July 18, 2024 Glimpses of His LoveSTACY J. LOWE Lee en español "How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can't even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand!" Psalm 139:17-18a (NLT) It had been a painfully long day at work. Due to the weather, my shoes got soaked as soon as I left the house, and having spent much of the day outside in the rain and mud, they were still just as wet late that night when I finally got home and took them off. Seventeen hours in wet shoes is no fun. After just a few hours of sleep, I dragged myself back downstairs, dreading yet another long day ahead. The shoes I had worn the day before would take another day or so to dry fully. But having no other good options for footwear, I resigned myself to going through yet another day with wet feet. Except ... my shoes were bone-dry. While that may seem like a little thing, in that moment when I was completely drained - pushed both physically and mentally past the point of exhaustion - it meant so much. Bleary-eyed, I slipped on the shoes, smiled and whispered, "Thank You, God," grateful for this glimpse of His love. While I'm thankful for that experience, I can't help but wonder: How many times has God stepped into my world, but I was too caught up in everything else to stop and take notice? Probably far more than I will ever know on this side of heaven. King David seemed to recognize this. When pondering God's relationship with His creation, David wrote: "How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can't even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand!" (Psalm 139:17-18a) What a beautiful truth to consider! The God of the universe - Creator of the cosmos and everything in it - is not only aware of our existence but is actively thinking of you and me each moment of the day. And if His thoughts toward us are precious, good, and far too numerous to count, we shouldn't be surprised when He chooses to show up in our ordinary, everyday moments to let us know He sees us and cares. I, for one, don't want to miss these close, personal moments with my Savior. Therefore, I am choosing to slow down today and approach the coming hours with the expectation that I will see God in my world. That day, I saw His love through a pair of unexpectedly dry shoes. How will God show up today for you and me? I don't know, but let's pay attention and find out! Father, thank You for stepping into my world to show me that You see me and You care. Thank You for the little moments that mean so much. Please help me not to miss those moments. In Jesus' Name, Amen. OUR FAVORITE THINGS Have you joined Circle 31 Book Club yet? This is not your average book club. Our goal is not just to read together; we expect our lives to be transformed. Here you’ll be part of a community that will challenge you in your thinking, and together we’ll ask complex questions that will help us move forward in the areas we feel stuck in. Are you ready to dive in? Click here to join the Circle now! ENGAGE For more from Stacy J. Lowe, you can connect with her on Instagram. FOR DEEPER STUDY Psalm 33:18, "But the LORD watches over those who fear him, those who rely on his unfailing love" (NLT). Luke 12:6-7, "What is the price of five sparrows-two copper coins? Yet God does not forget a single one of them. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows" (NLT). God sees you. He knows everything about you - the good and the bad - and still He loves you. You matter immensely to Him. What does it mean to you to be so intimately known by your Savior? To be the daily recipient of His loving care? We'd love for you to share about it in the comments. © 2024 by Stacy J. Lowe. All rights reserved. Proverbs 31 MinistriesP.O. Box 3189 Matthews, NC 28106 www.Proverbs31.org The post Glimpses of His Love – Encouragement for Today – July 18, 2024 appeared first on GodUpdates.

