The memory is singed into my mind, easily remembered though it happened so many years ago. Our family of five was moving from California to Texas, a process that would take 18 hours of plane trips and car rides. For me, the prospect presented a formidable challenge.

Finally, we made it to our destination in Dallas, looking forward to dinner at one of Clay’s favorite restaurants. Assuming there would be something to please every palate, he hoped it would be a treat for the kids and me as well.

And then it happened. Just as we all sat down at our table and began to eat, Nathan slid down from his chair to the floor, stretched out to his full little-boy length, and began to scream and yell and throw food. I tried to soothe him and placate him, but he lunged out to strike me.

That did it.

I got to my feet and walked away, leaving my toddler screaming and kicking on the floor. After giving, loving, trying hour after hour (and day after day) to figure out something that would appease this little boy, I had reached what felt like the end of my rope. I walked away to peruse a beautiful glass case of desserts, pretending I had no connection to the screaming toddler beside the table in the corner.

And yes, I felt guilty. But at that moment, I honestly had no intention of going back. I had served, loved, held, comforted, run after, placated to the end of my strength. Somehow they would all have to cope without me.

Inside, I was thinking, I don’t know what he needs, but he needs something I cannot give right now.

There was much trial and error and grace in the years to come. But we came to hold fast what our hearts insisted (at least in quiet moments): that our boy was not a diagnosis.

Not a problem to be solved or a disorder to be fixed. He was a child to be guided and trained and gloried in.

And Nathan’s differences—yes, even the ones that sometimes exasperated him and us—were, like Nathan himself, also part of the gift he is to the world and to us as his family.

Let’s be honest, though; they were also sometimes exhausting, I came to realize early on that if I were to make it through Nathan’s growing-up years, it would take intentionality and creativity—along with lots and lots of prayer.

Here are some things I found imperative to thriving while raising difficult children:

1. Build Breaks Into Your Life

Small pauses throughout my day enabled me to make it from morning to night. A morning quiet time with a candle, a cup of hot coffee, my Bible and a devotional reading of some sort along with my journal and a view out the window helped start each day on the right foot. Meeting a friend for coffee, taking a drive in the mountains or a walk downtown or by the ocean, retreating to a quiet room for some reading time in the afternoons, a yearly getaway for a women’s conference—all of these things helped me survive busy seasons.

2. Don’t Go It Alone

Good friends are hard to find, but they are so important. Most of my own girlfriends have been gathered when I opened my home and just invited someone over for lunch or tea or asked some ladies to join me to read a book together and talk about it. Don’t give up on good relationships; a listening ear is a wonderful treasure and sometimes, a life-saver.

3. Develop Rhythms That Work

Although strict schedules never seemed to work with my outside-the-box children, we did thrive on rhythms we designed for ourselves. We ate breakfast and cleaned up together, usually listening to fun music, every morning before moving into our school days. On Sunday afternoons, we’d have a teatime, with favorite treats and something warm to drink along with a read-aloud for everyone to enjoy. We looked forward to an overnight family sleepover on the back porch in the summers; fall meant time for an open house when we invited neighbors and friends for cider and cookies or chili; and hosting Christmas teas for my friends and their daughters became a treasured tradition.

4. Take a Long-Range View

It’s been said that motherhood is a marathon, and not a sprint—and so it is: “And let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due season we shall reap, if we do not give up” (Gal. 6:9). You won’t soon see the fruit of all your difficult labor as a mom. It is a wise woman who pours into her family while keeping in mind her own need for beauty and rest, and especially for being poured into by the Spirit as she goes about the work of motherhood. {eoa}

Sally Clarkson’s newest book, Different, is available Jan. 24, 2017. Sally’s and Nathan’s voices are needed in this day and age of parenting. This book was an encouragement for me on so many levels, as a mama, friend and woman in ministry. Both Sally and Nathan display the love and grace of Jesus toward each other, and that is a message that transfers to people all over the world. —Jamie Ivey, Host of “The Happy Hour with Jamie Ivey” podcast.

