.
While Russia is prominent today, China looms large during the ’25 to ‘29 timeframe, and will almost definitely be our largest international challenge. China’s backed itself into a corner. Decades of the disastrous one-child policy have led to where China is today: a population with an age demographic that’s about to see sharp increases in average age. China’s rise has been meteoric, but now it’s in a dangerous sprint. Beijing views it as important to assert (and grab) as much power and prestige as possible before it starts losing strength.
It’s very important for China’s ruling party to capture Taiwan and integrate it into the mainland’s system of government. Taiwan currently enjoys a very democratic system of government where it decides its own destiny. When China’s Communists rose up and overthrew the existing government, the deposed government’s leadership fled to an island off the coast of China, to what we know today as Taiwan. Up until the late 1960s/early 70s, China was a reclusive nation and didn’t engage much in the global arena. Richard Nixon helped coax them out of isolation, but one of the conditions was that we recognize only one Chinese Government (it’s called the “One China” policy). We’ve held to that ever since, but China’s moving closer and closer to simply devouring this island, which no Chinese nation, regardless of the style of government, has ever ruled in the past.
As China advances more and more militarily against the backdrop of an aging demographic, I expect it’s developing into a situation where as soon as its leaders feel that victory is possible, there will be no hesitating, but will move immediately and with full commitment to take over the island of Taiwan. The CIA director has stated openly that Chinese leader Xi Jinping has instructed the Chinese military to be ready by 2027 to conduct a successful invasion of Taiwan. Let’s not mince words: whoever is president during that time will be in charge of trying to deter this action, and when that fails, will likely give orders that cost American lives. This conflict could balloon into strikes on American soil, and could easily escalate very far very fast. When it comes to using nuclear weapons to deter enemies, the American President doesn’t necessarily have to be willing to employ them, he or she just needs to make the other guy believe they are. If they’re not convincing in this role, deterrence fails. We’re all probably going to hear a lot more about nuclear weapons in the coming years.
There are a whole bunch of other things that are going to happen. A new cold war and the alliances that come with it as the world chooses sides, a new space race and trips to the moon, the issue of climate change and how new policies related to it affect our lives. While we’re focused on China and Russia, opportunists in other parts of the world are taking advantage of the world’s diverted attention; what will they do?
That’s just the predictable stuff. We’ll also have earthquakes, solar storms, major power outages, hurricanes, airline accidents, mass casualty events, and on and on and on. There is no politician that will be prepared for it or get it all right. As the field of candidates expands and then begins narrowing, focus not on superficial things, but on how those still in the race will handle the issues laid out in this post. It will probably have a profound effect on different aspects of your life.
Well the midterms are four months behind us, and the players in the next presidential election are starting to emerge. It’s time for a little political update.
Let’s rip off the band aid. It’s possible (though I would say there’s a good chance it won’t happen) that we have a rematch of Biden vs. Trump.
On the Republican side, former President Trump looms large in the field of 2024 candidates. He’s held the office before, his vision for America contrasts sharply with the current administration, and he connects with an amazing number of people that don’t normally vote in elections. On the other hand, he brings along a lot of baggage. It probably would have been better for him to win two terms in a row than to serve one term, sit out one term, then return for a second one. One major thing he has going for him is that an awful lot of people think the country’s headed in the wrong direction, and he’s not afraid to say things and address issues that career politicians shy away from.
Right now the only other major Republican candidate that’s declared candidacy is Nikki Haley. She’s served as Governor of South Carolina and as the American ambassador to the UN under Donald Trump. She’s certainly qualified for the job, and is maybe more of a centrist than Mr. Trump, but so far she hasn’t been able to generate a significant amount of enthusiasm.
Former VP Mike Pence has yet to declare his candidacy. Due to differences in opinion since leaving office, it’s not likely that he and Trump would reunite to be on the same ticket. By most accounts Mike Pence is a good man, but something very large and unforeseen would need to happen in order for him to be elected president. A ticket consisting of Haley and Pence would likely be good at effectively governing once in office, but I could see how the pair would also be considered so boring as to be unelectable.
