Faith Check
Every January 1, gym memberships, health foods, self-improvement plans, time-scheduling charts, and Bible-reading programs are in popular demand…
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Jewish World Update Jan/Feb 2024
Senior Hamas terrorist Ali Baraka openly admitted recently how Hamas duped Israel and the United States into complacency…
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…
Inside View Nov/Dec 2023
Are you familiar with the World Economic Forum (WEF)? Whether you know the name or not, you certainly are feeling its effects as we witness the…
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…
U.S. Release of Iranian Assets Creates Conundrum for Israel
Critics are accusing President Joe Biden’s administration of succumbing to extortion…
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…
Denominational Delusion
Toying with the Bible is like a game of Jenga: Rejecting one scriptural doctrine leads to the collapse of a truly biblical worldview…
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…
Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh
I’m sure he meant well, but the president of the United States was not supposed to kiss the Queen Mother of the United Kingdom…
Bridging the Gaping Chasm
What an experience it must have been. For 400 years, the Israelites lived in Egypt, a land whose gods were as numerous as the…
God’s Holy Mishkan
God’s revelation concerning the Israelites’ Tabernacle covers 50 chapters in the Old Testament, while His revelation about the creation of the world…
How Does a Church Lose Its First Love?
Christ commended the Ephesian church for its zeal and service to God. He recognized the believers’ devotion in…
Holiness Today: The New Administration
God chose Israel to be a holy nation. He told the Israelites, “You shall be holy to Me, for I the LORD am holy…
One Righteous Christmas Present!
Remember a television commercial that goes like this? A woman steps out of her house on a snow-covered morning…
Discovering the Danite Migration
Apostasy ran rampant within Israel during the difficult days of the judges when “there was no king in Israel…
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…
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…
Jewish World Update Nov/Dec 2023
Israeli Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli recently objected to the German government allowing comparisons between the…
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…
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…
Walking the Fine Line
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas recently visited China at the invitation of President Xi Jinping. Last year, the Chinese Communist Party leader promised…
Is Israel’s Gaza Policy Working?
The recent round of hostilities between Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip has sparked a debate over Israel’s…
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…
The Early Warning System
British physician John Scott Haldane noticed a problem as he observed miners working underground: By the time they…
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…
Signed, Sealed, Delivered
Most people want a stamp of affirmation when they complete a transaction. All types of affirmation exist…
The Difference Between ‘Do’ and ‘Done’
If you’re like me, you examine the guarantee offered when you buy a product. The better the guarantee, the more confident you are…
In Jesus’ Words
For many who come to faith in Jesus Christ, the phrase once saved, always saved plays an integral part in their discipleship. For others, eternal security is a false teaching…
What Does It Mean to Partake of the Divine Nature?
Originally, humanity was created perfect by God. People possessed a perfect…
Unconfused!
Paul and Peter wrote 59 percent of the New Testament’s 27 books. Paul wrote 14 (some people believe he also wrote Hebrews), and Peter wrote two…
4 Common Misconceptions About Eternal Security
As I sat at a sidewalk café with a parishioner and her husband one sunny afternoon…
Israel’s ‘Pearl Harbor’
Spies warned that conflict was imminent. Enemy troops were visibly massing. Yet, when the attack came on October 6, 1973—Yom Kippur…
Judging the Book of Judges
The book of Judges chronicles cycles of Israel’s discipline and deliverance as the Israelites settled in the land of Canaan…
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…
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.
Jewish World Update Sep/Oct 2023
The New York Times Jerusalem bureau chiefs and columnists have long referred to Israeli “occupied territory…”
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…
Inside View Jul/Aug 2023
The Jewish people are returning to Israel! Since the persecution of Jewish people in Eastern Europe in the late 19th century, many Jewish immigrants have…
Let’s Get Back to Basics!
The Netanyahu government’s judicial reform proposal caused political gridlock in Israel earlier this year…
Understanding the Iran-Saudi Reconciliation Agreement
Historical archrivals Iran and…
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…
Will the Real Israel Please Stand Up?
They stand on the street corner, shouting at White passersby and preaching a message of hatred…
‘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’…
Building Up, Not Tearing Down
The Bible Jesus and the apostles used was the Old Testament because no New Testament existed in the…
The Enduring LXX
The oldest translation of the Hebrew Scriptures is called the Septuagint, usually identified as the LXX, Roman numerals that stand for 70…
The Jewishness of Peter
Newsflash: The apostle Simon Peter was not a Roman Catholic. He did not consider Rome his homeland, and he certainly…
Peter and the Gospel of Mark
It was well attested in the early church that Peter was the source of Mark’s Gospel. Papias of Hierapolis…
The Jewish Tanakh
Have you ever wondered why Jesus used the phrase from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah (Mt. 23:35) when He…
Q: What Is a Biblical Mystery?
A mystery is something that is difficult or impossible to understand or explain. It has a secret quality whose meaning is…
The Gospel of the King
Many people are confused by the relationship between the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) and the New Testament. Both were penned by Jewish men…
Sermon on the Mount
One of the most often-quoted passages in the New Testament is Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (Mt. 5—7). Delivered to His disciples atop a mountain near Capernaum…
3 Proofs and a Mystery
When the apostle Paul’s epistles and the Epistle to the Hebrews were written in the 1st century AD, the only Holy Scriptures accepted in the synagogues and churches were…
Paul: God Has Not Abandoned Israel!
