There are certain dates that become more than dates on a calendar. They become markers in our memories and milestones in our lives.

September 11 is one of those dates.

Twenty-five years ago, on September 11, 2001, our nation and, in many ways, the entire world was suddenly, tragically and forever changed.

Many of us still remember where we were when we first heard the news. We remember watching in disbelief as the Twin Towers were struck. We remember the Pentagon. We remember Flight 93. We remember the images, the confusion, the grief, and the realization that life as we knew it would never quite be the same.

Twenty-five years later, we must still never forget.

We remember the nearly 3,000 lives lost that day, and the many since then.

We remember the families whose lives were forever altered.

We remember firefighters climbing stairwells while others were desperately trying to escape.

We remember police officers, emergency personnel, military personnel, rescue workers, medical workers, and ordinary citizens who ran toward danger rather than away from it.

We remember the passengers of Flight 93 who courageously acted knowing what it might cost them.

And we remember countless unsung heroes whose names may never be known by most of us.

September 11 is now observed as Patriot Day and the National Day of Service and Remembrance. It is appropriate that we stop and remember.

Because remembering is not simply looking backward.

Remembering helps determine how we move forward.

COURAGE REVEALED IN CRISIS:

One of the lessons September 11 taught us is something I have observed repeatedly through decades of responding to disasters and crises: Courage and character often shine brightest under intense pressure. We don’t always know what is inside of us until circumstances demand something from us.

On September 11, ordinary men and women stepped into extraordinary circumstances.

Jesus said:

 “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” John 15:13

We saw something of that sacrificial love demonstrated before our eyes.

The number 911 was already synonymous with calling for help in an emergency. Yet on September 11, 2001, there were circumstances in which human rescuers could only do so much.

We were reminded of our human frailty. But helpless does not have to mean hopeless.

Scripture declares:

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” Psalm 46:1

Ultimately, Jesus Christ is our greatest Rescuer. He stepped into humanity’s greatest crisis and gave His life so that we might live.

Twenty five years later, we still needs men and women with the courage to serve, sacrifice, stand for what is right, and demonstrate compassion toward others.

But there is another kind of courage we desperately need.

It is the courage to allow God to search us.

A UNIQUE CONVERGENCE IN 2026:

Without attempting to manufacture prophetic significance or read something into the calendar that God has not said, I nevertheless find the timing of this 25th anniversary thought-provoking.

September 11, 2026, is the final day of Elul 5786 on the Hebrew calendar.

At sundown, Tishrei 5787 begins, along with Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year – the “head of the year.” It also begins the sacred season commonly called the Ten Days of Awe or Repentance, culminating in Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.

For centuries, Elul has been associated in Jewish tradition with introspection, repentance, reconciliation, and preparation. I’ve sometimes described it as a kind of spiritual fall cleaning.

Before entering a new season, examine the old one.
Before asking what is next, examine what has been.
Before looking outward, allow God to look inward.

So on this September 11, perhaps there are four words worth considering:

REMEMBER.
RETURN.
REPAIR.
PREPARE.

REMEMBER:

Scripture repeatedly tells God’s people to remember.

Remember His faithfulness.
Remember where He brought you from.
Remember what He has taught you.
Remember His covenant.

Remembering is not living in the past. It is refusing to lose the lessons purchased through the experiences of the past.

September 11 reminds us of the fragility of life, the reality of evil, the preciousness of sacrifice, and the power of courage.

We saw destruction, but we also saw compassion.
We saw fear, but we also saw courage.
We saw hatred, but we also witnessed extraordinary acts of love.
We saw death, but we also saw people willing to lay down their lives so that others might live.

Twenty-five years later, we should not merely remember the tragedy.

We should remember the testimony.

And we should ask ourselves: What kind of people will we be when the next crisis comes? We cannot know everything tomorrow will require from us. But we can determine today the kind of people we are becoming.

RETURN:

The biblical concept of teshuvah carries the idea of turning or returning.

Returning to God.
Returning to His ways.
Returning to truth.
Returning to covenant.
Returning to what we know is right.

For years I’ve spoken about seasons of exposures, implosions, and explosions. Shaking has a way of revealing what has been hidden and exposing the foundations upon which things have actually been built.

When everything is going well, weak foundations can remain concealed.

But shaking reveals foundations.

Hebrews 12 reminds us that what can be shaken will be shaken so that what cannot be shaken may remain.

Yet before asking God to expose everything happening around us, perhaps we should first invite Him to examine what is happening within us. David prayed:

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties.” Psalm 139:23

That is a courageous prayer. Not merely: “Lord, change them.” But: “Lord, search me.”

Search my heart.
Search my motives.
Search my attitudes.
Search my relationships.
Search my words.
Search the places nobody else sees.

Because God sees. God hears. God knows.

We may manage appearances before people, but we cannot manage appearances before God.

Our private conversations matter.
Our attitudes matter.
Our murmuring matters.
Our gossip and slander matter.
Our bitterness matters.

How we speak about people when they aren’t in the room matters. Not because God is waiting for an opportunity to condemn us, but because He desires a people whose private lives correspond with their public confession.

True spiritual preparation isn’t cosmetic. It is allowing God to clean house.

REPAIR:

But preparation requires more than removing what is wrong. Sometimes we must repair what has been broken.

There are relationships needing reconciliation.
There are words requiring apologies.
There are offenses needing release.
There are wounds requiring attention.
There are altars needing rebuilding.
There are hearts needing to turn.

One of the recurring themes throughout Scripture, and throughout my own life and ministry has been the turning of hearts. Malachi speaks of fathers’ hearts being turned toward their children and children’s hearts toward their fathers. It is a powerful picture of generational restoration.

A generation unwilling to address its brokenness can pass that brokenness to those who follow. But a generation willing to humble itself, repent, reconcile, and rebuild can leave something entirely different. It can leave a legacy of hope.

Psalm 78 speaks of declaring God’s works to the generations to come so they might put their hope in God and, in turn, teach their children. That is generational stewardship.

We cannot ask God to turn the heart of a nation while refusing to allow Him to turn our own hearts.
We cannot pray for revival while refusing reconciliation.
And we cannot properly prepare the next generation without allowing God to prepare us.

PREPARE:

The prophetic cry of Isaiah was:

“Prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” Isaiah 40:3

John the Baptist carried that same cry:

“Prepare the way of the Lord.”

This is where I believe our focus needs to be.

The question isn’t merely: Are we prepared for what is coming?

The deeper question is: Are we preparing a people for the King?

We are preparing hearts.
We are preparing homes.
We are preparing churches.
We are preparing leaders.
We are preparing sons and daughters.
We are preparing the generations following us.
We are preparing men and women who can stand when everything around them is shaking.

Years ago, the Lord impressed something upon me that remains relevant:

Stay low.
Draw near.
Incline your ear.

Stay low: in a posture of humility.
Draw near: remaining close to His presence.
Incline your ear: listening so that when He speaks, we are prepared to obey.

Preparation is not standing in the grandstands of life shouting about everything happening on the field.

God has called us to participate with Him.

WHAT WILL THE NEXT GENERATION REMEMBER ABOUT US?

Twenty-five years after September 11, we remember a generation of firefighters, police officers, military personnel, rescue workers, medical workers, public servants, and ordinary citizens who stepped forward when circumstances demanded courage. We remember all those who have since stepped up to join the fight against terrorism, made sacrifices, and all those who’ve given the ultimate sacrifice.

What will those who come after us remember about our generation? Will they remember our arguments, or our compassion?

Our platforms, or our character?
Our popularity, or our obedience?
Our divisions, or our willingness to reconcile?

Will our children and grandchildren inherit the consequences of our unresolved brokenness, or will they receive the blessing of repaired foundations?

Psalm 78 challenges us not to hide God’s works from our children, but to tell the coming generation so they might set their hope in God.

That means our decisions today reach farther than ourselves.

We are preparing someone else’s tomorrow.

A PEOPLE PREPARED FOR THE KING:

As Elul 5786 comes to an end and Tishrei 5787 begins, perhaps the invitation is beautifully simple:

Come back.
Come back to God.
Come back to prayer.
Come back to truth.
Come back to humility.
Come back to covenant.
Come back to the foundations that cannot be shaken.

The Lord is not simply looking for people who can talk about revival. He is looking for people prepared for revival.

A people whose hearts are clean.

