1. Trump and his administration deeply care about enforcing the borders of our nation (they’ve added 10,000 immigration agents in a year!). Frankly, since the fatal attacks of September 11, 2001, our national borders have been a focus for several administrations. Indeed, Democrats praised President Obama for penalizing employers of migrants and his mass deportations —back then he had earned the title “Deporter in Chief”.
2. The media (and here I include individual influencers and people posting footage) care deeply about the rights of our people to hear the truth and the danger to our nation. Their desire to have constant coverage on the topic that is of growing importance is critical for our nation and grounded in the US Constitution.

Those two statements, even if true and at their best of intentions, ignore that there is something profound happening right now. Profundity is not only about WHAT but in HOW.

Under President Trump’s second term, the topic of border control and deportation has been reinvigorated but now, with cruelty and gross rhetoric from both the administration and the media.

I would like those of us who are Christians to pause. Listen. We are being changed by this rhetoric, folks. What the government and the media emphasizes reflects what those in charge of the government and the medial care about. History will justify or condemn them. But what we the people have allowed (or applauded), even in the short term, shrivels our hearts and freezes the soul of our nation.

Moreso, as Christians, it spoils our unique voice.

Problem: We Don’t Control Our Borders

Don’t get me wrong. Illegal immigration is a problem. Some of these folks are doing awful things. Some awful things are being done to them. Indeed, the fact that we barely control our borders or enforce the laws that we already have on the books is a source of serious problems:

• By 2023, we had 14 million illegal immigrants enter the United States. That number kept growing in 2024. It was so bad that Biden banned asylum seekers and paused a migrant sponsorship program
• An illegal immigrant, previously arrested for drinking and driving, is arrested for the murder of a 19 year old girl.
• An asylum seeker murders a hotel worker by stabbing her 23 times with a screwdriver.
• December 2025, a Salvadorian immigrant man who was linked to MS-13, was in a county jail before charges were dropped. Authorities ignored a deportation detainer request. A day later, he killed another man.
• In NYC, a person who remained in the country since 2013, ignoring deportation orders, killed a cabbie dumping him in a reservoir. He smiled for the camera upon arrest.
• More than 48,000 Americans have died from fentanyl, most of which is sourced from China (but increasingly from India and other sources), largely coming in through our Southern border via Mexico.
• Illegal immigrants are taken advantage of and become the victims of human trafficking in various trafficking schemes.

These stories show that (A) we are not acting on the laws we already have in place (B) failure to protect our borders is a repeated problem (3) the main issues isn’t the majority of the people who are here illegally.

Problem: We Are Disparaging Our Fellow Humans

Acknowledging those real problems doesn’t justify our present rhetoric. Our politicians and the media have embraced storytelling that quickly skews our view of other people.  On the one hand, the media tells a rosy story of immigration and sounds the Imperial March whenever President Trump shows up. On the other hand, Trump disparages others and shows gross partiality. In the middle, hearts are getting harder and people are getting hurt.

Although I list many examples below, here is one per category:

• Trump, and this current administration, repeatedly speak about others in dehumanizing turns using terms like “filth” or posting disturbing content as a joke.
• The Media interprets every move from the current administration as a page from Hitler’s manual. When concerning things are done from the party they support, they bury and don’t promote the story. Rage sells.
• Illegal immigrants and Citizens are getting hurt in rhetoric and raids. Fear has increased and recently someone was shot in a high-charged exchange.

We Need to Do Better

Here’s something I wrote in 2009 that is even more relevant today.

… Christians shouldn’t be solely approving all illegal aliens nor barring them from the country but rather trying to figure out the best means to get the illegal to act with respect to our laws but with an understanding of their situation and seeking their improvement. This should mean that illegal aliens are personally cared for and motivated to report their status to follow a proper track of residency. If the laws are overly harsh, the Christian rulers should be concerned about rectifying the laws so that they are not cruel—the things that reflect poorly on the society, reflect poorly on its people. …Christians should be especially concerned for the oppression, victimization and the lack of rights towards the foreigner. Christians should be concerned with their own fellow nationals as well, true, but they should care with more than material concerns. It is in the treatment of strangers, the unknown and unloved, where the true heart of a person, indeed a nation, is most clearly seen.”

