
Welcome back to High on Christ! How does a mild-mannered schoolteacher rack up nearly 700 days behind bars? The answer is messier, and more interesting, than you'd think.
Here is what the world is up to.
The Bullets

Trump vs. the red card: After a phone call from President Trump, FIFA took the rare step of lifting U.S. striker Folarin Balogun's suspension, clearing him to face Belgium and leaving the Belgians "astonished."
Happy 250th, America: The U.S. marked its 250th birthday on July 4 with celebrations coast to coast, including a record 850,000-shell fireworks show in Washington, D.C., even as extreme heat scrambled some events.
Life, built from scratch: Scientists at the University of Minnesota unveiled "SpudCell," the first synthetic cell assembled from raw chemical parts that can grow, divide, and replicate, a landmark that has biologists debating what even counts as alive.
Your phone, watching for scammers: Apple previewed an iOS 27 feature called Trust Insights that flags scams as they happen, warning you mid-call or mid-text when it senses you're being talked into handing over money.
Conscience or Contempt?

Read more here.
Spiritual Perspective
There's honor in refusing to violate your conscience, and there's also wisdom in how you carry that stand. This one is genuinely hard to call, so let's pray for everyone caught up in it rather than rush to a verdict.
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Bible Trivia!
Who was thrown into the fiery furnace for refusing to bow to the king's golden idol?
Inspiring Quote
If your god never disagrees with you, you may just be worshipping an idealized version of yourself.
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