When Free Markets Get the Oxgyen First

We've flown with our children approximately 100 times, and before every single flight, a flight attendant has told us that in case of cabin depressurization, we should place an oxygen mask on ourselves first and then place a mask on our children.

By Peter van der Sluijs - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0

When my son actually listened to what the attendant was saying for the first time, he said, "That's not right. You should serve us first so we can survive, live longer, and prosper." And yes, God's word is clear that we should put the interests of others, especially the poor and weak, before ourselves. But parents know that the odds of the child surviving are much greater if both the parent and the child survive, so by putting our mask on first, we can better serve the child, not just at that moment but for the rest of our lives.

So when people first hear the principles of capitalism (and democracy) pitted against socialism without any frame of reference, historical data, or big picture understanding of implications and long term outcomes, they respond just like my son did, "That (capitalism) is not right. Let the old, rich, taxpayers die (via taxation or business crippling legislation) so we poor young people can live and prosper."

But America has proven to the entire world that by serving those who work hard, pay taxes, provide jobs, grow GDP, and build the economy, the odds of both the young and old, the weak and strong, and the poor and rich prospering is greater. But if we raise minimum wages, tax burdens, and entitlement programs to unsustainable levels, everyone will perish.

The key is finding the right balance. If the parent only puts his mask on first and never puts one on the child, the child will die by suffocation, and the parent will die of guilt and heartache. The greatest outcome is when love for another, not greed or self interest, is what motivates us to work hard, survive, and thrive so we may better serve and more extravagantly and joyfully give to others.

One simple step to transform the world into a safer, better place

Pornography use generates between $13B and $19 BILLION in annual revenues in the US with worldwide estimates around $97 billion. 87% of young men and 31% of young women report using pornography. Most begin habitual use as a result of unintentionally and accidentally stumbling upon it on the internet, and 80% of unintentional exposure occurs in the home. Porn encourages the objectification of women and makes it very difficult for men and women to have meaningful relationships. It removes the true and connecting heart, soul, mind, and body intimacy God intended for marriage and replaces it with something cheap and casual.

"Youth who look at violent x-rated material are six times more likely to report forcing someone to do something sexual online or in-person versus youth not exposed to x-rated material."

"Middle-school aged boys who view X-rated content are almost three times more likely to report oral sex and sexual intercourse than boys who do not use sexually explicit material".

So why has our government, especially during this period of unprecedented push toward bigger government, not proposed taxing this industry into oblivion? Consider how much debt could be reduced with just a 50% tax until the industry dwindles. Yes, jobs would be lost, but not one job in the industry brings any real value to society. Employment in this industry involves being violated, abusing others, and/or supporting the destruction of hearts, homes, lives while generating more addiction, more drug abuse, more brokenness. Many cope with the trauma of their involvement in this industry through drug abuse.

How many elected officials are too addicted to this hideous industry themselves to oppose it? Who has enough financial backing to resist the world's largest industry? I dare just one elected representative to propose such a tax. Who has the courage to stand FOR righteousness and against the primary fuel driving the sin nature to create so many of the problems in our world? Who will fight this lying thief who sneaks into hearts and homes and robs it of all that is precious and leaves it utterly destroyed?

Source links:
http://www.internetsafety101.org/Pornographystatistics.htm 
http://sites.psu.edu/kavyarclblog/2015/03/19/examining-sex-trafficking-a-domestic-and-international-perspective/

True Beauty

“Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.” (Proverbs 31:30, ESV)

My daughter and I just finished a Bible study with other liked-minded moms and daughters to prepare our girls for adolescence. As I have watched these preteens become less like little girls and more like young women, Proverbs 31:30 has echoed through my teaching and prayers for them. They are growing up in a culture where the voices all around them scream the opposite. “Physical beauty and seductive charms will get you what you want,” chants the father of lies. “If you show enough skin, you’ll get lots of attention and feel loved and adored,” he whispers, “but first you must lose weight, change your nose, add lash extensions, enhance your lips, add implants, tan evenly, grow thick long hair, and wear expensive clothing and jewelry.” These lies lead women down a dangerous road of deception, distraction, desperation, disappointment, disillusionment, dissatisfaction, defeat, and destruction.

