Culture & Christianity: The Allen Jackson Podcast - God Is Moving—Are We Paying Attention?

Episode Date: June 26, 2026

Have we become so focused on what's wrong with America that we've forgotten what's right? As visitors from around the world celebrate the freedoms, opportunities, and abundance they find here, Pastor Allen Jackson encourages Christians to see our nation through a different lens. As America approaches its 250th anniversary, he reflects on the blessings we often overlook, the importance of cultivating gratitude, and several recent policy victories that align with a biblical worldview—from securing the border and protecting children to defending religious freedom and the sanctity of life. This episode is a call to thank God for His faithfulness, appreciate the courage of leaders willing to stand for biblical values, and use our own voices to help preserve the freedoms and principles that have made America such a remarkable nation.

If we stay silent because we reject the language of this administration, or there's one of them that we don't like, or there's some policy point, and therefore we step away from the biblical worldview issues, I believe that the ungodliness and the wickedness and the things that we've seen previously will come back with the greater vengeance than that we've ever seen them. It's our assignment to be salt and light. It's not the politician's assignment. It's ours. Welcome back to culture and Christianity. Folks, God is moving in the earth in the most remark. I know I say that a lot, but there's seldom a day that slips past that there's not some tangible expression of the faithfulness of God in the lives of the people that I'm traveling on this journey with. I hope you can see those things happening around you. I've been having fun lately.

We are currently, the U.S. is hosting the World Cup. It's kind of a generational experience. It hasn't happened here since the 90s. And I'm not a huge soccer fan, spoiler alert. but I am a fan of some of these international events and the attention they draw, and so far beyond the men's American team doing better than expected, I think the highlight for me has been the social media post from our guest to America. I have seen dozens and dozens of them and listening to their surprise at what they have found in America,

that it doesn't align exactly with what they have heard predominantly in the European media, but not just there. I've watched South Africans and Australians and a whole variety of people and their wonder and amazement at what they have found in America. So I ask the team if they could find some of those clips because they're much smarter than me.

So I want to share just two or three perspectives from beyond the borders of our nation what people found in America and see if they make you smile. We owe America a huge apology because America is nothing like what the media tells us Everyone is so friendly, everyone is so accommodating and I've honestly had the best time. Okay, you haven't had the full American experience until you try.

The Walmart. Woo! Look, we're gonna find some interesting stuff today. I'm excited. What? Wait, guys, why is it so deep? Like... Why is more fun at Walmart than Walmart? fun at Walmart than we do.

I'm a Brit in America, and this place is absolutely insane. Buckies. There's like 60 different petrol pumps. I don't know if you live in a part of the country where they have buckies, but if not, you're missing out on a cultural experience as our British friend found out. He said they've got 60 petrol pumps. We're in the midst of a campus expansion. We're adding some buildings. And when we were doing the Capitol campaign, we interviewed some of the children in the church.

And I will never forget, one of the children said, we're going to get Bucky's bathrooms. And the face on that guy from Britain kind of echoed the same enthusiasm of that child here in the church. But I hope you could, if you're watching with us, you could see the expressions on their face and the true joy and happiness they found in what they were experiencing in America. And here's what I find kind of a perverse pleasure. And to be honest, they're enjoying the parts of America that I'm accustomed to. I go to Walmart and I've been to Buckees and I am grateful for the kindness of the people when I'm walking along the street. I live in the South. We still speak to one another when we meet one another in public, whether we know one another or not.

