'Triumph of the Heart': An unflinching depiction of what it means to follow Christ



The current landscape of Christian cinema is more desert than garden. Too many films settle for pandering and saccharine depictions of the faith, as if doing the bare minimum to attract what they assume is a captive audience. Meanwhile, moviegoers thirst for stories that challenge them with reality of the Christian life.

With the success of "Sound of Freedom," "The Shift," and "Cabrini," Angel Studios has shown that viewers will show up for more nuanced, high-quality fare, but most "faith-based" films still seem content to take as little risk as possible.

As Kolbe, Marcin Kwaśny embodies an ordinary man who makes the extraordinary decision to pick up his cross and follow Christ, whatever the consequences.

This was all in my mind as I attended the premiere of "Triumph of the Heart." I wasn't sure what to expect; word of mouth has been strong, but would it live up to the hype? I'm happy to answer that question with a resounding yes.

Greater love hath no man ...

"Triumph of the Heart" tells the incredible true story of the Polish Catholic priest and newspaper publisher who would become Saint Maximilian Kolbe (Pope John Paul II canonized him in 1982). Arrested and sent to Auschwitz in 1941, Kolbe volunteers to take the place of a prisoner condemned along with nine others to die in the camp's starvation cell.

As the men cope with despair, starvation, and ideological division, Kolbe's humanity and their shared Polish identity forge a brotherhood that allows them to face down evil and die with honor.

A humble saint

Not since Paul Roland’s "Exemplum" have I seen such a truthful and realistic depiction of Catholicism. These characters are far from perfect, and that includes Kolbe himself. He smokes, he has regrets, he makes mistakes. But he’s also relentlessly hopeful, courageous, and brave in his faith in Jesus Christ, which empowers him to be a source of light for his fellow cellmates who struggle to maintain their dignity.

This is no sanitized depiction of sainthood. As Kolbe, Marcin Kwaśny embodies an ordinary man who makes the extraordinary decision to pick up his cross and follow Christ, whatever the consequences.

Sherwood Fellows

The weight of despair

The actors playing the other prisoners are equally astounding, making you feel the weight of their despair and claustrophobia in the confinement of the hellish, one-window bunker.

Especially impressive is Rowan Polonski’s Albert, who gets the film’s central arc. As he mourns the life with his wife that he passed up to fight in the war, he struggles to accept the inevitability of death and resist the temptation of suicide. It's a dark but layered portrayal of suffering that took me aback like nothing I've ever seen in a Christian film.

RELATED: Father Maximilian Kolbe: A man who lived, and died, for truth

Keystone-France/Getty Images

As camp commandant Karl Fritzsch, the man who condemns the prisoners to death, Christopher Sherwood makes a chilling antagonist. But the more deadly foe is Satan himself. He never shows up, except for some artistic shots of a snake peppered throughout the third act, but his presence is tangible as the heroes grapple with despair. All of which makes Kolbe's admonition to “finish the race” (as seen in the movie's trailer) ring with such emotional power as they reject Satan and embrace the hard way out.

Trusting in God

Writer/director Anthony D'Ambrosio has created a deeply Catholic film. That D'Ambrosio himself struggled with anxiety and insomnia while bringing this story to life comes as no surprise; this is a movie that exudes the painful uncertainty that comes with trusting in God's plan.

"Triumph of the Heart" is also a triumph for Christian/Catholic cinema, a profoundly moving examination of the suffering that often accompanies the pursuit of holiness. I can only hope its example inspires other filmmakers to bring the full richness of the Christian faith to the big screen; the possibilities are endless. For now, go see "Triumph of the Heart." The hype is real.

Grieving Charlie Kirk: How to cling to God in the face of evil



“Man who is born of a woman is few of days and full of trouble” (Job 14:1).

Why we should read this reminder: God is sovereign over suffering and, in His time, repurposes unspeakable evil for redemptive good. The question of evil appears to be eternal, but evil did, in fact, have a beginning. And just as evil had a beginning, it will have an ending. Evil is not eternal.

Evil may wound, but it cannot win. Pain may overwhelm, but it cannot overcome the resurrection hope we have in Jesus.

