Many people will look back at 2022 and declare that it was a really bad year. There is little doubt that we experienced an unusual number of negative events this past year. Consider the following:
Inflation, an afterthought for decades, resurged with a vengeance this past year, reaching heights unseen since the early 1980’s.
Border officials encountered a record of almost 2.4 million migrants at the southern border in fiscal 2022. An avalanche of drug overdose deaths — driven largely by the spread of illicit fentanyl coming across our southern border–reached a staggering 110,236 people.
Russia invaded Ukraine resulting in over 7,000 civilian deaths and some 2.9 million Ukrainian refugees. That conflict has caused food and gas shortages worldwide.
Covid-19 is still with us, crime exploded, mass shootings increased, as did the number of natural disasters. And we could spend all day talking about the increasing hostile divide in our country as a result of the political disaster in Washington.
Sounds pretty bad!
Yet, as distressful as 2022 was, there were actually a number of positive events that gave us good reason to rejoice heading into the new year.
The Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade
In 2022 we were blessed to witness something that had seemed completely impossible for five decades. On June 24, the U.S. Supreme Court officially overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that federally legalized abortion. By overturning the decision, the court sent the issue of abortion back to the states, declaring that the Constitution is silent on abortion and that Roe was “egregiously wrong from the start.”
We owe so much to the tens of millions of pro-life Americans, living and dead, who gave generously of their time, talents, and finances over many, many years in defense of our pre-born fellow human beings’ right to life. What the Court did was an answer to their prayers and will save countless numbers of innocent lives.
The reaction against it, however, was quick and fierce. Protesters immediately assailed the homes of the justices. In one instance, a man set out for Justice Bret Kavanaugh’s home in an attempt to assassinate him.
Blue Ridge Pregnancy Center in Lynchburg, Virginia, became the first pro-life organization subject to vandalism following the actual release of the Dobbs decision. “Jane’s Revenge” took credit for the vandalism of the facility and the damage to additional property in Colorado, Michigan and Massachusetts. Over the summer, which pro-abortion activists dubbed the “summer of rage,” many pro-life pregnancy centers and churches incurred damage.
The annual March for Life is set to take place January 20 in Washington, DC, on the 50th anniversary of the monumental 1973 Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade. March for Life President Jeanne Mancini is calling on pro-life Americans to “fearlessly continue marching.”
“Abortion is expected to take well over 700,000 lives nationwide in the coming year,” she said. “Even though the overturning of Roe v. Wade is an enormous victory for the pro-life movement, we have a duty to fearlessly continue marching because our work is far from finished.”
The words of Winston Churchill come to mind. Reflecting on the Allied victory at El Alamein in World War II, the great wartime leader observed, “This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.
Many people will look back at 2022 and declare that it was a really bad year. There is little doubt that we experienced an unusual number of negative events this past year. Consider the following:
Inflation, an afterthought for decades, resurged with a vengeance this past year, reaching heights unseen since the early 1980’s.
Border officials encountered a record of almost 2.4 million migrants at the southern border in fiscal 2022. An avalanche of drug overdose deaths — driven largely by the spread of illicit fentanyl coming across our southern border–reached a staggering 110,236 people.
Russia invaded Ukraine resulting in over 7,000 civilian deaths and some 2.9 million Ukrainian refugees. That conflict has caused food and gas shortages worldwide.
Covid-19 is still with us, crime exploded, mass shootings increased, as did the number of natural disasters. And we could spend all day talking about the increasing hostile divide in our country as a result of the political disaster in Washington.
Sounds pretty bad!
Yet, as distressful as 2022 was, there were actually a number of positive events that gave us good reason to rejoice heading into the new year.
The Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade
In 2022 we were blessed to witness something that had seemed completely impossible for five decades. On June 24, the U.S. Supreme Court officially overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that federally legalized abortion. By overturning the decision, the court sent the issue of abortion back to the states, declaring that the Constitution is silent on abortion and that Roe was “egregiously wrong from the start.”
We owe so much to the tens of millions of pro-life Americans, living and dead, who gave generously of their time, talents, and finances over many, many years in defense of our pre-born fellow human beings’ right to life. What the Court did was an answer to their prayers and will save countless numbers of innocent lives.
The reaction against it, however, was quick and fierce. Protesters immediately assailed the homes of the justices. In one instance, a man set out for Justice Bret Kavanaugh’s home in an attempt to assassinate him.
Blue Ridge Pregnancy Center in Lynchburg, Virginia, became the first pro-life organization subject to vandalism following the actual release of the Dobbs decision. “Jane’s Revenge” took credit for the vandalism of the facility and the damage to additional property in Colorado, Michigan and Massachusetts. Over the summer, which pro-abortion activists dubbed the “summer of rage,” many pro-life pregnancy centers and churches incurred damage.
The annual March for Life is set to take place January 20 in Washington, DC, on the 50th anniversary of the monumental 1973 Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade. March for Life President Jeanne Mancini is calling on pro-life Americans to “fearlessly continue marching.”
