Current Issues

Dec

2025

Holmes Christmas Greetings, 2025

2025 Newsletter

JESUS HAD TO HAVE A BODY

Hebrews 10:5 fascinatingly states of Jesus: “Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me.”

We’ve just enjoyed celebrating Christmas—an event in which we remember the remarkable coming of God into the world as a human baby. And why so? In order that He might live a perfectly righteous life as one who was fully human, utterly without moral defect, as a substitute for many. This was in anticipation of His dread work for wretched sinners such as we all are—making sacrificial propitiation for sin at Calvary.

To do this, He had to have a body. As the apostle Peter recorded in 1 Peter 2:24, “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness.” Think of that—the eternal Son of God came from heaven to earth to do such a wonderful work of love and grace for people as wicked and messed-up as we are!

Moving into 2026, it’s a somber opportunity to self reflect and ask yourself whether you have turned from sin in repentance and are trusting in Jesus as your Savior and obediently following Him as Lord. Remember, it was in His body on the cross that He became the substitute for sinners in order to bring them into a right relationship with God—and He did it for people like you and me!

View our family newsletter in pictures HERE

NEWS UPDATE AT A GLANCE

Greetings again from the Holmes family! Matthew finished his studies at college, graduated cum laude, and now serves as a TV news producer at a studio in nearby Spartanburg. Sue also graduated with her second degree, a Master of Arts from Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, summa cum laude. Sue continues to help Jim in various editing and book-production related responsibilities. Jim serves Shepherd Press in a new role as executive director of ministry and business development as well as maintaining the work of Great Writing for other clients. Travels have included California, Texas, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and a brief (one-day) visit to London. We enjoyed having our yard cleared of over thirty trees and look forward to a less leaf-filled garden this coming year! We send love and best wishes to you for 2026.

Featured Image: Family Picture, December 25, 2025

Jul

2025

July Independence Celebrations

The American year is punctuated briefly by key holiday events. When we work, we work hard; and similarly, when we play, we play hard. July 4 is a good example. So is Thanksgiving. These are our favorite times of the year.

A friend and colleague pointed out to me an article in the Washington Examiner by Ian Haworth, titled Happy Independence Day from a Brit in America. I liked it so much I decided to share it below.

Happy reading!

And enjoy the family picture taken under the stars and stripes on July 4, 2025!

Most of the time, being British in the United States is riddled with perks. Americans love our accent, routinely ask if we are friends with King Charles, and assume that our intelligence, honesty, and wit are unrivalled — a view debunked by the mere existence of John Oliver.

But every year, as July Fourth approaches, we become the target of some good-natured banter. Americans offer their condolences as if we see Independence Day as a day of sorrow, laud their forefathers’ victory over the British Empire in the late 18th century, or cut to the chase by simply shouting “America!”

There’s just one problem: Independence Day is a day I celebrate for many reasons, not the least of all being the defeat of the German mad king, George III.

As someone who chooses to live in the United States of America, the idea that I would want it to remain part of the United Kingdom is absurd. I moved to this country almost 12 years ago to embrace what is still the land of opportunity, not to import Britain to American shores, while the widespread availability of air conditioning, automatic transmissions, and free refills is an added bonus. Also, paying at the gas pump! The ultimate time saver.

Of course, that’s not to say I don’t still love many elements of Britain, most relating in some way or another to chocolate, but rather that for me, America is simply better.

Why is it better? Well, because of the values that make the United States of America what it is: freedom, equality, opportunity, and responsibility. If it weren’t for the victory of the American revolutionaries, these values would never have been carved into the foundation of the world’s greatest superpower, which, to this day, leads the world.

It’s easy to take the U.S. for granted, especially if you were born here. But for someone like me, who chose to live here, the miracle of America is impossible to ignore. It wasn’t just that a scrappy band of rebels defied the greatest empire in the world and established a republic rooted in individual liberty and religious freedom. It’s that it represented a turning point for all of humanity. And not only that, it represented the only system of government that acknowledges the flaws of the human heart: an idea just as revolutionary as the violent uprising against the British monarchy.

Yes, I’m British, but I live in America for a reason. I didn’t come here to apologize for its history or pretend it’s just another country in a morally gray mush of globalism. I came here because America is different. Because America stands for something. Because America is the best.

We all owe a debt of gratitude to the American revolutionaries who said “no” to an empire. Thanks to them, the world has a beacon, sometimes flickering, but never fully extinguished, of what human freedom can look like. So no, I’m not mourning the Fourth of July. I’m flying the flag even higher because I’m grateful to be here. God bless America, and Happy Independence Day.

Ian is a syndicated columnist. Follow him on X (@ighaworth) or Substack.

Dec

2023

Celebrating Citizenship

On September 9, 2023, we celebrated our US citizenship. Below the videos, read the notes that I prepared for my (and Sue’s) speech. Matthew’s speech was improvised, so there are no notes!