On Wednesday, my heart was shattered. Charlie Kirk and I had been texting late Sunday night, finalizing details for his surprise appearance at our Prestonwood Biblical Worldview Conference. Just hours later, our brother and friend was ushered immediately into the presence of Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:8). His life was cut short in an act of unspeakable evil. He was brutally murdered and assassinated.

When we are struck by evil atrocity, our hearts cry out: Why, Lord? We feel the weight of grief pressing down, and worry and fear become destabilizing forces. But in these moments, we need a deeper anchor for our souls.

George Müller, the great 19th-century prayer warrior, once said: “My faith is the same faith which is found in every believer. It has been increased little by little for the last 26 years. Many times, when I would have gone insane from worry, I was at peace because my soul believed the truth of God’s promises.”

Müller’s words remind us of a vital truth: Peace is not found in explanations but in God’s promises.

Worry, even fear, is destabilizing so many of us right now. We need a steady anchor for our souls to stabilize our emotions and help us put one foot in front of the other today.

Oh, how we all need the reminder that our God weeps with us today. Through His Son — and now through His Spirit — God has entered our world of suffering. In the midst of heartbreak and loss, He offers His presence, His peace, His hope, His joy, and the promise of eternal life, even when life makes no sense.

Evil does not make sense, so there is no spiritual value in trying to understand or make evil make sense. Evil is a disruption in all the good God has created for us.

RELATED: Charlie Kirk: Loving father, fearless communicator, happy warrior — 1993-2025

Rebecca Noble/Getty Images

We also do not have the right words. That's OK. Scripture reminds us, “In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words" (Romans 8:26).

In light of this, I want to share four biblical anchors that can steady our souls as we grieve Charlie’s loss and face the problem of pain and evil.

1. God allows and is in control of all my challenges

When Joseph was falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife and cast into prison, he suffered unjustly for 13 long years (Genesis 39). Was he in God’s will? Yes. Was God still sovereign? Absolutely.

Only years later, standing before his brothers who had betrayed him, Joseph declared, “You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good” (Genesis 50:20). What was meant to destroy Joseph, God used to save a nation and preserve the line of promise that would lead to the Messiah.

The same God is at work in our pain today. That situation in your life that feels unbearable, even senseless — He is still in control. He is not absent. He is bringing good out of evil in ways we cannot yet see.

Please join me in praying for Charlie’s precious wife, children, and family. We cling to the promise that “the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words” (Romans 8:26). And we take comfort in the truth that “precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints” (Psalm 116:15).

2. When evil strikes, we live on promises — not explanations

Ultimately, there is little spiritual value or peace from explanations. Explanations rarely heal a broken heart. In fact, answers alone fall flat in the face of evil. But the promises of God never fail. As seekers of truth, we will find the assailants and pray they are brought to justice, but as a pastor, I know more peace will still be needed when “those questions” are answered.

To experience peace, we must learn to live by faith in the promises and character of God. No one lives by having faith in explanations. All of the faith heroes of the scriptures (many who greatly suffered) lived by faith in the promises of God. Faith is taking God at his word, not asking him for an explanation. That doesn’t mean we cannot ask God, “Why?” But in my experience, God wants us to trust him in the moment, rather than ask for an explanation.

When we suffer, we realize how insignificant our lives are apart from living them in the will of God.

Here’s the key when evil strikes: Living by faith means obeying God’s word in spite of feelings, circumstances, or consequences. It means holding on to God’s truth no matter how heavy the burden or how dark the day, knowing that He is working out His perfect plan.

It means living by promises and not by explanations.

We may never know why Charlie’s life was taken so horrifically. Evil does not make sense, nor should we expect it to. Our hope is not in explanations but in the unchanging goodness of God.

3. Suffering can confirm my faith

Suffering strips away our illusions of self-sufficiency and reminds us that apart from God, our lives are fragile and fleeting.

Think of Abraham, who was asked to sacrifice Isaac — the very son of promise (Genesis 22). That moment of unimaginable testing revealed the depth of his trust in God. And in the right time, God provided a ram.

In the same way, when trials overwhelm us, we are given the opportunity to see God as our true provider. Suffering, as painful as it is, refines our faith, anchors our hope, and draws us closer to the Lord who holds our days.

When we suffer, we realize how insignificant our lives are apart from living them in the will of God.

