The Top 5 (November 16)

Before I pass along my Top 5 for this weekend, let me drop in a link to something of a quite different character. Indeed, it is a Vital Signs Blog post ("Let Vital Signs Help Inspire Your Holidays") that gives a link to 4 seasonal ways that Vital Signs Ministries can help inform, inspire, and elevate your appreciation of this “most wonderful time of the year." Okay, here's the Top 5:

* "5 Policy Priorities for President Trump’s First 100 Days" (Southern Baptists ERLC Policy Staff)

From the article -- 1. Reinforce policies that ensure the government does not fund abortion...2. Withhold government funding for abortion providers, domestically and abroad...3. Revoke President Biden’s executive order directing agencies to implement radical  gender and sexuality policies...4. Rescind the anti-life, anti-religious liberty, and pro-gender ideology policies advanced by the Biden administration...5. Reverse the Biden administration’s actions that expanded “access” to the abortion pill.

* "Trump’s Masculine Appeal: For all his flaws, the president-elect demonstrates a kind of bravery that men ought to imitate." (Aaron M. Renn, City Journal)

From the article -- Something about Trump appeals to young men. This is a group with many widely reported pathologies: they are falling behind young women in collegiate attendance, and increasingly struggling economically, as documented by scholars such as Richard Reeves in his book Of Boys and Men. What is it that these men see in Trump?

Most of the president-elect’s critics focus on the ways in which he is not a “good man.” They say that he is crude and gratuitously offensive, selfish and egotistic, that he lies and is disloyal. His gaudy consumption style, braggadocio, and love of celebrity, they suggest, are an affront to traditional WASP values. Undoubtedly, Trump is no Teddy Roosevelt or Ward Cleaver. But his critics fail to see the ways in which he embodies a real archetype of masculinity.

* "Trump Should Revive His Pro-America 1776 Commission On Day One" (Robert Busek, Federalist)

From the article -- Trump created the commission the day before Election Day in 2020 with the purpose of “[establishing] a clear historical record of an exceptional Nation dedicated to the ideas and ideals of its founding.” Its goal was to provide a much-needed corrective to anti-American propaganda masquerading as history such as the “1619 Project,” whose “radicalized view of American history lacks perspective, obscures virtues, twists motives, ignores or distorts facts, and magnifies flaws, resulting in the truth being concealed and history disfigured.” The commission’s report, published two days before Trump left office, sketched out a basic curriculum that balanced American exceptionalism as reflected in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution with the darker aspects of our history, such as slavery and Jim Crow.

Predictably, the usual suspects had a hissy fit. NBC News accused the commission of “whitewashing historical narratives,” while professional race-baiter Ibram X. Kendi called the report “the last great lie from a Trump administration of great lies.” The journal Foreign Policy published a hatchet job from a grad student “expert” likening the commission’s recommendations to the educational policies of authoritarian regimes like Russia and China.

The unkindest cut of all came from the American Historical Association, which abandoned all pretense of scholarly objectivity by slandering the report as a “call for a form of government indoctrination of American students [that would] elevate ignorance about the past to a civic virtue.”

The new administration heard the message loud and clear. A day after taking the oath of office, President Biden spiked the commission along with most of the other common-sense policies of his predecessor.

* "The Election’s Second-Biggest Loser? Legacy Media" (Mike Gonzalez, Daily Signal)

From the article -- It’s not just that the voter has now said the press have no clothes. More importantly, President-elect Donald Trump was able to use an online ecosystem that now far outstrips anything the legacy media have to offer. Conservatives have a right to be excited about this brand-new development.

Part of the reason people have been flocking to nonlegacy media sources, including the many podcasts Trump went out of his way to appear on over the course of his campaign, is that the legacy media long ago shed all semblance of impartiality.

Newspapers such as The Washington Post and The New York Times, broadcasters such as NPR and the three major TV networks, as well as wire services such as The Associated Press and Reuters have behaved as though it were up to them to prevent a Trump victory. And they didn’t care if it was obvious.

The Media Research Center, a conservative outfit that has performed invaluable service studying the media for years, confirms that this year’s coverage, in particular, was the worst of any election in history.

* "Parents in Massachusetts School District Can’t Opt Out of ‘Sexuality,’ ‘Gender Identity’ Lessons" (Elizabeth Troutman Mitchell, Daily Signal)

From the article -- “November 13th through November 19th is Transgender Awareness Week,” Angiers Elementary Principal Orla Higgins Averill said in an email obtained by The Daily Signal. “This week helps raise the visibility about transgender people and address issues members of the community face.” The link provided takes parents to the website of GLAAD, a radical LGBTQ activist group that claims so-called gender-affirming care is lifesaving for young people who believe they are transgender.

