Tensions between the United States and Iran are reaching a boiling point as nuclear talks stall and the Iranian regime continues a brutal crackdown on its own people. CBN News visited Armenia, where Iranian refugees are sharing their stories.
Source: Iranian Escapees Describe Atrocities, 12,000 Shot as Regime’s Deadly Crackdown Rages
At the beginning of a midterm year where Republicans are predicted to hit stiff headwinds, there were at least some signs from a CNN flash poll — much to the […] The post appeared first on The Western Journal .
Source: CNN Flash Poll Devastates Dems – 64 Percent Said Trump’s Policies Will Move US in Right Direction
Did you know that two of the foundational figures in the development of quantum physics, Werner Heisenberg and Kurt Gödel, were believing Christians? Indeed, were believing Lutheran Christians?
Source: Quantum Lutherans
Iranian Democratic Opposition Leader prince Reza Pahlavi joins ‘Mornings with Maria’ to discuss tightening sanctions, escalating nuclear tensions and the future of a post-regime Iran.
Source: ‘ABOUT TO COLLAPSE’: Iranian opposition leader says Iranian regime nears the end
In this week’s Brief: USA! USA! USA! Team USA wins gold in men’s and women’s hockey to cap off the best Winter Olympics performance in American history—and the men’s overtime win over Canada felt like a generational moment. We break down the game, the 26 million viewers, and the tribute to the late Johnny Gaudreau that had the whole country in tears.
From there, we dive into the Supreme Court’s major tariff ruling, what it means for presidential authority, and Trump’s contingency plan. Plus, a full breakdown of the State of the Union—the bipartisan highlights, the jabs, the polls, and what Trump said about Iran as a third of the U.S. Navy sits off their coast.
Plus, a major Mexican cartel leader is killed with U.S. intelligence support, Trump orders the release of UFO files, the Ukraine war hits four years, Prince Andrew and Peter Mandelson are arrested, the latest on the Nancy Guthrie case, and a reflection on why feelings have replaced values—and what Scripture says about it.
Articles on this week’s top headlines:
Conner Jones is the Director of Performance Marketing at Denison Ministries and Co-Hosts Denison Forum’s “Culture Brief” podcast. He graduated from Dallas Baptist University in 2019 with a degree in Business Management. Conner passionately follows politics, sports, pop-culture, entertainment, and current events. He enjoys fishing, movie-going, and traveling the world with his wife and son.
Micah Tomasella is the Director of Advancement at Denison Ministries and co-hosts Denison Forum’s “Culture Brief” podcast. A graduate of Dallas Baptist University, Micah is married to Emily, and together they are the proud parents of two daughters. With an extensive background in nonprofit work, finance, and real estate, Micah also brings experience from his years in pastoral church ministry.
Denison Forum exists to thoughtfully engage the issues of the day from a biblical perspective through The Daily Article email newsletter and podcast, the Faith & Clarity podcast, as well as many books and additional resources.
NOTE: This transcript was AI-generated and has not been fully edited.
Conner Jones: [00:00:02] Hi, I’m Connor Jones.
Micah Tomasella: [00:00:03] I’m Micah Tomasella.
Conner Jones: [00:00:05] And this is Culture Brief, a Dinnison Forum podcast where we navigate the constant stream of top stories and news, politics, sports, pop culture, technology, and so much more. We do it all from a Christian perspective. And yes, Micah, if you’re not on video, you can’t see Micah’s making fun of the way I’m using my hand gestures. I I I I go big hand. I’m like Donald Trump right now. A little bit of this, a little bit of that, you know, uh, showing the size of the fish that I just caught, but
Micah Tomasella: [00:00:28] Right.
Conner Jones: [00:00:29] Micah, dude, you know, last week was a bit of a slow news week and this week has been anything but. Like all I want is just a distribution of wealth here. Can we get news stories not so tied up in one weekend so we have to cover so much on one episode? I mean, we got so much to talk about.
Micah Tomasella: [00:00:44] Sure. So you want us to be, just to quote you, the distribution of wealth, you want us to be socialistic when it comes to our news. Is that correct?
Conner Jones: [00:00:50] That would be nice. Yeah.
Micah Tomasella: [00:00:51] Okay, great. Well, all I’ve got to say is USA, USA, USA. America takes gold from Canada in women’s and men’s hockey to end the Olympics. America’s fourth best sport beats Canada in their best sport. That’s an incredible thing and there’s nothing more American than that. So let’s jump into the brief.
Conner Jones: [01:14] The brief.
Micah Tomasella: [01:19] All right, so we’re going to cover a lot today. We’ve got kind of a cultural roundup. I’m going to take a couple stories, give you a brief little flyover of all of them and then let Connor jump in. Uh, well, I’m not going to let Connor do anything. Connor can do what he wants, but anyway, all that to say, let’s talk about Team USA and just the overall Olympic roundup, how America did, how the Olympics wrapped up. I for one, I mean, we’ve talked about this. I really loved the Olympics. I think I loved this version of the Winter Olympics more than I have in the past. As I mentioned, I got really into curling. I mean, I think I was watching like Switzerland play South Africa women’s curling bronze medal game or something and I was enjoying it. I just was like, man, I kind of like curling. But anyway, that’s a side note. All right, so let’s start with hockey. Team USA just won the best Olympic hockey game in a generation. Overtime, gold medal against Canada. You can’t script it better than that, guys. The Americans beat an undefeated Canadian squad in a gritty back and forth classic that went to sudden death. It was Jack Hughes who buried the overtime winner. And earlier, he took a slash to the mouth with a stick and he lost parts of three of his teeth. Okay? Blood on the ice, cleaned up, came right back in. Then he ends it with just a flick of the wrist in the golden goal overtime, three versus three. So in the overtime, so so they play three full periods of hockey. It was 1-1 and then they go into overtime. And golden goal is just, hey, whoever scores first, the game’s over. So Jack Hughes scores and the Americans win and it was a beautiful moment. Connor Hellebuyck scored, uh, he stopped, he didn’t score any. He stopped 41 of 42 shots. One of the greatest, one of the greatest goalkeeper performances in history. It’s incredible.
Conner Jones: [03:04] I mean, just insane. And we’re going to talk about him again here in a minute from the State of the Union address, but what a performance. Some of the shots that were taken on him and these like slow motions of the blocks he did, absolutely unreal.
Micah Tomasella: [03:15] Incredible. Incredible. Canada outshot the US, but he stood on his head. So that’s kind of a a term in hockey. You’re basically just doing everything you possibly can, including standing on your head to stop the puck from getting in the net. He did everything he possibly could and more. It was championship once in a lifetime generation goal tending. It was incredible. This is historic. First US men’s Olympic hockey gold since 1980, since the Miracle on Ice game. Now, again, the Miracle on Ice game, people think that’s the game that the US won the gold medal. No, that was the semi-final before the championship, before the gold medal game where the US beat Russia and nobody was expecting them to do that. And then they went on to win the gold. But for a sport that lives in the shadow of the Miracle on Ice, this felt like a generational moment and America watched. So I wanted to give you some numbers. The final drew 20.7 million viewers across NBC, Peacock and USA Network and it peaked at 26 million during overtime for Hughes’s game winner. Most watched sports event in US history that started before 9:00 a.m. Eastern. Most watched ever that started before 9:00 a.m. Eastern. That tells you something. It was a Sunday morning. So, uh, Connor and I both got to watch a little bit of it at the beginning and then and then we headed to church. I was able to see
Conner Jones: [04:28] I didn’t see any of it. I didn’t see any of it. I left, I literally it came on as I was walking out the door and it ended before I got home. I was sad. Of course, church takes priority there, but caught all the caught all the best parts and the highlights afterwards and was just so happy for this team.
Micah Tomasella: [04:43] Yeah, I went back and watched it and just experienced it, you know, like leading up to overtime. Canada was really overwhelming the US in the third period. And then again, Connor Hellebuyck is as they say standing on his head and stopping everything that’s coming his way. And then you get a chance in overtime and then Jack Hughes takes it. Literally lost parts of his teeth. He smiles and you can see straight through to his tongue basically. Uh, it’s just it’s incredible toughness and again, it it just reminds us all that America is a really unique place and if there’s a patriotic bone in your body, even if it’s a tiny bone, you felt that. You feel that and it’s a beautiful thing. But there was another layer to this. The team carried Johnny Gaudreau’s jersey all tournament. After the win, they brought it onto the ice and invited his kids, his young kids into the team photo. It was not staged. It felt real. Short context on Johnny Gaudreau, very well-known American player. Him and his brother were in New Jersey for their sister’s wedding and they were ran down by a drunk driver and they both died. And so he was training to be on the US Olympic hockey team and they lost a teammate, they lost a friend, they lost a brother. Johnny Gaudreau was a very, very good hockey player. He was going to be on this team. So the the American team did everything that they could to honor him. And so there was an extra layer to this as well. Um, and again, it was it was a beautiful moment. It’s sad, but it was also a a beautiful moment. So after the win, as I said, they invited the kids onto the ice. It was not staged. It felt real. And then Hughes, Jack Hughes, kept it real simple in his post match interview. This is all about our country, he said. I love the USA. I’m so proud to be American today and every day. For a couple of hours, it was not left or right. It was USA, USA, USA. Zooming out, this was the one of the strongest Olympic uh winter Olympic performances ever by the United States. Broke the record for gold medals that the US has ever won with 12. We had um mid 30s amount of goals overall, second behind Norway. And then it was just a all of it, excellence, resilience, and the ending with the games with an overtime hockey gold over Canada with 26 million Americans uh 26 million Americans watching was about as American as it gets. For two weeks, we got to cheer for something together as a country. and I think that’s maybe partially why I love the Olympics so much is it’s not about who you voted for, what you like and what you don’t like. For the most part, people like to make it about that. And there was certain news things swirling, but overall, we were all on the same team rooting for America and it was a beautiful thing.
Conner Jones: [07:20] Yeah, dude, it was so cool. I I the Olympics are just the best. This was, this one felt special. It felt different. It felt like a lot of people in America were tuning in. I think part of that’s just because of the location and time zones, but also being on peacock, you could easily tune into gold zone or any sport you wanted to like you were saying, Micah. It was epic and had a great time watching. You know who else was celebrating with the American hockey team that I thought was just so funny? Kash Patel. He he made it to the locker room and started celebrating with them. Now, a lot of people were upset about that. I don’t really care that much. I think it’s just fun to see the hockey team and the FBI director like celebrating and partying in the locker room and then
Micah Tomasella: [07:55] Well, he was the one who put Trump on the phone for the hockey team to talk to, right?
Conner Jones: [07:59] Yeah, immediately after the game. Yep, yep, yep. It was cool. Um, what a celebration, what a time. Uh, which speaking of, just so much else happening, Micah, obviously this is an incredible thing to celebrate, but there’s a lot going on back home in the US. Like with with Supreme Court and tariffs. Uh, what else we got?
Micah Tomasella: [08:19] Yeah. So let’s talk about tariffs and the Supreme Court and the decision that came down and Trump’s response and kind of what’s to come. So the Supreme Court just handed down a major decision on tariffs last week. In a 6 to 3 ruling, the court said the president cannot use emergency powers under the, and I’m going to use the specific laws here, under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose sweeping tariffs without Congress. So the Constitution gives Congress authority over trade. The court said that power cannot be stretched just through emergency law alone. And so this is significant because tariffs have been central to President Trump’s campaign, his agenda here in his second term. Um, especially against countries like China, Canada, Mexico. The ruling is not about whether tariffs are good or bad policy. I think that’s not what I’m trying to talk about right now. We’ve talked extensively about tariffs. It’s about who has the authority to impose them. We have three distinctly powerful branches of government. How can they work together? What does this process look like? So, here’s the next move. Trump announced a 15% tariffs on imports across the board from any country. So this time, using section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974. So he had him and his team had a contingency plan for this, which makes me think to a certain extent they somewhat expected it. The law allows the president to impose up to a 15% tariff. So he’s putting it to the max for up to 150 days to address a balance of payment issue, which he could argue that that’s the case. It’s a temporary authority and it’s not a long-term solution. So after five months, then what? He says he has more contingency plans after that. Um, but you also have all of these trade deals and you’re going to get into this in the State of the Union speech that happened on Tuesday night. But, you know, Trump kind of made it a a point to say, hey, any of these countries that meet we have signed trade agreements with, don’t you think for a second that those those uh agreements are not binding, right? So he’s trying to do some damage control here and say, hey, we still have tariffs, whatever it might be. At the same time, the administration is exploring, so after this 150 days, they’re exploring other laws like section 232, which allows tariffs on national security grounds, and then section 301, which targets unfair trade practices. So the Supreme Court narrowed the lane, made it more difficult, but it didn’t it doesn’t eliminate presidential tariff authority altogether. So this debate isn’t over and it’s worth remembering that we have three, like I said, three distinct branches of government for a reason, legislative, executive, and judicial. So that separation is intentional. It’s it’s designed to create tension, accountability and balance, no matter where you land on the tariff debate. And so no matter so let’s not make this about tariffs. Let’s say, okay, you’ve got one branch, the Supreme Court, holding another branch accountable. And I think overall, when the shoe’s on the other foot in 2029, if your candidate isn’t in, you’re going to want that person in power to be held accountable and not be able to make all these unilateral decisions. So if we take a step back, I think we recognize, I think most of us recognize that, okay, whether if we like tariffs or not, I’m thankful for the type of governance that we have in place.
Conner Jones: [11:41] Yeah, man, it’s checks and balances working as it’s supposed to. It’s the way the founders intended. It’s what makes our Constitution so different from everywhere else in the world and previous to the United States Constitution. No one else had this. It was like just one person or one body was in power and nobody else could could check them. This is how it works. Whether you agree or disagree with the ruling, it’s it’s our government working as it’s supposed to. Um, and if tariffs should stay on, you know, and stay live, they’re going to figure out a way to do it. They just got to figure out a different way is basically what the Supreme Court is saying.
Micah Tomasella: [12:14] And then the Supreme Court can come back and strike that down. You know, it’s a it’s a process. It just it just takes some time. Okay, well, that is the hockey, Olympic and tariffs Supreme Court update.
Conner Jones: [12:28] Connor, talk to us about the State of the Union that happened last night. So we’re recording on Wednesday, February 25th. The State of the Union was very long, broke a record. He probably did that on purpose on Tuesday night, February 24th. So Connor, what happened? I watched it too, but go ahead and tell me what happened.
Micah Tomasella: [12:41] Yeah, yeah, yeah, Micah and I were we were kind of messaging a little bit in between as well, just kind of laughing at certain things, calling out certain things. It was it was a little all over the place. It was so long, like you said, an hour and 47 minutes, broke the record. They used to be just a little over an hour. Trump did that on purpose. Part of it’s also just because there were so many moments of honoring people, which is really cool. We saw a lot of medals given out, medals of honor, uh medals of freedom, including
Conner Jones: [13:06] Which was bipartisan honoring, right? So there so everybody was standing up in those moments honoring great Americans. That was cool.
