Note from Stephen Strang: Note from Stephen Strang: I had the privilege of being on Gene Bailey’s Flashpoint program on the Victory Network recently. His monologue was so good we asked to print it here, and I also recorded a special Strang Report podcast, included below.

Front and center in the news lately is the ill-named Equality Act. The truth is it’s nothing about equality. The act, which is being painted as a pro-LGBT law, is coming across to many people of faith as an anti-religious freedom law.

In essence the act is seeking to make “gender identity” a covered category under the Civil Rights Act, thereby overriding the protections based on biological sex. The act also moves to repeal the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993, make abortion a federally protected civil right, would require the funding of abortion through Medicaid, Medicare and other sources, would encroach on parental rights to their children’s health care and so much more.

4 Essential Things for Christians to Know About the Equality Act

1. It endangers the church.

Among the many things the Equality Act endangers, the church is one of them. If the Equality Act passes, churches will no longer be able to hire someone based on their beliefs. What this means is that a church could not deny hiring someone because they are an atheist or because they live a life contradictory to the church’s beliefs.

This also means that churches, like all other institutions, will not be allowed to segregate restrooms or locker rooms based on sex, a move that could increase the risk to young girls and women in public or shared restrooms in all venues.

According to Greg Baylor of Alliance Defending Freedom, the Equality Act is also set to repeal the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993, a bill that was signed into law by Democratic President Bill Clinton.

This means that people will no longer be able to use religious free exercise as a defense for their actions. For example, if a church declines to allow a gay couple from holding their wedding in their church because it goes against that church’s religious beliefs, the church could be subject to legal action. According to Focus on the Family, if the Equality Act passes, the same will be true for other organizations as well, including, adoption agencies, wedding venues, florists, bakers and photographers. It’s not just churches, folks.

2. It encourages the suppression of religious freedom.

According to The Hill, the Equality Act moves to elevate the protection of LGBT people over people of faith. If enacted, the Equality Act will prevent religious people from denying a service, employment, housing or public accommodations among other things, to LGBT persons, despite the fact that homosexuality contradicts their religious beliefs.

An example of this would be the well-known Masterpiece Cakeshop case. Remember that one? While Jack Phillips was deemed within his first amendment right of freedom of religion when he declined to make a wedding cake for an LGBT couple, the Equality Act would have deemed Phillips’ decision discriminatory.

Alliance Defending Freedom’s Sarah Kramer summed up the effects of the act on religious people by putting it simply. In a statement on the ADF website Kramer wrote, “Essentially, the Equality Act gives people of faith an ultimatum: Change your faith-based practices or face government punishment.”

She added, “This would prohibit employers, individuals who rent out apartments in their homes, preschools and even religious schools and organizations from making choices based on basic biology, bodily privacy and their beliefs about the nature of marriage.”

3. It will obliterate women’s rights.

While the LGBT community might feel like there is something to celebrate with the Equality Act, feminists—both radical and liberal—are speaking out against the legislation. The Equality Act is seeking to make “gender identity” a covered category under the Civil Rights Act. By doing this, the protected category of “sex” is being eliminated. This means that all of the strides women have made in society to advance women’s rights and protections, are going out the window.

The bill seeks to amend dozens of sections in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to add “including sexual orientation and gender identity,” any place the category “sex” is protected.

Essentially what this means is that scholarships for women, grants for women, business loans for women and restrooms for women among other things, could legally be awarded to or used by men. Both conservative Christian organizations and liberal radical feminist organizations are banding together in protest of this change, some even arguing that if the Equality Act passes it will “erase women.”

Radical feminist group Women’s Liberation Front came out against the act on Twitter writing, “If the Equality Act succeeds in making “gender identity” a protected class under federal law, it will erase the protected category of “sex,” which for decades has been the foundation for securing the rights and opportunities of women and girls in the United States.

In an interview with Fox News, Doreen Denny, senior director of government relations at the conservative group Concerned Women for America, said, “It’s going to erase not discrimination, but it’s going to erase females because the sex of female will no longer be protected as a thing that you could claim as a separate category.”

She added, “In a bathroom, or locker room or a dressing room, any biological man at any time that wants to come in and say, ‘I’m now a woman’ could just have access to that.” Denny also touched on how this could perpetuate an already difficult topic in women’s sports.