Angiers Elementary teaches kindergarten through fifth grade as part of Newton Public Schools in Newton, Massachusetts, a predominantly liberal area north of Boston.

Parents whose children are enrolled in Newton Public Schools can’t opt them out of lessons on sexual orientation or gender identity, according to guidance approved in October by the district’s school board, called the Newton School Committee. “While parents/guardians/caregivers may opt out of the health curriculum specifically related to sexual reproduction, our commitment to gender and sexuality education remains firm,” the document says.

Let Vital Signs Help Inspire Your Holidays

Remember Andy Williams singing “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year?” Well, with Thanksgiving and Christmas rapidly approaching  -- and with the election results turning out the way they did -- we can join Mr. Williams in those sentiments with even greater gratitude and joy this season.

And to help inform, inspire, and elevate your appreciation of this “most wonderful time,” Vital Signs Ministries has four seasonal opportunities for you:

1) “A Thanksgiving Present.” Think of it as a kind of “starter pack” for your Thanksgiving season -- 20 pages of Scriptures and quotations, excerpts from Presidential Proclamations and other documents, poems, trivia, and historical reviews. It’s a nice resource that you can use in your own holiday reflections, as conversation starters, to pass along in correspondence and social media, and to enrich the Thanksgiving experience with your family.

2) “Making the Most of Christmas.” This very popular collection has helped our friends for over 3 decades now to more thoroughly enjoy their Christmas season. Poetry, brief devotions, stimulating and fun quizzes, and a lot more. 

Both the Thanksgiving and Christmas collections are available (completely free, of course) on the Vital Signs Ministries website. (Look in the Articles section.)

3) As many of you know, Claire and I host a couple of Vital Signs Ministries letter-writing parties every quarter. It’s just one of our outreach, advocacy, and encouragement ministries. But it’s an important one. These gatherings are always full of serious purpose; yet they are very pleasant and engaging activities whereby we shine the lights of love, truth, and justice using personal correspondence. We have done this with excellent effect for over 40 years and we always look forward to these action-oriented fellowship opportunities. But ah...the Christmas card party! That is something particularly fine and festive. And we most heartily invite you to join us on December 2 at either our morning party (10 o’clock) or the evening event (7 o’clock) for 90 minutes or so of “good and noble work” as we write political officials, business leaders, heroes of the faith, Christians under persecution, and media. 

Also, for those unable to attend in person, we do provide a set of “helps” in the form of letter targets, relevant information, addresses, even sample letters. Those “helps” can also be found at the Vital Signs Ministries (in the Taking Action section) and/or Vital Signs Blog and/or through direct request from us. If you are interested in attending or in obtaining the “helps” in order to write a few letters and Christmas cards on your own, please let us know.

And 4) The Christmas edition of “When Swing Was King” is a truly unique inspiration and entertainment. We encourage you to check our schedule -- yes, it’s on the website in the Seniors section -- to perhaps plan to be a part of one of the audiences when we present “When Swing Was King” in several area senior facilities during the month of December. We also ask you to consider it as a special nostalgic treat for your own church family. 

So, there you go. Why not let Vital Signs Ministries be of assistance to you in truly making this “the most wonderful time of the year” in some new and meaningful ways?

A Thanksgiving Present

Sure, it is always the season of thanksgiving for the Christian (Psalm 95:2, Psalm 100:4, 2 Corinthians 9:11-15, Philippians 4:6 and so on), but it is also of great importance for American Christians to cherish the foundations of their national holiday. Indeed, we should be intensifying our efforts to pass on to the next generations the history, the importance, and the present applications of Thanksgiving. After all, the government schools are not going to do it. Neither will Hollywood or the establishment media. And, sad to say, even the church has fumbled this important responsibility. 

It’s up to you and me, pilgrim!

And to help in this effort, we have assembled some remarkable items in this special Thanksgiving present over on the Vital Signs Ministries website. In these 20 pages, you will find the Mayflower Compact, Holy Scriptures and other quotations, excerpts from Presidential Proclamations and other documents, poems, historical tidbits, and more. 

We hope you find it of educational and inspirational value.

