Devotional

All God

The passage of 2 Chronicles 7:14 is often quoted as a rallying cry to turn a nation back to God, as was recently done at America’s rededication day which we shared in about in this Solomon Circle devotion.

In reading all of chapter 7 recently, I was drawn to note the many possessive references God made to Himself. Take note:

• My People (v14)

• My Name (v 14, 16 & 20)

• My Face (v 14)

• My Decrees and Laws (v 17)

• My Land (v 20)

After Solomon built the temple we learn in this passage that he sacrificed 142,000 cattle, sheep and goats to God. Imagine that. This was the greatest celebration to God ever recorded in human history. Yet, at a time where God was so pleased with Solomon and His people, He chose to remind them not to turn from His Name, His Face and His Decrees and Laws. 

We are called to live a life in service that honors God above everything and everyone, including ourselves. The latter is often the most difficult to keep in focus. I’m usually thinking about my needs, my emotions, my desires, my stomach, etc., as I’m sure you are also. I suppose this is part of our human nature but also a result of the constant social conditioning from the world we live in.

God knows that when we are feeling the most ‘blessed’ in life is when we are most tempted to drift from Him. Let it be a reminder to all of us that as we live our comfortable, safe and abundant life, to not forget the ultimate source and where our devotion must lie - All to God, above all things, and at all times.

Financial Update

Prediction Markets - “Hyper” Gambling With Better Marketing

Years ago, I landed a client contract for a platform that had just launched called “Polymarket”. While I understood the “value proposition” (and I use that term lightly), I never thought it would gain traction due to its destructive nature, but I admit, I was wrong.

Prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket are being celebrated as "information finance". But personally, it’s one of the most destructive types of platforms that currently exists today, specifically for the youth and anyone who may have dealt (or is currently dealing with) with a spirit of gambling addiction before.

They are casinos dressed up in sophisticated language, targeting regular people with something far more dangerous than traditional gambling.

The pitch: bet on election outcomes and policy changes instead of sports. It's supposed to be intellectual. The reality? Kalshi processed $43.1 billion last year, 90% from sports betting. They are a sports casino that rebranded to sidestep gambling regulations. Polymarket, the offshore competitor, hit $33.4 billion. Both are now valued in the billions.

But let's be honest: they are not prediction markets. Real prediction markets aggregate genuine wisdom and provide useful information. These platforms? They are slot machines disguised as investing. The house takes 2% on every transaction. On $76 billion in annual volume, that's massive profits flowing from average users directly to platforms.

The psychology powering it is particularly deceptive. These aren't called "gambling", they're "trading". You're not betting, you're "hedging risk" and "pricing information". The gamification is sophisticated. Real-time odds updates. Leaderboards. The thrill of instant wins. It's optimized to keep you scrolling and placing bets long past the point where logic says you should stop.

Here's what concerns me most: the lack of friction. Traditional gambling has casinos, visible betting windows, social stigma. Prediction markets live on your phone. There's no moment of hesitation when you "place a bet", it feels like investing. You can do it at 2 AM. You can do it with money you don't have (margin trading is coming to these platforms). The regulatory barriers that once protected people have been legally dismantled or sidestepped.

Congress is investigating them. The CFTC views them as gambling. Even Kalshi and Polymarket are fighting each other over who's more compliant with regulations, neither of which fully respects yet.

From a biblical perspective, this is stewardship failure. These platforms gamify decision-making, encourage impulsivity, and profit when you lose. The odds are structured against you, even if you don't see the house edge as clearly as you would in Vegas.

The real prediction here? These platforms will face serious regulation within two years. Anyone building wealth through them is playing with borrowed time. Don't mistake clever marketing for legitimate investing. 

Tech Update

Human to Artificial Intelligence Comparison

Out for a walk the other day, my wife and I were chatting about how eminent domain laws are displacing peoples land to accommodate AI data centers along with their associated power sources. I pondered if the value of AI datacenters was worth the investment in terms of human displacement. The comparison shocked me to say the least when you consider these metrics:

The human brain, created by God, is incredibly more energy-efficient than AI. In computing terms, it can perform the equivalent of an exaflop — a billion-billion (1 followed by 18 zeros) mathematical operations per second with just 20 watts of power. Consider that an AI data center is only equivalent to 100 humans in terms of compute power, but consumes 500,000,000 watts of power and costs $billions!

This data should make you pause and wonder why the world is so obsessed with AI and the AI arms race underway by nations and corporations.  There is no economic reason to justify it.

Just my personal view, but this all points to the acceleration towards Jesus’ return. It will happen in God’s timing, not man’s, yet the beast system and Antichrist will absolutely rely on AI to operate and control all humans post rapture.

We need to acknowledge and not fear AI and what’s taking place and use AI for good. If anything we should have a greater sense of how close we are to Christ’s return and it should motivate us to reach the lost.  As a Christ follower, we have the advantage of God’s power, love and sound thinking to guide us.

Health Nuggets

High/Low Cortisol

Cortisol is a hormone that your adrenal glands (the glands on top of your kidneys) make and release.  Cortisol affects several aspects of your health and helps regulate your body’s response to stress. High or low levels of cortisol can impact your health by wrecking your memory, enlarging your fear center, and making your brain feel broken. It’s known as the stress hormone, but it has several other important functions, including:

• Regulating how your body uses glucose (sugar) for energy

• Decreasing inflammation

• Regulating blood pressure

• Helping control your sleep wake cycle

Your body releases cortisol when you experience any of the following types of stress:

• Acute (short-term) stress

• Chronic (long-term) stress

• Traumatic stress

One tip to remember: the 7-second cold wrist rinse was tested on 3,000 soldiers after combat simulations. Cortisol dropped 53% within 90 seconds. Heart rate fell an average of 22 beats per minute. The Navy uses this protocol. 

The mechanism is radial artery cooling. Your inner wrists have the thinnest skin and the largest surface-to-volume ratio for blood vessels. 7 seconds of cold water cools the blood passing to your brain, which signals your hypothalamus to downregulate stress instantly. Soldiers use it before night missions to fall asleep fast.

So run cold tap water over both inner wrists for 7 seconds. Do this when you feel a stress spike. Within 90 seconds, your heart rate will drop, no shower, no ice.

Note: Health Nuggets are opinions and not medical advice.

Trivia Corner

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