There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true. —Soren Kierkegaard. "…truth is true even if nobody believes it, and falsehood is false even if everybody believes it. That is why truth does not yield to opinion, fashion, numbers, office, or sincerity–it is simply true and that is the end of it" – Os Guinness, Time for Truth, pg.39. “He that takes truth for his guide, and duty for his end, may safely trust to God’s providence to lead him aright.” – Blaise Pascal. "There is but one straight course, and that is to seek truth and pursue it steadily" – George Washington letter to Edmund Randolph — 1795. We live in a “post-truth” world. According to the dictionary, “post-truth” means, “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.” Simply put, we now live in a culture that seems to value experience and emotion more than truth. Truth will never go away no matter how hard one might wish. Going beyond the MSM idealogical opinion/bias and their low information tabloid reality show news with a distractional superficial focus on entertainment, sensationalism, emotionalism and activist reporting – this blogs goal is to, in some small way, put a plug in the broken dam of truth and save as many as possible from the consequences—temporal and eternal. "The further a society drifts from truth, the more it will hate those who speak it." – George Orwell “There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true.” ― Soren Kierkegaard
I lived in eastern Iowa for a decade. Every Wednesday a tornado warning siren would blare over the air. My family and I quickly learned that this was only a test, and we grew to ignore them. But occasionally the siren would blare at a different time, and we would scramble to the basement in haste. The siren was calling us to take immediate action so we would live!The prophets of Israel are often characterized as full of judgment and destruction. But we can also look at them as God’s warning sirens. During the days of Amos, Israel was not living according to the covenant, so God sent the prophet with a warning. “Seek me and live; do not seek Bethel” (v. 4). By inviting the people to seek Him, God was sounding the alarm.This alarm also warned them where not to go. Bethel was an infamous city in Israel. Generations before, a king named Jeroboam had built a temple to a false god there (1 Kings 12:29). As a result, he led the nation into idolatrous worship and away from the Lord. Years later, Bethel continued to be a place where people went to sacrifice and pray to a pagan deity. Like a family fleeing from a tornado to the second story of their home, Israel was turning to false gods for help. They needed to be told where to go, but they also needed to be told where not to go! The other cities, Gilgal and Beersheba, also had associations with wickedness.Far more than just judgment and destruction, the prophet Amos was calling Israel to change their ways while there was still time. Eventually God would lose patience, but until that moment there was a chance to escape punishment. All they needed to do was seek Him, and they would live.
Go Deeper Are you hearing sirens going off in your spiritual life? What is God warning you to do or not to do? Extended Reading: Amos 5, Obadiah
Pray with Us Father in heaven, thank You for Your prophets who spoke Your word in a mighty way. Today, we are called to seek You and live. It is a comfort to know that Your Son Jesus opened for us the way to You and gave us eternal life.
We must give glory to him as the Creator of the world and the great Protector, Benefactor, and Ruler of the whole creation.
You are worthy, O Lord, to receive blessing and honor and glory and power, for you have created all things, and for your praise and by your will they existed and were created. Revelation 4:11(ESV)
I worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water; Revelation 14:7(ESV) who spoke, and it came to be; who commanded, and it stood firm; Psalm 33:9(ESV) who said, “Let there be light,” and there was light; Genesis 1:3(ESV) “Let there be an expanse,” and he made the expanse; Genesis 1:6-7(ESV) and he made it all very good; Genesis 1:31(ESV) and they continue this day by his appointment, for all things are his servants. Psalm 119:91(ESV)
Yours is the day, yours also the night; you have established the heavenly lights and the sun. You have fixed all the boundaries of the earth; you have made summer and winter. Psalm 74:16-17(ESV)
The earth is full of your creatures, as is the great and wide sea. Psalm 104:24-25(ESV) The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season: You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing. Psalm 145:15-16(ESV) Man and beast you save, O LORD, Psalm 36:6(ESV) and give food to all flesh. Psalm 136:25(ESV)
You are the LORD, you alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and you preserve all of them; and the host of heaven worships you, Nehemiah 9:6(ESV) whose kingdom rules over all. Psalm 103:19(ESV)
A sparrow will not fall to the ground apart from you. Matthew 10:29(ESV)
You made man at first of dust from the ground and breathed into him the breath of life, and so he became a living creature. Genesis 2:7(ESV)
And you have made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place. Acts 17:26(ESV)
You are the Most High, who rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whomever you will; Daniel 4:25(ESV) for it is from the LORD that a man gets justice. Proverbs 29:26(ESV)
Hallelujah, the Lord God Almighty reigns, Revelation 19:6(ESV) and works all things according to the counsel of his own will, to the praise of his own glory! Ephesians 1:11-12(ESV)
Job 19:25 In this week’s studies, we see how the book of Job points us to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Theme
Job’s Redeemer
As we think about the resurrection on this Easter Sunday, I want to take you to a very special verse from the Old Testament. It is Job 19:25, which reads, “I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth.”
I do not know if you have ever had the experience of gaining an insight or receiving a revelation so important that you have wished that it could be preserved forever. But if you have, or if you have experienced that even in a partial way, you will immediately understand the tone in which Job was speaking as he wrote these lines. We hear something said in a particularly vivid way, and we say, “Oh, if I could just remember that!” Or we have an insight, and we say, “If I could just get that written down so I won’t forget it!”
Well, this was what Job experienced just before he said this. He had suffered a great deal, as we know, first by the loss of his possessions, then by the loss of his ten children and eventually, his own health. His friends came to comfort him but actually abused him, charging that his misfortunes were the result of some particularly outstanding sin in Job’s life. Then in the midst of one reply he gave vent to this insight.
It was an insight that his story was not being told completely in this life and that a latter day would vindicate him. In fact, it was an insight that there was an individual who would vindicate him, even the Lord Jesus Christ, whom Job calls “my Redeemer.” This individual would stand in some future day upon the earth, would raise Job from death, and would enable him to see God.
Can you imagine Job’s excitement as he received this revelation and gave expression to this profound hope? There were not many who shared it in Job’s day, and few would understand it. So Job said that he wished that his words might be preserved. “Oh, that my words were now written! Oh, that they were printed in a book; that they were engraved, with an iron pen and lead, in the rock forever!” (Job 19:23-24). Fortunately for us, Job’s wish was fulfilled. Not only were his words preserved in a book; they have been preserved in the Book of books, the Bible. That book will be preserved forever. “I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth.” This revelation is for ourselves and our children forever.
