261 Epiphany 5: The Knight’s Path – Victory by Trust
“I will praise You with my whole heart; Before the gods I will sing praises to You.” ~ Psalm 138
The Knight’s Path: Victory by Trust
The Knight is not like the rest. He doesn’t march in straight lines. He won’t glide smoothly across the board. He moves where others cannot—bold, deliberate, and unpredictable. When the way is blocked, he leaps.
This is faith. Not waiting for clarity, not demanding proof—moving.
The world hesitates, waiting for open doors and perfect conditions. The Knight knows better. He does not sit back, hoping for the path to clear. He acts. His next step is unknown, but he takes it anyway.
Because he was sent.
Abraham went without knowing where. The Israelites stepped into the Jordan before the waters parted. The faithful move first.
“The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.” (Proverbs 16:9)
Obstacles do not stop him. He does not take the easy route; he takes the right one. When others see a dead end, the Knight finds a way forward. He refuses to be trapped by fear, delay, or doubt.
“For we walk by faith, not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:7)
He moves with purpose. No wasted effort. No distractions. His mission is clear: victory, not only his own.
The board is bigger than he can see, but the King is his master. He trusts, he moves, and he leaps, not for himself but for the Kingdom.
The faithful find their way.
“Like hinds’ feet in high places.”
Till angel cry and trumpet sound,
R.J.M.F
On the Radar
Men Banned from Women’s Sports
President Trump has made good on a campaign promise, issuing an executive order to ban males from playing in women’s sports events or being allowed in women’s private spaces. The order does not cover the practices of organizations that are privately funded but it does require representatives from such sporting bodies to meet with female athletes who have played against trans-identified males to hear their stories. Male athletes visiting the US to compete against females will also be investigated, according to the order but the details of enforcement are not clear.
The Department of Education and the National Collegiate Athletic Association, who both receive federal funding, announced that they would comply with the Order.
Detractors said the order was discriminatory and made much of the “vanishingly small” numbers of athletes it applies to but supporters said it will protect many girls and women. Transgender people will still be able to compete in events set up for their biological sex.
Legal challenges against the order are expected.
A thought: God be praised for this news, not that women can play sports fairly – although that is a fine thing, too – but that the distinction between men and women is being acknowledged in the highest office in our land. Scripture recognizes differences between men and women, from Genesis all the way through. While the devil would seek to confuse and obscure, God makes our differences clear and beautiful: “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”
Madsplaining: DOGE vs USAID
The chaotic whirlwind of Trump 2.0 continues. Last week, President Trump carried on his flurry of executive orders with accompanying media madness and almost as many lawsuits as orders. But the subject on everyone’s pages last week was the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) findings at the United States Agency for International Development (US…
The Blitz
Birth, Death and Marriage
Life
New York’s governor, Kathy Hochul (D) will allow abortion doctors to leave their names off documentation which could identity them, such as prescriptions for mifepristone. (WNG) | Virginia’s Democrat-majority Senate has advanced a bill aiming to codify into law abortion at any time during pregnancy. (The Federalist) | A Michigan state Representative says she has voluntarily made herself sterile as a protest about the potential loss of access. (Michigan Advance)
Pro-natal policies will fail without a societal change which encourages having and raising kids. (The Federalist)
California’s Attorney General Rob Bonta has urged hospitals to disregard President Trump’s executive order which prohibits federal funding for transgender procedures on children. AG Bonta said hospitals should continue as before to comply with state anti-discrimination laws, although one hospital had paused to consider the ramifications of the Order. (WNG)
New study has found that mortality among young adults is 70% higher than expected. Most deaths are from “unnatural causes” such as drug poisoning, traffic accidents and suicide. (Epoch Times)
The wreckage of a single-engine commuter plane has been found in Alaska with all ten people on board confirmed dead. The incident is the deadliest of its kind in the state for 25 years. (AP)
A young boy who shielded his sister from shrapnel during the recent Philadephia plane crash has woken up from surgery, asking if she had survived. (ABC7)
Coming to America
Immigration
The Federal Communications Commission has opened an investigation into a California radio station’s efforts to undermine deportation work after it issued real-time locations of immigration agents. (The Los Angeles Times) | Newly inaugurated Attorney General Pam Bondi has ordered that jurisdictions which do not comply with immigration and deportation efforts will not receive federal funding. (New York Post)
Reality Bytes
Digital Technology
Sam Altman’s “Stargate” supercomputer is a “complete fiction”, say critics. Under scrutiny, the plan is fraught with problems, especially of the funding kind. “AI’s rapid progress makes long-term data center bets precarious.” (The Verge)
Among the warnings about artificial intelligence: beware the Greater Replacement. If AI achieves all that its fans want it to, we will need to work extra hard to remember how to be human. (Singularity Weekly)
It’s time to stop hacking humans: govern technology or be governed by it. (The New Atlantis)
Treasure
Money, Markets and Jobs
President Trump has issued an order to establish a US sovereign wealth fund, proposing that it could be used to buy TikTok. (TechCrunch)
The Trump administration has said it will pause imposing tariffs on Mexico and Canada after leaders of both countries said they will place troops at their borders. Canada had proposed a taskforce to investigate drug smuggling last year. (WNG)