“Abortion is expected to take well over 700,000 lives nationwide in the coming year,” she said. “Even though the overturning of Roe v. Wade is an enormous victory for the pro-life movement, we have a duty to fearlessly continue marching because our work is far from finished.”
The words of Winston Churchill come to mind. Reflecting on the Allied victory at El Alamein in World War II, the great wartime leader observed, “This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.
It is impossible to study Scripture and not believe that human life begins at conception. The Bible has made it clear that every human being is of incalculable value to God because He sent His Son to die for them (John 3:16). Our Heavenly Father oversees and superintends the process of the formation of each new life so that every one of us, from the moment of conception, is the unique, never-to-be-duplicated, human being that God made each of us to be (Psalm 139:13-16).
So now, we must continue the battle of changing hearts and minds, exposing the realities of these draconian pro-abortion bills and continuing to display the personhood of the baby in the womb. We cannot let this tremendous victory in 2022 lesson our passion to continue to fight this most important battle!
The Truth Begins to Emerge About Transgender Activism
In the last months of 2022, the tide began to turn against the transgender assault on our children. The demonic, effort to convince kids they can change their sex with surgery and chemicals began to be challenged like never before.
Detransitioners like Chloe Cole spilled the truth about the heinous rush to chop off healthy body parts. They began exposing the wicked lie by such people as Deputy Health Secretary Rachel Levine who claims that mutilating and chemically castrating children in the name of “gender rights” is a “positive value.”
Former Navy SEAL Chris Beck was paraded around for years, celebrated for “transitioning” to female. In December he announced that he had detransitioned back and is speaking out against gender surgery.
America’s war on truth, science, and children has cast America increasingly an outlier in the Western world. Thirteen European countries now reject the American “non-binary” attack on human sexuality and children.
In 2022, Switzerland announced that there are only two sexes, as has been the case in essentially every civilization in recorded history because that is the reality. Sweden’s National Board of Health and Welfare ended the practice of prescribing puberty blockers for minors under age 18; and as of December, mastectomies will only be offered in the rarest of circumstances.
In England last October, the National Health Service announced that “Children who believe they are trans are probably just going through a short-lived phase.” Therefore, logic and morality say, we should not make permanent life-altering changes to their bodies with drugs and surgery.
In France, the National Academy of Medicine issued a statement advocating “psychosocial support” rather than hormone blockers and surgery for young people with gender dysphoria.
In 2022, parents descended upon school board meetings across the U.S. because of the sexualizing of their children and demanded change. Many school officials were replaced in the midterm election. Virginia Governor Glen Youngkin was in the forefront of the fight to eliminate the indoctrination happening in our schools. Project Veritas uncovered devious teachers, leading to their termination. Meanwhile, woke companies like Disney were losing fortunes as people began to boycott them because of the insidious way that they were teaching homosexuality to innocent children by means of animated characters.
Luke 17:2 comes to mind: “It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin.
2022 also brought push back against transgender men competing as women in sports. The media — and even the university — tried to make Univ. of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas out to be a “Female Athlete of the Year.” But the people and Thomas’ teammates fought back. Eighteen states took action to require athletes at the K-12 level and occasionally at the collegiate level to compete on sports teams that correspond with their biological sex as opposed to their gender identity.
May the fight that began in 2022 against transgender acyivists continue in 2023. We must hold firm to what is true, what is real, what is good. We must show in our homes, in our communities, in our schools, in our churches, in our offices, in our politics, that we have had enough of this insanity and we stand on the truth of God’s Word.
There were many other positive happenings in 2022 that were not covered by the mainstream media. Here are just a few of the headlines of stories that appeared in The Good News Journal in 2022:
Thousands Saved During 2-Day Greg Laurie Crusade. Tens of Thousands of Youth Shout ‘Fill Me Holy Spirit’ at Send Crusade. 700 Choose Christ at Franklin Graham’s ‘God Loves You Tour’. Hobby Lobby’s Green Family Donates Millions to Christian University. Hundreds of Female Inmates Baptised as ‘God Behind Bars’ Ministry Shares Christ. Over 400 People Receive Christ During Christian Festival. 100 Million Encounter Gospel through Billy Graham Internet Ministries. California Court Upholds Christian Rights of Baker in Same-sex Case. Thousands Wage Spiritual Warfare in D.C at ‘Let Us Worship Event. Youth for Christ Celebrates 7323 Kids Deciding for Christ. The Chosen Stuns Hollywood With Massive Opening. ‘Praying Coach’ Joe Kennedy Wins Supreme Court Battle. 100 Students Baptized As ‘The Spirit of the Lord Moved’ at NC School. Ex-Mob Boss Gets Born Again-Preaches About Jesus. Woman Dies, Meets Jesus, Is Brought Back to Life. Samaritan’s Purse Gives Away 200 Millionth Christmas Shoebox.
I have to admit there were times in 2022 that I had to call a time out and focus on the fact that God is still in control. That made it easier to see the light shinning through the darkness and gave me renewed hope for 2023. We all will encounter trials in the coming year but when we do we must remember whose children we are and what our Father has promised us.
“ Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will also help you, I will also uphold you with My righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10)