We need to look at this statement word by word, and the first part that we need to look at is its key word, “redeemer.” Now, this is a rich and particularly illuminating term. In Hebrew the word is goel, which refers to a relative who performs the office of a redeemer for his kin. We must visualize a situation such as this. A Hebrew has lost his inheritance through debt. We would say that he has mortgaged his estate and that, because of a lack of money to meet the debt, he is about to lose it or has already lost it. This happened, you will recall, in the case of Naomi and Ruth so that, although they had once possessed land, they had become impoverished. In such a situation it was the goel’s duty, as the next of kin, to buy back the inheritance; that is, to pay the mortgage and restore the land to his relative. Boaz did this in relation to Ruth.
Now, this is what Job refers to in his great expression of faith in his divine Redeemer, and it is why this passage must refer to Job’s own resurrection. As Job speaks these words he is in dire physical condition. He has lost family and health. He must have imagined that he is about to lose his life too. He will die. Worms will destroy his body. But that is not the end of the story, he says. For his body, like his land, is his inheritance; and there is one who will redeem it for him. Years may go by, but at the latter day the Redeemer will stand upon the earth and will perform the office of a goel in raising his body. He will bring Job into the presence of God.
Study Questions
Read Job 18. Why does Bildad think Job is suffering as he is?
What was the first duty of a kinsman-redeemer?
Application
Reflection: Are you going through a particularly difficult time in your life right now? Can you identify in some way with all that Job suffered? Is your hope in Jesus your risen Redeemer, who has promised never to leave you nor forsake you, and who will one day raise your mortal body when He returns?
For Further Study: Download for free and listen to D. A. Carson’s message, “Job and Suffering.” (Discount will be applied at checkout.)
Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. Simon, he said to Peter, are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour? Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.
Mark 14:37-38
The enemy has little struggle with Peter. It is not even necessary to threaten to throw him to the lions or burn him at the stake. His resolve collapses by the simple expedient of making him too sleepy to pray. That is all; and that tremendous determination of will, that firm resolve, dissolves, and Peter is as weak as putty when the moment comes. He is weak because he lacks the strengthening of prayer. The devil only had to make him sleepy, that is all. I am sure this was a satanic attack. The sword Jehovah was wielding, which hurt and distressed the Son of God, was now affecting the disciples, and Satan was allowed to appear as a stealthy sandman, dropping sleep into their eyes. So they fell asleep instead of praying.
Jesus analyzes the situation. He comes and finds them, and there is almost a touch of humor here. After He wakes them up, He says to these disciples, Peter, couldn’t you watch one hour? Couldn’t your resolve and fierce determination last at least that long? Then He tells us why Peter could not do it. The spirit is willing, Peter. I know your heart. I know you love me. Your spirit is perfectly willing. But Peter, you relied upon your flesh. The flesh is weak.
We have all felt this, have we not? We have been asked to do something, and we say, The spirit is willing, but the flesh is ready for the weekend. The flesh is weak. Jesus says that is the nature of the flesh. That human sense of independence, the confidence we have in ourselves, is always weak in the hour of testing. It cannot stand the test. This is the analysis Jesus gives of Peter’s problem. The key is prayer. If Peter, feeling sleepy and weak, had followed Jesus’ example and cast himself upon the Father and told Him the problem, the father would have carried him through, and he would not have denied his Lord.
It is our weakness that is our security, not our strength. That is why I am not terribly impressed when young people tell me how much they are going to do for God and how certain they are that they can carry it through. I have learned, out of sad experience in my own life as well as by the testimony of Scripture, that in the hour of testing, this self-confidence will all wash away. But I have confidence in the man or woman who says, I’m scared. I don’t think I can do this, but I’m going to try because God tells me to. I’m looking to Him to strengthen me.
Father, open my eyes and heart to understand that apart from You I can do nothing. You are the shepherd upon whom I can rely, to whom I can go in the hour of anguish and find the strength to do what You are calling me to do.
Life Application
Do we presume to obediently follow Jesus in our own human pseudo-energy and inadequate resources? Why is prayer an urgent necessity for this faith journey?
26When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
27“You will all fall away,” Jesus told them, “for it is written: ” ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’ 28But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”
29Peter declared, “Even if all fall away, I will not.”
30“I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “today—yes, tonight—before the rooster crows twice you yourself will disown me three times.”
31But Peter insisted emphatically, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” And all the others said the same.
32They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” 33He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. 34“My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.”
35Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. 36“Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”
37Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Simon,” he said to Peter, “are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour? 38Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”
39Once more he went away and prayed the same thing. 40When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. They did not know what to say to him.
41Returning the third time, he said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 42Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”
43Just as he was speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, appeared. With him was a crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders.
44Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The one I kiss is the man; arrest him and lead him away under guard.” 45Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, “Rabbi!” and kissed him. 46The men seized Jesus and arrested him. 47Then one of those standing near drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.
48“Am I leading a rebellion,” said Jesus, “that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? 49Every day I was with you, teaching in the temple courts, and you did not arrest me. But the Scriptures must be fulfilled.” 50Then everyone deserted him and fled.
51A young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment, was following Jesus. When they seized him, 52he fled naked, leaving his garment behind.
While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling clothing; and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living One among the dead? He is not here, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee, saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.” (24:4–7)
The women were standing in or just outside the tomb, shocked and perplexed because the body of Jesus was gone. Suddenly, they went from being puzzled to being terrified. As they stood there in the light of dawn trying to figure out what could have happened to the corpse, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling clothing. Matthew (28:2) and John (20:12) identify them as angels, appearing in human form (cf. Gen. 18:2; 19:1–5; Dan. 10:16). Although there were two of them (perhaps as witnesses; cf. Deut. 19:15), only one spoke. Similarly, although there were two demon-possessed men at Gerasa (Matt. 8:28), only one spoke (Mark 5:2, 7; Luke 8:27–28), and while there were two blind men healed on the road near Jericho (Matt. 20:30), Mark (10:46) and Luke (18:35) mention only the one who spoke. Their dazzling clothing (cf. Matt. 17:2; Acts 1:10; Rev. 19:14) identified them as divine messengers. Understandably, the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground (cf. Luke 1:12; 2:9; Dan. 8:15–18; 10:9; Matt. 28:2–4; Acts 10:3–4; Rev. 22:8). In a mild rebuke the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living One, the one who is the resurrection and the life (John 11:25), the one over whom death no longer is master (Rom. 6:9), the one who was dead, but now is alive forevermore (Rev. 1:18) among the dead?” This angelic question is the first announcement that Jesus was alive. The angels went on to say, “He is not here, but He has risen” (lit., “been raised”; the Greek verb is in the passive voice [cf. Acts 2:24, 32; 3:15, 26; 4:10; 5:30; 10:40; 13:30, 33, 34, 37; Rom. 4:24–25; 6:4, 9; 7:4; 8:11, 34; 10:9; 1 Cor. 6:14; 15:4, 12–20; 2 Cor. 4:14; Gal. 1:1; Eph. 1:20; Col. 2:12; 1 Thess. 1:10; 1 Peter 1:21]). “Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee, saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again” (Matt. 16:21; 17:22–23; 20:17–19; 26:2; 27:63). Since Jesus had predicted His resurrection, they should have been expecting it. But they obviously did not, since they brought spices with which to anoint His dead body.