Special thanks to Samantha Powell for providing the raw video for both pieces below, as well as to Matthew Holmes for editing the various clips into the more seamless videos with titles and some added still graphics.

Jim’s Video

Matthew’s Video

Life in One Act and Six Scenes So Far. . .

Thanks to Mel Duncan, the girls Megan and Claire, Dr. Megan Stapleton, the seminary, (and Sue for all her behind-the-scenes work to make this happen) and to you all for being here to share this day with us. And thank the Lord for His providence that we can be together in this way.
Sign our visitors’ book, please.
Take a flag as a memento of sharing this day with us.

Today, we stand in front of you as three new American citizens, but it was not always that way. Join me in your mind’s eye—your imagination—as I take you back some decades to the dark continent of Africa, where life is quite primitive

Scene 1:

Here’s a little boy who sees TV and movies for the first time. It’s cowboys and Indians, it’s chasing robbers, and it’s glamorous people in California living in mansions, high-rise buildings, and driving fast cars (on the wrong side of the road).

A little later in this scene, it’s tourists with funny accents and loud voices visiting Africa—people who seem to brag a lot and swagger when they walk.

This little boy in Africa doubts if he would ever even want to travel to America, never mind live there or become one of them!

Scene 2:

Here’s a man in his late thirties with his beautiful wife; he’s matured somewhat since scene 1, but he’s still doubtful about Americans. But the executive director where he works calls him into the office and says, “I want you to often visit America and meet our customers, and I want you to sell books there. Go there with your wife for a week and see what it’s like.”

Not many weeks later, that man and his wife are standing in Logan airport in Boston looking somewhat bewildered and feeling even more so. They are on a ten-day visit that will take them from the northeast through Mississippi, Oklahoma, and California. The man is thinking something like, “I hope this visit goes by quickly so we can get back home.”

But just a few days later, this same man is thinking something like, “Americans are just like me; they are ordinary people (apart from driving on the wrong side of the road). They don’t swagger, and I have not heard any of them brag. He asks his American counterpart, “So Mike, do you think you could see me and my wife living here in America one day?” His answer is quick and unequivocal: “Yes!”

Scene 3:

This man, now in his forties and with more than thirty transatlantic flights on his record is standing on the campus of the Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, (MacArthur’s church) at a Shepherds’ Conference. There’s a big, smiling, friendly man with a southern accent he meets there. He works for Ligonier Ministries. “Jim,” he says, “I would love for you to come to Greenville, SC; it’s a beautiful place and you would love the people there!”

Not too long after that, someone else from Greenville SC persistently invites him, so on one of his visits from the UK, he adds more flights to his itinerary and takes a weekend in South Carolina. He finds himself thinking, “Hmm, this is a really nice place; I think I could live here. There’s Bob Jones University, a school where my son could go to, and the people are so friendly.”

Scene 4

Some years have passed and this African-born man, now past the fifty-year mark, is loading several luggage pieces into a rental car having just arrived at GSP. His wife and son are with him. They are exhausted after nearly twenty hours of traveling from Britain. He’s come to America on a work visa with a mandate from his British bosses: “Stop flying to America all the time. Go there and build the business!” Soon they are settled in a rental property near BJU and driving a beat-up old Volvo with nearly quarter of a million miles on the clock. Their son is checked in at the elementary school and they are learning the new language of American!

Life is not easy for this family. There are health and economic hardship challenges to navigate. No one in this family was born with a silver spoon in the mouth. There is, as it were, blood, sweat, and tears. They learn to “Suck it up, Buttercup!”

Scene 5:

Now into the 20-teens, this same family—now much better at speaking and understanding American and loving being in South Carolina—are praying that their Green Card application will be approved. There have been some hiccups in the process and he’s feeling, to quote John Calvin, that “We’ll need to have a lot of luck if the authorities really do approve this application and we will likely have to return to the UK.” It’s that sinking feeling in your gut.

But many people are praying for the family. One man from Ohio says, “Jim, you have embraced us, and we have embraced you.” Another man from Pennsylvania says, “Jim, you were an American long before you ever came here.” There are two factors at work here: prayer and the providence of God. Late one night, as he is viewing the status of their permanent residence application online, he calls his wife to the computer: “Sue, look at this—do you read it that our application is approved and we will get a Green Card?” They are ecstatic!

Scene 6:

It’s now 2023 and, much sooner than expected, there are three official-looking pieces of mail in this family’s mailbox. They are being asked to report to the Department of Immigration in Greer in February to take the US Citizenship test. With a rush of blood to their heads, these three family members begin to review the citizenship application test questions and soon they know more than 100 aspects of American history and values—and in February, they swear the oath of allegiance to become genuine Americans—just like you all here!

