The CRAWFORD STAND podcast

Christians, real Christians, know and understand salvation, the incredible salvation experience, when they have met and believed in Jesus Christ.Real Christians know the experience of forgiveness of sin, the soul and character-changing encounter with the crucifixion, the body and blood of our Lord.Real Christians know how important, vital and life-changing PRAYER is, communion with God Almighty every day.Real Christians study Scripture, the Bible, Old and New Testaments, to learn, to grow, and to show themselves approved unto God work men and women who are never ashamed of the Gospel and their incredible spiritual experiences.Real Christians grow, understand, and are thrilled with the challenges and opportunities of THE JOURNEY OF LIFE.But even real Christians may not know the necessity, the meaning of this extremely important Biblical command:I WILL MEDITATE ON YOUR PRECEPTS. (TEACHINGS, COMMANDMENTS, LAWS, AND GRACE, AMONG OTHERS)Of all the Christians verities, the marvelous act of meditation may be the one most misunderstood or neglected. But Psalm 119:15 implores us to never forget to meditate daily, DAILY! There is no day too busy not to take time to:MEDITATE ON HIS PRECEPTS.Meditation, real meditation, as the process begins, is difficult. For some, it is very difficult. It requires an environment of:COMPLETE QUIET.Spurgeon urges and indicates that meditation, real meditation, can only occur when one enters the so-called CLOSET where there is complete quiet, perhaps darkness, an environment without distraction, noise, and certainly other people. There is an environment where one is alone and only with the company of THE HOLY SPIRIT, and with the presence of our Lord. It becomes the perfect QUIET TIME, away from everyone and everything.It is in that precious environment of SOLITUDE AND SILENCE that one, that every true Christian believer, can really hear and absorb the presence of:THE HOLY SPIRIT.It is only there that this indispensable CHRISTIAN HELPER and Comforter can make His presence known.It is only in that quiet time that real Christian growth and especially understanding of the mysteries of the Gospel can be revealed. It is only there, in the closet, that there can occur the work of the Holy Spirit which includes:ILLUMINTATIONENLIGHTENMENTINSTRUCTIONSINTERPRETATIONINSPIRATIONThose incredible spiritual experiences can only occur when the believer is completely open, and then the Spirit bear’s witness. The mind stands still, a tabula rasa readiness (a completely open and empty mind). All worldly thoughts are postponed, the heart opens wide, and the believer signals ready for the working of the Holy Spirit. Nothing is more difficult, but nothing is more worthwhile, NOTHING!Then one begins the next process, difficult, but necessary and oh-so-valuable, that completely open time when the believer:WAITS ON THE LORD.There is no agenda. The believer brings nothing spiritually or mentally into the closet but lays the soul bare before the Lord and waits, WAITS, on the Lord and the coming of the Holy Spirit. To understand the value, to learn patience, to learn how to wait, to empty the mind, and no matter how intellectual, really learn the deep, mysterious, and incredible truths of the Gospel. It is a discipline which takes time, practice, and constant experimentation. But no Christian experience is complete unless a believer learns how to practice and derive the benefits of:MEDITATION.And the incredible strengthening process of:WAITING ON THE LORD.Done right, then comes the work of the Holy Spirit. That work illuminates, educates, instructs, and, perhaps most importantly, interprets and inspires every believer, like nothing else and no other experience can. Meditation is the process of deep and rich:SPIRITUAL DIGESTION.The meditation experience alone can produce those rich and vital spiritual vitamins, the most important spiritual digestion of anything in the Christian journey.It takes time, quality time, daily time, no day is too busy to set aside quality time for the partnership and the workings of the Holy Spirit in meditation. There is no believer or any day which can not provide:30 MINUTESor more of quality time all alone IN THE CLOSET with the Holy Spirit. If a Christian sincerely wishes to grow in the things of the Gospel and our Lord, the goal should be the setting aside of that quality time, perhaps a minimum of 30 minutes:EVERY DAY.Then, a believer can rightly ASK, and, in that environment, there comes the Scriptural promise that such asking will be answered:ASK AND YOU WILL RECEIVE THE ANSWERS.Meditation, real meditation, is not easy. It takes practice, time, trial and error, and patience, careful love, and patience in this cell phone age. But there is no spiritual experience, Christian experience, in the journey of faith, which is more worthwhile or more necessary if one, any believer, no matter how busy, sincerely desires to experience in this life all that our Lord and the Holy Spirit has promised to all true believers. As with prayer and thanksgiving, MEDITATION should be an essential part of the Christian journey and experience:EVERY DAY!

One out of two American Adults do not believe that the Bible is literally true. 50% of WE THE PEOPLE do not believe that the Bible is literally true. That is according to the findings of a recent survey conducted by the CHRISTIAN POST.Another survey conducted by LIFE WAY RESEARCH found that 48% of Americans believe:THE BIBLE, LIKE ALL SACRED WRITINGS, CONTAINS HELPFUL ACCOUNTSOF ANCIENT MYTHS BUT IS NOT LITERALLY TRUE.And yet another survey found that 44% of all American Adults do not believe the Bible is 100% accurate in all that it teaches.Then comes the Barna Group’s recent survey which found that only 4% of American Adults and 6% of professing Christians hold a BIBLICAL WORLDVIEW.Those are really fascinating conclusions, are they not? Like all surveys, they are partially true, indicators, generalities, and conclusions reached on the basis of survey information by the respective survey companies. But, as with every survey, there are indeed some facts and some truth, however little. Surveys should never be taken as literally true as these surveys claim that half of American Adults do not take the Bible as literally true.But if the Bible is not literally true (and it is), then no teaching, document, or sacred treatise of any kind is true, absolute, but merely insightful, a guide, little more than human inspiration. With the many different types of cults and religions in this world today, without a document that is literally true and authoritative:ANYTHING GOES.Anything. In short, you could believe anything you wish and what you believe and what you determine as truth, especially spiritual truth, is as good as, as right as, as authoritative as the view of anyone else. ANYTHING GOES.If the sacred writings in the Bible, all 66 books of the Old and New Testaments, are nothing more than helpful accounts of ancient myths, then the spiritual wisdom it contains, the historical accounts of great men and women led by God Almighty, the codes of ethics including the 10 Commandments are little more than advisory, opinions, moral generalities to be followed or not, to be believed or not. If the Bible isnot accurate in all that it teaches, if the Biblical worldview of Scripture is no more than a collection of the great thinkers, then the Judeo-Christian Bible is no different than any other sacred writing, has no more authority, and is little more than a collection of interesting stories, historical accounts, and ancient myths. According to these surveys, one out of two American Adults, including Christians, believe just that. What a tragedy that Americans have such a low view of Scripture and the Bible, not recognizing or believing that it contains the truth, the inspired Word of the Living God. It is no wonder that Americans see Scripture as really irrelevant. If it is one of many, then a form of UNIVERSALISM exists. Truth is everywhere or perhaps DEISM. There is a God, but that God is mysterious, vague, and hard to know, or perhaps as even some secular philosophers admit, there is a GREATER POWER, but that is all that human knowledge can ascertain.It is just simply impossible to be a Christian, a real Christian, and not believe fully and completely in the authoritarian, truthful, factual accounts, anything but mythical, in the 66 books of the Bible. Those books are for the TRUE BELIEVER, the real Christian:THE INSPIRED WORD OF GOD.They are for us the written gift of revelation. Those books are Holy-Spirit-inspired. They contain the truth of life here and eternal life hereafter. They are, those words are, absolute, uncompromising, accurate in every way and authoritative. No other sacred writings measure up. No other human understanding or spiritual insight can compare. Our Bible contains the Holy Revelation and words of God Almighty. And, the full expression and development of the ultimate spiritual facts and truths in the words of Jesus Christ:I AM THE WAYTHE TRUTHTHE LIFENO MAN COMETH TO THE FATHER BUT THROUGH METhat is not mythological, advisory, a spiritual possibility, but rather:THE TRUTH, THE WHOLE TRUTH, AND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH.So, my fellow Christians, when it comes to your Bible, HIS BIBLE:READ ITBELIEVE ITLEARN FROM ITAPPLY ITTEACH ITBE THANKFUL FOR ITThere is no other truth, spiritual truth. The real Christian knows that the Bible is truth, literal truth. It is accurate, accurate in every way. The Bible offers every Chirstian a Biblical worldview which is absolutely necessary and enlightening in this skeptical day and age. The Bible is more relevant and necessary today than ever.Read it. Treasure it. Ask the Holy Spirit for wisdom, and divine interpretation of the truth therein. No Christian, no real Christian, can ever doubt that the Bible is not the inspired, truthful, accurate:WORD OF THE LIVING GOD!

To be a Christian, especially today, entails a considerable risk of life and limb. That is so the world over, and now it begins, in a real way, in our very own America. To be a Christian invites persecution, ridicule, rejection, to be ostracized from society and the world at large. A great theologian said that to come to Christ is to die. But we who believe knew that before we committed and became one with Him. It then became our lot in life to die to self, to sin, to the world.We knew what He did, we knew the horrendous story of the crucifixion, the persecution of Calvary. We saw no greater love than His as He laid down His life for His friends, for all mankind, for all humankind. We knew that to live for Him, to accept Him, would be to lay our all on the alter, including our bodies, willing to make them a living sacrifice. Charlie Kirk knew that, lived that, and died for that and more.And so did the Apostle Paul. Paul, then Saul, hated Christians and Christianity. It was his mission to persecute and kill the followers of Jesus Christ. No one hated or persecuted Christians more than Saul of Tarsus. He was a Roman citizen, a Pharisee of the Jews, a blood thirsty killer and persecutor of Christians and Christianity. Saul was a master of persecution. So many early Christians died at his hand, or were jailed, or persecuted in physical ways, and lost virtually everything they had.But then came the Damascus Road, where Saul met Jesus Christ and became Paul, and he was never the same. He turned from persecution to preacher of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. His conversion was instant, dramatic, and dynamic, change at work from head to toe. The Christ of Glory knew what Saul had done, his horrible persecutions, and He said that He would show Paul the sufferings, the considerable sufferings and persecutions he himself would endure. No Christian could forget the question the Lord asked:“SAUL, WHY DO YOU PERSECUTE ME?”Why, said the Christ of Glory, do you persecute and kill those who love and believe in me, why? There came no answer to that question, but only the beginning of a total commitment to his newfound Lord and master. Saul then became Paul, and he never knew the extent of the promise of Jesus Christ:I WILL SHOW THIS MAN HOW MUCH HE MUST SUFFER FOR MY NAME.And suffer Paul did, big time. Paul described those sufferings in his own words in 2 Corinthians 11. He said,“I have labored extensively for Christ. I have been imprisoned many times. I haveendured beatings without number. I am always in danger of death. Five times I received from the Jews forty lashes less one. I was stoned three times. I was shipwrecked a night and a day. I have been in danger from rivers, from robbers, from my own countrymen, from the Gentiles, and from dangers in cities and desolate places. I have lived in danger from false brothers. I have endured many sleepless nights. I have endured starvation and thirst. I am often hungry and cold and without enough clothing. I am under constant pressure of concern and persecution for all the churches of Jesus Christ I have established.”Compared to those Pauline sufferings, so many of us Christians in America have had it easy, perhaps too easy.Paul eventually endured the ultimate suffering, the ultimate persecution. He was murdered. He was beheaded, a brutal way to die. He lost his life in a split second at the cut of a guillotine. Charlie Kirk, the Christian and Conservative, lost his life in a second from the bullet of an assassin’s rifle.Paul gave his life for the Lord he loved and in whom he firmly believed with all his heart, soul, strength, and mind. So did Charlie Kirk.Violence and vengeance seem to be on the rise in America now more than ever. In many quarters, it is dangerous to be a Christian and a Conservative. And, if one is both Christian and Conservative, the danger is doubled. Charlie Kirk was both. The bullet of an assassin, a young, irrational killer, fame-seeking and revenge-minded, ended Charlie’s life immediately. Charlie Kirk died for his country, and his Lord-Savior. The Apostle Paul died for his Lord Jesus Christ and as a Roman Citizen. They were great men, martyrs, heroes, missionaries, courageous, loving, an example to all of us who followed in so many ways. These two men laid down their lives for their fellow loved ones and families, and in fact all humankind. These two men showed the world that there was no greater love than that of a man, each of them, laying down his life for his friends, for all. And so did Jesus of Nazareth, our Lord. The Christ of Glory died young, 33. Charlie Kirk died young, 31. Paul lived longer, but suffered persecution longer. All three died brutal deaths, the Lord of Glory the most brutal, and violent, and painful, and suffered the most and longest of the three, for us, for you, for me. No greater love was ever shown to mankind than that of Calvary.We often wish for vengeance, retribution, and justice. But our Lord commands us to love our enemies, one of the most difficult things in all of life. He tells us that vengeance is none of our business, but that He, when and how He wishes, will be the instrument of vengeance. He requires us to turn the other cheek and promises He will make things right. Violence only begets more violence. Love, on the other hand, real love, never stops producing miracles. You could say that love in the face of violence and evil is the greatest weapon of all. The greatest vengeance, the greatest get-even is to pray for your enemy, do good to him or her, and show the love of Jesus Christ in every way. The only way you and I can do that is with the power, the courage, and the strength of our Lord.Like the Apostle Paul, Charlie Kirk knew that, believed that, and died for that.

