Welcome back to High on Christ! What does it take to get a pastor out of a Chinese prison? Turns out, one very unexpected phone call.

Here is what the world is up to.

The Bullets

  • Belgium ends the American dream: The U.S. men's World Cup run is over after a 4-1 drubbing by Belgium in the Round of 16, a rough night that turned on a couple of costly defensive blunders.

  • Uncle Sam wants a piece: OpenAI floated handing the U.S. government a 5% stake in the company, worth around $42 billion, as a way to share AI's upside and cool political pressure in Washington.

  • Still no word on McConnell: Three weeks after Sen. Mitch McConnell, 84, was rushed to the hospital, his office still won't say what's wrong, offering only that he's recovering and back in touch with staff.

Freed by a Phone Call?

A famous Chinese pastor just landed in Los Angeles, a free man.
Free from what?
Prison. Ezra Jin ran Zion Church, one of China's biggest underground churches, until Beijing arrested him last October.
Underground church? Like, secret?
Unregistered. China only allows state-approved churches, so Zion operated outside the system. Tens of thousands of members.
How'd he get out?
Here's the interesting part. Weeks earlier, President Trump had raised his case directly with Xi Jinping, and China framed the release as a July 4th "goodwill gesture."
So Trump got him out?
That's the popular read, and the timing lines up. But China never spells out its reasons, so nobody can really prove the call is what did it.
Either way, he's free.
He is, and back with his family. Though at least eight other Zion leaders are still locked up.
So not a clean happy ending.
A real answer to prayer, and a reason to keep praying.

Read more here.

Spiritual Perspective

One family is reunited tonight, and that alone is worth thanking God for. The freedom is still partial, though, so we celebrate this answered prayer and keep interceding for the believers still behind bars.

Interesting Find

On occasion, I find something interesting on Instagram. Thought I’d share this one!

Instagram post

Bible Trivia!

How many apostles did Jesus choose to follow him?

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Inspiring Quote

❝

There is no pit so deep that God's love is not deeper still.

- Corrie ten Boom

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