Throughout the ages, some Christians have claimed the negligible number of Jewish people who possess…
When Joshua Conquered Hazor
Joshua conquered the Canaanite city of Hazor during his northern campaign (Josh. 11:10–11)…
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…
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…
Jewish World Update Jul/Aug 2023
The war in Ukraine helped to resolve a bitter diplomatic crisis between Israel and Poland over the Holocaust…
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…
From the Editor May/Jun 2023
The Lord has been gracious to The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry (FOI) as we seek to proclaim biblical truth about Israel, the Messiah, and God’s Chosen People…
Inside View May/Jun 2023
On our tours to the Holy Land, I teach each group about modern Israel. Many Christians don’t realize what it took to bring a country into existence…
Who Rules the Roost?
The Israeli government’s proposal to reform its judiciary drew wide-ranging international criticism earlier this year. In an article titled “Israel unveils…
UN Seeks to Brand Israel as Occupier
The United Nations General Assembly recently asked the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to provide a…
The Friends of Israel in Action May/Jun 2023
We often hear the same questions asked at our Friends of Israel (FOI) prophecy conferences…
Tolerance for Some: Antisemitism in the Age of Social Justice
Victims of injustice have long found hope in the story of the Israelites…
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…
Jerusalem of Gold
If you’ve never been to Jerusalem, it’s time you made the trip. But if you can’t go in person, I suggest you relax, put your feet up, and come with me…
Q: Does God Really Know Me?
The answer to the title’s question is an unequivocal yes! God is omniscient and knows everything about your life…
Via Dolorosa
The traditional route Jesus traveled to His crucifixion, known in Latin as the Via Dolorosa (Way of Sorrow), is debated. We know Jesus appeared before…
Gordon’s Calvary
There is a distinctive, rocky outcropping north of Jerusalem that, in 1842, Otto Thenius, a German preacher, proposed to be the actual place of Christ’s crucifixion…
The Garden Tomb
Nothing compares to taking communion while sitting on the benches in the picturesque setting of the Garden Tomb in Jerusalem. Considered by many…
The Mount of Olives
The Mount of Olives is the best place to stand in Israel to get a bird’s-eye view of Bible prophecy. Perched “on the mountain, which is on the east side of the…
Bethlehem
A short bus ride from Jerusalem lies the city of Bethlehem. It is located a mere six miles south of Israel’s capital in what traditionally was Judea and today is called…
Valley of Elah
One of the most famous upsets of all time took place in the Valley of Elah: The Israelite shepherd boy David slew the Philistine warrior giant, Goliath…
Joppa
On the edge of the Mediterranean Sea, in an ancient section of what is now Tel Aviv, lies one of the oldest cities in the world: Joppa (also called Jaffa and Yafo)…
Caesarea Maritime
When I lead our Up to Jerusalem tours to Israel, I enjoy seeing the excitement of those who have never seen the Holy Land. On our first full day of touring…
Mount Carmel
My college professor once invited a missionary to speak in our class on the history of the Christian faith. She had spent many months providing…
Megiddo
In 2002, the CBS television news show 60 Minutes ran a segment on what it proposed motivated evangelical support for Israel. The broadcast claimed we believe that…
Gideon’s Spring
Scripture teaches time and time again that bad choices lead to bad outcomes. Man’s disregard for God and His Word leads to destruction…
Caesarea Philippi
The crystal water rippling through the springs of the Banias Nature Reserve creates an idyllic background for visitors walking through Caesarea Philippi…
Sea of Galilee
The Sea of Galilee is Israel’s largest freshwater lake and the lowest freshwater lake on Earth, lying 700 feet below sea level. It measures slightly more than…
Masada
Spectacular. Mighty. Imposing. Remarkable. All these words aptly describe this desert plateau that rises more than 1,400 feet above the shores of…
En Gedi
The landscape surrounding the Dead Sea looks like something from another world. Barren mountains of rock, crystalized salt formations, and sinkholes…
Happy Birthday, Israel!
In a small room in faraway British Mandate Palestine, Jewish statesman David Ben-Gurion rose to his feet before an assembly of Jewish dignitaries…
The Witness of Joshua’s Altar
Joshua built an altar to the Lord on Mount Ebal as a place of worship and witness (Josh. 8:30–31). He constructed…
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…”
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!”…
Jewish World Update May/Jun 2023
The concepts of “Palestinians” and “Palestine” are political tools used to subvert, demonize, and destroy the Jews’…
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…
From the Editor Mar/Apr 2023
Publishing is an interesting industry. We must do everything very far in advance to meet our deadlines. I’m writing this column on December 2, 2022, but you’re reading…
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…
Iranian Drones in Ukraine: Warm-up for Israel?
Russia’s use of Iranian-made, unmanned drones in its war against Ukraine is…
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…
Anti-Zionism: The Modern Antisemitism
“There’s going to be an anti-Israel protest downtown,” my friend said. “I think we need to do something.” The next day, we…
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…
Behind the Book
Reading the book of Esther is like reading a novel filled with suspense. Chock-full of intrigue, heroism, pathos, and deception, it holds your attention from beginning to end…