Trump supporters (and some of my fellow political conservatives) may try to defend Trump’s talk as a necessary cross to be carried in the name of security and safeguarding our freedoms. But this way of speaking does NOT make the current solutions better or help view people as bearers of the image of God. It just dehumanizes them.

Those who stand against Trump would say it is critical that the evils of the administration are exposed against the existential threat to democracy. The fact is this way of speaking also do not make the current situation any better or help us view governments under the power of God and the watchful eye of His people. Ignoring the evils of one party against the same evils in another does not wake us up to the very real dangers in our democracy. Again, it oversimplifies the complexities and call of a nation that is ruled by the people and for the people while hurting the people in the middle of it all.

People are getting hurt by WHAT is happening combined with HOW we’re speaking about it. The tone set by our leaders and amplified by the story the media and influencers are telling puts a horrid twist on a very serious topic. The tone of these narratives is allowing cruelty to be perpetuated. Our democracy displays darkness that must be reduced and ultimately eradicated.

Proof Points of HOW We’re Talking

Exhibit A: Our Storytellers Telling the Scariest Possible Story

• The media join tells a story that Trump is marching in the staccato steps of the Nazi. Media often spends time dissecting the Administration social media finding a Nazi behind every post.
• Media outlets make sure to highlight how Trump is dismantling democracy and grabbing power (even though these have always been something to think through especially on the outset of our constitution even apart from our republic).
• Newsom sees a way of turning all of this to a win by calling Trumps activities as the markers of an authoritarian government where Trump doesn’t want another election.

Exhibit B: This Administration’s Disparaging Social Media Posts

• Jan 11, 2026 “You don’t get to change the facts because you don’t like them. What happened in Minneapolis was an act of domestic terrorism.  Acts of domestic terrorism like this should be condemned…”
• Jan 07, 2026 “I have just viewed the clip of the event which took place in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is a horrible thing to watch. The woman screaming was, obviously, a professional agitator, and the woman driving the car was very disorderly, obstructing and resisting, who then violently, willfully, and viciously ran over the ICE Officer, who seems to have shot her in self defense. Based on the attached clip, it is hard to believe he is alive, but is now recovering in the hospital. The situation is being studied, in its entirety, but the reason these incidents are happening is because the Radical Left is threatening, assaulting, and targeting our Law Enforcement Officers and ICE Agents on a daily basis. They are just trying to do the job of MAKING AMERICA SAFE. We need to stand by and protect our Law Enforcement Officers from this Radical Left Movement of Violence and Hate!”
• December 31, 2025 “Much of the Minnesota Fraud, up to 90%, is caused by people that came into our Country, illegally, from Somalia. “Congresswoman” Omar, an ungrateful loser who only complains and never contributes, is one of the many scammers. Did she really marry her brother? Lowlifes like this can only be a liability to our Country’s greatness. Send them back from where they came, Somalia, perhaps the worst, and most corrupt, country on earth. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!”
• Dec 10, 2025, Trump shows preference for getting immigrants from Sweden and Norway and not Somalia which is, in his words “filthy, dirty, disgusting, ridden with crime.”
• July 29, 2025 “When Ice books you a one-way Jet2 holiday to deportation. Nothing beats it” with a video of people being chained and deported.
• September 06, 2025 ““I love the smell of deportations in the morning…” Chicago about to find out why it’s called the Department of War “”
• Feb 18, 2025 The White House (!!!) Posted a video called ASMR: Illegal Alien Deportation Flight of people being chained and walking up a ramp to be deported

Exhibit C: People Are Getting Hurt

This is list that is limited to the topic of immigration, deportations, or activism. In that vein, you won’t see the assassination of Charlie Kirk or Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband.

