251 Pentecost 26: Where To From Here?
“O Lord, You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup; You maintain my lot. The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; Yes, I have a good inheritance.” ~ Psalm 16
Where To From Here?
This is a pivotal moment in history, and it demands clarity. The questions we face aren’t just rhetorical—they’re the map. Let’s break it down.
Who Has the Mandate to do What?
First: Who has the authority, the vision, and the courage to lead? Our institutions are faltering, our leaders are dubious, and the experts are mostly paid actors.
Will it be the states, reclaiming their sovereignty from the clutches of centralized government? Or the fathers, stepping up to lead families in a time of moral decay? Is the Church ready to reclaim its voice of truth in a world drowning in lies?
Mandates aren’t participation trophies. They’re moments that call for faithfulness, courage, and wisdom. If you want the authority to act, you’ve got to step into the responsibility to lead.
Who and What Stand Against Us?
Let’s not sugarcoat it—the opposition is fierce.
• Spiritual warfare: This isn’t just politics or culture; it’s a battle against the forces of darkness (Ephesians 6:12).
• The entrenched bureaucracy: A bloated, unaccountable system that thrives on inertia, fears change and is incentivised to stagnate.
• Cultural decay: A society drunk on espace, apathy, and fear, too divided and distracted to care.
And let’s not forget the enemies within: our own temptations. The solution? Jesus knows. Follow Jesus.
Pray boldly.
Here’s the heart of it: Where is your hope? Who do you trust?
Are you praying to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—the God who parts seas, topples empires, and raises the dead? Or are you bowing to the false gods of comfort, convenience, and approval?
This isn’t a quick fix. What we’re after—a nation that honors God, families built on solid foundations, a church that’s a beacon of truth—won’t happen overnight.
This is a generational fight. Are you ready? It’s going to take patience, grit, and a long-term vision. Plant the trees whose shade you may never sit under. Build institutions that your grandchildren will inherit. This is about playing the long game.
The Way Forward
The answers to these questions aren’t abstract; they’re personal. Where we go from here depends on you.
• Embrace the mandate God has given you—whether it’s leading your family, serving your church, or fighting for truth in your community.
• Identify the obstacles, both external and internal, and confront them with courage and faith.
• Pray fervently and act decisively. Don’t just wait for a miracle—be the miracle God is working through.
• Commit to the long haul. This is a marathon, not a sprint, and the work of rebuilding takes time.
The time to act is now. There is oil in your lamp.
Burn.
Till angel cry and trumpet sound,
R.J.M.F
Politics
The New York home of Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan was raided by the FBI last week. The Bureau seized electronic devices but did not arrest him. Polymarket, a betting site, is facing allegations that it allowed US-based users to place bets on the American presidential election, which is not allowed. (Reuters)
A new filing from the US Federal Election Commission has revealed that the Harris-Walz campaign spent millions on Hollywood endorsements and travel by private jet, some of which may count as illegal endorsements. (ZeroHedge)
What would happen if the Department of Education was dismantled? (FEE)
President Biden was smiling and pleasant as he meet Donald Trump in the Oval Office. The presidents discussed the future, with Biden reiterating his intention to assist the new administration to get set up. (WNG)
The Village people have said they won’t rule out performing at the second Donald Trump inauguration. The 70s disco group have been cranky that their song YMCA has been used a lot by Trump during his presidential run. (Daily Beast)
A diversity, equity and inclusion educator laments the end of an era: “This turn of leadership really feels like the end of DEI…Since the president-elect is so open about his position on so many things that harm so many people, it feels like it’s probably time to tip my hat and head on out.” While admitting that that current crop of educators has failed to change much, she vows to be back with a new approach because racism, gender pay gaps and micro-agressions are not going to fix themselves. (Fast Company)
Births, Deaths and Marriages
Mattel has apologized after printing a link to a porn site on the boxes of its new range of dolls based on the musical, Wicked. (Not the Bee)
We need to talk about “toxic femininity.” (The Federalist)
Crime and Punishment
Jack Teixiera, the 22 year-old US Air National Guardsman who leaked Pentagon documents to a Discord group has been sentenced to 15 years in prison. (BBC)
The daughter of Malcolm X and other family members have brought a lawsuit against Department of Justice, FBI, CIA and New York Police Department, claiming that each played a significant role in the killing of the activist in 1965. (The Hill)
