What are the cultural implications of Donald Trump’s decisive presidential victory? On the one hand, he incurred the ire of the pro-life movement by distancing himself from historic pro-life stances, gutting the GOP platform in the process. (He gutted the platform in terms of pro-life issues as well as marriage and family issues.) On the other hand, his victory signaled the large-scale rejection of radical leftist policies, to the point that major, leftist media outlets have been scrambling to move closer to the center. How should followers of Jesus assess all this?

On a certain level, things just got a lot simpler. That’s because it will become increasingly difficult for the church to look to Trump to lead the way on key moral and cultural issues.

To be sure, he has chosen his battles carefully, highlighting the destructive extremes of radical transgender activism while distancing himself from Project 2025. It seems evident that this reflects pragmatism more than (or, at least as much as) conviction.

More and more Americans are saying “No way!” to boys sharing locker rooms with girls and to the genital mutilation of minors. At the same time, the vast majority of Americans have no idea what is in Project 2025, other than the Democrats said it was really, really draconian and evil. Trump campaigned against trans-activism while vigorously declaiming any connection to Project 2025.

Again, he’s a pragmatist, and it worked.

But when it came to pro-life issues, his insistence that he would not a sign a federal abortion ban into law, along with his adopting a moderate pro-choice position, caused some pro-life activists like Lila Rose to call for a boycott against Trump in 2024 before finally voting for him in the end.

Indeed, from the very strong pro-life language in GOP platforms dating back to 1980, the new Trump-mandated version primarily voices opposition to late-term abortion, which is largely rejected by most Americans. And while Trump emphasized that by overturning Roe, the states could decide what policies to enact, there can be no doubt that his language and emphasis changed from 2016 to 2024.

Again, this is most likely attributed to political pragmatism, as opposition to abortion restrictions has been invigorated since the overturning of Roe.

As for issues pertaining to marriage and family, while Trump had said already in 2016 that same-sex “marriage” was the law of the land, he didn’t tamper with the language of the GOP platform in 2016 or 2020. Yet this year, the changes were so dramatic that a Newsweek editorial by Brad Polumbo opined, “Trump’s New GOP Platform Is a Massive Win for LGBT Americans.”

The older platform stated, “Traditional marriage and family, based on marriage between one man and one woman, is the foundation for a free society and has for millennia been entrusted with rearing children and instilling cultural values. We condemn the Supreme Court’s ruling in United States v. Windsor, which wrongly removed the ability of Congress to define marriage policy in federal law.”

That language totally disappeared from the 2024 platform. The shift was seismic.

So I ask once again, “How should followers of Jesus assess all this?”

It’s really quite simple.

Trump never was and never will be the moral savior of America. As for the GOP, it is not God’s party, championing righteousness and purity in the land. Hardly.

But this is not necessarily bad news, since, as I have stated endlessly over the years, politics cannot do what only the Gospel can do. And while there are highly moral politicians, and while I still prefer GOP policies to Democratic policies, we make a terrible, sometimes even fatal mistake when we look to a worldly system to carry out heavenly work.

Without a doubt, we can look to the government to help secure our borders. But we cannot expect the government alone to reach struggling (and legal) immigrants with compassion and kindness.

And while it would be wonderful if, in state after state, pro-life legislation was passed and enacted, that could only happen as the result of a massive spiritual awakening resulting in the radical changing of millions of hearts and minds. Otherwise, how could those laws be widely passed?

It’s the same with marriage and family values.

Regardless of the language of the GOP platform and regardless of the convictions of President Trump, there’s not the slightest chance that views toward same-sex “marriage” could be reversed without an immense cultural and ideological shift. (According to a 2023 poll, while roughly 60% of Americans aged 50 and older “think same-sex marriage should be recognized by the law as valid,” that number jumps to 89% of 18-to-29-year-olds.)

As for other aspects of Trump’s moral example, he is hardly even attempting to present himself as a moral icon.

That’s why I say that things have simplified for us as followers of Jesus, in particular, for those of us who voted for Trump. We no longer have to present him as Saint Donald (as some almost did in 2016), the champion of the pro-life movement, a fine upstanding Christian.

We can recognize his many weaknesses and appreciate all the good he can do without looking to him to do our job.

After all, Jesus didn’t say to the president of the United States, “You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world” (see Matthew 5:13-16).

He said that to His disciples. That’s our task and calling. Let’s give ourselves to it, by His help and grace, while praying for God’s best for the president.

And while we can seize the cultural movement in which so many radical leftist policies and ideas are being exposed, we cannot let secular culture lead the way.

That’s our job.

Our grandson Connor made a very interesting comment when he was a little boy. His parents (our daughter and son-in-law) were praying for him when he was fighting some minor illness, asking God to heal him. When nothing happened, he said, “Jesus doesn’t have enough hands to heal everyone.” That was his childlike way of explaining why he wasn’t healed. Jesus only had so many hands with which He could touch the sick. He couldn’t get to everyone.

As much as we can smile at his childlike and innocent faith, we too can limit God in our thinking. After all, isn’t it difficult for us to comprehend the fact that right now, all around the world, God is listening intently to every single one of His children praying in a host of different languages, giving full attention to each one? We may affirm with our heads that we believe this to be true, but do we really grasp the reality?

Do we really believe that, as I write these words and as you read them, God knows every thought that every human being is thinking (and has ever thought), that He knows every single thing that every human being (and angel and demon) is doing (and has ever done), and that He is interacting with our words and thoughts according to His plan at this very moment?

It is truly mind-boggling, completely beyond our understanding. But isn’t that the very essence of omniscience, which is literally “the state of knowing everything”?

Recently, while using AI, I got the tiniest glimpse into the vastness of the mind of God.

In short, we know that we can ask our AI bot a complex question in almost any language, and we get a virtually instant, detailed response. (AI has to be checked because it can be unreliable, but when it is accurate, it is stunning.)

Since my Ph.D. from New York University was in Near Eastern Languages and Literatures (with a focus on ancient languages), I have enjoyed asking Claude, my most frequently used AI bot, some very technical Semitic language questions.

Then, I’ve asked Claude to translate his answer into another ancient dialect, and voila, a second later, there it is. I am always incredibly impressed.

The knowledge base of these AI bots is incomprehensibly large, their ability to flow from language to language absolutely stunning, and their speed in responding truly breathtaking. What’s more, 1 million of us could ask 1 million questions to the same AI bot at the same time and we would each get a personalized, instant answer.

How much more, then, does this apply to the mind of God?

How much more does this apply to the one of whom Paul wrote, “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! ‘Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?’ ‘Who has ever given to God, that God should repay them?’ For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.” (Romans 11:33–36)

As human beings, we can be impressed with the size of a really big person (“He’s more than 7-feet tall!”) or a really big building (“It’s 200 stories high!”) or a really big mountain (“Everest is massive!”).

How different is God’s perspective!

“Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are regarded as dust on the scales; he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust. Lebanon is not sufficient for altar fires, nor its animals enough for burnt offerings. Before him all the nations are as nothing; they are regarded by him as worthless and less than nothing.” (Isaiah 40:15–17)

Yet at the same time, He knows the number of the hairs on our head (Matthew 10:30) and before a word is even on our tongue, He already knows it (Psalm 139:4).

And as massive as planet earth is to us, it is less than a grain of sand in the scope of our galaxy, which itself is unfathomably large. Yet scientists have discovered more than 2 trillion galaxies so far. We cannot begin to comprehend what this really means.

Yet God knows every star in every galaxy (in fact, He created them) as well as the tiniest, nearly invisible microbe that the world’s most powerful microscope can barely see.

What’s more, this infinite, transcendent God cares about us deeply, even telling the people of Israel in the Old Testament that when they suffered, He suffered with them (see Isaiah 63:9). (At this point, all comparisons to AI cease.)

More remarkably still, He came into our world in the person of His Son to die for our sins – how unimaginable! – and through His Son He says to us, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28–30)

How mind-boggling is that?

As someone who battled unhealthy eating habits the first 59 years of my life, I am the last one to criticize someone for trying almost anything to lose weight. These are difficult battles, and many of us will take a lifeline wherever we find it. So, to repeat, I am the last one to criticize.

The truth be told, outside of using pharmaceuticals, I tried just about every shortcut I could find to help lose weight. There’s even a chapter in the book my wife, Nancy, and I wrote, “Breaking the Stronghold of Food: How We Conquered Food Addictions and Discovered a New Way of Living,” devoted to listing all the various shortcuts I tried. It’s titled, “Anti-Fat Cream and the Magic Energy Pill.” Yes, I tried it all!

You might ask, “Anti-fat cream? Are you serious?”

Yes, I am.

As I explained in our book, when it came to losing weight, I looked for a cheap and easy fix. One pill promised to boost your metabolism while you slept. Wonderful! I could eat what I wanted during the day and take this pill before bedtime and, voila, I’d be thin almost overnight.

Another pill promised to provide all the fruits and vegetables I needed in one day. Perfect! I could not imagine eating so many fruits and vegetables in a week (or even a month), let alone do it every day. This pill would do the trick!

One time while flying, I was flipping through the airline magazine when I discovered the most amazing thing yet. (This is really embarrassing, but I’m going to tell the story anyway.) It was a special cream that you would apply to the fat parts of your body, and if you did it regularly, the fat would be reduced. I kid you not!

Well, the embarrassing thing is not that I read about this product but that I actually bought it, without telling Nancy. (How in the world could I tell her I did something so stupid?)

Unfortunately, using this cream was quite uncomfortable, since there was never a really good time to put it on, day or night. It was greasy and would stick to your clothes or pajamas, and since the whole key was to apply it and leave it on, you were stuck for hours with this gooey cream on your legs or stomach or wherever you applied it. I don’t think I even tried it more than a couple of times before realizing how idiotic this was, telling Nancy about it and then throwing it way. What a joke!

