The Daily Briefing highlights the news of the day and research that reveals the spirit of the day.
The Daily Briefing is a newsletter sent straight to your inbox every morning that provides biblical insight on today's news.
Top News
6. Democrats Seize Control of Congress as Voters Rebuke Trump (NY Times)
“The American voter dealt President Donald Trump a historic rebuke on a scale not seen since 1974, propelling Democrats into control of both houses of Congress with commanding wins in places they hadn’t carried in decades. Democrats flipped Senate seats in Iowa, Kansas, Ohio, North Carolina, South Carolina and even Texas, according to The Associated Press, and were in a strong position to take control of the House. Democrats won Senate seats in six states Mr. Trump carried in all three of his presidential elections, several of them by double-digit margins each time.
"Democrats flipped House seats across the map. And the redistricting effort Republicans undertook in hopes of protecting their majority failed to yield the victories that they intended: Democrats won districts in Florida that Republicans redrew, and a North Carolina seat Democrats flipped was also part of the Republican redistricting effort.
“Democrats also notched major victories in races for governor. In Georgia, Keisha Lance Bottoms became the first Black woman to be elected governor in the country’s history. In Texas, Gina Hinojosa was the first Democrat elected governor since Ann Richards in 1990, by ousting Gov. Greg Abbott, a three-term Republican. In another race for governor, Dr. Amy Acton became the first woman elected to lead Ohio, overcoming a vicious campaign ad by her Republican challenger that featured her estranged mother."
LeAnn Rimes isn’t the only one who is Blue this morning… But will Christianity survive this wave? Ken Paxton doesn’t think so. The Republican candidate for the Texas Senate seat and current Attorney General of the Lone Star state said: "If Christians don't vote, we're going to have trouble sustaining Christianity in this country."
If you think this present moment is rough, consider being a Christian during the reign of Nero. The Roman emperor was famous for his persecution of Christians. Roman historian Tacitus noted: “Mockery of every sort was added to their [Christians’] death. Covered with the skins of beasts, they were torn by dogs and perished, or were nailed to crosses, or were doomed to the flames and burnt, to serve as a nightly illumination when daylight had expired.” But as Tertullian observed: "The blood of the martyrs is the seedbed of the church."
We may have elected blue leaders, but we still have the same God. Your belief in the latter should inform your response to the former. Some think this is the end of the world, failing to remember that the King’s heart is in the hand of the Lord. Others think this is the best thing in the world, needing to be reminded that electoral success, a good goal, doesn’t equate to biblical faithfulness, the ultimate goal. While Paxton questioned whether Christianity could be sustained during this time, Jerry Bridges reminded us of our need for God’s grace, regardless of the time. “Our worst days are never so bad that you are beyond the reach of God's grace. And your best days are never so good that you are beyond the need of God's grace.” (Pro. 21:1, Mk. 8)
5. White House blames bad GOP candidates as poor results come in for Republicans (The Hill)
“The White House laid blame on Republican candidates as poor results for the GOP rolled in on election night. In a statement on Tuesday evening, a White House official described the mood inside the White House as “defiant.”
“President Trump was not on the ballot, and it’s proven that Trump voters show up when he is on the ballot,” the official said. “Also, candidate quality matters, and President Trump did a better job promoting many of the candidates on the ballot than the candidates did themselves,” the official added.
"I have the ultimate power — it's called 'veto,'" President Trump told CBS News in an exclusive phone interview before polls closed across the country in this year's midterm elections, when asked about the prospect of a Democratic-controlled Congress next year. Mr. Trump says he is prepared to veto Democratic legislation if necessary, and he welcomes the moniker "Mr. Veto," in terms of describing his approach to Democrats, should they win a majority in the House or Senate.”
Are you among the 77 percent fatigued by politics this morning? If so, consider Angela Duckworth’s latest book, Situated. Known for her work on grit, Duckworth writes how “grit isn’t enough. Your situation must be your ally.”
She highlights 3 boxes and 4 elements. The situation box feeds into your thoughts box, which ends up in your response box. While most of us are fixated on box 3 (response), gritting our way to a better situation, Duckworth challenges you to go upstream and have situational awareness. There are 4 elements in this box: your space, your peers, your mentors, and your culture. Relative to space, what are the artifacts and materials around you that are setting you up for success? If you struggle with drinking, you don’t go to a bar… With peers, are you surrounding yourself with the people that are bringing out the best in you? Concerning mentors, do you see them as a necessity or a luxury? Finally, there is your culture. You are choosing to be with the people and in the places that are going to get you where you want to be.
Paging Elijah. After a big victory at Mount Carmel, Elijah received significant blowback from Queen Jezebel. Completely depleted, he collapsed under a tree and said, “I have had enough.” Instead of giving him a moment, God then gave him a mission. Regardless of who leads this country, we are called to seek the welfare of our cities (Jer. 29:7). You may not prefer our leaders, but the good news is that our neighbors, more than our leaders, make America great. In his work Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville identified a key component of America’s greatness: "I have often seen Americans make great and real sacrifices to the public welfare; and I have noticed a hundred instances in which they hardly ever failed to lend faithful support to one another." (1 Kings 19).