Chasing after false beauty (office.com)

The world’s definition of beauty is external, expensive, ever-changing, exhausting, and impossible, though there are plenty of cosmetologists, fashion merchandisers, weight loss product marketers, and plastic surgeons ready to transform every woman into something she is not until she forgets who and whose she really is. Desperate for attention and validation, she becomes consumed with perfecting beauty. Instead of pursuing Christ who truly satisfies and following His plans for her life which reap eternal fruit, she becomes distracted by vanity.

The Hebrew word translated “vain” in the ESV phrase “beauty is vain” is הֶבֶל (hebel). Strong’s Concordance defines “hebel” as “emptiness or vanity; figuratively, something transitory and unsatisfactory.” The NIV translates the word in this verse as “fleeting”. The Gesenius' Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon describes hebel as “breath… often used of a gentle breeze” as in Isaiah 57:13. While a makeover, new outfit, or day at the spa or salon may feel refreshing like a gentle breeze, neither lingers very long. Before I catch my next breath, my make-up runs, my pores clog, and another gray hair appears. Even costly surgical procedures or Botox injections must be repeatedly redone because nothing man-made can ultimately stop the aging process. Yet, the enemy of our souls pressures women to keep chasing so they’ll be too distracted by meaningless vanity to follow God and impact hearts and souls for eternity.

As the deceived woman projects her false persona, spewing scripted charms while compromising self-respect, truth, and modesty, she does indeed draw attention. Other ladies will notice her and likely feel jealous and insecure, while guys will be drawn to her for all the wrong reasons. She charms others into her lair without realizing that she is the one being trapped in a snare. Enjoying all the new attention and feeling a sense of control over others, she fears losing it. So she becomes a slave to her beauty treatments and to whatever her suitors demand from her. She lures others with her external beauty and her seductive charms, yet she deceives herself into believing that they will love and cherish her unconditionally for who she really is inside. When her suitors manipulate her, use her, and quickly abandon her, she feels disappointed, disillusioned, depressed, and defeated. If she had valued inner beauty, authenticity, and integrity instead of superficial, fleeting, outward adornments, others would have noticed her as a person to be cherished instead of as an object to be used.

This pattern of deceptive charm and fleeting beauty leading to destruction is so familiar that Ezekiel personifies Tyre as a beautiful mistress when prophesying of her coming destruction. Tyre’s obsession with her own outer beauty and charms brought forth her destruction. (Ezekiel 27: 3b-4) God gave Tyre her exquisite beauty, yet she became proud. She was so distracted by all the attention she was getting and the wealth she was producing that she traded God, the source of all her greatness, for corruption.

 Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings. (Ezekiel 28:17) 

True and lasting beauty is internal, not external. Instead of adorning ourselves with expensive clothes, jewelry, and beauty treatments, we should instead wear a gentle and quiet spirit that is wholly submitted to God first and then to our husbands (if married). Ironically, by possessing a beautiful, gentle, submissive spirit, Esther had to endure a year of exhausting external beauty treatments before being presented as a candidate for queen. Yet, her inner beauty stood out among all the other women and won her favor among everyone she met. When she was given the opportunity to choose an additional adornment to take with her into the King’s chambers to make herself more attractive to him, she chose nothing more than what the eunuch advised. By removing the distraction of external adornments, her inner beauty was put on display and won the heart of King Xerxes, who had previously only chosen women according to their external appearance to suit his carnal desires. He cherished Esther as one more valuable than eye candy. He loved her as a person with a beautiful mind, heart, and soul. (Esther 2)

Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. (1 Peter 3:3-4, NIV)

In English translations of the Bible, “beauty” is often used to describe God’s glory on earth. Perfect beauty is only glimpsed in His presence, for only He is altogether beautiful (Psalm 50:2).

