CHRISTIAN LIVING

Sparrow

More Valuable Than Sparrows

God cares about every detail of our lives, and submitting to His sovereign plan leads to life everlasting…

Rightly Dividing

Paul’s Principles for Prayer

“Exclusive of the Psalms, which form a prayer-book on their own, the Bible records no fewer than 650 definite prayers…

Faith for Living

Becoming a Bondslave

How do you respond to surprises? A late-night knock on the front door, a sudden job termination, or an unexpected marriage proposal…

Apples of Gold

Apples of Gold Nov/Dec 2025

There are many stiff-necked people in Israel (Isa. 6:9–10). But the Lord calls us who follow Jesus to go to them so they may hear with their own ears…

Rightly Dividing

Paul’s Thankfulness

The Bible admonishes believers to be constantly and consistently thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will. Jesus’ brother James wrote, “My brethren…

Faith for Living

To Know Him and Be Like Him

If you knew what it would take to spread the gospel message throughout the known world in the 1st century AD and you could…

Apples of Gold

Apples of Gold Sep/Oct 2025

I often take the bus to Jerusalem. The things I hear on my rides are hard to believe. This week, my wife and I took our seats on the bus next to several ultra-Orthodox…

Redeem Your Suffering

Scripture tells us, “Man is born to trouble, as the sparks fly upward” (Job 5:7). Most people in this life suffer, and the apostle…

Rightly Dividing

Introduction to Colossians

Although the apostle Paul penned the book of Colossians nearly 2,000 years ago, its message rings as true today as when he…

Faith for Living

A Midnight Song in Philippi

The city of Philippi awoke one morning, unaware that change was coming. It was a bustling Gentile metropolis in the Roman…

Apples of Gold

Apples of Gold Jul/Aug 2025

I often feel like a lamb among wolves (Lk. 10:3) while sharing God’s Word on the streets of Israel. But what I share from the Bible often surprises the people with…

The Touch of the Master’s Hand

Whether He uses five loaves and two fish or an “I love Israel” sticker, God skillfully transforms the ordinary into…

Rightly Dividing

God’s Sufficiency

When an army goes to war, its survival and success in battle depend on a lifeline of supplies. Likewise, missionaries who go forth to preach the gospel…

Faith for Living

What Happened to the Tikvah?

As the coordinator for the Tikvah Team, The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry’s volunteer network, I am grateful…

Apples of Gold

Apples of Gold May/Jun 2025

Many people in Israel find no rest because they are too busy speaking against people like me who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ…

Requirements for Retirement

Is there more to retirement for a Christian than rest and relaxation? I’m a product of The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry…

Rightly Dividing

The Contented Life

Contentment is a difficult word to define. It varies based on each person’s values and perspective on life. Some people believe pleasure, popularity, prestige, power…

Faith for Living

Malchus’s Encounter With Jesus

Rising in the morning, Malchus didn’t know his time was near. He had no clue his blood would be shed that evening as he shared…

Apples of Gold

Apples of Gold Mar/Apr 2025

We are celebrating Passover here in Israel. Children and their parents happily sing “Avadim Hayinu,” a song with one sentence…

Rightly Dividing

The Path to Peace

Everyone faces discouragement. The Jewish patriarch Moses became so discouraged with the Israelites’ complaints for meat in the wilderness that he said…

Faith for Living

The Wedding Dress

In 2017, tennis legend Serena Williams drew headlines when she reportedly paid $3.5 million for her wedding dress.1 As of 2023, a wedding gown costs…

Apples of Gold

Apples of Gold Jan/Feb 2025

From time to time, I enjoy long discussions with my Arab neighbors. They often speak to me hatefully. But we who believe in the Lord cannot respond with hate…

Answering the Call

Two millennia ago, God sent His Son, Jesus, on a mission of redemption that Jesus successfully completed on the cross at Calvary…

The Death of John the Baptist

The wine flowed freely throughout the lavish banquet hall. The occasion was the pagan birthday celebration of Herod Antipas…

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…

Rightly Dividing

Steadfast in Unity

We live in a changing, decaying, unraveling world. A general increase in lawlessness and crime, government regulations, high taxes, poor education, and a…

Faith for Living

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

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…

Rightly Dividing

The Christian’s Walk

The writers of Scripture often used the word walk to describe the Christian’s conduct or manner of life. The apostle Paul instructed Christians to…

Faith for Living

Are You Blessing the World?

In October 2000, two Israel Defense Forces reservists accidentally entered the Palestinian city of Ramallah…

Apples of Gold

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…

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…

Rightly Dividing

One Thing I Do

Professional athletes devote their lives to the pursuit of a prize. They focus all their efforts on reaching their goals, putting aside all distractions…

Faith for Living

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

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…

Conquering our Kvetching

My beloved mother was a five-star kvetch. This Yiddish term describes a habitual complainer—and my mother was…

Rightly Dividing

Paul’s Testimony

Contending for the faith is not easy. It’s an unpopular, perilous, thankless job. It is more pleasant to be an appeaser than an opposer…

Faith for Living

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

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…

Why Do You Love Israel?

Picture this: A Jewish man who has embraced Jesus as his Messiah waves the flag of Israel and sings…

I’m Forgiven—Now What?

If you have placed your faith in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, you may be wondering about the practical implications…

Rightly Dividing

Words of Warning

Life is full of warnings. The Internet, TV, and billboards bombard us regularly with warnings, telling us what to think, believe, and do…

Apples of Gold

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…

The Sweet Psalmist of Israel

Imagine an aging, frail King David (1 Ki. 1:1) reflecting back on his life—his mind flooded with moments of joy and sadness…

Rightly Dividing

Paul’s Partners

The apostle Paul personally discipled several committed men who partnered with him in spreading the gospel. Most of them came to salvation in Christ during…

Faith for Living

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

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…

Rightly Dividing

Patterning Christlikeness

Many godly men and women in the Bible serve as examples for us of how to live for Christ. They trusted God’s…

Faith for Living

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

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…

Inside View - Clock Gears

Inside View Sep/Oct 2023

Recently, I have had trouble seeing clearly. My doctor attributes my struggles with vision to advancing cataracts, which must be removed…

Rightly Dividing

The Mind of Christ

In Philippians 2:3–4, Paul admonished Christians to live in spiritual unity with one another. Nothing was to be done within the church through selfish ambition…

Faith for Living

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

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…

Rightly Dividing

Spiritual Unity

The 6th-century BC Greek storyteller Aesop, whose oral tales compose the famous Aesop’s Fables, has been credited with the origin of the…

Faith for Living

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

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…

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…

Rightly Dividing

To Live is Christ

An old martyr once told his executioners, “You take a life from me that I cannot keep and bestow a life upon me that I cannot lose…”

Apples of Gold

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 - Clock Gears

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…

God & Money

The popular musical Hello Dolly! had many memorable lines; but my favorite is this one: “Money,” said Dolly Levi, “pardon the expression, is like manure…

Rightly Dividing

Rejoicing in Christ

If anyone had a reason to ask, “Why me?” it was the apostle Paul. No one who followed Christ suffered more for the gospel than he did…

Faith for Living

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

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)…

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…

Rightly Dividing

Paul’s Joy

Several years ago, we received a Thanksgiving Day card titled “Blessed and Grateful.” The sender wrote, “We hope your celebration of God’s blessings is…

Faith for Living

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

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…

Antique fountain pen on parchment.

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…

The Fallacy of Fictionalism

Scott Hershovitz is a philosophy professor and director of law and ethics at the University of Michigan…

Until He Comes

“I want your room cleaned up before I get home!” Sound familiar? Parents often leave directives like these for their children before leaving the house…