MacArthur, J. (2014). Luke 18–24 (pp. 410–411). Moody Publishers.
24:5 Why do you look for the living among the dead? Up to this point the women have had no indication that Jesus’s death was not final. This challenge therefore completely subverts their natural assumptions and moves the narrative from death to new life. It is a rebuke of their failure, as disciples, to see beyond Jesus’s death. 24:6 He is not here; he has risen! The implications of the previous rhetorical question are spelled out in terms that rule out any idea of merely spiritual survival. Jesus’s body has gone, and he is again one of “the living.” “He has risen” could be more literally translated “he has been raised,” and the passive form occurs frequently in the New Testament in describing Jesus’s resurrection. But it would be pedantic to insist that the passive form makes Jesus purely the object of God’s action; compare 24:46, where an active verb is used for Jesus himself “rising.” The same two verbs have been used as parallels in 9:22 (“be raised”) and 18:33 (“rise”).
France, R. T. (2013). Luke (M. L. Strauss & J. H. Walton, Eds.; p. 376). Baker Books.
Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed. (Isaiah 54.4)
We shall not be ashamed of our faith. Carping critics may assail the Scriptures upon which we ground our belief, but every year the Lord will make it more and more clear that in His Book there is no error, no excess, and no omission. It is no discredit to be a simple believer; the faith which looks alone to Jesus is a crown of honor on any man’s head and better than a star on his breast.
We shall not be ashamed of our hope. It shall be even as the Lord has said. We shall be fed, led, blest, and rested. Our Lord will come, and then the days of our mourning shall be ended. How we shall glory in the Lord who first gave us lively hope and then gave us that which we hoped for!
We shall not be ashamed of our love. Jesus is to us the altogether lovely, and never, never, shall we have to blush because we have yielded our hearts to Him. The sight of our glorious Well-beloved will justify the most enthusiastic attachment to Him. None will blame the martyrs for dying for Him. When the enemies of Christ are clothed with everlasting contempt, the lovers of Jesus shall find themselves honored by all holy beings, because they chose the reproach of Christ rather than the treasures of Egypt.
I the Lord do keep it; I will water it every moment: Lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day. (Isaiah 27:3)
When the Lord Himself speaks in His own proper person rather than through a prophet, the word has a peculiar weight to believing minds. It is Jehovah Himself who is the keeper of His own vineyard; He does not trust it to any other, but He makes it His own personal care. Are they not well kept whom God Himself keeps?
We are to receive gracious watering, not only every day and every hour “but every moment.” How we ought to grow! How fresh and fruitful every plant should be! What rich clusters the vines should bear!
But disturbers come; little foxes and the boar. Therefore, the Lord Himself is our Guardian, and that at all hours, both “night and day.” What, then, can harm us? Why are we afraid! He tends, He waters, He guards; what more do we need?
Twice in this verse the Lord says, “I will.” What truth, what power, what love, what immutability we find in the great “I will” of Jehovah! Who can resist His will? If He says “I will,” what room is there for doubt? With an “I will” of God we can face all the hosts of sin, death, and hell. O Lord, since Thou sayest, “I will keep thee,” I reply, “I will praise Thee!”
Israel then shall dwell in safety alone: the fountain of Jacob shall be upon a land of corn and wine; also his heavens shall drop down dew, (Deuteronomy 33:28)
The more we dwell alone, the more safe shall we be. God would have His people separate from sinners, His call to them is, “Come ye out from among them.” A Christian world is such a monstrosity as the Scriptures never contemplate. A worldly Christian is spiritually diseased. Those who compromise with Christ’s enemies may be reckoned with them.
Our safety lies, not in making terms with the enemy, but in dwelling alone with our Best Friend. If we do this, we shall dwell in safety despite the sarcasms, the slanders, and the sneers of the world. We shall be safe from the baleful influence of its unbelief, its pride, its vanity, its filthiness.
God also will make us dwell in safety alone in that day when sin shall be visited on the nations by wars and famines. The Lord brought Abram from Ur of the Chaldees, but Abram stopped halfway. He had no blessing till, having set out to go to the land of Canaan, to the land of Canaan he came, He was safe alone even in the midst of foes. Lot was not safe in Sodom though in a circle of friends. Our safety is in dwelling apart with God.
J. Warner explains that belief in God and Christianity does not require “extraordinary evidence,” but should be based on the same broad and ordinary forms of evidence used in criminal trials and everyday investigation. He argues that the nature of evidence—including what is present, what is absent, and even what is left unsaid—demonstrates that the claims of Christianity can be tested and proven like any other significant truth claim.
To see more training videos with J. Warner Wallace, visit the YouTube playlist.
This is one of my favorite questions to ask in discipling conversations. More often than not, however, it’s met with a puzzled look or a blank stare.
“Ummm… I’m not really sure what you mean. I know I’m saved. I know I’m going to heaven. But…”—followed by a long pause—“I don’t see how the gospel applies to this situation.”
Unfortunately, this response is not uncommon. Many Christians live, as one author puts it, with a “gospel gap.” They know the gospel has changed their past and secured their future, but they don’t know how the gospel applies to the present—how it works in the day-to-day realities, challenges, and struggles of life.
In this post, I want to help fill in that gap. As we’ll see, the gospel does a lot more than secure our eternal destiny; it gives us power and perspective in the here and now. Let’s briefly explore key categories of gospel truth that will help us apply the gospel to everyday life.
Gospel Identity: Who I am in Christ
“Who am I?”
Have you ever asked yourself this question? It’s an important one that people have wrestled with for centuries. How we understand ourselves, and what we look to for worth, value, and purpose are all part of a person’s identity.
People often measure their worth by comparing themselves to others. They may try to anchor their sense of importance in their performance, achievements, or accomplishments. Some see themselves through the lenses of a perceived flaw, a personality label, or a painful experience from the past. While these factors may shape our life story, they do not define who we are.
Most of us recognize the danger of building our identity on unstable foundations. But I wonder: how often do we seek validation and satisfaction in temporal things—even good ones like family, reputation, influence, or ministry—rather than in our identity in Christ?
Ultimately, our identity is not built on the sinking sand of our performance or experiences. It is rooted in the person and work of Jesus Christ. The gospel answers the question “Who am I?” by telling us that:
We are created in God’s image for God’s glory.
We were condemned, rebellious, spiritually dead sinners who deserve God’s righteous wrath.
We are one with Christ. In Him, we are chosen, saved, beloved, accepted, redeemed, adopted, justified, sanctified, and blessed with every spiritual blessing.