One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple. (Psalm 27:4) 

Christ’s beauty was not reflected in His outward appearance as he walked on earth (Isaiah 53:2), but God’s glory within him radiated outward and pointed others to God.

If beauty comes from within, and God’s glory is perfect beauty, then by seeking Christ, submitting to the Lord’s work in our lives, and being filled with His spirit, we reflect His radiant beauty. Unlike external beauty which fades with time, our inner beauty increases as we grow in relationship with Christ.

Beauty is not something we make for ourselves through man-made products and services. Beauty was woven into every person’s perfect design by Creator God for His glory and good purposes. He knit us together in our mother’s womb. We are fearfully and wonderfully made. (Psalm 139: 13-14) If He is the essence of beauty, then by making us in His own image and likeness (Genesis 1: 26), He made each one of us beautiful. Not only did He make us beautiful, He made us flawless! (Song of Songs 4:7)

Jonny Diaz reminds us of these truths through his song, “More Beautiful You”.  Selected stanzas follow. 

Well, little girl fourteen I wish that you could see
That beauty is within your heart,
And you were made with such care, 
your skin, your body and your hair
Are perfect just the way they are.

There could never be a more beautiful you.
Don't buy the lies, disguises and hoops, 
they make you jump through.
You were made to fill a purpose that only you could do,
So there could never be a more beautiful you.

Little girl twenty-one the things that you've already done
Anything to get ahead
And you say you've got a man, but He's got another plan,
Only wants what you will do instead.

The following closing prayer has been excerpted from Praying Proverbs 31: prayers for a daughter'svirtue by Tracy Glockle.

Father, may our daughters not confuse vanity for beauty or be distracted by the attention of others. Though, in a world obsessed with appearances, they may receive more praise for their appearance than their character, keep their heart attuned to Your praise. Help them to keep the priority of an attractive appearance in its proper place, to realize that serving others and glorifying God are not dependent on a hair style or make-up. May their desire be that others remember them for their character and their God rather than for their jewelry or their clothes.  Father, our prayer is that they would not dress to meet a standard but that they would clothe themselves from a motivation of love and worship of You. Help our daughters to see that their beauty is yet another way of bringing honor to You, and that it goes much deeper than what others might immediately see. 

Devotion originally written for Providence Baptist Church, Women's Ministry series on Proverbs 31.

For further examination of this issue as it pertains to modesty in dress, 

we recommend the Pool Modesty series which begins here.

ISIS vs. Secular Progressives

Upon initial observation, the way modern pop culture and mainstream media, which shall be referenced in this post collectively as "modern secular progressives", cower to ISIS seems extremely ironic.  The barbaric violence, hatred of gays, abuses of women, and power hungry imperialism that characterize this band of misfits seem so counter to modern liberalism that one would expect progressives to rise up against ISIS.  Yet, ISIS warriors still receive acceptance in Europe and North America, even after their acts of terror (or sheer horror) continue to escalate.  Why are such obviously racist, bigoted, homophobic, terrorist hate groups given asylum (or released from prison) and offered full entitlement benefits while peaceful, loving Christian families who put no burden on government doles or educational funding whatsoever are deported?

Does this public acceptance of our enemies by Obama, Hillary, the media, and those in elite progressive circles stem from fear?  After all, it is easier to bully a Christian who forgives "seventy times seven" and turns the other cheek than to bully someone who may detonate a bomb at any moment.  Appease the enemy is the mantra of progressive foreign policy even though we know how that worked out for France during WW2 and can see how it's working out for most of Europe where terrorist cells are harbored. 

-----------------------------------------------------

Update on 11/6/2016:  
Now we know that some of the motivation for being such a friend to ISIS came from the fact that the same governments that fund ISIS fund the Clinton Foundation.