Pharmaceutical companies are among the most maligned companies in America. BIG PHARMA are the constant and consistent targets of lawyers, sarcastically termed “ambulance chasers.” One bad incident can result in lawsuits which may produce tens of millions of dollars in damages.But, every day, these companies produce and provide lifesaving, life-extending, life-transforming therapies to millions upon millions in the United States and, of course, around the world. I wonder how many people would die tomorrow without the drugs produced by BIG PHARMA which keep them alive.Some experts indicate that every single American citizen, old and young, has been the beneficiary of a drug, or takes one on a regular basis. I wonder, has your body been the recipient of a drug, or does it take on now sporadically or on a regular basis? Or, in a life-saving moment, have you been the very fortunate recipient of a life-saving drug produced by BIG PHARMA. Have you?No matter, the relentless assault on pharmaceutical companies goes on. Some of the criticism and cry for control by the government is justified, and most of it, NOT JUSTIFIED. There are federal agencies like the FDA, a governmental watch dog, presumably protecting the people, protecting WE THE PEOPLE, making certain that only safe and effective drugs reach the market. But, because of the vilification of BIG PHARMA, regulators at the federal level are often hesitant in granting permission for a drug to be marketed, no matter its lifesaving or life-extending capabilities. The constant delay, testing, examinations of all kinds, no matter how necessary, add significantly to the cost of the drug when you and I purchase it.In many cases, politicians do the most harm. Their incendiary rhetoric corrupts public understanding, and in some cases, stokes outright hatred. Governmental policies make it far easier for BIG PHARMA to be sued for the very slightest matter. Huge judgements occur, and the cost of the drug goes up, or even in some extreme cases, off the market entirely. When that happens, there comes the hue and cry from the public for price controls, firmer and stronger regulations against BIG PHARMA, and the relaxation of protections for pricing, and especially PATENTS, which protect the drugs against competition for any number of years. Then there arises the public climber for GENERIC DRUGS which WE THE PEOPLE believe will have the very same beneficial effects for a lower price.In the favor of BIG PHARMA, these often-incredible drugs are born out of some of the world’s most INGENIOUS INNOVATION AND IMAGINATION. The minds, brilliant minds, of the scientists who make these drugs happen are rare commodities on this Earth. Months and years are devoted to research testing, trial and error, before a drug is presented to federal regulators for approval with the request for marketing to the needy patients of the world. The scientists in BIG PHARMA work for the cures of the most horrendous diseases (i.e. Alzheimer’s) investing tens of millions of dollars in such research, with no guarantee that investment will be returned, much less make a profit. Politicians and lawyers are determined that they will NOT!When, my fellow Americans, was the last time you were given a drug which saved your life, extended it, or cured a condition, small or large, and without which, your life may have been ended or permanently riddled with pain? Do you take the products of BIG PHARMA, the drugs, any of them on a regular basis, to save your life, or improve the quality of that life, do you? And if you do, are you grateful, thankful, for the men and women who invested tens of thousands of hours and dollars to make that drug and make your life better? No operation of any kind can occur without drugs, none. Whether anesthesia, or some other, no operation would be safe or curative. Instead of chastising BIG PHARMA, perhaps WE THE PEOPLE, the blessed recipients of these drugs, should give thanks to them and hope and pray they continue their absolutely necessary work in research and development (R&D).Let us hope and pray BIG PHARMA continues to invest, recruit the most brilliant scientific minds, motivates the innovators to give their lives in the search for new medicines and cures for the benefit of all humankind, in America and worldwide. Imagine for one minute what America, the world, or even your life would be like if there were no drugs available. That includes the most expensive to the very simple Aspirin, drugs produced from years of costly investment on the one hand, and over the counter on the other.To be sure, on occasion, there is greed, overpricing, and some marketing unfairness which may exist. But, those circumstances are rare, infrequent, can easily be detected, and just recompense delivered. Innovation is incredibly expensive, as is real, creative research and testing, INCREDIBLY EXPENSIVE! If there is not fair payment for those services or a profitable return on investment, those innovative minds which provide us, WE THE PEOPLE, with the drugs that extend, save, or improve the quality of our lives, will spend their innovative lives in other industries. Even scripture tells us that no one builds a tower (develops a new drug) without considering the cost thereof and at the bottom line, that workman (BIG PHARMA and its innovative people) is entitled to the real value, the fair and profitable wage and return, on the products produced.So, my fellow Americans, what would your life be like if you had never had the benefit of a drug produced by BIG PHARMA? Would your life be the same, or would you even have life at this point in time? Governmental controls, pricing, and regulations would do nothing but destroy innovation, drive away the very best scientists, and allow the constant assault of diseases, old and new, to rule the day. Do not let that happen. We must, somehow, find the way to thank and encourage BIG PHARMA on the one hand, and on the other, provide these drugs to those who so desperately need them. I, for one, believe OUR GREAT PHYSICIAN would so have it, our Lord Himself, even more so than the innovators He has given us.

There is a growing segment of our American society, this so-called new woke aspect, which seeks to redefine the meaning/definition of a man, a real man, a Biblical man.The definition of a man, by both Biblical and Societal definitions, was clear, not subject to debate or change. That man, created by the Great G-d Jehovah, the Great I Am, was created in His image and was to be like Him, ordained by God to be the ruler of the planet and to be head of all things. That man was biologically determined, and both sex and gender unchangeable. But, a man today, accordingly to the radical woke element of our society, can both decide and determine his sex/gender, and should he choose a different gender identity, he can do so, no matter any Biblical or biological determination.And, that changing definition is today a work-in-progress. A man today can now be gay, that is homosexual, bi-sexual, transgender, queer (LGBTQ), or some different alternative with which the individual may identify.It is really a tragedy what is happening to God’s first man, His creation. This new definition of man makes him not like HIM the Great Creator, but made in mans image and definition.But, let us review what the Bible says about a real man. He is called upon to be strong, not only in body, physically, but in mind, will, spirit, and soul. The real man is possessive of a God-made body, which is, as described by the Bible:THE TEMPLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.That physical body of a real man should be honored, respected, cared for, and kept in the best physical shape possible by that man, never forgetting that it is the housing of the spirit, The Holy Spirit of the Great Divine Triumvirate.That real man, like our Lord Jesus Christ, may enjoy the fruit of the grape, the wine which Jesus himself drank, if he so chooses, but should never, ever, be drunken. Drinking wine or alcohol to excess is the ruination of the temple of The Holy Spirit. No real man can function mentally or spiritually under the influence of drugs or alcohol. None.The real Biblical man respects his body and his sexuality, and will not be given to adultery, fornication, lascivious living, and always respects, protects, and honors marital intimacy. He is a man with strong fidelity and ultimate respect for:ONE WOMAN. ONE WIFE.The real man constantly strives to learn, educate himself, and in all things, asks for the wisdom for his life and decision making, which only God can give. The request for God given wisdom is constant, continuous, and totally sincere in all things, everything. God honors the sincere request of any real man for HIS wisdom.That real man is strong spiritually. Learn-ed in the Bible, and always learning. studying, sharing, witnessing, and teaching, always growing in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. That is the only way that man can be a real father and train up his children in the way they should go, the way of the Lord.That real Biblical man is a protector of the Christian faith, and to that extent, politically active. He renders unto Caesar the things which rightly belong to Caesar, but demands morality, truth, respect, and honesty in all things political. The real man is a watch dog, a watchman on the wall, making certain that Caesar functions in the way that Caesar should, so that the things of God Almighty are never interfered with.The real man discharges his duties as HEAD OF HOUSEHOLD. That ethical principle has become more unpopular today. Far too many men abandon their responsibilities and any substitute for a real father is never enough, inadequate, and most importantly, not Biblical.If the real man is privileged to have a real family, then that man, husband, father, friend, and teacher spends time, quality time, consistent regular and respectful time, with every member of that household lovingly together as one family unit but also, lovingly and respectfully individually with each member. Only by implementing both, together and individual, can the individuals of that family thrive and grow.The real man is truthful. That Biblical man does not lie. He is known for telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, transparency in all things. Any in the family, even the youngest, can sense hypocrisy, and can even more easily ascertain the lie of any kind. Nothing sabotages the credibility and integrity of a man/father than the lie, nothing.The Biblical man/father never fails to discipline when necessary. That discipline is not physical, but lovingly confrontational. That real man, and the real woman of the household, must be living examples of any rules and regulations which are established for the operation of the family and the household.The real man, and of course the real woman, must spend quiet time, time and prayer, meditation, and thoughtful evaluation and in the study of Scripture. And so much to every family member.The Bible, Old and New Testaments, has so much more to say about a man, a real man. It is difficult, if not impossible, to be a real man without that Biblical knowledge, definition, and encouragement of what a real man is. Today, the challenges of this world make it far too easy to compromise, surrender, and succumb to the definitions, pleasures, and lusts of the modern society. It is our prayer, our revival prayer, that the Biblical man, the man God and our Lord Jesus Christ intended, reemerge, become the shining light for society and for any family, and once again, both do and become the man/person which God intended. That man is always humble before the Lord, ready to admit wrong, apologize, to shed a tear, and to show love and respect to everyone. If a man, a Biblical man, lives and loves like the Bible intended, there is nothing in life any better, no greater force than that of a:REAL BIOLOGICAL AND BIBLICAL MAN.