Micah Tomasella: [13:14] Yeah, they gave a medal of honor to one of the helicopter pilots from the Maduro raid and to a pilot from the Korean war who I I just learned about that story, shot down four Soviet aircraft, which is just impressive on its own and he’s 100 years old and he got uh the medal of honor. They gave out the uh purple heart to one of the national guardsmen who was shot in uh up in close range in DC back in Thanksgiving week. And then also uh Connor Hellebuyck, like you were saying, Micah, the goalie, I think he got, what was it? The congressional medal of freedom? Like he he got the the highest award a civilian can get for basically just blocking a bunch of pucks to keep America in the game, which was incredible. Uh it was really cool to see the the hockey team come in. Six minutes they were in there just being celebrated and applauded. It was really cool. It’s cool. Um
Conner Jones: [14:00] Hey, don’t forget about the Coast Guard guy that saved 164 people during the Texas floods last year. He got honored too.
Micah Tomasella: [14:07] Yeah, they did honor him. I uh a medal of merit or something like that. Yeah, yeah. I think that’s what it was. Whatever the highest honor is for his position. Yeah. Which is really cool and very much deserved. And yeah, you’re right. That was bipartisan. The whole room stood and clapped for each of those awards. What great Americans. All of them. Amazing Americans and deserved on this national stage to be awarded in this way. Uh what was not bipartisan was a lot of what Trump was saying in the speech. Uh just a little bit of context here. America doesn’t seem to be very happy with Trump right now. And I’m saying this based off of polling that came out right before the State of the Union intentionally so that we could get an understanding of how Americans are feeling about his policies. As of right now, CNN’s new polling is showing um that 32% of America believes Trump has the right priorities, 68% say he does not. That is not a good number for him.
Conner Jones: [14:55] That’s probably a little inflated because I’ve seen some other numbers too, but either way, that’s not good. That’s not good.
Micah Tomasella: [15:03] It’s definitely not. Um, and his overall approval rating, his job approval rating from the CNN poll was 36 approve, 63% disapprove. Another poll from Washington Post and ABC said 39% approve, 60% disapprove. So just a little bit of context there for what Trump was battling coming into this speech. He really needed to make sure he was putting together a picture of success and to to show that the state of the Union is strong and not weak or disjointed or disunified. Uh he said it was strong. He offered a bunch of reasons why over the last year he believed it was strong. He talked about his economy, talked about the border being closed, Fentinel smuggling being down by 56%. He pointed back to a bunch of things. He did not offer much of a like vision cast, which going into the midterms might have been a better direction to to to go, but we’ll see. We’ll see how people respond to this. We’ll see how the public responds.
Conner Jones: [15:53] It could have been worse, honestly, is is a point that I really want to make is like you you just never know when you give Trump a microphone what he’s going to say or what he’s going to do. You’re right. Uh and and so, you know, from what I was reading, you you almost could have blamed like Susie Wiles, the chief of staff, um and his team because they obviously wrote that speech for him and it was lacking in some areas. But overall, he stayed on task and on point. And I’m not making a statement about Trump either way. I’m just saying, yeah, he made his jabs, but he’s always going to. He actually stayed on point, which I was not expecting. He hasn’t really done that consistently. He gets off on rabbit trails and doesn’t even get back to the original point sometimes.
Micah Tomasella: [16:36] His famous uh weaves when he just like goes off on a point for five, six minutes and comes back to where he was. Yeah, he he he did avoid that, which is I think a good thing for him. and I think a lot of people noticed that as well. I my favorite jab of the night, Micah, you probably laughed at this too and it got a lot of laughs on both sides. Uh both Democrats and Republicans had stood up and applauded when he called for Congress to pass a law to stop insider trading. and then he said, does anybody know if Nancy Pelosi is standing up, which you know, that’s a that’s a joke and a jab at her because they’re supposedly going to call
Conner Jones: [17:07] She’s made a whole lot off insider trading. Yeah, for sure.
Micah Tomasella: [17:11] That’s the accusation for sure. And there’s the idea that it could be called the Pelosi Act. We talked about that last year. Uh if it gets passed through Congress, but we’ll see. But they’re going to name it the Pelosi Act. Oh, that would be that would be funny. The other thing I saw was that these these, you know, these state of the unions, they matter in the moments. People will watch and listen and and parse it apart, but they get forgotten typically pretty easily. The biggest one in recent history was certainly as a lot of people were pointing out was 2024 when Joe Biden went up there, had a pretty solid speech and basically convinced the Democrat party that he was fine and could keep going in the presidential campaign. That was probably the most successful state of the Union in recent memory. Uh so we’ll see if this one lasts long in legacy or not. But the other thing, Micah, that Trump did hit on in the speech that people were really in tuned on was Iran. We’ve been waiting and waiting to see if he has some military plan or was going to order strikes. And he kind of came back into the speech and he said, Iran on it, he prefers to solve the problem through diplomacy. And he’s not going to allow the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism to obtain nuclear weapons. He he doubled down on that. So as of right now, with Iran, we’ve got a third of our navy sitting off the coast or kind of in the region, either in the Mediterranean off the coast of Israel.
Conner Jones: [18:23] That’s that’s unbelievable. That’s an unbelievable amount of manpower and ships and aircraft and, I mean, billions and billions and billions of dollars because, you know, we have by far the largest navy in the world. And so a third of it is parked right out, like it’s parked right on their doorstep when most countries don’t even have a third of our navy in the first place. I mean, it’s just that’s an unbelievable amount of buildup to put pressure on them.
Micah Tomasella: [18:50] Yeah, for clarification, just one aircraft carrier is roughly the size of most, like the the amount of aircraft on that single aircraft carrier is the size of most nations entire air supply. Like, you know, their entire air force, some of these European nations and Asian nations. We have it all on one aircraft carrier. And we’ve got two of those parked off the coast of Iran now. So, as a lot of people point out, this is the largest buildup of military in the region since 2003 before the invasion of Iraq. And it would almost be insane if we sent all that over there, sent all these troops, pulled them out of their lives here in America. We got a ship in the USS Gerald Ford that was in the Caribbean and has been at sea for almost a full year and got deployed. They were supposed to be going home, got deployed over there. It would almost be insane if nothing did happen, if this was all just a buildup and then it’s all going to be just brought back home. Yeah. It’s it’s very likely at this point. That’s what a lot of people have been saying. Special envoy Steve Witkoff said on Saturday too that Iran could be just a week away from having industrial grade bomb making materials. And Axios reported this week kind of talking to insiders there.
Conner Jones: [19:52] Really? Wow.
Micah Tomasella: [19:53] Yeah, that’s what he said, man. That’s and a lot of people have called that out because they’re like, well, I thought we blew up all their nuclear weapons and enrichment facilities in the in the June bombing last year with the stealth bombers. So there’s a lot of questions there. It’s always been a little murky on did we actually destroy everything or they still have some capabilities. Yeah. But that’s what Steve Witkoff said just this past weekend, uh which kind of alluded to maybe there’s more coming and they’re they are going to try to strike more of these facilities. Axios has reported that they are expecting a larger war uh than the 12-day war of last year, which Israel engaged for 12 of those days, then we came in and wrapped up the the war with Iran with the nuclear facility bombing. Uh this could play out in different ways. This could start with the killing of Khamenei, the Ayatollah over there and his sons to try to start a regime change essentially and encourage protesters to take back to the streets and spark um internal revolt. We’ll see. Uh it could also lead to more nuclear facility bombings or military facility bombings. The New York Times is reporting that Trump is leaning towards a strike or at least an initial strike. Uh for what it’s worth, Khamenei has said that he’s or he’s at least ordered his people to basically identify four successors each for each position, find four people who could take your position in case you were killed. And Khamenei’s done the same. He’s got four people who are lined up and ready to take his role. So that’s part of I think the the hesitation here is the US is like, if we do this, what’s the next step? Who takes over? Are we actually instituting regime change?
Conner Jones: [21:18] Well, if you want, it’s the same thing with Venezuela, right? It’s like if you want actual regime change, you’ve got to occupy and oversee that that’s what happens. This happens in steps and stages. If you want to take out a leader, sure, that can happen in a strike, but that’s what everybody’s trying to avoid and what people are concerned about is if you’re building up like it’s 03, well, everybody looks back at that for the most part and says, man, we spent way too much time over there on not not concrete information, you know? And so nobody wants an occupational boots on the ground, losing Americans, um, in any way whatsoever. And so, you know, it’s one thing to strike and take out a leader, it’s another thing entirely to actually make sure regime regime change happens the way you want it. And I think that’s probably the complicated part of this.
Micah Tomasella: [22:06] It definitely is. Trump even ran on no more forever wars in the Middle East. And we’re right on the cusp of potentially entering a new one. So this would feel like a betrayal to a lot of uh voters. Trump has to make his case as to why this is necessary. Even the General Dan Kane, they call him Raising Kane, the one who really oversaw the success of the Venezuela raid, and he told Trump before Venezuela, he saw a high probability of success in that raid. He’s not apparently feeling that much like he’s not feeling as positive about this. He’s basically laying out the risks to Trump. He’s like, if you want to do it, we’ll do it. We will give you the best plans. We will do it to the best of our ability, but this could lead to bigger problems. This could lead to US casualties, which would be tragic in its own way. Um and Trump would have to sit with that and own that. That’d be part of his legacy. Now, if it is what he wants and he believes it’s for the greater good of the region and of the world and of the United States defense, well, then that’s a whole another discussion. But General Kane is not fully like buying into this one as much as he did with Venezuela. I think part of what you’re saying, Micah, is true. Like it you got to continue to oversee it. And this is a 6,000 mile away country. That’s a lot harder than Venezuela. Also a country with a much bigger, tougher military and stronger defenses than Venezuela ever had. So it’s a it’s just a different picture. But yeah, Trump has to sell this to the American people and here’s what currently his team is and his AIDS have been trying to say is like the reasoning behind any sort of potential strike. One would be just a desire to protect the protesters there on the ground in Iran that they killed 32,000 protesters that we know of, could be way more. Uh he said that in the state of the Union as well that there were 32,000 killed. And so restoring the freedoms of those people, restoring freedom to Iran. Another would be just a desire to knock out this regime by removing the supreme leader, the Ayatollah there and all of his cronies. And then the last one is basically what he said in the state of the Union, to make sure they never get nuclear weapons as a state sponsor of terrorism because part of the problem is Iran is impulsive and they could do anything and they really, really hate Israel. They hate Western culture. They are driven by their Islamic ideology. If they had a nuclear weapon, it’s unknown what they would do, but they might try to launch something, especially at Israel, which would lead to World War III. It just it just would if a nuke ever goes off, it’s going to lead to a catastrophic global war. So that’s Trump’s
Conner Jones: [24:23] This matters. This whole story really matters. It’s kind of getting tucked away, but this story really matters. Yeah.
Micah Tomasella: [24:28] Yeah, it does. But that’s also, Micah, not the only military thing going on this week. I mean, there was a whole another country. I know you want to hit on this that happened south of the border where the military got involved with a conflict.
Conner Jones: [24:38] Yeah, Connor, I’m just going to take a couple minutes on this, but yeah, so Mexican cartel leader was killed, maybe the biggest and most notorious was killed and the US shared intelligence to make it happen, but they did not lend any actual boots on the ground to make it happen. So Mexican authorities reportedly killed Nemesio Ruben Oseguera Cervantes, known as El Mencho, which I think is a pretty cool name by the way. The long-time leader of the Jalisco New Generation cartel. He’s been one of the most powerful, if not the most powerful cartel figures in Mexico, heavily, heavily tied to specifically the Fentinel that’s been coming across our borders for the last several years. US officials confirmed that American intelligence was shared ahead of the operation and Mexican forces carried out the raid. After his death, violence broke out in several areas of Mexico. There were reports of roadblocks, burning vehicles, clashes with security forces, uh Mexican security forces killed, the Mexican National Guard, many of them were killed. In response, the US Embassy issued shelter in place guidance for Americans in certain regions, including some major cities and major tourist areas. So for example, a very popular tourist uh place is Puerto Vallarta. And uh there were a lot of Americans there that were being told to shelter in place. What I was I was reading something this morning, things are kind of calming down, but we’ll see how that works out. But that just tells you this the situation’s unstable enough to warrant caution for US citizens where the US is telling Americans there to shelter in place. Taking out a cartel leader is significant, but it does not end cartel operations overnight. Leadership removals can lead to retaliation or internal power struggles before they stabilize. Oh, wait, weren’t we just talking about something like that, right? Similar thing. So what comes next will depend on whether Mexican authorities can quickly contain the violence and whether cartel factions attempt to regroup. Um, you know, it’s who’s going to fill that seat? Which cartel is going to come up and take over for this one? Or, you know, who’s coming in after El Mencho? So for Americans and affected uh in affected areas right now, the message was simple, follow the guidance and stay alert. So this is a story that’s still developing. If anything happens more with it, we’ll let you guys know about it next week.
Conner Jones: [26:42] Yeah, man, some of the videos that were coming out of Mexico on Sunday were just crazy. Like to see the beautiful beaches and the resorts in Puerto Vallarta with just smoke rising up from behind. It looked like a video game or a movie or something. Uh yeah, prayers for the people down there in Mexico. This could get very ugly. Hopefully it does not and hopefully the Mexican government can continue to find these cartel leaders who just do terrible evil things. They they are destructive to their own nation, to their people there and then to ours as well. So, you know, prayerfully more justice is is brought. Uh something else going on. We mentioned it last week, Micah, Obama uh and basically kind of saying, yes, aliens are real on a podcast really quick and then having to clarify afterwards that, uh, maybe they’re not that real. I don’t really actually know any knowledge. He kind of tried to clear his name here of any sort of leaking of information because it could be and he basically was like, I was basically just saying, you know, the universe is big. It’s more likely than not. Yeah. Well, you know, a lot of people laughed at it, but you know who did not laugh about it? Donald Trump. Uh on Air Force One this week, he was asked about that whole thing and then he basically said, well, Obama might have uh broken some laws here and he could be in trouble for leaking classified information, which then got everybody thinking, well, that’s basically a confirmation of he’s he’s saying, yeah, there’s there’s more to this story. So it all led to more and more and more and then Trump finally posted, I think on Wednesday or Thursday of last week that he is going to order the beginning of the process of identifying and releasing government files related to alien and extraterrestrial life, unidentified aerial phenomena and unidentified flying objects and all and other information connected to these highly complex but extremely interesting and important matters. Uh Trump’s daughter-in-law, Laura Trump also said at a podcast that he apparently has a prepared speech on aliens and the whole topic that’s been ready to go for a while. Uh Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has also confirmed that a team is now working after Trump’s order to uh bring forward this disclosure effort and go through files, anything that they’ve got there in the Pentagon. Look, here’s the deal. No one wants to learn more about UFOs than me. I personally like just
Micah Tomasella: [28:46] Yeah, you’re a big
Conner Jones: [28:47] I’m on Look, man, I’m on the Reddit threads. I listen to all the UFO podcasts. Like I not that I think it’s
Micah Tomasella: [28:51] You’re a big tin foil hat guy.
