Commentary

Included in the historic and dizzying litany of U.S. Supreme Court decisions the last ten days are rulings on 2 ^nd Amendment rights and free exercise of religion.

These decisions, when analyzed in conjunction with landmark pro-democracy decisions defending the rights ‘of the people’ through their elected representatives to choose to protect pre-born human life and requiring that the U.S. Congress determine major environmental policy—not unelected bureaucrats unaccountable to the people—the Supreme Court has returned “We the People” to a constitutional republic and a ‘government by consent of the governed.’ ^nd

Let’s begin with the 2 ^nd Amendment case. The Supreme Court held that New York’s handgun licensing regime was

When we think summer, we think spending time with friends and family doing fun things. One of my favorite things to do is to have a neighborhood picnic!

Growing up, my parents hosted our neighborhood picnic every year. Daddy grilled hamburgers and hot dogs. The other families brought the ‘fixins’, sides, salads, and desserts.

And, of course, there was always a tub full of homemade ice cream! At first, it was a hand-cranked version, and everyone had their turn. Later, Daddy splurged on an electric one.

Hosting a picnic is as easy as setting a date and determining who will bring what. It might help to keep a list, so too many duplications aren’t made.

If you are the host, you may want to provide the main course. In our case, we made the hamburgers and hotdogs, and bought the charcoal for the grill.

You may not already have enough chairs and picnic tables for everyone. Just make it a BYOC (bring your own chair) event.

By nature, we want to believe a lie rather than the Truth.

But, when it’s all said and done, we’ll all be judged by Truth.

And, that’s wherein the problem lies: for, just as Pilate asked a rhetorical question about Truth (“What is truth?”), but didn’t really expect an answer (John 18:38), so do we do the same thing today.

Yes, today’s generation— which delights in relativism, secularism, atheism, agnosticism and a whole host of other “isms”—has definitely bitten into the devil’s original lie to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden:

“Don’t listen to God; don’t you know He lied to you? He knows if you listen to me and eat of this beautiful, delicious fruit that you’ll become just like Him” (Genesis 3:1-5).

And, in reality, what he was saying is: “And YOU will become God!,” which was his original desire while he was still head of the angels in Heaven (Isaiah 14:12-14).

Have you ever gotten excited about trying something new, but suddenly, there is this feeling that maybe you shouldn’t? Have you ever questioned if you are good enough? Smart enough? It’s almost as if you are hearing this soft whisper saying you can’t, you aren’t, you shouldn’t.

That whisper coming from a personal bully. He’s a hairy little beast that loves to lurk in the shadows. His name is Fear. Sometimes, he goes by his aliases Doubt and Uncertainty. And he loves to show up to throw water on the flames of progress and creativity.

The most common fear people have is a fear of failure. All our lives we struggle to please other people – parents, teachers, friends, and bosses. Being afraid can prevent us from trying new things. It stifles our curiosity and keeps us from learning and growing.

Keep your pets safe throughout the hot summer months as soaring temperatures can be dangerous for pets.

Summer has officially begun, so it’s a good time to remember that pets require special care to avoid heatstroke. Dogs cannot tell us when they feel hot, and it is our responsibility to ensure that our pets have sufficient shelter from the sun, an adequate supply of water to drink, and a way to cool off as the heat rises. Be aware of these essential needs when leaving your pets outside during the day. Moreover, do not forget that at this time of the year, it is life-threatening to leave pets in hot cars, even if they are parked in the shade, and even for just a few minutes! Each summer, the LSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital sees several heatstroke cases.

May the July 4^th Celebration be a day of hope, reflection, and prayers for the Nation. On July 4^th America will pause to celebrate the founding of the nation which occurred on July 4, 1776. The celebration will mark 245 years as a democratic republic. There will be the customary gathering of friends and families for picnics, singing of patriotic songs, a musical concert on the mall in the nation’s capital, with fireworks bursting and inundating the capital’s evening skies. Regrettably, many Americans, particularly people of color, will find it difficult to celebrate the founding of the nation. Why? Because they remember that at the time of its founding their ancestors were enslaved by those proclaiming and declaring freedom for posterity.

It’s what one gets when God “gives one up or turns one over to him/herself to selfdestruct.”

A “reprobate mind.”

Taken from the Greek word “adokimos,” the word “reprobate” also means “rejected, worthless, perverse, perverted, unacceptable, etc.” And, it’s clear from reading Romans 1:18-32 that’s the type mind that those who support “National Pride Month” have in God’s sight.

Yes, we don’t have to be a theologian or Greek scholar to understand Paul’s straightforward words in that passage: for we know what it means for “men to leave the natural use of the woman and to burn in their lust toward another, men with me” (v.27).

This past week the ‘ Woke’ NFL again demonstrated how asleep it is to the reason for its unpopularity and lost viewership.

Coach Jack Del Rio, defensive coordinator of the Washington Commandeers (formerly the Redskins) stated:

“A simple question,” Del Rio said on June 8. “Why are we not looking into [the riots at the protests], if we’re going to talk about [the Capitol riot]. Why are we not looking into those things? … I see images on the TV, people’s livelihoods are being destroyed, businesses are being burned down, no problem. And then we have a dust-up at the Capitol, nothing burned down, and we’re going to make that a major deal.”

He had also tweeted on June 6 ^th “Would love to understand the ‘whole story’ about why the summer of riots, looting, burning and the destruction of personal property is never discussed but this is ?? #CommonSense.”

Can you blame God for what is happening to you, and yours?

Who told you, that now is the Kingdom of God, on this earth?

Adam and eve have elected Satan and trusted him, not God. Their unbelief and disobedience allowed Satan to walk out as the prince of this world. Thus, infinite evil entered this planet.

Blame the author of all evil, Satan, his demons and his people, for your troubles, do not blame a loving god.

What does it mean, to believe in God?

Trusting God, or believing in God, is very, very special to our Creator.

Remember the scripture where God led Israel to enter the Promised Land? A victory over superior force of giants was promised. People did not believe. What resulted?

This whole unbelieving generation of Jews died wandering the deserts for 40 years and could not enter the Promised Land.

Either you believe what God says, or you call God a liar.

Last weekend, my older son, Reece, came home for the summer after finishing his freshman year at LSU.

And even though his room is full of musical equipment and dirty clothes, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Reece is our musician, so he is often delighting us with jazz music that he plays by ear on the piano.

And even though Reece will soon be busy with a local internship, I’m so glad that his music will fill the house often until mid-August.

My son Bryce just finished tenth grade, and will soon be busy with football practice in the mornings and working the rest of the day. He’s always trying to gain weight, so I’ll be at Kroger twice as often so that I’m prepared when he raids the refrigerator all summer!

And Juliana, who just finished sixth grade, is a competitive swimmer, so we will be at swim practice or swim meets every single day in June.