The biggest Republican challenge for Trump right now (and Trump knows it) is Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. He has not declared his candidacy, but momentum is building for him to do so, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he declared any day now. He’s using his position as governor to notch speaking points for a national run, but he shouldn’t wait much longer to declare. DeSantis has many of the same policy positions as Trump. He tends to be less abrasive, though is still more than willing to push back against those trying to shape the narrative for him. I think the ideal outcome would be to have DeSantis win the nomination, be advised by Trump, and have Haley or Pence run on the ticket with him. (I’ll let you be the judge of how realistic that might be.) This teaming would have a tremendous impact as far as putting the interests of American citizens first.
On the other side of the aisle, the Democrats have a problem. Not only has the widely held notion of Joe Biden being a centrist president been shattered, he’s also proven to not actually be in charge. Centrists that claim blue collar roots don’t try to ban gas stoves. President Biden goes “off script” quite often, much to the chagrin of those working close to him. On multiple occasions, he’s spoken his mind when he was supposed to just stick to the script. Many of those instances have either given insight into what he’s actually thinking or led to damage control sessions that include the phrase “What the President meant to say was…” This leads to the question “if the president’s speaking his mind and you’re walking back his comments, who’s actually making the decisions on his policy positions?”
I’m guessing it won’t be long before we see a minor civil war among the Democrats. While long-serving Dems value loyalty and will close ranks to protect their candidate, there are plenty of others that are looking at reality and seeing it for what it is. Many people know that President Biden will be a weak candidate, but there are two major problems. Number one, how do you prevent a sitting first-term president from running again? Number two, who do you run in his place?
For the first question, believe it or not, honesty just may be the best policy. “You know what? The Presidency is a demanding job. I was hoping that by this age (80+), I’d be able to enjoy retirement and the fruits of my labor. My health is becoming more and more of a concern for my family. I’m going to pass the torch.” This statement assumes the President chooses not to run. If he really and truly wants to be elected for another four years but the Democratic Party wants to clear the way for someone else, it could get ugly. My guess is that it would somehow involve investigations, legal action, or the threat of such things related either to son Hunter or President Biden’s past business dealings. They could all go away if he steps back from the limelight…
As to the second question, one of the obvious choices is VP Kamala Harris. There are major concerns about her track record, though. There has been little progress in anything she’s been placed in charge of (how’s that border crisis coming along?).
It seems like the Administration has also tried to promote the image of Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg as an up-and-comer, but it’s the job of every administration to insulate the president whenever a crisis pops up, and lately that insulation has come at Secretary Buttigieg’s expense. Recent train derailments in Ohio prompted calls for Biden to visit, but after what seemed an excessive amount of time, Buttigieg made the trip and had to face some of the wrath of affected residents in Trump country.
California Governor Gavin Newsom’s name has also been thrown around, though he’s a left-wing extremist and not likely to be competitive on the national stage. If you need someone to buck the tradition of loyalty to the president, this is one guy that would probably be willing to break norms.
Biden looks to perhaps be the best bad option at this point. Aside from them one could consider candidates with an outside shot: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, billionaire Mark Cuban, former presidential candidates Bernie Sanders or Hillary Clinton. Pair one of them with a gimmick act and you could make something out of nothing. What would happen if the election came down to Chuck Schumer and Tom Hanks on the blue side, with Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley on the red side? Tom Hanks would probably bring in a lot of votes that otherwise wouldn’t be there. Unconventional, yes, but it may be worth looking at if you’re a democratic strategist.
We’re still early enough in the election cycle that anything can happen, but I’m guessing that whoever gets sworn in sometime in January of 2025 will be one of the people mentioned in this post. Let’s check back in a couple of years to see how well this post ages.
If you don’t know me, let me just fill you in on a little secret…I’m sort of a weirdo.
(I feel like I can hear a bunch of virtual “Amens!” after that statement.)
A lot of people shy away from socially awkward situations. I can’t honestly say I enjoy them all the time, but I don’t really try my hardest to make them end, either.
Case in point: over the past couple of years people have been spending an unprecedented amount of time at home. I myself didn’t mind, but without anywhere to go, the four walls seemed to close in periodically. I definitely needed to get out and get some sunshine every now and then, even if the only thing I had to do was go for a walk or do something in the yard.
One sunny day a year or two ago I went for a walk, but it was a little chilly. I put on a fleece and a windbreaker, along with a hat that covered my ears. My hands get cold on walks, so I wore a pair of gloves. Sunny days call for sunglasses, so I grabbed a pair of those too.
