Another lie is just as serious. They say that it doesn’t matter what you believe. You are free to believe whatever you want and it won’t affect your life. Decisions are based on the problem you face and not on any pre-set feelings about right and wrong. It is often referred to as situation ethics. That is closely related to the belief that there won’t be any consequences. It releases the person from the need to figure out how that belief will affect their life. Someone can change their beliefs whenever they want and not have to analyze whether it is good or bad because it won’t make any difference. It allows people to do things that create all kinds of problems and dismiss them as not their fault. It allows people to claim that telling women to kill their unborn baby because it will get in the way of their happiness is not responsible for someone shooting his boss and coworkers because they stand in the way of his happiness. They claim that the problem stems from the fact he had access to a gun. If he didn’t have a gun, he wouldn’t have done it. The problem is that they have to ignore when someone uses a knife or a bomb because it can’t be blamed on the fact that they had access to a gun.
Values-B
When I was young, the church was actively teaching God’s values and they were open about them in public so most people accepted them, even if they had no church connection. There was a clear understanding of what was right and what was wrong. Our society had its ups and downs but overall, it ran fairly smoothly. Over the last fifty years, liberal media and politicians have been pushing another set of values. Those values are relative and subject to individual interpretation. They are based on four primary lies. Two of them have been around for a long time and were the ones that Satan offered to Eve. The first is that laws are relative. God said not to touch the tree but Satan tried to confuse Eve about what God had really said. He implied that God was withholding something good. We see this on our highway where the speed limit says fifty-five, but it is a clear day and an open road so people feel that they can do seventy. Its more fun and you can get there faster. However, without a set speed, the faster drivers are constantly weaving in and out of traffic, passing the slower vehicles which increases the danger of accidents. The second backs it up. You can enjoy it and there won’t be any consequences. We see this in abortion. They push you to enjoy free sex and not worry about consequences. If you have an accidental pregnancy, you can always abort it and take care of the problem. Unfortunately, saying there won’t be a problem, does not make it so. Abortion may take care of one problem but opens up others. We are seeing the consequences of a relative set of values today. Once you allow people to make up their own rules, nobody is sure what the rules are, and some will choose rules that cause more harm than good. We are reaping the consequences of a relative set of values.
First Sunday of Epiphany-Jan 7
Loneliness-Jesus came to bring Light into a world filled with darkness. You can bring light into the life of an elderly person. Several years ago, my parents were severely beaten by thieves that broke into their home. After that, they were not able to get out much, yet no one came to visit them. My two brothers and I called and visited when we could, but we lived too far away to visit regularly. There are many elderly people like them that can not get out much and who do not have anyone close to them to call or visit them. They may have workers who come in to clean or the fix their meals and help them bathe but the workers rarely have time to stay and visit. Many elderly who are homebound would welcome regular calls or visits from Christian neighbors. Do you know of any elderly people living on your street? In addition, there are many in nursing homes who do not get visits from anyone and would also welcome regular visits. You may feel it would be difficult visiting because you have children, but if they are well behaved, the elderly person might welcome them. Many have grandchildren they have never seen and would love to have children to spend time with. When all you have to think about is getting old, it is depressing but seeing children lightens the day. Check first, but they will probably welcome the visits of children.
Immigration-VI-Q
It is interesting to watch Democrats deal with migrants who enter their cities and States. They encourage the migrants to come and prevent any attempt to stop them, knowing that the Republican border States are going to bear the burden of taking care of them. They stick their heads in the sand and ignore the problems they are creating because it does not affect them. Now the border States have gotten smart and have begun shipping a few of them into Democrat controlled cities and States. The number being shipped is only a very small fraction of those pouring into Texas and Arizona every day, but it is enough to give them a taste of the problems they are creating for the border States. All of a sudden, Democrats are having to face the problems they are creating and they don’t want to deal with them. They are trying to prevent the migrants from being shipped to them and are even threatening to send them back to the border. They want the migrants to come to the United States as long as they don’t have to deal with them, so they are trying to prevent them from coming to their cities and States. They want to destroy the economies of the Republican States that are prospering due to low taxes and few business regulations to make their cities and States look good, even though they are struggling under failing economies due to the high taxes, uncontrolled government spending, and heavy government regulation of business forced on them by their leadership of Democrats who are anything but Democratic.
Immigration-VI-P
While President Biden continues to complain about the influx of illegal immigrants, he has done nothing to stop them. In fact, by pushing for them to stay once they get here, he is encouraging them to come. He ended President Trump’s policy of sending them back if they crossed illegally and instead releases them into the country where they disappear and never show up for their hearings. Unfortunately, the huge influx of illegal immigrants is overtaxing immigration authorities and preventing them from protecting our borders from other threats. Over a million pills laced with Fentanyl were intercepted in California coming in from Mexico in a recent drug bust. Fentanyl is the number one cause of death in those age 18-45. It is not known how many pills have slipped past border agents busy rounding up illegal immigrants. Border agents have also spotted an increased number of terrorists slipping over the border. Our President is responsible for protecting us from foreign threats and this certainly qualifies as a foreign threat. President Trump built large segments of the border in spite of opposition from liberals but President Biden put an end to it and striped it of the funding that was allocated under President Trump. Now he complains he can’t do anything because he can’t get the funding from Congress. We need a president like President Trump that will deal with the problem and not encourage it and then bellyache about it.