When this gospel identity takes root, it frees us from the performance trap and enables us to live with joy, gratitude, humble confidence, and a renewed sense of purpose.
Gospel Provisions: What I Have in Christ
The gospel not only gives us a new identity; it also provides us with divine enablement. In Christ, we have everything that we need for life and godliness (2 Pet. 1:3–4).
One of the primary ways God supplies this enablement is through the indwelling presence and sanctifying ministry of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit actively works in our lives to assure us of God’s love, comfort us in our suffering, teach us God’s truth, and empower us to become more like Christ .
God also empowers us with His grace—undeserved blessings freely given to us in Christ. We are not only saved by grace, but also strengthened by grace to faithfully serve and persevere in the Christian life (1 Cor. 15:10; Col. 1:29).
These gospel provisions are not limited or fickle; they are sufficient and available for every challenge, trial, and struggle we face. As Scripture reminds us, “God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work” (2 Cor. 9:8).
Gospel Promises: What I’m Assured of in Christ
Even with the new identity and provisions we have in Christ, we still grow anxious and doubt God’s love towards us. When guilt, despair, or uncertainty creep in, we can easily lose heart. Thankfully, the gospel gives us promises that we can cling to in the midst of our struggles.
In Christ, we know with confidence that:
Nothing can separate us from God’s love (Rom. 8:33–39).
Our sovereign, loving God is actively working all things for our good and His glory (Rom. 8:28).
Our present sufferings are preparing us for future glory (2 Cor. 4:16–18).
Christ will come again and make all things new (Rev. 21:5)
“A fixed, constant attention to the promises, and a firm belief in them, would prevent anxiety about the concerns of this life. It would keep the mind quiet and composed in every change, and support our sinking spirits under the various troubles of life… There is no extremity so great, but there are promises suitable to it, and abundantly sufficient for relief.”
When we fix our hearts on gospel promises, we are reminded that our hope does not rest on our performance or circumstances, but on the unchanging faithfulness of God. The gospel reassures, sustains, and strengthens us for every trial and challenge that we face.
Gospel Living: How I Should Live in Christ
Gospel blessings fuel gospel living. Who we are and what we have in Christ transforms how we live as God’s people.
Sadly, many Christians separate gospel truths from practical obedience. The New Testament, however, consistently links the two. Our identity in Christ, the provisions He gives us, and the promises that we stand on should fuel our growth in holiness. Consider a few examples:
Colossians 3:1 – “Since then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above.” Because of our gospel identity, our focus shifts from earthly concerns to heavenly priorities.
1 Peter 2:9-10 – “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” Our gospel identity and provisions compel us to joyfully proclaim His glories.
1 John 3:2-3 – “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him. And everyone who thus hopes in Him purifies himself as He is pure.” The hope of future glory motivates us to pursue present holiness.
In short, gospel living flows naturally from gospel blessings. The identity, provisions, and promises of the gospel are not abstract truths—they are the foundation and fuel for everyday Christian living.
3:14 “I AM WHO I AM” is a very literal rendering of the Hebrew text, expressing God’s real, perfect, unconditional, independent existence. God exists in a way that no one and nothing else does. He is without beginning or end. He is the only Being who is self-existent. All other existence is dependent upon His uncaused existence. Jesus is this same God (cf. John 8:58; Col. 1:15–17; Heb. 13:8; Rev. 1:8). God is not the abstract being of Greek philosophy; rather He is the active, infinite, personal Being who reveals Himself as Redeemer and covenant-making Lord. He can only be defined in terms of Himself, but He is revealed by what He says and what He does (cf. Is. 45:5–7, 18–25). God’s name surely includes the idea of His continuing presence (cf. v. 12). The whole content of biblical history is a commentary on the meaning of this name (cf. Gen. 2:4, note).
Criswell, W. A., Patterson, P., Clendenen, E. R., Akin, D. L., Chamberlin, M., Patterson, D. K., & Pogue, J., eds. (1991). Believer’s Study Bible (electronic ed., Ex 3:14). Thomas Nelson.
3:14 I am that I am The revelation of the personal name of God—Israel’s Creator (Exod 3:15). In Hebrew, the phrase “I am” is ehyeh—a different spelling from yhwh (“Yahweh”). The relationship between ehyeh and yhwh (called the Tetragrammaton) is not entirely clear, but both involve the consonants y and h in the same order and yhwh is used throughout this passage, indicating that both are names for the God of Israel (e.g., vv. 4, 7, 15, 16). It seems that the spelling of yhwh recalls the revelation here.
Barry, J. D., Mangum, D., Brown, D. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Ritzema, E., Whitehead, M. M., Grigoni, M. R., & Bomar, D. (2012, 2016). Faithlife Study Bible (Ex 3:14). Lexham Press.
3:14 I am who I am. In response to Moses’ question (“What is [your] name?” v. 13), God reveals his name to be “Yahweh” (corresponding to the four Hebrew consonants YHWH). The three occurrences of “I AM” in v. 14 all represent forms of the Hebrew verb that means “to be” (Hb. hayah), and in each case are related to the divine name Yahweh (i.e., “the LORD”; see note on v. 15). The divine name Yahweh has suggested to scholars a range of likely nuances of meaning: (1) that God is self-existent and therefore not dependent on anything else for his own existence; (2) that God is the creator and sustainer of all that exists; (3) that God is immutable in his being and character and thus is not in the process of becoming something different from what he is (e.g., “the same yesterday and today and forever,” Heb. 13:8); and (4) that God is eternal in his existence. While each of these points is true of God, the main focus in this passage is on the Lord’s promise to be with Moses and his people. The word translated “I am” (Hb. ’ehyeh) can also be understood and translated as “I will be” (cf. ESV footnote). Given the context of Ex. 3:12 (“I will be with you”), the name of Yahweh (“the LORD”) is also a clear reminder of God’s promises to his people and of his help for them to fulfill their calling. In each of these cases, the personal name of God as revealed to Moses expresses something essential about the attributes and character of God.
3:14 The name “I AM” anticipates the “I am” sayings of Jesus (see John 8:58), which show his deity.
Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (p. 149). Crossway Bibles.
3:14 I Am WHO I AM. This name for God points to His self-existence and eternality; it denotes “I am the One who is/will be,” which is decidedly the best and most contextually suitable option from a number of theories about its meaning and etymological source. The significance in relation to “God of your fathers” is immediately discernible: He’s the same God throughout the ages! The consonants from the Heb. word Yhwh, combined with the vowels from the divine name Adonai (Master or Lord), gave rise to the name “Jehovah” in English. Since the name Yahweh was considered so sacred that it should not be pronounced, the Massoretes inserted the vowels from Adonai to remind themselves to pronounce it when reading instead of saying Yahweh. Technically, this combination of consonants is known as the “tetragrammaton.”
MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Ex 3:14). Thomas Nelson Publishers.
† 3:14 — And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ” We serve the God who is alive, who is present, who is here right now and who gives life and breath to everything that lives (Acts 17:25). He IS, whether anything else remains or not.
Stanley, C. F. (2005). The Charles F. Stanley life principles Bible: New King James Version (Ex 3:14). Nelson Bibles.
“No compact among men … can be pronounced everlasting and inviolable, and if I may so express myself, that no Wall of words, that no mound of parchment can be so formed as to stand against the sweeping torrent of boundless ambition on the one side, aided by the sapping current of corrupted morals on the other.” —George Washington (1789)
Winter storm leaves a mark: An unusually large and powerful winter storm has nearly finished dumping a colossal amount of snow and ice on the U.S. after it traveled from Arizona to Maine. Over three-quarters of a million Americans experienced power outages, with many regions warning that turning the lights back on will be a slow process. Making these long power outages even worse, reinforcing shots of bitterly cold Arctic air are forecast to move over the eastern half of the U.S. through at least next week. Nine deaths have been attributed to the storm so far — seven in the South, one in Kansas, and one in Massachusetts. Southern states saw freezing rain and ice that brought down trees and power lines, while northern states saw over 18 inches of snow.
Comer suggests leaving Minnesota to its fate: With the shooting death of anti-ICE agitator Alex Pretti by ICE agents over the weekend in Minneapolis, which has served to fuel even more anti-ICE sentiments, House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer suggested that the Trump administration pull back on immigration enforcement in Minnesota. “If I were President Trump, I would almost think about, OK, if the mayor and the governor are going to put our ICE officials in harm’s way and there’s a chance of losing more, you know, innocent lives or whatever, then maybe go to another city and let the people of Minneapolis decide, ‘Do we want to continue to have all of these illegals? Are we going to allow our governor, attorney general, and mayor to get away with this?’” A number of Republican lawmakers are also calling for a full investigation into Pretti’s death.
Dems gear up for another shutdown over ICE: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is signaling that the budget will not be passed by the deadline this Friday, and another shutdown may be looming. Congress has been passing the budget in separate appropriations bills this month rather than via the titanic omnibus bills seen too often in recent years, but DHS funding is unlikely to make it past Senate Democrats. Senators Schumer, Catherine Cortez Masto, and Jack Reed have suggested dropping the DHS bill and passing the remaining five bills for other government departments. Others have suggested reworking the DHS bill, although time is limited for that with the deadline looming and the Senate out of session today due to inclement weather. Schumer’s grandstanding comes in response to the deaths of two leftist agitators who were killed as they impeded ongoing law enforcement operations.
Don Lemon should be arrested: On Saturday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit declined the DOJ’s request to overturn a Minnesota magistrate judge’s refusal to approve arrest warrants for five anti-ICE agitators who stormed and disrupted a St. Paul, Minnesota, church’s worship service. Among the individuals the DOJ sought to arrest was former CNN personality Don Lemon. While the Eighth Circuit Court refused to overturn the judge, it concluded that the DOJ met the probable cause standard for charging Lemon and the other agitators. Lemon, meanwhile, sought to frame himself as completely innocent and insisted that the Trump administration would “go around a judge” in its efforts to prosecute him. Lemon continued to paint himself as not one of the agitators, despite participating in and defending the action as a legitimate protest.
Virginia Dems push for highest income tax in nation: California currently imposes the highest income tax in the nation, but may not much longer if Democrats in Virginia get their way. Democrat legislators in the Commonwealth introduced legislation that would effectively increase Virginia’s top income tax rate to 13.8%. These lawmakers are couching the tax hike as making “millionaires pay their fair share of taxes.” They want to increase the state government’s annual revenue by $1 billion to fund a range of increases in welfare-related services, including education, housing, and public services. The irony is that new Democrat Gov. Abigail Spanberger focused her campaign on making Virginia affordable. This legislation would produce the exact opposite, but Spanberger has proven that her campaign messaging was intended to deceive, not inform voters of her intentions.
Canada backs down on China deal: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney visited China last week and said the country would embrace a partnership with that nation for the new world order. During Carney’s visit, the two countries proposed a deal to lower tariffs on Chinese EVs and Canadian agricultural products. Carney went so far as to blast the use of tariffs in a speech to the World Economic Forum, a comment that was likely directed at the U.S. president. Donald Trump said he would not allow Canada to serve as “a ‘Drop Off Port’ for China” to send products into the U.S. He then threatened to impose a 100% tariff on Canadian products if Canada signed the proposed deal with China. Since then, Carney has backed off the deal, saying his country has no plans to pursue it.
Secret weapon against Venezuela? “The Discombobulator. I’m not allowed to talk about it,” said President Trump right before he revealed that it had been used in the extraction of Nicolás Maduro from Venezuela. Both Trump and Venezuelan sources have attested to the use of a secret weapon that neutralized Venezuelan air defenses, communications, and command systems before U.S. helicopters entered Caracas. “They never got their rockets off. They pressed buttons, and nothing worked,” Trump remarked. The details of the weapon remain classified, but several Venezuelan witnesses on the ground confirmed that something “like a very intense sound wave” was launched that shut down all their foreign-supplied radar and defense systems, incapacitating their ability to respond. The Trump-dubbed “discombobulator” did its job to bring about the detention of Maduro, demonstrating American dominance.
Orwellian “kill switch” speeds ahead: Sometimes when Congress is trying to accomplish big things, like fund the Departments of War, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, and Health and Human Services, smaller things can slip through the cracks. But when that “smaller thing” is a kill switch that will automatically shut off an American’s car, voters understandably get angry. Rep. Thomas Massie proposed an amendment to be added to the funding bill that would counter a Biden-era requirement to develop a kill switch in cars aimed at stopping drunk driving. Massie’s amendment failed when 76 Republicans voted with Democrats against it. Opponents of the kill switch have rightly called it Orwellian; the pressure will be on for Republicans to propose clean legislation to kill the kill switch.
Mullahs have killed more than 30,000 protesters: The total number of Iranian protesters slain in the Islamic government’s crackdown on widespread protests across the country since December 28 has been difficult to ascertain. The official state media has put the total killed at just over 3,000, while the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency has placed the estimate at just under 5,000. Data from Iranian doctors puts the total at 16,500. However, a recent report from two senior Iranian Ministry of Health officials estimates the number to be more than 30,000. And that number came in just two days — January 8 and 9. Those killed were primarily by gunshot wounds, which would be in line with the Iranian regime’s use of military forces to quell the protests. If these numbers are accurate, it would represent the single largest mass killing by a government’s forces against its own people in the modern era.