In recent years, more and more women have been speaking out against the unfair biological advantages transgender women have when competing alongside biological women. The Equality Act will outright let any person who feels like a woman compete as a woman even if they are a biological man.

4. It will affect your kids.

Not only will the Equality Act allow male students to enter female restrooms, but it will also hinder parents’ authority over their children.

According to the Heritage Foundation, the bill will politicize the medical industry creating conflicts with parents, doctors and the government.

House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., said of the Equality Act that it is “the most invasive threat to a parent’s involvement in children’s medical decisions he’s seen.” The Heritage Foundation reports that the Equality Act will force doctors to ignore parents’ wishes and give kids—no matter the age—transgender operations and puberty blockers if the child asks for it. This means that even if a parent simply wants to allow their young child to be an adult before making the life-altering decision to transition from one gender to the other, but the child asks for the procedure, then doctors must comply to the child’s wishes.

Scalise explained this to CBN News, saying, “The son can actually go to a doctor without the parents’ involvement at all, even if the parents object vocally. Under this bill, the doctor has to treat the boy to ultimately transfer over to be a female.”

“I’m not talking about 18-, 19-, 20-year-olds—I’m talking about 11- and 12-year-olds,” he added.

According to Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler, R-Mo., cases like this are already happening in individual states. “In Ohio, there were parents who had their parental rights taken away from them because they refused to go along with giving hormone treatments to their teenage child,” Hartzler told CBN News.

Hartzler also warned that doctors who refuse to do transgender procedures on anyone—including kids—can face legal ramifications.

So, what’s the bottom line? Laws must respect freedom and promote justice for every citizen, no matter who they are. But that is not what the “Equality Act” does. Instead, it threatens Americans’ fundamental liberties. And that is something no American should stand for.

Be sure to listen to this special episode of the Strang Report on the dangers of the Equality Act here. And make sure to subscribe to the Strang Report podcast on Apple Podcasts or your favorite platform so you don’t miss important news and commentary like this.

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After meeting through the night, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill early this morning in a 219-212 vote.

Two Democrats broke from their party to vote against the bill: Oregon’s Kurt Schrader and Maine’s Jared Golden. Golden defended his vote against the pandemic relief package, saying in a statement released by his office: “This bill addresses urgent needs, and then buries them under a mountain of unnecessary or untimely spending. In reviewing the bill in its full scope, less than 20 percent of the total spending addresses core COVID challenges that are immediately pressing … After supporting $4 trillion in emergency COVID relief in 2020, I won’t support trillions more in funding that is poorly targeted or in many cases not necessary at this moment in time.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., delivered an impassioned speech on the House floor in which she called the package a “moral imperative,” saying its passage is “long overdue,” per Politico.

The package includes a third $1,400 stimulus check for Americans who earn less than $75,000 a year and raises unemployment benefits to $400 a week through the end of August. It would also increase the child tax credit, aid to small businesses and increase funding for coronavirus testing and vaccination.

No Republicans backed the bill. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy had no hesitation in calling out Pelosi on its contents, tweeting yesterday about the “Pelosi Payoff.”

Don’t call it a rescue package or a relief bill.
Call it what it is ⇨ The Pelosi Payoff

The amount of money that actually goes to defeating the virus is less than 9%. I’m headed to the House floor now to expose Democrats for the other 91%.

Watch live:

— Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) February 27, 2021

McCarthy also noted that “This bill calls for Harvard and other elite institutions to receive hundreds of millions of dollars. But Harvard already has a $40 billion endowment.”

Republicans also objected to the Democrats’ bid to include the $15 minimum wage requirement as a part of the package, saying it would hurt businesses and cost many Americans their jobs.

The Senate is expected to take up the measure next week. {eoa}

In a special report, Flashpoint on the Victory Channel is featuring Charisma founder and CEO Stephen Strang, attorney Keisha Russell of First Liberty Institute and evangelist and prophetic minister Mario Murillo discussing the Feb. 25 passage by the House of President Joe Biden’s Equality Act.

The video details the many ways this act is set to tear down biblical family values. The opening narrative cites Sarah Kramer of the Alliance Defending Freedom, who says the act encourages the suppression of religious freedom: “Essentially, the Equality Act gives people of faith an ultimatum: Change your faith-based practices or face government punishment.”