•   $1 million from Qatar  
•   $5-10 million from Kuwait
•   $10-$25 million from Saudi Arabia

-----------------------------------------------------

A closer look, however, reveals some striking parallels between ISIS and secular progressives. When those parallels are exposed, the initial paradoxes seem less ironic, and ISIS looks more like a physical representation of some of the core ideologies guiding modern progressive (regressive) culture. 

Similar Enemies
While the ISIS enemy list is infinitely broader and longer than the enemy target list guiding modern secular progressives, both place Judaism, Christianity, and liberty (democracy, capitalism, self-government) at the top of their lists.

ISIS warriors refer to their enemies as "infidels" while progressives call their enemies by a wide array of expletives or unflattering terms (extremists, right wingers, homophobes, haters, bigots, racists, fundamentalists, etc.), but the real enemy for both groups is anyone who disagrees with their ideology or stands in the way of their goals. While progressive preach tolerance, they are just like ISIS in that they are only tolerant of those who share their self-centered views.  Anyone who disagrees or opposes them becomes an enemy target.

Similar Methods
ISIS primarily uses propaganda (videos, media headlines, etc.), violence, fear, intimidation, shock, emotional manipulation, deceit, and murder to persecute and destroy their enemies.  The grotesque, violent, and cruel methods ISIS uses to torment their victims (all while cameras are rolling to incite horror, shock, and fear across the globe with the internet as their message vehicle) are only rivaled by those of the ancient Assyrians described in the Old Testament.

With the mainstream media, younger generations, a compliant citizenry, academia, and a growing number of public education systems under its thumb, progressivism has been effectively spreading lies and propaganda for decades with the goal of indoctrinating all generations.  As exposed in the documentary, Expelled, and experienced by Christian conservatives on university campuses for at least the past three decades, liberal philosophies are forced upon students, not through violent acts, but through intimidation, bullying, and peer pressure. If you don't join the herd, you are pushed out. Professors who question progressive theories with scientific laws are denied tenure, and students who present valid arguments for alternative views are immediately silenced and/or unjustly punished.   Censorship at Harvard is so severe that students aren't even allowed to discuss non-liberal viewpoint in an ethics class or to attend certain classes if they hold pro-life views that may offend another student. Bible verses are deemed controversial and not allowed in class discussions.  U.S. flags are even viewed as offensive by some students and banned in dorm rooms.

Progressive pop culture icons like Miley Cyrus, Beyonce', Kim Kardashian, Lady Gaga, and Lena Dunham, in their desperation for validation and attention, force their obscene, immoral, nude, and/or shocking images into the minds and hearts of people everywhere through social media and deliver distasteful "performances" on stage or in front of video cameras to further deaden the sensitivity of the human heart to all that is profane.

LGBT activists have used bullying, legal powers such as the well-funded ACLU, manipulation, activist judges, and threats of financial ruin on small businesses to force not only tolerance of their new liberal moral code, but full endorsement of it, even by those whose freedom of religion should exempt them from violating their deep rooted moral convictions. While Hobby Lobby has been fighting it's religious freedom battles against Obamacare from day one of its inception, smaller business owners such as Sweet Cakes, Masterpiece Cakeshop, farm owners, and florists have not had the resources to win lawsuits by those who pressured them to provide services for gay weddings.  Hillary Clinton has pledged that if elected POTUS, she will force Christians to change their beliefs so she can enact her progressive liberal agenda.

While secular progressives may not be as violent as ISIS, progressivism does advocate abortion at every stage of pregnancy, and at taxpayers' expense. Abortion is just as violent as many of the cruel acts perpetrated by ISIS.  Abortion is excruciatingly painful for both the baby and the mother. ISIS warriors use a machete to dismember body parts, while an abortion doctor uses a scalpel, but the processes are very similar. Abortion clinics even sell these body parts for profit.

