Proof The Bible Is True

No doubt these are distressing times. Possibly those of which the apostle Paul prophesied (2 Tim. 3:1). As wars and rumors of wars abound, Christian persecution ramps up, deadly plagues threaten our well-being and the economy gets thrust into limbo, we’re all searching for solutions. Every two years or so we pin our hopes upon the election of some political figure. Sound bytes promising protection and prosperity fill our airwaves. And the solution for these times is offered with the institution of an ideology. But inevitably, history repeats itself. The man or woman we counted on to lift us from [More]

This week’s episode of VOMRadio is live online, featuring an interview with Gracia Burnham. Martin and Gracia Burnham were serving as missionaries in the Philippines when they went away for a few days together to celebrate their anniversary. Those few days turned into a year in the jungle when they were kidnapped by radical Muslim terrorists. In this interview, Gracia shares how she wrestled with God and even with her own faith during those dark days of captivity, and how she experienced the prayers of God’s people, even as Martin was killed during a rescue attempt. Gracia bears witness to [More]

“Contains a short but powerful video of what a Christian family’s life is like in Syria and their surrendering all to God.”  Admin It’s not too late to make sure that your church will “Remember those in bonds…” (Heb. 13:3) this Sunday on the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (IDOP). Each year, VOM produces a short film for churches to show during IDOP services, to illustrate the challenges faced by our persecuted brothers and sisters and to encourage prayer on their behalf. This year’s video, Liena’s Prayer, can be viewed above. While it may be too late [More]

“But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers” (1 Pet. 4:7). What has happened to our nation? Clearly it is not the nation of my childhood. We are running headlong into death and destruction. Of the 22 civilizations throughout world history that reached the immoral state America is in now, 19 of them collapsed and were wiped out. In 1987 the late Lester Sumrall, in his book I Predict, wrote about six things that would happen in our nation. America would depart from Christianity. America would endorse pagan religions. America would [More]

Author Mark Batterson talks about his new book, “The Grave Robber,” and will reveal the truth of how miracles aren’t a thing of the past. cbn.com

God used my recent visit to Enid, Oklahoma, to remind me of a deep spiritual truth. Where will the track lead Like many American towns, Enid is divided by train tracks. I took this photo on a beautiful evening, as I walked near the tracks. What you can’t see in the picture is that the tracks make a sharp left-hand turn ahead, and then they disappear into the trees. From my perspective, this prompted several unanswered questions. What was around the corner? Where will this track end? Is there a bridge ahead, perhaps a railroad crossing, or maybe a railroad [More]

A Christian columnist, cultural analyst and attorney specializing in constitutional law recently shared a story about about how a lesbian’s eyes were opened to the fact that Christians are motivated by love and not hate to share the gospel with homosexuals. Matt Barber, the founder of BarbWire.com, recalled the incident in an article published by Charisma News last Monday. He stated that in 2009, as he was the keynote speaker at a banquet in Chicago for the organization American for Truth About Homosexuality, a number of homosexual protesters stood outside, angered by the event. One woman that was present at [More]

What’s it like when you travel to restricted nations for VOM? That question is one of the most common as I meet people at VOM conferences and as I talk with Christian friends. I hope that in the coming days on the blog you’ll get a little bit of an answer to that question. Recently I had the privilege of visiting northern Iraq in order to interview Christians displaced by the advance of Islamic State fighters and to see first-hand VOM projects that provide aid and help to these Christians. While on the trip I did something I haven’t done [More]

“A great example of faith and determination.”  Admin Travis Freeman lost his sight at the age of 12 after he developed a severe sinus infection known as cavernous sinus thrombosis (CST). “The doctors told us that, at that time, 70 percent of the people who have what I had died, and I was only the second case in the world where it’s ever just affected the eyes,” Freeman told American Family Radio this week. Freemen shared that he trusted from the very beginning that God had a plan for his life and was going to use this for His glory. [More]

“Great story of a Divine healing and a lesson learned.” Admin It was dark inside the chapel, the small generator just able to help two or three light bulbs pierce the darkness. The worship was moving, as Pepe led us on his guitar. A number of locals joined in, but many remained quiet and subdued. I preached a message that seemed to stir people’s hearts, although it was difficult to tell as I was unable to see most of their faces because of the dim light. I concluded my message and said that we would be happy to pray for [More]