Historical Events 1290 - King Edward I orders expulsion of Jews from England, this edict will remain in place for 350 years 1896 - George Giffen is 1st to complete 1000/100 double, in 30th Test Cricket 1942 - Test flight of German Messerschmitt Me-262 using only its jet engines for the first time 1958 - 6th British Empire Games and Commonwealth Games open in Cardiff, Wales 1993 - British Open Men's Golf, Royal St George's GC: Australian Greg Norman fires final round 64 (–6) to win his 2nd Open title, 2 strokes ahead of Englishman Nick Faldo 1994 - "Kiss From a Rose" released by Seal (Grammy Record of the Year and Song of the Year) More Historical Events » Famous Birthdays 1534 - Zacharias Ursinus, German theologist (Heidelberger Catechism), born in Breslau, Silesia (d. 1583) 1890 - Charles Erwin Wilson, American engineer (President and CEO of General Motors) and politician (United States Secretary of Defense 1953-57), born in Minerva, Ohio (d. 1961) 1906 - Belle Stewart, Scottish traditional singer, born in Caputh, Blairgowrie, Scotland (d. 1997) 1912 - Henry Louis Miller, American Rear Admiral (WW II-Pacific), born in Fairbanks, Alaska (d. 1993) 1969 - Masanori Murakawa [The Great Sasuke], Japanese professional wrestler, born in Morioka, Japan 1976 - Elsa Pataky [Elsa Lafuente Medianu], Spanish actress known for "Fast and Furious", born in Madrid, Spain More Famous Birthdays » Famous Deaths 1907 - Ted Pooley, English cricket wicket-keeper (1st class records: 8 stumpings in a match 1878; 12 dismissals in a match 1868; Surrey CCC, Middlesex CCC), dies at 65 1944 - Thomas Sturge Moore, English poet (Centaurs' Booty), dies at 74 1988 - Nico [Christa Päffgen], German model, and pop singer (Velvet Underground - "Sunday Morning"; "I'll Be Your Mirror"), dies from a bicycle accident at 43 2002 - Victor Emery, British theoretical physicist (b. 1933) 2022 - Hans-Joachim Hespos, German avant-garde composer, dies at 84 2023 - Lew Perkins, American sports executive (athletic director USC–Aiken, Wichita State U, U of Maryland, U of Connecticut, U of Kansas), dies at 78 More Famous Deaths »

With some top-drawer tunes, Paul Stanley producing and Kiss’s management behind them, New England seemed, and felt, poised for stardom. Cue bad luck and trouble

Every time I share my abortion story, people reach out to share theirs, often echoing a similar refrain: “I know God has forgiven me, but I just can’t forgive myself.” There’s an easy theological answer here: You don’t have to. The Bible offers neither an example nor a category for self-forgiveness. Asserting we must forgive ourselves places us in God’s seat—he’s the One against whom we’ve sinned and the only One able to grant forgiveness (Ps. 51:4; Rom. 8:33). But that theological answer, rich and true as it may be, feels like a platitude to a woman grappling with the aftermath of an abortion. Justin Taylor points to the pastoral dimension of the self-forgiveness issue: “Before responding to someone who says he can’t forgive himself, it’d be wise first to discern what the person means by this phrase.” The sin of abortion has some unique dimensions that masquerade as the haunting desire for self-forgiveness, and understanding them might help us come alongside struggling women. 1. Abortion is a distinct self-violation. All sin is a self-violation. God’s law reveals his character and shows us the path of righteousness, which ultimately leads to human flourishing. When we sin against God, we also harm ourselves. And some sin causes more damage than others. The apostle Paul illustrates this point when he describes the specific harm of sexual immorality: “Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body” (1 Cor. 6:18). Other sins may fall into this category of sins against the body—eating disorders and self-harm, perhaps, but especially abortion. Women are created in God’s image to be “life-givers,” a label Susan Hunt applies to women’s unique “redemptive calling” that extends to “every relationship and circumstance.” Though this means far more than having babies, to take the life of your unborn child is undoubtedly an assault on this life-giving nature. Abortion is a sin with many victims, one of which is a woman’s own body. Further, some women choose abortion in ignorance, believing lies about when human life begins. Others are truly victims, succumbing to coerced abortions under the guidance of people who should have protected them. But I and many others knew abortion is sinful and wrong—and we did it anyway. Our sin is ultimately against the Lord and his holy law. But in some sense, we’ve also sinned against ourselves by violating our consciences (Rom. 14:23). A woman who thinks she can’t forgive herself may be reckoning with the reality that sin has fractured her wholeness. In betraying her conscience and sinning against her body, she has violated her own trust, wreaking havoc on body and soul. What she needs, however, isn’t self-forgiveness but the transforming work of Christ by his Spirit. Christ has freed us from sin’s guilt, but its power lingers as we struggle against both persistent temptation and also the damage caused by our past sins. We tend to think of sanctification in terms of sinning less, but the Spirit’s transforming work is also about making us whole. 