I recently read an article with the longest headline I’ve ever seen: “The people who age the best aren’t the ones who fought hardest against getting older, they’re the ones who, somewhere in their late fifties, quietly made peace with becoming a person their twenty-year-old self wouldn’t fully recognize, and stopped apologizing for it.” The article says just what its headline reports, but it includes an insight I found relevant, whatever our season in life.

Lewis Sherrill’s The Struggle of the Soul focuses on the different stages through which we progress in life, identifying “simplification” as the season of older age in which we determine what matters most and center on it. The article on aging described the psychology behind this focus as “socioemotional selectivity theory.” Developed at Stanford in the 1990s, it notes:

As people perceive their time horizon shortening, they do not simply become more anxious. They become more selective. They prune. They prioritize emotionally meaningful relationships over instrumental ones. They stop investing in social currency they no longer need.

Does such “selectivity” appeal to you today? There’s a reason for that, and a practical path into such meaning. In fact, the two are the same.

“My times are in your hand”

Meteorologists are warning that Tropical Storm Bertha could bring heavy rainfall and flooding to parts of the Gulf Coast in the coming days. This threat is just one example of human mortality in the news. From nine mass shootings that left nine people dead last weekend, to a ferry capsizing in Guyana that killed at least fifty-three people, to a fire captain and his wife and three sons who were found dead after a flash flood in a Utah canyon, each day’s news brings new reasons to fear the future.

But there is another way to look at our finitude and frailty.

In Psalm 31, David describes his “affliction,” the “distress” of his soul, and his “grief” over the fact that “my life is spent with sorrow” and he has “become like a broken vessel” (vv. 7–12). But rather than give in to despair, he prays, “I trust in you, O Lᴏʀᴅ; I say, ‘You are my God.’ My times are in your hand” (vv. 14–15). Accordingly, he can close his psalm by encouraging us to “be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the Lᴏʀᴅ!” (v. 24).

When I doubt whether I can pray in hard times with such reliance on God, I remember the day I saw David’s psalm come to life. A very dear friend and mentor was in the hospital for tests. My wife and I were with him and his wife when the doctors informed him that he had a cancer of the blood and would need to be admitted that day to begin treatments they hoped would save his life.

The doctors left, and my friend turned to us. Rather than focus on the fear we all felt, he smiled and said simply, “Well, my times are in his hands.”

If he could speak these words then, I can speak them today. So can you.

“Then you will find out the use of the world”

The nineteenth-century poet John Keats wrote,

The common cognomen of this world among the misguided and superstitious is “a vale of tears” from which we are to be redeemed by a certain arbitrary interposition of God and taken to Heaven—What a little circumscribed straightened notion! Call the world if you please “The vale of Soul-making.” Then you will find out the use of the world.

Later he added, “Do you not see how necessary a world of Pains and troubles is to school an intelligence and make it a soul?”

Michelangelo carved his iconic statue of David not by shaping marble into his image but by carving away everything that did not look like David until he was revealed from within the stone. Jesus is doing the same with us, working to make us like himself by removing “the dross from the silver” (Proverbs 25:4) and purifying all our “impurities” (Isaiah 1:25 NIV).

In Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis described this process metaphorically:

Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what he is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently he starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense.

What on earth is he up to? The explanation is that he is building quite a different house from the one you thought of—throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but he is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it himself.

Turning a “tin soldier into a live man”

When our “times are in his hands,” every moment of every day becomes an instrument by which our Lord shapes us into his character and manifests himself through us in the world. When we simplify our lives to knowing Jesus and making him known, the pain of our mortality becomes a platform for trusting his providence and depending on his omnipotence. Our fears become invitations to faith and his “power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

As Lewis explained, Jesus is working “to turn you into the same kind of thing as himself . . . beginning to turn the tin soldier into a live man. The part of you that does not like it is the part that is still tin.”

What “tin” will you trust to your Savior today?

NOTE: For more on today’s theme, please see my latest website article, “Wondering if cyclosporiasis is in my future.”

Quote for the day:

“The unwounded life bears no resemblance to the Rabbi.” —Brennan Manning

Our latest website resources:

• Hamas elects new leader: What to expect from Khalil al-Hayya
• NEEDTOBREATHE’s “Last Drink” and a life of Spirit-filled joy
• What makes a hero? A Christian review of “The Odyssey”
• Lindsey Graham dies, Charlie Kirk hearing, Trump’s address, RIP Sam Neill & World Cup Final
• Thomas Jefferson’s childhood home lists for $17 million

 

 

http://www.denisonforum.org/

 

The World Cup, the Open, Iran, and the path to transforming joy

Let’s begin with good news from the weekend: JD and Usha Vance on Sunday announced the birth of their fourth child, the first baby born to a sitting US vice president in more than 150 years. Alec Neel Vance joins his older siblings Ewan, 9; Vivek, 6; and Mirabel, 4.

Next, we’ll pivot to weekend news that is good for some more than others:

• Spain won the World Cup by defeating Argentina 1–0 in extra time.
• Ryan Fox won his first major golf championship when he drained a birdie putt on the 18th hole to win the 2026 Open Championship in England.
• Andy Burnham becomes Britain’s seventh prime minister in a decade today.
• The FDA on Sunday retracted its statement linking Taylor Farms to the cyclospora outbreak, reporting that its earlier lab result was a false positive.

And there was terrible news as well: The Pentagon said Sunday that a third member of the American military had died. The soldier was killed in northern Iraq during the disposal of a downed Iranian attack drone. On Friday, two soldiers were killed in an Iranian missile barrage in Jordan that left another soldier missing. Remains recovered on Sunday were believed to be those of the missing soldier.

The US is responding with a new round of airstrikes this morning in Iran, focusing on a northwestern city believed to be home to underground missile bases. Iran, in turn, launched an attack targeting Bahrain, the home of the US Navy’s 5th Fleet, and Kuwait.

You probably wish I had left the last two paragraphs out of today’s article. I wish I could have as well. But there’s a way of reframing bad news that redeems the secular for the spiritual and the temporal for the eternal.

“A joy that has passed through sorrow”

An article from the Worldview Bulletin Newsletter was in my inbox when I began work this morning. Written by Presbyterian pastor and theologian Thiago Silva, it focuses on what J. R. R. Tolkien called eucatastrophy.

According to Silva, the famed British writer coined the word “to describe the sudden, unexpected turn toward joy that occurs at the darkest moment of a story.” It combines catastrophe, a word for disaster, with the prefix eu, meaning good. However, as Silva notes,

This goodness does not cancel the catastrophe that precedes it. A eucatastrophe is not a clever escape hatch or a narrative shortcut. The danger was real. The loss mattered. The sorrow was not imagined or exaggerated. And yet, precisely when everything seems beyond repair, hope breaks in, not as something forced or sentimental, but as something fitting and deeply true. The joy feels undeserved, even shocking, and that is precisely why it rings with authenticity rather than artifice. . . .

Tolkien believed that stories shaped this way resonate so deeply because they align with something true about the world, something we sense intuitively even when we struggle to articulate it. The human heart longs for joy, but not cheap joy. It longs for a joy that has passed through sorrow and emerged on the other side.

Silva then notes that Tolkien “famously described the resurrection as the eucatastrophe of the story of the Incarnation, the sudden and overwhelming joy that erupts from the deepest possible darkness.”

Here’s the point: What came for Jesus on Easter Sunday is coming for us all. We live in the junction between the cross and the empty tomb, fully aware of the pain and tragedy of our fallen lives but fully expecting God to fulfill his purposes in our world through his providential grace. We are honest about the darkness but confident in the light. We do not deny our suffering, but we deny its claim to ultimacy.