As we close off this speech, we want several things to be clear to you:

Acts 17:26 And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; (KJV)
Phil 3:20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; (NASB 1995)
Ps 16:6 The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; Indeed, my heritage is beautiful to me. (KJV)
2 Peter 3:13 But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. (NASB1996)

I was on a plane last week in the northeast and met with a US army serviceman. I expressed appreciation to him for his service and told him we had recently become citizens, but I found it easy to say this to him: “Scott, I’m first a Christian and then an American; everything else flows out from that.”

We left our earthly family in Africa and Britain. We have no blood relatives on this continent. But we have new friends who have become family to us, and many of you are blood-bought children of God—saved by His grace. You are His family, and you have become our family.

God bless you all; and God bless America!

Jul

2023

Thinking about Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

I am preparing this blog in consultation with my son, Matthew, aged twenty years. He has prepared the text below, so the writing is entirely his. He and I saw the movie Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny recently and found it entertaining. It’s rated PG-13, mostly for some violent action scenes, but there isn’t anything that pushes the boundaries of that rating in those scenes.

It’s an action-adventure movie with a period setting from the late 1960s, the time I was growing up. It was fun to see how authentic the setting was—the style of cars, dress, décor, etc.

Matthew continues…

Intro

Dad and I recently saw the film Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. Dad enjoyed it, and was interested in having me write a review for it that could be posted on the blog. I agreed to share my thoughts, and I’ll try to communicate my feelings without revealing anything that hasn’t already been shown in the trailers.

Plot Summary

The film begins with a much talked about sequence featuring a digitally de-aged Harrison Ford. This scene is set at the end of World War II and strongly evokes the feeling of adventure from the first three movies. Indiana Jones has infiltrated a nazi camp and is trying to retrieve a priceless and powerful artifact: the blade that the Roman centurion stabbed Christ with during his crucifixion. The weapon is going to be sent to Hitler, who believes that its power will enable him to turn the tide of the war and defeat the allied powers. Jones is captured by the nazis before he can retrieve the weapon. However, one nazi scientist doubts the blade is real and sees true power in another weapon at the camp: the Antikythera, otherwise known as Archimedes’ Dial. Jones chases after a nazi train carrying both artifacts, rescuing a British archaeologist/professor at the same time. Indy shares the nazi scientists’ suspicion of the blade and retrieves Archimedes’ Dial instead. However, it is not clear what happens to the dial at the end of the scene. After this the film moves forward in time to 1969, shortly after the moon landing.

Now, Indy is an aged archaeology professor who plans to retire. He doesn’t want to go back into field work, but his goddaughter, who’s the daughter of the British professor in the previous scene, reveals that the dial is still out there. She tries to coax Indy back into the field, but he refuses However, a series of inexplicable events and the return of the nazi scientist from the opening scene force him back into the field, despite not knowing who is friend or foe.

Acting Improves the Film

Harrison Ford delivers a great final performance, particularly during the action scenes. Incredibly for a man his age, he risked injury to do many of his own stunts. Most noteworthy is his digital de-aging in the opening scene, which is some of the most convincing work I’ve seen with that effect. However, his face is often lit darkly in that scene, to prevent any animation inconsistencies from being visible.

The other actors in the film turn in solid performances. Mads Mikkelsen plays the nazi villain, who acts as a fairly typical Indiana Jones antagonist, both in characterization and in performance. Phoebe Waller-Bridge plays Indy’s goddaughter, who acts as the female foil, although she isn’t a love interest, unlike previous female characters. I was worried her character would always be saving Indy from jams he’s too old to get out of himself, but this is mostly avoided in the film. I particularly enjoyed John Rhys-Davies return as Sallah, and I wished he had been given a more prominent role in the story. The weakest link is a “kid sidekick” character who appears in the second half of the movie. His actor gives a decent performance but the character isn’t given anything to do for much of his screen time.

De-aged Indy (Image from Rotten Tomatoes)

Comparisons to Other Films and Evaluation

This film shares many similarities with director James Mangold’s previous movie, Ford V. Ferrari. These films are both set in the 60s, focus on older men who aren’t content with their current times, and feature throwbacks to action films of previous eras. However, Ford V. Ferrari is significantly better as it isn’t saddled with high expectations from previous films and it tells an inspiring and little known story, rather than having to service fans and include callbacks to previous films.

However, I think Dial of Destiny is a decent finale to the franchise, and it certainly feels more like a classic Indy film than Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Dial of Destiny does subvert expectations significantly by focusing on an artifact that’s powers are based in science rather than religion or the supernatural. Indy has a decent character arc that brings his character full circle from the first film, and there’s nothing in the film I would consider outright bad. However, I don’t think it ever is as electrifying as the first film, or as funny and shocking as the third. The best part for me was the music. John Williams, in what could be his final film score, delivers more classic adventure music that’s based on his original themes but includes a few new and memorable melodies.

Final Verdict

Overall, I would recommend watching Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny in theaters, as the action of the film plays best on a large screen. The locations visited are visually engaging, the action is well staged, and the film moves at a consistently fast pace despite being two and a half hours long. Don’t go in expecting a film as good as the originals, but the film provides a satisfying conclusion to the story of America’s most iconic archaeologist!