And even though I exercised when I was overweight, sometimes very intensely, I was looking for a magic exercise solution too, and I took notice of some of the sensational claims that would appear in my email Junk folder, like one that announced: “60-second morning routine KILLS, High Blood Pressure & Reverses 20 Years of Deadly Belly Fat.” All that in just one minute per day!

Other emails featured special “tricks” and “secrets” – all yours for just a few bucks. And the same seductive messages were always there: This time, one of these will work for you, even though none of the other gimmicks worked before, even though you’re bypassing the one thing that will work: radically changing your lifestyle!

The reality is that nothing changed in a lasting way until, by God’s grace and Nancy’s help, I made a radical lifestyle change. (Truly, it was with His gracious help.)

In short, I stopped eating all unhealthy foods and began to eat only healthy foods. (Nancy and I have found the guidelines of Dr. Joel Fuhrman, famous for his “eat to live” message, very sound, transformative and sustainable.)

That’s how, beginning in August 2014, I was able to lose roughly 100 lbs. in less than eight months, going from 275 lbs. to 175 lbs. – not by dieting, but by making a radical lifestyle change.

And that’s why today, more than 10 years later, I weigh about 170 lbs. and do heavy workouts with men in their 20s. (I’m 69 right now.) That’s also why my blood work and health are optimal, and, again, by God’s amazing grace, I’m pain free and medication free. (I am not boasting about tomorrow; I’m simply deeply thankful for today.)

To be sure, I know how hard this is. I fought a losing battle for almost six decades. I was addicted to chocolate. I was a pizzaholic. I was not the master of my diet; my diet mastered me.

That’s why, to say it once more, I am the last person to criticize or judge. To the contrary, I have both empathy and compassion.!

I simply want to encourage you – with Nancy joining me wholeheartedly – to get to know what is healthy and what is not (please do check out Dr. Fuhrman’s materials). And then, work toward getting rid of the bad stuff (most of the standard American diet is bad!), ingesting only the good stuff. This can radically, dramatically and lastingly change your life (and I say this as one who travels around the world doing ministry yet is able to sustain this lifestyle).

And for you who are people of faith, if the Lord could help a lifelong chocoholic like me and a self-professed glutton like Nancy, He can help you. We are praying for your success!

Although what you’re about to read sounds preposterous, it is absolutely true. And while it sounds laughable, it is sadder than it is funny. Let me give you the background first, then I’ll share with you the reason for this article.

In my 2015 book, “Outlasting the Gay Revolution,” I referred to what is called “species dysphoria.” This describes a phenomenon of “people who are convinced that they are part (or all) animal, who become more convinced of their animal identity as they get older, and who dress up like animals and legally change their names to fit their animal identity.”

I continued, “And is it a coincidence that it was Logo TV, the gay TV channel, that began airing a series in 2013 called, ‘What? I Think I’m An Animal’? As the blurb explained, ‘I Think I’m An Animal reveals the truth behind the Otherkin movement’s furry costumes and explores what it’s like to inhabit an animal identity.’

“One young man explained in the documentary series, ‘Basically, other than the fact that I have a human body and human flesh, I am a wolf.’ He said that, for him, this was both spiritual, psychological, and behavioral, and that going through school was a living hell since others didn’t recognize his real identity. He also claimed that he was personally aware of communities numbering in the hundreds of thousands who also identified as animals, including wild cats, domestic cats, flies, and even insects. (They call themselves ‘therians’). Really now, if they’re convinced to the core of their being that this is who they are, why not?”

In my research almost 10 years ago, I saw claims that there were several hundred thousand people who identified as “furries.” Could this be true?

In 2016, we produced an animated video about a man who identified as a female dragon, noting that, “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: If perception is substituted for reality, there is no end to the social madness that follows.

“You do not just have a man being named Woman of the Year.

“You do not just have a white woman who identifies as black.

“You have a father of seven who identifies as a 6-year-old girl.

“You have a man who identifies as a dog named ‘Boomer.’

“You have a young lady who believes she is a cat trapped in a woman’s body.

“You have a man who has his ears removed because he identifies as a parrot.

“And you have a man who changed his identity to female but who has now had “her ears and nose REMOVED to transform into a ‘dragon lady’ with scales, a forked tongue and a horned skull.”

“But why not? More power to him/her/it! If that’s what he/she/it perceives himself/herself/itself to be, why not?”

To repeat: That was in 2016.

More recently, in 2022, I wrote an article titled, “The Professor and Inventor Who Identifies as a Cheetah Named Spottacus,” noting that I was speaking about “a highly accomplished, specific individual. …

“As the headline on the PC Mag website announced, ‘Your Smartwatch’s Heart Rate Monitor Was Developed by a Furry.’ Yes, ‘Dr. David Benaron is an inventor whose team at Stanford laid the groundwork for the optical heart rate monitor. He’s also a cheetah named Spottacus.'”

Yet for many years, this brilliant, highly educated man, has identified as a cheetah.

You would think, then, that nothing could really surprise me anymore. After all, I’ve been talking about this stuff for a long time – not to mock, but to draw attention to what happens when perception is substituted for reality.

Well, you can now consider me surprised.

Early this month (November), I was speaking to about 700 Christian young people (almost all college-age) at the massive YWAM (Youth with a Mission) base in Kona, Hawaii. I was teaching on what the Bible said about gender and sexuality, saying that we must have hearts of compassion and backbones of steel.

Wanting to understand the world in which they were living, I asked, “How many of you had to start one of your classes in high school or college by giving your name and preferred gender pronoun.”

To my surprise, less than 20% of the kids raised their hands, perhaps closer to 10 or 15%. I really thought it would be much higher.

Then, just to ask out of curiosity, I said, “How many of you went to school with someone who identified as a furry?”

Almost half the hands went up! We were all stunned.

I asked for some of the representative identities, which ranged from bumble bee to fox to wolf to cat, among other animals, as well as to more abstract identities including “dirt” and “the universe.” (For a relevant Piers Morgan video, see here.)

I then asked, “Do you think these kids are just trying to be silly or get attention?”

Overwhelmingly, the answer was no. (Subsequently, I asked the young people to stand behind me on the platform for a picture, and again, we were stunned at the sight, even though quite a few of them standing in the back can’t even be seen in the picture.)

I’m confident that this phenomenon, too, will soon pass.

As for those who truly struggle with their true identity, I pray for God’s mercy and help. I can’t for a moment even try to imagine what they’re feeling.

But let us not miss the lesson of the moment. People identifying as animals is, ultimately, no different than biological and genetic males identifying as females, and vice versa.

This is what happens when we deviate from the divinely ordained trajectory, which includes marriage being the union of one man and one woman. May the Lord help us return to reality – and may it be quickly rather than slowly for the sake of all of us.

It was all the rage back in 2020. A chorus of prophetic leaders announced with certainty that Donald Trump would be reelected and serve a second term in the White House, but he did not – at least, not in 2020. Now that he has been reelected, resoundingly at that, does this mean that these prophets were right after all? Certainly not.

First, some of the “prophets” (I will let God decide their actual status and calling) said that Trump would serve eight consecutive years. They were dogmatic and clear and aggressive, even after the 2020 election results were announced. “Watch and see” they proclaimed, but nothing happened.

Second, after Biden’s victory was announced, the prophets predicting his reelection doubled down. Many said that Trump did win the election, but it was stolen.

But that begs the question: If Trump would win but actually lose, why didn’t God show them this too? This would be like me giving you a prophetic word that a rich man would be giving you a Porsche next week, entirely for free. I just failed to tell you it would be carjacked on the way to your house and you would never see it.

Others doubled down by saying, “In the coming weeks, the results will be overturned and Trump will be declared winner,” with some prophesying specific timetables in which this would take place. None of this happened – not in a single instance or court case – despite their guarantees.

Others claimed that there would be a coup and Biden would be removed from office. It would happen right after the inauguration. Or in March. Or April. Or August …

Still others claimed that Biden was not inaugurated, that there was an actor (or shapeshifter!) taking his place, and that Trump was the true president in God’s sight. Seriously!

Still others moved into other realms of spiritual fantasy, as characterized by this “vision” allegedly received in April 2021: “As I was praying today I saw a vision of DJT seated on a throne holding a golden scepter. He also had a golden crown on his head. This, I was shown, is his PRESENT status from heaven’s perspective. That becomes all I need to know, as to should I back off saying ‘the steal will not hold.’ Heaven does not recognize JB having any scepter nor wearing any crown. From heaven’s perspective, there is only the legitimacy of DJT. God has assigned a massive contingency of angels to that scepter and to that crown. They have not ceased assignment and anointed seers can see this. To repeat, the prophetic word has been true all the way from Nov 3. On that date, DJT won the election ‘as spoken by His servants the prophets.’ IT WAS FULFILLED. The only thing presently yet to be made visible is will an outrageous steal hold for a whole term. It will not! The answer from God to the question of when is – SOON. Do I have a date on that SOON? No, I don’t.”

Enough said.

You might say, “But what if God did show these prophets that Trump would be reelected, but they just misinterpreted what they saw?”

That’s actually a valid question, and it’s in keeping with biblical prophecy, in which the prophets did not always understand the timing of the revelations they received.

As Peter wrote, “Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things” (1 Peter 1:10–13).

That’s why we have no business setting dates and putting time frames on prophetic words we claim to receive unless God Himself gives us those dates.

Given that the whole story of Trump’s reelection is almost impossible to believe – whether you’re for him or against, it seems almost miraculous – I have no problem believing that God showed people in 2020 that he would serve two terms.

If He did, the failure was in speaking prematurely and giving false hopes and expectations, rather than praying secretly for God’s will to come to pass based on prophecies received. It would also have been fine if they had said, “God showed me Trump will serve two terms, but I have no idea if they’ll be consecutive or not.” Today, we’d be shaking our heads and marveling.

Let us, then, tread carefully when it comes to speaking for God.

Psalm 91 invites us to take refuge in God alone, the ultimate place of safety. In part 1, we covered verses 1-4. Now, we continue with the rest of the psalm. Enjoy!