HE created them:MAN AND WOMAN.MALE AND FEMALE.Those two, and those two only. If the Lord God Almighty intended only two sexes, only two genders, then no man or woman has any right to change sex or to TRANSGENDER FROM ONE TO ANOTHER. To do so is wrong, morally wrong, scripturally wrong, and biologically so, as well.Our world, said one Denise George, “is at war with God.” It is bent on defying His Holiness, and HIS natural selection. This world of ours has absolutely no respect for Gods created order. The concept of gender is re-defined and distorted. And, so often, women are the ones who bear the brunt of the consequences.In many ways, our culture demeans women. It devalues the natural female ability to give birth and to nourish life. It seems to have little respect for a woman’s decision to choose marriage, family, and child-raising rather than career. There is little doubt that the Creator of male and female, man and woman, is not happy.The so-called new gender-identity is everywhere. This nefarious and evil indoctrination infects our students, our businesses, our cultural and entertainment lives, and advocates gender-altering procedures, even surgical mutilation, puberty blockers, and damaging hormone-therapies. All such and more produce terrible biological changes which are, more often than not, irreversible.And now comes to our society the biological male who has, through one of these horrendous procedures, become a so-called transgender woman. This new creation, man-made and not God-made, is now given unsupervised entrance into girls’ bathrooms, locker rooms, and so many other areas which were once biological-female-only. That is just plain wrong, morally wrong, so says the scripture, wrong and with dire consequences to come. Any who dare protest and take public stands against this transgender movement are so often told to be more inclusive, to compromise, to broaden their mindset, and get re-educated, RE-EDUCATED! Christians, real Christians, God-believing Christians, will never do so, I do hope and pray.Now, males identifying as transgender women are allowed to participate in girls’ sports, creating unfair advantage and thankfully, the Trump administration is doing its best to reverse this trend and re-establish once again the real definition of man and woman, male and female.A common definition of WOMAN today is an adult who LIVES AND IDENTIFIES as female, though they may have been a different sex at birth. In other words, no matter biology or birthing, by that definition, anyone can decide their sex and fully identify as such. But, one individual who underwent sex-change, including genital surgery (a biological male) said, after that surgery, that he had learned the truth and that hormones and surgery may alter appearances but nothing changes the immutable fact of your biological sex. If you are born male, if you are born female, no matter what you do, you can never change that gender, never.And more from the Creator Himself. In Genesis 1:27, hear these divine words:IN THE IMAGE OF GOD, HE CREATED THEM, MALE AND FEMALE. HE CREATED THEM.Those words were confirmed by Jesus Christ, who said in Matthew 19:4:HAVE YOU NOT READ THAT HE WHO MADE THEM AT THE BEGINNING MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE?No one or no procedure can change that!What a marvelous thing it is to be a woman. Any God-created woman is very special, unique, and a blessing to this world as wife, mother, family-matriarch, teacher, or for that matter, any woman who is called to career, work and productivity in her own special way. The story of Eve, created by God as a help-need to Adam, is a blessing indeed, and that female creation is so much more than a mere help-need, so much more.The Biden administration, to its shame, referred to expectant mothers as:BIRTHING PEOPLE.One Governor referred to pregnant woman as:INSEMINATED PERSONS.Unbelievable, disrespectful, and wrong, dead wrong. Scripture honors mothers, mothers like Sarah, Hannah, and Mary, among others. There was none greater born of women than Jesus of Nazareth, none. WOMEN ARE SPECIAL!In the 52 years since ROE V. WADE, there have been more than 63 million abortions, known and quantified in the United States. There have been more since the Supreme Court ruling in the case DOBBS V. JACKSON. If not now, than later, these murders of innocent babies will be accounted for.President Donald Trump issued a declaration as follows:“DEFENDING WOMEN FROM GENDER IDEOLOGY EXTREMEISM AND RESTORING BIOLOGICAL TRUTH TO THE FEDERAL GOVENRMENT.”The President stated that the policy of the United States is the recognize TWO SEXES, male and female, and the President went on to define and clarify the definition of female:A PERSON BELONGING AT CONCEPTION TO THE SEX THAT PRODUCES THE LARGE REPRODUCTIVE CELL.That, of course, is a biological definition, but one necessary in this tragic culture of ours.Said Denise George, writing for the wonderful magazine DECISION:“GOD HAS INSTILLED WITHIN HIS FEMALE CREATION THE STRENGTH AND WISDOM OF DEBORAH, THE COURAGE AND DETERMEINATION OF ESTHER, THE FAITHFULLYNESS AND PERSERVERENCE OF RUTH, AND THE ENTRUEPREUSNIEUAL AND SUPPORTIVE-PROWESS OF LYDIA.”God indeed has done that and more.We who are Christian and male solute women, real women, honor and respect them, and rejoice that the Great God Almighty, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, has seen fit to create male and female, and we honor our God for so-doing.

So say the Founding Fathers of this great country in 1776, the Creator of all and all things endowed every human being so born with unalienable rights. Those rights, God-given, could not be changed or eliminated in any way by mankind. They were part of the DNA, the genetic inheritance of every man and woman at birth and through all of life. Those unalienable rights were the cornerstone of the new nation, that which made America the shining light on the hill, an example to all mankind and all nations, making America both different and better, a model of hope and understanding for all.LIFE. The Declaration of Independence prioritized life, that all should live life to the fullest. The Great Creator, God the Father, fully agreed. The Son of that Father was the epitome of that life. Even as the Founding Fathers were concerned with life here, and the natural laws which protected that life, then came a higher law, the highest moral law, in the person of Jesus Christ. He told us that whoever finds Him, finds life, real life, a life which no natural law can give. He told us that He was the Bread of Life, that partaking of the Bread and Blood would transform any human life and bring it to the next level.The Founding Fathers took their inspiration for life, at least to some extent, from Him. But the life promised by Jesus Christ was not only for here and now, but for eternity:ETERNAL LIFE.To be sure, life here should be an abundant life, so He said, “And the Christ of Glory, Jesus of Nazareth, was concerned that our joy might be full, again, here and hereafter.” The resurrection promised us that new life, a saving proposition which formed the belief of many of the Founding Fathers. There was, said to Christ, the BOOK OF LIFE in which the name of all who believe would be written. That was the written indication of the guarantee of life eternal. Natural law and all that was envisioned by the Founding Fathers was taken to the next level, the highest possible moral level, by Jesus Christ. What a blessing to have a life abundant here, but much more importantly, to firmly and confidently expect life eternal THERE, and with Him.LIBERTY/FREEDOM. The great revolutionary Patrick Henry said:“GIVE ME LIBERTY OR GIVE ME DEATH.”For him, not to live free was worse than death. To live forever under British rule and yoke was intolerable, as bad or even worse than death. No matter the cost, all colonists, all Americans, had to live free no matter what. But there was a higher freedom. Then came the Son, the only one who can really set anyone FREE. No human being could live to the fullest without absolute freedom of:CHOICETHOUGHTACTIONBELIEFThey, all of them, were part of the unalienable rights of the Declaration of IndependenceNo man or woman could live without the Truth. But, with the higher law, the Christ of Glory promised all that HE was the way, and the TRUTH, and the life. He not only brought joy through salvation, here and now, but freedom, here and eternally, from all transgressions and sin. His spirit, the Holy Spirit, came to strengthen, admonish, and encourage us as we lived and walked with Him. Real freedom, the only liberty, which was total and complete, was only found in the:SAVING GRACE OF JESUS CHRIST.HAPPINESS. There was the necessity for full life, there was the necessity for liberty, and there was the necessity for every human being to engage for his or her life in the:PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS.Happiness as that individual defined it. That was the unalienable right of every human being. But then came the higher law, through the Holy Person.Then came the One who brought real joy, real happiness, and showed the way to life abundant here, and with the promise of even more hereafter. This man, our Lord, was so determined to teach us the meaning of happiness and life abundant that He gave His life for that purpose. He admonished us to be cheerful, happy, we were to have fun, and joy, the very best of this life, knowing that the ultimate joy, the higher law, that which was above the natural law, was yet to be fulfilled, but would be so for all eternity. Ultimate joy and happiness would only be accomplished as we live with Him eternally. Some, perhaps many of the Founding Fathers, believed this.We who believe in our Lord Jesus Christ and His higher laws of life, liberty, and happiness can well sing the song HAPPY AM I, JESUS LOVES ME. We can also sing I AM HAPPY IN THE SERVICE OF THE KING because we are in that service and it does provide ultimate fulfillment and happiness.We then should be extremely grateful, thankful, to those revolutionaries, those Founding Fathers, who gave us the great Declaration of Independence and, the Constitution of 1787, our Founding Documents, and the freedoms, the unalienable rights, which they granted to colonists then, and to all of us Americans here and now. Thank you, all 56 of those great men who gave us the Declaration of Independence.We, their heirs and successors, have received and lived the fruits of those blessings and we owe them the highest debt of human gratitude. But there is more, and we have that. There are laws and rights higher than the natural laws of 1776. There is life, there is liberty, and there is happiness and joy, all from HIM and we who believe in Him can partake of the very best here and now, this life, but with far greater expectation of what is to come in the next life.WITH HIM!

