Christ is king: Why the globalist agenda is doomed to fail



The world isn’t what it used to be — or at least, that’s how it feels.

Every day, we wake up to another headline that sounds more like a dystopian novel than real life. The moral decay, the erosion of individual freedoms, the blatant hostility toward biblical truth — none of it happened overnight, but the acceleration is dizzying. It’s easy to look around and think, "This is it. This is the end."

We may not always see his plan clearly, but we trust in the one who rules over all.

Just last year, the darkness felt particularly suffocating. Conservative parents protesting at school board meetings and Christians praying quietly at abortion clinics were targeted by the Biden Justice Department. Policies were enacted that undermined the family, eroded religious liberties, and weakened our national sovereignty.

Globalist elites smugly declare, "You will own nothing, and you will be happy," while living in luxury and flying their jets around the globe. Big Government, Big Tech, Big Finance, Big Pharma — all marching in lockstep toward a world devoid of personal liberty. And for those who resist? They are silenced, canceled, or crushed.

In moments like these, despair whispers in our ears.

The absolute sovereignty of God

When the world unravels, it’s easy to forget that nothing happens outside God’s control. Governments may rage, tyrants may scheme, and civilizations may crumble, but not one event unfolds apart from the sovereign hand of our king. History is not spiraling into chaos — it is marching toward fulfilling God’s eternal plan.

Scripture makes this clear: "The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will" (Proverbs 21:1). Every ruler, government, and regime — even those that oppose God — are still subject to his authority.

We do not panic when the world grows darker or lose heart when persecution increases. Instead, we stand firm, knowing that the same God who works all things for our good (Romans 8:28) also works all things for his ultimate glory. We may not always see his plan clearly, but we trust in the one who rules over all.

How should Christians respond?

Knowing God is sovereign does not give us an excuse to retreat from the battle. Quite the opposite — it is the foundation for bold, fearless action. So how shall we then live?

1. Reject passivity & despair

It’s one thing to acknowledge God’s sovereignty; it’s another to live like we believe it. Too many Christians have surrendered to passivity, thinking God’s control means inaction while the world burns around them.

But throughout history, the faithful have fought, preached, worked, and suffered, trusting in God’s unfolding plan even when they couldn’t see the whole picture. First Corinthians 15:25 reminds us that Christ is actively reigning, subduing his enemies even now, and we have a role to play. When culture turns hostile and governments oppress, we do not despair — we pick up our tools, stand firm in truth, and advance with unwavering faith.

The gates of hell will not prevail against Christ’s church.

2. Live as people of hope & action

Our mindset should not be dictated by headlines but by the unshakable reality that Jesus Christ is king. We do not cower in fear; we step forward in faith. The kingdom of God is advancing, and we are called to be active participants, refusing despair and apathy. No matter how dark things seem, we press on because we know how the story ends — Christ wins.

As Martin Luther said, “Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.”

We do not wait for better days to act. We act now, living in faith, planting seeds for the future, and trusting that God will bring the harvest.

3. Strengthen the foundations

The erosion of a civilization does not begin with policies or politicians — it starts with the rejection of truth. When truth is abandoned, families weaken, churches compromise, and societies collapse.

To see lasting change, we must strengthen the foundations by taking responsibility for the next generation, reclaiming education, and equipping children to think biblically and stand firm. But it’s not just education. We must also build Christian institutions, churches that preach the full counsel of God, businesses that operate with integrity, and communities rooted in biblical values. The enemy seeks to dismantle these pillars, but we must be relentless in rebuilding them.

The church must lead by restoring truth, strengthening families, and reclaiming the cultural ground we have ceded. We do not need permission to live as God has called us — we need the courage to do it.

The long game

History turns quickly, and just when darkness seems overwhelming, God moves. The early church endured brutal persecution, yet the gospel spread like wildfire. The Reformers stood against a corrupt religious system, unleashing the word of God and transforming nations. Tyrants have repeatedly tried to stamp out the truth, only to fail. This should give us confidence!

Donald Trump’s re-election has shifted policies, reversing some of the damage inflicted by the Democratic Party. This has given us some breathing room in which to make progress. But our hope is not in any politician. Christ reigns now, and our mission remains the same, no matter who holds earthly power.

The church has outlasted empires. Rome fell. The Soviet Union crumbled. Countless oppressive governments have come and gone, yet the body of Christ remains, and his kingdom advances. "For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet" (1 Corinthians 15:25).

We do not fight for short-term victories alone — we build for the long haul. We do not merely survive — we advance. And we do so with full confidence that no globalist agenda, no failing civilization, and no oppressive government will overthrow the king of kings.

Christ reigns — now

If there’s one truth that should shape how we live, it’s this: Christ reigns. Not someday, not after some future event — now. He is seated at the Father's right hand, ruling over all things and bringing history to its appointed end. The collapse of nations, the rise of tyrants, the chaos of our age — none of it is outside his control.

That means we have no reason to fear.

Too many Christians today live as if they are on the losing side. But the reality is the exact opposite. The kingdom of God is advancing, and the enemies of Christ are being subdued. Every cultural battle, political upheaval, and struggle we face is just one more step toward the fulfillment of his plan. Our job is not to retreat or despair but to proclaim Christ, make disciples, and take dominion.

So press forward — not with fear but with faith. We build, we fight, we raise our children to love the Lord, and we take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. We do not measure success by election cycles or news headlines but by the unshakable promise of God’s word.

