Five things every American practically needs in order to navigate this hour of enflamed alarm, and warring perspectives on reality:

1. YOU NEED JESUS. If you don’t know Jesus as your King, your Lover, and your Savior, nothing else will make sense of our world, until you do. Jesus was not only “the reason for the (Christmas) season”, He is the reason for all of what is happening all around us. Everything that swirls around us is evidence that we NEED Jesus. 100%. 100% of the time. We need the One Who is “Immanuel” (with us); the One Who called Himself “the Truth”; and the ONLY One Who can Redeem us from the curse that rages all around us – AND within us. We also need the One Who will breathe the Holy Spirit into our wandering, luke-warm souls. 
What’s more, for those who have ears to hear, everything whirling around us is evidence that Jesus WANTS TO BE WITH US; AN INTIMATE, ESSENTIAL PART OF OUR EVERY DAY LIVES!! (Yeah, I know – wonder of wonders!)

2. YOU NEED THE BIBLE – the Word of God, written – dependable truth, on how to live life, with the vision of One Who transcends all human life, gives meaning to to life, and is zealous to lead us through life. On every page of the Bible there is a Man, a Divine Man Who is looking back at you. To read the Bible, and yield to its encouragement, exhortation and direction is to find life. There is, indeed, LIFE in the Word. 

3. YOU NEED A CROSS. Martin Luther said, “Nothing pleases the devil more than a Christian with a Bible, but no cross.” The cross humbles us. It tells us that every one of us needs to be redeemed from the power of the curse, at every level of our lives. Our cross is what Jesus gives to everyone who says “Yes” to His Presence in their lives. It’s what empowers us through our reading of the Word into being transformed by the Word. It is the essential daily instrument that conforms us out from under the power of the curse, into the image of our King.

4. YOU NEED A PRAYER ROOM; a time and place to dialogue with the Lord. Jesus is the Word-speaking God. He does His transformational, and leadership work by dialoguing with His disciples, and friends. Prayer is where we share our hearts, emotions, opinions, fears, joys and dreams with the ONLY ONE Who is capable of giving us perfect guidance through the storms of life. Prayer is where we invite Him to reign in, and through our lives with supernatural power – power that exceeds abundantly beyond all that we can ask or believe. (Aside: for one hundred reasons, it’s all the more vital that we have times and places of corporate prayer… not only church service, but actually engaging in the give and take of corporate, holy listening, and speaking with the God of the universe.)

5. YOU NEED “SAFE OTHERS” who are walking with Jesus, the Word, the cross, and in prayer; a group of followers – fellow cross-bearers – who will walk with you; dialogue with you; speak the truth in love to you; encourage you; know you; cherish you; and love Jesus WITH you – even more than they love you, yourself.

I’ll be blunt. (Hopefully, you’ll hear this in love.) Without these five elements in this raging world, you AND I are ill-equipped to withstand the internal temptations, and external deceptions that are going to assail our lives in 2026. The Living, Speaking, Breathing, Redeeming, Guiding, Loving Presence of the resurrected, God/Man Christ Jesus is THE ONLY WAY you will have strength to survive the storms that are buffeting our world. 

This is 100%, bonafide, time-tested, universal truth.

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JSB • January, 2026