Proof The Bible Is True

  I leaned over the hospital bed in which my 18-year-old son, Art, lay in a comatose state that seemed like death. Tubes fed him through the nose; a machine breathed for him, breaking the stillness of the room with its mechanical gasps. I moved my lips close to Art’s ear and whispered, “Honey, I had a dream last night, so beautiful it seemed real. Two magnificent angels stood by your bed. It means you’ll be healed, I know it.”   Did he hear me? Can the soul hear when the body is asleep? Art didn’t move, didn’t acknowledge my [More]

Mom pulled the big sedan onto the mountain road, the scenic Blue Ridge Parkway. From my seat in the back I gazed up at the pines that towered over us. The cliffs seemed to go straight up, higher than I could even make out through the window. We had been driving for nearly three hours, heading back to Florida from a family camping trip in Williamsburg, Virginia.   I looked back at the pop-up trailer we were pulling behind us, our home for the past two weeks. It had been a tight fit for the six of us—my mom and [More]

Great-aunt Anna loved to tell humorous stories that highlighted the joy she found in everyday life. Sitting in her kitchen drinking tea, laughing over her latest tale, I looked at her in wonder. As a young woman during World War II, she had fled Ukraine on her own and managed to get herself out of Europe. Then she spent time in South America before my mother was able to sponsor her to come to Canada, where we lived.   “How did you manage in those war-torn years?” I finally asked out of the blue. “I imagine it must have been [More]

Horses have always been my passion, but I never thought I’d own a horse farm, one where I taught children and adults, many with special needs, to ride. God had made that possible. When I first started out, I felt like he and I were partners. He was on the farm with me as I fed and watered the animals, cleaned their stalls, talked with the riders. But over time the daily struggles of running a business made me feel as if I were on my own.   I felt the weight of my doubts on my shoulders the afternoon [More]

03/25/20   With the Chinese forced to devote huge resources to containing the spread of COVID-19, you would think that the communist government might temporarily lay off persecuting the nation’s hard-pressed Christian community.   Sadly not.   Instead, the shuttering of churches to stem coronavirus infections has presented the state with a key opportunity to ransack sanctuaries and strip worship centers of their Christian symbolism.   Read More: Despite Coronavirus, Chinese Government Continues to Destroy Churches, Steal Crosses | CBN News

03/25/20   The Bible is God’s Word and is full of truth for every situation we face in life. As the world endures quarantines, closures, and even panic during the coronavirus pandemic, God offers peace. His Word can displace anxiety and fear with hope and healing.   Jesus is described as the “Prince of Peace” for those who choose to let him reign over their lives. He offers peace for our troubled minds and freedom from fear. Here are just a few of the great verses in the Bible about God’s power to deliver us from fear – we begin [More]

I stuck my thumb out into the biting wind. I was somewhere in Utah, trying to hitch a ride as the daylight faded. It was bitterly cold and beginning to snow. I had on a coat and the combat boots I’d worn in Vietnam. But not much else to protect me from the late spring snowstorm.   It was 1970. I’d served a tour of duty in Vietnam and come home in 1966 with plans to help my dad with our family farm in Minnesota. Maybe go to college and find a career. Instead…I drifted. No reason. Just a vague [More]

01/20/20   I shifted uncomfortably in my seat as the worship team played their first song. This was our pastor’s last Sunday. He was taking an exciting new position as regional director of the denomination. I was happy for him, but his move had me thinking even more about my own career. What was God’s plan for my life? For Pastor Gary, the road ahead seemed crystal clear. Why couldn’t it be like that for me?   For nine months now I’d been wrestling with making a career change. The idea was to work with my wife, Rikki, in her small company, [More]

01/20/20   “No, Chad,” I snapped, spotting my energetic little boy racing for the front door as it closed. “You can’t go with your sister.” Chad ran to the window and knocked on the glass. Shauna waved before she ran off down the street to play with her friends. At two and a half, Chad was a handful. Trying to keep him out of mischief and danger, I’d nailed drawers shut, built a wooden box over the TV knobs and duct-taped safety plugs into the electrical outlets.   For nearly two years, since I’d suffered a slipped disk and had [More]

01/16/20   New regulations regarding religious practice took effect in China in 2018, Open Doors notes in its 2020 World Watch List, which was released Wednesday.   “Christians are increasingly being pushed underground in China,” said David Curry, president of Open Doors. “Pastors are being detained, churches are being closed and people who have a personal faith in Jesus are being watched using technology that was never available before.”   “The Church is being squeezed in China,” he noted.   Yet along with increased monitoring of religious activity and an outright ban on unregistered religious groups, the new norms specifically [More]

Music video by André Rieu performing Amazing Grace live in Radio City Music Hall, New York City.

André Rieu performs live at his Summer Concert 2018 in his hometown Maastricht You’ll Never Walk Alone.

André Rieu & His Johann Strauss Orchestra performing O Holy Night live in London. Taken from the DVD Christmas in London.

André Rieu, over 500 brass players & the Johann Strauss Orchestra performing Nearer, my God, to Thee live in Amsterdam.

André Rieu & His Johann Strauss Orchestra performing O Come All Ye Faithful. Taken from the DVD Home For Christmas. Merry Christmas