Conner Jones: [28:53] You know it. You know it. At least with this, you know. Uh and I’m not even sure it’s like aliens or anything. That’s not my point. I just there’s there’s all these crazy videos out there. There’s a lot of stories, all this and the government officials that have seen some of these videos are like, yeah, there’s some serious stuff in there. We need it to be public so people can really understand what’s out there. The thought might be it’s just a big nothing burger or it’s a big distraction effort. Uh we’re probably not going to actually learn that much would be my guess. Maybe we’ll get a couple videos or images here or there. Yeah. Uh maybe we’ll find out it’s a top secret US program that’s just got a technology that most people don’t know about or it’s China or Russia or all these different videos of things coming out of the ocean and fighter jets seeing them and not being able to understand. Right. I would guess, Micah, this is going to be similar to like the JFK and Epstein files where a lot of redactions, not going to be that telling. Maybe answers a few questions here. Probably actually leaves us with more questions and more distrust of the government. But it’s a step forward and a lot of people in the, you know, uh disclosure community are like, this is a this is the biggest success we’ve had in a while. Let’s find out what’s going on. But we’ll see. Lots of people in the government are like, yeah, this needs to be public. We’ve seen some stuff that the public should know about. So I don’t know. All that to say, we’ll stay tuned on that.
Micah Tomasella: [29:59] Thanks for that.
Conner Jones: [30:00] But Micah, man, as we just went through, what a crazy week. So much is happening. Um, there’s a lot to think about with what’s right, what’s wrong, uh, how do we approach all these things from a Christian perspective? Well, I I really want to lean on Dr. Jim Denson’s article, I think it was from Tuesday of this week. And he quoted Dennis Prager, a Prager U is his thing, and he wrote a book that just came out this week and in that book, he said, the great moral tragedy of our time is that feelings have replaced values. I would agree with that. Um, feelings trump a lot of things in people’s minds here in today’s culture. And Dr. Denson, he followed up that quote by saying, Americans are doing what feels right to them with no consideration for objective truths or moral standards. In fact, many do not believe that such standards exist. Until something bad happens, something that is objectively bad happens in most people’s minds, such as Iran killing protesters or Putin invading Ukraine or cartels murdering people. Like that’s just things that everybody knows are bad. So what’s going on there? Well, as Dr. Denson said, that forces us to grapple with the fact that if all morality is a matter of preference, we have no way to disagree with even the most monstrous evils in our world. But you know, Micah, for us as Christians, there really is no subjective truth, only the objective truth of scripture that lays out God’s moral standards, I would say. And we have that Holy Spirit too, and that guides us. That is our moral compass. The Holy Spirit helps us understand what’s right and wrong. Which is why when we feel tempted by sin, we know it’s wrong. The Holy Spirit is telling us, that’s wrong. Don’t do that sin. It’s our guide. It’s what’s helping us know the objective truth of right and wrong in scripture and what God has laid out as right and wrong, right? Yeah, we know what’s right, but then we don’t take action. You know, if we know what’s right and don’t take action, we we we feel the weight of failing to follow through. That’s what James 4:17 says when it says, whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him, it is sin. That is why if we want to be a moral people in a moral world, we’re just going to need the transformation that only Jesus can bring. Uh the path to a better future, I would say lies with our hearts. And our hearts, they’re corrupted until they’re purified by Jesus. Much of the world, Micah, gosh, it just suffers from a corrupted heart and a subjective morality. So, as Christians, this is the call this week. Let’s be different. Let’s have purified hearts. Let’s make clear what is right and what’s wrong because we are totally aware of what’s right and wrong because of the Holy Spirit and because scripture lays it out for us. And so as you think through all these stories, as you think through the news, as you think through what’s coming down the line with the news, I mean, tomorrow will be a whole new story. Like that that’s just the reality of the way our news moves today. That’s your guide for what is right, what is wrong. And sometimes it’s hard to reject what the world is saying is right, but what scripture scripture says is wrong, right? The world tells us a bunch of things are right, but it’s not true. A bunch of things are actually wrong according to scripture and that’s on us as Christians to stand up to that and say, no, that’s not what scripture says, that’s not biblical truth.
Micah Tomasella: [33:12] Yeah, I mean, and ultimately, it’s a great point, Connor, but it’s not, you know, just to give even like an extra layer of context. Like, you know, uh, scripture isn’t just a book full of telling us what’s wrong. It’s actually God created us, created us in his image, wants us to live according to the best way possible, knowing him, loving him, worshiping him. That gives us the most the most full life when we’re connected to our creator. Uh, when scripture is clear about what’s right and wrong, it’s so that we don’t lead down a path of destruction, that we don’t destroy our lives, that we don’t destroy the people around us and their lives through sin, uh, and through the mistakes that we make. So it’s not just right or wrong for the sake of right or wrong or rules, it’s, hey, you go down this path, it’s going to lead to the destruction of yourself and those around you. Is that something that you want? And we’re given free will to make those decisions.
Conner Jones: [34:05] Yep, we sure are. Yeah, thanks for that wrap up, Micah. Uh, man, so much going on, but we’ll continue to cover things and for now, we’re just going to go ahead and wrap it up and jump into our mailbag.
Micah Tomasella: [34:20] Let’s get into the mailbag. Okay, so guys, thank you for continuing to engage with us. Please send us your questions, your thoughts, or your topic ideas to culturebrief@denisonforum.org or follow us on Instagram @culturebriefpodcast. Send us a DM, whatever it might be. We’d love to engage with you. Mary Lee wrote in, uh, and spoke into the, you know, the topic that we had last week when we got a a question from Gary about clean TV shows. And she said, she had some more ideas on where to find clean TV shows. She said, two wholesome streaming networks are redeemed TV and Pureflix. I have heard of Pureflix. I haven’t heard of redeemed TV. Sounds like a great name though. Sounds like it would be wholesome. Thanks for sending that in for us, Mary Lee. So, don’t hesitate if you have any questions, comments, you want to tell us how much you love us, tell us how much you don’t like us. That’s okay. We can take it. Send it in and let us know.
Conner Jones: [35:13] Yeah, thanks, Micah. Okay, a few things to check into. Uh, you know, last week we talked about several pretty big cultural icons that passed away, Robert Duval and Jesse Jackson and James Van der Beek. Well, another one passed away after we recorded, Eric Dane, who was on Grey’s Anatomy for a long time, just a big star there. He’s been in a whole bunch of other TV shows. He passed away at age 53 after a long battle with ALS, which is really sad and he leaves behind his family and his kids. Um, I I wanted to point out though with him, he went on this new Netflix show that’s called Famous Last Words. This is a show that just launched in October and they’ve I guess got a stored up group of episodes ready to release after these famous people pass away. So the day after Eric Dane died, this interview with him released and he was able to basically just give one last big interview, talk about life, talk about legacy, talk to his family. and he was able to look directly in the camera and leave a message with for his family that’s um, you know, it’s on this Netflix show. You can go watch it. It’s one of the top shows of the week over there, but it’s also been all over social media. He looks in this camera and he just delivers this beautiful message to his daughters and his wife. It’s really, really hard to watch, but I think it’s a unique interview process. Um, the first episode was actually with the scientist Jane Goodall. That released in October after she passed away. But this idea that these people can leave these final messages for both society and their families, kind of interesting concept. And we’re going to learn a lot about these people sadly after they pass away and the way that they feel about things. For instance, Eric, and this is just a sad truth, um, he talked about the afterlife and that he really just believes death is final. There’s nothing after this. Um, and guys, as we’ve talked about last week, that’s not true. Jesus offers salvation. And so as you listen to these interviews and or you you see this about Eric Dane, just remember that there is so much more after this life and that’s actually what we get to live for. Um there is truth and there is hope and there is salvation and there is eternity. And that’s the truth. So, um, I I hope his family learns that, um, and and I just one of the things we said last week was one of the biggest things you can do for your family as you if if you pass away unexpectedly is leave them with the peace of knowing that you’re going to be in eternity in heaven for eternity, right? So just kind of a sad thing there.
Micah Tomasella: [37:23] Yeah, thanks Connor. Um, RIP Eric Dane. So let’s head on a few more things. The Ukraine war just hit its fourth anniversary on Tuesday with combined casualties since Russia’s invasion in 2022 now approaching an unimaginable 2 million. Roughly two-thirds of those are Russian. And yet, there’s no signs of the war ending soon. I know that Trump kind of has an aim to get it done by July 4th, America’s 250th celebration. Um, you know, that seems to be more and more difficult as it drags on, uh, because for some reason this war is just not ending and it’s very sad and there’s a lot of needless loss of life. So, like this conflict and any others, we’re praying for peace. Uh, we’re praying that Jesus would be known and known fully. He would redeem these situations, but also that innocent people would stop dying. It’s just so sad. And then we’ve got, uh, both Prince Andrew of the British Royal family and Peter Mandelson. Man, these guys are in hot water. The former, uh, British ambassador to the US was arrested this week for charges related to misconduct after the Epstein files released and he and it was revealed that they both leaked sensitive economic documents to Epstein. So they’re they’re being charged and arrested on different things more about like basically like, uh, uh, giving government insights and spilling government secrets to Epstein. So they were arrested for that.
Conner Jones: [38:45] A lot of belief that these two, especially with Prince Andrew, were also engaged in the like sexual improprieties of the files as well, but that the government is able to definitely get them on evidence around this. They can get them, it’s kind of like the Al Capone thing. Like Al Capone was never arrested for his mafia ties, but he was arrested and imprisoned for avoiding taxes because that’s what they could get him on. Right. Tax evasion. Right. Yeah, it’s it won’t be full justice for any victims that they would have um, you know, not yet. We’ll see what happens. Not yet. Definitely, but it’s definitely, I mean, talk about a fall from grace. Prince Andrew was Queen Elizabeth’s favorite of the four children that she had. And now he’s not even in the family anymore. He’s been disgraced. Yeah, he’s been kicked out.
Micah Tomasella: [39:25] All right, uh, last one on check-in, Nancy Guthrie, Savannah Guthrie’s mother is still missing. We’re nearly a month into this. The Guthrie family is offering a $1 million reward now. The FBI is offering 100,000 on top of that. There’s all these kind of rewards popping up. This is just a crazy story because you just feel like in 2026, you can’t get away with this stuff anymore. You know, you see these type of kidnapping stories in the 70s and 80s and 90s and they make these documentaries about it, but in 2026 with with with how advanced everything is to be able to track things, the cameras everywhere, people spill the beans, somebody says something. It’s crazy. They still don’t know what’s happened to her and it’s just it blows my mind.
Conner Jones: [40:08] It it’s really sad and you’re right, man, in this in this day and age, you just don’t see stories like this very much anymore, especially, I’m thinking about the Ring Super Bowl commercial. They had that commercial where they showed uh basically surveillance of everything and everybody by they tried to twist it by saying, we’re helping find lost dogs with our ring cameras. Totally backfired. The now the Ring CEO is on like a a cleanup, you know, he’s he’s trying to go clean up the messaging around that. He was like, yeah, we’re we’re pulling back on some of this. All that to say, you’re right. If they can do that with with surveillance and stuff, how are we not finding
Micah Tomasella: [40:39] Why do we not know what’s going on here? You know, I hope there’s resolution. Yeah, I hope there’s I pray and hope that there’s resolution to it soon. The only tune in thing would be kind of what we talked about earlier. US could be striking Iran at any moment. They might, they might not. You don’t really know. Is this a build up to put more diplomatic pressure or is it a build up because they’re about to strike? So we’ll see. Praying all that goes well, praying for discernment for our leaders on that.
Conner Jones: [41:10] I think on Thursday there’s there’s planned, it’s planned, big big quotations around planned meetings in Geneva, Switzerland between the US and Steve Witkoff and Iran to potentially try to hash out more details around a negotiation. It’s probably Iran’s last chance to say, okay, we’re going to give up nukes. They seem very hesitant to do that. So that’s going to come that’s going to happen right after this episode releases. If you’re listening first thing on Thursday morning, that meeting might be going on and we’ll just see what comes out of that.
Micah Tomasella: [41:36] Yeah, something might be. Yeah, I mean, I think something might be going down this weekend, but we’ll see. Okay, well, thanks for joining us for this week’s episode of Culture Brief, a Denson Forum podcast. All articles and videos mentioned will be linked in the show notes. And if you enjoyed today’s episode, please like, please subscribe, please rate and review the show and share it with a friend and we’ll see you next Thursday.
The post USA hockey gold, State of the Union, tariff ruling, cartel takedown, Iran update & UFO files | Ep. 58 appeared first on Denison Forum.
The people who want to indoctrinate your children in public schools and libraries would like you to know that the LGBT propaganda they want to lay on them isn’t appropriate […] The post appeared first on The Western Journal .
CNN data analyst Harry Enten said new polling shows the Democratic field for 2028 remains unsettled, with no candidate establishing a clear lead.
Speaking Tuesday, Enten described the current landscape in blunt terms.
“This is just a downright clown car at this point on the Democratic side,” Enten said.
He then walked through the early polling numbers.
“I mean, just take a look here,” he said. “Top choices for the 2028 Dem pres nominee.”
Enten noted that while one candidate appears to be ahead, the margin is slim.
“You have a leader, but it’s not really a clear leader,” he said. “It’s within the margin of error.”
He cited specific figures from the polling.
“You have Newsom at 19 percent,” Enten said. “Then you have former Vice President Kamala Harris at 18 percent.”
He added context regarding Harris’s position.
“Quite a weak number for her, given that, of course, she was the nominee last time around,” he said.
Enten continued down the list.
“Pete Buttigieg, who of course has run before, 13 percent,” he said. “Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez at 12 percent.”
The numbers place California Gov. Gavin Newsom at 19 percent, Harris at 18 percent, Buttigieg at 13 percent and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez at 12 percent, all within a relatively narrow range.
Enten returned to his broader assessment of the race.
“This is just a total clown car,” he said. “It is a total mess.”
He emphasized the lack of a dominant figure.
“There is no clear frontrunner at this particular point on the Democratic side,” Enten said. “Who the heck knows who the nominee is going to be in three, two years?”
He added that the situation is unusual compared to previous cycles.
“It’s been a long time since we’ve had a Democratic race like this,” Enten said.
Elaborating further, he compared the current polling to earlier election years.
“Yeah, it has been a long time,” he said. “This is very unusual for the Democratic side to not have a clear frontrunner at this point.”
Enten referenced a benchmark from past primaries.
“National early poll leader at least 25 percent,” he said.
“Look at this. This year, we get the giant question mark.”
He highlighted the absence of a standout candidate.
“No one, no one, no one, no one,” Enten said.
He then pointed to previous election cycles.
“In 2021, there was no incumbent,” he said.