Weekend Vital Signs Activities...And So On

It was certainly a significant weekend for Claire and I and things seem to have started in the same spirit to begin this week. Thank You, Lord.  Saturday’s activities involved sermon preparations, shopping, and preparing salad, a rich and spicy bean and vegetable stew, and several desserts for our dinner guests Saturday night -- Kamal and Yogesh from India. We had a marvelous evening together that night and we were delighted to hear them ask if they could come again sometime soon!

Sunday morning found us at one of our favorite churches, Herman Community Church, where I did a Sunday school class on Thanksgiving (both the biblical virtue and the history of the American holiday) and then the sermon on Ephesians 1:1-8. Then, after Claire and I stopped briefly for London Fogs at the Scooters’ in Blair, we conducted our regular Sunday afternoon church service at Aksarben Village Senior Living. It went very well too with 18 residents and our team on hand for a terrific time of teaching, music, and visiting over cookies and coffee.

Our Monday involved writing letters of congratulations to President-elect Trump and other Republican winners -- letters which also reminded them all of four priorities we are asking them to immediately pursue: 

1) The de-funding of the mega-abortion business that is Planned Parenthood.

2) Increased military might in order to better protect America from her enemies.

3) Clean and efficient election procedures.

4) “Cleaning house” in the Deep State, with a special emphasis on considerably strengthening the rights of religion, speech, assembly, and conscience from government harassment.

We also sent thank-you letters to the heroic pro-life leaders at NRL, NFA, and NCC for leading the victorious campaign to defeat the extreme pro-abortion amendment proposal 439.

Later that morning we headed down to Lincoln to present our first “When Swing Was King” show of November. No surprise -- the residents loved it! We then drove a few blocks through the Havelock district to the Engine House restaurant where we enjoyed a terrific lunch and conversation with Harold and Mary Dee Berry. What treasured friends they are.

We finished Monday with thank-you notes to several of our friends who are U.S. military veterans and started in mulching up the leaves from the front yards of ours and the neighbors on both sides of us. My mower, which I’ve had considerable difficulty with all summer, has turned out to be an absolute marvel in mulching leaves into...well, into nothing! That has been a delightful and very helpful surprise.

The week ahead includes four more “When Swing Was King” shows, preparation for Sunday services at Aksarben Village and again at Herman Community Church, a lunch party with over a dozen friends coming to our house, Saturday morning’s pro-life witness outside the abortion business, finishing up a Thanksgiving package that will be on the Vital Signs Ministries website tomorrow,  and a few other important tasks. Prayers are always appreciated that we do our work in His power and with His abundant blessings upon it. 

The Election is Over. What's YOUR Next Step?

Here’s an idea for you. Copy the picture above (or some creation of your own) and print it off to make “congratulation cards” to the conservatives you supported in Tuesday’s elections. On the inside (or simply the back side if you go with a postcard format), tell them four things on which you want them to press “fast and furious” as soon as they take office. (Those items, of course, may well be different for the various offices your candidates won.)  And keep a copy of your card so you can refer to those priorities in your next communications.

Keep in mind, guys, it’s not enough to get these folks elected. Nor is it enough to applaud them (or ourselves) or feel satisfied and happy that they won out over their Democrat opponents. The job of governing with principle, efficiency, and wisdom is now at hand. Therefore, our prayers, encouragement, and perseverance to keep our political representatives accountable are more important than ever.

By the way, what are the priorities I’m asking them to make priorities? 

1) The de-funding of the mega-abortion business that is Planned Parenthood.

2) Increased military might in order to better protect America from her enemies.

3) Clean and efficient election procedures.

4) “Cleaning house” in the Deep State, with a special emphasis on considerably strengthening the rights of religion, speech, assembly, and conscience from government harassment.

So, what do you say? Send in your cards and letters today. We mobilized for their election. Let’s stay mobilized to insure these folks govern the way they promised.

The Top 5 (November 10)

* "After the Sigh of Relief: 7 Post-Election Observations" (Denny Hartford, Vital Signs Blog)

From the article -- This brief review includes comments on why Donald Trump won, why Kamala Harris failed, why 434 was an effective strategy against the pro-abortion industry’s desires to capture our state, 434 also overcoming the strange attacks from a collection of contrarian, abolitionist pro-life people, and what this all means for  an American Christian’s answer to the question, “And so what now?”

* "Trump's 10-Part Plan to Dismantle the Deep State" (Sarah Arnold, Town Hall)

From the article -- In arguably one of the most critical first announcements Trump has made as president-elect, he vowed to immediately reissue the 2020 executive order to restore the president’s authority to remove “rogue bureaucrats aggressively.” 

