Stop me if you have heard this one before… you see a trailer or watch a publicity appearance for an upcoming movie that you are excited about, and in the course of about sixty seconds the entire plot of the movie and half of the cool surprises the movie contained are completely spoiled for you. “Teaser” trailers have become less of a taste of what a film has in store for us and more of a full meal, giving away their secrets like a classic movie villain who falls prey to their need to explain their entire evil plot to the one person in a position to stop them. We leave the experience feeling like we have a pretty good idea of who will win, who will lose, who will show up, and even what the “second act plot twist” will be. While I am no stranger to the importance of advertising and marketing products to support the largest possible audience for a movie, television show, video game, book, or any other form of consumable entertainment, I think we can all safely say that much of the mystery that exists in these media formats has moved from simply attracting fans with a slice of what they have in store for us to giving away the entire story.

But before I am too hasty in judging these companies, marketers, and publicists for doing their job, I have to reconcile another reality that I have found present in my own life more than I care to admit… I too have fallen pray to some “monologues” myself that have exposed some of the things to the wrong audience that should have been kept between me and the Lord. And if I give you a few examples, maybe you will find some of these in common as well. Have you ever caught yourself saying the words, “You know what I’m afraid of” to someone? Or perhaps share some personal information followed by sharing the knowledge that “if this happened, it would completely destroy me?” or “the only thing that will stop me from doing this is…”? While we might think we are simply having a conversation with a friend or a loved one about a personal concern or struggle we are dealing with, there is a sinister presence eavesdropping on these weaknesses we are exposing… and we just gave them the key to defeating us.

The tendency to give our enemy the most direct path to taking us out is certainly nothing new… over the years many of us have taken a turn at becoming the architects of our own demise, giving away our deepest fears and sharing our weaknesses with perhaps positive intentions but disastrous results. In my own life, I have made the mistake of giving my enemy the exact information that would destroy a relationship or pull me away from serving the Lord many times by speaking those words to a friend or trusted confidante… only to be faced with that exact combination of scenarios and attacks at a later time. And as I find myself reeling from what has occurred, I find myself feeling much like Job did when after he experienced an enemy attack like no other and he said, “The thing I greatly feared has come upon me, and what I dreaded has happened to me”. In a moment of “sharing”, I exposed my deepest fears and vulnerabilities to more than simply my target audience… I gave my enemy the most direct path to shattering my world without even making them work for it.

Job 3:25 For the thing I greatly feared has come upon me, and what I dreaded has happened to me.

One of the saddest stories in all of Scripture is the fall of Samson, a man of exceptional physical power but very limited spiritual restraint. The climax of his story comes as we find him in the hands of Delilah… someone he had placed his trust in who was working for the other side. After years of waging war with the Philistines and being used by God to deliver his people, in a moment of weakness and frustration Samson exposed his only weakness to her… and within hours he found that his confidence had been misplaced. His head was shaved, his power removed, and the man who had withstood hundreds of soldiers single-handedly in combat was now over-powered in a living room… all because he gave away the plot to his story to an audience that couldn’t be trusted with it.

Judges 16:15-20 Then she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me these three times, and have not told me where your great strength lies.” And it came to pass, when she pestered him daily with her words and pressed him, so that his soul was vexed to death, that he told her all his heart, and said to her, “No razor has ever come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaven, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.” When Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, “Come up once more, for he has told me all his heart.” So the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hand. Then she lulled him to sleep on her knees, and called for a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to torment him, and his strength left him. And she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” So he awoke from his sleep, and said, “I will go out as before, at other times, and shake myself free!” But he did not know that the Lord had departed from him.

The Scriptures are clear that we have an active enemy in life (1 Peter 5:8) who seeks nothing more than to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10), but while the enemy of our soul is incredibly intelligent, they can’t read our minds. Our deepest concerns and fears are things that should be brought to the Lord in prayerful surrender so He can guide us through them (2 Corinthians 10:4-5), and when we open that door through casual conversation with others we are handing that key off to the very presence that has been trying to figure out the best way to break in, destroy us, and shipwreck our faith from day one.

1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

Proverbs 10:19 In the multitude of words sin is not lacking, but he who restrains his lips is wise.