“It was Joe Biden who was there.”
“Hillary Clinton in both 08 and 16,” Enten added. “And Al Gore in both 2000 and 2004 at this point, where at least at 25 percent of the early polls.”
He concluded by placing the current race in historical context.
“You have to go all the way back, all the way back from when I wasn’t even in elementary school yet, not even in pre-K yet, to 1992,” Enten said. “That was the last cycle in which there was no clear frontrunner at this point.”
WATCH:
Enten’s analysis indicates that, unlike several prior Democratic primaries, the early 2028 field remains wide open, with multiple well-known figures clustered closely together and no candidate breaking past the 25 percent mark in national surveys.
Source: Clown Car 2028: CNN Forced to Acknowledge Dems’ Lineup Is a Mess [WATCH]
Jesse Watters, Sean Hannity and Greg Gutfeld bring Fox News viewers their fresh takes on the top news of the day. #fox #media #breakingnews #us #usa #new #news #breaking #foxnews #jessewattersprimetime #hannity #gutfeld #jessewatters #seanhannity #greggutfeld #politics #political #politicalnews #government #analysis #opinion #commentary #america #leadership
President Trump on Wednesday afternoon went off on Democrat Reps Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib for screaming at him during his State of the Union Address.
Trump said they should be institutionalized and deported.
The camera panned over to Ilhan Omar as President Trump called out Somali pirates and fraud rings in Minnesota.
Omar was on the verge of tears as President Trump called out Somalia for its corruption.
“If you agree with this statement, stand up to show your support: The first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens,” Trump said.
Republicans stood up and cheered while many Democrats remained seated.
President Trump lambasted the Democrats for refusing to stand for protecting American citizens.
“[Democrats] are blocking the removal of [illegal alien drug lords and rapists] out of our country and you should be ashamed of yourselves!” Trump said.
“You have killed Americans!” Omar shouted.
“You should be ashamed!” Omar added.
Fellow squad member Rashida Tlaib also joined Ilhan Omar and shouted at President Trump.
WATCH:
“When you watch Low IQ Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, as they screamed uncontrollably last night at the very elegant State of the Union, such an important and beautiful event, they had the bulging, bloodshot eyes of crazy people, LUNATICS, mentally deranged and sick who, frankly, look like they should be institutionalized. When people can behave like that, and knowing that they are Crooked and Corrupt Politicians, so bad for our Country, we should send them back from where they came — as fast as possible,” Trump said on Truth Social on Wednesday.
“They can only damage the United States of America, they can do nothing to help it. They should actually get on a boat with Trump Deranged Robert De Niro, another sick and demented person with, I believe, an extremely Low IQ, who has absolutely no idea what he is doing or saying — some of which is seriously CRIMINAL!” Trump said.
“When I watched him break down in tears last night, much like a child would do, I realized that he may be even sicker than Crazy Rosie O’Donnell, who is right now in Ireland trying to figure out how to come back into our beautiful United States. The only difference between De Niro and Rosie is that she is probably somewhat smarter than him, which isn’t saying much. The good news is that America is now Bigger, Better, Richer, and Stronger than ever before, and it’s driving them absolutely crazy! PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP”
https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/116132366318011545/embed
The post NEW: Trump GOES OFF on “Low IQ” Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib For Screaming at Him During SOTU Speech, Calls For Them to Be Deported appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
“You should be ashamed of yourself not standing up,” Trump shouted at Democrats who refused to stand to show their support for the American people over illegal aliens. Earlier, they had refused to stand to honor the family of 16-year-old high school cheerleader Lizbeth Medina, who was brutally murdered by an illegal alien. They clearly hate Trump so much that they allow it to cloud their judgment and back reckless policies to spite him.
It was one thing when they all decided they loved autism because RFK Jr. said he was trying to find a way to prevent it. But in the case of their support for illegal aliens and lawlessness, it is counterintuitive, almost Darwinian, that they are against defending the border and keeping order on our streets.
At the State of the Union address, President Trump spoke for nearly two hours, and it was one of the most exciting and engaging events of the year, right up there with the Turning Point USA halftime show. Similar to last year’s Charlie Kirk memorial, it was patriotic, positive, energizing, and mentioned God liberally. At multiple times, Republicans in Congress erupted in applause, standing ovations, and chants of “U-S-A! U-S-A!”
Before it even started, mainstream media were running articles “debunking” the lies they claimed Trump was going to tell. All day on Twitter, Democrat lawmakers were posting that they were boycotting the event.
Oddly, one congressman after another posted, “I would rather stick a pin in my eye,” or “I would rather get poked in the eye.” It was as if they had a meeting the day before and coordinated their response: “Make sure to say something about sticking something in your eye. That’ll stop the ICE deportations.”
Congressional Democrats who boycotted President Trump’s State of the Union speech gathered at a rally outside the Capitol, accusing him of dividing the country and harming Americans through his immigration, health care, and economic policies. While Gov. Abigail Spanberger of Virginia delivered the formal Democratic response, dozens of lawmakers participated in a counterevent on the National Mall called the “People’s State of the Union.”
They criticized the economy, ICE deportations, government firings, and the self-defense shooting of Renee Good. They also brought up victims of Jeffrey Epstein, even though no Republicans are supporting or defending Jeffrey Epstein. Meanwhile, Democrats are shielding violent criminals and illegal aliens and opposing law enforcement.
Meanwhile, inside the State of the Union address, President Trump awarded the Medal of Honor to two soldiers. One was recognized for his heroism in capturing Venezuelan President Maduro despite being wounded. The other was a three-war veteran of World War II, the Korean War, and Vietnam whose heroism had been classified until recently. Republicans erupted in cheers for the two men, who deserved the accolades and praise they received.
Trump brought out victims and families of victims attacked by illegal aliens, in many cases repeat offenders who had been released on no-cash bail. Republicans stood and showed their support. Democrats either refused to stand or shouted and heckled the president.
President Trump said, “We can never forget that many in this room not only allowed the border invasion to happen before I got involved, but indeed, they would do it all over again if they ever had the chance.” He warned that if they were elected, “they would open up those borders to some of the worst criminals anywhere in the world.”
He added, “The only thing standing between Americans and a wide-open border right now is President Donald J. Trump and our great Republican patriots in Congress.” He also said that Democrats in the chamber had cut off all funding for the Department of Homeland Security.
President Trump said Democrats had “instituted another Democrat shutdown,” claiming the first one cost the country two points of GDP and suggesting that “probably made them quite happy actually.” He said they had now closed the agency responsible for protecting Americans from “terrorists and murderers.”
He declared, “Tonight, I’m demanding the full and immediate restoration of all funding for border security and homeland security of the United States,” and added that funding was also needed “for helping people clean up their snow.” He said there was no money because of the Democrats, that “nobody’s getting paid,” and called it “a shame,” referencing a large snowstorm affecting the country.
Trump said one of the benefits of the State of the Union is that Americans can see clearly what their representatives believe. He then invited every legislator to join his administration in reaffirming what he called a fundamental principle: “The first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens,” urging those who agreed to stand and show their support.
All of the Republicans stood, but no Democrats did. At that moment, it became clear that Democrats hate the nation.
President Trump admonished them, saying, “Isn’t that a shame? You should be ashamed of yourself not standing up. You should be ashamed of yourself.” He then called on them to “end deadly sanctuary cities that protect the criminals and enact serious penalties for public officials who block the removal of criminal aliens.” He said that in many cases those being protected were “drug lords, murderers all over our country,” and accused officials of blocking their removal. He repeated, “And you should be ashamed of yourself.”
The president ended by urging Congress to pass the SAVE Act, which he said was one more opportunity to show common sense in government.
The post The State of the Union Proves Democrats Hate America appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
Most people don’t realize this, but an apocalyptic war with Iran would be a major turning point in the history of the world. Once the missiles start flying, nothing will ever be the same again. As you will see below, AI models are telling us when they think that moment will arrive. The only way that war can be averted is if a diplomatic solution can be found. That is why the negotiations that will be held in Geneva on Thursday are so important…
The mood in Tehran on the eve of the third round of talks with Washington appears to be a mix of guarded hope and tightening anxiety.
Negotiators are set to meet in Geneva on Thursday in discussions that could prove decisive, particularly if reports are accurate that Washington has set informal deadlines for progress.
Public messaging inside Iran reflects both anticipation and unease as officials brace for what could be a pivotal round.
Many experts believe that if this round of talks does not produce results, it will be the last round of talks.
In other words, the deadline for Iran to make significant concessions has arrived.
During the State of the Union address, President Trump made it abundantly clear that he will never permit Iran to have nuclear weapons…
“My preference is to solve this problem through diplomacy. But one thing is certain, I will never allow the world’s number one sponsor of terror, which they are by far, to have a nuclear weapon,” he said, to loud applause from both Republicans and Democrats in a rare moment of unity.
In a deeply divided Congress, Iran’s nuclear program remains one of the few issues capable of producing bipartisan agreement. Lawmakers across the political spectrum have long argued that a nuclear-armed Iran would destabilize the Middle East and threaten U.S. allies.
Subsequently, Vice-President JD Vance reaffirmed this stance on Wednesday during an interview with Fox News…
“We can’t let the craziest and worst regime in the world have nuclear weapons. That’s what the president has set as our goal. He is going to try and accomplish that diplomatically, but he has a number of other tools at his disposal to ensure this doesn’t happen. He has shown willingness to use them and I hope the Iranians take it seriously in the negotiations tomorrow,” Vice President Vance told Fox News on Wednesday.
Of course that isn’t the only thing that the Trump administration wants.
The Iranians must also agree to limits on their ballistic missile program and they must stop supporting terrorist proxies throughout the Middle East. Unfortunately, the Iranians have already categorically rejected those terms…
Washington wants Iran to stop enriching uranium, reduce its stockpiles of highly enriched material and address concerns about missiles and regional activity. Tehran rejects those terms, saying it has the right to peaceful nuclear energy and that other issues should not be part of the talks.
However, recent satellite imagery, published last week by Reuters, show that Iran has been quietly repairing and fortifying key facilities, suggesting Tehran is preparing for conflict even as diplomacy continues.
Analysts reviewing commercial satellite imagery from Planet Labs and other providers say Iran has been rebuilding and reinforcing key nuclear sites, including Natanz and Isfahan. New roofs and cover structures appear to shield damaged facilities, possibly to hide activity and protect surviving equipment or enriched uranium from further strikes. Some tunnel entrances have been strengthened, and missile bases hit in previous attacks show signs of repair.
I don’t see how a deal is possible.
I really don’t.
So war is coming.
The Jerusalem Post asked four different AI models when an attack on Iran would begin, and the answers that the AI models produced were very interesting.
Out of all the models, Claude was initially the most hesitant to give a specific response, but it eventually settled on the weekend of March 7th and March 8th…
Its most likely scenario, carrying roughly 40% to 45% odds, was a limited strike on Iranian nuclear and military infrastructure followed by a pause and renewed diplomatic pressure. It flagged early-to-mid March 2026 as the highest-risk window.
After another prompt, it narrowed further: Saturday, March 7 or Sunday, March 8, 2026.
In my personal opinion, this would make sense because in the past we have seen other military operations begin on a weekend when less people are paying attention.
But Google Gemini doesn’t think that a weekend is the most likely time. When asked when an attack on Iran would begin, it suggested a window of time between March 4th and March 6th…
In a later deep-research run, it got considerably more specific: Gemini shifted from triggers to timing and said that after weighing tactical, diplomatic, historical, and logistical factors, the “exact window” for the start of a US attack would fall between the evening of March 4, 2026, and the evening of March 6, 2026.
Grok seems to believe that a military operation could commence even sooner.
When asked, it predicted a date of February 28th…
Grok gave the clearest date in our original run. It predicted a limited US strike on February 28, 2026, tied to the outcome of the Geneva talks.
A later check using Grok’s 4.20 beta mode, described by the user as running four agents simultaneously, changed the tone but kept the same answer.
This would make sense if President Trump loses all patience with Iran after the upcoming talks in Geneva.
In such a scenario, I don’t think that a military operation would begin on Thursday, February 26th.
But the window of time from the evening of Friday, February 27th to the evening of Sunday, March 1st could be a period of time that war planners in Washington find very appealing.
Of course it all depends on Trump.
He is the one that is going to have the final say on pulling the trigger.
Lastly, ChatGPT suggested a variety of dates in early March when it was asked when an attack on Iran would start…
In the earlier run, ChatGPT worked through an extended reasoning process and landed on Sunday, March 1, 2026 (Israel time), with a danger window running through March 6.
After a much longer deep-research pass, it changed the date. Its updated answer was Tuesday, March 3, 2026 (US time), noting that in Israel time this could show up as late Tuesday night or early Wednesday, March 4.
The 12 Day War was not about regime change, and so the Iranians held back to a very large degree.
But if the U.S. conducts a major military operation this time round, the Iranians clearly understand that regime change will be the goal, and they will hit us with everything in their arsenal.
When I have written about “a final showdown with Iran”, I do not feel like I have been exaggerating one bit.
If peace talks fail and war begins, I believe that the world will see weapons get used that should never be used under any circumstances.
Unfortunately, global events are inexorably dragging us in a certain direction, and it appears that there will be no turning back now.
Michael’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.
About the Author: Michael Snyder’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com. He has also written nine other books that are available on Amazon.com including “Chaos”, “End Times”, “7 Year Apocalypse”, “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America”, “The Beginning Of The End”, and “Living A Life That Really Matters”. When you purchase any of Michael’s books you help to support the work that he is doing. You can also get his articles by email as soon as he publishes them by subscribing to his Substack newsletter. Michael has published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and he always freely and happily allows others to republish those articles on their own websites. These are such troubled times, and people need hope. John 3:16 tells us about the hope that God has given us through Jesus Christ: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” If you have not already done so, we strongly urge you to invite Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior today.
The post The Deadline Has Arrived, And AI Models Are Giving Their Predictions For When The U.S. Will Attack Iran appeared first on The Economic Collapse.
The State of the Union speech always involves grandstanding.
Here is something you can bank on: If you meet these two conditions, you can be certain of this outcome: One, if you are on Facebook, and two, if you are an outspoken conservative and Christian, somewhere along the line there will be a clash. You will find yourself in FB jail for days, weeks or months. And you may well find yourself permanently dumped from their site.
I know all about this, since I have been through it all. And now it seems I am well and truly history as far as FB is concerned. I have been given the boot and I am now seen as their permanent enemy, never to be platformed again. Before recounting my latest and final run in with them, let me mention why I have stayed there for so long.
The sort of ministry I am involved in, especially so in more recent years, is an internet-based ministry. In just over a month CultureWatch will be 20 years old. I seek to pen a new piece or two daily, and then I use various social media platforms, not just to share those articles, but to engage in all sorts of things, from proclaiming the gospel to engaging in the culture wars.