Second, Trump said he would fire all of the corrupt individuals in the country’s national security and intelligence organization so that bureaucrats would no longer be able to target and persecute conservatives and Christians. 

“The departments and agencies that have been weaponized will be completely overhauled,” Trump declared. 

* "Morning in America Again: 7 Reflections from Trump’s Election" (Owen Strachan, Washington Stand)

From the article -- But mark this well: Trump is not the true victor here. God is the one who has acted in immeasurable mercy toward our nation. God is the one who gets all the glory and deserves all the praise. In his magnificent kindness and common grace, God has chosen to spare us the plenteous vicissitudes of a Harris administration. The magnitude of common grace in this act is nearly unprecedented in Western history.

This is not hyperbole. We are in one of those rare moments right now when it is clear, abundantly clear, that we are at a hinge point in history. I say this because Kamala Harris represented the specter of Hades in her candidacy. This is not too strong. Death was Harris’s platform. Abortion was her cardinal value, her cherished principle, the beacon that lit her way. Killing precious babies was Harris’s policy. That’s what she ran on.

Not just that, though. Harris took on the very platform of paganism in her candidacy. Most everything that is good, Harris opposed — and opposed to the strong support of the mainstream media, Hollywood, the American academy, and the general drift of our culture. Harris wanted to normalize marijuana usage, transgenderism, the dissolution of traditional strong manhood, crippling federal debt, a truly borderless nation, a weak global presence, with Israel preyed on by a snapping pack of jackals, and much more.

Hear this clear as a bell: Kamala Harris’s campaign was an inversion campaign. In her platform, she championed the inverse of what God loves and blesses.

* "The crumbling of the Democratic empire: The party of the oligarchy thought it had a right to rule forever." (Joel Kotkin, spiked!)

From the article -- Of course, some in the oligarchy, notably Elon Musk, backed Trump in this election. But the bulk of the big money bankrolled Harris. When Musk began supporting Trump, the Atlantic – owned by Harris’s good buddy, Laurene Jobs – accused the X owner of ‘bend[ing] the knee’ to ‘strongman politics’. I guess when oligarchs like LinkedIn’s Reid Hoffman, Salesforce’s Marc Benioff, George Soros or Bill Gates get the cheque book out for Harris, they are acting for purely selfless, public-spirited reasons.

In its glory days, the British Empire had the best weapons and the most cash. But, as occurred in the American Revolution, it did not always know how to best use them. Similarly, despite the Democrats having near total control over the media, and raising three times as much money as the Trump campaign, their candidate failed to make much of an impression on what we used to call Middle America. Instead, Harris cultivated the support of the elite’s court jesters, as evidenced by her final Pennsylvania event with Lady Gaga, Oprah and Ricky Martin taking the stage. She would have been better off sharing the platform with, say, state governor Josh Shapiro or senator John Fetterman, Democratic politicians who can reach working-class voters.

Although they may see themselves as the natural leaders of the nation, the imperial elites have proven amazingly inept politically. Harris may be a favourite of the oligarchs, but she is also one of the most useless politicians ever to run for president.

* "Spring the Felon, Kill the Squirrel: New York wildlife officers shamefully invade a home and euthanize an innocent man’s pet—all while miscreants roam city and state virtually unbothered." (Tim Rosenberger, City Journal)

From the article -- Dan Longo’s beloved pet, Peanut, was seized at his home in Pine City, New York, on October 30. Responding to anonymous reports of “potentially unsafe housing of wildlife,” Elmira’s overly zealous (to put it kindly) animal control officers from the Department of Environmental Conservation showed up at Longo’s home in a convoy of vehicles. The DEC officers, numbering ten in all, forcibly removed Peanut. After Peanut allegedly bit one of the officers, the squirrel was euthanized—ostensibly to test for rabies, though squirrels “almost never get rabies,” according to no less an authority than the New York State Department of Health. But why should we expect state wildlife workers to know such relevant things?

While the officers were raiding Longo’s home, they took the opportunity to grill his wife about her immigration status. Their interest in this matter is surprising, given the state’s usual course of action: illegal immigrants have swarmed into New York for years now and are severely taxing public services, shelter space, and even schools. Violent Tren de Aragua Venezuelan gang members “hide in plain sight” in New York City’s migrant shelters. But Longo’s wife: now there’s a woman to watch.