And for a certain segment of our culture, what they've described those places is the places the deplorables in. habit. And I kind of take it a badge of honor when somebody who's ungodly and wicked calls my life deplorable. But I do find it joyful and entertaining when people visiting America think that a walk through Walmart is a remarkable experience. See, I have lived in places where I didn't have access to grocery stores, and I certainly didn't have an access to a Walmart. And if you listen to to our content much, you've probably heard me say that one of my favorite things to do is visit a grocery store. Because when I walk to the grocery store, it reminds me of the faithfulness and the goodness of God in my life. I can go to the produce section, and there is an almost unlimited amount of

produce that I didn't have to grow, that I didn't have to work for. I just have to walk through the store and pick it up. And if I go to the cookie aisle, I don't have a choice between cookie A and cookie B. There is 80 different kinds of cookies. There's 25 different kinds of Oreos. It still amazes me, and to see just the unmitigated joy on the faces of these people, if you're a social media person, spend a little time, listen to the attitudes of our guest. They are finding such enthusiasm for the things that you and I take for granted. I heard an Australian man talking about a visit to Texas Longhorn Steakhouse. And he said, they gave my family peanuts, all the peanuts we wanted.

And he said, we're sitting at the table enjoying our peanuts, and they brought bread and put it on our table. And we said, oh, no, we didn't order bread. And they said, no, everyone gets bread. And he looked at his phone and he said, and this wasn't Australian bread. This was warm and fresh. And he said, and then they gave us free refills for our drinks. He said, how can anyone in America not be happy if you have Texas Longhorn? Now, they're not a sponsor, so I'm not being reimbursed to celebrate their kindness.

But it has been so fun to see people enjoying our country and not being angry about it or resentful or bitter or reminding us of the worst and darkest chapters of our history. We have dark chapters, but there are many, many things in America that are worth celebrating. and it has been blessing to me to see our guest celebrating those in the midst of the World Cup. So if you're having a bad day, watch some of our visitors to our country and listen to the good things they've got to say. And then you go back and take a walk to Walmart or Costco or the grocery store or go find the Buckees and see if you can see it with new eyes. Instead of being frustrated by it, make it smile that they have 60 gas pumps and they're all busy. You know, this podcast is made possible because of sponsors.

And one of our sponsors is preserve gold. And I appreciate their partnership with us. And I pray it's a blessing to you. You know, one of the things that I hear most often right now is this, that people are doing their best plan for the future, but they're not sure what to trust anymore. You know, the headlines, they change every day. And the economy, it feels pretty unpredictable.

And that uncertainty, it's unsettling to all of us. But as people of faith, we're not called to live in fear. We're called to live with wisdom, with discernment, and with peace. Well, part of that is simply taking practical steps to protect what you've worked so hard to build and establish for yourself and your family. That's why many are turning to time-tested assets like gold and silver, not as a reaction, but as a way to bring stability into their financial plans. Well, if you'd like to learn more, I encourage you to connect with preserve gold. They've helped many people understand how to diversify their savings with physical gold and silver, including in retirement accounts. And right now, you can get their free wealth protection guide by texting Allen, it's A-L-L-E-N to 50-505.

Plus, with a qualified purchase, you can receive up to $15,000 in free gold or silver. Well, if you want to learn how precious metals could help protect your savings, text Allen to 50505 today. You'll receive your free wealth protection guide. July 4th is approaching, and I want to make a suggestion. Make a good news list. I mean, do it purposely, like physically sit down with a sheet of paper, and make a list of the good things that you see around you. Some of it will be about people, some of it will be about things,

it'll be about the blessings of God. I hope it includes access to Christian content and churches and Bibles. But start to make that list and then review it. Take a few minutes every day, beginning a day, end the day, whatever works best with your schedule. Folks, it's too easy. I get caught in this sometimes. You know, I would do enough work in the media and talk enough about current events and try to frame those things in light of a biblical worldview.

That if I don't guard my heart, I'll get caught up in the overwhelming expressions of some things that are pretty destructive. And I have found it to be enormously helpful if I will build this good news list. You don't have to share it. You don't have to post it. Don't put it in social media. This is between you and your heart and the renewing of your mind and God. Now, if you want to share it with a friend or a family member, I guess that's okay, but I'm not asking you to build something for general consumption. I'm just asking you to pause and take a few minutes to be thankful. It will break you out of the doom loop of negative stuff. None of our lives are perfect.