Headlines
Trump sending border czar Tom Homan to Minnesota (NewsNation)
DHS officials debunk viral claims ICE used five-year-old boy as “bait” (NY Post)
IDF recovers body of final hostage Ran Gvili (Jerusalem Post)
Columbia University picks new president after scrutiny over mishandling campus protests (NY Post)
The Executive News Summary is compiled daily by Jordan Candler, Thomas Gallatin, Sterling Henry, and Sophie Starkova. For the archive, click here.
First things first: We here in our shop roundly reject the use of deadly force against peaceful protesters exercising their First Amendment rights. Of course, nothing like that has happened in the sanctuary state of Minnesota or anywhere else, and we commend our law enforcement officers for their remarkable restraint amid untold thousands of tension-filled encounters with not-so-peaceful provocateurs.
And because of this, we can say unequivocally: Had Renee Good and Alex Pretti been peaceful protesters rather than violent agitators obstructing federal law enforcement operations, they’d be alive today. Full stop.
The video of the Pretti shooting is grim, as shootings always are.
As The Wall Street Journal reports, “In the hours after the shooting, the Department of Homeland Security alleged that Pretti ‘violently resisted’ disarmament until officers fired ‘defensive shots.’ But bystander footage … contradicts that version of events. The footage appears to show a federal officer pulling a handgun away from Pretti. Less than a second later, an agent fires several rounds.”
That’s a troubling assessment, to be sure, and it appears that DHS Secretary Kristi Noem got a bit out over her skis in her initial explanation of events. But prudent people, from President Donald Trump all the way down, are right to refrain from rendering a judgment until all the facts are in, all the officers involved have been interviewed, and all the video footage has been thoroughly reviewed.
“We’re looking, we’re reviewing everything and will come out with a determination,” said the president yesterday during a five-minute phone interview with the Journal. “I don’t like any shooting. But I don’t like it when somebody goes into a protest, and he’s got a very powerful, fully loaded gun with two magazines loaded up with bullets also. That doesn’t play good either.”
Minnesota is a right-to-carry state, and Pretti was indeed carrying — which he had every right to do. But one has to question the wisdom of wading into a tense law enforcement operation with a loaded weapon if your intent is merely to peacefully protest. In any case, it’s rather rich to see all these leftists suddenly finding their religion on Second Amendment rights.
As our Mark Alexander, himself a former law enforcement officer, notes, “In a confrontation with police, there is no obligation that they stop and ask about your carry permit. That’s a red herring. And it’s not clear whether, when resisting arrest, Pretti, at some point, reached for his weapon.”
If only Minnesota’s state and local law enforcement officials were working with their federal brothers rather than against them. To this point, President Trump took to ALL CAPS to say, “LET OUR ICE PATRIOTS DO THEIR JOB!” while adding that failed Governor Tim Walz and insurrectionist Mayor Jacob Frey “are inciting Insurrection, with their pompous, dangerous, and arrogant rhetoric!”
In addition, Trump took to Truth Social to announce that he’s sending Border Czar Tom Homan to Minnesota. “He has not been involved in that area,” said Trump, “but knows and likes many of the people there. Tom is tough but fair, and will report directly to me.” Homan, as you’ll recall, is the career law-enforcement professional who was presented with the nation’s highest civil service award by none other than Barack Obama — and then promptly branded a Nazi when he answered Donald Trump’s call to service.
Speaking of Nazis, I give you Governor Walz, who disgracefully demagogued over the weekend, “We have got children in Minnesota hiding in their houses afraid to go outside. Many of us grew up reading that story of Anne Frank. Somebody’s gonna write that children’s story about Minnesota.”
If only somebody would write a children’s story about the need for a civil society to enforce its laws. And about the difference between peaceful protest and violent insurrection.
Nate Jackson: Unpacking the Left’s Anti-ICE Strategy — Clearly, leftist agitators are training and organizing to incite exactly the kinds of hostilities that are getting people killed. Why?
Thomas Gallatin: Dropping Crime Rate Vindicates Trump — Over the last year, the homicide rate has dropped by 21% across the country, demonstrating that simply enforcing the nation’s laws is benefiting everyone.
Emmy Griffin: A Precarious TikTok Deal — The great negotiator, Donald Trump, has facilitated a long-overdue deal, but there’s still concern that the Chinese retain the ability to spy on Americans.
Gregory Lyakhov: Leftmedia Ignores Trump’s Major Drug Price Cuts — These prescription drug reforms are life-changing for millions of Americans, yet they received virtually no sustained national coverage.
Roger Helle: In Their Own Words — We’ve become used to lying, but there is a spiritual gift in the Word of God that we’ve overlooked. It’s called “discernment.”
Leave Minneapolis Now — Minneapolis is in trouble, and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is making it worse. But should President Trump even step in at this point?
SHORT CUTS
Fact-Check: False
“In just one year, Donald Trump has tanked the economy, sent prices soaring, decimated the job market, and left families everywhere struggling.” —DNC Chair Ken Martin
False Equivalence
“It is really damning when we think about the degree to which mass-media outlets reported on Joe Biden. … Yet we are seeing behavior from Donald Trump that is increasingly erratic and alarming and everyone’s pretending that this is normal.” —Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY)
The BIG Lies
“Liam Ramos is just a baby. He should be at home with his family, not used as bait by ICE and held in a Texas detention center.” —former Vice President Kamala Harris
“The first murder in the city of Minneapolis was perpetrated by federal agents.” —Minneapolis City Councilmember Jamison Whiting
Re: The Left
“The Mayor and the Governor are inciting Insurrection, with their pompous, dangerous, and arrogant rhetoric! Instead, these sanctimonious political fools should be looking for the Billions of Dollars that has been stolen from the people of Minnesota, and the United States of America. LET OUR ICE PATRIOTS DO THEIR JOB!” —President Donald Trump after the latest fatal confrontation with police in Minneapolis
“One has to ask, what is all this hullabaloo going on in Minneapolis? Simple, it is about deranged people who do not understand the law, and are willfully breaking the law, and insidiously defending those who have broken the law.” —Allen West
“Joe Biden and Kamala Harris opened the border, creating a humanitarian crisis, and now leftists say the real problem is cleaning up that mess.” —Nate Jackson
“When I fret that the Trump administration may be overplaying its hand in dealing with narco-terrorists, I am reminded we are in this position because of Biden, a man the very Democrats who demand I denounce Trump gave cover to, a pass to and pretended he had no problems.” —Erick Erickson
European Weakness
“Just last year, here in Davos, I ended my speech with the words, ‘Europe needs to know how to defend itself.’ A year has passed, and nothing has changed.” —Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
For the Record
“Based upon a very productive meeting that I have had with the Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte, we have formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic Region. This solution, if consummated, will be a great one for the United States of America, and all NATO Nations.” —Donald Trump
The Tide Is Turning
“In essence, [JPMorgan Chase] debanked plaintiff’s accounts because it believed that the political tide at the moment favored doing so. JPMC’s reckless decision is leading a growing trend by financial institutions in the United States of America to cut off a consumer’s access to banking services if their political views contradict with those of the financial institution.” —legal complaint in the lawsuit between Donald Trump and JPMorgan Chase bank
Upright
“In the ancient pagan world, discarding children was routine. From the skeletons in brothels to the child sacrifice of the Mayans, the mark of barbarism is that we treat babies like inconveniences to be discarded rather than the blessings to cherish that they are. … The March for Life … is about whether we will remain a civilization under God or we whether we ultimately return to the paganism that dominated the past.” —Vice President JD Vance
Roasting Gavin, Again
“I think [Gavin Newsom] may be in over his hairdo. And being on the national stage is very different than being governor of California with no signature achievements. But to say strange things like, ‘President Trump is a Tyrannosaurus rex’ — what the [heck] does that mean? I could say, ‘Gavin Newsom is a Brontosaurus with a brain the size of a walnut.’” —Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent
Belly Laugh of the Day
“Michelle Obama should start a podcast with Meghan Markle because no two women have complained more and contributed less.” —satirist Jimmy Failla
ON THIS DAY in 1945, a young soldier named Audie Murphy was wounded in a battle in eastern France. He mounted a burning tank destroyer and used its .50 caliber machine gun for over an hour to kill or wound more than 50 approaching Germans. His actions earned the Medal of Honor.
