Just sharing.

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“The trial of your faith.”

1 Peter 1:7

Faith untried may be true faith, but it is sure to be little faith, and it is likely to remain dwarfish so long as it is without trials. Faith never prospers so well as when all things are against her: tempests are her trainers, and lightnings are her illuminators. When a calm reigns on the sea, spread the sails as you will, the ship moves not to its harbour; for on a slumbering ocean the keel sleeps too. Let the winds rush howling forth, and let the waters lift up themselves, then, though the vessel may rock, and her deck may be washed with waves, and her mast may creak under the pressure of the full and swelling sail, it is then that she makes headway towards her desired haven.




No flowers wear so lovely a blue as those which grow at the foot of the frozen glacier; no stars gleam so brightly as those which glisten in the polar sky; no water tastes so sweet as that which springs amid the desert sand; and no faith is so precious as that which lives and triumphs in adversity. Tried faith brings experience. You could not have believed your own weakness had you not been compelled to pass through the rivers; and you would never have known God's strength had you not been supported amid the water-floods. Faith increases in solidity, assurance, and intensity, the more it is exercised with tribulation. Faith is precious, and its trial is precious too.

Let not this, however, discourage those who are young in faith. You will have trials enough without seeking them: the full portion will be measured out to you in due season. Meanwhile, if you cannot yet claim the result of long experience, thank God for what grace you have; praise him for that degree of holy confidence whereunto you have attained: walk according to that rule, and you shall yet have more and more of the blessing of God, till your faith shall remove mountains and conquer impossibilities.

 

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Voided, Unvoided​

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Check any importers in your life for signs of whiplash: most of President Trump’s tariffs were voided Wednesday and reinstated yesterday… at least temporarily.​

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The Constitution gives Congress the power to set tariffs, but a 1977 law delegates that authority to the president in times of crisis. On Wednesday, a three-judge panel in the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled that Trump overstepped that 1977 law’s limits when he imposed tariffs of 10% (or higher) on nearly every country and gave the White House ten days to power down the tariff-collecting machines. ​

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Yesterday, a federal appeals court quickly granted the Trump administration’s request that the tariffs remain in place while legal battles unfold.​

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Not all of Trump’s tariffs are caught in the chaos, as some—including tariffs on steel, aluminum, and cars—were issued under separate legal authorities.

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ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE
Our goal is to keep the big things big and the small things small. It’s not that global trade and changes to tariffs aren’t important; they’re just not God-of-the-Universe important. Stay focused on eternity, it changes everything.​

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“Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”
Colossians 3:2-4 (CSB) (read full passage)​

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Revoked​

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The fall semester is up in the air for Chinese international students.​

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On Wednesday, Secretary of State Rubio announced that the Trump administration would begin to "aggressively revoke” Chinese student visas, stop new student-visa interviews until it can vet applicants’ social media accounts, and revise its criteria for future Chinese and Hong Kongese applicants. ​

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Rubio said the move targets “those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields” (think: STEM) in an effort to protect “national security” and “public safety.” ​

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Chinese officials called the move “fully unjustified” and “discriminatory,” and urged Washington to “safeguard the rights and interests” of all students. Higher-ed experts warn that the loss of Chinese students—who make up one quarter (277,000) of all international students in the U.S. and typically pay full tuition—will be a significant hit to universities’ income.

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ABOVE ALL, LOVE
While you probably have little say in who gets student visas, you play a much more significant role in Christ's mission to demonstrate his love to the world. As you seek justice, remember compassion for your neighbors—whether international students, longtime citizens, or people who passionately disagree with you on immigration policy.​

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“We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and yet hates his brother or sister, he is a liar. For the person who does not love his brother or sister whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.”
1 John 4:19-20 (CSB) (read full passage)​

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