JTalkin'

The United States had the Vietnam War won by 1971.  What happened so that the communist North Vietnam won just four years later?  And what happened to Vietnam's neighbors at the same time?  How did Vietnam change from the time of their victory in 1975?  

The Cold War was not so cold in Southeast Asia for the twenty years of the 1950s through the 1970s.  Hundreds of thousands of people perished in a civil war and a war of ideologies.  What prompted America to enter into this area of the world where it had no real vital interests, other than trying to stop the spread of communism?  What were the events leading up to it, and how did the United States handle its involvement through the early 1970s?  Listen in to Dr. J give his take on this awful chapter in our nation's (and Vietnam's) history.  In the next podcast Dr. J will wrap up our America's involvement in Vietnam, as well as a follow up to what happened in southeast Asia after the US left.  

A unique aspect of the tension between the Communist Soviet Union and the Free World of the United States and its Western Allies was the competition in space.  Who would be the first nation to land a man on the moon?  The Soviets definitely had a good lead in rocket technology and scored many impressive accomplishments.  But it wasn't long before Americans would catch up.  What was it like to be a witness to this amazing chapter in world history?  I look back now and count myself so blessed that I actually watched in real time some of mankind's greatest achievements.

It is often called "The Forgotten War", or "The Coldest War."  The Korean War was the first open shooting war between Communist forces and the forces of the Free World.  It was eventually a stand-off, and today we still have the brutal regime of North Korea occupying the northern half of the Korean peninsula, while the free Republic of Korea occupies the southern half.  How did we get here?  Listen in to today's podcast!

Did you know that NO full length feature film has ever been done on George Washington?  WHY?  I have no idea.  However, Angel Studios is really on a roll these days.  They have produced a really good movie about the life of George Washington before the American War for Independence.  This is a pretty good movie...I would actually watch it again.  And your children (probably age 12 and up) should watch it too.  No profanity or sexual content, but some graphic violence in the battle scenes.   Way to go Angel Studios with another movie about a real hero we would do well to imitate!  

Happy Independence Day everyone!  I hope you all have a great day celebrating the 250th birthday of the United States of America.  As we take stock of our great country, I thought it would be good to compare the ideas, values, and accomplishments of our founding with the stated goals of a major political party in the US today:  The Democrat (Socialist) Party.   

The aftermath of World War 2 is what we call "the Cold War"...a war between the Soviet Union and communism versus the Western nations (the US, Great Britain, etc.) and capitalism/political freedom.  The march of communism in China begins in the early 20th century and progresses into a victory for Mao Zedong in 1949.  The defeated armies of the Nationalists (under Chiang Kai-shek) flee to Taiwan and establish their competing government.  This story continues today with the communists in China wanting to eliminate the free Chinese on Taiwan and absorb them into their totalitarian control.  So...in a sense the Cold War continues in the standoff between today's Communist China and the free China of Taiwan.  

The United States dropped the atomic bomb on Japan.  Why?  What was the reasoning of the US at that time?  And what did the US do for its allies, and even its former enemies immediately after World War 2?  And how did we get such states as communist North Korea and communist China?  The answers all lie in what happened at the end of this war and its aftermath.  

By 1943 it was clear that the Axis Powers (Germany, Italy, and Japan) were not going to win The Second World War.  Through numerous brutal campaigns the Allies (Britain, Soviet Union, America) slowly slogged their way across Europe and the Pacific to invade the home territory of the Axis Powers and finish them off.  

World War 2 was known not only for the staggering loss of life (some 60 million people perished), but the war saw entire state governments targeting vast groups of people for extermination.  What are some of the lessons we can learn from this evil?  

You'll hear me say this many times...the way things are now, they won't be forever.  In 1941 hope looked pretty bleak for the free world.  Hitler, Mussolini, and Tojo and their armies looked pretty invincible.  But things change.  And fortunately the Nazi, Fascist, and Imperialist armies were stopped cold in Europe, North Africa, and the Pacific.  The war was not over by a long shot, but the tide had definitely changed.  