As I keep saying, truth is important, and we must do all we can to get it out far and wide. And using some of the modern means of doing this is a good way to proceed. Yes, you can use social media to post your cat pictures or tell us what you had for breakfast, but please use it for Christ and the Kingdom as well.
Thus I have been on most of the social media platforms: Gab, Telegram, Minds, MeWe, Twitter (now X), Substack, Parlor and Rumble. But by far, the one that I have had the most friends and interactions with was Facebook. But our relationship, which has never been very pretty, is now kaput.
In addition to all the shorter prison sentences they imposed on me, they booted my off 5 years ago and closed my account. Years of material that I posted there was lost in an instant, and I lost over 4000 friends as well. At the time I said this in part about my banishment:
If you know anything about Communism and Nazism, you will know that individuals, families and even entire groups of people simply vanished. They were erased. They were obliterated – literally and figuratively. They were not only snatched away from their own homes in the middle of the night by the authorities, but everything about them would also often be eradicated as well.
Their history, their memory, their work, their output: they were simply airbrushed out of history. Politically incorrect ideas – and those who held them – were wiped out overnight. . . . It seems I have just been obliterated from Fascistbook. Tyranny did not end with the end of the Cold War. It continues in the West, especially with the Tech Giants. I am the latest victim of the biggest and baddest: Facebook.
As we all know by now, Facebook is a far-left thought-control group. It cannot stand truth, and only leftist groupthink is allowed. Anyone who dares to offer a contrary point of view will very quickly find themselves being dealt with by the FB apparatchiks. https://billmuehlenberg.com/2021/05/27/erased/
It was during this time that I started getting on some of those other platforms. Some months after that first exile, I got back on again with a new account and a somewhat different name. That seemed to more or less go OK for some years, but they booted me off again last night, and I lost all my posts, friends and contacts once again.
No reason at all was given for this – no mention of my crimes and misdemeanours, no word of my sins that must be atoned for – no nothing. I suspect one of my FB “friends” did not like my posts and reported me. And I am pretty sure my first ejection from FB was also due to some FBer. Hmm, who needs friends like these, especially if they claim to be Christians!
So with the help of a friend, I just tried to get back on this morning with a new third account. I would have to start all over from scratch, and rebuild my page. However, that only lasted for about 30 minutes. Then they dumped me again. So I am beginning to get the message: they hate my very presence there. Well, the feeling is mutual.
Last night in prayer I told God that if he wanted me to continue CultureWatch I certainly will, but losing FB means a major part of my ministry outreach has disappeared. My computer guy said that the best bet is to be on X. My first computer guy had actually put me on there when CultureWatch began.
He arranged things so that every time I penned a new piece, it would automatically appear on my page there. So I have been on there for years, but I never really used it. I just looked, and it seems I have around 1650 followers there, but I have never followed anyone! Oops. So now I am busily rectifying that by following everyone I might know and want to connect or reconnect with.
Please help
With all this by way of background, can I ask you to do me three favours?
One. If you are on FB and were mutual friends with me, can you tell your contacts that I am now gone forever from FB? And tell folks that I am sorry to have lost them, but this it beyond my control. Please try to stay in touch with me in other ways.
Two. Will you please join with me on X? You can use this to find me: https://x.com/BillMuehlenberg
I am still trying to figure out how X works, but I think if you just press the ‘follow’ button, that is all you need to do.
And then I will follow you as well. The truth is, Elon Musk (who owns X) is much more open to free speech than Zuckerberg ever was. So please meet me there.
Three. Please pray. At root this really is a case of spiritual warfare. The secular leftists at FB do not want me and others to share Christian conservative truth, so the enemy is trying to silence me big time – at least at FB certainly. And remember that even my CultureWatch website is not immune from satanic attack, and it might be permanently pulled down one day as well.
Many thanks for your help and support and prayers.
[1115 words]
The post Fascistbook Censorship Strikes Again appeared first on CultureWatch.
Total lunar eclipse on March 3, 2026, fully visible from eastern Asia to western Americas
A total lunar eclipse will occur at 11:33 UTC on March 3, 2026, with totality lasting 58 minutes and 19 seconds and full visibility across East Asia, Australia, the Pacific region, and western North America. This is the only total lunar eclipse of 2026. The next total lunar eclipse is scheduled for December 31, 2028.
At least 30 dead and 39 missing after extreme rainfall causes severe flooding and landslides in Minas Gerais, Brazil
Severe flooding and landslides struck the southeastern Brazilian state of Minas Gerais between February 23 and 24, following extreme rainfall that exceeded three times the monthly average. At least 30 people died, 39 remain missing, and more than 3,000 were displaced as torrential downpours caused the Paraibuna River to overflow in Juiz de Fora and inundate parts of Ubá.
“Regime Must Be Relegated to Dustbin of History”: Florida Congressman Erupts After Cuba Attacks U.S. Speedboat
Florida Republican Rep. Gimenez blasted the Cuban regime shortly after news that Cuban border guards fired on and killed 4 people and injured 6 on a U.S.-linked speedboat off Cuba’s north coast. “The dictatorship in Cuba just attacked a boat from Florida & murdered those on board,” Gimenez wrote, adding, “This regime must be relegated to the dust bin of history!”
Trump Claims Iran Developing Missiles to Hit US, Contradicting Intel Reports
With nuclear talks hanging in the balance, and the potential for yet another US war of choice in the Middle East, President Trump escalated the rhetoric, warning that Iran is moving beyond just regional missile capabilities and setting its sights farther west by developing missiles capable of hitting the United States.
The Islamic City of Paterson, NJ: Mayor Brags About Turning City Into ‘Little Palestine’ While Residents Call it the ‘Arab City Inside America
Paterson, New Jersey, is now openly transforming into an Islamic stronghold, while left-wing leaders/residents celebrate it. During Muslim Heritage Month, the mayor doubled down on handing over keys to the city to Islam. He stood proud, surrounded by imams and community leaders, boasting about Paterson’s transformation into New Jersey’s Islamic epicenter.
The Deadline Has Arrived, and AI Models Are Giving Their Predictions for When the U.S. Will Attack Iran
An apocalyptic war with Iran would be a major turning point in the history of the world. Once missiles start flying, nothing will ever be the same. AI models are telling us when they think that moment will arrive. The only way war can be averted is if a diplomatic solution can be found. That’s why negotiations that will be held in Geneva on Thursday are so important.
Horrific New Data Reveals Thousands of Children Mutilated Under Biden Regime
New revelations from Stop the Harm Database expose: between 2019-2023, thousands of US children were subjected to life-altering surgeries, hormone treatments, & puberty blockers in the name of transgender ideology. In total, 13,994 minors endured some form of sex change treatment, while a shocking 62,682 prescriptions for these interventions were written for kids.
UK’s Reddit Fine Forces Users Into Mass Biometric Surveillance
The Information Commissioner’s Office fined Reddit £14.47 ($19.56) million for failing to properly verify ages of children using the platform…. The UK’s data protection regulator says it’s protecting children. What it’s actually building is a mandatory identity verification system that turns anonymous internet use into a surveillance exercise for every adult in the country.
Iran hasn’t stopped pursuing nuclear weapons, Trump says at State of the Union
The president told the assembled members of Congress, the Supreme Court, the U.S. military, and his administration that the United States warned Iran not to attempt to rebuild its weapons programs after Operation Midnight Hammer in June. “We wiped it out, and they want to start all over again, and are at this moment again, pursuing their sinister ambitions,” Trump said.
Peak tensions in Middle East: US stations advanced stealth aircraft in Israel
As part of a broad deployment by the United States military in the Middle East, advanced fighter jets have been stationed in Israel. According to the information provided, the US has deployed a squadron of approximately 12 F-22 Raptor aircraft to Israel as part of preparations for a potential strike on Iran.
‘Influencer’ Promotes Islamic Supremacy: Sneako’s Times Square Appearance Follows Nazi-Chanting Miami Party
On February 20, 2026, Sneako posted images from the 5th annual Taraweeh in Times Square, showing thousands of Muslims gathered for Ramadan in the heart of New York City. The event included communal Taraweeh and Quran recitations, and the distribution of free iftar meals and Qurans.
Yes, It is Snowing in New York
A “Blizzard” Gives Mayor Mamdani Pretext for “Climate Lockdown.” In spite of the fact that receiving up to 2 feet of snow in winter in New York City is entirely normal, headlines drumming up hysteria have prepared the way for what’s unfolding now via City Hall, and via still-new-on-the-job Marxist-Islamist Mayor Mamdani. A pure Marxist-Islamist rights takeover; a trial run.
Canada is Killing People in Assisted Suicide the Same Day They Request It
Canadians are having their lives ended by assisted dying the same day requests are made, adding to fears that wrongful deaths may be occurring. This should serve as warnings of what may happen in England and Wales if the assisted suicide Bill is made law and starts down the path towards a progressively more expansive assisted suicide regime. It cannot be allowed.
More Christians Killed in Nigeria as Media and Democrats Deny Genocide
If mainstream media and American Democrats and liberals are correct that the mass killing of Christians in Nigeria is merely a conflict over grazing land rather than a genocide, then why are so many Christians not only being killed but also abducted? Abduction has never been a defining feature of disputes between herders and farmers in other countries.
Netanyahu to UN ambassadors: Israel ‘will protect its future,’ pursue Middle East peace
‘We feel your pain’ – In first speech to Knesset, Indian PM Modi emphasizes solidarity with Israel
Gazan firm to build UAE-funded housing complex in Israel-controlled south – sources
In first, US embassy to provide consular services at pop-ups in 2 West Bank settlements
‘Children are inside!’: Palestinian homes, vehicles set on fire in apparent settler attack
MKs approve preliminary bill cementing Orthodox control over entire Western Wall
Israeli woman arrested in Turkey for serving in IDF, released after US intervention
Hezbollah official: We will not intervene in event of ‘limited’ US strikes on Iran
Dutch airline KLM suspends flights to Tel Aviv as Iran tensions rise
When AI thinks US will strike Iran – and what it teaches us about tech under pressure
Iranian FM arrives in Geneva for talks as US demands any nuclear deal last indefinitely
US Sees Evidence Iran Is Trying to Rebuild Nuclear Program, VP Vance Says
Former IDF General: Iran May Arm Missiles with Chemical Warheads; ‘Massive Strike’ Only Option
Trump said he ‘obliterated’ Iran’s nuclear program. Now he says the US may have to bomb Iran again
Iran’s FM says deal with US ‘within reach’; Trump says he prefers diplomacy
Iran ‘ready to spill American blood – even at a huge cost’
Report: Khamenei living in underground bunker, officials blindfolded before meetings
Iran’s supreme leader runs ‘state within a state’ through secret 4,000-person network, report says
Iranian Opposition Group Says It Attacked Khamenei’s Compound – ‘Heavy Clashes’ in Tehran
Iran-linked hacker group claims to breach data of Israel’s largest healthcare network
How cartel members are getting drone training in Ukraine
North Korea’s Kim promises more nuclear weapons as Congress closes with military parade
Chinese dance group’s tour triggers bomb threat against Australian PM
DOJ Announces Arrest of Former US Air Force Pilot for Training Chinese Military Pilots
Venezuela Announces ‘Transformation’ of Helicoide Torture Complex into a ‘Social Center’
‘Non-Credible Accusations’: Epstein Files ‘Trump Accuser’ Claims Collapse Under Scrutiny
How Epstein Ingratiated Himself Into Microsoft’s Inner Circle
Fmr Sen. Kerrey Resigns From Startup Over Epstein Emails
Hillary Clinton to Testify in US House Panel’s Epstein Probe
Records Show Georgia Prosecutor Coordinated Trump Case Closely With Biden DOJ, Jan. 6 Panel
RINO Senate Leader John Thune Confirms He’s Forcing a Vote on the SAVE America Act
A Chinese official’s use of ChatGPT accidentally revealed a global intimidation operation
AI ‘homework agent’ will do lazy students’ work as childhood literacy rates are in free fall
Meet Buddharoid: Japan’s AI-powered robot monk trained in centuries of Buddhist scripture
Total lunar eclipse on March 3, 2026, fully visible from eastern Asia to western Americas
Sangay volcano in Ecuador erupts to 20,000ft
Fuego volcano in Guatemala erupts to 16,000ft
Semeru volcano in Indonesia erupts to 15,000ft
Reventador volcano in Ecuador erupts to 14,000ft
Ambae volcano on Vanuatu erupts to 10,000ft
Hurricane Melissa upgraded to 190-mph winds, tied for strongest Atlantic hurricane
Floods ravage southeastern Brazil and kill 46 as rescuers race to find the missing
Heavy rain triggers flash flooding and travel disruption across multiple states in Australia
Extreme drought fuels rapid wildfire growth in South Florida’s Big Cypress Preserve
Cuban coast guard shoots, kills 4, wounds 6 aboard US-registered speed boat during gunfight
Rubio promises US will ‘act accordingly’ to four people killed on boat in Cuban waters
CNN Actually Presses Defiant Ilhan Omar About Her Unhinged SOTU Freakout, ‘Any Regrets?’
California Allocating $35 Million to Illegal Immigrants During Trump’s Mass Deportation Agenda
Biden-appointed judge blocks deportations of illegal aliens to willing third-party countries
Multimillionaire Inventor of ‘Squatty Potty’ Charged with Possession of Child Porn
Democrat Rep. Pramila Jayapal Skips SOTU to Rage About ‘Standing Up for Trans Kids’
SOTU: President Trump Demands End of States Secretly Transing Children
Senegal PM proposes doubling jail terms for same-sex acts
Changes in Eye Health Linked to mRNA COVID-19 Shots
Supreme Court Refuses to Take COVID-19 Shot Mandate Cases Affecting U.S. Service Members
First Cases of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in Northern Elephant Seals Confirmed in California
You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how will it be made salty again? It is good for nothing anymore, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do men light a lamp, and put it under the peck-measure, but on the lampstand; and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. (5:13–16)
In these four verses the Lord summarizes the function of believers in the world. Reduced to one word, that function is influence. Whoever lives according to the Beatitudes is going to function in the world as salt and light. Christian character consciously or unconsciously affects other people for better or for worse. As John Donne reminds us, “No man is an island.”
An ancient Greek myth tells of a goddess who came to earth unseen but whose presence was always known by the blessings she left behind in her pathway. Trees burned by forest fires sprouted new leaves, and violets sprang up in her footprints. As she passed a stagnant pool its water became fresh, and parched fields turned green as she walked through them. Hills and valleys blossomed with new life and beauty wherever she went. Another Greek story tells of a princess sent as a present to a king. She was as beautiful as Aphrodite and her breath was as sweet as perfume. But she carried with her the contagion of death and decay. From infancy she had fed on nothing but poison and became so permeated with it that she poisoned the very atmosphere around her. Her breath would kill a swarm of insects; she would pick a flower and it would wither. A bird flying too close would fall dead at her feet.
Andrew Murray lived an exceptionally holy life. Among those on whom his influence was the greatest were his children and grandchildren. Five of his six sons became ministers of the gospel and four of his daughters became minister’s wives. Ten grandsons became ministers and thirteen grandchildren became missionaries.