Verses 5-6: “You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.” (NIV)

The Hebrew word pakhad can refer to a “fear” or to the thing feared (as in something fearful), translated here as “terror.” Dwelling in that holy hiding place, we do not fear anything night or day, not nighttime terrors, which seem especially frightful, or the daytime arrows – yes, demons and people are out to get us! We don’t even fear the pestilence (Hebrew dever, which was used in 3) or the plague (Hebrew qetev), which some even take as the name of a demon, as it comes stalking during the middle of the day. Yet still, we have no fear, despite flying arrows, menacing plagues, and all kinds of terrors at night. No fear!

Verses 7-8: “A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked.”

This underscores the reality of the promises. People are dying – by the thousands all around us, as in a terrible time of war or epidemic – yet death does not touch us. To the contrary, we will only see God’s judgment wipe out the wicked (which describes those who are dying all around us).

To be clear, these verses are not saying that if one person dies during a plague and the other does not you can conclude that the one who lived was righteous and the one who died was wicked. The book of Job urges us not to think that way. But these verses are saying two things. First, if you love the Lord and walk with Him, when He pours out judgment on the wicked, it will not touch you. Second, even if others are dying in plagues and battles, in that hiding place, you will be secure.

Verses 9-10: “Because you have made the LORD your dwelling place – the Most High, who is my refuge – no evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague come near your tent” (ESV).

Now the psalmist speaks directly, addressing each of us personally – that is, addressing those of us who have taken shelter in the Lord. He describes Yahweh here again as the Most High, speaking of Him in the first person as “my refuge,” just as he did in v. 2. And he describes us as those who have made Him our dwelling place (Hebrew ma’ohn), a word found in Psalm 90 as well, where Moses wrote, “Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations.” (Psalm 90:1)

To say it again: This is where we live – or, better yet, He is where we live. So, if someone asked you, “Where do you live?” you could answer, “I live in the Most High!” Consequently, no evil will befall us (the Hebrew ra’ah speaks of evil or disaster) and no plague – here, the word nega’, which speaks of something that afflicts or strikes us – will come near our tent, implying our family as well.

Verses 11-12: “For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”

This supernatural protection comes about as a result of God sending His angels to guard us wherever we go, lifting us up so we don’t even smash our foot against a rock. What amazing care! As it is written in Psalm 34:7, “The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.” Nothing can get past the angel of the Lord.

Verse 13: “You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent.”

This verse anticipates the authority we have as believers in the New Testament, underlying these words of Jesus in Luke 10:19: “I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.” Here, even in a pre-cross, pre-resurrection context, the believer who lives in Yahweh can trample these foes underfoot, described here in vivid physical terms and likened to dangerous lions and deadly snakes.

The Hebrew peten, translated here as “cobra,” can speak more broadly of a venomous snake, while Hebrew shakhal, rendered “great lion” in the NIV, might refer to the young lion. As for the word translated “serpent,” Hebrew tannin, in other verses, it speaks of a crocodile, a sea-monster, or a dragon. Whatever it is, it is under our feet!

Verse 14: “Because he loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.”

Now the Lord Himself speaks, sharing His heart and His perspective. And what matters most to Him? That we love Him! But this is not the normal Hebrew word for love. Instead, it is khashaq, which speaks of a loving attachment to someone, as expressed well in the ESV: “Because he holds fast to me in love.” Yes! Others render with “clings to me” (NJB) or “has his heart set on me” (CSB) or “has devoted his love to Me” (TLV).

Because of that, Yahweh promises to rescue us, a recurring theme in this psalm, and because we know (or acknowledge) His name, He will protect us, by setting us on high, where we are out of danger. And what does it mean to “acknowledge His name”? In the words of Charles Spurgeon, “The man has known the attributes of God so as to trust in him, and then by experience has arrived at a yet deeper knowledge, this shall be regarded by the Lord as a pledge of his grace, and he will set the owner of it above danger or fear, where he shall dwell in peace and joy.”

Verse 15: “He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.”

Take a moment to grasp what God – the Almighty Creator and King – is saying here. Because of the intimacy we enjoy with Him, because we know and honor Him, He, in turn, will honor us. Yes, God will honor us! When we call to Him, He will be near, hearing us and answering us. And when we go through times of trouble – Hebrew tsarah, which the Septuagint, the ancient Greek translation renders with thlipsis, tribulation – He will be right there with us to help and deliver.

And yes, the Lord says He will honor us, using the exact same word in Hebrew (kabbed) that is used in the Ten Commandments, where we are called to honor our father and mother. To say it once more (since it is so amazing beyond human comprehension), when we live in Him and devote our love to Him, He will honor us.

Verse 16: “With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.”

The Hebrew reads just as the English, giving a promise of long life, which is found throughout the Old Testament in conjunction with obedience (see, for example, Exodus 23:25-26; Proverbs 3:1-2). Yet here, uniquely, God says He will satisfy us with that life, meaning it will be a blessed life, a life enriched by Him. And He will show us His salvation (Hebrew y’shuah), a word used quite holistically in the Hebrew Scriptures, speaking of both physical and spiritual deliverance. God will make it real in our lives!

(Adapted and excerpted from Michael L. Brown, “When the World Stops: Words of Hope, Faith, and Wisdom in the Midst of Crisis.”)

Whoever wins on November 5, of this we can be sure: America will be in turmoil, and emotions will run high. But for those who have a personal relationship with God, there is a place of refuge from the storm. It is God’s hiding place – or secret place – and it is described in Psalm 91 (unless otherwise noted, the NIV is used below).

Verse 1: “Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty”
This first verse lays the foundation for everything that follows. The opening Hebrew word is yoshev, which is an active participle. This refers to continuous action, to life habit, to what one does all the time. Used as a noun, it can refer to someone who lives in a particular place, as in, “I’m an inhabitant of New York City.” So, Psalm 91 is giving promises to someone who lives in God’s shelter and protection. Put another way, if I asked you, “Where do you live?” your answer would be, “I live in the shelter of the Most High.”

But there’s more to that Hebrew word for shelter, which is seter. It is not just as a shelter; it is a hiding place; it is a covert; it is a secret refuge. It is found in verses like Isaiah 32:2, which says, “Each one will be like a shelter from the wind and a refuge from the storm, like streams of water in the desert and the shadow of a great rock in a thirsty land.” (Isaiah 32:2, my emphasis) It is also found in verses like 2 Samuel 19:2, when Saul is threatening to kill David, and which emphasize the aspect of “hiding place, secret place,” even more: “And Jonathan told David, ‘Saul my father seeks to kill you. Therefore be on your guard in the morning. Stay in a secret place and hide yourself” (ESV, my emphasis).

This is where God is calling us to live. In that hiding place, that divine shelter, that secret place where no one can touch us and nothing can harm us. And, even though that place is spiritual rather than physical, it is even more than a physical shelter or hiding place. The Lord Himself is impregnable.

You see, this is not just the hiding place of any god or higher power. This is the hiding place of the Most High God, a term that is found dozens of times in the Old Testament, especially in the Psalms (starting in Psalm 7:17) and Daniel (where the one true God is contrasted with the false gods of the nations, starting in Daniel 3:26). As expressed in the Song of Moses in Exodus 15:11, “Who among the gods is like you, LORD? Who is like you – majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?”

There may be other so-called gods and powers, but there is none like our God. He alone is eternal. He alone is immortal. He alone is omnipotent and omniscient and omnipresent. He is the Most High God, the only one worthy of being called God. Even the demons understand this, crying out to Jesus in the New Testament, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In God’s name don’t torture me!” (Mark 5:7; see also Acts 16:17) In fact, when Gabriel announces to Miriam (Mary) that she will give birth to the Messiah, he says, “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,” (Luke 1:32) This psalm is for those who live in His divine shelter, in His hiding place.

The second half of verse one describes this person as someone who regularly spends the night lodging in the shadow of Shaddai, normally translated “Almighty.” And while scholars debate the exact meaning of the word, it seems that the aspects of power and provision are clearly associated with Shaddai. As for shadow, this image speaks of covering as well as refreshing, a place away from the heat of the day.

The obvious question is: “How do I live there? I can’t pray and read the Bible and worship 24 hours a day. I have a job to work. I have kids to raise. I have responsibilities.”

The answer is simple (but challenging). First, we take serious time, committed time to meet with God daily. We put our roots down deep, alone and with Him. This is the foundation. Second, we live in obedience to His commands, seeking to please Him in our daily conduct.

Verse 2: “I will say of the LORD, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust'”
Now an unnamed individual speaks, but the intent is that it could be you or me. Let these be your words and mine! So, say this about Yahweh (Jehovah), the only true God. He is your refuge, the safe place to which you run and hide where the enemy cannot find you. He is your fortress, that impregnable place where the enemy cannot touch you. He is your God, and you place your trust in Him.

Verse 3: “For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence” (ESV)
This verse indicates that we are still living in a dangerous world, even while we live in God’s hiding place. In other words, He doesn’t take us out of the world but rather delivers us from evil and disaster. This is in harmony with the Lord’s prayer for the apostles in John 17:15: “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.” (John 17:15)

Just as a fowler puts out his snare (Hebrew pakh is a trapper’s net), the enemy will set traps for us, including destructive plagues. But our God will deliver us.

Verse 4: “He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler” (ESV)
Here the image changes to that of a protective bird – pointing to God’s personal and gentle care for us – with His faithfulness serving as a large shield and a small shield (or, a shield and protective wall; see NET). We stand behind His truth, and we are safe.

To be continued!

(Adapted and excerpted from Michael L. Brown, “When the World Stops: Words of Hope, Faith, and Wisdom in the Midst of Crisis“)

Most of us heard the fable of the scorpion and the frog. As paraphrased on Wikipedia, it goes like this: “A scorpion wants to cross a river but cannot swim, so it asks a frog to carry it across. The frog hesitates, afraid that the scorpion might sting it, but the scorpion promises not to, pointing out that it would drown if it killed the frog in the middle of the river. The frog considers this argument sensible and agrees to transport the scorpion. Midway across the river, the scorpion stings the frog anyway, dooming them both. The dying frog asks the scorpion why it stung despite knowing the consequence, to which the scorpion replies: ‘I am sorry, but I couldn’t help myself. It’s my character.'”

