John Quincy Adams

 I remember in February 1848, a friend asked the 80-year-old John Quincy Adams how he was doing. He replied with this memorable, extended metaphor: 

"John Quincy Adams is well, but the house in which he lives at the present time is becoming dilapidated. It's tottering on its foundations. Time and the seasons have nearly destroyed it. Its roof is pretty well worn out. Its walls are shattered and tremble with every wind. I think John Quincy Adams will have to move out of it pretty soon. But he, himself, is quite well, thank you". 

We will all end up there someday but until that time I choose to live to the hilt every situation I believe to be the willl of God.

- Michael Sprague

MAGA and the church

 I say all this to provide context for my next observation, which may help explain this moment: Politics fills the void left by faith, and it’s doing so in ways that I’ve never quite seen before. For many fundamentalists and evangelicals, politics meets the longing and the needs that aren’t being met by churches and traditional faith communities. If there is something useful that has come of the Trump era, and there’s not much, it is that it has offered a diagnostic CT scan of much of American Christianity. Trump and the MAGA movement capitalized on, and then amplified, the problems facing Christian communities, but they did not create them.

Politics, especially culture-war politics, provides many fundamentalists and evangelicals with a sense of community and a common enemy. It gives purpose and meaning to their life, turning them into protagonists in a great drama pitting good against evil. They are vivified by it. And they reassure one another, time and again, that the dark passions are actually expressions of righteousness. They consecrate their resentments. As a result, they deform what many of us consider to be the most compelling voice and life there ever was, an itinerant preacher who 2,000 years ago traveled throughout Galilee and Judea, teaching new commandments on some days and healing the sick and the social outcasts on others, all the while proclaiming the Kingdom of God.

- Peter Wehner  https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/09/charlie-kirk-christian-trump/684394/

Persecution

 The Islamic State Mozambique Province (ISMP), an affiliate of Islamic State, has claimed responsibility for multiple attacks on Christian civilians in the northern part of the African country, often in the Cabo Delgado province, the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) said last Wednesday.

ISMP released photos, seen by MEMRI, showing militants killing people and setting fire to churches and homes across several villages.

Mozambique’s President Daniel Chapo said on Thursday that security in Cabo Delgado had improved thanks to the efforts of the national military, but that terrorism threats remained.

Newsweek has contacted Mozambique's president's office, via online contact form, and the country's embassy in Washington, D.C., via email, for comment. 

Why It Matters

There is currently widespread discussion about the violence from Islamic jihadist groups targeting Christians in Nigeria, which Newsweek has covered in-depth here.

Hiding as Christians

 Brandon Robinson

We hide in private schools.

Only eat at Chick-fil-A.

Only shop at Hobby Lobby.

Stay on the “safe side” of town.

There’s nothing wrong with any of those things

in and of themselves.

But when our entire life is built around staying safe, 

We miss the people who are trapped there. 

How can we rescue people if we don’t go 

where they are held captive? 

We don’t talk to the homeless.

Or the addict.

Or the girl who has an abortion.

Or the teen questioning their identity.

Or the man who smells like yesterday’s bottle.

We stay off certain streets.

We mute the friend who deconstructs.

We ghost the ones who wander.

We say “light can’t mix with darkness”,

but forget Jesus is the Light that entered it.

We say we’re “set apart.”

But really, we’re just absent.

How do we live the Word

while avoiding the very world

we were sent to love?

Jesus didn’t avoid the mess—

He walked straight into it.

Touched the leper.

Sat with sinners.

Ate with outcasts.

Chose the cross.

Holiness isn’t hiding.

It’s presence.

It’s proximity.

It’s being different- yes,

but still being there.

You can’t be salt,

if you never leave the shaker.

Intentional Growth or patience

 Kyle Strobel

“We feel so much pressure to grow in Christ that we unintentionally take that job from God and kind of under our own steam try to grow in Christ.

Yeah, yeah, I know that was so good. I was slayed by his comment about intention, that sometimes we can review how we are based on the intentions that we've had instead of what we've done. I feel like I think of so many things or people that I want to reach out to, and there is something that happens.

Like once I thought about it, it's almost like I've done it. And it's not. It's completely not.

