Sunday morning, a gunman rammed his vehicle into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc Township, Michigan. He then opened fire on congregants and set the building on fire.

At least four people have died and eight others were injured, one of them in critical condition. Authorities were still combing through debris last night to find additional bodies; up to seven people are possibly still unaccounted for at this writing.

The shooter, armed with what appeared to be an assault rifle, exchanged gunfire with officers at the scene and was killed. The FBI, ATF, and federal officials are investigating.

The suspect who staged the attack has been confirmed to be a former Marine. He served from 2004 to 2008, including deployments to Iraq as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He earned several awards during his four years of service, including the Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, the Iraq Campaign Medal, and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has ordered US and Michigan flags at the State Capitol and public buildings across the state to be flown at half-mast in honor of the victims.

The “Gunfighter’s Code” of the Old West

This tragedy illustrates the fact that seemingly anyone in any setting can be a victim of deadly violence, and seemingly anyone from any background can be a perpetrator.

In some ways, our technologically advanced society is mirroring a world previous generations would have recognized.

In The Gunfighters: How Texas Made the West Wild, bestselling author Bryan Burrough describes what he calls the “Gunfighter’s Code” of the Old West, which was “all about defending one’s honor, emphasizing pride, courage, and the necessity never to back down from a fight and to avenge every insult, no matter how small.”

But violence was not confined to the Old West, according to Burrough:

In 1842, Abraham Lincoln, then a legislator in Illinois, reluctantly accepted a challenge from an opponent and, upon learning he was a skilled marksman, chose to fight with broadswords; bloodshed was avoided only when seconds talked the men out of it. It’s said the fifth president, James Monroe, once sought to duel the second, the prickly John Adams, until talked out of it by the fourth, James Madison.

And yet, generations beset with the threat of violence were also generations that repeatedly experienced transformational spiritual awakenings.

As I often note, the darker the room, the more powerful the light.

“The ‘Charlie Kirk effect’ is real”

An article by author Chip Kendall in Premiere Christianity is headlined, “The ‘Charlie Kirk effect’ is real. Thousands are coming to faith in Jesus.” He writes:

In the weeks since the shooting, something remarkable has been unfolding: thousands upon thousands of young people are not only exploring Christianity but actually turning up in churches, praying, and professing faith in Jesus Christ. For those of us who sometimes wonder if the gospel still works in a post-Christian, skeptical culture—here is our answer.

According to Kendall, the same is happening in the UK. For example, The Telegraph had an article claiming, “Charlie Kirk’s evangelical uprising is taking root in Britain.”

Then Kendall asks the question I want us to consider today:

Why are so many people coming to faith in the wake of tragedy? Partly, it’s because moments of crisis strip away our illusions of control. When someone so young and influential is gunned down, the fragility of life is laid bare. People are desperate for hope, for answers, for something solid in the chaos.

“When you pass through the waters”

I have often reflected on the fact that America has not seen a “great awakening” in more than 120 years.

Prior movements of the Spirit transformed the culture in dramatic ways. Each was preceded by desperation—immorality, decadence, crime, and threats of war. Each time, Americans turned to God for the help he alone could give. And God kept his promise: “You will seek and find me, when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13).

I am praying today for those devastated by yet another horrific tragedy, asking God to give them his strength, help, and peace. And I am praying that the mounting hopelessness from so many tragedies in recent days would lead Americans to turn to the God of all hope.

The prophet asked in his grief, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). But he pointed to our only source of transforming hope in a fallen world: “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lᴏʀᴅ, whose trust is the Lᴏʀᴅ” (v. 7).

This is because our Lord hurts as we hurt, grieves as we grieve, and walks with us through all pain:

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lᴏʀᴅ your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior (Isaiah 43:2–3).

And one day, “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4).

As Gilbert M. Beeken famously noted,

“Other men see only a hopeless end, but the Christian rejoices in an endless hope.”

Let us claim and share this hope today, to the glory of God.

