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I have followed Philip Yancey’s work for years and consider him one of the most thoughtful and authentic writers in the evangelical world. It was therefore devastating to learn yesterday that he engaged in an affair with a married woman for eight years and is now retiring from writing and speaking. In The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism, Tim Keller famously wrote, “The Christian gospel is that I am so flawed that Jesus had to die for me, yet I am so loved and valued that Jesus was glad to die...

Deadly clashes have erupted in Iran as demonstrations sparked by anger over the rising cost of living entered their second week. Unlike those in past years, these protests are seeking regime change and taking down regime symbols, posters, and statues. More than two thousand citizens have been arrested, and at least thirty-four protesters have been killed. Yet recognizing the justice of regime change is not the same as sharing the heart of God toward the people caught inside it—and that dissonance between being right and being Christlike is what turns today’s news into today’s spiritual lesson.

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A woman protesting against the Venezuelan government in 2021 was disfigured when military forces tossed boiling water on her. Yesterday, she took part in demonstrations in New York City, where she begged a Manhattan federal judge to lock up dictator Nicolás Maduro for as long as possible. Watching US politicians react to the news regarding Venezuela along such starkly partisan lines demonstrates the rapid deterioration of society’s foundational truth and trust. In response, I’d like to suggest a brief apologetic framed around three logical assertions.

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Early Saturday morning, President Trump announced that the US carried out a large-scale strike against Venezuela and captured its president, Nicolas Maduro, and his wife. He then stated that the US is “going to run” Venezuela until a “proper transition can take place.” Maduro and his wife arrived at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn late Saturday. They are expected to appear in federal court at noon today. Today, we look at five questions we all have surrounding the event: How did we get here, how has the US responded, was it legal, what comes next, and how should Christia...

“America has become a country of cynics. At least, that’s what studies show.” That delightful thought is the opening line to Lauren Jackson’s recent profile on hope for the New York Times. And if a declaration of cynicism sounds to you like a strange way to introduce a call to hope, you’re not wrong. Unfortunately, neither is she. However, the path she describes is fundamentally different from the approach found in the Bible. As such, it exemplifies both the best our world has to offer and the reason why the world so desperately needs something more.

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As you begin 2026, we want to highly recommend First15 as daily resource for your walk with the Lord.

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Roughly one million people packed into New York City’s Times Square last night to watch a crystal ball drop from One Times Square as midnight approached. For the first time ever, it was relit and dropped again at approximately 12:04 am E.T. in anticipation of America’s 250th anniversary on July 4, 2026. The ball will drop a third time on the eve of the Fourth of July for the same reason. To walk in the tran...

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One hundred years ago, a seminary professor in Pennsylvania had the audacity to claim that by 2025, people would use a pocket-sized apparatus for communications to see and hear each other without being in the same room. Everyone knows that the future is unknowable. What we sometimes fail to understand is that the present is unknowable as well. Heisenberg’s “uncertainty principle” demonstrates that physicists cannot measure both the position and the speed of a particle at the same time. I...

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Do you sometimes find yourself feeling anxious without an apparent explanation? Are there days when things are good in your personal world, but that world is somehow not enough? Let’s consider a juxtaposition. The Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker similarly cites data showing that “global life expectancy, affluence, and literacy are at all-time highs, while extreme poverty and violent crime are at all-time lows.” However, according to Gallup, US mental health ratings have also fallen to an all-time low. Why are so many...

President Donald Trump said Sunday that he and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky were “getting a lot closer, maybe very close” to an agreement to end the war in Ukraine. Today begins what some are calling “Twixmas,” “Dead Week,” or “Feral Week”—the stretch between Christmas and New Year’s Eve when, as one journalist reports, “We get the urge to take off and tune out, and our outstanding projects, deadlines, and other responsibilities become 2026 You’s problem.” One person posted that this week “feels like one long Sunday.” I agree wholeheartedly, but not for the reasons they mean.

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I’m always a little sad on the day after Christmas when the world seems to return to “normal” so quickly. But return it does. We woke up this morning to news that the US carried out a strike against Islamic State militants in Nigeria yesterday. President Trump said the military action was in response to the terrorist group’s attacks on Christians in the region, a reminder that Christianity remains the most persecuted religion in the world. By now, you’re hoping I’l...

Did you know that for Santa Claus to reach an estimated 238 million homes worldwide last night, he had to visit 1,944 per second? This week we’re taking Christmas in the order it was revealed: to Mary, then Joseph, then the shepherds, then the Magi. We’re aligning their experiences with the promised Son as “Prince of Peace, Everlasting Father, Mighty God, and Wonderful Counselor” (Isaiah 9:6 in reverse). So today we come to the shepherds and the promised “Mighty God.” Of Isaiah’s four descriptions of the coming Messiah, this would have been the most troubling and even fearful for them.

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Will you observe Christmas tomorrow? If so, according to a new Gallup survey, you’re in the majority: 88 percent of Americans will join you. Will you attend church services today or tomorrow? If so, you’re in the minority: only 47 percent of Americans will join you, down from 64 percent in 2010. Now consider two other recent Gallup headlines: “US Mental Health Ratings Continue to Worsen” and “Americans End Year in Gloomy Mood.” I believe declining church attendance is related to declining well-being in a way that might surprise you, but will—I hope—greatly encourage you as well.