Silva concludes: “The story is not over. And when the final joy comes, it will not cheapen the sorrow that came before it. It will complete it.”

“When you truly know God”

When we know how the story ends, this changes the story for us.

Last night, my wife and I watched The Bourne Identity, a 2002 film adaptation of a Robert Ludlum novel. I read the book when it was published and we saw the movie when it was released. Accordingly, as we watched the film again, we knew not to worry when Jason Bourne’s life was threatened (repeatedly) because we knew he would win the fight, kill the assassins trying to kill him, and ultimately win the day.

Paul felt the same way about the “movie” of his life. Writing from a Roman prison, he was certain that “this will turn out for my deliverance” (Philippians 1:19). He did not mean that he would necessarily escape from jail, but that “Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death” (v. 20).

As a result, he could declare with triumphant joy, “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (v. 21). He could write Philippians, often called his “epistle of joy.” He could encourage us to “rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice” (Philippians 4:4). And he could tell us to trust every challenge to God in prayer, knowing that “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (v. 7).

When we remember that our momentary death leads to eternal joy, that the bad news leads to the best news, we are empowered to walk with the risen Lord Jesus in the face of suffering. He then transfuses temporal pain with timeless significance until the day his resurrection becomes our own.

1. I. Packer observed,

“There’s a difference between knowing God and knowing about God. When you truly know God, you have energy to serve him, boldness to share him, and contentment in him.”

Will you experience this “difference” today?

Quote for the day:

“Jesus, the very thought of thee, with sweetness fills my breast; but sweeter far thy face to see, and in thy presence rest.” —St. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090–1153)

Our latest website resources:

• What makes a hero? A Christian review of “The Odyssey”
• Lindsey Graham dies, Charlie Kirk hearing, Trump’s address, RIP Sam Neill & World Cup Final
• Thomas Jefferson’s childhood home lists for $17 million
• What baseball’s long road teaches us about following Christ
• Why the Strait of Hormuz echoes an unpredictable war

 

 

Denison Forum

 

Christopher Nolan’s take on the 2,800-year-old epic poem, “The Odyssey,” is one of the summer’s most anticipated films, and it’s easy to see why. Outside of the fact that Nolan just doesn’t seem to make bad movies, it’s also the first time anyone has attempted to depict this classic tale on the big screen in more than 70 years.

Perhaps part of the reason for such a long gap is that elements of the story are so foundational to the way we see the ideas of heroism, struggle, and family that they pop up in other mediums often enough that we never really feel the original’s absence. The film is worth seeing, though, and the nearly three-hour runtime feels much shorter as Nolan crafts a story that jumps through time in a way that’s simultaneously disorienting yet clarifying for following along with Odysseus’s journey and the family he left behind.

Moreover, much of the controversy surrounding elements like casting choices is quickly forgotten once the story starts. Elliot Page does not play Achilles, despite frequent rumors to the contrary, though the transgender actor still looks out of place as a soldier, even when playing a physically weaker character. I also appreciated that, despite plot elements and characters that could have easily lent themselves to a more overtly sexualized portrayal, those elements were largely absent from the film as a whole.

At its core, The Odyssey remains a story about a man trying to get home while wrestling with the question of whether he is worthy of doing so. While Nolan’s version takes liberties with the original tale, they’re mostly in service of helping the audience follow along with Odysseus as he struggles to find that answer.

And understanding that struggle is important because, in many ways, it highlights the best answer our culture can offer and why that answer still falls woefully short of what we need.

Is it enough to be better?

I’m not sure if you can spoil a story that’s nearly 3,000 years old, but by the end of the film, Odysseus makes it home. The man he is when he arrives is quite different from the one who left, though. And, in Nolan’s telling, that’s largely what makes him a hero.

The saga tales about the Trojan Horse, infiltrating the otherwise impregnable walls of Troy, and creating the pathway to the Greeks’ final victory are ultimately viewed through a lens of shame rather than pride, and it’s only after coming to that realization and accepting the consequences of his actions that he feels worthy of reuniting with his family.

Owning our mistakes, rather than attempting to hide from them or explain them away, is a necessary corrective to so much of what’s wrong in how our world views sin. The problem is that it leaves little room for true redemption.

On our own, the best we can hope for is that the desire to avoid repeating our past mistakes helps us to become better people going forward. Those memories can—and should—inspire us to change, but to what extent are people really capable of that?

In one of the film’s more poignant scenes, Odysseus vows to protect his men from themselves, only to be told that it’s not up to him. And, to an extent, that’s true for all of us.

Even the best versions of who we are capable of being will fall short of the people God has created and called us to be. We can try to be better, we can learn from our mistakes, and we can vow not to repeat them, but our fallen nature will eventually win the day.

On some level, I think most people understand that. It’s why we find stories like The Odyssey inspiring. It’s why we identify with the flawed heroes who fail and long to see them restored.

And it’s why, apart from God, we will never find that longing fully satisfied.

New or improved?

The truth is that God has instilled in each of us a basic awareness of the fact that we are called to be more than we are capable of becoming on our own. However, if we’re not careful, that awareness will get buried under the desire to settle for something we can achieve without turning to the Lord.

If acknowledging our mistakes and striving to do better is enough, then we’ve lowered the bar to a standard that any human can meet. Doing so assumes a degree of eventual failure that lessens its sting and embraces its inevitability as simply part of the human condition. And, this side of heaven, such failure truly is inevitable, even when we have the Holy Spirit to help.

There will never come a moment when we have to sin, but enough of our fallen nature remains that we eventually will. So, what will you do when those moments come?

In the world’s telling, the key is to learn from our mistakes and strive to be better. But that still leaves those mistakes as the defining characteristics of who we are. Any changes we make, or personal improvements that come, are still based in an identity of failure.

God wants more for us than that, and he offers a new identity in Christ that not only forgives our mistakes but banishes them as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12). In Jesus, we can find true restoration and redemption; the kind that makes us new rather than just improved (2 Corinthians 5:17).

But we can’t do it on our own. We were never meant to.

That’s good news if we can have the humility to accept it.

Can you?

 

 

Denison Forum

 

President Trump addressed the nation last night, briefly touching on the economy, prescription drug prices, and the war with Iran before pivoting to election integrity for the bulk of his speech. In the buildup to last night’s address, the president promised “really big news,” claiming that “it doesn’t get bigger because without free and fair elections, you don’t have a country.”

To that end, he touted a series of declassified documents pertaining to alleged voter fraud, vulnerabilities in our ballot counting systems, and the “acquisition and exploitation of American voter data” by China. The latter was the closest to new information, though much of it had already been leaked years earlier.

And even with China—which he revealed has gained access to 220 million voter files over the last six years—President Trump was clear that they stopped at acquiring information rather than materially impacting actual votes.

Overall, the president made a number of claims that, even when true, do little to cast any real doubt on the validity of the 2020 election or give cause for new concerns over the legitimacy of this November’s midterms. Our election system has clear vulnerabilities that need to be shored up, but neither the scope nor the scale of what he presented fundamentally changes that conversation. And if those concerns are legitimate, proposing cuts of $707 million to the agency responsible for guarding against overseas interference would seem like a strange way to address them.

However, President Trump did take the opportunity to once again call on the Senate to pass the SAVE America Act as a better alternative for addressing many of these concerns. The latest iteration passed the House back in February but has stalled on the Senate floor, where Republicans lack the bipartisan support needed to reach sixty votes.

The House recently announced the framework for a budget bill that could theoretically allow Congress to pass many of those stipulations without Democratic support, but the legislation is considered a long shot at this point.

Even if it passed, though, would it really put these concerns to rest?

What is the SAVE America Act?