Abortion occurs far more often than deaths by ISIS.  In 2014, Planned Parenthood killed 327,000 babies.  Between June and December of that same year, ISIS killed approximately 2000 people, but their terrorist activities have grown considerably since that data was published.

http://www.priestsforlife.org/resources/medical/d-and-e.aspx

The partial birth abortion procedure is especially horrific in that the baby is delivered breach with the entire body except the head outside of the woman's body. As the body dangles or dances, the doctor uses scissors to cut a hole in the full term baby's brain and then sucks the brains out, killing the baby just seconds before full delivery is complete.  More details are provided at the preceding link, but I will refrain from posting pictures since they would make this post R-rated for violence.

There is simply no mercy in abortion.  This procedure is not used to save the life on the mother, for it actually puts the mother's life in greater danger.   Mothers in crisis pregnancy situations are lied to, manipulated at their most vulnerable points, and abused.  They will suffer consequences from their abortions for the rest of their lives apart from the healing, redemptive power of Christ.  Consequences will follow, whether in the form of later pregnancy complications, unexplained depression, relationship struggles, etc. Loving counseling is critical to healing a mother's heart.

Radical progressives offer similar disdain and disregard for human life if such life creates any inconvenience or financial burden, such as experienced by those possessing some perceived physical or mental impairment or by simply growing older.

Similar Motivations
What could possibly drive someone to join ISIS? Americans working in ISIS occupied countries have observed that young men are compelled by a desire for identity or purpose. Poverty and unemployment are huge problems in Arabic nations, leading to depression and hopelessness.  Joining ISIS gives them a reason, wicked as it may be, for living.  It gives them something to do instead of mourning their perceived insignificance in a coffee shop all day.  They think fighting will make them feel powerful when they are so overcome by their own powerlessness to change their circumstances.  ISIS provides a sense of belonging for those who feel all alone.  Others are motivated by feelings of anger, resentment, or hostility fueled by the bitterness that grows when past hurts are not forgiven.  ISIS fighters are allowed to rape and abuse the women they conquer and are often provided with a group of female captives whom they have made into prostitutes to feed the lusts of their flesh.  The promise of 72 virgins (the correct translation is grapes, not virgins btw) in paradise, though not explicitly stated that way in the Koran, is said to be the primary incentive for Islamic martyrs.  Hopeless, unemployed, depressed, possibly suicidal young men are easily enticed into joining ISIS, especially if martyrdom is like a "get out of jail free" card with sexual fantasies and sensual ecstasy to go with it.  Bottom line:  ISIS fighters are motivated by wounded feelings and carnal desires.

Extreme progressive ideology also appeals to sensual, sexual fantasy and to the emotions.  This new social order forces society to accept any and every deviant form of sexual behavior as normal.  Nothing is taboo anymore, so anything goes. Those who dare oppose such moral depravity and speak out for truth, justice, and virtue are verbally or physically abused by the progressive herd.

Progressive ideology is now opening doors for rapists, perverts, and pedophiles to gain easier access to women and children through the new bathroom law movements.  The smear campaign covering North Carolina's HB2 is a classic example of liberalism's use of deceit and force to ram their agenda even where the majority oppose it.  Based on a set of lies developed by the radical lobby group filing suit against North Carolina, the Human Rights Campaign, the Obama Administration is now threatening to withhold all education funding (holding children hostage) until N.C. repeals the law that is in every respects legal.  Lies, threats, manipulation, and threats of financial ruin are all at work in this progressive assault on the privacy and protection of women and children.

Progressives also uses name calling, threats, and other bullying strategies to keep the citizenry from using their brains to think critically, apply facts, or evaluate issues logically.  Secular progressives insist that people be guided by erratic, deceptive, irrational, easily offended feelings.  While they may not physically decapitate their enemies as ISIS does, radical liberalism does metaphorically decapitate their neighbors by insisting that truth is irrelevant and that feelings are all that matter.  The result is a society filled with headless bodies ruled by out-of-control carnal passions.  Unthinking, irrational, hate filled citizens will follow their progressive leaders anywhere, for they "feel like" their progressive government leaders know what is best for them, when in truth, the progressive powers only want to expand their dominion, like all the imperialistic dictators before them....and just like ISIS. 