Victory is certain. Christ reigns. Now, let’s live like it.

Jesus keeps showing up in dreams. Are you paying attention?



Under the weight of reality, humans believe in miracles, although “believe” is an understatement. We “believe” in miracles the same way we “believe” in our own existence, our own two hands.

Sometimes it’s just latent — it needs to wake up.

If miracles don’t exist, then what are we even doing here, on this grassy, wet, populated cannonball spiraling through the Milky Way?

Revelation isn’t about wisdom; it’s about awakening.

Miracles are undeniable. Perhaps they are not scientifically provable, although this assumption, as you’ll see, is itself wobbly.

We don’t know how miracles happen. There’s no script or receipt. And this often, by nature, defies scientific examination. Over the past 2,000 years, one thing has proven true: All miracles come from Jesus of Nazareth, the Word.

In the digital network era of information, Christ has been gliding through the dreams of millions of nonbelievers.

Across the Middle East, where hostility toward Christianity runs deep, people have been dreaming of Jesus. Usually he introduces them to someone, a stranger, who miraculously appears in their life the next day.

Warning shot

When Abraham and Sarah entered Gerar, Abraham, afraid for his life, told everyone that Sarah was his sister.

King Abimelech, unaware of the truth, took Sarah into his household. That night, God appeared to him in a dream with a chilling message: "You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken; she is a married woman" (Genesis 20:3).

Abimelech pleaded his innocence; he hadn’t known that she was married. God acknowledged this, but warned him: Return Sarah, or suffer the consequences.

This dream was more than a warning. It was a rare moment when a non-Israelite received a direct message from God.

Dreams, in the biblical world, are deeper than unconscious thoughts — they are places where heaven and earth meet.

Synchronicity

A few years ago, I dove into the ideas of Carl Jung, the Swiss psychologist who ushered in a new form of Christianity.

Jung saw dreams as a source of prophecy. He called them “paranormal phenomena” — things science can’t explain. If miracles had a theory, this might be it: events bound by meaning, not cause.

I like to think it’s playful. That the Creator, my Creator, leaves clues of His love.

One of his big ideas is synchronicity, the unexplainable occurrence of meaningful coincidences. Think “synchronized,” but the coordination is divine.

Mark Twain was born in 1835, a year in which Halley’s Comet passed Earth. He predicted he’d die when it returned. In 1910, the comet appeared again — the day after his death.

A song comes on just as you’re thinking of someone who died, like a message sent through static. Numbers, phrases, chance encounters. The book that finds you, the right person at the right time. Fate colliding in ways too romantic to ignore.

Synchronicity proves that everything is connected, often in beautiful ways. The whole experience is so well crafted that it feels literary, like a novel tangled with theme, foreshadowing, dramatic irony — all the devices of storytelling.

And dreams — they are agents of synchronicity.

Even before reading Jung, I doubted the idea of accidents and coincidences. But Jung gave me the science — the science of the unprovable. Suddenly, I was drowning in meaningful connections and vivid dreams. A bombardment of symbols. The outer world mysteriously syncs with the most private thing of all: my thoughts, the endless dialogue between a soul and itself.

Solomon’s dream of wisdom

Early in his reign, Solomon went to Gibeon to offer sacrifices. That night, God appeared to him in a dream and said: "Ask for whatever you want me to give you" (1 Kings 3:5).

It was a test. Solomon could have asked for power, wealth, or victory. Instead, he asked for wisdom — to rule well, judge rightly, and discern good from evil.

God was pleased. He gave Solomon wisdom beyond measure — and threw in riches and honor.

Unlike other biblical dreams, which often needed interpretation, this one was clear. No riddles. Just a conversation, a moment of divine intimacy. The dreams of Jesus have this same quality, as if he reveals himself in the sharpest, most cinematic way possible, like a preview for the final apocalypse.

The Greek apokalypsis doesn’t mean destruction. It means revelation. A dream given form, a vision laid bare. It is not about God’s wrath but His love. The Second Coming will not be a final explosion of divine fury — it will be love breaking through.

The apocalypse has already happened: at Golgotha, on a hill shaped like a skull. Year 33. The cross was the unveiling — the great revelation that shattered history into before and after.

Simone Weil and the dream of presence

Simone Weil is one of my favorite writers. Weil was a French-Jewish philosopher who, after having a mystical experience at the foot of a crucifix, became deeply influenced by Christian mysticism and theology.

Weil believed that we experience God’s love indirectly through the people and objects of the world.

She believed in a God who withdraws — not to abandon, but to make space for freedom.

His absence, she wrote, is what allows the world to breathe. Yet, in that very withdrawal, He leaves traces — signs scattered like constellations for the soul to follow.

Weil called this the “implicit love of God.”

At the heart of her thought is de-creation, a concept as startling as it is profound. Unlike destruction, which bulldozes and erases, de-creation is an undoing that reveals.

It is a return, not to nothingness but to origin, a movement backward to the moment before something was formed, when it existed in pure potential. In de-creation, Weil saw the soul’s highest calling: to be unmade and remade, to let go of the self until what remains is only presence itself — the light of love stripped of ego.

It is a dream of reversal, an unbuilding that does not diminish but restores. The world, Weil suggests, is not a prison to escape but a teacher guiding us toward that dream of return — toward the place where God waits, hidden and everywhere.

