Morning Rundown: An Urgent Memorial Day Wake-Up Call for America and the Church

Here’s a quick rundown of the top stories on charismag.com:

An Urgent Memorial Day Wake-Up Call for America and the Church  

“We have forgotten God, and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own” —Abraham Lincoln.

Over the last few decades, Americans have seen the destruction of the institution of marriage between a man and a woman, the removal of God’s Word in several areas and the aborting of millions of babies. Ironically, many of the men and women who died for our freedoms did not die for what we are becoming today. Many gave their lives in order that we would be “one nation under God,” not above God.

For Your Tomorrows

A Fifth Division graveyard sign in Iwo Jima, Japan, states it well: “When you go home, tell them for us and say, ‘For your tomorrows we gave our today.’” What a travesty when we fail to honor those who gave their lives for the freedoms we now enjoy. This Memorial Day, let’s remember those who gave their lives and those who continue to defend our freedoms.

Earliest Hebrew Bible Sells for $38M at Sotheby’s, Now Headed Home to Israel

The auction house Sotheby’s recently sold a 1,100-year-old Hebrew Bible for $38 million in New York. It is one of the world’s oldest surviving biblical manuscripts and brought the second-most highest price at auction for a historical document.

The 26-pound book, whose five-inch stack of parchment contains 396 pages, sold following a five-minute battle between two bidders vying mainly over the telephone. The final price, with Sotheby’s fees, fell short of breaking the record currently held by a $43.2 million copy of the U.S. Constitution bought by billionaire Ken Griffin two years ago, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Leonardo da Vinci’s Codex Leicester sold for $31 million in 1994 or around $60 million in today’s dollars.

Franklin Graham Challenges Christian Students to ‘Live Your Life for Him’

As Franklin Graham spoke to Liberty University’s 50th graduating class on May 12, he challenged them to be bold and strong—and to live out their faith.

“The world wants you to sit down and shut up,” said Franklin Graham. “No, don’t you do that. I want you to stand up, to shout out, to lift up your voice, to lift up the truth, to live for Jesus Christ.

“Class of ’23, live your life for Him.”