Denison Forum

While President Trump’s speech garnered most of the attention at the UN General Assembly, a gathering on Tuesday with Arab and Muslim leaders could turn out to be the most consequential part of this week’s events. Trump even said as much, referring to the negotiation as “my most important meeting,” and a chance “to end something that should have probably never started.”

That something that shouldn’t have started is Israel’s war with Hamas, and the President’s assessment appears to have a better chance of being accurate now than at any point in the conflict’s nearly two years of violence and death.

While most ceasefire negotiations to this point have relied on both Israel and Hamas finding a middle ground that was considered mutually beneficial to both parties, Trump’s current proposal appears to essentially leave Hamas out of the equation. Instead, on Tuesday, he met with leaders from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, Indonesia, and Pakistan.

Notably absent from that list were Hamas, Iran, and Israel, though Trump is meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Monday. Israel is, however, generally aware of what Trump proposed. And, as one Israeli official described, they understand that “There will be bitter pills we’ll have to swallow.”

Specific details of the President’s twenty-one-point plan are, as of this writing, largely unknown. Yet, as Axios reports, some of the general principles are:

• The release of all remaining hostages.
• A permanent ceasefire.
• Gradual Israeli withdrawal from all of the Gaza Strip.
• A post-war plan that includes a governing mechanism in Gaza without Hamas.
• A security force that would include Palestinians but also soldiers from Arab and Muslim countries.
• Funding from Arab and Muslim countries for the new administration in Gaza and for reconstruction of the enclave.
• Some involvement of the Palestinian Authority

In return for their support, Axios writes that Arab leaders will reportedly require that:

• Israel will not annex parts of the West Bank or Gaza.
• Israel will not occupy parts of Gaza.
• Israel will not build settlements in Gaza.
• Israel will stop undermining the status quo at the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
• Humanitarian aid to Gaza will immediately increase.

(These lists are quoted directly from Axios’s article.)

Essentially, Muslim nations want Israel out of Gaza and appear more willing than at any point in the last two years to take on the necessary levels of responsibility to ensure Israel can do so safely. But while all of that sounds good, a number of questions remain that could determine the feasibility of Trump’s proposal. And chief among them is whether Gaza would remain part of Israel or become an independent Palestinian nation.

Will Israel accept a two-state solution?

Calls for Israel to accept a two-state solution have been around for decades, but both their frequency and intensity have increased in recent weeks. At the General Assembly, France, the UK, and several other Western powers joined the chorus.

President Trump has, to this point, staunchly opposed the idea, arguing that such a move would be a “reward for Hamas.” The majority of Israelis are similarly against the proposal. However, it’s difficult to see other Muslim nations—and particularly those in the Middle East—accepting so much risk and responsibility unless they were doing so on behalf of an independent Palestine.

Moreover, Trump was unyielding in his belief that Hamas cannot be rewarded for what happened on October 7, but it’s less clear if he would feel the same about a situation where Hamas was no longer in charge. And while accepting a two-state solution would indeed be a “bitter pill,” there are also sound arguments that it could advance the security and prosperity of Israel.

As Faisal J. Abbas describes:

A Palestinian state would give Israel a partner responsible for its own territory, its own governance, and its own security. This means that any terrorist activity originating from Palestinian soil becomes the responsibility of the new government, which will be held accountable under international law.

But while that sounds reasonable, it rests on the assumption that a fledgling Palestine would be capable of enforcing that level of accountability rather than falling back under the control of Hamas or another terrorist influence. And that’s where the nations with whom Trump met on Tuesday—many of whom were part of the first major foreign trip of his current term—would need to step in.

Why Israel needs help

The truth is that Israel will never be able to do what is necessary to restore peace in Gaza without incurring the anger and wrath—at least publicly—of the Muslim world. Muslims everywhere are bound by the concept of Ummah, which holds that all Muslims are part of a collective community. This principle is largely where they get the idea that an attack on Muslims in one area is an attack on Islam as a whole.

As such, when Israel’s attacks on Hamas lead to the death of civilians, the Islamic world is required to condemn them. Yet, if a Muslim nation were charged with putting an end to Hamas and freeing the remaining hostages, that would not violate the principle in the same way as when Israel or a Western nation attempts to do so.

