On a somber September 11—I went live to talk about something I wish I didn’t have to: the war we once fought “over there” is increasingly here, testing our communities, our churches, and our national character.

Two themes framed the conversation:

1. The date itself. Twenty-four years after 9/11, we remember the 3,000 lives taken and the millions changed forever. Terror reshaped policy, travel, and how we see risk. The ripple effects were enormous—wars abroad, costs at home, and a reshaped culture.

2. A country at a crossroads. When a prominent conservative Christian figure can be gunned down on an American campus in broad daylight (details still developing as authorities investigate), that should sober all of us. Half the nation mourns; too many on social media mock or celebrate. Whatever your politics, that’s a moral red flag.

Political violence isn’t hypothetical anymore. If we don’t face it and prepare—practically and spiritually—the chaos corroding our civilization will accelerate.

What’s really being attacked

The late Charlie Kirk often articulated the deeper conflict succinctly: a spiritual battle in which radical ideologies—Marxism and Islamism among them—seek to erode the American way of life that sprang from a Judeo-Christian worldview: family, local community, ordered liberty, public virtue, and the conviction that all people bear the image of God.

Why does that worldview cause such hatred? Consider five core claims of Christianity that run directly against the grain of anger-politics and power-religion:

1. The primacy of love.
   “Love the Lord your God… and your neighbor as yourself.” Love, forgiveness, reconciliation—even of enemies—cuts against our culture’s appetite for vengeance and perpetual outrage.

2. Inherent human dignity.
   Every person is made in God’s image (Gen. 1:27). That truth resists all dehumanization—of political opponents, of the unborn, of the elderly, of the foreigner. Tyrants and opportunists hate it because you can’t easily control people you’re required to treat as image-bearers.

Mass Shooting in North Jerusalem

Time/Place: ~10:30 a.m. at the Ramot (Ramon/Rama) Junction on Jerusalem’s North side—one of those busy transfer points where multiple routes converge and buses stack up.

What happened:

• Two attackers arrived by car, boarded a crowded bus, opened fire, then continued shooting outside.

• The rampage lasted roughly a minute.

• Casualties: At least 6 killed, about 20 wounded.

• Stopped by: Two armed Israelis—reportedly ultra-Orthodox (Haredi), one an off-duty IDF commander from the new Haredi unit—neutralized the terrorists on scene.

Notes that matter:

• Authorities believe the cell had ISIS ties, not Hamas/PIJ/Hezbollah.

 The world doesn’t slow down, and neither do the threats we face. Yesterday brought a stark reminder of that when two Venezuelan F-16 fighter jets buzzed the USS Jason Dunham in international waters.

The Pentagon issued a sharp statement:

“Today, two Maduro regime military aircraft flew near a U.S. Navy vessel in international waters. This highly provocative move was designed to interfere with our counter-narco terror operations. The cartel running Venezuela is strongly advised not to pursue any further effort to obstruct, deter, or interfere with counter narcotics and counterterror operations carried out by the U.S. military.”

That’s about as clear as it gets. Venezuela—already drowning in corruption, cartel ties, and authoritarian control—is poking the bear. The question is: what should America do about it?

The overflight wasn’t done with Russian-made Flankers, as I might have expected, but with U.S.-made F-16s. Back in the 1980s, Washington sold Caracas two dozen of them. Today, most of those planes are grounded for lack of parts and maintenance. Venezuela claims 14 are still flightworthy, but experts believe the number is closer to three.

That makes the provocation even more interesting—dusting off old American jets to fly dangerously close to one of our destroyers. And make no mistake: the Arleigh Burke-class Jason Dunham could have swatted them from the sky in seconds.