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President Trump announced plans yesterday afternoon for a new fleet of warships, to be known as the “Golden Fleet.” In an address from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, he said the new battleships would be “one hundred times more powerful than any battleship ever built.” Peace is often defined as the absence of conflict. However, there’s a pathway to peace that transcends our conflicts and transforms our days. If Jesus is indeed the “Prince of Peace,” why didn’t his coming at Christmas bring the absence of conflict for which we yearn today?

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There are times when sinners seem to get away with their sins. For example, the Wall Street Journal tells us about the scourge of airline passengers claiming disabilities so they can board in wheelchairs and skip the lines. If no wheelchairs are available when they arrive, they are miraculously “healed” and disembark under their own power. Skeptical observers call this the work of “Jetway Jesus.” Do you struggle with what the Puritans called “besetting sins,” perennial temptations and failures? Are there things you wi...

Last Saturday, a gunman killed two students and wounded nine at Brown University’s School of Engineering. Two days later, an MIT physics professor was fatally shot outside his home; police later announced the suspect in both shootings was found dead in a New Hampshire storage facility. Tragedies like these strip away the comfort of believing in belief itself and press us to confront whether our faith is actually anchored in the God we claim to trust. The question before us is not whether faith feels sustaining, but whether we will wrestle honestly with God in the face of in...

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President Trump defended his handling of the economy during a rare prime-time speech last night. However, he did not address the headline-generating fallout from his recent very negative comments regarding the tragic deaths of Rob and Michele Reiner, statements even fellow Republicans have criticized. The first fruit of the Spirit is love, shown for us by our Father in the atoning death of his Son; consequently, “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19). But wh...

During Jelly Roll’s recent conversation on Joe Rogan’s podcast, Rogan said to him, “You’re a totally new human being.” Jelly Roll replied, “This is a brand new heart, Joe. You know what I mean? It might be cloaked as the old one, but God touched it. It’s a whole new heart, baby. It’s a different heart.” In a day when user reviews are the currency of commerce, where people want to know if a particular technology or truth worked for those who tried it, the evidence most needed today is changed lives. Here is where Christianity...

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“Ahmed was driven by his sentiment, conscience, and humanity.” This is how the father of a “hero” who responded to the Hanukkah massacre in Australia explained his son’s actions. You and I may not be required to attack an attacker to wrest their rifle from them or shield a loved one and die in their place. But we have platforms of influence we can use to condemn the scourge of antisemitism rising in our time. In addition, however, Christians can respond to the threat of jihadists and terrorists in a way no one else can.

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Iconic actor and director Rob Reiner first came to fame for his role as Archie Bunker’s liberal son-in-law “Meathead” in All In the Family. This morning, news began breaking that he and his wife, Michele, had been found dead in their Los Angeles home. The couple was found stabbed to death Sunday in an apparent homicide, according to police. Now we are learning that their son, Nick Reiner, was arrested Sunday night in connection with the deaths of his parents.

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Famed Hollywood director and actor Rob Reiner and his wife Michelle Singer Reiner have died, a family spokesperson said yesterday. Los Angeles police said they are investigating what they called a homicide at a home in Brentwood. The tragedy is part of what is being called a “heartbreakingly violent weekend.” Right now, you may feel overwhelmed and wish I had begun this article with good news rather than with these tragedies. So do I. But our response to these stories tells a story of its own worth reflecting on today.

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“America has no permanent friends or enemies, only interests.” For better or worse, that principle—typically attributed to Henry Kissinger—epitomizes President Trump’s latest National Security Strategy (NSS): a document outlining his administration’s approach to allies, enemies, and everyone in between. Every president since Reagan has released at least one NSS to Congress during each term in office. But while the details change, the basic priorities of expanding America’s influence, guarding against foreign threats, and supporting our allies tend to be relatively similar from administration to administration. Trump’s latest policy contains much of the same information, tho...

Yesterday, the Federal Reserve lowered interest rates for the third time this year. The decision was made in response to slowing job growth and elevated inflation. The day before, President Trump spoke at a rally in Pennsylvania, telling supporters he has “no higher priority than making America affordable again.” We elect our leaders in the hope that they will make our lives better, but how can they do this if they don’t understand our challenges or care about our problems? And how can we take comfort today in Jesus’ coming at Christmas as a baby?

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According to a survey conducted by FinanceBuzz, the “most annoying” Christmas song in America is also the most popular Christmas song in America. But seen in a theological light, there’s a surprising message here, one that turns the Christmas holidays into holy days that transform our lives all year. Today, we look at scripture to examine the life of Jesus and ask ourselves: If you were to give Jesus what he wants most for Christmas, what would it be?

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Pantone, a company that calls itself “the global authority for color communication and inspiration,” has announced that Cloud Dancer is its “color of the year” for 2026. I was interested in the stated reason for the choice: according to Time, “This year’s pick is meant to represent serenity and tranquility, which Pantone says is ever in need ‘in a frenetic society.’” Even in our fallen world, however, there is a path to serenity and tranquility. The paradox is that recognizing the former is essential to the latter.

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It’s been nearly three months since Charlie Kirk was murdered at an outdoor rally in Utah. A remarkable spiritual movement was noted in the days and weeks following the tragedy. But what about now? It’s hard to think of many events in recent years that have had such a positive effect on the spiritual health of our secularized culture. If you had known beforehand that a shooter was planning to assassinate Charlie Kirk, wouldn’t you have alerted authorities? Wouldn’t you want to spare Charlie’s life and his widow and children their grief? The question may seem s...