• In June 2025, immigration officers detained a sixteen-year-old during a routine check-in with US Immigrations and Customers enforcement. He was finally released from a youth detention facility in Texas six months later. Trump is saying he wants to deport “the worst of the worst” but it’s people like this youth who are getting caught in the dragnet.
• Trump orders ICE to target so-called “sanctuary cities” (essentially Democratic-led states)
• A teen was arrested in NYC also after showing up for a scheduled immigration appointment.
• On November 23, 2025, in Oregon, immigration officers detained a seventeen-year-old high school student (and American citizen) while he was off campus at lunch.
• Long after Texas has been doing it, immigration officers started partnering with traffic officers in Washington dc to capture delivery drivers.
• Recently, an immigration officer and former war veteran shot a protester who was engaged in improperly operating a vehicle during a high-tension exchange. The White House accused the protester as akin to domestic terrorist while making a chilling announcement that immigration officers would be going “door to door” in a so-called sanctuary state.
• I’m also currently watching a video, not yet verified, of a migrant door-dasher running away from ICE agents into a home.
• People are being detained in a facility in the everglades so-called “alligator Alcatraz” who are apparently living in unsafe conditions while barring members of congress to inspect the sites with seven days advance notice.

The post Illegal Immigration Is Real. So Is the Moral Damage We’re Doing appeared first on Rey Reynoso's Bible Archive.

Scripture demands that you, Christian stand against evil.

• The Law commands that “You must not follow the masses in doing evil; nor turn aside in order to pervert justice—not even showing partiality to the poor” (Ex 23:2-3).
• Wisdom literature demands that you “open your mouth for the speechless—open your mouth and judge righteously!” (Prov 31:8-9)
• Christ unveils that when we take care of the hungry, the thirsty, the migrant, the prisoner, the naked we’re taking care of Him (Matthew 25:44-45 )
• The prophets cried that God has told us what is good—to “do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God” (Micah 6:8)
• Paul’s tells us to “Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good.” (Rom 12:9)
• James agrees: “To one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.” (James 4:17)

You’re not standing against evil because it exists. If that were the case, you’d never have anything else to talk about BUT evil. You’re speaking against evil as it is publicly embraced, exalted, and shaping minds. Consider Paul’s example where he largely remained quiet against the evils of culture and government—but the idolatrous practices of Athens resulted in a clash of worlds. (Acts 17)

You stand and deliver against this type of evil because you are God’s child and love your neighbor. You start speaking against this evil in your own house AND you speak against it at large. We are not to love others only in word or in tongue but in action and reality (1 John 3:18). Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German Christian who was involved in the plot to kill Adolf Hitler, said it this way: “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.”

Hitler and Pol Pot and Stalin: all great evils that had to be stood against as they shaped culture at large. But what of taking advantage of the poor, oppressing the weak because they look the part, exploitation of women and children, industrialization of vices, raping of resources from underprivileged countries, and mistreating the foreigner? Do we remain silent, or worse, join the joke when we see the stranger being taunted?

You may have heard the saying “you get more of what you reward”. And evil in our culture has its own rewards, indeed. But “Culture isn’t just what we encourage but what we allow to happen.” Allowing evil to publicly drive by is not loving God or our neighbors. It is allowing culture to irretrievably slide into hell.

So, speak, American Christians. Speak, when you see people applauding the call for a murder of an entire people, be they a governing body or the unborn. Speak when you see the executive office of the United States publicly posting video that makes mirth from the arrests of illegal immigrants. Speak when a society embraces the culture of death that it applauds the death of the infant and the aged. Speak when society is mentally trapped to shrug with a “so what did he do wrong” when a man gets assaulted by an enforcer of the law. Speak, when society smirks at the sexual exploitation of minors by the very leaders of our democracy.

The post Speak Against Evil appeared first on Rey Reynoso's Bible Archive.

I’m not struggling with other questions like how candidate A or B will ultimately come into power. God is in control of all governments even if people (or the state) don’t use their God-granted authority (to rule, judge, and even condemn) the right way.  