For more information on Sally and Nathan and to download the first chapter, visit the Different website.

One of the sharpest criticisms that comes against Bible-quoting, conservative Christians is that we are hypocrites, failing to live by the very book that we so zealously quote.

Sadly, that criticism is often true.

To give just one example (and as I’ve said countless times), no-fault, heterosexual divorce in the evangelical church has done more to undermine marriage than all gay activists combined.

But we conservative believers hardly have a monopoly on hypocrisy. To the contrary, the Bible-quoting hypocrisy of the liberal left is far more galling than our conservative Christian hypocrisy. We, for our part, truly believe the Bible to be God’s Word and seek to live by it (even though failingly so at times), whereas the liberal left often despises the authority of Scripture except for a few select passages that it misuses for its purposes.

This has come into glaring clarity in light of the president’s executive order concerning refugees. Suddenly, Hollywood elites and their liberal colleagues are quoting the same book that they openly mock, especially when it comes to moral and spiritual standards.

They can’t have it both ways.

Either God’s Word has authority or it does not, and you cannot accept its moral imperative in one place and reject its moral imperative in another place. It simply does not work.

A critic might say, “But you do the exact same thing. You pick and choose what verses you follow.”

Actually, that’s not the case. We have a grid through which we read the Bible—a grid given us by the Bible itself—and we use the Scriptures to interpret the Scriptures.

For example, we learn that God gave Israel certain laws to keep them separate from the nations, even though the laws were not based on moral absolutes. A good example would be, “Don’t wear garments with mixed fabric” (see Lev. 19:19; Deut. 22:11), even though there is nothing morally wrong about doing so. It was simply wrong for Israel because God was teaching them to be separate from the other nations.

On the flip side, when the Ten Commandments say, “Do not murder,” it is based on an absolute moral prohibition, one that is binding for all people everywhere.

So, while Christians today are not obligated to keep these specific laws of separation (which include the dietary laws), they are obligated to keep the universal moral prohibitions of the Bible, which include prohibitions against adultery and stealing and murder.

The left-wing, hypocritical Bible-quoters have no such grid. Instead, they learn a few verses (or, snippets of verses) and quote them with smug self-assurance, not realizing that the book they are selectively quoting actually condemns the lives they are living

For a number of years, their favorite verse has been, “Jesus said ‘Don’t judge.” They add, “But you’re guilty of judging me!”—and they say this as they harshly judge us.

What they fail to realize is that Jesus was teaching us not to judge superficially or hypocritically and not to condemn so we could judge righteously rather than by superficial appearances (see Matt. 7:1-6; John 7:24).

And this same Jesus often warned about hell fire, taught that the path to God was narrow and straight, stated He was the only way to the heavenly Father, and made clear that those who rejected Him would die in their sins—among many other exclusionary and flesh-offending statements. As for the moral standards of the Law, including sexual standards, He took them to a higher level.

To the Bible-citing Hollywood elites and your ultra-liberal colleagues, are you sure you want to be quoting the words of Jesus?

But the hypocrisy has gotten worse after President Trump’s executive order putting a temporary halt on incoming refugees from seven Middle Eastern countries. These one-time Bible-mockers are now quoting the words of the Torah in the Old Testament—yes, those supposedly antiquated, misogynist, bigoted words—reminding us of Israel’s calling to care for the refugee and the foreigner in their midst.

Of course, I totally affirm this ethic and call, and since we are a nation of immigrants, it applies all the more to us, just as it applied especially to the people of Israel, who themselves had been mistreated when they lived in Egypt: Don’t do to the foreigners what Egypt did to you.

But let’s put this compassionate command in context. The ancient Israelites were first commanded to exterminate the Canaanites who lived in the land they were about to inherit—including men, women, and children—because the spiritual and moral wickedness of the Canaanites was so great that it would pollute and destroy the Israelites should any survive.

That’s what I call extreme, yet it was a one-time command for ancient Israel, only after God waited 400 years until the wickedness of the Canaanites reached horrific proportions (see Gen. 15:16).

