There are a lot of terrible things going on right now in the world. But we are at the time of the year when we, as Christians, celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. We can choose to be impacted by the world around us in its dimly lit arena, or we can choose to let our light so shine. I choose the latter.

I want to tell you a little about the Christmas that I had growing up on our family farm in Ohio. I was blessed to be born into a horse and cattle farm that has been in our family for some 200 years. And Christmas, especially Christmas Eve, was a wonderful time for our family. December 24 was my Dad’s birthday. And my Dad was well-loved by his neighbors and friends, so we had a lot going on Christmas Eve.

I remember one special Christmas Eve. I must have been about four years old. The night was falling, and the wind and snow were whipping across the barnyard, as we often were victims of the “lake effect” from Lake Erie in the southernmost tip of the snow belt. The barn was cold when we turned on the lights and started climbing into the loft and throwing bales of hay down, putting the hay in the mangers, grain in the feed boxes, and water in the buckets. Then the horses and cows were gathered in the barnyard; one by one, we let them through the door, and they automatically went to their stalls or stanchions. The barn warmed up, and the animals contently eating was a comforting sound.

We had dinner and went to church. I remember my brother Chuck carried me out of church that night. He was 14 years older than me, and we were so very close. He was asking me whether I thought Santa had made it to the farm yet. And I was worried that it was so early on Christmas Eve that he had not –for we celebrated our family Christmas on Christmas Eve with my Dad’s birthday. Then he looked up at the moon and said, “See there… it’s Santa’s sleigh and his reindeer. Don’t you see them?” He was so convincing that I looked and looked but couldn’t find them. But Chuck insisted that he had seen Santa Claus. We got home, and sure enough, there were wonderful presents under the tree.

We had a great family time that year, opening presents and enjoying one another. And afterward, neighbors and friends started dropping by to wish my Dad happy birthday. Their kids and I were playing with my new farm set, and there was a lot of laughter and fun.

Chuck was killed by a drunk driver a few years later. Dad passed in 1989. But the spirit of those two wonderful men lives on here and especially in heaven, and I am reminded of them every Christmas Eve – in the best of times or worst of times, they were the best of men.

We have a Savior, Jesus Christ, who is with us in all times. And no matter the condition of the world, we can draw comfort in His promise in Matthew 28:20, “I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.”

God Bless you and yours during this season.

Posted in The Daily Jot

One thing that historians may well document is the roaring 20s of disinformation—that is, the 2020s.

The public was fed a steady diet that information was disinformation and disinformation was information.

• There was information that mail-in ballots were used to defraud elections.
• There was information that a presidential candidate was involved in illegal activities with his son.
• There was information that the FBI and other government agencies were collaborating with a political party.
• There was information on better science to prevent and treat what became a worldwide pandemic.

All this was characterized as disinformation by government, media, and big business. Now the truth is coming out.

The Twitter files are clearly demonstrating a pattern of deceit and disinformation that can be readily applied to several of the big-time lies that government, media, and big business have perpetrated on the public to forward their agendas. That pattern is to overwhelm truth with a very loud and consistent media and public relations campaign that establishes agendas as the prevailing thought. It is so insidious that it suppresses truth, censors those bringing the truth, and labels truth-bearers with derogatory terms, like racist, bigot, denier, homophobe, misogynist, hatemonger, religious fanatic, white supremacist, whatever.

As Americans, we have witnessed this brainwashing repeatedly during this decade.

This is what happens when institutionalized unelected government agencies align with a political party to protect and grow their influence and power. It is the result of weaponizing issues and enlisting businesses that benefit from those issues. It is the outcome of media that has been trained to measure all events against a certain political ideal rather than reporting truth.

These alignments have caused the world to go mad. Ideas that would have been confirmed as insane just years ago are now flipped on end to characterize anyone who points out their folly as the insane ones. From doctors assigning sex at birth to the CDC dictating protocols that are known to kill people to denying clear evidence of corruption, all these and more are part of the post-truth era where disinformation has become information.

Christ said in Matthew 24:4, “Take heed that no man deceive you.”

Ephesians 5:6 says, “Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.”

It means that if people deceive you into acting against the precepts of God, bad things are going to happen. And they are. The collective results of these lies to society are bringing not only our nation down but also the rest of the world.

When the corrupt and immoral are in control, corrupt and immoral things will happen. These evildoers will use all their efforts to convince you that their good is not evil, but good for you. It is, at least in this world, good for them. But it is bad for a moral people.

In this age, when the majority says disinformation, your discernment antennae should activate. Otherwise, it may have dire consequences.

Posted in The Daily Jot