Have you ever considered all the things we take as truth, things that actually shape our lives by guiding our behaviors, habits, and attitudes? Some of our beliefs come from friends to whom we gave credibility for reasons we have long forgotten. Others were handed down to us by our parents, and some of what we take for granted is "just the way things are."

Have you ever heard someone speak lies aloud almost as a way of affirming or looking for affirmation what they want to believe was true? Have you ever done this yourself?

“An underwater volcano off Tonga was spewing ash high into the air on Tuesday, causing several carriers to suspend air travel to the South Pacific island nation and turning the surrounding ocean blood red, residents and officials said” (The Guardian, January 12, 2015). “The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai underwater volcano… was sending volcanic ash up to 4,500m into the air...

“Over 2,000 people were killed by Boko Haram fighters during the massacre [last week]... Hundreds of bodies - too many to count - remain strewn in the bush in Nigeria from an Islamic extremist attack that Amnesty International suggested Friday is the ‘deadliest massacre’ in the history of Boko Haram” (Sydney Morning Herald, January 13, 2015).

Last week’s terrorist shooting of 17 civilians in Paris shocked France and the world (FoxNews, January 11, 2015). Following this tragedy, 40 world leaders joined 3.7 million people in rallies in Paris and throughout France on Sunday in a show of solidarity against terrorism (CNN, January 11, 2015).

“Israel on Saturday froze NIS 500 million ($127 million) in Palestinian tax revenues collected on Ramallah’s behalf, in response to the Palestinian Authority [PA] filing a request to join the International Criminal Court earlier this week”—a move intended to allow the PA to prosecute Israel for war crimes (Times of Israel, January 3, 2015).