Russell shares a story of an Illinois high school senior whom she successfully defended against the school’s attempt to force her to take its sexuality and gender course despite her request for a religious accommodation. “Under the Equality Act, it wouldn’t matter,” Russell says.

Strang expresses his deep concern for the direction of America, noting that President Trump undoubtedly would have vetoed the Equality Act. “This has been going on for a long, long time, step by step by step. These people have an agenda,” he says, adding that part of that agenda is to stifle the church.

“The church is really the only thing that stands between them and doing anything they want,” Strang says. “One of our greatest rights is the freedom of religion, and this just tramples on it,” adding that “We’ve got to sound the alarm. This has got to be stopped in the Senate.”

Prophetic minister Mario Murillo also adds his thoughts, echoing Strang’s call for the church to mobilize. “What will it take?” he asks listeners. “What do you need to hear? We must galvanize.”

For more on the dangers to religious liberty sure to come with the Equality Act, watch the entire video here, and be sure to listen to this episode of the Strang Report podcast in which Stephen Strang details his concern for the future of our nation. {eoa}

Here’s a quick summary of the top stories on :

Why Do 1 in 6 Gen Z Adults Identify as LGBT?

One of the early gay activist talking points was that 1 in 10 people were gay, even though the activists knew this was not true. That’s why it was significant when, in 2011, demographer Gary Gates, himself gay, “released a review of population-based surveys on the topic, estimating that 3.5% of adults in the United States identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual, with bisexuals making up a slight majority of that figure.”

Other surveys came to similar conclusions, and even as recently as 2017, a Gallup poll put the total percentage of Americans who identify as LGBT at 4.5%. The newest Gallup poll, however, puts that number at 5.6%.

More strikingly, the poll indicates that 1 out of every 6 generation Z adults (meaning over 16% of those aged 18-23) identify as LGBT. How can this be?

House Steamrolls Religious Liberty, Votes to Pass LGBTQ Bill

The House voted Thursday to pass landmark LGBTQ legislation in a move that critics say would crush religious liberty.

The vote was 224 to 206 with three Republicans joining the Democrat majority to vote “Yes.”

The bill, known as the Equality Act or , passed 236-173 in the House in 2019 although it died in the Senate. Now, it’s possible the Senate will give it a real look.

Timothy Plan Activates Agenda to Spiritually Combat Planned Parenthood

Lots of things can happen during the 40 Days for Life. The annual campaign of prayer, fasting and 24-hour vigils outside abortion clinics has saved thousands of unborn children and led to countless conversions.

It has also brought together people of faith from many Christian denominations.

The 40 Days for Life began on Feb. 17, coinciding with Ash Wednesday, which marked the beginning of Lent. The campaign ends on March 28, while Lent continues until Easter Weekend, ending on Holy Saturday (April 2), the day before Easter. {eoa}

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I suppose the upside here is the Bible was trending on Twitter.

Some social media users were in an uproar at the end of the week after seeing video from the Conservative Political Action Conference revealing a golden statue of former President Donald Trump, a sculpture many equated to the “Golden Calf” story in the Old Testament book of Exodus.

“This is my boyfriend,” one woman says. #CPAC

— William Turton (@WilliamTurton) February 26, 2021

“That is so cool,” said one person as the statue rolled by. Others began chanting, “Four more years,” hoping Trump will announce his intention to run for reelection in 2024 during his CPAC speech Sunday.

So far, the video, posted first by Bloomberg News reporter William Turton, has amassed around 6 million views.

Some critics on Twitter jumped at the chance to condemn CPAC attendees and Trump supporters, likening the gold-plated statue to the cautionary tale in Exodus, when the Israelites who had grown impatient with Moses as he ascended to Mount Sinai—created for themselves a new god, a deity in the form of a calf.

When Moses came down from the mountain, he brought with him two tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments written by God to the Israelites, who were dancing around the false idol. The first commandment said, “You must not have any other god but me,” and the second stated, “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind.”

In his anger at the Israelites—and his brother, Aaron, who helped them build the false idol—Moses smashed the tablets and destroyed the golden calf, burning it in fire. {eoa}

Click here to read the rest of the story from our content partners at .

A pro-life rule that we fought for—and you did too—is under attack.

When the Department of Health and Human Services issued a rule blocking millions of our tax dollars from abortionists, Planned Parenthood stomped away from the program.

But with the new Biden administration in power, the extreme abortion lobby has been reinvigorated, and it is taking action to undo this commonsense HHS regulation.