In addition to parking the largest buildup of America’s naval forces since the Cuban Missile Crisis, with fifteen thousand troops parked just outside of Venezuela’s borders, Trump has also signed off on the CIA’s plans for covert measures inside the country. But is it legal? As Christians, we’re not permitted to take an “ends justify the means” approach to anything in life because God cares about both the ends and the means. Sin is still sin, even when done for noble or righteous reasons. How do we live a righteous life without losing sight of our personal...

If you live in Las Vegas, you might not expect a visit from Santa this year. You’re likely not surprised that “Sin City” has been ranked the “most sinful city” in America again this year. But you might be surprised that Houston came in second, Atlanta ranked number five, and Dallas came in at number eight. In addition to making the top ten in America’s most sinful cities, here’s what else the three cities have in common: I have lived in each of them. Does this mean I’m the common denominator? In a very real sense, the answe...

Did Mr. Hegseth commit a genuine violation of the US code regarding military actions? At the center of the controversy is a Washington Post story about a September 2 attack staged by US forces on a boat believed by officials to be ferrying drugs. The article reports that Mr. Hegseth gave a spoken directive: “The order was to kill everybody,” according to a person with direct knowledge of the operation. There is much more to this unfolding story, but media reports are overlooking an aspect that transcends the political, legal, and military issues making headlines these days.

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The legendary actor and comedian Dick Van Dyke turns one hundred on December 13. He confidently asserts, “When you expire, you expire,” and claims that “the most important part of me will always be alive” through the children’s music he made. He is convinced that his subjective opinion regarding his eternity must be true, even though he has no objective basis for it. To have personal confidence that Jesus will bring us into life beyond this life, we can do what we do with all relational realities: we examine the evidence, then we step beyond it into an experience that becom...

A Cape Cod artist has created what Axios calls “New England’s newest unlikely holiday sensation: the Lobster nativity scene.” Jesus is depicted as a baby lobster in a bed of seaweed inside a crab shell cradle. The stable is a lobster trap. The other figures are various versions of lobsters as well. Today’s Daily Article looks at the commercialized humor of nativity scenes in light of C. S. Lewis’s famous quote and Walter Isaacson’s new book, The Greatest Sentence Ever Written. Our Savior chose to sacrifice his “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” for us in a form far...

US Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, died last night, according to President Trump. She was one of two National Guard members targeted by a gunman in Washington, DC, on Wednesday. A second victim, Andrew Wolfe, 24, remains in critical condition at this writing. The shooting cast a pall over yesterday’s Thanksgiving holiday, reminding us that tragedy does not respect tradition. And yet we are commanded by God’s word to “give thanks in all circumstances” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). This could indicate that we are to be grateful in our challenges but not for them. However, Scripture also instructs us to “give thanks always and...

The news is filled with Thanksgiving trivia, from today’s average gathering size (seven) and caloric intake (3,150–4,500 calories), to holiday travel statistics, to facts about the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade (along with eight “infamous” balloon incidents), to “61 hot takes to fight about at Thanksgiving.” The English words “think” and “thank” are both derived from an ancient Indo-European root “tong,” meaning “to feel or think.” As I think about my life and the world, I find abundant reasons for thanks. I’d like to share three of them with you, each a simple fact inspired by a story in the news.

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reportedly wants to meet President Trump “as soon as possible,” possibly over Thanksgiving, to finalize a joint US–Ukrainian peace agreement. The US argument is that the current trajectory of the war suggests Ukraine would eventually lose the territory anyway. White House officials stress that Mr. Trump’s primary goal is to end the war, no matter what the peace deal ultimately looks like. As the political philosopher Kwame Anthony Appiah noted, “A value is like a fax machine. It’s not much use if you’re the only one who has one.” Aren’t you glad God doesn...

As we focus on gratitude this Thanksgiving week, let’s consider a recent article in the Atlantic that offers surprising encouragement about evangelical Christianity. Spencer Kornhaber reports: “Signs of a true revival have been piling up lately. After years of decline, church attendance has leveled and might even be climbing.” The rest of the article focuses on a new album by Rosalía. Kornhaber writes: “The question of what we believe about our souls and what that belief demands is more serious than lifestyle fads or partisan politics allow for. … Embracing that search, Rosalía preaches, can be as significant...

The weekend’s headlines were dominated by political themes, from Marjorie Taylor Greene quitting to the Supreme Court keeping Texas’s new congressional map to the Orthodox Church receiving a wave of new converts. In each case, you have to be grateful for what is being reported to experience the news as good news. Here's why this theme matters this Thanksgiving week and every week. Gratitude is the pathway to flourishing. It’s not enough to have the resources necessary for happiness—we must be grateful for these resources to experience their full benefit.

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When news broke that President Trump was preparing to present Ukraine and Russia with a plan for peace, many were wary of what the proposal might entail. As details began to leak last night, it appears that at least some of those concerns were warranted. However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appears open to discussion, even if many of the nation’s European allies are not. Jonah Goldberg once noted that “Self-awareness is indispensable to seeing the lines between what you want to be...

President Trump stated on social media last night that he has signed the bill that directs the Department of Justice (DOJ) to publicly release all its Jeffrey Epstein-related files. Senators from both parties said the DOJ must now release the files within thirty days. Despite all our failed attempts to legislate morality, we persist in the effort. In large part, this is because abandoning the effort obviously would lead to anarchy and chaos. But also, this quest for a just society reveals something transcendent about our souls.