I’m not wrestling with how to act if someone I don’t want in the oval office gets there anyway. I have responsibilities to obey the government God put in place. The only time I have a different choice is if the ruler pits my obedience to the ruler against my obedience to God.

Further, I’m not struggling with the question if I should vote. Christians, regardless of their locale, should personify the best example of a citizen of a nation under the lordship of Christ. That would mean that a Christian, living in a system where he or she has the freedom and responsibility to mindfully perform civic duties—one of those being voting—should perform those civic duties. In general, I should vote. But it doesn’t follow that I (1) always have to vote or (2) have to vote for the candidates nominated by the two biggest parties. If the American democratic system produced Joseph Stalin (the far-left communist dictator) and Adolf Hitler (the far-right Nazi dictator) it doesn’t follow that I must pick one or the other.

In the current circumstance, I find myself considering and weighing my options. How do I weigh my options? Before I decide who to vote for, I need to figure out how I’m supposed to vote.

Will This Vote Violate, or Treasure, God’s Commands?

First, I need to approach this through God’s commands. God’s moral law is embedded in our fiber, clearly evident in the Ten Commandments and summarized by these two passages: (1) Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind; and (2) Love your neighbor as yourself.. (Matt 22:36-40).

By casting a vote for either of these candidates am I committing idolatry or murder or theft? Is it lacking in love to my neighbor to physically cast the vote for candidate A over candidate B? Maybe by implication, but directly?  Does this vote offer me an opportunity to treasure God’s commands (Psalm 119:127)?

Voting with love of God and fellow man

I am forced to ask a series of questions when considering this dimension of obedience. These non-exhaustive questions would be an out-growth of wondering how voting for A or B would reflect love of God and love of neighbor.

• How does this vote show love for God (in respecting his mandate to punish) and love for man (in making recompense against the violent)?
• How does this vote, like the Good Samaritan, show love to the stranger, like immigrants?
• How does this vote show love to my tax paying neighbors?
• How does this vote show love for the unborn neighbor?
• How does this vote show love for those threatened by violence?
• How does this vote help the pregnant women who is struggling in need?
• How does this vote love the confused person who is struggling with gender or body issues without seeing them as a potential profit?
• How does this vote show love for the nations we support? How does this vote show love for the nations who are aggressive, even if drawing a line?
• How does this vote show love to the poor?
• It’s not loving to applaud one’s sinfulness, so how does this vote also show love to sinners while helping them reject sin?

Will This Vote Deny, or Embrace, God-Fearing Wisdom?

Second—though it could come first since most of life isn’t about breaking or obeying commands—I need to use wisdom founded on the fear of God. In other words, I’m not deciding based on only command nor am I purely making a worldly-wise choice based on the workings of the world and the likelihood of X happening if B comes into power. I need to begin with the honor, respect, loyalty, love, and awe that God is due and let that drive my thinking.

Foolishness operates without concern for God

When Paul speaks about the senseless, the heartless, the merciless and faithless idolaters who are living a life that is against God, he says they “know God’s righteous decrees” but they don’t care. They know their actions are deadly and “they not only continue to do these things, but also applaud those who practice them” (Rom 1:31-32). This is the Biblical definition of foolishness: a person who is living outside of the fear of God. There is no concern for what God will do, so these people live how they want.

God forbid if I were to make decisions without considering God! As a Christian, I can’t live that way. I must reject that foolishness and cling to God-fearing wisdom.

God-fearing wisdom shapes all of life

This wisdom shows itself in a life and hope shaped around the person, holiness, goodness, lovingkindness, and mercy of God. It’s a fear that embraces God’s knowledge (Prov 1:29), seeks God’s wisdom like treasure (Prov 2:5), turns away from evil (Prov 3:7) because it hates evil (Prov 8:1), seeks to preserve life (Prov 10:1), is life-bringing (Prov 14:27), better than any treasure (Prov 15:16), is uniquely satisfying  (Prov 19:23), and doesn’t envy sinners (Prov 23:17). This fear of the Lord is clean (Psalm 19:9), teaches us (Ps 34:11), and is ultimately a blessing to others.

