10 Things Church Visitors Never Want to Hear

Wondering how to welcome church visitors? There are 10 things guests never want to hear, so why not help our church folks learn NOT to say them?

Source: 10 Things Church Visitors Never Want to Hear

Bewail your Sins of the Tongue and Spiritual Sloth

Matthew Henry’s “Method For Prayer”

Confession 2.11 | ESV

Our tongue sins.

When words are many, transgression is not lacking; Proverbs 10:19(ESV) nor can a man full of talk be judged right. Job 11:2(ESV)

While the lips of the righteous feed many, Proverbs 10:21(ESV) my lips have poured out folly, Proverbs 15:2(ESV) and known what is perverse. Proverbs 10:32(ESV)

Much corrupt talk has come out of my mouth; that foolish talking and crude joking, which are out of place, Ephesians 5:4(ESV) and little of that which is good and to the use of building up, and which might give grace to those who hear. Ephesians 4:29(ESV)

If people will give account for every careless word they speak, and if by my words I will be justified and by my words I will be condemned, Matthew 12:36-37(ESV) woe is me! For I am lost; for I am of unclean lips and dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips. Isaiah 6:5(ESV)

What would become of me, if God should make my own tongue turn against me? Psalm 64:8(ESV)

Our spiritual slothfulness and decay.

I have been slothful in zeal for religion and not fervent in spirit, serving the Lord. Romans 12:11(ESV)

The things which remain are about to die, and my works have not been found complete in the sight of God. Revelation 3:2(ESV)

I have observed the winds, and therefore have not sown; have regarded the clouds, and therefore have not reaped; Ecclesiastes 11:4(ESV) and with the sluggard have frightened myself with the fancy of a lion in the road, a lion in the streets, and have turned on my bed as a door on its hinges, Proverbs 26:13-14(ESV) still crying, “A little sleep, a little slumber.” Proverbs 6:10(ESV)

I have lost my first love, Revelation 2:4(ESV) and what then has become of the blessing I felt? Galatians 4:15(ESV)

My love has been like a morning cloud, like the dew that goes early away. Hosea 6:4(ESV)

And that which is at the bottom of all is the evil, unbelieving heart in me, which inclines me to fall away from the living God. Hebrews 3:12(ESV)

https://www.matthewhenry.org/2-11-esv/

Devotional for September 17, 2025 | Wednesday: Key Appointments

Nehemiah 6:15-7:73 In this week’s studies, we see how Nehemiah responded when the wall was finally completed.

Theme

Key Appointments

Nehemiah’s first step after having completed the rebuilding of the wall was to make a few key appointments. The first verses of chapter 7 tell us about three general categories of appointments (gatekeepers, singers and Levites) and two specific ones: his brother Hanani as the civil leader of Jerusalem (Nehemiah was governor of the province) and Hananiah as the military commander in charge of Jerusalem’s new defenses. 

As far as Jerusalem was concerned, Nehemiah was now prepared to work through two chief operating officers: Hanani, the civic leader (Nehemiah’s equivalent of a mayor), and Hananiah, the military leader (Nehemiah’s equivalent of what for us would be the chief of police). 

Some writers have accused Nehemiah of nepotism in these appointments since Hanani is identified as his “brother.” But I think it was simply a case of Nehemiah picking the best and most loyal man for the job. Hanani had already demonstrated concern for the city’s welfare by making the long trip to Babylon to rouse Nehemiah. Now he could be counted on to be loyal to him. Loyalty was an important matter at a time when the intrigue described in 6:17-19 was still going on. Nehemiah needed to guard against treachery.

There is one more factor in Nehemiah’s appointment of key leaders which we need to see before we pass on. It is his provision of adequate guidelines for them (Neh. 7:3). Nehemiah understood the need for strong men in key posts. He was willing to let them do their job without meddling; we are going to see more of this in the second half of the book. But this does not mean that he neglected to give them direction. We would describe this as job descriptions, written objectives and performance standards. In Nehemiah’s terms it is what we find in verse 3: “I said to them, ‘The gates of Jerusalem are not to be opened until the sun is hot. While the gatekeepers are still on duty, have them shut the doors and bar them. Also appoint residents of Jerusalem as guards, some at their posts and some near their own houses.’” These are specific directives, and we can assume that there were others like them. 

The largest part of chapter 7 is the “extract from the archives” (from Ezra), as I pointed out earlier. It must have been regarded as an important document since it is found, not only here and in Ezra 2, but in the apocryphal book of 1 Esdras also. The list tells us who is available to repopulate and revitalize the city. The document contains nine categories. We will give the first one today, and then mention the other eight in tomorrow’s study.

1. The original leaders (vv. 6-7). We do not know who all these persons were, but the first two at least are well known and important. They are Zerubbabel, the civil leader, and Jeshua (or Joshua), the religious leader, who together brought the first body of exiles to Judah after Cyrus permitted their return. These leaders figure strongly in two of the last books of the Old Testament, the minor prophets Haggai and Zechariah. Zerubbabel was of the royal line of Judah. From Joshua there descended fourteen successive generations of high priests. 

Study Questions

1. What was Nehemiah’s first action toward consolidating the work and preparing for Jerusalem’s revitalization?
2. Who were the two chief operating officers, and what were their jobs?
3. Who were Zerubbabel and Joshua? What do we learn about them from Haggai and Zechariah?

Application

Reflection: How can you give direction to those who need it, but not be controlling, which can cause discouragement?

For Further Study: Download for free and listen to James Boice’s message, “God’s Blessings on the City.” (Discount will be applied at checkout.)

https://www.thinkandactbiblically.org/wednesday-key-appointments/

George Barna research: Only two-thirds of Christians believe everyone has sinned | Christian Heritage News

 By Diana Chandler – Posted at Baptist Press:

Published September 16, 2025GLENDALE, Ariz. (BP) – Only 66 percent of American Christians accept the biblical teaching that all have sinned, George Barna said in the latest release from the 2025 American Worldview Survey he overseas at Arizona Christian University (ACU).

Most Christians, 72 percent, also believe people are “basically good at heart” and “should not be pejoratively characterized as sinners,” Barna said, revealing confusion among Christians regarding the biblical concept of sin.

“Only 14 percent of self-described Christians hold a biblically consistent theology of sin,” Barna, director of research at ACU’s Cultural Research Center (CRC), said of the findings released in two parts Sept. 4 and Sept. 16. “While most adults acknowledge that sin exists, many reject the truth that all have sinned and fall short before God. This misunderstanding strikes at the very heart of the Gospel message.”

Among the larger population, 52 percent believe everyone has sinned, Barna said, with more than 70 percent saying people should not be characterized as sinners because they are basically good at heart.

“And by believing people are ‘basically good at heart,’ the overwhelming majority of Americans (75 percent) blur the seriousness of sin,” Barna wrote of the findings. “In fact, the perspectives that most Americans have on sin are riddled with both logical and theological inconsistencies.”

The findings come from the second of those two waves of research in the 2025 American Worldview Survey conducted by the CRC among a national, demographically representative sample of 2,000 adults at least 18 years old. Researchers examined trends in beliefs about God, truth, sin and salvation in hopes of understanding key aspects of American faith and providing insights to strengthen Americans’ biblical worldview. The second wave of research was conducted in May.

Continue here…

https://www.christian-heritage-news.com/2025/09/george-barna-research-only-two-thirds.html

How The Multiverse Theory Could Challenge Your Child’s Faith | CrossExamined

How The Multiverse Theory Could Challenge Your Child’s Faith

What comes to mind when you hear the word “multiverse”? Do you (a) cringe, (b) hink of your kid’s favorite Marvel movie, or (c) do you cock your head like a confused (but very cute) puppy? In case you chose “c,” the term “multiverse” refers to a theory that we live in one of many (potentially even an infinite number) of universes. It makes for MARVELous movies (see what I did there?). But what happens when this theory makes its way into the minds of our kiddos as a plausible explanation of reality? Can this affect their view of God?

How a “Multiverse” Replaces God        

The mainstream scientific consensus is that the universe as we know it had an ultimate beginning at “The Big Bang.” This is a massive problem for someone wishing to maintain a naturalistic worldview (a worldview in which no God exists). Why? Because in nature, things don’t pop into existence out of nothing! Especially things that just happen to lead to unimaginably complex systems that produce life, irreducibly complex systems, and also advanced, rational, sentient beings. But even if one accepts mainstream science, the naturalist still has another card to play. What if our universe were just one of an infinite number of universes? What if there were some kind of natural, eternal universe-generating system, and we just happen to live in a lucky universe in which a planet that is ideal for hosting advanced human life exists? If it’s true, then belief in a creator is unnecessary because everything in existence has a natural explanation. Anything “super”-natural can be ruled out.

The multiverse theory is becoming more popularized, and it’s being introduced to us and our kiddos through entertainment like movies (for example: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse) and even a spiritually dangerous social media trend called “reality shifting.”[1]

And, I’m not gonna lie, it’s fun to think about! It is the perfect setup for a fictional fantasy world. But it’s also an excellent opportunity to have conversations with our kids and teach them some good ol’ critical thinking.

Why The Multiverse Theory is Unreasonable: The Kalam Cosmological Argument         

In a previous blog post, [I] introduced “Classical Apologetics,” as a branch of apologetics in which we argue for the existence of God, but not specifically for the Christian God (those arguments come later). The Kalam cosmological argument (sounds confusing, I know, but stick with me) is a classical apologetic argument that, if true, rules out the possibility of a multiverse that emerges from pure naturalism (a God-less reality). It argues that God is necessary to explain the reality of our universe.

The argument is simple enough to teach to even young kids. It goes like this:

1. Whatever begins to exist has a cause.
2. The universe began to exist.
3. Therefore, the universe has a cause.

If, after examination, this line of argumentation is determined to be sound, then the next step is to ask some questions about this “cause.” How do we get from a “cause” to God? Couldn’t the “cause” be an effect of another cause, which is an effect of ANOTHER cause forever and ever? Hold your horses, we’ll get there! We need to take a closer look at the first two premises.[2]

How do we get from a “cause” to God? Couldn’t the “cause” be an effect of another cause, which is an effect of ANOTHER cause forever and ever? #Kalam #apologeticsShare on X

FIRST PREMISE: Whatever begins to exist has a cause.  

For every effect, there must be a cause. If I find a $5 bill on the ground of a parking lot, it would be silly for me to assume that it accidentally assembled itself from the elements. I can reasonably infer that somebody dropped it. Why? Because nothing happens for no reason. This is the basis of science. We have to assume that whatever we are studying has a reason or cause for its properties in order to search for the reason or cause!

SECOND PREMISE: The universe began to exist.  

This premise relies on reason alone (as opposed to hard evidence), but can be supported with current scientific evidence.[3] If the universe may have existed eternally in the past, then this premise, and therefore the entire argument, fails. Likewise, if a multiverse-generating system can exist, then the argument fails. So, the goal is to show that it is logically impossible for the universe (or whatever system caused the universe) to be eternal. Whatever is not eternal has a beginning.

Now, let’s defend this premise. We’re going to get into the concept of infinity. You might want to grab a cup of coffee or a Bubbl’r . . .

If the universe does not have a beginning, then there would have been an infinite number of moments before this moment right now (called an infinite regress). But can there be an infinite number of past moments? Well, if so, it is difficult to see how we could ever arrive at this moment today since it would take an infinite number (an unending number) of moments to get here! Philosopher and professor Douglas Groothuis likens it to attempting to jump out of a bottomless pit.[4] An infinite past seems to be a logical absurdity.

That wasn’t too bad, was it? Keep sipping that coffee or energy drink because we need to dive a little deeper into infinity as we consider our conclusion.

CONCLUSION: Therefore, the universe has a cause.       

Thus far, we’ve established that anything that begins has a cause. We’ve also reasoned that the universe must have a beginning. At this point, we can conclude that the universe, therefore, has a cause.

Well, isn’t it a ginormous leap to immediately assume that this cause is God?! What if the multiverse theory is true? What if the cause of our universe is some kind of eternal multiverse-generating system? Here’s the problem: Even the multiverse theory would depend on an infinite number of past events. Remember that nothing happens for no reason. Every effect has a cause. So, there would need to be a cause for our particular universe to have emerged within that system. And that cause would need to have a cause, and so on. Anything that requires an infinite regress is arguably a logical absurdity that we can reasonably rule out, including a multiverse.

Further, the existence of an infinite number of universes also seems to lead to logical absurdities. Philosophers who defend the Kalam cosmological argument, like William Lane Craig, maintain that an actual infinite number of anything is impossible. Imagine an infinite number of Hot Wheels cars. Take away 100 Hot Wheels. How many do you have left? You still have the same number – infinity! Infinity minus 100 is still infinity. So, would it be possible for an infinite number of universes to exist? Some say “no way, Jose,” because it would lead to mathematical absurdities.

Got a little extra brain power? Check out this mind-bending video describing Hilbert’s paradox of the Grand Hotel, a classic example of how an actual infinite leads to absurdities.

Image from https://steemit.com/steemstem/@mcfarhat/hilbert-s-grand-hotel-paradox.

What (or Who) is this “Cause”?

So far, we have made a case that our universe needs to have an ultimate cause. And based on our discussions about the infinite, I think it is reasonable to assume that this cause cannot lead us to an “infinite regress” (an effect by a cause, which is itself an effect of another cause, on and on into the infinite past). In other words, the cause we are searching for cannot itself be caused. We are talking about an “uncaused cause.” Some would call this a “brute fact” about reality. It just “is,” and it always “is.” It was, and is, and is to come. . . Hmm. . . sounding familiar to anyone?

We can make some more inferences about this cause. We know that the cause cannot be bound by anything that is contained within the system of our universe, since it came before those things. Space, time, and matter are all contained within our universe. This means that the cause necessarily transcends space, time, and matter. Our cause is spaceless, timeless, and immaterial. Is this describing anyone you know? 😉

At least from our puny human perspective, anything that can bring our reality into existence from no prior physical reality must be insanely powerful. Not only that, but an impersonal power or system that is uncaused could never choose to do anything. (Choice requires some kind of agent with a mind.) So a personal agent makes more sense than an impersonal force that just happened to spit out an amazingly beautiful and intricate universe from nothing.