None of us make it through without real challenges. and if you're at a season with no challenges, God bless you and hallelujah, enjoy the season. Because all of our lives, even if our lives are perfect, we have an adversary, Satan, who is an accuser of the brethren.

Some of you remember in the Gospels, after Jesus baptism, it says that he was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness. It's a triumphal time for Jesus. He's begun his public ministry. He's presented himself at the Jordan River to be baptized by John. When he emerged,

from the water, the heavens open up, the Holy Spirit descends on Jesus, there's a voice from heaven. And God says, this is my son with whom I'm well pleased. I mean, that's like drop the mic, folks. Imagine in any public gathering where you are, when the heavens open, the Holy Spirit descends, and God says, this is my child. That's a pretty good day. And then the Holy Spirit leads Jesus into the wilderness. He's not driven there by the devil.

the Holy Spirit leads him into the wilderness, and Satan rolls up to tempt him. And he challenges him. He says, if you are the son of God, he knew very well he was the son of God. Well, if Satan will accuse Jesus and try to diminish Jesus' joy and try to distract him from the blessings of God and what is unfolding before him and the great honor he has now of presenting the kingdom of God to his generation, if Satan will challenge him and try to diminish his sense of well-being and his sense of worth to keep him from his assignment, I promise you he will do that to you and me. I'm quite confident we're not quite as stable and steadfast as Jesus would have been and that the enemy of the purposes of God on the earth will do everything in his power

to try to distract us, to draw our attention to what's negative around us. let's not take debate. Let's build a good news list and begin to celebrate what God is doing. And as we approach the 4th of July, let's join all of our World Cup guests in celebrating the blessings in our nation. Because we are a blessed, blessed people. I have had the privilege of traveling a bit. I've lived in other nations. And no matter where I go or what opportunities I have, whenever I return home, there's just no place like it. For all the things we are not, we have more freedoms, more liberties, more abundance.

It's just a remarkable blessing from God. And let's not let July the 4th come and go. It's our 250th anniversary. You're going to hear that over and over again, far beyond this podcast. I know. You probably grow weary with it. But let's not grow weary with saying thank you. In fact, I want to take a minute. I sat down and made a list of some of the things that our current administration has done that I think are good for us. You know, I am accused by people who are unhappy sometimes with my perspectives that I'm being political. I have no interest in being political. I'm grateful for politicians who will honor God and honor a biblical worldview.

I'm of the opinion that the most impactful thing I can do is lift up the kingdom of God in the name of Jesus and invite people into that, that that will bring the greatest possible transformation to a human life. If I thought politics held greater potential, I'd be a politician. So I'm grateful for godly politicians, but I'm not trying to encroach on their world. But this administration has been doing some things collectively that I think are bringing some wonderfully good things to us. I got to do an interview last week with a member of the armed services, the Army, a colonel in the Army, who has been assigned the task of helping to regather all those people in our armed services that were dismissed because they wouldn't take the COVID vaccine.

President Trump on inauguration day, signed an executive order to bring back all of those people that were dismissed because they wouldn't take the COVID shot. And this man's had that assignment. It hadn't been easy. But I think that's a wonderful thing. We got the science wrong on that. We've had the courage to admit it and to welcome back those men and women who have served our country. I think that's worthwhile. Doge.

Remember when Elon Musk rolled in with his crazy team of data crunchers and began to expose the fraud in our nation? They didn't by any means finish the task. They just kind of opened the doors on the cupboard of the stealing and the looting and the fraud that was taking place in America. But to the tunes of billions and billions and billions of dollars, it's continuing until today. And I think that's a wonderful gift. We'll have to see if we have the courage to stop being thieves and stop protecting thieves. But it was refreshing to see that somebody was willing to tell the truth about the way our do. Our government doesn't have money.

Our government doesn't earn money. Our government prints money, but when they print money, they devalue. They lessen the value of the money that you and I have. The only way the government gets money is to take it from its people. So when the government is spending money recklessly, they're taking your money and my money and spending it recklessly. And I'm not a fan of that. So I'm grateful for Doge in those efforts.