As The Hill explains:

The Supreme Court will hear a challenge to the Trump administration’s changes to a federally funded family planning program that pushed hundreds of providers to leave.

The court announced Monday it will hear a case brought by the American Medical Association (AMA), Planned Parenthood and others arguing that the Trump administration’s changes to the Title X family planning program that bans providers from referring patients for abortions violates federal law and harms patient care.

During his campaign, President Biden promised to reverse the HHS rule blocking Title X money from Planned Parenthood. Now it appears he is keeping his word to the abortion giant that supported his campaign financially. He has already taken executive action to begin the process of reversing this critical pro-life rule.

Yet Biden’s Justice Department is supposed to be the one defending this rule. Don’t hold your breath.

That is why the ACLJ is needed now more than ever.

Our legal team is already preparing to file a critical amicus brief at the Supreme Court defending the Title X rule. Title X is a federal program—funded by our tax dollars—which provides grants for lower-income medical and family planning services.

Title X grants were never supposed to be given to the abortion industry. It was literally put that way in writing. Under the express language of Title X, “[n]one of the funds appropriated under this title shall be used in programs where abortion is a method of family planning.” It doesn’t get much clearer than that.

And yet Planned Parenthood managed to exploit loopholes to obtain Title X funds for years. In fact, historically, Planned Parenthood has accounted for as much as 41% of the services funded by Title X.

As we’ve reported, under former President Trump, HHS introduced a rule to cut taxpayer funding for abortion providers—like Planned Parenthood—who refuse to comply with the law. The rule cut approximately $60 million of Planned Parenthood’s taxpayer funding—a significant step in defunding the abortion giant.

The ACLJ filed public comments supporting the proposed rule. We also urged our ACLJ members to file their own comments, which you did in droves. Our members submitted over 13,000 individual comments, accounting for over 10% of all comments submitted nationwide.

The rule went into effect in 2019, and in the definitive “taking my ball and going home” move, Planned Parenthood—which has long held that abortion was only a small portion of their business—stomped away from the program altogether.

Yet, they didn’t go down without a fight. Planned Parenthood and its pro-abortion allies launched a series of lawsuits against the defunding rule. In response, the ACLJ took significant action in court. As we have previously explained:

At the ACLJ, we filed numerous amicus briefs in this case, and the 9th Circuit agreed with our arguments.

First, Planned Parenthood and its pro-abortion state posse lost before a 3-judge panel of the 9th Circuit—a stunning loss in and of itself because of how reliable the 9th Circuit has been for Planned Parenthood. It then appealed that loss to an 11-judge panel of the 9th Circuit, sitting en banc. Again, it resoundingly lost. Desperate, it again asked that panel to rehear the case or for the full court (all 29 judges of the 9th Circuit) to hear the case. It lost again. Not only did it lose, but not a single judge on the entire 9th Circuit Court of Appeals even wanted to vote on hearing the case. The 9th Circuit’s order stated, “The full court has been advised of the Petitions, and no Judge has requested a vote on whether to rehear the matter as a full court. The Petitions are denied.”

It appears even the 9th Circuit is sick of Planned Parenthood’s tactics. This was an absolute and utter debacle for Planned Parenthood.

Despite the new administration seemingly empowering abortionists and their lobbyists, the ACLJ will not stand by and watch them dismantle crucial pro-life protections. Nor will we allow them to summarily force Americans to pay for abortions against their will.

But that doesn’t diminish the very real threat to the HHS rule. As we recently told you, Biden has nominated possibly the most pro-abortion director of HHS in the history of the organization—California Attorney General Xavier Becerra.

Becerra served in Congress for 24 years, during which time he earned a 100% rating from abortion lobbyists such as Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice America. Among other things, he voted against a ban on partial-birth abortion, voted against making it a crime to hurt an unborn child during the commission of another crime, voted yes on allowing and expanding human embryonic stem cell research, and supported taxpayer-funded abortions.

And that is the man Biden wants to put in charge of HHS. That doesn’t bode well for an HHS rule blocking tax dollars from abortionists.

This is exactly why the critical pro-life work of the ACLJ is needed now more than ever. We are the last line of defense in court. Title X was created to fund women’s true health care services, not abortion. Planned Parenthood should not be allowed to exploit the program for a single dime. {eoa}

For the original article, visit .