Similar Malady
At the core of every person within each radical group, be it the new extreme progressive liberalism or the religious radicalism of ISIS, is an empty soul, longing to be filled.  Every human heart and mind seeks lasting satisfaction.  We all are born with a desire to love and to be loved, to belong to a community, to fulfill some greater purpose beyond ourselves, and to know that we have value.  Darwinian theory (fundamentally flawed as it is) reduced man's perception of his/her infinite, intrinsic, infinite value to nothing more than a cosmic accident, and it gave man an excuse to follow after his/her own carnal desires instead of pursuing God.  While ISIS warriors do claim to worship one god, they do not worship in spirit or in truth (John 4:24). They falsely believe that by fighting, they can have their cake (sinful desires) and eat it too in paradise forever with the martyr's free pass.  But nothing in this world can satisfy a soul that was created for Heaven.  Neither extreme progressivism nor ISIS's conquests will ever bring peace on earth or bring peace to the restless human heart.  Turning off the mind will not turn off the longings of the heart, for they are connected and must function together to accomplish anything of lasting value. 

Same Remedy
Both ISIS fighters and progressives have chosen the wrong enemy.  There is One who loves every human being with an infinite, unconditional, sacrificial love that is more than enough to satisfy the human soul.  His love is so great that he suffered a horrific death in our place, so we would not have to suffer the full penalty of our sins while receiving forgiveness for every wrong thought or action.  His power is so infinite that He defeated death and rose again, so that we too may be raised with Him if we trust Him for salvation and let Him lead our lives instead of enslaving ourselves to the lusts of our flesh.  He has a wonderful and perfect plan in motion that no one can hinder.  He equips each one of us uniquely to fulfill His purpose in that glorious plan He is unveiling moment by moment for the salvation of many and for His glory.  Instead of persecuting Christ and His followers, the remedy is receiving Christ as Savior and Lord and letting His love and peace fill each person to overflowing.  He gives abundant joy and peace to all who join His army of saints.  His love and forgiveness extends to all people, yes even to ISIS warriors, who come to Him in repentance and genuine faith. 

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. ² For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. ³ For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, ⁴ in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. ⁵ For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. ⁶ For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. ⁷ For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. ⁸ Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
⁹ You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. ¹⁰ But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. ¹¹ If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.....  

³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, ³⁹ nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.  (Romans 8:  1-11, 37-39)

But Why, God? (Perspectives on America's Sorry, Sordid Demise)

To those who are frustrated by evangelicals who you think consider themselves to be “holier than thou”, to unbelievers who classify evangelicals as homophobic, bigots, or racists, AND to evangelical Christians who are weeping for America and asking lots of “But why, God?” questions, Romans 1 has answers for each of you.

incandescentplanetreflections.blogspot.com

"Holier Than Thou" 
Paul opens his letter to the Romans by stating his identity/purpose (he is a servant of the gospel and an apostle for Christ, much like today's "Christian evangelical") and his qualifications for this role. Even though he had accumulated the most impressive resume possible for his era (intellect, education, lineage, legalistic law keeping, passion, leadership experience through positions of great authority, etc.), he mentions none of those worldly achievements, because after encountering Christ, he realized that they were all meaningless rubbish. (Philippians 3:3-11) His ONLY qualifications are that he is a sinner, saved by grace, and called by God to preach the gospel to “both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish.” Christ is the only One who is "holier than thou".  Paul readily acknowledged that he wasn’t holier than anyone, but rather, as the former leading persecutor of the early Christian church, he was the worst of sinners saved not by works but only by God’s grace. Every evangelical Christian should acknowledge the same.

Paul lived as a servant, not as a lord over any man. He suffered through excruciating beatings, imprisonments, shipwrecks, hunger, thirst, cold, and execution for the sake of Christ. He was compelled by love, not pride or greed as evidenced by his work as a tentmaker to support himself without taking any financial backing from the church he served so sacrificially.

