America has always been more “un-united” than “United” during my lifetime: deadly race riots, protests of unpopular wars, bitter political fights creating years of deadlock. Today, the States seem less United than ever, but keep in mind that less than 150 years ago, Americans were killing each over the issues of government sovereignty and slavery. And both sides sincerely believed that God was on their side! Sound familiar?

So, deep divisions are nothing new. Here’s one of my newspaper columns from 16 years ago that is even more relevant today: [Continue reading]

In reading through the Bible, I came across this blessing that Jacob bestows on his son Naphtali:

Naphtali is a doe let loose, He gives beautiful words (49:21).

Some translations render it as “It bears beautiful fawns,” but the Hebrew word is ‘êmer: “utterance, speech, word, saying, promise, command.”

On further study, I found that “Matthew Poole’s Commentary” notes that the deer is “not shut up in some little enclosure, but wholly left to its own freedom.” “Barnes’ Notes on the Bible” describes it as “free on its native hills, it roams with instinctive confidence and delight.” [Continue reading]

This global pandemic has infected millions of believers with serious questions about unanswered prayer and unfulfilled promises. Why did I lose my job? Why did my friend die? Why did God allow COVID-19? Here’s my attempt to provide some answers.

And for posts on talking to your children about coronavirus, God’s role—or non-role—in the deadly outbreak and ten ways God may be working good out of this tragedy, visit Calming coronavirus concerns.

Pop quiz! Which of the following claims have appeared on social media and news sites?

Coronavirus originated with Chinese people eating bats

U.S. government introduced the coronavirus in 2018

Coronavirus is bioweapon engineered by the Chinese government

Coronavirus no worse than the common cold

Continue reading

I posted this during the “Crash of 2008.” It seems especially relevant in the year of Covid-19.

I have a friend whose answer to every difficult situation is “It’s only temporary.” That’s great advice as the economy continues to crumble, unemployment increases, homes are foreclosed, and pensions devalue. It’s only temporary. Continue reading

The National Center for Health Statistics recently reported that the suicide rate across the U.S. increased 35% between 1999 and 2018, the last year with complete statistics. And now, during the global pandemic, mental health professional fear a spike as medical and economic stress increases to breaking point. Here’s hope and help:

Each year, more than 800,000 people worldwide die by suicide and 25 times that number attempt to take their own lives. (I, too, have had thoughts of suicide as I struggle with clinical depression.)

Here are some posts I trust are hopeful and helpful if you or a loved one are dealing with suicidal thoughts.

• Hope and help for suicidal thoughts

• If you’re thinking about suicide

• Do those who commit suicide go to heaven?

• What about euthanasia’s “death with dignity”

If you found this helpful, please share on your social networks. Thanks!

The number one post this month accounting for over 30 percent of all the traffic at jameswatkins.com, looks at the apostle Paul’s letter forbidding women from speaking in church.

I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet.

So, here’s the link to: What was Paul thinking when he wrote 1 Timothy 2:12?

And here’s a second post that drills deeper on the subject: A case for women in ministry.

If you found these posts helpful, please share on your social networks. Thanks!

Hi, I’m author and speaker James Watkins, and I’m throwing my pen into presidential race!

I’m too conservative to be a Democrat, too liberal to be a Republican and too OCD to be a Libertarian, so I am running with the Tupperware Party: “Putting a lid on government.” You can read my entire colorful, durable, and dishwasher-safe platform right here.

This is a very non-partisan campaign (I intend to offend all voters!), so I would appreciate your support by posting my videos and campaign cartoons on you social networks. Thanks.

Best-selling author and professing Christian Jen Hatmaker is stirring controversy with her recent podcast in which she celebrates her 20-year-old daughter’s identity as gay.

In the podcast, Hatmaker says, “I’m so glad you’re gay. I’m so glad you’re free. I’m so glad this is how you were made. I’m thrilled about your future. I already told you about the kind of wife you need to marry.” Continue reading

My memories of riding to Florida in the back of my grandfather’s Buick included the shock of seeing unpainted houses overflowing with poorly-dressed children, their bare feet painted red with Georgia clay. Growing up white in a segregated neighborhood and church, I stared at the foreign landscape and people outside the car window that seemed more National Geographic than LIFE Magazine. Black men, women, and children picked cotton under the unforgiving sun while white men sat in the shade of their pickup trucks.

But most troubling were the signs. When we stopped at one of the many Stuckey’s gas stations and souvenir shops, I was shocked by the “Whites Only” drinking fountains. Around back was a rusty spigot labeled “Colored Only” next to restrooms designate with the same labels. Even as a second-grader, something deep inside me revolted at the idea of “us” and “them.” Me with my Keds sneakers heading to a Florida beach; them barefoot, slaving in a cotton field. Me, drinking from a sparkling fountain; them, their mouths under a dirty faucet. I feared what lurked behind the “Colored Only” restroom sign. [Continue reading]