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Text With Jesus is an AI-powered chatbot billed as “a divine connection in your pocket.” It invites you to “embark on a spiritual journey and engage in enlightening conversations with Jesus Christ, the apostles, and a multitude of other revered figures from the Bible.” Of course, chatbots creating the illusion that we are talking directly with Jesus are just that—illusions. However, many of us who would never use an app to talk to Christ nonetheless have a “chatbot” relationship with the real Jesus...

Tom Cruise received his first Academy Award this week, an honorary Oscar presented at the sixteenth annual Academy Governors Awards. He told the assembled gathering, “Making films is not what I do, it is who I am.” Equating what we do with who we are, our performance with our identity, is not a worldview unique to Mr. Cruise. We are made with a “God-shaped emptiness,” to paraphrase Blaise Pascal. But if secularized people will not turn to God, they will turn to anything else to fill the void.

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Late last night, President Trump wrote on social media that House Republicans should vote to release all files in the Jeffrey Epstein case. His statement comes ahead of an expected House vote this week, after the House Oversight Committee released more than twenty thousand pages of documents related to Epstein last week. I recognize that we elect a president, governor, mayor, and so on, not a pastor or Sunday school teacher. We don’t typically care much about the personal morality of...

Democrats and Republicans clashed over several issues during the government shutdown, which came to an end late Wednesday night. However, the enhanced subsidies for the Affordable Care Act—more commonly known as Obamacare—were by far the most prominent point of contention. It seems clear that both parties agree that the current system isn’t working, but finding a viable alternative remains elusive. Unfortunately, the temptation to treat symptoms rather than address the real problem is not limited to the government, and our walk with the Lord often suffers for the same reason.

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Late last night, President Trump signed into law a spending package that reopened the US government, drawing the record-long forty-three-day shutdown to a close. However, the bill postponed the issue that was central to the standoff until later this year: how to address the expiration of enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies. The debate highlighted a strange but longstanding feature in our federal governance: the filibuster. And you may be surprised how its purpose has as much to do with our souls as with our governance.

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The Telegraph, a British media outlet, published an exclusive report showing that the BBC doctored a Donald Trump speech to make him appear to encourage the Capitol Hill riot on January 6. The BBC has since apologized; two of its top executives have resigned; Mr. Trump has threatened legal action; there have been calls to defund the BBC; and the network’s future direction and government support could be in doubt. In a day when the public’s trust in mass media is at...

The US Supreme Court announced yesterday that it will not revisit its landmark 2015 ruling that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. For those of us who believe in Jesus’ definition of marriage, this news is disappointing but not surprising. Whether the issue is abortion, adultery, divorce, pornography, euthanasia, or a host of other moral concerns, we should not expect a secular democracy to guide itself by biblical morality. How is such secularism working for our culture?

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A group of Senate Democrats reached an agreement last night with congressional Republicans, the first in a series of votes that would lead to reopening the US government. The negotiated deal reverses federal layoffs, promises a future vote on expiring Obamacare subsidies, and fully reopens the government through January 30. Healthcare benefits have been at the heart of the longest-ever government shutdown, which raises the question: How much of our lives are spent managing our mortality?

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Trump reinstated his designation of Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC) in response to increased scrutiny of the government’s failure to protect the Christians within its borders. Despite the country’s constitution officially prohibiting the adoption of an official religion, it does permit the use of Sharia and blasphemy laws. Citizens are not supposed to be compelled to abide by them, but that hasn’t stopped local and state governments from using them to imprison, beat, and even stone those...

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The president dialed into Fox & Friends a few weeks ago to discuss the war in Ukraine. During the conversation, he explained his motivation for trying to broker an end to the conflict: “I want to try and get to heaven, if possible,” he said. “I’m hearing I’m not doing well. I am really at the bottom of the totem pole. But if I can get to heaven, this will be one of the reasons.” But I am focusing today less on the p...

Zohran Mamdani was elected mayor of New York City. Mamdani is a member of the Democratic Party and the Democratic Socialists of America, and he is the city’s youngest mayor in more than a century. So, what kind of mayor has America’s largest city elected? Is he a radical socialist or a pragmatic reformer? A dangerous antisemite or an inclusive antiracist? We will have to see what Mayor Mamdani does to determine who he actually is. In the meantime, we can reflect on how our actions and pursuit of materialism reflect our depth and sincerity toward loving othe...

Today’s political races are dominating the news, from the mayoral contest in New York City to gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey to a redistricting vote in California. According to a new poll, 49 percent of Americans say our best times are behind us, while only 41 percent think they lie ahead. Clearly, we live in a divided and divisive time in great need of a positive path toward a unified future. The good news is that this path is as available and transforming as it has ever been. Imagine the difference in America if every American Christian obeyed hi...

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One solution to end the government shutdown is for Republicans to end the filibuster in the Senate, which would allow them to pass legislation with a simple majority. However, many Republican senators are vocally defending the sixty-vote requirement. Whatever your views on the shutdown and its causes or solutions, this ongoing controversy highlights a fact of life: present decisions can have future costs that outweigh their present benefits. This principle is vital not only to our democratic governance but also to o...

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When President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met yesterday morning in South Korea, it marked the first time the two had sat down together in six years. China, which produces about 92 percent of the world’s rare-earth minerals essential to modern technology, has announced plans to restrict access. Meanwhile, the US risks undermining its own advantage in microchip production amid concerns over Trump’s short-term trade strategy. The back-and-forth between Trump, Xi, and their respective advisors demonstrates the difficulty and importance of k...