When we walk through suffering, we are reminded how small and fragile our lives are apart from the will of God. Trials strip away illusions and reveal that the true value of life is not found in the temporary, but in what is eternal.

4. Someday everything will become clear, and God’s ultimate purpose will be accomplished

Biblical heroes like Abraham, Joseph, and Job did not understand their trials while they were in the midst of them. Clarity only came later, when they could look back and see the hand of God at work in the crisis.

Even our Lord Jesus entered the depths of sorrow.

On the night before His crucifixion, He confessed to His disciples, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death" (Matthew 26:38). In agony He prayed, “Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me” (Matthew 26:39). Only hours later, He would endure such profound abandonment that He cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46).

In our darkest moments, we discover this unshakable truth: Jesus understands, Jesus remains, and Jesus redeems.

This week, with the heartbreaking news of Charlie’s murder, we feel that same weight of sorrow and confusion. Like the great saints of old, we don’t yet have clarity on why such atrocities happen. But we cling to the same promises they did.

The writer of Hebrews reminds us: "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are — yet he did not sin" (Hebrews 4:15).

And we hold fast to God’s unchanging word: “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5).

Charlie loved Jesus and was unashamed of the gospel. Today, we grieve his loss, but not as those without hope. Because of the resurrection of Jesus, we know this is not the end. The God who provided for Abraham, who redeemed Joseph’s suffering, who restored Job, and who raised Jesus from the grave will one day wipe away every tear.

Until that day, we trust His heart, we rest in His presence, and we lean on His promises.

And God promises us still: “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5).

In our darkest moments, we discover this unshakable truth: Jesus understands, Jesus remains, and Jesus redeems.

A final word

In this season of heartbreak, let us cling to Christ, our unshakable anchor. Evil may wound, but it cannot win. Pain may overwhelm, but it cannot overcome the resurrection hope we have in Jesus.

Until that day when faith becomes sight, we will trust His heart, rest in His presence, and hold tightly to His promises.

Charlie Kirk Wasn’t Just Assassinated, He Was Martyred

Charlie Kirk wasn't ultimately killed for his second-order political beliefs but for his first-order belief in Jesus, out of which his other beliefs flowed.

Trump to combat anti-Christian bias, bolster prayer in public schools



President Donald Trump announced the latest steps his administration is taking to protect the right to pray in schools across the nation.

Trump pointed out the tremendous, and often underreported, anti-Christian bias that has become commonplace in American schools during a speech Monday at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C. In order to protect millions of Christians across the country, Trump announced that his Department of Education will soon issue a new guidance to protect prayer in public schools.

'I know what you went through.'

"For most of our country's history, the Bible was found in every classroom in the nation," Trump said. "Yet in many schools today, students are instead indoctrinated with anti-religious propaganda, and some are even punished for their religious beliefs."

"It's ridiculous," Trump added.

RELATED: Trump defends religious faith, says Tim Kaine 'should be ashamed' for equating the Declaration of Independence to Iran

President Trump: "I'm pleased to announce this morning that the Department of Education will soon issue new guidance protecting the Right to prayer in our Public Schools. TOTAL protection." pic.twitter.com/dkyGeZHXqL
— TheBlaze (@theblaze) September 8, 2025

Trump went on to tell the story of Hannah Allen, a student at Honey Grove Middle School in Texas who tried to gather a group of friends to pray for an injured classmate in 2018. The school's principal reportedly told Allen not pray publicly but to instead pray behind a curtain, in an empty gym, or outside where she is out of view.

Due to pressure from religious liberty groups, the Honey Grove Texas Independent School District eventually reversed its decision and allowed students like Allen to pray in public.

"I know what you went through," Trump said. "I know what you went through."

RELATED: Mainstream media turns a blind eye to vicious stabbing of young Ukrainian woman

Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images

"To support students like Hannah, I'm pleased to announce this morning that the Department of Education will soon issue new guidance protecting the right to prayer in our public schools," Trump added.

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Trump defends religious faith, says Tim Kaine 'should be ashamed' for equating the Declaration of Independence to Iran



President Donald Trump torched Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia over his recent remarks undermining the importance of faith in our country's founding.