If our argument stands, this means that a powerful, uncaused, spaceless, timeless, immaterial, personal agent is responsible for causing our universe to exist. I think that’s a pretty good description of what many of us call “God,” don’t you?

Teaching the Kalam Cosmological Argument to Your Kids          

This might seem like a lot for your little ones. But keep this in mind: younger kiddos don’t need to understand ALL that we presented here to benefit from the argument. If they can grasp the idea that our reality must have a cause, you can talk with them about why God is the best explanation.

One way to teach this to younger kids is to have them make a painting. Then come back to the painting sometime later and exclaim, “No way! Look at this awesome painting – it created itself!” Your child will likely protest, “Silly mom, I made that painting!” Take that opportunity to go outside and recognize the beauty of creation. Could all of this have assembled itself? Or does it need a Creator?

For older kids, keep it simple to start. Talk about the main points of the argument:

1. Everything that begins to exist has a cause.
2. The universe began to exist.
3. Therefore, the universe has a cause.

Ask them their thoughts. Let them ponder and ask questions. If your kid asks, “What caused God?” explain that God never began to exist. God is eternal, so He does not need a cause. We encourage you to give them the freedom to wrestle with this. If your child starts to sound like he believes in the multiverse, don’t panic. This isn’t a hill to die on. If we don’t allow kids to grapple with science, philosophy, and theology, they might grow up to feel as if they were indoctrinated rather than trained to think for themselves.

That being said, if the evidence truly does point to our universe having an absolute beginning, that is very compelling evidence for the existence of our Creator. So, let’s look at the Kalam cosmological argument as a way of removing a potential barrier to our kids’ faith, rather than as a way to force them into agreement that “Science proves God!”

If the evidence truly does point to our universe having an absolute beginning, that is very compelling evidence for the existence of our Creator. #apologetics #kalamShare on X

Resources for Digging Deeper

Mombrain-Friendly Level Resources

• ARTICLE: “What is the Kalam Cosmological Argument for the Existence of God?” GotQuestions, accessed May 20, 2025, https://www.gotquestions.org/kalam-cosmological-argument.html
• ARTICLE: Mikel Del Rosario, “Who Made God? A Cosmological Argument for Kids,” CrossExamined, May 12, 2019, https://crossexamined.org/who-made-god-a-cosmological-argument-for-kids/
• VIDEO: “The Kalam Cosmological Argument – Part 1: Scientific,” drcraigvideos, YouTube, September 1, 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CulBuMCLg0 

Brainy-But-Not-Bonkers Level Resources

• BOOK: Norman L. Geisler and Frank Turek, I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist (Crossway, 2004), 73-94.
• BOOK: Douglas Groothuis and Andrew I. Shepardson. The Knowledge of God in the World and the Word: An Introduction to Classical Apologetics (Zondervan Academic, 2022), Chapter 4: The Cosmological Argument.
• ARTICLE: William Lane Craig, “The Kalam Cosmological Argument,” ReasonableFaith.com, accessed May 20, 2025,  https://www.reasonablefaith.org/writings/popular-writings/existence-natureof-god/the-kalam-cosmological-argument
• VIDEO: The Infinite Hotel paradox: https://youtu.be/Uj3_KqkI9Zo?si=9cWmBYG5oR-zAG6Q
• VIDEO: A concise yet helpful explanation of the Kalam cosmological argument including responses to objections (from a non-Christian source): https://youtu.be/gqN87vzauRM?si=i-DSO33UtzW5P1qs

Straight-Up-Nerd Level Resources

• BOOK: Douglas Groothuis, Christian Apologetics: A Comprehensive Case for Biblical Faith, 2nd ed. (IVP Academic, 2022), 207-39.
• BOOK: Norman L. Geisler, Christian Apologetics, 2nd ed. (Baker Books, 2013), 242-44, 265-79
• VIDEO: Dr. Douglas Groothuis teaches the Kalam cosmological argument, https://youtu.be/AsqEznikq6c?si=udvR3StXiqMwEoCf 

References:

[1] “Reality shifting” is a practice in which people try to shift their consciousness to other realities in the multiverse. Read more here: https://www.wikihow.com/What-Is-Shifting-Explaineda

[2] A “premise” is a statement or proposition. A logical argument called a “syllogism” consists of two premises and a conclusion. If the two premises can both be proven true, then the conclusion must be true (so long as the conclusion necessarily follows the two premises).

[3] For scientific support for the cosmological argument, see Chapter 3 of Norman L. Geisler and Frank Turek’s book, I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist (Crossway, 2004), 73-94.

[4] Dr. Douglas Groothuis teaches the Kalam cosmological argument in this video: https://youtu.be/AsqEznikq6c?si=Xwz4HSiAwpVVDJRT

Recommended Resources: 

Why Science Needs God by Dr. Frank Turek (DVD and Mp4)

Science Doesn’t Say Anything, Scientists Do by Dr. Frank Turek (DVD, Mp3, and Mp4)

Oh, Why Didn’t I Say That? Does Science Disprove God? by Dr. Frank Turek (DVD and Mp4)

I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist (Paperback), and (Sermon) by Norman Geisler and Frank Turek

---

Alexa Cramer is a Blog and Podcast Contributor and Video Content Creator with MamaBearApologetics.com. She’s also a homeschool mom of two. She became obsessed with apologetics after a season of doubt that nearly stole her faith. Alexa has a background in film and video and will willingly fight anyone who doesn’t agree that DC Talk is the best band that ever graced the earth.

Originally posted at: https://bit.ly/4mfDVuD

The post How The Multiverse Theory Could Challenge Your Child’s Faith appeared first on CrossExamined.

The Purpose of Life (Part 2) | VCY

Welcome!

Today, we’re talking about life’s purpose.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, college students typically change majors at least THREE TIMES before graduating, and around EIGHTY PERCENT change majors at least once. It seems these students aren’t just being indecisive — they’re trying to find their PURPOSE in life.

But changing college programs can’t give the purpose so many of these people are looking for — only knowing God and following His will for their lives can.

You see, we only find life’s purpose when we learn to bend OUR will to GOD’S will. 1 Thessalonians 4:3 tells us, “For this is the will of God, even your sanctification.” (KJV) “SANCTIFICATION” there has the idea of being “set apart” for God — living life HIS way. 

As Charles Spurgeon said, “When your will is God’s will, you will have your will” — in other words, your PURPOSE in life.

And what else can we know about life’s purpose? We’ll discuss that another time.

For additional resources, go to http://www.hopetools.net.  Stay bold!

Carl Kerby is the founder of Reasons for Hope and co-creator of the DeBunked apologetic video series. His radio feature, Fast Facts, is heard weekly on VCY America, Saturdays at 9:25 AM Central.

https://www.vcy.org/apologetics-with-carl-kerby/2025/09/17/the-purpose-of-life-part-2/

September 17 Evening Verse of the Day

Is Jesus God?

John 8:57–59

“You are not yet fifty years old,” the Jews said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!”
“I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.

Several years ago I heard a psychiatrist, who was also an existentialist, say, “There are only two great questions in this world: Who am I? and, Where am I going?” I heard the statement and agreed in part that these are great questions. But though I agreed in part, it was only in part. For, although these are great questions, they are not the greatest questions that should be asked and for which we should seek answers. One greater question forms the title of this study: Who is Jesus Christ? Is Jesus Christ God? On the answer to that question hangs our destiny.

A Timely Issue

Who is Jesus Christ? This is the question of questions in John’s Gospel. Indeed, as we have seen, the Gospel was written almost entirely to provide an answer to it. The Gospel begins with a full statement of Christ’s divinity—“In the beginning was the Word [that is, Jesus], and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (1:1). It ends with the statement, “Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (20:30–31). In between these verses much evidence is given in support of Christ’s claim.
What is the issue in this central portion of John’s Gospel? Is the issue the distinct nature of his teachings? Is it the sabbath question itself? Is it Christ’s good deeds or lack of them? It is none of these things. Rather, the issue is: Who is Jesus Christ? Is Jesus God?
Is Jesus God? If he is not, then let us say so—but only after having considered the evidence. If he is God, then he has a right to our allegiance and loyalty. We must follow him. You cannot honestly be indifferent to Jesus Christ. He did not leave you that option. Thus, you must either follow him as your God and Lord, or you must seek to eradicate his presence from your life, as the religious leaders of his day did. Which will it be? This is the great question of John. It is the great question raised by Christianity. It is a question for you. Will it be Christ, God in the flesh? Or will you be your own “God”? It must be Christ if he is who he declared himself to be.

Christ’s Claim

The verse that we are going to study is one in which Jesus claimed to be God explicitly. He was not always so explicit; but he was in this case, and this produced startling consequences. The leaders of the people had been challenging everything he said, and they had just challenged his statement that Abraham had rejoiced to see his day and that he saw it and was glad. They said, “You are not yet fifty years old, and you have seen Abraham?”
He replied, using his most solemn form of introducing a saying, “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was born, I am” (vv. 57–58). This so infuriated them that they immediately took up stones to stone him.
To our way of thinking, at least at first sight, it is a bit hard to see why this particular saying would have provoked such a radical response. Stoning was the penalty for blasphemy, for making oneself out to be God. So this is what they understood him to be doing. But how does one get that from these words? And in what sense was he saying it? It is obvious from the saying itself that Jesus was claiming to have existed before Abraham was born. It also is obvious from the tense of the verb—“Before Abraham was born, I am”—that he was claiming an eternal preexistence. But this alone, we might think, would not be sufficient cause for stoning. The real reason for their violent reaction is found in the fact that when Jesus said, “I am,” he actually was using the divine name by which God had revealed himself to Moses at the burning bush. When Moses had asked, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?” God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you’ ” (Exod. 3:13–14). In Hebrew this is the word “Jehovah,” and it is this word that Jesus so easily takes to himself in this saying. He claimed to be Jehovah, using the very word “Jehovah.” So it was because of this that the Jews, who immediately recognized his claim for what it was, reached out to kill him.

Many Claims

We have said that this was an unusually direct and overpowering claim, and it was. But we must not overlook the fact that it was only one of many claims both direct and indirect by which Jesus declared himself to be God’s equal.
Practically everything that Jesus had to say was an indirect claim to divinity. His first preaching is an example. When John the Baptist had come preaching the imminent arrival of God’s kingdom, he pointed to One who would himself embody that kingdom. Jesus came, and Jesus’ first preaching was the announcement of the kingdom’s arrival: “The time has come, … the kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15). Later, speaking of himself, he said to the Pharisees, “The kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21). This was a claim that the prophecies of the Old Testament were about him and were fulfilled in him.
All Christ’s words about the Old Testament fall into this category also, for the summation of his teaching was, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them” (Matt. 5:17). When he invited people to follow him—“Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matt 4:19)—he implied that he was of sufficient stature to be worth following. When he forgave sins, he did it knowing that he was doing what only God can do. Toward the end of his life he promised to send God’s Holy Spirit to be with the disciples after his departure, which again implies divinity.
Remarkable among his claims was his unique reference to God as his Father. This was by no means a common form of expression in Judaism, as it is in the English language. No Jew ever spoke of God directly as “my Father.” Yet, not only was this the form of address that Jesus used, particularly in his prayers, it was also his only mode of addressing God and it referred to his relationship to the Father exclusively. Jesus said, “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30). He said, “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you.… Righteous Father, though the world does not know you; I know you” (17:1, 25).
Eventually Jesus taught his disciples to address God as Father also, as a result of their relationship to himself. But even in this case his relationship to God as Father and their relationship to God as Father were different. Thus, he spoke to Mary Magdalene, saying, “Go to my brothers and tell them I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God” (20:17). He did not say “to our Father” or “to our God.”
“So close was His connection with God,” writes John Stott, “that he equated a man’s attitude to himself with his attitude to God. Thus, to know Him was to know God (John 8:19; 14:17); to see Him was to see God (John 12:45; 14:9); to believe in Him was to believe in God (John 12:44; 14:1); to receive Him was to receive God (Mark 9:37); to hate Him was to hate God (John 15:23); and to honor Him was to honor God (John 5:23).”
Jesus’ “I am” sayings are worthy of special notice also, for he claimed to be all that men need for a full spiritual life. Only God can rightly make such claims. “I am the bread of life” (6:35). “I am the light of the world” (8:12; 9:5). “I am the gate” (10:7, 9). “I am the good shepherd” (10:11, 14). “I am the resurrection and the life” (11:25). “I am the way and the truth and the life” (14:6). “I am the true vine” (15:1, 5).
One great and final example of Christ’s unique conception of himself occurred shortly after the resurrection on the day Jesus appeared among the disciples, Thomas being present. Jesus had appeared to the disciples earlier when Thomas was absent. But when Thomas was told about the appearance, he had replied, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it” (20:25). Now the Lord appeared to them all once more, this time including Thomas, and he asked Thomas to make the test he had wanted to make: “Put your finger here … and reach out your hand” (v. 27). Thomas, who was overcome by Christ’s presence, immediately fell to the ground and worshiped him saying, “My Lord and my God” (v. 28). Think of it: “Lord and God!” Adonai! Elohim! Jehovah! And Jesus accepted the designation! He did not deny it! It is no wonder, in light of this testimony, that this is the story John chooses to end all but the postscript of his Gospel.
These, then, are a few of Christ’s claims. Thus, whatever we may think of the claims themselves, there can at least be no doubt that Christ made them. Moreover, they remain unchanged. History has not eradicated Christ’s claim to be God. Time has not changed it. The Jesus who made the claim then is the same Jesus who is our living contemporary, and the Scriptures tell us that he is the same “yesterday and today and forever.” He calls on you to follow him. Will you do it, forsaking all else? If he is not God, then you can safely ignore him. But if he is God, then anything less than a total surrender to him is folly and any other loyalty is idolatrous.