I was in D.C. not long ago, and I got to hear a brief. briefing by the current leader of Doge and the progress they're still making. It's amazing. Another thing they've done is secure our borders. For the first time in a long while, our borders are secure, which means there's not enormous amounts of illegal drugs pouring across our borders. There aren't millions of people illegally coming into our country. We have a legal system for immigration that welcomes enormous numbers of people on a regular basis. But the illegal immigrants have been greatly diminished. One specific upside of that is there were hundreds of thousands of children being trafficked at our border.

More children being sold into slavery at our border than any selling of people in the history of our nation. And we were just yawning our way through it. So I'm imminently grateful that the border has been secured and the children are not being subjected to that gross abuse. Our energy production, we are exporting energy to the world. world. That's good for us, whether we feel the freedom of that fully in the immediate moment or not, from a security standpoint, it's good, from an economic standpoint, it's good. For the people who work in those industries, it's wonderful. It's a wonderful step forward. The current administration has limited the expressions of DEI, diversity, equity, and inclusion, which is an updated version of

racism and oppression that has taken deep root in our nation in the corporate world, in the academic world, and this administration has begun to push back on that and to diminish that in its expressions. Much of it's gone underground, much of it has been relabeled, but it's stopped being encouraged and fueled by our federal government, thank God. This administration has had the courage to say marriage should be recognized between a man and a woman. What a radical notion. This administration has been willing to stop federal funding for abortion. That's good news. Abortion rates haven't plummeted.

The Supreme Court's ruling did not mean abortion in our nation evaporated, unfortunately. But at least the federal government is not praying for those abortions. Now, you and I'll have to use our voices and our influence, make our own choices to honor God. They have stopped gender modification for minors, which is a wonder the mutiless. of our children was being encouraged and supported by our federal government. That is an abomination. And that has been stopped. They have ended men's competing in women's sports. Another, it seems patently absurd, but we seemed completely addled when we were confronted with that. We have wandered so far away from biblical patterns. We've been so determined to say that men and women

are exactly the same. We're not the same. We're not lesser or greater. God created us male and female. I'm a great advocate for the difference, but we had rejected God at such a fundamental level that we'd begun to live in the realm of the absurd and saying there was no difference

to the point that men were competing in women's sports. I'm grateful that that's been turned back. I wonder where the godly men were when that foolishness was happening. You know, I saw the videos. of some of the school board meetings when the mama bears, the mom showed up the school board meetings because they had wicked books in the libraries with small children. Books that were exposing them to sexually explicit thoughts and ideas

that would have a tremendous impact on their lives. When I watched those school board meetings, my question was, where were the men? Where were the godly men? What has happened to us? Imagine if you found out next week that they were selling cigarettes and alcohol to seven and eight-year-olds in the schools. I hope that you would be incensed enough to see that behavior stop in the schools where you have access to them. Well, we all understand that would do physical harm to the children, that they don't have the emotional maturity to process what's happening. And you'd be bringing physical destruction to them before they had the capability of,

making informed choices. Well, we're doing something far more destructive when we introduce our children to sexually explicit material before they have the emotional maturity to process that. And certainly to do it outside the parameters of their home is unacceptable. Jesus said to us, not to be afraid of people who can damage our physical body. She don't have to be afraid of that. He said, but you should be afraid of those who have the ability to bring spiritual destruction to us. We've been silent while they've introduced spiritual destruction into the lives of our smallest children in public and school libraries.

So again, I'm grateful for the moms that wouldn't stood up, and I'm grateful for the men that are beginning to find the courage to do so, and I'm grateful for an administration that said no men shouldn't be competing in women's sports. I'm grateful for the economy that's turned the corner that's getting better for the investment in American businesses again. I'm grateful for so much of the foreign policy, the freedom that's come to Venezuela. I'm grateful for what's been happening in Iran. It's not finished yet. There's still work to be done, but Hamas has been tremendously diminished. Hasbalah in the north of Israel, in Lebanon has been greatly diminished. They're still there.