Overall Grade: 7.4/10.

Listen to John Williams’ Soundtrack HERE.

View the Trailer HERE: or below

Featured Image Credit: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/indiana_jones_and_the_dial_of_destiny

Dec

2022

Windows on My Work: Masculine Manhood

ENDURE

Serving Shepherd Press involves many different activities. The email that came from Bill Newton fascinated me. It was about a project he was working on—a book to help men to finish their lives in a strong position in the Christian faith. In fact, his desired title was Finishing Strong, but Steve Farrar (some years ago) had written a larger work using this title, so we would have to think of a different title.

I asked Bill if he would be prepared to tweak the work a little, so that he would also address some specifics that men face by way of militantly aggressive temptations, and straightaway he agreed to. With that in hand, I felt we had a really strong book to bring into the public arena, and, after taking the book through the editing process and playing around with some design concepts, we settled on a masculine-looking color scheme (grays, blacks, reds) using a truck tire as the central visual motif or metaphor for the concept of facing grueling trials, and yet sustaining significant tread life.

Bill, assisted by a good friend and colleague in ministry, has done a remarkable job in preparing a book for men to share with other men: as the back cover states, “Start, Stay, and Finish Strong… Too many Christian men start enthusiastically, then fall short. Falling short can be a public fall: Church-going husband has an affair. High-profile ministry leader gets caught in a scandal. Outspoken advocate is marred by hypocrisy.”

Alistair Begg endorses the book as “thoroughly biblical and intensely practical.”

Bill’s background is in the navy (he was a pilot based on a naval aircraft carrier) and in business before he entered the ministry in his more mature years. He states that he wants to “help men grow up.” He does a great job in ENDURE: A Christian Man’s Guide to Finishing Strong.

WARRIOR PREACHERS

My good friend Dave Harrell is likewise what I might (in the best sense of the word) call a “man’s man.” I have worked with Dave on several other projects (a total of eight mini books and two full-sized trade paperbacks, all very important books, packed with truth and practical application). When he shared with me his burden to write a book on the challenges of modern ministry, my ears pricked up.

The book is titled WARRIOR PREACHERS: A Spiritual Call to Arms in an Age of Militant Unbelief. Being published under his own imprint, Shepherd’s Fire Media, it is a very substantial (but not intimidating) book of 232 pages. Date states that his aim in writing it is “to fortify and encourage pastors and church leaders who are committed to a God-centered, biblically integrated, and consistent ministry as they face the increased challenges of militant unbelief in our culture and apostasy in the church, and to enlist new recruits to join the fight.

Steve Lawson has written a very strong foreword, including these words: “The church has faced dark days in the past, and it has always been led back to the high ground of biblical fidelity by strong men. It will be the same for the church today. A new generation of preachers, raised up by God, is desperately needed to help return the church to the solid footing of sound doctrine that produces holy living. May God use this book to challenge you to stand strong as a ‘warrior preacher’ in this hour of spiritual warfare.” John MacArthur similarly asserts “Whether you are a minister or a lay person who wants to support and encourage your pastor, this book will edify and encourage you.”

Featured Image: Setting up Shepherd Press books at The Shepherds' Conference, Sun Valley, California.

Mar

2021

Ninety-Five Theses for a New Reformation

A Guest Post from Professor Donald T. Williams

Several months ago, I received an inquiry about how to publish a book. It had a fascinating title: Ninety-Five Theses for a New Reformation–A Road Map for Post-Evangelical Christianity. With its depth and breadth of content, yet it’s surprisingly easy-to-read style (not to mention the author’s own poetic contributions–he is an accomplished poet) I needed little encouragement to help him in the process, and so we set to work to agree a design format and cover to present it with appeal, warmth, and gravitas. Don recently shared news of his book’s release under his own imprint, Semper Reformanda Publications. Here’s what he wrote:

Do you believe the Evangelical movement needs not just a Revival but a new Reformation? Do you think the new book Ninety-Five Theses for a New Reformation (Semper Reformanda Publications, 2021) can be a factor in leading us in that direction? Here is how you can help!

Get and read the book.
Buy additional copies of it for all your friends and relatives—well, at least for those who might be interested, and particularly for strategic people like your pastor or youth leader who need to be in the vanguard of Reformation.
Donate a copy to your church library, local library. school library.
Write a review for Amazon, publish it also on your Facebook page or other social media, and share it to any relevant Groups you belong to.
Start a Sunday School class or study group where you discuss one Thesis each week (they are all tied to Scripture).
Invite me to speak to your church, school, or other group. (You can contact me via email at dtw@tfc.edu for that purpose.)
Above all, pray for God’s blessing on the project. Unless the Lord builds the house, we labor in vain. Believe me; I have verified the truth of that verse through much experience!

The church always needs Reformation–perhaps more desperately now than at any time since Martin Luther nailed the original 95 Theses to the Wittenberg church door in 1517. May God use this poor unworthy book to help it happen again! Soli Deo gloria. Amen.