In the same way, if Donald Trump is reelected, especially with a major electoral margin, and all the more if the GOP takes control of both houses, a major reason will be that the Democrats are similar to the scorpion. They continue to hold more and more radical positions, positions that are becoming increasingly out of touch with mainstream Americans. And yet rather than act on political pragmatism and modify their extreme positions, they hold to them anyway, even to their own detriment.

It’s true that Kamala Harris is proving to be a very unpopular candidate. In fact, according to a recent poll, “When asked which candidate they rejected ‘more,’ 50.1 percent said Harris, while 48.6 percent said Trump.”

That is really quite striking when you just think of how much hatred there is toward Donald Trump. Yet, according to this poll (conducted from Oct. 25-29), more of them “rejected” Harris than Trump.

But if Trump and the GOP do triumph next Tuesday, it will not just be due to Harris’ unpopularity and Trump’s popularity. That’s because Trump has too much baggage. Too many haters. Too many alienating flaws. Too many obstacles to overcome.

Plus, Trump has disappointed many Christian conservatives by taking the teeth out of the GOP platform on important issues such as abortion and same-sex “marriage.”

No, there is something else going on, something that is driving many voters away from Harris and the Democrats. As articulated by the left-leaning political pundit Van Jones, “I just wonder if we look back on this period – there’s no excuse for the stuff that Elon Musk is doing, the stuff he says, he’s irresponsible – but if progressives have a politics that says, all white people are racist, all men are toxic, and all billionaires are evil, it’s kind of hard to keep them on your side. And so, we might want to think about, if you’re chasing people out of the party, you can’t be mad when they leave. And maybe if we had a different politics, where we actually said, dignity for everybody, everybody’s respected, and we need you, more people might stay.”

Quite true. Except for the fact that the scorpion isn’t thinking rationally and pragmatically. It’s being true to its own nature. It can’t help but sting the very one that it’s depending on for survival.

Put another way, defending tampons in boys’ bathrooms (as per Gov. Tim Waltz) is not a winning strategy.

Advocating government-funded sex-change surgery for trans-identified illegal immigrant inmates (as per Vice President Harris) will not garner popular support.

Or telling black voters that they’re disloyal if they don’t vote for Harris will hardly encourage a greater black turnout for the Democrats.

When it comes to younger male voters (18-29), op-ed writer Erika Sanzi notes that, “From the 2016 Trump-Clinton race to now, the percentage of these voters that identify or lean Democrat has taken a nosedive from 51 percent to 39 percent.”

She attributes much of this to what they’re learning in school, writing, “Schools of education that train teachers are steeped in the worldview that sees girls and women as victims and boys and men as their victimizers. They are told that to be born female in 2024 is to be ‘oppressed.’ Aspiring teachers now spend their college years marinating in anti-male content and rhetoric where slogans like ‘Smash the patriarchy,’ ‘toxic masculinity’ and ‘the future is female’ abound.”

Sanzi continues, “Just as the school-aged boys begin to wonder, ‘is there anything on offer here for me?’, so do the young men in that 18-29 year old demographic when looking at the political left and the Democratic Party.”

She concludes, “The steady drumbeat of denigrating messages heard from the front of the classroom and from the stage of the Democratic convention has left young men feeling alienated and looking for something else.

“They seem to be finding it in the GOP.”

Then why doesn’t the Democratic Party make a shift toward the center?

That’s similar to the question the frog asked the scorpion: “Why Mr. Scorpion, why did you sting me? Now we will both surely drown.”

The scorpion replies, “I don’t know, I guess it’s just my nature.”

In a surprising statement during a town hall meeting earlier this month, presidential candidate Kamala Harris said, “I’ll tell you, there are probably many here and watching who, rightly, have made a decision that they do not believe in abortion. The point that I am making is not about changing their mind about what’s right for them or their family. It’s simply saying the government shouldn’t be making this decision.”

Really? She actually believes that many people have “rightly … made a decision that they do not believe in abortion?”

Then why is she promising to reinstate Roe v. Wade if elected? In her words, she “will proudly sign back into law the protections of Roe v. Wade, which basically just says, it’s the person’s decision, not the government’s decision. That, in essence, is what’s behind my position.”

Doesn’t this sound reasonable? Abortion is one of the most personal decisions anyone can make, and so, if anything is “not the government’s decision,” it is this.

What Harris failed completely to address is why “many” people “rightly” oppose abortion, namely, because abortion takes the life of another human being. Could anything be more basic than that?

That’s why we have laws against murder and laws against rape and laws against kidnapping. All of them are transgressions against another person.

That’s also why, more specifically, we have laws against infanticide, even if the baby is intolerable, even if the child has a congenital disease, even if the mother is simply incapable of caring for the little one.

Whatever the case might be, the one thing she (or the father) is not allowed to do is terminate the life of the baby. Obviously. To do so would be to commit murder.

Had Harris simply said, “We don’t believe the fetus has full personhood, and so the government has no right to impose its will on the mother,” that would have been consistent but immoral.

But what she said was this (and I paraphrase): “Yes, many people rightly oppose abortion” – by which, she obviously meant, in their minds, they have good reason to oppose it – “and I’m not trying to change your viewpoint. That’s why we need Roe reinstated. To take this out of the government’s hands and put it in the hands of the mother.”

What she missed, quite incredibly, is that the whole reason we want to put this in the government’s hands is because we believe that abortion commits violence against a preborn child.

To paraphrase again (but with a change of subjects), “Yes, there are many who rightly oppose slavery. That’s why we need to get the ban on slavery reversed, so you can make your choices and others can make theirs.”

This is as nonsensical as her statement on abortion.

Slavery should be prohibited by law because it is a moral evil and abortion should be prohibited by law because it is a moral evil.

In my new book, “Hearts of Compassion, Backbones of Steel: How to Discuss Controversial Topics with Love and Kindness,” I do my best to present compelling arguments for the cultural positions I oppose, seeking to help us respond with more heartfelt, compelling answers.

In the chapter on abortion, I present some agonizing, hypothetical cases, including this: “Consider the story of a 12-year-old girl whom we’ll call Angela. She was abducted and raped by a sexual predator who had just been released from jail. Who can imagine her trauma? Who can imagine how this horrific event will impact the rest of her life? And how will it affect her whole family? But this is only the beginning. To add shock to shock, Angela finds out she is pregnant even though she is not even a teenager. How can this be? As for the sexual predator, he raped two more girls before he was caught and will spend the rest of his life in prison.

“The only positive thing is that Angela can get an abortion and put an end to the nightmare, without any of her friends and schoolmates knowing what happened to her. At least the horror can be hidden. At least her shame won’t be broadcast throughout her school and her neighborhood. At least she won’t have to put her young body through the trauma of nine months of pregnancy. At least she won’t have to worry about giving birth to a child whose father was a serial rapist and child abuser. Abortion is obviously the compassionate choice.”

We could say in response, “But cases like this, as unspeakably tragic and evil as this is, are the rarest of rare, with abortions performed because of rape or incest making up 1 percent of all abortions. What about the other 99 percent?”

That may be true, but it avoids the question at hand: How can anyone outside of this girl and her family make a decision about her life?

In response, I share stories of women who were raped and aborted their babies, only to learn that the abortion didn’t heal the pain. And I tell the stories of some of the finest people on our planet, people who have an incredible amount of good but were conceived in rape.

I can’t do justice to these responses in full here, but they all go back to that same fundamental point: abortion snuffs out a real, human life, a life with unknown potential, however tiny and still-developing it may be.

And that is what Vice President Harris fails to acknowledge in the least. It is a massive moral blind spot.

This past weekend, we celebrated our 25th annual missions conference, thanking God for the amazing testimonies from our faithful workers who have served on the mission field worldwide, often quite sacrificially. This missions’ movement was birthed directly out of our ministry school, Brownsville Revival School of Ministry, and then FIRE School of Ministry, which in turn was birthed out of the Brownsville Revival in Pensacola, Florida (1995-2000). This is the best answer to the critics who claimed that the fruit of the revival would not last.

One critic claimed that Brownsville was “not really … a revival, but lunatic fringe Christians from other places responding to altar calls,” also referring to it as a “spiritual cesspit.”

A prominent American pastor described the revival as a “mindless, emotional orgy marked by irrational, sensual and fleshly behavior produced by altered states of consciousness, peer pressure, heightened expectation or suggestibility.”

Surely, these emotions would quickly fade!

During the revival, I would say to these critics, “Well, this person has been walking solidly with the Lord now for one full year. What does that indicate about the validity of their conversion?”

The reply would be, “One year? That proves nothing!”

What about several years later, when they graduated from our ministry school with a burning heart to reach the nations? What about several years after that, as they relocated their whole families to serve outside the USA? And what about now, when some of our grads have been on the mission field for 25 years? I would call that lasting fruit!

Eric was a youth pastor who struggled with porn and had to step down from ministry. He visited the Brownsville Revival, experienced deep repentance and complete deliverance, graduated from our ministry school, and has now served on the mission field in Asia with his family for more than 20 years.

Last year, we commissioned one of his daughters to go as a missionary to Japan. This year, we commissioned another daughter to serve in the Philippines.

This is multi-generational fruit.

Andy and his wife Karyn were powerfully touched in the revival, graduated from our school, and were the very first missionaries to sign up. They have served in Mexico for the last 25 years, continuing to bear great fruit and with all their children serving the Lord.

Andy recently wrote this: “We are about to send out a Mexican couple to Asia in 2025; we are super excited about that! We continue to visit the homeless downtown and throughout the streets of Guadalajara, bringing them the Gospel in creative ways from giving food, providing wound care as a nurse, and [more]. …

“Has it been worth it? Absolutely 100%. By life or by death. We have had death threats, rocks pelting me in the head, our churches burned down, stranded vehicles in the middle of nowhere, and insects infesting my toes with eggs. Would we do it all again? Absolutely 100%. Through it all God has been so faithful. It’s just who He is.”