“Love is not consolation,” she wrote. “It is light.”

Hidden since the foundation of the world

Jacob, exhausted and alone, stopped for the night in a barren place. He laid his head on a rock and fell asleep. Then he dreamed a ladder, stretching from earth to heaven. Angels ascended and descended.

At the top, the Lord spoke: "Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth. ... I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go" (Genesis 28:14-15).

Jacob gasped awake. The ground beneath him suddenly felt sacred.

"Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it. ... This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven" (Genesis 28:16).

This dream was a turning point. Jacob may have been a fugitive, but he was not abandoned. The ladder — a bridge between heaven and earth — marked the moment he began to understand that God’s presence was not confined to altars or temples. It reaches everywhere, like the wind, unseen yet undeniable.

God's presence in creation is a mysterious paradox. His revelation is also His concealment, so that He reveals Himself in the world but remains beyond our full comprehension.

Revelation isn’t about wisdom; it’s about awakening. It’s about looking up at the sky: “When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?” (Psalm 8:3-4).

Joseph, the dreamer

Joseph’s dreams shaped his life. As a boy, he saw visions of sheaves of wheat bowing before him; of the sun, moon, and stars bending in reverence. When he shared them with his brothers, their jealousy burned. Soon, they betrayed him, selling him into slavery in a foreign land.

But Joseph’s gift did not fade.

In an Egyptian prison, he interpreted the dreams of Pharaoh’s cupbearer and baker — one would be restored, the other executed. When Pharaoh himself was troubled by a dream of seven fat cows devoured by seven gaunt ones, no one could decipher its meaning except Joseph.

The dream was a warning: Seven years of plenty would be followed by seven years of famine. Pharaoh, recognizing Joseph’s divine wisdom, elevated him to power.

The dream that almost stopped the crucifixion

In the middle of history’s most pivotal trial, when Jesus of Nazareth stood before Pontius Pilate, another figure — almost forgotten — received a warning from beyond.

Pilate’s wife, unnamed in Scripture but later called Claudia Procula in tradition, had a dream — and it shook her.

As Pilate sat in judgment, trying to navigate the political and religious storm around Jesus, a message reached him from his wife: "Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him" (Matthew 27:19).

A dream. Not a whisper from the high priests, not a threat from Rome, but a dream.

We don’t know what she saw — only that it tormented her. Perhaps she witnessed the brutal execution before it happened, or saw Jesus in divine glory, or simply felt an overwhelming dread. Whatever it was, she suffered. And she warned her husband to walk away.

Dream logic

Beyond the tiny raindrops of grace that rescue each of us throughout our lives, there’s proof everywhere, like the enormity of our universe, coded into every mystery of life.

Childbirth is a miracle. From the moment of conception and the clustering of cells to the first flutter of a heartbeat, life itself is a divine act. Parenthood is a miracle. Children are perhaps the most miraculous of it all.

The other day my 4-year-old told me, “You’re my king.” It knocked me sideways, the way I felt so honored that my child, my miracle, would see me, in all my flaws, as her king.

And then I crunched sideways the other way when I realized that God may feel similarly. So I’ll say it because people hear it even when they’re dreaming: Jesus is King.

Chris Pratt reveals the deal he made with God — and what he's doing for Lent



Big-time actor Chris Pratt, on the media circuit promoting his new Netflix film "The Electric State," recently spoke to the Christian Post about his faith, the evangelical nature of his platform, and the unnerving moment that prompted him to strike a lasting deal with God.

While Hollywood script-readers frequently churn the waters ahead of a big premier with superficial insights into their personal lives that they or their handlers reckon might turn out select demographics and fill theater seats, Pratt's simultaneous Lenten outreach and relatively consistent messaging over the years suggest that there might be something to his recent divulgences to the Post.

Pratt, one of the highest-grossing actors of all time, who was on at least one occasion rolled into Time magazine's top-100 list of influential people, told the Christian Post that his priority is Christ.

"I care enough about Jesus to take a stand, even if it cost me. It could cost me everything, but I don't care. It's worth it to me because this is what I'm called to do; it’s where my heart is," said Pratt, who told Men's Health magazine in 2022, "I'm not a religious person," and claimed that "religion has been oppressive as f**k for a long time."

"I'm a father of four. I want to raise my children with an understanding that their dad was unashamed of his faith in Jesus, and with a profound understanding of the power of prayer, and the grace and the love and the joy that can come from a relationship with Jesus," added the actor.

Pratt noted further that while similar expressions of faith aren't common in the entertainment industry, he has no intention of hiding his own, quoting Matthew 5:14-16: "A city set on a hill cannot be hidden."

While the actor has apparently suffered no break in his faith, Pratt indicated that he has repeatedly strayed from the straight and narrow.

'My heart softened, and my faith hardened.'

"I'd make promises, but I didn't keep them," said Pratt, a father of four who remarried in 2019. "I said, 'God, save me in this moment, and I'll give you my life.' And then He did, and I was unburdened from the weight of my shame, my guilt, and my sin. And then months later, maybe a year later, two years later, I'm off doing the same stuff that got me down the wrong path in the first place. The sinful, broken nature of humans was living in my heart."

After making and breaking his share of promises, Pratt apparently found one that he had to keep for the sake of his own flesh and blood.

