America’s Strength Depends On Repentance

The most honest thing many of us can say is also the most uncomfortable: I want to do what is right, but I do not do it. Today we lean into that tension with Romans 7, then we refuse to stop there, because Romans 8 answers with a steady, freeing promise: there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus, and the Spirit breaks the power of sin that leads to death. If you have ever felt stuck, ashamed, or exhausted by your own patterns, this Scripture reading and reflection is for you. 

From that foundation, we turn toward Christian marriage and family life. We read 1 Peter 3 and talk plainly about the posture God calls for in wives and husbands, including respect, consideration, and the spiritual seriousness of how we treat each other at home. We also challenge the flood of modern marriage advice and ask one simple test: does it line up with Scripture or not? Along the way, we address how screens, phones, and constant media can quietly hollow out attention, affection, and discipleship, even when nobody is “doing anything wrong.” 

We then widen the view with Psalm 18, Proverbs, and a reminder that God’s word cannot be bound once it is shared. We honor Medal of Honor recipient John Joyce Carter, and we read Alexis de Tocqueville on Christianity’s influence in America, pressing the question of what actually sustains a nation over time. If you care about biblical living, Christian marriage advice, and America’s Christian heritage, you will find plenty to wrestle with here. 

If this encouraged you, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find it. What line of Scripture are you carrying with you today?

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Transcript

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Romans 8 No Condemnation

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Romans 8, starting with verse 1. So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to Him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body, God declared an end to sin's control over us by giving his son as a sacrifice for our sins. Or

A Disturbing Case And Moral Claims

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the Awlesbury Grooming Gang, a group of men who sexually raped and exploited underage girls in Awlesbury Buckinghamshire between 2006 and 2012. A couple of these girls starting around age twelve or thirteen, one of them in particular at this trial testified that she had had sex with around sixty men Pakistani, Asian, Muslim condition to see the behavior is normal.

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The girls were trafficked between the men and then raped repeatedly over multiple years. When you read the story folks and the main perpetrators again were either Muslims or it looks like all of them.

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This is just what Islam is, folks. It's all that is being offered to our wives, daughters, and grandchildren. There's no place for Islam in America. There's no excuse for Islam being allowed in America. Again, I always say this just to clarify my own position. The only, only Muslims that should be allowed in America are those who have fought side by side with our men overseas and risked their lives defending this country and their immediate family. And you need to get your head wrapped around that when it comes to people that you know in your own community, family, work. Sure

Thanks Prayer And Daily Gratitude

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to appreciate y'all uh joining me, giving me a little bit of your time and attention, a little piece of your day. I will try and use it wisely. For those of y'all who continue to share the two podcasts with others and leave reviews for them, thank you very much, very grateful for that. For those of y'all who have found the Countryside Book Series and continue to share that with others and leave reviews online for those two books in the series, uh thank you for that also. And most of all, for those of y'all who continue to pray for me, my family, the writing, the podcast. Uh thank you, very, very grateful for your prayers. Father, thank you for this day that you have made. Help us to rejoice and be glad in it. Thank you for you, Father, and your son Jesus Christ and your Holy Spirit. Thank you for your love and your mercy, your grace and your forgiveness. Thank you for sending your son. Thank you, Jesus, for being willing to come. Help us to be good stewards of all the blessings you bestowed upon us. Help us to love you with our whole heart, mind, soul, and strength to love our neighbors as ourselves. Be with those listening to the podcast, Father, please. Forgive us all our sins. Forgive us our cowardice and our unbelief. We do believe. Help us to overcome them. Comfort them, be with their families, bless their marriages, guide them in raising their children. Be with their nation, wherever they are around the world, listening. Be with those who are brokenhearted, alone, abused, abandoned, depressed, anxious, suicidal. Help us to care for the poor and the needy, the widow and the orphan with actions, not just warriors. Be with our leaders in the pulpit and in the state, president, vice president on down, admirals, generals, senators, representatives, judges, governors, councilmen. Be with our military or law enforcement firefighters, be with their families, EMFs, keep them safe, bring them home safe. Help us to care for those left behind. And God, my words, here, Father, please. In your Son's name we pray. Amen. So

Marriage Counsel From 1 Peter 3

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the marriage verse for today. 1 Peter 3, 1 through 7. Wives in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands, so that if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives. When they see the purity and reverence of your lives, your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes, rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past, who put their hope in God, used to adorn themselves. They submitted themselves to their own husbands, like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her Lord. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear. Husbands, in the same way, be considerate as you live with your wives and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers. Two

