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
Ayana (her name has been changed to protect her anonymity) was so grateful to her boss for her Christmas bonus that she knelt on the ground to thank her. Yet before the end of the month, all this extra money had been spent on “things” that she delighted to boast about on social media. One month later, and she was in debt again.
The debt that Ayana experiences is like a dark hole from which it is impossible to escape. Such personal debt enslaves a person; it brings sorrow, anxiety, and even despair. And it is all too common in Africa.
Why do people like Ayana get into debt? It is easy to blame the high rates of unemployment in Africa, or the ever-increasing cost of living, or perhaps the lack of instruction from parents to their children. It is a sad fact, and perhaps a commentary on our society, that for an increasing number of Africans, “living with significant debt has become normalised” – many think that debt is inevitable for most people, and therefore they do not consider themselves responsible for their debt.
So, belittling the problem and blaming society, countless Africans suffer the crippling effects of personal debt. Yet, at the same time, there are millions of impoverished people in Africa who do not get themselves into debt – they live within their means, spending less than they make, and prove that debt is not inevitable.
Ayana is constantly in debt, not because she lacks money, but because she lacks godly contentment. We all have an insatiable appetite for more and try to find satisfaction and contentment in getting more. As Solomon proves in the book of Ecclesiastes, enough is never enough. The billionaire John D. Rockefeller, when asked how much money is enough, famously replied, “Just a little bit more.”
What is contentment, and where is it found?
It was Jeremiah Burroughs in his book, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, who defines contentment in this way: “Christian contentment is that sweet, inward, quiet, gracious frame of spirit, which freely submits to and delights in God’s wise and fatherly disposal in every condition.”
The Christian should be content – because they have Christ. We have an insatiable appetite for “stuff” because God has made us to worship. But Christians are satisfied by the worship of God rather than created things. Christians “offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Pet 2:5). Christians are satisfied because they have eternal life, they enjoy God Himself, and find their satisfaction ultimately and completely in Him.
It was the Lord Jesus Christ who said, “This is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (John 17:3). This “knowledge” of the Father and the Son is not simply knowing about God, but having a satisfying and joy-giving relationship with God. Such a relationship makes a person content.
But there is more. Because a Christian has a Father in heaven who gives His children all that they need, they are able to “submit and delight” in His wise and sufficient provision for them. “God gives everything, and everything we have has been given to us. We need to remember that.
We are really managers, not owners of our money.” So says Tony Anderson in a most helpful article on money. (See also Matt 6:25 – 33). We may well try to get employment that pays more, but we live within our current means, and we are thankful for what our Father has provided. We do not presume on His kindness and buy on credit.
So how can a Christian keep themselves from debt?
Prayerfully find paid employment (if you are the one who provides for the family), trusting your Father in heaven to provide for you as you seek His kingdom and righteousness. And work wholeheartedly at your job for Christ (Col 3:22 – 24).
Live within your means, trusting that your Father in heaven is giving you all that you need.
Be generous with what God gives you, just as God Himself is generous towards us (Rom 8:32; John 3:16; Gal 2:20).
Learn the rare jewel of Christian contentment. Learn to be content with God Himself and in what God has given you. Learn to be content, just as the apostle learnt to be content, in plenty and when barely having enough (Phil 4:10 – 13).
By following these four principles, you will be a happy Christian, you will keep out of debt, and you will glorify our supremely satisfying God.
The forest fires raging in California and Western Canada have caused an incredible amount of devastation. Homes have been destroyed, communities erased, and lives lost. Many wonder if things will ever return to normal. After returning from the exile, life in Judah was not the same as it used to be. The Jewish people returned to a land devastated by war. No longer an independent nation with their own king, they had become a province in the mighty Persian Empire.Into such discouraging circumstances God sent the prophet Zephaniah with a message of hope. God had not abandoned His people (v. 17). While their situation might have given them the impression that they were alone, the reality was that God was with them as He always had been. God was a mighty warrior, intent on saving them (v. 17). This portrait of God was designed to encourage them to have hope for the future.After decades in exile, followed by decades of malaise, the Jewish people needed hope that God’s wrath could be assuaged, and that they would see the other side of Him again. He declares in Zephaniah that the time for rebuke is over. Instead, He will respond to them with delight and singing (v. 17). More than that, He will undo the effects of their sin. Oppressors who had been sent to afflict them will be removed (v. 19). The lame and exiled who find themselves helpless will be rescued and brought home to a hero’s welcome!God will return things better than they were before. After enduring the punishment for their covenant violations, Israel could rest in the knowledge that their God had never abandoned them, and that He was a God who restores.
Go Deeper Are you tempted to give up on God because you have endured a difficult season? Recall all that He has done for you in Christ to restore you to Himself. Read Zephaniah’s message of hope and remember that God loves and cares for you as well. Extended Reading: Zephaniah 3
Pray with Us Lord, the message of Zephaniah fills us with joy: You respond to Your people with delight and singing. Thank You for the hope and assurance that we need today as much as did Your people in Zephaniah’s time.
Then the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.
Mark 15:38 NKJV
Perhaps one of the priests told Mark about the veil. But for sheer drama there is nothing like this in all of recorded history. This cry in the darkness of the cross, the dismissing of the spirit of Jesus, and the rending of the veil in the temple—Mark brings them all together in order that we might understand what these events mean. As Jesus’ cry rang out, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? there must have been many in the crowd who recognized that it was the opening words of Psalm 22. If you want to get the background and atmosphere of the cross, read that psalm through. There is no adequate explanation for the question that Jesus asked except that which Scripture itself gives, God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21).
Then there comes the loud cry of dismissal and the rending of the veil. Why did the veil split in two? It was God’s dramatic way of saying for all time and for all people that the way into His heart is wide open. God is not planning revenge. All those who gathered around the cross in hatred and malice against Jesus—every one of them is welcome to come back. That is what the rent veil means. The penalty has been paid for the hateful, the cruel, the ignorant, the selfish, the empty-headed thrill seekers. The way is wide open, and God is waiting to restore the hopeless, the helpless, and the fearful.
When I was just a young Christian, in my early twenties, I read a message by D. L. Moody that I have never forgotten. It was the great evangelist’s imaginative description of what happened after Jesus rose from the dead. Moody says He gathered His disciples in Jerusalem and said to them, Men, I want you to go and find the priests who mocked me, who hurled in my teeth the taunt, ‘He saved others, himself he could not save.’ Explain to them that if I had saved myself; they would have been doomed men. But tell them there is a way wide open. The book of Acts says that as Peter and the other disciples preached in Jerusalem a large number of priests became obedient to the faith (Acts 6:7).
Moody said that Jesus said to the disciples, Go find the soldiers who cast lots for my garments, for my seamless robe, and tell them that there is a far greater treasure awaiting them if they will come to me. They shall have not a seamless robe, but a spotless heart. All their guilt can be washed away; all their callous cruelty can be forgiven if they come. Find the centurion who thrust his spear into my side and tell him there is a closer way to my heart if he will come, just as a sinner needing forgiveness.
In this beautiful scene of the rending of the veil at the moment of the death of Jesus, God is saying that the way to Him is open to us, despite the wrong attitudes we so frequently have had toward Him.
Father, may I lay hold of that great word, God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. I know of no greater wonder in all the universe than this.
Life Application
If the cross of Christ is not to us the greatest wonder in the universe, it may well be we have not grasped its astounding impact and the timeless benefits of His death.
21A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross. 22They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull). 23Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. 24And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get.
25It was the third hour when they crucified him. 26The written notice of the charge against him read: THE KING OF THE JEWS. 27They crucified two robbers with him, one on his right and one on his left. 29Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, 30come down from the cross and save yourself!”
31In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! 32Let this Christ, this King of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe.” Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him.
33At the sixth hour darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour. 34And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”—which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
35When some of those standing near heard this, they said, “Listen, he’s calling Elijah.”
36One man ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink. “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down,” he said.
37With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.
38The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. 39And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, heard his cry and saw how he died, he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!”
40Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. 41In Galilee these women had followed him and cared for his needs. Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there.
42It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). So as evening approached, 43Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. 44Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died. 45When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph. 46So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. 47Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid.
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
A Personal Redeemer
There is a third point to Job’s statement. Not only does Job declare that he has a Redeemer, not only does he affirm that He is a living Redeemer, but he adds, quite properly, that He is his Redeemer. “My” is the word he uses. “I know that my redeemer liveth!” Do you know that “my” in relation to Jesus Christ? It is a reminder of the need for a personal religion.
Moreover, this is what we desire, isn’t it? We are persons, and we desire personal relationships. We are made in God’s image, as persons, so we desire a personal relationship with God. In my church in Philadelphia there are many young people, and I notice that the young people often have a great deal of appreciation for one another. There are young girls, for instance, who greatly appreciate certain young men. And there are young men who greatly appreciate certain young women, even though they sometimes fail to say so. That is a wonderful thing. I am glad that virtue and good looks are noticed. But I have noticed that in addition to that there are also many young women who would like to be able to say not only, “Look at that fellow, how handsome he is!” but also, “Look at my fellow.” And some of the young men would like to say, “Look at my girl.” Admiration is good. But a personal involvement is better.
In the same way, this is our privilege in our relationship to Christ. It is good to admire Him. He is the risen Lord of glory after all, and it would be foolish not to. But how much better to know Him personally, as Job did. Jesus came to earth to die for sin and to rise again. But can you say, “My God came as my Redeemer to die for my sin and to rise again for my justification”? Can you say that? You give no real evidence of being a Christian until you can.
Can you? If not, say it now. Commit yourself to Him. Do not delay. You say, “I’ll do it next year.” Do not say that. I can give you no guarantee that you will be here next year. I can guarantee that some who hear these words will not. Do not delay. Tomorrow may be too late. The Bible says, “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Cor. 6:2). I wish that everyone who hears these words might be able to repeat Job’s testimony.
Moreover, I would like you also to possess Job’s assurance. This is the fourth point. You see, not only does Job refer to his Redeemer and declare that He is both a living and personal Redeemer, but Job also says that he knows these things. “I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth.” Do you possess such assurance? You should if you are a Christian.
I do not know why some people think that it is somehow meritorious to express doubt in matters of religion. We know people like this. They think that it is somehow vain or impolite to be certain and that it is humble and therefore desirable to say, “I do not know… I hope so… I would like to believe… I think God will help us.”
Nothing could be farther from the truth. The truly humble man is the man who bows before God’s revelation and accepts it because of who God is. It is the proud man who thinks that he knows enough about anything to doubt God. Besides, God says that is the equivalent of calling Him a liar; for it is as much as to say that His word is untrustworthy (cf. 1 John 5:10).
Jesus lives! Then stand upon it. Believe it. Declare it. Act upon it. Say with Job: “I know that my redeemer lives” and that certain important consequences flow from it.
What are the consequences? Well, we have already alluded to some of them. The most obvious is that we who believe in Jesus Christ will live again. Job refers to it by adding, “And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God” (v. 26). Because our Redeemer lives, we shall live. His resurrection is the pledge of our own.
Study Questions
Review the first two points that Job makes about a Redeemer.