Pratt revealed at the March of Dimes Celebration of Babies in 2014 that when his first wife, Anna Faris, gave birth to their son, Jack, in August 2012, the baby boy was nine weeks early, weighing just 3 pounds, 12 ounces, reported Variety.

Pratt and Faris were told that their boy might have special needs and possibly would require surgery to correct his eyes.

"He had all of these issues going on," Pratt told the Post. "I prayed hard to God. I was in a season of transition spiritually at that time and didn't quite fully understand. I made a deal with God again: 'I'm sorry, God, here I am again, asking for your grace again.'"

"He really saved my son," continued Pratt. "And that was the moment [my faith] was cemented. My heart softened, and my faith hardened. That was the moment that I was like, 'Moving forward, I'm going to give my platform to God.'"

Pratt indicated in the time since, he attempted to use his celebrity status and influence both to "affirm the people who are believers in Christ" and to "reach out to the people who have no idea who God is."

'If people don't understand me, I'm going to pray for them.'

This year, Pratt has teamed up with Mark Wahlberg, "The Chosen" actor Jonathan Roumie, Sister Miriam James Heidland, and Fr. Mike Schmitz on the Pray40 challenge, an initiative championed by the Catholic prayer and mediation platform Hallow to encourage people to pray every day during Lent, which began on March 5, Ash Wednesday.

Pratt, whose wife, Katherine Schwarzenegger Pratt, was baptized Catholic but met Pratt at the evangelical Zoe Church in Los Angeles, indicated that he came across the Hallow app's "Bible in a Year" podcast a few years back and "did the whole thing."

"It gave me a deeper, more comprehensive understanding of the Bible," said Pratt. "It totally strengthened my walk with Jesus."

"I thought, if I partner with Hallow, maybe I can amplify what is ultimately a really beautiful thing. This 'Bible in a Year' podcast, the prayers, meditations, it's all soul food," added Pratt.

According to the Hallow site, Pratt will join Wahlberg in sessions focused on fasting. Cardinal Robert Sarah, the Catholic Church's prefect emeritus of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, will apparently lead Saturday sessions that focus on meditation in silence, and Fr. Schmitz will lead Sunday homilies.

Last year, nearly 2 million joined the Pray40 challenge.

Pratt indicated that he is certain "there's going to be blowback" from his open profession of faith and promotion of prayer.

Actress Elliot Page attacked Pratt in 2019 for allegedly belonging to a church where homosexuality was not universally embraced as an acceptable preference. He was also mocked for his Christian faith and not attending a Biden event with other Marvel stars in 2020.

When faced with such criticism, Pratt indicated, "I am just going to rely on God. ... I was called by God to do it, and if people don't understand me, I'm going to pray for them, and then I'm going to go back and hang out with my kids and play tag."

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Embodied truth: God's timeless design silences woke gender delusion



The first time the words “male” and “female” appear in scripture is on page one. God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth” (Genesis 1:26).

God would make image-bearers, and they would exercise dominion over the creation he had made. “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27).

We are embodied creatures because bodies matter — and bodies matter because God made them.

Then God blessed his image-bearers and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth” (Genesis 1:28).

God made Adam and Eve as embodied creatures (Genesis 2:7, 22-23), and their embodiment had a sexual design because they were capable of procreation. Their maleness and femaleness were not separate from biology but were clarified by it.

Now, of course, in a Genesis 3 world, not every male will father a child, and not every female will deliver one. Reasons for this abound. Nevertheless, we must notice that in Genesis 1:26-28, maleness and femaleness involve sexual complementarity. Moreover, God had told the man, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him” (Genesis 2:18).

God created male and female, and this design was good, complementary, and pre-fall. We know that God’s design is relevant post-fall as well. When Jesus taught about marriage and divorce, he said, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate” (Matthew 19:4-6).

In Jesus’ words about marriage and divorce, we can discern the echoes of Genesis 1:27 and Genesis 2:24. One takeaway for post-Eden image-bearers is that God’s good design remains relevant and instructive for our good and for human flourishing.

We can deduce from the embodiment of God’s image-bearers in Genesis 2 that their physical bodies were not dispensable — or extraneous — to their existence. In other words, Adam and Eve were not created as bodiless souls that were later given physical frames. They took the breath of life as embodied creatures, and their bodies were good. The man’s maleness was evident by his body, and the woman’s femaleness was evident by hers.

We live in an era marked by tremendous and heartbreaking confusion about the biological and theological realities of maleness and femaleness. Biological facts are no longer pervasively considered to indicate whether you are a man or a woman. Rather than a person’s body being understood as an objective clarifier of one’s gender identity, the body is sometimes viewed as the problem for a person’s subjective perception of who they are.

When natural and special revelation — in this case, biology and the Bible — are ignored in the understanding of human identity, the result is a pursuit against reality itself and a defiance against God himself. Such defiance will cause havoc, inhibit human flourishing, and calcify consciences. This will not end well.

God created male and female, boys and girls, men and women. Our bodies are not opposed to our identities but rather, give objective and biological clarification to who we are. We are not bodiless image-bearers. We are embodied creatures because bodies matter. And bodies matter because God made them.

This essay was originally published at Dr. Mitchell Chase's Substack, Biblical Theology.

Neil deGrasse Tyson tries to mock Christianity — but exposes his own ignorance instead



Neil deGrasse Tyson may know a lot about the stars. But he clearly doesn't know the one who created them.

