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When life gets tough, many of us find it hard to lift our voices in praise. Honestly, during challenging and painful times, praise often feels like the last thing we want to do. It’s easy to let our emotions dictate our response, but as believers, we are called to live differently. We are meant to praise God not only when things are going well, but especially in our most difficult moments. It's during these struggles that our praise can have the greatest impact. The story of Paul and Silas in Acts 16 serves as a powerful testament to this truth. In Acts 16, we see Paul and Silas facing severe consequences after freeing a slave girl from a spirit of divination. If you’ve never read the story, I encourage you to check it out; it’s pretty cool. Instead of receiving gratitude, they were beaten and thrown into the innermost prison, their feet locked in stocks. In that dark place, they had every reason to complain or fall into despair. I’m sure you’ve been there before, in a dark season where you feel stuck and see no way out. Yet, at midnight, they made a bold choice: they began to pray and sing hymns to God. Their decision to worship — a deliberate act of faith — stands in stark contrast to the natural inclination to grumble when faced with hardship. As Christians, we must recognize two essential truths when navigating trials. First, spiritual opposition is a part of our journey. The Christian life isn’t a cruise ship; it’s more like a battleship. Facing challenges comes with the territory, and understanding that we’re in a spiritual battle equips us to withstand those difficulties. Second, trials are not random; they are part of God’s divine plan. Like Paul and Silas, we will encounter obstacles, but these experiences are tailored for our growth and provide an opportunity to glorify God. Through these trials, God teaches us resilience and deepens our faith. When we choose to praise in the midst of adversity, we activate a powerful force. The praise of Paul and Silas was the sound of hope in the den of despair, leading to an incredible miracle—an earthquake that opened doors and unfastened their chains. Their worship wasn’t just a way to cope; it became a catalyst for God’s power to break through. This profound act of faith not only liberated them but also captivated the attention of the jailer, who soon sought salvation, bringing his entire household to faith. I imagine that God and the angels of heaven looked upon these men, amazed that they approached their situation as Job did. Do you remember Job’s words? He said, “Though He slay me, I will hope in Him.” Throughout the Scriptures, we find many instances where people could have easily given up, blamed God for their situation, and abandoned their walk with Jesus. But not Paul and Silas. They followed in the same steps of faith and praised God in the middle of their suffering. How about you? How do you handle the pain of life? How do you deal with unexpected changes in your plans? How do you behave when things go in a completely opposite direction from what you expected? I wish I could say I’ve never grumbled or complained or had a lousy attitude when I was in a bad place, but I’d be lying. Over and over again, I’ve failed the test and had to repent for my perspective. My feelings are real. Your feelings are real. Life hurts—I get it. But here’s the thing: we haven’t been called to live by our feelings; we’ve been called to live by faith and to learn to praise in the middle of our prison seasons. By God’s grace, we learn to adopt a new perspective—one that humbly admits that we don’t have the right to get sour when God has been so good to us. Let me ask you: has God been good to you? I wonder what would happen if you chose to thank Him and praise Him when it’s the last thing you felt like doing. I’m willing to bet you would find the foundation of your situation changing, just as Paul and Silas experienced their prison walls shaking and soon discovered the freedom that comes from breaking the shackles of negativity. As we reflect on our lives, let’s consider the “prisons” we may be facing. What burdens can we break free from through praise? How can we intentionally offer thanks even when it's challenging? The discipline of praise is not just about enduring tough times; it’s about actively choosing gratitude in the face of adversity. By lifting our voices in worship, we honor God, demonstrate our faith, and hopefully inspire those around us to do the same. In every season, let us remember the power of praise—it can transform our struggles into stepping stones toward deeper faith and new opportunities for witnessing God’s goodness.
Trump asks Supreme Court to delay TikTok ban so he can weigh in after he takes office
Jackson scores 23, Purdue Fort Wayne beats Robert Morris 82-77Towson 64, Morgan St. 60
The AP Top 25 men’s college basketball poll is back every week throughout the season! Get the poll delivered straight to your inbox with AP Top 25 Poll Alerts. Sign up here . EMMITSBURG, Md. (AP) — Jedy Cordilia’s 21 points helped Mount St. Mary’s defeat Fairfield 101-94 on Sunday. Cordilia also had seven rebounds for the Mountaineers (6-3, 1-1 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference). Dola Adebayo scored 15 points while shooting 5 of 7 from the field and 4 for 4 from the free-throw line and added nine rebounds, five assists, and four blocks. Dallas Hobbs shot 4 of 9 from the field, including 2 for 4 from 3-point range, and went 4 for 4 from the foul line to finish with 14 points. Prophet Johnson led the Stags (5-5, 1-1) in scoring, finishing with 22 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and two steals. Braden Sparks added 16 points and four assists for Fairfield. Jamie Bergens had 15 points and four assists. ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .5 takeaways from Trump's 'Meet the Press' interview
By HALELUYA HADERO, Associated Press President-elect Donald Trump asked the Supreme Court on Friday to pause the potential TikTok ban from going into effect until his administration can pursue a “political resolution” to the issue. The request came as TikTok and the Biden administration filed opposing briefs to the court, in which the company argued the court should strike down a law that could ban the platform by Jan. 19 while the government emphasized its position that the statute is needed to eliminate a national security risk. Related Articles “President Trump takes no position on the underlying merits of this dispute. Instead, he respectfully requests that the Court consider staying the Act’s deadline for divestment of January 19, 2025, while it considers the merits of this case,” said Trump’s amicus brief, which supported neither party in the case. The filings come ahead of oral arguments scheduled for Jan. 10 on whether the law, which requires TikTok to divest from its China-based parent company or face a ban, unlawfully restricts speech in violation of the First Amendment. Earlier this month, a panel of three federal judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit unanimously upheld the statute , leading TikTok to appeal the case to the Supreme Court. The brief from Trump said he opposes banning TikTok at this junction and “seeks the ability to resolve the issues at hand through political means once he takes office.”
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Navy quarterback Blake Horvath read the play perfectly and turned it into the longest in school history, a 95-yard touchdown run in the Armed Forces Bowl. “By somebody that’s not really that fast,” Horvath said after the 21-20 win over Oklahoma on Friday. The Midshipmen (10-3) fell behind by two touchdowns less than 10 minutes into the game, but Horvath's record run late in the third quarter tied the game at 14-all. He put them ahead on a 6-yard TD with 4:34 left before Navy’s defense stopped an Oklahoma 2-point conversion with six seconds left in the game. “Probably over-pursued by them,” Horvath said of the 95-yarder. “Some tendencies they showed earlier, just thought I could get a pull.” After faking a handoff on the read-option play, Horvath ran straight up the middle into the open field. Brandon Chatman cut off a pursing defender around the Sooners 20. By time another defender, cornerback Woodi Washington, was able to catch up and started to bring him down, Horvath stretched the ball over the goal line — though he was initially ruled short before a replay review resulted in the touchdown. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.