The neighborhood I usually walk in has a bunch of cul-de-sacs, so I can do a lot of walking without actually being very far away from home. I had walked through this neighborhood many times before, and as I headed toward one cul-de-sac, I noticed a bunch of young kids, probably 5 years old or less, along with a bunch of moms, playing out in a front yard that was decorated with streamers and balloons. As I got closer, I could see that the driveway was also decorated. Someone had used sidewalk chalk to write in big letters “Happy Birthday Charlotte!”
Truth be told, I was very glad to see kids getting together in person and having fun, rather than trying to have some kind of virtual birthday party. But I also got the idea to maybe provoke one of those socially awkward situations.
Very aware of the fact that I was dressed like some thug who was casing the neighborhood, I considered for a moment whether or not I should proceed. That was probably part of the reason I decided to go for it. Slowing down, but not stopping on my trip around the cul-de-sac, I called out “Happy birthday, Charlotte!”
I had no clue which one Charlotte was, so I just kind of waited to see what would happen. There was an odd silence for a few moments. One of the moms, who I thought rolled with it pretty well, then spoke up. “Um, she’s around back, but I’ll tell her.”
I have no idea if that mom passed along my birthday salutation, but if she did, how did that conversation go? “Who said that?” “He didn’t say his name.” “Well, what did he look like?” “Eh, kind of like some guy that’s walking around the neighborhood deciding which houses to rob.”
I don’t remember if I told my wife this story or not, so when she reads this I may have just effectively banned myself from going for solo walks around that neighborhood.
Speaking of awkward situations, we’re commanded to preach the gospel to those that haven’t heard it. We’re supposed to bring Jesus to “all nations,” including our own. That can be a very hard thing to do, especially if you’re overly concerned about the awkwardness that might come along with it! It’s a very important thing to do, though. Eternity hangs in the balance.
One thing to consider is identifying ways to make the conversation easier for the other person. In the example above, I imagine that if my wife, who’s a very outgoing and smiley person, had been with me on that walk when I wished Charlotte a happy birthday, that group of moms would probably have been much more at ease than they were with just me. Consider whether it would be beneficial to address multiple non-Christians rather than just “cornering” one.
Also, if you’re one to stare at someone with an uncomfortably piercing gaze when talking to others about Jesus, well…maybe it’s time to dial it back just a bit. It’s certainly an important topic, but a high-intensity demeanor may not be the right approach. Ultimately you’ll be the best judge of the situation, and trying anything is better than not trying at all. As long as you’re not prompting calls of “stranger danger!” you’ve got the potential to get something going.
Check out this link for eight tips about talking to others about Christ.
Ever been in a situation you thought you were prepared to handle, only to find out that conditions kept changing beyond what you anticipated? In February of 2002 I had the privilege of attending some of the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah with my college roommate.
If you’ve followed my posts for awhile, you’ve heard about this before. As college students, we had to make this trip happen on a budget. No hotel rooms, no airfare. We drove from New York state to Utah and either slept in the car at rest stops or winter camped in a tent in a national forest.
One of the things that’s most difficult to anticipate or describe about this kind of trip is the cumulative effect of constantly being in cold temperatures for a week. We only attended one indoor event (and it had an ice arena, so it wasn’t the warmest). Aside from driving from place to place we didn’t really spend a lot of time either indoors or being warm. A few fast food restaurants, a Walmart once or twice, and various gas stations and rest stops were the only real times we had a roof overhead. Between poor nutrition and having to spend more calories on staying warm, I lost almost 15 pounds on that trip. My nose was cold for an entire week.
Spending so much time in the cold was a major reason why we were so happy that it got sunny and warm on the day we went to watch bobsledding. I think it got up into the 50s, and the sun felt amazing. It was almost too warm to bobsled. They had to put sun shades over parts of the track to keep the ice from melting.
The previous day we had worn some of our warmest gear when we went to watch Giant Slalom. Walking up a mountain in hot clothing on a mild winter day led to some sweaty times. We weren’t going to make that mistake again, and we opted for lighter clothing that day. Instead of our thermal underwear, big jackets, and wool hats, we went with long-sleeve tee shirts, windbreakers, and baseball hats. I remember there was some dude there with no shirt, something painted on his chest, and he was swinging some nation’s flag around. I felt nice and warm, but not that warm.