Recently, Tyson went viral on X for posting a message that implicitly accused Christian athletes — those who thank God after victory — of a contradiction.

"Curious that talented athletes frequently credit God when they win, but we rarely see them blame God when they lose."

— (@)

The logic of Tyson's claim is simple: If God is responsible for victory, then he is also responsible for defeat. But if athletes who thank God for victory don't blame him for defeat, they are guilty of selective reasoning and are, therefore, inconsistent. The implicit accusation is that Christian athletes are disingenuous unless they vocally implicate God when defeated.

While Tyson may have thought he was being clever, his critique demonstrates that he fundamentally misunderstands basic Christian faith and theology.

Gratitude is core to Christian character

Clearly, Tyson misunderstands why Christian athletes thank God.

Christians athletes do not thank God because they believe he is handing out trophies from heaven. Instead, they give thanks to God because they know gratitude and humility are core Christian virtues.

The apostle Paul teaches Christians to "give thanks in everything" (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Why? Because living from a posture of gratitude is "God's will." Christians give thanks to God because we understand that "every good and perfect gift is from above" (James 1:17).

All blessing — everything that we have — is a gift from God.

Suffering is part of the journey

But the problem is deeper than Tyson's apparent confusion over why Christian athletes thank God: He also misunderstands the Christian perspective on suffering.

To blame God, as Tyson suggests Christians should do, would be a demonstration not in gratitude but entitlement. Winning isn't a divine right, and God's purposes are not limited to a scoreboard. God doesn't owe Christian athletes a victory, and defeat is not evidence of divine neglect. There is no reason, therefore, to blame God for defeat.

Despite what Tyson claims, Christian athletes do give thanks to God after losing, and it's easy to understand why.

God has a greater purpose for us beyond worldly achievement, and God often uses failure — or what appears to be "failure" — as a tool to cultivate good fruit within us that transcends results on a scoreboard.

Suffering and struggle — or in this context, defeat on the playing field — are part and parcel of the Christian life. When faced with it, Christians should "consider it pure joy" because when Christians remain faithful in the face of trials, it "produces perseverance." The apostle James adds, "Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything" (James 1:2-4).

Christians thank God in victory and defeat because we do not strive after mere earthly rewards or, in Paul's words, a "perishable crown." Rather, Christians seek the "imperishable crown."

Victories on the field are like perishable crowns: They're temporary, and in the grand scheme of life, they mean very little. But because Christians seek after eternity, it's easy to thank God for victory or loss because we know that he uses both for our good.

Victory? Defeat? In God's kingdom, it doesn't matter because "in all things God works for the good of those who love him" (Romans 8:28).

Faith is not science

Finally, Tyson's critique demonstrates the limits of secular reasoning.

Tyson accuses Christian athletes of inconsistency because they (allegedly) only thank God after winning. But his argument rests on a faulty assumption: that faith must conform to rational (and atheistic) standards of logic.

At the heart of Tyson's argument is an assumption that Christian faith should operate like science. But that is a secular framework — not a Christian one.

Christianity isn't a mathematical formula or a mere cause-and-effect system whereby one input always produces a predicable output. God is sovereign over all creation, yes, but he is not a divine puppet master. God does not micromanage every outcome using symmetrical reasoning. Thanking God in victory does not require blaming God in defeat.

Tyson, moreover, ignores the God-human relationship at the heart of Christian faith. His critique is a demand that attempts to force Christian faith — and God himself — into a transactional framework that is unknown to Christianity.

That Tyson would force his secular paradigm onto Christianity says more about him than it does God or Christian athletes.

Tyson thought he was exposing Christian hypocrisy, but, ironically, he only revealed his own ignorance about Christian faith. If he wants to critique Christianity, perhaps he should first attend a kindergarten theology class.

Pro-Farrakhan megachurch pastor attacks black Trump supporters with racist slurs after being triggered by White House event



A Georgia megachurch pastor cast aspersions on supporters of President Donald Trump during a recent sermon. The pastor, who has praised Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, described black Trump supporters as "coons" and "runaway slaves."

Pastor Jamal Bryant of the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in the Atlanta area was triggered by black Trump supporters attending a Black History Month event hosted by President Trump at the White House earlier this month.

In 2015, Bryant called black pastors who met with Trump worse than prostitutes.

A black Trump supporter at the reception celebrated the appointment of Kash Patel as the new FBI director. Newsmax host David J. Harris Jr. shared video showing him at the event saying, "Here at the Black History Month celebration at the White House. Everybody here, Kash Patel has been confirmed as the FBI director. Who’s ready for some heads to roll? Kash, I know you got the receipts. Hold them mothersuckers accountable."

Then one of the attendees of the White House reception mocked the pastor by holding up a large cardboard cutout picture of Bryant.

Bryant responded by saying, "It wasn’t just about me, but it was an attempt to silence the voice of the prophetic black church."

Bryant told WSB-TV, "To be singled out at a White House reception as a potential target to be 'held accountable' by the newly appointed FBI director was not on my 2025 bingo card ... but let me be clear that no amount of intimidation or political pressure will silence the truth."

He continued, "I stand firm in my commitment to speak out against this administration or any corporation that seeks to erode generations of progress among marginalized communities. It is not only my right, but it’s our collective responsibility as citizens to hold the powerful accountable. At this critical moment, we must collectively resist any radical actions that threaten the very foundations of our democracy."

