It was May 1942 in German-occupied Netherlands during World War II. In the city of Rotterdam, the Nazis hunted down and deported Jews to concentration camps. A young Jewish couple, Rebecca and Maurice, entered the Breeplein Church, desperately looking for help. The warden and his wife greeted them warmly. They had never met the Jewish […]
Persecution is the norm in the world; it is not the exception. The persecution of Christians, regardless of the brand of Christianity, is very real today.1 One of the most important lessons we must teach new believers in certain Asian and African countries is that they will face persecution. It is human nature to persecute minorities […]
I don’t know about you, but lately I have not been able to shake off the feeling that certain changes in our society have reached a critical new level. Let me illustrate how they may have begun for any of us: someone forwarded a video of a personality saying something outrageous, only for you to […]
Is it God, Satan, chance, or global warming that sends bad weather? The Bible answers plainly.
God’s Role
First, the Bible shows that God is in control of the weather. For instance, even the winds “obey” Jesus when He commands them. Matt. 8:26, 27. God made the world as a wonderful machine. The sun […]
What a difference a couple of weeks makes, I thought after talking to an elderly relative by phone about the social upheaval of COVID-19. She is 86, resides in the center of a European capital, and lived through the Second World War. Not even then, she remembered, were the streets so deserted (except when they […]
Abuse, whether experienced as a child, through a violent act, or within the home, leaves scars that can last a lifetime. God is our healer and our helper in all our pain and trials. He has given us doctors, counselors, friends, and family members who will walk with us through the healing process. But what […]
When someone’s future is about to take a sudden change for the worse we often say, “the handwriting is on the wall.” Did you know this expression comes from a story 2,500 years old? A story filled with sobering parallels for our day. Babylon’s last king, Belshazzar, was an extravagant and proud idolater. He was […]
Recently, a radio host asked clergy from a variety of faiths to list the Ten Commandments. The majority could only list seven of them. Some did far worse. Only the Jewish Rabbi got them all, and in order! As this radio program revealed, the Ten Commandments have fallen on hard times. And if religious leaders […]
I should have known better. Waking up that summer morning with some pain, I quickly realized that I was quite unprepared for the birth of our second child. As I brushed up on breathing techniques for labor while gulping down my breakfast, threw together my hospital bag, and watered my plants, I wondered when I […]
On the early evening of April 15, 2019, a fast-moving fire broke out on the wooden roof and spire of the Paris Notre Dame Cathedral. It was likely caused by a spark from renovations in the attic. The cathedral is a jewel of medieval Gothic architecture and has been a central landmark not only for […]