Well bobsledding was cool to watch, but the novelty sort of wore off after awhile. The event was two days long, and we had tickets for day one. It was neat to see the sleds whip past on a vertical wall going 70 mph, and of course we kept an eye out for the Jamaican bobsled team (unfortunately they only had competitors in the two-man bobsled races that year). There were more wrecks than they show on TV, too. Overall, though, the stuff we saw wasn’t super exciting. It wasn’t like we were seeing any medal-deciding runs. I think a lot of other people felt the same way because the crowds started thinning out as the day went on.
We really noticed a change when the sun went down. We started getting a bit more chilled, and we had to move around more or stamp our feet to stay warm. Hands went in pockets and stayed there. Arms stayed glued to our sides. One guy standing near us, on his way out, said “here, I think you need these more than I do,” and handed my roommate some 6-hour handwarmers he had been using.
The bible is the kind of book that has stuff for both beginners and expert users. Some readers on the newer side of the spectrum will decide that they’ve read it enough to know what they need to know. Although I’ll concede that they can easily read enough to know the most important things, I’d argue that they’re simply not in a position to accurately predict what passages of scripture they’ll need to be familiar with. The only way to be better prepared for what God throws at you in this life is to keep reading that bible and keep engaging with Him in prayer. Finished reading one of the books of the bible? There are plenty more. Finally got all the way through the Bible? Congratulations, that’s awesome! Do you feel like you understand it all, or are there parts you need to have another look at? (If you understand it all, there are some things in there I don’t totally understand; maybe you can explain them to me.)
Another way to look at the illustration is that while you may feel prepared and equipped for the phase of life you’re currently in, there’s always change coming. Keep that bible handy and keep reading it. What about if you think it’s a stretch to say you’re prepared and equipped for the phase of life you’re in? All the more reason to study and prepare.
All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; -2 Timothy 3:16
Have a unique talent or ability? God can use it for His glory.
When I was in high school I got involved in rappelling, and that interest further developed in college. I was fortunate enough to be able to take college coursework that provided me with instruction on safely using the equipment used in descending down cliff faces. It was a lot of fun; I started doing some outside-the-box stuff with it, and I’ve written about some of those adventures elsewhere in this blog. While I was in college friends and I rappelled off cliffs, out dorm windows, set up ziplines, and made promotional videos. Some of you may remember the post I made a few months back about rappelling down a cliff in a kayak.
After college, I was no longer surrounded by the same kind of people that “encouraged the crazy.” I moved back in with Mom and Dad for awhile and worked construction for a bit. During this time I helped out with our church’s youth group.
Every Presidents Day weekend, our high school youth group took part in “Winter Weekend” at a nearby Christian conference center. All the youth groups from our denomination’s district were invited to take part, and it was generally one of the high points of the year for the high schoolers.
Killing a few hours between daylight filming and nighttime filming. Some of the grease paint rubbed off when I blew my nose.
This particular year, the organizers asked Allen, the leader of our youth group, to film a video about some of the rules that would be in effect during that weekend. It was supposed to cover things like curfew/lights out times, not riding in personal vehicles, etc. To make it more fun to watch, Allen decided to add an entertaining twist. He recruited a couple of guys to be the rule-breakers in the video, and he asked me to more or less be the “bogeyman” that always caught them. I dressed in camo and grease paint for the video, and popped out of ridiculous places to catch the guys doing bad things. Then on opening night after the rules video finished playing, the plan was for the two guys to walk out live on stage, looking like they were going to do something shady. My role at that point would be to rappel down from the ceiling, gently touch down behind the two guys without them noticing, tap them on the shoulders, and then chase them out of the room. Honestly it sounded like a lot of fun, so I agreed to do it.
I had some camo gear from the Salvation Army store, and I had some leftover camo paint from something I did in college. We shot the video one cold February day and Allen spliced it together the way he wanted.
On the first night of the weekend, before they let any of the high schoolers into the auditorium, I dressed and geared up, and some people moved a scissor lift into place for me. While people were putting the finishing touches on the stage decorations, I rode the lift up into the rafters above the stage, set up the anchors and rope I’d need, and climbed off the lift onto a metal beam. They brought the lift back down, rolled it backstage, and then opened the doors for the first session of the weekend. I probably sat up in the rafters for 20-30 minutes, waiting for my next part. While I waited I painted my face up in camo, checked and re-checked my equipment, and tried to avoid having the lower half of my body go numb from sitting on a thin cold metal beam.
