Welcome back to High on Christ! A Chinese pastor is back with his family. The news is good, but the case against his church still leaves questions. But first…

Here's what the world is up to.

The Bullets

  • Oil squeeze: Oil prices rose Monday as attacks threatened Middle East supplies. A damaged Saudi pipeline lets oil bypass a dangerous sea route. Officials told AP that repairs could take three to five weeks.

  • Adoption door reopened: Oregon agreed to restore Jessica Bates’ adoption application. The Christian widow was rejected over her beliefs about marriage and gender. The settlement lets her seek approval without changing those beliefs.

  • Mail-ballot rules blocked: The Supreme Court kept Trump’s new Postal Service rules on hold for November’s midterms. They would require states to submit voter lists and use special barcodes on ballot envelopes.

  • Court win, with limits: Worship leader Sean Feucht celebrated Monday after a judge dismissed a lawsuit over a $250,000 donation. The donor has 20 days to fix and refile his complaint.

Home, But Is It Over?

Good news out of China. Pastor Lian Xuliang is home.
Is this the church fraud case?
Yeah, in Xi’an. It started in 2022.
Officials arrested three church leaders, then banned their church. It wasn’t registered with the government.
But members said they gave the money freely. How is that fraud?
One woman who accused them later said she’d been pressured into it.
And then she hired a lawyer to help clear them
Right. ChinaAid, the Christian rights group, says Lian got home September 5.
Did they drop the charges?
No clear answer on that yet.
His dad was arrested too. I haven’t seen anything about him getting out.
Same. There’s no clear update on his dad or the other preacher.

Read more here.

Spiritual Perspective

Hebrews 13 calls believers to remember prisoners as though locked up beside them. Later, it points to Jesus, who suffered to make us holy through his blood. These Christians are our family. Thank God for Lian’s return, pray for those still held, and help support their families.

Bible Trivia!

Who was thrown into a lions’ den for praying to God?

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Inspiring Quote

❝

God himself shines as the brightness at the end of our tunnel of pain.

John Piper

See you in the next newsletter!

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