This sort of wisdom should drive me to properly examine any decision. This is less about “which commandment am I breaking” to “am I operating with discernment, understanding, knowledge, insight, and discipline under the fear and admonition of the Lord”?  

God-fearing wisdom listens to the warnings of His Word

The Bible is full of this God-fearing wisdom that says “don’t make friends with violent people” (Prov 22:24), or “if a ruler listens to lies, all his servants become wicked” (Prov 29:12), or “lying lips are an abomination to the Lord”, or “whoever robs his parents and says ‘it’s no big deal’ is a destroyer” (Prov 28:24), or “the Lord hates dishonest scales” (Prov 11:1). “A wicked ruler is as dangerous to the poor as a lion” (Prov 28:15) or “when the wicked rule, the people mourn “ (Prov 29:12). God fearing wisdom shows itself in a life that “does everything in love” (1 Cor 16:4), with thankfulness (1 Thes 5:18), power, and self-control (2 Tim 1:7).

God-fearing wisdom is pure, peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy, impartial, sincere, and not hypocritical (James 3:17). This is a wisdom that accepts the ownership and mastery of God over all things of life (1 Cor 2:14-16) and acts according to what God has said.

God-fearing wisdom is concerned with godly conviction

If some anti-X law resulted in a market that thrived on illegal X-activity? That doesn’t mean I should now support the legalization of X-activity to reduce the amount of illegal X-activity. I must rely on God-fearing wisdom to state that I can’t support X, even if legalization of X might (hypothetically) reduce the amount of X-related activity. I will answer God both for my intent AND my support. This is where Romans 14 powerfully comes in stating that each of us Christians should have the conviction to be able to stand before Christ and say “I did X because I honored and loved you according to your delivered word.”

That doesn’t mean that God-fearing wisdom can’t support a non-Christian. Rather, despite state affiliation, God-fearing wisdom can’t merely support a liar or a murderer or a thief or a violent person because in the end some perceived worldly good might come of it.

Will Casting This Vote Properly Represent My Lord?

Third, I need to see how casting this vote represents my Lord. I am, like all humans, made in the image of God. Furthermore, I and all Christians are “being conformed to the image of Christ”. In the meantime, day by day I am “being transformed by the renewing of my mind” (Romans 12:1-2). Day by day, the Holy Spirit is working and changing me. Battle by battle, God affects me while I aim to obey His word and walk in His ways.

God is forming us in the image of His Son

I’m not saying I’m successfully doing this—that’s not my point. I am saying God is actively doing something that He will complete in the day of Jesus Christ. My entire life as a believer has a trajectory, grounded in communion with the triune God, aimed at being formed into the very picture of Christ. I have a telos, or an intended pre-defined purpose.

If God’s goal is my telos then my decisions, especially when I’m supporting this or that, need to take that reality into consideration. The old trite bracelets asked, “What would Jesus do?” but those words rightly pointed to a directional mindset. What should a son of the Living God, in this situation, do? Who should a son of the Living God vote for?

We must act in a way that reflects Our Lord

This is not make-believe. I’m not pretending at seeing Jesus standing in my place doing something. Rather how does an image-bearer of the Lord of Glory properly represent His imprint? If I am truly crucified in Christ and the life I live in this flesh is actually Him living in me, how am I bringing honor to God with the decision I make?

Now the shape of those decisions form a way to glorify the triune God. How is the Spirit, who works within me, pointing to Christ and the Father through me in this decision? How is the Father, conforming me into the image of the self-giving Son, in this decision?

The city of God is not my earthly country

I don’t usually think like that, but it does elevate my responsibility. I’m in this world as an ambassador of Christ called to walk worthy of His calling—how else should I do that? Yes, I’m a citizen of the United States but, at the same time, a foreigner aiming at a city whose foundation is God Himself.

How Does This Vote Acknowledge the Kingdom of God?