4. US will halt $4B in aid to Israel as the Mideast ally weans itself from American dependence (AP)
“The United States will stop providing $4 billion in aid each year to Israel in 2027 but will sell arms to its closest ally in the Middle East, President Donald Trump said on Tuesday. The Republican president told Fox News Channel during a phone call on Election Day for the midterms that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had approached him about the idea and that they have been talking about it for a couple of years.
“Trump said Israel doesn’t need the aid and it’s a lot of money for the U.S. to spend. But Trump also said that U.S. aid to Israel has become a Democratic talking point for candidates such as Michigan U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, a vocal critic of Israel. Even far-right conservatives, who have supported Trump in the past, have taken issue with U.S. support for Israel, with prominent commentators like Tucker Carlson openly questioning the value of the relationship.”
This is less aid to Israel and more an investment in the US. The US offers military assistance through a program called Foreign Military Financing. Egypt receives roughly $1.3 billion, Jordan around $500 million, and Israel a little under $4 billion. However, approximately 74 percent of the military assistance to Israel is required to be spent on American-made defense goods and services. Essentially, this is indirectly supporting/creating thousands of American jobs.
But it is more than just jobs, according to John Spencer of West Point. “Israel serves as one of the world’s most active laboratories for modern warfare. Rocket attacks, ballistic missiles, drone swarms, tunnel networks, urban warfare, cyber operations, electronic warfare, cross-border infiltration, and information campaigns are recurring realities rather than theoretical scenarios. Every conflict generates operational data, battlefield lessons, and technological adaptations that are shared with American military organizations… Some knowledge cannot be generated in a laboratory, replicated on a test range, or fully captured in a war game. Combat remains the ultimate proving ground.”
Jesus tells a parable about a master going on a journey and sharing money with his servants. 2 servants invest theirs and double the return. The third servant, paralyzed by fear of his master, digs a hole in the ground and buries his single talent to keep it "safe.” Zero risk yielded zero growth. In this instance, some think we should invest this money in the ground (or at least not in Israel). But Spencer puts it well: “The relevant question is not just whether America gets something for its investment. The question could also be whether any other recipient of American military assistance provides as much in return.” (Mt. 25)
Cultural News
3. The Brutal Harvard Class That Suddenly Everyone Wants to Take (WSJ)
“Hum 10, as it’s commonly known, has become the surprise hit of Harvard’s academic lineup and something of a campus institution. Demand to get into the class has surged, fueled by word-of-mouth from “Hum Alums” who talk it up on social media. Applications (essays required) shot up 40% this fall with 180 incoming freshmen vying for 90 spots.
“It’s a fever that even the professors are struggling to explain. It’s all distinctly old school. Hotly contested terms like “Western Civ,” “Great Books” and “the canon” appear nowhere in the course description. But the curriculum begins with “The Odyssey,” travels forward in time to James Joyce’s “Ulysses” and then backward to end with “The Iliad.” In between are assignments on Montaigne, Shakespeare, Spinoza, Baldwin, Dante and Plato.
“In their applications and in interviews, students expressed the urge to be forced to tackle classics they otherwise wouldn’t read, the need to combat frayed attention spans and the desire for an antidote to The Machine. Several mentioned with disdain that people who aren’t in the class wondered why they didn’t “just Chat the books,” i.e., use AI.”
The Beatles aren’t the only ones struggling through a Hard Day’s Night… In his book Tribe, Sebastian Junger notes: “Humans don’t mind hardship, in fact they thrive on it; what they mind is not feeling necessary. Modern society has perfected the art of making people not feel necessary.”
2 theories illuminate the desire to engage in the struggle: the learning pit and productive failure. The learning pit refers to the idea that your brain grows at the bottom. At the bottom, you need teachers, friends, and classmates to get you out of your own lack of understanding.
Then there is productive failure. This refers to grappling with a problem before getting instruction on exactly how to do it. Instead of providing instruction on how to complete a problem, you introduce a well-designed question to provoke thinking on the concept before you introduce knowledge around it. Students learn new concepts more fully, and retain the knowledge longer, when they engage in productive failure.
Put on your intellectual singlet… In Gen. 32, we read that Jacob was unable to sleep one night. Suddenly, an unrecognizable man approached him and began to wrestle with him throughout the night. As the sun rose, the man released Jacob, blessed him, and told him he had “struggled with God” and had “overcome.” From that moment on, Jacob walked with a limp and bore a new name -- Israel. As those who follow after Jacob, we have been tasked to intellectually wrestle with truth, walking away better for it and with a limp because of it.
News You Can Use
2. The documentary follows a drive-thru worker on her final day of work after 34 years. While she expects a quiet farewell, her town has other plans.
Watch it here. “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” (Gal. 6:9)
1. Asking my AI teacher how to spell seventeen
Watch it here. “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out.” (1 Jn. 4:1)