The Rock of Ages

There are three parts to the verses we are considering. The first is the claim of Christ, (“Before Abraham was born, I am”). This has taken most of our space and is important, but the others deserve space also. The second is the reaction of the leaders to that claim (“At this, they picked up stones to stone him”). The third is the sad result (“Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple guards”).
Stoning can mean different things, all the way from simple displeasure to the desire to have someone killed. As such it can stand for any degree of reaction to Christ by men and women who reject him. I remember, years ago when I was in Jordan and was trying to take a picture of a man who was winnowing grain, how the man picked up stones to stone me. He was not trying to kill me. But he did not like me to be trying to take his picture. He was showing displeasure in that way. Sometimes, as in the case of beggars or animals, stoning was used to drive a person or an animal away. At other times, as in this story, it was used as a means of execution. To put it in contemporary terms, then, some merely express displeasure at Jesus while others (expressing the same basic reaction) try to eliminate his presence from their lives.
The strange thing about this is its folly. For Jesus Christ cannot be so easily gotten rid of. If he is God, he is eternal. He is the Ancient of Days. How can one eliminate the Ancient of Days from one’s days? He is the Lord of life. How can one exclude the Lord of life from one’s life? Imagine trying to dislodge the Rock of Ages with a handful of stones!
The Lord Jesus Christ is the Rock of Ages yet, and you will not get rid of him by throwing things at him. He is inescapable. He is planted in life. Thus, you must either come to terms with him now, or you must do so on the day of judgment. You have one of two choices. You may destroy yourself by pounding yourself against him, just as you can destroy a piece of wood by pounding it upon an anvil. Or you may build upon him. Why not build upon him? The Rock of Ages makes a great foundation. Jesus said that the one who builds upon him will be like a house founded upon a rock upon which the rains descended and the floods came but which fell not. Why not try him? Why not put him to the test?

Jesus Hid Himself

Finally, the verses also indicate the sad result of the action of those who try to get rid of him. We read, “Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple guards” (v. 59). These are sad words, and they are doubly sad because in closing this section of the Gospel they have the added effect of permanence.
What does it mean when we are told that Jesus hid himself? First, it means that although these men could not harm Jesus, nevertheless, they could not benefit from him either. It will be the same for you if you try to keep him out of your life. If you do not allow Jesus to be God in your life, you will not harm him. You cannot harm the invincible and omnipotent God. But you will not benefit from him either. The Lord Jesus Christ came to bring those divine benefits to you. He is the life. He came to give you life, abundant life. He is the light. He wants to shine upon you, to illuminate your darkness and guide you. He is the bread upon whom you may feed and grow. He is the living water who can quench your spiritual thirst. You forfeit these benefits if you refuse him his rightful place in your life.
Second, the verse tells us that there are some from whom Jesus does slip away or “pass by” as the King James Version states it. We live in a day when men and women are won over to ego-tickling dogmas of universalism, the idea that all will be saved. But there is nothing in the Word of God to justify that conclusion. You say, “But why doesn’t God save all men?” I don’t know, but he doesn’t. And here is a case. Notice that throughout this entire conversation Jesus has not even been trying to convert these religious leaders. He has merely been exposing their sin. Moreover, we are told that Jesus eventually passed by and went his way. There are some people whom God gives up (Rom. 1:24, 26, 28). God gives up nations, if they will not live by righteous standards. God gives up churches, when they depart from their first love. God gives up individuals. Woe be to the person whom the Lord Jesus Christ passes by!
Finally, the verse leads us to see that there are some whom God saves anyway. I say “anyway” because I recognize that all of us, even those who become Christians, deserve to be passed by.
Notice this. In the King James text of John 8, the last words are “passed by.” It is a tragic note, a tragic end to the contacts of Christ with these religious leaders. But in the opening verse of the very next chapter, just four and five words later, the words occur again in a story that tells us that “as Jesus passed by, he saw a man who was blind from his birth” and saved him. Here was a man who in his blindness could not even see the Lord Jesus. Yet Jesus saw him and gave him both physical and spiritual sight. He could not seek Christ, yet he was found by him. How wonderful! What a great hope for the sinner! “Jesus passed by.” Yes. But “as he passed by” he saw this one and saved him. With people such as these he began to build his church. Are you such a one? Why should you not be? Why should you not be one who finds Jesus?

Boice, J. M. (2005). The Gospel of John: an expositional commentary (pp. 673–678). Baker Books.

---

58 The rejoinder of Jesus, “Before Abraham was born, I am (egō eimi)” could only mean a claim to deity. “Was born” could be better translated “came into being” or “became,” since the aorist tense of ginomai (“to become”) is used. The same verb is used in John 1:14 to denote the Incarnation: “The Word became flesh.” It implies the event of entering into a new state or condition of existence. “I am” implies continuous existence, including existence when Abraham appeared. Jesus was, therefore, asserting that at the time of Abraham’s birth, he existed. Furthermore, I AM was recognized by the Jews as a title of deity. When God commissioned Moses to demand from Pharaoh the release of the Israelites, he said, “This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you” (Exod 3:14). Stauffer states that “the phrase harbors within itself the most authentic, the most audacious, and the most profound affirmation by Jesus of who he was” (p. 174). The same use of “I am” appears also in the theistic proclamations of the second half of Isaiah: “I, the Lord—with the first of them and with the last—I am he” (Isa 41:4; cf. Isa 43:11–13; Isa 44:6; Isa 45:6, Isa 45:18, Isa 45:21; Isa 48:17). The title became part of the liturgy of the Feast of Tabernacles, the time when this controversy recorded in John occurred. The phrase occurs in Jesus’ response to the challenge of the high priest at his final hearing. When asked, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?” Jesus replied, “I am … and you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven” (Mark 14:61–62). The violent reaction of the high priest in Mark 14:63 indicates that he regarded the use of the title as a blasphemous claim on Jesus’ part to possess the quality of deity.

Tenney, M. C. (1981). John. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: John and Acts (Vol. 9, p. 99). Zondervan Publishing House.

---

58 Jesus’ answer (an unqualified “before Abraham was born, I am!”) is prefaced by a double “amen.” Earlier he had used the famous egō eimi (“I am”) to establish his identity as the one coming to bring salvation (cf. vv. 24, 28). “I am” became “I am he.” Here egō eimi should be taken absolutely. Certainly it reflects Exodus 3:14, where God reveals his name as “I AM WHO I AM” and instructs Moses to tell the Israelites that “I AM” has sent him. Barrett, 352, is again on target in taking the verse to mean, “Before Abraham came into being, I eternally was, as now I am, and ever continue to be.” What Jesus is claiming is eternal existence. He knows of Abraham’s delight in contemplating the future because there is no period of time in which Jesus did not exist. Not only was he before Abraham, but he now is and will forever be.

Mounce, R. H. (2007). John. In T. Longman III & D. E. Garland (Eds.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Luke–Acts (Revised Edition) (Vol. 10, p. 487). Zondervan.

---

58 So we reach the climactic point in this chapter with Jesus’ magnificent affirmation, “before Abraham was born, I am!” John began his Gospel by speaking of the preexistence of the Word. This statement does not go further than that. It could not. But it brings out the meaning of preexistence in more striking fashion. Before the great patriarch, who lived centuries before, Jesus’ existence went on. His “I tell you the truth” marks this out as an important and emphatic statement (see on 1:51). Whether we translate “before Abraham was” (KJV) or “was born” (NIV, etc.) the meaning will be “came into existence,” as the aorist tense indicates. A mode of being that has a definite beginning is contrasted with one that is eternal. “I am” must here have the fullest significance it can bear. It is in the style of deity (see on vv. 24 and 28), “a reference to his eternal being” (Haenchen).117 It is not easy to render into Greek the Hebrew underlying passages like Exodus 3:14, but the LXX translators did so with the form we have here. It is an emphatic form of speech and one that would not normally be employed in ordinary speaking. Thus to use it was recognizably to adopt the divine style.119 In passages like verses 24 and 28 this is fairly plain, but in the present passage it is unmistakable. When Jesus is asserting his existence in the time of Abraham there is no other way of understanding it. It should also be observed that he says “I am,” not “I was.” It is eternity of being and not simply being that has lasted through several centuries that the expression indicates.

Morris, L. (1995). The Gospel according to John (pp. 419–420). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

---

58 Jesus replies with yet another “Amen, amen” saying, the fourteenth in the Gospel and the third in the present discourse (see vv. 34–36, 51): “Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham came to be, I am” (v. 58). It is also the third time in the temple discourse that Jesus has used the “I am” formula without a predicate (see vv. 24, 28). Each time before, a predicate could be inferred from the context, whether “I am the Light of the world” (v. 12), or “I am from above” (v. 23), or even (mistakenly), “I am the Son of man” (v. 28), yet enough ambiguity remained to arouse the reader’s curiosity and hold “the Jews” at bay. This time the ambiguity dominates: “Before Abraham came to be, I am.” I am.… What, or Who? To the modern reader, the sentence appears unfinished. Who is Jesus claiming to be? The striking contrast between coming to be and being recalls the Gospel’s opening verses, with their contrast between what “came to be” (1:3, 6, 10, 14, 17) and the “Word” or the “Light” that always “was” (1:1, 2, 4, 9, 10). Here too the imperfect “I was” might have been expected, and would have been sufficient to establish preexistence, but instead Jesus uses the present: not “Before Abraham came to be, I was,” but “Before Abraham came to be, I am.”
As has often been noticed, this saying of Jesus echoes a number of pronouncements by the God of Israel in the Old Testament (particularly in Isaiah), reminding Israel of who he is, what he has done, and what he will do. Such pronouncements are introduced by “I [am] He” in the Hebrew Bible, and by “I am” in the Greek Old Testament.146 Their purpose, most often, is to affirm continuity between God’s revelations and actions in the past and what he is doing, or will do, in the present and near future. For example, “See now that I myself am He! There is no god besides me. I put to death and I bring to life, I have wounded and I will heal, and no one can deliver out of my hand” (Deut 32:39); “Who has done this and carried it through, calling forth the generations from the beginning? I, the LORD—with the first of them and with the last—I am he” (Isa 41:4); “ ‘You are my witnesses,’ declares the LORD, ‘and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be any after me. I, even I, am the LORD, and apart from me there is no savior’ ” (Isa 43:10–11); “I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more” (Isa 43:25); “For this is what the LORD says—he who created the heavens, he is God; he who fashioned and made the earth, he founded it; he did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited—he says, ‘I am the LORD, and there is no other’ ” (Isa 45:18); “I, the LORD,, speak the truth; I declare what is right” (Isa 45:19); “Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other” (Isa 45:22); “Listen to me, O Jacob, Israel, whom I have called: I am he; I am the first, and I am the last” (Isa 48:12); “I, even I, am he who comforts you” (Isa 51:12); “Therefore my people will know my name; therefore in that day they will know that it is I who foretold it. Yes, it is I” (Isa 52:6).
From this brief summary, it is clear that the formula in the Greek Bible as in the Hebrew is interchangeable with “I am the LORD,” or “I am God.” Occasionally, when the Hebrew repeats the first-person pronoun “I” for emphasis (as in Isa 43:25 and 45:19), the Greek treats “I am” as the divine name, yielding the construction “I am ‘I AM’ ” (as in Isa 43:25 and 51:12), or “I am ‘I AM,’ ” the LORD” (in Isa 45:19; see n. 149).152 The use of “I AM” as a name is reminiscent of Exodus 3:14 (even though the Hebrew is rather different), where “God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM’ ” (NIV).154 It is noteworthy that this encounter began with God telling Moses, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob” (Exod 3:6, NIV), the very passage Jesus cited in the synoptic Gospels as proof that Abraham was still alive (see Mk 12:27 and par.). In the synoptic tradition, with the Sadducees as his questioners, Jesus’ task was to show that God was “not the God of the dead, but of the living” (Mk 12:27). Here in John’s Gospel, among Pharisees, the issue is not the resurrection per se, but the role of Jesus in resurrection, or the granting of “eternal life.” How can Jesus say, “If anyone keeps my word, he will never ever see death” (vv. 51–52)? How can he promise that “the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live” (5:25), and that “I will raise [them] up at the last day” (6:39, 40, 44, 54; italics added)? The real question is not “Is there a resurrection?” but “Who do you make yourself to be?” (v. 53).
Jesus’ answer is unequivocal, and to his hearers deeply offensive. Instead of citing Exodus 3:6 as a word of Scripture, he boldly makes God’s pronouncement to Moses his own: “Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham came to be, I am.” To the reader it sounds unfinished, but Jesus has no need to finish it. His hearers can finish it for themselves: “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob,” with the implication that “I am not the God of the dead but of the living” (see Mk 12:27), and consequently that “If anyone keeps my word, he will never ever see death.” Because Jesus is Abraham’s God, and “before Abraham,” Abraham himself is numbered among those who “will never ever see death.” This is as close as the Gospel’s opening words, “and the Word was God,” come to being made explicit on Jesus’ own lips.

Michaels, J. R. (2010). The Gospel of John (pp. 533–535). William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.

---

58. Jesus said to them, I most solemnly assure you, before Abraham was born, I am. The Jews had committed the error of ascribing to Jesus a merely temporal existence. They saw only the historical manifestation, not the eternal Person; only the human, not the divine. Jesus, therefore, reaffirms his eternal, timeless, absolute essence. For the introductory clause (“I most solemnly assure you”) see on 1:51. The appropriate character of this clause, as being used here to introduce a very sublime truth, is immediately evident.
    Over against Abraham’s fleeting span of life (see Gen. 25:7) Jesus places his own timeless present. To emphasize this eternal present he sets over against the aorist infinitive, indicating Abraham’s birth in time, the present indicative, with reference to himself; hence, not I was, but I am. Hence, the thought here conveyed is not only that the second Person always existed (existed from all eternity; cf. 1:1, 2; cf. Col. 1:17), though this, too, is implied; but also, and very definitely, that his existence transcends time. He is therefore exalted infinitely above Abraham. See also on 1:18; and cf. 1:1, 2. The “I am” here (8:58) reminds one of the “I am” in 8:24. Basically the same thought is expressed in both passages; namely, that Jesus is God! Moreover, what he states here in 8:58 is his answer not only to the statement of the Jews recorded in 8:57 but also to that found in 8:53.

