When House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) was faced with the difficult decision about what to do with the contentious foreign aid bill for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, he responded with prayer. Johnson returned to Washington, D.C., last Monday, and was met with attacks from some of his colleagues, CNN reports. In the midst of his decision making, Johnson has faced sharp criticism and threats to vacate him from his House speaker position. That Tuesday night, as he wrestled with what the right path forward was, he turned to the Lord in prayer. “He was torn between trying to save his job and d ..read more

After two acquittals, longtime Finnish Parliamentarian Päivi Räsänen will be dragged before court for the third time for publicly stating Biblical beliefs on marriage and sexuality—this time, at the Finnish Supreme Court. Räsänen, a medical doctor and professing Christian, has already stood trial and been cleared of hate speech charges twice. In January, Helsinki’s public prosecutor appealed to Finland’s Supreme Court, and the Supreme Court has now agreed to hear the case. The date has yet to be set. “I thank God for Dr. Räsänen and her willingness to take a stand for truth and righteousness ..read more

A report from the American Bible Society (ABS) on Bible use in America this year found that though Bible engagement in general is down 4 percentage points, over half of Gen Z adults reported that the Bible’s message has transformed their lives. The State of the Bible (SOTB) 2024 surveyed a group of just over 2,500 people 18 years old and older, within all 50 states and the District of Columbia, in January. Bible engagement, according to the report, has decreased significantly in recent years, with the most significant drop in 2022 at 10%. Since then, Americans’ interaction with the Bible has c ..read more

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday overturned a West Virginia law that banned boys identifying as girls from competing against girls in sports. In a 2-1 ruling, the three-judge panel said the law, called the Save Women’s Sports Act, violates Title IX, which prohibits sex-based discrimination in schools. Gov. Jim Justice signed the bill into law in 2021. The West Virginia case involved a 13-year-old male who has identified as a girl since the third grade and has been taking puberty blockers for more than five years. The child competed on girls’ teams during elementary school but w ..read more

A revival event at the University of Georgia (UGA) April 3 led to baptisms in pickup truck beds in the parking lot after students made professions of faith. Unite Georgia, a night of prayer, worship and teaching in UGA’s Stegeman Coliseum, drew about 7,000 college students to hear author and speaker Jennie Allen and pastor Jonathan Pokluda and worship with Circuit Rider Music. An estimated 150 students were baptized in pickup truck beds in front of a fraternity house after the event, according to The Christian Post. FOX News host Laura Ingraham interviewed Nate Kearns, a student who was baptiz ..read more

Gov. Brad Little of Idaho signed two bills into law this week that combat LGBTQ ideology. House Bills 421 and 538 clearly define male and female and protect employees from being forced to call someone by a name or pronoun that is not consistent with their biological sex. HB 421 declares that there are two sexes: male and female. The bill says that sex and gender are the same thing, and can be observed clinically before or at birth. “Confusion and ambiguities surrounding the definitions of sex, male, female, and related terms can hinder individual efforts to enjoy equal treatment under the law ..read more

A physically healthy 28-year-old woman in the Netherlands is scheduled to die by euthanasia in May due to mental illness, according to The Free Press. Zoraya ter Beek suffers from depression, autism and borderline personality disorder. When her psychiatrist told her that they had tried everything and she was never going to improve, she decided to seek death by euthanasia. “I wish Zoraya knew how much God loved her,” Franklin Graham posted on Facebook Sunday, “and I pray someone can get to her and tell her that He sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, from Heaven to Earth so she could have forgivene ..read more

Six Christians killed on March 29 by suspected militants from the Islamic extremist group Al Shabaab were likely martyred for sharing their faith, a Christian leader in northern Kenya said.  The Christian merchants had been selling plastic utensils and other household goods in the Somali border town of Dhobley for six years. “Our brothers had been doing business to support their families, but also sharing the love of Jesus Christ to the Muslims in Dhobley,” the Christian leader told Morning Star News on condition of anonymity. “Two members of our church recently reported that se ..read more

A federal district court has ruled favorably for religious freedom in declaring moot a case over the right of pharmacies’ not to stock and dispense abortion drugs. The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas ruled on April 5 that the legal case the state of Texas and Mayo Pharmacy, Inc., had made against the federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) was now moot due to a revision of the original guidance issued by HHS’ Office of Civil Rights. In 2022, HHS’ guidance seemed to trample on the conscience rights of pharmacists, but it later made changes to that guidance an ..read more

A new “hate crime” law came into effect April 1 in Scotland that many believe poses an inherent threat to free speech. The Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021 has created a new criminal offense of “stirring up hatred” against individuals due to one or more of certain protected characteristics: age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity or variations in sex characteristics (intersex individuals). “The law seems to be designed to stop free speech and impose the LGBTQ agenda on all of Scotland,” Franklin Graham posted on Facebook Wednesday. Monday, hundreds of ..read more