They're still expressing hatred and violence. But they've been tremendously diminished because Iran has been tremendously diminished. Iran's economy has been so disrupted that they don't have the funds that they need. for Hamas and Hezbollah. The leadership in Iran that has been promoting global terrorism for decades has been greatly diminished. There's work to be done. I'm grateful for what they've done in Nigeria. They were hunting Christians.

And our government stepped in and said, if you keep hunting Christians, you'll become hunted. It's not completely resolved yet, but it's better. God is moving in the earth. I mean, that's a short list. Some of you don't like the current administration, so you'll reject all the principles. You take the principles that are biblical, that are established from a biblical worldview. Marriage is not a political issue. It's a biblical issue.

The protection of our children is not a political issue. It's a biblical issue. Obeying our laws is not a political issue. It's a biblical issue. I mean, the list goes on and on. Don't allow your political alignment to rob you of standing for a biblical worldview. And if you don't embrace the Bible as the authority of script, If you don't believe the Bible is our rule of faith and practice, if you don't believe in the uniqueness of Jesus,

if you don't believe in the redemptive work of Jesus, the necessity of the redemptive work of Jesus, then it isn't Christianity. Irrespective of the building where you hear the conversations, irrespective of the labels you may prefer, orthodox historical Christianity is not a designer faith or we can choose commandments one, three, and five. We will either submit to the Lordship of Jesus or we reject it. I'm grateful for what God is doing on the earth. Almost everybody I know wants to be healthy or healthier. And I think most of us would like it to happen to us by accident.

But that hasn't been my experience. So what do we do in a world where there's so many options and diets seem to be like fashion trends? They change with every season. How do we respond? Well, I want to tell you about something that I trust, something that has worked in my life. Ancient nutrition gives you a whole menu of supplements,

sources for protein and collagen that I have found made a difference in my life. You know, I decline most of sponsorship invitations, but this isn't something that is just an invitation to be a sponsor for something. I've actually used it in my life and it's made a difference. Jordan Rubin happens to live in the Nashville area, so he and I have become friends long before I was doing this podcast. and his coaching has helped me lead a healthier life. And I have found those ancient nutrition supplements to be very valuable,

whether it's the multi-collegin or now the new multi-protein. It's hard to eat enough protein sometimes as you age to maintain the muscle that we want to maintain. And those supplements have been very helpful for me. They've been gracious enough to give those of you who are listeners to our program. If you'll use the code fuel 26, you'll get a 26% discount, sitewide on ancient nutrition. That's ancientnutrition.com. Let's make choices to be healthier,

and maybe we can limit the pharmaceuticals will be dependent upon. That would be a God thing. God's moving in the earth, and we can be a part of it by what we put on our fork and not just the pills we take. One of the things we always try to do

in this podcast is keep coming back to this question of what can we do. And I'd like to give you one point on this theme. It's not enough to celebrate with our European friends who are amazed at Walmart and Costco, I think you and I have to have the courage to use our voices and our influence to affirm the good things that we see happening.

I'm not even suggesting you have to affirm the politicians, but you can celebrate the fact that biblical definitions of marriage are being exalted again, that abortions aren't being paid for with our tax dollars. That makes us culpable, that we are trying to stop the wasteful spending, the fraud, the stealing that's been taking place at just unbelievable levels, that our borders are secured, that we're no longer encouraging tens of millions of people to behave in an illegal way, that we're not fostering illicit drugs coming across our border or the trafficking

of children. Those are all good things, but we've got to use our voice. This is why I think it's important. Administrations change. We're in an election year. influence in Washington, D.C. and in state levels, it changes on a regular basis. It's a part of the beauty of the system that we live in. Well, every time those administrations change, there's a change of policies.