However, Israel’s problem is that they’ve seen little in the Palestinian Authority—the group that runs the West Bank and would be the most likely candidates to lead in a post-war Gaza—to make them believe they would be up to the challenge. Outside help will be needed, and Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and the other nations with whom Trump met appear willing to give it.

While there are a number of details that still need to be worked out, if Israel is willing to receive that help—and to do so on terms those nations would find acceptable—it’s possible that this war could end before the second anniversary of the attacks that started it back on October 7, 2023.

And there is an important lesson in that reality that we would all do well to remember today.

Choosing God’s will over your own

One of the most difficult aspects of living out our faith well is laying down our rights when doing so is required to advance God’s kingdom. Israel has every right to defend its borders and continue the war in Gaza until each hostage is returned and Hamas is no longer a threat. But the reality is that continuing to pursue that right will make it more difficult to achieve their desired ends.

In the same way, there are times when pursuing our right to defend our reputation, our honor, or to seek retribution for a wrong done to us will make it much more difficult to maintain our witness and fulfill the role God has called us to play in advancing his kingdom. Jesus spoke to this reality in the Sermon on the Mount when he called us to turn the other cheek, give up your cloak, and go the extra mile (Matthew 5:43–48).

At no point in that teaching does Jesus claim that we do not have the right to pursue retribution. He just calls us to give up that right in order to prioritize our witness instead.

I think he knew that would be hard for us, though, which is perhaps why he followed up that lesson by teaching on the need to love our enemies and the call to “be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (5:43–48).

You see, Jesus isn’t asking us to do anything more than what he’s already done for us. On the cross, he had every right to command angels to come and rescue him. He chose not to, though, because pursuing God’s purposes was more important.

I don’t know how the situation in Gaza will end or whether Israel will be willing to make the necessary concessions to receive help from its neighbors in bringing about that end. I have more hope that they will than I’ve had for quite some time, but, at least for now, it’s difficult to do more than hope.

However, I do know that there will be times when Christ calls us to concede our rights in order to prioritize his purpose, and making the right choice in those moments will be far easier to do if we’ve already decided that God’s will is more important than our own.

Will you make that choice today?

Quote of the day:

“The weakness of the Church lies not in the lack of Christian arguments but in the lack of Christian lives.” —William Barclay

Our latest website resources:

• Healing Through Rest: Embracing Self-Care Instead of Self-Medication
• Kamala Harris, “107 Days,” and the judgment of God
• Jimmy Kimmel, free speech debate, Erika Kirk forgives, rapture thoughts, Tylenol update & a huge sports weekend | CB Ep. 38
• Three people killed at ICE facility in Dallas
• What Jimmy Kimmel said about Erika Kirk

Denison Forum

“When you finally start moving up into the air, I recommend that you don’t hold onto anything. I definitely don’t recommend looking down. . . . Just keep calm, take a deep breath, slowly release it, and keep your face looking upward.” This is how one person advised her fellow Christians to experience the rapture when it came two days ago.

Except it didn’t.

Or if it did, you and I (and everyone else, so far as I can tell) were left behind. This despite the fact that so many expected the rapture to come on September 23 that the New York Times, Newsweek, and numerous other outlets covered the story.

The date appears to have originated with a person named Joshua Mhlakela in South Africa. He said in a YouTube video that he is not a pastor, though news reports widely described him as such. In his video, he reported that Jesus came to him in a dream in 2018 and told him, “On the 23^rd and the 24^th of September 2025, I will come to take my church.”

His prediction aligned with this year’s observance of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. Evangelical TikTok users picked up Mhlakela’s assertion, some pointing to signs in Revelation 12 and various astrological alignments involving the constellations Virgo and Leo to claim that his prophecy was being fulfilled.

On social media, some said they had given away their belongings and quit their jobs. Others satirically celebrated the coming lower rents or asked believers to hand over their money or keys to their homes.

The latter response points to my point today.

