Chai, Chai, V’Kayam Conclusion
Growing up I always loved to dance the hora, a Hebrew folk dance that was stomped to merrily while singing “Hava Nagilah.” We also danced to another Hebrew song. The words go like this: Dovid…
WOMEN OF THE BIBLE
Chai, Chai, V’Kayam Part One
Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird. It’s a plane. It’s a superhero who was killed and came back to life then was killed again and came back to life then killed someone else…
The Perfect Triad
If I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard that the Israelites made it through the Red Sea because it was low tide or because they “knew where the stones were,” I’d be rich…
The Two-for One Deliverance Conclusion
While I was taking a boat tour of a recreational lake in Western New York years ago, my guide pointed to a magnificent home gracing the water’s shores. It dwarfed the smaller, more modest…
The Two-for-One Deliverance Part One
More than 20 years ago I had a friend whom I’ll call Jill. I telephoned her one afternoon, and her husband answered. “She can’t come to the phone,” he said. “She’s up…
Mary Magdalene: Setting the Record Straight
Seventeenth-century philosopher Joseph Hall once said, “A reputation once broken may possibly be repaired, but the world will always keep their eyes on the spot where the crack was.” How true. Worse yet…
Just Like Jezebel Conclusion
What does it take to convince someone that he believes a lie? Cold, hard facts? A visible, bona fide, supernatural occurrence? Sometimes even these don’t work. They didn’t work with Jezebel even after the greatest
Just Like Jezebel Part One
Mike Wallace of 60 Minutes fame has never been my favorite television reporter. He always seems a little too arrogant—too sure of himself. But after the Pentagon and World Trade Center tragedies of 9/11…
Hannah and the God Who Hears Conclusion
I had been a Christian only two years when a dear friend gave me a book titled Hinds’ Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard. “It’s wonderful,” she said. “You’ll love it.”
Hannah and the God Who Hears Part One
Our greatest tragedies in life sometimes produce our greatest triumphs. And when our answer more clearly than ever and to use our sorrows to draw us infinitely closer to Him. I know from firsthand experience. After…
The End of the Line Conclusion
Nothing thwarts the God of Israel. He alone is sovereign. He alone declares the end from the beginning “and from ancient times things that are not yet done, Saying, ‘my counsel shall stand…
The End of the Line Part One
World War II was a little before my time—a very little. But I don’t recall a day in my life that I didn’t know about it. Growing up Jewish, and being a first-generation American…
Are You A Naomi? Conclusion
Vacation Bible School was just around the corner. And a welcome corner it was, too. The weather always seemed perfect in North Carolina, and I looked forward to…
Are You a Naomi? Part One
I’m not much of a shopper. My favorite place in the mall is probably the ice cream parlor, where I’ve spent many a pleasant moment contemplating the virtues of hot fudge versus butterscotch…
A Step in the Wrong Direction
A pastor in the Midwest tells about his early years trying to shepherd a church that his entire family attended—sisters, brothers, and father. Apparently it wasn’t easy. During a business meeting when he was trying desperately…
Miracle Mother Conclusion
Logically speaking, the State of Israel should not exist. Five fully armed Arab nations tried to snuff it out at birth in 1948. Nevertheless, with few weapons; no air force; no navy; and an “army”…
Miracle Mother Part Two
Satan is the master of deceit. He can disguise his deceptions so brilliantly they often appear the epitome of logic and right thinking. But faith often contradicts logic. God’s ways are not our ways…
Miracle Mother Part One
Biblically speaking, Gentiles probably have more right to question God’s miracles than do Jewish people. After all, it wasn’t the Gentiles for whom God plagued Egypt or parted the Red Sea. It wasn’t the Gentiles…
A Widow’s Christmas
The worst Christmas I ever had was the year my first husband died. It wasn’t the loneliness that did me in; it was the self-pity. As a young widow, I was faced with raising my four-year-old…
The Seeker Conclusion
It isn’t a good time to be Jewish these days. In Israel, Jews are being murdered almost daily by Arabs determined to remove them from the tiny sliver of land they still have left in the Middle East…
The Seeker Part One
King Solomon spoke three thousand proverbs and fifteen hundred songs (1 Ki. 4:32). The epitome of the philosopher-king, he was unequaled in wealth and wisdom, and his fame spread throughout the world. He ruled during…
His Mercy Endureth Forever Conclusion
To all those who truly repent, God omable wisdom, He distinguishes the weak from the strong, the humble from the proud, and tries the hearts of all men. Somewhere along the way, the Most High…
His Mercy Endureth Forever Part One
A well-known entertainer in Hollywood gave his life to the Lord many years ago. But money, fame, and corruption began to do their work…
Looking for Christmas
A dispute raged a few years ago over whether to allow a manger scene in front of a local municipal building. A lady in town reportedly opined, “Isn’t it a shame that we…
The Eyes of Faith Conclusion
My friend’s father had a heart attack in February. Renée told me her dad was in the maternity ward of a hospital, visiting his newborn grandson, when he suddenly slumped over in a chair. Seconds…
The Eyes of Faith Part One
I’m from Missouri,” was a popular saying years ago. Often those who said it weren’t from Missouri at all but were expressing skepticism about something. They were saying, “Show me, and I’ll believe.” “Show me…
Happy Mother’s Day
Donald Grey Barnhouse, a great man of God who ministered for many years at Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia until his death in 1960, once told the true story of a boy whose mother died…
Deborah A Mother in Israel
Some people are unlikely leaders. On the surface, they appear to lack the distinctives we usually associate with greatness. David, for example, was a shepherd boy, a dreamer, who wrote songs and played a harp—qualities…
The Virgin Mary
Christmas is approaching. And as people the world over look forward to the gifts, decorations, and tinsel of the season, those of us who love the traditional carols anticipate with joy the sweet strains…
Mother Rachel Conclusion
Barrenness was an extreme source of shame and disgrace in ancient Israel, and Rachel’s barrenness only worsened her relationship with her sister Leah. It was bad enough they shared a husband.
Mother Rachel Part One
They come by the thousands, bringing their prayer books, their handkerchiefs, their heartaches and tears. Some weep quietly; others cry uncontrollably. But almost all of them cry. These are the Jewish women who come…
Too Far Gone
Some people claim good leadership is all it takes to turn a country around. But sometimes nations can slide so completely down the sewer of moral degradation that God finally flushes the pipes and clears…
In His Hand
As fall chilled the air last year, Gwyne Campbell traveled home to New Jersey to attend a wedding. Shortly before she was to return to Word of Life Bible Institute in Schroon Lake, New York…
Bewitched
Are you a Muggle? What! You don’t know? Then you must be one of the few people in America who haven’t read a Harry Potter book (Scholastic)—a slickly dressed, literary version of a wolf…
Beware: Snake In the Grass
I was a relatively new believer when I heard an older, wiser woman tell a story I will never forget. She looked somewhat disheartened and bedraggled—the symptomatic side effects of having many mouths to feed…