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.What a great way to address the King of England, who obviously disagreed. Unfortunately, this strong assertion of a natural right left out two things. First, all men and all women are created equal. Secondly, the Founding Fathers, brilliant as they were, conveniently seemed to forget the fact that slavery, the enslavement of Black men and women, existed in the colonies, and those men and women were surely not equal. But the target, the enemy was the King, and these men, 56 of them from 13 different colonies, were determined to live free and sever all ties with Great Britain.At the beginning of the Declaration of Independence, a masterful political document constructed by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, the 56 Founding Fathers made this statement:WE HOLD THESE TRUTHS TO BE SELF-EVIDENT, THAT ALL MEN ARECREATED EQUAL, THAT THEY ARE ENDOWED BY THEIR CREATOR WITH CERTAIN INALIENABLE RIGHTS, THAT AMONG THESE ARE LIFE, LIBERTY, AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS.These 56 men were determined to confront the King of England with the fact that there were UNALIENABLE RIGHTS for all mankind, ignored by Great Britain, but those rights were the natural rights which were given by God, the Founders called Him the Creator, and those unalienable rights could not be changed, reduced, or eliminated in any way. Those rights were part of the birthing process of all men and all women. They are not derived from or given from government, but, one could say, they were part of the DNA of every human being. They were determined, these 56 men, that the 13 colonies and all who came thereafter would enjoy those rights and privileges including, and among others, Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.ALL should be able to live life as they choose, accumulate their fortunes, and enjoy the fruits of their labors and earnings, without oppressive taxation or forfeiture of property or monies. ALL should be entitled to everything which LIBERTY entails, including all the rights and freedoms which were later (1787) embodied in the Constitution of the United States, that great document of 1789. ALL are entitled to the Pursuit of Happiness, however that individual defines happiness, and all such rights and privileges are unconditional with one exception. That is, that those rights can not turn from freedoms to mere licenses with respect to behavior and can not diminish or conflict the rights of others. No one has rights superior to those of anyone else.Without the freedoms of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, there can be no freedom of religion (The First Amendment). Those freedoms are essential to the expression, practice, and belief of true religion. And, of course, they are essential, foundational, to the great First Amendment rights of freedom of speech, freedom of press, freedom of petition, and freedom of assembly, more basic rights, birthing rights and never conveyed or instituted by government itself.11 years later, in 1787, these 56 Founders and their successors, the authors of the Declaration of Independence, met once again in Philadelphia, and in 1787 began the drafting of the Constitution of the United States which was issued as a formal document in 1789. The broad and incredible language of the Constitution is illuminated by the principles set forth in the Declaration. The seminal passage in the Declaration is so very important:WE HOLD THESE TRUTHS TO BE SELF-EVIDENT.The Declaration of these truths and these rights came from the long tradition of natural law, which holds that there is a “higher law” of right and wrong from which human law should be derived. Therefore, government, any government, would be instituted with a primary purpose to SECURE THOSE RIGHTS, those natural rights, those unalienable rights, those self-evident rights, chief of which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.How unfortunate today that so many of those rights, privileges, and truths, are taken for granted, assumed, unappreciated. Perhaps they never will be fully understood or appreciated until such time as they are taken away. Those 56 men, those authors of the DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, told the 13 colonies and the world at large at the end of the document this very sacred oath:AND FOR THE SUPPORT OF THIS DECLARATION, WITH A FIRM RELIANCE ONTHE PROTECTION OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE, WE MUTUALY PLEDGE TO EACH OTHER OUR LIVES, OUR FORTUNES, AND OUR SACRED HONOR.These 56 men were so determined to effectuate the freedom of the colonies, the freedoms in which they believed for them and all mankind, the freedom from Great Britain and the freedom among many others to freely pursue life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. They pledged their lives for that purpose. They were willing to die, if necessary, to achieve these goals. They were willing to give up everything, their fortunes, their property, anything and everything if necessary. And most importantly, perhaps, as a moment of honor, they would never deviate in any way from this FREEDOM MISSION. That was real patriotism. How wonderful it would be if that were, once again, to be the pledge, the oath, the statement of the sacred honor of close to 400 million Americans, the privileged people who live in and enjoy the fruits and blessings of this great country. The day may come, the day may be near, when we who love freedom will need indeed to give our lives, our fortunes, and all we have for the freedoms we so richly enjoy.Thank you, America, and God Bless America!

FREEDOM!We are, America is, the home, the land of the:BRAVE AND THE FREE.We are lovers of freedom. It is, you could say, in our genes. We inherited that love of freedom from those who founded our great country, fought against the oppressors more than two centuries ago and built the foundation for the FREEDOMS we now enjoy today. Give us, we say with that great statesman and our forefather Patrick Henry, give us that LIBERTY or if that is taken away, give us death for there is no real life without freedom.For us, America is in fact exceptional no matter the indifferent attitude of Barack Hussein Obama who thinks that America is no more exceptional than any other country! But all of America and we the people are exceptional in so many ways, including our way of life and our lifestyle. Everything is okay down to the last sentence and raise and champion our great flag, and wear the American flag pin proudly, especially in the world of academia which thinks the American flag is a symbol for racism and xenophobia rather than exceptionalism.And now, we should take quality time to honor the founding documents which make us great, namely our Constitution, our Bill of Rights and our Declaration of Independence. We should honor these incredible documents by reading them, studying their content, understanding the values therein and resolving as the authors of these documents did, and honor our forefathers who provided them for us recommitting to them and the world at large that we the people will protect and preserve the freedoms contained therein, even to the laying down of our lives.In this day, there are so many who would CHANGE what we have, or even more radically so, eliminate it. There seems to be an ever-growing number of those in our very own country with little or no respect for our great founding documents, our freedoms, the principles by which we have lived and built THE GREAT SOCIETY, and especially what America has been, our glorious history. They the un-Americans wish to eliminate or erode so many of our freedoms and move this great country toward socialism. THEY are the enemy inside and THEY must be stopped. We the people, true Constitutional Americans energized and emboldened by our founding documents and founding fathers must make certain we do what is right for our great country, and as true patriots, protect and defend our freedoms as never before. We should do everything humanly possible to prevent socialism of any kind in thought or deed.We should remember the words of that great statesman, a founding father himself, Benjamin Franklin, who said, when asked, that he and his fellow revolutionaries have given us, Americans then and now, a REPUBLIC. Not a Democracy, but a Republic. Franklin went on to warn us then and now that this Republic was FRAGILE, and needed at all times to be protected with vigilance, vigor and valor. That this Republic of the combined United States could never be taken for granted. Nor could any citizen assume it would go on, and on. For freedom, for Franklin and the fathers, was a precious right that could only be sustained by watchful, involved and proactive citizens. We who would live in this free country and enjoy its immense freedoms must at all times be:WATCHMEN AND WOMEN ON THE WALLSNot talk, debate or discussion, but ACTION, actively working to protect our freedoms and our way of life, willing to die in the fray if necessary. Would you be willing to die, to lay all on the altar in the cause of freedom? What would you do if ISIS or jihadists attacked America and threatened harm to your family and you? What would you do? Our forefathers never gave the matter a second thought. They, in Second Amendment fashion, took up arms to defend their country, their freedoms and their family. Would you?In fact, we AMERICANS should be so proud of our country, and our freedoms, that we as a nation are ready at all times to help others in the cause of freedom. We gave the lives of millions of young American men and women to others in the cause of freedom. Witness World War II. One Robert Whiting, an elderly gentleman 83 years young arrived in Paris by airplane. At French customs, it took him several minutes to locate his passport. The Customs Officer with sarcasm and disdain asked Mr. Whiting:“You have been to France before, Monsieur?”Mr. Whiting answered, yes he had and the smart aleck French official replied pompously:“Then you should know enough to have your passport ready!”Mr. Whiting then stared this official in the eye and said the following:“The last time I was here I didn’t have to show my passport.”To which the French Customs Official replied:“Impossible! Americans always have to show passports on arrival in France!”Mr. Whiting gave this arrogant Frenchman a long hard look and he proudly stated:“Well, when I came ashore at Omaha Beach on D-Day in 1944 to help liberate this country, I couldn’t find a single Frenchman to show a passport to!”You could have heard a pin drop. God bless America and God bless Mr. Whiting.And yet another instance of a proud American at work. When in England at a fairly large conference, Secretary of State Colin Powell was asked by the Arch Bishop of Canterbury if America’s plans for Iraq were simply a rationalization for empire building or LAND-GRABBING by George Bush as American soldiers went to war. Powell simply answered by saying:“Over the years, the United States has sent many of its fine young men and women into great peril to fight for FREEDOM beyond our borders. The only amount of land we have ever asked for in return is enough to bury those who did not return.”All attending that conference were deadly silent. Well said, Mr. Powell, well said as a proud American.There was once a conference in France when a number of international engineers were taking part, including French and American. One of the French engineers said the following:“Have you heard the latest dumb stunt Bush has done? He has sent an aircraft carrier to Indonesia to help the tsunami victims. What does he intend to do, bomb them?”Those in attendance snickered and jeered. That is, until an engineer from the Boeing company in America stood up and proudly stated:“Our aircraft carriers have three hospitals on board that can treat several hundred people. They are nuclear powered and can supply emergency electrical power to shore facilities. They have three cafeterias with the capacity to feed 3,000 people three meals a day. They can produce several thousand gallons of fresh water from sea water each day. They carry half a dozen helicopters for use in transporting victims and the injured to and from their flight deck. We have eleven such aircraft carriers. How many does France have?”You could have heard a pin drop.And again, a U.S. Naval Admiral was attending a naval conference that included admirals from the united states, England, Canada, Australia and France. Every one in attendance was conversing in English. Suddenly a French Admiral complained the Europeans learn many languages but Americans learn only English. This French Admiral arrogantly and pompously said:“Why is that we always have to speak English in these conferences rather than speaking French?”The American United States Naval Admiral stood up proudly and replied:“Maybe it is because the Brits, Canadians, Aussies and Americans arranged it so that you would not have to speak German!”The room was deadly silent.So, whether here at home or anywhere abroad, anywhere in the world, it is our privilege, our duty, our passion to protect FREEDOM at every turn. That freedom means for us and ALL IN THE WORLD the fundamental rights, the God-given rights to:LIFELIBERTYTHE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESSIt is our right to live life free, with maximum freedom. It is our right to live and champion liberty everywhere. And, it is our right to pursue happiness as we define that, as free individuals, to pursue life legally and lovingly as WE choose. May it always be so, but it only can be if we are willing to do anything possible to protect those freedoms. ANYTHING! Are you?So now, this Independence week, culminating in the great day July 4, Independence Day, we should honor America, this great country in which we are privileged to live. We should honor all things American and we should honor our flag as a symbol of who we are and what we believe. There are those who would desecrate or cause to be irrelevant the great stars and stripes. There was the action of the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) which banned the wearing of the American flag as a lapel pin or otherwise in clothing because the flag in their view was controversial and represented the causes of certain conservatives. How tragic, how ridiculous, how un-American the actions of the American Broadcasting Company. There are times when our President, our Congress, our leading citizens simply do not wear or honor the flag or any other symbol of all great things American. We the people should find all such conduct unacceptable and we should protest. The greatest form of protest is to protect, preserve and defend our freedoms and the symbol of those freedoms, the great American flag, the perfect symbol of our independence and the finest possible expression of freedom on the great day July 4, Independence Day. Do just that loudly and proudly my fellow citizens.Think carefully, my fellow Americans, about the precious freedoms granted by your Constitution and YOUR Bill of Rights. Remember that you are guaranteed the right to freedom of religion, to worship and practice religion as you please. You are guaranteed the right to free speech, to speak as you wish at anytime, anywhere, with any words. You are guaranteed the right to freely assemble, to petition, to print in press or on the Internet. YOU ARE GUARANTEED THOSE RIGHTS! You are guaranteed the right to bear arms, to purchase, own and use them for pleasure or in self-defense. You are guaranteed the right against governmental illegal search and sei

