"A More Godly Gift Than a King"

“He was beginning to see, as never before, that there might be a spiritual kingdom of more import to men than an earthly empire; and that after all a Savior would indeed be a more godly gift than the greatest king.” (General Lew Wallace, Ben-Hur)

Amid the sordid swirl of modern politics, it’s crucial to keep one’s priorities in order. Not that the Christian doesn’t have immense responsibilities in this temporal realm. Indeed, we have been given such responsibilities by God as a most sacred trust. We are, for instance, commanded to let our lights shine, to preach and teach, to occupy until Jesus comes, to do (not only talk about or vote for) justice, to humbly dispense mercy and help, to love sinners and seek to persuade them of the truths of the gospel, to remain unstained by the world even as we confront it with the revelations we have been given of God’s character and commands. 

But, when all is said and done, this earth does have an expiration date. And, thanks to the amazing grace of God offered to sinners through the death and resurrection of Jesus, Christians are citizens of another country, a better country, a redeemed country where the government will be on the shoulders of the great I AM. The marvelous reality of the world to come makes all the difference in why and how we serve our Savior in this one.

The Top 5 (November 30)

1) * "Finland’s Shocking 99% Chemical Abortion Rate Shows America its Future" (Jordan Estabrook, Students for the Life of America)

From the article -- It’s hard to think Chemical Abortion Pills are to blame for all abortions in Finland through Chemical Abortion Pills, but these statistics don’t lie. In America, it should bring a shiver down the spine of every freedom-loving and life-affirming American. Currently, these deadly pills make up  63% of all abortions in America. Still, the percentage is likely higher than what the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute reveals, given that we have no National Abortion Reporting Law. However, we can trust Finland’s numbers due to their rigorous efforts to report every abortion through an AB 4 Form submitted to the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare.  

At this rate, more lives have been lost, starved, and expelled out of their mothers’ wombs, only to be flushed into a watery grave moments later. More women and girls have been coerced and forced into abortion by abusers thanks to unregulated mail-in abortion rings.  

Sadly, due to copious human remains that not even hospitals would put into our sewers, there will be water pollution and PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals.”  

But just like America, Finland didn’t get to a near-total chemical abortion wave overnight.

2) * "Too many Americans remain in the dark about Planned Parenthood, and the media is fine with it" (Nancy Flanders, Live Action)

From the article -- “A lot of people don’t know Planned Parenthood, that they help low-income people with birth control, Pap smears, and mammograms,” she said. “It’s all free if you are broke, and I happened to be broke. You can’t close it down, and get rid of all the other things that it helps with, because you don’t like one thing it does.” But when the “one thing it does” that people “don’t like” is the literal killing of innocent human beings before birth, the effort to shut it down makes perfect ethical and logical sense.

And in reality, only 2% of women of reproductive age use Planned Parenthood’s services.

According to the National Vital Statics at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), just over 3.6 million women began receiving prenatal care in 2022. And less than 1% of those women received those prenatal services from Planned Parenthood. With Pap tests, the picture is the same: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 66% of women aged 18 and over had a Pap test within the past three years, and less than 1% of women received theirs at Planned Parenthood.

In addition, Planned Parenthood doesn’t provide any mammograms. However, it is the number one abortion provider in the nation — committing approximately 40% of all abortions. According to its most recent annual report, Planned Parenthood increased its abortions in 2022-2023 by 5% to 392,715 a year. That’s up 100% from its total abortions in 2000.

3) * "Put a smile on your dial. Or else." (Ann Farmer, Mercator)

From the article -- On October 31, 2024, it became illegal to protest against abortion, hand out leaflets, or even silently pray within 150 metres of any abortion facility in England and Wales, on pain of an unlimited fine. Coming into force on Halloween, this creepy new law was a treat for the abortion industry, which can anticipate a hefty rise in income, but a trick on everyone else; for although harassment is already illegal and there is no evidence of it being committed by pro-lifers, the British public has been tricked into thinking otherwise. We have come a long way from the Nuremberg Trials, when abortion was regarded as a crime against humanity, and the UN’s 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which enshrined the right to life from conception.