So then, the same God who called for compassion on the non-hostile foreigner seeking refuge among the people of Israel also called for the elimination of hostile foreigners (similar to candidate Trump’s call to “bomb the (obscenity) out of Isis”).

Not only is this true, but the non-hostile foreigners who took refuge in Israel were required to assimilate into Israel’s culture and expected to live by Israel’s laws (see Num. 15:29). Is that a standard we’re ready to apply here as well?

More galling still is the liberal left’s quotation of Torah law pertaining to care for the refugee while ignoring the Torah’s strict moral code, which universally forbade homosexual practice and adultery under penalty of death.

For the record, these prohibitions are upheld by the New Testament (by both Jesus and Paul), the difference being that instead of a physical death penalty there is a penalty of spiritual death, which in many ways is far worse.

The bottom line, then, is simple: By all means, keep quoting the Scriptures and calling America to live by the morality of the Bible. Just don’t do it selectively.

And the next time conservative Christians do the same, don’t yell back at us, “Separation of church and state!”

Fair enough? {eoa}

I hear so many Christians say, “I’m under attack!” as though they were surprised. As a Christian, born again by the Spirit of God, you were translated from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light. You entered a war zone! Yes, you live in a constant state of war between evil and good, God and Satan.

When the Lord delivered the children of Israel out of Egypt and told them about the promised land, He told them He would not give them the land all at once. There were too many enemies in the land that they didn’t know how to fight. They would be consumed by the enemy. He was protecting them. He said, “As you increase,” I will drive out the enemies, and you will inherit the land (Ex. 23:29-30)

At the same time, He kept them in the wilderness. He directed their footsteps with a cloud and fire. He fed them with manna. He expects us to grow in wisdom and stature just as Jesus did when He lived in this earth.

There is nothing new under the sun! When we read and study the Bible, which was written for our learning, God is showing us how to fight. First, we must realize even though we are living in this world, it is a spiritual battle we are fighting. Satan is your enemy. It is not your husband, neighbor or co-workers. You have been given all the spiritual weapons you need to overcome in this world. First John 5:4 tells us, “For whoever is born of God overcomes the world, and the victory that overcomes the world is our faith.” The battle has already been won. You just have to enforce it in your life!

I love to study the women in the Bible. God spoke to my heart while I lived in Scotland and said, “Teach women today from women of yesterday.” He gave me Romans 15:4: “For whatever was previously written was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” Why are you reading the Bible? A sense of Christian duty? To impress others? We are to read and study to show ourselves approved and to grow in wisdom to build our faith so that we can overcome every dart the enemy tries to shoot in our direction.

Every time you open your Bible, you are equipping yourself and strengthening yourself for the battle for your life, your family and your nation. The sword of the Spirit is the Word of God (Eph. 6:17)! The Word of God has to be revealed to you by the Holy Spirit to become alive and active in your life. When you speak the Word that is alive in you, you defeat Satan as Jesus did coming out of the wilderness (Luke 4:4).

When I study the life of Deborah, I see a wife, mother, intercessor and prophetess. At the time of Deborah, there was moral outrage, lawlessness and violence. This resulted in a society of destruction and chaos. A permissive lifestyle ran rampant in the land. Does this sound familiar?

I believe the Lord is extending an invitation to women of God today who are willing to stand up and use their God-given power and influence to change the world they live in.

Deborah did not try to overshadow Barak; she understood her call as a mother in Israel and men and women were drawn to her. Her prophetic anointing flowed through her to release divine strategies for the day. When we walk in our call as Deborah did with the heart of God for her family and nation, we will receive the same favor.

God needs Deborahs today to use their influence to change this nation. Too many women are suffering from rejection and pain from tradition and religious beliefs. They are walking wounded in their souls and need to be set free to follow their heart. God is raising up women in all walks of life to deliver His divine strategies and wisdom to discern the times and seasons. Are you willing? Believe me, embracing the call of God is not an easy lifestyle. If you are not ready for resistance, you are not ready to step out. We live in a war zone. God will not take us to the front lines until He knows we are equipped and ready. {eoa}

Joyce Tilney is the founder of Women of God Ministries, teaching women today from women of yesterday. She is an author and Bible teacher. Visit for more information. Her new book and workbook, Why Diets Don’t Work – Food Is Not the Problem, share her testimony of how the Lord helped her lose 88 pounds. There is nothing impossible with Him. Visit the website: for information.

