Thursday, November 13, 2025
In the Mind of America More than Reality
I have been hearing a lot from "conservatives," whether Christians or not, they all say, "Make America great again." There is the presumption that because of all the things Americans used to enjoy in the 40's and beyond was what made America great.
Those in this generation recall unlocked doors without fear, plenty of money for all the holidays, and other things they wanted to indulge in, as well as what appeared to be more stable family lives. I am convinced most of this is more in the mind than the reality.
Children were more respectful of their parents, or so it seemed. We saw the television stories as more wholesome than anything now. But let's take a more honest look, bypassing the good feelings we remember from all the things we thought we had.
Let's take a good look back and see if things were as good as we wish to believe.
I am in my 70s now and my memory was one of a dysfunctional family in which there was little interaction with parents that resulted in wisdom and a lot of television shows that brought unbiblical ideas that we thought were good, but were in fact working against the Bible.
We were raised on stories like "Bewitched", "I Dream of Jeannie", and Halloween stories of witches and ghosts. We all "trick or treated" on Halloween. We enjoyed the fantasies of Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, Hansel and Gretel and the witch, the Wizard of Oz, and Gunsmoke, in which the main character was a woman in a tavern who was a madam to prostitutes.
We celebrated Easter, the bunny, and eggs. We went to church, where bags of candy and nuts were handed out at Christmas time, and a tree was in the back of the church, which was decorated for the holiday season.
Soap operas were common and viewed by many housewives during the day. These shows were full of foolish drama about affairs and other decisions that ruined people's lives.
In the cop shows, the main characters were not married and frequently made subtle advances toward women. Even the so-called wholesome shows had frequent flirting and winking about dating.
Many of the shows we thought were so harmless and fun did not pass the smell test when compared to the Bible. The fact was that most people who attended those buildings they call churches didn't know very much about their Bibles.
God was never mentioned in these shows we grew up with, and the Biblical principles were violated or ignored completely. Many Christians were fooled that these shows were harmless because they didn't read the Bible or had a desire to do so.
Because the country was basically deceived about what "morality" looked like according to God's Word, they accepted many things that God condemned.
America was extolled as the most powerful country in the world where anyone of any religion could come and practice openly whatever brand of faith the wished to enjoy. The gospel was here spread by a few but for the most part most people viewed religion as a private matter. Christians who attended churches every week rarely mentioned God to anyone except someone else who went to those churches.
I was raised in one of these homes. I never heard the name of Jesus Christ roll off the tongues of a family member. There was never any teaching in the home about Christ; there was no Bible reading and no discussion about anything of consequence.
I learned about Christ from attending Sunday school but had no support at home for it except harsh rules without conversation. When I would ask questions about something, I was put off with "because I said so", or "that's just what we believe", without any explanation or discussion.
After I was born again, I realized there could be no discussion because most "Christians" didn't know why they followed certain rules, because they didn't know their Bibles. They merely did what was culturally acceptable at the time. These same people relaxed their views and rules as the culture changed, accepting things they would have condemned in the past.
When I was raising children the people around me attempted to shut me down when I wanted to openly discuss things. You see, it was a cultural thing that got worse as the culture began to grow in rebellion against God's Word.
To this day, it is nearly impossible to discuss a matter at length with anyone because it is considered rude to question anyone or disagree, so everyone remains silent about God's principles and rejects, dismisses, and isolates those who wish to have an honest, open discussion about the principles of God.
Satan has managed to fool several generations into believing good people are those who remain silent in the face of sin, fantasy thinking and unbiblical principles. Pleasing God is not even on the table, nor is talk of repentance and cleansing.
America has not been great; it has been a place of prosperity and freedom to act in any way that pleases each person, but not free to express God's Word to correct rebellion against God.
2 Timothy 4:2-4 "…2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and encourage with every form of patient instruction. 3 For the time will come when men will not tolerate sound doctrine, but with itching ears they will gather around themselves teachers to suit their own desires. 4 So they will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.…"
2 Timothy 3:1-5 "But understand this: In the last days, terrible times will come. For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, without love of good,"
1 Timothy 4:1-2 "Now the Spirit expressly states that in later times some will abandon the faith to follow deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons, influenced by the hypocrisy of liars, whose consciences are seared with a hot iron."
2 Peter 2:1-3 "Now there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow in their depravity, and because of them, the way of truth will be defamed. In their greed, these false teachers will exploit you with deceptive words. The longstanding verdict against them remains in force, and their destruction does not sleep."
We have been living in the last days for a very long time. The evidence that the church will be going home soon is the intensity with which rebellion is increasing. This generation, mine in the 50s and 60s, was just as immoral as any other generation; the difference was the deception that, as long as it was hidden, one could attend the churches and pretend every week and everything would be alright.