2. Abortion is sin but also trauma. Our desire for self-forgiveness often has more to do with sin’s residual effects. If I’ve embraced God’s forgiveness but I’m still struggling, we think, that must mean I need to forgive myself. We hope overcoming this hurdle will finally make the shame go away. But while abortion is sin that requires repentance, it’s also trauma that requires healing. I’ve written more about this elsewhere: Forgiveness comes quickly as we look to Christ by faith, but healing takes time. Labeling this as the need to forgive ourselves betrays a desire to circumvent the healing process—and to control it. We’re looking for a quick fix rather than the difficult path of walking through our pain and suffering with Jesus and in community with others. Forgiveness comes quickly as we look to Christ by faith, but healing takes time. A woman who says she can’t forgive herself may also be stuck believing she doesn’t deserve Christ’s healing. Her sin is too great, and she deserves to wallow in its shame for the rest of her life. Consider the bleeding woman whose shame kept her from asking Jesus to be healed (Mark 5:24–34). Instead, she crept up behind him, hoping only to catch the corner of his robe. But Jesus doesn’t allow her to slink away into the shadows. He heals her, but he also sees her, restoring her dignity and affirming her value. Post-abortive women don’t need self-forgiveness; we need healing. And no sin is so great that it puts us out of reach of Christ’s healing wounds (Isa. 53:5) and word (Ps. 107:20). 3. Abortion’s victims can’t extend forgiveness. Several years ago, I attended a retreat for post-abortive men and women. The few days I spent tucked away in the woods with a group of strangers were both sweet and odd. With a schedule crafted to facilitate a fast-tracked experience of forgiveness and healing, group leaders led us through various exercises meant to unleash the shame and sorrow we’d hidden for years. One stands out in my memory. The speaker uncovered a table filled with teddy bears wrapped in handmade blankets. There was one bear each, and we were to spend the afternoon with the one we chose—to talk to it, hug it, and name it. Though the speaker was clear that this wasn’t some reincarnation of our aborted baby, the exercise nonetheless provided an outlet for many participants to unleash years of pent-up grief as they held in their hands a symbol of what they’d forfeited. There may be a place for these retreats, though I’ve found my own healing to come in fits and starts through the ordinary ministry of Word and sacrament, the faithful love of my husband and church community, and the help of a good therapist. But I think this exercise exposes another aspect of our self-forgiveness pursuit. “There are two—and only two—biblical categories of forgiveness,” John Beeson writes. “Others’ forgiveness and God’s forgiveness. Horizontal and vertical. . . . It’s not enough to ask forgiveness from God; we must also ask forgiveness from those we’ve injured.” How is a post-abortive woman supposed to seek this forgiveness? In the absence of a living victim, she turns inward. It’s as if the baby she aborted has become a part of herself, and she’s pleading to be absolved. King David had blood on his hands, and yet he declared to the Lord, “Against you, you only, have I sinned” (Ps. 51:4). God would be justified in bringing judgment, but instead he justifies us, declaring us righteous in his Son (Ps. 51:4; Rom. 8:33). Sometimes, horizontal forgiveness isn’t possible, but the absolution we seek is. It’s just not found within us. The Answer You Seek Is Outside of You The Protestant reformer Philip Melanchthon often wrote to Martin Luther about his struggles to believe the gospel. “I woke this morning wondering if I trust Christ enough,” he wrote in one letter. Exasperated, Luther responded, “Melanchthon! Go sin bravely! Then go to the cross and bravely confess it! The whole gospel is outside of us.” Rod Rosenbladt tells this story to illustrate the “alien nature of the gospel”—“Christ’s death was outside of me and for me.” He writes, “Luther’s frustrated counsel was not an invitation to serve sin, but an attempt to shock Melanchthon into realizing that his only true righteousness was external to him.” No sin is so great that it puts us out of reach of Christ’s healing wounds and word. Perhaps post-abortive women need such a shock. Our sin is great, but Christ’s blood is greater. We stand accused by an Enemy who seeks to devour us (1 Pet. 5:8). He accuses us day and night (Rev. 12:10), even tempting our hearts to turn against us. Yet “whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything” (1 John 3:20). We don’t need to forgive ourselves. God’s forgiveness is sufficient; he has removed our sins “as far as the east is from the west” (Ps. 103:12). As we continue to struggle with our sins’ residual effects, God’s Spirit assures us we belong to him (Rom. 8:16). And he walks with us through the path of healing until the day we’ll experience true and complete wholeness as we stand face-to-face with our Savior (1 John 3:2).

