If you were to stack one trillion dollar bills together, the column would measure<\/a> 67,866 miles high, more than a fourth of the way from Earth to the moon. That\u2019s how much of the stock market\u2019s value was wiped out<\/a> Monday. Nearly $600 billion was lost<\/a> by just one company, the biggest one-day fall in US history. While the markets largely recovered<\/a> yesterday, the reverberations are continuing. At the heart of the crisis: Chinese AI model DeepSeek was released last week.<\/p>\n DeepSeek appeared to perform on par with counterparts from OpenAI, the US firm at the heart of the AI boom, but with far less computing power or money invested. This means AI models of the future might not need as many high-end chips from leading producer Nvidia. As the Wall Street Journal <\/em>reported, this \u201cturned tech and Wall Street upside down,\u201d causing Nvidia\u2019s stock to plunge more than $590 billion and tech stocks across the board to plummet.<\/p>\n In other scary news, the \u201cDoomsday Clock\u201d moved<\/a> closer to midnight yesterday than ever before. This means atomic scientists think humanity is closer than we have ever been to destroying ourselves, whether through nuclear war, climate change, biological threats, and\/or advances in disruptive technologies.<\/p>\n A culture built on the illusion of control is understandably shaken by events beyond our ability to forecast or manage. So much of what we are enticed to buy offers to help us control our appearance, health, finances, relationships, and happiness. The current Burger King ads end accordingly: \u201cHave it your way. You rule!\u201d<\/p>\n But we don\u2019t.<\/p>\n And that\u2019s the good news of the day.<\/p>\n From Monday\u2019s earthquake<\/a> off the coast of Maine and New Hampshire, to the private bathhouse discovered<\/a> recently in Pompeii that was destroyed along with the city by the Vesuvius eruption, to yesterday\u2019s somber anniversary<\/a> of the Challenger explosion, the news reminds us daily of our finitude.<\/p>\n There was a time when we would not have been shocked.<\/p>\n Humans used to live in a world where most was outside our agency, and we knew it. Devastating storms could not be predicted. Criminals and animals of prey threatened our daily lives. A broken bone could lead to a fatal infection.<\/p>\n So we prayed to God or the gods who could do what we could not, then we tried to live in ways that they would bless and protect. From Christianity\u2019s invitation to \u201cask, and it will be given to you\u201d (Matthew 7:7), to Islam\u2019s five pillars, to Buddhism\u2019s Four Noble Truths<\/a> and Noble Eightfold Path<\/a>, to Hindu rituals of purification such as the massive festival happening<\/a> this week in India, to the worship of the various gods of the Greek and Roman pantheon, human experience was rife with supernaturalism in hopes of protection and prosperity.<\/p>\n In a way, this is magical thinking: Whatever the religion, the practitioner asks their deity to do what they are unable to do. We can neither understand nor duplicate their work on our behalf. But their miraculous \u201cmagic\u201d was vital to our flourishing and thus became part of the fabric of our lives.<\/p>\n That was then\u2014this is now.<\/p>\n Darwin debunked the \u201cmyth\u201d of divine creation for millions; Marx derided religion as an \u201copiate\u201d used to enslave the masses; Freud explained our faith in God as \u201cwish fulfillment\u201d; postmodern thinkers convinced us that all truth (including that of the Bible) is personal and subjective; the sexual revolution \u201cliberated\u201d us from the constraints of outdated biblical morality.<\/p>\n As a consequence, the triumph of secularism and decline of religion are now established facts in the minds of millions in our culture.<\/p>\n In a way, the science of our day is magic for most of us. When we ask our cell phones to make calls, give directions, or answer questions, the slab of glass in our hand responds in ways that previous generations would have considered magical if not miraculous. It\u2019s almost as if we were praying to our devices and they were answering as gods. It is the same with airplanes, cars, and much of the technology we experience every day.<\/p>\n Along the way, we persuade ourselves that since these are our possessions, we possess the \u201cmagic\u201d they produce, making us masters of the universe we inhabit. But in fact, we are not.<\/p>\n In truth, \u201cYou do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes\u201d (James 4:14). What is the solution? \u201cInstead you ought to say, \u2018If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that\u2019\u201d (v. 15).<\/p>\n Why should we make this wise choice each day?<\/p>\n Humanity is a tale of two gardens.<\/p>\n Now we must choose which example to follow. If we understand that the God who \u201cis\u201d love can only want our best (1 John 4:8; Romans 12:2), we no longer need to ask for anything other than that his will be done. As missionary Jim Elliot said,<\/p>\n \u201cGod always gives his best to those who leave the choice with him.\u201d<\/mark><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Let\u2019s close with an example.<\/p>\n Lola Sheen is the daughter of actors Charlie Sheen and Denise Richards. The nineteen-year-old recently shared a video<\/a> of her January 3 baptism, then explained<\/a> the reasons behind her decision:<\/p>\n When I was in my deepest depression, there was a moment where I realized I hit rock bottom. I felt so lost and hopeless, and was just doing my best to make it to the next day. I just accepted my life was going to be like that forever and thought I would genuinely never laugh again. Until I met not only my Savior but my best friend, Jesus.<\/p>\n I can\u2019t really explain it other than it was supernatural, but Jesus met me exactly where I was, and he forever became my sun. I began to trust Jesus with my life, when he chose me when no one else did and loved me when I didn\u2019t feel worthy of love. He gave me a light when I couldn\u2019t find my own and rescued me from the darkness. . . .<\/p>\n Jesus is the only reason why I\u2019m here today and made my life worth living. I chose to get baptized at the beginning of this year because I made it through this year only by the strength of Jesus, and I am so happy to go into this next year after publicly declaring Jesus as my Savior. I am forever saved by his grace, through faith.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Lola testified, \u201cI began to trust Jesus with my life,\u201d and that made all the difference.<\/p>\n It always does.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is no failure in God\u2019s will, and no future outside of God\u2019s will.\u201d \u2014George W. Truett<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" If you were to stack one trillion dollar bills together, the column would measure 67,866 miles high, more than a fourth of the way from Earth to the moon. That\u2019s how much of the stock market\u2019s value was wiped out…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4396,"featured_media":6923,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6920","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nWhen the world was magical<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Praying to our cell phones<\/strong><\/h2>\n
The baptism of Lola Sheen<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Our latest website articles:<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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