To order, go here.

Thanks to Dr. Donald T. Williams for allowing me to share this content. To find out more about him and his writing ministry, visit his website here.

Jan

2021

Day by Day, and with Each Passing Moment

There’s a Hymn on My Radar. . .

The turn of the year provides an excellent opportunity to reflect on how we use the time–the minutes, hours, and days that God gives us–and it brought to mind the words of the hymn by Carolina Sandell (key details are below).

Day by day, and with each passing moment
Translator: A. L. Skoog;
Author: Carolina Sandell (1865) (also known as Lina, and sometimes spoken of as the Fanny Crosby of Sweden)
Tune: BLOTT EN DAG | Oscar Ahnfeldt

Enjoy listening to the melody here:

The words are:

1 Day by day and with each passing moment,
Strength I find to meet my trials here;
Trusting in my Father’s wise bestowment,
I’ve no cause for worry or for fear.
He whose heart is kind beyond all measure
Gives unto each day what he deems best–
Lovingly, its part of pain and pleasure,
Mingling toil with peace and rest.

2 Ev’ry day the Lord himself is near me,
With a special mercy for each hour;
All my cares he gladly bears and cheers me,
He whose name is Counselor and Pow’r.
The protection of his child and treasure
Is a charge that on himself he laid:
“As your days, your strength shall be in measure”–
This the pledge to me he made.

3 Help me then in ev’ry tribulation
So to trust your promises, O Lord,
That I lose not faith’s sweet consolation
Offered me within your holy Word.
Help me, Lord, when, toil and trouble meeting,
E’er to take, as from a father’s hand,
One by one, the days, the moments fleeting,
Till I reach the promised land.

For my musically minded readers, you could view the score HERE (thanks to Hymnary.org). And I see that hymnary.org also offers a dynamic / interactive way of viewing the hymn music as it is played HERE. However, be prepared that this seems a much speeded up version!

Further Insights

Hymnary.org (HERE) offers further interesting insights:

Translator: A. L. Skoog

Skoog, Andrew L. (Gunnarskog, Sweden, December 17, 1856 [sic]–October 30, 1934, Minneapolis, Minnesota). Evangelical Covenant. Son of pietists. Tailor’s apprentice at 10. Family emigrated to St. Paul, Minn., when Andrew was 13. Only formal music training was 12 lessons on a melodeon. Organist, choir director, and Sunday School superintendent in Swedish Tabernacle, Minneapolis, 1886-1916. Co-editor of hymnals: Evangelii Basun I & II, 1881-1883; Lilla Basunen, 1890; and Jubelklangen, 1896. Was in editorial committee of Covenant’s first three hymnals: Sions Basun, 1908; De Ungas Sångbok, 1914; and Mission Hymns, 1921. Editor and publisher of Gittit 1892-1908, a monthly choir journal with music; a series of ten bound volumes of choir selectio… Go to person page >

Author: Carolina Sandell

Caroline W. Sandell Berg (b. Froderyd, Sweden, 1832; d. Stockholm, Sweden, 1903), is better known as Lina Sandell, the “Fanny Crosby of Sweden.” “Lina” Wilhelmina Sandell Berg was the daughter of a Lutheran pastor to whom she was very close; she wrote hymns partly to cope with the fact that she witnessed his tragic death by drowning. Many of her 650 hymns were used in the revival services of Carl O. Rosenius, and a number of them gained popularity particularly because of the musical settings written by gospel singer Oskar Ahnfelt. Jenny Lind, the famous Swedish soprano, underwrote the cost of publishing a collection of Ahnfelt’s music, Andeliga Sänger (1850), which consisted mainly of Berg’s hymn texts.

Oct

2020

Election 2020: Two Visions for America (Decision Magazine)

Franklin Graham is indefatigable in his labors to further the Christian faith and the Judeo-Christian worldview that has been the foundation and cement of so much of the American nation.

When it comes to casting your vote, what are the issues involved?

It is axiomatic that a person should vote not so much for the personality of the candidate as for policy that the candidate will apply once in office. The runup to the 2020 elections has been characterized by media hysteria, and often, in such situations, the real issues remain unaddressed as the cameras and the news anchors concentrate on the personalities of the presidential and vice-presidential candidates rather than on their worldviews and values, thus leading to the policies they espouse.

I am not an American citizen, so I do not have the right to vote in the 2020 election. However, I do see the issues, and I appreciate the clarity with which Franklin Graham presents them. Consider the following notes from the October 2020 Decision Magazine online. The full text may be found HERE.

By way of quick snapshot, notice that the policy differences are, in most cases, diametrically opposite. Phrased this way, I might ask you questions such as:

Do you believe in the sanctity of life or in the slaughter of preborn infants?
Do you believe in the right and responsibility, under God, of following your own conscience?
Do you consider that a judiciary should act in keeping with the values of the nation’s founding fathers?
Do you believe in the biblical work ethic, and the proportionality of reward in keeping with initiative and industriousness?