What is Job’s third point about a Redeemer?
What is the fourth thing we learn about Job’s confession of a Redeemer?
Why is it not a mark of humility to doubt or question what God has revealed to us in the Bible?
Application
Key Point: Jesus came to earth to die for sin and to rise again. But can you say, “My God came as my Redeemer to die for my sin and to rise again for my justification”? Can you say that? You give no real evidence of being a Christian until you can.
For Further Study: Download for free and listen to D. A. Carson’s message, “Job and Suffering.” (Discount will be applied at checkout.)
We must declare this God to be our God and own our relation to him, his dominion over us, and propriety in us.
My soul has said to the LORD, “You are my Lord, I have no good apart from you; Psalm 16:2(ESV) neither if I am righteous are you the better.” Job 35:7(ESV)
You are my King, O God: Psalm 44:4(ESV) Other lords besides you have ruled over me, but your name alone I bring to remembrance. Isaiah 26:13(ESV)
I declare today that the LORD is my God, and that I will walk in his ways, and keep his statutes and his commandments and his rules, and will obey his voice and give myself to him, to be of his people for a treasured possession, as he has promised, that I may be of a holy people to the Lord my God; Deuteronomy 26:17-19(ESV) and might be to him for a name, a praise, and a glory. Jeremiah 13:11(ESV)
O Lord, truly I am your servant; I am your servant, born in your house, and you have loosed my bonds: Psalm 116:16(ESV) I have been bought with a price, and therefore I am not my own; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20(ESV) and so I yield myself to the Lord, 2 Chronicles 30:8(ESV) and join myself to him in an everlasting covenant that will never be forgotten. Jeremiah 50:5(ESV)
I am yours, save me, for I seek your precepts; Psalm 119:94(ESV) it is your own, Lord, that I give you, and that which comes from your hand. 1 Chronicles 29:16(ESV)
“I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.” (10:14–15)
It is because the Lord loves His own that He gave His life for them. The word know is used here to denote that love relationship. In Genesis 4:1, 17, 25; 19:8; 24:16; and 1 Samuel 1:19 the term know describes the intimate love relationship between husband and wife (the NASB translates the Hebrew verb “to know” in those verses “had relations with”). In Amos 3:2 God said of Israel, “You only have I known of all the families of the earth” (NKJV), speaking not as if He were unaware of any other nations, but of His unique love relationship with His people. Matthew 1:25 literally reads that Joseph “was not knowing [Mary]” until after the birth of Jesus. On the day of judgment, Jesus will send unbelievers away from Him because He does not know them; that is, He has no love relationship with them (Matt. 7:23). In these verses, know has that same connotation of a relationship of love. The simple truth here is that Jesus in love knows His own, they in love know Him, the Father in love knows Jesus, and He in love knows the Father. Believers are caught up in the deep and intimate affection that is shared between God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (cf. 14:21, 23; 15:10; 17:25–26).
MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). John 1–11 (pp. 432–433). Moody Press.
14–15 The reaffirmation “I am the good shepherd” is based on knowledge of the sheep. “Know” (ginōskō) in this Gospel connotes more than the cognizance of mere facts; it implies a relationship of trust and intimacy. The definitive analogy given here is drawn from Jesus’ relation to the Father. The Shepherd is concerned for the sheep because they are his property and because he loves them individually.
Tenney, M. C. (1981). John. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: John and Acts (Vol. 9, p. 109). Zondervan Publishing House.
14–15 Again Jesus declares that he is “the shepherd,” i.e., “the good one” (the repetition of the article places the adjective in apposition). Consequently, his sheep know him. The verb ginōskō (“to know,” GK 1182) occurs four times in vv. 14–15: Jesus knows his sheep and his sheep know him, the Father knows Jesus and Jesus knows the Father. Of the 222 occurrences of the verb in the NT, 82 are found in the Johannine literature (57 in the fourth gospel alone). While the Greeks held that knowledge of God was attainable by philosophical-theological contemplation of the divine reality, the Hebrews viewed knowledge as the result of entering into a personal relationship with God. The relationship between shepherd and sheep is like that between Father and Son. They know one another in the fullest sense of the word. Three times in a span of eight verses Jesus stresses that, as the good shepherd, he lays down his life for his sheep (vv. 11, 15, 17). It is the willingness of the shepherd to put his own welfare aside and to give himself without reservation for the benefit of his flock that defines what it means to be a good shepherd. This “goodness” is the self-emptying concern for others that was modeled by Jesus in his life and death. It is the expected lifestyle of all who bear his name. Whether or not we are in the family of God is evident by the degree of family likeness we bear.
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. 503). Zondervan.
14–15 Again comes the majestic assertion that Jesus is the Good Shepherd, this time not directly linked with his laying down of his life. Instead there is first put forward the relationship between the Good Shepherd and his sheep and arising from that a reiteration of his determination to lay down his life for them. Being the Good Shepherd, he knows his sheep. And his sheep know him (cf. v. 4). There is a relationship of mutual knowledge, a reciprocal knowledge that is not superficial but intimate. It is likened to the knowledge wherewith Jesus knows the Father and the Father knows him. It may be that the love implied in this relationship elicits the following statement that Jesus lays down his life for the sheep. Or it may be a simple addition. Either way it is the culmination of this part of the discourse. Jesus here speaks directly in the first person, “I lay down my life,” whereas in verse 11 he has used the third person, “the good shepherd lays down his life.”
Morris, L. (1995). The Gospel according to John (p. 455). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
14–15 Again (as in v. 9) Jesus repeats the “I am” expression: “I am the good Shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father” (vv. 14–15a). Here the metaphor of shepherd and sheep begins to give way to the characteristic pairing of Jesus with “the Father.” We have heard nothing of “the Father” since 8:54, but from here to the end of the chapter he will be very much a part of the discussion (see vv. 17, 18, 25, 29, 30, 32, 36, 37, 38). That “I know mine and mine know me” builds (albeit vaguely) on the notion in the introductory parable that “the sheep hear his voice,” and that the shepherd summons them “by name” (v. 3). The neuter pronoun for “mine” probably has as its antecedent “the sheep” or “his own sheep” from that scene (vv. 3, 4) and from the later contrast between the shepherd and the hireling (v. 12; see also v. 27). Yet “the Father” is no necessary part of the imagery of shepherd and sheep, and the analogy between the mutual knowledge of Father and Son and of the Son and his disciples is by no means dependent on the Son being visualized as Shepherd and the disciples as sheep (see, for example, Mt 11:27 and Lk 10:22). It is the Father, in fact, who makes it possible for Jesus to make the role of a “good shepherd” (v. 11) his own: “And I lay down my life for the sheep” (v. 15). But this time Jesus is not simply telling what any “good shepherd” customarily does for his sheep (as in v. 11), but is instead revealing what he himself does as “good Shepherd.” The verb “I lay down” is present (as in v. 11), but points toward the future, when Jesus will give himself over to arresting authorities in order to spare his disciples (18:8), and eventually give himself up to death on the cross (19:30). Still, it is not exactly a futuristic present, for Jesus’ life is already at risk, and has been ever since “the Jews began pursuing” him (5:16), and “kept seeking all the more to kill him” (5:18; see also 7:1, 19, 25; 8:37, 40).
Michaels, J. R. (2010). The Gospel of John (pp. 587–588). William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
Now will I rise, saith the Lord; now will I be exalted; now will I lift up myself. (Isaiah 33:10)
When the spoilers had made the land as waste as if devoured by locusts, and the warriors who had defended the country sat down and wept like women, then the Lord came to the rescue. When travelers ceased from the roads to Zion, and Bashan and Carmel were as vineyards from which the fruit has failed, then the Lord arose. God is exalted in the midst of an afflicted people, for they seek His face and trust Him. He is still more exalted when in answer to their cries He lifts up Himself to deliver them and overthrow their enemies.
Is it a day of sorrow with us? Let us expect to see the Lord glorified in our deliverance. Are we drawn out in fervent prayer? Do we cry day and night unto Him? Then the set time for His grace is near. God will lift up Himself at the right season. He will arise when it will be most for the display of His glory. We wish for His glory more than we long for our own deliverance. Let the Lord be exalted, and our chief desire is obtained.
Lord, help us in such a way that we may see that Thou Thyself art working. May we magnify Thee in our inmost souls. Make all around us to see how good and great a God Thou art.
What is love? This single word covers everything from our feelings for family or a spouse to favorite foods — and God. Yet, not all love is the same. The ancient Greeks recognized this, identifying eight distinct types of love, each uniquely expressed. Their framework offers a richer, deeper understanding of our connections with others — and especially with God.
When someone says, “I love you,” what do they really mean? Is it passion, friendship, family, or something deeper? Exploring the eight types of love — agape, eros, ludus, mania, philautia, philia, pragma, and storge — helps us understand and express love with greater intention. This redefinition builds healthier relationships and reveals more of how God shares His perfect love with us.
Let’s discover what these ancient terms reveal about love’s true power.
Agape: Unconditional Love
What It Is: Agape is selfless, unconditional love that persists no matter the circumstances. Unlike transactional love, agape freely gives and expects nothing in return.
How to Identify It: You see agape in acts of compassion or in forgiving others even when they haven’t apologized. It’s a choice, made daily, to extend grace and kindness regardless of the situation.
What It Teaches Us About God: Agape is at the heart of God’s character. It’s the love that led Him to send His Son for our salvation — love rooted not in our merit but in God’s goodness.
Scripture: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16, NIV)
Eros: Passionate Love
What It Is: Eros is the passionate, romantic love marked by intense desire and emotional excitement — think of the butterflies-in-your-stomach feeling at the start of a new romance. While this love is powerful and can ignite a relationship, it needs a solid foundation to truly thrive in marriage.
How to Identify It: Eros is seen in that spark of attraction and longing between two people, especially in the early stages of a relationship or in moments of deep intimacy within marriage.
What It Teaches Us About God: Eros is a gift from God, designed for enjoyment within the covenant of marriage, as celebrated in the Song of Solomon, where intimacy and longing are honored. This passion reflects God’s intention for joy and connection between husband and wife.
Scripture: “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth — for your love is more delightful than wine.” (Song of Solomon 1:2, NIV)
Ludus: Playful Love
What It Is: Ludus is the playful, lighthearted side of love, filled with laughter, banter, and joy-filled moments that keep relationships fresh and exciting — whether you’re teasing a new date or keeping things fun in a long-term marriage.
How to Identify It: This love flourishes in the simple enjoyment of one another’s company and an easy ability to have fun together, reminding us of childlike delight.
What It Teaches Us About God: Ludus reminds us that God delights in our joy and gives us a spirit of gladness. Playfulness is a reflection of His heart.
Scripture: “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” (Proverbs 17:22, NIV)
Mania: Obsessive Love
What It Is: Mania is an obsessive, possessive form of love that often overwhelms with consuming worry, irrational jealousy, and a strong need for control. Stemming from insecurity, it can lead to unhealthy patterns of attachment and emotional distress.
How to Identify It: You might recognize mania in behaviors such as needing constant reassurance, fearing abandonment, or attempting to control the actions of a loved one out of fear rather than trust.
