I must start by letting you know that I did not watch the SOTU address.  I am sure that President Biden said some things that resonated with both sides of the aisle.  Perhaps he didn't.  That is a matter of public opinion that is extremely relative.  Many professional writers--most, who have previously written speeches for past Presidents-- grade each SOTU on an A-F scale similar to academic grading.  However, even this is relative and divisive.  While this is not the nail I wish to hammer it is important as a Christian to note Paul's words in 1 Tim. 2:1-4 when he instructs us to offer entreaties, prayers, petitions, and thanksgivings on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority.  Yes even the President you may not agree with or like.  I will be the first to say I need to repent of this and pray instead of criticize.  You too!  Again, this is not the point of this short diatribe.

First, I think it safe to say that no one has to be a rocket scientist or multi-talented super genius to understand the state of the union.  With inflation at 6.5% it is difficult for most to afford basic needs.  Additionally, we have normalized mental and emotionally devastating child mutilation (trans-gender surgery), very explicit and provocative "family friendly" drag queen performances, clothing and apparel companies using extremely suggestive themes in their advertisements that (intentionally or unintentionally) exploit children, and if you thought it couldn't get worse; the Grammy's came to town and said, "hold my drink."  I do not perceive to know what goes through each individual's mind when they choose to act in a certain fashion; but, it is safe to assume that the heart is indeed wicked and desperately sick (Jer. 17:9) when a once popular television awards show that celebrates music opens with a satanic ritualistic performance.  I will not link to the video because I would not willingly want anyone subjected to it.  I strongly advise caution if you so choose to watch it.  Additionally, I would not label it R, rather X-Rated.

I do not know Sam Smith nor Kim Petras (a man identifying as a woman), in fact I only just heard about both when reading articles about their "performance" at the Grammy's.  Here is what I do know.  They performed a set with pyrotechnics, stage performers, backup dancers and caged humans.  Both were dressed in blood red outfits and Sam Smith's top hat had horns popping off the top.  Kim was dancing provocatively in a cage with fire all around.  Various dancers and stage performers were seen bowing down to Sam Smith and worshipping him (bear in mind he was representing Satan).  If their "show" was not enough to feed the flesh, their song, titled unholy, was peppered with lyrics about "daddy committing blatant adultery on the side while mommy was unaware."  While the song lacked "curse" words it was littered with vulgar language about adulterous acts.  But even this is not the shock factor.  Why?  Because there is nothing new under the sun (Eccl. 1:9).  

The shock factor is not the debauchery and wickedness of the entire performance.  The shock factor is not even that it was streamed across the world and seen as "musical performance."  The shock factor sets in when you come to realize that these are the people influencing your children through music, entertainment, books, cartoons, and in many schools around the nation.  What adds a bit of bite to that sting is that the majority of Christians don't do anything about it.  Why?  We have bought into the double standard lie that has been shoved down our throats by the anti-Christ crew over the last few decades.  We are told to keep Jesus to ourselves, to keep our religion private, to worship in our homes, churches, and cars but do not dare bring that true unashamed, bold, exclusive Biblical Christianity with its "intolerant" Jesus to bear on the public sector.  Yet in their double speak they willingly perpetrate vulgarity in the most depraved way knowing its evil and encourage others to do the same (Rom. 1:32).  It is piped through the sewer line directly into your living room, pocket, your kids phone, and their school in the name of "tolerance."

Jesus was very clear, "he who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters," (Mt. 12:30).  There is no such thing as tolerant neutrality.  If you are for Jesus dear Christian, you cannot be for anything that goes against Him.  We have seen increasingly over the years that America is moving further and further away from any discernible notion of being "with Christ" and is rapidly moving toward being against Him.  This is not entertainment, this is not art, and it is not tolerance in any way.  It is a blatant prideful, arrogant, and intolerant spitting upon the name of Christ.  It is a hatred for the things of God because that is what Satan does, he hates God and anything that represents Him.  Bake the cake or be shut down.  Support the LGBTQ+ agenda or be shutdown.  Worship at the altar of Satan or be shutdown.  Is this not why Satan fell.  He wanted to be worshipped and take the place of God.  If you want to know the state of the union, look around at what is celebrated, accepted, and praised.  Newsflash, it is not Godliness.  It is sin! The state of the union is Satanic worship, idolatry, wickedness, and depraved.   Move off the fence dear Christian and insert yourself into the battle.

The definition of Savior is:
"a person who saves someone or something (especially a country or cause) from danger, and who is regarded with the veneration of a religious figure."

Why say Everyone is Looking for a Savior? Well, the short and simple answer is because they are. It’s our nature as human beings. Consider why every story containing a heroic protagonist always involves good triumphing over evil. From video games to movies everyone is looking for a savior. Most have a distorted and self-absorbed understanding of this “savior” but the concept holds true all the same.

We will consider one video game from years ago and one recent movie. I used to be into the Final Fantasy video game franchise. From FFI to whatever number they are at now, the premise is the same. Some terrible tragedy is happening or about to and it is up to some unsuspecting slightly arrogant and pride filled person to stop it. Along the way the protagonist learns very important things about life and self. There is personal reflection, introspection and a host of other life lessons that turn our once arrogant pride filled goober into a wise, “others focused” hero who would do anything to see the greater good realized.

Final Fantasy 10 carried the same premise but in this case our protagonist was a self-diluted insecure boy whose father he thought abandon him early in life to chase a ridiculous dream of becoming a famous blitzball player. Tidus, the protagonist is also a blitzball player like his “dead beet” dad and during a major game in his home town a creature massive in size destroys the city. Auron a longtime friend of Tidus’ father (we realize later in the game) tells Tidus the creature is called Sin. It goes from city / world to city / world and destroys almost everything in its path.