Whose hands are willing.
Whose relationships are being reconciled.
Whose private lives match their public confession.
Who understand that God sees, God hears, and God knows.
Who can stand when everything else is shaking.
Who are willing to repair broken altars and broken relationships.
Whose hearts are turned toward God, toward one another, and toward the generations.

A people prepared to serve.

Prepared to sacrifice.
Prepared to forgive.
Prepared to tell the truth.
Prepared to walk in integrity when nobody is watching.
Prepared to demonstrate courage when circumstances demand it.

And prepared to welcome the King.

REMEMBER. RETURN. REPAIR. PREPARE.

So, as September 11 comes again:

REMEMBER – what happened and honor those who sacrificed.

RETURN – to God and the foundations that cannot be shaken.

REPAIR – what has been broken in our hearts, homes, relationships, churches, and communities.

PREPARE – ourselves and the generations following us for whatever God has ahead.

Twenty-five years later, we still remember. But remembrance should do more than make us look backward.  It should change how we live forward.

May we have the courage of those who ran toward the crisis rather than away from it.

May we have the humility to pray, “Search me, O God.”

May we have the willingness to say with Isaiah, “Here am I! Send me.”

And may we hear again the prophetic cry: “Prepare the way of the Lord.”

Remember.
Return.
Repair.
Prepare.

The King is worthy.

BY DOUG STRINGER

The angel said concerning John:

“And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children…and to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” Luke 1:17

That statement draws from the final prophetic words of the Old Testament:

“And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers…”  Malachi 4:6

We often associate Elijah with confrontation, courage, and fire. But Scripture connects the Elijah assignment with something more: Turning hearts between generations. That has become increasingly significant to me as I have gotten older.

For many years, I have carried a burden for what I have called a fatherless generation — not simply those without biological fathers, but a generation desperately needing affirmation, identity, blessing, spiritual fathers and mothers, and people willing to invest in them.

I have written about these themes in The Fatherless Generation, Who’s Your Daddy Now?, and In Search of a Father’s Blessing. One of the passages that has continually spoken to me is Psalm 78:4-8. It gives us a picture not merely of one generation blessing another, but of a generational connection of hope.

TELL THE NEXT GENERATION

The psalmist declares:

“We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done.”  Psalm 78:4

Then he explains why:

“That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children: that they might set their hope in God.” Psalm 78:6–7

What an extraordinary mandate.

One generation experiences God’s faithfulness.
That generation tells the next generation.
The next generation comes to know God for themselves.
They set their hope in God.
Then they arise and tell the generation following them.

This is more than transferring information. It is transferring testimony in such a way that another generation finds their hope in God.

Think about the progression:

We experience.
We remember.
We tell.
They hear.
They hope in God.
Then they tell another generation.

That is Kingdom legacy.

Our responsibility is larger than what happens during our lifetime. We are stewarding something for people we may never personally meet.

THE GOAL IS NOT THAT THEY REMEMBER US

There is an important distinction here.

We tell our stories, but the purpose is not ultimately that the next generation remembers us. Psalm 78 says the purpose is:

“That they might set their hope in God.”

Not in our personalities.
Not in our organizations.
Not in our accomplishments.
Not even in the methods God used during our generation.

But In God!

There are wells that should not have to be redug every generation.
There are lessons already paid for with tears.
There is wisdom gained through victories and failures.
There are scars that carry stories.
There are testimonies of God’s faithfulness that should not disappear when those who experienced them are gone.

But testimony must always point beyond the messenger to the God who was faithful. That brings us back to Elijah.

ELIJAH’S STORY DID NOT END WITH ELIJAH

God’s purposes were bigger than one prophet, one ministry, or one generation.

There was an Elisha.

When Elijah was exhausted and believed he was standing alone, God reminded him that His purposes were continuing. Among the instructions God gave Elijah was the calling of Elisha.

Elijah found Elisha plowing in a field and cast his mantle upon him. But Elisha did not immediately receive a platform. He first received an invitation. He began walking with Elijah.

There was proximity before succession.
Relationship before inheritance.
Serving before leading.

Elisha saw Elijah’s public victories, but he also experienced life with him beyond the public moments.

There are things we can learn from someone’s sermons. There are other things we can only learn by walking with them.

We can transfer information through books, conferences, classrooms, podcasts, and videos. All of those can be valuable. But spiritual inheritance is deeply relational.

Some things are taught.
Some things are caught.

And some things are forged by walking together through victories, failures, disappointments, unexpected detours, and encounters with God.

“MY FATHER, MY FATHER”

When Elijah was finally taken up, Elisha cried:

“My father, my father…”  2 Kings 2:12

Notice his language. This was more than organizational succession. It was relational. Then Elijah’s mantle fell.

Elisha picked it up.

But the mantle was not a trophy or souvenir from a previous move of God. It represented an assignment that now had to be carried into another generation. Elisha returned to the Jordan, struck the waters, and cried:

“Where is the LORD God of Elijah?”  2 Kings 2:14

Notice what he did not ask: “Where is Elijah?”

He asked: “Where is the God of Elijah?”

That distinction is critical.

We should honor those who have gone before us without idolizing them. We should receive their testimony without merely imitating their methods. We should value the mantle without worshiping the messenger.

The greatest inheritance Elijah could leave Elisha was not Elijah’s personality. It was a knowledge of Elijah’s God.

That is what Psalm 78 describes: Tell the next generation what God has done so they will set their hope in God.

A DOUBLE PORTION AND THE RESPONSIBILITY OF INHERITANCE

Before Elijah was taken, he asked Elisha what he desired. Elisha responded:

“I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.” 2 Kings 2:9

We sometimes interpret the double portion simply as twice as much power or twice as many miracles. But the language of a “double portion” also echoes the inheritance rights of the firstborn son.

There is something relational and generational here. Elisha was not merely asking for Elijah’s power. He was receiving responsibility for an assignment. And true inheritance always carries responsibility.

A mantle is not given so someone can become important. A mantle represents something God wants continued. This means spiritual fathers and mothers must understand that our responsibility is not merely to finish our own race well. Part of finishing well is helping others run theirs.

And emerging sons and daughters must understand that inheritance is not entitlement. Inheritance must be stewarded with humility, faithfulness, perseverance, and obedience.

THE NEXT GENERATION DOESN’T NEED TO BECOME US

Elisha did not become a carbon copy of Elijah. There were similarities in their assignments, but there were also differences in how God used them.

The mantle continued.
The methods sometimes changed.

That is important.

Sometimes an older generation unintentionally asks the next generation to preserve not only the message, but all of our methods. And sometimes a younger generation becomes so eager to prove it is doing something new that it disregards the wisdom, sacrifices, and spiritual foundations of those who came before. Neither is healthy.

The older generation should not demand replication.
The younger generation should not despise inheritance.

Honor does not require imitation, and innovation does not require dishonor. The next generation needs the ancient landmarks, but it must also hear God for the terrain it is called to navigate. Our responsibility is not to make them replicas of us. It is to help them know God for themselves.

FROM A YOUNG SAMUEL TO AN OLDER SAMUEL

This has become increasingly personal to me.

There was a season in my life when I identified much more with the young Samuel. Samuel heard God calling but did not yet recognize His voice. Eli helped him understand how to respond:

“Speak, LORD; for thy servant heareth.”  1 Samuel 3:9

There have been many spiritual fathers, mentors, and seasoned voices God has graciously placed in my life over the years. I needed them. I needed people who could help me discern God’s voice and His ways. But seasons change. Eventually, the young Samuel becomes an older Samuel.

As I find myself in what I sometimes refer to as my “golden years,” I increasingly recognize a different stewardship. Leadership becomes less about proving what we can do and more about investing what God has deposited in us.

Success begins to look different. It is not merely: “What can God still do through me?” Increasingly, I find myself asking: “What can God continue to do beyond me because I was faithful with what He entrusted to me?”

THEY NEED MORE THAN OUR HIGHLIGHT REELS

This is part of the heart behind gatherings I have facilitated with pastors and emerging leaders, including our Meet Me at the Well gatherings.

I do not simply want to tell younger leaders stories about victories, revival, ministry accomplishments, or moments when God moved powerfully. Those stories matter. Psalm 78 tells us to declare His wonderful works. But I also want to talk honestly about failures.

Disappointments.
Wrong assumptions.
Unexpected detours.
Private battles.
Lessons learned the hard way.
What it takes to persevere when nobody is applauding.

The next generation does not merely need our highlight reels. They need our testimony.