Well, politicians want to vote. Charlie Daniels wrote a song years ago, and he said a drunkard wants another drink of wine, and a politician wants a vote. And politicians are a reflection of the spiritual condition of our nation. And so if we're going to maintain the grounds towards biblical worldview that are being expressed in the public square, it will necessitate you and me using our voices in our family systems, in our friend's systems, in the places where we go to work or where we go to school to give affirmation and encouragement to those biblical values. If we will all use our voices, I believe that we'll have a whole new generation of leaders that will affirm them because they want the votes.

If we stay silent because we reject the language of this administration, or there's one of them that we don't like, or there's some policy point, and therefore we step away from the biblical worldview issues, I believe that the ungodliness and the wickedness and the things that we have seen previously will come back with the greater vengeance than that we've ever seen them. It's our assignment to be salt and light. It's not the politician's assignment. It's ours. So let's step into the gains that have been made, to the good news that has been put in place, and let's make it a part of our story. Put it on your good news list. We're celebrating a 250th anniversary.

If we're going to celebrate 275, it will be more because of what the Christians do than what the Chinese do or the Iranians do or the Russians do or the party that you don't like does. It'll be because God's people choose to humble themselves. I want to take up a little different topic just briefly, but it's related to that a bit. I've seen so much dialogue lately on, I think what really started the conversations or caught my attention was when SpaceX went public and Elon Musk became the world's first trillionaire. My opinion, and I'm certainly not an economist, I think he's a trillionaire with pretty significantly devalued dollars. that if we compared his trillion dollars of today to some of the wealthier business people of the past, I don't know that his accomplishment is quite as dramatic.

It's certainly something to be celebrated, but it's hard to cast Elon Musk as a robber baron in the historic use of that terms. He's not pilfering America. He has been adding value to this nation with technology and innovation and productivity. And there are many people whose lives have been dramatically improved. in our nation and around the earth by what he's done. It's an expression of this idea, this economic system that we know is capitalism, which is under some part of an assault in our country.

We have elected officials, powerful people, powerful academics, celebrated people, people with a great deal of charisma and influence, who are very public advocates for socialism. It's a failed system. It has been in play in the earth for well over 100 years. And it hasn't succeeded. When you think of socialism, you want to think of the former Soviet Union of Cuba, of those places where the people got mired in horrible circumstances and authoritarian governments, and they lost their liberties in freedoms. It's a failed system.

And the fundamentals of it, I think we can see, you know, it's really based on principles that the scriptures warns us against. Socialism causes you look at other people and go, I have a right to what they have. They have too much, and I should have some of it. I heard multiple political leaders after Elon Musk's a successful day of introducing SpaceX into the public arena, start to demand a wealth tax immediately. Folks, the biblical word for that's envy. When you look at something somebody else has and say, I want that, that I should have theirs, and they shouldn't have as much as they do, and I deserve something that they have,

the Bible tells us that's a destructive tendency. We can't afford to live there. So I would just invite you away from that stream of thought that is so so prevalent in some of the segments of the world we're living in. And here's just the awkward truth. There is no free. There just is no free. If you have something given to, if you receive something that you perceive at no cost, it comes to you freely. Somebody else paid the cost.

It's true with goods and services. it's true with success. If you succeed without sacrifice, somebody sacrificed so that you could have that success, whether you're conscious of it, aware of it, or not. There is no free, and I'm sure there is some biblically aware person that is thinking to themselves,

well, what about the free gift of salvation? Well, it's made available to you and to me at no cost, but it's absurd to think that it comes to us without cost, that free gift of salvation that's been extended to me by the grace of God through the person of Jesus came at a horrible cost. My Bible says in Philippians too that Jesus humbled himself and became obedient, obedient to God the Father, obedient even to the point of death. Jesus willingly gave up his life so that you and I might have that free gift.

