Happy Valentine’s Day!

Yes, it’s Valentine’s Day and love is in the air! No wait, that’s the toxic cloud over East Palestine, Ohio.

(So would say those unlucky in love. Who hasn’t had a Valentine’s Day where you felt like that?)

Seriously, here’s hoping your day is filled with love and not just Whitman’s chocolate.

According to the National Retail Foundation, Americans are expect to send $25.9 billion for Valentine’s Day this year. That’s up a full $2 billion from last year.

The average spender will shell out $192.80 in 2023, compared to $175.41 last year. However, spending on significant others and family members is expected to remain the same. Meaning, thanks to inflation, your one true love will be getting less in actual chocolate, flowers and gifts. However, coworkers, classmates and pets are scoring better.

For Valentine’s Day, we have Mark Judge’s “Honest Christian Talk About Eros.”

And from Sherah Betts Carr, a beautiful “God’s Valentine for a Broken Heart,” coming up at 9 a.m. Eastern. Yup. That one’s a heart-tugger.

Revival at Asbury University?

“I’ve experienced the power of God before yes. I’ve never seen something spontaneous like this before.”

Josh Lanier is a 2010 graduate of Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky.

A professor at Asbury declared we are witnessing a “surprising work of God.”

Has a bona fide revival broken out at Asbury? Certainly what’s happening can be described as a wonderful move of the Spirit.

Last Wednesday’s chapel service was supposed to last an hour. But as the choir began a final chorus, the atmosphere changed. Writing in Christianity Today, Tom McCall, a professor from neighboring Asbury Theological Seminary, describes what happened, “Students did not leave. They were struck by what seemed to be a quiet but powerful sense of transcendence, and they did not want to go. They stayed and continued to worship. They are still there.”

McCall says when he heard what was going on he rushed to the chapel to see for himself.

“When I arrived, I saw hundreds of students singing quietly. They were praising and praying earnestly for themselves and their neighbors and our world — expressing repentance and contrition for sin and interceding for healing, wholeness, peace, and justice.”

The worship and prayer and repentance did not stop. It has not stopped. We are now in the seventh day of prayer and worship.

McCall insists what’s happening is not manufactured.

There is no pressure or hype. There is no manipulation. There is no high-pitched emotional fervor.

To the contrary, it has been mostly calm and serene. The mix of hope and joy and peace is indescribably strong and indeed almost palpable — a vivid and incredibly powerful sense of shalom. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is undeniably powerful but also so gentle.

The Stream will be posting more on Asbury. We’re actually trying to get a Streamer to the chapel today. Please be praying that works out. What we do know is that students from 20 universities are already participating or making their way to the university. And some people Streamers take seriously think this is the real deal.

Let it be so.

McCall notes how much societal benefit came from past revivals and awakenings, including, for that matter, ones at Asbury in the past. “I look forward to seeing what fruit God will bring from such a revival in our generation.”

Kinda interesting this is happening just days away from the release of the Jesus Revolution movie about the birth of the Jesus Movement.

AOC Shreds Christian-Themed Super Bowl, Presumes to Think for Jesus

AOC has an extraordinary gift of being able to say so much and so little at the same time; to speak with such arrogant authority while being so astonishingly wrong. It truly is a wonder.

Rep. Ocasio-Cortez didn’t like the “He’s With Us,” Super Bowl ad with the tag “Jesus loved the people you hate.” She tweeted, “Something tells me Jesus would *not* spend millions of dollars on Super Bowl ads to make fascism look benign.” Our Tom Gilson is doing a deep dive on the “He’s With Us” spots and AOC’s comments. You’ll see that later today.

But for now, a couple points.

AOC wouldn’t know a fascist if she saw one in the mirror. The good news is that Jesus died for fascists too.

Oh, and that “something” speaking to you? That would be the Father of Lies. I mean, something is telling you socialism and abortion up to birth is a good thing, too.

True, Jesus would not spend millions on a Super Bowl ad. He also would not be placing Super Bowl bets with Draft Kings. Or twerking 50 feet in the air with Rihanna. Or, for that matter, committing defensive holding with the game on the line.

But when it comes to theology and Christ, AOC just sacked herself for a loss.

He Gets Us spokesman Jason Vanderground had a more irenic response to the criticism from AOC, telling Fox Digital:

He [Jesus] cares about our problems because he has experienced them. He gets us. We believe that investing in efforts to ensure more people consider his life and movement as inspiration for their own, will in turn, help improve the lives of those listening — and begin to create the kind of cascade of love Jesus himself sought to generate.

Along The Stream

We could not let the Disney+ Slur of The Great Emancipator stand. “On Lincoln’s Birthday, Disney Offers Kids a Sick Slander.”

 

Al Perrotta is the Managing Editor of The Stream, chief barista for The Brew and co-author, with John Zmirak, of The Politically Incorrect Guide to Immigration. You can follow him at @StreamingAl at GETTR, Gab, Parler, and now at TRUTH Social.