A Lenten Prayer for God to Bring Beauty from Ashes 　　By Debbie McDaniel 　　“To bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.”Isa 61:3 　　As we walk through this season of Lent, we’re reminded again that sometimes… life is hard. 　　Sometimes...

　　Weekend, March 16, 2024 　　What Prayer Isn’t About 　　Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. (Matthew 6:33 NLT) 　　Prayer isn’t about changing God’s mind. In many cases, prayer is about changing our minds. 　　When Jesus taught His disciples to pray, He told them, “Pray like this: Our Father...

　　In a country where 80 percent of adults believe religions influence is in decline, white evangelicals stand out as the group most likely to want to see their faith reflected in the US government. 　　According to a new survey from the Pew Research Center, most white evangelicals want a president who reflects their religious beliefs, believe the Bible should have...

　　Universities are one of the United States’ greatest strengths. Throughout the nation’s history, institutions of higher education have promoted free thought and open discourse, which are crucial to maintaining our stable democracy and unparalleled economic growth. Attendance was viewed as a clear benefit for both the student and society. But the legitimacy of American higher education is under attack and...

　　The Apple original series Slow Horses centers around a man who has fought two wars. The world-worn Jackson Lamb, brilliantly performed by Gary Oldman, is disheveled, indifferent, and bitter. And he’s got every right to be because he’s not only been fighting against the Soviets and numerous security threats to the UK, but has also battled the large institutional bureaucracy...

　　Connecting in the Heat of the Moment 　　By: Amanda Idleman 　　Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. - Colossians 3:12 　　At all times in our marriages, we need to connect heart-to-heart, which means connecting emotionally before anything else. 　　Have you ever had an argument...

　　The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) just released the February 2024 Budget and Economic Outlook, and projections look grim. This year, net interest cost—the federal government’s interest payments on debt held by the public minus interest income—stands at a staggering $659 billion in 2023 and has recently soared to about $1 trillion. Unless politicians face these facts and restrain spending, Americans...

　　Classical liberals are rightly accused of droning on about the pitfalls of state control and the hubris of planners. The reason we get so tedious about it is, well, because we’re right: Many of the problems we face are caused by overconfident planners who presume to know the way things should be run for the rest of us. From farm...

　　The Supreme Court over the last two decades has repeatedly strengthened the expanded reach of the Free Exercise and Free Speech Clauses to protect the religious. At the same time, the Court has moved to reduce the weight of the Establishment Clause as a counterbalance to the reach and protections of these other clauses—a counterbalance that it obtained through a...

　　The venerable economist Milton Friedman once said, “Only a crisis—actual or perceived—produces real change.” That’s the impulse behind Winston Churchill’s admonition (later famously echoed by Obamas chief of staff Rahm Emanuel): “Never let a good crisis go to waste.” Well, welcome to the world of American higher education. Crippling tuition, bloated bureaucracies, huge rates of noncompletion, campus groupthink, DEI loyalty...

　　In early 2024 and at the height of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, the Israeli Supreme Court published the most important ruling in its history. By a narrow majority of 8 to 7, the Court struck down the constitutional amendment to Basic Law: The Judiciary. This amendment did not apply the unreasonableness doctrine to ministerial and government decisions and therefore...

　　In American memory, the communist state of East Germany lingers as a risible Cold War relic, a regimented nation whose greatest accomplishment was the construction of a 96-mile-long wall in Berlin to prevent its beleaguered citizens from escaping to the West. How could anyone live a normal life, let alone thrive, in a state that ruthlessly surveilled its captive population...