On Sunday, Bryant lashed out and verbally attacked black Trump supporters during his sermon.

Bryant screamed, "I feel bad for them coons in the White House, who are in there tap-dancing for massa, wearing bow ties, shimmying and grinding, laughing like nothing is funny!”

“I ain’t afraid of the spooks who sit at the door," Bryant declared. "These runaway slaves hiding in the White House gonna throw my picture up thinking I'm gonna be afraid."

T.J. Moe — a contributor to BlazeTV host Jason Whitlock's "Fearless" — shared a video earlier this month of Bryant telling his congregation that God would remove Republicans from government.

Moe stated, "This is brainwashing and the black church has bought it. They worship race and the Democratic Party, not Jesus Christ. Can you believe this? It's ironic, isn't it? The left loves to talk about separation of church and state, but they're the first ones to blur those lines when it suits them."

"Republicans stand for life, liberty, and small government — values I think align with biblical teachings more than any progressive agenda," Moe continued. "But no, Bryant's out there claiming divine intervention against Republicans. Sounds like he just wants to interpret God's will to fit his political ends."

Bryant campaigned with Kamala Harris during her failed 2024 presidential election campaign.

The pastor has openly praised Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan for years.

Earlier this month, Bryant also demanded a 40-day boycott of Target after the retail giant abandoned its diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.

In 2015, Bryant called black pastors who met with Trump worse than prostitutes.

"I want to apologize, because prostitutes get money," Bryant stated during an appearance on CNN. "And the 100 that went in there walked away with nothing, they did it for free. So there's another word for that, and I would not use that language on the family channel."

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Man behind popular 'Thank You Jesus' signs charged with sexually exploiting a child



The man behind the popular "Thank You Jesus" signs has been accused of sexually exploiting a child, according to police in North Carolina.

The Randolph County Sheriff’s Office stated that 25-year-old Lucas Timothy Hunt was arrested on Tuesday. Hunt, of Asheboro, North Carolina, was charged with one count of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor.

'We can say that Lucas Hunt, through the Thank You Jesus signs, has helped thousands of people and has been a blessing.'

Hunt was booked at the Randolph County Detention Center before being released after posting a $75,000 bond, according to jail records.

Hunt made his first court appearance on Wednesday, where he told the judge he understood the charges and plans to hire an attorney, according to WGHP-TV.

Hunt reportedly declined to speak to the news outlet following the hearing. He is expected to appear in court on March 19.

In January 2025, the Invictus Task Force launched an investigation after receiving a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The Invictus Task Force is a collaboration of sheriffs' offices, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, and Homeland Security Investigations that investigates child exploitation, solicitation, and trafficking.

Deputies with the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office said in the arrest warrant that Hunt received materials depicting two pubescent females engaged in a sex act, according to the Charlotte Observer.

Connie Frazier, president of the "Thank You Jesus" mission, told WFMY-TV, "We will not be commenting on the charges, but we can say that Lucas Hunt, through the Thank You Jesus signs, has helped thousands of people and has been a blessing."

As a teenager, Hunt began selling yard signs in 2016 that read: "Thank You Jesus."

According to the archived "Thank You Jesus" website:

In 2016, a young teenager named Lucas Hunt prayed for help to display Easter signs in his hometown of Asheboro, NC. Also, he prayed that these efforts would have a giant impact on the Kingdom. A few weeks later a board member at his church, Connie Frazier, sought the Lord's direction concerning an Easter project for their congregation. Lucas and Connie were unaware of each other’s prayers and desires. Then, God spoke very clearly to Connie instructing her to design a Thank You Jesus yard sign that would be distributed nationwide. Thank You Jesus signs were embraced and the wave of gratitude took hold.

The site said that more than 250,000 "Thank You Jesus" signs have been sold.

The signs reportedly sell for $8 to $10 and have been sold in every state.

The Winston-Salem Journal interviewed Hunt in 2017, when he was 17 years old.

Hunt told the outlet his reaction when he sees one of the yard signs, "Somebody in that household believes the way I believe — they love the same Jesus."

He added, "People ask if it’s a brand. It's not a brand, but it’s a ministry. It's not a way of selling you this product, that product. It’s all about Jesus."

When asked about his future in the interview, Hunt replied, "We'll just see what God has planned. He's already blown my mind."

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‘Homestead’ Is Proof Christian Films Are Getting Better — But There’s Room For Improvement

With 'Homestead,' Angel Studios has set out to embrace a kind of dark storytelling but with a Christian edge.

I thought I understood God's love — then I became a mom



It is often said that a parent’s love for her child is the closest picture we get of God’s love for humanity on this side of heaven. Years before motherhood was even on my radar, my own mother told me that when my first child was born, I would feel God’s love for me more deeply than ever before.

Last spring when that day came and my son was placed in my arms at the hospital, a glittering joy crescendoed into worship as I thought, Yes, this is exactly what I expected to feel — love beyond comprehension, loved beyond comprehension.

What I did not anticipate, however, was how the parallel (albeit an imperfect one) of a mother’s love for her child and God’s love for us would continue to evolve long after the initial newborn sweetness wore off and the grueling reality of being a parent set in.

In what has been the hardest and best year of my life, God has used motherhood to show me not just how much he loves me but what that love actually looks like.

Be still and know

My son is like a battery-powered toy that just keeps going and going and going until eventually the battery dies and the toy comes to a halt. Likewise, my son never stops moving until he falls asleep. He’s been this way since he could lift his head. Movement, activity, stimulation — this is what he demands every second of his waking hours.

