April 25, 2026 — Powell Probe Dropped, Delta Farmers on the Brink, America at 250

This is The Gospel Briefing. I'm Charles King. Today... the Justice Department drops its probe into the Fed chairman, and what it tells us about power. Farmers in the Mississippi Delta on the brink. And on America's two hundred fiftieth birthday, a hard story we shouldn't skip past. Headlines... Heartbeat... Hope. Let's get into it. [TRANSITION] We start in Washington. The Justice Department has officially dropped its investigation into Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. The probe centered on accusations from President Trump that Powell had allowed improper cost overruns during the renovation of the Fed's headquarters. After months of back-and-forth, the DOJ has closed the file. No charges. No further action. Now... here's the part worth slowing down on. This investigation began as a political fight. The president has been openly frustrated with Powell over interest rates for years. The renovation probe felt, to a lot of observers, like leverage. A way to apply pressure on a Fed chairman who, by design, is supposed to be insulated from the White House. And Powell stayed at his post. The Fed's independence held. The probe ended quietly. There's a verse in Proverbs 21:1 that I keep coming back to on stories like this. "The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord. He turns it wherever he will." That's not a verse about American politics. It's older than America. It's a verse about the fact that no matter how powerful a leader is, no matter how much pressure they apply, they are not the final authority. God is. Christians can disagree about the Fed. Christians can disagree about interest rates and renovations and who should be running what. But the deeper truth here is one we don't often say out loud. Earthly power has limits. Always. Even when it doesn't feel like it. The probe is closed. The republic continues. And the One who holds the king's heart is still on His throne. [TRANSITION] Next story takes us to the Mississippi Delta. NPR is reporting that farmers across one of America's most important agricultural regions are reaching a breaking point. Fertilizer prices are up. Fuel prices are up. Tariffs have squeezed margins that were already thin. And the patience of the people who feed this country... is wearing out. One farmer interviewed said he's farming at a loss this year and praying he can hold on through harvest. Another said he's watching neighbors sell equipment they've owned for thirty years just to make payroll. This is not a Wall Street story. This is a kitchen-table story. These are families who have farmed the same land for generations, and they're staring at numbers that don't add up. Scripture takes farming seriously. More seriously than most of us do. Deuteronomy talks about leaving the corners of your field for the poor. Proverbs 27:23 says... "Know well the condition of your flocks, and give attention to your herds." There's an entire biblical theology of agriculture, of land, of stewardship. The Bible assumes that the people who grow food matter to God. So here's what I'd ask you to do. Pray for farmers this week. Specifically. By name if you know any. Because behind every grocery store shelf in America is a person somewhere who got up before dawn to make sure that shelf was full. And when they hurt... we should notice. [TRANSITION] Our third main story comes from Christianity Today, and it's tied to something happening this whole year. America is turning two hundred fifty years old. There's a new book out called The Escapes of David George. It tells the true story of a man born into slavery in Virginia in the seventeen forties... who escaped, was recaptured, escaped again, found Christ, became one of the first Black Baptist preachers in America, and eventually helped found a free Black settlement in Sierra Leone. His life ran alongside the American Revolution. While the founders were writing about liberty... David George was living the cost of liberty denied. Christianity Today's point in highlighting this book is simple. As we celebrate two hundred fifty years of American independence, we cannot tell the story honestly without telling the whole story. The freedom proclaimed in 1776 was real. And it was also, for millions of people, withheld. That's a hard tension. It's a real one. Galatians 3:28 says... "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." That verse was true in the first century. It was true when David George was preaching it from a stump in South Carolina. It is true now. Christians can love their country and tell the truth about their country at the same time. In fact... I'd argue we're the ones most equipped to do it. Because we know the diagnosis of the human heart. We know that even good nations are made up of sinners. And we know that the only kingdom that arrives without injustice... is the one Jesus is bringing. Celebrate America. Tell the truth about America. Both. [TRANSITION] Now to our quick briefs. The Justice Department has announced it will allow firing squads as a permitted method of federal execution, part of a broader push to ramp up capital punishment. Christians have long held different views on the death penalty itself. But every believer should agree on this. Human life is made in the image of God, and any expansion of state-sanctioned killing demands sober, prayerful attention. Not applause. A federal appeals court ruled Friday that President Trump's asylum ban at the southern border is illegal. The court said immigration law clearly allows people to apply for asylum, and the president cannot suspend that by declaring an invasion. Immigration policy is genuinely complicated. Christians disagree about it. But Leviticus 19:34 is not complicated. "You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you." Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are traveling to Pakistan today to meet with Iran's foreign minister. The goal... move peace talks forward. Pray for them. Real lives depend on those rooms. And one for the soul. The historic Smithsonian carousel on the National Mall has reopened after restoration. This is the same carousel that was desegregated in 1963 outside Baltimore. Children rode it again this week. Sometimes... beauty endures. [TRANSITION] If any of today's stories made you want to dig deeper into what Scripture actually says — that's exactly what I built Bible Copilot for. It's a Bible study app that uses the same inductive method trusted by pastors and seminary scholars — five study modes that help you observe the text, interpret the original meaning, connect it to theology, and apply it to your life. It's free, no ads, no data collection — you get fifteen questions a day, no account needed. And if you want unlimited access plus guided reading plans, Pro is five bucks a month. Search "Bible Copilot" in the App Store — link's in the show notes. Today's verse is from Micah 6:8. "He has told you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" Justice. Kindness. Humility. That's the through-line of today's episode. Powell and the Fed... do justice. Farmers in the Delta... love kindness. Two hundred fifty years of American history... walk humbly. Thanks for listening to The Gospel Briefing. If today's episode helped you think more clearly, send it to one person who needs it. The news will keep coming. So will the grace of God. We'll meet back here Monday.