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Winter Storm Blair took at least ten lives this week in her icy trip across the U.S.
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The system, propelled by a polar vortex—an area of cold air that typically encircles the Arctic—put more than 60 million Americans under winter storm warnings and brought record snowfall to areas across the Plains and Midatlantic, with some areas receiving 18+ inches in a single day.
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Road conditions were deadly, runways closed (disrupting about 6,000 flights), and power went out for nearly 350,000 customers from Illinois to Kentucky. As of Tuesday, seven states had declared states of emergency. Unusually cold temps will linger for the rest of the week as power companies race to turn the heat back on.
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Meanwhile, America’s southern half is trading flip-flops for boots in preparation for Winter Storm Cora.
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ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE
Massive weather events remind us that all of the world has been broken by sin. But Christians can look forward to an eternity where there’s renewal not just for people but for creation itself.
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“For the creation was subjected to futility — not willingly, but because of him who subjected it — in the hope that the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage to decay into the glorious freedom of God’s children.”
Romans 8:20-21 (CSB) (read full passage)
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LA Wildfires

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Los Angeles County is engulfed in its costliest wildfire battle in history.
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What’s happening?
As of last night, five active wildfires (see map) were burning in LA County. The blazes had claimed at least 10 lives and forced nearly 180,000 people to evacuate.
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Where are the fires?
The largest, most destructive fire—the Palisades Fire—has scorched nearly 20,000 acres (31 square miles), destroying thousands of homes (see video) between Santa Monica and Malibu.
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Just north of the Palisades fire, the Kenneth Fire broke out yesterday afternoon, spreading across nearly a thousand acres in a matter of hours.
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North of Pasadena, the Eaton Fire has burned more than 13,000 acres, destroyed 4,000 buildings, and caused “significant injuries.”
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Further north, near Santa Clarita, the Lidia Fire and the Hurst Fire have together torched over 1,100 acres.
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Over 7,500 California first responders and 160 engines from other states have been deployed to combat the fires. As of writing, the Kenneth and Eaton Fires were 0% contained, the Palisades Fire was 6% contained, the Hurst Fire was 40% contained, and the Lidia Fire was 60% contained.
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How did the fires start?
The cause of each fire is under investigation, but wind gusts up to 100 mph, dry air, and vegetation-covered hills created a situation “about as bad as it gets.”
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What’s the response been?
Governor Newsom (D-CA) issued a state of emergency Tuesday, and President Biden met with firefighting officials in LA on Wednesday, directing a “full federal response.”
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President-elect Trump noted that some fire hydrants had run dry, saying government mismanagement of water contributed to the crisis.
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Californians are on alert as strong winds continue in the region, increasing the risk of new fires starting through “ember attacks” and the spread of smoke-polluted air.
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BE DOERS
As we wait for the redemption of creation itself, believers can share our hope through radical generosity and service.
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Join us in supporting disaster victims in California’s Wildfires. We’ll match the first $2,000 given to Operation Blessing*, a faith-based non-profit with boots on the ground and a record of doing great work.
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“For the creation was subjected to futility — not willingly, but because of him who subjected it — in the hope that the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage to decay into the glorious freedom of God’s children.”
Romans 8:20-21 (CSB) (
read full passage)
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“The power of his resurrection.”

Philippians 3:10

The doctrine of a risen Saviour is exceedingly precious. The resurrection is the corner-stone of the entire building of Christianity. It is the key-stone of the arch of our salvation. It would take a volume to set forth all the streams of living water which flow from this one sacred source, the resurrection of our dear Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ; but to know that he has risen, and to have fellowship with him as such — communing with the risen Saviour by possessing a risen life — seeing him leave the tomb by leaving the tomb of worldliness ourselves, this is even still more precious.




The doctrine is the basis of the experience, but as the flower is more lovely than the root, so is the experience of fellowship with the risen Saviour more lovely than the doctrine itself. I would have you believe that Christ rose from the dead so as to sing of it, and derive all the consolation which it is possible for you to extract from this well-ascertained and well-witnessed fact; but I beseech you, rest not contented even there. Though you cannot, like the disciples, see him visibly, yet I bid you aspire to see Christ Jesus by the eye of faith; and though, like Mary Magdalene, you may not “touch” him, yet may you be privileged to converse with him, and to know that he is risen, you yourselves being risen in him to newness of life.

To know a crucified Saviour as having crucified all my sins, is a high degree of knowledge; but to know a risen Saviour as having justified me, and to realize that he has bestowed upon me new life, having given me to be a new creature through his own newness of life, this is a noble style of experience: short of it, none ought to rest satisfied. May you both “know him, and the power of his resurrection.” Why should souls who are quickened with Jesus, wear the grave-clothes of worldliness and unbelief? Rise, for the Lord is risen.
 
“Fellowship with him.”

