Proof The Bible Is True

I am not an alarmist, nor am I a prophet. But as I listen to and read a cross-section of materials emanating from the Western (primarily American) church I am aware that there are those who recognize a trend toward the persecution of Christians in the West. The form of the persecution will be different perhaps than other parts of the world. At some point it may converge with global persecution and take on more violent forms. In the premier issue of the Journal of Lutheran Mission are papers and responses from a Summit on Lutheran Missions held in San [More]

There is much talk about Christ’s soon Second Coming. But we know that Jesus will not return for a church without spot or wrinkle unless the falling away comes first… I wrote those words about 18 months ago in an article in which I asked the question: “Is the Great Falling Away Already Underway?” I was deeply concerned then that we could be witnessing the first fruits of the Great Falling Away about which the apostle Paul prophesies in 1 Thess. 2:3. I was concerned that we were at least seeing a shadow of the Great Apostasy. A couple of [More]

Shortly after I was healed from a life-threatening disease and baptized in the Holy Spirit, I was asked to minister in a Pentecostal church. There I was introduced to a dimension of worship that I had never experienced before. Sitting on the platform in my studied dignity as a former Methodist professor, observing the worship service that was so different from that to which I was accustomed, I was fascinated by all that was going on around me. Though their worship expression seemed disorderly—almost irreverent—in comparison with Methodist tradition, I could tell these people deeply loved the Lord and were [More]

Sometimes it’s easy to get our battles twisted. What are we really fighting for? What are we really fighting against? Christians in Nepal reminded me of the answer. During the first part of a recent trip to Nepal I helped distribute VOM’s Christmas Care and Village Outreach packs. VOM readers give to provide these packs each year around Christmas time. Nepal was a recipient of these packs last year. Nepal Girl Christmas CareDuring the distributions in the churches I got to meet many Nepali believers. I was astounded by their faith in spite of the odds their society stacks against [More]

“Would our response be the same if we faced such circumstances? Something to ponder.”  Admin The northern shores of Africa teemed with Christians during the second century, but all were at risk. In 180 seven men and five women were captured carrying “the sacred books, and the letters of Paul, a just man.” On July 17, 180 they appeared before the Roman proconsul Saturninus in Carthage. Charges against them were read: “Whereas Speratus, Nartzalus, Cittinus, Donata, Vestia, Secunda, and the rest have confessed they live in accordance with the religious rites of the Christians, and when an opportunity was given [More]

Daily Courage – July 20 from Day by Day with the Persecuted Church, The Lord watches over you – the Lord is your shade at your right hand. (Psalm 121:5) Sister Chen Difficulties, as high as mountains, come rushing towards me. Strong waves dash against my heel. When the power of darkness focuses on me to attack my faith, I lift my eyes to the hills and ask the Lord for help. He speaks to me, “My strength is made perfect in the weakness of men.” This is always a wonderful paradox. I therefore worship His way, with tears. The [More]

A federal judge has given a secular organization the green light to distribute more atheistic and anti-Christian materials to Florida public school students, in spite of the materials’ graphic content and offensive language. As previously reported, the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) learned last year that a Christian ministry had made Bibles available to Orlando high school students on “Religious Freedom Day.” To counter the Bible distribution, FFRF sought permission from the school district to give students a variety of atheistic and anti-Christian materials. According to reports, the Orange County School Board permitted FFRF to distribute several books and pamphlets, [More]

“Return to the Hiding Place,” a new film based on a true account of Corrie ten Boom’s secret army of untrained teenagers who rescued Jews from the Nazi Gestapo during the Holocaust, will hit theaters Oct. 24 after outperforming big-budget Hollywood showings in its initial release. Based on Hans Poley’s autobiographical book, the movie highlights themes of endurance, perseverance and faith through Poley’s experiences as a student resistance fighter during World War II. The message echoes the story of Anita Dittman, told in her book “Trapped in Hitler’s Hell.” Published in early May, Dittman’s book was accompanied by a documentary [More]

A number of scientists in recent years have stated that atheists might not actually exist, and that a belief in God is naturally ingrained into all people, prompting a recent article that is stirring discussion around the world. Last week, Nury Vittachi published a story entitled Scientists Discover That Atheists Might Not Exist, And That’s Not a Joke. In the article, Vittachi cites the works of several researchers, such as Graham Lawton and Pascal Boyer, who argue that belief in God is naturally ingrained into every person. “Cognitive scientists are becoming increasingly aware that a metaphysical outlook may be so [More]