What It Teaches Us About God: Mania reminds us what God’s love is not. God’s love for us is never controlling or rooted in possessiveness; He always desires our freedom and growth.
Scripture: While Scripture acknowledges a “godly jealousy,” it is always for our ultimate good. As 2 Corinthians 11:2 (NIV) says, “For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him.”
Philautia: Self-Love
What It Is: Philautia is healthy self-love — a compassionate regard for ourselves that is essential, not selfish, and undergirds every form of love we offer others.
How to Identify It: You’ll notice philautia in the gentle way you forgive yourself after a mistake, in setting boundaries, and in making self-care a priority so you can show up whole and strong for those around you.
What It Teaches Us About God: This type of love honors God because we are each made in His image, and when we care for ourselves, we’re honoring His craftsmanship.
Scripture: Jesus draws a direct connection, teaching us to “Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:31, NIV).
Philia: Deep Friendship
What It Is: Philia is the deep, affectionate love shared between close friends. It is built on trust, loyalty, and meaningful, shared experiences — the “brotherly love” that serves as the foundation for strong communities.
How to Identify It: You’ll recognize philia in steadfast friends who stand by you without question, offering supportive connections that help you feel truly seen and understood.
What It Teaches Us About God: Jesus modeled this love with his disciples, calling them friends and sharing life with them — showing us that God desires genuine friendship with us, not just our worship.
Scripture: “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity.” (Proverbs 17:17, NIV)
Pragma: Enduring Love
What It Is: Pragma is the practical, enduring love that forms over years of shared experiences. It is rooted in mutual respect, compatibility, and the daily decision to remain committed, even when challenges arise.
How to Identify It: You’ll notice pragma in couples who have weathered decades together or in lifelong friendships that grow and adjust through every season. It’s the kind of love marked by shared mission, resilience, and a conscious choice to continually invest in the relationship.
What It Teaches Us About God: Pragma mirrors God’s covenantal love — a steadfast, unwavering commitment to His people. His love is more than a feeling; it is an eternal promise and presence through every chapter of our lives.
Scripture: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. […] It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” (1 Corinthians 13:4, 7, NIV)
Storge: Familial Love
What It Is: Storge is the deeply rooted, nurturing love that naturally flourishes between family members — parents, children, and siblings. It’s a foundational love that provides comfort, security, and a sense of belonging that shapes us from childhood.
How to Identify It: You’ll notice storge in the warmth of family rituals, instinctive acts of protection, and the effortless connection shared among relatives. It’s the love that makes home feel safe and relationships feel unbreakable, simply because of who you are to one another.
What It Teaches Us About God: Storge reflects the way God welcomes us into His family. Through Christ, we are adopted as God’s children and embraced with steadfast, unconditional love — a love that is always present, always accepting, and always enduring.
Scripture: “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” (1 John 3:1a, NIV)
Becoming a Student of Love
Love is far more than a single feeling or a simple phrase. By understanding these eight facets of love, we can better identify the ways we give and receive it.
More importantly, we see a fuller picture of God’s love for us — a love that is unconditional (agape), passionate (eros), joyful (ludus), healthy (not mania), affirming (philautia), loyal (philia), enduring (pragma), and familial (storge).
Recognizing these distinctions equips us to build stronger, healthier relationships and deepens our awe for a God who embodies every perfect form of love. May we all strive to become better students of love, reflecting His heart to the world around us.
Love isn’t about finding the right person — it’s about becoming the right person.
No matter your relationship status — single, dating, engaged, married, or divorced — Student of Love invites you back into the classroom to discover what it truly means to build healthy, loving, and enduring relationships.
In a world fixated on finding love, Student of Love shifts the focus to becoming love—offering raw, relatable lessons and hopeful perspectives that resonate with healing, growth, and self-discovery.
“In this unique documentary, produced entirely in Israel, a Christian and a Mormon sit down to dialogue about one of the most important questions of faith: How do we know if a prophet is speaking the truth? Listen in on their fascinating discussion and follow along as they travel throughout the Holy Land in search of the facts. They will put Biblical prophets and Mormon prophets to the test in order to find out if their predictions actually took place in history. If even one prediction fails to come true, then that prophet fails the test!”
First John 4:1 says, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.” How do Mormonism’s prophecies stack up to the Bible’s prophecies? Watch as both are put to the test and find out!
That sacraments be rightly ministered, we judge two things requisite: the one, that they be ministered by lawful ministers whom we affirm to be only they that are appointed to the preaching of the Word or unto whose mouths God has put some sermon of exhortation, they being men lawfully chosen thereto by some kirk. The other, that they be ministered in such elements and in such sort as God has appointed. Else we affirm that they cease to be right sacraments of Christ Jesus. And therefore it is that we flee the society with the papistical kirk in participation of their sacraments. First, because their ministers are not ministers of Christ Jesus a; (yes, which is more horrible) they suffer women, whom the Holy Ghost will not suffer, to teach in the congregation [and] to baptize. And secondly, because they have so adulterated both the one sacrament and the other with their own inventions that no part of Christ’s action abides in the original purity. For oil, salt, spittle, and such like in baptism are but men’s inventions, adoration, veneration, bearing through streets and towns and keeping of bread in boxes or buists [small boxes] are profanation of Christ’s sacraments and no use of the same. For Christ Jesus said, “Take and eat. Do ye this in remembrance of me”b. By which words and charge He sanctified bread and wine to be the sacrament of His body and blood to the end that the one should be eaten and that all should drink of the other; and not that they should be kept to be worshipped and honored as God, as the papists have done heretofore, who also have committed sacrilege, stealing from the people the one part of the sacrament, to wit, the blessed cup. Moreover that the sacraments are rightly used, it is requisite that the end and cause why the sacraments were instituted be understood and observed, as well of the minister as the receivers. For if the opinion be changed in the receiver, the right use ceases which is most evident by the rejection of the sacrifices as also if the teacher plainly teaches false doctrine c, which were odious and abominable unto God (albeit they were His own ordinance) because that wicked men used them to one other end than God had ordained. The same affirm we of the sacraments e in the papistical kirk in which we affirm the whole action of the Lord Jesus to be adulterated, as well in the external form as in the end and opinion. What Christ Jesus did and commanded to be done is evident by three evangelists f and by St. Paul g. What the priest does at his altar we need not rehearse. The end and cause of Christ’s institution and why the selfsame should be used is expressed in these words: “Do ye this in remembrance of Me. As often as ever ye will eat of this bread and drink of this cup, ye will show forth (that is, extol, preach, magnify, and praise) the Lord’s death till He come.” But to what end and in what opinion the priests say their Masses, let the words of the same, their own doctors and writings witness. To wit, that they as mediators betwixt Christ and His kirk do offer unto God the Father a sacrifice propitiatory for the sins of the quick and the dead. Which doctrine as blasphemous to Christ Jesus and making derogation to the sufficiency of His only sacrifice once offered for purgation of all those that will be sanctified, we utterly abhor, detest, and renounce.
The return of Jesus isn’t an abstract doctrine reserved for speculative debate or color-coded theological charts. In the Bible, the second coming influences the daily life and habits of the believer. It shapes how the church waits, how Christians endure hardship, and how they understand this present and passing age.
This theme is at the heart of Paul’s letters to the church in Thessalonica. The electing purpose of God had come to fruition among them through the preaching of the gospel causing them to “wait for His Son from heaven” (1 Thess. 1:10). Practically and pastorally, the Apostle writes to inform and encourage the Thessalonians for living between the times — the in-between time after Christ’s resurrection and before his return.
What does an in-between life look like in reality? Paul acknowledges a question the Thessalonians, like Christian throughout history, have asked: when will Jesus return? His response is surprisingly restrained. “But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you” (5:1).
That’s not a dismissive answer, but pastoral wisdom. Scripture teaches that there’s limits to what God has revealed. There are secret things that belong to the Lord alone, and the timing of Christ’s return is one of them. Knowing times and seasons contribute nothing to faith and life. If it did, God would have revealed it to us (see 2 Tim. 3:16-17).
Rather, Paul’s answer is far more deliberate and ethical. As those living between resurrection and return we need to be awake, sober, and armed.
A Day That Comes Suddenly and Surely Echoing Jesus’ words, the apostolic description of the Day of the Lord is almost unnerving. It will come “like a thief in the night” (5:2). The image emphasizes surprise. A thief doesn’t announce his arrival or consult the homeowner’s calendar. He comes unexpectedly, and most often when alertness has decreased and safety is assumed.
Paul reinforces this with a second image: “When they say, ‘Peace and safety!’ then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape.” The world’s sense of safety becomes the very context in which judgment arrives. Life continues as normal. People eat and drink, marry and work, plan and build — not necessarily in overt rebellion, but in practical indifference to God. There’s no expectation of interruption, no sense that today could be the final day. But like labor pains, it can start unexpectedly but once it begins, it’s unavoidable. It cannot be postponed. The Day of the Lord will surprise many, but it will not be delayed or avoided.
Awake and Not Asleep Against this backdrop, Paul draws a stark contrast. There’s those who belong to the night and those who belong to the day. This is a spiritual distinction rooted in one’s relationship to Christ.
Those who belong to the night live in darkness — not merely moral darkness, but spiritual dullness. They do what we do at night: sleep. They are asleep to the realities of judgment and eternity. They live as though this world is all there is. Their confidence rests in the stability of the present moment.
By contrast, believers are called “children of the light.” This identity isn’t achieved by effort; it’s granted by the grace of him who said, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life” (Jn. 8:12). And it’s an identity with implications. Those who belong to the day are not overtaken by the Day of the Lord like a thief. Not because they know its timing, but because they’re awake and live constantly in a state of readiness. This distinction leads to Paul’s exhortation: “Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.”
Spiritual wakefulness is an attentiveness to reality as God defines it. It’s living with an awareness that Christ will return. It resits the numbing effects of routine, distraction, and complacency. To sleep spiritually is to live carelessly; to be awake is to live consciously before God.
Sober Not Indulged Sobriety is another distinguishing mark of the believer rightly living between the times. This isn’t merely a warning against drunkenness. Sobriety names a broader spiritual posture — a life marked by self-control, restraint, and calmness. It’s the grace-given ability to govern oneself in a world that is increasingly uncontrolled and uncontrollable. Drunkenness represents the opposite. A life dulled by excess, distraction, and impulse, where judgment is clouded.
Like wakefulness, sobriety is inseparable from Christian identity. “For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But let us who are of the day be sober.” In a day that constantly invites excess, sobriety is an act of obedience. It’s resistance to being carried along by appetite, reaction, or the spirit of the age. Together, wakefulness and sobriety describe a steady, disciplined Christian life. Living deliberately before God, governed not by impulse but by the truth, and a calm watchful faithfulness shaped by the certainty that Christ is coming again.
Armed Not Exposed Living this way inevitably brings conflict. The contrast between light and darkness — day and night — is confrontational. When faithfulness to God exposes the complacency and excess of those in darkness, opposition follows. Obedience provokes hostility. There can be no peaceful coexistence with children of the night. The time between resurrection and return is a period of warfare.