They need to know where we got it wrong as well as where we got it right. They need to know what sustained us when the crowds disappeared. They need to hear about God’s faithfulness in the valley as well as His manifestations on the mountaintop.

Not so they will think more highly of us. But, as Psalm 78 says:

“That they might set their hope in God.”

If our stories only make people impressed with us, we have missed the purpose of our testimony. Our stories should make people trust Him.

CAN WE BLESS THEM WHEN THEY GO FARTHER?

There is another question seasoned leaders eventually have to confront. Can we genuinely rejoice when the next generation goes farther than we did? Can we bless them when their platform becomes larger? Can we celebrate when God uses them in ways He never used us? Can we give them what took us decades to learn without making them pay every price we paid simply because we had to pay it?

A healthy father does not become threatened when his son succeeds. A healthy mother does not compete with her daughter. Their success becomes part of the parents’ joy.

Perhaps that is one of the greatest tests of spiritual fatherhood and motherhood: Can I celebrate someone else’s fulfillment even when I am no longer at the center of the story?

John understood this. When attention began moving from him toward Jesus, he said:

“He must increase, but I must decrease.”  John 3:30

There is freedom in understanding our assignment.

CONVERGENCE, NOT COMPETITION

I do not believe the answer for the Church is simply for older leaders to “get out of the way.” Nor is it for seasoned leaders to refuse to make room. We need something better. We need convergence.

We need the wisdom, experience, scars, and perseverance of those who have walked with God for decades joined with the zeal, creativity, courage, and fresh vision of those coming behind them.

We need older leaders willing to say: “Here are the wells we dug. Here are the mistakes we made. Here is where God met us. Here is what we learned. Now let me help you hear God for your generation.”

And we need emerging leaders humble enough to say: “Tell us the stories. Help us understand what you learned so we don’t unnecessarily repeat lessons already paid for at great cost.”

This is not about controlling the next generation. It is about commissioning them.

And it is not about the next generation replacing the previous generation. It is about generations walking together in the purposes of God.

Elijah and Elisha.
Moses and Joshua.
Paul and Timothy.

Spiritual fathers and sons.
Spiritual mothers and daughters.
Seasoned leaders and emerging leaders.

Malachi’s prophetic picture is not one generation eliminating another. It is: HEARTS TURNED TOWARD ONE ANOTHER, CARRYING THE MESSAGE OF KING TOGETHER!

I have also been intrigued by the picture surrounding Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem.

Matthew mentions both the donkey and her colt. I would never make generational ministry the primary interpretation of that passage, as the text is first about the fulfillment of Messianic prophecy. But as an analogy, the picture has spoken to me: The older and younger are present together as the King enters.

There is room for generations to walk together while carrying the presence and purposes of the King. The older generation does not have to disappear for the younger generation to fulfill its assignment. And the younger generation does not need to reject the older generation to demonstrate that God is using it. When both understand that Jesus is the One being carried, competition loses its power.

The question is no longer: “Which generation gets the recognition?”

The question becomes: “How do we together carry the King?”

And that takes us right back to the Mount of Transfiguration.

Moses was there.
Elijah was there.
Peter, James, and John were there.

Different generations.
Different assignments.
Different histories.

But the Father’s attention was directed toward One:

“This is My beloved Son…hear Him.”

And ultimately:

“They saw no man, save Jesus only.”

THE MANTLE MUST NEVER BECOME THE THRONE

This is why generational and leadership transference cannot merely be about transferring organizations, titles, positions, platforms, or ministries. We are preparing people for Jesus.

Elijah’s mantle was important.
John’s assignment was important.:one.

A mantle is something we steward.
The throne belongs to the King.

When generations compete over mantles, we have forgotten the ONE who sits on the throne. When ministries become more concerned about preserving their names than advancing His name, we have forgotten the purpose of the assignment.

Elisha asked:

“Where is the LORD God of Elijah?”

John declared:

“He must increase, but I must decrease.”

Psalm 78 tells us:

Tell the generations so they put their hope in God.

And the Father says:

“This is My beloved Son…hear Him.”

Different passages. One direction.

Back to God.
Back to Jesus.
Back to the King.

WHAT WILL WE LEAVE BEHIND?

Eventually, every generation must : answer this question: What will we leave behind?

Buildings?
Organizations?
Books?
Ministries?
Platforms?

Those things may all have value. But there is something far more important.

Will we leave behind people who know God? Will our spiritual sons and daughters know how to pray when we are no longer there to pray for them? Will they know how to hear God when they can no longer call us for an answer? Will they know how to persevere when ministry becomes difficult?

Will they know how to walk humbly when God gives them influence? Will they know that character matters more than charisma? Will they know that private posture before God matters more than public platform before people?

Will they know how to decrease so Jesus can increase? And will they tell their children and spiritual sons and daughters what God has done

Psalm 78 gives us the goal:

“That the generation to come might know them…who should arise and declare them to their children: that they might set their hope in God.”

There it is.

Tell them so they will know.
Invest in them so they will hope.
Prepare them so they can tell others.

Our ceiling can become their floor, not so they can build bigger kingdoms for themselves, but so together the generations can advance His Kingdom.

TURN OUR HEARTS AGAIN

Maybe this is one of the cries we need in this hour. Not simply: “Lord, send another Elijah.” But: “Lord, give us the heart of the Elijah assignment.”

Turn the hearts of fathers toward sons and daughters. Turn the hearts of sons and daughters toward fathers and mothers.

Heal generational wounds.
Break generational competition.
Restore honor without control.
Release inheritance without entitlement.

Give us spiritual fathers and mothers who know how to bless.

Give us sons and daughters who know how to honor the foundations laid and the price paid from those who’ve gone before them…and to receive and then faithfully steward what has been entrusted to them.

And above all: Make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

We need more than another successful generation. We need a generation that sets its hope in God.

And then we need that generation to arise and tell the next one.

May we repair the altars.
May we turn the hearts.
May we tell the stories.
May we pass on the testimonies.
May we transfer hope, not merely history.

May we prepare those coming behind us to know God for themselves. May they go farther than we have gone while remaining faithful to the God who brought us this far. And when the mantle passes from one generation to another, may neither generation be found fighting over the mantle.

I’ve often shared: “Those who tell the story, define the narrative, and create the history.”

May we together remember: The mantle is not the throne. The throne belongs to Jesus.

And when all is said and done, may every generation lift its eyes and see:

JESUS ONLY.

BY DOUG STRINGER

REPAIR THE ALTAR. TURN THE HEARTS. PREPARE THE WAY.

There are passages of Scripture that I have read and pondered for years; yet every time I return to them, I sense there is still more to understand.

Matthew 16:28 through Matthew 17:1–13 is one of those passages for me. Jesus makes this remarkable statement:

“There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.”  Matthew 16:28

Then Matthew tells us that, six days later, Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up a high mountain. There He is transfigured before them. His face shines like the sun. His clothing becomes white as light. Moses and Elijah appear, and the voice of the Father declares:

“This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.”  Matthew 17:5

As they come down the mountain, the disciples ask another intriguing question:

“Why then say the scribes that Elijah must first come?”  Matthew 17:10

Jesus responds that Elijah has already come, and Matthew tells us the disciples understood that He was speaking about John the Baptist.

What does all of this mean?

What did Jesus mean when He said some standing there would see the Son of Man coming in His Kingdom before they tasted death?
Why did Moses and Elijah appear?
What did Jesus mean when He connected John the Baptist with Elijah?
And what might all of this say to a generation asking God for revival, awakening, and another visitation of His presence?

As I look at these passages together, I see a powerful biblical pattern:

Before the glory, there was surrender.
Before the fire, there was an altar.
Before the Messiah appeared, there was a forerunner.
Before the visitation, there was preparation.

And at the center of it all is Jesus.

THEY SAW THE KING IN HIS GLORY

Context is important. We should not separate Matthew 16:28 from what immediately follows in Matthew 17, where Jesus says that some standing there would not taste death until they had seen the Son of Man coming in His Kingdom.

Then Matthew deliberately tells us: “And after six days…” Peter, James, and John go up the mountain with Jesus.

There they see Him as they have never seen Him before. They had walked dusty roads with Him. They had eaten with Him. They had watched Him heal the sick, deliver the oppressed, calm storms, multiply food, and perform miracles. But now they see something of His majesty and glory.