Hit reality show creator Mark Burnett has had recent success creating biblical movies and television shows, and predicts that his next project, “A.D.: Beyond the Bible,” will be another goldmine. The NBC television series will begin filming in September, and premiere on Easter Sunday 2015. Burnett said it “could become NBC’s biggest series in many, many years.” “Beyond the Bible” begins after the resurrection of Christ, and follows the lives of King Herod’s family, Roman politicians, temple priests, and the disciples. Burnett said the storylines are powerful. “These disciples, after Jesus dies and resurrects, the Holy Spirit comes upon them [More]

Seven-year-old Priyala rested on her bed so motionless you would think she was dead. A fever, cough and stomach pains had taken over her body. Her mother, Marala, hated to stand idly by, not willing to give up her daughter. Priyala had attended the local Bridge of Hope center, and Marala knew, from everything her precious daughter had told her, that the staff were people who prayed. So she asked them to pray for her daughter. When they came to her home at the end of the day, Priyala’s father, Ganesh, turned them away, telling them he did not believe [More]

Early on, rejection led me to deny who I was. Because I saw women as victims, the last thing I wanted to be was a girl. It started out like any other Sunday morning. Mom was in the kitchen finishing her breakfast before heading off to the golf course. I stopped to chat with her briefly before going to church. Only this time our conversation turned sour. “What do you want from me?” my mom asked abruptly. Without thinking I shot back, “I want a mom!” “I don’t want to be a mom,” she said curtly. “I didn’t plan to [More]

There was a time when someone suffering from a heart attack had little chance of survival because he or she didn’t know what was happening and ignored the symptoms until it was too late. Medical advancements began identifying common warning signs such as discomfort and pressure in the center of the chest, pain on one or both arms, and shortness of breath. Spreading awareness of the warning signs has greatly increased the survival rate for heart attack victims. In a similar manner, many Christians seem to be blindsided by spiritual attacks. When it comes to a spiritual attack, it is [More]

“Would we make the same decision if faced with similar circumstances? Something to think about.”  Admin In a small village in Colombian, 139 indigenous believers had bravely chosen to leave their livelihoods and familiar homes rather than deny Christ. As they sat together, contemplating their situation, the enormous needs facing them were impossible to ignore. Some of them secretly wondered whether or not they had made the right decisions. The indigenous authorities in their village approached them last year with the demand that they sign a document renouncing their beliefs or face the consequences. Overwhelmed by what awaited them if [More]

“How we take for granted the Bibles we possess and for many seldom read, while others consider them a rare treasure worth any hardship to obtain and cherish, quite a contrast.”  Admin We recently recieved this report from Ted, a Christian worker serving in Nepal who connected with one of our VOM workers and participated in a day of VOM ministry outreach: The day began with a monthly prayer meeting for pastors. Approximately 60 pastors traveled the rough roads of Nepal and gathered for a wonderful time of worship, prayer, and fellowship. We prayed not only for Nepal, but also [More]

I picked up a recent copy of the International Bulletin of Missionary Research.  I like to read through the whole issue to keep informed about missions, so I read an article that I thought I would not relate to me or to anything that I do. I was wrong! The article was about East Syrian Monasteries in the Ninth Century! It turned out to be a great article that related to just about everything I do and love. It was about love for God and love for learning. I was struck by one of the author’s statements (Steve Cochrane): “The [More]

“A look at how God is moving in the Chinese church.”  Admin Open Doors OD fieldworker Sheng recently visited a group of a hundred church workers who belong to a major Christian network in China. He was deeply touched by what he encountered. “They have little to no information on the persecuted church, but they pray day and night.” As the Chinese church experiences increasing levels of religious freedom, one of OD’s major projects is creating awareness among the Han Chinese – the Han people group represents 90% of the Chinese population – about the persecuted church around the world. [More]

“Sad but true, millions of Christians spend hardly any time in the Word and are therefore spiritually anemic. If they ever had to use their faith in a crisis they would fail miserably. “So then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God”.  Admin Stacey Irvine ate almost nothing but chicken nuggets for 15 years. She never tasted fruits or vegetables. She occasionally supplemented her diet with French fries. One day her tongue started to swell and she couldn’t catch her breath. She was rushed to the hospital, her airway was forced open, and they stuck an [More]