While most of America’s attention this week has been focused on major national political headlines, a newly enshrined law in California has passed under the radar. But its significance for Christian parents everywhere shouldn’t be ignored. On Monday, California governor Gavin Newsom signed into law AB 1955—a first-in-nation bill that bans California school districts from requiring staff to disclose to parents if their child starts using different pronouns or identifying as a different gender. The bill passed the Democrat-dominated state legislature in June (by a 60–15 vote), but only after a heated floor debate that nearly came to blows. Described by the California Family Council as “a bill that creates a government-imposed wall of secrecy between parents and their children,” AB 1955 directly rebuffs conservative school boards across the state that had established policies requiring schools to disclose students’ gender identities to their parents or guardians, regardless of the students’ consent. LGBT+ advocates decry these as “forced outing” policies, arguing they prevent kids from determining how and when they come out to their parents, thus “[putting] them at risk of violence or homelessness.” AB 1955 was crafted by assemblymember Chris Ward (D-San Diego) to explicitly outlaw such policies, which he said “violate the trust and safety of the students in their classrooms.” Ward is the vice chair of the powerful LGBTQ Caucus in the California legislature, which positioned AB 1955 as their number one priority bill and framed it in terms of “protecting LGBTQ+ students from forced outings and supporting families in working on family acceptance on their own terms.” The bill’s official name, the SAFETY Act (Support Academic Futures and Educators for Today’s Youth), positions the bill as being about safety for LGBT+ young people. But “safety” in what sense? Kids Safer with Activists Than with Parents? I’m a California resident and a parent of three young children. Part of what’s so disturbing to me about laws like AB 1955 is the assumption the state is the “safer place” and more trustworthy protector of children than their own families. Are politicians and public educators really better positioned than parents to walk with kids through massive, theologically loaded questions about gender and sexuality? I ascribe to the principle of subsidiarity, which conceives the nuclear family as the foundation of society and construes local, state, and national governments as helpful to the extent they support the family rather than undermine its authority or sideline it. As one writer put it, “Under subsidiarity, government is by no means prohibited from providing aid; it is simply kept in its lane.” When the state undermines parental authority and seeks to facilitate secret-keeping between children and their parents, as in AB 1955, it’s not staying in its lane. Public schools shouldn’t be places where parents fear that their children will be “lost” to values and visions at odds with how they’ve raised their kids. But sadly, these fears are increasingly warranted. Are politicians and public educators really better positioned than parents to walk with kids through massive, theologically loaded questions about gender and sexuality? My wife and I are fortunate enough to be able to send our kids to a theologically orthodox, private Christian school. But in a state that’s by far the most expensive in the nation to live in, relatively few families can afford this option. I worry for Christian parents here who have no option other than sending their kids to public schools where, thanks to laws like AB 1955, they’re at risk of being kept in the dark about some of the most important developments in their children’s lives. Assemblymember Bill Essayli (R-Riverside) was one of the most outspoken opponents of AB 1955. After Newsom signed it into law, Essayli said the move “defied parents’ constitutional and God-given right to raise their children,” adding that the law “codifies the government’s authority to keep secrets from parents” and “endangers children by excluding parents from important matters impacting their child’s health and welfare at school.” Jonathan Keller, president of the California Family Council, agreed, calling the signing of AB 1955 “a direct assault on the safety of children and the rights of their parents.” Unsafe Practice of Parent-Exclusionary ‘Gender-Affirming’ Care Not all public schools in California are equally activist-oriented on LGBT+ issues and “gender-affirming” care. And many public school teachers are faithful Christians who are required to enforce policies they didn’t have a part in creating. But many other school administrators and teachers do promote progressive gender ideology and actively seek to subvert parents and conservative communities on issues of gender identity and sexual orientation. Books like Abigail Shrier’s Irreversible Damage have chronicled the extent to which “gender affirmation” policies are widespread in public schools and deliberately subvert parental authority. As one parent told The Gospel Coalition in a harrowing account of her teen daughter’s decision to identify as a boy, the progressive public school was a major accelerant of her daughter’s gender transition. Her daughter was invited (possibly recruited) to the school’s Genders & Sexualities Alliance (GSA) club and, at every step in her gender identification transition, was “applauded and congratulated” at school. The mother finally realized she “cannot protect [her] child at school” and opted to escape the cult and homeschool her daughter instead. Not only are young people applauded and encouraged to experiment with sexuality and gender identity in public schools, but they’re also often referred by those schools to gender-affirming therapists and local LGBT+ centers offering youth programs as “safe spaces,” all without informing the people most invested in the children’s ultimate safety and flourishing: their parents. These “safe spaces,” however, are anything but safe. It’s not safe for vulnerable adolescents to have their mental confusion affirmed at every step but never questioned. It’s not safe for teenagers to make potentially life-altering, body-mutilating decisions without patiently processing it with their parents. These ‘safe spaces’ are anything but safe. It’s not safe for vulnerable adolescents to have their mental confusion affirmed at every step. The U.K.’s recently released Cass Report reinforces what parents already know: it’s not advisable for immature children to medically alter their bodies based on perceived senses of gender dysmorphia. Parents aren’t crazy, cruel, or abusive when they object to their child desiring to change his or her gender identity. Their intuitions to put the brakes on their child’s desire for rapid transformation are correct and loving. What’s cruel is an education system that won’t let parents step in to impose those loving brakes. How Should Christian Parents Respond? Christian parents nationwide should be concerned about this law, because what starts in California often gets replicated eventually in other states. If you care about parental rights and want to make sure public schools can’t withhold vital information from you about your children, get involved by reaching out to your local school board or other elected officials to advocate for parental notification policies and other protections against LGBT+ ideology propagated in schools. While conservative social issues have been recently abandoned on national party platforms, change can still happen on the state level if we care enough to get informed and involved, electing state representatives (and school board members) who will advocate against harmful gender ideology in schools and parental secrecy policies like AB 1955. But as Joe Carter has pointed out, policies and legislative actions to protect parental rights aren’t enough, and indeed might come too late for some families. Parents should be diligent in monitoring the influences shaping our children, which includes schools but also friend groups, online behavior and social networks, agenda-driven entertainment, and more. Parents should develop thick community (through church ideally, and a local web of trusted families) that provides a network of loving accountability, so that even if your child is doing something at school you don’t know about, there are dozens of other trusted, loving eyes on them in all kinds of other spaces. We must also be proactive in helping our kids form healthy, biblical understandings of human anthropology, including age-appropriate conversations about gender and transgender ideology. We should encourage our churches and youth groups to lean into these topics and help students learn—and learn to love—what Scripture and Christian tradition say about gender and sexuality. What happens if we don’t have these conversations first and lay foundations of Christian wisdom in our children? Online influencers, activists, and educators will be more than happy to fill that formational void—seeking not only to compete with your parental authority and influence but even to replace it altogether.

I am absolutely LOVING what USMNT is doing right now

MILWAUKEE—Republican senators confronted the embattled head of the Secret Service on Wednesday at the Republican National Convention here.  “You owe President Trump answers,” Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., shouted after Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle at the RNC.  While Cheatle walked through the Fiserv Forum convention center, Blackburn, along with Sens. John Barrasso of Wyoming, James Lankford of Oklahoma, and Kevin Cramer of North Dakota called on her to give the American people answers after a gunman’s attempt to kill former President Donald Trump nearly succeeded Saturday evening at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.  The American people deserve answers from the Secret Service. pic.twitter.com/PNFF11v00Q— Marsha Blackburn (@VoteMarsha) July 18, 2024 Moments before Cheatle briskly walked away from the four senators, they stood around her and asked why Trump was allowed to take the stage at the rally after the Secret Service was alerted to the threat of a shooter 10 minutes earlier, the New York Post reported Wednesday.  “Why would anyone allow the president to go on stage when you know that you’ve got a potential threat … ?,” Blackburn pressed Cheatle, who was appointed by President Joe Biden. “I am going to answer your questions … at the appropriate forum,” Cheatle told the four senators, according to a video of the confrontation. The video shows Secret Service director telling the lawmakers that she needs to leave while the GOP leaders follow and continue asking questions.  “You can keep running, but you cannot hide from us,” Blackburn said, running after Cheatle.  ?FULL VIDEO: Secret Service Director REFUSES to answer to the American people. pic.twitter.com/MPVOke5zhY— Marsha Blackburn (@VoteMarsha) July 18, 2024 “It is appalling that the Secret Service director refused to answer our questions,” Blackburn said in a written statement following the interaction.  “This is one of the greatest security failures in the history of the agency,” the Tennessee Republican said. “She can run but she cannot hide. She is a failed leader and she needs to immediately step down from her position.” House Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., subpoenaed the Secret Service leader Wednesday to appear before lawmakers next week. The post Secret Service Director Flees GOP Senators at RNC appeared first on The Daily Signal.