In the image of God, He created them: male and female. He created them.Women and men were created by the Great God Jehovah in HIS image and there were simply two of us, two sexes:MALE AND FEMALEMAN AND WOMANNo more. And we were like Him, created in His IMAGE. So much for the issue of gender identity. And so much for LGBTQIA+. There was at the BEGINNING a man and a woman and no more and that is the way it is now.Such a creation was confirmed by our Lord Jesus Christ who said in the book of Matthew:“HAVE YOU NOT READ THAT HE WHO MADE THEM AT THE BEGINNING MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE.”So, my fellow Christians and fellow Americans, there were male and female at the beginning of creation and there were male and female only as confirmed by Jesus Christ. So much for gender identity.Women are special, every bit as much as any man. Examine the lives of Sarah, Hannah, and Mary in scripture, fantastic, exemplary women in every sense and more. There was Deborah, a woman of incredible strength and wisdom. There was Esther, full of determination and as brave as any woman could be, straight and honest. And then there was Ruth, a woman with incredible endurance and perseverance. And then there was Lydia, entrepreneurial and aggressive, as competent as any man. If you are a woman, created by God to be a woman, and never to even think about the ridiculous subject of transgender you should be proud, grateful, and live the life of the woman as God intended and make the world a better place. If you are a woman, you were created by God to be special, to live a life full exemplary and extraordinary and energetically and gratefully and you should know that we men salute you, honor you, and respect you.Our President Donald Trump agrees. He now goes about the task of defending women from Gender Ideology and in his words:“RESTORING BIBLICAL TRUTH TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND FOR ALL AMERICANS.”President Trump echoes Genesis 1:27 and Matthew 19:4 and averse that the policy of the United States of America will now be:“TO RECOGNIZE TWO SEXES, MALE AND FEMALE.”And no more. Trump further states that FEMALE means “a personal belonging at conception to the sex that produces the large reproductive cell.” So that, one of the very highest purposes in life is the reproduction of another human being by a female and every woman who becomes mother should understand that the birth of another male or female is the highest possible calling she could have so says the Great God Almighty.But it seems, sadly, that our culture demeans women and seems to devalue their ability to birth and nourish life. It discredits the decision of a woman to choose family values and birth and raise children of their own. It fosters gender identity in so many ways, indoctrinates the young and students especially, affirms and celebrates gender-altering procedures such as surgical mutilation, puberty blockers, and damaging hormone-blocking therapies. It honors biological males who have tried to transition to a female identity and it champions their right now as so-called transgendered females to enter into girl’s bathrooms, locker rooms and other traditionally female-only areas. It champions the right of these transgender men to participate in girls sports and it seeks to redefine the definition of a WOMAN in every way possible. All of that is wrong, absolutely wrong, immoral, unscriptural, and the whole new world of gender identity and transgenderism if not defeated will radically change if not destroy America itself. We should be grateful for the aggressive STAND of President Trump who, at least for the next four years, will make certain that gender identity will recognize two sexes, and only a biological male and female as both the world of scripture and biology so indicate.Listen to the words of one male who underwent hormone therapy and sex-change genital surgery. This man lived as a woman for eight years, but he finally faced the truth and testified:“HORMONES AND SURGERY MAY ALTER APPEARNANCES, BUT NOTHING CHANGES THE IMMUTABLE FACT OF YOUR SEX.”NOTHING!There is no higher calling than to be a woman, a real woman. That real woman who decides to become life, and mother, and raise a child in the nurture and admonition of the Lord should have the deepest respect from other women and all men, and especially a husband and father. Each year, we celebrate Mother’s Day. Next year, we should really, really celebrate mothers’ day, honor the women who are mother’s and all women with an understanding, respect, admiration and love as never before. You, the female created by God Almighty are special, to a man, a child, a family, and to all. You are one of two, only two:MALE AND FEMALE.

White smoke graced the sky over the Vatican. The catholic faithful and the world then knew that the successor to the deceased Pope Francis had been elected by the conclave of cardinals. The new pope was none other than:ROBERT PREVOST, 69 YEARS OF AGE.There was nothing remarkable or new about the election of this pope as there had been several hundred before him, except for one thing. Robert Prevost was an AMERICAN and consequently became the very first American pope in the history of the catholic church. That was a surprise to some, even shocking to others.Robert Prevost was from Chicago, Illinois. He grew up a baseball fan and his team was the Chicago White Sox. I wonder what he thinks of them these days, a sad sack of a baseball franchise, losers year after year. Prevost rose through the hierarchy of the church as priest, bishop, cardinal, special advisor to Pope Francis, and gained notoriety among the cardinals of the church throughout the world because of his close relationship with Pope Francis.Now, the world and the catholic faithful wonder what this man really believes, how he thinks, what his social and political values are, and whether or not he will continue the somewhat progressive policies and decision making of Francis or lead the church in a different direction. Conservative cardinals had called for the election of the new pope in the mold of John Paul II, a bold conservative pope, returning the catholic church to its roots, heritage, tradition, but those cardinals were very much in the minority. They indicated to the conclave of cardinals that they strongly felt:“We desperately need a man of the spirit.”That plea, however, fell on deaf ears.One cardinal eloquently stated that our culture (American) and the world at large is one SICK AT HEART. We are, said he:DIVORCED FROM THE MYSTERIOUS AND THE SACRED.The real power of the church, convincingly spiritual in nature, has been eroded, resulting in a church fragmented, attendance at mass down and the rituals and traditions in a state somewhat of disrespect and in some sense unnecessary. All of thatsuch vocal cardinals hoped would change with the election of the new pope, RobertPrevost, who will be known to the world as:POPE LEO XIVAnd more from the conservative element in the conclave of cardinals. Said one:“The last thing we need is for spirituality to be updated, modernized, maderelevant to our alienated souls.”Which of course means that the church needs to return to roots and not re-modernize.The roman catholic church and the long line of popes harken back in a line to Peter, aGalilean fisherman, who became a passionate disciple of our Lord Jesus Christ who, inPeter’s conversion, told him that he would no longer fish for fish but that he wouldbecome a:FISHER OF MEN,And, Jesus said, that upon this rock I will build my church. It seems as though thissmall, minority group of cardinals was hoping and praying that the new pope wouldhave as a burning priority the call to all men that they, like Peter, would becomefishers of men, strong believers in the saving grace of Jesus Christ, the real head of thechurch, and the son of the Living God. Now, it is up to Pope Leo XIV to show the worldwhether that will be so.The first words of this new pope were encouraging. They were as follows:“PEACE BE WITH YOU! DEAREST BROTHERS AND SISTERS, THIS WAS THEFIRST GREETING OF THE RISEN CHRIST, THE GOOD SHEPHERD WHO GAVE HISLIFE FOR THE FLOCK OF GOD. I, TOO, WOULD LIKE THIS GREETING OF PEACE TOENTER YOUR HEARTS, TO REACH YOUR FAMILIES AND ALL PEOPLE, WHEHEVERTHEY ARE.”This new pope wants all humankind to believe in the:RISEN CHRISTAmen.Vatican experts however have said that Cardinal Prevost had very similar values toFrancis, having been made a cardinal by Pope Francis. Those priorities were thechampioning of the poor and more which others have said indicate a socialistic form ofbelief and frame of mind. Time will tell.President Trump congratulated Robert Prevost and hoped to meet the new pope, whileJD Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, also congratulated Leo XIV andoffered his prayers that God would bless him in his important work.Vatican experts have compared Pope Leo XIV’s championing of the poor and themigrants, especially those who made their way to America illegally or not, to that ofPope Francis. Said one Vatican expert:“He’s (Robert Prevost) right out of Francis’ playbook.”If so, that will come as a disappointment to the conservative element in the catholicchurch and in the conclave of cardinals. It is very probable that Pope Leo XIV willfollow very much in the footsteps of Pope Francis.Vatican experts have also theorized that the church has long hesitated to name anAmerican pope because of the United States’ status as a global superpower. They fearthe concentration of power. However, they do believe that Pope Leo XIV will have aglobal perspective and tend to the needs of the global church.Time will tell. The catholic church faces some pressing issues including migration,wars, climate change, inclusion of LGBTQ Catholics, women in church leadership, andthe Trump presidency which Pope Leo XIV eschews and has shown disagreement andeven disrespect for President Trump. He made a somewhat encouraging statementabout the western media as follows:“Extraordinarily effected in fostering within the general public enormoussympathy for beliefs and practices that are at odds with the gospel.”Leo XIV also said that he opposes ordaining women which will be disappointing tomore modern catholic elements.The bottom line of course, especially to evangelical and born-again Christians, is thatthe head of the church, the real church, is none other than:JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF.Everything that matters about Christianity comes from Him and is about Him,including the salvation process. Conservative Catholics want the church (and the newpope) to return to conservative principles, the real roots of the church, and to becomea spiritual force and not a political one. Today, say church experts, everything turnspolitical or becomes involved, and in the case of the catholic church, the real missionbecomes watered down. We should hope that this new pope will once again emphasizeand reprioritize the most essential belief in all of Christendom, and the church ofJesus Christ, that HE is the cornerstone, the rock, the central force in all ofChristendom.

In 1971, Congress declared Memorial Day a national holiday to be celebrated on the last Monday in May, echoing the words and sentiments of the proclamation of General John A. Logan of the grand Army of the Republic in 1868 who stated:“Memorial Day is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion (the Civil War) and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village and hamlet, church yard in the land.”So it is that the primary purpose of Memorial Day is to strew with flowers literally and figuratively the graves and memories of America’s daring defenders. They the fallen died for freedom, liberty, for America, for us, for YOU AND ME. We were asked to remember those who died in the great American Civil War, but the day to remember now incorporates all who have given lives in defense of our country. Far too many wars, my fellow Americans, and far too many fallen defenders by the millions who believed in America, and in its fundamental principles of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for all mankind. How grateful we should be.We are descendants or contemporaries of patriots, men and women who cherish freedom and were willing to fight and die to defend it if necessary. These warriors lived by the words of Patrick Henry who said:GIVE ME LIBERTY OR GIVE ME DEATH.Our nation was formed in the fight for freedom for there was no life worthwhile without it. There came our great Constitution and our incredible BILL OF RIGHTS, the rights and freedom amendments which are the finest in the history of mankind. But no matter the origin, it seems as though in so many ways the passion for freedom may have been lost today as they once had it. We seem to take for granted what they died for. And the courage they the fallen had seems lost today in so many ways and the change in our country, produces in so many ways an America in decline, at least politically, philosophically and certainly passionately. Our ancestors fought for the Constitution, for the Bill of Rights and the freedoms those now 27 Amendments allow us. They were ready to die for them, but we the current people allow them to be watered down, interpreted away and often ignored without the fight or conviction to protect and defend them. Perhaps the freedoms of Patrick Henry are giving way to a slow but sure death. Perhaps we have failed to meet the challenge of Ben Franklin who told us that the Republic they created for us was a marvelous way of government IF we could keep it. I wonder if we can.So, in the midst of barbeques and baseball, it is so healthy to look back andremember. Remember a George Washington, a general, a leader, a President, awarrior, a patriot. Or a Paul Revere who rode the land warning that the enemy wascoming, sounding the alarm. It seems as though we need more Paul Reveres, warningus that enemies to our Constitution and way of life are coming, and in fact are HERE.We the people should be ever mindful of the threats and sound the alarm as he did,like those who energized our country once before, THE BOSTON TEA PARTYPATRIOTS and the revolution their courageous acts energized and inspired. They tooka stand against taxes and so must we. Ours continue to rise, and rise to the point ofconfiscation and nothing but nothing destroys freedom like taxes. President JohnAdams reminded us that the two killers of liberty are slavery and debt. The debt ofconfiscatory taxation strangles freedom and that is happening at an incredibly rapidpace today. Shame on us.It is hard for us to think back and remember the early days in America when slavery,slavery was a way of life in America to our great shame and embarrassment. We themoderns find that inconceivable, and the practice of slavery of any kind abhorrent, dowe not? Right-thinking men and women fought and fell to rid America of the scourgeof slavery, God bless them.And to rid the world of despots like Hitler, evil to the core, Mussolini and those who inwar would destroy the freedom and liberty of all. God bless them.There can hardly be a family anywhere in America which has not laid a son ordaughter on the altar of freedom. So many fought and fell, lives given willingly for usin war after war. And there were those who supported those who fought. We honorthem. Many of our warriors and defenders came home hurt and damaged in body ormind perhaps for a lifetime. On Memorial Day, we honor these veterans of wars, theseHEROES, these wounded warriors who gave us our freedom:WE OWE THEM!A debt we can never repay. To honor them is the least we can do, to thank them as weremember and as we encounter those in our military who follow after them. Weshould help and support them. They lived and died for what they believed. WheneverI encounter a member of our military, I thank them for what they did and what they dofor our great country, for me, and for you, and for my friends and loved ones and allAmericans whether I know them or not. But I really do know them for I know what isin their hearts and minds and I know they love America as much as I do. I will salutethem as a sign of respect. I wish them to know that I will always be grateful foreverything they do for me and the America I love. Perhaps YOU should do the same,not on one Memorial Day, but all days. They the heroes and defenders are the verybest of us.God bless them.Memorial Day is always celebrated at Arlington National Cemetery, a very specialplace, a burial site for some of America’s bravest. At 3 PM on that Monday, a veryspecial ceremony occurs and each grave is decorated with a small American flag. Thehighlight of the celebration is a speech in honor of these brave men and women fromthe President or Vice President of the United States honoring their contributions toAmerica and laying a wreath at the tomb of The Unknown Soldier. That tombrepresents tens of thousands of other unknown soldiers who gave their lives in serviceto our country, but in death never got the recognition and respect they so justlydeserved. Do remember them, my fellow Americans, do remember them as well onMemorial Day as there may be no one else, no loved one, no friend or family to do so.And as you do remember these American heroes, thank our God, the God who blessesAmerica for all those who gave so much for us. They allowed us to be parents, to haveand enjoy family, they allowed us to be workers and fully participate in the greatopportunities America offers. THEY allowed us to be all that we can be because oursoldiers, they were determined to be all they could be. Have a special place in yourheart all week for any loved one, family or friend of yours who should beMEMORIALIZED AND REMEMBERED this day and always.And, as we pay tribute and remember, let us become better citizens of this greatcountry, ready more than ever to preserve, protect and defend all it stands for, all ofour blessed and precious freedoms which exist like there are nowhere else in theworld. Let us stand for what is right with actions, protests, town meetings, marches,debate, fact and truth at work, counteracting government spin and disinformation.Let us stand tall for the right, for truth, for all things moral and valuable. Let usresolve, we the people, we who own and control this country to do our job as citizensfar better. And remember to cherish and exercise the greatest privilege which everyAmerican has. That is:THE VOTEThere is no more powerful weapon than the vote of the American citizen. It is the mostprecious Constitutional right we have and for which our forefathers fought and died.Let us make certain that we vote for those to represent us who so passionately believein these very special freedoms as we do, and they the fallen did. It is only then, whenwe do our part, day in and day out, that we would have the right to say with convictionand passion as our forefathers did:GOD BLESS AMERICAFor that can not happen unless we the people do what is right, remembering whomand what went before and committing with conviction to follow in their footsteps.These men and women died for GOD AND COUNTRY and for you and me in the neverendingfight to protect and preserve:FREEDOMMemorialize their memories Memorial Day and every day!God bless America and God bless you.