An experienced Christian moviemaker plans to release a film this September which he hopes will be ‘an excellent discussion starter’ on the creation/evolution debate. Rich Christiano is a filmmaker in southern California who has directed a number of popular Christian movies, including the award-winning 2009 film, The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry. Many believe Christiano’s latest project, titled A Matter of Faith, has the potential to powerfully impact the Christian church and the culture at large. The subject matter of A Matter of Faith, Christiano told Christian News Network, is the evolution versus creation debate. “Evolution is basically taught in our [More]

“The trends noted in this article are not surprising given the increasing secular nature of society, the ungodly education kids are receiving in schools and the watered down Gospel being preached in a lot of compromised churches.”  Admin According to the findings of a Gallup poll released on Wednesday, 28 percent of Americans believe that the Bible was “the actual word of God” and that it should be “taken literally, word for word.” Forty percent of Americans agreed with that statement in 1979 — a record high — though the number has since declined every year with the exception of [More]

“After you’ve read this article you’ll know why it’s so important to be able to defend your faith and to make sure your faith is genuine. If these trends continue and the culture becomes less “Christian” and more secular expect an increasing hostility towards genuine Christians. This is something we must all be prepared for.”  Admin Here are four trends that are already evident, but will become even more important in days to come. 1. The Word “Christian” Will Become Less Used and More Clear. There are three broad categories that make up the approximately 75 percent of Americans who [More]

Consider these statistics of Christianity in America: Eighty-four percent of the inhabitants of this nation say they believe in the deity of Jesus Christ, according to Barna Group, and 45 percent claim to be born-again Christians. Other studies show it is closer to 33 percent. Either way, these numbers are high. Seventy-seven percent believe their chances of going to heaven are excellent. Thirty-three percent believe one day everyone will go to heaven. Yet America has the highest percentage of single-parent families in the industrialized world, the highest abortion rate, the highest rate of sexually transmitted diseases, the highest rate of [More]

“Just as in ancient societies where Christians were persecuted because they would not participate any longer in sinful practices after they were saved true uncompromising Christians now will experience similar persecution as the world becomes spiritually darker and increasingly given over to evil behavior.”  Admin I am borrowing a phrase from Glenn Penner to describe the attitude of non-Christians toward Christians in the ancient world. They remembered the lifestyle of Christians before they started following Christ and their previous lives seemed normal, by pagan standards. Now things were different—very different, strange!—and ancient pagans couldn’t figure out what is going on, [More]

“Please remember to keep in prayer those Christians suffering for their faith around the world.”  Admin “When my husband died, I was in a state of total despair, confusion and pain. Losing all hope I would have committed suicide, but the Spirit of God greatly encouraged me through songs, prayers and His Word,” Damaris Atsen confided to Open Doors workers. Damaris is one of many Christian widows in Northern Nigeria struggling to survive under the extreme persecution of Boko Haram. During riots in March 2010, a fatal attack on her husband, as he was helping a blind man home, left [More]

The wife of a man in prison for his work at a Christian bookstore told VOM partners that although she and her children miss their husband and father, she and her family haven’t needed anything except prayer. Cai Hong Li, wife of Christian prisoner Wenxi Li, recently spoke with workers from Release International, The Voice of the Martyrs’ sister organization in the United Kingdom. Wenxi was sentenced to two years in prison in December 2012 for his involvement with a Christian book store. Wenxi, who is from Beijing, was helping set up a Christian bookstore in Taiyuan, the capital of [More]

A stunning video shows the impact in Israel of what is being called the Kaduri Revival, after the long-venerated Rabbi Yitzhak Kaduri, who died at the age of 108 in 2006 and left behind a letter with instructions to open it one year after his death. In the letter, Kaduri proclaimed the name of the Messiah was Yehoshua – the formal name for Yeshua, or Jesus. Zev Porat, the founder of Messiah of Israel Ministries, was captivated by the story of Kaduri and his message, as portrayed in “The Rabbi Who Found Messiah” by Carl Gallups. He has been using [More]

“Here is an interesting quote from the article: “In fact, there are 106 Christian colleges in what is called “The Christian College Coalition.” Five of the 106 hold to the literal understanding of the Genesis Creation account and 101 do not, believing rather in some form of Darwin’s Theory of Evolution.” This just goes to show how much compromise has crept into Christian schools regarding Genesis and the need to prepare kids to stand firm in their faith before sending them of to college.”  Admin The Creation account in the Bible Book of Genesis continues to be one of the [More]