We Americans are notorious for NOT knowing a lot about history, even the history of the not too distant past that affects us today!  We know something about World War 2 battles because of movies ("Saving Private Ryan") or because our great-grandparents were involved.  But do you know WHY it happened?  What were the events that led up to a war that killed 60 million people in six years?  Tune in and find out!

When you come to know Christ as Savior and Lord, you become part of God's forever family.  You are adopted by God.  You are His child.  And there are many wonderful truths in the New Testament associated with that new status as one of His kids.  Enjoy your blessings with God as your Father!

God is no longer your enemy, if your faith is in Jesus.  The Bible is clear that a state of hostility has existed, and continues to exist with the lost human race.  But through the death and resurrection of Christ, that hostility has been removed for everyone who takes their refuge in Christ.  

Is the grave the end, or does God have something greater in store for us in the future?  Listen in to Dr. J explain important truths from 1 Corinthians 15 and 1 Thessalonians 4 about the resurrection and glorification of the believer's body.

If believers in Jesus have been justified, redeemed, and reconciled to God, is there anything else left in our future?  Yes, glorification.  Our bodies await a future resurrection in which we will be given a body just like the one the resurrected, glorified Christ has right now.  Listen in as we discuss the "redemption of our bodies" that Paul speaks of in Romans 8:23 and Philippians 3:20, 21.  

We all love stories of redemption, like "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens. A man is broken, twisted, mean, greedy and in bondage to his own darkness.  But something supernatural happens and eventually this broken man is transformed and brought out of his bondage and into freedom.  This is a good picture of the redemption purchased by Christ.  Listen in as Dr. J explains this crucial Bible word!

Well "propitiation" is a word we hardly ever use in English, but it is a wonderful word!  It is used rarely in the New Testament, but once you grasp it's meaning, you will rejoice in such a strange sounding word.  Because of the death of Jesus, God's justice is satisfied, and His righteous wrath against sin is forever turned away from all who believe in Jesus.  Thank God.  

Is the Christian life just "fire insurance", or is there a true process in which God purposely makes us more like Him in this world, and prepares us for the world to come?  The Bible is pretty clear that all Christians are separated by God from this world to Himself, to be a witness in this fallen world.  And this process of separating ourselves from sin and to God is called "sanctification."  It is not an easy or fun process, but it is necessary.  

The Apostle Paul tells us throughout his epistles that we are justified (declared righteous) before God by faith in Christ alone.  But James in his epistle tells us that we are justified by faith plus works.  Is there a contradiction there?  Not at all.  Listen in as Dr. J goes through the much-debated passage in James 2 and explains what sort of justification James is talking about.  

Are all gospels the same?  Nope.  There are plenty of churches telling us that in order to meet God's entrance requirements for heaven we have to jump through all sorts of hoops and obey a multitude of rules and rituals.  What does God say in Romans chapter three?  There Paul lays out the case very clearly that guilty humans are justified/declared righteous in the sight of God by faith in Jesus Christ alone, and not by any sort of obedience to rules or rituals.  It does indeed matter to know that you have the right Gospel message.  The margin for error is zero.  

Sadly and tragically, many if not most evangelical Christians do not know the key terms of salvation used in the Bible, and what they mean.  Because they don't know these doctrines, they are susceptible to fraudulent, quack theologies.  In this series I will discuss from the Bible key doctrines such as justification, redemption, reconciliation, propitiation, and in this podcast--imputation.  The Bible is clear that people don't go to heaven for lack of sincerity; they miss heaven for lack of righteousness.  And the only righteousness God accepts is His own.  Thank God, in Romans 4 the Apostle Paul explains how God imputes/credits His righteousness to all who simply come to Him by faith in Christ alone.  

Since it is the hottest news of the day, I thought I would give my thoughts and analysis of the US and Israeli attacks on the jihadists of Iran...and why this is happening...and what it might mean for some other tyrannical nations.  

I am talking to everyone out there who has started a new diet and exercise program since the New Year...and have quit.  I especially want to talk to senior citizens who are discouraged.  You can change things.  Change is not insurmountable.  You are the biggest obstacle you will ever face.  Get back in the fight, stick to your plan, and in months you will start seeing results.  You can do this.  Think about how free you will feel.  Stick to it, and you will be free. 