At first glance, it’s difficult to see why the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act (SAVE for short) is so controversial. After all, requiring voters to show some form of government-issued ID in order to cast a ballot is enormously popular across party lines and most demographics. Moreover, many of the concerns about getting an ID that have been used to call the idea “Jim Crow 2.0” and similar monikers make little sense and border on being outright racist.

After all, a government-issued ID is already required to get a credit card, buy or rent a home, get welfare benefits, travel by plane, or open a bank account. If a large number of Americans lack the necessary ID to do those things, then it seems the time and energy of those who oppose the bill would be better spent on smoothing out the process of obtaining that kind of identification.

However, what the president wants goes beyond simple ID. A key provision of the SAVE America Act also calls for proving that every voter is a US citizen. Given that it is illegal to vote if you are not a citizen, that requirement is reasonable. However, as much as 9 percent of Americans don’t have “ready access” to proof of citizenship, which complicates matters.

Under the current system, registration just requires checking a box stating that voters are citizens, with the state and local government then tasked with ensuring that claim is true. That’s less than ideal, and there have been incidents of abuse or simple errors in which someone who should have been ineligible to vote was enabled to do so. The numbers are, by most accounts, far less than what the president claimed, but they’re not zero.

Ultimately, what the president wants is reasonable and largely supported by most Americans. As is often the case, though, executing the idea is more difficult than justifying it.

Why the SAVE Act is not so simple

In a previous edition of The Focus, I went into more detail on the SAVE America Act and the three primary reasons why the issue is more complicated than it appears on the surface. The most important of those problems, though, is the timing and resources required to make it work.

In his speech, President Trump stated that the only reason not to pass the bill is “you want to cheat.” But rushing the implementation of the SAVE Act would carry risks as well.

While the SAVE America Act dramatically increases the burden placed on states to manage the voter registration process, it does not provide additional funding or any phase-in period for the new regulations. It’s expected that states would need at least a year to implement the new policy, but tonight the president spoke as if he expected that everything could be in place in time for November’s midterms. That simply does not seem realistic and is likely to lead to far more errors than if the current system were allowed to endure.

However, with federal elections every two years, there’s never going to be a good time to make these kinds of sweeping changes. Carveouts that would exclude this year’s midterms or provide additional funding would help, but at some point, if the changes are truly necessary, they are worth whatever discomfort and problems arise in their implementation. It’s just important to go into it knowing that, at least to start, there are going to be some pretty significant bumps along the way.

Those bumps would be easier to overcome, though, if the rhetoric surrounding this subject spent less time relitigating the past and more time focused on the future. And there’s an important lesson in that truth that extends far beyond elections and politics.

How to address past hurts

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells his followers,

You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire (Matthew 5:21–22).

An important distinction, however, is lost when we read this statement in English. You see, there are two words in the Greek that are often translated as “anger.” The first, thumos, most commonly refers to the spontaneous emotion. This kind of anger is what we feel when someone wrongs us or when circumstances don’t go our way, and it is not what Jesus calls a sin in this passage.

The word he uses in verse 22 to describe this anger is orgizomenos, a verb that is perhaps better translated as something akin to “holding a grudge.” It’s an anger that is cherished in the heart, nursed and kept alive by our own volition. This kind of anger is a choice and, as such, a sin that is within our power to avoid.

The inability to let go of the past can be the greatest hindrance to a successful future. Christ calls this kind of anger a sin not only because it harms our relationships with others and makes it more difficult for us to forgive, but because it invariably hurts us as well while placing a much lower ceiling on what he can do in and through our lives.

God wants more for us than that, and so he calls us to let go of the past for the sake of what’s to come. That doesn’t mean ignoring what was wrong or setting ourselves up to get hurt in the same ways again, but it does mean caring more about what the Lord wants to do than what others have already done.

So, where do you need to let go of that kind of anger today? Are there any grudges or old wounds preventing you from fully embracing Christ’s call for your life going forward?

Most of us have something that fits that description. The only question is whether you’d prefer to hold tight to that grudge or open your hands to whatever God wants to put in its place.

Make your choice today.

Quote of the day:

“As we pour out our bitterness, God pours in his peace.” —F. B. Meyer

Our latest website resources:

• Lindsey Graham dies, Charlie Kirk hearing, Trump’s address, RIP Sam Neill & World Cup Final | Ep. 77
• Thomas Jefferson’s childhood home lists for $17 million
• What baseball’s long road teaches us about following Christ
• Best of: How can understanding the mind-body-spirit connection improve mental health struggles?
• Why the Strait of Hormuz echoes an unpredictable war

 

 

Denison Forum

 

I hate cigarettes. I hate everything about them—their smell, the way secondhand smoke imposes itself on everyone in the room, and especially their threat to physical health and life.

My hatred is personal: my mother was a smoker who died of lung cancer as a result. I have also dealt with degenerative disc disease for many years, which is directly related to secondhand smoke.

My hatred is collective as well: according to the Cleveland Clinic, cigarette smoking causes or increases our risk for macular degeneration, cataracts, vision loss, tooth staining and decay, gum disease, frequent infections, COPD, infertility, miscarriage, birth defects, developmental delays in children, anxiety, depression, blood clots, heart attack, stroke, bone fractures, osteoporosis, premature aging, yellow nails, wrinkles, and especially raises our risk for lung, oral, laryngeal, and other cancers.

It is estimated that across the twentieth century, around one hundred million people died prematurely because of smoking. The World Health Organization reports that smoking is responsible for about eight million premature deaths each year—more than seven million from direct tobacco use, and about 1.3 million non-smokers who are exposed to secondhand smoke.

Continue reading Denison Forum – Why “cigarettes are back in vogue” and why it matters →

 

One of the reasons I enjoyed the America250 celebrations of recent weeks is that we have been reminded of God’s blessings on our nation and of the many ways he has used us to bless the world.

President Ronald Reagan noted that if you could condense the entire history of life on Earth into a motion picture that ran for twenty-four hours, the United States wouldn’t appear on the screen until 3.5 seconds before midnight. But in those 3.5 seconds, he stated, Americans “would perform such miracles of invention, construction, and production as the world has never seen.”

One such “miracle” is in the news these days: according to CNN, “Scientists say they have built a cell from scratch for the first time.” If you’re like me, three questions immediately emerge:

What have they actually done?

What does this mean for the future?

Is this playing God?

What have scientists done?

Kate Adamala is a synthetic biologist and professor at the University of Minnesota. She and her team say they have built a cell from scratch for the first time that can feed, grow, and replicate like a natural cell.

They constructed their cell piece by piece from nonliving chemical components. It grows and replicates for about five generations. It is made up of 150 to 200 molecules, which is far less complex than a biological cell that holds millions, if not billions, of molecules.

Each generation the cell produces requires feeding and is unable to evolve naturally. Dr. Adamala described the synthetic cell as “an incredibly wimpy organism that right now basically does nothing other than to eat and occasionally make a daughter cell.” As one biochemist said, the synthetic cell is not “life created in the lab” but a “genuine milestone on the road toward that question.”

Another commented, “We don’t totally understand life—far from it. We don’t have an all-powerful ability to manipulate matter to make stuff. I would say Kate has constructed a cell. I don’t think she’s created life.”

What does this mean for the future?

The CNN article notes that the human body has thirty-seven trillion cells, more than the number of stars in the sky, and that scientists still don’t know how every different cell type works or even what exactly they contain. Dr. Adamala said of her synthetic cell, “It’s just the beginning. It’s a chassis that we’re hoping to build on, and that’s significant, because now we actually can have some reasonable idea of how to build on it.”

She and her team have made their work available to other researchers. Their hope is that the cell will become a shared global standard for synthetic cell biology.