Paul’s imagery makes this plain: “But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.” Yet this imagery may be surprising. Paul doesn’t portray the Christian as aggressors storming the enemy lines. The focus isn’t on offense, but on defense. This is intentional. Before a solider learns how to strike, he must know how to stand. The call isn’t to seek out conflict, but to be prepared for it.
There are two pieces to this armor. The Christian soldier wears a breastplate and helmet — pieces designed to protect what is most vital. The breastplate guards the heart, and the helmet guards the head. Together, they signify the protection of the whole man: affections and thoughts, loves, and convictions.
This armor is described by the three great Christian virtues: faith, love, and hope.
Faith and love form the breastplate. Faith is a sincere trust in who God is and what he has said. It takes God at his word — his promises, his commands, and his warnings. In the heat of battle, faith refuses to give up this ground.
Love complements faith by orienting the heart toward God and neighbor. A heart filled with love is not easily hardened by bitterness, fear, or resentment. Love guards the affections from being overtaken by the very hostility the believer faces.
The helmet is the hope of salvation. Hope guards the mind. It anchors the believer in the certainty of what God has accomplished in Christ and what he will yet bring to completion. Hope steadies the Christian in the present by fixing the mind on a promised future.
Together, faith, love, and hope provide a comprehensive defense. They do not remove the battle, but they make perseverance possible. Lacking these virtues leaves one entirely exposed in the day of adversity.
Living awake, sober, and armed characterizes the Christian life in these times. This doesn’t change in the ups and downs of culture or in the shifting of society. It’s the posture we are to have as we serve God and wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.
For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” (8:15)
A second way in which the Holy Spirit confirms our adoption as God’s children is by freeing us from the spirit of slavery that inevitably leads us to fear again. Because God’s “children share in flesh and blood,” we are told by the writer of Hebrews, “He Himself [Christ] likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil; and might deliver those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives” (Heb. 2:14–15). No matter how cleverly they may manage to mask or deny the reality of it, sinful men are continually subject to fear because they continually live in sin and are therefore continually under God’s judgment. Slavery to sin brings slavery to fear, and one of the gracious works of the Holy Spirit is to deliver God’s children from both. John Donne, the seventeenth-century English poet who later became pastor and dean of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, wrote in “A Hymn to God the Father” the following touching lines:
Wilt Thou forgive that sin where I begun,
Which was my sin, though it were done before?
Wilt Thou forgive that sin, through which I run,
And do run still, though still I do deplore?
When Thou hast done, Thou hast not done;
For I have more.…
I have a sin of fear, that when I have spun
My last thread, I shall perish on the shore;
But swear by Thy self that at my death Thy Son
Shall shine as he shines now and heretofore:
And, having done that, Thou hast done,
I fear no more.
Paul reminded Timothy that our heavenly Father “has not given us a spirit of timidity [or, fear], but of power and love and discipline” (2 Tim. 1:7). John assures us that “there is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love” (1 John 4:18). At this point in Romans, Paul is not so much emphasizing the transaction of adoption as the believer’s assurance of it. Through the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit, we not only are truly and permanently adopted as children of God but are given a spirit of adoption. That is, God makes certain His children know they are His children. Because of His Spirit dwelling in our hearts, our spirit recognizes that we are always privileged to come before God as our beloved Father. The term adoption is filled with the ideas of love, grace, compassion, and intimate relationship. It is the action by which a husband and wife decide to take a boy or girl who is not their physical offspring into their family as their own child. When that action is taken by the proper legal means, the adopted child attains all the rights and privileges of a member of the family. The first adoption recorded in Scripture was that of Moses. When Pharaoh ordered all the male Hebrew children slain, Moses’ mother placed him in a waterproof basket and set him in the Nile River among some reeds. When Pharaoh’s daughter came to the river with her maids to bathe, she saw the basket and had one of her maids retrieve it. She immediately realized the infant was Hebrew but took pity on him. Moses’ sister, Miriam, had been watching nearby and she offered to find a nursemaid for the child, as her mother had instructed. With the approval of Pharaoh’s daughter, Miriam brought her own mother, who was then paid to take Moses home and nurse him. When Moses was a young boy, he was brought to the palace and adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter (see Ex. 2:1–10). Because Esther’s parents had died, she was adopted by an older cousin named Mordecai, who loved her as a father and took special care to look after her welfare (see Esther 2:5–11). Perhaps the most touching adoption mentioned in the Old Testament was that of Mephibosheth, the crippled son of Jonathan and the sole remaining descendent of Saul. When King David learned about Mephibosheth, he gave him all the land that had belonged to his grandfather Saul and honored this son of his dearest friend, Jonathan, by having him dine regularly at the king’s table in the palace at Jerusalem (see 2 Sam. 9:1–13). Pharaoh’s daughter adopted Moses out of pity and sympathy. And although Mordecai dearly loved Esther, his adoption of her was also prompted by family duty. But David’s adoption of Mephibosheth was motivated purely by gracious love. In many ways, David’s adoption of Mephibosheth pictures God’s adoption of believers. David took the initiative in seeking out Mephibosheth and bringing him to the palace. And although Mephibosheth was the son of David’s closest friend, he was also the grandson and sole heir of Saul, who had sought repeatedly to kill David. Being crippled in both feet, Mephibosheth was helpless to render David any significant service; he could only accept his sovereign’s bounty. The very name Mephibosheth means “a shameful thing,” and he had lived for a number of years in Lo-debar, which means “the barren land” (lit., “no pasture”). David brought this outcast to dine at his table as his own son and graciously granted him a magnificent inheritance to which he was no longer legally entitled. That is a beautiful picture of the spiritual adoption whereby God graciously and lovingly seeks out unworthy men and women on His own initiative and makes them His children, solely on the basis of their trust in His true Son, Jesus Christ. Because of their adoption, believers will share the full inheritance of the Son. To all Christians God declares, “ ‘I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to Me,’ says the Lord Almighty” (2 Cor. 6:17–18). Paul gives us the unspeakably marvelous assurance that God has “predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will” (Eph. 1:5). For some people today, the concept of adoption carries the idea of second-class status in the family. In the Roman culture of Paul’s day, however, an adopted child, especially an adopted son, sometimes had greater prestige and privilege than the natural children. According to Roman law, a father’s rule over his children was absolute. If he was disappointed in his natural sons’ skill, character, or any other attribute, he would search diligently for a boy available for adoption who demonstrated the qualities he desired. If the boy proved himself worthy the father would take the necessary legal steps for adoption. At the death of the father, a favored adopted son would sometimes inherit the father’s title, the major part of the estate, and would be the primary progenitor of the family name. Because of its obvious great importance, the process of Roman adoption involved several carefully prescribed legal procedures. The first step totally severed the boy’s legal and social relationship to his natural family, and the second step placed him permanently into his new family. In addition to that, all of his previous debts and other obligations were eradicated, as if they had never existed. For the transaction to become legally binding, it also required the presence of seven reputable witnesses, who could testify, if necessary, to any challenge of the adoption after the father’s death. Paul doubtless was well aware of that custom, and may have had it in mind as he penned this section of Romans. He assures believers of the wondrous truth that they are indeed God’s adopted children, and that because of that immeasurably gracious relationship they have the full right and privilege to cry out, “Abba!” to God as their heavenly Father, just as every child does to his earthly father. The fact that believers have the compelling desire to cry out in intimate petition and praise to their loving Father, along with their longing for fellowship and communion with God, is evidence of the indwelling Holy Spirit, which indwelling proves one’s salvation and gives assurance of eternal life. Abba is an informal Aramaic term for Father, connoting intimacy, tenderness, dependence, and complete lack of fear or anxiety. Modern English equivalents would be Daddy, or Papa. When Jesus was agonizing in the Garden of Gethsemane as He was about to take upon Himself the sins of the world, He used that name of endearment, praying, “Abba! Father! All things are possible for Thee; remove this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what Thou wilt” (Mark 14:36). When we are saved, our old sinful life is completely canceled in God’s eyes, and we have no more reason to fear sin or death, because Christ has conquered those two great enemies on our behalf. In Him we are given a new divine nature and become a true child, with all the attendant blessings, privileges, and inheritance. And until we see our Lord face-to-face, His own Holy Spirit will be a ceaseless witness to the authenticity of our adoption into the family of God. The idea of Christians being God’s adopted children was clearly understood by Paul’s contemporaries to signify great honor and privilege. In his letter to Ephesus, the apostle exults, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will” (Eph. 1:3–5). Countless ages ago, before He created the first human being in His divine image, God sovereignly chose every believer to be His beloved and eternal child! It should be kept in mind that, marvelous as it is, the term adoption does not fully illustrate God’s work of salvation. The believer is also cleansed from sin, saved from its penalty of death, spiritually reborn, justified, sanctified, and ultimately glorified. But those who are saved by their faith in Jesus Christ by the work of His grace have no higher title than that of adopted child of God. That name designates their qualification to share full inheritance with Christ. It is therefore far from incidental that Paul both introduces and closes this chapter with assurances to believers that they are no longer, and never again can be, under God’s condemnation (see 8:1, 38–39).
MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (1991). Romans (Vol. 1, pp. 434–438). Moody Press.
No Longer Slaves But Sons
Romans 8:15–16
For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.
We are continuing to study the section of Romans 8 in which, for the first time in the letter, Paul introduces the thought of Christians being members of God’s family. The section begins technically with verse 15 and continues through verse 17, though the phrase “sons of God” was introduced in verse 14 and the words “sons of God” and “children of God” are also used later. Paul’s development of this idea makes these verses among the most important in the chapter. It is important to see how they fit in. Remember that the apostle’s overall theme in Romans 8 is assurance, the doctrine that Christians can know that they truly are Christians and that, because they are, nothing will ever separate them from the love of God. The experience of assurance demands that we actually be God’s children. For this reason I have stressed the need to test our profession. It would be fatal to presume in this matter. However, the chapter has not been written to make us uncertain of our salvation, but to give assurance of it, and that is where these verses come in. They give multiple and connecting reasons, one in each of the four verses, why the child of God can know that he or she really is a member of God’s family. Robert Haldane puts it like this:
Here and in the following verses the apostle exhibits four proofs of our being the sons of God. The first is our being led by the Spirit of God; the second is the Spirit of adoption which we receive, crying, “Abba, Father,” verse 15; the third is the witness of the Spirit with our spirits, verse 16; the fourth is our sufferings in the communion of Jesus Christ; to which is joined the fruit of our sonship, the Apostle saying that if children, we are heirs of God, and then joint heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
We looked at the first of these proofs in the previous study. We will look at the fourth in the next. In this study we will look at proofs two and three, adoption and the witness of the Spirit with our spirits, which belong together.