Americans are expected to spend a record $13.1 billion on Halloween this year. Songs, TV shows, and movies dedicated to Halloween abound. There are even “haunted” Halloween car washes. A recent Popular Science article explains the popularity of the paranormal, citing “primed” settings, psychological effects from environmental contaminants, and cultural influences. But there’s another dimension to the story, one that intends to distract us from the good we could do in our broken world by focusing us on evil. How can we defeat the deceptions of the devil so we can make a positive impact on our fallen world?

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The ongoing US government shutdown is the longest full shutdown in US history and the second-longest of any kind. Among its consequences, the air traffic control tower in Hollywood Burbank Airport in California was recently left unstaffed for six hours, forcing pilots to communicate among themselves to avoid incidents when taxiing to and from the runway. And forty-two million Americans who rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (food stamps) will go without their SNAP benefits beginning this Saturday. In response to financial need, the devil wants us to doubt God, prioritize the temporal, choose...

Hurricane Melissa is now the strongest storm on the planet this year. The Category 5 storm is expected to devastate Jamaica, an island of more than 2.7 million people, before continuing across eastern Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and the Bahamas. How can an all-knowing, all-loving, all-powerful God allow innocent suffering to exist? Even though I have done so often in books and articles, the question persists because the issue persists. And the closer to home it strikes, the deeper the doubts it raises. Today, let’s take a different tack. As I noted yesterday, Halloween week seems an appropriate time to...

Chauncey Billups is an NBA head coach and Hall of Fame member. Now he, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, and former Cleveland Cavaliers player and assistant coach Damon Jones are implicated in a wide-ranging investigation into illegal sports betting and rigged poker games. A total of thirty-four people have been arrested. A counselor colleague once told me that Satan is a great economist: he likes to do the greatest damage in the most efficient manner possible. Today, let’s consider Jesus’ warning that the devil “comes only to steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:10).

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President Trump’s plan for a $300 million White House ballroom funded entirely by private donors has drawn reactions that mirror our partisan divide—what you thought before you heard the news likely governs what you think of it now. Meanwhile, as James Marriott observes, “reading for pleasure has fallen by 40 percent in the last twenty years,” and “politics in the age of short-form video favors heightened emotion, ignorance, and unevidenced assertions.” Gary Burge warns that neglecting Scripture “removes the chief authority on which our faith is built.” Let’s return to God’s word until our hearts again “burn within us.”

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According to a new report from Pew Research Center, a growing share of US adults say religion is gaining influence in American life. This is good news for society, and scientific studies help explain why: there is a neurological link between prayer, controlled breathing, and the release of serotonin, a neurotransmitter essential for regulating mood, emotional balance, and overall mental health. But these are the side effects of religion. Its greatest significance comes when our religion is a transforming relationship with the living Christ. However, there’s a catch.

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A group of new children’s storybook Bibles is being published to reflect a progressive focus on diversity, inclusion, and social justice. One is The Just Love Story Bible, a “justice-oriented” storybook for children ages four to ten. Authored by Rev. Jacqui Lewis and Rev. Shannon Daley-Harris, it features fifty-two Bible stories and illustrations portraying characters in black, brown, and tan skin tones. When people debate same-sex relationships and marriage, an LGBTQ advocate will inevitably proclaim the mantra “love is love,” as though this wins the argument and ends the discussion. But does it?

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The Louvre museum in Paris was closed again yesterday after four thieves broke into a gallery containing the French Crown Jewels on Sunday morning, stealing eight pieces of Napoleonic jewelry. One of the stolen pieces was an emerald necklace containing 1,138 diamonds gifted by Napoleon to his second wife. According to art detective Arthur Brand, the authorities have a week before the thieves will likely melt the silver and gold down and dismantle the diamonds, causing the priceless items to “disappear forever.”

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“No Kings” rallies held across the country over the weekend gave the “anti-Trump movement its biggest moment so far,” according to The Hill. Participants warned that the president threatens democracy; some Republicans blame the demonstrations for prolonging the US government shutdown. As the news demonstrates daily, the key to the success of a democracy lies not with its system but with the people it serves and those they elect to serve them. Thomas Jefferson observed, “The government you elect is the government you deserve.” This is because living in a democracy doesn’t change people—people change democracy.

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Al Qaeda is on the rise in nuclear-armed Pakistan, part of a growing terrorism hub that it is organizing in South and Central Asia. Meanwhile, Hamas is pursuing what the New York Times calls a “bloody crackdown” on its rivals in Gaza as it seeks to assert its dominance in the territory. Ideas have consequences, and bad ideas have victims. But when “bad” by definition is what the other side believes and “good” is what I believe, when there is no north on the compass because no one believes in compasses, where is there hope for a better future?

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The US sold Qatar a contingent of F-15 fighter jets in 2016, and allowing their pilots to train in the continental US was a condition of the purchase. Qatar—which is smaller than the state of Connecticut—does not have the space to adequately train with the jets in its territory, and the topography around the Mountain Home base is the closest fit to what they have back home. Last month, Hegseth announced that any journalist who wants to maintain access to the Pentagon must sign a statement acknowledging that Defense Department “information must be approved for public release by an app...