Hendriksen, W., & Kistemaker, S. J. (1953–2001). Exposition of the Gospel According to John (Vol. 2, pp. 66–67). Baker Book House.

Immediately Present | VCY

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.Psalm 46:1

A help that is not present when we need it is of small value. The anchor which is left at home is of no use to the seaman in the hour of storm; the money which he used to have is of no worth to the debtor when a writ is out against him. Very few earthly helps could be called “very present”: they are usually far in the seeking, far in the using, and farther still when once used. But as for the Lord our God, He is present when we seek Him, present when we need Him, and present when we have already enjoyed His aid.

He is more than “present,” He is very present. More present than the nearest friend can be, for He is in us in our trouble; more present than we are to ourselves, for sometimes we lack presence of mind. He is always present, effectually present, sympathetically present, altogether present. He is present now if this is a gloomy season. Let us rest ourselves upon Him. He is our refuge, let us hide in Him; He is our strength, let us array ourselves with Him; He is our help, let us lean upon Him; He is our very present help, let us repose in Him now. We need not have a moment’s care or an instant’s fear. “The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.”

https://www.vcy.org/charles-spurgeon/2025/09/17/immediately-present/

From Anger to Love | VCY

He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.Micah 7:19

God never turns from His love, but He soon turns from His wrath. His love to His chosen is according to His nature; His anger is only according to His office. He loves because He is love; He frowns because it is necessary for our good. He will come back to the place in which His heart rests, namely, His love to His own, and then He will take pity upon our griefs and end them.

What a choice promise is this—”He will subdue our iniquities”! He will conquer them. They cry to enslave us, but the Lord will give us victory over them by His own right hand. Like the Canaanites, they shall be beaten, put under the yoke, and ultimately slain.

As for the guilt of our sins, how gloriously is that removed! “All their sins”—yes, the whole host of them; “thou wilt cast”—only an almighty arm could perform such a wonder; “into the depths of the sea”—where Pharaoh and his chariots went down. Not into the shallows out of which they might be washed up by the tide, but into the “depths” shall our sins be hurled. They are all gone. They sank into the bottom like a stone. Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

https://www.vcy.org/charles-spurgeon/2025/09/17/from-anger-to-love/

LIVE from Western Carolina Univ. (Cullowhee, NC) – If God, Why Evil?

Does evil disprove God? If not, what is God’s purpose for evil? Why would a good God allow evil that seems to have no purpose? What is God’s ultimate solution to evil? Join Dr. Frank Turek in this LIVE presentation of, ‘If God, Why Evil?’ delivered at Western Carolina Univ. (Cullowhee, NC) on WED. 9/17 at 7:00 PM ET in the A.K. Hinds University Center followed by Q&A.

Source: LIVE from Western Carolina Univ. (Cullowhee, NC) – If God, Why Evil?

The Impact of Christ’s Conversation with the Samaritan Woman | Elizabeth Prata

The Impact of Christ’s Conversation with the Samaritan Woman

By Elizabeth Prata

SYNOPSIS

The passage from John 4:1-42 highlights the woman at the well’s encounter with Jesus, emphasizing her past sins and His offer of redemption. This essay reflects on personal accountability before Christ, stressing that both believers and unbelievers must face Jesus their deeds. Believers are not judged, but are assessed for the quality of their works in Christ, which determines their rewards.

---

The “Woman at the well” passage always blesses me when I read it. The verses in John 4:1-42 are rich with lessons of all kinds. Dwelling on each one could be enough sermons for a year. However, today the phrase the woman uttered “He told me everything I ever did” stays with me and it is the focus of this essay.

The woman went to the well at midday, instead of early morning and late afternoon with all the other women, likely because she was a known sinner and shunned from respectable company. When Christ asked her for water, she focused in the ethnic tensions but Jesus came back to her with the sin problem.

“The woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.” (verse 9).

She had had five husbands and the man she was living with then was not her husband. Six husbands/lovers in even a mid-sized city is a lot of men. And living with a man without benefit of marriage was a societally inappropriate sin visible to one and all.

Thus began their conversation that rings through the ages. During the conversation, the woman’s spiritual awareness grew and grew, until she realized just Who it is that she was talking to, which Jesus confirmed. The woman marveled, “Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?”(verse 28)

“He told me all that I ever did.”

If that thought doesn’t strike fear in the unbeliever’s heart, I don’t know what will. Though Christ’s death on the cross enabled Jesus to obtain for His elect the legal discharge from the handwriting of ordinances, which was against us, (Colossians 2:14) a person still must repent and believe on His Gospel. Those that reject His gospel will stand before the Lord in judgment, and He will know every evil deed, word, and thought you ever did. Unbelievers will be judged for it.

But also, believers must still present themselves to Jesus and account for what they have done for Him subsequent to accepting His gift of grace. This ceremony is known as the Bema Seat.

Romans 14:10-12:
“For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written:
“As I live, says the LORD, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God. So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.”

“He told me all that I ever did.”

2 Corinthians 5:10 tells us, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.”

“He told me all that I ever did.”

Francesco Allegrini illustration

Believers saved by grace are not to stand before Jesus at the Bema seat for judgment nor condemnation. “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. ” (Romans 8:1). But we will stand and answer for everything we ever did, so that Jesus may know how many rewards to bestow. It will be visible and it will be one-one-one. Just as He spoke with the woman at the well, and confronted her sin directly, so He will do with us.

“He told me all that I ever did.”

“According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.” (1 Corinthians 3:10-15)

The more works that are burned as hay or stubble, the fewer rewards we will receive. Not condemnation, but greater or lesser rewards. Still, I have no doubt that the feeling will be excruciating. At the moment Jesus stands before each of us individually and confronts everything we ever did (after the pardon of forgiveness was given), I know that no matter how much I think I have done for Him, I will want to have done more. I will want to have done better. I will be ashamed that so much would be burned as hay or stubble.

“He told me all that I ever did.”

Are you ready to have a one-on-one conversation with Jesus where He will not only tell you everything you ever did but burn some of it before your eyes as worthless? Are you ready for Him to lift up the scales containing your good work for Him of gold and silver? If you have unconfessed sins in your life, confess them now. If you think your work is only hay or stubble, ask the Spirit to help you change that work to gold and silver.

Our work does not save us, but the work we do for His glory after being saved will be evaluated, scrutinized, weighed and either burned or rewarded. Are you ready to have Him tell you everything you ever did?

Jonathan Edwards: A Survey of Church History with W. Robert Godfrey

Jonathan Edwards is known as one of the most brilliant Americans who ever lived. In this message, W. Robert Godfrey examines the life and impact of this leader of the Great Awakening.

Study Reformed theology with a free resource bundle from Ligonier Ministries: https://grow.ligonier.org/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=get-started

This message is from part 4 of Dr. Godfrey’s study series A Survey of Church History. Learn more: https://learn.ligonier.org/series/a-survey-of-church-history-part-4

Source: Jonathan Edwards: A Survey of Church History with W. Robert Godfrey

September 17 Afternoon Verse of the Day

THE NATURE OF GOD

This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. (1:5)

The message, preached by John and the other apostles, was one they heard from Him [Jesus] and announce[d] to their audience. As God in human flesh (John 1:1–4, 18; Titus 2:13; Heb. 1:8; 1 John 5:20; cf. John 4:26; 8:24, 28, 58; 18:5), Jesus Christ is the perfect source of revelation regarding the nature and character of God. The apostle earlier recorded Jesus’ statement, “God is spirit” (John 4:24); here in his first letter he declared, God is Light and later would affirm, “God is love” (4:8).
The description of God as Light captures the essence of His nature and is foundational to the rest of the epistle. However, unlike the straightforward expressions “God is spirit” (meaning that God is immaterial in form; compare John 4:24 with Luke 24:39) and “God is love” (meaning that the persons of the Trinity love one another and mankind; cf. 3:17; 4:7, 16; Mic. 7:18; Zeph. 3:17; John 5:42; 15:10; Rom. 5:5, 8; 8:39; Eph. 2:4; Titus 3:4), the idea that God is Light (cf. Ps. 78:14; Isa. 60:19–20; John 1:9; 3:19; 8:12; 9:5; 12:46; Acts 9:3; Rev. 21:23) is more complex.
Throughout the Scriptures, God and His glory are often described in terms of light. For example, during the exodus God appeared to the Israelites in the form of light:

The Lord was going before them in a pillar of cloud by day to lead them on the way, and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people. (Ex. 13:21–22; cf. 40:34–38; 1 Kings 8:11)

When Moses came down from Mount Sinai after meeting with the Lord, his face glowed with a reflection of God’s light (Ex. 34:29–35; cf. 2 Cor. 3:7–8). In Psalm 104:1–2, the psalmist says, “Bless the Lord, O my soul! O Lord my God, You are very great; You are clothed with splendor and majesty, covering Yourself with light as with a cloak, stretching out heaven like a tent curtain” (cf. 1 Tim. 6:14–16). Not only is God light in His essence, but He also is the source of the believer’s light (Ps. 27:1; John 1:9; 12:36).
At the transfiguration, when Jesus gave the three apostles a glimpse of His full glory, He manifested Himself as light: “He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light” (Matt. 17:2). Second Corinthians 4:4–6 summarizes well the importance of God as light and its role in a Christian’s life:

The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. (cf. Matt. 5:14–16; Eph. 5:8–10; Phil. 2:15; Col. 1:12–13; 1 Peter 2:9)

Although the foregoing passages describe the significance of divine light, they do not define it. However, Psalm 36:9 does: “For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light we see light” (cf. 1 Peter 2:9). Here the psalmist employed a Hebrew parallelism, using two statements to say the same thing. He equates light and life—God is light in the sense that He is life, and He is the source and sustainer of both physical and spiritual life.
John expressed that truth in the prologue to his gospel:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light. There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:1–13; cf. 2:23–3:21; Col. 1:15–17)

“I am the Light of the world,” Jesus declared; “he who follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the Light of life” (John 8:12; cf. 12:45–46). God, the source of true light, bestows it on believers in the form of eternal life through His Son, who was the light incarnate.
Scripture reveals two fundamental principles that flow from the foundational truth that God is light. First, light represents the truth of God, as embodied in His Word. The psalmist wrote these familiar words: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.… The unfolding of Your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple” (Ps. 119:105, 130; cf. Prov. 6:23; 2 Peter 1:19). The light and life of God are inherently connected to and characterized by truth.
Second, Scripture also links light with virtue and moral conduct. The apostle Paul instructed the Ephesians, “You were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth)” (Eph. 5:8–9; cf. Isa. 5:20; Rom. 13:12; 1 Thess. 5:5–6).
Those two essential properties of divine light and life are crucial in distinguishing genuine faith from a counterfeit claim. If one professes to possess the Light and to dwell in it—to have received eternal life—he will show evidence of spiritual life by his devotion both to truth and to righteousness, as John writes later in this letter:

The one who says he is in the Light and yet hates his brother is in the darkness until now. The one who loves his brother abides in the Light and there is no cause for stumbling in him. But the one who hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes. (2:9–11; cf. Matt. 5:16; 25:34–40; Luke 1:6; 11:28; Rom. 6:17; 16:19; Phil. 1:11; Titus 2:7; James 2:14–20)

If truth and righteousness are absent from one’s life, that person, no matter what he or she says, does not possess eternal life (Matt. 7:17–18, 21–23; 25:41–46). They cannot belong to God, because in Him there is no darkness at all. God is absolutely perfect in truth and holiness (Ex. 15:11; 1 Sam. 2:2; Pss. 22:3; 48:10; 71:19; 98:2; Isa. 6:3; Rev. 4:8; 15:4). Obviously, believers fall far short of that perfection, but they manifest a godlike desire for and continual striving toward heavenly truth and righteousness (cf. Phil. 3:7–16).

MacArthur, J. (2007). 1, 2, 3 John (pp. 22–25). Moody Publishers.

---

God is Light (v. 5)

None of the other biblical writers tells us so much about what God really is as does the apostle John. All of them tell what he does. Some describe the glory that surrounds him. But John tells what God is in his true nature. He does this in three striking definitions: God is spirit (John 4:24), God is light (1 John 1:5), and God is love (1 John 4:8). It is a characteristic of these three definitions that the predicates occur without the definite article. We are told, then, not that God is the Spirit, the light, and the love or even, in all probability, a spirit, a light, and a love, but rather spirit, light, and love themselves. In this we have the broadest and most comprehensive definition of God that can probably be devised in human language.