Target shareholders have launched a class action suit against the retailer accusing its board of not being honest about the financial risk created by promoting LGBT merchandise. (Fox)
A California ordnance may require landlords who lost property in Palisades fires to rebuild low-income housing. (Daily Journal)
Heritage
Arts, History and Sport
Private collections of art and music have been lost in California fires, including Andy Warhol paintings and digital sound archives. “Every half hour I remember another thing gone.” (PJ Media)
A major Hollywood studio has been plonking a bunch of old or obscure movies on YouTube and it’s not entirely clear why. As these particular movies failed to make much money, YouTube might be seen as a better bet than streaming catalogues to increase viewership and generate some ad revenue. (Tedium, Variety)
There was a moral panic over medieval England’s pointy shoes. "Our wanton youths are sunk in effeminacy." (BBC)
Religion and the Church
LCMS’ President Harrison’s response to USAID controversy. (LCMS)
Word-faith preacher, Paula White has been appointed to a newly-created “Office of Faith”. During a recent prayer breakfast, President Trump stated that he was determined to be a champion of Christianity and remove anti-Christian bias from government. (Not the Bee, WNG)
A secularist advocacy group has been granted its request that a Bible verse on display at a Michigan prison be removed. (WNG)
Medicine and Food
Health
New York governor Kathy Hochul has closed poultry markets after seven cases of bird flu detected in New York City. (USAToday) | Eggs have become a target for thieves with Pennsylvania police still tracking down who stole 100,000 eggs, reportedly worth $40k. (USA Today)
A new paper claims microplastics are building up in human brains at higher concentrations than in other organs. (Discover)
The blue dot in your brain that regulates your sleep. (BBC)
People take all the wrong lessons from the world’s “blue zones”. (Uncertainty Principles)
Hearts and Minds
Philosophy, Hacks and Human Connection
A new study has concluded that women are more talkative than men but only at certain times during the human lifespan. Meta anaylsis shows that, in general, people are talking less than previous decades, with the study’s authors saying more work is needed to find out how speaking affects our wellbeing. “I'm fascinated by the idea that we know how much we need to sleep, we know how much we need to exercise…but we have no idea how much we're supposed to socialize.” (Phys)
A slight twist on journaling: a flight attendant passes a notebook around the aircraft for passengers to write whatever they want to share with others. (Nice News)
Worth pondering: how can you steward different types of wealth – time, friends/family, mental, physical health and money? (Big Think)
The Kingdoms of this World
Politics
Vice President Vance has visited Palestine Ohio, two years after the disastrous train derailment. A new lawsuit has been filed which claims that seven people have died in connection with the chemical spill. (WNG)
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt says expensive government subscriptions to news sites including Politico have been canceled. Staff subscriptions reportedly cost $30 million. During his first administration, President Trump did urge government staff to cancel subscriptions to the New York Times and other media outlets. (CNN, The Blaze)
A federal judge has paused President Trump’s plan to buyout federal workers which is part of the effort to reduce the size of government and its spending. Reports claim that 20,000 workers had agreed to quit. (Just the News)
War and Rumors of War
Conflict and Weaponry
From the riviera to the sea? President Trump has angered and amazed in equal measure, doubling down on his desire that America would have a stake in the rebuilding of Gaza. It is unclear who would live there after the rebuild or whether it is legal to move the Palestinian population en masse. It is also unclear who would visit as a tourist destination especially considering Hamas is still operating in the Strip. Some say the President is vision casting as a way to force gulf nations to step up their game, but his announcement already has many ramifications for peace in the region and the return of Israeli hostages under the current fragile peace deal currently in place. (Front Page Mag, The Guardian, Quillette)
Stories From Far Away
World News
🇸🇪 Sweden’s worst mass shooting has left ten people dead. (PJ Media)
🇵🇦 US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has visited with Panama’s president Jose Raul Mulino to discuss reducing China’s influence on the strategic Canal. (BBC)
🇸🇻 El Salvador’s merchants will no longer be obligated to accept Bitcoin. The country reversed its crypto policy in order to secure a loan from the International Monetary Fund. (MSN)
🇻🇪 Venezuela has released 6 Americans being held by the Maduro government and agreed to accept all its nationals deported from the US. (BBC)
🇨🇳 Researchers say China’s DeepSeek AI chatbot has been linked to a Chinese state-owned telecommunications company that was barred from operating in the United States. (AP)
Quickhits For The Eyebuds
🌽 A cozy game about cozy games
🍟 Ketchup is not a vegetable, but it is a category
👗 These clothes without bodies in them are a little unsettling
🦊 A printmaker’s quirky take on suspicious animals
🗺️ Awesome map of medieval trade routes
🛻 The world loves pick-up trucks
🇮🇹 Money can’t buy taste? Ferrari is reportedly set to blacklist wealthy customers who make “strange” modifications to their cars, hurting the brand’s image
Promo of Friends
Illuminati need only apply
Good Word: Starfall 2029
Catch Rev Fisk on Starfall2029! This week was plain speaking about the need for men to speak plainly. Watch on YouTube or Rumble, or listen here:
Sweetness You May Have Missed:
This Week Preached:
Podcast Release:
Let us pray. O Lord, keep Your family the Church continually in the true faith that, relying on the hope of Your heavenly grace, we may ever be defended by Your mighty power; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
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