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Horrific stories about what the hostages in Gaza endured over their two years of captivity are starting to surface. Some were so deprived of food that they now have to be taught how to eat normally again. Their suffering raises the question: Do you believe God could have liberated the hostages two years ago? Why, then, didn’t he? Today, we look at two theological approaches to evil and suffering that remain helpful and hopeful today.

Charlie Kirk would have turned thirty-two years old today. Instead, his life and death will be remembered this evening when President Trump posthumously awards him the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Charlie’s widow, Erika, will join the president for the ceremony in the East Room of the White House. In other news, Israelis continue to rejoice in the return of their hostages. More than five hundred thousand Palestinians have returned to Gaza City, and aid to Gaza is significantly increasing. The days when our pain and suffering seem to demand that we reject a su...

Hamas released the last twenty living hostages from Gaza this morning as part of a cease-fire deal with Israel. The hostage handover ignited celebrations across Israel, with tens of thousands gathered in Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, shouting, “Thank you, Trump! Thank you, Trump!” As the Economist headlines, this could be “a new beginning for the Middle East.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced Mr. Trump will receive the Israel Prize, their highest civilian honor. Today, we explore two primary ways philosophers understand the nature of truth as an encouragement to live in ways that correspond to the truth of our f...

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After months of uncertainty, TikTok’s $14 billion sale to Oracle and others seems poised to bring the app under US control. Yet lawmakers, once concerned about national security risks, are now flocking to the platform even though its algorithm and data remain under ByteDance’s management. While the deal may change ownership on paper, the deeper issue of addiction and influence persists. A Gen Z movement called Time to Refuse urges young adults to delete accounts and re...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his government would meet today to approve the agreement and “bring all our dear hostages home.” Hamas similarly announced that it had reached “an agreement that ends the war in Gaza, provides for the withdrawal of the occupation, allows the entry of aid, and implements a prisoner exchange.” Eli Sharabi was kidnapped by Hamas on October 7 and spent 491 days in captivity. He was encouraged by a sentence one of his fellow hostages shared with the others: “He who has a why can bear any how.” Jesus’ call is to live with him and for him, to kn...

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Today, we reflect on the prolific output of Taylor Swift, who released her twelfth original studio album last week, and Mel Robbins, the bestselling author and podcaster whose latest book, The Let Them Theory, was the #1 selling book of 2025 and is on pace to have the best non-fiction book launch of all time. Robbins teaches that flourishing comes from letting others live freely while focusing on one’s own purpose—a mindset she praised Taylor Swift for modeling: “Let them be wrong...

Negotiations began in Egypt yesterday to finalize a deal based on President Trump’s Gaza ceasefire plan. The talks are expected to last “a few days,” with a focus on a proposed hostages-for-prisoners swap. The negotiations began on the eve of one of the most tragic anniversaries in Jewish history. Hamas’s surprise attack on October 7, 2023, is considered the deadliest and most brutal terrorist assault in Israel’s history with over a thousand people killed. In addition, the terrorists took 251 hostages. Why did Hamas take them two years ago? The answers are not only relevant to peace in the Middle Eas...

Pro-life supporters are decrying the Trump administration’s decision to approve a new generic mifepristone pill, calling it “wildly disappointing,” while mediators in Egypt work on the closest Israel-Hamas peace plan since the October 7 attacks. Both stories illustrate what Nicholas Wade calls the clash between our fallen human nature and political systems meant to restrain it—a clash our Founders understood but could not cure. Laws can shape behavior but cannot change hearts. Only Christ can work the “moral miracle of redemption” that transforms self-reliance into the Spirit-led life God intends. Is he calling you to that today?

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Earlier this week, President Trump released the details of the proposed ceasefire that he hopes will end the war in Gaza. Following a meeting with leaders from Muslim nations in the Middle East and beyond last week to discuss the plan, it was formally announced on Monday during a visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. While not all parties involved were happy with some of the changes made during that visit, overall support for the plan remains unmoved. While I doubt any of us have committed the same kinds of atrocities as Hamas, most of us have sin...

The Major League Baseball playoffs are underway. This year’s storylines—from underdogs chasing history to dynasties led by stars like Shohei Ohtani—remind us that even the best records don’t guarantee success. As in baseball, investing too much of ourselves in things likely to bring us disappointment can leave us feeling wounded. But Jesus warned we should expect suffering in this world. In fact, Jesus was quite clear that we should expect a level of suffering in this life that is directly related to our decision to obey him. Today, we discuss how the Holy Spirit helps us disce...

Shirahama, Japan, is known for its beautiful beaches, hot springs, and amazing views. However, for many, it’s become a popular destination for a far more tragic reason. Standing some two hundred feet above the ocean, Shirahama’s Sandanbeki Cliff—also known as “Suicide Cliff”—has become one of the nation’s most frequented locations for those looking to end their life. Yet, as Kazusa Okaya describes in an excellent article on Yoichi Fujiyabu, the pastor of Shirahama Baptist Christ Church, God’s people have taken up the challenge to change that reality.

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Congress has until the end of today to fund the government, or at least parts of it will shut down starting tomorrow. One of the primary flaws in our current political system is the degree to which Americans on both sides are tempted to overlook abuses of power when they’re used to advance their preferred agenda. However, the wrong choice doesn’t become less wrong just because someone else made it first. If we’re being honest with ourselves, we probably don’t have to think all that far back to remember a time when we made the same mis...

