Lawmaker's Livestream Confession & Iran's New Demands

A former lawmaker opened fire inside a government building. Then he called a YouTube livestream to confess. This is The Gospel Briefing. I'm Charles King. The question for today: when the people entrusted with public authority reach for a weapon, what do Christians actually believe about power? Here's what we know. In Thailand this morning, former lawmaker Chalong Riewrang was arrested for allegedly shooting the chairman of the Nonthaburi local government administration and his driver. The chairman is seriously injured. The driver is hospitalized. Police have not confirmed any deaths. According to BBC News, Chalong phoned political commentator Anchalee Paireerak while she was livestreaming on YouTube. He told her he had done it. She reacted with shock on camera and told him to wait for police. Chalong is a former member of Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul's party. Local media suggest a private dispute. Police won't comment on motive. And here's the part that stopped me. This happened three days after a fourteen-year-old boy in the same province killed his grandparents, then killed at least six people at his school, then killed himself. Thailand has roughly ten million firearms in circulation. About one for every seven people. Officials promised stricter laws after Friday. We've heard that promise before. A former lawmaker allegedly does what a fourteen-year-old did seventy-two hours earlier. Different age. Same province. Same tool. Same brokenness underneath. Scripture is not surprised. James chapter four opens bluntly: "What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you?" Not from your circumstances. From within. A title doesn't cure it. Only Christ does. Keep James four open in Bible Copilot and follow along today. To the Middle East. President Trump told Axios yesterday the United States is, quote, "only semi-negotiating" with Iran. Iran's Supreme National Security Council issued new demands over the weekend. They say the Strait of Hormuz will not reopen until the U.S. lifts its naval blockade, ends the war with Iran's regional allies, withdraws its military from the area, releases frozen assets, and, quote, "completely compensates" Iran for war damage. Meanwhile, Iranian-backed Houthi forces struck the Yemeni port city of Mocha twice in under twenty-four hours. At least seven killed in the first strike. Fifteen civilians wounded. Two governments trading messages through Pakistan and Oman while missiles land on a port. That's the world we actually live in. Proverbs sixteen, verse thirty-two, says the one who controls his temper is greater than the one who takes a city. Pray this week for restraint at the top. Ours and theirs. At home, Senator Bernie Sanders is calling on Democratic leaders to ban super PACs from party primaries. In a letter Friday to Chuck Schumer, Hakeem Jeffries, and DNC chair Ken Martin, Sanders singled out AIPAC, saying affiliated groups spent more than thirty million dollars against Dr. Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan's Democratic primary. Sanders notes corporate super PACs have already spent a record five hundred seventeen million dollars this cycle. AIPAC says it supports pro-Israel candidates in both parties. You don't have to agree with Sanders to hear the concern. Money shapes who governs. Proverbs twenty-two, verse seven — the borrower is servant to the lender. This episode is presented by Bible Copilot. Open Bible Copilot and study the Verse of the Day first — James four. You'll get a guided walk through what the passage says, what it means, what it teaches about God, and how to apply it. Three questions a day are free. Start at mybiblecopilot dot com slash gospel. That's mybiblecopilot dot com slash gospel, or search Bible Copilot in the App Store. Our verse today is James chapter four, verses one and two. "What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill." A lawmaker with a gun. A teenager with a gun. Nations with missiles. Donors with checkbooks. Different scales. Same diagnosis. One Physician. Thanks for listening to The Gospel Briefing. The news is heavy, but Christ is still on the throne, and He is still making all things new. I'll see you tomorrow.