Years later Peter would describe this experience:

“We…were eyewitnesses of his majesty.”  2 Peter 1:16

Interestingly, Peter connects the experience with “the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

The Transfiguration was not the final Second Coming of Christ. Rather, before Peter, James, and John tasted death, they were given a foretaste, a glimpse, of the glory belonging to the King and His Kingdom.

For a moment, the veil was pulled back. They saw the King in His majesty.

But notice what Jesus had been teaching immediately before He showed them His glory:

Deny yourself.
Take up your cross.
Follow Me.
Lose your life for My sake.

Then He showed them the glory.

There is a Kingdom order here that we dare not reverse:

The Cross before the Crown.
Surrender before Glory.
Consecration before Manifestation.
Faithfulness before Fulfillment.

We can become enamored with manifestation while resisting preparation.

We want the glory without the Cross.
The fire without the altar.
Revival without repentance.
Kingdom authority without Kingdom surrender.

But God’s order has not changed.

BEFORE THE FIRE, REPAIR THE ALTAR

This is where the appearance of Elijah becomes especially meaningful to me.

When we think about Elijah, we often think about Mount Carmel. We remember the confrontation with the prophets of Baal. We remember the fire falling from heaven.

But before the fire fell, Elijah did something that is easy to overlook:

“And he repaired the altar of the LORD that was broken down.”  1 Kings 18:30

We can become so fascinated with the fire that we overlook the altar.

Before Elijah called for fire, he confronted the people’s divided loyalties:

“How long halt ye between two opinions?”  1 Kings 18:21

Then he repaired what had been broken.

He prepared the sacrifice.
He prayed.
Then the fire fell.

There is a principle here that has continually challenged me when thinking about revival and awakening:

PREPARATION PRECEDES VISITATION

We cannot manufacture genuine revival.
We cannot manufacture the glory of God.
We cannot manufacture the rain.

But we can prepare the altar.
:
We can humble ourselves.
We can pray.
We can repent.
We can consecrate ourselves.
We can repair what has been broken.
We can remove the idols competing for the throne of our hearts.

Throughout Scripture and revival history, we repeatedly discover that prayer preceded power and repentance preceded renewal.

Maybe our greatest need is not another method for getting God’s attention. Perhaps we need to give God our attention again.

The question may not simply be“Lord, will You send the fire?”

Perhaps the deeper question is: “Lord, is the altar ready?”

MOSES, ELIJAH—AND JESUS ONLY

On the Mount of Transfiguration, Moses and Elijah appear with Jesus.

Moses represents the Law.
Elijah represents the Prophets.
Both testify toward Christ.

Peter apparently wants to preserve the moment. He suggests building three tabernacles—one for Jesus, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.

But the Father interrupts:

“This is my beloved Son…hear ye him.”

Not: “Hear Moses, Elijah, and Jesus.”

Hear Him.

Then the disciples fall on their faces. Jesus touches them and tells them not to be afraid. When they lift their eyes, Matthew records a simple but profound statement:

“They saw no man, save Jesus only.”  Matthew 17:8

Jesus only.

That may be one of the most important truths in the entire passage.

Authentic spiritual revelation should ultimately leave us more captivated with Jesus—not prophets, personalities, platforms, movements, ministries, or manifestations.

Moses disappears.
Elijah disappears.
Jesus remains.

The messenger must never become greater in our eyes than the One whose message he carries.

The movement must never become more important than the One who moved upon us.

The manifestation must never become more important than the Manifestor.

Ultimately, the question is: Who sits on the throne?

Our ministry?
Our reputation?
Our movement?
Our experiences?
Our opinions?

Or Jesus?

When everything else fades from view, may we see: JESUS ONLY.

DID JOHN THE BAPTIST ACTUALLY COME AS ELIJAH?

As they descend the mountain, the disciples ask why the scribes say Elijah must come first. They knew Malachi’s prophecy:

“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD.”  Malachi 4:5

And they had literally just seen Elijah.

Jesus answers:

“Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things. But I say unto you, That Elias is come already…”  Matthew 17:11–12

Matthew then tells us:

“Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist.”  Matthew 17:13

Does that mean John was literally Elijah?

No.

When John was directly asked, “Art thou Elias?” he answered:

“I am not.”  John 1:21

Luke gives us the clearest biblical explanation. Before John’s birth, the angel declared:

“And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias…”  Luke 1:17

John came in the spirit and power of Elijah. It was an Elijah-like prophetic assignment.

Elijah confronted a compromised generation and called people back to covenant faithfulness. John confronted compromise and cried:

“Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Elijah repaired the altar.
John prepared the way.

Both were preparing people for something—and Someone—greater than themselves.

MORE THAN CALLING DOWN FIRE

Sometimes when we speak about an “Elijah ministry,” we immediately think of confrontation.

Certainly Elijah confronted compromise. So did John.

Neither adjusted his message to accommodate those occupying positions of power.

But Malachi reveals another dimension of the Elijah assignment:

“And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers…”  Malachi 4:6

Luke deliberately picks up that language when describing John:

“And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children…and to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”  Luke 1:17

Notice the purpose: Turn the hearts.

And: Make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

The spirit of Elijah is not merely about exposing what is wrong.
It is about restoring what has been broken.

Not merely confrontation, but restoration.
Not merely denunciation, but reconciliation.
Not merely calling down fire, but turning hearts.

A prophetic voice that only identifies everything that is wrong but never helps turn hearts toward God has missed something essential.

John’s message was uncompromising, but his purpose was preparation.

“Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.”  Matthew 3:3

The prophetic assignment is not simply to expose the darkness. It is to prepare people for the King.

THE FORERUNNER MUST DECREASE

John understood something else every leader and ministry must understand.

Crowds were coming to him. There was spiritual momentum surrounding his ministry.

People wondered whether John himself might be the Messiah.He could have built something around himself.

Instead, John said:

“He must increase, but I must decrease.”  John 3:30

That is the heart of a true forerunner. The forerunner prepares the way but does not become the Way.

John knew his calling was not to build his own throne. His calling was to point people to the King.

When Jesus appeared, John declared:

“Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”  John 1:29

John’s success wasn’t measured by how many people continued following John. His success was measured by whether he faithfully pointed them toward Jesus.

There is a temptation for those whom God uses to begin building around what God has done through them.

Movements can become monuments.
Assignments can become identities.
Platforms can become thrones.

But authentic forerunner ministry says:

“He must increase, but I must decrease.”

I have often said:

“While men reach for thrones to build their own kingdoms, Jesus reached for a towel to wash men’s feet.”

That remains our model.

PREPARE FOR THE RAIN

After the confrontation on Mount Carmel, Elijah tells Ahab:

“There is a sound of abundance of rain.”  1 Kings 18:41

There had been drought. There was no visible rain. But Elijah heard something before others saw something.

Then he prayed.

Again and again his servant looked toward the sea.

Nothing.
Nothing.
Until finally a cloud appeared about the size of a man’s hand.

Elijah discerned the sound of rain before the evidence of rain was obvious. Yet he still prayed.

Expectation did not replace intercession.
The promise did not eliminate preparation.

There are seasons when we sense God wants to do something, but sensing it is not the same as stewarding it.

We must prepare for the rain.

Repair the altar.
Pray.
Repent.
Consecrate ourselves.
Turn our hearts.
Make straight the paths.
Prepare the way of the Lord.

We cannot command awakening according to our timetable.

But we can become a people prepared when God chooses to visit.

COULD WE KNOW THE PROPHECY AND MISS THE VISITATION?

Jesus makes another statement about John that should sober us:

“Elias is come already, and they knew him not…”  Matthew 17:12

Think about that.

They were waiting for Elijah.
They knew the Scriptures concerning Elijah.
They taught others that Elijah must come.

Yet when the Elijah-like forerunner appeared, many did not recognize him.

Could we know prophecy and still miss what God is doing?

Could we become so committed to our expectations of how God must move that we fail to recognize Him when He moves differently?

The religious establishment had information.
John was in the wilderness.

They knew the Messianic prophecies.
Jesus was walking among them.

They were looking for what God was going to do while failing to discern what God was already doing.

Discernment requires more than information.

We need humility.
We need the Holy Spirit.
We need ears to hear.
We need hearts that remain tender before God.

Otherwise, we can become experts in yesterday’s move of God while resisting what He is doing today.

WHAT ABOUT ELIJAH AND CHRIST’S RETURN?

There remains an intriguing question in Jesus’ wording:

“Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things.”