Our young, thank God, are weary of woke and drugs and all the modern day, post-truth generation addictions and alternatives. Many turn to religion, so surveys say. Many of them, as many as 4 out of 5, may in their exploration of religion, explore and encounter the only real answer to life:OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST.That man, the Nazarene, the Galilean, the carpenter, the son of the Living God, is ONE OF A KIND, a savior, redeemer, far more powerful than the strongest drug on earth. The young, the so-called Gen Z and Millennials will discover that if they really search with all their hearts.Christianity, real Christianity is not easy, not at all. It requires total commitment. There is nothing halfway or partial about becoming a real Christian. Real Christianity only occurs when one is truly BORN AGAIN.That means the recognition of SIN, something eschewed, mocked by present day society and thinking, but the requirement for biblical salvation, the recognition and confession of sin in a life and consequently, the status of the sinner in need of redemption. That is a testimony, a way of life, an explanation of real Christianity which the young in their spiritual searching must hear, and must hear clearly, directly, and without compromise or qualification. These are His words, not mine or yours:ALL HAVE SINNED AND COME SHORT OF THE GLORY OF GOD.That is what Gen Z needs to hear. If, says Jesus Christ, you wish to follow me, then I require that you:LAY YOUR ALL ON THE ALTAR.Not some, not something of you, nothing partial, but:ALLeverything you have and are. That is one hard message, difficult to understand in one sense, but more so, difficult to accept as a precondition of conversion and redemption. The younger generation will find out that becoming a real Chrisitan, A REAL CHRISTIAN, is not easy, not at all. They will hear more words from the master:TAKE UP MY CROSS, YOUR CROSS, AND FOLLOW ME.Be ready for the onslaughts of humankind. Be ready for a brand new, aggressive, angry, and attacking confrontation, and a brand new, aggressive:RIDICULEREJECTIONREFUSALA shunning in every way. And more. You should be ready to SELL ALL YOU HAVE if your faith journey so requires. That surely does not sound very appealing, but the willingness is a fundamental part of the conversion process.In fact, one should be ready to forsake all, to leave as Jesus said, father and mother, brother and sister, and follow me, never looking back. If that becomes necessary, if that is part of your calling, then comes the ultimate Christian challenge:YOU ARE EITHER WITH ME (THE CHRIST) OR AGAINST ME.There is no in between, no gray area, all or nothing. You can not serve two masters. If, says the Lord, you want me in your life, then it is:ALL OR NOTHING.All of this is the price, the very high price of discipleship, of partnership with Jesus Christ. These are not suggestions or options. These are commands, uncompromising commands. These are marching orders from the captain of our faith. These are hard requirements, non-negotiable, and require a whole heart and head understanding and commitment.If one is not willing to accept these spiritual terms and conditions, don’t get involved. Keep looking. But know that you will never find anything better or even equal to this exciting, redeeming relationship with the Son of the Living God. Nothing comes close to such an encounter, nothing.Come to Him, young generation, but don’t add anything to the spiritual contract. And don’t subtract anything from the spiritual demands. This contract is a matter of all or nothing, your all or nothing. The Christ of glory wants no part of you, but only all of you. That is the message that Gen Z and millennials must hear. Those are Jesus’ words and His uncompromising but lifesaving message. To accept is to enter into a relationship which will in fact produce peace, and joy, and life abundant like any could ever imagine. That new life is full of power, energy, confidence, and assurance, it is characterized by faith, and hope, and most importantly by:LOVE.It is exactly what the young seek and I do hope and pray as I am sure you do, that they will find it, and find:HIM.For no where in this world is there anyone or anything like HIM. Nothing and no one. That is what the world hungers for. That message is missing in so many places and in so many pulpits today, which is the main reason why RELIGION without HIM at the center can never satisfy, never.HE and only HE can change a life. I pray the young who seek will find:HIM.

In our world, love rules.It is the highest attribute, with fundamental characteristics of all humankind.Perhaps the finest expression of love is:MOTHER LOVEThe definition of mother, a real mother is simply put:LOVEA mother’s love is the ultimate human love.It is said that THE HAND THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE RULES THE WORLD. Perhaps so because so much of a child is formed in the early years by mother. One is in life so much of what a mother was. A real mother is part of the life of a child forever. What we learn at mother’s knee is so often what we are. Her values become ours. We are HER.The egg of a woman is the source of all life, the fundamental stuff of the universe and when fertilized by the sperm of the male:LIFEThe most precious thing of all happens. The egg and the sperm unite and become one, but it is:GODwho gives life. At that very moment of conception, the life of a HUMAN BEING begins.That life is not a mere collection of cells as one biologist so flippantly said, but in reality, the first moments of the life of a human being, a child on the grow in the womb. That fertilized egg is a BABY. So much for abortion, which is nothing more than murder of that baby at any stage in the womb.And so the mother begins mothering, and the baby grows. The enriched womb of the mother nourishes and cherishes the baby, sensitive to every need. The morning sickness is a small price to pay for the life within. Moods and diets may change as the womb grows large and beautiful. It is really wondrous to behold the change of mother in the making with that womb at work.It is marvelous indeed to touch the nine month home of that child. The ear presses down, hoping to hear any sound from the baby. Touching, hearing, kissing, and sensing life at work are really more important than any ultrasound. God at work through Mother Nature creating life is wondrous, even miraculous.Some today are actually privileged to see the baby born. Out of the womb comes a bundle of joy, of life and yet another miracle happens. The pain of childbirth is so well worth the end result. Perhaps it is the most loving moment, the ultimate loving moment when brand new baby lays firm on mother’s breasts. Having seen that, how I wonder could any potential mother abort, kill her very own child? To do so is to abort a miracle.Early on, it is the still, small voice of the mother which is perhaps the greatest teacher in life. We the infants hear that voice and remember what the voice of our mother sounds like and says for a lifetime. We do so consciously and perhaps even more importantly subconsciously. That loving voice in many ways is angelic, the early words of love. They come with touch, and they are spiritual, psychological, character forming and building. The love of a mother is every bit as important as food itself. So, in a sense, these early words are eternal for they train up the child in the way the mother wishes the child to go and to grow is not to depart from the right ways of the mother.The words of a mother to her child are melodic, soothing, comforting. They support, encourage and they make a child feel safe. A mother touches, hugs, strokes, talks and sings to her baby, episodes never to be forgotten. When all else fails and all others as well, a truly loving mother never does. She is forever, eternal.A loving mother is kind. In a world rough and confrontational, the kindness of the mother is a most necessary characteristic.A loving mother is never jealous, never envious, always willing to put the child first, in love. A real loving mother is proud of her child no matter what the child becomes.Motherly love is always positive, not negative. It looks for the best, the good and the right. But the mother renders discipline when things are wrong. The love of a real mother is tough love. That love has standards, clear, straight and simply and lovingly communicated. Real love is without compromise. A loving mother never bargains with a child.A mother explains and answers perhaps better than any teacher, helping a child to understand. A mother stretches but never pushes knowing that her child must be challenged in order to grow. There is always demand and discipline from the right mother, both easy to implement when the child knows he or she is:LOVEDA loving, Godly mother makes certain her child understands her standards and values and those of God as well.A loving Godly mother teaches the child the things of her Lord. Train up that child in the ways of faith, of Christian faith, the faith of the mother. There is no better witness for the child than a loving Christian mother, living life by those standards and the child along with her. That is faith with works, the best kind.A real loving mother gives time, quality time to the child. There is for mother and child that quality time to talk and much more importantly, and especially for mother, to:LISTENIn an age of cell phones, babysitters, fast foods, carpools and demanding social life, all of that and everything else should never, ever interfere with quality time spent by the mother with child. Truly listening, and touching, and hugging, and encouraging, respecting the child produces some of life’s finest lessons. Those bonding moments are, as one psychologist has well said:PEAK MOMENTSNever to be forgotten by either. Patient, kind and understanding. Truly interested in the life of a child, not superficially so. Perhaps that is why so many mothers wished more than ever, so we are told, to stay home, build that home for husband and child and all children and to spend full time training up that child in the way in which he should go. That is what mothers are for and no other job can ever come close to that incredible responsibility and opportunity.No matter the love, child rearing is work, and hard work. It demands the time of the mother at all times. The real needs of a young child are great and they demand full time, mother always on the ready. How beautiful it is for father and husband to watch the baby breastfeed. How beautiful to see mother and child so intimately and sensitively connected. There is special nourishment from the milk of the breast but there is also the psychological nourishment, the nourishment of love and bonding, one with each other, the young and often subconscious memories lasting for a lifetime. A mother’s touch, feel and taste are vitally important to the growth of the child.Some mothers homeschool. They want to train up that child in the right ways themselves. Others work to send the child to special schools, private schools or schools of faith. Loving mothers are more than willing to sacrifice to accomplish the right objectives for the child they love.And all the while, a mother encourages the love of a father for child and the child for the father. There is respect, as important as love, between mother and father, husband and wife. There is a sense of equality as both parents love their child in different ways. Perhaps the love of a father for a child is different but as the child grows and matures, the love, the real love of a real father becomes as important to the child as that of the mother. Without both loves, something fundamental is missing.So that, when a child is ready for the world, and independence, and a life for itself, both loving parents have formed the young adult and are ready proudly so to watch a brand new life unfold. They have earned, these loving parents have, the right to be proud parents.Small wonder that loving children love to give back. There comes a time when the priorities are reversed and the child becomes the support, the loving support of the parents. Loving children love to give back to loving parents. That love which began in the womb is eternal. It never fails. It outlasts faith, and hope and all the wisdom and riches of the world. It endures forever even as the love of Christ does.And so it is with the deepest admiration, respect and love that we, all of us at Crawford Broadcasting Company, salute all real loving mothers on Mother’s Day and all year long. If you are a loving mother:YOU ARE SPECIALThere is one day set aside to honor loving mothers which in reality should be done every day of the year. We are admonished, commanded to:HONOR OUR FATHER AND MOTHERIt is a commandment that we honor real loving parents with our love and respect. Give back the love you owe to your mother. Give it back with tears, with laughter and with joy. With gratitude and thanksgiving for all that she has done for you. Let her know how much you love and appreciate her, knowing as you do that you can never repay the loving debt you owe. No child can ever give back all that he or she has gotten. Never.If she is here, make sure she gets what she deserves. There are so many mothers, like mine, not here. My mother is with her Lord as she has been for more than a quarter century. How much I would love the opportunity to give her one more hug. Do that for yours while you can.We salute you and thank you, mother. There is really nothing like you in this world:NOTHING!