Four people have been charged in connection with an insurance fraud scheme where one trashed car interiors, dressed in a bear suit. (NBC)
Coming to America
Tennessee’s Bureau of Investigation has warned that Venezuelan gangs are operating in the state: “They’re here and they’re in numbers.” (Fox Nashville)
The Digital Age
Short-post platform Bluesky had a good week, adding almost one million new sign-ups and crossing the 15 million user mark. Most of the traffic seems to be liberals and progressives who have had enough of X or are perhaps suffering Musk Derangement Syndrome. Bluesky boasts “anti-toxicity” features with “user-created algorithmic feeds.” (The Verge, The Verge)
Media ecologist Andrey Mir argues that the internet has come full circle – from empowering individuals at one point to soon becoming an organ of state control. (Big Think)
Hand over the dough! A hacker group has demanded $125K in baguettes for the release of data it stole. (The Register)
A UK media firm has invented a grandma-like chatbot to keep phone scammers occupied. (Mashable)
Monday.. You know the drill
Money, Markets and Jobs
Cryptocurrency Bitcoin reached new record high of $90k last week, with predictions that it will continue to rise under “regulatory relief” proposed by the future Trump administration. (Coin Telegraph)
A survey from earlier this year says that young people would take a pay cut if it meant they get to spend more time with their pets. (Empower)
Technology That Honors Tradition (triglotta.org)
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Straight Outta J-School
The boss of lefty satirical site The Onion has purchased right-wing media site Infowars. The site and all its intellectual property was auctioned for an undisclosed amount. The buyer, former NBC “disinformation expert” Ben Collins, says he intends to turn the site into a “very funny, very stupid website”, which will bring accountability to its founder, Alex Jones. Jones was ordered to pay around $1 billion in damages to families of the Sandy Hook school shooting after he said that the tragedy was a hoax. Jones has challenged that sale, saying that The Onion’s bid was not the highest and is therefore disqualified to win the auction. (CBS, ZeroHedge)
The owner of Los Angeles’ Times has vowed to recover public trust in the newspaper, saying he intends to replace the entire editorial board to represent a diversity of viewpoints. (The Blaze)
Religion and the Church
The Church of England is working out where to from here after the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby stepped down last week. Welby had faced calls for his resignation after it became clear that he had known about serial abuse of boys by a camp director and failed to do anything about it. (RNS)
How religious groups voted in the US presidential election. (WNG)
Pray for Christians in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Arts, History and Sport
A photo album found in a French flea market sparked a search for a mystery photographer. Whoever it was bravely took forbidden images during the Nazi occupation of Paris. (NPR)
Is the love song dying? Not if you expand the definition to include songs about sex, self-love and relationships that are “neither good nor bad”. So, that’s a ‘yes’?(The Pudding)
The magic of television: How David Copperfield made the Statue of Liberty disappear in 1983. What, no AI? (Mind blown Magic via YouTube)
The wreck of the USS Edsall which was sunk by Japanese forces in 1942 has been located. The majority of the 200 sailors aboard died during the attack. (Not the Bee)
Last week in history:
1988 Yassar Arafat declares Palestine a state. (Britannica)
Health, Medicine and Food
Scientists are still trying to work out why mRNA covid vaccines do not confer long-term immunity. (Epoch Times)
A new study shows that neurons grow as muscles work during exercise, leading to hopes that a way to heal nerves may be discovered. (MIT News)
The New York Times has been forced to backtrack its Froot Loop factchecking after it failed to distinguish between natural ingredients and synthetic ones. (The Federalist)
I can’t believe it’s not labeled! Costco has been told to recall thousands of pounds of butter after the FDA said the package did not provide required labels warning that it “contains milk.” (New York Post)
Kraft Heinz’ Lunchables will no longer be supplied with school lunches. A consumer report found the school version of the snack contained “high levels of sodium, lead and cadmium”. (CNN)
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Science
SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft has demonstrated that it can boost the International Space Station as handily as other spaceships. The ISS needs a shove every now and again to stop it crashing down to earth. (The Register)
A treatment made from stem cells has restored the sight of patients with damaged corneas. (Nature)