As U.S. Carrier moves closer to the Middle East, the world is waiting to see if America will strike Iran. From coast to coast, nearly 200 million Americans felt the blast of a winter storm carrying heavy snow, sleet, and freezing rain. A U.S. border patrol agent shot and killed 37-year-old Alex Jeffrey Prettii in Minneapolis amid the immigration crackdown in that area. Nashville, Tennessee, is one of the fastest growing cities in the country. One area of growth is its large number of Christian ministries. Recording artist Travis Greene talks about his latest project “Made in the South.”
Trump backs off Greenland threats. When protesters invade your worship service. And capping credit card interest rates.
Trump Backs Off Greenland Threats
President Trump took back his threats to seize Greenland by military force and to slap tariffs on countries that have criticized his Greenland ambitions. The world breathed a sign of relief–all except Russia and China, which had hoped that NATO would implode over the issue and that the USA would join their axis of military aggression against free nations.
At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, he said to the assembled world leaders: “I don’t have to use force.” “I don’t want to use force.” “I won’t use force.” He also posted on Truth Postal that he would hold off on imposing tariffs of an additional 10%, turning to 25% in June, on countries that oppose his acquisition of Greenland, pending negotiations at Davos.
Those negotiations, he said later, produced a “framework of a future deal” that led him to call off the tariffs completely. The details of that framework were not announced, but teh president’s Press Secretary told reporters, ““If this deal goes through, and President Trump is very hopeful it will, the United States will be achieving all of its strategic goals with respect to Greenland, at very little cost, forever.”
Reportedly, the United States will be able to build military bases and facilities for the proposed “Golden Dome” missile defense system on Greenland. The U.S. already has that right by a previous treaty. The U.S. will likely be given “first refusal” on plans to develop Greenland’s mineral resources, including rare earth metals, thus keeping out Russian and Chinese initiatives.
When Protesters Invade Your Worship Service
On Sunday, January 18, Cities Church, a large Baptist congregation in St. Paul, Minnesota, held its regular 10:30 service.
After the confession of sins and the singing, the pastor mounted the pulpit to begin his sermon. Just then some 40 protesters, demonstrating against the I.C.E. crackdown on illegal immigrants, barged into the sanctuary. They blew whistles, shouted, and chanted, “ICE out!” and “Justice for Renee Good”!
The mob moved to the front of the sanctuary, all the way to the pulpit. Children in the pews were scared and some started crying. Their moms took them and slipped out. The lead pastor told the demonstrators to leave. Congregational members also confronted them. In the chaos, the pastor dismissed the congregation. By the time the police finally arrived, after about 25 minutes, most of the demonstrators had left.
The protesters, who have had been demonstrating since January 18, had heard that one of the eight pastors in the congregation’s leadership team did some moonlighting as an official with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). He was not present at this particular service.
The Department of Justice is charging the demonstrators under the the FACE Act (Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act), which is often used to prosecute pro-lifers demonstrating against abortion clinics, but which also has provisions protecting the right to worship without intimidation.
The title of the sermon that the church invaders did not allow the pastor to preach? “Expecting and Enduring Opposition” (Acts 4:1-31).
[Bonus subtopic: After searching through multiple sources without getting a good, detailed account of this church invasion, I gave up and asked AI, a technology that I’m generally critical of. Google AI pulled together details from a huge number of sources, including a Facebook post from one of the pastors. So the source for this post is here, the transcript of my AI research.
This, to me, is an example of a good use of AI. And yet, this transcript also shows why you nevertheless have to check what AI says against its sources. Getting through the liberal-leaning contexts the AI gives, at the end it gives the too-good-to-be-true title of the sermon that the pastor was not allowed to give: “Expecting and Enduring Opposition” (Acts 4:1-31). But that was for “City Church,” an online ministry, not the “Cities Church” of St. Paul, MN. The actual sermon for that day, given in the early service, was Love One Another.]
Capping Credit Card Rates
On January 9, President Trump said that he would cap credit card interest rates at 10%. In a social media post, he said, “Please be informed that we will no longer let the American Public be ‘ripped off’ by Credit Card Companies that are charging Interest Rates of 20 to 30 percent.” He gave lenders until January 20 to make this change.
On January 11, President Trump told reporters that if banks and other issuers of credit cards missed that deadline, “then they’re in violation of the law.”
Now January 20 has come and gone and no credit card companies seem to have complied. It turns out the president has no authority to tell companies what they are allowed to charge for their services. Now the White House is saying that while President Trump expects and demands the change, compliance is voluntary.
Capping credit card interest rates would take an act of Congress. Progressive senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) have been pushing for this, as has the Trump-supporting populist Josh Hawley (R-MO).
Currently, credit cards charge from 17%-27%, with an average of 19.7%. Those numbers do seem astronomical, to the level of what Luther would consider usury. (See Luther’s treatise on Trade and Usury, and this commentary upon it.)
Because a cap on APRs would eat into bank profits, card issuers would be likely to cut off the most vulnerable borrowers from credit, banks and bank lobbyists say.