Proverbs 21:23 Whoever guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from troubles.

I wish I could take back the things I have said and shared that exposed my deepest fears and created the opportunity for them to be used against me, but unfortunately that isn’t possible. But in the stories of both Job and Samson we find that even after the enemy’s most brutal attacks, the faithfulness of the Lord was present to provide both restoration of their mission in the case of Samson (Judges 16:28-30) as well as what was lost in the case of Job (Job 42:12-13). And if we will yield our fears, concerns, and broken places to the Lord He will be faithful to not only restore them, but to rebuke the enemy and run them out of the space that we inadvertently gave them access to in the first place. Our words are more powerful than we realize, and they can and WILL be used against us by the enemy who is bent on destroying us. Let’s not make his job any easier by giving him the combination to the safe… let’s guard our words and give every concerning or fearful thought to the Lord in prayer… He is the only one who can help us overcome them.

• Like us?  Follow us on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Spotify, TikTok, or YouTube for our articles, podcasts, and videos!
• Facebook: Finding God in Video Games
• Twitter: @FindingGodIn_VG
• Instagram: Finding God in Video Games
• Podcasts on Spotify/Apple/Google: Finding God in Video Games
• TikTok: @FindingGodInVideoGames
• YouTube: Finding God in Video games
• Our Daily Devotional book “This is the Way Scripture of the Day” is available for purchase here!:

The final closure of the Xbox 360 marketplace marks the end of an incredible era in gaming… and it also means the loss of the ability to buy any of the games that were available in an exclusively digital format on that platform ever again. While all things eventually come to an end as technology moves forward, because these titles never existed in a physical disc form they essentially cease to exist for those who didn’t buy them while they were available. And as more games become “digital-only”, they will all face the same fate one day… only those who chose to acquire them while they could be found will possess them permanently.

How we choose to invest our time and what we choose to invest it into matters in both this life and beyond… and each turning page of the calendar represents perishable moments of time that we will wish we could have back. In all our pursuits in life, let’s chase treasure that will last eternally… treasure that is exclusively found in Christ and following His direction for our lives. Each new day provides a limited-time opportunity to spend with Him… let’s seek Him and share Him while He can still be found.

Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near. Isaiah 55:6

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19-21

• Like us?  Follow us on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Spotify, TikTok, or YouTube for our articles, podcasts, and videos!
• Facebook: Finding God in Video Games
• Twitter: @FindingGodIn_VG
• Instagram: Finding God in Video Games
• Podcasts on Spotify/Apple/Google: Finding God in Video Games
• TikTok: @FindingGodInVideoGames
• YouTube: Finding God in Video games
• Our Daily Devotional book “This is the Way Scripture of the Day” is available for purchase here!:

We’ve all done it… maybe it was at the end of a Mario Kart race, a last second touchdown in Madden, or squeezing out a win after a grueling Halo match.  Most of us who have played and won a competitive game are guilty of at least a LITTLE showboating or smack talk at the end. While most post-game celebrations are done with good-natured and humorous intent, excessive gloating or boastful behavior not only reflects poorly on our sportsmanship, but also fails to recognize the contributions of all the others that led to that winning result.

Humility is not just a virtue… it is an expected trait for followers of Christ.  Any success we experience is not simply a reflection of our own hard work and commitment, but also a demonstration of the Lord’s favor on our lives as well as the result of countless souls who have prayed for us and supported us to attain this result.  Rather than patting ourselves on the back, let’s celebrate a win by pointing one hand towards heaven to give God the glory for His gifts, and use the other hand to reach behind us and pull others up to the top of the mountain alongside us to share in the victory.

Unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 18:3-4

Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. Proverbs 16:18

• Like us?  Follow us on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Spotify, TikTok, or YouTube for our articles, podcasts, and videos!
• Facebook: Finding God in Video Games
• Twitter: @FindingGodIn_VG
• Instagram: Finding God in Video Games
• Podcasts on Spotify/Apple/Google: Finding God in Video Games
• TikTok: @FindingGodInVideoGames
• YouTube: Finding God in Video games
• Our Daily Devotional book “This is the Way Scripture of the Day” is available for purchase here!:

Halo 3 was all about “finishing the fight” that was left incomplete at the end of Halo 2, and after years of painful waiting gamers dropped into the conclusion of the original Halo trilogy to see how Bungie would finally resolve the conflict with Covenant. While it seemed like a long time between installments for us, for the developer it was a relatively short development cycle for a AAA game… especially one that had to live up to such high expectations and would conclude this story arc for multiple characters. The wait felt long, but the stakes were high… so the “delay” was necessary.