The raid of Longo’s home lasted five hours. Longo said that the experience made him feel “like a drug dealer.” He should be so lucky. New York drug dealers and addicts can ply their trade free from government interference. Indeed, not only are they left largely unmolested across the state, but in many jurisdictions they enjoy taxpayer-funded paraphernalia.

“After the Sigh of Relief: 7 Post-Election Observations”

(This brief review includes comments on why Donald Trump won, why 
Kamala Harris failed, why 434 was an effective strategy against the pro-abortion industry’s desires to capture our state, 434 also overcoming the strange attacks from a collection of contrarian, abolitionist pro-life people, and what this all means for an American Christian’s answer to the question, “And so what now?”)

1) Yes, I am sighing with relief today. And it’s a continuation of the sigh that began about 2:30 Wednesday morning when Claire and I saw the late vote counts turning for Donald Trump in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Adding to our comfort that morning were the late vote counts that assured a Nebraska win for Amendment proposal 434, for Senator Deb Fischer, and for the...uh...usually conservative Republican, Congressman Don Bacon.

Yet along with the sigh of relief, there is a more poignant, painful, and continual sigh caused by deep regret and spiritual challenge. For the stark evidence from those election numbers emphasize how terribly soiled, torn, and rotting is the cultural fabric of our nation. For instance, those numbers show that nearly half of American voters knowingly voted to expand yet further the slaughter of the innocents through chemical poisons, surgical knives, and violent suction machines that tear preborn boys and girls to pieces. Nearly half of American voters knowingly voted for lawlessness in our cities, on our borders, and in our White House. Nearly half of American voters knowingly voted for elitists being allowed to criminalize free speech, deny rights of conscience, override parental rights, and audaciously deny the most basic of biological realities.  And nearly half of American voters swallowed “whole hog” the lies, hatred, and outlandish conspiracies that were so irresponsibly and incessantly preached by leftist political officials and their media henchmen. 

Thus, that second and ongoing sigh. Our work, brothers and sisters, is far from over.

2) In light of this, let’s be sure to recognize the limits of government. I certainly believe that the election of Donald Trump is a blessing to America and to the world. And so I am both quick and keen to thank the Lord for answers to our prayers regarding the election and for all of His other abundant graces to our nation. However, Donald Trump and a Republican-controlled Senate and Congress cannot do what is the job of the Church. So don’t expect that. Oh, no; let that sigh of relief be but a brief thing and then let’s you and I get to those critical culture duties that are laid down in Holy Scripture: to occupy until Jesus comes, to strengthen the things that remain, to shine our light into the darkness, to overcome evil with good, to defend those being dragged away to slaughter, to hold forth the word of truth, to pray without ceasing, to do justice, to disciple the nations, to preach the gospel to every creature, and so on. 

Indeed, in these last days, let us intensify and make more frequent our prayers, even as we freshly commit our efforts to better serve the Lord Jesus as His ambassadors in this bleak and oh-so-desperate world.

3) In Nebraska, the proposed ballot amendment (439) that would have enshrined unlimited and unregulated abortion into our state constitution was defeated. But please note that it wasn’t defeated by a whole lot. And there were three reasons why. First of all, sad to say, but Nebraska’s citizenry is not nearly as pro-life as we have often fooled ourselves into thinking, let alone as pro-life as we would desire. Let’s face the hard truth. 50 years of Roe v Wade, 50 years of abortion propaganda from media and government schools, and 50 years of an irresponsible lack of pushback against abortion by Church leaders have taken a terrible toll. And so it shouldn’t shock us all that much to learn that the in-depth research done here in Nebraska early in the year revealed how impossible it would be to pass the kind of laws that all pro-lifers desire; namely, a ban on all abortions. 

Thus came the wording of 434 which protects as much as possible the pro-life gains achieved over the years AND creates means and momentum for further pro-life laws. But furthermore, 434 was carefully, prayerfully designed as the best chance possible to defeat 439, the extremely pro-abortion measure which was very much like those passed in several other states in Tuesday’s elections -- as well as 7 states before that. 

The second reason that 439, “the abortionist’s delight,” failed was that the efforts of Nebraska pro-lifers to counter the lies and cold-heartedness behind 439 proved successful. Way to go everyone -- but a special shout-out to those lovely female athletes who presented an absolutely stunning pro-life ad. Wow! The battle to secure Nebraska’s pro-life gains and to keep unrestricted abortion from becoming the law here was a very tough fight because big, big money came in from Planned Parenthood, the ACLU, and other deep pocket abortion proponents invested heavily to spread the most dastardly and devious lies. And yet, thank the Lord, the pro-life prayers, efforts, and that provision of a strategic alternative gave Nebraska babies and their moms a huge win.