God’s Kingdom is coming. It’s also here. And expanding. In ways that I don’t sometimes even consider. Yes, primarily with the preaching of the Gospel. But also, when the spiritual reality tears down thought fortresses (2 Cor 10:4). So fourth, I must function as an soldier on an active battleground. That is very militant so let me explain.

Our world is more than physical

Paul notes that our day-to-day situations have a spiritual dimension. Having a meal at an idol’s temple, isn’t merely a meal—you’re having a meal at the devil’s table. Dropping some coins in front of a statue isn’t merely for good luck—demons stand behind those idols. This  fight isn’t merely with flesh and blood. Paul points out that we’re in battle with powers and authorities in the spiritual realm. Ultimately, this is a battleground with both physical and spiritual dimensions where God is the clear victor, but we are individuals involved in the battle.

Tim Keller made a good point about this. So many of us are overly simplistic. We look at the world and think “it ends with what’s in reach”. Then there’s a large group of us that everything that happens is demons and devils so that they have no responsibility. The Bible is more complex. The world is physical. The physical things that happen make a difference. But those things aren’t merely physical. Demons are real. The battle ground is real.

We operate on an active battleground

The conversation with the grocer isn’t merely a conversation with two humans making small talk. There is a chance there for God’s kingdom to break in and change a life for eternity. Handing out that Bible verse isn’t merely handing over a piece of paper, this is perhaps the very means that God’s kingdom breaks into someone’s world.

I therefore must ask: what role is this vote playing in the battleground of the world or for the advancement of God’s kingdom? Am I making it harder for the good news to spread or easier? Am I poisoning the taste of the good news by besmirching the sincerity of the Gospel by supporting this candidate? What role is my heart playing in this vote: am I deceived? How is the devil tricking me by influencing me to lose focus on the perfect, just, and good?

Christians need to be using God-given resources

In this world, I need to fully equip myself with the tools granted to me by God when making any of these decisions. Salvation on my head, the Gospel at my feet, the truth around my body, righteousness guarding my heart, trusting God as my defense, the word of God at hand, and a direct prayer line to the All-mighty (Eph 6:10-17). I must take all this toolset into the voting booth with me. It’s not something I should only bring into the voting booth, but it all needs to be part of my day-to-day, in play and practice. Am I seeing and utilizing this deeply foundational way of thinking that places me as a fully furnished soldier in the forefront of the advancing line of God’s kingdom? Am I reflecting His Lordship even in this moment?

Have I Properly Considered All Of My Choices?

Now, after all of that, I must ask what are my actual choices? What am I deciding against and between? What are the implications of this or that choice? Too often I lead with this, but those big questions up above must come first.

Our decisions have longer term effects beyond policy

Indeed, how does supporting one candidate or the other change the face of the parties on what they think is important? Is casting my lot this way or that way set a precedent that, over time, is further injurious?

Those considerations should also be honest that the US is not technically a two-party system, but functionally (by the amount of money flowing to party A and B) is a two-party system. That fact doesn’t simplistically mean “a non-vote means a vote for the party that wins”.

We do not only have two choices

Where does this leave me? Choosing between (A) a concerning person with harmful policies who could get another 8 years or (B) a concerning person with harmful behaviors who enters the office with the most executive power that that branch of government has ever had?

Or maybe I can choose (C) a third party, with a clear conscience even if knowing that in the end either A or B will win? Do I have the freedom, of the state I live in, to cast a vote for C knowing that regardless how I vote, it won’t matter because my state will turn one color on election night?

Or maybe, because the options are finally so bad, I know that I have the freedom of conscience to (D) split my vote by refraining from the vote for President this season but focusing on local government and policies?

The character of a leader must be considered

I should consider his or her track record, be it in terms of what they have accomplished or how they have acted in this or that situation. These decisions set the trajectory of the political landscape and this character sets the expectations and perceptions of the people.

In the end, I might not be clear on who I should vote for but at least I know how I should vote.