For more on Europe's devolution into fascism, see "French Government Declares that Abortion Cannot Be Called a 'Cause of Death' in Free Speech Crackdown" (Jonathan Turley)

4) * "Biden-Harris admin weaponized DOE, targeted Christian, career colleges with nearly 70% of enforcement" (Katie Daviscourt, PM.)

From the article -- The Biden-Harris administration's Department of Education issued 70 percent of its enforcement actions on Christian universities and career schools, despite the fact that these faith-based institutions account for less than 10 percent of the US student population, a new report shows.  The report from the American Principles Project (APP) found that "at least 12 Christian colleges have been the target of excessive penalties or banned from receiving federal student aid; by comparison, no Ivy League school has been the recipient of punitive action by the Office of Enforcement." Among the colleges most heavily targeted include Grand Canyon University (GCU) and Liberty University (LU). "The average fine against a Christian school for a Clery Act violation was $815,000, compared to $228,571 against public and private institutions," according to the report.

Jon Schweppe, APP's policy director, claimed Democrats under Biden have been "weaponizing every part of the federal government to target their opponents."

5) * "Dismantle the United Nations" (Melanie Phillips, JNS)

From the article -- After the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in July falsely accused Israel of illegally occupying the disputed territories of Judea and Samaria -- having previously given serious consideration last February to a grotesque claim that Israel was committing genocide by defending itself against genocide—people said the ICJ was a travesty of a court that systematically misused the law to delegitimize and destroy Israel.

When are people going to join the dots? It’s not just these bodies that have been corrupted and need to be dismantled. It’s the whole panoply of international law and “human rights” that’s become an onslaught against truth and justice and has knocked the entire world off its moral compass.

At the very center of this vortex of moral corruption is the United Nations. Set up after World War II as the global custodian of peace and justice, it has systematically betrayed that core aim by its obsessional malice against Israel. It has singled out the only democracy in the Middle East for wildly disproportionate and wholly unfounded denunciation as the world’s worst abuser of human rights while ignoring or downplaying the terrible and all-too-real abuses by tyrannical member states.

Our First Pachyderm Luncheon

Claire and I attended the Greater Omaha Pachyderm Luncheon yesterday, an event sponsored by a local G.O.P. group that, it turns out, hosts these luncheons the second, fourth, and fifth Monday of each month at the German American Society. The luncheon costs $25 (which will certainly limit our attendance) but yesterday's experience was excellent: enlightening, challenging, and helpful to the max. Thank you so much to John Sieler for the heads up about this opportunity. 

Yesterday’s program presented a panel of three Nebraska state senators who answered a variety of questions from the audience. Those senators were Rick Holdcroft (District 36), newly-elected Bob Anderson (District 49), and our own state senator Christy Armendariz (District 18). Claire and I were favorably impressed with the knowledge, conservative conviction, skill, and passion presented by all three yesterday as they discussed in detail various issues -- state finances, the abortion amendment fight, election integrity, OPPD, school choice, the Electoral College, and the complicated ways the “Unicameral machine” tries to do its work. 

As conservative Christians who recognize more than ever the need to be effective ambassadors for Christ in the public square -- as well as in church and our prayer closets -- we were very grateful we attended this event. We urge others to utilize the opportunity as you are able.

Oh yes, we had a delightful reunion there with a gentleman who is not only a Nebraska hero, but a friend and mentor, Hal Daub. That alone was worth the price of our admission!

Thoughts About the First Thanksgiving

Denny Hartford tells the story of the Mayflower Compact

 and what it means for Americans today. (18 minutes)

 

An Evening of Celebration...and Rededication

Claire and I were very blessed to attend the annual Nebraska Bishop’s Pro-life Banquet last night at the Cornhusker Hotel in downtown Lincoln. But before I share with you a few of the notes I took during the program, let me set the scene. 