This is God’s answer to the critics and mockers. This is the lasting fruit of a true move of God.

Leann had friends who were powerfully touched in the revival and decided to relocate to Florida and attend our school, enrolling in 2000.

After graduating, she moved with some other grads – mainly single women, like herself – to the Ukraine, where she remains until this day, right in the midst of the war.

She wrote: “I have seen Jesus do so much in Ukraine in the past twenty-one years, it’s been an adventure and a journey. Jesus is alive and well, and changing lives across this land. …

“Ministry began all those years ago, traveling from village to village, gathering all the villagers together, and preaching the Gospel. Our team saw withered hands restored on several occasions, spines healed, a babushka who was completely hunched over get miraculously healed and start running down the road, as well as deaf ears opened. Many of those living in villages are elderly and they were so thankful that we came, as they felt forgotten. We would bring gifts of food and pray with them, they were so touched by the Lord. Many gave their lives to Jesus in their 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s.”

Leann continued, “There were years of ministry in orphanages, children’s shelters, children’s rehab centers, and children’s camps. So many children were introduced to the Bible and Jesus through our ministry. Many of the orphans I knew that were once little are now adults, and some are living their lives for the Lord to this day. I still have connection with some of those I ministered to 20 years ago. …

“I was sharing Jesus recently at a meeting for refugees and an older man named Kolya, in his 60s, was in tears the entire time. I prayed with him, and he told me his whole life he has been searching for something that is true. He joined the Communist party when he was young and saw that it was empty, he tried lighting candles at the orthodox church and he said it was empty. Now, because he has lost his home and came to our city, he met me and for the first time in his life he heard something that is actually true. Kolya said ‘I have waited my whole to hear this truth about Jesus.’ He finally found the truth he longed for his entire life in his 60s!”

She continued, “I have experienced many hardships since the war began. But, I know I am in the place where I am supposed to be, and that’s the safest place for me. Even though we hear explosions every week, sometimes every day. Even though air raid sirens blare off and on every day. Even though we have lived without power and water, mobile service, and internet for long periods of time. I am in the right place. There is such darkness and hopelessness, but I am here to shine the light of Jesus and help destroy the works of the enemy.”

Leann recently got married, but only after her husband-to-be was miraculously protected while on the frontlines of the very worst part of the war. Now, together, they are serving God courageously in that battle-weary land.

This is the fruit of a real move of God, coupled with solid ministry training. Year in and year out, even decade in and decade out, the fire continues to burn.

May the Lord send a fresh wave of revival to His people in America and beyond!

One year ago, on the last day of the celebratory Feast of Sukkot (Tabernacles), the unthinkable happened, and a living hell was unleashed on the people of Israel. That was Oct. 7, 2023, a day that will live in infamy in the decades to come, a day that has still not ended for the hostages and the families of the victims. One year later, on the first day of Sukkot, Yahyah Sinwar, the mastermind of the massacre, was dead.

To add to the poetic justice of the moment, Sinwar, who had eluded the best efforts of combined Israeli and American intelligence for more than one full year, was “accidentally” killed when Israeli troops exchanged gunfire with three Hamas terrorists on Wednesday in Rafah.

One of those terrorists, wounded in his right hand during the gun battle, ran into an empty building, which was then destroyed by IDF tank fire.

It was only afterward, on Thursday, when soldiers investigated the scene and found the bodies of these Hamas fighters, that they made the shocking discovery. This terrorist looked exactly like Sinwar!

The first day of Sukkot began on sundown Wednesday, and as the next day unfolded, the shocking news was being announced worldwide: it was very likely that Sinwar was dead.

By mid-evening Thursday Israeli time, the news was confirmed: It was a DNA match. Sinwar had been eliminated.

From everything I had read in the previous months, it was believed that Sinwar was living in the tunnels, surrounded by hostages, constantly changing his location to avoid detection.

More recently, reports indicated that he was either hoping for a regional war that could better his chances of survival or that he was resigned to his fate, knowing he would not make it out of Gaza alive. In that case, it was understood, many hostages would die with him.

There were also unconfirmed reports that he had sometimes dressed as a woman and walked the streets of Gaza, allegedly being sighted or even photographed, but none of that was confirmed.

The idea that he would be out in the open, engaging in a firefight together with other Hamas terrorists is almost unimaginable, yet that’s exactly what happened.

It reminded me immediately of the biblical account of the death of Ahab, a wicked Israelite king who went into battle without his royal robes, not wanting to draw attention to himself. “But someone drew his bow at random and hit the king of Israel between the sections of his armor” (1 Kings 22:34). Within hours, the king was dead.

The act was seemingly random, but since Ahab was destined to die under divine judgment, the arrow was actually guided by another hand. Is that what happened to Sinwar in Gaza?

Of course, the death of this mass murderer does not bring back any of the Israelis killed on or since October 7 (including the hundreds of IDF soldiers). It does not assuage the pain of these agonizing, life-wrenching losses. Nor does it bring back any of the thousands who have died in Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.

But without a doubt, it brings a measure of retributive justice along with, hopefully, a crippling final blow to Hamas.

Not only so, but this is only the tip of the iceberg in Israel’s response to the massacre and the subsequent attacks from Hezbollah, Iran and the Houthis.

In recent weeks and months, Israel took out: 1) Hassan Nasrallah, the longtime leader of Hezbollah, along with his replacement and his replacement’s replacement; 2) Ismael Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas, killed in what should have been the safety of his guest house in Tehran; 3) a number of senior Iranian military leaders; 4) thousands of Hezbollah operatives, either wounded or killed by the exploding pagers and walkie-talkies.

This is absolutely extraordinary.

It is true that Israel was guilty of systemic security failures on October 7, opening the door to the massacre.

It is true that Israel was a nation deeply divided, that some of its military and security leaders had become either proud or complacent, and that some of the most radical elements of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s right-wing government were contributing to unrest in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank), further stretching Israel’s security forces.

A number of Israel’s senior leaders have apologized for some of these failings, as the nation as a whole remains in the throes of war and corporate PTSD.

Yet Sinwar’s death is a beacon of hope for the nation and a reminder to the watching world that you pay a dreadful price when you seek to inflict murderous harm on the people of Israel. (Even as I write these words, Iran is still wondering how Israel will strike back in retaliation for Iran’s recent missile bombardment.) The terrorists and their allies are on high alert.

As for biblical prophecy, there is nothing in the Scriptures that specifically predicted the events of October 7 or the death of Sinwar.

But it is fair to ask this question: In light of the timing of the massacre (the last day of Sukkot 2023) and now the announcement of Sinwar’s killing (the first day of Sukkot 2024), and in light of the many deadly blows inflicted on terrorist leaders and their followers in recent months, how would biblical authors describe these events? Would they attribute them to natural forces alone?

In my opinion, while the biblical authors would deeply lament the massive losses of October 7, they would certainly recognize the hand of God backing Israel’s efforts since then.

I, for my part, would have a hard time differing with that assessment.

To the shock of the state of North Carolina, where my wife, Nancy, and I have lived since 2003, Hurricane Helene wreaked massive devastation, taking at least 118 lives with at least 92 still missing. No one saw this coming, and it has brought unimaginable suffering to whole communities living in the mountains of our state, where horrific, unprecedented flooding wiped out little towns and destroyed countless homes, businesses and roads.

To this moment, many residents remain without power, and it is almost impossible to access some of the hardest hit areas.

Nancy and our younger daughter, Megan, who lives nearby, connected with a local ministry and spent three days cleaning up and bringing supplies, trying to make the tiniest dent in a rebuilding process that will take many years.

The suffering is so great and the losses so staggering that it’s hard to conceive it all without being there – and I have not been there myself. The videos and stories alone are heartbreaking.

Both Nancy and Megan made subsequent trips to help out, but Nancy was able to volunteer with Samaritan’s Purse, the Christian aid foundation founded by Rev. Franklin Graham. (They actually have so many volunteers coming from around the country that you have to find dates where they have openings.)

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Nancy volunteered to work with the Red Cross in bringing aid to the devastated victims there, but she was stunned by the lack of organization and the chaotic way things were done as well as the available funds not getting to the people who needed them most. (Perhaps her time with them was not representative, or if it was, perhaps they have improved since then.)

This time, with Samaritan’s Purse, her experience was the exact opposite.

Here’s what Nancy posted on Facebook this past Saturday (be sure to click on the link to see all the pictures!): “Started working yesterday (Oct. 11) with Samaritans Purse in Spruce Pine NC. What an amazing organization! So completely God centered and wonderfully organized. They pray with all the homeowners as well as give out Bibles in addition to working extremely hard all day long in the muck and the mire. And these are not just perfunctory prayers. These are deeply expressed and heartfelt … many times with tears. We even had a little worship service at the various sites. This is a completely Christ centered organization and if you want to donate or volunteer somewhere, this is the place where your money and your body will be put to work big time!

“Sewer system has been completely compromised where we are here in Burnsville NC (staying at a church), and some areas are completely decimated. Thankful that Samaritan’s Purse has an array of well maintained toilet and shower trucks!

“Today (Sat 12th) we were in Green Mountain NC and many of the roads are completely washed out with no way to get to the people. Their homes have been flooded, and now that the water has receded, the mold and stench has taken over. They have no electricity and it was 36° this morning.

“Some very dangerous driving around here … driving over, under, and around power lines and that with half of the road washed away and crumbling underneath. We worked on two houses with the lower levels completely flooded with tons of mud and the properties loaded with debris. One was the house of a 90-year-old man (CC was what he was called). He had to bring his wife to a local nursing home because he didn’t want her to stay in the house. He had to carry her out of the house by himself in order to get her to safety. He was sharp as a tack and so sweet and overwhelmed with thankfulness. When he saw the group of us there and the work that had been done, he said it was the happiest day of his life … and that his hope had been renewed. CC was given a special Samaritans Purse Bible (only published for disaster victims), which was signed by all of us who worked on his house. Several of those in his area were killed including a husband and wife. The husband’s body was found 35 miles down river in Tennessee. They are still looking for his wife. Their 8 year old survived.