From the White House to the womb, the launching pad button has been pushed.

Prayers seemed to have mounted up and taken wings ascending to the throne room, crying out on the behalf of the unborn. I heard many angels conversing, “We just got a breakthrough assignment to deliver the unborn! Tell them to keep crying out and pleading the blood of Jesus. The spirit of abortion is being notified, ‘Let My Babies Go!'”

‘Angelic’ Midwives Are Being Assigned to Hand Deliver the Deliverers

It seemed like a season equivalent to when God had called Moses in his mother’s womb to be a deliverer to the nation of Israel. In Moses’ time, Pharaoh sent a decree to destroy every male child being born. But the fear of God came upon the midwives, and they saved these babies.

Moses was one of the babies who were delivered. These kind of “hand-delivered” babies deliver nations!

I sense once again that a season of intervention is here, when the fear of God is beginning to fall on abortion clinics as “angelic midwives” are being assigned to doctors and nurse practitioners.

A stronger cry for intercession  from the throne became even louder as an angel began proclaiming, “I think we got another Moses here! Another David, another Deborah, and yes, there is another Esther coming out of that womb! Keep prayer coming up. These babies have an anointing for the nations!

‘You Are Not Carrying a Mistake—You Are Carrying a Miracle’

I saw the Holy Spirit overshadowing many mothers who, like Mary, were overwhelmed with what to think and do next as they were surprised by their pregnancy. But the Holy Spirit began to melt their hearts, as it was revealed by God Himself, “Fear not, for that holy thing which shall be born of thee is of Me. You are not carrying a mistake; you are carrying a miracle!”

I saw in the Spirit many babies being offered up for adoption. God had already handpicked married couples and placed His desire in their hearts to extend their families. These children appeared as arrows in their quivers who would eventually speak with the enemies in the gates of their cities and nations!

“Babies unplanned are heaven’s surprises; unplanned by man for Satan’s demises!”

One of the many executive orders signed by President Barack Obama expanded protections in federal hiring, which already barred discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, to also include gender identity.

Additionally, the order required all companies doing business with the federal government to have explicit policies barring discrimination against gay and transgender workers. This includes Christian-owned businesses that have contracts with any federal government agency.

In total, Obama’s order applied to 24,000 companies that collectively employ about 28 million workers, which is roughly one-fifth of the total U.S. workforce. This week, President Donald Trump—despite assurances he would protect religious liberty—has announced he plans to keep the order in place.

Peter LaBarbera, president of Americans for Truth About Homosexuality, issued the following statement regarding that decision:

This is the first sign we have that President Trump will be triangulating on homosexuality versus abortion. As exhilarated as we were to watch the Trump administration confidently and boldly stand for the protection of the unborn at the March for Life, we are now deeply disappointed that Mr. Trump has chosen to defend false LGBTQ “rights” based on changeable homosexual and gender-confused behaviors.

We understand that, in many ways, Trump’s non-action in accepting Obama’s 2014 pro-LGBTQ executive order echoes the compromised culture. It might even be a politically savvy move to defend “gay” and “transgender” “rights” while simultaneously being pro-life. However, it also lacks principle, as genuine rights—which come from God—can never be based on sinful, changeable, unnatural conduct proscribed in the Bible. Furthermore, homosexuality, like abortion, is inherently anti-life.

We further understand that President Trump comes out of a New York City background in which he advocated for homosexual “rights.” But to now use his bully pulpit to proclaim “rights” and favored treatment based on a sexual sin and gender rebellion is wrong. (See Romans 1—which Obama pooh-poohed.) No matter how powerful the new president is, he, like Obama, is utterly powerless to change God’s eternal moral law.