Then:

“Elias is come already…”

Clearly, John fulfilled the Elijah forerunner role in preparation for Christ’s first appearing.

Some interpreters see an additional future, or “already and not yet,” dimension to Malachi’s prophecy associated with Christ’s return. Others understand the Elijah prophecy as having been fulfilled through John’s ministry.

We should be careful not to become dogmatic where faithful students of Scripture have reached different conclusions. But one thing is unmistakable:

GOD DESIRES A PREPARED PEOPLE.

Perhaps instead of becoming consumed with identifying who a future “Elijah” might be, a more important question is whether we are embracing the qualities Scripture associates with preparing the way of the Lord.

Are we repairing broken altars?
Are we calling people back to God?
Are we confronting compromise, beginning with ourselves?
Are hearts being restored?
Are we willing to decrease so Christ may increase?
And are we pointing people to Jesus?

LORD, PREPARE US FOR WHAT WE ARE ASKING YOU TO SEND

We are asking God for awakening.
We are asking for revival.
We are asking for another visitation.
We are asking for the rain.

But perhaps the Lord is asking us:

Have you repaired the altar?
Have you turned your heart?
Have you removed the idols competing for My throne?
Are you willing to decrease so I may increase?
Are you preparing My way—or building your own?

We cannot manufacture the fire.
We cannot manufacture the rain.
We cannot manufacture awakening.

But we can prepare ourselves.

We can repair the altar.
We can humble ourselves.
We can pray.
We can repent.
We can reconcile.
We can turn our hearts.
We can prepare the way.

Maybe the cry of the Elijah/John-the-Baptist assignment for our generation is not merely: “Lord, send the fire!”

But: “Lord, repair our altars and turn our hearts.”

Not merely: “Lord, send revival.”

But: “Lord, prepare us for what we are asking You to send.”

Not merely: “Lord, show us Your glory.”

But: “Lord, remove everything that keeps us from seeing Jesus only.”

May we repair the altars.
May we turn our hearts.
May we prepare for the rain.
May we decrease so Christ may increase.

And when everything else fades from view, may we lift our eyes and see:

JESUS ONLY.

There was a time when many things we take for granted today belonged to the world of science fiction.

I remember Dick Tracy talking into his wrist radio. It seemed futuristic, even fanciful. Today we wear watches that make phone calls, send messages, monitor our heart rates, give us directions, and connect us instantaneously with people around the world.

We watched The Jetsons and laughed at video calls, robots, automated homes, and futuristic transportation. Programs such as Lost in Space introduced us to intelligent machines and technologies that seemed far beyond anything we could imagine experiencing in our lifetimes.

Yet here we are.

Artificial intelligence can converse with us and generate words, images, music, computer code, and ideas. Cars can increasingly navigate without direct human control. Robots perform tasks once requiring human hands. We communicate face-to-face across continents through devices we carry in our pockets.

Yesterday’s science fiction has, in some respects, become today’s reality.

Of course, science-fiction writers weren’t necessarily prophets, and not everything imagined in movies and television has, or will, come true.

But science fiction has often done something interesting:

It asks tomorrow’s ethical questions before tomorrow arrives.

And that leaves me asking some “What if?” questions of my own.

Not accusations.
Not conspiracy theories.

But Questions.

Because sometimes wisdom requires us to ask questions before technological possibilities become cultural inevitabilities.

BEFORE THE “WHAT IF?” CONSIDER THE “WHAT IS”

Before we speculate about tomorrow, let’s be honest about where we already are.

Some things that would have sounded like science fiction to previous generations are established realities today.

1. GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOOD IS ALREADY PART OF OUR FOOD SUPPLY

Genetically engineered crops aren’t theoretical. They have been available to American consumers since the early 1990s. Corn, soybeans, cotton, canola, sugar beets, potatoes, apples, papaya, squash, and other crops have varieties developed through biotechnology.

The reasons include insect resistance, easier weed management, reducing crop loss, improving certain nutritional characteristics, increasing storage life, and producing desired traits.

According to the FDA, foods from genetically engineered plants are subject to the same food and safety requirements as conventionally bred foods, and the agency states that the genetically engineered foods it has evaluated have not shown greater health risks than comparable conventional foods.

So we should be precise.

The fact that something has been genetically modified does not automatically mean it is dangerous.

But something enormously significant has happened:

Humanity now possesses the ability to intentionally alter genetic characteristics in living organisms with a precision previous generations did not possess.

That fact alone deserves thoughtful consideration.

2. ANIMALS HAVE BEEN CLONED

When Dolly the sheep was introduced to the world in the 1990s, animal cloning sounded almost unbelievable.

It isn’t unbelievable anymore. Cattle, pigs, goats, sheep, and other animals have been cloned.

The FDA concluded after its risk assessment that meat and milk from clones of cattle, swine, and goats, as well as food from the offspring of clones traditionally used for food, are as safe to consume as food from conventionally bred animals.

Interestingly, cloning isn’t primarily intended to produce millions of identical steaks or gallons of milk. Clones represent only a tiny portion of American livestock and are primarily valuable as breeding animals. Their conventionally reproduced offspring are much more likely to enter the food supply.

Again, my purpose isn’t to declare cloning inherently evil.

It is simply to recognize: Something that belonged to science fiction within our lifetimes became scientific reality.

3. LIVESTOCK CAN BE BIOLOGICALLY MANAGED FOR GREATER PRODUCTION

Modern agriculture has also dramatically altered how food animals are raised.

Selective breeding, nutrition, veterinary medicines, reproduction technologies, antibiotics under regulated circumstances, and other methods have allowed enormous increases in food production.

There are also FDA approved steroid hormone implants used to promote growth in beef cattle and sheep. Contrary to a common misconception, growth promoting steroid implants are not approved in the United States for poultry, pigs, dairy cows, or veal calves.

The FDA maintains that approved hormone products used according to their conditions of approval produce food that is safe for human consumption.

Again, my concern here isn’t to make claims the evidence doesn’t support.

My larger observation is this:

We have become remarkably skilled at manipulating biological processes to increase efficiency and production.

That ability might bring some benefits in the estimation of some.

BUT, it should awaken us to the necessity to also bring responsibility and accountability.

4. WE CAN NOW EDIT HUMAN GENES

This is where the conversation becomes even more significant.

Scientists aren’t merely modifying plants anymore. We can modify human cells genetically.

Gene therapy is already being used to treat serious diseases, and some treatments involve actual genome editing.

One striking example is CASGEVY, a therapy utilizing CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing technology to treat sickle cell disease and transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia. In 2026, the FDA expanded its approval to patients as young as two years old.

Think about what that means.

Doctors can remove a patient’s own blood-producing stem cells, genetically edit them, and return the modified cells to the patient with the goal of treating devastating disease.

That isn’t science fiction.
That is medicine today.

And there is something extraordinary and compassionate about using scientific knowledge to alleviate suffering.

But it also introduces a distinction that will become increasingly important:

There is a difference between treating a person and redesigning a person.
There is a difference between attempting to cure disease and attempting to manufacture preferred human characteristics.

Where exactly is that boundary?

Our generation may increasingly be required to answer that question.

5. HUMAN EMBRYOS CAN BE GENETICALLY EDITED

The technology reaches further still.

Scientists possess the ability to edit DNA in human embryos in laboratory research.

There is an important distinction between somatic gene editing and heritable—or germline—editing.

Somatic editing changes cells in an existing patient. Those changes generally aren’t passed to the patient’s children.

Heritable editing potentially changes embryos, eggs, sperm, or their precursors in ways that could be transmitted to future generations.

The World Health Organization recognizes the enormous potential of human genome editing for treating disease but also identifies significant scientific, ethical, and societal concerns, especially when genetic alterations could be inherited by future generations.

WHO has stated that it would be irresponsible at this time to proceed with clinical applications of human germline genome editing.

Why?

Because now we aren’t merely talking about treating one patient. We are potentially talking about altering genetic characteristics that could pass from one generation to another. The decisions of one generation could literally become embedded biologically in generations that follow.

Suddenly the phrase “generational consequences” takes on another dimension.

6. MEAT CAN NOW BE GROWN FROM ANIMAL CELLS

Here is another development that sounds as though it belongs in a science-fiction screenplay.

Animal cells can be taken and grown in controlled environments, such as bioreactors, to produce food without raising and slaughtering an entire animal in the conventional way.