“There is so much need here and it is such a privilege to serve God in this way.” (See here for her second update.)

Nancy and I have been married for 48 years, and she is quite a perfectionist with very high standards. She is extremely slow to hand out praise, and it is exceedingly rare for her to speak about another organization in such glowing terms, which she repeated to me privately in greater detail. She would be thrilled to see more contributions come their way.

This is what the gospel looks like in action, with every single volunteer she spoke with being a professing Christian.

May the Lord be gracious to these devastated individuals, families and communities, and may He bring lasting good out of this tragic storm.

Jesus deeply cares about these people, many of whom live in isolated, rural areas and are virtually unknown to the rest of society, living and dying in obscurity. Those on the ground, like Nancy and Megan and all the other volunteers, provided an up close and in person encounter with His love.

To say it again, this is what the gospel looks like in action, and Samaritan’s Purse is helping to lead the way.

According to an Oct. 9, 2024, article in the New York Times by Shane Goldmacher, “There may be seven main battlegrounds in the race for the White House in 2024, all of which could prove crucial. But Pennsylvania stands apart as the state that top strategists for both Ms. Harris and Mr. Trump have circled as the likeliest to tip the election.”

In light of this observation, which is hardly novel, the obvious question is: Why, then, wasn’t Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro chosen as Harris’ vice presidential running mate? Wouldn’t he do a better job of delivering Pennsylvania to the Democrats? And overall, wasn’t he a much better choice than Tim Waltz?

Now, I am neither a political pundit nor a pollster. And I am simply raising questions rather than making assertions, let alone dogmatic assertions.

But what if Trump wins the national election and taking Pennsylvania was a key to that victory? (Again, this is not a prediction; these are questions.) What if choosing Shapiro for vice president would have secured Pennsylvania for Harris? And what if he was not chosen because of anti-Israel, anti-Jewish sentiments?

I’m not the only one to ask such questions.

Writing Aug. 6 for Forward, a liberal Jewish publication (actually, America’s oldest), Jacob Kornbluh stated, “Some say Harris’ decision to go with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz was influenced by an aggressive social media campaign led by pro-Palestinian activists and progressives aimed at keeping Shapiro off the ticket.

“The Harris campaign has denied this. A Harris aide, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, called the claim ‘absurd,’ and ‘absolutely ridiculous and offensive.'”

Two weeks earlier, also writing for Forward, a headline to Benyamin Cohen’s article asked, “Will Josh Shapiro’s Jewishness hurt or help a Harris ticket?” Yes, we were told, “The Pennsylvania governor is on the shortlist for vice president,” but, “Will antisemitism derail the nomination?”

This was hardly an abstract concern.

Writing for the Jewish Telegraphic Agency on Aug. 6, Ron Kampeas asked, “Is it weird that Kamala Harris chose Tim Walz to be her running mate instead of Josh Shapiro?

“On Tuesday, as soon as the vice president announced that the Minnesota governor would be her running mate, critics of the choice began suggesting that she sidelined Pennsylvania’s governor because he is Jewish.

“‘Did Harris reject Shapiro just because progressives don’t like that he was Jewish?’ tweeted Alan Dershowitz, the lawyer and gadfly who has said he is a Democrat but has frequently defended Donald Trump.

“Maury Litwack, an Orthodox Union executive who focuses on education policy, tweeted, ‘Democrats: You can be excited about the Walz pick but also be sad that an outright antisemitic campaign was waged against Shapiro. Some soul searching is needed.'”

Nonetheless, Kampeas ended his article quoting Chuck Schumer, himself Jewish, dismissing the idea that “Jews were not welcome in their ranks.” Schumer responded to a post from conservative commentator Erick Erickson who had tweeted, “No Jews allowed at the top of the Democratic Party.”

“News to me,” Schumer wrote.

Yet it is not only Jewish publications like Forward and the JTA discussing these concerns.

An Aug. 2 headline on CNN.com stated, “Some Jewish Democrats wonder if America is ready for a Jewish vice president.”

The article, written by Edward-Isaac Dovere, stated, “With Shapiro very much in contention in Kamala Harris’ rushed running mate search, the Democratic world – already divided over the politics of Israel in the wake of the October 7 Hamas attack – is wondering whether the U.S. would really be ready for a Jewish vice president – andthe first Black and South Asian woman president, who happens to be married to a Jewish man.”

Also on Aug. 2, and writing for USA Today, Riley Beggin noted that, “As Harris nears a decision, some Democratic voters and organizers are urging her not to choose Shapiro because of concerns about his Israel stance and how he has handled the fallout from the Israel-Hamas war in the United States.”

The headline read, “Josh Shapiro’s vice presidential prospects spark debate over Israel policy, antisemitism.”

Then, on Aug. 7, also in USA Today, Joey Garrison and Rebecca Morin wrote, “Walz and his common-man persona got the nod over Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, 51, whose popularly in his home state made him a strong option to help deliver what is widely seen as the most important battleground state of the election.”

Then why wasn’t Shapiro chosen?

They continue, “Throughout the 16-day vice presidential selection process, Shapiro was seen as the betting favorite, and the stage was literally set for a hometown pick, with Harris holding a rally in Philadelphia on Tuesday night to debut her selection. But momentum for Walz built in recent days from the left while progressive activists raised concerns about Shapiro’s stance on Israel. Shapiro’s defenders argued he was unfairly singled out because he is Jewish.”

Obviously, Jews have played a prominent role in Democratic politics for years. And there have been more than a few Jewish Democratic presidential candidates, most prominently Bernie Sanders, Michael Bloomberg and Joe Lieberman (vice presidential candidate in 2000 as a Democrat before becoming an Independent). Few would seriously argue that the main reason Hillary Clinton defeated Sanders in the primaries was because he is Jewish. (For the record, both Howard Phillips and Marianne Williamson are Jewish too.)

And then there was Barry Goldwater, the Republican candidate for president in 1964, who was crushed in the election by the Democratic incumbent Lyndon Baines Johnson – and not, primarily, because he was Jewish. (Arlen Specter, formerly a Democrat, ran for president in 1996, but as a Republican.)

What is different today, however, is Israel’s war in Gaza (and beyond) and the massive spike in anti-Israel sentiments throughout America, coupled with the Biden-Harris efforts not to alienate Arab American voters.

Given the potential importance of Pennsylvania in the elections, it is foolish not to consider concerns of an anti-Jewish, anti-Israel backlash as a main reason Shapiro was not chosen. This is hardly a matter of playing the anti-Semitism card. In this case, it could well be real.

One full year after October 7, the nation of Israel is still traumatized, and many of its people are still in great pain. One full year later, there are still scores of hostages languishing in Gaza, if not dead, and their families remain in daily agony. One full year later, the war with Hamas continues, but now there is also war with Hezbollah in Lebanon, as well as possible war with Iran itself. One full year later, rather than sympathy for Israel growing it is hatred for Israel that is growing.

One year ago, the unthinkable happened on Israeli soil. A mass pogrom took place within the borders of this tiny state, the one place that was supposed to be safe for Jewish people. The nation’s vaunted security systems failed miserably, and babies were slaughtered, women were raped, the elderly were executed, and whole families burned alive.

I remember waking up the morning of the 7th to the news that Hamas terrorists had flooded Israel and that as many as 100 Israelis had been killed. Impossible, I thought. Not today, in Israel. This cannot be. Then there were reports that several soldiers had been taken hostage. This, too, was unthinkable, with horrific potential consequences.

After all, IDF soldier Gilad Shalit had languished as a hostage in Gaza for five long years before his release, which required Israeli releasing 1,027 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for his life – and one of those prisoners was Yahyah Sinwar, the mastermind of the October 7 massacre. What would Hamas do with several Israeli hostages?

But as that dreadful day unfolded, the news was far more devastating than anything we could have imagined. This is what I wrote one year ago as more reports came in: “Heartbreak. Shock. Agony. Devastation. Confusion. Rage. These are just a few of the emotions flooding the hearts of millions of Israelis in the midst of an unprecedented terrorist attack by Hamas. This is a time to stop and pray for the merciful intervention of God.

“What makes this attack all the more insidious is that it comes almost 50 years to the day of the infamous Yom Kippur War in 1973. At that fateful time, Israel was attacked in the midst of 24 hours of prayer and fasting on the holiest day of the year, Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.

“The current attack, on October 7, 2023 did not just come on Saturday, the Sabbath, but on what is called Simchat Torah, ‘the joy of the Torah,’ the greatest day of celebration on the Jewish calendar. This is the culmination of the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot), a day of singing and dancing and rejoicing.

“But this day, instead of dancing there is wailing and mourning. Bloodshed has filled the land.

“First there were reports of a limited number of casualties. Then shocking news of as many as 40 Israelis killed and 700 wounded. Then reports of more than 100 dead and 900 wounded. And the battles still rage as I write, with reports of Israeli soldiers taken hostage by Hamas.”

Only later did we learn that 1,200 were murdered, 3,400 wounded and almost 250 taken hostage. The mind reels at these numbers.

I had the sickening privilege of viewing the 47-minute film compiled by the IDF gathered from CCTV footage, the body cams of the terrorists and cellphone videos, including many from the victims themselves shortly before their deaths. I also visited the site of the Nova Music Festival as well as a large lot filled with hundreds of burnt vehicles, many of them also riddled with bullets. Just being at these sites and seeing the IDF footage was overwhelmingly painful – and all I did was glimpse from a distance the unspeakable agony of a nation.

Since that fateful day, more than 700 Israeli soldiers have died in battle, and every night, Israelis watch the news with dread awaiting the news of the latest fatalities.

Then there is the burning salt that been poured into Israel’s corporate wounds over these months, such as when the IDF accidentally killed three of their own people in Gaza, young men who had managed to escape from their captors, only to be shot and killed when they were mistaken for terrorists.