Two-thirds of credit card users carrying a balance would be likely to see their credit lines reduced or canceled entirely, according to a Jan. 12 analysis from America’s Credit Unions, an industry group representing credit unions. Almost all 47 million Americans with a subprime credit score would lose access to credit, the group found.
By contrast, financial pros predicted the 10% cap would have little effect on higher-income bank customers. . . .
“Specifically, people will lose access to credit, like on a very, very extensive and broad basis, especially the people who need it the most, ironically,” [JPMorgan Chase chief financial officer Jeremy Barnum] said. “And so, that’s a pretty severely negative consequence for consumers, and frankly, probably also a negative consequence for the economy as a whole right now.”
One of the reasons given for high interest rates on credit cards is that there are so many defaults. This leads to bankruptcies and balance write-offs. Thus, banks have to charge the rest of us higher interests in order to make up for that loss. In other words, people who pay their bills must subsidize those who don’t, or can’t.
From the other perspective, lower income folks are charged even higher rates than those with higher incomes. Those with credit risks have to pay the 27%, while the more affluent get better rates. This keeps those with lower incomes in a hole they just cannot dig out of. Leading to defaults, bankruptcies, and write-offs.
Wouldn’t it be better for low income folks not to get a credit card, so that they would not get sucked into the trap of never-ending debt?
Both experts and experience agree that the best strategy for both rich and poor is to pay off your credit card balance every month. That is to say, pay as you go, avoiding falling into debt. As was done through most of human history, through the invention of cash.
To be sure, we have a very different economic system today than people did in the time of Luther. The issue isn’t just free market capitalism. Rather, our economy is increasingly built on debt–national debt, corporate debt, and individual debt. Today, cash itself has fallen out of favor. Some retailers only accept credit cards. So if individuals who have lower incomes and are bigger credit risks can no longer get credit cards, due to mandated low interest rates, they would be severely handicapped.
Maybe part of the answer would be for everyone to use debit cards, attached to universal bank accounts, in which income would be digitally deposited and from which we could digitally pay all our expenses. We are close to that now. A little flex could be built in, allowing accounts to be overdrawn for a flat fee for everyone. Say, 10%.
SAINT PAUL, MN — With tensions between ICE agents and leftist protesters in Minneapolis running high, Governor Tim Walz said he was willing to do anything to keep Minnesota residents safe except cooperate with federal law enforcement.
Walz, the failed vice presidential candidate who will not be seeking re-election as governor, said he would exhaust every potential solution to stop the bloodshed except for working with ICE to enforce immigration laws in Minnesota.
“I’m open to any solution but that one,” Walz told reporters. “I am here to serve and protect the residents of the great state of Minnesota and look out for their best interests. That requires me to do absolutely everything in my power to keep them safe, up to — but no including — cooperating with federal law enforcement. That’s a bridge too far, I’m afraid.”
Clashes between protesters and ICE agents have led to multiple controversial deaths, as leftists expressed outrage that law enforcement officers were daring to enforce laws. Walz stressed the need for de-escalation, despite his unwillingness to uphold the actual law.
“Minnesota is a state that’s all about love,” he explained when asked if he would order state and local police departments to cooperate with ICE. “And I would do anything for love. Yes, I would do anything for love. I would do anything for love, but I won’t do that. No. No, I won’t do that.”
At publishing time, Walz’s office said that the governor had decided to perform a special, heartfelt, flamboyant ribbon dance in an effort to bring peace to the state.
The New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks will face off in Super Bowl LX in a little less than two weeks. And while there is excitement about the action that will happen on the field, controversy is swirling about the Super Bowl halftime show.
Music artist Bad Bunny will be the featured entertainment for the 2026 Apple Music Super Bowl halftime show—a 12- to 15-minute slot that could be seen by over 100 million people. The rapper has reportedly decided to use the opportunity to promote and honor Latin “queer icons.”
Anonymous sources told Radar Online that Bad Bunny, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, views his performance as an opportunity to pay homage to “generations of drag, resistance and cultural rebellion.”
“He loves controversy. He lives to push envelopes,” one stylist told the outlet. The source noted that Ocasio would be wearing a dress during the performance, which was described as a “political thunderbolt disguised as couture.”
“He’s not playing it safe. The NFL has no idea what’s coming. Zero,” another source said.
Bad Bunny is widely known for his lyrics that are often sexually explicit. Yet, he is a three-time Grammy Award winner and has been the top-streamed artist on Spotify for four consecutive years, with over 19.8 billion streams last year alone.
As CBN News reported, there were calls to boycott this year’s halftime performance as soon as Ocasio was announced as the featured performer. Worship leader Cory Asbury and Christian artist Forrest Frank pitched an idea to host an alternative half-time show that glorifies Jesus. Turning Point USA also jumped on board with the idea of creating an alternative show.
Although Frank and Asbury were not able to get anything off the ground, and TPUSA has remained tight-lipped about who will be their entertainment line-up, there are calls from many conservatives and Christians urging people to turn off their televisions during Bad Bunny’s show.
Christian social influencer Jon Root criticized the NFL for focusing on political and cultural messaging.
“NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said having Bad Bunny perform in the first place was ‘carefully thought through.’ He also said it would create a ‘unified moment.’ What are we going to unify on?” Root asked.
“Gender delusion? Anti-God ideology? Anti-Trump and anti-ICE,” he questioned. “This will go down as the worst Super Bowl halftime show in the history of the league. If you are not already boycotting, you should.”
Samuel Short, a writer for the Western Journal, points out that Ocasio’s choice to perform in a dress is not surprising but reflects the social and spiritual decline in America.
“Wearing drag, being ‘queer,’ and just generally acting like what would be considered strange 20 years ago is now the most normal manner of behaving,” Short wrote. “He isn’t railing against the establishment; he’s just trying to put off the NFL’s conservative audience…”
“Families and children watching at home, should they tune in, will now be subjected to the spectacle of a man in a dress,” he continued. “A truly norm-breaking performance would be one without any social commentary or political messaging — left or right — at all.”
Meanwhile, Turning Point USA confirmed to TMZ that they plan to host their own halftime show, although the lineup is not confirmed.
“The All-American Halftime Show” will air on DailyWire, OAN, National News Desks, plus TPUSA streaming platforms on February 8.
Aubrey Laitsch, public relations manager for TPUSA, told the outlet the show is “100 percent on,” but fans will have to tune in live to see who is performing.
THE New York Post has hailed the “start of a new era” as it officially launches the California version of the famed publication. The California Post will entertain and inform the Golden State’s “hard working people,” bosses announced as the first edition was released on Monday. Headquartered in Los Angeles, it will give local readers…
A growing number of powerful Republican lawmakers have called on President Trump to start yanking ICE agents out of Minneapolis — warning the chaos will only “get worse” after protester Alex Pretti was fatally shot by a federal agent.
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