Environment-M
M-We are continuing to see the folly of depending on wind and solar power. Texas endured a long period without electricity over most of the State because they got an unexpected snow storm. It is extremely rare but a major problem if it occurs. Their solar panels got covered with snow and the wind turbines froze. They had not kept their regular power stations on standby to cover the interim because it is so rare. As a result, a lot of people suffered from their neglect. We need to keep regular power plants to back up and support solar and wind power. In addition, we need to realize the limitations of electric vehicles. Many northern States are finding that their electric powered buses do not run well in the cold weather. In addition, we can’t just suddenly switch to all electric because we need to prepare the power grid and a lot of people don’t have the money to get them, not to mention that a lot of good gas powered vehicles would end up in the junk yards creating a tremendous waste of resources. While protecting the environment is important, it should not be pushed to the extreme where it does more harm than good.
Politics-AB-AL
I get tired of top liberals constantly claiming that Donald Trump is a dictator that is destroying democracy. Trump sought to restore the family and the rights of parents. Liberals want to push Gay privileges and abortion by preventing parents from interfering in the decisions of minors to get abortions and gender transition therapy. Liberals are forcing schools to teach critical race theory, Gay privilege, gender fluidity, and sexual play, by threatening lawsuits, and forcing them to hide it from parents. President Obama made numerous executive orders that violated the Constitution and the rights of American citizens. Trump revoked them when he got in office, but President Biden restored them when he got in office. While executive orders do not have the force of law, President Obama tried to enforce them by threatening to file lawsuits against States and schools that did not comply. Some executive orders directly required States to violate the laws of the United States passed by Congress which is an open violation of the Constitution and his oath of office to uphold the laws of the United States. Trump tried to get States to clean up their voter rolls and enact laws protecting the voting process. Liberals have continually tried to enact laws that would open loopholes allowing massive fraud in voting and would prevent States from enacting laws to protect their voting process. Several liberal States have already enacted laws that will nullify the votes cast in their State. Their electors will cast their vote for whoever wins the national vote, regardless of how the people vote in that State. It is entirely possible for the electors of that State to cast their vote for a candidate who was not even on the ballot in that State. It bypasses the Constitutional safeguards that prevent voters from a few heavily populated States from determining the outcome of an election. A dictator is someone who forces people to do things against their will and it is obvious who the real dictators are. It is time for voters to stop listening to the rhetoric and start looking at the facts.
First Sunday of Christmastide-Dec 31
Tell the Story-Many people will see the manger scene and not understand what it means because they have no church background. A large percentage of people today have not attended church and do not know anyone that they know of who attends church. Many Christians assume those they meet at work and at school attend church somewhere but few of them do. Few churches today have Christmas eve services but those that do usually include only members and do not include visitors. It is a great time to invite those who do not attend church to come and hear the Christmas story, especially those who have children. Christmas carols used to be sung in the schools and played in stores, but many have dropped or even banned those with a Christian message. Church members can get together and carol at nursing homes and in their neighborhood to tell the Christmas story. Songs should not be random but organized to tell the story.
Voter Safety I-A-B
Even with ID laws, it is not completely safe. Fake ID’s are easy to get and a lot of teens get them so they can buy beer and cigarettes. If a political party knows someone is registered but won’t vote, they can make fake ID’s using the names and addresses of registered voters for someone to pose as those people and vote in their place. By registering a lot of inner-city people who probably won’t vote, they have a goldmine of potential for fake ID’s. If you have to vote where you live, someone will recognize if you come back to the same voting place several times using different names and ID’s but if you can vote by mail, on multiple days, or wherever you want, you can go to several different polling places or go on several days, and vote under different names without anyone realizing it, making it easier for a dishonest party to “stuff the ballot box” with fraudulent ballots. Most States today issue ID’s for those that don’t drive. Poor Blacks often get welfare and have to have ID’s to get it. As a result, voter ID laws do not provide a barrier to them voting, like they used to. It does require that people prove they are eligible to vote and are not trying to vote illegally. The most common fraud is when someone claims to be someone else who is registered but not likely to vote, either because they have died or because they moved out of State and are no longer eligible to vote in the State. Many States have laws requiring them to clean out voter registration lists and remove anyone who hasn’t voted in three years to eliminate those who have died or moved out of State so people can’t use those names to vote illegally, however that still leaves a window where someone can try to vote claiming they are someone who is already listed on the rolls, but is not likely to vote because they either died or moved out of State.