But 434 had one other obstacle to overcome. That was the naive, counterproductive, and extremely harsh criticism of certain pro-life people in our state. That’s right, believe it or not, 434 was strenuously opposed by a group of contrarians who insisted that the only truly pro-life position was the absolutist/abolitionist (I’m using their terms, by the way, not mine) one they had drafted last spring. But that effort had been a complete failure. It was never even remotely close to making it on the ballot. Nonetheless, this minority collection of pro-life people chose a most irresponsible, dangerous way to express their disappointment. They decided to do all they could to discourage Nebraskans from voting on 434 -- even though they knew this could well backfire and allow 439 to secure more votes than 434. Indeed, these people vehemently scolded pro-lifers intending to vote for 434 that they would then be guilty of sin, being a traitor to the unborn babies, committing an evil and pro-abortion act. Good grief.

To be sure, the majority of this contrarian group (not all, only most) were people whose service to the pro-life cause over the years ranges from minimal to missing altogether. That’s sad enough. Yet, from many of these armchair quarterbacks (again, not all) came the most unjust, mean-spirited, even slanderous charges against not only the strategy behind 434, but the character and motives of anyone who supported it. Believe me, some of those criticisms were ugly. And they were leveled at such dedicated, noble pro-life veterans as Nebraska Right to Life, the Nebraska Catholic Conference, Vital Signs Ministries, Nebraska Family Alliance, Assure Women’s Center, Students for the Life of America, Essential Pregnancy Services, Abortion Dialogue Academy, Business and Professional People for Life, a few hundred churches, and still more. To make such a wholesale, vindictive denunciation of this whole band of heroes shows...well, some pretty remarkable gall. 

So, let’s consider the future. Will the absolutists now lay down the ugly words and weapons they used against the pro-life heroes representing the organizations and ministries I’ve named above? Will they apologize (not for honest differences in opinion about the best strategy, that’s more than acceptable), but apologies for the needless, heedless smears against reputations that were publicly spread abroad? After all, we (for I’m one of those roundly criticized) not only had to deal with gross distortions of our positions from the absolutist folks, but also slanders against our personal character, motivation, and sincerity. I surely hope reconciliations will start taking place. And soon. But, given the depth of animosity some of the abolitionists demonstrated in their fight against 434, I fear that the harm done to the pro-life movement in our state may be profound and enduring. Lord, please help us repair the damage and get a fresh start -- together.

4) Another point. One of the most crucial of all prerequisites for American Christians improving their service to the Lord Jesus is the development of a purer, wiser worldview. And a simple step towards that is that we stop watching, reading, and listening to the Democrat Party media! And yes, this includes your hometown newspaper and your local television news. Guys, they are all in the tank. They all blather about inconsequentials; they all lean left; and they all exclude the most important news and most truthful of perspectives. So, instead of continuing your dependence on the State media, please utilize the wide array of alternative sources of news, information, and commentary that are now available to you. There are way too many websites, podcasts, and publications for me to list here. But the fact is that quality news and information are there waiting for you. Therefore, unplug yourself from media that misinforms, misdirects, and manipulates you and your family. And then, kindly and respectfully encourage others to do the same.

5) I drop in a very brief word here about preachers and pastors that I believe relevant to the election. This has been one of the subjects my good friend and pro-life colleague, John Malek, and I have talked about for some long while at our Thursday morning coffee. It is simply this. Pastors should be diligent in taking care of their sheep, don’t we all agree? Of course. And we normally think of the duties therein to be feeding and comforting said sheep. That’s spot on as well. But comforting counsel, intercessory prayer, and teaching the rudiments of Christian doctrines cannot be the only responsibilities of the shepherd -- when there are wolves in the vicinity. And, my oh my, pastor; do we have plenty of wolves lurking about! And those wolves not only tear apart their prey in literal ways (abortionists, drug dealers, murderers, sex traffickers), they are destroying innocence, justice, and the historic ideals of Christian-based Western Civilization. They do so through the aforementioned media but also through Marxism, Darwinism, hedonism, and other thoroughly pagan philosophies -- all of which are standard (almost unrivaled) features of the media, government schools, and their allies in the museums, PBS, pseudoscientific publications, libraries, pop entertainment, Big Business and Big Tech, and the social media giants like Google and Facebook and tiktok.