Woodrow Wilson told the story of being in a barbershop one time. “I was sitting in a barber chair when I became aware that a powerful personality had entered the room. A man had come quietly in upon the same errand as myself to have his hair cut and sat in the chair next to me. Every word the man uttered, though it was not in the least didactic, showed a personal interest in the man who was serving him. And before I got through with what was being done to me I was aware I had attended an evangelistic service, because Mr. D. L. Moody was in that chair. I purposely lingered in the room after he had left and noted the singular affect that his visit had brought upon the barber shop. They talked in undertones. They did not know his name, but they knew something had elevated their thoughts, and I felt that I left that place as I should have left a place of worship.”
Many years ago Elihu Burrit wrote, “No human being can come into this world without increasing or diminishing the sum total of human happiness, not only of the present but of every subsequent age of humanity. No one can detach himself from this connection. There in no sequestered spot in the universe, no dark niche along the disc of nonexistence to which he can retreat from his relations with others, where he can withdraw the influence of his existence upon the moral destiny of the world. Everywhere his presence or absence will be felt. Everywhere he will have companions who will be better or worse because of him. It is an old saying, and one of the fearful and fathomless statements of import, that we are forming characters for eternity. Forming characters? Whose? Our own or others? Both. And in that momentous fact lies the peril and responsibility of our existence. Who is sufficient for the thought? Thousands of my fellow beings will yearly enter eternity with characters differing from those they would have carried thither had I never lived. The sunlight of that world will reveal my finger marks in their primary formations and in their successive strata of thought and life.”
In Matthew 5:13–16 Jesus talks about the influence of His people on the world for God and for good. In His high priestly prayer Jesus said to His Father, “I do not ask Thee to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.… As Thou didst send Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world” (John 17:15–16, 18). John wrote, “Do not love the world, nor the things in the world” (1 John 2:15). Christ’s kingdom people are not to reflect the world but they are to influence the world; they are to be in it but not of it.
When we live the life of the Beatitudes some people will respond favorably and be saved, whereas others will ridicule and persecute us. In the words of Paul, we will manifest “the sweet aroma of the knowledge of [Christ] in every place. For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life” (2 Cor. 2:14–16). In either case our lives have profound effects, and even persecution is not to alter our function in the world. We “are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that [we] may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called [us] out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Pet. 2:9).
Though Jesus was speaking before a great multitude of people on the hillside, His teaching about kingdom life was primarily for His disciples, for those who believed in Him. His concern was for the all of the multitude, and in hearing His teaching on godly living many of them may have been drawn to faith. But the principles He teaches here are appropriate only for believers, for they are impossible to follow apart from the power of God’s own Spirit.
Here is a mandate for Christians to influence the world. The Beatitudes are not to be lived in isolation or only among fellow believers, but everywhere we go. God’s only witnesses are His children, and the world has no other way of knowing of Him except through the testimony of what we are.
The figures of salt and light emphasize different characteristics of influence, but their basic purpose is the same. They will both be studied from the aspects of the presupposition of the world’s corruption and darkness, the plan for believers’ godly dominion in the world, the problem of the danger of failure, and the purpose of glorifying God.
THE PRESUPPOSITION: CORRUPTION AND DARKNESS
The world needs salt because it is corrupt and it needs light because it is dark. G. Campbell Morgan said, “Jesus, looking out over the multitudes of His day, saw the corruption, the disintegration of life at every point, its breakup, its spoliation; and, because of His love of the multitudes, He knew the thing that they needed most was salt in order that the corruption should be arrested. He saw them also wrapped in gloom, sitting in darkness, groping amid mists and fogs. He knew that they needed, above everything else, … light” (The Gospel According to Matthew [New York: Revell, 1929], p. 46).
The biblical world view is that the world is corrupted and decayed, that it is dark and darkening. “Evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived,” Paul warns (2 Tim. 3:13). The world cannot do anything but get worse, because it has no inherent goodness to build on, no inherent spiritual and moral life in which it can grow. Year after year the system of evil accumulates a deeper darkness.
A college student told me his professor had recently told the class that marriage was on the decline because man was evolving to a higher level. Marriage was something that man needed only at the lower stages of his evolutionary development. Now that man had ascended farther up the evolutionary scale, marriage was falling off just as his prehensile tail had done millions of years ago.
Any person who knows the history of mankind, even the history of the past hundred years, and thinks that man is evolving upward is “deceiving and being deceived,” just as Paul said. Man has increased in scientific, medical, historical, educational, psychological, and technological knowledge to an astounding degree. But he has not changed his own basic nature and he has not improved society. Man’s knowledge has greatly improved, but his morals have progressively degenerated. His confidence has increased, but his peace of mind has diminished. His accomplishments have increased, but his sense of purpose and meaning have all but disappeared. Instead of improving the moral and spiritual quality of his life, man’s discoveries and accomplishments have simply provided ways for him to express and promote his depravity faster and more destructively. Modern man has simply invented more ways to corrupt and destroy himself.
Many philosophers, poets, and religious leaders at the end of the last century had great optimism about man’s having come of age, about his inevitable moral and social improvement. They believed that Utopia was around the corner and that man was getting better and better in every way. The golden age of mankind was near. Wars would be a bad memory, crime and violence would disappear, ignorance would be gone, and disease would be eradicated. Peace and brotherhood would reign completely and universally. Few people today hold to such blind, unrealistic ideas.
It was not many generations after the Fall that “the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Gen. 6:5). Because wickedness was so great, God destroyed every person but eight—and they were far from perfect. A few generations after that, the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah became so rotten from the offspring of those eight that God destroyed them with fire and brimstone. Another day of judgment is coming when God will again rain fire on earth, but that destruction will be a holocaust such as men have never dreamed of. “The present heavens and earth by His word are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men … the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up” (2 Pet. 3:7, 10).
Man is infected with the deadly virus of sin, which has no cure apart from God. Yet unlike their attitude toward physical diseases, most men do not want their sin cured. They love their decadence and they hate God’s righteousness (cf. John 3:19–21). They love their own way and they hate God’s.
Man’s knowledge is increasing by quantum leaps, but his increased knowledge is mechanical knowledge, inanimate knowledge, lifeless knowledge, knowledge that has no bearing on the inner man (cf. 2 Tim. 3:7). His knowledge does not retard his corruption but rather is used to intensify and defend it.
Bertrand Russell devoted most of his 96 years to the study of philosophy. Yet at the end of his life he acknowledged that philosophy proved to be a washout, and had taken him nowhere. Nothing he had thought or had heard that other philosophers had thought had changed the world for the better. He felt that the basic causes of man’s problems, not to mention the solutions, had evaded the best minds of every age including his own.
Some scientists have proposed that by surgery or careful electronic stimulation of the brain, a person’s bad impulses can be eradicated, leaving only the better part of his nature. Others propose that the ideal, crime-free, problem-free person will be developed by genetic engineering. But every part of every man is corrupt. He has no inherent, naturally good traits that can be isolated from the bad. His total nature is depraved. David knew that he was sinful from the moment of his conception. “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me” (Ps. 51:5). There is no good part in man from which a better can be constructed or from which his corrupt part can be isolated. Isaiah said, “The whole head is sick, and the whole heart is faint” (Isa. 1:5), and Jeremiah labeled the heart as “more deceitful than all else” and as “desperately sick” (Jer. 17:9).
We go on from war to greater war, from crime to greater crime, from immorality to greater immorality, from perversion to greater perversion. The spiral is downward, not upward (see Rom. 1:18–32). Despair and pessimism reign in our day, because the honest person knows that man has not been able to retard his descent. He hopes that he can just live out his own life before someone pushes the button that blows mankind into oblivion.
A leading news magazine reported a few years ago that Americans tend to see themselves as potential saints rather than real-life sinners. Another leading magazine reported, “Today’s young radicals in particular are almost painfully sensitive to … wrongs of their society, and they denounce them violently. But at the same time they are typically American in that they fail to place evil in its historic and human perspective. To them evil is not an irreducible component of man; it is not an inescapable fact of life, but something committed by the older generation, attributable to a particular class or the establishment and eradicable through love or revolution” (Time, 5 December 1969).
Just as every person is affected by the sin problem, every person also contributes to the sin problem.
THE PLAN: THE DOMINION OF HIS DISCIPLES
The church cannot accept the world’s self-centeredness, easy solutions, immorality, amorality, and materialism. We are called to minister to the world while being separated from its standards and ways. Sadly, however, the church today is more influenced by the world than the world is influenced by the church.
In both verse 13 and verse 14 the pronoun you is emphatic. The idea is, “You are the only salt of the earth” and “You are the only light of the world.” The world’s corruption will not be retarded and its darkness will not be illumined unless God’s people are its salt and light. The very ones who are despised by the world and persecuted by the world are the world’s only hope.
The you in both verses is also plural. It is His whole body, the church, that is called to be the world’s salt and light. Each grain of salt has its limited influence, but it is only as the church collectively is scattered in the world that change will come. One ray of light will accomplish little, but when joined with other rays a great light is created.
Some years ago a magazine carried a series of pictures that graphically depicted a tragic story. The first picture was of a vast wheat field in western Kansas. The second showed a distressed mother sitting in a farmhouse in the center of the field of wheat. The accompanying story explained that her four-year-old son had wandered away from the house and into the field when she was not looking. The mother and father looked and looked all day but the little fellow was too short to see or be seen over the wheat. The third picture showed dozens of friends and neighbors who had heard of the boy’s plight and who had joined hands the next morning to make a long human chain as they walked through the field searching. The final picture was of the heartbroken father holding his lifeless son who had been found too late and had died of exposure. The caption underneath read, “O God, if only we had joined hands sooner.”
The world is full of lost souls who cannot see their way above the distractions and barriers of the world and cannot find their way to the Father’s house until Christians join together as salt and light and sweep through the world in search of them. Our work is not simply as individual grains of salt or as individual rays of light but as the whole church of Jesus Christ.
Are stresses being rather than doing. Jesus is stating a fact, not giving a command or request. Salt and light represent what Christians are. The only question, as Jesus goes on to say, is whether or not we are tasteful salt and effective light. The very fact that we belong to Jesus Christ makes us His salt and light in the world.
Christ is the source of our savor and of our light. He is “the true light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man” (John 1:9). “While I am in the world, I am the light of the world,” He said (John 9:5). But now that He has left the world His light comes to the world through those whom He has enlightened. We shine forth the reflected light of Christ. “You were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord,” Paul tells us; “walk as children of light” (Eph. 5:8). “For He delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son” (Col. 1:13).
We are God’s salt to retard corruption and His light to reveal truth. One function is negative, the other positive. One is silent, the other is verbal. By the indirect influence of the way we live we retard corruption, and by the direct influence of what we say we manifest light.
Both salt and light are unlike that which they are to influence. God has changed us from being part of the corrupted and corrupting world to being salt that can help preserve it. He has changed us from our own darkness to be His agents of giving light to others. By definition, an influence must be different from that which it influences, and Christians therefore must be different from the world they are called to influence. We cannot influence the world for God when we are worldly ourselves. We cannot give light to the world if we revert to places and ways of darkness ourselves.
The great blessings emphasized in verses 3–12 lead to the great responsibilities of verses 13–16. The blessings of heaven, comfort, inheriting the earth, being filled with righteousness, being given mercy, being called God’s children, and being given heavenly reward bring the responsibility of being His salt and light in the world.
BEING SALT
Salt has always been valuable in human society, often much more so than it is today. During a period of ancient Greek history it was called theon, which means divine. The Romans held that, except for the sun, nothing was more valuable than salt. Often Roman soldiers were paid in salt, and it was from that practice that the expression “not worth his salt” originated.
In many ancient societies salt was used as a mark of friendship. For two persons to share salt indicated a mutual responsibility to look after one another’s welfare. Even if a worst enemy ate salt with you, you were obliged to treat him as a friend.
Salt was frequently used in the ancient Near East to bind a covenant, somewhat in the way an agreement or contract is notarized in our day. When the parties to a covenant ate salt together before witnesses, the covenant was given special authentication. Though no particulars are given in the account, we learn from 2 Chronicles 13:5 that God made a covenant of salt with David. God prescribed that all sacrificial offerings in Israel were to be offered with salt “so that the salt of the covenant of your God shall not be lacking” (Lev. 2:13).
In numerous ways Jesus’ hearers—whether Greek, Roman, or Jewish—would have understood salt of the earth to represent a valuable commodity. Though most could not have understood His full meaning, they knew He was saying that His followers were to have an extremely important function in the world. Whatever else it may have represented, salt always stood for that which was of high value and importance.
Many suggestions have been made as to the particular characteristics of salt that Jesus intended to associate with this figure. Some interpreters point out that salt is white and therefore represents purity. As the “pure in heart” (v. 8), Jesus’ disciples are to be pure before the world and are to be God’s means of helping purify the rest of the world. Their glistening white moral and spiritual purity is to contrast with the moral discolor of the world. Christians are to exemplify the divine standards of righteousness in thought, speech, and actions, remaining “unstained by the world” (James 1:27). All that is certainly true; but it does not seem to the point, because saltiness, not the color of salt, is the issue.
Others emphasize the characteristic of flavor. That is, Christians are to add divine flavor to the world. Just as many foods are tasteless without salt, the world is drab and tasteless without the presence of Christians. Someone has even said, “We Christians have no business being boring. Our function is to add flavor and excitement to the world.” Christians are a means of God’s blessing mankind, including unbelievers, just as He sends His sun and rain on the righteous and unrighteous alike.
There are certain senses in which that principle is true. An unbelieving marriage partner is sanctified by a believing spouse (1 Cor. 7:14), and God offered to spare Sodom for the sake of only ten righteous people, if that many could be found within it (Gen. 18:32).
The problem with that view, however, is that, from the earliest days of the church, the world has considered Christianity to be anything but attractive and “flavorful.” It has, in fact, often found the most spiritual Christians to be the most unpalatable. In the world’s eyes, Christians, almost above all others, take the flavor out of life. Christianity is stifling, restrictive, and a rain on the world’s parade.
After Christianity became a recognized religion of the Roman Empire, the emperor Julian lamented, “Have you looked at these Christians closely? Hollow-eyed, pale-cheeked, flat-breasted, they brood their lives away unspurred by ambition. The sun shines for them, but they don’t see it. The earth offers them its fullness, but they desire it not. All their desire is to renounce and suffer that they may come to die.”
Oliver Wendell Holmes reportedly once said that he might have entered the ministry if certain clergymen he knew had not looked and acted so much like undertakers. Sometimes the world is turned away from the church because Christians are hypocritical, self-righteous, judgmental, and truly boring by any standard. But even when the church is faithful—indeed, especially when it is faithful—the world does not value whatever taste or aroma it sees in Christianity. Paul reminds us that Christians are an “aroma from life to life” and “a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved,” but are an “aroma of death to death” among “those who are perishing” (2 Cor. 2:15–16).
