#ourCOG Daily Brief [November 19, 2025]

Good evening, and welcome to #ourCOG Daily Brief for November 19, 2025.

In today’s top stories, U.S. news highlights a significant shift in the 54-year war on drugs, with the Trump administration’s new strategy of non-cooperation marked by boat strikes off Venezuela. Domestically, a Washington D.C. nonprofit, Open Goal Project, is working to level the playing field in youth sports, enabling hundreds of lower-income athletes to join competitive, no-fee soccer teams. On the world stage, an attempt by the Trump administration to mediate the Cambodia-Thailand conflict by tying trade negotiations to peace is now unraveling, a development that could inadvertently push Bangkok closer to China.

Turning to our media updates, the latest videos we’ve been featuring include Jonathan Vorce’s “Speak Life Over Yourself” and his short “Grateful For Work Even When It’s Tough,” alongside Jentezen Franklin’s powerful message, “The Cycle Ends With You.”

From our FaithNews RSS feed, the recent headlines include the Church of God Publications releasing the 75th Anniversary Edition of the “Red Back Hymnal,” an exploration of “Business Bible: Linking Business News to Bible Principles,” news of Pentecostal Leaders Ministering in Coffeyville, Kansas, and an announcement that Robeck will Present the Azusa Lecture on Evangelism at Azusa Street Mission.

For the latest in prophecy news, recent reports discuss the United Nations Security Council’s approval of a U.S. plan for Gaza, authorizing an international stabilization force and outlining a path towards an independent Palestinian state, following a fragile ceasefire. This comes as the U.S. aircraft carrier USS Gerald R Ford and its armada have arrived in the Caribbean Sea near Venezuela, ordered by President Trump. Domestically, some have characterized leftist voters in New York and California as personifying “insanity” for repeating electoral behaviors and expecting different results. Meanwhile, there’s a broader observation that people across the world are searching for hope and spiritual truth, but perhaps looking in the wrong places.

Finally, in Jewish history, looking back at November 20th: in 331 BCE, according to the Talmud, Simeon the Just destroyed the Samaritan Temple at Mount Gerizim. This wasn’t just a religious act, but a strategic move to establish political sovereignty and eliminate a rival ‘high place’ to Jerusalem, a victory marked by a minor festival. Much later, in 284 CE, Diocletian was chosen as Roman Emperor, initiating a policy of subdividing Roman provinces into smaller administrative units, including Palestine, which was divided into Palaestina Prima and other territories.