Several weeks I published a podcast about five things in which Italy is better than the United States.  Well, I have to be fair you know.  I do love my country, the United States, so here are five things I think we do better than Italy (and possibly most of Western Europe).  Some of it is just "tongue in cheek"; some of it is pretty serious reflection on the differences between us and our friends across the pond.  Enjoy.  But either way, I love my country America, and I love my adopted "second home", Italy.  

The media is going crazy about this 2000 mile long snow storm blanketing the United States.  It is going to be rough for many people in the Deep South, I'm sure.But are there some valuable lessons for us as the nation "hunkers down" and gets ready to be buried under a foot of snow and ice?  I think there are several valuable lessons about preparation...not only for the weekend, but also for a long time to come.    

I just came back from a ski vacation in the Italian Alps.  What a dream come true!  I have been to Italy a few times, and each time it is a beautiful experience.  Although I am very proud about the great things we have and do in America, there are a few things that Italy does much, much better than the U.S., and we could learn a thing or two from them in order to improve our lives.  

Tired of all the "woke" garbage from Disney and other studios?  You just want to take your kids and grandkids to a great film that is visually stunning, has good character development, and tells a good moral story that kids will enjoy?  Take them to see Angel Studios "David."  You will not regret it.  I was VERY impressed with not only the artistry, but how they told the basic story of David from the Bible.  Of course, they don't tell the entire story (that would entail 3 or 4 movies...and some themes are not good for children to hear/see), but what they did show was quite impressive.  If I were Disney...I would watch out for Angel Studios.  

The Breaking News is that President Trump ordered a raid into Venezuela to capture Nicolas Maduro.  What should we think about that?  Is it legal, illegal?  Best for the US?  What message does this send to other nation states that have issues with the US?

Nostalgia ain't what it used to be!  Many of us wistfully look back to a "golden age" in our nation's past, or our personal past, when life was "simpler", and everything was just right.  But there never has been a golden age like.  The prophet Isaiah tells us, however, that one day the perfect golden age WILL come, and through the arrival of the Messiah.  Isaiah 9:1-7 is the Christmas passage you often hear in "Handel's Messiah", and it describes who the Messiah is and what He will do when He finally returns to set up His rule on planet earth.  Christmas is just the beginning of the story!  

Do Christians legitimately believe that Jesus is the fulfillment of Isaiah 7:14?  Doesn't "almah" just mean "young woman", and Isaiah was talking about his wife, and not the virgin Mary some 700 years later?  Dr. J takes a look at Isaiah in the original Hebrew, and in the Greek translation done by Jewish scribes 200 years before Christ (the Septuagint), and gives an answer.  And the hope that this passage brings still brings hope to people every Christmas season.  

I have heard recently statements from podcasters and "journalists" and "historians" that Hitler and the Nazis were "cool" or perhaps just misunderstand.  Winston Churchill was actually the bad guy of World War II.  Really?  Listen in to this analysis of the facts of WW2, and the jargon which passes itself off as legitimate history to uninformed people these days.  

We hear a lot these days about how awful "Western Civilization" is.  Teachers in public schools and colleges are constantly bad-mouthing Western Civilization, but of course they are using their free speech which is a concept that uniquely comes from Western Civilization.  Are there any blessings or advantages of living in a culture that values the heritage of Western Civilization?  I think so, and today's podcast goes through a few of them.  

What was it like in America on Thanksgiving 1945?  World War II had just ended, and now millions of American fighting men were coming home.  What was our society, our culture like then?  What were we as a nation thankful for?  Can we take any cues from that era and find things to be thankful for today?  

Is the popular American celebration of Thanksgiving actually a celebration about a massacre of Native Americans by the Pilgrims and Puritans?  It has become popular in the past thirty or forty years to trash America and try to show that America is actually a terrible nation founded upon slavery, slaughter, and oppression.  However, upon examination of real historical facts, it becomes clear that this is yet another myth foisted upon impressionable and uneducated people.  It is important to expose the fraud of the Leftists in our land, and see their deconstruction of American history for what it is.  Celebrate Thanksgiving, knowing that it's roots are truly in a great feast of peace, joy, and tolerance.  