Here are some things that are important in 2024

On the Supreme Court

• Trump came through and has put forward supreme court justices that were originalists in their reading of the constitution. In so doing, Roe v Wade was rightly overturned. This was good for our unborn neighbor. That said, we have no clue what he would propose to put into the Supreme court going forward. Indeed, his behavior has currently been all about shoring up yes-men. If that behavior is indicative of a pattern, that would not be helpful at all.
• Kamala Harris has actively criticized the current court and, if President, will nominate justices that are not originalist in their thinking and therefore can interpret the constitution any way they see fit including creating laws out of thin air.
• Decision: Against Harris.

The Life of the Unborn

• Kamala Harris has been a vocal proponent of abortion. Kamala Harris says she wants to codify Roe v Wade (which means legislate abortion as a national law). She refuses to acknowledge any limit on abortions. Kamala Harris also supports IVF, which currently leads to many unborn deaths. She shows her true colors by having Walz as her running mate who had some of the most progressive abortion laws in the United States implemented in Minnesota.

• Donald Trump supports IVF, which currently leads to many unborn deaths. Trump has criticized abortion policies that try to ban abortion in some states. Indeed, Trump has even stated he would veto a federal abortion ban stating it is up to the will of the states and the voters. Trump has shifted his views on abortion to get whatever vote is possible: clearly this is all about what would get him back in office

• Neither candidates is for the life of our unborn neighbor. One abortion without limits, the other, whatever the states decide. A vote for Harris means supporting the expedient path towards a federal abortion law; a vote for Trump leaves the Republicans a few years behind the Democrats: abortion with some limits. Of the two evils, Harris’ support is far worse. But supporting Trump is a nod towards rhetoric and pragmatism no matter the cost. This is not good for anyone, either.

• Decision: Against Harris. Against Trump.

The Dropping Population

• Both Harris and Trump have proposed policies to financially incentivize having more children (some potentially harmful to the unborn, like IVF), but the problem runs deeper than financial.

• Decision: For Trump or For Harris

Immigration

• Kamala Harris was granted some authority over the immigration issue which has been a disaster, according to all accounts—and no one has talked about this.

• Donald Trump’s tries on immigration have also been equally useless. His repeated proclamation of a wall, that never transpired, were weak in light of the waves of problem at the borders. Now, he has championed mass deportations.

• Decision: Against Trump, Against Harris. The fact is that every country has borders and some definition on those borders. The United States needs to make decisions but none of the candidates have made any good recommendations.

Foreign Policy

• Biden and Harris have tried to deal with the broiling world situation and things have gotten consistently out of control. I don’t necessarily blame them—they’re dealing with megalomaniacs who are absorbing more and more power. The world is almost backing itself into a corner with another world war. Currently we have a senile leader handling the nuclear codes.

• Trump is a hot head. He takes personal offense with many a thing and I wonder if he will bring us further to the edge OR if the opposing powers fear his madness enough to pull back from what they’re doing.

• Both candidates make me nervous in this geopolitical landscape. Both supporting Israel has been the right thing, but I don’t know what we’re dealing with when Russia is joining hands with North Korea against the Ukraine while China grows increasingly aggressive in the South China sea.

• Decision: VERY much Against Trump, Against Harris.

Domestic Policies

• Harris has openly supported the transgender issue while Trump uses the term like a topic he doesn’t understand.
• Trump says he’s for parental rights, against physical gender-affirming surgery of young people and champions biological female sports.
  • Decision: Against Harris and For Trump (If he is not lying)
• Harris has stated that there shouldn’t be religious exemptions in regard to abortion stating, “I don’t think we should be making concessions when we’re talking about a fundamental freedom to make decisions about your own body.”
  • Decision: Against Harris
• Countries survive by the grace of God with people and taxes as their lifeblood. Harris has what she calls an Opportunity Economy trying to help people with home ownership, small businesses, a ban against price gouging, and promising (1) tax cuts (via earned income tax credits) and (2) no tax increases for anyone making less than $400,000. Someone has to pay for that, so her proposals target the rich and corporations. That said, I do not think it actually helps with the home ownership issue. Knowing corporations, in the long-term I think this merely incentivizes automating more jobs. Trump has offered all sort of proposals, constantly shifting, and basing most of his proposals on tariffs against other countries. Trump plans to reduce corporate taxes, which could mean more jobs but could also just mean more tech investments to automate jobs. In the case of tariffs, Corporations are producers and importers so Americans will absorb the payment of tariffs within our everyday prices.
  • Decision: Economic plans always leave me unsettled. I want some sort of nuanced real combination of both plans but lean towards Harris on this.