Once the session started, they welcomed everybody, then went over some of the things you have to cover right at the beginning. Then it was time for the rules video. It had a pretty positive reaction, and I could hear laughter from the crowd during different parts of it. As it drew to a close I slid off the beam and transferred my weight into my harness. Once I was steady I swung upside-down.
The two guys walked out onto the stage, almost right below me. The crowd started going nuts for them (everybody either missed the point of the video or they thought the two guys were cute, I dunno). I waited just a few beats for the crowd to show their enthusiasm and then started sliding down head-first. The rope I used didn’t hang down to the stage; I wore a backpack that held the rope, and I had pre-measured it so that it was just enough to safely get to the ground, but then the tail end of it was easy to pull right through the rest of the gear so I could chase the guys without having to stop.
It was a little strange. As I came into the audience’s view, the cheers of the crowd went quiet while they tried to understand what they were seeing. I came down right in front of the screen the video had been playing on, so they were probably trying to figure out if I was a real person or if they were watching something that was being projected.
I descended low enough to reach the ground, flipped rightside up, and pulled the rest of the rope through my gear so I was disconnected from it. I stepped up right behind the two and tapped them each on the shoulder. They looked at me, gave each other a funny look, and then sprinted off the stage and up the main aisle of the auditorium with me right behind them. The crowd burst into cheers again.
The photographer was a little late on this one, but it’s the best photo I’ve got. You can see my feet criss-crossed on the rope against the background of the screen. The two “bad guys” are just to the left of the “One Way” sign.
Now…did this stunt lead anyone to Christ? I can’t imagine it did. Sliding down a rope upside down just doesn’t have that kind of effect on people. The important thing to remember, though, is that Christianity is a team sport. The speaker that weekend, the various youth leaders, and the counselors leading small group discussions that weekend all did the heavy lifting in that area. All I did was help break the ice and bring a smile to the face of people who were still deciding whether or not they had made a mistake in coming to this retreat.
One of the neat things about Christianity being a team sport is that even though we don’t actually huddle together to go over the strategy, God knows exactly what His players’ strengths are, when to use them, and how to motivate them. Believers that are complete strangers can unknowingly help each other out if God sets it up that way. When He needs someone to move on His behalf, He starts working on some people three years ahead of time, but only 10 seconds ahead of time for others. In the end, His timing is perfect…you just need to say “I’m in.”
So I urge you: be open to using your unique talents. Even if they don’t directly lead to salvation for someone, you can’t possibly know how your part factors into the furthering of God’s kingdom until after you’ve done it.
The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. -1 Corinthians 12:12
Let’s go back in time 30 years. Imagine you’re an opponent of Christianity. You want to dethrone Judeo-Christian values in a country that was founded on them. How do you go about doing that?
The simple answer is that you have to introduce enough chaos into the system that it causes confusion on a wide scale. It’s a slow, subtle thing, but it’s one that doesn’t stop. Want to see a few examples of what I mean? If you went into the same church both 30 years ago and on a Sunday morning in 2023, and asked the following questions, which era do you think would have a more resounding response?
“Does God say homosexuality is wrong?”
“How many genders are there?”
“What’s more important, equality (having the same opportunities for all) or equity (being given credit for the same results as others, regardless of level of performance you put in)?”
My friends, I hate to break it to you, but those opponents are well on their way to dethroning Judeo-Christian values, merely by adding little qualifiers so that what used to be “truth” is now “my truth” or “your truth.” There aren’t any versions of truth, there’s only the truth!
Let’s put this another way. If you’re an opponent of Christianity, you want to silence any voice that advocates for Christian beliefs. The goal is to make Christian voices irrelevant and easy to stifle. Why? Because those voices preach something the world doesn’t want to hear. They become so enraged at the concept of a power that is higher than them, who has the authority and intent to judge them, that they can’t tolerate anything that represents those beliefs. “Tolerance” is only valid if it doesn’t oppose certain viewpoints.
