From the Editor Nov/Dec 2024
Christmas is coming! People throughout the world eagerly await this most wonderful time of year. Kids wait impatiently to open gifts, hoping to receive the…
Inspirational
The Friends of Israel in Action Nov/Dec 2024
While war causes everyone caught in its throes to suffer, our actions in times of darkness reveal our character…
The Legion of Martyrs
In the year AD 286, the elite Theban Roman legion of more than 6,600 Egyptian youths was dispatched to Gaul for action. The amazing fact about this…
Learning to Get Out of God’s Way
After the children of Israel crossed over the Jordan River on dry ground, the Lord directed Joshua to enlist 12 men, one from…
Apples of Gold Nov/Dec 2024
Christmas is coming soon. So, many of the ultra-Orthodox tell me, “Have a great birthday!” They mean to insult me because they know I believe in Christ…
From the Editor Sep/Oct 2024
I met my lovely wife, Morgan, while we served together at a Christian summer camp. Within a few short days of joking and bonding over chasing energetic kids around…
The Friends of Israel in Action Sep/Oct 2024
In the heart of Seattle’s bustling Pike Place Market, a moment of profound dialogue and revelation recently unfolded..
Safeguarding God’s Ancient Landmark
Not many know his name today, but Russell Kirk was a 20th-century American author, historian, thinker, and advocate of…
Are You Blessing the World?
In October 2000, two Israel Defense Forces reservists accidentally entered the Palestinian city of Ramallah…
Apples of Gold Sep/Oct 2024
I recently had an encounter that was hard even for me to believe. But as we say here in Israel, “When God wills it, anything is possible…
The Friends of Israel in Action Jul/Aug 2024
A few years ago, a young man named Dima traveled from Belarus to Poland to study at a university in Warsaw…
It Pays to Talk to the Right Person
You may recall my mother, the five-star kvetch, from the previous issue of Israel My Glory. She perfected the art…
Elwood McQuaid: In Loving Memory
For each generation, the Lord raises up the right leader for the times. That was certainly true of Elwood McQuaid…
Giving Thanks for the Unseen
Young children’s prayers are often sweet and simple. Many of us spoke such prayers during our own childhoods…
Apples of Gold Jul/Aug 2024
Many elderly people in Israel go door to door collecting money for blind children. Recently, I heard a knock on my door. When I opened it, two kind, elderly, ultra-Orthodox men…
The Friends of Israel in Action May/Jun 2024
In November, as one of the final phases of our Friends of Israel (FOI) Equip internship program, five FOI interns…
Conquering our Kvetching
My beloved mother was a five-star kvetch. This Yiddish term describes a habitual complainer—and my mother was…
When the Walk Becomes a Crawl
Who among us hasn’t experienced both the mountaintops and gullies of life? Sometimes we know unspeakable joy, and other…
Apples of Gold May/Jun 2024
My Arab neighbors often come to my home to speak about spiritual matters. When they cannot answer my questions, they tell me they will…
From the Editor Mar/Apr 2024
I disobeyed my parents many times as a child. They were habitually gracious in their admonition. But on one occasion, I misbehaved so severely that…
Inside View Mar/Apr 2024
October 7, 2023, was a wake-up call for many Christians unfamiliar with Israel’s role in God’s plan of redemption. Those who think God has…
The Friends of Israel in Action Mar/Apr 2024
Every day, The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry’s (FOI’s) field representatives actively develop relationships…
Why Do You Love Israel?
Picture this: A Jewish man who has embraced Jesus as his Messiah waves the flag of Israel and sings…
Protecting Ourselves from the Enemy
I directed a pro-life crisis pregnancy center for several years. My staff members and I began each morning by…
Apples of Gold Mar/Apr 2024
Though we seek peace with our neighbors, we know it will not come easily. They call themselves righteous Jews while they tell me to keep quiet…
From the Editor Jan/Feb 2024
We have now witnessed the deadliest day in Jewish history since the Holocaust. Israel will never be the same after October 7, 2023…
We Knew This Would Happen
For nearly two decades, The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry (FOI) has looked at the Israel-Hamas conflict through the…
The Friends of Israel in Action Jan/Feb 2024
If you’re interested in volunteering with The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry (FOI), we now offer an outstanding program…
Faith Check
Every January 1, gym memberships, health foods, self-improvement plans, time-scheduling charts, and Bible-reading programs are in popular demand…
Apples of Gold Jan/Feb 2024
This week I went to the hospital for a doctor’s appointment. While there, I saw some of the hospital workers who remembered what I had shared…
From the Editor Nov/Dec 2023
Each December, I begin formulating a plan to read my Bible for the following year. In past years, I jumped into Genesis feeling energized…
Tidings of Great Joy
The Christmas season has arrived. My family is busy decorating the house, untangling the Christmas lights, and picking out the tree. Of course, my kids’ wish lists…
The Friends of Israel in Action Nov/Dec 2023
The beautiful island country of New Zealand features lush volcanic hillsides, scenic mountain passes, hospitable people…
It’s Not Luck—It’s Providence
In June, I returned from ministering in Colorado on a red-eye flight, scheduled to arrive in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania…
One Righteous Christmas Present!