In its current form, the synthetic cell does not pose biosafety risks and could not be used to manufacture a biological weapon. But it could help scientists better understand the way cells form and function, perhaps ushering in an era of made-to-order organisms that function like living machines.

Is this playing God?

Whether this synthetic cell will—or even can—lead to cells that perform like those created by God is an open question. The question before us today is whether it should.

As the resident scholar for ethics with a major nonprofit healthcare organization, I often focus on the pillars of biomedical ethics: autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice. Stated briefly:

• Autonomy asks if the patient has the capacity and agency to make informed decisions about their care. With regard to cells created in a lab, such capacity is obviously lacking. However, if these cells are not yet “life,” this issue is irrelevant.
• Beneficence asks what benefits a particular medical or scientific act might bring.
• Nonmaleficence asks what harm this might produce.
• Justice asks if this is ethical for society at large. Does the benefit outweigh the cost? Who decides its use? To whom will it be available? Who sets ethical guardrails in place?

However, we live in a postmodern, relativistic culture to which the prophet’s description applies: “Truth has stumbled in the public squares, and uprightness cannot enter” (Isaiah 59:14). We have rejected absolute truth and objective morality, opting for tolerance as our highest value.

Consequently, with regard to synthetic cells, we might claim that such advances are ethical in that they could benefit public health, or we might warn that they could be engineered for malevolent purposes. We might claim that they will benefit all of society, akin to penicillin and similar breakthroughs, or we might allege that they will benefit only those who can afford them.

“The whole earth be filled with his glory”

In many ways, our technology has outstripped our ethics. From AI to nuclear proliferation to biomedical engineering and genetic manipulation, we have more tools capable of destroying us than ever before.

As a society, we need the wisdom only our all-knowing, all-loving Lord can offer. Our future as a nation is consequently tied to spiritual awakening, not just with regard to our individual souls but also to our collective survival and flourishing.

The good news is that the living Lord Jesus is as available to our nation today as he was when our nation was founded. John Hancock, whose outsized signature I read recently on the original Declaration of Independence, prayed “that all may bow to the scepter of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the whole earth be filled with his glory.”

Will you make his prayer yours today?

Quote for the day:

“Being a Christian is a character which I prize far above all this world has or can boast.” —Patrick Henry

Our latest website resources:

• Why the Strait of Hormuz echoes an unpredictable war
• American drone boats attack an Iranian submarine
• President Trump responds to Iranian death threats
• Should I open a Trump Account for my kids? Stewarding our children and generational investment
• How Asbury Seminary modeled truth and love in UMC departure: An example of gracefully standing firm on biblical sexuality

 

 

Denison Forum

 

Practical advice and the story behind the story

 

If I lived in South Carolina, I would likely write today about Darline Graham Nordone, the sister of Lindsey Graham who was appointed Monday to finish his Senate term. If I lived in Minnesota, I might focus on wildfires threatening a tourist area there.

But since I live in one of the thirty-one states where cyclosporiasis has been reported, I’m focusing on this parasitic outbreak. I won’t describe in detail the symptoms of this gastrointestinal illness, but suffice it to say you don’t want it.

As a result, the Washington Post advises us to:

• Wash our hands with soap and water before and after handling or preparing raw vegetables and fruit.
• Wash all vegetables and fruit thoroughly under running water before cutting, cooking, or eating.
• Scrub melons, cucumbers, and other firm fruits with a clean produce brush.

The article I’m referencing has other advice for specific foods as well.

By now, you may be grateful for the practical help I’ve provided, but you’re wondering why I’m providing it. You wouldn’t read my Daily Article for gastrointestinal advice any more than I would read the American Journal of Gastroenterology for theological insights.

It’s the story behind the story that interests me. The less relevant we consider it to be, the more relevant it becomes.

How parsley caused an outbreak

The reason public health officials have not been able to stop the cyclosporiasis outbreak is that they have not yet identified its source. One expert said, “We know there has to be a source people are being exposed to—a contaminated food or product. It’s not spread person to person.”

The problem is that there is a lag of two days to two weeks between when people consume the parasite causing the illness and when symptoms appear. Remembering what groceries patients consumed or restaurants they ate at can be difficult. The US food distribution system is so vast and complex that a single supplier may provide different types of produce to stores.

And a contaminated food item can be incorporated into a variety of foods. Last year, for example, a cyclospora outbreak that sickened dozens of people was linked to parsley that was part of a salad.

So, we have a widespread number of people with a widespread number of symptoms that can be treated symptomatically, but until officials identify the source, the outbreak is likely to continue.

Man nearly sucked out of airplane window

For those who read the news through a biblical lens, symptoms of moral illness are everywhere. From movies that normalize “open relationships” (adultery) to books about a single mother’s sex life to criminalizing prayer for those struggling with sexual dysphoria, we see a society in cultural chaos.

Sometimes the source of a problem is obvious. For example, a wife held her husband’s legs to keep him from being sucked out of an airplane’s broken cabin window. When his head was protruding from the aircraft, no one wondered why he was in danger or what to do about it.

But unless you’re looking in the right place to find the source of a moral illness, you won’t find it.

God has clearly identified the cause of our cultural chaos: fallen humans “stubbornly follow their own evil heart” (Jeremiah 3:17), but “the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick” (Jeremiah 17:9).

As a result, Scripture commands us, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it” (Proverbs 4:23 NIV, my emphasis). The New Century Version translates the verse, “Be careful what you think, because your thoughts run your life.” Marcus Aurelius was more biblical than he knew when he observed, “The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts.”

So, how do you “guard your heart”?

“A man after my heart, who will do all my will”

Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8). However, as C. S. Lewis noted in The Problem of Pain, “It is safe to tell the pure in heart that they shall see God, for only the pure in heart want to.”

The issue, then, has to do with what our heart wants. And fallen humans have heart disease. From crime to war to sexual immorality, we want what we want more than what God wants.

I am no different. Even when I do what God wants, my underlying hope is often to coerce him into then blessing what I want. Paul’s admission resonates with me: “I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out” (Romans 7:18).

I want to be like David, whom the Lord described as “a man after my heart, who will do all my will” (Acts 13:22). As a result, I need to make his prayer mine each day: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10).

Will you join me today?

Quote for the day:

“If you are looking for the way by which you should go, take Christ, because he himself is the way.” —Thomas Aquinas

Our latest website resources:

• President Trump responds to Iranian death threats
• Should I open a Trump Account for my kids? Stewarding our children and generational investment
• How Asbury Seminary modeled truth and love in UMC departure: An example of gracefully standing firm on biblical sexuality
• The Christian case for being uncomfortably hot
• CS Lewis, Robert Sloan, and Rahab: Faithful obedience and the providence of place

 

 

Denison Forum

 

On July 13, 2024, Donald Trump nearly died. You remember well that day in Butler, Pennsylvania, when he was speaking at a campaign rally and turned his head just as a sniper shot at him. His bloodied ear and “Fight, fight, fight!” response are now part of American history.

In recent days, Israel has shared new intelligence with the US indicating that Iran has a fresh plan to do what that sniper failed to do. On July 11, Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, promised to avenge the death of his father, writing: “These criminals—whose names are known from top to bottom—will take to their graves the unfulfilled wish of dying peacefully in their beds.”

In response to the new threats, President Trump said, “They want to take out the US leader—me. I’m on every list. I saw this morning, I’m on every single one of their lists. And so far, I guess I’ve been a little bit lucky, but that maybe doesn’t last very long.”

Continue reading Denison Forum – President Trump responds to Iranian death threats →

 

A reflection on hope and the transforming presence of God

Lindsey Graham, a longtime Republican senator from South Carolina, has died, his office said early Sunday morning. He was seventy-one.