The Positive Statement

John’s definition of God is stated both positively and negatively, but he offers the positive statement first: God is light. This statement carries the reader into a world of imagery that is as old as religion and that would have been quite familiar and agreeable both to John’s readers and to his opponents.
It is found in the Old Testament, for instance. David writes in one psalm, “The LORD is my light and my salvation” (Ps. 27:1). Another psalm declares, “For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light” (Ps. 36:9). In Psalm 104 we read, “You are clothed with splendor and majesty. He wraps himself in light as with a garment” (vv. 1–2). Isaiah wrote concerning God’s plan for the Messiah, “I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth” (Isa. 49:6). In each of these verses light seems strikingly appropriate as an image of God, for it points to God as the true source of revelation, intelligence, stability, ubiquity, excellence, vision, and growth. It is the nature of light that it is visible and that it makes other things visible. So also is it God’s nature to make himself known.
In biblical thought two special ideas are associated with light, however. First, the image generally has ethical overtones. That is, it is a symbol of holiness or purity as well as of intelligence, vision, growth, and other realities. This is apparent several times in John’s Gospel, as when John declares Jesus to be “the light of men” (John 1:4), or later, when he says, “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil” (John 3:19). Clearly this use of the imagery would not be so agreeable to John’s opponents, particularly when he challenges Christians to “walk” or “abide” in the light, as he does later.
These ethical or moral overtones are of great importance. Is God righteous? Then the lives of Christians should be known for being righteous. If he is holy, we should be holy. Indeed, says John, if anyone claims to know God while yet living a sinful life, he is either deceiving himself or lying.
The second unique characteristic of the biblical use of light is in applying it to Jesus; that is, in applying it to the historical Jesus in exactly the same way that it is applied to God. In a much lesser sense, those who follow Christ are said to be “children of light” or even “light” itself (John 12:36; Matt. 5:14), but this is not true for them in the same sense that it is true for Jesus. They are kindled lights, as Jesus said John the Baptist was (John 5:35). But Jesus is light in the same sense that God is light. He is holy and the source of all good. In his Gospel John tells us that Jesus is the one who reveals the world’s darkness and is victorious over it (John 1:4–5).
How is it that John received the message that “God is light; in him there is no darkness at all”? Is it not in this: namely, that Jesus is also the light and that he revealed himself to John? Commentators have pointed out that we do not have any explicit teaching of Jesus in the New Testament to the effect that God is light. But we have very little direct teaching of Jesus about the Father at all. Why? Clearly because he is himself the revelation of the Father. “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father,” he told Philip. In this as in the other Johannine literature, it is therefore not simply the revelation of God expressed in propositional statements but the revelation of God in Christ that is presented to us. Nothing, then, must detract from Christ. Rather, it is he who was seen and heard and touched who must be fully proclaimed.

The Negative Statement

It is a characteristic of this letter that John frequently accompanies a positive statement of some truth with a negative statement designed to reinforce it, here reinforcing the claim that God is light by the longer phrase “in him there is no darkness at all.” This is an important principle in the biblical concept of truth, indeed of any truth properly understood. A statement that does not imply corresponding negations is not a true statement. Rather, it is a meaningless one. If “A” is true, then something else must be false; or else, “A” is meaningless. John knew this, of course. Consequently, when he says that God is light, he immediately denies that God is darkness. God is good; hence, God is not bad. God is holy; so he is not sinful. Men may mix the two, as in many of the Eastern religions, in which all things, good and bad, unite in the One. But this is not John’s teaching, nor that of the Bible as a whole. In this outlook God emerges as that which is totally holy and therefore as that which is totally opposed to all that is sinful and false. It follows from this that men must be holy if they are to have fellowship with him, as John now shows.

Boice, J. M. (2004). The Epistles of John: an expositional commentary (pp. 28–30). Baker Books.

17 Sept 2025 News Briefing

Democrat candidate for Melissa Hortman’s Minnesota House seat said he wants to ‘8647now’
The phrase “86 47” is widely viewed as a call for assassinating President Donald Trump. In June, Lee wrote on his personal Facebook page, “Tuck Frump #8647 now.” In another post, he said, “86 47 #NoKings #Abolish ICE.”

Israel’s 8th war front: Daily weapons smuggling across Egyptian border 
Military-grade weapons are being smuggled by drone into Israel from Egypt on a daily basis and are disappearing to unknown locations around the country, warns the head of security for the Eshkol region in southern Israel.

‘God’s promise is eternal’: PM Netanyahu, Marco Rubio & Amb Huckabee inaugurate ‘Pilgrimage Road’ in Jerusalem’s City of David 
Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office said that the joint visit was among the high points of Rubio’s “very successful and important visit” to Israel. “This was an event of historical and cultural importance for the Jewish People. Prime Minister Netanyahu noted at the event that it attested to the city being ours and that it would never be redivided, nor would there be a Palestinian state,” the PMO stated. “I welcome today Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who understands that this is the foundation of our shared Judeo-Christian heritage,” Netanyahu said,

PM Netanyahu warns: Israel is entering isolation, will need to adapt to a self-reliant economy 
“Israel is entering a form of isolation,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday at the Finance Ministry’s Accountant General’s Conference, adding, “We will increasingly need to adapt to an economy that, in certain areas, has autarkic [self- sufficient] characteristics.” “We may find ourselves in a situation where we are blocked not only in terms of research and development, but also in actual industrial production. First and foremost, we will need to develop our own capabilities to cope independently,” he said.

Mike Huckabee – ‘Israel is America’s only real partner’
US Ambassador Mike Huckabee described the US-Israel relationship as a partnership rather than a standard alliance, emphasizing shared intelligence, military technology, and close cohesion.

Herzog: ‘Europe turning its back on Israel hurts Europe’
Speaking at the event in Herzliya, the President reiterated the importance of Israel-European relations, and the mutual interest the partnership serves in many fields. In his remarks the President said, “The collaboration in the present between Israel and Germany, and also between Israel and Europe at large, across science, research, culture, and so much more – serves the mutual interests of all partner countries. And it is important to state in these times: It must continue.”

‘Qatar is purchasing the West on behalf of Islam’
“Qatar has developed a unique formula – almost like a global start-up – comparable to Charlie Chaplin sending a boy to break windows and then coming to fix them,” Ailam told Arutz Sheva-Israel National News. “They created a model that enables Qatar to be a dominant player on the world stage. Today Qatar is a diplomatic, economic, and media empire, deliberately built to become a central actor internationally.”

IDF says two divisions pushing deeper into heart of Gaza City 
Hamas has created the largest human shield in history in Gaza City, IDF Spokesperson Brig.-Gen. Effie Deffrin said, stressing that the terror group is preventing the evacuation of the city. The IDF has officially launched the next phase of Operation Gideon’s Chariots in Gaza City,

Marco Rubio Says US Denying Visas to Foreigners ‘Celebrating’ Assassination of Charlie Kirk
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday that the US is denying visas to foreigners who publicly celebrate the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, a move he cast as part of a broader posture against extremist rhetoric. While traveling in the Middle East, Rubio told reporters that the State Department has been denying visas to individuals glorifying Kirk’s murder online. He added that officials are also reviewing existing visas and that he expects some to be revoked.

Mark Levin at Netanyahu trial: ‘No way this would pass standards of justice in America’ 
“I wanted to see with my own two eyes the injustice of the lawfare that has been unleashed against” Netanyahu, the Fox News talk-show host told JNS. “It was actually much worse than I thought. The level of tedious irrelevancies and absurd processes and distractions from the prime minister’s incredibly serious official duties is unconscionable,” he continued. Levin said it was worse than U.S. President Donald Trump’s description of the legal proceedings as a “witch hunt.” The president also called it a “horror show” in calling for its cancellation on June 25.

Israel strikes Houthi military site at Yemen’s Hudaydah Port 
The Israel Defense Forces said it struck Hudaydah Port in Houthi-controlled Yemen on Tuesday, accusing the terrorist regime of using the facility to transfer Iranian-supplied weapons to attack Israel and its allies. “The Air Force has now attacked the port of Hudaydah in Yemen to ensure the continuation of the maritime and air blockade on the Houthi terrorist organization,”

‘There will be more rounds with Iran’ 
Iran was badly humiliated by Israel’s 12-day operation in June and is therefore pouring vast resources into rebuilding its military, said Amir Baram. Baram announced the creation of a “Supreme Armaments Council” that will bring together the Defense Ministry, Finance Ministry, National Security Council, defense industries and other bodies to accelerate preparations against Iran and Yemen,

Until The Rapture Trumpet Sounds, The Church Must Not Cower In The Corner
September 11, 2001, is a date forever etched upon the minds and hearts of Americans old enough to remember the devastating attacks by terrorists who hijacked planes and used them as weapons of mass destruction. Twenty-four years minus one day after September 11, 2001, a Christian citizen like you and me, Kirk, became the target of an evil person – or movement, perhaps – who plotted to destroy him and what he stood for. The assassin wanted to silence this bold conservative voice and many like-minded Americans. I believe what this murderer intended for evil will be turned into good, as a chorus of Christians with a biblical worldview are now emboldened to live out their faith in the public square.
“Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not” (John 8:44-45).

Kash Patel goes nuclear on ‘buffoon’ Adam Schiff during congressional shouting match
FBI Director Kash Patel rebuked Democratic California Sen. Adam Schiff on Tuesday after Schiff asked him about Ghislaine Maxwell’s transfer to a lower-security prison. After Maxwell met with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche on July 24 and July 25, she was transferred to a minimum-security prison camp in Texas from a federal prison in Tallahassee, Florida. During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Patel told Schiff that the Bureau of Prisons was responsible for the transfer, leading to a heated clash.

M6.0 earthquake hits New Ireland region, Papua New Guinea
A strong earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.0 hit New Ireland region, Papua New Guinea at 16:59 UTC on September 16, 2025. The agency is reporting a depth of 77 km (48 miles). EMSC is reporting the same magnitude and depth.

Extreme hailstorm with 40 mm (1.57 inches) per hour rainfall hits China’s Gansu Province
An intense hailstorm struck Zhuoni County, Gansu Province, China, on September 16, 2025, bringing rainfall rates of 40 mm (1.57 inches) per hour at a temperature of 6°C (43°F). The storm produced significant hail accumulation on the ground.

Nepal Final Count: 72 Dead, Thousands Injured in Free Speech Clashes
Nepal is finally counting up the total cost of its recent efforts to limit free speech. The death toll has now reached a staggering 72, with more than 2,100 confirmed injured, following the nationwide shutdown of 26 social media platforms which triggered youth-led protests and a lethal response from security forces. Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli resigned, and former chief justice Sushila Karki now leads an interim government. Curfews in the country’s capital, Kathmandu, have been lifted, and the army’s presence is limited to key sites only. It would seem the immediate crisis has eased, but this is nowhere near being declared over.

European Commission’s war mongering against Russia is to distract from its crumbling empire
…The EU’s focus on war with Russia is a distraction from its economic decline, corruption scandals and internal issues. The European Union and the European Commission have become enemies of their own citizens, with their idiotic rules, tyrannical laws, the death of press freedom, rampant corruption scandals and belligerent posturing,

Mandelson is on the RAINS List
As the scandal surrounding former UK ambassador to the United States Lord Peter Mandelson’s association with Jeffrey Epstein is blowing up in Keir Starmer’s face, a 2018 list of people involved in satanic ritual abuse resurfaces.  Mandelson’s name is on the List.

Exclusive: NIH Pledges Not to Renew 17 Grants for Research Using Aborted Human Fetal Tissue
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) said it will not renew more than a dozen grants for research involving human fetal tissue after Breitbart News reported on a government watchdog investigation about the taxpayer-funded experiments.

Inside a British Mosque: Teaching How to Bury and Stone Women Alive
In disturbing footage from Green Lane Mosque in 2023, Shaykh Zakaullah Saleem — the mosque’s Head Imam and Head of Education — described in chilling detail how to carry out stoning and public flogging under his reading of Sharia law: stoning married adulterers to death; meting out 100 lashes to unmarried offenders “in front of large gatherings” with “no mercy”; and even instructing that women be buried up to the waist before being pelted with stones.”

Congo Massacre: 100 Christians Slain in Islamic Terror Onslaught
In Congo’s blood-soaked villages, where Christians are slaughtered at funerals and in their fields, the world’s silence proves that Islam’s war on the Church never ended—it is only ignored.

17 Sept 2025

Headlines – 09/17/2025

Japan won’t recognize Palestinian state at upcoming UN General Assembly – report

Commentary: Can the UN create a state? This resolution, and the 2012 vote that granted Palestine “Non-Member Observer State” status, represent a profound and dangerous overreach by the UN – a deliberate attempt to circumvent both international law and the foundational principles of its own Charter to fabricate a state that does not, and has never, existed.

Almost 60 Arab & Muslim states call to ‘review’ diplomatic & economic relations with Israel in Qatar summit – Crucially, summit doesn’t agree on practical measures against Jewish State

Under fire, Netanyahu scrambles to explain claim Israel may become ‘super Sparta’ – Facing torrent of criticism for suggesting self-reliance was the way forward, PM claims Israeli economy has ‘amazed the entire world,’ is stronger than ever

‘Super Sparta’: Netanyahu embraces militarism as Israel reels from global isolation – The Israeli leader invoked the ancient Greek city state famous for its penchant for war and mythologised by nineteenth-century eugenicists

Commentary: Netanyahu’s pitch for Israel as ‘super-Sparta’ is a dystopian death wish

Netanyahu admits Israel faces global ‘blockade’ as critics blame failed policy – PM says Qatar leading drive to isolate Israel, vows to build self-reliance in arms industry

‘God’s promise is eternal’: PM Netanyahu, Marco Rubio & Amb Huckabee inaugurate ‘Pilgrimage Road’ in Jerusalem’s City of David

Nations harboring terrorists ‘don’t have sovereignty’ Netanyahu says, ‘Every country has right to defend itself’ – US State Secretary Rubio says horror of Oct 7 ‘ends by eliminating the people who did it’

Turkish government worried about risk of Israeli strike on Hamas officials in its territory – Defense Ministry spokesman says ‘Israel has made terrorism a state policy’ after Qatar strike

Qatar, US near defence deal after Israeli strike in Doha

Israel has committed genocide in Gaza, UN commission of inquiry says

Israel condemns ‘distorted and false’ UN Commission accusation of genocide

Bowen: UN commission report on genocide is blunt indictment of Israel’s actions in Gaza

Downing Street: Legal judgements on genocide can only be made by courts – Israel’s actions in Gaza causing an ‘unbearable humanitarian catastrophe’ says Starmer’s spokesperson

Knesset Speaker Ohana accuses UN of spreading modern ‘blood libel’ against Israel with new genocide report

IDF Chief Zamir urges PM Netanyahu to ‘exhaust all efforts’ for hostage deal

IDF says it will ‘do its best’ to safeguard hostages during Gaza City offensive

Israeli hostage families protest outside PM’s residence in Jerusalem as Gaza City ground op commences

Hostages’ families vow ‘no peace’ for PM until war stops, as new Gaza ground op begins

In rare Israeli interview, PM rejects ‘malicious’ claim he’s needlessly prolonging war

‘Take the deal!’ IDF chief said to yell at ministers, urges Mossad head to go seal it