The keynote speaker last night was our old friend and pro-life colleague Greg Schleppenbach who had returned to Nebraska from the D.C. area where he now serves as CEO of the Culture Project. A Nebraska native, Greg had previously served the Nebraska Catholic Conference for 25 years and so it was nice to have him come home and celebrate with us the defeat of Amendment 439. Yes, last night was a celebration. And yet Greg and the other presenters sharply reminded us of the awesome work yet before us. The movement to build a culture of life means the changing of untold numbers of minds on abortion. Greg reminded us, however, that the “upstream” culture issues of sexuality, marriage, and family must be priority areas for us. It was an excellent call to arms. Thank you, Greg

Our gratitude also goes to all the other dedicated pro-life servants who made-up the program: Nebraska’s Catholic Bishops (George Lucas, James Conley, and our longtime ally Joseph Hanefeldt), the NCC’s Tom Venzor and Marion Minor; and the winner of last night’s Gospel of Life award, Nikki Shasserre. It was an enlightening and very inspirational evening.

A big delight in these things, of course, is the chance to check in (however briefly) with dear friends and pro-life partners from around the state. Last night we saw several: Sandy Danek, Nate Grasz, Chip Maxwell, Rich and Barb McPhillips, Jim and Suzanne Gage, Julie Lostroh, John Horsechief, Dennis Waggoner, Karen Bowling, and John and Mary Zak.

Okay, now for a few of those notes I jotted down from last night’s conversations and program.

* Nebraska's pro-life victory was a rare one in the post-Dobbs era. And the strategy that Nebraska pro-life leaders selected; namely, to present voters with an alternative to the abortion extremism that had previously captured so many other states, proved to be ultimately successful. Seven states had already fallen to the lies and big money of the abortionists. Several more fell in the elections. True, one of the other states that did hold off the abortion industry was Florida. Congratulations, guys. And thank you, Governor DeSantis. However, it must also be noted that the percentage of the vote required to put an unlimited abortion amendment into the state’s  Constitution was 60%, not the mere 50% here in the Cornhusker state. So, how many Floridians voted for abortion? 57%! You see how things would have worked out had Nebraska not utilized an alternative amendment strategy? Again, thank You, Lord, for all needed mercies!

We were also reminded last night just how hard the climb has been here in Nebraska to pass any pro-life legislation at all. For instance, Ernie Chambers and his abortion-friendly pals over the years (not to mention the help he received from RINOs) were able to block any pro-life measures at all for a seven year stretch. Taking into account such a history with the deep research pro-life experts did into the opinions of current Nebraskans (It turns out we are not nearly as pro-life a state as we thought.) underscores just how far afield from reality are the arguments being made by pro-life abolitionists/absolutists who insist that a majority of Nebraskans would support a ban on all abortions, including those induced by chemical poisons. No, the strategy devised by the NCC, NRL, NFA, and others proved to be the best pro-life option. 

By the way, that seven year drought was broken by the pro-life license plate bill. And, for those of you who thought that wasn’t a very important win, ask yourselves why the left fought it so savagely...including throwing a strident 12-hour filibuster against it. And, with that pro-life victory, the dam began to break and Nebraska’s pro-lifers have since then secured many limitations on abortion as well as winning measures that help moms and babies. 

Every speaker last night gave glory to God for this victory even as they humbly pointed to the heroic efforts of all of the local pro-life warriors around the state whose dedication and perseverance defeated 439. Among all of these folks, however, we must make sure we’re expressing the gratitude due the Ricketts family who donated such an awful lot of financial help to the effort, as well as the female student-athletes who presented such a winsome and profoundly effective pro-life ad. 

The Top 5 (November 23)

* "After the Election -- Round 2 (Including My Top 10 Pro-Life Requests of the New Administration) (Denny Hartford, Vital Signs Blog)

From the article --  Did this election season show us that masculinity might be making a long overdue comeback? Just imagine what renewal our culture could experience if the manly virtues of courage, perseverance, honor, fortitude, sacrifice, wisdom, loyalty, and faith in God were to once again be encouraged, applauded, and carefully taught. Oh, my. Lord, please grace America with a reawakening of chivalry in all of its ideals. 

