To the Editor:
Pastor Steve Cioccolanti said America is blessed to have President Trump. Trump has freed America and the world from the threat of nuclear missiles from North Korea. For which Trump was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. The Bible says “blessed are the peace makers.” Trump got North Korea to free three Christians and return the bodies of Americans killed in the Korean War. Trump destroyed the Muslim ISIS freeing thousands of women and children from slavery and eliminated a threat to America.
This year, America celebrates 242 years of freedom. However the sad fact is most aren’t completely free and are in slavery to sin, fear and addictions. Everyone is made up of spirit, soul (mind, emotions and will) and body. The placebo effect and near death experiences prove we are more than just a body. The Bible tells us our body is the least important part of us. Jesus will very soon give all true Christians a new body at the rapture. Those controlled by their body are acting like animals. Even if their body isn’t behind bars, they aren’t free if their mind is controlled by, sin, fear or addictions. In America millions are addicted to eating, shopping, video games, alcohol, sex, pornography, gambling and drugs. Addictions have caused people to lose their friends, job, house, spouse and lives! In fact U.S. drug overdose deaths set a record at nearly 60,000 in 2016!
Addictions destroy people and their families and hurt everyone by causing crime. Addictions can begin because parents fail to lock up their drugs, alcohol and pornography. Slaves to drunkenness always want one more drink. Slaves to drug addiction always want one more high. Slaves to sexual lust always crave another score or more pornography. Slaves to materialism or greed always seek more to acquire. Slaves to bitterness and self-pity always look for someone to blame. Slaves to pride always seek more fame or popularity for themselves. They don’t care who they hurt. They are only focused on themselves. Great writer C.S. Lewis said, “Look for yourself and you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin, and decay. But look for Jesus and you will find him and with him everything thrown in!”
Doctors say it can take 18 months to overcome some addictions. Many addicts who became Christians say Jesus took away their addictions in one day. No education, counseling, positive thoughts, high self-esteem or good intentions can overcome our evil. We must turn from evil (repent) and believe in Jesus’ blood, death, burial and resurrection as our only way to heaven. It’s only by abiding in Jesus that a Christian believer may be free from manipulation and have true, God-given self-control and true freedom. As America rejects Jesus the people are dying from the inside out and there is more disunity as Jesus holds everything together. To those without Jesus they become angry and life becomes bitter and hopeless. Jesus came to heal the brokenhearted and set people free. This was the first message Jesus preached. The solution is rebirth and transformation from the inside out that only comes from Jesus and the Holy Spirit. America needs a Jesus revival for survival!
You can’t be a slave if Jesus has made you a son or daughter. “Entertainment will leave you empty, power will leave you heartless, lust will leave you loveless, money (and things) will leave you comfortless, drugs will leave you senseless; Jesus won’t leave you regardless! Jesus led the most freeing revolution in history awashed in blood, His own. His revolution is one person at a time from the inside out. There’s only one way to have true freedom and live free in Tennessee and for eternity — Jesus!

D.D. Nave
Elizabethton