Screens Scripture And Intimacy Talk

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things I have seen recently. You know, I think I've said this often, screens have done so much damage to our families, marriages. It's hard to overestimate the damage that screens, phones, TVs, tablets have done for a number of reasons. But every once in a while you do see some good things when you see a little bit of spreading of the truth, right? And I saw two things recently I want to share with you. One, we talk about this often. If you are living out scripture or sharing scripture and somebody gets mad at you about that, who is openly rebelling against God, refusing to follow scripture, that's a pretty good indication that you're doing exactly what you ought to be doing, right? If there's somebody, and and I saw this particularly in the context of marriage inside the church, if there are men or women in the church who are irritated at you simply promoting scripture, roles of men and women, the problem isn't with you, and and their problem isn't with you, it's with God, right? And if they're irritated and upset about that, and they're rebelling against God and Jesus Christ in their roles as husband and wife, that's that's a good thing. That's a positive. Uh at least from you sharing that, right? The other thing is I saw this, and it's it sounds silly, folks. It's it's bordering on crass, but it said Christian women be a Proverbs 31 woman in the streets and a song of Solomon one woman in the sh in the sheets, right? And and the reference there is obviously how you act in public versus how you act with your husband in the home. And it just struck me because we have completely ignored one of those books that's in the Bible, and we just treat it like it's not there, Song of Solomon. And then the other one has been used in such a twisted way to promote women abandoning their husbands and children in the home to go chase whatever so-called dreams they have outside the home, right? It just comes back to scripture, folks. Whatever your marriage advice is, wherever you're getting marriage advice, it has to line up with scripture. And if it doesn't, you need to trash it. Romans

Romans 7 The Inner War

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7, 14. So the trouble is not with the law, for it is spiritual and good. The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin. I don't really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don't do it. Instead, I do what I hate. But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good. So I am not the one doing wrong. It is sin living in me that does it. And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can't. I want to do what is good, but I don't. I don't want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what I don't want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong. It is sin living in me that does it. These two paragraphs are so comforting to me, folks, and I hope they are to you, because man, I understand these Bible verses. These are some of the Bible verses that I that I look at and I go, well, I know the word of God is true because I've lived this. I see this. I want to do what is right, but I can't. I want to do what is good, but I don't. I don't want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. Take some comfort. I have discovered this principle of life that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God's law with all my heart, but there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am. Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God. The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is. In my mind, I really want to obey God's law, but because of my sinful nature, I am a slave to sin. So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own son in a body like the bodies we sinners have, and in that body God declared an end to sin's control over us by giving his son as a sacrifice for our sins. He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us who no longer follow our sinful nature, but instead follow the Spirit. Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death, but letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God's laws, and it never will. That's why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God. Psalm

Psalm 18 God Our Fortress

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18, 1 through 15. I love you, Lord, you are my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior, my God is my rock in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me and my place of safety. I called on the Lord who is worthy of praise, and he saved me from my enemies. The ropes of death entangled me, floods of destruction swept over me. The grave wrapped its ropes around me, death laid a trap in my path. But in my distress I cried out to the Lord. Yes, I prayed to my God for help. He heard me from his sanctuary, my cry to him reached his ears. Then the earth quaked and trembled, the foundations of the mountains shook, they quaked because of his anger. Smoke poured from his nostrils, fierce flames leapt from his mouth, glowing coals blazed forth from him. He opened the heavens and came down. Dark storm clouds were beneath his feet. Mounted on a mighty angelic being he flew, soaring on the wings of the wind. He shrouded himself in darkness, veiling his approach with dark rain clouds. Thick clouds shielded the brightness around him and rained down hail and burning coals. The Lord thundered from heaven, the voice of the Most High resounded amid the hail and burning coals. He shot his arrows and scattered his enemies, great bolts of lightning flashed, and they were confused. Then at your command, O Lord, at the blast of your breath, the bottom of the sea could be seen, and the foundations of the earth were laid bare. Proverbs

Proverbs Wisdom And The Unbound Word

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nineteen, twenty-four through twenty-five. Lazy people take food in their hand, but don't even lift it to their mouth. If you punish a mocker, the simple-minded will learn a lesson. If you correct the wise, they will be all the wiser. I saw a pastor talking last week or so, and it reminded me of something. He was talking about, I think, Paul in prison writing that that the law, that the word of God couldn't be bound, folks. Anytime you share scripture, remember that. It's like an arrow that's been loosed, right?