Adopted by God
We begin with verse 15: “For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ ” The chief idea in this verse, which is also a new idea, is “adoption,” though this is obscured somewhat by the New International Version, which speaks of “sonship.” But the Greek word is huiothesia, which means “to have an installation or placement as a son” and is the technical Greek word for “adoption” (the term used in KJV). Adoption is the procedure by which a person is taken from one family (or no family) and placed in another. In this context, it refers to removing a person from the family of Adam (or Satan) and placing him or her in the family of God. Adoption is related to regeneration, or the new birth, but they are not the same thing. Regeneration has to do with our receiving a new life or new nature. Adoption has to do with our receiving a new status. But first we need to back up and consider a problem. It comes from the way Paul uses the word spirit in this verse. You will notice that “spirit” occurs twice, once in the phrase “a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear” (KJV uses the words “spirit of bondage”) and a second time in the phrase “Spirit of sonship [or adoption].” The question is: To what do these two words refer? The word spirit can refer to either of two things in the Bible, either the Holy Spirit or a human spirit, or disposition. These two meanings, in various combinations, give us three possible interpretations of the verse.
Both occurrences of “spirit” can be taken as referring to the human spirit. Those who think this way believe that Paul is talking about a person’s disposition or feelings in both cases and would interpret the verse as saying that we used to be fearful but that now, following our conversion and because of it, we have a cheerful spirit of adoption by which we call God “Father.” That is probably true enough. But there are good reasons for thinking that Paul is saying something considerably more important in this passage.
The second possibility is to take both occurrences of the word as referring to the Holy Spirit. Martyn Lloyd-Jones does this, referring the first to the time in our lives in which we are presumed to come under the conviction of sin but in which we have not yet come forth into the liberty of the gospel. This is an important point with Lloyd-Jones, since it is linked to his interpretation of Romans 7:7–25. He takes over two hundred pages to expound this and other points in his treatment of Romans 8:15–16. Donald Grey Barnhouse also takes both occurrences as referring to the Holy Spirit, but he views the “spirit of bondage” as the time in which the people of God, the Jews, lived under the law of Moses, that is, before the coming of Christ. John Murray refers both to the Holy Spirit but in a specialized sense, as meaning, “[You] did not receive the Holy Spirit as a Spirit of bondage but as a Spirit of adoption.”
The third view is a combination of the two, in which the first word is taken as referring to the human spirit and the second as referring to the Holy Spirit. This is the view reflected in most translations, such as the New International Version, where the first “spirit” appears with a lowercase s and the second with a capital. In my judgment, there is no question but that the second use of the word must refer to the Holy Spirit, if for no other reason than that it appears in precisely this way in the parallel verse in Galatians: “Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out ‘Abba, Father’ ” (Gal. 4:6). However, it is not so easy to say what the first use of the word refers to. Clearly, it could refer to the Holy Spirit negatively, which is how Murray sees it (“You did not receive the Holy Spirit as a Spirit of bondage but as a Spirit of adoption”). But if we take the parallel passage in Galatians seriously and apply that context here, it seems that the bondage involved is bondage to the law and that the contrast is between that bondage and the grace and freedom from trying to serve God by the law, which came through Jesus Christ (cf. Gal. 4:1–7). Moreover, this interpretation fits Romans. For Paul has been talking about the Christian’s former state—in which, being in Adam, we were enslaved to sin—and he has argued that we have been delivered from that former bondage by the Holy Spirit. Now he adds that this new state, which conveys freedom from bondage, also contains the privileges of sonship. The word adoption is not common in the New Testament, being used only by Paul and that only five times (three times in Romans), and it does not occur in the Old Testament at all, since the Jews did not practice adoption. They had other procedures, polygamy and Levirate marriage, for dealing with the problems of widows and orphans and inheritance. Paul took the idea of adoption from Greek and Roman law, probably for two reasons. First, he was writing to Greeks and Romans (in this case to members of the church at Rome), so adoption, being part of their culture, was something they would all very readily understand. Second, the word was useful to him because “it signified being granted the full rights and privileges of sonship in a family to which one does not belong by nature.” That is exactly what happens to believers in salvation.
Our Father in Heaven
I have spoken of adoption as giving the adopted one a new status. But “new status” may not be the best description of what happens. What is really involved is a set of new relationships—new relationships to other people, both believers and unbelievers, but above all a new relationship to God. When we speak of salvation as justification, we are thinking of God as Judge. That is a remote and somewhat grim relationship. When we think of regeneration, we are thinking of God as Creator. That, too, is remote. But when we think of adoption, we are thinking of God as our Father, which denotes a far closer relationship. This is why the apostle says that the Spirit of adoption causes us to cry out, “Abba, Father.” It is important to recognize that our authority to call God “Father” goes back to Jesus Christ. It goes back to no less important a statement than the opening phrases of the Lord’s Prayer, which begins, “Our Father in heaven …” (Matt. 6:9). Today we take the right to call God “our Father” for granted, but we need to understand how new and startlingly original this must have been for Christ’s contemporaries. No Old Testament Jew ever addressed God directly as “my Father.” This has been documented in a thoroughly German way by Ernst Lohmeyer, in a book called “Our Father,” and by Joachim Jeremias, in an essay entitled “Abba” and a booklet called The Lord’s Prayer. According to these scholars: (1) the title was new with Jesus; (2) Jesus always used this form of address in praying; and (3) Jesus authorized his disciples to use the same word after him. No one would deny that in one sense the title of “father” for God is as old as religion. Homer wrote of “Father Zeus, who rules over the gods and mortal men,” and Aristotle explained that Homer was right because “paternal rule over children is like that of a king over his subjects” and “Zeus is king of us all.” In those days “father” meant “lord,” or “master,” which is what all kings (as well as fathers) were. The important point, however, is that the address was always impersonal. In Greek thought their God could be called a “father” in the same way that a king might be called a father of his country. So, too, do we call George Washington the father of our country. But the deity is never pictured as “my father” or “our father” in Greek writing. The situation is similar in the Old Testament. Occasionally the word father will be used as a designation for God, but it is not frequent and it is never personal. In fact, it occurs only fourteen times in the whole of the Old Testament. God refers to Israel as “my firstborn son” (Exod. 4:22), and David says, “As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him” (Ps. 103:13). Although Isaiah writes, “Yet, O LORD, you are our Father” (Isa. 64:8), in none of these passages does any individual Jew address God directly as “my Father.” In fact, in most of these passages the point is that Israel has not lived up to the family relationship. Thus, Jeremiah reports God as saying, “How gladly would I treat you like sons and give you a desirable land, the most beautiful inheritance of any nation. I thought you would call me ‘Father’ and not turn away from following me. But like a woman unfaithful to her husband, so you have been unfaithful to me, O house of Israel” (Jer. 3:19–20). Similarly, Hosea records God’s words: “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. But the more I called Israel, the further they went from me …” (Hos. 11:1–2). Moreover, in the time of Jesus the distance between the people and God, suggested by the detached reverence by which God was customarily addressed, was widening rather than growing more narrow. The names of God were more and more withheld from public speech and prayers. And the great name for God, the Tetragrammaton (YHWH), usually translated “Jehovah” or “Yahweh,” was so protected that we do not know even today precisely how it was pronounced. The reason is that it was not pronounced, and no indication of how it should be pronounced was given. Whenever the word Jehovah appeared in the sacred text, the vowel pointing for the word Adonai, which means “Lord,” was substituted for the vowel pointing of the divine name. This was to remind readers to say “Adonai” instead of “Jehovah,” which is what they did. God was considered to be too transcendent to be directly addressed, and his name was considered too holy to be on human lips. So the distance between God and man continued to grow wider. All this was completely overturned by Jesus Christ. He always called God “Father,” and this fact must have impressed itself in an extraordinary way upon the disciples. Not only do all four of the Gospels record that Jesus used this address, but they report that he did so in all his prayers. The only exception—the cry from the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matt. 27:46; Mark 15:34)—enforces the importance of this point. That prayer was wrung from Christ’s lips at the moment in which he was made sin for us and in which the relationship he had with his Father was in some measure temporarily broken. At all other times Jesus boldly assumed a relationship to God that was considered to be highly irreverent or even blasphemous by his contemporaries. This is of great significance for our prayers. Jesus was the Son of God in a unique sense, and God was uniquely his Father. He came to God in prayer as God’s unique Son. We are not like him. Nevertheless, Jesus revealed that this same relationship can be enjoyed by all who believe on him, all whose sins are removed by his suffering. They can come to God as God’s children. God can be their own personal Father. But even this is not all. When Jesus addressed God as Father he did not use the normal word for father. He used the Aramaic word abba, which is what Paul quotes in Romans 8:15 and the parallel text in Galatians 4:6. Obviously this word was so striking to the disciples that they remembered it in its Aramaic form and repeated it in Aramaic even when they were speaking Greek or writing their Gospels or letters in Greek. Mark used it in his account of Christ’s prayer in Gethsemane (“Abba, Father, everything is possible for you,” Mark 14:36). Paul used it in the texts we are studying. What does abba mean specifically? The early church fathers, Chrysostom, Theodor of Mopsuestia, and Theodore of Cyrrhus, who came from Antioch, where Aramaic was spoken, and who probably had Aramaic-speaking nurses, unanimously testified that abba was the address of small children to their fathers. The Talmud confirms this when it says that when a child is weaned “it learns to say abba and imma” (that is, “daddy” and “mommy”). So this is what abba really means: daddy. To a Jewish mind a prayer addressing God as daddy would not only have been improper, it would have been irreverent to the highest degree. Yet this is what Jesus said in his prayers, and it quite naturally stuck in the minds of the disciples. It was something very unique when Jesus taught his disciples to call God “daddy.” Now let me back up to something I said in the previous study when I was trying to explain how the Holy Spirit leads us. I spoke of his work upon our hearts, producing affection or love for God. A good illustration is the story of the prodigal son. When he came to his senses he remembered his father, his affection was quickened, and he determined to get up and go to him. That is the attitude the Holy Spirit creates in our hearts to assure us that we are no longer the devil’s children but rather are God’s sons and daughters. We now know that God is our loving Father, and because we know this we are drawn to him.