Researchers have found that small LED lights mess with shark’s ability to detect prey. They hope that they may be able to help make surfers invisible to sharks as they are often mistaken for seals or other meals. (Lighthouse)
LiDAR-like technology will allow robots to see through walls and smoke. (Interesting Engineering)
Astronomers trawling through old NASA data have found that when Voyager 2 spacecraft flew by Uranus in 1986, a solar event at the time may have skewed fundamental perceptions of the planet’s atmosphere ever since. Oops! (JPL NASA)
South Korean scientists have developed “morphing” wheels for wheelchairs which can cope with rough surfaces and even stairs. (Reuters)
God’s Green Earth
New emissions rules in several states will effectually ban the sale of new motorhomes. (SFGate)
An appeals court in The Hague has ruled in favor of oil company Shell, in a landmark climate case. A lawsuit against the company sought to make the company reduce carbon emissions to protect people of the world. (WNG)
Hearts and Minds
How to read more books. (Inside Hook)
A computer engineer writes about “wandering well”: “There are few things more satisfying to me than following a hunch and seeing where it leads, without a commitment to a specific, final destination.” (David Heinemeier Hansson)
War and Rumors of War
The US Navy is celebrating the launch of its first submarine purposely designed to accomodate an integrated male and female crew. (Nice News)
President Biden has authorized Ukraine to use long-range missiles capable of firing into Russian territory. This is reportedly in response to Russia using North Korean soldiers on the battlefield. (The Guardian)
Ukraine and Russia have reportedly been bombarding each other with drones. (NBC)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says he believes the war will end sooner under Trump. (Just the News)
A CIA official has been arrested in Cambodia, charged with leaking classified US documents about Israel’s proposed strikes against Iran. (USA Today)
North Korea’s leader has called for juiced up manufacturing of explosive drones. (AP)
Stories from Far Away
🇭🇹 Several airlines have suspended flights to Haiti after a commercial passenger plane was hit by gunfire as it attempted landing in Port-au-Prince. The Spirit Airline plane was rerouted and with no serious injuries. A transitional council has removed acting prime minister Gary Conille and appointed former senator Alix Didier Fils-Aimé. Gang violence is still gripping the island. (BBC, The Guardian)
🇸🇰 🇭🇺 Slovakia has upset its ally, Hungary after a leaked bill showed that Bratislava intends to ban the use of minority languages on “public transport, at post offices or on restaurant menus.” A minority of Slovakians speak Hungarian. (Politico)
🇬🇧 Farmers in the UK are planning to march on London today to protest a proposed inheritance tax on land. “They have warned that the policy will destroy family farms across the country or see them broken up.” (The Independent)
🇿🇦 South African authorities have cut off supplies to a group of illegal miners working underground, in accordance with its official strategy against the industry. Cabinet Minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni told reporters that neither police nor military would be sent down the abandoned mine, but aimed to force the miners to return to the surface. (AP)
🇨🇳 A man has driven his car into a crowd killing more than 35 people in China. The man was reportedly upset about his recent divorce. (AP)
🇳🇿 High drama in New Zealand’s parliament after Maori lawmakers protested a bill which would extend privileges afforded to indigenous people to all Kiwis. The bill, which is apparently unpopular, aims to do away with provisions agreed to in the Treaty of Waitangi which carved out protections for Maori in exchange for British rule. (AP)
🇮🇳 An Indian high court has ruled that booksellers may import and sell Salman Rushdie’s Satanic Verses. The book was banned in 1988 but a recent case to clarify the extent of the ban found that it may never have existed. (New Indian Express)
🐩 Why do wet dogs shake so much?
🇵🇱 The Polish village where everyone lives on the same road
🚲 A new bike helmet features turn signals, brake lights and crash detection tech
🎈 A slack line record between hot air balloons
🤿 You’ll need to scuba dive to reach this Florida hotel
✂️ …and a Florida museum is hosting the world record paper rocket championships
🏁 Photos of Speedway racers and fans, 1972
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Jonathan and Meridith fought back the fatigue to bring another cracking episode of Starfall2029. Watch on YouTube or Rumble, or listen here. Show links:
Placentophagy - A Christian perspective
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This Week Preached:
Podcast Release:
Let us pray. O Lord, by Your bountiful goodness release us from the bonds of our sins, which by reason of our weakness we have brought upon ourselves, that we may stand firm until the day of our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
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