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December 10, 2025

This edition is sponsored by Zondervan Reflective

Today’s Briefing

A family found surprising joys in celebrating Christmas without gifts.

Writing more than 2,000 worship songs has made Lü Xiaomin a household name among Chinese Christians.

Russell Moore writes: Evil was the backdrop of the Nativity scene, but we set our gaze on the fragile baby.

Looking back, the sudden and ubiquitous rollout of technology in schools during the pandemic frustrated students, overburdened teachers, and cost taxpayers.

Behind the Story

From Middle East correspondent Jayson Casper: Today’s reflection on a giftless Christmas reminded me of my family’s own tradition, which we have practiced for nearly two decades. We were keen to avoid the spirit of materialism, extending the “no gifts” practice also to our children’s birthdays. Perhaps we had an advantage living in the Arab world, where Christmas is a minority experience more focused on Jesus and distant from incessant American TV commercials.

Our prohibition was never absolute. Grandparents gave money from afar, and we hosted parties where our children’s friends gave gifts. But we wanted to foster family celebrations that did not center on eagerly anticipated “stuff” that would be quickly forgotten the next day. Although frugality was a factor in our decision, we also wanted to nurture a spirit of generosity.

Along the way, something amazing happened. Our children started giving gifts to each other—and to us. Perhaps their allowance helped, with evenly divided categories for God, spending, saving, and giving. Now, our teenage children far outdo us in the non-Gospel words of Jesus: It is better to give than to receive.

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In Other News

An evangelical pastor in Pakistan who survived an attempted murder in September was shot and killed.
Two Iranian sisters, portrayed in a US Customs and Border Protection social media post celebrating their arrest for deportation, are Christian converts who had asylum claims.
Jim Caviezel, who portrayed Jesus in The Passion of the Christ, will reportedly play disgraced Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro in a biopic directed by Cyrus Nowrasteh, who directed another Jesus feature film.

PAID CONTENT FOR GLOO

The Faith & Flourishing Ecosystem

In the United States, more than 450,000 churches, ministries, and non-faith-based organizations combine into an ecosystem. This is more than double the number of fast food restaurants across the country,…

Today in Christian History

December 11, 1475: Giovanni di Lorenzo de Medici, who would become Pope Leo X, is born in Florence, Italy. He is best known for his sale of indulgences to help rebuild St. Peter’s Basillica, a practice opposed by Martin Luther in his famous 95 Theses.

The School Tech Situation Is Worse than You Think

Over the course of one summer at my little public elementary school in White Deer, Texas, a dusty, catchall storage room under the gym bleachers was transformed into what we…

Trump’s Foster Care Order Sides with Christian Families

The number of children and youth in foster care far outweighs the number of licensed foster families. Despite that, Christian families in several states have found themselves shut out of…

Geoff Duncan Brings Baseball Strategy to Halls of Power

Trace the history of many politicians, and you’ll often find a formative athletic experience in their background. Former representative Jack Kemp and former senator Bill Bradley both were professional athletes…

Why I Need Jane Eyre

I did not know at that first meeting that Jane Eyre would be my friend for life. It was in the teen section of the public library that I saw…

in the magazine

As we enter the holiday season, we consider how the places to which we belong shape us—and how we can be the face of welcome in a broken world. In this issue, you’ll read about how a monastery on Patmos offers quiet in a world of noise and, from Ann Voskamp, how God’s will is a place to find home. Read about modern missions terminology in our roundtable feature and about an astrophysicist’s thoughts on the Incarnation. Be sure to linger over Andy Olsen’s reported feature “An American Deportation” as we consider Christian responses to immigration policies. May we practice hospitality wherever we find ourselves.

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