Kaine recently argued that our natural rights come from the government and not from God, directly contradicting the Declaration of Independence. Kaine went on to say that the simple notion that our inalienable rights come from God is "extremely troubling," comparing this core founding principle to Iran's theocratic regime.

'It is the tyrants who are denying our rights.'

"The notion that rights don't come from laws and don't come from the government, but come from the Creator — that's what the Iranian government believes," Kaine said in a committee hearing Wednesday. "It's a theocratic regime that bases its rule on Shia [sic] law, ... and they do it because they believe that they understand what natural rights are from their Creator."

"The statement that our rights do not come from our laws or our governments is extremely troubling," he continued.

RELATED: Tim Kaine shockingly compares the Declaration of Independence to Iran's theocratic regime: 'Extremely troubling'

Trump takes a shot at Democrat Senator Tim Kaine: "The ineffectual senator from Virginia stated that the notion that our rights come from our Creator is extremely troubling. This is advocated by a totalitarian regime. It is tyrants who are denying that our rights come from God." pic.twitter.com/3h3uVy0RvG
— TheBlaze (@theblaze) September 8, 2025

Kaine's comments were promptly met with outrage on the right, most recently with Trump calling him "ineffectual" and saying he "should be ashamed of himself."

"As everyone in this room understands, it is the tyrants who are denying our rights and the rights that come from God," Trump said during a speech at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., on Monday.

"It's this Declaration of Independence that proclaims we're endowed by our Creator with the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," Trump added. "The senator from Virginia should be ashamed of himself."

RELATED: John Thune to use Democrats' own 'nuclear option' to defeat Senate confirmation blockade

Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

Trump went on to defend the notion of God-given rights in spite of Kaine's comments, saying we will "never apologize for our faith."

"We will never surrender our God-given rights. We will defend our liberties, our values, our sovereignty, and we will defend our freedom," Trump said.

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In Small-Town Michigan, True American Values Are As Strong As Ever

The world feels fragile in many ways, but in this small lakeshore town, I am reminded that such work begins at the most local level.

Why progressives want to destroy Christianity — but spare Islam



In 1939, George Orwell coined the phrase "Judeo-Christian ethic" to include the values that formed the moral foundation of Western civilization.

This ethic influenced the American founders and helped shape their views on liberty, rights, and law. Post-Enlightenment philosophers have criticized the irrational aspects of religion and its role in the politics of state, but most have acknowledged the role that the Judeo-Christian ethic has served in preserving the fabric of society.

The idea that secular humanism is salvific for the individual or for society at large has been repeatedly discredited when Marxist ideology has been put into practice.

"Progressivism," on the other hand, is a political philosophy focused on social progress through systemic reforms. It demands a strong central government dedicated to countering societal inequality and injustice. The progressive movement historically shares roots in Christianity and secular humanism, although in recent decades it has emphasized a reliance on science and technology and antipathy toward any expression of religion in the public square.

Left-leaning since its inception in the 19th century, progressivism has, since the 1960s, adopted misotheistic Marxist ideology. Its proponents have focused primarily on discrediting Christian religious practice.

In the Biden administration, for example, both public and private expressions of Christianity came under attack by federal agencies despite First Amendment guarantees that Americans can practice their religion without government interference. These government transgressions are currently being reversed by the new faith-friendly Trump administration.

The big question

So why does progressivism target Christianity specifically?

The obvious answer is that Christianity has been the dominant religion in America since its founding, and at least until recently, most Americans continued to engage with its practice. But religious affiliation constitutes a challenge to the progressive secular state, as this state insists that there can be no greater authority than itself.

The emphasis on freedom of individual within Christianity also tends to resist the enforced conformity that is central to neo-Marxist ideology and identity politics. Progressivism is best viewed as a secular humanist civic religion that is engaged in a religious war with monotheistic faith.

RELATED: Christianity's real crisis isn't atheism — but a far more sinister deception

D-Keine/iStock/Getty Images Plus

As Bertrand Russell opined, Marxism is in many respects an atheistic restatement of Christianity, but unlike the Christian “kingdom of God,” its utopian goals can only be realized through the authority of the state.

For this reason, all Marxist states are openly antagonistic to theistic religion.