It is commonly called cultivated, cultured, or cell-cultured meat.

This isn’t simply a plant-based hamburger designed to taste like meat. These products are grown from actual animal cells.

The FDA and USDA have established a regulatory framework for cell-cultured meat and poultry, and USDA has already inspected establishments producing cell-cultured poultry products.

Once again, there may eventually be legitimate benefits associated with these technologies.

BUT consider how rapidly the boundaries of what previous generations thought possible are moving.

We can modify plants.
We can clone animals.
We can grow meat from animal cells.
We can edit human cells.
We can genetically alter human embryos experimentally.

And we are only beginning to understand where all of this may lead.

Which brings me back to an old movie.

SOYLENT GREEN: WHEN PEOPLE BECOME PRODUCTS

In 1973, Charlton Heston starred in a science fiction movie called Soylent Green.

Interestingly, the movie was set in what was then the distant future: 2022. The world it portrayed was suffering from environmental degradation, shortages, overcrowding, extreme economic inequality, and dwindling natural food supplies. An enormous corporation provided manufactured food products to the population.

Detective Frank Thorn begins investigating the murder of a wealthy executive and eventually discovers something horrifying about the corporation’s newest food product.

Soylent Green wasn’t what people had been told it was. The shocking discovery was that it was being manufactured from human remains.

The fictional revelation became one of cinema’s memorable moments: “Soylent Green is people!”

Now, let me be very clear.

I am not suggesting that Soylent Green describes what is happening today.

Nor am I suggesting some hidden conspiracy in which people are secretly being turned into food.

That would miss my point entirely.

The deeper questions raised by the movie are far more important:

What happens when human beings become commodities?
What happens when efficiency becomes more important than dignity?
What happens when economics becomes more important than ethics?
What happens when technological capability outruns moral restraint?
What happens when human life is valued primarily according to usefulness?

Perhaps Soylent Green wasn’t ultimately about food.

Perhaps its deeper warning was about what happens when a society loses its understanding of the sacredness of human life.

FROM GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOOD TO GENETICALLY MODIFIED HUMANS?

Now we arrive at my intentional play on words:

Genetically Modified Humans.

We have genetically modified plants.
We have cloned animals.
We have manipulated reproduction.
We can culture animal cells for food.
We can genetically alter human cells to treat disease.
Scientists can edit human embryos experimentally.

So where does the road lead from here?

I don’t pretend to know. But I believe we should be willing to ask.

What if healing eventually becomes enhancement?
What if correcting a devastating genetic disorder eventually becomes selecting preferred characteristics?
What if parents someday can choose increasingly specific characteristics of their children?
What if intelligence, physical characteristics, athletic ability, appearance, longevity, or other traits become commercially selectable?
What if genetic advantages become available primarily to those wealthy enough to afford them?
What if corporations eventually possess ownership rights over increasingly significant pieces of biological technology?
What if economic interests begin determining what constitutes a “desirable” human being?

And perhaps the most sobering question: What if our ability to modify humanity advances faster than our understanding of what humanity actually is?

THE FIRST DESIGNER OF HUMANITY WAS GOD

Long before we understood chromosomes, genomes, DNA, or genetic codes, Scripture made an extraordinary declaration:

“So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”  Genesis 1:27

Human beings aren’t merely biological machines.

We aren’t simply collections of genetic information.
We aren’t products.
We aren’t commodities.
We aren’t experiments.

We are image-bearers of God. Psalm 139 says:

“I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”

Science can increasingly explain how biological processes work.
But science by itself cannot tell us why human life possesses intrinsic value.

Science can describe DNA.
It cannot determine human dignity.

Science can describe conception.
It cannot ultimately tell us why life is sacred.

Science can discover what is technologically possible.
It cannot by itself determine what is morally permissible.

For those questions, we need wisdom beyond ourselves.

THE TREE OF KNOWLEDGE IS STILL WITH US

I’ve written and taught previously about the two significant trees in the Garden: the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

Humanity’s first temptation involved knowledge disconnected from trust and obedience to God.

The serpent challenged what God had said. Another voice offered another interpretation. And humanity was confronted with a question every generation still faces: Whose voice will you believe?

The temptation wasn’t merely to learn something. It was the temptation toward knowledge independent of God’s boundaries.

“You will be like God.”

Think about that phrase in light of the technological possibilities before us today.

There is nothing inherently sinful about discovering how God’s creation works. But there is a profound difference between discovering creation and attempting to become the Creator.

The Apostle Paul reminds us:

“Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies.”  1 Corinthians 8:1

Knowledge and wisdom aren’t necessarily the same thing.

Knowledge asks, “Can we?”
Wisdom asks, “Should we?”

Knowledge discovers possibilities.
Wisdom recognizes boundaries.

BABEL: WHEN CAPABILITY OUTRAN CHARACTER

Genesis 11 gives us another fascinating picture.

Human beings developed new construction capabilities, gathered together, and determined to accomplish something unprecedented. They said:

“Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves…”  Genesis 11:4**

Notice the motivation: “Let us make a name for ourselves.”

Human ingenuity became joined to human pride. God observed:

“Now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them.”  Genesis 11:6

Technology itself wasn’t necessarily the sin of Babel. The issue was the human heart.

Their capability had outgrown their humility.
Their innovation had become disconnected from submission to God.

Perhaps Babel gives every technologically advanced civilization an important warning:

Capability without character can become dangerous.
Science without morality can become destructive.
Knowledge without wisdom can become arrogant.
Progress without boundaries can become tyranny.
And technology without reverence for human dignity can eventually turn people into products.

WHEN THE ABNORMAL BECOMES NORMAL

I’ve written before about how gradual desensitization can change a culture.

What shocks one generation may become tolerated by another.
What becomes tolerated can eventually become accepted.
What becomes accepted can eventually become normalized.

And once something becomes normal, questioning it can make the person asking questions appear abnormal.

That doesn’t mean everything new is wrong. Far from it. Many advancements have been tremendous blessings. But neither should we assume that everything labeled “progress” necessarily represents progress.

There are moral laws just as there are natural laws. God establishes boundaries not because He desires to deprive humanity, but because the Creator understands His creation better than the creation understands itself.

PERHAPS WE ARE ALREADY MODIFYING HUMANITY

And this brings me to another dimension of my title. Maybe the greatest concern isn’t merely whether someone eventually modifies human DNA. Perhaps humanity is already being modified in other ways.

Culturally modified.
Morally modified.
Technologically modified.
Relationally modified.
Spiritually modified.

Algorithms increasingly influence what we see.
Social media influences how we measure acceptance.
Technology mediates our relationships.
Artificial intelligence increasingly participates in our work, education, creativity, decision-making, and communication.

Our attention can be purchased.
Our preferences can be tracked.
Our behavior can be predicted.
Our biology can increasingly be manipulated.

And in the midst of it all, our understanding of what it means to be human can gradually become disconnected from the One who created humanity.

In something else I’ve taught from Genesis, Adam and Eve attempted to cover themselves with fig leaves after listening to the wrong voice.

We still manufacture fig leaves.

Success.
Image.
Performance.
Recognition.
Technology.
Knowledge.
Even religion.

But none of them can answer the fundamental question:

Who told you who you are? Who told you that you were naked?

Our identity ultimately cannot come from a laboratory, algorithm, corporation, government, culture, or even merely from ourselves.

Our identity begins with our Creator.

“WHAT IF?”: QUESTIONS WORTH ASKING BEFORE TOMORROW ARRIVES

So I’m not writing this as a scientist. I’m writing as a minister, a leader, a father, and someone who has lived long enough to see things once considered impossible become ordinary.

I remember when talking into your watch was science fiction. Today nobody gives it a second thought.

So perhaps we should ask some questions while today’s “impossible” is still impossible.

What if genetic technology eventually allows us to select human characteristics?
What if artificial intelligence and biotechnology increasingly converge?
What if technology allows human beings to live dramatically longer lives?
What if genetic modification produces unforeseen consequences that don’t become apparent for generations?
What if commercial interests begin influencing what characteristics are considered desirable?
What if society begins distinguishing between genetically “enhanced” and “unenhanced” people?
What if preventing suffering gradually becomes preventing the existence of people whom society believes might suffer?

History should make us humble enough to recognize that supposedly enlightened civilizations have made horrific judgments concerning which human lives were considered valuable.

Therefore, the issue isn’t whether Christians should fear science. We shouldn’t.