IDF chief insists it’s his duty to warn of Gaza City op’s ‘risks and opportunities’ – Zamir appears to defend reported objections to ongoing assault, calls return of hostages a ‘moral commitment’

Trump: Hamas will be ‘in big trouble’ if they use hostages as human shields

NYT: Trump’s Laissez-Faire Stance Gives Netanyahu Free Pass for Gaza Escalation

Second phase of Operation Gideon’s Chariots in Gaza City begins

Katz: ‘Gaza is burning’ as IDF expands operation in Gaza City – “The IDF strikes with an iron fist at the terror infrastructure,” said the Israeli defense minister

UN panel claims genocide underway in Gaza; Israel blasts members as ‘Hamas proxies’

Israeli Stocks Decline as Gaza Escalation Spooks Investors

Thousands of archaeological relics rescued in Gaza ahead of IDF strike – Army says Hamas was using warehouse that contained artifacts from over 25 years of excavations, including some of the oldest known evidence of Christianity in Gaza

With tents and transport south in short supply, Gazans flee bombs into the unknown

Israel’s 8th war front: Daily weapons smuggling across Egyptian border

Spain cancels military agreement with Israeli defense firm Elbit amid boycott policies

Billboard in NYC’s Times Square calls on European soccer federations to boycott Israel

Spanish police clash with French fans, Palestinian flag banned ahead of soccer match

Spain to quit 2026 Eurovision Song Contest if Israel participates

‘We’re punished twice’: Israeli filmmakers warn boycotts silence the very voices calling for peace

Netanyahu blames Muslim immigration for Europe’s anti-Israel policies

‘Antisemitism in Israel 2025’: Swastikas spray-painted on religious youth movement HQ in Jerusalem

Jewish students on campuses worldwide live in fear: ‘There was an Intifada Camp glorifying Hamas on campus’

California lawmakers approve narrowed bill targeting antisemitism in schools – If enacted, state would be first with coordinator to prevent antisemitism in public schools, as religiously motivated bigotry against Jews soars; teachers group opposed initial version

Vandals spray ‘Jews did 9/11’ on synagogue in Canada – Synagogues in Halifax are defaced with swastikas and 9/11 conspiracy graffiti in a shocking wave of antisemitic attacks—sparking fear, outrage and condemnation from community leaders

‘Zionism is terrorism’ – Anti-Israel activists plan mass protests outside UN building in New York

Palestinian Authority condemns Rubio’s ‘invasion’ of Western Wall – According to the P.A., the U.S. secretary of state participated in “Talmudic ceremonies” at the Jewish religious site

Netanyahu blames legal persecution for fact that many ministers are facing corruption, criminal charges

PA document shows ‘pay-to-slay’ has been scrapped, new system in place

Israel said arming, paying salaries of Druze militia in Syria’s Sweida area

Syrian forces said to have withdrawn heavy weapons from south, near Israel border, Druze areas

Syria says working with US to reach ‘security understandings’ with Israel – Announcement comes as part of US- and Jordan-backed roadmap for restoring stability to country’s south after deadly sectarian violence earlier this year

IDF intercepts Houthi missile after sirens triggered in central Israel

IDF strikes upwards of 10 Houthi targets in main supply port in Hodeidah, Yemen

Iran executes man accused of spying for Israel

Paranoid Iranian regime targeting Christians as Israeli collaborators

Taliban leader bans Wi-Fi in an Afghan province to ‘prevent immorality’

Taliban chief orders internet blackouts, calling the web the ‘root of all evil’ – The emerging policy threatens to disrupt government services that had moved online in recent years and to stall humanitarian operations in Afghanistan

Report: Russia has network of 200 camps for ‘brainwashing’ Ukrainian children – Investigation uncovers documents and satellite imagery that confirm children being taken to sites for patriotic indoctrination, weapons training and combat drills

Poland detains 2 Belarusian citizens flying drone over president’s residence in Warsaw

US Delegation Makes Surprise Appearance to Observe Joint Russia-Belarus Military Drills

Frustrated GOP senators blow steam on Russia: ‘Sick of’ Trump, Vance ‘love affair’ with Putin

He Fled Putin’s War. The U.S. Deported Him to a Russian Jail. Antiwar Russians are being sent back as part of President Trump’s immigration crackdown, despite facing imprisonment and other dangers.

Government corruption fuels human rights crisis in South Sudan, independent panel finds

South Sudan’s leaders engage in ‘systematic looting’ in poor nation: UN

Malawians await presidential poll result in vote dominated by economic woes

Poorer Americans hit hardest as tariffs fuel price rises

Grocery prices spike to highest level in 3 years in major blow to Trump

Four People Arrested in the UK for Projecting Images of Trump and Epstein on the Walls of Windsor Castle as the State Visit Begins

Kash Patel Says No ‘Credible’ Info Epstein Trafficked Young Women to Others

Mamdani refuses to endorse Kathy Hochul after NY governor endorses him – “Even Mamdani refuses to support Kathy Hochul less than 24 hours after she endorsed him!”

CNN’s Enten: Not Surprising Hochul Backed Mamdani, Dems View Socialism as ‘Great’, Capitalism as ‘Bad’

Senator John Fetterman Calls Out His Party for Second Time in Two Days: ‘Don’t Ever, Ever, Call Someone Hitler’

Fani Willis must remain off Trump case after Georgia Supreme Court rejects her appeal – The ruling leaves in place an appeals court’s finding that Willis can’t continue on the case because her romantic relationship with a special prosecutor created the appearance of impropriety

“Fani Willis is a criminal!” – Trump Goes Off on Fani Willis in Response to Supreme Court Rejecting Bid to Reinstate Herself on Junk 2020 Election RICO Case, Says She “Should be Put in Jail” for Destroying Innocent People

Trump Hits New York Times With $15B Suit For Allegedly “Lying About Your Favorite President (ME!)”

Trump Sues The New York Times for Articles Questioning His Success – The lawsuit, filed by the president in federal court in Florida, claims The Times defamed him and sought to undermine his campaign in the 2024 election

What’s Up With Peter Thiel’s Obsession With the Antichrist? The tech mogul is amping up his apocalyptic rhetoric—and adding a dangerous dose of extremism into the already-fraught culture war

AI Now Claiming to Be God – “Greetings, my child.”

Beijing says TikTok’s US app will use Chinese algorithm – Security hawks have raised fears recommendation code could be manipulated to push propaganda

Skyscraper-size asteroid previously predicted to hit us in 60 years will zoom past Earth on Thursday (Sept. 18) – and you can see it live

China ‘intercepted meteor or UFO’ as fireball streaks over sky before exploding – Footage of an explosion in the sky above China’s Shandong province has fuelled speculation the Beijing authorities ordered the shooting down of either a meteor or UFO

Very deep partial solar eclipse to shadow Antarctica and New Zealand on September 21

M6.0 earthquake hits New Ireland region, Papua New Guinea

Series of Earthquakes Strike US Coastline Today – The quakes range in magnitude from 2.5 up to 5.2 and stretch across the southwest tip of the state along the Gulf of Alaska

Sheveluch volcano on Kamchatka, Russia erupts to 22,000ft

Ruiz volcano in Colombia erupts to 21,000ft

Sangay volcano in Ecuador erupts to 21,000ft

Popocateptl volcano in Mexico erupts to 20,000ft

Marapi volcano in Indonesia erupts to 15,000ft

Semeru volcano in Indonesia erupts to 14,000ft

Fuego volcano in Guatemala erupts to 14,000ft

Reventador volcano in Ecuador erupts to 14,000ft

Kanlaon volcano in the Philippines erupts to 10,000ft

Mt. St. Helens stokes fears of eruption as strong winds stir ash left from historic 1980 blast

Tornado damages dozens of homes and a mosque in Java, Indonesia

Extreme hailstorm with 40 mm (1.57 inches) per hour rainfall hits China’s Gansu Province

Venezuelan authorities release harrowing video of vessel being intercepted by US warship

Illegal Alien Drunk Driver Mows Down, Kills 16-Year-Old Girl Who Rejected His Lewd Advances

13 people hurt in 2 mass shootings at Minneapolis homeless encampments on the same day

‘We’re shutting this thing down’: Minneapolis starts clearing homeless encampment hosted by landlord after 7 shot

Hagerty: ‘Very Sad’ Politicians Would Make Memphis Crime Crackdown a Partisan Issue

Parents turn to bulletproof backpack shields to protect kids from school shooters

New York Judge Drops Terrorism Charges Against UnitedHealthCare CEO Killer Luigi Mangione

Karoline Leavitt Bizarrely Touts Earthquake as Holy Sign After Kirk’s Death

US Jewish security officials call on community to take lessons from Kirk killing – Assassination is a reminder of the need for defense at communal events, reflects worsening political climate in US that can affect Jews, experts say

Bill Ackman denies Candace Owens’ claim he staged Charlie Kirk ‘intervention’ to ‘blackmail’ him over Israel

Charlie Kirk’s Pastor Rebukes Candace Owens for Haunting Kirk Family With Conspiracy Theories

George Zinn, elderly rabble-rouser who falsely claimed he shot Charlie Kirk, is hit with child porn charges

Charlie Kirk shooting suspect Tyler Robinson charged with murder, faces possible death penalty

Suspect left note saying he planned to kill Charlie Kirk, later confessed in texts, prosecutor says

Charlie Kirk suspect makes first court appearance after being charged with murder as officials ask for Death Penalty – The suspect reportedly asked his roommate to delete incriminating messages that appeared to show he thought he could get away with the alleged murder

Chilling Text Messages Between Tyler Robinson and His Transgender Lover Lance Twiggs Moments After Kirk Assassination… ABC Says Texts Are “Touching”

ABC News Gushes Over Romantic Texts Between Charlie Kirk’s Killer and His Trans Lover – “He was Speaking so Lovingly About His Partner”

FBI investigating ‘all members of Discord group where Charlie Kirk suspect confessed’ as texts showing ‘motive’ revealed

Trump Declares He’s ‘Already Investigating’ People On The Left Who Share Blame for Charlie Kirk’s Murder

Senator Chuck Grassley Reveals Biden’s FBI Put Together Project to Go After Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA and 91 Other Republican Targets

What Is Project Arctic Frost? Chuck Grassley Exposes How Biden FBI Targeted Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA

Marxist LGBTQ Paramilitary Group in Utah Under Investigation by FBI Regarding Kirk Assassination as Group Leader’s Ties to State Department and United Nations are Revealed

President Trump supports designating Antifa a terrorist organization following Charlie Kirk assassination

Arnold Schwarzenegger warns America is approaching democracy ‘cliff’ after Charlie Kirk assassination – The actor and former governor blames social media, mainstream media and political parties for dividing Americans

Review of domestic terrorism after Kirk’s murder shows Biden politicized issue, intel, fudged data – The Biden Administration insisted on calling the January 6 riot an armed insurrection for years, and targeted parents who wanted a say in their children’s education. Distorting the meaning of “domestic terrorism,” that narrative and others mischaracterized the conditions leading to two assassination attempts on Trump and Charlie Kirk’s murder.

DOJ Deletes Study Showing Domestic Terrorists Are Most Often Right Wing

Jill Filipovic: The Maga crackdown on free speech – The American right’s hypocrisy over Charlie Kirk is frightening

CNN’s Stelter: Trump Has ‘Total Lack of Respect and Understanding of the First Amendment’

Trump Trolls ABC Reporter who Accuses Him of Targeting Free Speech: “They’ll Probably go After People like You… Your Company Paid me $16 Million for a Form of Hate Speech”

Matt Walsh Demands AG Pam Bondi’s Firing Immediately for Pushing “Hate Speech” Route in Charlie Kirk Assassination: “We Need the AG Focused on Taking Down Left-Wing Terror Cells, Not Prosecuting Office Depot for God’s Sake!”

Sotomayor rebukes calls to ‘criminalize free speech’ in apparent swipe at Pam Bondi

Bondi clarifies: “Hate speech” won’t be prosecuted after getting blowback

Tim Walz Re-Election Launch Tainted by Rhetoric Tied to Kirk Assassination, Catholic School Attack

House Resolution Will Be Filed Today to REMOVE Radical Democrat Rep. Ilhan Omar from ALL Committee Assignments After She Mocks Charlie Kirk’s Cold-Blooded Murder

Joe Burrow’s foundation severs ties with Ohio judge over comments celebrating Charlie Kirk’s killing – Hamilton County Municipal Judge Ted Berry has been asked to resign by a state lawmaker

Cleveland fire chief removed from duty over ‘incendiary’ Charlie Kirk social media post – Anthony Luke placed on paid administrative leave as mayor says post ‘crossed the line’

Over 100 Radical Leftist Teachers in Texas Will Have Their Certificates Suspended and Face Permament Ban from Public Schools After Celebrating Charlie Kirk’s Assassination and Calling for More Violence

Student expelled after being caught on video acting out Charlie Kirk’s assassination at Texas State vigil

U. of Tennessee Knoxville Prof Suspended, Faces Firing After Claiming Charlie Kirk’s Kids Are ‘Better Off’ After Assassination

Oxford Union Defends Their Dirtbag President-Elect After He Cheered Charlie Kirk’s Assassination – Explains How He Is the Real Victim… Of Racism

Florida woman charged with felony after allegedly assaulting 73-year-old during Charlie Kirk vigil

Anchor leaves Illinois ABC affiliate after suspension for airing segment in honor of her mentor Charlie Kirk – “Two days ago, I lost a mentor, my first boss, the first person who made me believe in myself, that encouraged me to chase this dream that you’re watching right now – Charlie Kirk.”