Witness of the Spirit
We come finally to the third verse in this four-verse section, a verse that gives another reason for knowing we are in God’s family. It says, “The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children” (v. 16). There is no question what the two “spirits” refer to in this verse. The first is the Holy Spirit. The second is our human spirit. But it is not so clear about what this third proof of our being children of God consists. One thing is clear. There is a contrast between verse 15, in which we give testimony to this new relationship, crying “Abba, Father,” and verse 16, in which the Holy Spirit himself bears witness. Verse 16 concerns the Holy Spirit’s witness, which is separate from our own. But what is this witness? How is it separate from what Paul has already said (and I have been discussing)? I know that what I am going to say now will be misunderstood by some people and that a few may even condemn it as being wrong and dangerous, especially some in the Reformed tradition. But what I am convinced this teaches is that there is such a thing as a direct witness of the Holy Spirit to believers that they are sons or daughters of God, even apart from the other “proofs” I have mentioned. In other words, it is possible to have a genuine experience of the Holy Spirit in one’s heart. Experience of the Spirit? I know the objections. I know that no spiritual experience is ever necessarily valid in itself. Any such experience can be counterfeited, and the devil’s counterfeits can be very good indeed. But the fact that a spiritual experience can be counterfeited does not invalidate all of them. I also know that those who seek experiences of the Holy Spirit frequently run to excess and fall into unbiblical ideas and practices. Every such experience must be tested by Scripture. But in spite of these objections, which are important, I still say that there can be a direct experience of the Spirit that is valid testimony to the fact that one is truly God’s child. Haven’t you ever had such an experience? An overwhelming sense of God’s presence? Or haven’t you at some point, perhaps at many points in your life, been aware that God has come upon you in a special way and that there is no doubt whatever that what you are experiencing is from God? You may have been moved to tears. You may have deeply felt some other sign of God’s presence, by which you were certainly moved to a greater and more wonderful love for him. This has been a very common experience in revivals. Martyn Lloyd-Jones illustrates it by many dozens of pages of revival-time teaching and testimony. While I believe he is mistaken in referring to this as a “baptism of the Holy Spirit,” I nevertheless believe that he is correct in calling it a genuine and desirable reality. If this idea is foreign to you or if it seems dangerous, perhaps you are not ready for it at this point. Let it go. You have plenty to occupy yourself with in what has already been taught in verses 14 and 15. But if you have had any of these intensely spiritual moments, perhaps in your quiet times or while sitting in a church service, thank God for them. Know that they do not replace any of the other things I have stressed. The Bible is primary. But rejoice that God also has a way of making himself so real to us that we are actually lifted up, even in hard times, and are assured by that spiritual whisper of divine love that we are and always will be God’s children.
Boice, J. M. (1991–). Romans: The Reign of Grace (Vol. 2, pp. 837–844). Baker Book House.
EU and India Reach Free-Trade Deal as World Responds to Trump Tariffs ‘Mother of all deals’ will link almost two billion consumers across the two economies. India and the European Union have reached a free-trade agreement that will open a new market for European cars and other products, showing how the world’s middle powers are expanding alliances in response to President Trump’s tariffs. The deal, announced Tuesday, is set to link almost two billion consumers across the two economies, making it the biggest free-trade agreement by population that the EU has concluded.
Trump’s Border, Crime Crackdown Yielding Historic Results Bad news for the liberal crime-industrial complex – Americans have stopped murdering each other. In fact, the U.S. murder rate has just fallen to its lowest level since 1900. In other words, the last time America was this safe was more than 125 years ago, when Teddy Roosevelt was busting trusts, and the Wright brothers were still repairing bicycles.
New coalition launches massive campaign to overturn homosexual ‘marriage,’ its harms to children The Supreme Court’s Obergefell decision handed privileges to homosexual adults while stealing inviolable rights from children, leading to them being denied a mother or a father, acquired by predators, and more. A massive national campaign to overturn Obergefell — the Supreme Court’s ill-conceived 2015 ruling instituting homosexual “marriage” – was announced today. A coalition of organizations across the country, led by Them Before Us, a leading advocacy organization defending children’s rights to their mother and father, launched the Greater Than campaign, to push the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Obergefell and prioritize children’s rights.
Russia’s advance slows to lowest pace in nine months as signs of army crisis emerge Despite constant Russian pressure along virtually the entire front line, the situation changed at the beginning of 2026: the offensive is slowing down. Ukrainian forces are holding critically important positions and inflicting significant losses—so significant that the Russian army now has more dead than wounded and is forced to reduce its pace to minimise casualties.
Key Airbase on China’s Doorstep Preparing For Permanent U.S. Air Force F-35 Deployment The U.S. Air Force is currently preparing Misawa Air Base in northern Japan to support a planned sustained deployment of fifth-generation F-35A fighter jets, as part of a much broader expansion of F-35 operations in the region. The Pentagon plans to deploy 48 of the aircraft at the facility to replace 36 aging fourth-generation F-16CM fighters, in parallel with replacing 48 F-15C/D air superiority fighters at Kadena Air Base on Okinawa in southern Japan with 36 newer F-15EX fighters.
France supports EU terrorist designation of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard France supports the EU’s designation of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization, President Emmanuel Macron announced via his office. The initiative to put the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on a terrorist list is being driven by Italy. The IRGC was formed in Iran shortly after the 1979 Islamic Revolution to protect the new religious state from possible coup attempts, especially by the Iranian national army. Loyalty lies with the religious regime, not with the Iranian people.
Scientists want to use self-amplifying mRNA to vaccinate those who do not want to be vaccinated A research paper published earlier this month states that one of the researchers’ aims is to develop a vaccine to overcome vaccine hesitancy. The method chosen to spread the vaccine among the population is a self-replicating RNA (srRNA) or self-amplifying mRNA (saRNA or sa-mRNA, samRNA), also referred to as replicon vaccines. This gain-of-function research is being supported by the US military.
Rubio says it’s uncertain who will govern Iran after regime falls Rubio said between 30,000 and 40,000 US service members are positioned within range of Iranian missiles and drones in the event of a strike. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told senators that Washington has no clear picture of who might govern Iran if Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s rule ends, as US naval forces move closer to the region amid rising tensions. Speaking at a Senate hearing, Rubio warned that American troops stationed across the Middle East remain exposed to potential retaliation.
Netanyahu: No Palestinian state, Israel will retain control over Gaza As the US pushes forward with implementation of phase 2 of the Gaza plan, Netanyahu lays out Israel’s red lines: No Turkish or Qatari forces in Gaza, no Palestinian state, no reconstruction before Hamas disarms.
Huckabee calls to “burn the kitchen down” in Iran U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee suggested on Tuesday that it was better to strike Iran rather than be forced to constantly deal with the Islamic State’s terror proxies. His comments come as the United States is increasing its military presence in the region amid threats to attack Iran in the wake of the violent repression of anti-government protests there. “Many plates of poison—Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, the Houthis—are being served all out of the same kitchen, Tehran,”
Crown Prince preparing to join allies in ‘final battle’ against regime, Pahlavi tells ‘Post’ Iran’s Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi has watched from afar for weeks as his country has burned and Iranians have been massacred in their thousands. From the beginning of the protests, which erupted nationwide on December 28, the people have been calling his name and that of his family – “Javid Shah” (Long Live the Shah) and “Pahlavi barmigardeh” (Pahlavi will return). From his exile in the United States, he has emerged as the unified leader of the demonstrations, both because he has a plan and because the people demand him.
Anti-Hamas Gazan gangs utilize new tactics to put terror group on high alert Anti-Hamas gangs in the Gaza Strip may be utilizing new tactics to fight against the terror group, Saudi outlet Asharq Al-Awsat reported on Tuesday. An example of this included when the Helles Gang killed several Gazans who approached the yellow line in the Shejaia and Tuffah neighborhoods. The gang also forced Gazans out of a residential block per Israel’s request, prompting Hamas to ambush some of its members on the outskirts of Gaza City early Monday morning.
Petition Calls for US Investigation Into Immigration Status of Daughter of Former Iranian President A petition circulating online that has garnered tens of thousands of signatures is calling on US authorities to investigate the immigration status of Leila Khatami, the daughter of former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, arguing that relatives of senior figures tied to Iran’s ruling establishment should not benefit from life in the United States while Iranians at home face repression. The petition, launched by an anonymous activist identifying as an “Iranian Patriot,” urges the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement to review Khatami’s residency or visa status and to consider revocation and deportation if any legal grounds exist.
Left-wing network tied to fatal Border Patrol shooting exposed the anti-U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activist who was fatally shot by a U.S. Border Patrol agent on Saturday in Minneapolis, Minnesota, was linked to a major left-wing network of communist and socialist organizations that quickly used the shooting to mobilize massive protests across the country. Pretti and other activists were gathered outside a donut shop in an organized attempt to interfere with the Department of Homeland Security’s arrest of an illegal immigrant.
Map reveals where stepping outside may be deadly after historic storm An ‘extreme cold warning’ has been issued in more than 20 states as temperatures are expected to remain so low that it could be deadly to go outside in many areas. The National Weather Service (NWS) said a stretch of the US from Texas to New York will experience bone-chilling temperatures and even colder wind chills on Monday and into Tuesday following the weekend’s historic winter storm.
Tornadoes destroy 202 ha (500 acres) of greenhouses in Antalya, Turkey Multiple tornadoes hit Antalya Province, Turkey, late on January 26, 2026, causing major damage to coastal and inland districts. Hundreds of acres of fruit and vegetable crops across greenhouses in the province were damaged by the tornadoes, while much of the region reeled from the recent flooding.
Trump Sends Massive US Armada To Iran With Ominous Warning: ‘Speed And Violence’ President Donald Trump warned Iran to “come to the table” Wednesday as the United States moves a powerful naval force into the region, signaling that military action remains firmly on the table if Tehran refuses to negotiate. Trump confirmed the deployment of the USS Abraham Lincoln and its strike group, describing the move as a direct message to Iran’s leadership and a demonstration of American resolve.
NHS Reset for the Big Data Economy (2014-2019) Part 1 Among the digital and technological innovations was the development of “Healthy New Towns” with smart homes and integrated community health services. And not ashamed of using psychology on the public to bring about behavioural change, the plan also included behavioural “nudges” and incentives, including programmes like BetterPoints, which reward “sustainable” travel choices. The NHS is deliberately being used as a tool to further the Globalists’ agenda.
Scientists want to use self-amplifying mRNA to vaccinate those who do not want to be vaccinated A research paper published earlier this month states that one of the researchers’ aims is to develop a vaccine to overcome vaccine hesitancy. The method chosen to spread the vaccine among the population is a self-replicating RNA (srRNA) or self-amplifying mRNA (saRNA or sa-mRNA, samRNA), also referred to as replicon vaccines. This gain-of-function research is being supported by the US military.
Texas Air-Drops Live Virus-Containing Edible Rabies Vaccines Over Cities The Texas Dept of Health and Human Services (DHS) has begun its annual distribution of RABORAL V-RG®, an oral rabies vaccine (ORV) bait—dropping the live laboratory-made virus from airplanes over Texas, as well as distributing it by hand. The U.S. CDC has known for over a decade that the RABORAL edible vaccine leaves “persons at risk for vaccine exposure and vaccine virus infection.”
AstraZeneca Vaccine Remained in Use Despite 48,000 Heart Condition Reports to MHRA, FOI Files Reveal The jab was widely hailed as a “triumph for British science” by then-Prime Minister Johnson in 2020 and became the cornerstone of UK’s early vaccine rollout. However, increasing fears grew around the AstraZeneca (AZ) vaccine after it was released in January 2021 following reports linking it to potentially deadly heart defects and blood clots. It’s since been withdrawn.
“Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclination, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.” —John Adams (1770)
Trump and Omar trade barbs: Donald Trump couldn’t stop himself. When asked about the attack on Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar at a town hall event, the president mused, “She probably had herself sprayed, knowing her.” He did admit, “I haven’t seen” the video, adding, “I hope I don’t have to bother.” The attacker’s weapon of choice, apple cider vinegar sprayed from a syringe, may be odd, but there is no evidence that this attack was staged at this time. Omar argued that Trump’s rhetoric caused the attack, saying she wouldn’t need security “if he wasn’t so obsessed with me.” Omar also suggested that the attack was motivated by displeasure with the speed of Somali deportations. The suspect, Anthony Kazmierczak, is being held in jail and faces third-degree assault charges. The FBI took over the investigation on Wednesday.