And one thing more -- there is nowhere that this masculinity comeback needs to appear more than in our pastoral leadership. Enough wimpiness. Enough compromise. Enough timidity. Enough whining about tax exempt status. Enough of the silence on issues that almighty God cares for very, very much. 

Enough acting as if you’re being fair-minded by speaking such foolish fallacies as “I don’t care what political party you prefer, just vote your conscience.” This when you know full well that the Democrat Party stands proudly for unlimited killing of preborn boys and girls! Good grief, when Congress voted on a law that would require medical care being given to babies who survived an abortion attempt, not a single Democrat would support it! So, enough posturing and pampering and placating. 

Enough listening more to the snowflakes in your congregation than you are to the clear teachings of Holy Scripture. My dear brothers, it is time to call things by their right names and to do so with courage, conviction, and winsome clarity.

* "The pope’s embrace of evil discourse: With his attack on Israel while the nation is fighting for its life, the pontiff has taken the Vatican backwards into a very dark past." (Melanie Phillips, Jewish News Service)

From the article -- In a new book published for the Catholic Church’s jubilee year, he wrote: “According to some experts, what is happening in Gaza has the characteristics of a genocide. We should investigate carefully to determine whether it fits into the technical definition formulated by jurists and international bodies.” In September, he berated Israel for an immoral lack of proportion. “Defense must always be proportionate to the attack,” he said. “When there is something disproportionate, one shows a tendency to dominate which goes beyond what is moral.”

These remarks are deeply troubling. They are the accusations routinely made by the enemies of Israel in the West, and they are shameful on many levels.

For more on this alarming subject, you can check out these articles too:  "Pope Francis’ Genocide Cowardice: He can accuse Israel of genocide, but not the Muslim killers of Christians." (Daniel Greenfield, Front Page) and "Unfulfilled Promise: Pope Francis and the Israel-Hamas war" (Adam Gregerman, Tablet)

* "Washington Post columnist claims 'Republicans want to kill your kids:' 'It's actually true'" (Joseph A. Wulfsohn, Fox News)

From the article -- Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin is urging Democrats to change their messaging to say that "Republicans want to kill your kids."

On Tuesday's installment of her "Jen Rubin's Green Room" podcast, Rubin insisted Senate Republicans who acquiesce to President-elect Trump's cabinet nominees must pay a "political price." 

"The people who irresponsibly put dangerous, treasonous, unfit people in positions of authority are responsible not only for those people, but for all the horrors that will unfold," she said. "And Democrats better get started now tracking these people, holding these people accountable and making clear to ordinary voters who voted for what and who’s responsible for what."

In order to do that, Rubin advised, "You can't talk broad themes. You have to boil it down to nuts and bolts, and you have to be pithy. What do I mean by pithy? How about this: Republicans want to kill your kids. It's actually true." 

* "Shake Up HHS: The department, exposed during the pandemic for its incompetence and groupthink, is in desperate need of reform—which Robert Kennedy Jr., whatever his flaws, will pursue." (Jeffrey H. Anderson, City Journal)

From the article -- Kennedy took the poster boy of the mask-and-lockdown regime to task in his bestselling book, The Real Anthony Fauci. But that book, a compelling and generally well-researched indictment of the public-health establishment, also makes clear that the agency’s problems extend well beyond one unscrupulous, attention-hogging bureaucrat. As former Trump advisor Scott Atlas reports in his own book, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Food and Drug Administration, and National Institutes of Health—all HHS agencies—appear to be infested with groupthink. During the pandemic, Atlas notes, White House Coronavirus Task Force coordinator Deborah Birx, then-CDC director Robert Redfield, and Fauci “shared thought processes and views to an uncanny level,” and “virtually always agreed” with each other.

