8 Dead in Alaska Crash; Swalwell Devices Seized

Eight lives. Gone in an instant. This is The Gospel Briefing. I'm Charles King. Here's what we know. A charter aircraft carrying eight people crashed Thursday at the Cape Newenham Long Range Radar Site in western Alaska. About four hundred fifty miles west of Anchorage. All eight on board were killed. Two pilots. Six passengers. The plane had left Anchorage and went down on approach that afternoon. The military is calling it a "civilian-contracted aircraft." The radar site tracks airspace along Alaska's borders. Lt. Gen. Robert Davis, commander of Alaskan Command, called it "a devastating loss for our military family." He described those on board as "dedicated professionals carrying out a vital mission in a demanding environment." That phrase describes almost every faithful Christian life I've known. Quiet work. Hard conditions. No cameras. Scripture doesn't tell us why the plane went down. But James four speaks to the illusion we all carry — that tomorrow is guaranteed. "You 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." That's not morbid. It's honest. Honesty is where real hope starts. If you want to sit with that passage today, keep James four open in Bible Copilot and walk through it slowly. Now to Washington. Federal agents have seized electronic devices from former Congressman Eric Swalwell as part of an investigation into sexual misconduct allegations. His devices were taken at the San Francisco airport on Saturday. Agents searched his Washington home the next day. Swalwell resigned from Congress in April after a former staffer accused him of sexual assault. Three other women have alleged various misconduct. He denies the allegations. The Manhattan District Attorney's office is also investigating. Numbers thirty-two says, "Be sure your sin will find you out." That's a pattern woven through Scripture. Hidden things surface. Christians should want that — for accusers, for the accused, and for the truth itself. Pray for the women. Pray for due process. Resist the temptation to celebrate anyone's public unraveling. Pray for wisdom today before you repeat what you have heard. In a connected development — California state Senator Aisha Wahab won Thursday's special election to serve the rest of Swalwell's term. She'll represent the fourteenth district through January. She becomes the first Afghan American to serve in Congress. Outside groups spent heavily against her in the final stretch. She said her district "cannot be bought." Christians will land in different places on Wahab's politics. That's fine. But the underlying story — that money floods our elections and voters still sometimes push back — is worth noticing. Proverbs says a good name is better than great riches. Sometimes that proverb wins. Sometimes it doesn't. Pay attention to which is which. One practice for today: pray honestly for someone in authority you did not vote for. That is harder than it sounds. And it is exactly what First Timothy two asks of us. This episode is presented by Bible Copilot. Open Bible Copilot and study today's Verse of the Day — James four, verses fourteen and fifteen. It's a guided walk through what the text says, what it means, what it teaches about God, and how to live it. Three questions each 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. Here's the verse again. James four, verse fourteen. "You 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." Eight professionals in Alaska went to work Thursday morning. A congressman's hidden things came to light this week. A new representative began a term she may not finish. A mist. All of it. But the God who holds the mist is not himself a mist. Thanks for listening. Carry your day lightly and your Savior tightly. I'll see you Monday.