Given enough time, Christian/religious beliefs will be outlawed. You may think I’m exaggerating…that the likelihood of legislating against religious beliefs in a nation founded on religious freedom is laughable. Well, did you ever think schools and sporting organizations would support the decision to allow someone with a male body to compete in female sports and act like it’s legitimate?
The progress of this erosive trend is comprehensive enough that in today’s society, people seem to think they have a right to treat unsupported statements as fact, and compel others to follow suit. Take for example a biological male that insists his gender be recognized as a female (or anything other than a male, for that matter). He, without proof, simply tells others he believes he’s not a man. He legally changes his name to a female name. Fine; that is the person’s new legal name, and he has the right to be referred to as such. But if he insists on being referred to as a she/her, that is an overreach because it now infringes on my viewpoint, and my viewpoint also carries weight and has value. This person can choose to live however he wants. He can pretend to be a woman, but he can’t compel anyone else to pretend he’s a woman. You have two diametrically opposed viewpoints that cannot coexist; why is the logically/biologically/medically unsupported viewpoint given priority over the fact-based one? Guess what? It’s only given priority if you yield your viewpoint and give credence to the false one. Push back against the erosion of truth.
(Sidebar: it’s important to note that above all, the most important thing you or I can do is share the love of Christ with them. Therefore I feel it’s prudent to also specify that pushing back for the sake of picking a fight isn’t what I’m advocating. You still want to maintain enough of a relationship with nonbelievers that you can share the Gospel with them. As a “meet in the middle” approach, refer to your colleague/acquaintance by their legal name because that’s what it legally is, but do not feel compelled to use pronouns you know to be untrue. This is sure to make for some contorted sentences, but you also have the right to live out your viewpoint. You may need to get used to saying things like “Michelle said that Michelle wants to join us for lunch.” I’m not in favor of turning “they” into a gender-avoiding pronoun, because “they” was already being used for something else and this evolution of language isn’t something I’d support. I’m open to the addition of a few new pronouns for exactly this purpose.)
Think I’m being a little over the top? This evolution of language and viewpoints tends to be a one-way flow, and by that I mean it tends to move away from the way God would want it to, and rarely back toward it. Can you imagine if somehow Christians built enough momentum to stop referring to the December 25th holiday as “Christmas” and instead called it “Baby Jesus Day?” People would lose their minds! There’d be all kinds of arguments about the separation of church and state, about how people have the right to “freedom from religion,” and about how unfair it is that religious viewpoints are being forced down the throats of Americans.
Yet, that’s how I view the growth of the power of the State. Devotion to the State is, in my viewpoint, its own religion. I think “State-ism” will be an important prerequisite to the outlawing of Christianity or otherwise hindering of churches (stripping them of their tax-exempt status, for example). That’s one of the main reasons I’m usually against candidates that embrace the growth of the role of government in our lives.
I can’t be alone in this perspective. I know others of you are out there. An AP-NORC survey from June of 2022 said 85% of Americans think the country’s headed in the wrong direction. Eighty five percent! If you’re reading this, you live in an era where you can affect change. You’re not alone. Stand up and say something.
Not confrontational? Well, in the future you may find yourself wishing you had spoken up a bit more. But if that’s something that’s really hard for you, try using this one: “I’m a pretty religious person, and that viewpoint goes against what God says He wants. I might not be the most humble guy/gal, but I’m not arrogant enough to think that I know better than God does.”
Stand up for truth. Proclaim it, because your proclamations and the simple fact that you take a stand will slow this erosion of truth.
I had to do one of my first research reports in 5th grade. I don’t think I’ve spent a whole lot of time checking into the state of Indiana before or since.
I wrote up a report on the state’s population size, its different regions, its climate, likely some stuff on its economy, and probably a few other things. My handwriting was nice and neat (for a change), and I assembled my papers and supporting graphics into one of those folders with the little brass things you stick through the holes in the paper to keep it secure in the folder.
On the day we were supposed to turn it in, I was pretty happy with my well-researched work of academic prowess. I had placed it carefully in my Trapper Keeper and brought it to class without even bending the edges.
As I looked around the class, I was horrified to realize that I had done nothing at all for the cover! While some kids had color photos, printouts, or elaborate drawings on the front of their state reports, all I had was a plain blue folder.