Whatever his flaws, RFK Jr. does not share in such groupthink. And while Kennedy’s critics focus primarily on his being a “vaccine denier,” those accusations don’t undermine his broader case: that Big Pharma has taken too much credit for the improvements in Americans’ health over the past century-plus.

* "Make education great again!" (Adam Ellwanger, Mercator)

From the article -- Teachers, for their part, have good reason to despair. Despite the monumental importance of their work, many are underpaid. They face administrators who value standardized test scores above all else. Meanwhile, declining standards for decorum and discipline, often justified in the name of "social justice," have made schools unsafe for both teachers and students. Violence and insubordination create an environment unfit for serious learning. Some parents treat schools as daycare centers or demand good grades for minimal effort. Worse, parents of disruptive students often refuse to ensure their children do not rob others of the opportunity to learn. 

Yet teachers, too, have failed. They inflate grades to keep their jobs but do no favors for students unprepared for future challenges. This, in turn, lowers the quality of education for students ready for more advanced work, driving gifted students out of public schools. 

Another harsh truth is that many teachers are unprepared for the job. The education system has failed for so long that many teachers have never mastered the material they are supposed to teach. Colleges steer future educators toward "education" majors, where coursework focuses more on leftist "social justice" ideology than on subject mastery. Some graduates believe their mission is to "dismantle" an "unjust" society by creating anti-American activists. When these activist-teachers enter classrooms, they often abandon their duty to transmit America's culture, knowledge, and values. Instead, they teach students to disdain their nation, its people, its past, and its way of life. This undermines social cohesion and deprives disadvantaged students of the tools they need to succeed.

Recapturing Thanksgiving Day Territory

Claire and I are becoming more serious and intentional every year in recapturing the spirit of Thanksgiving Day that we enjoyed (and were inspired by) when we were kids. For since those days, the importance of that holiday has been overwhelmed by many forces -- an intolerant secularism that disdains religious expression, Americans being increasingly ignorant and indifferent to their nation's history, the innumerable distractions arising from the commercialization of Halloween and Christmas, the dwindling devotion to family fellowship, and dare I say it, the overall indifference to the critical virtue of gratitude. 

At any rate, this Thanksgiving season has been a particular blessing to us thus far.

 1) Actually using the Mayflower Compact as the springboard for a sermon at Herman Community Church. 

2) Having a wonderful time reading Thanksgiving-oriented stories and essays but also a new discovery that we are taking great delight in, Thanksgiving: The Holiday at the Heart of the American Experience by Melanie Kirkpatrick. 

3) Preparing for Vital Signs Blog (and the VSM website) a 27-page Thanksgiving Present of poems quotations, presidential proclamations, and more which is available for your encouragement and pleasure. 

4) Recording a brief video for our YouTube channel about the American Christians' spiritual forefathers, the Plymouth Colony Pilgrims. 

5) Enjoying the hospitality of friends who have invited us to a Thanksgiving feast (a little bit after the Day itself). 

6) Having the honor of entertaining 7 dinner guests ourselves featuring the
traditional menu fare on Thanksgiving Day. 

And 7) Officially kicking off the Christmas season with our longstanding tradition of watching Miracle on 34th Street on the night of Thanksgiving Day. 

So, Happy Thanksgiving Day -- and Season -- to you all!

The Vital Signs Christmas Card Parties!

For 4 decades now Vital Signs Ministries has been hosting letter-writing parties. At these quarterly events, we use both the power of prayer and the power of the pen to promote issues of life, justice, religious freedom, and Christian chivalry. They are always a meaningful, effective, and fun opportunity for fellowship and service. Well, coming up on Monday, December 2 are two special letter-writing parties with a definite Christmas-theme. Both parties will be held at the Hartford home, the first at 10 in the morning and the second on Tuesday night at 7. 

The “priority recipients” for our Christmas cards that night will be our newly-elected officials, the Nebraska heroes who won the crucial amendment fight against the extremist abortion lobby, the NU women student athletes who appeared on a remarkably powerful pro-life public service video, and pro-life advocates who have been persecuted by the Biden administration. 