What was the cost? Jesus' life. God offered his son. So even in the fundamental, the most fundamental principles of scripture, there's no free. There was a price paid. That's why you and I are gladly willing to honor Jesus' Lord and submit ourselves to his authority and his influence and his priorities, because what he has done for us is beyond imagination, beyond our ability to repay. So we will lead lives of gratitude honoring Jesus sacrifice. No free. So when somebody tells you, you deserve more than you've had, why don't you tell them about Jesus and the amazing grace of God and the goodness of God and reject that spirit of the world that wants to cultivate in you, envy and covetousness and

dissatisfaction and frustration and hatred and resentment and a whole host of things that will bring destruction to you, body, soul, and spirit. God's moving in the earth. Let's not cooperate with the knuckleheads. This year, we celebrate 250 years of God's faithfulness to our nation. From backyard picnics in ball games to laughter shared with family and friends, we've been given so many blessings to enjoy together. And in a world that feels increasingly divided, these moments remind us of what matters most. Faith, freedom. family and community. Alan Jackson Ministries wants to help you carry that message with you wherever you may go.

This outdoor blanket and canvas tote bag are simple reminders of God's goodness and a way to spark meaningful conversations about faith and the hope we have in him. Request your limited edition tote bag and outdoor blanket today with your gift of $100 or more at allandaxon.com or call 800 8805102. I want to do one more thing before we go, and partly because it's a part of our time together on these podcasts. I introduced you to my dad a few months ago,

and he has been gracious enough to sit in for a handful of podcast and share a bit of his story. Well, we did another episode of that, not in a podcast, but Sunday morning for Father's Day at church, a little slightly different part of the story, but it reminded me of some biblical principles. And I wanted to take a minute before we wrap this up today and invite you into that.

I want to read a passage of scripture. It's from the New Testament. It's in Ephesians chapter 6. And Paul is quoting to the church at Ephesus, a portion that comes from the Old Testament, the Hebrew Bible. Folks, you need both the Old Testament and the New Testament. God's character didn't change when he finished Malachi.

But in Ephesians 6, he said, honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with the promise, that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on earth. Fathers, don't exasperate your children. Instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. Biblical command, not a suggestion, not a hint, not a prompt, not a good idea, not some subtle point of theology. One of the fundamental commandments of God to his people in every generation is that we honor our father and mother. I don't know an escape clause on that. If we want the blessings of God fully in our lives, we've got to make that choice. It doesn't start with an emotion. It starts with

a choice. God gave us all an earthly father. And then he told us to honor our father and our mother. It seems more poignant to me this year in a couple of weeks. It'll be the two-year anniversary when my mom went to heaven. And she's still greatly missed in my life and in the lives of many the people that I'm traveling with. So I'm very aware that our fathers and mothers represent to us a part of God's provision. For some of us, they were a great gift. For some of us, they were pretty significant obstacles. The brokenness in their own lives brought brokenness to us and introduced pain to us. No perfect people, therefore there's no perfect parents anymore than we were perfect children. We all have fathers, and they've parented us in varying degrees of effectiveness,

but still we're called to honor them by God, whether they did a great job or a very poor job. Now, how we respond to our earthly fathers, I have come to under, after years of ministry, my observation is that how we respond to our earthly fathers is a significant bearing on how we respond to our heavenly father. And if your earthly father was particularly broken, doesn't you from knowing your heavenly father. Jesus came to reveal to us our heavenly father. In the same way, he came to reveal to us God's redemption. And if you can know his redemption in such a transformational way,

that it changes your eternal destiny, Jesus is sufficient with the help of the Holy Spirit to help you know your heavenly father, even though your earthly father may have been destructive. don't allow the enemy to give you that position of a deficit. It doesn't originate with God. He will help you. God chose our parents.

I know, awkward. We certainly didn't choose them. God did. You know, I have come to the realization of my own life and in walking with others that you can honor someone without approving of everything that they do. Don't get caught up in that. Well, I can't honor them.