In a panic, I racked my brain about what to do. There was no possible way to do anything substantial before turning it in. That kid over there had cut out pictures of famous landmarks from their state and used a glue stick to fix them on the cover. Kids were already starting to hand their reports in!
The best I could do was to haphazardly draw a picture freehand. I whipped the report open to a picture of the state’s shape and committed the proportions and south border to memory, then started drawing on the front. The drawing was a little off center, but I topped it off with a star roughly where the capital city was. Then I threw the state name in big letters under it and put my name under that. The cover design wasn’t very good, but it was the best I could do in such a short time. I knew I’d get no points at all for the cover if I didn’t do anything, so what did I have to lose?
I don’t remember how I did on the report, but I remember that I got three out of 10 points for the cover portion. Not my best work, but three was better than zero.
If you’re not really ready to jump into this “Jesus thing” with both feet, ask yourself: “what do I have to lose?” Most people are tentative about having to give up some part of their lifestyle or quit something they’ve grown to like. This isn’t like a gym membership where you feel you have to get in shape before you walk through the doors for the first time. Come as you are. Let’s say you grow deeply committed and change your whole lifestyle and then it turns out there’s nothing waiting for us after death. In that case you won’t even possess a consciousness to realize what you’ve given up. If, on the other hand, Christ actually is who He says He is, you will have gained immeasurably more than what you had before. Sounds like very little risk for an immense payoff.
When I was a young teenager, members of our youth group took a two-hour trip to go visit a family of friends that had moved away from our church.
We did lots of stuff while reconnecting. We hung out at their house, we went to a local mall, and we ran all over the church grounds playing different games. As energetic young teenagers, we needed an outlet for some of our energy.
It must have been a cold-weather trip, because the sun went down pretty early. One of the games we played was a round of capture the flag. We could go anywhere on the church grounds, as long as it wasn’t inside a building. The playing area included a paved parking lot, the main church building, and a couple of out buildings on the property, along with all the green space in between. We set up the boundaries and used two plain white knee-length socks as flags.
Normally the way these games work is that the playing field is divided into two zones, one for each team. Each team hides the flag somewhere in their zone, and you have to venture into the opposing team’s zone to search for the flag. If an opponent tags you while you’re in their zone, you go to jail in a small section within their zone. You can be set free if someone else from your team makes it to the jail to tags you. You win the game if you find the opposing team’s flag and carry it back to your zone without being tagged. Both teams are playing offense and defense at the same time.
On that particular evening visibility was bad. Since it was dark, starting to get foggy, and there was lousy weather moving in, we split into two easily discernible teams: boys vs. girls. I don’t remember numbers, but there were a lot more girls than there were boys. Between an odd layout of the church grounds and not having enough guys on our team to simultaneously do a good job defending and go looking for the opposing team’s flag, we decided that in order to have any chance of winning, we’d have to come up with an amazing spot to hide our flag so we didn’t have to dedicate anybody to protecting it. As it turns out, we came up with what I believe to be a pretty risky and bold idea for a bunch of middle-schoolers.
When both teams were ready, we started the game. It moved slowly for a long time. Even if our team tagged opponents and brought them to our jail, we didn’t have enough guys to really protect the jail and still play in other areas, so it wasn’t too hard for the other team to set their jailed teammates free.
I remember our team’s strategy was so incoherent and we were spread so thin that at one point in the game I was running from one part of our zone to another and I stumbled across a member of the other team that nobody even realized had made it into our zone. She was picking through the bushes, looking for our flag. They had figured out that if they were patient enough, they could wander in and out of our zone and all they had to do was move quietly and we probably wouldn’t even know they were there.
This went on for probably 45 minutes. I don’t think any of our guys were able to find their flag, and the other team was getting frustrated because they felt they had searched everywhere in our zone and still couldn’t find our flag. All of us were cold and wet, and our team was about to get accused of cheating, so we collectively decided to call it a draw.
Understandably, the other team wanted to see with their own eyes where our flag had been hidden. We brought them over to the area, and some from the opposing team were shocked to learn they had run past it multiple times during the game and hadn’t even considered that it could be so near. We had placed our flag, an ordinary white sock, lying in plain sight on one of the white lines outlining parking spaces in the church’s parking lot.
Humans are born with the idea that there’s something beyond this life…that there’s more to this existence than what we can see. God’s the one that put that feeling there…He built it into us. People can’t look up at the stars or at the intricacy of the human body and not start asking big questions.
