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…
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…
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…
What Happened to the Tikvah?
As the coordinator for the Tikvah Team, The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry’s volunteer network, I am grateful…
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…
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…
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…
Are You Blessing the World?
In October 2000, two Israel Defense Forces reservists accidentally entered the Palestinian city of Ramallah…
Giving Thanks for the Unseen
Young children’s prayers are often sweet and simple. Many of us spoke such prayers during our own childhoods…
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…
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…
Faith Check
Every January 1, gym memberships, health foods, self-improvement plans, time-scheduling charts, and Bible-reading programs are in popular demand…
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…
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.
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…
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!”…
How Do You Spell “Love”?
The “Joy” ship—what a misnomer! I thought. I had reluctantly returned to my unfittingly named Norwegian cruise ship…
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…
Just a Closer Walk With Thee
Did you know people can be disciples of just about anything? Sports teams, fitness programs, and celebrities all have…
Just a Closer Walk With Thee
People are lonely. Research studies show that today, Americans in particular have decreasing family sizes; fewer friends with…
Just a Closer Walk With Thee
It happens almost every Sunday. When a church service begins, most of us aren’t quite ready to worship…
Just a Closer Walk With Thee
As a boy, I got a little anxious each Sunday morning when my parents stopped at a convenience store to buy mints…
Just A Closer Walk With Thee
If you learned $3 million dollars in gold lay buried somewhere in your backyard, would you try to dig it up?…
Just A Closer Walk With Thee
The late U.S. President George H. W. Bush famously hated broccoli. Some claim he mentioned the fact at least 70 times while…
Living for God
Nick Foles is an NFL quarterback. He became famous for leading the Philadelphia Eagles to their first-ever Super Bowl win in 2018 and was named…
How to Obtain True Wisdom
Advice is cheap. Wisdom is rare. King Solomon said, “Happy is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who…
Controlling Our Tongues
Eating crow is never fun. The good news is we never have to eat words we fail to speak. Words are powerful…
Strengthening Your Faith
Board game or boardroom, everyone hates being neutralized. Having our influence or effectiveness nullified by an adversary…
Overcoming Prejudice
From elementary schools to nursing homes, prejudice is everywhere. Often, we reject or accept one another based on superficial observations because…
Choose Joy!
What does every believer need but no believer wants? The answer, as you might guess, is trials. We don’t want the difficulties and hardships that come our way…
A Birthday Party for the Ages
When I was growing up, Christmas was like a Norman Rockwell painting. We always had a real pine tree…
Building on Jesus
In October 2018, a massive Category 5 hurricane side-swiped the Hawaiian Islands. Named Walaka, it was one of the most intense hurricanes ever recorded in…
The Heart Attack
“We have no pulse.” Those were the words my wife heard as the paramedics transported me to the hospital. The events of that evening were nothing short of miraculous…
The Giants
Relevant preaching. Authentic worship music. A community atmosphere. Many American churches today use those phrases to advertise the uniqueness of their…
Significant Moments
A young pastor and his wife thought they were the last people to leave church following the evening service. The parking lot appeared empty and dark…
Tomorrow’s Unknown Twins
Tomorrow is unpredictable. No one knows what it will bring. The ups, downs, twists, and turns of life…
Herod the ‘Believer’
The learned magi in the strange caravan were asking dangerous questions when they arrived in Jerusalem. Their quest had taken them on a long journey…
Leave the Light On for Me
For more than 30 years, a motel chain in the United States has offered a warm welcome to its customers by telling them, “We’ll leave the light on for you”…
Pay It Forward
Have you ever heard of International Pay It Forward Day? Every April 28, in an attempt to transform the world for the better, a global movement encourages people to…
An Appeal for Spontaneity
In the short, handwritten note from the apostle Paul to his friend Philemon, we step into a captivating story of grace and divine providence…
The Godly Mailman
It was time—time for the runaway slave to return home to face whatever consequences awaited him. He had been away long enough. Onesimus was a fugitive. He had fled to Rome where he…
Trash to Treasure
The roomful of men sat transfixed as they listened several years ago to the story of the elderly gentleman standing before them. The stark concrete room alternately filled with waves of laughter and…
The Bucket List
If today were your last day on Earth, would you be satisfied with your life? Many people who have unclear answers to such a question create bucket lists. Making a bucket list has become a popular exercise to help define what constitutes a satisfactory life…
Cultivating Contentment
A story is often told about a Jewish man in Hungary who complained to his rabbi, “Life is unbearable. Nine of us are living in one room. What can I do?” The rabbi answered, “Take your goat into the room with you. Do as I say and return in a week…”
Deciding to Trust God
I recently read about a man who was flying an airliner over Tennessee. He told his copilot, “You see that lake down there? When I was a boy, I used to sit in a rowboat on that lake and watch the airplanes soar across the sky and wish I were up there. Now I’m a pilot…
Unexpected Grace
Harry was one of those unforgettable characters. We were climbing a mountain during a thunderstorm when he said he needed to tell me something…
When We Hurt
Easter was the next morning. I was at church, tired but rejoicing after three packed-out presentations of our church’s passion play that weekend. Hundreds of people…
Distracted Living
A new year has begun, and new prospects are on the horizon. The Bible challenges us to spend our time wisely and avoid wasting opportunities: “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because…
Christmas Bedlam
For many of us, Christmas is far from the “silent night” and “peace on earth” we sing about. Copious community events, school concerts, and church programs fill the season.
Do I Have To?
Do I have to? Those four little words frequently crossed my mind and sometimes my lips in response to my parents’ directives during the formative years of my life. The inevitable consequences and pressure to conform…
Hide-and-Seek
I recently heard someone sarcastically compare man’s relationship to God to a cruel game of hide-and-seek where God supposedly hides slightly out of reach and demands to be found. Man is “it”—seeking the ever-elusive God but never able to find or please Him.
Who is This Person?
What if you looked in a mirror and were unable to recognize yourself? Unfortunately, this type of thing happens. Sometimes traumatic brain injuries or diseases make it difficult for people to recognize faces, even their own. The condition is known as…
Open the Door!
Years ago, young people were always afraid of being picked last. The humiliation of standing alone while your peers pondered which team was going to be stuck with you was devastating. Even being picked second to last was…
God is Up to Something
The scattered stones and ruins of the ancient city of Philippi silently lay in the bright Grecian sun. Standing there, as I scanned the landscape around me, the organized rubble seemed to shout, “This is the place! This is the place…