1 John 1:6

When we were united by faith to Christ, we were brought into such complete fellowship with him, that we were made one with him, and his interests and ours became mutual and identical. We have fellowship with Christ in his love. What he loves we love. He loves the saints — so do we. He loves sinners — so do we. He loves the poor perishing race of man, and pants to see earth's deserts transformed into the garden of the Lord — so do we.

We have fellowship with him in his desires. He desires the glory of God — we also labour for the same. He desires that the saints may be with him where he is — we desire to be with him there too. He desires to drive out sin — behold we fight under his banner. He desires that his Father's name may be loved and adored by all his creatures — we pray daily, “Let thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, even as it is in heaven.”




We have fellowship with Christ in his sufferings. We are not nailed to the cross, nor do we die a cruel death, but when he is reproached, we are reproached; and a very sweet thing it is to be blamed for his sake, to be despised for following the Master, to have the world against us. The disciple should not be above his Lord. In our measure we commune with him in his labours, ministering to men by the word of truth and by deeds of love. Our meat and our drink, like his, is to do the will of him who hath sent us and to finish his work.

We have also fellowship with Christ in his joys. We are happy in his happiness, we rejoice in his exaltation. Have you ever tasted that joy, believer? There is no purer or more thrilling delight to be known this side heaven than that of having Christ's joy fulfilled in us, that our joy may be full. His glory awaits us to complete our fellowship, for his Church shall sit with him upon his throne, as his well-beloved bride and queen.
 
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California Fires

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The greater Los Angeles wildfires continue to bring devastation.
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The death toll has surpassed 16 and is expected to rise; at least 13 people are missing. The Palisades Fire—spanning over 22,600 acres—is 11% contained, while the Eaton Fire northeast of Los Angeles—covering 14,100 acres—is 27% contained.
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Over the weekend, shifting winds pushed the Palisades Fire inland toward the San Fernando Valley, forcing additional evacuations. Over 200,000 people have been displaced, and more than 12,300 structures, including some historic landmarks, have been destroyed. With strong winds continuing this week, 8 million people remain in the critical fire risk zone.
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Investigators are looking into the fires’ causes, and a newly formed regional task force led by the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is working to determine a connection between the blazes.
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(We’re also covering this story on Thursday in Decaf, The Pour Over for Families. Sign up—for free—here.)

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RADIATE HOPE
Massive natural disasters remind us that all of the world has been broken by sin. But Christians can look forward to an eternity where there’s redemption not just for people but for creation itself.
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“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. I also saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God… Then the one seated on the throne said, ‘Look, I am making everything new.’”
Revelation 21:1-2, 5 (CSB) (read full passage)
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Eternal Thanksgiving!​



Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come."

Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, the twentyfour elders fall down before him who sits on the throne, and worship him who lives for ever and ever.

Revelation 4:8-10 NIV


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We give thee thanks, O LORD God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned. And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.

Revelation 11:17-18 KJV





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And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures; and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, "Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen."

Revelation 7:11-12 NASB


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Thanks be unto God for His wonderful gift:
Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God
is the object of our faith; the only faith
that saves is faith in Him.
 
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Israel-Hamas Ceasefire

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A deal to wind down the war in Gaza is reportedly close.
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After a year of stop-and-start talks mediated by the U.S., Qatar, and Egypt, representatives from Hamas accepted a draft agreement for a six-week ceasefire deal yesterday; Israel’s negotiators also said it’s ready to close the deal. Now, it’s up to leadership on both sides.
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Under the plan, Hamas releases 33 “humanitarian” hostages (women, the ill, the elderly) while Israel partially withdraws from Gaza and releases hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. Negotiations will then begin for the release of remaining hostages (about 60, at least 34 of whom are presumed dead) and a permanent ceasefire, with Israel’s military moving into “buffer zones” in Israeli border towns.
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Negotiators hope they can wrap up before the inauguration of President-elect Trump, whose Mideast envoy has already joined talks.
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ABOVE ALL, LOVE
The gospel is scandalous because God’s heart is for
everyone—terrorists, prisoners, prime ministers and presidents, and those who passionately disagree with you about what justice looks like—to know him. He sacrificed his Son because he loves his enemies. Ask him to help you love yours.
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“The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love. God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his one and only Son into the world so that we might live through him. Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, if God loved us in this way, we also must love one another.”
1 John 4:8-11 (CSB)
(read full passage)
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“Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him.”

John 12:2

He is to be envied. It was well to be Martha and serve, but better to be Lazarus and commune. There are times for each purpose, and each is comely in its season, but none of the trees of the garden yield such clusters as the vine of fellowship. To sit with Jesus, to hear his words, to mark his acts, and receive his smiles, was such a favour as must have made Lazarus as happy as the angels. When it has been our happy lot to feast with our Beloved in his banqueting-hall, we would not have given half a sigh for all the kingdoms of the world, if so much breath could have bought them.