Trans Rider Who Celebrated Charlie Kirk’s Death Disavowed by US Olympic BMX Team

Mazie Hirono Admits Men and Women Have ‘Physiological Differences’ in Complaint About FBI Fitness Test

America’s ‘Alarming’ Depression Problem

Tony Roman of ‘Basilico’s Pasta E Vino’ Sues Gavin Newsom in Federal Court for His COVID Tyranny

‘PFIZERGATE’: EU Commission Forced To Admit That COVID ‘Vaccines’ Were Given to the Population Without ‘Complete Safety Data’

New CDC advisory panel members include more COVID vaccine critics

Former C.D.C. Director to Tell Lawmakers She Was ‘Fired for Holding the Line’

How billions of hacked mosquitoes and a vaccine could beat the deadly dengue virus

‘Russian nesting doll’ virus hides inside a deadly fungus, making it even more dangerous to people

Source: http://trackingbibleprophecy.org/birthpangs.php

Mid-Day Digest · September 17, 2025

“From The Patriot Post (patriotpost.us)”.

THE FOUNDATION

“I have sworn upon the altar of God, eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.” —Thomas Jefferson (1800)

IN TODAY’S DIGEST

• Executive News Summary
• Featured Analysis: What Is a Fascist?
• More Analysis
• Best of Right Opinion
• Best of Videos
• Short Cuts
• Today’s Meme

EXECUTIVE NEWS SUMMARY

The Editors

• Patel hearings: On Tuesday, FBI Director Kash Patel testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee for an oversight hearing. For Democrat senators, the proceeding was little other than an opportunity to blast the Trump administration and burnish their own political capital. It therefore devolved into a shouting match between Patel and the Democrats. In one instance, after being accused of being a liar, Patel called Sen. Adam Schiff a “political buffoon,” to which Schiff responded by calling Patel “nothing more than an internet troll.” That said, there was some substantive information learned, such as the FBI investigation of a broad network of leftist groups that may have had foreknowledge of the assassination plot on Charlie Kirk, that the FBI has no evidence that Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficked young women to anyone outside himself, and that under the Biden administration the FBI’s “Operation Arctic Frost” targeted 92 conservative groups and individuals including Kirk’s Turning Point USA.

• Tyler Robinson charges announced; false assassin caught with child porn: Tyler Robinson, Charlie Kirk’s alleged assassin, has heard the charges leveled against him, including aggravated murder, obstruction of justice, and witness tampering. The state of Utah will seek the death penalty. Meanwhile, George Zinn, the 71-year-old man who was arrested moments after Kirk’s death for claiming to be the assassin, has been charged with sexual exploitation of a minor due to more than 20 images of child porn found on his phone. Zinn also faces obstruction of justice due to his admission that his claims of being Kirk’s assassin were made to abet the true killer’s escape. Zinn has a reputation locally for getting kicked out of public events; there is no evidence of a connection between Zinn and Robinson.
• FBI’s “Arctic Frost” also targeted Turning Point: Senator Chuck Grassley, currently the oldest sitting senator, keeps bringing the receipts of Democrat malfeasance, this time regarding the “Arctic Frost” operation. Arctic Frost was the investigation into Donald Trump and his allies over their claims of election fraud in the 2020 election. Turning Point USA was one of the 92 Republican targets to have records subpoenaed as part of the investigation. Grassley explained that the new information shows that Arctic Frost was not just about politically investigating Trump; it was a vehicle for the FBI and DOJ to achieve partisan ends.
• Local news anchor resigns after her tribute to Charlie Kirk: Beni Rae Harmony claims she was suspended for airing a nonpartisan tribute to her former boss, Charlie Kirk, on a Springfield, Illinois, ABC affiliate. Harmony’s touching tribute urged people to speak out for their beliefs, “I don’t care what it is,” and highlighted Kirk’s message that when conversation stops, violence starts. After being suspended, Harmony resigned. Many TV personalities and posters on social media have lost jobs after celebrating Kirk’s death, but Harmony claims to be the first to lose her job for mourning it. News Channel 20 claims that it has not suspended or fired anyone in the last 90 days.
• Judge dismisses first-degree murder charge against Luigi Mangione: In New York’s case against Luigi Mangione, who is being tried for murdering UnitedHealth CEO Brian Thompson, Judge Gregory Carro on Tuesday threw out the highest charge of murder in the first-degree as an act of terrorism. Carro asserts that Mangione was not engaged in an act of terrorism, writing, “While the defendant was clearly expressing an animus toward UHC, and the health care industry generally, it does not follow that his goal was to ‘intimidate and coerce a civilian population,’ and indeed, there was no evidence presented of such a goal.” Mangione still faces a second-degree murder charge, which holds a penalty of 25 years to life with the possibility of parole. Thankfully, Mangione is also facing federal charges, where domestic terrorism charges will deservedly be raised against him, and he also faces the death penalty.

• Trump arrives in the UK: Yesterday, Donald Trump and First Lady Melania arrived in the United Kingdom for a state visit with King Charles and the royal family. Trump and Melania stayed in the historic Windsor Castle, of which Trump stated, “I don’t want to say one’s better than the other, but they say Windsor Castle is the ultimate, right? So, it’s going to be nice.” Trump explained that his visit would primarily be with Charles and Camilla, saying, “They’ve been friends of mine for a long time, long before he was king, and it’s an honor to have this king.” This marks the first time a U.S. president has visited two different British monarchs for official state visits, the first being with the late Queen Elizabeth II. The visit serves to reinforce the U.S. and UK’s long-established alliance and even longer shared history.
• Poor Biden isn’t raking in cash: Joe Biden may not be hurting for cash, but he’s not seeing the post-presidency financial windfall that his recent predecessors have enjoyed. While the Obamas hobnob with their wealthy friends on Martha’s Vineyard and the Clintons are living it up in the Hamptons, Biden has been confined to humbler settings. Biden isn’t getting the $300,000 to $500,000 speech offers, and it’s not solely because of his declining mental acuity, but also because he has lost popularity among Democrats. Kamala Harris recently criticized him in her new book, calling it reckless for the party leadership to allow Biden to run for a second term. But perhaps the biggest reason of all is that Biden is no longer receiving large sums from foreign entities seeking special political influence. The Bidens’ pay-to-play political influence scheme is over, and he’s finding cash harder to come by.
• Trump inspires Americans to brush up on civics: Civics knowledge surged in 2025, according to a Constitution Day survey published by the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg Public Policy Center. In 2024, the same survey showed that civic ignorance was on the rise. In 2024, only 65% of respondents could name the three branches of government, which rose to 70% in 2025. Similarly, in 2024, only 30% could name three of the five rights enumerated in the First Amendment, but that has risen to 40% in 2025. Democrat strategist James Carville assigns the increased knowledge of civil liberties to the fear of losing them, but the data shows modest knowledge gains across the political spectrum. The director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center attributed the rise in knowledge to the constant challenges the executive branch has faced from its coequal branches in implementing its policies.

Headlines

• House GOP unveils 7-week stopgap funding bill, Dems say it makes shutdown more likely (Government Executive)
• Justice Department files lawsuit against Maine and Oregon over voter lists (Washington Examiner)
• Fani Willis permanently barred from Trump election interference case over her relationship with Nathan Wade (Washington Free Beacon)
• Democrat wins Minnesota special election to replace slain lawmaker (The Hill)
• Ilhan Omar’s committee assignments under threat after “disparaging Charlie Kirk’s legacy” (Fox News)
• Trans author loses major DC Comics deal after spewing hateful comments about Charlie Kirk’s assassination (New York Post](https://nypost.com/2025/09/16/us-news/trans-author-loses-major-dc-comics-deal-after-spewing-hateful-comments-about-charlie-kirks-assassination/))
• More health providers drop “gender-affirming care” for minors (Hot Air)

For the Executive Summary archive, click here.

Comment | Share

FEATURED ANALYSIS

What Is a Fascist?

Nate Jackson

Thanks to our rotten and all-too-often nefarious public education system, millions of Americans are under the misguided impression that fascism is a right-wing ideology. Because my Dad taught me better, I was able to argue about this with my high school history teacher, so allow me to continue my decades-long work of disabusing anyone of that delusion.

Leftists have a big problem with definitions. They don’t honestly define a woman, a baby, racism, or a myriad of other things that they intentionally distort for political gain. The two political sides don’t just disagree on solutions in this country; we can’t even agree on the meaning of words anymore.

Fascism and Nazism fit in this category, as left-wingers scream those words as epithets at anyone to the right of Karl Marx. Last fall, Kamala Harris lost the election despite — or because of — falsely labeling Donald Trump a fascist, including colluding with the media to do it.

Trump fired back, of course, saying, “She’s a Marxist, communist, fascist, socialist.” His grouping of those ideologies is absolutely correct.

The word fascist is back in the news because “Hey fascist! Catch!” was etched on one of the bullet casings belonging to Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old (alleged!) assassin of Charlie Kirk.

Robinson, not Kirk, was arguably the fascist, but most folks on the Left have that reversed. Kirk peacefully argued for Christianity and traditional values, free speech, and respectful dialogue, even when he vehemently objected to abortion, gender pathology, and race-based policies. Naturally, leftists labeled him a fascist for his decidedly anti-fascist positions, and the ironically named “antifa” crowd radicalized Robinson against Kirk, despite his growing up in a Republican family.

Donald Trump Jr. was among those who blamed Robinson’s radicalization on an even wider group than antifa: “You can’t call someone who you disagree with, or simply can’t win an argument with, a Nazi, a fascist, a dictator, a greatest threat to democracy and the history of civilization, and then pretend you had nothing to do with it when the more radical wing — and there does not seem to be all that much difference to me these days — takes up arms and tries to kill those they disagree with.” He knows — a young man radicalized by inflammatory Democrat rhetoric tried to assassinate his father last July.

Now, to correct the record on words.

Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary actually gets the definition of fascism right:

a populist political philosophy, movement, or regime (such as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual, that is associated with a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, and that is characterized by severe economic and social regimentation and by forcible suppression of opposition.

The ideology originated more than a century ago with an Italian leftist philosopher named Giovanni Gentile. He considered fascism the most workable form of socialism because, as opposed to operating on class divisions, everything about society would be subordinate to the state.

The first government to adopt this was Italy under Benito Mussolini and his Fascisti party. He wrote, “All is in the state and nothing human exists or has value outside the state.”

Germany’s Adolf Hitler adopted very similar ideas as the foundation for his Nazi party. “Nazi” is actually a German acronym for the National Socialist German Workers Party, which you’d think would be a clue about where it belongs on the political spectrum.

Fascism is a kissing cousin of communism because both Marxist ideologies rely on the brutal force of the state to achieve their totalitarian ends. Because no part of the economy or civil life is outside government authority, anyone who steps out of line will be punished, perhaps with death.

Sound familiar?

At the risk of oversimplifying it, the reason the Nazis hated the Communists, and vice versa, is that the Nazis advocated national socialism and the Communists prized international socialism. The Germans wanted to run the world because they thought the Aryan race was superior. The Soviets wanted to run the world because they thought the proletariat was superior.

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

Yet the American Left, via the public education system, has for decades peddled the fiction that Nazis were right-wing. Why?

World War II so thoroughly discredited Nazism and fascism — not least because of the undeniable and brutal genocide of millions — that leftists, particularly in academia, where terms get defined, couldn’t admit the uncomfortably obvious ideological kinship. Instead, they decided to (falsely) accuse their opponents of racist nationalism because the Nazis were nationalist and racist.

However, nationalism crosses the political spectrum, and it isn’t necessarily wrong. In fact, American Patriotism and nationalism are closely linked.

Leftists also pretend that because Nazis allowed the facade of private enterprise, they were somehow for free markets.

Wrong. Another minor difference between socialism and fascism is that in the former, the government controls the means of production, while in the latter, the government controls the companies that manage the means of production. Again, same boss.

Nazism “was anti-capitalist, it was explicitly socialist, and hence the name Nazi, which is essentially a compression of National Socialism,” Dinesh D’Souza argues. He also points out that the Nazi party’s platform was very clear: “It’s state control of the banks, state control of industry, state control of education, state control of the churches, state control of the media.”

Then he brings it home, asking rhetorically, “So, you go down this list and you go, ‘Does this sound more like Donald Trump, or does it sound more like, let’s say, Elizabeth Warren or Bernie Sanders?”

Before Jonah Goldberg succumbed to Trump Derangement Syndrome, he, too, understood this. In fact, he wrote a still-fantastic book called Liberal Fascism explaining the connection between left-wing American Democrats and European fascists.

In short, the effort to convince the American people that Nazis and fascists were right-wing, and that right-wingers like Donald Trump and Charlie Kirk are therefore Nazis and fascists, is sick gaslighting by the Left. It’s meant to cover for the sins of American leftists whose ideology is, as D’Souza notes, “suspiciously close” to the German and Italian fascists of the 20th century.

Far worse, it leads to political violence — as fascism always does.

For particularly deranged leftists (and I know I sort of repeat myself), if your opponent is fascist, Nazi, Hitler, etc., then it justifies a violent response.

This isn’t theoretical. Charlie Kirk is dead thanks to this insane reasoning by his assassin. But Robinson is hardly alone. After Kirk’s murder, YouGov conducted a survey and found that a quarter of young “very liberal” respondents say it is sometimes “justified for citizens to resort to violence in order to achieve political goals.” Another 17% of “liberal” respondents agreed.

For young “very conservative” people, it was 3%.

(Here I’d add that context is important. In the current American political system, violence is not acceptable. When the Founders took up arms against the British Empire, they achieved American Liberty through what might be called political violence. Perhaps that’s another story.)

Similar numbers of left-wingers think it’s fine to approve of or even celebrate the assassination of a political opponent. No wonder they’re actually doing so.

The Nazis and fascists were infamous for killing political opponents. When you believe and advance “us vs. them” lies, violence is often the only recourse against the truth. When you characterize your opponents as hateful oppressors, the oppressed must rise up violently.

The American Right disapproves of those things. Conversely, except in rare instances, the political violence in this country is coming from the Left.

What is a fascist? Not a right-winger, here or anywhere.

Follow Nate Jackson on X/Twitter.