Sen. Graham was a former presidential candidate and a strong advocate for the war with Iran. He had been in Ukraine on Friday to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky. He died after a tear in his aorta, according to a preliminary medical examiner’s finding.

Mr. Graham was first elected to the Senate in 2002. He was a strong supporter of Israel; Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country had no better friend than the senator. He chaired the Senate Budget Committee and was a regular presence in the media. In fact, he had been scheduled to appear Sunday on NBC’s Meet the Press.

Continue reading Denison Forum – The sudden deaths of Sen. Lindsey Graham and actor Sam Neill →

 

Stewarding our children and generational investment

Thinking about retirement…for your infant? Trump Accounts officially launched on July 4th as an investment option that will help you start that journey. All U.S. citizens under 18 are eligible to participate, but children born between 2025 and 2028 can receive an initial $1,000 deposit from the Treasury upon opening an account.

The tax-advantaged Trump Accounts are designed for long-term investing. Once your child turns 18, the account transfers to their control and operates like a Traditional IRA, with penalty-free withdrawals for approved uses like education and first-time homebuying.

Continue reading Denison Forum – Should I open a Trump Account for my kids? →

 

Last week, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani posted on X that New Yorkers should set their thermostats to 78 degrees during the coming heat wave. Because it’s so hot outside, he wrote that “the power grid is working overtime to keep us cool.” So any easing of the demand for power puts less pressure on New York’s grid. He ended his post: “A stable grid means the AC stays on, and lives are saved.”

Yet his suggestion of “78 degrees” sparked considerable backlash.

Various Republican pundits took to social media to comment on his plea, linking the request to raise the temperature while it’s hot outside to socialism, communism, and third-world country behavior.

Between the lines, the chief complaint seemed to be that asking an individual to sacrifice for the sake of the collective represents overarching government principles often opposed by conservatives. It was painted as if Mamdani had committed a great evil by suggesting that we inconvenience ourselves to support the needs of the masses.

Continue reading Denison Forum – The Christian Case for Being Uncomfortably Hot →

 

I don’t often write on political campaigns lest I appear to contradict the nonpartisan mission of our ministry. However, Graham Platner’s suspension of his Senate campaign in Maine last night illustrates principles that transcend his party and this political moment.

His story, in brief:

Graham Cunningham Platner was born and raised in coastal Maine. He enlisted in the Marine Corps following high school and served eight years, including three combat tours in Iraq as a Marine and one in Afghanistan with the Maryland Army National Guard.

He then worked as a security contractor in Afghanistan before returning to Maine, where he entered the oyster farming business. He became active in local government, then announced his candidacy for the US Senate in August 2025.

He has campaigned on housing affordability, universal health care, strengthening labor unions, and ending government involvement in what he calls “pointless” wars. He won the June Democratic primary with 72 percent of the vote. His victory in the fall election would have been vital for Democrats as they seek to retake the Senate since the incumbent, Susan Collins, is the only Republican running in a state won by Kamala Harris.

Why Platner suspended his campaign

Platner’s campaign has been extremely controversial, however. Among his many issues have been a Nazi-era tattoo on his chest, a history of sexting women during his marriage, and antisemitic statements and actions.

In June 2026, the New York Times reported allegations that Platner engaged in physically threatening behavior toward women he had dated. A former girlfriend, described by the Times as a “Virginia conservative,” alleged that he had abused her physically. He denied her allegations, calling them “politically motivated.”

Then, on July 6, came an allegation by a woman he had dated that he raped her while he was drunk nearly five years prior. The accuser agrees with Platner’s political beliefs but said she felt compelled to come forward due to the charges made against him the month before.

Platner denies her allegation, but high-profile Democrats and the Maine Democratic Party withdrew their support. A variety of national leaders called on him to exit the campaign as well. He complied with their request Wednesday night.

You cannot unring a bell

My response has nothing to do with Platner’s party affiliation. I would offer the same observations if he were a Republican or an Independent, and even if he were not a politician at all.

When I saw the story of his resignation, I thought immediately of the biblical warning, “Be sure your sin will find you out” (Numbers 32:23). It would be easy to use Graham Platner as Exhibit A. Whether he is innocent or guilty of the latest charges against him, he admittedly committed sins in his past that now directly affect his future. At the time, he had no apparent idea he would be a candidate for political office or that his personal behavior would be subjected to national scrutiny.

His story reminds us that what we do today echoes tomorrow, often in ways we cannot imagine and cannot change. You cannot unring a bell. Words spoken and actions taken cannot be unspoken or untaken.

God will forgive all we confess to him (1 John 1:9) and forget all he forgives (Isaiah 43:25), but the consequences of our actions often remain. David is known to history as a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22), but he is also remembered for his sin with Bathsheba and all the sins he committed to cover it up.

If everybody knew everything about everyone

Here’s the part of the story that doesn’t often get attention: For every Graham Platner whose personal failings are eventually exposed to public scrutiny, there must be many who don’t get found out. If Platner had not run for office, I wonder how much of his past would be in the news today. How many other people have done what he did without the consequences he is facing?

In this sense, it doesn’t always seem that “your sin will find you out” in ways we expect it to. You and I have sins in our past that no one knows about, mistakes and failures that we are grateful not to see the light of day. If everybody knew everything about everyone, no one would be unscathed or unashamed.

Consequently, we might think this warning doesn’t really apply to us, that our sins are somehow exempt from such repercussions. So long as we confess them to God, we are forgiven and our sins are made “white as snow” (Isaiah 1:18). If we don’t run for office or otherwise expose ourselves to public scrutiny, we can evade the consequences of our actions. Or so we think.

Here are two reasons we’re wrong.

One: We have no way to guarantee that our past, no matter how secret, will never be discovered. For example, in one of the churches I pastored, I asked our tech support to implement a pornography filter on all our computers. That same day, they caught one of our ministers watching pornography in his office. He resigned and we were able to provide counseling that saved their marriage. He thought for years that his porn addiction was secret, until it wasn’t.

Two: The consequences of private sin go far deeper than public knowledge. They hinder our prayers (Isaiah 59:2) and grieve and quench the Spirit, keeping him from empowering and using us fully (Ephesians 4:30; 1 Thessalonians 5:19). Scripture therefore warns, “Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper” (Proverbs 28:13a).

Here’s the good news: the verse continues, “but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy” (v. 13b).

Do you need such mercy today?

Quote for the day:

“God is against my sin because he is for me.” —James Bryan Smith

Our latest website resources:

• CS Lewis, Robert Sloan, and Rahab: Faithful obedience and the providence of place
• How the World Cup inspires awe: What is the most powerful emotion?
• Best Of: John Stonestreet on “Truth Rising” and courage in today’s culture
• Empty words or real change from NATO, Russia, and Hamas?
• Choosing between two revolutions: a final call to decide what kind of nation—and what kind of people—we will be

 

 

Denison Forum

 

What is the most powerful emotion?

When humans move together with passion in one direction, we are like so many droplets of water in a tsunami. Nowhere is this clearer than the World Cup.

Though I’m from Texas, my wife and I currently live in Edinburgh, Scotland. This was the first time in 28 years that Scotland qualified for the World Cup. We witnessed great energy and excitement at a watch party when the first match kicked off at 2 a.m., UK time. The match was on Saturday night—Sunday morning, technically—but Scotland made Monday a temporary national holiday. That tells you how seriously the Scotts took the game. The match was electric and close. Sadly, Scotland didn’t make the playoffs by a kilt’s fringe.

