Former President Donald Trump visited the site of the East Palestine train derailment in Ohio on Wednesday amid the Biden administration facing criticism for its response to the incident, which resulted in the leakage of toxic chemicals into the air and water. Ahead of his arrival, the former president confirmed the visit on Truth Social, describing the residents of the eastern Ohio village as "great people who need help, NOW!" In a subsequent post, Trump credited his plans to visit East Palestine with causing the Biden administration to "move," writing, "Biden and FEMA said they would not be sending federal aid to East Palestine. As soon as I announced that I’m going, he announced a team will go. Hopefully he will also be there," Trump wrote. "The people of East Palestine need help." Trump’s visit comes nearly three weeks after a Norfolk Southern train carrying toxic chemicals derailed in the village on Feb. 3. A controlled release of the poisonous chemicals took place three days later, with Norfolk Southern citing concerns about an explosion as the reason for carrying out a controlled burn of the chemicals. Read more.

A gang of armed young men who allegedly entered the All Creation Northview Holiness Family Church in Ferguson, Mo., to commit a robbery, had their plans thwarted when the pastor and his congregation showered them with prayer. Pastor Marquaello Futrell, who was a police officer for a decade, told KSDK that the gunmen came into the church during Sunday's morning service, which was broadcast on Facebook live. He told the outlet that a man who entered the church carrying two bags began questioning the church's services director. "I immediately just had the hairs on the back of my neck I’m like, 'OK, something’s about to happen,'" Futrell said. Shortly afterward, four young men wearing masks entered the church. Instead of scaring the congregation, Futrell went on with his services and alerted the police, had church staff move the children to safety, and directed staff to ensure that the faces of the men were recorded for evidence. Following worship and prayer, the pastor approached the young men and questioned their names and reason for attending. He then called on the congregation to praise God, saying, "I said, praise God that God sent them in here. That what the devil meant for evil, you messing with a Marquaello Antonio Futrell." He then asked to pray with the men, and they agreed. The Ferguson Police Department confirmed that the four men left the church in a black Dodge Charger with tinted windows that day and are still being investigated. Read more.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its affiliated investment manager, Ensign Peak Advisors, Inc., have been fined a collective $5 million by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for using shell companies to obscure the size of their investment portfolio, which grew to about $32 billion in 2018. "We allege that the LDS Church's investment manager, with the Church's knowledge, went to great lengths to avoid disclosing the Church's investments, depriving the Commission and the investing public of accurate market information," Gurbir S. Grewal, director of the SEC's Division of Enforcement, said in a statement Tuesday. Ensign Peak, a non-profit entity operated by the church to manage investments, failed to file forms that would have disclosed the church's equity investments, the SEC stated, adding, "The Church was concerned that disclosure of its portfolio, which by 2018 grew to approximately $32 billion, would lead to negative consequences." The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, charged for causing the violations, agreed to pay a $1 million penalty, while Ensign Peak agreed to pay $4 million. In response to the SEC's announcement, church officials expressed regret for "mistakes made." Read more.

Jarrett Stepman, a contributor to The Daily Signal and co-host of The Right Side of History podcast, reacts to a recent Los Angeles Times piece that questioned what is wrong with the city of Portland, which has increasingly become dysfunctional. From the report: A "40-year-old package handler for FedEx said that people have openly dealt drugs and urinated on the sidewalk outside her family’s duplex. They've dumped feces and used syringes in her manicured yard, played booming music at 3 a.m. and stripped stolen cars for parts. Shots have been fired behind her children's bedroom." More than 12,000 acts of vandalism were reported in the city last year, a 27% increase over 2021. Most perpetrators aren't arrested, and almost all of those who have been arrested are repeat offenders. Meanwhile, when Rudy Giuliani was the mayor of New York, his "'broken-windows policy,' in which 'low-level' offenses were strongly policed to prevent larger crimes," worked, Stepman asserts. In cities where "presumably intelligent, professional people throw out all rationality on behalf of their ideology," it should come as no surprise that lawlessness abounds. "Will Portland's leaders get that message any time soon? Probably not," Stepman concludes. Read more.

In this editorial, Dr. David Jeremiah shares why the greatest battles a person faces are within themselves. However, believers need not be afraid because Christ is the victory, and God will equip believers with the resources they need to win their battles. "The bigger our foes the mightier they fall before our Lord's authority. Ask Him to help you live triumphantly and trust His King-size power to bring you giant-size victories," writes Jeremiah. Read more.

Instead of you choosing from hundreds of pictures of children who need sponsors, your picture goes to the kids, and one of them will choose you. And in doing so, people like Shanda are experiencing God’s goodness through the simple act of a child.

Shanda and her family said yes to sponsoring a child with World Vision while attending Soul City Church in Chicago. "We believe it's a part of our mission as believers in Christ," says Shanda about helping others. Their photo was taken, then sent to Mwala, Kenya, along with photos of hundreds of other Soul City congregants, to be displayed at a large community event.

In Mwala, a rural community of 40,000 people two hours east of Nairobi, Kenya, the freedom to choose is an unfamiliar luxury for children like 9-year-old Junior. Learn more

A survey from Lifeway Research shows that Protestant churchgoers are much more likely than pastors to believe weekly church attendance is necessary to qualify as a regular churchgoer. The poll surveyed 1,000 Protestant pastors and 1,002 Protestant churchgoers in September and found that 61% of pastors agreed that "someone is a regular churchgoer or attendee based on how often they attend church services in person or online." Thirty-seven percent of pastors indicated that only in-person services should count toward an individual being a regular churchgoer, while 24% felt that attendance at online services should also count toward determining whether a person is a regular churchgoer. The findings showed that 58% of pastors believe one must attend church services at least twice a month to qualify as a regular churchgoer. Twenty-four percent of pastors viewed attending church once a month as sufficient to be a regular churchgoer. Meanwhile, less than one-quarter of Protestant churchgoers said they believe that attending church services twice a month (9%), once a month (5%), between six and 10 times a year (3%), four or five times a year (2%), two or three times a year (2%) or at least once a year (1%) was enough to make someone a regular churchgoer, while 45% indicated that someone must attend weekly to be considered a regular churchgoer. Read more.

Ex-astrologer Marcia Montenegro is on a mission to warn people about horoscopes, divination, and the many ways people turn to sources outside of God to try and find "truth." In a recent episode of the "Ex-Psychic Saved Podcast," Montenegro joined host Jenn Nizza to discuss divination and why some try to use the Bible to validate astrology. "A lot of Christians … get confused over it," Montenegro said, explaining why astrology and the Bible simply don't mix. While astronomy is a science that's concerned with facts and the observation of heavenly bodies, astrology is "focused on the idea that there's a meaning there." The former professional astrologer shared how she was so "in" on her beliefs that they affected her daily life choices. But, what appears innocent and has become widely available on the internet is not what it seems, she cautioned. "Behind all this kind of glitzy, kind of interesting, fun facts about 'who you are' is this belief system that's set up completely opposed to God and denounced by God," she explained. Listen to the full episode now.