They did these things that were horrible. We honor people and we don't approve of all they do. We know that's true with athletes or politicians or celebrities or actors or people of influence, people who you respect for musical ability, artistic talent, or creativity, all sorts of things that you respect them for, but not approving of everything they do. So you can show honor to your fathers since we're in this Father's Day season without giving approving. to everything they've done. Now, I want to bring this to a close

by coming back to that question, what can we do? And I'm going to invite you to say one or two prayers with me. One is, all of us have fathers, everybody listening's got a dad. You may even have had a borrowed dad. Jesus had a borrowed dad,

and he managed to complete his assignment. So the fact that your family system or your family of origin was less than perfect, does not hold the power to keep you from God's best or God's purposes for your life unless you give it that power. So what I want to invite you to do is to say a little prayer with me,

a prayer of forgiveness for our fathers. You may have had an amazing dad, you may have the best dad, you may have had a godly dad, but there's still wounds that come through family and family systems in the best of families. We are broken people, even when we do our best, we hurt one another.

And so it's a great time to clean that up and offer forgiveness before God to our fathers. I'm going to just, I'm going to say a little prayer, a phrase of time. You can repeat it after me. And if you, if it's meaningful to you, go back and transcribe it. It's only three or four sentences. It's not a big, heavy lift. But you pray, forgiveness begins as a decision within us. It's not an emotion.

If you wait for your emotion, you'll probably never begin. You know, if I waited for the emotion to lose weight, I would never start. Because if you put ice cream and Oreos in front of me, my emotions are always going to go absolutely. I have to make a decision to change my diet because I want to get to a healthier outcome. And you and I have to make a decision to cooperate with biblical principles to get to a spiritually healthier place. So I want to invite you to join me to forgive our dads. I'm going to pray another prayer, but let's pray this one first. You can just repeat it after me.

God, I need your help. There's a hurt that I cannot outrun or ignore. In obedience to your word, I forgive my father. I thank you for his life. I choose to bless him today. Thank you now for your freedom in my life, for your peace, for your loving care. In Jesus' name, amen.

You take that prayer if you have wounds from your family or from your father. You can have wounds that remain even if your dad has already stepped into eternity. But your willingness to forgive will write a new future for you. Now, I want to add one more prayer, and that's a prayer of forgiveness for fathers. I think the devil is very effective at reminding us of our failures, and none of us parent perfectly. None of us do relationships perfectly. It's impossible. Even when we intend to do the best, we disappoint, we cause pain.

And without the help of God, we will be diminished by that because our adversary consistently reminds us of it. So I want to invite all the fathers to say a prayer with me, a prayer from God asking forgiveness. The great assignments of our lives, men, are as husbands and fathers. I think whatever we do before the Lord will come secondary to those roles as husbands and fathers. And we certainly have seasons when we have failed in those assignments. So I'm going to ask you to say this prayer with me. Same idea.

I'm going to give it to you a little short phrases. You can repeat them after me. If your words aren't exactly the same as mine, my words aren't holier than yours. But we're going to express an attitude to the Lord of repentance and ask for his mercy. So let's pray this again. All right, here we go. God, you've given me an assignment. Help me to complete it well.

Forgive me for my failures. I need your wisdom and courage as a man. I need your wisdom and courage as a husband. And I need your wisdom and courage as a father. I believe that what you called me to do I believe you can enable me to fulfill. I am not a failure. In Christ Jesus, I am victorious.

Amen. Now, if you'll take those two simple little prayers and you'll incorporate them into your devotionals for a bit, I believe the Spirit of God will bring new freedom to you. Folks, God's moving in the earth. Even the Europeans that didn't like us have rolled up and found the amazing blessing of what Walmart and Buckees, if we'll allow the Spirit of God, he'll help us see our lives and our worlds

with a new perspective. Don't miss out on that. Invite the Spirit of God to help you. He is waiting and willing and able. God bless you, and we'll talk soon. Thanks for joining me today. Before you go, please like the podcast and leave a comment so more people can hear about this topic too. If you haven't yet, be sure and subscribe to Alan Jackson Ministry's YouTube channel and follow the Culture and Christianity Podcast. You can do that on Spotify, Apple Podcast, wherever you get your podcast. Together, let's learn how to lead with our faith. We can change our culture.

I'll see you next time.