Cultural infiltration

Since the 1960s, Marxist ideologues, many having fled Nazi fascism in Europe, recognized that a revolution to install socialist and communist values was unlikely to succeed in America. Instead, they envisioned a less radical evolutionary strategy aimed at infiltrating the institutions that define American culture — including its educational systems, news media, entertainment industry, and corporations — with Marxist ideas.

But for this strategy to succeed, it would first have to transform the values of the Judeo-Christian ethic in the direction of Marxism.

A document in the 1963 "Congressional Record" outlines the plan of Marxists to undermine America by targeting the family unit, promoting deviant sexualities, and fostering criminal behavior. This strategy was aligned with neo-Marxist postmodern philosophies being taught in universities that questioned the possibility of objective truth and viewed virtually all societal transactions through the post-colonial polarized lens of “oppressors” and “oppressed.”

But in order to succeed, this strategy could not break radically with the past. Rather, it was necessary to retain those aspects of the Judeo-Christian ethic that had been established as part of the American “social imaginary.”

To this end, neo-Marxism adopts Judeo-Christian concerns with “social justice” but ignores its focus on law. This has allowed progressivism, in its current neo-Marxist “woke” avatar, to “stand for social justice” while simultaneously attacking white privilege, normative sexuality, law and order, and religion.

Although Christianity has been the primary focus of progressive vitriol, it stands to reason that the other source of the Judeo-Christian ethic would also be a target for hostility.

Following the October 7 terrorist attacks in Israel, anti-Israel protests led by progressives erupted on America’s college campuses and streets. Jews represent a small minority of Americans and, as such, do not represent a numerical challenge to progressive goals.

However, loyalty to religion and the state of Israel, as well as Judaism’s focus on law, elicited the age-old criticisms of Jewish particularism by Marxists.

Why not Islam?

Why, then, has Islam, a monotheistic religion, been spared the wrath of progressives? There are several likely reasons.

First, Islam is a newcomer to the American scene and, until recently, had little political influence and did not constitute a noticeable resistance to progressive goals.

Second, “woke” progressives imagine all Muslims as oppressed peoples of color who have suffered at the hands of imperial governments. Moreover, radical Islam, like Marxism, seeks to undermine the Judeo-Christian traditions of the West.

Radical Islam, like Marxism, seeks to undermine the Judeo-Christian traditions of the West.

Jihad against the West with the goal of restoring a theocratic caliphate has been a goal of fundamentalist Islam since its inception. Indeed, nowhere in Islamic countries have Christians or Jews ever enjoyed equitable freedom with Muslims, nor are women or the LGBTQ+ afforded equal freedoms with Muslim men, a fact that progressives assiduously avoid admitting.

Although Marxists and Islamists have banded together to undermine Judeo-Christian values in the West, theirs is an uncomfortable alliance, as the atheistic Marxist state is ultimately incompatible with an Islamic caliphate. Only in Muslim countries governed by secular strongmen has an alliance with Marxism achieved even a modicum of success.

Finally, one must always “follow the money.” And in recent years, Islamic governments have provided substantial financial resources to progressive causes because they share in common the goal of “transforming” America.

Faithful resistance

If the right to practice the Judeo-Christian traditions is to be preserved, it is incumbent upon America’s religious leaders to recognize that the goals of progressivism are antithetical to faith, and they must resist being co-opted by misotheistic ideology out of fear or ignorance.

The idea that secular humanism is salvific for the individual or for society at large has been repeatedly discredited when Marxist ideology has been put into practice.

Marxist ideology, therefore, should be seen in its true light, which is as the product of a destructive impulse within the human psyche that will only be fully extinguished in the messianic future.

School shootings and the street called Straight



Another school shooting. This time in Minnesota. Families torn apart in seconds. A normal day turned into horror.

In the aftermath, many recalled another atrocity — the shooting at the Covenant School in Nashville two years ago. That one struck close to home for me. While my wife and I lived in Nashville, Covenant was our church for many years. I watched video of SWAT officers rushing past the very room where I once sat in Sunday school. The grief became more personal when I flew back to Tennessee from Montana to play the piano at the funeral of one of the victims.

When our own curtain is pulled back, and the way forward is shadowed with suffering, we remember: The road to glory may well run through a street called Straight.