The immorality was in the fantasy life and hearts of the people indulging through television and movies, while pretending they were good because they were not "doing" their sin outwardly, but it was clearly in the hearts of nearly everyone.
Acts 20:29-30 "I know that after my departure, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. / Even from your own number, men will rise up and distort the truth to draw away disciples after them."
Romans 16:17-18 "Now I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who create divisions and obstacles that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Turn away from them. / For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery, they deceive the hearts of the naive."
Because of the lack of knowledge about God's Word, there are many things that defy God that the culture thinks are just innocent fun.
Wisdom is becoming scarce in the culture as a whole because the Bible has been rejected by most people, even those who attend "church gatherings." The authentically born-again believers remain a remnant as they always have been, even from the beginning of the first-century church.
We truly are living in the end times. This explosion of "Christians" who fight against the truth is one of the indicators of the apostasy God told us would be present when Christ comes.
Those in this generation recall unlocked doors without fear, plenty of money for all the holidays, and other things they wanted to indulge in, as well as what appeared to be more stable family lives. I am convinced most of this is more in the mind than the reality.
Children were more respectful of their parents, or so it seemed. We saw the television stories as more wholesome than anything now. But let's take a more honest look, bypassing the good feelings we remember from all the things we thought we had.
Let's take a good look back and see if things were as good as we wish to believe.
I am in my 70s now and my memory was one of a dysfunctional family in which there was little interaction with parents that resulted in wisdom and a lot of television shows that brought unbiblical ideas that we thought were good, but were in fact working against the Bible.
We were raised on stories like "Bewitched", "I Dream of Jeannie", and Halloween stories of witches and ghosts. We all "trick or treated" on Halloween. We enjoyed the fantasies of Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, Hansel and Gretel and the witch, the Wizard of Oz, and Gunsmoke, in which the main character was a woman in a tavern who was a madam to prostitutes.
We celebrated Easter, the bunny, and eggs. We went to church, where bags of candy and nuts were handed out at Christmas time, and a tree was in the back of the church, which was decorated for the holiday season.
Soap operas were common and viewed by many housewives during the day. These shows were full of foolish drama about affairs and other decisions that ruined people's lives.
In the cop shows, the main characters were not married and frequently made subtle advances toward women. Even the so-called wholesome shows had frequent flirting and winking about dating.
Many of the shows we thought were so harmless and fun did not pass the smell test when compared to the Bible. The fact was that most people who attended those buildings they call churches didn't know very much about their Bibles.
God was never mentioned in these shows we grew up with, and the Biblical principles were violated or ignored completely. Many Christians were fooled that these shows were harmless because they didn't read the Bible or had a desire to do so.
Because the country was basically deceived about what "morality" looked like according to God's Word, they accepted many things that God condemned.
America was extolled as the most powerful country in the world where anyone of any religion could come and practice openly whatever brand of faith the wished to enjoy. The gospel was here spread by a few but for the most part most people viewed religion as a private matter. Christians who attended churches every week rarely mentioned God to anyone except someone else who went to those churches.
I was raised in one of these homes. I never heard the name of Jesus Christ roll off the tongues of a family member. There was never any teaching in the home about Christ; there was no Bible reading and no discussion about anything of consequence.
I learned about Christ from attending Sunday school but had no support at home for it except harsh rules without conversation. When I would ask questions about something, I was put off with "because I said so", or "that's just what we believe", without any explanation or discussion.
After I was born again, I realized there could be no discussion because most "Christians" didn't know why they followed certain rules, because they didn't know their Bibles. They merely did what was culturally acceptable at the time. These same people relaxed their views and rules as the culture changed, accepting things they would have condemned in the past.
When I was raising children the people around me attempted to shut me down when I wanted to openly discuss things. You see, it was a cultural thing that got worse as the culture began to grow in rebellion against God's Word.
To this day, it is nearly impossible to discuss a matter at length with anyone because it is considered rude to question anyone or disagree, so everyone remains silent about God's principles and rejects, dismisses, and isolates those who wish to have an honest, open discussion about the principles of God.
Satan has managed to fool several generations into believing good people are those who remain silent in the face of sin, fantasy thinking and unbiblical principles. Pleasing God is not even on the table, nor is talk of repentance and cleansing.
America has not been great; it has been a place of prosperity and freedom to act in any way that pleases each person, but not free to express God's Word to correct rebellion against God.