It was also fun to watch the Scottish fans, called the Tartan Army, go viral in the US. The Tartan Army wore kilts, marched up and down downtown streets to bagpipes, and sang and chanted with gusto. Not to mention their head-scratching prank: putting cones on the heads of statues. Reportedly, in a more negative light, many pubs and bars ran out of beer in Boston. Good and questionable, the Tartan Army has made a name for itself.

Or take Norway. They’ve been making the rounds on social media for their chants and rowing in unison—like the Vikings of old in longboats. That might not sound impressive until you witness tens of thousands of fans yelling gutturally, “row, row, row!”

As any CEO, pastor, or manager knows, getting multiple people on the same page feels like wading through sand. Why do some ideas, events, and visions create such passion and others fade into obscurity? Put another way, how do crowds form—and stay? The answer is worth billions. FIFA’s revenue from 2022 to 2026 is projected to come to around $13 billion.

The answer lies in the sense of being a part.

The power of belonging

The feeling of being a part is perhaps the most powerful human experience. But no one really belongs for belonging’s sake. As my Dad, Chris Legg, likes to say, no one pursues diversity for diversity’s sake. Instead, diversity is an effect. It’s downstream of a shared value. This is true of the Christian faith, as well as all religions, sports teams, and national cultures.

These shared values are like a magnetic force. They pull us in and together.

So, what inspires us toward a value that brings us together? In soccer, there’s a sense of belonging amid the highs and lows, a sense of national identity, participation in a sport you might play yourself, and shared admiration for raw human skill. There’s also an undeniable sense of awe.

The anatomy of awe

The social psychologist Jonathan Haidt argues that awe is a spiritual, or “self-transcendent” emotion. Haidt defends religion as an important pillar of society and human flourishing while being a secular Jew himself. Awe is a “moral emotion” and a transcendent experience—but it is not merely religious. It is about feeling small in the face of grandness and the opening up of possibilities.

For example, a large military parade might inspire awe. So might a mountain. Or a professional hitting a ball hard with their foot. Watching a 6’5” man leap five feet into the air and bicycle kick a ball between defenders into a goal, to the celebration of millions of people across the world, certainly inspires me with awe.

In these cases, I think awe is not a sin. But after awe, devotion and worship closely follow. Awe is spiritually treacherous. At the same time, it’s necessary for human society to flourish. Awe, for a Christian, is something that can be channeled into the fear of the Lord. When we are in awe of Yahweh, we are inspired to devotion and worship—to glorify.

Perhaps we can glorify God through awe at an object by directing it toward its creator. The mountain inspires awe in us, but we glorify God because of it. We can proverbially “honor the emperor,” but cannot glorify or worship him (1 Peter 2:17). The same is true of America, or any nation, and its identity. Particularly politically, it’s very, very easy to substitute the created for the creator (Romans 1:25).

Directing our awe toward God

Although the markers of different teams might be different—whether they wear kilts, jerseys, or funny t-shirts—these are merely outward signs of inner commitment. These things do unite us, but the value, appreciation, and other emotional connections, like awe, are the essential components. The uniforms, the chants, the emotional connections, and the commitments are all electrical charges toward forming an energetic crowd revolving around some shared pursuit. Humans are designed for this connection, centered chiefly on our Creator.

And so it is that we can achieve shared meaning, purpose, and value. We order our lives through devotion, honor, and worship toward the central object of awe and glory—God. Emotional experiences help this orienting process along. This is part of why church services include sung worship, sacraments like baptism, liturgies, the reading of Scripture, and prayer; in some traditions, this includes majestic artwork, architecture, and incense.

Of course, this unification is a matter of identity. You’re either a part of Christ’s universal church or not. But these orthopraxies point us to the eternal truth of our belonging. Paul uses the metaphor of being parts of a body:

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.  For the body does not consist of one member but of many. (1 Corinthians 12:12–14)

If you are baptized into this one body of Christ, how then should you live? Is your awe directed toward creation—even a person or movement—or its Creator? And does your worship flow in the same direction?

Our relationships and community are of vital importance. Where do you feel like you belong, and where are you unified with others? Where does their awe and worship flow?

Most of us know that we should glorify God, and God alone. But in practice, as we could all attest to, it’s much, much harder to live this truth out. So, take the time with me to reflect on where your awe, devotion, worship, and glorification are directed.

 

 

Denison Forum

 

What happened: Most weeks, this space is devoted to a deep dive on a particular story. However, today we’re going to switch that up a bit and take a brief look at three topics that could have significant repercussions for countries around the world. We’ll start with the NATO summit that kicked off today in Turkey, then take a look at the escalating conflict in Ukraine and whether the recent change in leadership in Gaza is actually something to be excited about.

Why it matters: Each of these stories demonstrates the degree to which what goes on in one part of the world can easily impact the rest of us. They also offer an important reminder of how actions matter far more than words, especially when nations have little incentive to tell the truth.

The backstory: What to expect from the NATO summit

Let’s start with NATO. President Trump left on Monday for the summit in the Turkish capital, Ankara, and no one really seems to know what to expect from his time there. While there will be a series of meetings over the two-day conference, the president is only confirmed to attend a dinner on Tuesday night and the most substantive of the gatherings on Wednesday morning. Outside of those events, he is also scheduled to meet with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky.

President Trump’s most pressing concern in attending seems to be ensuring that each of NATO’s member nations is making progress toward allocating 5 percent of their GDP to defense. The nations technically have until 2035 to complete that task, but NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte let the group know that he expects “nations to present clear, concrete and credible plans” for how they’ll get there.

And while many member nations are already at 4 percent, the details matter. Up to 1.5 percent of that total can be allocated toward roads, bridges, and ports that “facilitate troop movements” rather than on weapons and munitions that would be needed in the event of an attack.

For his part, President Trump does not seem overly impressed.

In what many saw as a warning shot to set the tone for the summit, the president posted a graphic on Truth Social comparing what the US spends with that of other member nations before concluding, “Ridiculous for the U.S.A. to continue along this one-sided path when the relationship is not reciprocal.”

That said, Europe’s hesitancy to help in America’s war with Iran has further complicated matters and provoked a great deal of the president’s ire. As such, many are curious to see if the lack of support in America’s war will impact his willingness to pledge further support for what the administration increasingly sees as Europe’s war in Ukraine.

And that conflict is showing few signs of slowing down anytime soon.

Ukraine and Russia continue to trade attacks

On July 4, President Trump spoke with both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in separate conversations. All parties involved said that the discussions went well and reiterated their desire to see the war end, but that’s where the agreement stops.

Russia still holds that they will only consider a peace deal that leaves the entirety of the Donbas in their hands, and Putin recently claimed that his forces have taken a key city in that region. Those claims are heavily contested and likely an exaggeration at best, but portraying their victory as inevitable remains Putin’s highest priority in the conflict. To that end, Russia continues to attack Kyiv and other cities with impunity.

For their part, Ukraine is working hard to bring the war closer to home for Putin, with frequent attacks on Moscow and drone attacks deep into Russian territory.

Ukraine recently launched more than 430 drones at Moscow and, while most were destroyed, Zelensky claimed that the attack was more about sending a message than doing damage:

When it is no longer one hundred drones but one thousand flying towards Moscow . . . he will understand. Once he begins to feel it personally, once he begins to see it with his own eyes, you will see advisers urging him to relocate somewhere beyond the Urals. The farther Putin is from Moscow, the closer the end of the war will be.

Other attacks across Russia and Crimea are intended to have a similar effect.

In particular, Ukraine has targeted the country’s 11 largest gasoline producers, with Monday afternoon’s bombing of the Omsk refinery the most significant yet. Those attacks have led to fuel rationing and a growing sense of unease among the Russian populace, but have simply provoked larger attacks from Putin rather than drawing the war to a close.