While waiting on the Lord is one of my least favorite activities in life, He has a reason for what appears to be a “delay” in what we are seeking. The doors that He opens for us may represent the closure of a door for someone else, and in His infinite mercy He will wait until the perfect time for both of those to occur by holding the door open to the last possible moment. And in the meantime, He wants us to find the beauty and purpose in the places we are currently occupying as we continue on the path He has designed for us to its’ conclusion.

He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end. Ecclesiastes 3:11

But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:8-9

• Like us?  Follow us on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Spotify, TikTok, or YouTube for our articles, podcasts, and videos!
• Facebook: Finding God in Video Games
• Twitter: @FindingGodIn_VG
• Instagram: Finding God in Video Games
• Podcasts on Spotify/Apple/Google: Finding God in Video Games
• TikTok: @FindingGodInVideoGames
• YouTube: Finding God in Video games
• Our Daily Devotional book “This is the Way Scripture of the Day” is available for purchase here!:

One of the most controversial moments in Halo 2 was the developer’s decision to switch the  player’s perspective in the middle of the game from our beloved Master Chief to a brand new character… the Arbiter. While this felt like a classic “bait and switch” at first, playing as the Arbiter and seeing the Chief from a different point of view enhanced our understanding and appreciation for both characters, adding some much needed depth to the stoic character of the Master Chief in the process. Looking back, I didn’t appreciate the change in the moment… but those Arbiter levels ended up becoming some of my favorite levels in the entire game.

Much to my chagrin, the Lord doesn’t always answer my prayers in the manner that I asked or the way that I hoped He would… but that is because He is telling a bigger story than the one I can see. He hears all of our prayers, but He only answers them in consistency with His divine will and character… and in those times when it seems like His response is at odds with my desires, I’ve found that these unwanted detours He takes me on end up becoming some of my favorite parts of my entire journey. 

Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. James 4:1-4

Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him. 1 John 5:14-15

• Like us?  Follow us on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Spotify, TikTok, or YouTube for our articles, podcasts, and videos!
• Facebook: Finding God in Video Games
• Twitter: @FindingGodIn_VG
• Instagram: Finding God in Video Games
• Podcasts on Spotify/Apple/Google: Finding God in Video Games
• TikTok: @FindingGodInVideoGames
• YouTube: Finding God in Video games
• Our Daily Devotional book “This is the Way Scripture of the Day” is available for purchase here!:

Indie platformer Kitsune Tails was announced back in 2021, and after three years of waiting it’s finally releasing soon. During the June 8 Wholesome Direct, developer Kitsune Games announced Kitsune Tails will be launching on August 1, with a demo currently available on Steam. After spending time with a press demo…

Read more...

Very rarely do you see anyone prevail in court when any form of forfeiture is in play. The forfeiture litigation deck is firmly stacked in favor of the government, which rarely needs anything approaching actual proof to walk off with someone’s property.

It’s even more rare to see someone awarded damages in a civil lawsuit against law enforcement officers. In most cases, qualified immunity terminates the lawsuit. If qualified immunity is not awarded, agencies and governments are often swift to offer plaintiffs no-fault settlements that allow the accused to walk away from the lawsuit without having to admit any wrongdoing, much less pay out of their own pockets for their misdeeds.

This case contains both rarities. Not only does it involve regular people securing some sort of justice for their violated rights, but the underlying set of rights violations included officers walking out the home they’d raided without a warrant with all the valuables they could get their hands on, including $4,000 in cash.

Here’s how the raid went down, as recounted by C.J. Ciaramella for Reason back in 2019.

On January 31, 2018, a Randolph County sheriff’s deputy showed up at the home of Greg and Teresa Almond in Woodland, Alabama, to serve Greg court papers in a civil matter.