Prejudice
Paul makes it clear in Romans 1:17 that salvation is for everyone. Scriptures consistently insist that there is no racism with God, for God made every man and woman in His image according to His perfect design. So there must not be any prejudice among His followers either. Reference Isaiah 56, Isaiah 51:8, Ruth (a Moabite woman is King David’s great-grandmother and in the lineage of Jesus), John 4 (Jesus and the Samaritan woman), Titus 2:11, Hebrews 5:9, and Jude 1:3 for more examples. Any evangelical who expresses obvious racism, bigotry, or prejudice against anyone as a person deceives himself, and the love of God is not in him. (1 John 4: 19-21, James 2: 1-7)

Romans 1: 17-32  describe God’s wrath poured out against the sins of humanity, but verse 18 makes a very important distinction. God’s wrath is against the sinful deeds, not the people, for while our deeds will characterize us and reveal the condition of our heart, our deeds do not have to define us forever. Only the maker can truly define His creation, so we are defined by Creator God who designed our DNA, knew us before we were born, and established us for His great purposes. He made each one of us in His image to be set apart from all other creatures. We have the ability to think, reason, feel emotion, experience love and joy, make our own choices, and grow in character. He wants us to choose to walk with Him, in accordance with his will, and to desire a relationship with Him, but He doesn’t force us into a relationship with Him.

We get to choose for ourselves whether we will do life with Him, or if we will pretend He does not exist. When we choose Him, He helps us grow into his likeness, manifesting increasing love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. (Galatians 5: 22-25) If we choose to reject Him, then we are choosing to obey the lusts of the flesh instead. Such choices grow into lifestyles of “sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like.” (Galatians 5:19-21) The choice is up to each one of us.

Those who offer up the excuse, “But that’s how God made me, so I can’t help it” have not opened their hearts and eyes to see who God is (holy and good), nor have they truly witnessed the redemptive work of God transforming hearts all around them. There is no carnal desire too fixed for God’s power to remove. There are no chains of addiction too great for God to break. His power, goodness, and grace are without limit. "All things are possible with God." (Mark 10:27)

19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. (Romans 1: 19-20)

“Why, God?” 
If every cell in the human body absolutely declares one’s gender to be male or female, why are we even pretending someone can be a different gender than their biology indicates? How did we get to a place where parents are paying good money to greedy, mad scientists with scalpels to mutilate their kids’ genitals, throw harmful synthetic hormone chemicals into their bodies, and cut and reshape their bodies to make the kid look like a different gender, as if changing the outside will ever change the inside? All that kid really needed, if anything, was loving counseling and psychotherapy. It's the worst form of child abuse.

How in the world did such a large line-up of God fearing, highly intelligent, respectable, liberty-loving, Constitution-respecting, Republican candidates get trumped by possibly the vilest, shallowest, rashest, uncontrolled, most arrogant, narcissistic man on earth? How is it possible that the only candidates the Democrats could produce were a socialist (remember Hitler, Stalin, and Mussolini?) and a woman best known for criminal activity, lies, cover-ups, radicalism,and  repeated failures without any accomplishments whatsoever that helped anyone but herself (while hurting countless others in the process)?

Why have we allowed a fringe minority to redefine the sacred institution of marriage which was established by God and upheld according to that definition for the good of society by almost every race and culture since the first marriage began?

Why are we more concerned with providing access to the restroom of choice for ~0.6% of the population who claim to be transgender than the safety of all women and children who would fall prey to pedophiles, rapists, and perverts pretending to be transgender to gain access to them?

Why have we applauded and funded the abuse of women in crisis and baby butchering through abortion for over four decades, even after sonogram technology provided all the evidence needed to prove that abortion murders a human being and that babies feel great pain during the abortion procedure?  Why do we flush innocent, precious human life down the toilet like waste while ruining lives and economies to save some moss?