The issue is whether our wisdom, character, ethics, and reverence for God can keep pace with our technological capabilities.

A GENERATION AT THE CROSSROADS

I’ve often written about individuals, leaders, churches, and nations finding themselves at crossroads. I believe humanity is standing at another one.

Technology will continue advancing.
Scientific discoveries will continue.
Artificial intelligence will become more sophisticated.
Genetic research will progress.
Medicine will accomplish things we can scarcely imagine today.

Some of those discoveries will be tremendous blessings. We should celebrate them.

Healing disease isn’t our enemy.
Relieving suffering isn’t our enemy.
Scientific discovery isn’t our enemy.

The enemy is knowledge without wisdom, power without character, progress without moral boundaries, and human achievement without humility before God.

Moses spoke to another generation standing at a crossroads:

“I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life…”  Deuteronomy 30:19

That choice remains before us.

Perhaps the greatest danger isn’t that machines will eventually become more human.
Perhaps the greater danger is that humans become less human.

When humanity forgets its Creator, eventually we risk forgetting the sacred value of His creation.

So while the world races toward the next discovery, perhaps the Church needs to stand at the crossroads and ask questions others may be moving too quickly, or be too impressed with their own accomplishments to ask.

Not from fear.
Not from ignorance.
Not from conspiracy.
Not because we oppose scientific discovery.

But because we value truth.
Because we value wisdom.
Because we value appropriate boundaries.
Because we value human dignity.
Because we value life.
And because we still believe that every human being bears the image of God.

Yesterday, we watched science fiction and asked: “What if?”

Today, we may need to ask: “WHAT NOW?”

And before humanity becomes so captivated with what we are capable of creating, modifying, editing, or improving, perhaps we need once again to humble ourselves before the One who created us.

Because the ultimate question isn’t simply whether we have the power to modify humanity.

It is whether, in all our knowledge and technological achievement, we still remember what it means to be human.

BY DOUG STRINGER

For more than 15 years, I have written and spoken about what I believed was an increasing convergence of biblical realities unfolding before our eyes. At the time, many viewed these observations as simply another perspective on current events. Today, however, the acceleration has become difficult to ignore.

Around the world we are witnessing an unprecedented convergence of disasters and instability. Historic floods devastate communities. Tornadoes carve paths of destruction through towns that never expected them. Hurricanes increase in intensity. Wildfires consume entire regions. Earthquakes shake nations. Typhoons, droughts, volcanic eruptions, and extreme weather patterns continue to impact millions.

At the same time, governments are unstable. Economies fluctuate. Wars and rumors of wars increase. Civil unrest grows. Institutions once considered immovable are experiencing unprecedented crises of confidence.

Jesus told us these things would occur. Paul described creation groaning. The writer of Hebrews declared that everything that can be shaken will be shaken. The Psalmist spoke of nations raging against God.

These are not disconnected headlines. They are converging realities that remind us of our need for God.

Three Biblical Realities Converging

1. All That Can Be Shaken Is Being Shaken

Hebrews 12:26-28 declares:

“Yet once more I shake not only the earth but also heaven… so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.”

Notice the purpose. God is not simply interested in shaking things. He is revealing what is eternal.

Throughout history, people have trusted in governments, economies, military strength, technology, education, wealth, personalities, and even religious institutions. While each has its place, none can replace our dependence upon God.

Everything built merely by human hands is temporary.
Everything built upon Christ will remain.

The shaking exposes false foundations while inviting us back to the Rock that cannot be moved.

2. The Whole Creation Is Groaning

Romans 8:22 reminds us:

“The whole creation groans and travails in pain together until now.”

Creation itself reflects the consequences of humanity’s fall.

The earth is not merely experiencing isolated disasters. Scripture pictures creation longing for redemption. Like birth pains, these groanings remind us that history is moving toward God’s ultimate restoration.

Birth pains increase in both frequency and intensity. Likewise, many observe an acceleration of natural disasters around the world

Our response should never be fear or speculation.
Our response should be compassion.

Every disaster represents people.
Families.
Children.
Communities.
First responders.
Churches.
Neighbors.

As we have experienced through Somebody Cares and our partners around the world, every tragedy becomes an opportunity to demonstrate the compassion of Christ in practical ways. Food, water, shelter, rebuilding, emotional care, spiritual encouragement, and long-term relationships all become expressions of God’s love.

The Church must never become fascinated with disasters while neglecting those who suffer through them.

3. The Nations Continue to Rage

Psalm 2 asks:

“Why do the nations rage and the peoples imagine a vain thing?”

Today’s headlines increasingly reflect ancient words.

Political polarization.
Violence.
National conflicts.
Hatred.
Division.
Attempts to redefine truth itself.

Yet Psalm 2 reminds us that none of this surprises God.

The kingdoms of this world may shake.
The Kingdom of God does not.

The Greater Crisis

While natural disasters capture headlines, an even greater crisis often goes unnoticed.

It is possible to understand prophecy while neglecting God’s Presence.
It is possible to analyze world events while losing intimacy with Christ.

Many become experts on signs but strangers to the One who gave them.

This is where A.W. Tozer’s words remain profoundly relevant. He lamented that many believers understand God’s Presence doctrinally while seldom experiencing His Presence personally. He wrote that the world is perishing for lack of the knowledge of God, while the Church is famishing for want of His Presence.

How desperately our generation needs more than information.
We need transformation.

We need more than analysis.
We need awakening.

The Answer Is Not Panic But Presence

The purpose of biblical prophecy has never been to create fear. Its purpose is to awaken faith.

Every shaking becomes an invitation.
Every groaning reminds us that this world is not our final home.
Every raging nation points us toward the Prince of Peace.

God has always desired more than religious activity.

He desires a people who know Him.
A people who hear His voice.
A people whose confidence rests not in earthly systems but in His eternal Kingdom.

As Tozer observed, entering consciously into God’s Presence burns away the impurities that so easily cling to our lives. It enlarges our hearts, renews our perspective, and enables us to become agents of hope in a world overcome by fear.

How Then Should We Live?

If these are indeed days of shaking, then our calling is clear.

Remain anchored in God’s Word.
Cultivate His Presence daily.
Refuse fear while embracing faith.
Serve those who suffer.
Strengthen families.
Disciple the next generation.
Pray for revival.
Care for our communities.
Proclaim the Gospel with both compassion and conviction.

The darker the night, the brighter the light of Christ shines through His people.

An Unshakable Kingdom

Hebrews concludes with extraordinary hope:

“Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.”

That is our confidence.

Not that the earth will never shake.
Not that nations will cease raging overnight.
Not that storms will immediately disappear.

Our confidence is that God’s Kingdom remains unshaken.

The earth may groan.
Institutions may tremble.
Nations may rage.

But Jesus Christ remains the same yesterday, today, and forever.

This is not the hour for despair.
It is the hour for discernment.

Not retreat, but engagement.
Not panic, but prayer.
Not hopelessness, but holy expectation.

May the shaking drive us to the Savior.
May the groaning awaken compassion.
May the raging of the nations remind us that our ultimate citizenship is in heaven.
And may the Church once again become known—not merely for interpreting the signs of the times—but for reflecting the Presence of the One who holds all things together.

For in the midst of a shaking world, we have received a Kingdom that cannot be shaken.

“Everything That Can Be Shaken Is Being Shaken”

“The Whole Earth is Groaning”

“The Nations Rage”

In retrospect, it is a reminder to take review of how the Lord has been preparing and warning us to stay rooted, grounded, and tethered. Take some time with me to read and have some devotional time and prayer. May the Lord speak to us for the season ahead. Reflecting on what He has been speaking to us in the past, and bringing it to the context of today, helps us to get somewhat of a bearing for the future.

For years, I have shared what began as recurring dreams and a deep burden in my spirit. I have often summarized them in three simple but sobering words: Exposure. Implosion. Explosion.

At the time, many wondered what those words meant. Over the years, however, we have witnessed them unfold in ways that few could have imagined.

We have seen exposure in hidden things brought into the light. Leaders once considered untouchable have fallen. Institutions once trusted have lost credibility. Corruption, deception, compromise, and moral failures have been uncovered across nearly every sphere of society.

We have witnessed implosions, not merely isolated failures but the collapse of confidence in many of the very systems upon which people have placed their hope.

Governments struggle under increasing division. Economies tremble. Educational institutions wrestle with identity and purpose. Media credibility has eroded. Businesses fail. Families fracture. Even churches and ministries have experienced painful internal collapses.