“An hour you do not expect”

The “rapture” is a belief held by some that Jesus will take believers out of the world prior to a period of “great tribulation” on Earth. The word does not appear in the Bible, which is not definitive (the word Trinity is not in Scripture, either), but the idea is based on passages such as 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17 and 1 Corinthians 15:51–52. Some interpret Jesus’ invitation to John, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this” (Revelation 4:1), to refer to this event.

This is a complex subject, one I have discussed in detail in books and articles over the years. (You can go here and here for examples.) My purpose today is not to explore eschatology (the doctrine of last things) but to focus on the cultural implications of the current story.

Jesus clearly said about his return, “Concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only” (Matthew 24:36). In fact, those who claim to be able to predict the date must be wrong by definition, for our Lord added, “the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (v. 44). “You do not expect” could be translated from the Greek, “all of you without exceptions are not expecting it when it occurs.”

Nonetheless, some across history have been undeterred in claiming to know more than Jesus said he knew about the timing of his return. Such predictions have been more frequent since 1948, the year Israel became a nation again, since many interpretive schemes consider this event to be pivotal to end times sequencing.

However, one predated it by more than a century: the “Great Disappointment” occurred when a Baptist preacher named William Miller predicted that Christ would return on October 22, 1844. Tens of thousands of his followers (known as Millerites) sold their possessions in preparation; when nothing happened, widespread disillusionment followed.

The better-known these failed predictions, the more ridicule they generated for the predictors—and the larger Christian community.

Billy Graham’s greatest fear

Such ridicule is unfortunately understandable. When so-called financial experts make stock market predictions that turn out to be inaccurate, we question their competence for their next prediction. When meteorologists get the weather wrong, we look askance at meteorology itself.

This tendency is especially unsurprising with regard to evangelical Christianity. Already widely considered outdated, irrelevant, and even dangerous, our truth claims are dismissed as esoteric and speculative, especially when they have to do with “unscientific” issues such as the end times.

All this to say, if there is any subject Christians should be especially careful to avoid in our post-Christian culture, it is end times speculation. Not only because Jesus promised we would be wrong, but because our wrong predictions will add fodder for those already predisposed to reject our Lord.

Billy Graham once described to the interviewer David Frost his greatest fear: “That I’ll do something or say something that will bring some disrepute to the gospel of Christ before I go.” He added, “I want the Lord to remove me before I say something or do something that would embarrass God.”

If we want to impact our culture for Christ, we must make Dr. Graham’s greatest fear ours as well.

Visiting Armageddon

Ironically, a way to live that draws people to Christ is to focus on the end times, but not in the way we’ve been discussing.

I was privileged to lead more than thirty study tours to Israel over the years. Each time, we made our way to the heights of Megiddo, an ancient fortress overlooking the vast valley below. In Hebrew, this area is known as Har Megiddo (the “mount of Megiddo”). Transliterated into English, it becomes “Armageddon.”

The site is mentioned just once in Scripture: at the end of history, the enemies of the Lord are described as assembling “at the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon” (Revelation 16:16). Each time I led a tour here, we discussed this verse and the various end-times scenarios that center around it.

Then I told the group, “The only fact about the future about which I am absolutely certain is this: We are one day closer to eternity than ever before.”

Jesus could return today. Or you could step through death into his presence today (John 14:3). What it takes to be ready is also what it takes to live in ways that most glorify our Lord and attract others to him.

If you knew that day were tomorrow, what would you change today?

Quote for the day:

“Time is the most valuable thing a man can spend.” —Theophrastus (372–287 BC)

Our latest website resources:

• Three people killed at ICE facility in Dallas: The logic behind illogical violence
• Jimmy Kimmel, free speech debate, Erika Kirk forgives, rapture thoughts, Tylenol update & a huge sports weekend
• What Jimmy Kimmel said about Erika Kirk
• How to discern God’s will, manifesting vs. biblical faith, the reality of hell, and God’s unconditional love
• Is YoungHoon Kim the “world’s smartest man” and a Christian? An encouragement to walk in the truth regardless of the cost

Denison Forum