Dear Frfiend, Jesus warned us in John 15:18: "If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you."
In light of our Savior's words, I suppose this recent story from the sports world should come as no surprise. Still, I'm saddened by what it says about our nation here at the beginning of a new year.
Jaelene Daniels was a world-class soccer player from Denver. She earned top honors in her high school, college, and professional careers. But then, Jaelene did the unforgivable. She took a stand for Christian principles that put her at odds with the dominant view in the sports world that says all things gay and transgender must be celebrated.
In 2017, Jaelene refused to play for the U.S. national team when they wore rainbow-colored numbers during Pride Month. Then, while playing for the North Carolina Courage, a professional soccer team, she made the same decision about the team’s Pride Night celebration last summer.
Criticism was hot and heavy, but Jaelene explained that although her love "runs deep for all" of her teammates, "I remain committed to my faith."
Homosexual activists demanded that the team management get rid of Jaelene. They got their way last October when the team refused to renew her contract. Outsports.com, a news outlet for the LGBTQ community, gloated afterward in an op-ed: "Jaelene Daniels cut by the Courage after her continued anti-LGBT actions."
Was Jaelene anti-LGBT? Of course not. But in our "New America," Christians who are faithful to their beliefs are seen as hateful and bigoted.
Cyd Zeigler, co-founder of Outsports.com, wrote an article defending the soccer team's actions, noting that the LGBT community demands that anti-LGBT thoughts, feelings, and actions "simply don’t belong in the sport” and “needed to be pushed out."
Revealing his own attitude toward the Bible, Zeigler also said that he was able to accept his own homosexuality when he was "finally able to move past what some old guys wrote in a book 2,000 years ago."
Jaelene was certainly right when she tweeted in 2015, "This world is falling farther and farther away from God."
In every area of our society, the dominant voices in America are at war against God and the Holy Bible.
Even our own government is turning against families who follow Jesus. Recent examples include these two incidents: ▶ The nation's pro-lifers were horrified to hear of the "Gestapo tactics" used by the FBI in arresting a pro-life Christian in September.
The home of Mark Houck was stormed by a SWAT team of 25-30 FBI agents, weapons drawn, in an early morning raid that terrified his wife and seven children.
The reason? Mark regularly participates in sidewalk counseling at two abortion clinics in Philadelphia, and last year he had an altercation with a pro-abortion escort who accosted Mark's son. The man was uninjured but still tried to sue Mark. A district court in Philadelphia tossed out the case.
This was not good enough for the U.S. Department of Justice, and the FBI arrested Mark on federal charges. The incident raised fears in the pro-life community that the DOJ has been weaponized against them.
▶ A jarring report issued by Fox News revealed deep perversions being made available to children in schools run by the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) for America's military families.
Examining the libraries of over 50 schools turned up numerous sexually-explicit books promoting sexual licentiousness, homosexual activity, and radical ideas about gender identity. The schools educate more than 66,000 American children around the world. I won't describe what the study uncovered about the content because it's truly horrifying. I'll just say this: Much of the material provided by the DoDEA was absolutely pornographic and depraved, and children were being encouraged to try anything and everything.
The Biden administration and other members of the educational establishment in this country will have to answer to God for teaching the things of Satan to these little ones!
Christians in America must get serious about being faithfully involved in their local church, strengthening their families in the Word of God, and discipling their children to follow Jesus Christ.
 To that end, and in appreciation for your generous gift, I want to send you an excellent teaching video titled God's Design for Marriage and Family.
Hosted by Bert Harper, director of marriage and family at American Family Association, these two 30-minute presentations will bless, encourage, and strengthen your family.
Always gentle, humorous, and humble, Bert challenges parents and grandparents to embrace a biblical view of marriage and family and to leave a godly legacy for generations to come. I'll bet that's top priority in your life, as it is in mine.
Please, even if you're an empty nester or single, get God's Design for Marriage and Family and pass it on to a young family or donate it to your church's video library. |
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