We call on all pro-family and pro-life groups to stay principled in their advocacy, and not to look the other way when Donald Trump stumbles on truth. We condemned Obama when he advanced a sin-based agenda in the name of “equality.” We must do no less with President Trump.

Planned Parenthood is to America what the Nazi gas chambers were to Hitler’s Germany. (It’s not women being forced into the death chambers—it’s babies).

Hitler dehumanized the Jews and convinced the Germans to exterminate them like rats.

We Americans should have realized our propensity to do the same thing, but sadly history is repeating itself! Think about it: We dehumanized the Native Americans by convincing our citizens they were savages. Then we slaughtered them like animals. You think we would have learned from our mistakes, but nothing is further from the truth.

Within 50 years, we did it again: We dehumanized another race. This time, it was the African-Americans. We enslaved, whipped, beat and hung them from trees. More than 620,000 people died in the Civil War trying to right this wrong. And although the war ended in 1865, it would be nearly 100 years before Martin Luther King Jr. would help African-Americans begin to realize their freedom.

But by 1973 Roe v. Wade came along, and we did it again. This time, we dehumanized children. We used to ask pregnant women if they were having a boy or a girl. Now we have to ask them if it’s a human or just a fetus.

“Why,” you ask, “Do we keep repeating history?” Good question. The answer is greed.

We killed the Native Americans so we could steal their land. We enslaved the Africans to work in our fields. Rich ranchers and farmers made millions of dollars on the blood-soaked backs of slavery.

Abortion is a multi-billion dollar business whose primary beneficiary is Planned Parenthood. Did you get that? A business disguised as family planning, a caring organization, is leading the American genocide of babies. But wait, there’s more. They not only take the life of fetuses, but they also harvest their organs and sell them as human body parts.

Confused yet? You should be.

By the way, this is all happening under the banner of women’s rights. Yet half of the fetuses are girls, who become women.

Since when is taking the life of a baby somebody’s right?

Now, if a drunk driver causes an accident that results in a miscarriage, they will be charged with a homicide. That’s right. Is there anything else in the world that is defined by its termination rather than its conception?

Confused yet? You should be.

Fifty years from now the world will look back on this human genocide the same way we view the Nazis, slavery and Native America slaughter; with disdain, shame and deep regret. Our grandchildren will ask us, “Grandmother, Grandpa, how come nobody stopped them from killing the babies?”

We will respond, “Well, we didn’t think they were human!”

Confused yet? You should be.

For all the women who have already had abortions: Jesus forgives you. You need to forgive yourself. Regret won’t right a wrong, but you can help other women from being deceived into making the same mistake.

Finally, let me point out that there are no unwanted babies in America. There are more beautiful families trying to adopt, than there are babies, so adoption is a great solution.

It’s time to give a voice to the silent scream. Fifty years from now, those who are called fanatics will be remembered as heroes. Just ask Abe Lincoln, Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. Sometimes, to make history, you have to step out of the crowd and become politically incorrect.

If we passed a law in America that women had to be fully informed by seeing a sonogram of their fetus before they made the decision to terminate their pregnancy, we would effectively end abortion in our nation. You can’t even buy a car without full disclosure.

Guess who is the biggest resistance to full disclosure for women? You guessed it, Planned Parenthood. Is it at all surprising that they are the main lobbyist keeping Congress from passing laws for women to be fully informed before they make the most important decision they will ever make in their lives? I wonder why.

Are you confused yet? You should be.

Name one good reason why a woman should not be required to view a sonogram of her fetus before she can terminate her pregnancy? I can give you 58,586,256 million reasons why they should. That’s the number of infants aborted since Roe vs. Wade in America alone. And there will be hundreds of more reason by the time you view this post.

Let me close with one last bit of history. Most Americans don’t know that McCorvey, who was the “pro-choice” “Roe” in the infamous abortion case in 1973, is now a pro-life advocate. She has dedicated her life to reversing the Supreme Court case that bears her fictitious name, Jane Roe.

Still confused? McCorvey “Roe” isn’t anymore.