Or the news that as many as 20% of IDF soldiers killed have been the victims of friendly fire, so difficult is the warfare in Gaza.

Or the news that six Israeli hostages, men and women who had endured almost one year of hell, including a young man who lost a hand on the 7th, were executed by their captors as the IDF drew near, shot in cold blood in the back of the head.

Or the appalling reality that, one full year later, Kfir Bibas is still in captivity – he was only 8 months old when he was kidnapped by the terrorists. Also in captivity with Kfir is his older brother. He was just 4 years old when abducted.

This is pure, unadulterated evil.

And all the while, a host from the left and the right deny that any women were raped on the 7th. Or that any babies were killed. Or that any children were burned alive.

And all the while, Israel is accused of committing genocide against the Palestinian people and engaging in terrorist acts against the Hezbollah militants.

One full year later, the pain remains great, and the nation is suffering corporate PTSD, even as it remains deeply divided, adding to the trauma. Even in America, Jewish students on campuses now feel unsafe – and for good reason.

Please pray for God’s mercy on His people Israel and that He would somehow bring beauty out of ashes and life out of death. And, as much as my focus has been on the Jewish nation in this article, let us pray for God’s mercy on the suffering Palestinians as well. They, too, are victims of militant, terrorist Islam.

Have mercy, Lord, and intervene!

Over the decades, “normal life” in Israel has looked very different than normal life in most every other country in the rest of the world. That’s because Israel has been surrounded by mortal enemies who want nothing less than the nation’s destruction, because Israel’s very existence is constantly being threatened, because Israel must live in a state of constant vigilance. And what happens when the nation lets down its guard and its security systems fail? October 7 happens.

Some of the most revealing accounts from the massacre came from non-Israeli young people attending the Nova Music Festival. On the morning of Oct. 7, as the sound of rocket blasts was heard, these non-Israelis were alarmed. “Are we under attack?”, they wondered. But their Israeli friends danced and partied on. Nothing to be worried about! We get bombed all the time.

Little did any of them realize that this day would be different than the rest. But until the full reality hit, this was just another day in the life of an Israeli.

For more than a decade now, many Israelis install apps on their cellphones notifying them of missile attacks in their area, sounding red alerts. Can you imagine having an app like that on your phone?

A few years ago, while attending a conference in Pennsylvania, an Israeli friend casually showed me her cellphone as missile warnings came flooding in. No big deal!

Every home must have a safe room, designed to be more protective in the case of bombing, while every building has a built-in or nearby bomb shelter. And in some parts of the country, such as Sederot, near the Gaza border, residents can never be more than 15 seconds from a bomb shelter.

Welcome to normal life in Israel.

After high school, male Israelis are required to serve three years in the army while females serve for two years. This is mandatory for everyone, with the only exemptions being for ultra-Orthodox Jews, although that is currently being challenged. Many of these young people may find themselves on the front lines of hellish battles while still in their teens.

Life in Israel is quite sobering, to say the least.

And military service doesn’t end with the mandatory time after high school. Israeli men can still be called back to service until they are 40 (for non-commissioned soldiers) or even 45 (for officers). In fact, in the midst of the current war in Gaza, those numbers have been upped to 41 and 46, respectively.

Last June, when I was speaking at a conference in Jerusalem, a young Israeli man came into the meeting. He was dressed casually, in shorts and a T-shirt, but he was carrying his gun over his shoulder. As a soldier, he was required to have his weapon with him at all times, even though he had just returned from active service. This is a common sight throughout the country.

To give a random example from Feb. 22, 2016, “Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot ordered that all off-duty IDF combat soldiers must carry their personal weapons in response to the recent violence, specifically following last week’s terror attack at a West Bank supermarket.”

An off-duty Israeli soldier who had deposited his gun in the weapons armory, as per protocol, had tried to thwart a terrorist attack and was stabbed to death. From here on, said the IDF chief of staff, even off-duty soldiers – in this case one who was on vacation – must carry their personal weapons.

As for other aspects of “normal life” in Israel, if you walk into a shopping mall carrying a pocketbook, it could well be searched. And don’t think you’ll just go strolling in with a big knapsack on your back.

As for enjoying a meal at a nice outdoor restaurant in your favorite city, you can expect to see armed security present as well. Vigilance is always required.

During a wave of terrorist attacks some years ago, I heard from friends in Israel who were married with kids. Both parents would never be out without their kids lest they be killed and the children orphaned. One parent would stay home while the other shopped or worked. Who could even imagine thinking like that in a country like the United States?

As for El Al, the national airline, you have not discovered the meaning of “security check” until you fly El Al. I have personally been held up for well over an hour on more than one occasion because my travel route seemed odd or something else flagged their attention. And should they have real cause for concern, security agents will actually cut open your luggage in search of explosives or dangerous devices.

Be assured that this is not paranoia. This is what Israel must do to live in safety.

Israel lives with the reality of Hamas leaders vowing to repeat October 7 again and again until there is no more Israel; of Iran calling for the extermination of Israel and now launching direct missile attacks on the Jewish state; of the Houthis proclaiming, “Death to Israel”; and of Hezbollah armed with more than 150,000 missiles and rockets.

All the more reason should Christians pray for the protection of Israel and remind God of His promises in Psalm 121.

This is also why Israelis are so tough. They have no other choice.

A seasoned ministry colleague wrote to me last week asking for assistance. “I need some help with exegesis of Luke 13:31-32,” he said. “I spoke at a conference last week with many pastors who used that passage where Jesus calls Herod a fox as their rationale for using coarse language about Harris/Walz and the other political side. I was quite disturbed by the name-calling and mocking from the pulpit, and I reproved them all when it was my turn to speak.”

He continued, “I was shocked that the pastors used that passage to justify their mocking and name-calling from the pulpit, citing Jesus as our example. Do you, as a Messianic Jew, have any insight into the historical/contextual usage of ‘fox’ in 33 A.D.? I need to be able to answer pastor’s defense of their name-calling using that passage.”

He then sent me an excellent response compiled by our mutual friend and colleague, Dr. Joseph Mattera.

Dr. Mattera explained, “The term ‘fox’ here carries connotations of craftiness, cunning, and deceit, but also weakness and insignificance compared to a lion or other more powerful animals. In ancient Jewish culture, calling someone a fox could imply that they are untrustworthy, deceptive, and sly, but it was not necessarily the most severe insult. It might also suggest that Herod, despite his political power, is insignificant in God’s larger plan.

“Jesus does not use the term in a gratuitously insulting or hateful manner but as a descriptive judgment of Herod’s character and actions. Herod is portrayed as someone trying to be cunning and obstructive, yet ultimately powerless to stop God’s will.

“Jesus speaks confidently of continuing His work of healing and casting out demons, emphasizing His obedience to the divine timeline (‘today and tomorrow, and the third day I finish my course’). His response to Herod’s threat is one of sovereign authority and calm determination, not personal animosity or unnecessary name-calling.”

He added, “Notice – Jesus doesn’t use vulgarity or aim to shame Herod publicly. His response remains focused on fulfilling His mission, not attacking Herod’s personal dignity.

“His words are measured, reflecting confidence in God’s purposes rather than descending into personal attacks.”

Dr. Mattera also noted that, “In 1 Peter 2:17, Peter instructs Christians to ‘honor everyone’ and ‘honor the emperor,’ even though the emperor in his time was hostile to Christians.

“In Titus 3:1-2, Paul encourages believers to ‘be subject to rulers and authorities,’ and to ‘speak evil of no one,’ underscoring a posture of humility and peace.”

He closed with this: “In summary, in Luke 13:31-32, Jesus calls Herod a ‘fox,’ but His intent is not to indulge in demeaning or hateful rhetoric. Rather, it reflects Herod’s political behavior in opposition to God’s plan, expressed with a calm, authoritative stance. Christians should take this as a model for measured speech, not license for name-calling. Jesus’ ultimate focus is always on fulfilling God’s mission, and He consistently teaches His followers to love, respect, and honor others, including political leaders – even when those leaders oppose God’s purposes. Therefore, using this passage to justify name-calling toward leaders misinterprets the intent and spirit of Jesus’ words.”

I added some further confirming data, making the following points.

1) We are not Jesus! He would likely speak Matthew 7:1-5 to us the moment we opened our mouths. (In that passage, Jesus tells us that before we judge others, we need to judge ourselves.)

2) Joe [Mattera] is entirely right in quoting the verses from 1 Peter and Titus. The Word clearly tells us how to speak about leaders, and claiming that Jesus used coarse or even vulgar language when speaking about Herod is just an excuse for our own carnality.

3) The most authoritative NT lexicons explain the word fox in Luke 13:32 to mean “a crafty person” or “a sly, crafty person”; at the worst, Jewish background could suggest “an insignificant, lowly human being, while a big, important individual is compared with the lion” but even here, the meaning of “shrewd, crafty” is more likely.

4) According to some of the top commentaries on Luke, “‘Fox’ is best taken as an image of craftiness or slyness” (John Nolland). According to I. Howard Marshall, the ideas of both cunning and insignificant are present. Darrell Bock explained, “By calling Herod a fox Jesus may be saying either how clever Herod is, as in the English idiom, or how destructive he is, more consonant with ancient expression (Neh 4:3; Lam 5:17–18; Ezek 13:4 …). Contextually an allusion to destructiveness is slightly more likely.”

A. T. Robertson (“Word Pictures”) noted, “This epithet for the cunning and cowardice of Herod shows clearly that Jesus understood the real attitude and character of the man who had put John the Baptist to death and evidently wanted to get Jesus into his power in spite of his superstitious fears that he might be John the Baptist redivivus. The message of Jesus means that he is independent of the plots and schemes of both Herod and the Pharisees.”

Craig Keener wrote in his New Testament Bible background commentary, “Calling someone a ‘fox’ in antiquity would not necessarily imply that the person is sly; instead, it could portray the person as worthless, slanderous, treacherous or (often) cunning in an unprincipled manner. Thus Jesus here does not offer Herod a backhanded compliment (cf. Ezekiel 13:4). Perhaps more to the point, foxes also would prey on hens (v. 34) when they got the chance.”