Consider the weight of a 30-minute sermon, a few songs, and maybe even a Sunday School class to the untold hours your parishioners are spending every week with these wolves. Think of how their minds and emotions and habits and priorities are being shaped. And, with that being the case, do we really think we have been serious and skilled enough about teaching Christians what God says (and in specific, meaningful, prioritized ways) about His order of creation, evolution, sanctity of life, modesty, sexual chastity, marriage, family life, honoring our elders, the seductions posed by the world’s system, financial saving and giving, freedom, Christian apologetics, history, the furniture of one’s mind being what is beautiful and true, and so on. The answer, of course...well, you know the answer. And it should motivate us to start doing much better. Wolf patrols, assemble!

6) Okay, back to the election itself for these last couple of points. The Democrat candidates ran primarily on three things: a) against the reincarnation of Adolf Hitler, b) against the truths quite obvious to most of the country’s citizens regarding theDemocrat's own disastrous tenure in office, and c) their unlimited appetite for more abortion and sexual perversities. 

But the Republicans? Donald Trump made it clear that his priorities were securing the border; restoring the rule of law; building the U.S. military; removing the red tape and other severe restrictions on business and the economy; lower taxes; stopping the overreach of the federal government into the rights of states, communities and individuals; proper oversight of government waste, including monies going overseas as foreign aid; standing with Israel; prohibiting the federal government from pushing yet further abortion and Planned Parenthood; dealing with vote fraud and election tampering; cleaning house in the corrupt alphabet federal agencies like the DOJ, IRS, FBI, and so on; increasing jobs; checking the power of international thugs like China and Iran; and renewing pride in America’s history and ideals. Those issues were winners -- every single one of them.

Along the way there were, of course, other highlights -- and lowlights -- of the respective campaigns. And, I believe they were, of course, orchestrated by God Himself Who desires to offer America yet another chance to clean up at least some of the mess we’ve made of our nation in recent years. Want me to mention a few? I do so in no particular order. Kamala Harris’ selection of Tim Walz, a pitiful fellow who turned out to be an even more lousy person and candidate than she was... Donald Trump’s brilliant stints as a McDonald’s worker and his garbage truck photo op... The dramatic and historic shift of a considerable amount of Latino, black, union member, and Jewish support from Democrat to Trump... Elon Musk and Robert Kennedy Jr... The decision of the L.A. Times, the Washington Post, USA Today, and others to refuse an endorsement for Harris... The bold strategy of Donald Trump to hold rallies even in heavily Democrat states -- this was a counter-intuitive but extremely nifty move which resonated with the whole of America, building enthusiasm and confidence in his base and heavily contributing to the invaluable momentum he achieved in winning the popular vote... President Biden’s ill-timed and inept “assistance” to the Harris campaign... Kamala Harris’ inappropriate and excessive laughter, her rambling word salads, refusing to do press conferences, skipping the Al Smith dinner, and the failure to distance herself in any specifics from the disastrous Biden presidency. 

A few more? How about Trump’s interview by Joe Rogan...Tulsi Gabbard and Nikki Haley... The way-over-the-top hatred, arrogance, and fear mongering perpetrated by Harris, Walz, and the Democrat Party media... Republicans scoring several victories against vote fraud schemes leading up to the election... NBC’s unlawfully giving Harris a time slot on Saturday Night Live which not only underscored the media’s slobbering partnership with the Democrat Party, but being then required to offer Trump equal time on Sunday, time that he took not only to best Harris’ performance by far, but doing so to a much larger viewership... J.D. Vance’s overwhelming superiority to Tim Walz in their debate... Harris getting caught peddling contrary messages to the Jews of Pennsylvania and the Muslims of Michigan... The enthusiasm of the Republicans, independents, and awakened Democrats that made the vote totals just “too big to rig” this time around... Donald Trump surviving an assassination attempt and the horrendously inept performance of the Secret Service even after that tragedy... And many more which you yourselves can add to the count.

Again, God answered the prayers of His people around the world for the pagan left to fall into its own snares and therefore allow for a Republican victory that gives America another chance to repair the moral fabric of the nation, to help Israel, and to once again be a beacon of freedom, opportunity, and justice for the whole world.