Some say, “Kris, you are insensitive and hurting people’s feelings.” Sometimes the truth hurts. If it saves the life of one baby, it will be worth all the pain I caused people today. {eoa}

Kris Vallotton is the senior associate leader at Bethel Church in Redding, California, where he has served with Bill Johnson for three decades. He has written several books, including the best-selling The Supernatural Ways of Royalty and Heavy Rain.

For the original article, visit .

Dawson Hartwig went for a walk in the woods and never came back.  

A dive team found his body Jan. 29, a day and a half after he disappeared.  

Questions loom over the Hartwig family as they investigate his death. One question not up for debate? The young man’s strong, fiery faith.  

“In the short 20 years that he lived, I feel like he touched more lives than I’ll ever touch,” San Bernardino County Fire Chief Mark Hartwig, Dawson’s father, said. 

Hartwig was popular and committed to Christ. Among others, he followed Kris Vallotton and Bill Johnson on his Facebook page, according to a family friend.  

The Hartwigs attend the 7,000-member Water of Life Community Church, in Fontana, California, pastored by Jack Hayford’s mentee, Dan Carroll.  

The family created the “Love Like Dawson” Facebook page, which fans flooded with fond memories. 

“Beyond thankful for the love of this community inspired by Dawson. The Holy Spirit is moving right now,” the Facebook page reads.  

One friend wrote: “Your personality always brightened my day. Your smile was contagious. You were always making people laugh. The amount of love and support you have is overwhelming. You have a lot of people who care about you Dawson. We will see each other again one day. Knowing that you know God and that you made it to heaven makes this just a little bit easier. The Hartwig family has another wonderful angel watching over them. #cbcfamily#foreverandalways #lovelikedawson” 

According to a family statement, Dawson was in a good place when he went up the mountain and would never consider hurting himself. He had a firm foundation in Christ and was at Water of life with the family every Sunday. He was also considering an overseas mission trip with Water of Life this summer. His friends and he were constantly encouraging each other to grow in their walks with God.  

Please pray for the Hartwig family as they endure this loss. 

Lana Vawser has shared a new word from the Lord with the readers of The Elijah List in which she urges Christians to continue to pray for President Donald Trump.

“On Friday morning, I sat down to write out a prophetic word that came out of a very powerful encounter I had with the Lord the night before in a dream,” she wrote. “As I sat to write this word out, I had a vision that took me completely by surprise.

“The vision opened up before my eyes and I saw snakes (metaphorical picture of the enemy) slithering in the darkness, and they were heading towards the back door of the White House.”

Vawser said the vision reminded her of the word she released recently about snakes looking for the “back door” in the lives of Christ-followers. In this vision, however, the snakes were moving about under the radar “with a specific assignment to do whatever it took to hinder what God is birthing in the United States of America and through President Donald Trump.”

She continued, saying God was making a clarion call for intercessors to pray:

There was such an urgency in the spirit all around me. I heard the sound of an alarm going off in the spirit, and the Lord decreeing, “Clarion call! Clarion call!” over and over. I felt that this was a strong warning to the intercessors to increase prayers at this vital and pivotal time of reformation, breakthrough and restoration in the United States of America.

As they heard the sound of the alarm and rose up and prayed, I saw the intercessors running out like warriors with swords, with such resolve in their eyes. They were convicted by their authority in Christ and the power of His Word.

I watched as the Lord showed these warriors all the strategic places in the spirit where these snakes were hiding. They were going into the dark places in intercession. The Lord was uncovering the hidden places, strategies and assignments of the enemy. As these intercessors were interceding and using the Word of God, they were finding these snakes and cutting them with their swords (meaning cutting off the plans of the enemy).

Even though the Lord was releasing a warning, I felt such excitement in my spirit, because I could see victory exploding everywhere. As the intercessors prayed, the enemy’s attempts were falling to the ground. 

An explosion of victory! The glory of God on the White House!

It was then I heard the Lord say “As My intercessors pray, the enemy is going to fall on his own sword.”