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President Trump will meet with the top four congressional leaders at the White House today, one day before the deadline to fund the federal government or face a shutdown on Wednesday at 12:01 a.m. ET. The White House warned yesterday that thousands of government jobs could be cut if lawmakers don’t reach a deal. But Americans should be grateful to live in a country where we are free to pursue the “things which matter most” to us. F...

President Trump’s speech at the UN drew headlines, but his closed-door meeting with Arab and Muslim leaders may prove more consequential. His twenty-one-point plan leaves Hamas out of the talks, instead calling for hostages’ release, a permanent ceasefire, Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, and a new governing mechanism backed by Arab nations. Such concessions could move the region closer to peace but would require Israel to accept “bitter pills,” including the possibility of a Palestinian state. And just as Israel may need to surrender certain rights to achieve greater security, so too are Christians called to lay down their own righ...

Many expected the rapture on September 23, a prediction traced to a dream claimed by Joshua Mhlakela in South Africa and amplified on TikTok. Yet Jesus said, “Concerning that day and hour no one knows . . . the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” This latest false prophecy has fueled online ridicule and given skeptics more reasons to dismiss the gospel, a reminder of Billy Graham’s fear of bringing disrepute to Christ. What truly matters is living ready today—because we are always one day closer to eternity than ever before.

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The Secret Service announced before President Trump’s address to the UN General Assembly that the agency had disrupted a sprawling telecommunications network in the New York tri-state area. Investigators say this network could have disrupted telecom systems and threatened the UN meetings this week. There was a time when we would perhaps not have thought to connect the president’s UN speech and the Secret Service’s discovery. But after Charlie Kirk’s murder and two assassination attempts on the president, the second of which resulted in a conviction yesterday, this is not that time. The good news is that...

Jimmy Kimmel Live! will return to the air tonight. The controversy over Kimmel’s suspension illustrates the partisan fault lines dividing our country: According to a new poll, Democrats are far more likely to watch late-night talk shows than Republicans or Independents. The divisiveness of our society has risen to a level that fundamentally threatens the future of our democratic experiment. And the solution lies in the very message that many people blame for the problem.

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Approximately ninety thousand people attended Charlie Kirk’s memorial service, during which one of the most memorable moments was when Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, announced that she forgave her husband’s alleged killer. She explained: “I forgive him because it was what Christ did, and it’s what Charlie would do.” There is an eternal world of meaning in her decision, for our nation and for our souls.

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Today's Daily Article was written by Dr. Jim Denison and narrated by Chris Elkins. You can read this article on our websi...

Jimmy Kimmel was suspended indefinitely in the wake of falsely characterizing Charlie Kirk’s killer as a member of “The MAGA Gang.” While every aspect of the First Amendment is important, the key part for our present discussion is that it specifies that the government cannot punish the exercise of free speech. It says nothing, however, about employers choosing to do so. We’ll discuss this aspect of the controversy and the ways it’s of particular relevance to Christians, along with the larger implications for the future of our nation.

About Denison Forum and The Daily Article Duration: 00:07:10

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After days filled with bad news, let’s look for good news in bad news on a deeper cultural level, one that offers hope for our collective future and our individual souls. The Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate by a quarter-point, sending the Dow up 260 points and projecting more cuts ahead. Consumer spending is keeping pace with inflation even as fears of “asteroid economics” rise. And after the assassination of Charli...

A New York Times article notes that a Christian app called Bible Chat has more than thirty million downloads. Hallow, a Catholic app, beat Netflix, Instagram, and TikTok for the number one spot in the app store at one point last year. Some see these apps as ways into faith, but others warn that they “tell us what we want to hear” rather than providing the accountability only a person and community can foster. At the very least, the popularity of spiritual chatbots reveals the underlying and undying popularity of spirituality itself. But does spirituality mean for us, and how...

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La) urged leaders to “turn down the rhetoric” amid a divisive political climate, saying lawmakers should stop treating policy disputes as an “existential threat to democracy or the Republic.” I would like to respond by simply encouraging our nation to follow Charlie Kirk’s example. But our divisive culture has gotten where we are for a reason, and it’s not from a lack of examples to the contrary. “Speaking the truth in love” is our only way forward, but to do either and much less both, we must be empowered by the One who is the truth and...

Turning Point USA has announced that a memorial service for Charlie Kirk has been scheduled for Sunday, September 21, in Glendale, Arizona. The service will take place at State Farm Stadium, which can seat 73,000 people. The assassination of Charlie Kirk is a tragedy that affects every American and especially every American evangelical in ways that may not be obvious but are deeply significant. From what we know, the assassin disagreed with Charlie Kirk’s ideas, so he killed him. Those who are celebrating Kirk’s death are doing so for the same reason. Here are three reasons this is so dang...

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President Trump announced on Fox & Friends this morning that police have arrested a suspect in the assassination of Charlie Kirk on a Utah college campus earlier this week. “I think with a high degree of certainty, we have him,” the president said. He added, “Essentially, someone who knew him turned him in.” The New York Post is also reporting that law enforcement personnel told them the suspect is a twenty-two-year-old Utah local.

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The murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk continues to dominate headlines this morning. The shooter who killed the thirty-one-year-old author and podcast host is still evading capture at this writing. Commentators are responding on the assumption that the assassin was motivated by political animus and opposition to Kirk’s beliefs. Here we find one of the most urgent reasons Americans need Jesus. He alone can transform terrorists like Saul of Tarsus into missionaries like Paul the apostle. He alone can turn racial prejudice such as what Peter harbored against Gentiles into passionate compassion for all peoples (cf. Acts 10). He al...