2 Timothy 4:2-4 "…2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and encourage with every form of patient instruction. 3 For the time will come when men will not tolerate sound doctrine, but with itching ears they will gather around themselves teachers to suit their own desires. 4 So they will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.…"
2 Timothy 3:1-5 "But understand this: In the last days, terrible times will come. For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, without love of good,"
1 Timothy 4:1-2 "Now the Spirit expressly states that in later times some will abandon the faith to follow deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons, influenced by the hypocrisy of liars, whose consciences are seared with a hot iron."
2 Peter 2:1-3 "Now there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow in their depravity, and because of them, the way of truth will be defamed. In their greed, these false teachers will exploit you with deceptive words. The longstanding verdict against them remains in force, and their destruction does not sleep."
We have been living in the last days for a very long time. The evidence that the church will be going home soon is the intensity with which rebellion is increasing. This generation, mine in the 50s and 60s, was just as immoral as any other generation; the difference was the deception that, as long as it was hidden, one could attend the churches and pretend every week and everything would be alright.
The immorality was in the fantasy life and hearts of the people indulging through television and movies, while pretending they were good because they were not "doing" their sin outwardly, but it was clearly in the hearts of nearly everyone.
Acts 20:29-30 "I know that after my departure, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. / Even from your own number, men will rise up and distort the truth to draw away disciples after them."
Romans 16:17-18 "Now I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who create divisions and obstacles that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Turn away from them. / For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery, they deceive the hearts of the naive."
Because of the lack of knowledge about God's Word, there are many things that defy God that the culture thinks are just innocent fun.
Wisdom is becoming scarce in the culture as a whole because the Bible has been rejected by most people, even those who attend "church gatherings." The authentically born-again believers remain a remnant as they always have been, even from the beginning of the first-century church.
We truly are living in the end times. This explosion of "Christians" who fight against the truth is one of the indicators of the apostasy God told us would be present when Christ comes.
The Thief on the Cross and His Salvation
The thief on the cross was not baptized. He wasn't even baptized with the Holy Spirit because Christ had not yet died and sent back the Holy Spirit.
Everyone who is born again now has the Holy Spirit and is commanded to be baptized in water as a profession of their faith, but not for salvation.
John 16:7-8 " 7 But I tell you the truth, it is for your benefit that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. 8 And when He comes, He will convict the world in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment:…"
There is no ritual required for salvation, but there are a couple of commands by God after salvation, such as the Lord's supper to remember Him and baptism in water to proclaim our new life in Christ. None of these things saves anyone, but they are expressions of faith after salvation.
Christ did all the work on the cross; nothing we would do could be added to what He did. The Perfect Lamb of God had to die. How silly to think that anything we would do could save us.
Titus 3:5-7 "5 He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we did in righteousness, but in accordance with His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He richly poured out upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs [a]according to the hope of eternal life."
Everyone who is born again now has the Holy Spirit and is commanded to be baptized in water as a profession of their faith, but not for salvation.
John 16:7-8 " 7 But I tell you the truth, it is for your benefit that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. 8 And when He comes, He will convict the world in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment:…"
There is no ritual required for salvation, but there are a couple of commands by God after salvation, such as the Lord's supper to remember Him and baptism in water to proclaim our new life in Christ. None of these things saves anyone, but they are expressions of faith after salvation.
Christ did all the work on the cross; nothing we would do could be added to what He did. The Perfect Lamb of God had to die. How silly to think that anything we would do could save us.
Titus 3:5-7 "5 He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we did in righteousness, but in accordance with His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He richly poured out upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs [a]according to the hope of eternal life."
Wednesday, November 12, 2025
Judging Things that Don't Matter
Next time someone wants to judge the choices of others through gossip to you, simply say, "God did not assign me to make a judgment about that."
There are many things that need no one else's judgment that are not sin.
Many people judge others as bad parents because of how their children turned out without being there to watch their upbringing. They assume parents must have done something wrong, but they have no details that prove it. Adult children make their own choices, often against the training of their parents.
David's son Absolum wanted to kill his own father. David was called the apple of God's eye, a man after God's own heart. The Bible does not tell us how David raised his son, so presuming would be gossip.
There is pride involved in judging the parenting of others based on a perception without facts. The only reason to make these kinds of judgments is to attempt to elevate oneself above others. There is no profit spiritually in judging the parenting of others only to appear superior.
Some would judge others for not attending the modern churches, as though attending those places is the way we are to gather, when the Bible teaches differently. It is not our place to judge how brothers and sisters choose to meet.
Judging how others choose to eat is another way to destroy relationships unnecessarily. I have seen a lot of this in my life. Food has been a "great divide" among believers these days because they are so fixated on this life and everything being as perfect as possible, they have lost sight that God provides the food and He is the judge.