Remember a television commercial that goes like this? A woman steps out of her house on a snow-covered morning…
The Beauty of Gratitude
My son Brian received his first pair of eyeglasses when he was 11 years old. As he tentatively tried them on…
Apples of Gold Nov/Dec 2023
Many immigrants live in the neighborhoods around us. Most of them have come from Russia. When we celebrated the Feast of Hanukkah recently…
From the Editor Sep/Oct 2023
Hymns have a unique staying power. If you grew up singing hymns in your church, I’m sure you can attest to this fact. The sweet words of these songs…
The Friends of Israel in Action Sep/Oct 2023
From a rabbi dressed as Spider-Man to an Elvis impersonator at an Israeli wedding, some interesting characters have…
Dying to Live
Marcus is dead. His lifeless body lies on a hospital bed. The doctors attending him look down on his corpse. Only minutes ago they were busily monitoring his vitals…
4 Common Misconceptions About Eternal Security
As I sat at a sidewalk café with a parishioner and her husband one sunny afternoon…
The Help of His Countenance
A 5-year-old girl was enjoying a picnic with her family one day when she noticed a cluster of older girls yelling nearby.
Apples of Gold Sep/Oct 2023
People from nations all over the world come to visit Israel. It is written in Isaiah 34:1, “Come near, you nations, to hear” and in Isaiah 49:6…
From the Editor Jul/Aug 2023
American pastor Andy Stanley stated in a 2018 sermon, “Peter, James, [and] Paul elected to unhitch the Christian faith from their Jewish scriptures…
The Friends of Israel in Action Jul/Aug 2023
This past winter was one of intense hardship for civilians in Ukraine. As the war between Ukraine and Russia has raged on…
‘Moshiach Is Here!’
“I believe with perfect faith in the coming of the moshiach [Messiah], and though he may tarry, still I await him every day.” So states the Jewish sage Maimonides’…
Under the Shelter of His Wings
“You’ve got cancer.” The doctor’s words felt like a sucker punch. Surely he must have gotten my lab results mixed up…
Apples of Gold Jul/Aug 2023
The ultra-Orthodox often find new ways to attract new followers. Recently, they hosted a big, public meeting with a well-known rabbi. Like many rabbis, he felt he could convince…
The Friends of Israel in Action May/Jun 2023
We often hear the same questions asked at our Friends of Israel (FOI) prophecy conferences…
Doing the Right Thing
Within hours of Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin’s midgame cardiac arrest in January, sports writers, reporters, and analysts around the country prefaced their remarks with…
Looking for Faith in All the Wrong Faces
If you were to ask me if I believe in the prosperity gospel, I would answer unequivocally, “No, of course not!”…
Apples of Gold May/Jun 2023
We live very close to our Arab neighbors, so we see each other almost every day. A few months ago I had a long conversation with some of them…
Inside View Mar/Apr 2023
At our farewell dinner for our Up to Jerusalem tour to Israel in October, I was touched by the comments of our Israeli guide. We honored him for skillfully leading…
Growing a Global Love for Israel
Last December the Israeli Government Press Office (GPO) invited me to the sixth annual Christian Media Summit…
The Friends of Israel in Action Mar/Apr 2023
Halina Ostik, who fought in the Polish Resistance during World War II, smuggled Bibles into the country under the…
How Do You Spell “Love”?
The “Joy” ship—what a misnomer! I thought. I had reluctantly returned to my unfittingly named Norwegian cruise ship…
Don’t Get Too Comfortable!
If we knew years ago what the world would look like today, we probably wouldn’t have signed up for what we face now…
Apples of Gold Mar/Apr 2023
It is written in Jeremiah 6:14, “‘Peace, peace!’ when there is no peace.” It is also written, “I will give you assured peace in this place” (14:13)…
From the Editor Jan/Feb 2023
As a child, I asked my dad, “Why didn’t Jewish people fight the Nazis?” He replied, “They couldn’t fight. You don’t understand.” Today, I understand better…
Inside View Jan/Feb 2023
A few years ago, a friend sent me a page from the December 27, 1937, issue of Life magazine. In it was an article titled “Christmas in Naziland…
The Friends of Israel in Action Jan/Feb 2023
We enter 2023 thanking God that more than 90 people have graduated from our Friends of Israel (FOI) Bridges program…
Finishing Without Regrets
When the apostle Paul sat in a cold, dark Roman prison, he chose his final words carefully as he took inventory of his life…
Aidan’s Crucible
I barely recognized him. My grandson was no longer the 19-year-old kid I knew. He had lost weight and was lean, angular, and fit and carried himself with confidence…
Apples of Gold Jan/Feb 2023
The ultra-Orthodox are always looking for 10 men to form a minyan, a quorum necessary for synagogue prayer. So I wait outside the synagogue, watching them call people…
From the Editor Nov/Dec 2022
Christmas is around the corner. ’Tis the season for almost every made-for-television movie to overload us with house-decorating, tree-lighting, cookie-baking, and…
Inside View Nov/Dec 2022
Many believers today see no value in studying prophecy, particularly end-times prophecy. They say it serves no purpose and is difficult to understand…
The Friends of Israel in Action Nov/Dec 2022
Last spring, the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) telephoned Tim Munger, a Church Ministries representative…