FBI searches Fulton County election hub: Last month, election officials in Fulton County, Georgia, admitted an error during the 2020 election that violated state regulations. That “error” affected about 315,000 votes that were not properly verified. Election officials, however, downplayed concerns about potential fraud, suggesting that the error was a minor clerical processing mistake and did not affect the election outcome. Well, on Wednesday, FBI agents descended on the Fulton County Election Hub and Operation Center. It was not clear what they were looking for, as the FBI stated it was executing a “court authorized law enforcement action,” adding, “Our investigation into this matter is ongoing so there are no details that we can provide at the moment.” However, given last month’s admission by county election officials, it would not be surprising if this FBI visit is related.
Fed holds rates steady: Yesterday, the Federal Reserve voted 10-2 to take no action on interest rates and hold them steady at a range of 3.5% to 3.75%. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the economic outlook was better than at their last meeting, explaining, “We’re not trying to articulate a test for when to next cut. … What we’re saying is we’re well positioned.” While the inflation rate is stubbornly stuck at roughly 2.7%, the Fed is unlikely to cut rates before May, when Powell’s term as chair ends. It will be interesting to see who President Trump names to replace Powell. The decision could lead to more dissent within the institution, which has long embraced consensus as its preferred operating model. This change will largely be due to Trump’s open criticism of Powell and the ongoing DOJ investigation into the Fed chair.
Soros-backed group targets ICE: The American people elected Donald Trump largely on the promise of a closed border and mass deportations. In 2026, mass deportations have still not materialized, with the administration still mainly limiting itself to pursuing illegals with a criminal record. Despite that levelheaded approach, the Left has lost its mind. Now, a coalition of Soros-backed district attorneys has formed a group called The Project for the Fight Against Federal Overreach (FAFO). The group plans to share strategies “for pushing back against the lawless actions of federal forces in states and cities around the country” at its first meeting next month. One member, Philadelphia DA Larry Krasner, promised that once leftists regain power, they will “hunt down” ICE agents like the Nazis were hunted down. The Left is pulling out all the stops to protect illegals, betting that the Right does not have the will for this fight.
“No Kings” … again: The same group that organized the “No Kings” protests last year, Indivisible, a left-wing “grassroots” group, is planning its next protest for March 28. This event will focus on Minnesota due to the ongoing immigration enforcement effort there. The flagship protest for “No Kings 3” will, of course, be in the Gopher State’s Twin Cities, but organizers expect (read: will pay for) protests nationwide. Indivisible’s co-executive director reported, “We expect this to be the largest protest in American history,” with as many as nine million Americans. Conservatives and Republicans may be asking themselves when they last coordinated millions of Americans to simultaneously show support for a policy position.
Klobuchar announces MN gubernatorial run: When Minnesota Democrat Gov. Tim Walz ended his reelection bid due to his state’s massive welfare fraud scandal, it created an opening for a prominent Democrat to step into the race. And Sen. Amy Klobuchar has done just that, announcing today that she is throwing her hat into the ring. The Gopher State has “been through a lot,” she lamented in her launch video. “These times call for leaders who can stand up and not be rubber stamps of this administration, but who are also willing to find common ground and fix things in our state.” On leaving her Senate seat, she says, “I like my job in the Senate. But I love our state more than any job. I love the people of Minnesota.” The four-term senator is likely seeking to align herself for another presidential run.
Population growth drops to 0.5%: The U.S. population grew by 1.8 million last year, the lowest growth it has experienced since the COVID pandemic. That is a growth rate of 0.5%. This represents a significant drop from the prior year, when 3.2 million people were added. Almost all of this decrease in growth is due to the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement. As Christine Hartley, assistant division chief for Estimates and Projections at the Census Bureau, observed, “With births and deaths remaining relatively stable compared to the prior year, the sharp decline in net international migration.” Heritage Foundation senior research fellow Simon Hankinson noted, “The basic goal here was to stop people coming over the border illegally and being released, and to ramp up interior enforcement to actually remove people. This is an indicator that much of the strategy is working.”
Pentagon cuts red tape: In line with Secretary Pete Hegseth’s vision of putting the warfighter first, the War Department announced the elimination of 2,700 acquisition rules to cut back on burdensome bureaucratic regulations. Michael Duffey, the undersecretary of war for acquisition and sustainment, conveyed the new cuts on Tuesday at the Apex Defense conference. Duffy highlighted these cutbacks as “the most ambitious revamping of the FAR (Federal Acquisition Regulation) and DFARS (Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement) in recent memory,” and noted the need for a faster and more competitive acquisition system. “These eliminated mandates represent the death by a thousand cuts of excess regulatory requirements on both our government workforce and industry, removing the burdens of doing business with the Pentagon to invite new business and maximize innovation and competition,” Duffey elaborated. This is a step in the right direction toward streamlining the acquisition process by reducing cumbersome regulations.
CCP targeting America’s three “centers of gravity”: Military theorist General Carl von Clausewitz introduced the concept of a military center of gravity, the source of power, strength, and will to act. A new report indicates that China is targeting three of these sources of power within the U.S. political decision-making, the American network of geopolitical allies and partners, and power projection. The Chinese United Front Work Department is responsible for intelligence gathering and influence units aimed at disrupting American decision-making. Chinese diplomatic efforts to rewrite history in Southeast Asia, framing Taiwan as the last remaining bastion of WWII-era fascism, attempt to peel off American allies and partners. And the hacking operations code-named Vault Typhoon and Salt Typhoon are intended to sow chaos internally in the U.S. to prevent effective power projection. China remains our chief geopolitical foe and does not appear to want that to change.
Headlines
Letitia James fires lesbian who warns that “gender-affirming care” for kids is consumer fraud (Daily Signal)
Trump urges Iran to “make a deal” as U.S. fleet moves in (NewsNation)
It’s safe to say that the vast majority of Americans were horrified by videos and news of the shooting death of Alex Pretti at the hands of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol officers. Watching another human die is a harrowing thing. People were either mad that law enforcement killed Pretti, or they were outraged that he was there tussling with officers in the first place. But the misinformation about Pretti has been just as horrifying, fueling anger and furthering the divide between previously reasonable Americans.
If you’re on social media, you know that your friends and neighbors are incensed, even if what they’re posting is completely untrue. It’s hard to blame people, given what’s circulating. Still, there are clues to the fakery.
Unfortunately, some misinformation came straight from the Trump administration, with several officials calling Pretti a “domestic terrorist,” alleging that he intended to “massacre law enforcement” and the like. President Donald Trump made some personnel changes after that, but even he said of protests, “You can’t walk in with guns.” Actually, yes, you can. What you cannot do is get into physical altercations with law enforcement, gun or not.
The administration has walked some of that back, though the impulse to counter the left-wing narrative is certainly understandable.
Speaking of The Narrative™, MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace fretted, “Donald Trump and his cabinet, his administration, are demanding once again that you not believe your eyes and ears.” While she spoke those words, the network displayed an AI-altered and enhanced photo of Pretti. His facial shape, teeth, and skin tone were changed to make him look friendlier and more masculine.
There were other, far worse alterations. Democrat Senator Dick Durbin stood on the Senate floor and showed a blown-up AI-generated image of Pretti on his knees being executed with a shot to the back of the head. How would any rational person immediately conclude this was an AI stillshot? The agent kneeling in the foreground has no head. Durbin’s own video of his speech is still posted on his X page, and that same image has widely circulated on social media for the obvious reason of shock value.
Generally, leftists have spoken about Pretti (and Renee Good before him) as upstanding citizens, when in fact they were both part of anti-ICE agitator groups. They were trained on how to impede deportation operations because discrediting ICE with video confrontations is their strategy.
Perhaps Pretti really was a nice guy at times, serving as a Department of Veterans Affairs ICU nurse. “This is like the perfect guy,” cooed CNN senior political commentator Ana Navarro. “Alex Pretti’s the guy you would want to date your daughter, the guy you’d want your son to grow up to be. … There is nothing that has been said about that man that isn’t wonderful. And so, they can’t malign him … because we have the videos.”
Funny she should mention videos.
A couple of new videos hit the internet yesterday showing a hothead Pretti curse at and spit on a federal agent and then repeatedly kick (and smash) the taillight of a federal vehicle on a public street. He was armed with a holstered handgun at that time, too. His own family confirmed it was him.
Another video of that same incident shows him vulgarly challenging federal officers to “assault me.”
Oh.
As I said, Pretti was a trained agitator. He was expressing his inner juvenile delinquent in the service of protecting — at the time of his shooting — Jose Huerta-Chuma, an Ecuadorian illegal immigrant with a violent record, from arrest and deportation. In fact, Pretti broke a rib when he got tackled by an ICE officer in an altercation before his death. He wasn’t new to the area. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that ICE and Border Patrol agents already knew who he was before either violent encounter.
Does any of that mean Pretti should have been shot 10 times?
No. But the only person who 100% could have saved the life of Alex Pretti was Alex Pretti.
He shouldn’t have been there on either day he was videoed scuffling with federal agents. He shouldn’t have carried a firearm — without remembering to bring his permit, which made his carrying unlawful in Minnesota — when he intended to agitate against federal agents. He shouldn’t have gotten physically involved with federal agents or resisted arrest when they tried to subdue him.
If Pretti had done any of those differently, the 37-year-old “perfect guy” ICU nurse would still be alive.
I realize that it’s an emotional thing to see a human being get shot and killed, especially for women, who greatly surpass men in their empathy for the downtrodden. It’s emotional to think that a five-year-old boy was detained for no reason, though that story was also largely misreported. It’s alarming to see masked agents roaming the streets and to (falsely) think they’re killing random bystanders.
But I also think podcaster Allie Beth Stuckey is exactly right: “Women, we have the ability to use discernment and think clearly. We do not have to use emotion to make important policy decisions. Don’t be swept up by this campaign targeting us. Use your mind, ask smart questions, and stand strong.”
Alex Pretti was not the “perfect guy.” He wasn’t even the good guy.
One last point: Why was Pretti there? Because he hates ICE. Why was ICE there? Because Trump is attempting to clean up the very deliberate crisis created by Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. They may be gone from office, but their actions are still claiming American lives. Nothing ICE agents have done even remotely compares to the violence and death against entirely innocent people like another nurse named Laken Riley.
Thomas Gallatin: Virginia Dems’ Redistricting Gambit Thwarted — A district judge blocked Virginia Democrats’ gerrymandering efforts in a big blow for the folks trying to make Old Dominion a single-party state.
Gary Bauer: Colossal Corruption in Minnesota — It’s likely that what is going on in Minnesota is the key to the corruption we are seeing by the Left all over the country.
