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What does the 2026 “color of the year” say about us? · The Daily Article

• 0:02
  [SPEAKER_00]: Greetings and welcome to the Tuesday, December 9, 2025 edition of Dennis & Forums, daily article podcast.
• 0:09
  [SPEAKER_00]: Today's article is written by Cultural Theologian Dr. Jim Dennis & narrated by yours truly Chris Elkins.
• 0:18
  [SPEAKER_00]: Pantone, a company that calls itself, quote, the global authority for color communication and inspiration has announced that cloud dancer is its color of the year for 2026.
• 0:31
  [SPEAKER_00]: I would call it selection white, but I'm in no sense a color authority.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: However, I was interested in the stated reason for the choice.
• 0:41
  [SPEAKER_00]: According to Time, quote,
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  [SPEAKER_00]: which Pantone says is ever in need in a frenetic society.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Frenetic is something I know something about.
• 0:55
  [SPEAKER_00]: I suspect you do as well.
• 0:57
  [SPEAKER_00]: Note these headlines.
• 0:59
  [SPEAKER_00]: For Genziers, work is now more depressing than an employment.
• 1:03
  [SPEAKER_00]: Thailand Cambodia fighting spreads along border as death toll rises.
• 1:08
  [SPEAKER_00]: Drone damage Chernobyl facilities shield can't confine radiation nuclear body warrants.
• 1:15
  [SPEAKER_00]: And Japan rattled by 7.5 magnitude earthquake, authorities warn of aftershocks.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Even in our fallen world, however, there is a path to serenity and tranquility.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: The paradox is that recognizing the former is essential to the latter.
• 1:32
  [SPEAKER_00]: A wise mentor once told me, people don't do what you expect, they do what you inspect.
• 1:39
  [SPEAKER_00]: I already knew this to be true, however.
• 1:42
  [SPEAKER_00]: Growing up, I was responsible for the cleanliness of my bedroom.
• 1:46
  [SPEAKER_00]: My parents scheduled weekly inspections to this end, but they soon discovered that I could and did wait until an hour before their examination to do a week's worth of cleaning.
• 1:57
  [SPEAKER_00]: So they begin drop-ins as well.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: These unannounced visits were most unwelcome, but they did have their desired effect with
• 2:08
  [SPEAKER_00]: The fourth century, theologian, saved Ephraim the Syrian, similarly explained why Jesus said in Matthew 24 verse 42, you do not know on what day your Lord is coming, about which Saint Ephraim said, he has kept those things hidden so that we may keep watch, each of us thinking that he will come in our own day.
• 2:29
  [SPEAKER_00]: He promised that he would come, but did not say when he would come,
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Then, Ephraim added this observation, I had not considered.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Keep watch.
• 2:43
  [SPEAKER_00]: When the body is asleep, nature takes control of us, and what is done is not done by our will, but by force, by the impulse of nature.
• 2:52
  [SPEAKER_00]: When deep, listlessness takes possession of the soul, for example, faintheartedness or melancholy, the enemy overpowers it and makes it do what it does not will.
• 3:03
  [SPEAKER_00]: The force of nature, the enemy of the soul, is in control.
• 3:07
  [SPEAKER_00]: When the Lord commanded us to be vigilant, He meant vigilance in both parts of man, in the body, against the tendency to sleep, in the soul, against lethargy and timidity."
• 3:19
  [SPEAKER_00]: The Bible consistently calls us to prepare for eternity today, as referenced in Titus 2
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  [SPEAKER_00]: As Jesus exhorted us from Matthew 24, verse 44, you also must be ready for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Why is such readiness for the final advent so imperative?
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  [SPEAKER_00]: One obvious reason is that we are one day closer to eternity than ever before and have only today to be ready.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Jesus could return to the world today according to Acts 1, verses 10 and 11,
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  [SPEAKER_00]: or we could step through death into eternity today as noted in John 14 verse 3.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: But there's another reason, living in the light of eternity today, transforms today.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: If you knew Jesus would return next week, what would you change this week?
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  [SPEAKER_00]: What would you do or stop doing?
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Who would you forgive?
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  [SPEAKER_00]: From whom would you seek forgiveness?
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Here's the point.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Living this way is the best way to live every day even if we have many years before we see Jesus again.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: There is a serenity and tranquility to living in God's perfect will that is found nowhere else.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: First 15, Dennis and Ministries devotional resource explains it this way.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Without a real revelation of eternity, this life will be marked by hopelessness and a sense of aimless wandering.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Only when our destination comes into view can we rightly see the circumstances strewn along the journey of this life.
• 4:59
  [SPEAKER_00]: When we live seeking satisfaction from the things of the world, we live as if heaven didn't exist, and God didn't usher in His kingdom through Jesus.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: The things of this world only have value in the giver of all good gifts.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: So, our possessions, relationships and work,
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  [SPEAKER_00]: only have value here because they are a shadow of what is to come when all things are made new."
• 5:23
  [SPEAKER_00]: In quotes, John 10, verse 10, teaches us that being in God's will every day is the vital commitment that leads to his abundant life and our best.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: So, how can we live in his perfect will every day?
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Let's close with five biblical reminders.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: One,
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Remember the brevity of life every day, referenced in Psalm 39, verses 4 and 5 and Psalm 90, verse 12.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Thomas Kim advised, let those who thoughtfully consider the brevity of life, remember the length of eternity.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Submit to the Holy Spirit every day, as taught in Ephesians 5 verse 18 and Romans 12 verses 1 and 2.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Scripture teaches in Galatians 5 verse 16, Walk by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: In today's my utmost for his highest, Oswald Chambers warned, Beware of refusing to go to the funeral of your independence.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: three, think, and live biblically every day, stated in John 8 verses 31 and 32.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: John Calvin noted, scripture is like a pair of spectacles which dispels the darkness and gives us a clear view of God.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: for seek intimacy with Jesus every day.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Heeding John 15, verse 5.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: In the work of Prostlogian, Saint-Anslam of the 11th century prayed, teach me to seek you and reveal yourself to me when I seek you.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: For I cannot seek you and let you teach me nor find you unless you reveal yourself.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Let me seek you in longing, let me long for you in seeking.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Let me find you by loving you and love you in the act of finding you."
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  [SPEAKER_00]: In quote, If one of the greatest theological geniuses in Christian history needed to pray this, how much more do we?
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  [SPEAKER_00]: And five, share Christ with the world every day, obeying Acts 1 verse 8, a mentor once asked me, when you see Jesus again, if he asked you, whom did you bring me, what will you say?
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  [SPEAKER_00]: How would you respond today?