The Fallacy of Fictionalism
Scott Hershovitz is a philosophy professor and director of law and ethics at the University of Michigan…
Apples of Gold Nov/Dec 2022
Through God’s miracles, the Jewish people have survived; and now we live in the Promised Land. At this time of year, we enjoy celebrating Hanukkah…
Something is Wrong
Pro-choice activists are fuming over the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that declared abortion is not a constitutional right, overturning its…
The Friends of Israel in Action Sep/Oct 2022
The Australian ministry of The Friends of Israel (FOI) has grown remarkably in recent years. Many of you know Deane Woods…
My Threescore and Ten
Birthdays, like mile markers, disclose the distance traveled but not the distance remaining on our lives’ journeys…
Apples of Gold Sep/Oct 2022
We recently enjoyed a most important holiday—the feast of Simchat Torah, Hebrew for “rejoicing over the Law.” Many of the Orthodox dance in the synagogues…
Pointing Our Kids to Truth
The COVID-19 pandemic did more than shed light on the science of infectious diseases in the modern era…
The Friends of Israel in Action Jul/Aug 2022
College campuses are notorious for their hostility toward the things of God. Such animosity deters some people…
A Memorial and a Name
I recently ran across a Pew Research study that sought to discover what Americans know about the Holocaust…
Apples of Gold Jul/Aug 2022
There are many ultra-Orthodox organizations here in Israel. Each one is filled with people who want to show how faithfully they work against those…
The Friends of Israel in Action May/Jun 2022
Nobody has enjoyed COVID-19 lockdowns. But even when the government makes leaving home impossible, God can still take…
How Going to Israel Strengthened My Faith
For many Christians, touring and studying in the land of Israel is a once-in-a-lifetime…
Apples of Gold May/Jun 2022
People in Israel are always trying to find something new and interesting. For a long time, the ultra-Orthodox Jews promoted as messiah a man from New York City…
The Healing Substance of Serving
The evangelical church today is divided. Some parishioners contend the church isn’t “woke” enough—not alert enough…
The Friends of Israel in Action Mar/Apr 2022
The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry (FOI) has launched an exciting new work called Encounter to expose Christians to the…
Apples of Gold Mar/Apr 2022
Many dictators, like Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin, have called themselves righteous; and people, like sheep, worship them. Such people persecute the Chosen People…
The Friends of Israel in Action Jan/Feb 2022
In God’s grace, He delights in using us to make known His kindness that leads men and women to repentance (Rom. 2:4)…
Happy New Year!
Fireworks. Noisy parties. Large quantities of food and drink. That’s how many people welcome the new year. Observant Jewish people, on the other hand…
Discipleship: The Lifeblood of the Church
The saved and sanctified halls of Christendom are sadly strewn with the remains of weak, passive…
Apples of Gold Jan/Feb 2022
Many people do not want to talk about the Holocaust, especially the elderly, who suffered in the death camps as I did. Our young people know of the…
From the Editor Nov/Dec 2021
When I was eight years old, I had a friend named Mary. She moved to Vermont from California, lived two houses away, and attended Catholic school. Every year I’d…
The Friends of Israel in Action Nov/Dec 2021
There would be no Christmas without Hanukkah. That’s a fact! Hanukkah commemorates God’s divine…
We Stand With Israel!
There is no authority on Earth except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. That may seem like a strange statement in view of…
Apples of Gold Nov/Dec 2021
The ultra-Orthodox in Israel try to milk people out of their money. They always find something new to sell. Lately they have been…
Like William Henry Hechler
Theodor Herzl, the father of modern Zionism, considered William Henry Hechler the first Christian Zionist…
The Friends of Israel in Action Sep/Oct 2021
Polish nationalism and the place of Jewish people in Polish society have taken some troubling turns recently…
Apples of Gold Sep/Oct 2021
Deuteronomy 16:19 says, “You shall not . . . take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous.” Therefore, it is written…
God Doesn’t ‘Cancel’ Us
A missionary and church planter found himself in a difficult position when the members of the so-called cancel culture endeavored to silence him…
The Friends of Israel in Action Jul/Aug 2021
It was a beautifully mild, sunny, spring day when our field representative Dr. Juan Carlos Espinoza set up his table in a local park…
My Sweet Monty
The first Bible story I heard as a little girl was the story of Abraham. I was 5 years old; yet when I heard the word bless, I knew it was something good…
The Journey of Processing Pain
Nineteen years ago in March, our only daughter left for work in the morning, never to come home. We remember that day…
Apples of Gold Jul/Aug 2021
Israel is filled with many false teachers. They grow like mushrooms after the rain. They are extremely active, and every few days we see a new “holy one.” Many people here believe…
From the Editor May/Jun 2021
Shortly after I became a Christian in 1980, I was invited to a luncheon sponsored by the local branch of a nondenominational, evangelical Christian organization…