Everything is provided -- envelopes, stamps, addresses, bullet points for your messages, and, of course, hot drinks and dessert treats.  Interested? Then give us a call or send along an email or FB message ASAP. 

After the Election -- Round 2 (Including My Top 10 Pro-Life Requests of the New Administration)

Yes, I posted a post-election review on November 8 (“After the Sigh of Relief: 7 Post-Election Observations”), but after reading more analyses from people I trust, talking matters over with friends, developing our priority prayer list oriented to our nation’s reclamation, and asking God for help in answering the always-relevant question, “How should we now live?”,  I have a few more observations. I share them in hopes they will add to a better understanding of these important matters -- and that they might help stimulate prayers, helpful conversations, social media items, and letters to appropriate individuals. So, in no particular order, here they are...

* Among the most striking “Why Trump Won” items is the Democrats so stridently, so cruelly demanding unlimited abortion. It was an electrified pole which they just couldn’t let go of. They knew they were appealing to a voting public that has become used to abortion over the last 50 years and they were confident they had a winning issue. They did not. In fact, the Democrats shrill, constant shrieking that the most important “right” a woman had, a “right” that actually defined her as a woman, was the freedom to kill her own child ended up turning people off. It sounded so ugly, selfish to the max, and cruel that even Democrat women were embarrassed. And that mean-spiritedness, that insistence on the preborn child having no value at all hurt the Democrats chances way, way more than it helped them.

* But, of course, that was only one of the radical positions the Democrats advocated that went against the ideas and feelings of the electorate. For instance, they were remarkably tone deaf to economic realities, touting the strength of the Biden/Harris economy even though American families knew all too well the debacle it actually was. And the national debt? That’s a big deal to voters, yet the Democrats dismissed its importance altogether, even making things terribly worse with such unpopular spending programs as transgender surgery for criminals, forgiving student loan debt, funding corruption and waste under the banner of the Ukraine war, and more.

* The Democrats were also heavily burdened by their pattern of unAmerican actions in recent years. Opening our borders to illegals. Indifference to violent crime. Playing the patsy to China and Iran and other nations. Making war on peaceful pro-lifers, on cars, on coal, on fracking, on grocery chains, on gas stoves, and on parents who wanted a say in their kids’ education. Aiding and abetting Israel’s enemies. A shrug of the shoulders tto riots in the streets and looting in our cities. Tolerance, even encouragement of rabid anti-Semitism on college campuses. Policies designed to divide the American people as they pushed hard for DEI and transgender demands. Openly siding with the defund the police movement. Criminalizing free speech. Establishing illegal partnerships with Big Tech in order to censor speech and better monopolize the flow of thought. Forcing the society to welcome men into women’s sports, locker rooms, and bathrooms. Daring to treat a large section of the populace as fascists, idiots, racists, and garbage. And lying...over and over.

* Did this election season show us that masculinity might be making a long overdue comeback? Just imagine what renewal our culture could experience if the manly virtues of courage, perseverance, honor, fortitude, sacrifice, wisdom, loyalty, and faith in God were to once again be encouraged, applauded, and carefully taught. Oh, my. Lord, please grace America with a reawakening of chivalry in all of its ideals. 

And one thing more -- there is nowhere that this masculinity comeback needs to
appear more than in our pastoral leadership. Enough wimpiness. Enough compromise. Enough timidity. Enough whining about tax exempt status. Enough of the silence on issues that almighty God cares for very, very much. 

Enough acting as if you’re being fair-minded by speaking such foolish fallacies as “I don’t care what political party you prefer, just vote your conscience.” This when you know full well that the Democrat Party stands proudly for unlimited killing of preborn boys and girls! Good grief, when Congress voted on a law that would require medical care being given to babies who survived an abortion attempt, not a single Democrat would support it! So, enough posturing and pampering and placating. 

