Latest / The Gospel Briefing / Mon Jul 20, 2026 — US Strikes Iran After Soldiers Killed; UK's New PM; Spain Wins World Cup
Transcript
- This is The Gospel Briefing. I'm Charles King. Today... American troops are dead in Jordan, and the president has ordered strikes on nine Iranian cities. A new prime minister walks into Downing Street. And Spain lifts the World Cup trophy on American soil. Headlines... Heartbeat... Hope. Let's get into it. Two American soldiers are dead. One is still missing. Four others were hospitalized and have since been released. That's the situation coming out of the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, where Iranian ballistic missiles broke through air defenses on Friday night. In response, President Trump ordered a fresh round of airstrikes Saturday evening. Then another wave overnight. Iranian state media reports strikes on at least nine cities — Bushehr, Tabriz, Urmia, and others. At least one civilian was killed in Tabriz. Since fighting with Iran began on February 28th, sixteen American service members have died. More than four hundred and thirty have been wounded. And this morning, a vessel is on fire in the Strait of Hormuz, struck by what British maritime authorities are calling "an unknown projectile." Iran's foreign minister told state media that war "must be ended exactly at the point where you have the upper hand." Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said the fallen troops' sacrifice "only stiffens our resolve." Two nations, both convinced escalation is strength. Here's what I keep coming back to. James chapter four opens with a question the Holy Spirit asks through the apostle — "What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?" James wrote that about a local church. But the pattern scales. The human heart at war produces nations at war. This does not mean Christians can't support a just response to the killing of American soldiers. Romans 13 gives the governing authority the sword for exactly this reason. What it does mean is that we should never be surprised by war. We should never be seduced by the fantasy that the next strike settles it. Sixteen families are grieving tonight. Pray for them by name if you know them. Pray for restraint in the days ahead. And remember — the Prince of Peace is not a metaphor. He is coming back. Until then, the world will do what fallen worlds do. Ten Downing Street has a new resident this morning. Andy Burnham, the former mayor of Greater Manchester, is officially the United Kingdom's prime minister, succeeding Keir Starmer, who announced his resignation in June. Burnham is fifty-six. Born outside Liverpool to a telephone engineer and a receptionist. Studied English literature at Cambridge, where a professor remembers him showing up to class in a soccer jersey — apparently not the standard Cambridge look. He first won a seat in Parliament at thirty-one. Served in Gordon Brown's cabinet. And he's famous back home for his work on the Hillsborough disaster, the nineteen eighty-nine stadium tragedy that killed nearly one hundred soccer fans. When the government blamed the victims, Burnham pushed for a real inquiry. That inquiry cleared them and named police failures. He's pitching what he calls "Manchesterism" — moving power away from London, cutting business tax rates, building the most public housing since World War Two. Here's the biblical thread. Proverbs 21:1 says, "The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord. He turns it wherever he will." Britain has a new leader today. Whatever you think of his politics, the Christian posture toward every new government is the same one Paul commands in First Timothy 2 — pray for kings and all who are in high positions. Not endorse. Not attack. Pray. Because the Lord who moved the heart of Cyrus can move the heart of a prime minister from Manchester too. For five weeks, the United States, Canada, and Mexico hosted something the world has never seen at this scale — one hundred and four World Cup matches across three countries. And last night in New Jersey, Spain defeated Argentina one to nothing to lift the trophy. U.S. team captain Tim Ream told CBS it was like "a Super Bowl every single day for five weeks." Five billion people watched at some point. The American men made it out of the group stage, beat Bosnia and Herzegovina in the round of thirty-two, and then lost four to one to Belgium on July 6th. Not the ending fans wanted. But farther than most predicted. Now here's where a sports story gets interesting for Christians. Five billion viewers is roughly sixty percent of humanity paying attention to the same thing at the same moment. That is a staggering picture of what human beings are capable of when we agree something matters. And it should make us think. Because Scripture tells us there is coming a day when a much larger number gathers around a much greater subject. Revelation 7 describes "a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb." Not watching a game. Worshiping a King. Sports are a good gift. Enjoy them. But the World Cup ended last night. The other gathering doesn't end. A few more quick briefs before we close. Vice President JD Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance welcomed their fourth child on Sunday — a son, Alec Neel Vance. Mother and baby are healthy. Children are, in the language of Psalm 127, "a heritage from the Lord." Celebrate that with them. A third person has died from Legionnaires' disease in an ongoing cluster on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Pray for that community and for the health workers tracing the source. The FBI is shifting investigations of immigration agent shootings over to Homeland Security Investigations — which is itself part of ICE. So the agency will effectively be investigating its own. Proverbs 27:17 says iron sharpens iron. Independent oversight matters, whether the agents wear one badge or another. Christians should care about accountability regardless of which administration is in office. And Religion News Service is out with a remembrance of Congressman John Lewis, marking the anniversary of his passing. Historian David Greenberg's new biography is drawing renewed attention to Lewis's phrase — "good trouble." Whatever your politics, a life spent enduring beatings for the dignity of others is worth studying. Micah 6:8 still asks the same question. Do justice. Love mercy. Walk humbly. Your kid looks up at dinner and asks, "If God is good, why did He let that happen?" — and you freeze. Open Bible Copilot and ask it exactly that. In seconds you get a clear, verse-backed answer that works through the text the way seminaries teach: what it says, what it means, and how to defend it. Trusted AI for Bible study, not generic AI. Five stars in the App Store, and your first three questions every day are free. Get a full month of Pro free at mybiblecopilot.com slash gospel. That's mybiblecopilot dot com slash gospel. Bible Copilot. Today's verse is Psalm 46, verses one and two. "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea." Soldiers are dying. Governments are changing. Diseases are spreading. And a Father in heaven has not moved one inch from His throne. That is not denial. That is the confidence Scripture actually offers you today. Thanks for listening to The Gospel Briefing. If today's episode helped you think more clearly, send it to one person who needs a steady voice this week. The world is loud. God is not shaken. Neither should you be. I'm Charles King. I'll see you tomorrow.