These moments make the world feel unrecognizable. And when the dust settles, the mockery often begins. Politicians dismiss prayer. Late-night hosts sneer at faith. Social media shrugs off God with cheap jokes. Unbearable suffering, then mocked with derision.

Watching this unfold, I was reminded of the story in Acts 9 about a street called Straight. Saul had just experienced a dramatic encounter with the risen Christ on the road to Damascus — an encounter that left him blind for three days. During that time, the Lord appeared in a vision to a disciple named Ananias. He told him that Saul was staying at the home of a man in Damascus, on a street called Straight, and that Ananias was to go and pray for him.

Ananias recoiled — Saul’s reputation as a persecutor was well-known — but the Lord gave him a startling explanation: “I will show him how much he must suffer for my name” (Acts 9:16).

Not long after, Saul became known as Paul — the same apostle whose letters fill much of the New Testament. And from the very beginning of his ministry, suffering was not hidden from him but placed squarely before him. In Greek, the phrase means literally, the full measure. Not a glimpse. Not a teaser. The whole road of suffering laid out before him. And Paul walked it anyway.

His apostleship was never presented with illusions of ease. Five times he endured 39 lashes, until his back was scarred beyond recognition. Three times he was beaten with rods. In Lystra, a mob stoned him and left him for dead. Paul did not write as a theorist or philosopher; every sentence came from a man whose body testified as loudly as his words.

So when Paul wrote words of encouragement like, “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9), we can bank on it — because those words were not written in safety but with scars still healing.

These weren’t armchair reflections but battlefield confessions. And scripture pulls the lens back even further with Job, who faced his own crucible of loss. His wife derisively urged, “Curse God and die.” But Job replied, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.”

Why? Because Job knew the One who allowed suffering was also the only One who could redeem it.

This truth was driven home to me after one particularly brutal surgery. My wife, Gracie, was clock-watching in her hospital room. In this recovery (she’s had 98 surgeries), the pain spiked to staggering levels. She had to wait before the next dose of medication, and the minute hand on the wall became her tormentor. Her jaw clenched, her body trembled, and she looked at me with eyes filled with anxiety and agony.

Leaning close, my own eyes moist, I thought about the apostle’s testimony and said softly, “Gracie, it is often said that if you took off the apostle Paul’s tunic, you would see 195 scars from the beatings he endured. And he had no anesthesia.”

Through clenched teeth she shot back, “I’m not the apostle Paul.”

I placed my other hand on hers. “No, you’re not. But the same Spirit who sustained him will sustain you. He will never abandon you.”

The pain didn’t vanish. But together we endured — not by strength we could muster, but by the same power that carried Paul through lashings, Peter to his cross, and Jesus all the way to calvary.

RELATED:When God’s light hits hard, don’t flinch — stand firm

Photo by sykkel via Getty Images

God does not answer every question. He did not explain Job’s suffering, and He rarely explains ours. What possible explanation could we process about what happened in Minnesota?

But He did reveal to some. He showed Paul the full measure of what he would suffer. He told Peter the manner of his death. He warned the disciples plainly about persecution. And still they went.

They left scars, letters, hymns, and sermons that still speak. And because they staked their lives on what they had seen, we can bank on their testimony when our own way grows murky.

The path is often hard to see. Scripture says God’s word is a lamp to our feet, not a searchlight illuminating miles ahead. In the dark, we do not get the full blueprint. But we do get enough light for the next step.

Yet, sometimes God pulls back the curtain — just a little — and the road ahead looks unbearably bleak. For the families in Minnesota, for Job in his ash heap, for Paul staring down lashes and stones, the cost was laid bare. And in those moments, the scars of Paul, the conviction of Job, and — above all — Christ setting His face like flint toward calvary, echo down the centuries to steady us.

Because when our own curtain is pulled back, and the way forward is shadowed with suffering, we remember: The road to glory may well run straight through a street called Straight.

Liberals are right about 'thoughts and prayers' — but not for the reason they think



After a transgender shooter murdered children at Annunciation Catholic School last month, liberals demanded no more "thoughts and prayers."

For once, they're right — but not for the reasons they think.

Ritual scorn

Before the facts were fully known, liberals seized on the moment to lecture Americans about why prayer is an insufficient response to the tragedy.