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And it can't be stopped once you put it out there. You may be stopped. Your life may end.

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You may be abused and beaten and even killed in this life. But the more we put scripture out there, the enemy can't stop it once it's out there. The enemy cannot stop God's word once it's out there. So share it. Share it all the more.

Ways To Share And Support

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If you are looking for a family-friendly middle grade read, if you would check out the countryside book series, there's two books in the series so far: The Book of the Wise and The Tears of Edina. They're kind of like Narnia, The Hobbit, Percy Jackson, Harry Potter, Fablehaven. And if you enjoy that kind of stuff or have kids or grandkids that do, if y'all check it out and you like it, if you'd leave some reviews online, the five-star ones especially help. Same thing with the podcast. If you feel like you're getting something out of it, if you would leave a review somewhere online, those help immensely for either American Soul Podcast or the America's Christian Heritage Podcast. And if you have five or ten dollars a month that you can donate, there's a link in the show notes where you can set that up, and I would be grateful for any or all of those.

Medal Of Honor Spotlight

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Medal of Honor for today, John Joyce Carter, second lieutenant, highest rank colonel, U.S. Civil War, Bravo Company, 33rd New York Infantry, U.S. Army, September 17, 1862, and Tetham, Maryland. While in command of a detached company, seeing his regiment thrown into confusion by a charge of the enemy, without orders made a countercharge upon the attacking column and checked the assault, penetrated within the enemy's lines at night, and obtained valuable information. Accredited to Nunda, Livingston County, New York, not awarded posthumously, presented September 10, 1897. Born June 16, 1842, Troy, New York, died January 3rd, 1917. Buried Woodlawn Cemetery, M.H., Titusville, Pennsylvania. John Joyce Carter. Just another one of those names that we need to remember more than singer, songwriters, actors, actresses, or professional or college athletes and their statistics. A

Tocqueville On Faith And Freedom

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French historian, philosopher, statesman, right, came in the 1830s, toured around America with a friend of his, Beaumont, and then ended up writing Democracy in America, published in 1835 and 1840. And these are some quotes of his. In the United States, the sovereign authority is religious. There is no country in the world where the Christian religion retains a greater influence over the souls of men than in America. And there can be no greater proof of its utility and of its conformity to human nature than that its influence is powerfully felt over the most enlightened and free nation of the earth. Folks, we're not great because of ourselves. We need to get that idea out of our heads. We're not the better, stronger, faster, smarter, whatever. The reason that America has been the greatest nation on earth is because of our relationship with Jesus Christ. And if we don't have that relationship with Christ and God, his Father, then He will, there's no point in us. We're not going to remain great, folks. There's no politician or party or foreign or domestic policy that is going to keep us great. The only thing is to turn back to God and Jesus Christ as a people, to acknowledge their providence, their blessings, to humbly submit ourselves to them, to repent of our sins as a nation. Abortion, feminism, LGBTQ lifestyles, greed, theft, no fault divorce. Right? The only way to save our country is to turn back to God and Jesus Christ. And you see De Tocqueville talking back here in the 1830s, going, there's proof of the utility and how important it is to human nature, the influence of it, because America is the most enlightened and free nation on earth, because they are the country in the world where the Christian religion has the greatest influence. In the United States, if a political character attacks the denomination of Christianity, this may not prevent even the partisans of that very denomination from supporting him. But if he attacks all the denominations together, if he attacks Christianity as a whole, everyone abandons him and he remains alone. This should be the way. When you see a politician today attacking the general principles of Christianity, that person should cease to get any support. And look at how many we have today now. Look at how many who follow Islam openly attack Christianity. Look at how many follow leftism, communism openly, or even maybe not openly, maybe they lie openly, but privately attack Christianity. There's no place for office holders in America who are not Christian. Like the overwhelming majority of our original state constitutions required officeholders elected and appointed to be Christian. Right? We have to get back to that. And the best way to do that again, folks, is to turn back to God and Jesus Christ as a people. And the best way to help that, the very best way to help our nation today is to share the gospel of Jesus Christ.

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That's why we spend time on it in every podcast. If you want to help America, there is nothing better that you can do than share the gospel of Jesus Christ.

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Different ways to do it. Right? But nothing better. Our Father,

Lord’s Prayer And Final Blessing

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who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not to temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, the power, and glory forever and ever. Amen. God bless y'all. God bless your families, your marriages, your children, your nation, wherever you are around the world listening. God bless America. We'll talk to you all again real soon, folks. Looking forward to it.