Because salt stings when placed in a wound, some interpreters believe that Jesus meant to illustrate just the opposite characteristic to that of flavor. Christians are to sting the world, prick its conscience, make it uncomfortable in the presence of God’s holy gospel.
That analogy also has merit. The church frequently is so concerned with trying to please, attract, and excuse that its witness against sin is obscured and all but lost. We may be so concerned with not offending others that we fail to confront them with their lostness and their desperate need to be saved from their sin. A gospel that does not confront sin is not the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Some years ago a young couple who came to me to be married said they knew the Lord had brought them together and given them to each other. The woman claimed to have been a Christian all her life, but her concept of salvation was that of trying to please God by doing the best she could. She admitted that, although she had filed for divorce because her husband had been unfaithful, she was still married to him. On further questioning, she admitted that she had been committing fornication with the young man she now wanted to marry. The young man claimed to be born again, but he saw no great wrong in their relationship and no reason why they should not be married in a Christian service. I told them that God could not possibly have brought them together because they were living contrary to His revealed will—and worse, trying to justify it. At that point they both got up and angrily stormed out of the office.
The church cannot stand for the Lord if it does not stand for His Word, and when it stands for His Word its witness will often sting.
Salt also creates thirst. Partly because it increases the body’s craving for water, salt tablets often are given to those who do hard work in excessive heat. Without proper intake of fluids, dehydration and even death may result. God intends for His people so to live and testify before the world that others will be made more aware of their spiritual dehydration and danger. A person may see our peace in a trying circumstance, or our confidence in what we believe, and thereby be persuaded to try our faith.
I believe that all of the foregoing analogies have some validity. Christians are to be pure; they should add a certain attractiveness to the gospel; they should be true to God’s Word even when it stings; and their living should create a thirst for God in those who do not know Him.
But I believe the primary characteristic Jesus emphasizes is that of preservation. Christians are a preserving influence in the world; they retard moral and spiritual spoilage. When the church is taken out of the world at the rapture, Satan’s perverse and wicked power will be unleashed in an unprecedented way (see 2 Thess. 2:7–12). Evil will go wild and demons will be almost unbridled. Once God’s people are removed it will take only seven years for the world to descend to the very pits of hellishness (see Dan. 9:27; Rev. 6–19).
Until that day Christians can have a powerful influence on the welfare of the world. Martyn Lloyd-Jones writes, “Most competent historians are agreed in saying that what undoubtedly saved [England] from a revolution such as that experienced in France at the end of the eighteenth century was nothing but the Evangelical Revival. This was not because anything was done directly, but because masses of individuals had become Christians and were living this better life and had this higher outlook. The whole political situation was affected, and the great Acts of Parliament which were passed in the last century were mostly due to the fact that there were such large numbers of individual Christians found in the land” (Studies in the Sermon on the Mount [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1971], 1:157).
As God’s children and as the temples of His Holy Spirit, Christians represent God’s presence in the earth. We are the salt that prevents the entire earth from degenerating even faster than it is.
Helen Ewing was saved as a young girl in Scotland and gave her life completely to the lordship of Christ. When she died at the age of 22 it is said that all Scotland wept. She had expected to serve God as a missionary in Europe and had become fluent in the Russian language. But she was not able to fulfill that dream. She had no obvious gifts such as speaking or writing, and she had never traveled far from home. Yet by the time she died she had won hundreds of people to Jesus Christ. Countless missionaries mourned her death because they knew that a great channel of their spiritual strength was gone. She had risen every morning at five in order to study God’s Word and to pray. Her diary revealed that she regularly prayed for over three hundred missionaries by name. Everywhere she went the atmosphere was changed. If someone was telling a dirty story, he would stop if he saw her coming. If people were complaining, they would become ashamed of it in her presence. An acquaintance reported that while she was at Glasgow University she left the fragrance of Christ wherever she went. In everything she said and did she was God’s salt.
BEING LIGHT
Jesus also calls us to be light. You are the light of the world. Whereas salt is hidden, light is obvious. Salt works secretly, while light works openly. Salt works from within, light from without. Salt is more the indirect influence of the gospel, while light is more its direct communication. Salt works primarily through our living, while light works primarily through what we teach and preach. Salt is largely negative. It can retard corruption, but it cannot change corruption into incorruption. Light is more positive. It not only reveals what is wrong and false but helps produce what is righteous and true.
In his introduction to the book of Acts, Luke refers to his gospel as “the first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach” (1:1). Christ’s work always has to do with both doing and speaking, with living and teaching.
David wrote, “For with Thee is the fountain of life; in Thy light we see light” (Ps. 36:9). “God is light,” John reminds us, “and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:5–7). Light is not given simply to have but to live by. “Thy word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path,” the psalmist tells us (Ps. 119:105). God’s light is to walk by and to live by. In its fullest sense, God’s light is the full revelation of His Word—the written Word of Scripture and the living Word of Jesus Christ.
God’s people are to proclaim God’s light in a world engulfed in darkness, just as their Lord came “to shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death” (Luke 1:79). Christ is the true light, and we are His reflections. He is the Sun, and we are His moons. A free rendering of 2 Corinthians 4:6 could be, “God, who first ordered the light to shine in the darkness has flooded our hearts with His light. We now can enlighten men only because we can give them knowledge of the glory of God as we have seen it in the face of Jesus Christ.” God sheds His light on the world through those who have received His light through Jesus Christ.
The Jews had long claimed to have God’s light, and He had long called them to be His light. But because they had ignored and rejected His light, they could not be His light. They were confident that they were guides “to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness,” but Paul told them they were blind guides and lamps without light. “You, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself?” he asks (Rom. 2:19–21). They had the light, but they were not living by it. “You who preach that one should not steal, do you steal?” Paul continues by way of illustration. “You who say that one should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery?” (vv. 21–22). We are to prove ourselves “to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom [we are to] appear as lights in the world” (Phil. 2:15).
By its nature and by definition light must be visible in order to illuminate. Christians must be more than the largely indirect influence of salt; they must also be the direct and noticeable instruments of light.
Both in the daytime and at night, a city set on a hill cannot be hidden. It is exposed for all to see. By day its houses and buildings stand out on the landscape, and at night the many lights shining out of its windows make it impossible to miss. A secret Christian is as incongruous as a hidden light. Lights are to illuminate, not to be hidden; to be displayed, not to be covered. Christians are to be both subtle salt and conspicuous light.
God did not give the gospel of His Son to be the secret, hidden treasure of a few but to enlighten every person (John 1:9). Many reject the light and reject those who bring it, but just as God offers His light to the whole world, so must His church. It is not our gospel but God’s, and He gives it to us not only for our own sakes but the entire world’s. True believers are salt and light, and must fulfill that identity.
THE PROBLEM: DANGER OF FAILURE
but if the salt has become tasteless, how will it be made salty again? It is good for nothing anymore, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. (5:13b)
Much salt in Palestine, such as that found on the shores of the Dead Sea, is contaminated with gypsum and other minerals that make it taste flat and even repulsive. When a batch of such contaminated salt would find its way into a household and be discovered, it was thrown out. People would be careful not to throw it on a garden or field, because it would kill whatever was planted. Instead it would be thrown onto a path or road, where it would gradually be ground into the dirt and disappear.
There is a sense in which salt cannot really become unsalty. But contamination can cause it to lose its value as salt. Its saltiness can no longer function.
Jesus is not speaking of losing salvation. God does not allow any of His own to be taken from Him. “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish; and no one shall snatch them out of My hand,” Jesus assures us (John 10:27). Christians cannot lose their salvation, just as salt cannot lose its inherent saltiness. But Christians can lose their value and effectiveness in the kingdom when sin and worldliness contaminate their lives, just as salt can become tasteless when contaminated by other minerals. It is a common New Testament truth that although true believers are identified as righteous, godly, and salty, there are times when they fail to be what they are (cf. Rom. 7:15–25), which Peter says leads to loss of assurance (2 Pet. 1:9–10), not loss of salvation.
With great responsibility there is often great danger. We cannot be an influence for purity in the world if we have compromised our own purity. We cannot sting the world’s conscience if we continually go against our own. We cannot stimulate thirst for righteousness if we have lost our own. We cannot be used of God to retard the corruption of sin in the world if our own lives become corrupted by sin. To lose our saltiness is not to lose our salvation, but it is to lose our effectiveness and to become disqualified for service (see 1 Cor. 9:27).
Pure salt does not lose its saltiness, that which makes it valuable and effective. Christians who are pure in heart do not become tasteless, ineffective, and useless in the kingdom of God.
Light, too, is in danger of becoming useless. Like salt, it cannot lose its essential nature. A hidden light is still light, but it is useless light. That is why people do not light a lamp, and put it under the peck-measure, but on a lampstand; and it gives light to all who are in the house. The exemplary woman praised in Proverbs 31 does not let her lamp go out at night (v. 18). There was always illumination for anyone in the household who had to get up or find his way home during the night. A light that is hidden under a peck-sized basket cannot even be used to read by; it helps neither the person who hides it nor anyone else.
Whether we hide our light because of fear of offending others, because of indifference and lovelessness, or because of anything else, we demonstrate unfaithfulness to the Lord.
THE PURPOSE: TO GLORIFY GOD
Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. (5:16)
The word (kalos) for good that Jesus uses here does not so much emphasize quality—though that obviously is important—as it does attractiveness, beautiful appearance. Letting our light shine before men allows them to see our good works, the beauty the Lord has worked in us. To see good works by us is to see Christ in us. That is why Jesus says, let your light shine. It is not something we create or make up, but something we allow the Lord to do through us. It is God’s light; our choice is whether to hide it or let it shine.
The purpose of letting our light shine and reveal our good works is not to bring attention or praise to ourselves but to God. Our intent should be that, in what we are and in what we do, others may see God in order that they may glorify [our] Father who is in heaven. Jesus’ speaking of the Father emphasizes God’s tenderness and intimacy, and speaking of His being in heaven emphasizes His majesty and holiness, as He is pictured dwelling in the splendor of His eternal holy home. Our good works are to magnify God’s grace and power. This is the supreme calling of life: glorifying God. Everything we do is to cause others to give praise to the God who is the source of all that is good. The way we live should lead those around us to glorify (doxazō, from which we get doxology) the heavenly Father.
When what we do causes people to be attracted to us rather than to God, to see our human character rather than His divine character, we can be sure that what they see is not His light.
It is said of Robert Murray McCheyne, a godly Scottish minister of the last century, that his face carried such a hallowed expression that people were known to fall on their knees and accept Jesus Christ as Savior when they looked at him. Others were so attracted by the self-giving beauty and holiness of his life that they found his Master irresistible.
It was also said of the French pietist Francois Fenelon that his communion with God was such that his face shined with divine radiance. A religious skeptic who was compelled to spend the night in an inn with Fenelon, hurried away the next morning, saying, “If I spend another night with that man I’ll be a Christian in spite of myself.”
That is the kind of salt and light God wants His kingdom people to be.
MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (1985–1989). Matthew (Vol. 1, pp. 235–247). Moody Press.
Matthew 5:13
In Matthew 5:13 we come to a new section of the Sermon on the Mount. We pass from a basically abstract definition of the Christian to a functional one. Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.”
We all know the difference between an abstract definition of a thing and a functional definition, if we think about it. For instance, almost every dictionary definition of a word is abstract. We turn to the word “hunger” in Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary and read, “an uneasy sensation, occasioned normally by the want of food.” However, we could also define hunger functionally. We could also say, “Hunger is the one and a half billion people in this world who live always on the verge of starvation and who die at the rate of 15,000 daily as the result of malnutrition.” The second definition is anything but abstract. And, of course, it is better. In the same way the dictionary tells us that “justice” is “the principle of rectitude and just dealings of men with each other.” But we could also say that justice is enacting good laws, caring for the poor, raising children properly, and many other things.
We have the same thing in the sphere of theology. The Westminster Shorter Catechism asks the question, “What is God?” And it answers, “God is a spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.” But it is also true, even more true, that God is Jesus Christ who died for our sin and who rose again for our justification.
The second definition in each of the cases I have mentioned gives us an understanding of the term in action; it produces the effect that Jesus produced by his further, functional definitions of the true Christian. “You are the salt of the earth.” “You are the light of the world.” By these definitions Jesus was saying that while it is true that the Christian is to be poor in spirit, mournful for sin, meek, thirsty for righteousness, merciful, pure in heart, and disposed to make peace, nevertheless he is never to be these things in isolation from a very real and sharply antithetical world. He is to manifest those characteristics in the world. And what is more, he is to practice these things in a way that will affect the world positively, as salt affects the medium to which one applies it.
A Decaying World
This is of great significance for our understanding of the nature of true Christianity, especially in our present day. Jesus was saying, “Those who are my disciples should affect the world positively by the way in which they live.” But as I view the world today, there is not nearly enough of this positive action for good in the world by Christians, even though many people are aware that something of this nature is precisely what the world needs.
At the end of the nineteenth century there was a feeling of confident optimism in the western world, based on the belief that an ongoing biological and philosophical evolution would eventually solve all man’s troubles and lead to something closely akin to the Greeks’ “Golden Age.” The idea was that all of human life was advancing and rising upward. Dr. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones writes perceptively of this age, “It is indeed pathetic to read the prognostications of the thinkers (so-called), the philosophers and poets and leaders, towards the end of the last century.… Wars were going to be abolished, diseases were being cured, suffering was going to be not only ameliorated but finally eradicated. It was to be an amazing century. Most of the problems were going to be solved, for man had at last really begun to think. The masses, through education, would cease giving themselves to drink and immorality and vice. And as all the nations were thus educated to think and to hold conferences instead of rushing to war, the whole world was very soon going to be paradise. That is not caricaturing the situation; it was believed confidently.”
Today, however, there are not many people who think like that. Where there was once a confident optimism, there is now real pessimism and acute despair. Even the ones who are still confident in some areas express their more limited optimism guardedly. There is an awareness that something more than a theory of progress is necessary, that there must, in fact, be something akin to a new life embodied in a new breed of men. This is what the gospel of Jesus Christ offers. And yet, what do we find? Instead of the active, permeating, preserving, and transforming power of the gospel of Jesus Christ always operating in the world through all Christians, too many Christians are sitting on the sidelines without the “savor” provided by the Lord Jesus Christ and fit only—if we are to take Christ’s words literally—“to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.”
I am well aware that there are good historical reasons why an evangelical church that once gave fuel and impetus to the greatest social movements the world has seen has come to be outdistanced by others and at times even to be hostile to the applications of the gospel to the contemporary world. Daniel O. Moberg, author of the book, Inasmuch, lists ten reasons in his historical study of the neglect of the social aspects of the faith by evangelicals: a preoccupation with valid theological battles, a misinterpretation of the prophecies that in the last days things on this earth will get worse to mean that they will never in any circumstances get better, a belief that social concerns are antithetical to a concern for the salvation aspects of the church’s message, a concern for personal piety, the idea that politics are intrinsically “dirty,” a growing conformity to the world’s standards in business and political life by Christians, and other things also. But the explanation does not excuse the situation in which we find ourselves today. Nor does the situation itself negate the moral imperatives of Christ’s teachings.