This week’s NATO meeting is the next opportunity for the status quo to change, but most of those represented in Ankara seem more concerned with ensuring Ukraine can continue fighting than with bringing the fighting to an end.

And, despite recent changes, the same may remain true in Gaza as well.

Hamas dissolves its government in Gaza

On Monday, Hamas announced that it was formally dissolving its government in Gaza and getting ready to pass control over to the Board of Peace’s National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG). However, they have not given any indication that they’re willing to give up their weapons, which has remained the primary sticking point for the better part of nine months.

Hamas also plans to remain in charge of security and policing in the areas it still controls, which is not how the agreement is supposed to work and has raised understandable concerns.

Israel’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Gideon Sa’ar, warns that a willingness to give up government authority while maintaining military power is essentially the “Hezbollah model” that has proven so dangerous in Lebanon, adding that:

As long as Hamas retains its weapons, any civilian government will of course operate as Hamas dictates. This would allow Hamas to continue oppressing the Palestinian people in Gaza, while pursuing its jihadist war against Israel.

The Board of Peace was similarly dubious, stating simply that “Ultimately, our assessment will be guided by actions, not promises, to meet the critical needs of the people of Gaza.”

The prioritization of “actions, not promises” is a thread that runs through all three of these stories, and each demonstrates why actions matter more than words. That’s especially the case when nations have little incentive to tell the truth. But while empty words can prove effective in the short term, they undermine credibility and trust over time.

And, as Christians, remembering that basic truth is especially important for us.

Spiritual application: The dangers of a dead faith

One of the more convicting passages in the New Testament, for me at least, is where James writes:

What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, ‘You have faith and I have works.’ Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. (James 2:14–18)

The idea that faith without works is dead has been used across various points of Christian history to advocate for a kind of works righteousness that is simply unbiblical. However, going too far to the other extreme risks missing a crucial truth about how God expects us to demonstrate that faith.

If you’ve been a Christian for very long, it can be easy to take for granted just how amazing the gospel story truly is. When we ask people to place their faith in Jesus for salvation, we’re asking them to accept the idea that the God who created everything chose to leave heaven, enter earth, then suffer and die for our sins before rising from the dead and ascending back to heaven. That’s a big ask.

Jesus pointed to that truth when he told Thomas, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29).

What we’ve seen across two thousand years of Christian history, though, is that the gospel spreads most effectively when people can first see its truth and relevance in us. If our lives—often demonstrated through our works—exude the love and grace that God has shown us, then it draws people to the Lord in unique and powerful ways. However, if our lives are defined more by empty words than by actions, the gospel loses much of its appeal.

So, where does your life fall along that spectrum? The truth is that most of us shift along that line from day to day, but we cannot afford to accept a dead faith if we want to help people find new life in Christ.

Let’s make sure our lives demonstrate a living faith today.

News worth knowing

1. Graham Platner accused of sexual assault

News broke Monday that Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner was accused of sexual assault by his former girlfriend, Jenny Racicot. Platner’s sexual history has been a source of controversy throughout recent months of his campaign, but Racicot’s allegations have led to calls for him to drop out of the race, including from key supporters.

Why it matters

While Platner has denied the allegations, he has since canceled several town hall events and has asked for time to consider the future of his campaign. As of this writing, he has yet to formally drop out, but with Maine considered a toss-up in November’s elections and pivotal to Democrats’ hopes of retaking the Senate, the calls to withdraw and allow someone else to take his place are only growing louder.

What to watch

State laws allow Platner to be replaced on the ballot as long as he withdraws before July 13. The Democratic Party would then have until July 27 to choose a replacement. Will Platner withdraw and, if so, will he have any say in who takes his place?

AP News has more on the story

2. Charlie Kirk’s alleged killer goes to court

The preliminary hearing for Tyler Robinson, the man accused of killing Charlie Kirk, began on Monday. Over the course of this week, evidence and testimony will be presented before the judge decides if Robinson will stand trial.

Why it matters

While Robinson has been tried in the court of public opinion and in the news for months, this is the first opportunity for the prosecution to present their evidence. At this stage, they only need to demonstrate that it’s reasonable for Robinson to be found guilty rather than prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he is. As such, it’s almost certain that he will stand trial for the murder.

What to watch

One of the primary points of contention leading up to the hearing centered on media access. The defense sought to keep the proceedings private, while the prosecution fought for an open hearing. The latter carried the day and, as such, we have a far more detailed account of the evidence presented than would otherwise be available. It will be interesting to see how that influences the eventual trial, and whether it quiets or gives oxygen to the conspiracy theories surrounding Kirk’s death.

CBS News has more on the story

3. The US Men’s team loses to Belgium in the World Cup

The US Men’s soccer team has been one of the most fun stories of the summer, but their run came to an end Monday night against Belgium. Hopes were high going in, particularly after their leading scorer—Folarin Balogun—was surprisingly reinstated on Sunday. Still, as enjoyable as the previous games had been, the men’s team was simply outclassed and played like it for most of the match.

Why it matters

Tyler Adams summed it up well when he said, “I think overall there were positives that we’re going to take away from it, [but] it just doesn’t feel like it matters.” It feels like moral victories follow the team’s final loss every time the World Cup comes around, but this iteration was put together with the hope of making real progress and advancing further than this. Perhaps they did make progress, and we’ll look back on this loss four years from now as the start of something truly special. But, for now, “it just doesn’t feel like it matters” seems to sum up the disappointment from fans and players alike pretty well.

What to watch

As disappointing as last night’s game was, the rest of the World Cup is shaping up to be a lot of fun. So, before checking out completely, pick another team or player to follow and don’t miss out on what the next couple of weeks have to offer.

ESPN has more on the story

God is good

Back in May, I wrote about pastor Ezra Jin, who had been imprisoned by the Chinese government for preaching the gospel. At that point, President Trump had promised to advocate on his behalf with the Chinese President Xi Jinping, but their meeting came and went without any further clarity on Jin’s fate. However, Jin was released late last week and reunited with his family in Los Angeles on Friday.

Kingdom impact

While Jin’s release is reason for praise, his family hopes it also signals “a positive turn for people of faith in China.” Still, eight other leaders from Zion Church, where Jin was the pastor, remain in prison, so further prayer is needed.

Prayer point

Will you pray that all the Christians who are imprisoned in China will be released? Will you pray that, until that time comes, God gives them the strength and faith needed to endure and share their faith with the other prisoners around them? And will you pray that God uses their example to bring people to salvation who may never have otherwise heard the gospel?

The Free Press has more on the story

 

 

Denison Forum

 

John Adams thought America’s independence should be celebrated “with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other.” In honor of our 250th birthday, Americans did just that, with a National Mall gathering and massive fireworks display to Independence Day parades in all fifty states and much more.

As my wife and I watched the July 4th coverage on television, we spent some time with the PBS event in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia, where we listened to one of the most perceptive speeches about our nation’s past and future I have ever heard.

“Do we still have what it takes?”

Carly Fiorina, the former CEO of Hewlett-Packard, chairs the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation and serves as National Honorary Chair of the Virginia 250 Commission. Her undergraduate studies in philosophy and history at Stanford University helped her understand what her biography calls “the power of ideas to drive change.”

After welcoming those gathered in Virginia and expressing her gratitude for America and all who built our nation, she observed, “Perhaps as we gather tonight, we quietly worry. Have we become too jaded? Too fractured? Have we lost the ‘secret sauce’? Do we still have what it takes?”

To ensure our flourishing and our future, what does it “take”?

Ms. Fiorina recollected, “Ours has always been a fractious, restless nation, and yet, over and over, we have found common cause.” That “cause,” she continues, is unique among the nations of history: “Throughout all time and across the face of the earth, ours is the only nation not founded on ethnicity, territory, or religion. Ours is the only nation in human history founded on ideas, principles, and a system of government.”