Former White House press secretary Jen Psaki declared that "prayer is not freaking enough." Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey (D) went a step further. He used a press conference to browbeat Christians. "Don't just say that this is about thoughts and prayers right now," he declared.

The reaction was as predictable as it was tone-deaf.

Evil had just entered the sanctuary of God, and two innocent children were murdered. Yet progressives like Psaki and Frey believe that was the time to denounce believers who offer their sympathy to the victims and call out to God in a time of dire need?

It's a familiar ritual: Politicians and pundits use tragedy to score easy points against Christians.

Are they right?

Yes — partially. While Scripture recounts miraculous answers to prayer, most Christians don't experience immediate "results" from prayer (as if results are the goal; they're not). Prayers don't restore broken stained-glass windows and (typically) don't resurrect life.

But in a way, these ghoulish critics are right: America needs something more than words.

America lacks the courage to name evil for what it is and to confront the anti-God and demonic ideologies that deform human souls.

It's not that prayer is weak, ineffective, or insufficient. Calling on God is not a wholesale abdication of duty. Quite the opposite. Prayer is a powerful act precisely because it's meant to lead us to repentance, action, and moral renewal. Christian tradition does not sever prayer from action. They are inherently intertwined.

So, I agree: Our country needs more action. But what kind?

Rotten roots

As liberals sneer at prayer — the one practice that consistently births moral courage in the face of evil — they offer to sacrifice the Second Amendment on the altar of progressivism. Endless laws, strict regulations, all in the name of "safety," are pushed as the "real action" America needs. Ironically, they can't name a single law that would have prevented the tragedy, short of repealing the Second Amendment entirely.

But gun control is not the cure. The real solution is moral action.

Right now, America lacks the courage to name evil for what it is and to confront the anti-God and demonic ideologies that deform human souls. At the core, the Annunciation Catholic School tragedy is the fruit of moral disorder, the result of a culture that catechizes people into anti-God, anti-truth ideologies.

When a society teaches young people to reject God, meaning, and moral reality — everything that is true and good — we should not be surprised when their brokenness turns monstrous.

RELATED: The idols and lies behind the Minneapolis Catholic school shooting

The cure begins with addressing the spiritual rot at the root of these tragedies: racial individualism, nihilism, the denial of objective truth, and the rejection of God. In the simplest terms, it means rejecting the worldview of progressive liberalism. And prayer, rightly understood, fuels this moral reckoning. It reminds us that righteous action is not merely a policy outcome but a divine imperative.

We have a duty to love God and to love our neighbor as ourselves. That means it's time for courageous Americans to stand up and recover a moral vision that forms strong men and women who fear the Lord and walk in His ways.

No law will save us. Only righteous action from God-fearing men and women will prevent the next Annunciation tragedy.

Prayer's demand

When Jesus hung on the cross and bore the weight of humanity's sin, mockers looked upon the living God and declared, "He saved others, but he cannot save himself" (Matthew 27:42).

That is exactly what the prayer-mockers do. They think prayer doesn't work or it has failed. Worse yet, they believe that God has failed.

But the eyes of man are easily led astray. The mockers on that day failed to discern that what they saw as a failure was anything but a failure. Jesus, after all, left the tomb alive.

So, yes: "Thoughts and prayers" aren't enough. Not because prayer is insufficient but because prayer calls us to more than words; it demands moral seriousness and righteous action.

If "thoughts and prayers" are to mean anything, they must be joined to action — the hard, uncompromising, and courageous work of confronting evil, calling out false ideologies, and shaping a culture that values truth, virtue, human life, and the God that created us. And what is beautiful about prayer is that it prompts righteous but flawed people to step up and do what is right. It fuels our courage to act.

We must pray — because it's vital — but we must also act. Prayer sets the compass, and moral action steers the ship. It's high time we took the wheel.

Is the rapture actually coming soon? What you need to know



Doomsday date-setting is nothing new. People throughout the ages have perpetually speculated about when they believe the end times will come to fruition.

Since Jesus’ death and resurrection, his promise that he will one day return has left believers waiting in anxious anticipation. Along the way, the concept of the "rapture" became a key piece in this complex, prophetic puzzle. It’s a topic I detailed in my book “The Armageddon Code.”

