As we approach a new administration, it is important to uphold an element of American exceptionalism—a peaceful transition of power.

There’s been nothing wrong with investigating and challenging illegal voting practices.

But what is absolutely wrong is any call for violent resistance—in this case, to Joe Biden and his election. We’re seeing calls in social media for violent responses, either in the form of rebellion or in the form of martial law.

Not only is this rhetoric dangerous, it runs against principled conservatism. The Founders only declared independence after a long period of abuses by the King, and then used force in self-defense. The Bible admonishes Christians to “submit to the governing authorities.”

The inflammatory rhetoric does nothing to help the conservative movement. It does not stop Biden. It does not ensure a second Trump administration.

It hurts our cause. It should stop.

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Welcome to the new year: 2021.

But let’s take a moment to look at that number and remember what it means. 2,021 what? 2,021 years from the traditional date of the birth of Christ.

In the ancient world, when an old king died and a new king took over, the calendar started again. Ancient dating frequently started with “The first year of King so and so…”

But what do you do when you get a king who will never die?

The answer is the year of our Lord 2021.

During the French Revolution, they tried to start over with year Zero. But look at the French Calendar now…it’s 2021. No matter how much secular culture tries to deride the historical significance of Christ, they are reminded—on every dateline—how important He was and still is.

May the Year of Our Lord, 2021 be a blessed one for you and yours.

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January 5th, 2021 marks a decisive day in this new year, one that will resonate throughout all of ’21 and indeed 2022.

This is because Georgia votes today in runoffs for two United States Senate seats. It’s an election of enormous consequence for the other 49 states because the results will determine whether Republicans or Democrats control the Senate—and thus greatly impacting every U.S. citizen.

Salem is supporting David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler—and encouraging Georgians to turnout to return these two incumbents to office. Their opponents—John Ossoff and Raphael Warnock—are both very left wing. The Rev. Warnock may, in fact, be the most radical major party candidate of the era.

A GOP majority will ensure a check on President-elect Biden. They’ll refuse to confirm radical judicial appointments while continuing robust spending on the American military.

Georgians, please vote! And if you know anyone in Georgia, please call them and urge them to vote today.

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It’s easy to dismiss the Senate elections in Georgia as just another vote to decide two more seats in Congress—and that, ultimately, it may not be all that consequential. I’m sure some of our fellow Americans—and more than a few Georgians—wonder what the point of voting is at all, especially given the outcome of the recent presidential elections.

But I’d urge those Georgians with doubts or who wonder if their vote matters to recognize that the elections in their state do, indeed, matter. A lot.

An unconstrained left means a move toward socialized medicine, the Green New Deal, and much higher taxes for many Americans. The only way that can be stopped is if Georgia voters cast their ballots in the upcoming runoff elections for the U.S. Senate. Your voices will matter, and your votes will be consequential.

Don’t miss out on this opportunity to make a real difference for all Americans.

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Before the year 2020 began, the biggest story by far had already begun, but we didn’t know it. Most Americans thought the big story of 2020 would be the presidential election. What could be bigger? We soon found out.

Democrats impeached Donald Trump but failed to remove him. The same party panicked when Bernie Sanders took the lead for the nomination, but it was Joe Biden who took the prize. John Lewis, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Alex Trebek, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and John le Carre all died, each with a different story.

In November, Joe Biden was declared the winner, but Donald Trump was in no mood to concede. He hasn’t yet.

Of course, COVID-19 became the big story of the year. In December, “Operation Warp Speed” produced a vaccine. It’s still a big fight.

Most of us won’t be sad to see 2020 end, and we look to 2021 with hope. May the New Year bring you and yours renewed promise and blessing.

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The eyes of the political world are all on Georgia, and there’s good reason for that.

On January 5, voters in the Peach State will decide the fate of the next several years in American politics—and maybe beyond.

A win by either or both of incumbent Senators Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue will require President-Elect Joe Biden and his liberal allies in Congress to work together with Republicans to pass common-sense legislation, rather than pursuing progressive priorities like the Green New Deal. And it will mean that some of Biden’s more extreme appointments—people who either aren’t qualified or who are far out of the mainstream—will be rejected by the Senate.

The runoff elections on January 5 will be held in Georgia, but their impact will be felt by more than the 10 million people who live there. All Americans should recognize that nothing short of the course our country will take for the next several years is at stake.

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Want to know how dysfunctional things have gotten in California?

Senator Dianne Feinstein applied for unemployment insurance.

Well, not exactly. It was a fraudster—a former employee at California’s Employment Development Department, which administers the state’s unemployment insurance program posing as Feinstein—who bilked taxpayers for over $200,000 in benefits that were targeted at gig workers, independent contractors, and others who’ve been out of work because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

And this isn’t an isolated incident. Additional examples of fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in California are plentiful. And, unfortunately, it’s those who most need the aid during the recent economic slowdown who have been hurt the worst because Governor Gavin Newsom and his cronies have been asleep at the switch.

Sometime, California voters will say, “enough is enough” with the incompetence, arrogance, and hypocrisy that has marked one-party rule in the state.

Let’s hope that “sometime” is soon.

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“For unto us a child is born, unto us a child is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.”

That’s what the great prophet Isaiah promised centuries before the birth of Christ. The fulfillment of that promise is what we celebrate at Christmas.

It happened in little Bethlehem, and the angel announced to shepherds: “I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.”

And so that baby was born, history was riven in two, and salvation came. As the angelic host declared: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”

May you and those you love celebrate a wonderful Christmas, filled with the glory of Christ.

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Most of you know about Handel’s Messiah—perhaps the most popular and enduring work of George Frideric Handel. But few remember Charles Jennens—who wrote and conceived of the idea of the oratorio, the “Messiah.” Performances are more rare this year as a result of the pandemic, but the oratorio is still performed thousands of times worldwide at Christmas.

Jennens wrote the libretto—the text—of the “Messiah,” tying together the Bible’s central story: God’s salvation of His people through the work of the Messiah.

He used the very words of the Bible for his text. His purpose was to remind the audience of the truth and power of the story of salvation—and thus his attention on the birth of Christ.

Handel put the words to majestic music in just 21 days.

“For Unto Us a Child is Born.” That is the prophet’s declaration. That is God’s great gift to us at Christmas.

Merry Christmas from the Salem Media Group.

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’Tis the season for denying the basic marker of human identity: sex. Man and woman. Male and female.

So tweeted the New England Journal of Medicine just before Christmas:

Sex designations on birth certificates offer no clinical utility, and they can be harmful for intersex and transgender people. Moving such designations below the line of demarcation would not compromise the birth certificate’s public health function but could avoid harm.

This is the opposite of the truth. Sex designations offer maximal “clinical utility.” Not to over-simplify this, but they lay out the fundamental distinction of humanity: whether we are a man or a woman. Aside from our status as a human being, there is truly no more elemental reality in human existence than this.

There is much to say about care and compassion for those who have a disorder of sexual differentiation, but overturning reality is not part of that care.

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