In this explosion of such victory, I watched as the glory of God fall so heavily upon the White House. I watched as encounters with Jesus happened in the White House, the glory of God resting upon the White House and flowing out into the nation. Such a strong sense of the Lord refining, purifying, cleansing and increasing surrounded me. Such a significant birthing and a “taking of the ground” was taking place. In watching the glory of God falling upon the White House, my spirit was filled with excitement that the glory of God is about to be seen across the United States like it has never been seen before.

Amidst darkness in the earth, the glory of God was going to be seen in the White House and the nation, seeing people and other nations drawn to her light. The words surrounded me, “United States of America, the new day is upon you marked by My glory with a beacon of hope and breakthrough!”

Why? Because of the great awakening and arising of His people in the nation. The church is taking her place, standing in the midst of the darkness and saying, “no more,” in the name of Jesus, and seeing the glory and light of Jesus shine brighter than ever.

Click here to read Vawser’s entire article. {eoa}

There is a masterpiece of a movie in theaters now. It’s nominated for multiple Oscars including “Best Picture”; has no nudity, sensuality, or violence (although it does include some profanity). It is a PG true story and even features people unashamedly praying in the name of Jesus and declaring, “Thank you, Jesus!”

The entire story revolves around three women of character working silently behind the scenes against resistance and shameful opposition. Yet instead of rage-filled protests, they demonstrated grace, humility and patience to bring about change.

In this season of Trump-hating vitriol and angry marches, it’s inspiring and refreshing to be reminded that there is a God-given pathway to progress. The film, Hidden Figures, is a tour de force that deserves our support.

I wish I could reassure readers that the current swelling “resistance movement” will subside, but it won’t. Nasty, vulgar women; subsidized anarchists; and lawless legislators are only the beginning. The propagandist media complies as evidenced by their narrative on “airport chaos,” when Chief of Staff Reince Priebus said on Sunday’s Meet the Press (Jan. 29, 2017) that only 109 foreigners from select Muslim countries were delayed briefly for questioning out of 325,000 in one day.

So this movie has compelling lessons for us at this time. Seeing it, I couldn’t help but recall words from the greatest teacher who ever lived in the greatest sermon ever given. “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how shall it be made salty? It is from then on good for nothing but to be thrown out and to be trampled underfoot by men” (Matt. 5:13).

Becoming Informed Influencers

When “The Bullseye Challenge” was launched months ago, the book cover stated the goal of preparing salt and light Christians: “Becoming informed influencers in today’s changing culture.” Through 30 videos and the book, Christians invest 15 minutes daily for one month to learn to influence others confidently and charitably.

God’s people need to be equipped on today’s hot-buttoned themes. Whether it is abortion, social justice, illegal immigration, transgenderism or other topics, we need to know what to say and how to say it.

Reflecting on salt and its many uses can help us in carrying out our assignment as “hidden figures” in our spheres today.

5 Uses for Salt

Salt is composed of two poisons, sodium and chloride, which kill if ingested separately. What formerly brought death can bring forth life. With simmering and swelling tensions today, being salt of the earth nails our task.

1. Preservative

Salt has been a food preservative since ancient times. It is extremely effective in destroying microorganisms that cause the spoilage of food.

Jesus Christ calls us to preserve morality and stop corruption in our culture. Pastors and God’s people cannot be passive. Standing up to opposition, we have an assignment no matter how disrespectful those we face may be.

Salt does irritate wounds. Think of hate-spewing celebrities and protesters wounded by sin. At the same time, we need caution so our actions don’t unnecessarily grate on people because we’re obnoxious.

2. Source of Flavor

Just as salt adds flavor to food, we are called to do likewise in the midst of an insipid world. Following the ways of God enables us to “rejoice with joy unspeakable” (1 Pet.1:8b) as His ambassadors bringing zest to the world.

Scripture speaks of the “pleasures of sin for a time” (Heb. 11:25) but afterward come consequences that weigh people down in discouragement and depression. Don’t let appearances fool you as many defiant demonstrators and detractors are broken and bitter and need to witness another way. We may be the only Bible that onlookers ever read.