Enough listening more to the snowflakes in your congregation than you are to the clear teachings of Holy Scripture. My dear brothers, it is time to call things by their right names and to do so with courage, conviction, and winsome clarity.

* The “establishment press” (I’m now using the term “Democrat Party press”) has long been in the tank for the far left. Even the semblance of fairness, accuracy, and decorum were tossed away in the years of the Obama and Biden presidencies. Therefore, thank the Lord, Americans are turning them off more than ever before, so much so that the bigwigs that run leftist strongholds like the L.A. Times and MSNBC are scrambling to change their ways...maybe. I believe it is still the safest, wisest course to agree with the maxim, “However much you hate the media, it is not enough!”

* Of course, the Deep State remains a source of Deep Trouble for the United States. But the arrogance, the Communist ideologies, and the crimes of the Deep State go way beyond the DOJ, CIA, IRS, and the Pentagon. You find them in the Department of the Interior, the Post Office, the National Endowment for the Arts, and oh-so-many other government run and government-funded agencies. Furthermore, let’s not neglect the Deep State purposes being pursued by the public sector unions, the universities and government school system, Big Business, Big Tech (Google, for instance, is as unfair, manipulating, and lying bunch of thugs as you’ll find anywhere), the socialist bullies who control the academic publications and museums and arts councils and foundations. Don’t think that the devil’s deeds in these places are any less heinous than the shenanigans undertaken by George Soros, Bill Gates, or the U.S. Attorney General. In all these matters, our prayers and advocacy for justice are as desperately important as ever before.

* Yes, it is official. The Democrat Party is the real party of the rich. The only demographic that Kamala Harris won was those making over $100,000 a year.

* Okay, let me get down to that Top 10 that I promised earlier; namely, the Top 10 Pro-life Priorities Claire and I are committing to pray for and actively advocate.

1) The defunding of Planned Parenthood.

2) The appointing of genuine pro-life people to places of high influence in the new administration and, of course, also in the judiciary.

3) The immediate release of all pro-life advocates who the Biden administration has thrown into federal prisons because they dared pray in front of an abortion mill. 

4) To reinstate the Mexico City policy and cut off all other funding to anti-life agencies and programs. 

5) To rescind all Biden administration orders and policies that seek to force radically immoral abortion/gender/sexuality/indoctrination practices on Americans.

6) To end the pollution of our nation’s water system from the dangerous chemicals contained in abortion pills. 

7) To use the power of the federal government to defend the sanctity of life rather than undermine, even criminalize, that noble purpose.

8) To actively enforce the Comstock Act, a law that governs how the Postal Service deals with the mailing of abortion poisons. 

9) To restore the real meaning of Title IX.

10) To do whatever possible to help build a culture of life in America -- a culture that applauds and encourages adoption, that protects freedom of religion and conscience from all attacks, that prohibits Big Tech from maintaining a monopoly on information, and that assists traditional values regarding sexual morality and healthy family life.

* The items above should be, of course, frequent targets for our fervent prayers. And they should be talked about, promoted on our social media, and taught in our churches. But for that last one, we will definitely require that renewal of masculinity in America’s pastoral leadership that I mentioned earlier -- a spiritual warrior commitment that moves our leaders to counteract the false teaching that daily washes over the American churchgoers. My friends, the Lord has given the Church yet another chance to start doing things His way, to stand and fight in the Spirit for His Word against the demonic doctrines that are poisoning American minds and numbing their consciences. We must teach the sanctity of all human life. We must counteract the lies of evolution. We must teach our youth the biblical principles of modesty, self-control, and sexual purity. We must minister more than ever to the least of these. And we must encourage our brothers and sisters to walk in holiness, remaining unstained by the world.

* Are there other issues that Christian citizens should be seriously concerned about? Certainly. Lawlessness and a terribly broken justice system. The national debt. The elimination of voter fraud and inefficiency. Religious freedom in our country as well as our nation as a prophetic, exemplary force against the persecution of Christians and Jews in other parts of the world. School choice. Decency in our institutions and public square. Border security. And more.