He is to be imitated. It would have been a strange thing if Lazarus had not been at the table where Jesus was, for he had been dead, and Jesus had raised him. For the risen one to be absent when the Lord who gave him life was at his house, would have been ungrateful indeed. We too were once dead, yea, and like Lazarus stinking in the grave of sin; Jesus raised us, and by his life we live — can we be content to live at a distance from him? Do we omit to remember him at his table, where he deigns to feast with his brethren? Oh, this is cruel! It behoves us to repent, and do as he has bidden us, for his least wish should be law to us.

To have lived without constant intercourse with one of whom the Jews said, “Behold how he loved him,” would have been disgraceful to Lazarus, is it excusable in us whom Jesus has loved with an everlasting love? To have been cold to him who wept over his lifeless corpse, would have argued great brutishness in Lazarus. What does it argue in us over whom the Saviour has not only wept, but bled? Come, brethren, who read this portion, let us return unto our heavenly Bridegroom, and ask for his Spirit that we may be on terms of closer intimacy with him, and henceforth sit at the table with him.
 
“Israel served for a wife, and for a wife he kept sheep.”

Hosea 12:12

Jacob, while expostulating with Laban, thus describes his own toil, “This twenty years have I been with thee. That which was torn of beasts I brought not unto thee: I bare the loss of it; of my hand didst thou require it, whether stolen by day, or stolen by night. Thus I was; in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night; and my sleep departed from mine eyes.” Even more toilsome than this was the life of our Saviour here below. He watched over all his sheep till he gave in as his last account, “Of all those whom thou hast given me I have lost none.”

His hair was wet with dew, and his locks with the drops of the night. Sleep departed from his eyes, for all night he was in prayer wrestling for his people. One night Peter must be pleaded for; anon, another claims his tearful intercession. No shepherd sitting beneath the cold skies, looking up to the stars, could ever utter such complaints because of the hardness of his toil as Jesus Christ might have brought, if he had chosen to do so, because of the sternness of his service in order to procure his spouse —




“Cold mountains and the midnight air,
Witnessed the fervour of his prayer;
The desert his temptations knew,
His conflict and his victory too.”

It is sweet to dwell upon the spiritual parallel of Laban having required all the sheep at Jacob's hand. If they were torn of beasts, Jacob must make it good; if any of them died, he must stand as surety for the whole. Was not the toil of Jesus for his Church the toil of one who was under suretiship obligations to bring every believing one safe to the hand of him who had committed them to his charge? Look upon toiling Jacob, and you see a representation of him of whom we read, “He shall feed his flock like a shepherd.”
 
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Ceasefire

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The tenuous ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas is expected to begin Sunday.
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On Wednesday night, the U.S. announced that the anticipated deal was done, but yesterday, Israel delayed its approval, accusing Hamas of backtracking “to extort last-minute concessions.” Hamas denied the claim.
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Israel’s cabinet will convene tomorrow to vote on the ceasefire.
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Under the agreement, the first six-week phase would see a ceasefire, 33 Hamas-held hostages released (including Americans), hundreds of life-sentenced Palestinian prisoners released, and partial IDF withdrawal from Gaza. Negotiations for the final ceasefire and hostage release would come sixteen days later.
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Fighting has raged on throughout final negotiations. Hamas says Israeli air strikes Wednesday and Thursday killed 75 people and endangered a hostage; Israel says it killed a terrorist who participated in the October 7th massacre.
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CHRISTIAN RESPONSE
Join us in prayer for long-term peace, confident that God is able to spread across the globe the peace that he has given to those who trust him (Isaiah 26:3).
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“Eternal God, in whose perfect kingdom no sword is drawn but the sword of righteousness, no strength known but the strength of love: So mightily spread abroad your Spirit, that all peoples may be gathered under the banner of the Prince of Peace; to whom be dominion and glory, now and for ever. Amen.”
Book of Common Prayer, page 654
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Thanks be to God!​



What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God--through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.

Romans 7:24-26 NIV


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Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ?

Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf.

1 Corinthians 10:16-17 NIV





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The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

1 Corinthians 15:56-58 KJV


__________________

Thanks be unto God for His wonderful gift:
Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God
is the object of our faith; the only faith
that saves is faith in Him.
 
