Devotional

Slavery and Adoption

Does reading the word ‘slave’ in the new testament feel uncomfortable to you as it does me?  We know that human slavery robs one's dignity and rights as a person created in the image of God. Most people believe human slavery ended a century ago and yet, it's more prevalent today than ever before, including via child and sex trafficking.

In the time of Paul’s writing, a slave was a common reference to the lowest societal class of people that served in all aspects of Roman life. In this context, Romans 6 essentially says you will serve and be owned by one of two options, sin or righteousness. Sin being the life submitted to Satan or righteousness being a life submitted to God. The primary difference is it's a choice, rather than forced servitude.

Romans 6:23, is often memorized and quoted because it contrasts a life of sin leading to death versus one of righteousness leading to eternal life. But read the verse before it as a lesson for Christian living:

“But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (‭‭Romans‬ ‭6‬:‭22‬-‭23‬)‬‬

We should be proud to become ‘slaves of God’ when we come to accept Jesus as our Lord. We chose to serve Him with delight knowing His ways are better for us, we learn to please Him while here on earth, then we reap eternal life when we transition to heaven.

Now here is the amazing thing. When we submit to God as a slave, he adopts us and calls us His children, not a slave! 

That’s mind blowing and shatters the concept of slavery. Rather than being treated as a low class servant that has to obey as commanded or be punished, God loves us as His own adopted child. This is grace unmerited.

So I encourage you to serve God with loyal servitude and accept His love as His adopted son or daughter.

Health Nuggets

Things to Start Doing for Better Health

These things to start doing for better health, are recommended by Gary Brecka, podcaster at The Ultimate Human:

• Stop using fragranced laundry detergent

• Switch plastic food containers for glass

• Stop microwaving food in plastic

• Take your shoes off when you walk into the house (leave germs at the door)

• Open your windows for 10-15 minutes a day

• Stop using air fresheners and plus-ins

• Use a stainless steel or glass water bottle

• Check the ingredients in our deodorant and skincare

• Stop keeping your phone next to your head/bed while you sleep, it is not natural. Your nervous system treats it as an unfinished task and maintains a low-level alert state around it all night even when it is off. Put it in the kitchen, not on silent.

• Use a wooden or stainless steel cutting board instead of plastic

• Filter your drinking water

• Choose cotton or other natural fibers when you can

• Stop spraying fragrance directly onto your skin

• Start drinking coffee that is tested for mold

Gary also mentions that a lot of your problems will go away if you eat protein with breakfast; get morning sunlight (at least 15 minutes); walk every day; strength train 3-4x a week; make time for what excites you; and get 7-8 hours of sleep every night.

Let’s build up our immune system to be ready for the cold months ahead. Happy Fall!

Note: Health Nuggets are opinions and not medical advice.

Financial Update

Why America’s Railroads Are Nearly Impossible to Replicate

I was at the gas pump last week when I made the grave mistake of glancing up, where the price per gallon of gas caught my eye (and shook my nervous system). A recent conversation I had with a cousin who is a conductor at a major railroad company came to mind as we discussed the cost of production, transportation, and overall, goods, and the role railroads played in the equation.

Every day, trains quietly move automobiles, grain, chemicals, construction materials, energy products, manufactured goods, and shipping containers across America. Most consumers rarely think about the railroad system behind those products, yet it represents one of the largest, and most difficult to replicate, pieces of infrastructure in the U.S. economy.

America's freight rail network spans nearly 140,000 miles, and in a typical year railroads transport approximately 1.5 billion tons of raw materials and finished goods. Freight rail accounts for roughly 40% of U.S. long-distance freight volume measured by ton-miles, more than any other transportation method.

But perhaps the most interesting aspect of railroads isn't how much freight they carry. It's the infrastructure they already own.

Union Pacific alone operates 32,889 route miles, connecting Pacific and Gulf Coast ports with the Midwest and major gateways into Mexico and Canada. Recreating a comparable network today would require acquiring thousands of miles of land, securing rights-of-way, constructing bridges and terminals, navigating environmental and regulatory approvals, and spending enormous amounts of capital.

Even maintaining existing networks is expensive. America's Class I railroads reinvested approximately $26.8 billion in 2023 into infrastructure, equipment, safety, and reliability. Union Pacific alone spent approximately $3.5 billion on capital projects in 2025 and expects another $3.3 billion in 2026.

The payoff is extraordinary transportation efficiency. According to the Association of American Railroads, a freight train can move one ton of freight nearly 500 miles on a gallon of fuel, making rail roughly three to four times more fuel-efficient than trucking. One train can also replace several hundred trucks.

That infrastructure is becoming particularly relevant in 2026.

Union Pacific is currently seeking regulatory approval to acquire Norfolk Southern, potentially creating America's first single-line transcontinental railroad. The Surface Transportation Board restarted its formal review in August after receiving additional information from the companies. The proposal remains under review and has not been approved, but its sheer scale highlights how concentrated, and strategically valuable, America's railroad networks have become.

Investor Takeaway

Investors looking for direct exposure can research Union Pacific (UNP), CSX (CSX), Norfolk Southern (NSC), and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP). Berkshire Hathaway also owns BNSF Railway, although investors cannot purchase BNSF independently.

Railroads provide an important investing lesson: sometimes an economic moat is quite literally built into the ground.

Technology can be copied, factories can be constructed, and competitors can enter many industries. But recreating tens of thousands of miles of railroad tracks connecting ports, factories, farms, cities, and international borders is infrastructure that cannot be easily mirrored.

Tech Update

Pet Lions

My neighbor is raising a pet lion. Why do you ask? He says the pet lion is the best pet he ever had, he does amazing tricks that no other pet has ever done before, etc., etc. He also says he needs to raise it since the neighbor behind him is also doing the same, so he’s competing on who can have the most ferocious beast in the neighborhood.

Then the other day my neighbor announces he’s pretty sure his pet lion will, in a couple years, be capable of devouring everyone in the neighborhood without warning.  What, are you nuts! I exclaimed. Time to get rid of the lion, I insisted. Nah, he ponders, I need to keep him in case the other neighbor’s lion attacks first.

Crazy story. What’s the tech update in all this?

My neighbor’s pet lion happens to be the AI model created by a U.S. powerhouse, Anthropic for example. The other neighbor’s pet lion is the Chinese government version. The creators of AI models are issuing serious warnings that the big cat is out of the cage and we may never catch it.

In a September 12, 2026, interview, Anthropic CEO and co-founder Dario Amodei, said: "I won't lie to you – there are real dangers," said about the development of artificial intelligence. "And I think for too long the industry lied to people about the fact that this technology had risks."

It’s sad that even U.S. government leaders, including President Trump, are adamant that we must continue feeding the big cat because we need it to beat China’s cat. Never mind that the cat may eat us all.

Today, the pet lion is still a cute and growing. He hasn’t taken over your bank account, your identity, your food supply. He hasn’t yet restricted you from purchasing food and goods without an embedded ID under your skin. A few years ago, if you asked me if the beast system in the Book of Revelation was possible, I would have said close but not yet. Ask me now and I think very, very close, and I’m pretty sure AI will be integral to it.

Should any of this leave us in fear? Absolutely not. We know how the story ends as followers of Christ. In the meantime, a great analogy I recently heard is we should carry an umbrella because of the rain forecasted, not because we fear rain. Be Prepared.

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