Colossians 2:16-17 " 16 Therefore let no one judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a feast, a New Moon, or a Sabbath. 17These are a shadow of the things to come, but the body that casts it belongs to Christ.…"
Romans 14:5-6 "One person regards a certain day above the others, while someone else considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes a special day does so to the Lord; he who eats does so to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God."
Galatians 4:9-10 "But now that you know God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you are turning back to those weak and worthless principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? You are observing special days and months and seasons and years!"
I have seen people judge women as leading when they are merely sharing through the love of the Holy Spirit. They have judged that the women are usurping authority when they are a helper and asset to their husbands.
It has been my experience that often people judge something about us; they want us to be wrong about something because of their dislike or even hatred of us. Even gossiping about us to others so the others will dislike us too. Somehow, they think if they discredit us, that alone will elevate them to special status.
,
Romans 14:1-4 "Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on his opinions. For one person has faith to eat all things, while another, who is weak, eats only vegetables. The one who eats everything must not belittle the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted him."
1 Corinthians 8:8 "But food does not bring us closer to God: We are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do."
Galatians 5:1 "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not be encumbered once more by a yoke of slavery."
It is not surprising that unbelievers, even the pretenders who attend churches, would want to ruin our walk and remove our influence by turning others against us. They did it with Christ, the apostles, and the prophets, and they will do it with us, too. Praise God when we can stand alone, ignore the idle chatter, and remain full of joy anyway.
Many actions in this life may be different from the way we do things, but it does not mean the different person is sinning in some way, or even wrong about their choices.
Sadly, I see this on steroids in social media with celebrities or high-ranking political figures. It is one thing to judge a person based on truth, what we can see, and what the celebrities have said publicly themselves; it is quite another to make guesses based on perceived outcomes.
There are many things that need no one else's judgment that are not sin.
Many people judge others as bad parents because of how their children turned out without being there to watch their upbringing. They assume parents must have done something wrong, but they have no details that prove it. Adult children make their own choices, often against the training of their parents.
David's son Absolum wanted to kill his own father. David was called the apple of God's eye, a man after God's own heart. The Bible does not tell us how David raised his son, so presuming would be gossip.
There is pride involved in judging the parenting of others based on a perception without facts. The only reason to make these kinds of judgments is to attempt to elevate oneself above others. There is no profit spiritually in judging the parenting of others only to appear superior.
Some would judge others for not attending the modern churches, as though attending those places is the way we are to gather, when the Bible teaches differently. It is not our place to judge how brothers and sisters choose to meet.
Judging how others choose to eat is another way to destroy relationships unnecessarily. I have seen a lot of this in my life. Food has been a "great divide" among believers these days because they are so fixated on this life and everything being as perfect as possible, they have lost sight that God provides the food and He is the judge.
Colossians 2:16-17 " 16 Therefore let no one judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a feast, a New Moon, or a Sabbath. 17These are a shadow of the things to come, but the body that casts it belongs to Christ.…"
Romans 14:5-6 "One person regards a certain day above the others, while someone else considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes a special day does so to the Lord; he who eats does so to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God."
Galatians 4:9-10 "But now that you know God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you are turning back to those weak and worthless principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? You are observing special days and months and seasons and years!"
I have seen people judge women as leading when they are merely sharing through the love of the Holy Spirit. They have judged that the women are usurping authority when they are a helper and asset to their husbands.
It has been my experience that often people judge something about us; they want us to be wrong about something because of their dislike or even hatred of us. Even gossiping about us to others so the others will dislike us too. Somehow, they think if they discredit us, that alone will elevate them to special status.
,
Romans 14:1-4 "Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on his opinions. For one person has faith to eat all things, while another, who is weak, eats only vegetables. The one who eats everything must not belittle the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted him."
1 Corinthians 8:8 "But food does not bring us closer to God: We are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do."
Galatians 5:1 "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not be encumbered once more by a yoke of slavery."
It is not surprising that unbelievers, even the pretenders who attend churches, would want to ruin our walk and remove our influence by turning others against us. They did it with Christ, the apostles, and the prophets, and they will do it with us, too. Praise God when we can stand alone, ignore the idle chatter, and remain full of joy anyway.
Many actions in this life may be different from the way we do things, but it does not mean the different person is sinning in some way, or even wrong about their choices.
Sadly, I see this on steroids in social media with celebrities or high-ranking political figures. It is one thing to judge a person based on truth, what we can see, and what the celebrities have said publicly themselves; it is quite another to make guesses based on perceived outcomes.
Let's be sure when we judge it is according to God's Word and not our own prejudices.
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