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Scripture tells us of a time when “truth is fallen in the street” (Isa. 59:14). And this has happened in our day, so what are we supposed to do?

Recognizing that the crisis in our culture is a crisis of truth, God’s people are responding to the call to do exploits in this historic hour when so much is at stake. Watch Larry Tomczak for this 10-minute compelling video to inspire and equip you.

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Even though we are given many accounts and life stories of women in the Bible, our knowledge of them is often limited. In fact, only a small number of believers, if asked, could provide more than a handful of names and/or histories of these women. But God used these women for a reason. He had a purpose not only for their lives on earth, but for their descendants and all the generations to follow—and He is still teaching us through their testimonies today!

Join us as we complete our examination of the life and calling of one of these women of God: Hadassah, the orphan who became Queen Esther.

Kingdom Advancing Women

Often, we take the limited number of biblical women when compared to biblical men to mean that God does not use women to advance His kingdom except in special circumstances. But, simply by exploring these women of the Word deeper, God’s use of women becomes evident.

From Deborah to Ruth. Leah to Abigail. Or Rachel to Rahab. Every woman who chose to follow God was used mightily for His kingdom. Each path was different, but even when circumstances appeared difficult or dangerous, these women chose to accept His plans, His purpose. They chose to walk in His ways, acting with faith, courage, hope, obedience and love. They stood strong in their faith no matter what—and as a result, God not only chose them as biblical examples, but He blessed them and their descendants abundantly!

One such woman of the Word was Hadassah, the girl who became Queen Esther.

“And the king held out the golden scepter toward Esther. So Esther arose and stood before the king” (Esth. 8:4, NKJV).

The Domino Effect of Faith

Esther’s faith, along with her obedience, fasting and prayers, brought the favor of God upon her choice to seek the king unsummoned. Her season of God hiding His favor to prepare her for this moment was over, and the king held out his golden scepter toward her in order to spare her life—the favor of God firmly upon her (see Esth. 5:1-2). Yet, God did not prompt her to state her case immediately. Instead, Esther bids the king and Haman to dine with her, not once, but twice.

During that first banquet, she did not bring forth the subject of the saving of her people but instead asked that the king and Haman would come to another banquet.

At the banquet of wine the king said to Esther, “What is your petition? It shall be granted you. What is your request, up to half the kingdom? It shall be done!”

Then Esther answered and said, “My petition and request is this: If I have found favor in the sight of the king, and if it pleases the king to grant my petition and fulfill my request, then let the king and Haman come to the banquet which I will prepare for them, and tomorrow I will do as the king has said” (Esth. 5:6-8).

While this may have a surface appearance of delaying tactics, or even fear, it was far from it. God was guiding her steps, preparing a victory far greater than she ever dreamed. For, during the time between the first and second banquet, several things happened:

— Haman, thinking he was building a gallows for Mordecai, actually built his own.

— God directed the king’s steps to rediscovering how Mordecai had saved his life.

— The king, wishing to honor Mordecai, asked Haman how to honor such a one as this.

— Haman, thinking he was the one to be honored by the king, suggested the way Mordecai would be honored.

— Haman, humbled by God, had to lead Mordecai through the streets in the same manner he had thought he was to be led.

— Because Mordecai was now favored by the king, Haman did not press the king to put Mordecai on his gallows.

— The Jewish position was strengthened because the king not only favored Esther, but now, unknowingly, the cousin who raised her.

All of this occurred between the first and second banquet—within 24 hours!

Plans to Prosper

At the second banquet, the Lord’s plan for the Jews and Haman came to pass. Esther brought her petition and request to the king, and discovering Esther’s heritage, he was enraged—all the more so when, upon returning after a few minutes away, he discovered Haman collapsed on the couch Esther sat on. Seemingly as though he was set to attack her:

Then the king arose in his wrath from the banquet of wine and went into the palace garden; but Haman stood before Queen Esther, pleading for his life, for he saw that evil was determined against him by the king. When the king returned … Haman had fallen across the couch where Esther was. Then the king said, “Will he also assault the queen while I am in the house?” (Esth. 7:7-8).

Thus, hearing that Haman had built a gallows for Mordecai—Esther’s cousin and the man who had just been honored for saving the king’s life—the king ordered that Haman should be hung upon that same gallows.