Abraham Lincoln well said this:

Elections belong to the people. It’s their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they will just have to sit on their blisters.

The issues at stake in the November 2020 election are much more that a few blisters on our behinds.

Where the Parties Stand

“I think it’s the duty of every individual Christian at election time to study the issues, study the candidates, then go to the polls and vote.”
—Billy Graham, 1952
Every four years, as delegates from both major American political parties gather to officially nominate a presidential candidate and running mate, the party platforms are finalized and adopted, and policy positions are set for at least the next four years.

In August, with the coronavirus altering how the conventions conducted their business, the Republican Party met in Charlotte, North Carolina, streamlining its official proceedings and relying on its 2016 platform to stake out a consensus of who it is and what it believes. The Democratic Party, meeting in Milwaukee, chose to adopt a new party platform. What follows is a comparison—drawn from those platforms, the Democratic and Republican party websites, and public statements—on where the two major parties stand on key issues for evangelical voters.

Abortion on Demand & Federal Funding

Democrats say they will “restore funding for Planned Parenthood” and will oppose and “fight to overturn federal and state laws that create barriers to women’s reproductive health and rights. We will repeal the Hyde Amendment, and protect and codify Roe v. Wade.” Congressional Democrats have repeatedly defeated “born-alive” protection bills and supported increased funding for abortion domestically and internationally.

In keeping with the belief that “the family is the bedrock of our nation,” the GOP platform affirms, “The unborn child has a fundamental right to life which cannot be infringed.” The GOP supports a Human Life Amendment and state laws requiring informed consent, parental consent, waiting periods and clinic regulation. The GOP has broadly supported President Trump’s ending of funds for international abortions and partial defunding of Planned Parenthood.

Religious Liberty & Conscience Rights

Although the party states: “Democrats celebrate America’s history of religious pluralism and tolerance,” the platform says they will “reject the Trump administration’s use of broad exemptions to allow businesses, medical providers, social service agencies and others to discriminate,” meaning policies would aim to give preference to LGBTQ rights in cases in which religious exercise and rights of conscience conflict with liberalized interpretations of sexuality.

Republicans affirm that religious freedom in the Bill of Rights protects the right of the people to practice their faith in their everyday lives. The platform endorses the First Amendment Defense Act, which would protect faith-based institutions and individuals from government discrimination. Additionally, the Trump administration has instructed federal agencies to accommodate rights of conscience for government employees, reversing Obama-era policies.

Human Rights & Global Religious Freedom

Democrats laud religious freedom as a “fundamental human right,” but will never “use it as a cover for discrimination.” The platform vows support for Iraq’s Christians and Yazidis, China’s persecuted Uyghurs and other religious minorities. Also: “We will restore the United States’ position of leadership on LGBTQ+ issues” in diplomacy and foreign policy, advancing the GLOBE Act and making LGBTQ issues a priority at the State Department, USAID and the National Security Council.

The GOP favors integrating human rights issues into every level of diplomatic relations. Beginning in 2018, the U.S. has hosted an annual Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom, drawing an international coalition to defend and promote global religious freedom. “Religious freedom for all people worldwide is a foreign policy priority of the United States, and the United States will respect and vigorously promote this freedom,” President Trump wrote on June 2.

Federal Judges

The Democratic platform says: “Our courts should reflect our country. Democrats will appoint people to the bench who are committed to seeing justice be served, and treating each case on its merits. We will nominate and confirm federal judges who have diverse backgrounds and experiences, including as public defenders, legal aid attorneys and civil rights lawyers.” Candidate Biden has vowed to seek judges who “respect” the Roe v. Wade abortion ruling.

The GOP platform states: “A critical threat to our country’s constitutional order is an activist judiciary that usurps powers properly reserved to the people through other branches of government.” The party supports the appointment of justices and judges who respect the constitutional limits on their power and respect the authority of the states. President Trump has promised to continue working to appoint conservative federal judges.

Economic Empowerment & Poverty

The platform says: “Americans deserve an economy that works for everyone … it is a moral and an economic imperative that we support working families by rebuilding the American middle class.” The party supports raising the minimum wage to $15/hr., helping make home ownership more attainable, eradicating homelessness, “ending poverty and enabling all Americans to live up to their God-given potential.”

The GOP supports eradicating welfare dependence by proposing “the dynamic compassion of work requirements in a growing economy, where opportunity takes the place of a handout, where true self-esteem can grow from the satisfaction of a job well done.” The Trump administration included Opportunity Zones in the 2017 tax reform law to spur economic opportunity in poor areas.

National Defense

The platform says the U.S. military “must be the most effective fighting force in the world.” To keep it that way, Democrats “will bring forever wars to a responsible end,” rationalize the defense budget, invest in future technologies, repair civil-military relations, and strengthen the covenant with service members, veterans and military families. They vow to reverse the Trump administration’s transgender ban and rebuild trust in the VA while improving mental health outcomes for veterans.