So, without question, the word “fox” was not some vulgar or coarse word, be it in Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek. This is just another popular myth concocted to give cover to our own carnality. (I heard someone in the mid-1980s claim Jesus was calling Herod gay when He referred to him as a fox. That is utterly bogus as well.)

As Christian leaders, we can call out evil in no uncertain terms and we can bring words of reproof to politicians and judges and people in authority when they do wrong. But let us not resort to name-calling and coarse rhetoric. It may get the crowds going and may make us feel good, but it is fleshly, unproductive and contrary to the Spirit.

Instead, the higher we step, the more clearly we can be God’s prophetic spokesmen. Then our words will really carry weight, as the Lord’s piercing and convicting truths will not be diluted and polluted by our own carnality.

There is a Talmudic dictum that states, “If someone comes to kill you, rise up and kill him first” (b. Sanhedrin 72a). This is part of a discussion of the laws of self-defense, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cited it with reference to the targeted killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. Was this a right and fair application of this Talmudic principle? And did Israel rightfully follow this same principle in the pager attacks on thousands of Hezbollah operatives? Or is Israel engaging in acts of terror?

When it comes to Nasrallah, this was not a matter of someone coming to kill you. This was a matter of someone who was already responsible for thousands of deaths, both Israeli and Arab.

As Netanyahu said in his speech in Hebrew after killing Nasrallah, “‘The one who rises to kill you – rise and kill him first.’ The State of Israel has eliminated the arch-terrorist Hassan Nasrallah. We have settled accounts with the man responsible for the murder of countless Israelis and many citizens of other nations, including hundreds of Americans. Nasrallah was not just another terrorist. He was the terrorist.”

Indeed, even Al Jazeera news noted that other Arab nations viewed Nasrallah as a terrorist, and after his death was confirmed, there was celebration in different parts of the Arab/Muslim world, including the countries of Lebanon, Syria and even Iran. (Note that Nasrallah studied in Islamic seminaries in Iran and Hezbollah, like Iran, is Shiite, making celebrations there even more significant.)

A Lebanese speaker and columnist wrote, “As a Lebanese, this is one of the happiest days in Lebanon’s history. As a Middle Easterner, this is one of the most transformative days for the Middle East. As a human being who holds peace before my eyes, this is the most important day for our region.”

And throughout the Middle East, videos were posted of dancing and singing in the streets, along with the traditional handing out of sweets and candies. Muslims were celebrating what Israel was able to do.

Even President Biden, who is trying not to alienate Arab-American voters, referred to Nasrallah’s killing as “a measure of justice for his many victims, including thousands of Americans, Israelis, and Lebanese civilians,” noting that, “Nasrallah and Hezbollah ‘were responsible for killing hundreds of Americans over a four-decade reign of terror.'”

More broadly, Steven Simon noted that, “With the confirmed assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah … it is clear now that the entire senior command echelon of Lebanese Hezbollah is dead.

“That includes the Radwan commander, in charge of operations against Israel on the ground along the Blue Line, and his key subordinates. Also the top IRGC Quds Force people assigned to Lebanon. Add to this, thousands of Lebanese Hezbollah operatives who rated a company pager are out of action, blind, mutilated or dead.”

What, then, of Israel’s targeted pager and walkie-talkie attack on these Hezbollah operatives? Was this a justifiable act of self-defense, or was it a mass terrorist action?

Let’s remember that Hezbollah set up operations in northern Lebanon directly bordering Israel more than 40 years ago, with the goal of terrorizing Israeli citizens. They have done this for decades, now owning the largest arsenal of any non-state army in the world. At this very moment, more than 80,000 Israelis have had to evacuate their homes due to Hezbollah’s rocket and missile attacks.

And remember that, on Oct. 8, just one day after the Hamas massacre, when the nation of Israel was suffering devastating losses and deep corporate shock, Hezbollah began a fresh bombardment of its own from the north, one that has not ceased over the months.

Hezbollah and Nasrallah have also resisted Israeli attempts in the past to separate from Hamas with the goal of brokering a peaceful coexistence between Israel and Lebanon. Not only so, but they have brought terrible suffering on the Lebanese people, setting up their military operations in the midst of communities.

When it comes to those targeted in the pager, walkie-talkie attack, those owning them were Hezbollah operatives, all of whom had sworn themselves to the destruction of Israel.

Had they been taken out in normal military operations by Israel, most commonly, through IDF air strikes, there would likely have been thousands of civilian casualties as well. In the case of the exploding devices, while there were, quite tragically, some civilian casualties, including the death of some children, the number of those casualties was massively lower than would have been the case through normal military operations. And surely, in the eyes of the Jewish nation under constant, deadly onslaught, this precise wounding and killing of terrorists was morally justifiable, fully and completely.

Contrast this with the effects of an errant Hezbollah rocket that landed in a Druze village in northern Israel, killing 12 children who were playing soccer.

This is the murderous recklessness of this dangerous terrorist organization, one whose powers have been massively curtailed by Israel in recent days.

That’s why the overwhelming consensus of those responding to my poll on X – at a ratio of 20 to 1 – said that Israel was not guilty of terrorist activity when it exploded the pagers of Hezbollah members and assassinated Hezbollah leader Nasrallah.

As we approach the momentous Nov. 5 elections, there are plenty of people who can offer a more astute political commentary than I, so I’ll defer to them right now. What I can do is help ignite a fresh spiritual fire in each of us, knowing that, as we burn bright, America will be changed. Revival in the church remains the only real hope of the nation. (If you are not a follower of Jesus, you may not find the rest of this article relevant. But you’re free, of course, to read on.)

The Irish missionary to India, Amy Carmichael (1867-1951), once prayed, “Make me Thy fuel, Flame of God!” Inspired by this prayer, missionary and martyr Jim Elliot (1927-1956) wrote, “God makes His ministers a flame of fire. Am I ignitable? God, deliver me from the dread asbestos of ‘other things.’ Saturate me with the oil of Thy Spirit that I may be a flame. Make me Thy fuel, Flame of God.”

Am I ignitable? Are you? Or are we too immersed in the dread asbestos of “other things”?

Make us wholly ignitable, Lord! We want to be living torches for you.

Speaking of John the Immerser (the Baptist), Jesus said, “John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light” (John 5:35). Speaking of all of us, Smith Wigglesworth (1859-1947), known as the apostle of faith, said, “Oh, if God has His way, we should be like torches, purifying the very atmosphere wherever we go, moving back the forces of wickedness.” How wonderful that would be!

Yet for many of us, this seems like a completely farfetched, unattainable goal. For others still, it is not even a desirable goal, wondering, “Isn’t that a little fanatical?”

Not at all.

Paul called us to offer our very bodies as living sacrifices on God’s altar, which means the complete, unreserved consecration of our entire lives to Him. (See Romans 12:1 – and remember that sacrifices are burned on the altar.) Paul also exhorted us with these words: “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord” (Romans 12:11).

The Amplified Classic Bible puts it like this: “Never lag in zeal and in earnest endeavor; be aglow and burning with the Spirit, serving the Lord.” And The Message paraphrases the verse, saying, “Don’t burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. …”

God really does want us to burn – with love for Him, with love for this dying world and with a passion that sets our whole being ablaze.

Yet this is not something we can work up in ourselves. It is only the Lord Himself who can immerse us afresh in the fire of the Spirit.

That’s why Methodist leader John Fletcher (1729-1785), known for his saintly demeanor, prayed for more oil in his lamp. (The English is antiquated, but the spirit of his words will resonate with many of you as you read.) Fletcher prayed, “Lord, I stand in need of oil. My lamp burns dimly. It is more like a smoking flax than a burning and shining light. Oh, quench it not, raise it to a flame!”

Can you relate to these words? Is that how you feel in your own life right now?

He continued: “I want a ‘power from on high’; I want penetrating, lasting ‘unction of the Holy One.’ … I want a lamp of heavenly illumination, and a fire of divine love burning day and night in my heart, as the typical lamps did in the temple, and the sacred fire on the altar. I want a full application of the blood which cleanseth from all sin, and a strong faith in Thy sanctifying Word – a faith by which Thou mayest dwell in my heart, as the fixed object of my love.”

And then this: “I do now believe that thou canst and wilt thus baptise me with the Holy Ghost and with fire; help me against my unbelief; confirm and increase my faith. Lord I have need to be thus baptised by thee, and I am straitened [constrained] till this baptism is accomplished.”

Fletcher is talking about a fresh immersion in the love and reality of God. It is something I/we must have. It is not an option if we want to burn bright for Him.

As Paul wrote to the Philippians (and by extension, to us), “Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation. Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life.” (Philippians 2:14–16)

The Lord really wants us to shine. He is the light inside of us!

I had the privilege of becoming a close friend of Leonard Ravenhill (1907-1994) the last five years of his life. He is best known for his classic, life-impacting book “Why Revival Tarries,” but I remember him most as an incredible man of prayer, a man who carried a deep, broken heart for the state of the Church and shared a beautiful, intimate love with the Lord.

He used to quote the words of old hymns to me, which I share here with you as words of prayer. Perhaps you can pray them as well?

O that in me the sacred fire
Might now begin to glow,
Burn up the dross of base desire,
And make the mountains flow!

And this:

Breathe on me, Breath of God,
Till I am wholly thine,
Until this earthly part of me
Glows with Thy fire divine.

May God ignite a fresh fire of love for Him, a fire that will burn out everything defiling and unclean, everything unworthy of Him.

May we get the fresh oil we need (see Matthew 25:1-13), choosing to spend quality time with Him and yielding our lives to His will.

And may we encounter God anew so that we become living torches for Him “purifying the very atmosphere wherever we go, moving back the forces of wickedness.”

With human effort, this is impossible. But all things are possible to the one who believes (Mark 9:23; Luke 18:26).