Now as the story goes, Tidus meets many other friends and a young woman named Yuna through Auron. He soon realizes that the many friends are Yuna’s “guardians” and she is on a quest to defeat Sin. Tidus therefore becomes the 11th or 12th guardian (I can’t remember) and travels with the team. Yuna goes to various temples and worships to gain strength for her plight. When she comes to a town that Sin has already destroyed, she performs some sort of healing or miracle that helps the townspeople. Starting to sound familiar yet?

After Tidus and Yuna develop a close emotionally and conversationally intimate relationship he finds out that the only way for her to defeat Sin is to give her life in the final battle at which time she both defeats and becomes Sin. Does this sound like the game developers picked this story up somewhere… anywhere… or I don’t know perhaps the Bible. Most every other video game that involves good and evil follows this same concept.

Next we discuss a recent movie. The Death Cure was the last in the Maze Runner franchise. Many are familiar with either the movies or the books so I will not go into much detail. However, the same premise holds. The protagonist does all he can to help everyone. There is a contagion spreading in the Maze Runner series that turns people into “crazies” who attack everyone and everything and suffer from violent outbursts. Those in power are trying to find a cure but every promised development comes up short. After a lot of running, fighting and rescuing we find out toward the end of the movie that they found a cure. At this point the Maze Runner world is in complete upheaval.

There are fires, buildings collapsing, people are dying and the medical staff, down to just one person still desperately trying to find the cure, realizes that the blood is the cure. In a very dramatic way they call back the protagonist by telling him how many lives he can save and how he can make the world a better place. He need only come back, possibly sacrificing himself to save everyone because his blood contains the cure. Does this sound familiar to anyone? Ever heard a story like this before?

My point in simply this, everyone is looking for a savior. However, because we live in a sinful world we are prone to make up our savior in our own image so that s/he acts, thinks, speaks, and saves how we want. We commit the egregious sin of idolatry to comfort ourselves. Why are we willing to do that? It is because we are all looking for a savior. We desperately hold onto anything in this life that is good and brings us joy because in this world we will have pain, suffering, heartache, trials, temptations and death. None of which was part of the original design by God. All of this is merely the effects of sin.

Genesis 2:16-17

"And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day you eat from it, you will certainly die.”

Romans 5:12

"Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, in this way death spread to all people, because all sinned."

The problem is our desire to make up a savior in our image. If the savior we are so desperately trying to find is made in our image than that savior is wicked to the core (Jeremiah 17:91; Romans 8:62; Revelation 21:83; Ezekiel 18:204), insecure, tired, heartbroken, and is unable to save self let alone anyone else. We desperately search out a savior because deep down we know that we are hopeless and even on our good days we feel a longing that cannot be filled with the worlds fleeting carnal pleasures.

​God tells us that He is the only savior (Isaiah 43:115). God is the only God there is no other (Isaiah 45:56). God promises a savior to deliver His people all throughout the Old Testament and delivers in Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:217; Acts 5:318). Jesus says He is the only way, the only truth and the only life, no one can get to the Father except through Him (John 14:69).

Recently I read a very sad letter.  It was not a letter addressed directly to me.  It was not a letter addressed to anyone specific, rather it was a letter addressed to whoever would read it.  It was a very tragic letter.  This letter was written by Tara Condell, who on the surface appeared to have achieved everything she hoped for.  She held degrees, a good career in what she loved, friends, family and a start on what could have been a successful and joy filled life.  Tara tragically ended her life. 

Like so many other souls, eventually there comes a time in life when the struggles appear to be insurmountable.  It does not matter what we have monetarily, materially, nor physically.  We can get to a point where hope seems hopeless.  This young lady got there as she said, “I have accepted hope is nothing more than delayed disappointment, and I am just plain old-fashioned tired of feeling tired.” 

What a tragic place to arrive at.  There were times in my life where my response to “how’s it going” would be, “well I recently found out that the light at the end of the tunnel is nothing more than a locomotive about to run me down!”  Then one day this all changed for me.  I found hope.  More than that I found out that hope was not just delayed disappointment.  I preface this by humbly acknowledging I did not know this young lady nor her heart.  That is not what I intend to address here, but rather the feeling of hopelessness. 

We are a people created in God’s image and made for relationships of love, unity, trust, and hope, both in Him and in others.  Our soul can only be filled to the fullest capacity in hope by Him who created us.  Sin distorted our ability to have these proper relationships the way God intended them to be.  As a result we drew away from God and sought our own way. 

We started looking for everything we could that would bring us hope but it only left us more hollow than before.  We thought that maybe, just maybe we have not yet understood the correct equation to acquiring this elusive hope.  So we tried everything we could to fill our tank of hope.  Unfortunately, we were wrong again.  Nothing we did seemed to matter and we only felt more alone, more isolated, more sadness, pain, anger, frustration, and eventually despair. 

Despair became the light at the end of the tunnel.  Because the One who created us to find our all in all in Him was no longer who we sought for hope.  Rather we openly admit it or not, despair is one day where all of us will end up apart from God.  For true lasting hope can only come from the One who created us to have hope, from the One who created us to Hope in Him for everything we could ever need or want.  

Revelation 21:4 is the perfect unblemished epitome of hope!

“and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”

Hope is to know Jesus Christ, to be in Jesus Christ, to follow Jesus Christ, for He promises that one day our hope will be fulfilled in Him forever more.  That my friends is the very bright light at the end of your dark, insurmountable tunnel. 
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I humbly ask if you are reading this, pray that God gives you the opportunity to share hope with someone who is struggling to see anything other than the light of the locomotive in their dark tunnel.  If you are reading this and are struggling, please know that there is hope even in the darkness of circumstances.  If you are contemplating taking your precious life, please call the hotline and talk to someone.

Suicide Hotline
1-800-273-8255