According to Jesus, the Christian is clearly to influence his society. And this must be true wherever the principles of the gospel impinge upon the religious, political, economic, or social issues of the Christian’s community.
Uses of Salt
All this falls into a much clearer focus when we consider the actual uses of salt, particularly those that were most valued in ancient times.
First, in Christ’s day and for many centuries thereafter (in fact, until nearly modern times), salt was the most common of all preservatives. There were no refrigerators in ancient times, no deep-freeze units. The Mediterranean world was largely tropical. In such a climate and in the face of such conditions, salt was used to keep things from going bad and becoming rotten, particularly meat. It was able to resist spoilage and keep putrefaction at bay. When Jesus said that those who followed him were the salt of the earth, therefore, he was teaching that the world apart from God is rotten because of sin, but that through his power his disciples were able and actually obliged to have a preserving and purifying effect upon it.
Do you see this clearly? If you do, the principles involved in this statement will keep you from the two opposing errors that have always gone along with programs to express the Christian’s social responsibility. The first error is the thought that the world is basically good and will gradually become better and even perfect through Christian social action. In opposition to this understanding, Christ says that the world is basically rotten. This means that even though it may appear healthy for a time, it is dead spiritually. It means that the life has gone out of the body and that the microbes of sin will eventually (if left to themselves) reduce it to a stinking, unapproachable carcass.
The other error is the view that because this is so, because the world is rotten, the Christian should try to disassociate himself from the world as much as possible, retreating to a monastery or to one of our white (or black), middle-class, self-protecting churches. And he should let the world go to hell. The answer to this error is that the Christian is to be a preserving force in the world wherever God has placed him. The salt never did any good when it was sitting on one shelf and the meat on another. To be effective, the salt had to be rubbed into the meat. In a similar way, Christians must allow God to rub them into the world. And this means that they must be Christians at work, Christians in politics, Christians at home, Christians everywhere else that a normal life in their own society would take them.
“Oh,” someone says, “that would mean that I would have to be taken out of the salt shaker and spread around, and I might get dirty and even seem to dissolve or disappear!” Yes, that is what it means. But God is the One who provides the flavor, and the flavor does not disappear when the salt is dispensed or dissolved.
In fact, there is even a sense in which the salt must dissolve if the flavor is to be released, and for this reason God sometimes shakes the salt shaker through persecutions so that the salt will fall out and let this happen. Sometimes it will mean that we shall have to dissolve to our own interests, that we shall have to extend ourselves in areas of the world where we do not see many Christians. We shall feel lonely and even depressed, but that is where the salt is active.
I should add a fact that is well known to the medical world. If a body does not give off salt through perspiration, what happens? It retains water, and it becomes bloated. In the same way, the church will become bloated and desperately unhealthy if the salt is not dispersed in this work of preservation.
Source of Flavor
There is a second thing that salt is good for, and that is to provide flavor. The Christian, through the life of Jesus Christ within and the verities of the gospel, is to lend flavor to a flavorless, insipid world. The pleasures of the world are unsatisfying without Jesus Christ. They fill for a time. But they are rather like a Chinese dinner, and the person is soon left empty again. Consequently, those who pursue them are doomed to a constant and relentless search for that which will never satisfy the true hunger and desire of their soul. Christians are to be present as those who know something different and whose satisfaction in Christ can be seen and known by their unbelieving contemporaries.
Unfortunately, it often has been the other way around. Non-Christians have looked at Christians and have said, “What an insipid bunch of people; I would never want to be like one of them.” The nineteenth century poet and critic A. C. Swinburne wrote of Jesus: “Thou hast conquered, O pale Galilean; the world has grown grey from thy breath.” Oliver Wendell Holmes once said, “I might have entered the ministry if certain clergymen I knew had not looked and acted so much like undertakers.” And the poet and author Robert Louis Stevenson once wrote in his diary, as if he were expressing an exceptional fact, “I have been to church today, and am not depressed.”
Those are honest remarks by people who have seen an insipid Christianity. And if they or their followers are to see something different, they must see it in the only place it can or will be seen—in us. They must see it in you and in me. Do you go around with a long face as if the world and everything you know are depressing? Or do you go about as one who bears within the Spirit of the living God? The second is your true responsibility. It is by doing that, that you show forth the flavor of Christ and Christianity.
Thirst of the Soul
The third thing that salt does is to make one thirsty. And this leads us to ask: Do you make anyone thirsty for Jesus Christ? The non-Christian tends to feel self-satisfied even if he is not, and he naturally goes through life telling himself that circumstances are wonderful. But when a Christian comes into his sphere of vision, there should be that evidence of joy, satisfaction, and peace that makes him look up and say, “That’s what I want; that is what I want to be like!” Can that be said of you? Do you make men thirsty for Jesus Christ?
In ancient times during the Feast of Tabernacles in the city of Jerusalem it was the custom for the priests to go to the pool of Siloam each day and to return bearing large containers of water that were then emptied upon the altar in the temple. This happened for seven days during the feast. On the last day the ceremony was repeated seven times. On that day, during the Feast of Tabernacles in the year that he attended, Jesus Christ stood up and cried in a loud voice, “If a man is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him” (John 7:37–38). It is true, Jesus Christ can satisfy the great thirst of the human soul. Your responsibility is not to satisfy the thirst yourself, but to point men to Jesus Christ. If you do that, out of you will flow his life and character, and others will see him and be satisfied.
A Common Substance
I am sure you already have anticipated the last point of this study, for you have doubtless recognized that salt is one of the most common things of life. It is found everywhere. And hence, when Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth,” he was saying, “I delight to use little things.” He did not say, “You are the gold of the earth.” He did not say, “You are the uranium of the earth.” He did not even say, “You are the lead,” although Christians sometimes resemble lead far more than we like to admit. He said, “You are the salt”—a common substance. It is from the common things—from the weak, the foolish, the despised, the things that are not (1 Cor. 1:26–29)—that God brings the greatest glory to his name.
We see that throughout Scripture. When God made man in the Garden of Eden, what did he use? Gold? Silver? Iron? No, he used dust. But he breathed into the dust the divine breath of life. When God spoke to Moses in the desert to call him to come forth to be the deliverer of the people of Israel from Egypt, how did he reveal himself? In a dazzling theophany? In thunder and lightning? In an overpowering vision? No, he revealed himself in a burning desert bush. When God called David to deliver the Israelites from the Philistine tyranny, did he make use of Saul’s armor? No, he used a sling and a few small stones. And when Jesus Christ was born, God did not allow him to be born in the courts of the Caesars or of a woman of noble ancestry and great culture. He chose a peasant girl, who was probably illiterate, and she gave birth to Jesus Christ in a stable.
God uses the small things and the small people. God uses you and me that he might do his work in the world. As a matter of fact, the smaller you can become, the more effective his work in you will be. Do you know what we are to be? We are to be picture frames within which Jesus Christ is to be seen. God is not interested in its being a gold frame or a beautifully carved frame. He is just interested in its being an empty frame, because he knows that when you come to him with that, he can put Christ there. And when people look at you, they will see Jesus.
Boice, J. M. (2002). The Sermon on the Mount: an expositional commentary (pp. 61–66). Baker Books.
As to salt, Jesus says: 13. You are the salt of the earth. Though salt has many characteristics: whiteness, pungency, flavor, preservative power, etc., it is probably especially the last quality, the potency of salt as an antiseptic, a substance that prevents and retards decay, upon which the emphasis falls here, though the subsidiary function of imparting flavor must obviously not be excluded (see Lev. 2:13; Job 6:6; Col. 4:6).
Salt, then, has especially a negative function. It combats deterioration. Similarly Christians, by showing themselves to be Christians indeed, are constantly combating moral and spiritual decay. How often does it not happen that when a believer suddenly steps into a crowd of worldly individuals the off-color joke by which someone was about to entertain his companions is held back, the profanity is left unspoken, the wicked plan remains unexecuted? To be sure, the world is wicked. Yet God alone knows how far more corrupt it would be without the restraining example, life, and prayers of the saints (Gen. 18:26–32; 2 Kings 12:2).
Salt acts secretly. We know that it combats decay, though we cannot see it perform its task. Its influence is very real nonetheless.
Continued: but if the salt becomes tasteless, what will make it salty again? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown away and trampled underfoot by men. The salt from the marshes and lagoons or from the rocks in the neighborhood of the Dead Sea easily acquires a stale or alkaline taste, because of its mixture with gypsum, etc. It is then literally “good for nothing” but to be thrown away and trampled underfoot (cf. Ezek. 47:11). Jesus, as he walked on earth, saw many Pharisees and scribes, people who advocated a formal, legalistic religion in the place of the true religion proclaimed by the ancient prophets in the name of the Lord. Thus by and large the salt had lost its flavor in the religious life of Israel. Many “sons of the kingdom” would be cast out (Matt. 8:12).
The implication is clear. Just as salt having lost its flavor cannot be restored, so also those who were trained in the knowledge of the truth but who then resolutely set themselves against the exhortations of the Holy Spirit and become hardened in their opposition are not renewed unto repentance (Matt. 12:32; Heb. 6:4–6). Therefore, let that which is named salt be salt indeed! Ever so many people who never read the Bible are constantly reading us! If in our conduct we are untrue to our calling our words will avail very little.
We have seen that in the main salt has a negative function and acts secretly. Light, on the other hand, has a positive function and shines openly, publicly. The two metaphors therefore complement each other. As to light Jesus says: 14a. You are the light of the world. Light in Scripture indicates the true knowledge of God (Ps. 36:9; cf. Matt. 6:22, 23); goodness, righteousness, and truthfulness (Eph. 5:8, 9); joy and gladness, true happiness (Ps. 97:11; Isa. 9:1–7; cf. 60:19). It symbolizes the best there is in learning, love, and laughter, as contrasted with darkness, that is, the worst there is in dullness, depravity, and despair. When light is mentioned, sometimes one quality—for instance, revealed knowledge—is emphasized; then again another, depending on the context in each case. In certain instances the meaning of the word “light” may even be broader than any one quality would indicate. It may be sufficiently comprehensive to include all the blessings of “salvation” (cf. Ps. 27:1; Luke 1:77–79). So, perhaps, also here in 5:14.
The statement, “You are the light of the world” probably means that the citizens of the kingdom not only have been blessed with these endowments but are also the means used by God to transmit them to the men who surround them. The light-possessors become light-transmitters. Collectively believers are “the light.” Individually they are “lights” (luminaries, stars, Phil. 2:15). Both ideas may well have been included in the words as spoken by Jesus, though the emphasis is on the collective.
However, Christians are never a light in and by themselves. They are light “in the Lord” (Eph. 5:8). Christ is the true, the original “light of the world” (John 8:12; 9:5; 12:35, 36, 46; 2 Cor. 4:6; cf. Ps. 27:1; 36:9; 43:3; Isa. 49:6; 60:1; Luke 1:78, 79; 2:32). Believers are “the light of the world” in a secondary or derived sense. He is “the light lighting” (John 1:9). They are the light lighted. He is the sun. They resemble the moon, reflecting the sun’s light. Apart from Christ they cannot shine. The electric bulb does not emit light all by itself. It imparts light only when connected and turned on, so that the electric current generated in the power-house is transmitted to it. So also as long as Christ’s followers remain in living contact with the original light they are a light to others (cf. John 15:4, 5).
Now since it is the business of the church to shine for Jesus, it should not permit itself to be thrown off its course. It is not the task of the church to specialize in and deliver all kinds of pronouncements concerning economic, social, and political problems. “The great hope for society today is in an increasing number of individual Christians. Let the Church of God concentrate on that and not waste her time and energy on matters outside her province.” This is not to say that an ecclesiastical pronouncement revealing the bearing of the gospel upon this or that not specifically theological problem is always to be condemned. There may be situations in which such an illuminating public testimony becomes advisable and even necessary, for the gospel must be proclaimed “in all its fulness” and not narrowly restricted to the salvation of souls. But the primary duty of the church remains the spreading forth of the message of salvation, that the lost may be found (Luke 15:4; 1 Cor. 9:16, 22; 10:33), those found may be strengthened in the faith (Eph. 4:15; 1 Thess. 3:11–13; 1 Peter 2:2; 2 Peter 3:18), and God may be glorified (John 17:4; 1 Cor. 10:31). Those who, through the example, message, and prayers of believers, have been converted will show the genuine character of their faith and love by exerting their influence for good in every sphere.
Hendriksen, W., & Kistemaker, S. J. (1953–2001). Exposition of the Gospel According to Matthew (Vol. 9, pp. 282–285). Baker Book House.
Source: The Roadmap to Maturity | Part 2
One day, every follower of Christ will close their eyes for the last time here on Earth and open them again in the presence of God. When that day comes, will you be ready for the journey to Heaven? Dr. Robert Jeffress explains what we should be doing now to prepare for eternity.
Source: How Can I Prepare For My Journey To Heaven? – Part 1
“So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.” – Revelation 3:16
Scripture reading: 2 Kings 13:14-25
Why did Joash only strike the ground three times? Some commentators believe that he thought the whole scenario was foolish. Some liken it to Naaman’s initial reaction when Elisha’s servant told him to dip himself seven times in the Jordan River. Naaman thought that would be foolish and was angered by the command. Some believe that Joash had a similar reaction to the instructions Elisha gave him.
Others point out that it represents a spiritual lukewarmness. Instead of recognizing it as an opportunity to receive God’s blessings, Joash responded apathetically and just “went through the motions.”
But it wasn’t just Joash who was apathetic to the commands of the man of God. Many professing Christians treat the commands of Scripture the same way. For example, many professing Christians treat prayer the way Joash responded to Elisha’s command to strike the ground with the arrows. They pray a few times, and that’s enough. The same type of prayer is lamely offered before each meal, and perhaps before turning in for the night, but enthusiastic, fervent prayer isn’t offered because there is that same spiritual lukewarmness.
Each one of us must look at the response of Joash to the man of God and ask ourselves how fervent we are in our response to the Man of God whom Elisha foreshadowed. How fervent and responsive are we to Him, in our prayer life, and in all the other aspects of our day to day living? By God’s grace, may our response be fervent, faithful obedience always!
Suggestions for prayer
Ask forgiveness for lukewarmness and pray for an ever-increasing hunger and thirst after righteousness.
Rev. Ted Gray grew up in a Christian family but lived a meaningless life of futility apart from the Lord for many years. After professing faith at age 30, and later completing seminary, he has had the privilege of serving Orthodox Presbyterian churches in Oregon and Florida and a Christian Reformed Church in Vermont. For the past 15 years, he has served as pastor of First United Reformed Church in Oak Lawn, Illinois. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com.
Source: February 26 – Lukewarm?
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