And I really have been chewing on that one, that of all of the things that come to mind, what does God want me to act on? And what do I want to act on? And let that be the extension of who I am based instead of just my intentions.

Yeah. Yeah, I love the way Kyle invites us to kind of relax our effort so that we can actually engage the Spirit. And he's definitely not giving us an easy life.

He's just, I think, trying to order what is Spirit[…]”

From Being Human with Steve Cuss: From Sex Addiction Recovery to Playful Leadership with Matt Wenger, Kyle Strobel, and Ben Mandrell, Sep 29, 2025

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/being-human-with-steve-cuss/id1726393502?i=1000729050816&r=766

This material may be protected by copyright.

Wonder

 Aaron Salvato substack

There is something  wonderfully absurd about the idea that an all-powerful God… the kind who speaks galaxies into being, concerns Himself with me.

He governs stars.

He holds back evil with one hand and writes the arc of history with the other.

He concerns Himself with empires, angels, nations… atoms.

And yet, He stoops, daily, without fail, into the small, messy, ordinary world of my life.

He is no distracted deity, managing cosmic affairs from a distance, occasionally checking in like some aloof landlord. 

No, this God is present.

Present in the ache.

Present in the laughter.

Present in the dull Tuesdays AND the broken prayers AND the late-night panic AND the sunlit moments of peace.

He moves with the deliberate attentiveness of a parent:

Not hovering or smothering, but watching, caring, guiding.

Grieving when we stumble, rejoicing when we return.

Correcting with kindness, cheering us on when we dare to love.

Taking joy when we take joy in the wonders of this world He created for us.

And this is the mystery that wrecks me: He is not merely tolerant of us. 

He delights.

Like a mother watching her child take their first steps.

Like a father seeing his daughter choose courage.

He watches with a pride that isn’t fragile or needy, but full and free and overflowing.

If you had told me a God existed who ruled the universe, I might believe you.

If you had told me He was holy, just, eternal, I could nod.

But to tell me He sees me—to the bottom—and loves me still?

That He knows the past present and future and has seen me on my worst day… and yet still chose to die for me?

That is the scandal.

That is the wonder.

What kind of God is this?

Not one we would invent.

But one who invented us, watched us break… and insists on loving us still.

This is why the Christian story refuses to grow stale.

At its heart is a love both fierce and familiar… like a father’s arms: strong enough to hold the world, soft enough to hold you.

Illness / emcouragement

 Here are some deeply comforting and encouraging Bible verses for those facing illness—whether physical, emotional, or spiritual. These passages offer hope, peace, and assurance of God’s presence and care:

🌿 Promises of Healing and Restoration

• Jeremiah 30:17 — “But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds,” declares the Lord.

• Psalm 103:2–3 — Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases.

🕊️ Peace in the Midst of Suffering

• Isaiah 41:10 — So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.

• John 14:27 — Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives.

Father God, we lift up Bruce and Ty to You.  You see every detail of what is happening with Bruce and You know the precise injury in Ty’s foot.  You are our Creator and You see everything in our makeup because You made us.  You are the Great Physician and oversee each influence in us and in us.  We do not understand why we must endure the hard things in our lives, but we trust You.  

Please bring healing to Ty as You work through his medical team.  Give Ty the patience and endurance he needs, empowering him to trust You above all else.  We are so thankful for his example of faith, hope and love to us as grandparents!  We couldn’t be more proud of who he is. 

We pray the same healing for Bruce, Lord.  May Your grace be infused into his life just as much as Your healing hands.  Help Bruce to trust You for every need, moving him to love You more than he ever has in his life.  Guide his medical team to find the right solution with the best outcome.  

Lord, we pray for Amy as well. Give her strength, endurance and patience as she tries to encourage two patients under the same roof!  May she experience Your presence like never before.  

💪 Strength and Endurance

• 2 Corinthians 12:9 — “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

• Isaiah 40:29–31 — He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak… those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.

❤️ God’s Nearness and Compassion

• Psalm 34:18 — The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

• Matthew 11:28–30 — Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

🌅 Hope Beyond the Present

• Romans 8:18 — I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.

• Revelation 21:4 — He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain.

Would you like verses tailored to a specific kind of illness—like chronic pain, emotional distress, or terminal diagnosis? I can also help craft a prayer or reflection based on these scriptures.