The Republican platform favors building and maintaining a strong military as the path to peace and security. The party’s Principles for American Renewal says: “Keeping America safe and strong requires a strong military, growing the economy, energy independence and secure borders.” The party platform seeks to restore the nation’s military might and to rebuild troop numbers. Military pay has risen more than 2% each year since 2017, after six years of raises below 2%.

The ‘Equality Act’ & Sexual Orientation Gender Identity (SOGI) Laws

Candidate Biden has vowed to fast-track the Equality Act, which would federalize sexual orientation and gender identity in laws across the nation with detrimental outcomes for public education, domestic religious liberty and many other arenas. The Democratic Party has not taken a position on SOGI laws per se, but the party platform and party position statements, as well as legislative actions, have strongly supported “LGBTQ+” rights when they have conflicted with the religious beliefs of faith groups.

President Trump has continued to signal opposition to the Equality Act—a bill that would create legal chaos as sexual rights collide with the religious beliefs and practices of millions of Americans. The GOP platform doesn’t mention SOGI laws, but it includes strong statements in support of “traditional marriage and family” as “the foundation for a free society, and has for millennia been entrusted with rearing children and instilling cultural values.” It laments the Supreme Court ruling legalizing national gay marriage.

Israel & Jerusalem

“Democrats believe a strong, secure, and democratic Israel is vital to the interests of the United States. Our commitment to Israel’s security, … its right to defend itself, and the 2016 Memorandum of Understanding is ironclad.” Democrats support Jerusalem as the capital and oppose efforts to “unfairly single out or delegitimize Israel.” They oppose settlement expansion and any steps that “undermine prospects for two states.”

Republicans express “unequivocal support for Israel,” pointing out that it is the only Middle Eastern country with freedom of speech and freedom of religion. The GOP recognizes “Jerusalem as the eternal and indivisible capital of the Jewish state.” The party opposes the U.N.’s treatment of Israel as a “pariah state.” In 2018, President Trump moved the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, fulfilling a campaign promise.

To read further, be sure to activate the link HERE.

Apr

2020

What Is More Dangerous Than Covid-19?

A guest post by my friend, Ian McNaughton. Ian is a retired minister in the UK (so he writes with a British perspective), author of several books, and an encourager of the right use of Christian literature wherever there are readers!

“To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-2a)

As a nation we have fallen away from the Christian foundations fixed in this continent over 2000 years. It is now a time of social upheaval and spiritual anarchy, fear and bankruptcies; what is to be said? Spiritual anarchy is a dangerous plague of the 21st century in UK and Europe and it is even more dangerous than Covid-19. You’d better believe it!

The World Today

God’s laws are being rejected and His holy righteousness is abhorrent to this generation. The rejection of the Ten Commandments as a rule of life and in politics is a clear example of how far we have transgressed as a western society. When whole societies rebel against God and truth then there is a waiting for judgment. Remember the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah? Remember Pompeii? God is not mocked. Remember the Old Testament prophets especially Jeremiah, who preached against the sins of Israel warning of coming chastening? The outcome of unbelief and anarchy is seen in God’s purifying judgments throughout human history. Nor are the churches immune from God’s loving discipline (cf. 1 Peter 4:17; Rev. 2: & 3).

Anarchy is the rebellious child’s response to good advice and caring love and it is more dangerous than any earthly plague. However, God is love and all he does is out of caring and kindly love.

To define love is to define God our Creator and Father in heaven.[1]

‘Who is the Lord?’

There was a plague in ancient Egypt–sound familiar? However, it took ten plagues from God to break the hardened stubborn heathen heart of Egypt’s despot ruler. God’s self-revelation in Scripture and in nature is clear for all to behold but our leaders need to listen. Pharaoh said, ‘Who is the Lord that I should obey his voice?’’ in a retort to Moses the servant of God (Ex. 5:2). This God, whom Pharaoh disbelieved in, is our God and Savior. There is a call to the nations during this pandemic; it is a call to repentance. But who will blow that trumpet so it is heard? The mainline churches and their leaders are running silent. Until a voice is raised up to broadcast this important point ?we can expect hardened hearts to harden more; unbelieving hearts to blaspheme more; confused and mislead professing Christians to remain unregenerate.