End-times divide

Merriam-Webster defines the rapture as the “final assumption of Christians into heaven during the end time according to Christian theology.” And while this definition is fine in a general sense, rapture theology has splintered into many forms and fashions.

We certainly see many signs today that point to important reverberations as chaos swirls around the globe.

The concept centers on various biblical teachings, though 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 is a central text. “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.”

Among Christians, there are a slew of beliefs about when — or even if — the rapture will unfold. Those who believe in a pre-tribulation rapture say Christians will be taken up to heaven by Jesus and protected before a seven-year tribulation period on Earth.

Others take a mid-tribulation stance, believing Christians will be brought up to glory halfway through the seven-year tribulation period. Then there’s the post-tribulation view, which sees the rapture and second coming of Jesus as one event.

There are some other perspectives as well, but the point is: The church is divided over the timing and even the existence of the rapture.

September 23, 2025?

Like many other theological constructs, it has become a lightning rod for debate. Yet there’s one area where there should be absolutely no controversy, debate — or even discussion: Date-setting.

Sadly, over the past two millennia, many people have attempted to set specific predictions about when they believe Jesus will rapture the church.

The latest madness centers on September 23, a date circulating on social media as the time when Christ will purportedly come back to take Christians to heaven.

“Rumors have recently gone viral online that the rapture will take place on September 23,” Charisma explains. “Videos across TikTok and YouTube claim dreams, visions, and even mathematical formulas confirm the return of Christ during this year’s Feast of Trumpets. Some are so convinced that they are selling possessions and preparing for that day as the final moment.”

While it’s hard to tell how widespread these proclamations have become, it’s simply another day, another rapture conspiracy theory.

No dates allowed

But there’s a major biblical problem with date-setting when it comes to the end times: We’re never told in scripture to do it.

Both Matthew 24:36 and Mark 13:32 proclaim that no one knows when the end will unfold. The former reads, “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”

In the preceding verses, Jesus does offer powerful words after his disciples asked for the “sign of [Christ’s] coming and of the end of the age.” He encourages followers not to be deceived by fake messiahs and tells them there will be “wars and rumors of wars” and even famines and earthquakes all over the globe.

Jesus explains that these events will be the “birth pains,” and persecution will follow. He also notes that the gospel will be preached around the world before the end comes. There is, of course, debate about how to place these events in the context of future events, as some believe Christ’s warnings in these scriptures pertain — at least in part — to Rome’s destruction of the temple in Jerusalem in A.D. 70; some see his words as being both immediate and long-ranging prophecies.

RELATED: How to survive the end of the world in 6 easy steps

OlgaPtashko/iStock/Getty Images Plus

Regardless, Jesus makes it clear that we won’t know when the end of days will arrive. This elusive nature would, thus, apply to both a rapture event and Jesus’ second coming. In fact, Christ goes on to say that the conditions surrounding his return will be as in the days of Noah.

People around Noah were living their lives without a care until the flood shockingly took them away. He said his own re-emergence will follow a similar pattern.

“Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left,” Jesus proclaims in Matthew 24:40, with verse 41 continuing: “Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.”

Now, he does add the following in verse 42: “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.” So there’s certainly a call to be alert, but never to date-set.

Faith, not forecasts

We certainly see many signs today that point to important reverberations as chaos swirls around the globe — much of it focused on Israel and the Middle East. People are lovers of themselves, and morality is fleeting.

But to claim the rapture is happening on a specific date like Sept. 23 isn’t only biblically incorrect and spiritually illiterate; it’s also dangerous.

Over a decade ago, other viral claims surrounded a man named Harold Camping.

Camping purportedly unsuccessfully predicted the rapture numerous times, with people who believed his proclamations reportedly giving up their money and possessions in anticipation; one man spent his entire life savings.

It was a tragic dynamic that would have been avoidable if people simply stuck to the biblical text.

Ultimately, if we’re concerned that the rapture or second coming (or both simultaneously, depending on your theological proclivities) is upon us, our best action is to reach the lost around us with God’s eternal truth.

Rather than waste time date-setting, we should be spreading the gospel to a watching world, because that’s a calling the Bible actually gives us.