The devil, knowing he cannot stop this instinctive wondering, has concocted and fostered numerous counterfeit religious ideas and worldviews with which to distract humanity. The objective truth seeker has many options aside from Christianity they must examine, and the enemy’s hope is that the seeker will tire of the search and declare something besides the following of Christ as “close enough,” that the seeker will conclude that each worldview is as meaningless as every other one, or get them established and entrenched in an inaccurate worldview like works-based salvation. Yet all that time, the answer is not hiding. It’s sitting right there in plain sight, waiting for the seeker to look closer at it.
If you’re seeking truth, take a look at Jesus Christ and what the Bible (only the Old and New Testaments…no “mandatory” additional books) has to say about Him. Humanity was initially created perfect and had fellowship with God, but then made mistakes and became imperfect, thereby falling out of that fellowship. Jesus Christ, God incarnate, lived a perfect (sinless) life, and extends to us the offer of the only bridge back to that sweet fellowship with the Lord.
It’s that simple. You don’t have to perform rituals. You don’t have to give a certain amount of money to the church or perform a certain number of hours of community service. All you have to do is embrace Jesus Christ as your Savior, acknowledging Him as your only means of escaping the judgment of your imperfections. As you walk that new path, you’ll desire to change your character to become more like His, and as a result of that, you’ll want to perform good works.
It’s right there, hiding in plain sight. I implore you, take a closer look. You might just find the thing that you’ve been looking for all along: the answer to your deep restlessness.
November in northern Virginia can be a little unpredictable. Some days it’s very cold, other days it’s very mild. The 10-day forecast can vary quite a bit, so it’s a good idea to check in on it frequently.
One morning the temperature got pretty warm and a heavy fog settled over the area. When I say ‘heavy fog,” it’s hard to oversell how thick it was. On this particular morning, I headed into work well before dawn. Between the darkness and the fog, it was a unique experience. I don’t ever recall having been inside a black fog prior to that. It was a little freaky, to be honest with you. The darkness felt oppressive, and almost tangible. I imagine it’s kind of what it felt like during the plague of darkness the Egyptians encountered in Exodus chapter 10.
Well anyway, the usual commute moved a little slower than normal, and it was odd to see tail lights so close, yet still fading into the inky blackness. The route I took that morning involved a descent down a long hill, toward a traffic light at the bottom. I’d done this trip numerous times in the past, and always wanted to be at a certain point down the hill by the time the light turned yellow. That way I knew I had enough time for the next group of cars to get a green light and get through the intersection and still get there in time to take advantage of the left-hand turn arrow that came after that.
It was a strange and unsettling thing to be driving at normal speed, see numerous tail lights in front of me, many (dimmer) headlights in my mirrors, but not be able to see the faithful traffic light at the bottom of the hill.
Here we were, racing headlong into oblivion, and we couldn’t see far enough in front of us to stop if we came upon an unexpected hazard. We all gained a false sense of security in seeing others around us moving at the same speed, doing the same thing we were doing, and we all just kind of figured that since other people were doing it, it’s probably okay.
Well, thankfully I didn’t encounter any sort of hazard that morning, but if a deer had decided to venture across the road at an unfortunate time, I wouldn’t have had the time or space to do much about it.
This is where most non-believers find themselves today. They’re rushing headlong into oblivion, thinking that everything’s going to be okay because they’re in the same boat as a lot of other people. Things worked out fine for me that day, but others aren’t going to fare nearly as well for these people when they stand before the Almighty.
It’s our job to sound the alarm for them. We (Christ followers) formerly stood where they stood, and have escaped the fate they’re still rushing so quickly into: an eternity separated from fellowship with God.
People fill their time with busyness, equating being busy with doing meaningful things, thinking they’ve got plenty of time to think about the more spiritual side of things later, but in reality having no idea how much time they’ve got left to consider such things. The unimportant things of life distract from the central issue of humanity’s existence.
Christians are called to spread the reality of the situation. It’s our job to help wake them up. For their sake, I implore you to use the spiritual gifts you’ve been entrusted with. I’ve heard it said that the Creator of the universe preferred to die than to live without you. The reality is that the same holds true for all the other people out there, too. It’s up to us to let them know, so they can make their own decision.
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