Pray for a Conviction of Sin

Why is it that we ‘Moderns’ think ourselves free from the judgment to come and suppress the fear of God the Almighty? Christians want the best for all citizens but the gospel churches are mocked. God’s people want eternal life‘s blessings for their neighbors but they ignored the good news that Jesus has risen from the dead and offers life in all its fullness. Believers pray for a conviction of sin in the hope of revival of true religion in the soul and throughout the land. However, the lost are insensible to the fact that to neglect true spirituality, found only in Jesus Christ and his gospel, is to be lost forever. To deny the reality of God and the free offer of eternal life from God who loves us is to live a lie. To reject Christ Jesus’ free offer of free salvation found in the gospel is to live without hope. What more can we say? I end with a borrowed comment (from a friend) that needs to be heard:

‘Christianity does not offer a remedy for Covid-19. Christianity offers a remedy for sin, “the blood of Jesus Christ his (God’s) Son cleanseth us from all sin”, (1 John 1:7). It offers a remedy for death, Jesus said, “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die” (John 11:25 & 26). This is Christianity’s unique and glorious message.’[2]

Abide in the Vine

“My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit” (John 15:1-2)

This parable is telling us God is looking for holy fruit from our lives. He has blessed us and helped us and kept us and provides and been very patient too. But have we been thankful? Have we worshiped? Have we witnessed? The branches that are barren are pruned to remove or stimulate growth so that fruit is produced. The Gardener does it: God does it. Jesus is the Vine. This is how God works and this is what he is doing during this pandemic. He prunes, ‘that it may bear more fruit’. History records epidemics, pandemics, disasters, and judgments in the providence of God. Remember the great London plague of 1666 (c.100,000 died). In the Spanish ‘flu’ pandemic of 1918, millions died.

“If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned” (v.6).

revi@talktalk.net

[1] Let me know if you would like my tract ‘God’s love’.

[2] http://spimomder.blogspot.com/

Apr

2020

When Life Turns Upside Down

I’ve mentioned my friend, John A. (Jay) Younts once or twice before (you could read the post HERE) and it’s a special delight that he resides not too far away from where I live in the upstate of South Carolina. Jay has contributed extensively to the Shepherd Press blog over many years. He and I share much the same kind of worldview, seeing all of life as belonging to God, and the direct involvement of God in day-to-day events.

With what we are now thinking of as the new normal, the advent of the corona virus, I was in discussion with friends at Shepherd Press about how we might be able to provide a resource that would meaningfully address this situation. Enthusiastically and unhesitatingly, Dr. Tedd Tripp saw the importance of the idea. “Ask Jay,” he guided me. “He could do this.” An email or two later, and Jay had confirmed that he would do it, requesting prayer for the project. And it made good sense for Tedd to contribute the foreword to the book!

Over the next few days, as he was writing the first draft, we kicked around some prospective titles, soon settling on When Life Turns Upside Down: Finding Stability through God’s Comforting Peace. The table of contents maps out nicely what is in the small book:

Foreword: An Upside-Down World
Introduction: Prayer Keeps Life Right-Side Up
Who Controls Tomorrow: Do Humans Control Tomorrow?
When Life Turns Upside Down: The Power of the Earthquake
The Fear Factor: Fear and Emotional Protection
The Dangerous Blame Game: The Game That Comes Naturally
Understanding the Fall: The Groaning Creation
Perspective: Throughout History, God Remains Faithful to His Promise
When Upside Down is Really Right-Side Up: So There Is Good News!
The Gospel is Your Anchor: The Lord Renews Your Strength
Your Future Is Secure: Death Is Swallowed Up in Victory
Appendix 1: Teach Your Children to Live Right-Side Up
Appendix 2: Comfort for Your Community

It was an interesting exercise figuring out what kind of cover design would work best for the project. Thankfully, there were various people on Facebook who shared what they liked, or did not like, about various proposed cover options!

My view is that this is a vitally important little resource to put in people’s hands. It’s available as an eBook, and coming soon–within a week or so–as a mini-book paperback of 88 pages. It’s easy enough to read in one sitting of under one hour, but also full of biblical content and application to life. Get one for you and your family, and several copies for your neighbors, friends, and work associates. Be sure to check out the Shepherd Press site to find out more about the book and the discounted offers HERE or read some pages from the book HERE.

Endorsements

Over the years, Jay Younts has been my personal Gandalf, my Mr. Miagi, my Paul. With fatherly wisdom and genuine care, Jay offers us this prayerful life-guide, showing us how to live life from God’s perspective and not our own, keeping us right-side up in a world that feels upside down.
Kirk Cameron: Actor, Film Producer

Younts turns our attention to hope found in the mercy of God and the provision he has made for mankind in the sinless life and sacrificial death of his Son, Jesus Christ. This book will provide encouragement and hope in these scary times.
Dr. Tedd Tripp: Author, Pastor, Conference Speaker

About Jay Younts

John A. (Jay) Younts is the author of this book as well as other materials on parenting and the Christian life. He is an experienced blogger, having served Shepherd Press in this capacity for several years. He has been teaching and speaking on current issues for over thirty years. He serves as a ruling elder at Redeemer Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church in Moore, South Carolina. He and his late wife, Ruth, have five adult children.

Follow Jay on Social Media
YouTube Channel: EverydayTalk 24/7
www.everydaytalk247.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jay.younts
Twitter: @wordsmatter247
jayyounts@gmail.com

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What Is More Dangerous Than Covid-19?

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