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Swearing In

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It’s soon-to-be-President Trump’s second first week on the job.
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Today’s inauguration ceremony was moved indoors to the Capitol Rotunda, with D.C. bundled up for its coldest presidential swear-in since Reagan’s second inauguration (also the last time the ceremony was inside). The day will feature performances from Carrie Underwood, the Y.M.C.A. Village People, Lee Greenwood, Kid Rock, and others (see the full schedule).
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First up on the Trump admin’s to-do list: a major immigration raid in Chicago—the operation will reportedly begin tomorrow and target 300+ people, most with violent crime histories.
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In other new-job news, Lt. Gov. Jon Husted (R-OH) will temporarily fill Vice President JD Vance’s senate seat until a November 2026 special election, and Vivek Ramaswamy, co-leader of Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, is rumored to be planning an Ohio gubernatorial bid.
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RADIATE HOPE
Whether the change of power has you stoked or unsettled, remember that the King of kings reigns unshaken. Leadership changes on earth are temporary, but the Lord’s authority is eternal. Believers have the opportunity to reflect the peace and hope found in his unchanging rule.
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“God ascends among shouts of joy, the Lord, with the sound of a ram’s horn. Sing praise to God, sing praise; sing praise to our King, sing praise! Sing a song of wisdom, for God is King of the whole earth. God reigns over the nations; God is seated on his holy throne.”
Psalm 47:5–8 (CSB) (read full passage)
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Lacking Daily Food

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Somalia is caught in the crosshairs of natural disasters, global conflicts, widespread poverty, and disease outbreaks.
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East Africa is coming off its worst drought in 40 years, which has left tens of millions of people without access to clean water, killed millions of livestock, and decimated crops. They became very reliant on imported food, and 90% of Somalia’s wheat came from Russia and Ukraine… which stopped coming.
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Now, two in five children in Somalia suffer from acute malnutrition, and a cholera outbreak is spreading in some areas. The food shortage, coupled with humanitarian aid being focused on Europe and the Middle East, has been the perfect storm and led to an alarming increase in child malnutrition.
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BE DOERS
We’re asking the TPO Community to join us in partnering with World Concern to help get emergency nutrition packs (a peanut paste fortified with nutrients), water, and hygiene products to those with the most need.
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Every $12 feeds a child for a month. We’re matching the first $5,000; just give through this link.
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“If a brother or sister is without clothes and lacks daily food and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, stay warm, and be well fed,’ but you don’t give them what the body needs, what good is it?”
James 2:15-16 (CSB) (read full passage)
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Going Home

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The first of 33 Hamas-held hostages—three young women—were reunited with their families yesterday (watch their reunions).
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Fifteen months of conflict paused Sunday morning, three hours later than expected. Over the next 41 days, women, children, elderly, and sick hostages will be exchanged for Palestinian prisoners every seven days.
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A surge of humanitarian aid—up to 600 trucks daily—will flow into Gaza under the deal. Gaza’s displaced population (over 2 million people) will return to war-ravaged homes, their movement managed by Hamas police as Israeli forces withdraw. The governance (and rebuilding) of Gaza wasn’t detailed in the agreement.
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On his last day in office, President Biden celebrated that “the guns in Gaza have gone silent.” Israeli PM Netanyahu thanked Presidents Trump and Biden for backing “Israel’s return to fighting” if “second stage negotiations are ineffectual.”
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CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE
As you pray for the restoration of hostages, and prisoners, and refugees, remember that our God is a Shepherd who relentlessly searches for lost sheep. He will never tire or give up until the last one comes home to him.
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“I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and my own know me, just as the Father knows me, and I know the Father. I lay down my life for the sheep. But I have other sheep that are not from this sheep pen; I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. Then there will be one flock, one shepherd.”
John 10:14-16 (CSB) (read full passage)
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“The conies are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks.”

Proverbs 30:26

Conscious of their own natural defencelessness, the conies resort to burrows in the rocks, and are secure from their enemies. My heart, be willing to gather a lesson from these feeble folk. Thou art as weak and as exposed to peril as the timid cony, be as wise to seek a shelter. My best security is within the munitions of an immutable Jehovah, where his unalterable promises stand like giant walls of rock. It will be well with thee, my heart, if thou canst always hide thyself in the bulwarks of his glorious attributes, all of which are guarantees of safety for those who put their trust in him.




Blessed be the name of the Lord, I have so done, and have found myself like David in Adullam, safe from the cruelty of my enemy; I have not now to find out the blessedness of the man who puts his trust in the Lord, for long ago, when Satan and my sins pursued me, I fled to the cleft of the rock Christ Jesus, and in his riven side I found a delightful resting-place. My heart, run to him anew tonight, whatever thy present grief may be; Jesus feels for thee; Jesus consoles thee; Jesus will help thee. No monarch in his impregnable fortress is more secure than the cony in his rocky burrow. The master of ten thousand chariots is not one whit better protected than the little dweller in the mountain's cleft.

In Jesus the weak are strong, and the defenceless safe; they could not be more strong if they were giants, or more safe if they were in heaven. Faith gives to men on earth the protection of the God of heaven. More they cannot need, and need not wish. The conies cannot build a castle, but they avail themselves of what is there already: I cannot make myself a refuge, but Jesus has provided it, his Father has given it, his Spirit has revealed it, and lo, again to-night I enter it, and am safe from every foe.
 
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