When I heard on the radio recently that China has banned US movies, I thought that was a pretty smart move on their part. After all, look at the content of our American movies — violence, profanity, cheapo sex, disrespect, drug abuse, vulgarity. We would all be wise to cut such things out of our mental and emotional diet.

However, after I searched the story on the web, I discovered that China was putting a three month ban on the release of American movies for economic reasons. It is about money, not about mental health.

I have a personal ban on American movies. I try not to watch anything more decadent than PG. My ban is not about money. It is about my desire to have a clean mind and heart. I don’t want to be brainwashed by American media into misery and self-destruction

Recently my wife called me at work and said that when a young friend of ours had gone home he discovered that there had been a shoot out in front of his house here in Nashville. There was blood all over the sidewalk right in front of his house and police were all around.

I called him to see how he was doing. As we were talking he suddenly said, “Oh no!” He had just found a bullet hole in his front door.

I went by to see him that night after I got off work to encourage him and help him calm down. It was really shocking to see the bullet hole that went all the way through his door.

Recently someone shot up an Omaha mall and someone else shot up a church and a Youth With A Mission training center in Colorado. Someone shot 6 of his family members on Christmas Eve.

Isn’t this totally insane? It was the Christmas season, not the shooting season — “Ho! Ho!” not “Bang! Bang!” What’s going on?

We say we are worried about foreign terrorists, but look at the terror our home grown American terrorists have inflicted on us this past Christmas season. Has the violence done daily to human life in the womb created a widespread disrespect for human life on foot? Are we reaping the violence that we have sown?

Who obeys unenforced laws? Hardly anybody. If you don’t believe me check it out for yourself. Try this.

Get on an interstate where the seed limit is 55. Notice how many people blow past you at 65 or 75 mph (almost everybody). All those people are driving illegally. Why? Because human beings don’t obey unenforced laws!

America’ borders are wide open. Immigration laws are for the most part unenforced. Why should we blame those who break unenforced immigration laws when we also break unenforced laws on the highways.

If we want people to obey our laws, we should enforce them. Otherwise we are wasting our time complaining about and criticizing law breakers.

History is full of invasions as country after country has attacked another. Many invasions have changed the course of human history. Which one has had the most powerful effect on humanity?

I agree with C.S. Lewis who believed that the most powerful invasion in human history wasn’t a military invasion at all. It was a nonviolent invasion and was hardly noticed at the time. However, today this invasion is celebrated around the globe.

The nation of Israel was invaded by a powerful Conqueror in the most unusual way. He entered the country as a new born babe. We call this invasion — when the Creator became a human and invaded planet Earth — Christmas.

Untold millions of people have personally believed that the man we call Jesus was the invasion of the living God into human flesh. Others write off this invasion as a myth.

However, the effect of this invasion on those who believe in and obey the resurrected and living Jesus, has been profound. Countless men and women have been transformed by this Invader from selfish to selfless, from grabbing to giving, from success seeking to sacrifice. Much of the good in our Western Civilization has been inspired and carried out by those who sought to daily love and obey Jesus Christ the Conqueror. Has He conquered you?

I hear the word “partner” a lot nowadays and it is not “Howdy Partner” like in the old cowboy movies. People are using the word to refer to the person who regularly meets their sexual desires. They use it possessively as in, “my partner.”

Some people refer to their husband or wife as “my partner.” I saw the word used on the jacket of a book something like this: “Judy lives in Nevada with her partner.” (Is that a ranch or a relationship or a marriage?)

People used to use the phrase “soul mate” a lot. It indicates a life long, heart-to-heart commitment. “Soul mate” must have too much permanence to it. Today the idea of soul mate seems to have been pushed aside by a parade of partners.

I’d rather be a husband with a wife than a partner with a partner. I guess both situations could be between soul mates, but there is something really special about making heart-to-heart love exclusive, permanent, legal, and official.