One February night in 1993, 20-year-old Laramiun Byrd decided to go to a party with some friends. In the heat of a hostile exchange with another group there, he was fatally shot by 16-year-old Oshea Israel. Oshea was arrested and sentenced to 25 years for second-degree murder. Looking back on his youth, Oshea says, “I […]
Yolanda Beavers urgently needed a miracle. After struggling for years with dilated cardiomyopathy, an irreversible heart condition where the heart enlarges and weakens, Yolanda’s doctors told her they had exhausted all their medical options to keep her alive. She would need a heart transplant soon, or she would die. Organ donors are few and far […]
A father and his nine-year-old daughter were playing in the ocean when suddenly the tide began to go out, and they became separated by some distance. With the tide running so strongly against him, the father knew his only hope in reaching his daughter was to find help quickly. “Float and swim quietly,” he called. […]
“I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound… I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:11–13. Jubilant voices rang out and echoed on cold prison walls. When was the last time such joy had been heard […]
The following story illustrates why grieving families need the truth about death. “At my late father’s funeral, the priest attempted to comfort us with these words: ‘Did you know, dear friends, that Frank is up in heaven?’ “But despite the fact that my father was considered to be a very good man and the priest […]
During the days of the former USSR, members of a little church in southern Moldova had always wanted their own church building. But they were living in Soviet-occupied territory under a government that had little sympathy for Christianity. These church members were determined. With much prayer, they took all the necessary steps to obtain permission […]
“Take everything in my house for your mission, Elder Hare! The oriental carpets, the mahogany furniture, the china dishes—take them all! I can't use them anymore, and I would feel so much better if you had them.” Mrs. Ling was one of the wealthiest women in Rangoon, Burma, and she was in an extremely generous […]
Yolanda Beavers urgently needed a miracle. After struggling for years with dilated cardiomyopathy, an irreversible heart condition where the heart enlarges and weakens, Yolanda’s doctors told her they had exhausted all their medical options to keep her alive. She would need a heart transplant soon, or she would die. Organ donors are few and far […]
“Bad Bob”* rolled into his bunk on the submarine and opened the Bible. Another submariner had given it to him two years before, but he’d never looked inside. Now, he started at Genesis 1, planning to read it from cover to cover. His progress was slow. For a few years, he continued to read it […]
It is very early, still, and cold. I have never been here before, and as I await the dawn in suspense, I try to distinguish shapes in the black yawning chasm before me. The sky shifts gradually to gray and I catch glimpses of rocky peaks in a great emptiness. As dawn seeps into the […]