3. Makes One Thirsty

Jesus said, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink” (John 7:37). He went on to describe the Spirit-filled life wherein obedient followers radiate His love to a darkened world.

It’s not by accident that bars have bowls of pretzels and peanuts in front of customers to create thirst. Our assignment and privilege is to be a literal pretzel for Jesus in our corner of the world.

4. Uplifts

Salt has a unique quality called buoyancy. When something has enough salt, it lifts objects and people up. Think of the Dead Sea phenomenon, where there’s so much salt no one ever sinks or drowns there. The wicked Roman commander Vespacian once tried to execute slaves by dumping them bound into this sea, yet failed because they floated.

Surrounded by people who are living with heavy burdens, what a golden opportunity we have each day to lift people up by expressing love rather than disdain. We saw this in recent demonstrations where Christians didn’t retaliate when spat upon or punched.

5. Permeates

The Bible directs salty saints to seize the opportunity to engage unbelievers wisely and not withdraw into isolation. God directs us, “Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, wisely using the opportunity. Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you should answer everyone” (Col.4:5-6).

I’m personally committed to authenticity ever since God impressed on my heart 40 years ago, “Let it never be said of me that I presented the world a caricature of Christ.”

In our dealings with lost people, we must be calm and confident. May we be so winsome in our behavior that even when folks disagree with us, they’re left with “the sweet fragrance of Christ” (2 Cor. 2:15b).

Closing Cultural Challenge

Ten weeks past the election, millions of people are bitter and some, hateful. If ever we needed to maintain our composure and be the salt of the earth, it’s now. Jesus said, “Have salt in yourselves, and have peace with one another” (Mark 9:50).

Humorist Mark Twain once said, “If Christ were here, there is one thing He would not be, a Christian.” Let’s prove him wrong as we behave in the opposite spirit of the world, like the “hidden figures” in the film.

There’s never been a better time for us to be the “salt of the earth.” And remember, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God” (Matt. 5:9). {eoa}

Following the Boy Scouts of America’s announcement that it would begin allowing biological girls who identify as boys—”transgender boys”—into its ranks, On My Honor founder John Stemberger issued an official statement.

The statement reads:

This is a profoundly sad but inevitable decision on the part of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). The “key three” leadership of the BSA assured its membership less than four years ago when they voted to allow openly gay boys in the program that this would never happen. Now untold thousands of boys in Scouting will be directly exposed to the serious psychological confusion that is characterized by those claiming to be transgender. As a society, we should have great compassion for children suffering from gender dysphoria while getting them proper counseling and professional help. Instead, the BSA is encouraging and facilitating a recognized mental disorder that has far reaching consequences to the health and safety of children. Recently, the American College of Pediatricians released a formal position paper entitled Gender Identity Harms Children urging those working with children “to reject all policies that condition children to accept as normal a life of chemical and surgical impersonation of the opposite sex.”

Further, knowing that boys and biological girls will be showering, dressing and camping in tents together create a clear child protection issue which is being ignored. It’s simply stunning that a leading youth organization which parents entrust the protection of their children with has opted to again appease political activists rather than follow clear, common-sense best practices for child protection.

On My Honor was a national coalition of former scoutmasters, Eagle Scouts, parents and other supporters, initially organized to urge BSA not to change its membership policies to admit openly gay scouts. Once that happened in May of 2013, the organization re-branded itself as Trail Life USA.

Stemberger, who is president of the Florida Family Policy Council, also serves as Chairman of the Board of Trail Life USA. The organization now has more than 700 troops across the U.S.

“Trail Life USA is saddened to see this decision by the BSA,” Trail Life USA CEO Mark Hancock said. “We assure our members and chartering organizations that we are committed to the timeless biblical values affirmed in our Statement of Faith and Values.”

BSA is congressionally chartered under Title 36 of the United States Code. Other Title 36 corporations include Girl Scouts of the USA, American Legion, Little League, The American Red Cross and the National Academy of Sciences. {eoa}