It’s Tuesday, March 17th, A.D. 2026. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard on 140 radio stations and at www.TheWorldview.com. I’m Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com)
By Kevin Swanson and Timothy Reed
Cuba is on verge of collapse
Cuba, a communist country in the Western Hemisphere, is on the verge of collapse.
Oil shipments to the island nation stopped three months ago and the nation’s electric grid gave out over the weekend.
Plus, the country’s Gross Domestic Product, the total monetary value of all goods and services produced within a country’s borders, slipped another 5% last year. According to the United Nation’s Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, communist Cuba has the worst GDP/capita in Latin America — barely reaching $1,000 per year.
The worst economies in Latin America are communist Venezuela, communist Nicaragua, communist Cuba, and Haiti.
Cuba is ripest nation for spiritual revival
Despite the economic doom and gloom, Cuba appears to be the ripest for spiritual revival of any nation in the world today.
The Baptists have reported a 40-fold increase in the number of churches since 1990. One estimate puts the total number of Cuban believers at two million. That’s about 20% of the population — higher than membership in the communist party for the country.
In Matthew 16:18, Jesus promised that “He would build His church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.”
47% of Americans oppose the U.S.-Iranian war
Americans continue to have mixed opinions about the Iran conflict.
New polling averages, from Real Clear Politics, found that 44% of Americans support the war, while 47% oppose the fight.
Similarly, a Quinnipiac poll found that only 40% of Americans favor the war, with 53% in opposition.
A whopping 74% of Americans are opposed to sending ground troops into the war, something the Trump administration has not ruled out.
Court allows naked men in women’s spa
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has let stand a lower court ruling requiring a private spa, intended for women, to allow naked men to frequent the premises.
The Washington State spa owners insisted this policy would be contrary to their Christian beliefs. Thus far, at least five judges have filed dissents on the decision.
19% of employees at U.S. companies are foreign workers
American corporations are hiring foreign workers like never before, recent numbers indicate
19.2% of their employees are foreign workers, up from 12% twenty years ago. Another 10% of the U.S. workforce is also provided for by digital offshoring by organizations like Upwork. That makes almost a third of the U.S. workforce now provided for by foreigners.
Pastor: If you’re a Christian, don’t live in sin with someone
Megachurch pastor Josh Howerton of LakePointe Church in Dallas, Texas, challenged Christian couples to stop living in sin.
HOWERTON: “The Bible is going to say things about marriage, sexuality and divorce that are very controversial to the world. My response to that is: ‘To who?’ Because what the world says about marriage is controversial to Heaven. I would rather Heaven be pleased and the world say we’re controversial than be applauded by the world and controversial before Heaven.”
Pastor Howerton concluded his sermon with this challenge.
HOWERTON: “You’re living with somebody that’s not your spouse. You’re sleeping with somebody that’s not your spouse. Or you’ve actually already started a family and had kids with somebody that’s not your spouse.
“And you, right now, are coming under the loving conviction of the Holy Spirit that you need to honor God, bend your knee to Jesus, put a ring on it, and enter into a covenant with a person that you’re already acting like you’re in a covenant with.
“What I want you to know is we want to help you do that, because we got a little thing at Lakepoint. We say, ‘The only time we look down on people is to give them a hand up.’
“So, here’s what we want to do. We got a whole team of pastors. We are ready to have a mass wedding ceremony. I’m 100% serious. We got people. We’re gonna walk with you, counsel you, help you, and then we’re gonna get you married. We’re gonna throw a big party.
“And guess what? Your church family is not going to be doing. These people aren’t going to be judging you. They’re going to be cheering you on as you step forward into obedience to Jesus Christ.”
Remarkably, following the sermon, 52 couples came forward and were married at the church a couple of weeks later.
Isaiah 1:18 says, “Come now, and let us reason together, says the LORD. ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.’”
Tennessee bill to abolish abortion died in committee
A bill before the Tennessee State legislature that would have fully banned abortion was killed in the legislature’s Health Subcommittee last week, reports the Nashville Banner.
The bill would have criminalized abortion and given equal protection to the unborn under the law. However, the measure was actively opposed by both pro-abortion and pro-life groups, who argued the law was too strict.
Bradley Pierce, president of the Foundation to Abolish Abortion, stated, “I don’t think it’s merciful to tell women that they’re allowed to murder their children. To those who say that having a blanket exemption for women is merciful, do you apply that to any other area of law?”
Similar bills have been introduced, both in Democratic and Republican states, and thus far, none have passed.
Proverbs 24:11 admonishes us to “Deliver those who are drawn toward death, and hold back those stumbling to the slaughter.”
Christian apologist shares Christ on popular podcast
Apologist Wes Huff clearly explained the Gospel of Jesus Christ to entrepreneur Steven Bartlett on Bartlett’s “Diary of a CEO” podcast — among the top podcasts in the world. In fact, 3 million people listen per episode.
BARTLETT: “If I sin in my life, do I go to hell?”
HUFF: “Here’s the thing: everybody is going to hell. Everybody. The Bible is very clear. All good people go to Heaven, but Jesus said, ‘No one is good but God alone.’ So, if all good people go to Heaven, and no one is good but God alone, only God is in Heaven.”
BARTLETT: “Mmm.”
HUFF: “So, Christianity says you’re not going to be able to do, feel or think good enough. Compared to God, you’re always going to fall short. Be perfect as your Father in Heaven is perfect, is what Scripture says. That’s an impossible standard.
“The message of the Bible, the reason why it’s called the Gospel, the Good News, is because of the bad news. The bad news is you’re dead in your sins and trespasses and you can’t save yourself. Jesus, as the second Person of the Trinity, steps off of His throne in eternity, comes into humanity, and He pays the penalty of the sin that you deserve.”
Romans 3:23 gives us the bad news. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” And Romans 5:8 gives us the Good News. “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Oscars awarded to foul-mouthed, immoral R-rated movies
And finally, the 98th Academy Award ceremonies awarded more R-rated movies with top prizes again this year.
One Battle After Another, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Sean Penn, took the Best Picture award — a film celebrating revolution, killing ICE agents, and murdering pro-life legislators. It played with moral ambiguity and satire, while encouraging revolutionary activity in society. Sadly, the film, which features the most obscene word 135 times and the Lord’s name used in vain 20 times, garnered six Oscars.
Another R-rated movie, Sinners, collected four more Oscars. The film glorified demonism, African animism, murderers, adulterers, and hoodoo witches, while condemning Christianity for its alleged legalism and white oppression. Sinners features the Lord’s name taken in vain 11 times.
I John 2:15-17 says, “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father, but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.”
Close
And that’s The Worldview on this Tuesday, March 17th, in the year of our Lord 2026. Follow us on X or subscribe for free by Spotify, Amazon Music, or by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldview.com. Plus, you can get the Generations app through Google Play or The App Store. I’m Adam McManus (Adam@TheWorldview.com). Seize the day for Jesus Christ.