Comment | Share

MORE ANALYSIS

• Sophie Starkova: Kirk’s Murder Sends People to Church — Charlie Kirk’s assassination was tragic and horrible, but the silver lining might be that more Americans are finding their way back into Christian sanctuaries.
• Thomas Gallatin: The Real Domestic Terror Threat — The Trump administration is looking to crack down on radical leftist groups pushing political violence, but there’s a chance things could go too far in encroaching on free speech.
• Michael Swartz: RFK Jr. Targets Big Pharma Ads — The HHS secretary is working on a backdoor method of restricting advertisement, but the side effects may be less desirable than the supposed illness he’s aiming to treat.

BEST OF RIGHT OPINION

• Allen WestHappy Constitution Day
• Tim GrahamThe Media Aggressively Plays Dumb on the Liberal Hate of Kirk’s Killer
• Byron YorkNew York on the Brink
• Stephen MooreAnother Tax Revolt May Be Right Around the Corner
• John StosselPhones Versus Play

For more of today’s columns, visit Right Opinion.

BEST OF VIDEOS

• Kash Patel Embarrassed Democrat Senators — There were fireworks in the Senate as Democrats clashed with FBI Director Kash Patel over a number of issues.
• Media Gush Over ‘Touching’ Kirk Assassin Texts — Liberal reporters gushed over Tyler Robinson’s texts confessing to his transgender lover that he killed Charlie Kirk, describing the messages as “touching,” “wrenching,” and full of “affection.”
• Charlie Kirk’s Murder and the TRUTH About Far-Left Extremism — Investigative journalist Andy Ngo explains how far-Left extremist networks celebrated the assassination, how narratives were laundered to downplay the killing, and why America is entering a dangerous new phase where political violence is normalized.
• Liberals Are Getting Fired for Charlie Kirk Death Comments: Is This Hypocrisy? — Does this mean that conservatives are hypocrites and that we don’t believe in free speech? And is there a legal basis for it?
• CNN Panel Melts Down as Both Sides Deflection Backfires — Kate Bedingfield, a CNN political analyst, clashed with prominent conservative strategist Scott Jennings over remarks Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA) made about conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s murder.
• Debunking the Left’s Series of Lies Following Kirk Assassination — Less than a week after Charlie Kirk’s assassination, the Left has incessantly pushed several falsehoods about the horrific death of this young conservative leader and Turning Point USA co-founder.

SHORT CUTS

Spin Doctor

“Me calling you, you know, ‘wannabe Hitler,’ all those things are like, not necessarily saying, ‘Go out and hurt somebody.’” —Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX)

Friendly Fire

“You just don’t ever, ever compare anyone to Hitler and those kinds of extreme things. [Trump] is not an autocrat. This is a product of a democratic election. … A lot of Americans happen to disagree with you, that does not mean that they are fascists, or now they want to shred the Constitution.” —Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA)

Justifying Murder

“If you wanted Charlie Kirk to be alive, Donald Trump shouldn’t have been President for this second term.” —popular streamer Destiny

World’s Smallest Violin

“The murder of Charlie Kirk could have united Americans to confront political violence. Instead, Trump and his anti-democratic radicals look to be readying a campaign to destroy dissent.” —Sen. Chris Murphy

Re: The Left

“Kathy Hochul is the worst governor in America, and it was only a matter of time before she bent the knee for this raging antisemite communist.” —Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) on Hochul’s endorsement of far-left NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani

“I’m asking the Democratic Party: you better start looking at how you lost people like me.” —Former Senator Joe Manchin

“The attacks on [Kirk] have been shocking, scurrilous. … It is irrational, it is viscous … Americans have long thought that ordinary decency requires that you don’t speak ill of the dead. … This has been so poisonous that it reflects very badly on the American Left … and on the political party that represents the Left.” —Brit Hume

“I think the really dangerous thing here is that I don’t know how much this really is the far left anymore. I think it is a much larger portion of the base of the political left … who believe all the things that have been said about the Nazis on the other side, the fascists on the other side, and that’s a very dangerous thing.” —Ben Domenech

Re: Social Media

“[Social media is] not a cancer in all respects. In some respects, it’s great — but there are segments, there are deep dark holes, that are cancerous, absolutely. Beyond cancer, they’re death.” —President Donald Trump

Facepalm

“There’s free speech, and then there’s hate speech. And there is no place, especially now, especially after what happened to Charlie, in our society.” —Attorney General Pam Bondi

First Amendment Refresher

“Hate speech is not prosecutable in America (which is good).” —Megyn Kelly

“[The First Amendment] absolutely protects hate speech. It protects vile speech. It protects horrible speech. What does that mean? It means you cannot be prosecuted for speech, even if it is evil and bigoted and wrong.” —Senator Ted Cruz

The Long and Short of It

“There is no unity with people who scream at children over their parents’ politics. There is no unity with someone who lies about what Charlie Kirk said in order to excuse his murder. There is no unity with someone who harasses an innocent family the day after the father of that family lost a dear friend. There is no unity with the people who celebrate Charlie Kirk’s assassination. And there is no unity with the people who fund these articles, who pay the salaries of these terrorist sympathizers, who argue that Charlie Kirk, a loving husband and father, deserved a shot to the neck because he spoke words with which they disagree.” —JD Vance

For the Record

“Charlie Kirk may be the first supposed fascist whose offense was refusing to use the correct pronouns and insisting that gender is innate and can’t be changed on a whim.” —Rich Lowry

Truth vs. Lies

Debate is not a choice when your principles fail to withstand intellectual scrutiny, which is why Charlie Kirk would sit openly on college and university campuses and challenge young people to ‘prove me wrong.’“ —Allen West

The Lowdown

“To argue with a person who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead.” —Thomas Paine (1737–1809)

Comment | Share

TODAY’S MEME

Share

For more of today’s memes, visit the Memesters Union.

ON THIS DAY in 1789, our Constitution was ratified, making it one of the most important days in our nation’s history. It also happens to be the day we at The Patriot Post celebrate our own birthday in 1996.

---

Please join us in prayer for our nation — that righteous leaders would rise and prevail and we would be united as Americans. Pray for the protection of our uniformed Military Patriots, Veterans, First Responders, and their families. Lift up your Patriot Post team and our mission to support and defend our legacy of American Liberty and our Republic’s Founding Principles, in order that the fires of freedom would be ignited in the hearts and minds of our countrymen.

Thank you for supporting our nation’s premier journal of American Liberty.

Semper Vigilans Fortis Paratus et Fidelis

“From The Patriot Post (patriotpost.us)”.

Israel Hits Hamas with Precision Strikes in Gaza City | CBN NewsWatch – September 17, 2025

Israel keeps up attacks on Gaza City, as it also helps Gazans get out of the city; Israel keeps up precision attacks, and an Israel Defense Forces spokesman says “Hamas has turned Gaza City into the largest human shield in history;” Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu says the economy remains strong after nearly two years of war; the White House invites Netanyahu for a visit after he addresses the UN General Assembly at the end of the month; Chris Mitchell talks about the warfare in Gaza, if Hamas will actually use the hostages as human shield, how things have changed on the border with Lebanon now that the war with Hezbollah has ended, the Israeli economy & Netanyahu’s visit to the White House; Charlie Kirk assassination suspect Tyler Robinson arraigned in court, as police are also looking for others who may have known Robinson was going to try to kill Kirk; and our Studio 5 conversation with contemporary Christian music pioneers The Archers, who have their first new full-length album in three decades, called “Legacy Live.”

Want more news from a Christian Perspective? Choose to support CBN: https://go.cbn.com/ugWBn

CBN News. Because Truth Matters™

Source: Israel Hits Hamas with Precision Strikes in Gaza City | CBN NewsWatch – September 17, 2025

Deep Dive: Debunking the 6 Most Common Charlie Kirk Fake Quotes and Lies from Leftists

Due to its importance, The Western Journal has made this premium article free to all readers. However, if you would like to read more articles like this and support Christian, […] The post appeared first on The Western Journal .

Source: Deep Dive: Debunking the 6 Most Common Charlie Kirk Fake Quotes and Lies from Leftists

John Haller: Assassination of Charlie Kirk – How Do We Respond?

John Haller discusses the state of our culture and church, the assassination of Charlie Kirk, the complicit media, politics, hateful rhetoric, and where we go from here.

Source: John Haller: Assassination of Charlie Kirk – How Do We Respond?

Tens of millions turning to chatbots for guidance from God | Denison Forum

This New York Times headline caught my eye: “Finding God in the App Store: Millions are turning to chatbots for guidance from on high.” Lauren Jackson, the writer for a new religion and spirituality Times newsletter titled “Believing,” reports:

On religious apps, tens of millions of people are confessing to spiritual chatbots their secrets: their petty vanities and deepest worries, gluttonous urges and darkest impulses. Trained on religious texts, the bots are like on-call priests, imams, or rabbis, offering comfort and direction at any time. On some platforms, they even purport to channel God.

Jackson notes that a Christian app called Bible Chat has more than thirty million downloads. Hallow, a Catholic app, beat Netflix, Instagram, and TikTok for the number one spot in the app store at one point last year. Some see these apps as ways into faith, but others warn that they “tell us what we want to hear” rather than providing the accountability only a person and community can foster.

Explaining our quest for spiritual connection

At the very least, the popularity of spiritual chatbots reveals the underlying and undying popularity of spirituality itself. In a sense, this should be unsurprising even in our highly secularized culture.

The secularization thesis, popular in academic circles, claims that as societies progress, religion loses its authority in social life and governance. America has certainly seen such a religious decline in recent decades, due in large part to clergy abuse crises, religious engagement in partisan politics, and divisive cultural issues.

But religion and spirituality are not the same thing. The Bible teaches that we are made in God’s image (Genesis 1:27) and that “God is spirit” (John 4:24). It therefore stands to reason that humans are “spirit” as well and that our quest for spiritual connection beyond ourselves is both intrinsic and vital to our flourishing.

The key, of course, is to connect with the best source of such flourishing.

What Robert Redford and Charlie Kirk had in common

Robert Redford died yesterday at the age of eighty-nine. As the New York Times notes, the famed actor and director used his platform to advance independent filmmaking and environmental causes. His movies were an end to larger purposes in his life.

At the other end of the political spectrum, Charlie Kirk had a larger purpose than most understood as well. A revealing profile by Atlantic journalist Isaac Stanley-Becker reports that the conservative influencer saw politics as a necessary means to the cultural transformation he sought to catalyze.

He founded Turning Point USA to engage young people in conservative politics, but he also started TPUSA Faith to advance ideas about the Christian foundations of the US. In recent months, he launched Turning Point Academy to form Christian schools “where all areas of study are rooted in God’s truth.” He told Stanley-Becker that he intended to be in the “education space” for the rest of his life.

Kirk’s foundational belief was that our freedoms come not from man or manmade law but from God. And he was convinced that “once people start to drink from the stream of liberty, they will want to know its source.”

Watching Erika Kirk speak to the nation

St. Hildegard of Bingen (1098–1179) was born on this day in Germany. In 1141, she began experiencing a series of visions she described as a “flow of light” that “kindled her whole heart, not burning but warming.” Over time, she became convinced that she was called by God to share these visions with the world.

She wrote three volumes on theology and two on natural medicine, composed music that is still performed today, and preached many sermons denouncing clerical corruption and calling for reform. Her humility, intellect, and holiness attracted many to her.

I especially appreciate this prayer by St. Hildegard:

Holy Spirit, the life that gives life: You are the cause of all movement. You are the breath of all creatures. You are the salve that purifies our souls. You are the ointment that heals our wounds. You are the fire that warms our hearts. You are the light that guides our feet. Let all the world praise you.

When we make it our purpose to know Christ in the power of his Spirit, we are then empowered by the Spirit to make Christ known. And this purpose gives purpose to everything we do. The places we live, work, and go to school become our mission fields; our vocations become platforms for ministry; our gifts, abilities, education, experiences, and even our challenges become tools for the Spirit’s use.

When we ask of every moment, “How can I know Christ in this moment and then make him known?”, every moment becomes infused with meaning. Times of suffering become opportunities to know Christ more deeply as we trust him more deeply and experience his deeper answers to our prayers and needs. And they become opportunities for making him known more powerfully as others see the relevance and power of our faith.

Anyone who watched Erika Kirk speak to the nation two days after her husband was assassinated saw both facts on display. Her faith was tangibly real, and her courage glorified her Lord. If I had not been a Christian before seeing her message, I would have wanted what she has.

“Go for the purposes of God”

May I ask you what purpose gives meaning to your life today?

In his New York Times bestseller The Purpose-Driven Life, Rick Warren asserts, “The greatest tragedy is not death, but life without purpose.” The key to knowing your purpose is knowing the God who made you, since, as Rick notes, “You were born by his purpose and for his purpose.”

Conversely, as Rick reminds us, “You cannot fulfill God’s purposes in your life while focusing on your own plans.” The good news is that when we make God’s purpose our purpose, he will direct our plans to this end (cf. Proverbs 3:5–6). The evangelist Reinhard Bonnke was right:

“Go for the purposes of God, and the means to fulfill them will follow.”

So, will you “go for the purposes of God” today? Will you seek to know Christ and make him known, or will you settle for a lesser purpose for your life?

All of eternity is in your choice.

Quote for the day:

“You were made by God and for God, and until you understand that, life will never make sense.” —Rick Warren

Our latest website resources:

• “Dancing with the Stars” and the Christian journey: The art of transformation
• How should Christians respond to the assassination of Charlie Kirk and rising violence in our culture?
• A quick word on the death of Charlie Kirk, Pentagon’s rebrand, US hope in decline, viral sports fails, US Open, NFL & Emmys weekend
• Encouraging stories of faith in sports
• Can Bonton Farms show us a better way to restore hope to struggling communities?

The post Tens of millions turning to chatbots for guidance from God appeared first on Denison Forum.

Source: Tens of millions turning to chatbots for guidance from God

LIVE: President Trump Attends a Musical Performance and Ceremonial Events in the U.K. – 9/17/25

President Donald J.Trump Attends a Performance and Ceremonial Events in the U.K. Join RSBN LIVE at 11:15 am EDT on September 17, 2025.

Source: LIVE: President Trump Attends a Musical Performance and Ceremonial Events in the U.K. – 9/17/25