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“I would beat the s**t out of him now if I could.” —Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Vice President JD Vance (“I’ll buy a front-row seat!” —Mark Alexander)
Can’t Fix Stupid
“Minneapolis does not and will not enforce federal immigration laws.” —Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey
Delusions of Grandeur
“This is like the perfect guy. Alex Pretti’s the guy you would want to date your daughter, the guy you’d want your son to grow up to be. … There is nothing that has been said about that man that isn’t wonderful. And so, they can’t malign him … because we have the videos.” —CNN senior political commentator Ana Navarro
Dumb & Dumber
“I want to bring back a tweet from Charlie Kirk in 2018. He says this: ‘The 2nd Amendment is not for hunting, it is not for self protection. It is there to ensure that free people can defend themselves if god forbid government became tyrannical and turned against its citizens.’ And I think a lot of people are pointing to this because, I mean, what we saw in the [Minneapolis] streets.” —CNN host Kasie Hunt
“The birth of the Second Amendment was about the people being able to protect themselves in case the government was to turn on them. … Exactly what’s happening right now.” —”The View” co-host Sara Haines
Non Compos Mentis
“I want to tell you what I mean when I say that I am going to kill Donald Trump. I mean I’m going to obtain a conviction rendered by a jury of his peers at a standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt based on evidence presented at a trial conducted in accordance with the requirements of due process resulting in a sentence duly executed of capital punishment.” —Ohio Democrat Attorney General candidate Elliot Forhan
“I want Stephen Miller to be the number one in the Nuremberg Trials when this is done … the first one who is tried and convicted and f***ing dangles.” —Lincoln Project co-founder Rick Wilson
“There’s a reason why we have not seen a resurgence of the Proud Boys. And that is because I believe a lot of them are likely made ICE officers.” —former MSNBC host Tiffany Cross
Lack of Self-Awareness Award
“We’re being divided by media for profit, by misinformation.” —NBA coach Steve Kerr
“It’s not like they’re rooting out violent criminals. They’re taking five-year old kindergartners.” —Steve Kerr regarding ICE
Leftmedia Lies
“CNN is blaming ‘MAGA vitriol’ for the attack on Ilhan Omar, yet they CONTINUE to call Trump ‘HITLER’ a full year after he was SHOT. This is how you get a once respected News Network to rate behind the YULE LOG.” —Jimmy Failla
For the Record
“I don’t think about [Ilhan Omar]. I think she’s a fraud. She probably had herself sprayed, knowing her.” —President Donald Trump
Observations
“Modern American governance increasingly pretends that obligations are optional while benefits are universal. We have built a system in which membership rights are extended without the responsibilities of membership, and then we act surprised when social cohesion frays and public trust collapses.” —Michael Smith
“Keep in mind the activists’ goal: They don’t want ICE to deport illegal immigrants in a safe, smooth, and efficient way. They want to stop the deportations.” —Byron York
ON THIS DAY in 1944, the USS Missouri was launched in New York City. It was the last American battleship, and its other claim to fame is serving as the setting of the Japanese surrender on September 2, 1945. It was decommissioned in 1955, but recommissioned from 1986 to 1992. It now serves as the Battleship Missouri Memorial in Pearl Harbor near the USS Arizona National Memorial.
The middle east is entering a critical moment as the United States and Iran trade sharp rhetoric. Israel is closing a chapter with the return of the last hostage from Gaza. The Trump administration is giving nest eggs to the next generation. Banning Chinese “rolling spy machines” from U.S. Shore. That’s how Gatestone Institute China analyst Gordon Chang describes President Trump’s warning to impose a 100% tariff on Canada. Last year, deadly fires tore through several Los Angeles communities destroying 19,000 businesses and homes. Most victims lost everything they owned.
Video shows Chinese special forces conducting a so-called “decapitation drill” only days after the U.S. forces arrested Venezuela’s Nicholas Maduro. It was Beijing’s message to Washington that it can do the same thing against Taiwan.
The successful U.S. raid on Venezuela has struck a major blow to China’s Latin American strategy, according to China expert Gordon Chang.
“China has used Venezuela as its beachhead and is a very important country for China,” Chang said. “China used Venezuela not only as a place to get cheap oil, but it also was a place very much for military penetration.”
Venezuela had become the largest purchaser of Chinese military equipment in Latin America, some of which failed miserably during the U.S. raid.
According to Dr. Evan Ellis, Latin American Research Professor at the U.S. Army War College, the event will not remove Chinese influence in Venezuela overnight. It’s too vast.
Taco Bell’s Luxe Value menu includes five brand-new items, along with some fan favorites.Courtesy of Taco Bell
Taco Bell debuted its new 10-item Luxe Value menu on January 22.
The menu features five new dishes and five fan-favorite menu items.
Every item on the value menu costs $3 or less.
A new value menu, in this economy? Yes, please!
Fast-food chains across the US are mixing up their menus, hoping to entice customers who are tightening their wallets. McDonald’s is betting on breakfast, and Wendy’s has new “Biggie Deals.”
Never one to be left behind, Taco Bell revamped its value menu for 2026 as well. The chain introduced five new items to join five fan favorites on the newly dubbed Luxe Value menu, all priced at $3 or less.
There are some classic tacos and burritos, as well as surprises like churros and a mini taco salad.
Business Insider’s food reporters Anneta Konstantinides and Erin McDowell tested and ranked every item to help you decide which ones are worth trying.
10. Chips and nacho supreme dip
Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider
The $2.49 chips and nacho supreme dip are among the five new items on Taco Bell’s Luxe Value menu. The dip features seasoned beef, refried beans, nacho cheese sauce, sour cream, pico de gallo, and a three-cheese blend, served alongside tortilla chips.
There’s plenty of cheese to enjoy in this dip, but the strong smack of the sour cream overpowered the first bite. And while the seasoned beef tasted delicious, we thought there wasn’t enough of it — the flavor got lost among the other ingredients.
Taco Bell offers plenty of delicious dips and sauces on its menu, so we’ll be giving this one a skip.
9. Cheesy roll up
Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider
The $1.19 cheesy roll up is definitely the simplest item on Taco Bell’s value menu. It features a three-cheese blend melted into a soft flour tortilla.
This dish instantly reminded Anneta of the quesadillas she used to make when she was a broke 20-something in New York City, surviving on Trader Joe’s tortillas, cheese, a microwave, and a dream.
Erin thought the roll up tasted light and cheesy but lacked the exciting flavors of the other value menu items.
While we wouldn’t order it again, we could see kids enjoying this palate-friendly snack.
8. Cheesy double beef burrito
Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider
The $2.79 cheesy double beef burrito first debuted on Taco Bell’s 2024 value menu. Designed to be a heftier version of Taco Bell’s discontinued beefy melt burrito, it features more meat alongside rice, nacho cheese sauce, tortilla strips, a three-cheese blend, and sour cream.
Erin generally prefers Taco Bell’s chicken products, but she thought the meat in the cheesy double beef burrito was well-seasoned and flavorful.
Anneta, who also wasn’t a fan of Taco Bell’s original beefy melt burrito, believes this version gives you way more bang for your buck. It’s packed with tons of meat, and the tortilla strips are a nice crunchy touch.
We just wish the flavor was more distinct — it needs some acid or heat to keep things interesting.
7. 3-cheese chicken flatbread melt
Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider
The $2.29 3-cheese chicken flatbread melt was also part of Taco Bell’s 2024 value menu. It features a flatbread stuffed with grilled chicken and a three-cheese blend topped with the chain’s creamy chipotle sauce.
Erin enjoyed the flatbread’s juicy chicken and thought the blend of cheeses helped elevate the overall flavor compared to Taco Bell’s usual quesadilla.
Anneta thought the flatbread was the strongest component of the dish thanks to its soft, pillowy texture, but overall, she felt the dish was a bit flat. The filling could have used an extra vegetable or some avocado salsa to help it look and taste less beige.
6. Spicy potato soft taco
Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider
Taco Bell’s $1.29 spicy potato taco first debuted on the chain’s value menu in 2020. It features seasoned potatoes, lettuce, cheese, and chipotle sauce in a soft flour tortilla.
The potatoes were nicely cooked and had a slight kick from the chipotle sauce, though they easily slipped out of our tacos because of their small, square shape. We wonder if the dish would work better with a hash-brown patty instead, which would add some crunchy potato to every bite.
5. Avocado ranch chicken stacker
Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider
The $2.99 avocado ranch chicken stacker is another new item on the value menu. It features grilled all-white-meat chicken, a three-cheese blend, lettuce, tomatoes, and the avocado ranch sauce. The ingredients are stuffed inside a tortilla that’s been grilled and folded for easy eating.
Anneta and Erin were both excited by the stacker’s fresh flavors. The tender and well-seasoned chicken paired with the creamy avocado sauce reminded Anneta of Taco Bell’s discontinued chipotle ranch grilled chicken burrito, while the crisp veggies were reminiscent of Erin’s beloved McDonald’s ranch Snack Wraps.
There’s a lot of tortilla layered within each bite, so we both wished there had been more filling to balance the flavors and textures. It was delicious, so why not add more of it?
4. Cheesy bean and rice burrito
Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider
The $1.49 cheesy bean and rice burrito features beans, seasoned rice, nacho cheese sauce, and creamy jalapeño sauce.
While the ingredient list sounds simple, this burrito has a surprising amount of flavor. The oozing cheese sauce tasted warm and comforting, pairing well with the plentiful beans. We were also pleasantly surprised by how hefty this burrito was for its price point.
Erin thinks this would be a great choice for those who are trying to eat a more plant-based diet, while Anneta believes it’d be the cure for a bad hangover. Now that’s multifaceted.
3. Salted caramel churros
Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider
Taco Bell’s brand-new $1.99 salted caramel churros are dusted in salted caramel sugar and come in a pack of three.
We both thought the salted caramel churros were a delicious and inspired treat. Their crunchy shell gave way to the sweet and creamy middle, while the salted caramel sugar added some lovely and unexpected depth to the flavor.
Dessert isn’t the first thing that comes to mind with Taco Bell, but we would happily get these churros again and again.
2. Beefy potato loaded griller
Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider
We were both huge fans of the $2.49 beefy potato loaded griller, which features seasoned beef, crispy potato bites, nacho cheese sauce, chipotle sauce, and sour cream, all wrapped up in a grilled tortilla.
Taco Bell purposely designed the griller for on-the-go eating, but this smaller burrito still packs plenty of punch. The grilled tortilla had a satisfying crunch, adding a contrast of textures to the juicy beef and soft potato bites in the middle. The creamy chipotle sauce also added a hit of extra tang, tying everything together.
This feels like a fresh new direction for Taco Bell, and we’re here for it.
1. Mini taco salad
Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider
If you had told us the mini taco salad would be our favorite item on Taco Bell’s new value menu, we wouldn’t have believed you.
Alas, the $2.49 dish — which features seasoned beef, refried beans, cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and chipotle sauce piled up in a mini tortilla bowl — was full of surprises.
Neither of us is a fan of traditional taco salads, but Taco Bell found a way to upgrade and elevate the typically lackluster dish. It turned the tortilla shell into a crispy and salty delight, adding plenty of crunch without being dry. The refried beans provided a strong base to the deliciously warm beef, which paired well with the fresh veggies and zesty chipotle sauce.
Plus, you have to give this dish bonus points for being pretty adorable!
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