Greg, 50, wasn’t home, but his wife Teresa told the deputy he would be back before long. About two hours later, after Greg had returned home, he heard loud knocking on the door. He remembers shouting “hang on” and walking toward the door when it suddenly flew open. The next thing he knew he was on the floor—ears ringing, dazed, wondering if he’d just been shot.

Several deputies from the Randolph County Sheriff’s Department had kicked in his front door and thrown a flashbang grenade at his feet. The officers handcuffed and detained the couple at gunpoint, then started searching their house. The deputy from earlier had reportedly smelled marijuana, and so a county drug task force was descending on the Almonds’ home, looking for illegal drugs.

The supposed odor of marijuana eventually led the deputies to a small marijuana plant, a few scattered leaves, and a single prescription pill that was not located in its bottle. The home invasion also led deputies to other stuff they wanted, but had no legitimate reason to take. They took the cash they found in the house, a wedding ring, some guns, a coin collection, and a couple guitars.

To the Sheriff’s Office, the $4,000 probably seemed insignificant. But it was pretty much all they had. They were in the middle of refinancing an agricultural loan to ensure their chicken farm remained solvent. Thanks to being forced to spend most of two days in jail, they missed their refinancing deadline. That ultimately resulted in the couple losing their house. They were residing in an insulated shed by the time the court took up their lawsuit.

More than four years after the raid, the couple has finally secured some form of justice. The $1 million in damages awarded by the jury will likely be appealed by the sheriff’s department, but for now, that’s what a jury has said the couple is entitled to.

The judge overseeing the case issued an order [PDF] along with the directed verdict, stating that the “rarity” of a directed verdict in a civil rights lawsuit necessitates some explanation.

The explanation reveals just how much of a blatant violation of rights this raid was. Deputy Kevin Walker had no excuse for his actions.

During trial, Judge Amy Newsome testified that she never issued a telephonic warrant to Defendant Walker, or to the drug task force, on January 31, 2018, for a search of the Plaintiffs’ home. She also testified that she did not tell Walker that he had a warrant. In addition, Defendant Walker testified that Judge Newsome did not tell him that he had a telephonic search warrant, although she did tell him that he probably had enough for a warrant.

He also acknowledged that the requirements for a telephonic warrant were not satisfied, that he did not have a search warrant, and that it was a warrantless search. Given this undisputed testimony, even when considered in the light most favorable to Defendant Walker, the search of the Plaintiffs’ home was without a warrant, even a defective one, and therefore violated the Fourth Amendment. No reasonable jury could have concluded otherwise as there was no question of fact on this issue.

Yeah. That’s inexcusable. And yet, Walker had an excuse: good faith. He attempted to avail himself of the good faith warrant exception. But, as the judge points out, good faith relies on someone believing a valid warrant has actually been issued, not just thinking they could probably obtain one at some point in the future. On top of that, the good faith exception invoked by the deputy only applies in criminal trials, not civil trials. Even if it did apply in this content, Walker would still lose. (Emphasis in the original.)

But even if the good faith exception to the exclusionary rule can apply in the civil context, the good faith exception still would not apply in the circumstances of this case. First, per Judge Newsome and Defendant Walker, there was no warrant, telephonic or written, and thus there was nothing upon which Walker could rely in good faith. In other words, because Defendant Walker knew that he did not have a warrant at the time of the incident, the good faith exception does not apply.

And the cases Walker cites are inapplicable to the facts here: Taylor, Moorehead, Henderson,
and Ganzer all involved situations where written warrants were issued, not situations where a warrant was never issued in the first place. And secondly, as a matter of law, given the undisputed facts concerning the non-existence of a warrant, it was objectively unreasonable for an experienced law enforcement officer to believe that he could search an occupied home when no warrant existed, when no judge told him that he had a warrant, when he was merely told that he had enough for a warrant, and when none of the formalities or requirements associated with a telephonic or written warrant were followed.

As the court notes in this order, it fully expects Walker to raise the other form of good faith in a future motion, indicating that while a jury has already said the couple is owed $1 million in damages, the court has yet to issue an order blessing that payout. Hopefully, if nothing else, this utter failure to salvage a blatantly unconstitutional search will urge Walker’s employers to cut a check, rather than continue to embarrass itself in court.