Now Harbonah, one of the eunuchs, said to the king, “Look! The gallows, fifty cubits high, which Haman made for Mordecai, who spoke good on the king’s behalf, is standing at the house of Haman.”

Then the king said, “Hang him on it!”

So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the king’s wrath subsided (Esth. 7:9-10).

However, while the danger of her going before the king was over and Haman’s life was ended, Esther’s task was not finished.

She, obtaining the permission of the king, had to work with Mordecai to find a way to save the Jews, for no decree having been sealed with the king’s signet—which Haman used—could be revoked.

Thus, with the wisdom of God they created a way for the Jews to defend themselves from the decree, gaining relief from not only Haman, but all who wished to oppress them!

“By these letters the king permitted the Jews who were in every city to gather together and protect their lives—to destroy, kill, and annihilate all the forces of any people or province that would assault them” (Esth. 8:11).

Haman had meant to destroy the Jews, but when God stepped in, not only were they saved, they found themselves blessed and safe. For with Esther and Mordecai in the king’s favor, and the decree’s results, many feared the Jews, while some even chose to become Jews themselves by following their customs and God.

Thus, to honor what God had done, Esther and Mordecai enacted another decree. One that instructed the Jews of Persia to begin a yearly celebration to be known as Purim. Pur, coming from the casting of the pur, or casting of lots, through which the day had been chosen to destroy the Jews, was now to become a time to celebrate! Jews celebrate their victory over their enemies, not only by joyfully feasting, but by giving presents to one another and gifts to the poor:

“And Mordecai wrote these things and sent letters to all the Jews, near and far, who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus. … Then Queen Esther, the daughter of Abihail, with Mordecai the Jew, wrote with full authority to confirm this second letter about Purim” (Esth. 9:20, 29).

And Esther?

While we do not know much of her life after these events, we do know that Esther was blessed. She was given the house of Haman, which she gave to Mordecai to tend, and both she and Mordecai were responsible for not only the decree that saved the Jews in Persia, but also for enacting Purim.

Additionally, it is believed by many biblical scholars that Esther was the mother or grandmother of Darius II, the Persian king who lifted the ban that had disallowed the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem. If this is fact, then not only would Esther have saved untold Jews, but she would have been, through blood and/or imparting aspects of her faith, responsible for allowing the temple to be rebuilt!

She was blessed not only during her lifetime but beyond—through the lessons and truth found in the book of Esther, through Purim and, quite possibly, through her descendants.

Her faith to put God’s plans first, even in the face of danger, propelled the kingdom of God further on His chosen path. She placed her trust in God, accepting His will, even if it did not align with hers. All of this set Esther in a place where not only others knew blessing, but she, herself, experienced it.

This article originally appeared at .

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Hit Christian, pop, feel-good and soulful singer Lauren Daigle has released her newest single: “Hold On to Me,” written to cross genres, with the lyrics able to be sung as if to a loved one or to God.

The success of her previous single, “You Say,” is in part due to this same structure, as it allows listeners outside of Christian streams to relate to the content, regardless of their faith views. And, of course, for the follower of Christ, the lyrics hold even greater depth and meaning.

Daigle first sang “Hold On to Me” during her “Look Up Child” tour in Wichita, Kansas, and said on social media that the release has “been a long time coming.”

THIS FRIDAY It really has been a long time coming… but we made it to release week, y’all!! I cannot WAIT for you to hear this

Pre-save // pre-add here:

— Lauren Daigle (@Lauren_Daigle) February 22, 2021

In a video with Apple Music, the 29-year-old singer described the song as a good reminder after 2020 to come together and “remember that being with each other, and being there for each other and holding each other up in the worst times—is what life is truly all about.”

Watch Daigle’s performance of then never-before-seen “Hold On to Me” here.

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“Unconscionable and frightening.” That’s how Pastor Ken Graves describes the impossible choice Maine Gov. Janet Mills is forcing on Calvary Chapel of Bangor. In essence, it’s “Stay away from church or go to jail.”

We are back before the courts, fighting to free the faithful of Maine from Mills’ outrageous church shutdown and restriction orders. Read on to learn what’s next.

“I am responsible for overseeing and managing all of the affairs that the Lord Jesus Christ gave me in my role as undershepherd of His church at Calvary Chapel.” That’s what Graves declared in court filings yesterday. Graves takes his calling, and his Lord, very seriously.