Twenty-four years ago today, 2,976 Americans were killed in the deadliest terrorist attacks in our nation’s history. In the decades since, more than 7,000 have died and over fifty-three thousand have been wounded in the Global War on Terror, choosing to serve their country at great personal cost. Their sacrifice leaves behind families who live each day with an unfillable emptiness and reminds us that “gone but not forgotten” means they are not gone. To honor them, we must strive to be a nation worthy of such devotion—seeking not material wealth but spiritual strength as God heals our land.

Abo...

President Trump announced on Truth Social this afternoon:

The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead. No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you! End quote.

Kirk, age thirty-one, was a nationally known conservative organizer and founder of Turning Point USA. He was shot around 1 p.m. local time...

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An Israeli air strike on Doha killed five members of Hamas and a Qatari security officer, striking leaders who lived in “five-star luxury” while most Gazans remain impoverished. Hamas has ruled without elections since 2007, staging terror attacks with no accountability to its people and profiting while hiding behind civilian shields. By contrast, America’s founders sought a “government of laws, not of men,” a principle Justice Amy Coney Barrett echoes in her new book on the Supreme Court. Yet human...

A Russian airstrike on a village in eastern Ukraine killed more than twenty civilians this morning, another brutal reminder of a war that has dragged on for more than three years. At the same time, antisemitic violence and political moves emboldening Hamas show how distorted narratives are reshaping global opinion against Israel. Georgetown professor Paul Miller calls this the “Marvelization of reality,” where complex conflicts are reduced to simple scripts of villains and heroes. In such a world of bias and confusion, Jesus promised his Spirit would “guide you into all the truth”—but only if we are willing to follow...

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At least six people were murdered and dozens were wounded when terrorists opened fire on civilians at a bus stop in Jerusalem this morning. The two attackers were killed at the scene; Hamas praised the shooting by “two Palestinian resistance fighters.” In other news, Russia launched its largest attack on Ukraine over the weekend since the war began. When we fear death, we make this world our home and fight tooth and nail to stay here as long as w...

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Truth Rising, a documentary developed through a partnership between Focus on the Family and the Colson Center, premieres today at noon EST, and I highly recommend making time to watch it. It’s free to stream and, as its creators describe, the film is “a call to action at a critical time in our culture.” The film is both a realistic assessment of the state of Western civilization as well as a ready source of inspiring reasons for optimi...

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“How did you find out over the weekend that you were dead?” This is how Fox News reporter Peter Doocy asked President Trump his opinion on the online controversy alleging that the president was either dead or about to be. The root cause was that Mr. Trump had nothing on his public schedule for three days last week. For a person who is so often in the public eye, his lack of visibility was visible evidence for some that s...

President Donald Trump told reporters yesterday that he is ready to order federal law enforcement intervention to combat crime in Chicago and Baltimore. The president’s announcement followed police reports that at least fifty-eight people were shot in Chicago over the Labor Day weekend, eight fatally. According to research, participation in a religious community correlates with better health outcomes and longer life, higher financial generosity, and more stable families. The more we participate, the greater the positive effects. But the church of Jesus Christ has often failed to be the body of Jesus Christ. How do we trust the ch...

The bestselling Christian author and speaker Jen Hatmaker has recently told Time magazine, “I’m out of the church right now. … I don’t even know what church could or would be for me just as a person.” Even if the church does not disappoint us, God often does. Choosing to trust him when we don’t understand him shows that our trust is not based on our circumstances. This positions us to experience him on a level that changes our lives. Today, we discuss three ways this has been true for Jim personally and encourage you to believe that there i...

According to the Canadian news outlet The Globe and Mail, the government of Quebec is planning to ban prayer in public places “as part of a move to strengthen secularism in the province.” It is not so dissimilar in the United States. After the Minneapolis church shooting, leaders like MSNBC host Jen Psaki and Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey rejected “thoughts and prayers” as hollow and pressed for decisive gun reform. As Western culture becomes increasingly secularized, such sentiments are unsurprising. It is one thing to trust God because of our circumstances, those times when he has blessed us and all is w...

Earlier this week, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced that the Department of Transportation would reclaim management of Union Station in Washington, DC. Normally, this news would likely fade from the headlines without much ado outside of Washington. However, the Trump administration’s decision to invoke the Home Rule Act in order to federalize local law enforcement and essentially take jurisdiction over the nation’s capital has left many on heightened alert. As such, the decision regarding Union Station is seen through a much different lens than it would have been a few months ago. That said, there is a...

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A gunman opened fire with a rifle through the windows of a Catholic school in Minneapolis yesterday, striking a group of children celebrating Mass during the first week of school. Two children, ages eight and ten, were killed. When such atrocities involve children, my first thought is of our four school-age grandchildren. My second thought is to ask, What can I say in response to this tragedy that I have not said in response to similar tragedies that have plagued our nation in...

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are engaged. If this news is not newsworthy to you, you may be in the minority. At this writing, their post has been liked 28,099,308 times. How does a stranger’s engagement concern us? God created us for community and relationship. It is why we instinctively care about celebrity engagements and other people-centric stories, no matter how odd and irrelevant to our lives they seem. Our all-knowing, all-loving, all-powerful Father cares about every dimension of every life even more passionately than we do. And when he is Lord of every part of our lives, he is...