 “Where more things have been possible for more people”

The primary idea upon which our principles and system of government rest is, of course, our founding declaration that “all men are created equal.”

It is because America espouses the equality of all people that our governance embraces checks and balances to ensure that no individual wields unaccountable power over others. This is why we elect people to represent us and remove them when they do not. It is why judges and laws restrain human failure and are themselves restrained when they fail.

It is why our legislative system is designed so that the majority rules but the rights of the minority are protected. It is why our economic system is designed so that, as Ms. Fiorina stated, “America is where more things have been more possible for more people from more places than anywhere else on earth.”

Consequently, when we fail our aspirational claim that “all men are created equal,” our failures are at their worst. The Founders failed the people they enslaved by perpetuating the institution of slavery. Our westward migration failed the indigenous peoples we displaced.

Since Roe v. Wade in 1973, the legalization of abortion has failed more than sixty-four million preborn children. The growing popularity of euthanasia fails the elderly and infirm. Where systemic racism and prejudice still exist, they fail our nation’s founding declaration. Pornography corrupts those who make it and those who use it. And on it goes.

Four Greek words for “love”

Why, if our nation is built on the idea that “all men are created equal,” do we struggle to enact that which we embrace?

The answer is simple: it is literally not within our nature to do so.

From Cain’s sin against Abel to July 4th shootings and explosions that killed at least six and wounded dozens, fallen humans act in fallen ways. It is one thing to believe that “all men are created equal,” but quite another to act accordingly.

To treat all people equally requires a degree of selfless love that humans struggle to produce. To cite the common Greek words for “love,” we can easily enact eros, erotic love, and do so in godly and ungodly ways. We can live out philea in our friendships and storge in our families.

But agape—unconditional and selfless love that always treats others as equal to ourselves—is something else entirely.

When we thrive and when we fail

God loves us equally because “God is agape” (1 John 4:8). By virtue of his unchanging character, he cannot love us any more or any less than he does at this moment. We are equal in his love, not by our nature but by his.

Do you know this to be true of you?

I will never forget meeting Billy Graham. The holiness shining in his blue eyes, the purity of his soul and passion of his heart, were tangible. It is unfathomable to me that God loves me as much as he loves the greatest evangelist in Christian history, but it is true. And he loves you as much as he loves me.

Now his Spirit wants to produce in us the same love for others as his first “fruit” in our lives (Galatians 5:22). When we submit each day to his Spirit (Ephesians 5:18), he empowers us to live out our founding creed in ways that transform our lives, our relationships, and our nation.

Our history over these last 250 years has taught us that America thrives when we embrace the equality of all people and fails when we do not.

Which will be true for you today?

Quote for the day:

“In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity.” —Rupertus Meldenius

Our latest website resources:

• Choosing between two revolutions: a final call to decide what kind of nation—and what kind of people—we will be
• Are Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce getting married in NYC?
• What Washington, Lincoln, and JFK teach us about leadership today
• Why the SBC amendment must not divide our mission: Thoughts on this year’s SBC Annual Meeting as a Baptist woman in ministry
• Why panic over the Bible in Texas schools misses the point

 

 

Denison Forum

 

A final call to decide what kind of nation—and what kind of people—we will be

The United States is officially 250 years old, and as we conclude our series of looking to the past to understand our future, we wanted to take this final week to look forward. To this point, we’ve examined the various ways in which God explains the criterion by which he will judge nations, as well as how America fares in comparison with his standards. To be honest, the news has not always been great. However, just because our culture falls short now doesn’t mean it has to stay that way.

The brilliant cultural commentator Os Guinness has noted that Americans have two revolutions from which to choose. We are obviously celebrating the 1776 revolution that led to our independence and birthed the nation whose 250th anniversary we commemorate this year. It was conceived and fulfilled within the context of a consensual biblical morality that the Founding Fathers explicitly acknowledged.

Continue reading Denison Forum – Choosing between two revolutions →

 

Did our Founding Fathers sin by rebelling against the king?

Iran has ranked among the top ten on the Open Doors “World Watch List” every year since the list began in 1993. Their ranking has fluctuated over that time, peaking at number two as recently as 2011, but they’ve been toward the back half of the top ten in recent years. While that could be seen as a sign of progress, it’s important to note that their fall in the rankings has more to do with the destabilization and increase in persecution among many of their neighbors than anything actually improving in Iran.

And, if the latest news is any indication, their position on that list could rise soon.

You see, much of Iran’s persecution over the last decade has focused on the underground church and attempts to limit the freedom of Muslims to convert to Christianity. In 2009, the government began pressuring churches in Tehran to cancel their Persian-language services, with the largest of those churches—St. Peter Evangelical Church—forced to ban Persian-speaking Christians in 2014.

Continue reading Denison Forum – Iran targets Christians as fear of US fades →

 

On July 4, our nation’s capital will be the site of the largest fireworks display in history, an Independence Day Parade, and the Freedom250 celebration. An America250 benefit show will take place in Los Angeles as well. There will also be an IndyCar race in Washington, DC, a flotilla of tall ships in New York City, and a reenactment of the Battle of Gettysburg, among other events.

But unlike the birth of a person, the birthday of our country is a more complex story, one that illustrates our past and informs our future.

On July 3, John Adams wrote to his wife Abigail, “The Second Day of July 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America.” He added that July 2 “ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.”

The reason for his enthusiasm was simple: Congress actually declared independence from Great Britain on July 2. The vote followed more than a year of debates and Richard Henry Lee’s resolution, introduced in early June, that the American colonies “are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States.”

Continue reading Denison Forum – Why John Adams thought July 2 was Independence Day →

 

The US Supreme Court handed down a ruling Tuesday rejecting President Trump’s bid to end birthright citizenship and another upholding state restrictions on transgender athletes. The latter was good news to me since I am the grandfather of a school-age granddaughter.

However, the Court’s ruling on transgender athletes does not end the controversy. The justices determined that states can constitutionally ban biological boys from girls’ sports teams, not that they must. Now, as with the Dobbs decision on abortion, the conflict returns to the states. At present, twenty-seven states limit school sports for women and girls to athletes whose biological sex is female. In the remaining states, biological girls have no such protections.

As our nation nears its 250th birthday, this issue points to a factor that was foundational to our founding and remains vital to our future.

“Our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor”

I was privileged recently to visit the National Archives in Washington, DC, where I stood before the original Declaration of Independence. Its writing was difficult to read in some places and impossible in others due to the parchment’s circuitous and sometimes perilous journey to its present location. As a result, I could make out John Hancock’s iconic, oversized signature, but many of the other names have faded over time.

Continue reading Denison Forum – Supreme Court rules on transgender athletes in girls’ sports →

 

The US Supreme Court on Monday upheld presidential authority over commissioners on regulatory agencies. However, it blocked President Trump’s attempt to remove Lisa Cook from the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. It ruled against his party by upholding state laws that count mailed ballots if they are postmarked by election day but received after. And it rejected the president’s request to throw out a jury’s finding that he sexually abused the writer E. Jean Carroll in the mid-1990s and later defamed her.

My purpose in referencing this news has nothing to do with the merits of these cases or the lack thereof. Rather, it is to identify one of the many ways America’s founding was unique among the nations of the world, a factor that is especially relevant and urgent today.

“A government of laws, not of men”

Two hundred and fifty years ago, monarchs, sultans, and autocrats ruled their nations. The idea that a court of nine unelected people could overrule the leader of the country was a foreign concept.

Continue reading Denison Forum – A win and three losses for President Trump at Supreme Court →