If it takes a video crew over an hour to highlight just a few of Hillary Clinton's criminal activities deserving prison sentences, and Obama's list of betrayals, scandals, and criminal activity isn't much shorter, why are others guilty of much lesser offenses punished, while they go free as if accountable to no one?

We know that pornography destroys families, marriages, and children, objectifies women, increases the incidence and severity of crimes involving human trafficking, child molestation, rape, battery, kidnapping, and homicide, so why is it still allowed to creep into unsuspecting homes through the internet? Why are pornographic images used to sell underwear and teen clothing? Why is it even legal, much less the most profitable industry in the world?

Why is our culture at war against religions of peace while defending and protecting the most radical belief system whose primary goals are to butcher innocent people they call infidels in the most horrific ways possible while also enslaving women, forcing little girls to marry grown men, and capturing women they don’t decapitate as their personal sex slaves?

If humans have brains with miraculous processing powers and the ability to think, reason, and apply facts and knowledge to build wisdom, understanding, compassionate solutions for the hurting and needy, and community betterment, why have the majority of Americans chosen to turn off their brains and think with their highly volatile, erratic, unstable, primarily deceptive emotions instead which will inevitably bring forth destruction?

Okay, so I could go on forever, but the point is that despite all the blaming, scheming, and 100-year strategies to fundamentally transform America from a great nation under God to an unthinking, unaccountable, godless flock of sheep trapped behind the sheep gate, ready for the slaughter, we all want to know how we could have possibly allowed ourselves to fall this far?  The answer is found in multiple passages of Scripture, but this post will focus on Romans 1: 17-32. “ For the wrath of God is [being] revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth." (vs. 18)  The majority of Americans have chosen to reject God. Sinful men do not seek to know God, thank God, or glorify Him. As a result, their thinking becomes futile, and their foolish hearts are darkened. They claim to be wise but they are fools, like mere animals governed by natural instinct instead of by an intellectual mind. They worship created things instead of the Creator. So, God has given them over to their carnal desires, which are the same wicked behaviors being normalized by our culture today (homosexuality, fornication, and whatever other ways we devise for “dishonoring the body” (vs. 24)).

When we reject God long enough, He pushes us outside of His protection into the full onslaught of the lusts of our flesh.

 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.  (Romans 1:28-32)

Our country has not only committed such wicked acts but also given approval to those who practice them by normalizing and applauding lewd behaviors and choosing leaders who embody verses 29-32 in all they do, say, and think.

So we are getting some of what we deserve, but this judgment today is not God’s final judgment. In fact, allowing America to free fall for a time can be viewed as a gift of mercy, sent to push us back to Him just as God allowed wicked rulers to govern His people off/on throughout the Old Testament.   Also consider 1 Corinthians 5:1-5 in which the sexual immoral person is handed over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh with the hope that such torment will finally wake up the guilty and bring him to repentance for the salvation of his soul.

When all hope is lost in electing a somewhat decent national leader (vs. the perfect depictions of evil we get to choose between now), our only hope is Jesus. From the first church described in Acts and James to modern times, whenever the Christian church has been persecuted, it has flourished, like crushed grapes being pressed into sweet wine. No matter how many personal, external freedoms progressive American dictators may take from us, no one can remove the freedom of our souls and in our hearts, given by the grace of God. As the saying goes, "The darker the valley, the brighter His light shines."

The road ahead will be filled with trials and tribulations, but Christians must not despair. We are called to persevere and can trust in His perfect protection.

²⁰ But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, ²¹ keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. ²² And have mercy on those who doubt; ²³ save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh. (Jude 1: 20-23)

When I'm repeatedly reminded that life isn’t fair, I want to remember the profound question my 3rd grader asked me this morning.

He asked, "If life was truly fair, would the world be a better place?"
No, I replied, "For then there would be no mercy or grace."

Keep the faith.  Give generously,  Share the gospel.  Fight the good fight.  Never lose heart.  God is always sovereign and faithful and good.