I shouldn’t be surprised. He’s the prototype of a wild little boy. My husband was the same as a child.

And yet this has grieved me as a mother. If I’m being honest, I feel a little cheated.

I want to rock him to sleep. But he prefers to be laid down and left alone, free to roam his crib and wrestle his stuffed raccoon until its battery finally dies. I want to snuggle him — to wrap him in my arms, kiss the top of his downy head, and tell him all the things I love about him. He prefers the freedom of his legs (or his hands and knees; we’re not walking quite yet). I long for him to sit in my lap and flip through picture books. He would rather be sitting on his own playing with toys or getting into something he’s not supposed to (potted plants are his latest obsession).

I’ve wept over this resistance of his. Child, let me love you for goodness' sake! I want to tell him.

Abounding in affection for her child, a parent aches to pour out her love.

On Christmas this year, my thirst was briefly abated. After a long day filled with family, gifts, and feasting, we pulled into our driveway late at night. I did what I always do when we get home — unbuckled my son from his car seat, carried him inside, changed him into pajamas, fed him, and prepared to lay him down in his crib and walk away.

But just as I was laying him down, he did something he hadn’t done since the early newborn days. He rested his head on my chest. All the tension left his little body, and he just collapsed in my arms.

A Christmas miracle.

Tears welled in my eyes. I sat down in the unused rocking chair in the corner of his bedroom and just held him like that for an hour, trying to breathe as softly as I could for fear that he would wake and the moment would slip from me.

As I sat there silently weeping, a thin voice in my spirit whispered, I feel what you feel.

What?

I feel what you feel.

Over the next several days, the meaning unraveled itself bit by bit. The sudden shift in my son’s behavior was due to exhaustion and overstimulation from a day of ceaseless activity. Only when he had been sapped of all energy did he allow me to lovingly hold him close.

And suddenly I couldn’t unsee it: Am I not the same way? Like my son, I am a busy body. Early to rise and late to bed, my days are packed to the brim with productivity. Rest is a luxury I don’t much indulge in. In fact, the hurried life is where I feel at ease. I revere God; His Son Jesus is my Savior; the Bible is where I find truth. But like so many Westerners, I am addicted to what John Mark Comer calls “the hurry drug.”

When I am at my wits' end, crashed and burned, bone-tired and soul-weary — only then do I sit in my Father’s presence with no agenda, allowing Him to love me like a parent loves a precious child.

I realize now that this grieves Him for the exact same reason my son’s resistance grieves me. Abounding in affection for her child, a parent aches to pour out her love.

Again, my eyes well with tears.

Become as little children

Although my son is a busy bee, he is by no stretch of the imagination an independent child. If I so much as walk out of the room to grab my ringing cell phone, he bursts into tears. When I cook dinner, he clings to my leg and cries until I pick him up. Then he squirms and arches backward, begging to be put down again. This process repeats itself until I'm finished cooking. He doesn’t really want to be held; he just doesn’t want me paying attention to something that’s not him.

He loves to play with toys, but only if I’m watching him. Car rides are a disaster because he can’t see me (and yes, we have the mirror gadget; it doesn’t help). Walks in the stroller are short-lived because he can’t stand to face the opposite direction of me. I’m praying that in time the sky and trees will become interesting to him. But so far, no luck.

Full transparency: This aspect of his personality has been hard for me. I feel tethered to him to such an extent that brushing my teeth can be burdensome.

He’s so needy, I whined to my mom one day over a cup of coffee.

He’s just attuned to you, she said matter-of-factly.

Jesus’ words in Matthew 18:3 flashed into my mind — “become like children.”

Humbled, it registered that what I found annoying about my child was a beautiful image of how we are supposed to be with God: Dependent. Needy. Tethered. Attuned.

I heard somewhere — from a friend, a book, I’m not sure — that God gives us the child our heart needs. That certainly seems to be the case for me: a self-reliant independent who forgets that divine resources are a prayer away. My son’s insistence on my undivided attention is a mercy, a kindness, a gentle reminder to adjust my heart’s posture heavenward. I’m thankful.

White as snow

Every parent can relate to cleaning up messes.

One day my son had one of those epic blowout diapers that is no match for a changing table and some wipes. As I began stripping off his soiled clothing to put him in the bath, he suddenly sneezed, and because he had a cold at the time, snot got everywhere — all over his face and all over me.

This is what God sees when he looks at us. Utterly filthy, covered in a mess of our own making, and yet — beloved.

Before I could even pivot to grab a tissue, he threw up all over himself. In a matter of seconds, the child was covered in three of the most nauseating bodily substances.

Such a strange moment for God to reach down and nudge me.

As I took in the image of my son in the filthiest condition he’s ever been in, I could see it so clearly: This is what God sees when he looks at us. Utterly filthy, covered in a mess of our own making, and yet — beloved.

But the parallel continued to evolve.

Despite the staggering mess before me, I wasn’t harsh with my son. I didn’t let him sit there in his filth. Nor did I begrudgingly plunge him into icy bath water, grab a sponge, and start roughly scrubbing him clean while I grumbled about how inconvenient this whole ordeal was.

No, I bathed him gently, patiently, methodically — rinsing him with warm water, taking my time to make sure every inch of him was washed clean before I dried him off and dressed him in fresh clothing.