And we have seen explosions, wars and rumors of wars, violent conflicts, terrorism, civil unrest, natural disasters, technological upheaval,

economic shocks, cultural revolutions, and unprecedented polarization. The pace and intensity seem to increase with each passing year.

Yet these words were never intended simply as predictions of calamity.

They were and remain a call to preparation.

A Divine Shaking

Scripture tells us that there are seasons when God permits shaking, not to destroy His purposes but to reveal what cannot be shaken.

“Yet once more I shake not only the earth but also the heavens… so that what cannot be shaken may remain.” (Hebrews 12:26-27)

We are living in such a time.

Everything built merely upon human wisdom, political power, financial security, personal ambition, institutional reputation, or cultural influence is proving vulnerable.

Many of the things we assumed were permanent are revealing themselves to be temporary.

The shaking is exposing our foundations.

Where Have We Placed Our Hope?

One of the greatest dangers is not merely that institutions fail. It is that we trusted them more than we trusted God.

Some have placed their confidence in governments. Others in political movements. Some in financial markets. Others in personalities, ministries, denominations, technology, or cultural influence.

None of these were ever meant to carry the weight of our ultimate hope.

The kingdoms of this world are temporary. The Kingdom of God is eternal.

When temporal foundations shake, eternal foundations remain.

The Whole Creation Is Groaning

Paul wrote:

“The whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.” (Romans 8:22)

Creation itself reflects humanity’s brokenness.

Natural disasters increase.
Communities are displaced.
Violence escalates.
Mental and emotional despair rise.

The earth groans.
People groan.
Nations groan.

Yet birth pains do not announce death.

They announce that something new is coming.

God is preparing a people who will reflect His glory in the midst of great darkness.

Why Do the Nations Rage?

David asked the timeless question:

“Why do the nations rage, and the peoples plot a vain thing?” (Psalm 2:1)

Today we see anger defining public discourse.

Division has become a commodity.
Fear has become a currency.
Confusion is celebrated while truth is questioned.

The raging of nations is ultimately the raging of hearts that have drifted from God’s authority.

Political solutions alone cannot heal spiritual problems. Legislation cannot replace transformation.

Only Christ changes hearts.

An Unshakable Kingdom

The writer of Hebrews gives us the compass for direction and stability:

“Since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.” (Hebrews 12:28)

This is not the hour for panic.

Neither is it the hour for denial.

It is the hour for discernment.
It is the hour for repentance.
It is the hour for humility.
It is the hour for courageous faith.

The Church must remember who she is. Our calling has never been merely to survive history.

We are called to demonstrate another Kingdom.

The darker the night, the brighter the light of Christ shines through surrendered lives.

Preparing Rather Than Panicking

Throughout Scripture, God always prepared His people before seasons of shaking.

Noah prepared an ark.
Joseph prepared for famine.
Esther prepared for such a time as this.

The early Church prepared through prayer, unity, and dependence upon the Holy Spirit.

Preparation is never driven by fear. Preparation is an act of faith.

This is why I have often said we must prepare:

• A people for the coming of the Lord.
• An ark of refuge for those seeking hope.
• The way of the Lord in our own hearts and communities.

The answer to the shaking is not withdrawal. It is spiritual awakening.

A Thought

The recurring burden of Exposure. Implosion. Explosion. was never about predicting headlines. It was about awakening hearts.

Perhaps the greatest exposure is not simply the failures around us, but the condition within us.

Perhaps the greatest implosion is not merely institutional collapse, but the collapse of our self-sufficiency.

And perhaps the greatest explosion God desires is not one of destruction, but an explosion of revival, righteousness, compassion, prayer, and the transforming power of the Holy Spirit.

As everything around us continues to shake, let us build our lives upon the One foundation that cannot be moved.

Our confidence is not in governments.
Not in economies.
Not in personalities.
Not in institutions.

Our confidence is in Jesus Christ and His unshakable Kingdom.

The kingdoms of this world will continue to rise and fall.

But “the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever.” (Revelation 11:15)

May we be found faithful, not frightened.

Awake, not asleep.

Steadfast, not shaken.

For when everything that can be shaken is being shaken, those who build and stand upon the Rock have the assurance of being connected to The Unshakable Kingdom!

By Doug Stringer

“Our ancient enemy is cunning, and his subtle deceptions can infiltrate an unsuspecting heart—and church. When we don’t know or take seriously the daily relevance of the Bible’s teaching on satan and the end times, we can unwittingly get swept up in his schemes…

“Today and in the days ahead, a destiny-determining choice lies before you: Will you give in to the nature and deception of the Beast? Or will you stand firm in the nature of the Lamb, preparing yourself for the day He returns?”

“’How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.’ But the people answered him not a word.” (I Kings 18:21 NKJV)

“Let us not grow weary while doing good. For in due season, we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are in the household of faith.”

“As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

Genesis 31:13a says, “I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed the pillar, where you vowed a vow to Me.”

Genesis 35:7 says: “There he built an altar and called the place El Bethel, because God had appeared to him there when he fled from his brother.”

In a time marked by noise, division, and uncertainty, something profoundly simple—and deeply powerful—is taking place in our nation’s capital.

As part of America Reads the Bible (April 18-25), nearly 500 voices have gathered in Washington, D.C., with a singular purpose: to read the Word of God aloud, from Genesis to Revelation, over our nation – daily from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m..

No sermons.
No speeches.
No personal commentary.

Just the Word.

This sacred act echoes a powerful moment in Scripture. In Nehemiah chapter 8, Ezra stood before the people, opened the Book of the Law, and read it aloud. As the Word was lifted up, the people rose to their feet in reverence. They responded with uplifted hands, cries of “Amen, Amen,” bowed heads, and worship. The Scripture tells us they wept as they heard the Word.

We are witnessing something similar today. When the Word of God is lifted up, it carries its own authority, its own power, and its own ability to transform hearts.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1)

The Word is not merely written—it is living. It is Christ Himself, the Living Word. And when we lift up the Word, we are lifting up Jesus.

Jesus said, “If I am lifted up… I will draw all people to Myself.” (John 12:32)

As His Word is declared across our nation, we believe He is drawing hearts back to Himself, calling prodigals home, restoring hope, and awakening faith.

Scripture reminds us, “For the Word of God is living and powerful… and a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)

The Word reaches beyond surface understanding.

It penetrates the soul.
It convicts, heals, and restores.

This is why the reading of Scripture matters.

“The seed is the Word of God.” (Luke 8:11)

As the Word is read aloud, seeds are being sown—into hearts, into homes, into the very spiritual fabric of our nation. Some will take root immediately. Others may grow over time. But the promise remains:

“So shall My Word be… it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please.” (Isaiah 55:11)

The Word works.

In a culture searching for answers, peace, and identity, the Word of God remains our unchanging foundation.

“Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him.” (Proverbs 30:5)

But this moment is more than a public reading, it is a call.

A call to return.
A call to humility.
A call to repentance and hope.

Just as in Nehemiah’s day, when the Word was lifted and the people responded, we believe God is stirring a corporate awakening. Many who have drifted—who have become untethered—are being drawn back into relationship with Him.

We cannot truly know God’s heart apart from His Word. And we cannot effectively carry His message if we are not rooted in it ourselves.

The early believers were described as uneducated and untrained, yet they transformed the world. Why? Because “they had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13). They had encountered the Living Word.

Today, the same invitation stands before us.

To return to the Word.
To be renewed in our minds.
To be transformed in our hearts.

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go.” (Psalm 32:8)

In uncertain times, we must come back to what is certain. The same Word that spoke creation into existence is still speaking today.

“By the Word of the Lord the heavens were made.” (Psalm 33:6)

SCRIPTURE LIGHTS A FIRE:

As the Word is lifted across our nation, we believe it is igniting something once again:

A fire of truth.
A fire of conviction.
A fire of awakening.

We are not gathered around personalities or platforms, but we are gathered around the Word.

And the Word is enough.

May we see the fruit of this moment in the days ahead—hearts softened, lives restored, and a nation turning back to God.

THE WORD WORKS!

It does not return void.
It is the Word of Life.

Let us lift it up—and trust God to do what only He can do.

BY DOUG STRINGER

“The most priceless commodities are not found in earthly treasures, but in how we steward our time, friendships, and relationships.”

“Fame may come in a moment, but greatness comes with longevity.”