A lone gunman killed four people in Midtown on Monday evening.
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Surveillance shows a man entering a Manhattan office tower carrying an M4 rifle, opening fire in the lobby, then taking an elevator to the 33rd floor—the offices of the building’s owners. He fatally shot an NYPD officer and three others before turning the gun on himself.
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The gunman, a 27-year-old from Las Vegas, carried a suicide note claiming he suffered from CTE (a brain disease linked to repeated head trauma) and requesting his brain be studied; the note said, “You can’t go against the NFL, they’ll squash you.” He reportedly played football in his youth and had a “documented mental health history.”
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Authorities believe the gunman drove cross-country from Vegas, targeting the NFL offices located in the building, but landing on the wrong floor.
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RADIATE HOPE
While mourning with victims, Christians have hope in the face of a violent world. The servant of God, who Himself did no violence, has been afflicted by His Father on our behalf so that we can live in the Lord’s peaceful presence forever.
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“Yet he himself bore our sicknesses, and he carried our pains; but we in turn regarded him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced because of our rebellion, crushed because of our iniquities; punishment for our peace was on him, and we are healed by his wounds.”
Isaiah 53:4-5 (CSB) (read full passage)
Harrowing images out of Gaza have sparked international outrage… and dispute.
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Scenes of hunger and desperation have been circling the globe, with the U.N.-backed food security group warning that “the worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out” in Gaza. The U.N. says 14 people died of starvation on Monday, and the Hamas-run health ministry says the total death toll since October 7 has surpassed 60,000.
President Trump disagrees, saying there’s “real starvation” and promising the U.S. will “set up food centers” in Gaza to help. The U.N. celebrated “progress” but said only “vast amounts” of aid will prevent famine.
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CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE
The threat of famine in a war zone can leave us feeling heartbroken and helpless. Remember: the God who fed His people manna in the desert still reigns. Pray that Palestinians would hope in Christ, the Bread of Heaven, and that He’d provide their daily bread.
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“Your Father knows the things you need before you ask him. Therefore, you should pray like this: Our Father in heaven, your name be honored as holy. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”
Matthew 6:8-13 (CSB) (read full passage)
After a four-month pause, the “reciprocal tariffs” President Trump first announced on April 2 (and paused shortly after) are taking effect. This means the import tax on goods from many countries is jumping from the 10% baseline to a higher number (most are between 15 and 45%).
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So it’s back to April 2… except for all the exceptions, which include:
ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE
Our hope is never contingent on an economic outcome; it’s much more secure than that. Regardless of whether things get worse or better during your lifetime, everything eventually ends well for followers of Christ.
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“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.”
1 Peter 1:3-4 (CSB) (read full passage)
