This isn’t breaking news – but life isn’t fair. And sometimes, it’s downright evil and wicked.

Such are the consequences of a sinful and fallen world.

Gary L. Rasor, 83, will be laid to rest on Friday in Durham, North Carolina. Services will be at the Clements Funeral Home on Broad Street, a third-generation family business whose motto from its beginning in 1956 has been, “Service not measured by gold, but by the Golden Rule.”

Such a statement and sentiment could be said of Gary Rasor, who passed away on November 30th from injuries sustained from a senseless attack inside a Home Depot store in nearby Hillsborough, NC.

It all started back on October 18th when Gary, who was employed by the home improvement giant, approached a hooded man shoplifting three Ryobi pressure cookers. The thief didn’t break stride, forcefully shoving the clerk to the ground, causing him to bang his head on the concrete floor upon impact. Rushed to the hospital, Mr. Rasor made a valiant recovery effort, but the extent of his injuries and age were just too much.

Known as “Mr. Gary” inside the store, the Ohio native and Army veteran was the ideal go-to guy for home fix-it advice. Although he sold insurance after serving his country in the military, Gary spent years in the construction business.

Tim Allen insisted on keeping Jesus Christ at the center of Christmas in his new Disney+ series The Santa Clauses, the actor recently revealed.

Allen, who reprises his role as Scott Calvin and Santa Claus in the series, recently told The Wrap that it was important to him to include a religious angle in The Santa Clauses – something that the original trilogy of the films never did.

“It originally had a lot of otherworldly characters, and ghosts, and goblins. I said no, this is Christ-mas. Its Christ-mas. It literally is a religious holiday,” Allen told The Wrap (emphasis in original).

“We don’t have to blow trumpets, but I do want you to acknowledge it. That’s what this is about. If you want to get into Santa Claus, you’re gonna have to go back to history, and it’s all about religion.”

The six-episode series serves as a sequel to The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, which hit theaters in 2006. That movie served as the third installment in the movie franchise, following after The Santa Clause 2 which was released on the big screen in 2002 and the original The Santa Clause, released in 1994.

Four episodes in the new series have been released on Disney+ with the final two episodes to be released on December 7 and 14.

Christians around the world have begun one of the most important seasons in our calendar: Advent. As we remember the arrival of our Savior in God’s incarnation, it is a good time to consider the fullness of Jesus. He is indeed the comforting, welcoming Prince of Peace. But Jesus also demonstrated a decidedly less gentle side, one that too many of us are not terribly comfortable with. It is important that as we sojourn through our Advent preparation, we see Jesus in His biblical fullness.

If you hear someone say, “Well, what about Jesus turning over the tables of the money changers?” you likely know the topic under discussion. It’s the stock response one gives to the assertion that Jesus was always about peace, love and understanding. Yes, there was that one incident of violence in the Temple. Angry Jesus. We also know that Jesus was exceedingly harsh with the hypocritical religious leaders of the day.

Unfortunately, the dominant script today has it that in all other instances He was gentle and appealing. This is simply untrue. Just take time to read the Gospels straight through and we clearly see a more complex, multi-layered Jesus emerge from the plain text.

There are two truths about Jesus that seem to be at odds with the modern, happy understanding and presentation of God’s Son.

First, the God-man, unbound by time, held a decidedly ancient and “unenlightened” view of the world. Second, He regularly hurt folks’ feelings and did so without apology. The tender Lamb of God is also a fierce lion.