On Rhetoric

This is not policy. This is looking at how the use of the tongue behind the elevated platform is a powerful tool for change.

• Harris has encouraged the rhetoric that Trump is the next Hitler—a man who has already had two attempts made at his life. This is deeply concerning since she continues to do it even after an active shooter just barely missed. If she is right, then why hasn’t the rest of the party stood its ground in opposition by proposing a stronger candidate when Biden stepped out of the race?
• Trump’s mouth reminds me of the blasphemous little horn in Daniel: it does not stop. His mouth has been poison from the get go and has deeply changed the rhetorical landscape. Trump rhetoric has brought down the entire political conversation. Indeed, his tongue has encouraged some foul behavior to see the light of day.
• Decision: Against Trump, Against Harris

The State of Our Union

• I don’t care what conspiracy theories are out there about January 6^th but here’s the fact: (1) Trump encouraged the activists, (2) continued to applaud them and (3) left his Vice President out in the cold when the man needed him the most. Those actions were not only not presidential, but they point to a callous heart that will do anything to win and worse if he loses. That character has brought further division into our nation and has encouraged the worst of our people. God forgive us.
  • Decision: Against Trump

• Trump has shown a vindictive streak. You hear it in his rhetoric and you see it in his behavior. I’ve long complained that the executive branch currently has too much power, but now that power will be in the hands of a man who has stated that he will go after his political enemies. That is deeply concerning.
  • Decision: Against Trump

*After posting this article on, I made some adjustments that would set the portions up above as more evergreen content while the portion below specific to the election cycle.

The post Who Should I Vote For? appeared first on Rey Reynoso's Bible Archive.

• God is the great and awesome God (Deut 7:21; 10:17)
• God’s name is awesome (Deut 28:58; Psalm 111:9; Neh 1:5; 9:32) and wonderful (Judges 13:18; Isaiah 9:6
• God is awesome above all things (Ps 89:7; Dan 9:4)
• God is awesome in praises (Exo 15:11) so people stand in awe (Psalm 22:23)
• God’s works are awesome (Psalm 66:3) and wonderful (Jer 2:2; Psalm 145:5; Matt 21:15)

You see how language falters? The only thing you can do is be in awe and worship. This follows New Testament pattern evidenced at the end of Paul’s letters. A pattern of reflecting on the wonder of God and writing a praise and worship to him: “How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!”

The post Knowing that Our Triune God is Awesome and Wonderful appeared first on Rey Reynoso's Bible Archive.

• God warns the Israelites not to worship other gods because He is jealous. (Ex 20:5; Ps 78:58)
• God warns that He so loves His people that His name is Jealous (Ex 34:14)!

God’s jealousy is a perfect, direct outworking of His perfect love—a godly jealousy (2 Cor 11:2). This is why, God, in all three persons is provoked when we’re pulled away.

• Our Lord Jesus can be provoked to jealousy when we partake of demon’s doctrine and actions (1 Cor 10:21-22).
• The Holy Spirit is provoked to grieve when we don’t walk worthy of our calling and redemption (Eph 4:30)
• God the Father can be provoked to wrath when the Spirit of grace is insulted, and the Son of God is trampled underfoot (Heb 10:31)

This is a difficult doctrine but, when reflecting on His infinite grace and love toward us, it totally makes sense.

The post Knowing that Our Triune God is Jealous appeared first on Rey Reynoso's Bible Archive.