7) But as I end this post-election wrap, let me again stress the overwhelming importance of you and I keeping our own house in order...to let the Lordship of Jesus Christ move us daily to love and good deeds in His name and by His mighty power...to forgive our enemies, be patient and gracious with them (without compromise) and pray for their enlightenment, correction and, when required, their conversion...to build up our spiritual disciplines to make our sanctification more consistent and appealing to a watching world...to stop the flow of lies and meaninglessness that moves into our heads and hearts and homes through the Democrat Party media and, for that matter, through the unhealthy entertainment the world dishes up for us...to become better ambassadors, better defenders of the faith, better in our prayers and personal discipleship...and to get on with our Father’s business in our homes, our churches, and yes, in the public square too. 

And let me drop in before I close a couple of ways that I think Vital Signs Ministries can help you out. Please consider utilizing the free information materials offered by Vital Signs Ministries: Vital Signs Blog, the Vital Signs Ministries website, the Top 5 offered every Saturday. There are also service opportunities like coming alongside us as we testify to the sanctity of life outside Planned Parenthood, or the visitation ministries of “When Swing Was King” and our Sunday afternoon church services at Aksarben Village Senior Living, or our quarterly letter-writing parties. In fact, the next letter parties are on December 2 at our home (one in the morning and one in the evening) where we will be writing letters and Christmas cards to the newly elected public servants, the heroes that led the fight for 434 (including those Nebraska female athletes), and many others. It’s always a good, productive, and fun time so please plan on joining us. Just contact us if you’re interested.

A New Bible Interaction Approach

Yesterday not only marked our marriage anniversary, it also marked the completion of a year’s worth of very valuable interaction with Tim Tebow’s Mission Possible One-Year Devotional. It has been a very helpful resource. Claire and I are regular donors to the Tim Tebow Foundation; we pray for them at least once a week; and we were blessed to participate in the “Night To Shine” ministry last year with plans to do so again this year and beyond. So, yes; we think a great deal of this young man, his family, and the multifaceted ministries he and his team lead. But spending time each morning with this devotional this last year has increased even more our admiration and gratitude for what the Lord is doing in Tim Tebow’s life and ministries. Thus, we recommend both the devotional and the Foundation’s work very highly.

However, beginning today we are trying a new method for our daily devotionals. It is one that involves 5 days a week of Scripture readings (the specific schedule of which I will organize as we go along) and a simple five step interaction with the text. 

1) Read. Take your time and read carefully and prayerfully the scheduled text. 

2) Reflect. Think about what you are reading with a specific attention to relevant applications. 3) Consider. Consider things from the day’s text that might prompt more study, what stimulates a specific action response, what things you might want to talk about with your spouse and others, etc. 4) Write. Write down items from Steps 2 and 3 plus perhaps other items to thank God for, to confess, to apply more wisely and diligently, to pray about, and so on. 5) Pray. Take a few minutes to talk to God about these matters.

By the way, why is it only a 5-day schedule? Well, it makes for a more do-able plan in that gives you a couple days grace to deal with other texts (like the Sunday sermon or a podcast that you’ve heard), to catch up in case you missed a day during the week, to use the time to pursue some of the questions arising from the week’s previous readings, and so on. 

Anyhow, we’re going to give it a go. Lord Jesus, please bless this effort with success.

Our first schedule is listed below. Feel free to use it or to share here in the comments section a devotional approach that you have found successful. And, by all means, if you are looking for a devotional book, you would do very well indeed to select Tim Tebow’s Mission Possible Daily Devotional.

1) Ephesians 1: 1-10 (Take 2 days with this text.)
2) Stay with Ephesians 1: 1-10
3) Ephesians 1: 11-14
4) Ephesians 1: 15-23 (2 days)
5) Stay with Ephesians 1: 15-23

6) Ephesians 2: 1-7 (2 days)
7) Stay with Ephesians 2: 1-7 
8) Ephesians 2: 8-10
9) Ephesians 2: 11-18
10) Ephesians 2: 19-22

11) Ephesians 3: 1-7
12) Ephesians 3: 8-13
13) Ephesians 3: 14-21 (2 days)
14) Stay with Ephesians 3:14-21
15) Ephesians 4: 1-6

16) Ephesians 4: 7-16
17) Ephesians 4: 17-24
18) Ephesians 4: 25-31 (2 days)
19) Stay with Ephesians 4: 25-31
20) Ephesians 5: 1-7

21) Ephesians 5: 8-14
22) Ephesians 5: 15-21
23) Ephesians 5: 22-33
24) Ephesians 6: 1-9
25) Ephesians 6: 10-20 (3 days)

26) Stay with Ephesians 6: 10-20 
27) Stay with Ephesians 6: 10-20 
28) Ephesians 6: 21-24