Take up your cross, my cross, and follow:ME: OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST.So, if you become a Christian, and you should and I pray that you are, you have one promise from our Lord of what is to come, and that is:PERSECUTION.Of course there is joy, rejoicing, grace, bliss, faith, hope, strength, and so much more when you join forces with, become a disciple of, and fall in love with:JESUS CHRIST.But, there comes with all these positives, the negative of:PERSECUTION.For the most part, the world hates Christianity. Secularists disavow and dislike anything about Jesus. And that leaves secular governments to crack down on Christians, Christianity, and the belief and practice thereof.Take China for example. The Chinese Communist Dictator Xi Jinping has tightened his grip on religious activities in the world’s second most populous country. The Chinese Communist Party announced last week that starting May 1, foreign missionaries will be prohibited from sharing their faith or preaching, as well as establishing religious organizations. So, if you are Christian in China, you cannot testify about your faith and belief in Jesus Christ. Nor can you preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. Nor can you establish congregations, churches, or any type of religious Christian organization in China. That to me is simply unbelievable and unacceptable, and it will be for so many Christians in China. Nothing will prevent them from sharing and testifying, nothing. And many will become martyrs, jailed, or even killed-executed for their faith. They will gladly, willingly, and lovingly take up their cross, lay their all on the altar, and count themselves blessed if martyrdom happens, and as a result, they go to their eternal reward. China and the Chinese Communist Party are absolutely brutal.The Chinese Communist Party wants to SINICIZE all religion in China. That is, whatever the Communist Party determines religion to be, will be the only one in China. After May 1, 2025, there will be new regulations, a greater crack-down on all religions, but especially Christianity and persecution will be the new normal.We often think of Russia as the main enemy of the United States. Traditionally, that nation has been just that. But today, the number one threat to democracy and America, is none other than the second most populous country in the world:CHINA.It is becoming a superpower and its military strength, army, navy, marines, and special forces grow every day and becomes the number one threat to America and the world over. It is a nation to be reckoned with and it will be used by the forces of evil to challenge every nation in the world. Small wonder that, whatever we the people may think of the means used by President Trump, he stands up against China knowing this incredible threat which begins with democracy, freedom of speech, the practice of religion, subterfuge and infiltration, spying in America and other countries, none of which will be tolerated by the Trump administration.And the same thing happens in Egypt. We hear little about persecution of Christianity in Egypt, but it exists in large measure. Christians face daily discrimination, harsh restrictions, and constant pressure to hide their faith. And in the world at large, it is estimated that 1 in 7 Christians face harassment, violence, or even death, and in Africa the number of Christians enduring constant PERSECUTION is one in five. PERSECUTION of Christians who have given their entire lives to Jesus Christ is on the rise everywhere as both scripture and our Lord, prophesied. Soon, it will be worldwide and in every nation. Are we ready, are you ready, true believer in Jesus Christ, to face that persecution? The Apostle Paul was beheaded because of his Christian faith. The disciple, Peter, was crucified. James was murdered. John was ostracized to Patmos. The early church, especially under Roman dictator Nero, experienced aggressive persecution. It began at the time of our Lord, and it will continue until the rapture.Are you ready? Ready to lay your all on the altar, and take up the cross of Jesus Christ and stand for Him and your faith when persecution comes at you, are you? I do hope so, for it is a decision none of us have had to make in America, not really, even though there is indeed mild persecution. But the day will come when mild is replaced by aggressive. Then and only then, will you know the strength of your faith and the extent to which you really believe in Jesus Christ.And the same thing now exists in Australia, AUSTRALIA NO LESS! In NEW SOUTH WALES (NSW), newly enacted legislation allows prayer or expression of any religious belief if and only if it is not directed to changing or suppressing an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity. If any would pray in that way that is a crime and punishable by imprisonment. In practice, this law would criminalize anyone who said a prayerful word with regard to sexual orientation or gender. REPENT of such, and off to jail you go.And more, everywhere, and persecution has only just begun. Again, when you are faced with that, aggressively or even passively, are you ready to stand, resist, and to accept persecution, even criminal penalties for your faith, are you?Thankfully however, the younger generation begins more so to TURN TOWARDS RELIGION. That is a first start, but sooner or later, that TURN we do hope turns to Christianity and to the person of Jesus Christ. The very respectful research firm BARNA has found in a nationwide survey that 77% of American teens are interested and even motivated to “continue learning about Jesus throughout the rest of their lives.” That at least is a start but by no means the end. Remarkably 52% of the younger generation said they are very interested in knowing more about Jesus. May it be so.There seems to be, said Barna, an openness and curiosity about spiritual matters among today’s teens and young adults, a good thing, but only a start. Many of America’s young know the futility of the woke generation and its so-called principles, and hunger for something more, much more. They can only find that in Jesus Christ and I hope they continue to search until such time as HE is found. We the believer should thank God that there is now an openness to Christianity and truth which has not existed for years, and revival is on the horizon. All of that is happening in spite of persecution, in spite of the secular, godless governments which somehow have gotten control as witnessed by what is happening in China, Australia, Egypt, and many other nations. The love of Jesus Christ is the most powerful force on this earth, and it should be our prayer that our teens, our younger generation, in our beloved America finds and experiences that love, and no matter the persecution which may come, and it will, continue searching until they find the ultimate answer:HIM,OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST.

HE IS RISEN! Haven’t forgotten that, have you? Just because we celebrated Easter and the Easter message of resurrection even though virtual, Sunday, April 20, I just can’t let you and me ever forget that. It’s not just April 20, it’s every day of 12 MONTHS.HE is the only man who ever triumphed over death and the grave, none before Him and none since. THE ONLY ONE! That resurrection, that bodily resurrection, that ascension, that VERIFIED – WITNESSED resurrection and ascension is crucial, pivotal, revolutionary, life changing, essential and indispensable to the belief of every Christian. Morning, noon and night, every day of all 365, the living, resurrected Christ LIVES within the hearts of every Christian believer. And every believer, the Christ has promised, will live with Him now, in this life, and in the life WITH HIM to come. Incredible, is it not?Wonderful, glorious, jubilant, to every believer. But to the natural man:FOOLISHNESS, Absolute and altogether foolishness. It is absolutely ridiculous, says a natural man, an atheist or agnostic, that a mere human being, a carpenter from Nazareth no less, who came from dust and shall return to dust as the scriptures say should rise from the dead. It is just simply not possible. And of course, the myth of the resurrection and the myth of the virgin birth and even for many the myth of the crucifixion all are nothing more than fairytales or as the scriptures say IDLE tales. One can readily see how a natural man, one not drawn by THE HOLY SPIRIT, with eyes closed and ears blocked would scoff, mock and ridicule the EASTER story. If you want, as physicist and astronomer Steven Hawkins would say to believe in a myth of fairytale, that is your right. But the world of science says Hawkins, astronomy and the so called reason and rationality of the mind dismiss a resurrection possibility out of hand. It didn’t happen, says Hawkins. IT CAN’T HAPPEN! And, to that, the Apostle Paul says if in fact the resurrection did not happen, then:YOUR FAITH IS IN VAIN. Worthless. No better than any other belief system, if even that. If Christ be not risen, any professing believer is not only deceived but becomes him or herself a DECEIVER. Such a believer testifies to a lie, perhaps the biggest lie in all of human history andconsequently, becomes a conspirator in the spread of evil and duplicity. So that, not only is the believer’s faith in vain, but the guilt of the false belief of others lies upon him or her as well. When you or I profess to be Christian, we must therefore champion the resurrection with all of our heart, soul and mind. There can be no doubt. NONE!Perhaps that is why the nonbeliever dislikes, even hates Christianity and as a consequence the Christians who follow it. Nonbelievers hate the concept of sin. They see no need for forgiveness. They deeply resent the demands of Christianity and the Christ who boldly proclaims:NO MAN OR WOMAN COMES TO THE FATHER BUT BY ME! Nonbelievers hate that demand, that exclusivity. For it rules out everything else, every other form of belief, in fact every other religion. The crucifixion at Golgotha was merely the death of one man, perhaps even justified. The man who died was a revolutionary, a seditionist, constantly conspiring to get THE PEOPLE to resist and rebel against Rome, the political system, Herod and Pilot on the one hand and the religious authorities, the Pharisees and Sadducees on the other. And he even admitted he came to stir up trouble, to turn one family member against another. He called Herod the Tetrarch of Rome a FOX, cunning, deceiving and lying. The religious establishment despised him because he referred to them over and again as nothing more than hypocrites, or whited sepulchers, empty inside. If any mere man deserved to die, and die in an excruciating way, it was this mirror man Jesus of Nazareth. It was with HIM then as it is now love or hate. You embraced him, believed in him, gave him your all. Or you despised, even hated him nothing more than a rebel or rabble rouser, deluded, even perhaps insane a man in no way to be taken seriously. WITH OR AGAINST. And, written off by Him who again boldly even arrogantly stated:HE THAT IS NOT WITH ME IS AGAINST ME.The world, the secularists, the natural men and women accommodate Christianity one weekend, three days each year. From Good Friday through resurrection Sunday, those who believe in fairytales are allowed their celebration. But then comes Monday and it is back to business as usual, criticizing Christianity, attempting at every hand to get Christians, Christian beliefs and Christianity out of the public square, out of the marketplace, confined if at all possible to the four walls of a church. They are determined, these rabid, progressive secularists to curtail or eliminate Christian witness, any form of evangelism for they the enemy have determined that all Christian speech is:HATE SPEECH.They are determined to destroy, eliminate any form of testimony, any message which states:CHRIST IS RISEN Even as they scoff at the message:UP FROM THE GRAVE HE AROSE WITH THE MIGHTY CHILD O’ER HIS FOES Wherever he was buried, there he remains they say. From the time he was laid in a tomb, everything else, EVERYTHING is nothing more than myth, fairytale, idle tale WHY!But, natural man, like it or not, he did in fact rise again. HE WAS SEEN first by the women Mary Magdalene, Mary the Mother of James and Salome, and Joanna, and other women. They first saw the empty tomb as they brought spices, the announcement of the resurrection by the angel and these women were the very first EVANGELISTS. They were the first to go and tell. They told Peter, and the disciples, 11 of them and others that at the tomb:HE IS NOT THERE!HE IS RISEN! He was there, back for some 40 days before an ascension. He fellowshipped with his disciples and with others. He was there in the flesh for he was hungry and thirsty. He ate and drank and he showed them his nail pierced body and the wounded side where he was pierced. He returned as a man alive and ascended in glory as the eternal Christ. For Christian believers, it is true, all of it. It is fact. It is the foundation of belief. He was alive in the flesh before and after the crucifixion and now lives eternally and forever with his saints to reign. So, the Christian joyfully proclaims Easter Sunday and every other day:HALLELUJAHCHRIST AROSE We the believers celebrated the Easter weekend, mourning at the remembrance of the crucifixion on Good Friday, but joyfully and jubilantly celebrated HIS Resurrection on Easter Sunday. That resurrection message was heard that day the world over. The world made time, even priority at least to recognize that incredible message. But now, only mere days later, it is business as usual. Perhaps even we who believe become gradually less open, less aggressive in our testimony, perhaps even unwilling to STAND for what we believe, in Him. Perhaps, gradually, we become more defensive, even withdrawn, unwilling to testify and confront. Perhaps the message of those three potent days becomes a matter of memory, fading, the power of it all dissipating, the courage to fight the fight of faith waning.So, just a few days after the Easter celebration, it is well for us to celebrate again, and again and again, and every day the fact, the most supreme fact in all of human history that:HE IS RISEN.That, as the old hymn says, Christ the Lord is risen today, and every day. Hallelujah! Let us with all our hearts proclaim that message and live that message. It is the greatest fact in human history!So, from the virgin birth, to a powerful human life symbolist, to the crucifixion offering forgiveness for all mankind through the shed blood, to the resurrection, believe it, proclaim it, and live it every day of the year.And one more thing. There is yet to come the rapture. This, the crucified and resurrected Christ will return again for his church, for us. Perhaps that day is near and we should be ready. The rapture is yet another fairytale, so says the natural man. But for Christians, it is the ultimate event, the culmination of everything. If you are Christian, if you believe, then the Holy Spirit bears witness, fortifies your belief, encourages you and strengthens you and makes certain that you live joyfully in the faith, hope and love of the Christian journey. Easter was celebrated just a few days ago. But Easter is not a day, it is a way of life. Celebrate morning, noon and night:HE IS RISEN HALLELUJAH CHRIST THE LORD IS RISEN TODAY AND EVERY DAY!