If you are on a college campus or public school (high school or junior high), more than likely you are not being taught the history of Marxism (or much history of any economic theory or nation, for that matter).  So, to help out your education, here are short little bios about seven evil little monsters who thought it would be a great idea to seize total control, wipe out millions of innocent people, and usher in a brave new world.  

Since so many Americans believe that government should have the right to "soak" the "rich" (whoever has more money than we do) and then "redistribute it" to others who are deemed more worthy of that wealth that they did not earn, I thought it would be good to just ask a few questions.  Share with your socialist friends.  

The term "fascist" is bandied about quite a bit these days.  But what does the term actually mean?  Who were the fascists of the 20th century, how did they practice their ideology in their nations, and who today most closely resembles what the fascists practiced?  

We talked about godly men (something sorely lacking in our American culture these days).  What does the Bible say about godly women?  Tune in!

How can you spot a godly man?  What does it take to be a godly man?  The Bible is very clear about the characteristics that men in the ancient world, and in our world today, needed in order to build a happy and prosperous life.  

The Bible tells us that there are people who may be very intelligent, but in the end they are fools.  What makes them a fool, even though they are very intelligent and productive in several areas of their life?  And how should we deal with fools?  A few pages from the book of Proverbs will help us sort through this mess and give us a road map on how to deal with such people, and also how to avoid the things that make them foolish in God's sight.  

After watching numerous videos of Charlie Kirk debating people on college campuses, I've been thinking a great deal on what the Bible says about the differences between ignorance and foolishness, intelligence and wisdom.  Plenty of people are intelligent but not wise, and many are ignorant but not foolish.  Does the Bible shed any light on the differences between these ideas, and does it give us any guidance on the principles we can put into our lives in order to have happier and more productive lives?  

My parents were part of the "Greatest Generation"...those Americans growing up in the Great Depression and World War II.  They instilled in me several life lessons that seem to be missing in many Americans today.  Hopefully our culture is rediscovering and valuing these eternal life lessons.  I hope you enjoy listening to this episode.  

It has been four days after Charlie Kirk's assassination.  I've wanted to let some time to go by to collect my thoughts.  Here's what I think about this darkly serious situation in our country, and the way forward for Christians.  

The conclusion of this series of the hard sayings of Jesus, I comment on some of the more popular verses that well meaning people use to "prove" that healing is the will of God for all Christians, or that Jesus is less than Almighty God, or that Christians should never "judge" anything.  I hope rather lengthy time on the air is helpful to you.  

Final podcast of the hard sayings of Jesus in the Olivet Discourse.  Is this tribulation something worldwide in the future, or just localized to a time of judgement long ago?  What did Jesus mean by "inasmuch as you did it to the least of these my brethren"?  Is the judgement He refers to at the end of the sermon a judgement that is of eternal conscious punishment, or something that will eventually end?  

Was Jesus talking about just some military invasion by the Romans in AD 70, or was His prophecy on the Mount of Olives about some worldwide cataclysmic series of events?  Tune in and found out!  

Jesus said a bunch of things in Matthew 24 that are controversial.  What did He mean by "He that endureth to the end shall be saved"? And what did He mean about the "kingdom rising against kingdom" being the beginnings of "birth pangs"?  What does all this have to do with Israel and the Church and the future?  Dr J takes on some of the more cryptic sayings of Jesus in this podcast and hopefully clears things up.  

Jesus speaks of a sin that He says will never be forgiven:  blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.  What is this, and is it being done today?  Is it something a Christian can do?  Why is it that this warning is never repeated again in the New Testament?  It can be a very confusing and disturbing passage, so listen in to Dr. J's take on what this saying means... and doesn't mean. Hopefully Dr. J's exegesis of the text will give you some peace of mind.  

Was Jesus mean or rude to the Gentile woman who came to Him because her daughter was demon possessed?  Why did He refuse her at first?  What did He mean by the things He was saying?