Again, I was struck with the emotive image of God’s kindness toward us. He doesn’t look down condescendingly from his heavenly throne, sighing in exasperation that we’ve made a mess of ourselves again. He isn’t hesitant to begin the process of cleaning us up, never rough or impatient as he washes our sin away.

He is tender and kind, never withholding grace, no matter how big our mess is — faithful to wash us clean over and over again, forever, until final glory when messes are no more.

I feel the same about my son. There will come a day when the season of cleaning up his messes comes to an end. Until that day, though, I will meet him in the filth, whether it's his own or it’s the muck and mire of mud puddles on the playground, and I will gently and lovingly wash him clean.

As I re-evaluated my son — now spotless and smelling of soap — God nudged me once more, this time with a question: Why?

Why the gentleness, the patience, the tenderness? Why the unflinching reaction to clean up this colossal mess?

Easy. Because he is mine.

Exactly.

Will our pets be in heaven? Unpacking God's heart for animals



Our 5-year-old son had requested a family meeting. As there are only three of us, it was fairly easy to assemble quickly. Before he began, he asked us to let him finish what he had to say before we asked any questions. We agreed. It was quite an impassioned speech about companionship and friends and talking and listening. His concluding line was, “So as you can see, I need a dog.” He rested his case.

Being freed up, apparently, to now comment, I said, “I’ve heard of lots of people wanting a dog, babe. Not necessarily needing a dog unless it was a service dog.”

“I need someone to talk to,” Christian explained.

“You can talk to us,” Barry answered.

“I mean about you,” he clarified.

Excellent point. We bought Belle that weekend.

It is hard to put into words the love that pets bring to us as humans. I’m constantly moved by pictures on social media of the strong bond that exists between pets and their owners and pets and each other. In fact, if you checked out who I follow on Instagram, over half of them are animals. They bring so much joy. Animals have always been part of our story. When we go right back to the beginning at creation, before God created Eve from one of Adam’s ribs, he populated Eden with all sorts of wonderful creatures.

It was God’s original plan that we would live together with the animals in peace and harmony. It’s not unreasonable to think that if that was God’s original plan in Eden, then someday we will once again enjoy these beautiful gifts from God.

In the revelation given to John, he heard Jesus say from the throne, “Look, I am making everything new!” (Revelation 21:5).

Jesus doesn’t say I’m making new things. He says I’m making everything new. That has to include everything God created in Eden, the perfect garden where Adam was asked to give a name to every creature.

Reading in Genesis 6, we see once again the importance of animals to God’s creation. When God determined to flood the Earth because of the excessive wickedness, his instructions to Noah as he built his boat were to make sure that the animals survived as well.

Bring a pair of every kind of animal — a male and a female — into the boat with you to keep them alive during the flood. Pairs of every kind of bird, and every kind of animal, and every kind of small animal that scurries along the ground, will come to you to be kept alive. And be sure to take on board enough food for your family and for all the animals. (Genesis 6:19-21)

So what do we know for sure about animals in heaven? Well, we certainly know that there are horses in heaven. Elijah was taken up to heaven in a carriage of fire drawn by horses (2 Kings 2:11). In Revelation 6:2, we read, “I looked up and saw a white horse standing there. Its rider carried a bow, and a crown was placed on his head. He rode out to win many battles and gain the victory."

If animals were always part of God’s plan for us, I’m sure they will be part of our eternal lives with him. In heaven, we will be who we are now, but without sin, so animals that knew a certain beauty, grace, and strength in Eden will be perfected once again, too. (Perhaps our dog Maggie will stop barking?)

Isaiah the prophet wrote about our future home:

In that day the wolf and the lamb will live together;
the leopard will lie down with the baby goat.
The calf and the yearling will be safe with the lion,
and a little child will lead them all.
The cow will graze near the bear.
The cub and the calf will lie down together.
The lion will eat hay like a cow.
The baby will play safely near the hole of a cobra.
Yes, a little child will put its hand in a nest of deadly
snakes without harm.
Nothing will hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain,
for as the waters fill the sea,
so the earth will be filled with people who know the Lord. (11:6-9)

The question may remain, however, “What about my pet? Will my dog be there or just newly created dogs and cats?” I love what my friend Joni Eareckson Tada shared in one of her books as she thought about heaven.

If God brings our pets back to life, it wouldn’t surprise me. It would be just like Him. It would be totally in keeping with His generous character. ... Exorbitant. Excessive. Extravagant in grace after grace. Of all the dazzling discoveries and ecstatic pleasures heaven will hold for us, the potential of seeing Scrappy would be pure whimsy — utterly, joyfully, surprisingly superfluous.

Billy Graham was once asked by a young girl if her dog would be in heaven. He asked her if that would make her happy. When she assured him that it would, he said he was sure her dog would be there. Have you ever wished that your dog or cat could talk? I know I have. I think it’s fascinating that when the serpent talked to Eve in the garden of Eden, she wasn’t surprised that he could talk.

"The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, 'Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?'” (Genesis 3:1).

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if in heaven all the animals have the ability to talk? We can’t know that now, but I’m sure that as we will live pure lives free of sin, mistrust, and fear, animals will be raised to the existence and nobility they knew in Eden before the fall.

This essay was adapted from "The Hope of Heaven" by Sheila Walsh ©2024. Used by permission of Baker Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group.