Up the carpenter went to Jerusalem, knowing full well why. It was time, HIS time, the time, the eternal time as appointed when a world changing event would happen.It was to be the end of his earthly journey, a time for the transition between the Jesus of history and the Christ of Glory.There came that time in the Garden of Gethsemane where he went to pray. He asked his disciples to participate, to watch with him, to stay awake with him. Not knowing the incredible events about to happen, they slept. But the Master prayed, communed with the Father. How wonderful the humanity of Jesus the Christ in Gethsemane. As man, he knew the incredible suffering and agony to come, the crucifixion which would happen and he prayed to the Father:LET THIS CUP PASS FROM MELet there be another way to introduce your love and saving grace rather than crucifixion. But the answer was clear, the plan in place. There would be no change.Perhaps that was the greatest expression and revelation of the WILL of God at work. The plan of salvation would begin with Him, Jesus of Nazareth so that all men might know that He was indeed the SON OF GOD.And so, in blessed surrender, the soon to be Christ of Glory uttered this incredible prayer:NOT MY WILL BUT THY WILL BE DONEOn earth even as it is in heaven. He was ready, and willing.Jesus of Nazareth loved Jerusalem as all Jews do. There stood the temple, the holiest place on earth to the Jews, the earthly abiding place of the HOLY OF HOLIES. It was ordained so by the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and it was the place, the center for the longing, the love and the passion of all Jews. Jerusalem, the one and only Jerusalem, the City of David.Jesus of Nazareth poured out His love on the city and its people so very special to him. He passionately lamented how he would love to take the city and its people under his wing and to show them what he firmly believed was the way, the truth, and the life, allnew things. There would be from God through him a new creation possible, all thingsand people born again, a fresh and vital spirituality. But before these new gifts fromGod could become universal, a tragic and horrific event must occur followed by themost miraculous and wonderful event in the history of mankind.HE had dined in Jerusalem with his disciples, a loving Last Supper to commemoratethe event to come, the celebration of his body and his blood. That communion of thedisciples and the Lord, that spiritual fellowship celebrated vicariously with bread andwine, was the end event for them but only the beginning of a lifelong celebration for us.Roman soldiers found him in Gethsemane. There came the mockery of trial andinterrogation before Pilate and Herod. The world knows of the hands–washing, therefusal to make the decision of death for a just and innocent man and the offering tothe people of a choice between Jesus of Nazareth and a convicted criminal. The crowdof course chose the criminal.Then came the walk to the cross, the VIA DOLOROSA, the way of sorrow still todaycommemorated in Jerusalem by the 12 Stations of the Cross. When His cross becametoo heavy to bear, another carried it for him. Crowds lined the way, watching andlistening, some mocking, some wailing, all perhaps sensing this was no ordinary mannor would there be any ordinary crucifixion. But none could know that the world couldchange.And so, the cruelest and most brutal death possible occurred for an innocent man, apublic crucifixion. Roman soldiers nailed Jesus of Nazareth to that wooden cross.It seems ironic indeed, does it not, that a man who lived and worked with wood died abrutal death on wood itself.He hung on that cross for hours, a criminal on each side. The sky grew dark and itwas as though the earth and all in it mourned. The Christ of Glory hung in utteragony, and the horrific pain he experienced caused Him to utter these unforgettablewords:MY GOD, MY GOD WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN MEWHY?So alone, in utter agony, feeling even that the FATHER had forsaken Him. It isimpossible to know how He felt, how awful that death must have been for Him. But Hewas man, human. We as humans like him can understand the cruelty of man and thesuffering and agony he suffered in death as many of us have. HE took on the sufferingof mankind on that Golgotha Hill. So many who loved him watched, mourned andprayed, never really knowing that this tragic crucifixion would turn into a gloriousResurrection.It seemed indeed that in that darkest moment, God Himself had departed, forsaken.Perhaps it was, as some scholars think that this Holy God could not look upon theultimate and tragic event as they were laid on him the sins of the world. On that cross, in the blood and tortured flesh of the body of the Son of God, in that death unto sin were in fact the sins of the world, all of them and all of ours. That final bloody act of remission and propitiation had to be finished. There had to be that tumultuous and cataclysmic collision of worlds, when heaven and earth became one through Him. For hours, He suffered in agony and pain. His precious body was exposed, mutilated and mocked. He was crowned in the ultimate sarcasm with a crown of thorns to mock the claim of:KING OF THE JEWS.Roman soldiers taunted him, challenging him to use His miraculous powers to come down from the cross, laughing all the while. They cast lots for his garments and treated in cavalier style this world changing event as ordinary, the crucifixion and death of yet another fanatic, yet another would be Messiah as there were so many of them in that day. Never could these men know what would happen on the third day.And so He died and as He was removed from the cross, there came mercifully and lovingly Joseph of Arimathea to claim the body, something which rarely happened in early Roman times, so that Jesus of Nazareth could be buried in His very own tomb. And there He lay as all who knew him, loved, followed and believed in Him mourned. There was perhaps that day a sense of no hope, the law so tragic that HE would never be replaced. Like doubting Thomas, none really believed what would happen that third day.But on that third day, they hurried, they ran to the tomb, the women did. They were so anxious lovingly to attend His body. Instead, they found in the tomb the Angel of the Lord. The stone which had covered the tomb had been rolled back. The event was so terrifying it overwhelmed the Roman guards. The women announced that they had come looking for Jesus of Nazareth, He who had been crucified, buried and laid in this tomb. They demanded to know who took His body. But the Angel of the Lord said to them, words which would change the world:HE IS NOT HERE HE IS RISENHE IS ALIVE. Death as we know it had no power over Him. For millions, that is impossible for us to believe. But for us who do and especially those of us never having seen, heard or been in His physical presence, we who believe the truth and reality of the Resurrection are entitled to the power and the eternal victory over death even as it was with Him. Even as He returned to the Father, so shall we at our appointed time be with Him and the Father as well. The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is not a myth, not symbolic, but the most real event in all of human history.The Apostle Paul states that the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is the most fundamental event, the crux of Christianity. If, says Paul, there was no Resurrection, then Christianity is a farce and more importantly our FAITH is in vain. If the Resurrection was myth, or symbolic and not real, actual, factual, a bodily resurrection, then our faith is in vain. But thank the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, as Paul did, that the Resurrection was real, it endures with everlasting power even now and for allveternity. OUR FAITH IS NOT IN VAIN. The tomb was empty and the empty lives of all mankind could now be filled with the power of this incredible resurrection. The words again which changed the world:HE IS NOT HERE! HE IS RISEN!And so came the Resurrection witness. The resurrected and risen Christ was seen, heard, touched, and otherwise fully experienced as living once again. There were those who doubted, demanding proof. They touched the nail pierced hands and the side pierced with that Roman spear. And they said with the words of doubting Thomas:MY LORD AND MY GODTheir eyes were opened and they recognized Him. They fellowshipped with Him and ate with Him. And He said to them “why are you disturbed and troubled.” Why do such doubts and questionings arise in your hearts? He told them to see His hands and feet and know that it is I MYSELF. No mere spirit, He said, has flesh and bones as I have. His disciples were filled with sheer joy and marvel. Their minds were open to understand Him and the Scriptures. Now said the Resurrected Christ, you are witnesses of these things. Go and preach this wonderful event and our message to all nations. He blessed them and sent them.GO YE, He said, into all of the world and preach the Gospel to everyman, to the Jew first but then to the Gentiles. TO ALL MANKIND. The saving power of the Resurrection was for everyone. So many of us doubt in some ways even today. We see through a glass darkly, said Paul. Our understanding of these things is limited, human here and now. But hereafter, we will know, really know when we see HIM:FACE TO FACEBlessed are those who have never seen and believe!There is nothing in this world like this belief, the outpouring of the saving grace of the Resurrection. The power of life and life eternal through Him is the most powerful force on earth. It comes by acceptance and an open heart, the outpouring of this transforming love. It has been my blessing and I hope and pray that you have had such an encounter with THE LIVING CHRIST, that you have experienced the forgiveness of the cross and that you have accepted and believed in the power of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. That is Easter, that is what Easter means. It is life anew