Fenggang Yang is a sociology professor at Purdue University and author of Religion in China: Survival and Revival Under Communist Rule. He believes that “China is destined to become the largest Christian country in the world very soon.” By his calculations, the number of believers in the People’s Republic of China will rise to 160 million by 2025 and 247 million by 2030. If so, the country would be home to more Christians than any nation on earth. When I visited Beijing a few years ago, I was told that the rate of Christian growth is even higher than Professor [More]

Every church and/or organization has a corporate culture with norms, rules and expectations that pressure participants to conform. Some cultures are good and some bad. That being said, there are particular attributes that characterize false religions or become the norm during religious decline in a true faith such as Christianity. For example, “Every religious system in the world is centered upon a temple (or a sacred place) and has rites and ceremonies, has hierarchies and titles distinguishing men from one another, and has holy days and holy celebrations” (quoted from a teaching I heard from Pastor Tommy Moya several weeks [More]

A few days ago, I spent several hours sitting and talking with Cuban Christians. Some of them lead registered, above-ground churches, others lead unregistered churches and others are simply active church members. All of them talked about the suffering they’ve experienced under communism since 1959 when Cuba became a communist nation. Specifically, they were denied jobs, income, government help, schooling, homes and more, simply because they were known as Christians. One man even spent two years in a forced labor camp in the 1960s, when he was 20 years old. But when he got out, within months, he was leading [More]

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you. Acts 1:8 Since Abdullah accepted Jesus, his family had tried very hard to change his mind. After all, his father was a respected man in their village and in all of Bangladesh, having built a mosque right next to their property. When talking didn’t convince Abdullah to return to Islam, they resorted to beating him. When beating didn’t work, they called others in to beat him more severely. Nothing worked; Abdullah tenaciously hung on to his faith in Christ. Finally, in exasperation, his mother stopped feeding him, putting [More]

During a recent trip to train persecuted believers in the Southern part of Mindanao Island, one of the most difficult places to be a Christian in the Philippines, I started the morning by chatting with brother Jun before breakfast. “How was your night, Jun?” (This is about as deep as my questions get before coffee.) With a smile, he said, “It was good.” As I began to stir my gritty instant coffee, I probed further, trying to understand his daily life: “What time do you normally go to bed?” “Around 10:30.” “That’s good,” I said, celebrating the rapport that we [More]

“A great message in this story. As Jesus said, “Work while it is light for the night comes when no man can work.”  Admin Bill and John were near the docks in southern England when they saw the Romanian flag hanging from the stern of a ship. It was during the years of Romania’s hard-line Communist rule. With little conversation, they recognized the mission field before them, untied their cases of Bibles and went aboard. They stepped into the mess room where the ship’s entire thirty-five-man crew was gathered. Bill and John explained why they had come and began to [More]

Steph Macleod, 33, is a singer songwriter who lives near Edinburgh. Nine years ago he was an alcoholic and a drug addict and sleeping rough on the streets. He now has a wife and three children and is a born-again Christian. He shares his story of how he came to be free of addiction. How did you get into alcohol and drugs? I was a very talented classical guitarist. I went to music school and studied classical guitar at Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. My parents had split up when I was 15, and it was a horrible [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]

“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]

Satan is sometimes called the accuser of the brethren (Rev. 12:10), but I’ve discovered he’s also an accuser of almighty God. Satan will do anything he can to drive a wedge between you and your loving Creator. He points a finger at God when tragedy—or even just circumstances you don’t like—strikes. He suggests God doesn’t care about your problems. He blames God for not healing your sick loved one. All of these accusations come as subtle suggestions—whispers to your soul that intend to make you bitter toward God because you feel disappointed, disillusioned or deceived. Nothing is ever God’s fault, [More]

It’s Picture Day at school today. So my daughter and I took some extra time in fixing her hair this morning. As I straightened the mountain of curly locks on her head I asked her about the devotional she read the night before. Recently we’ve made devotion time part of our kids’ bedtime routine. For a long time we’ve given them a certain amount of ‘read’ time before lights out each night. It’s been a great way for them to relax and wind down before bed. The morning time has never been great for devotion time. My kids aren’t the [More]

When God has a message that He wants to give His people, He is not often subtle about it. He might not shout it out loud in a James Earl Jones or Morgan Freeman voice, but for those with ears to hear and eyes to see, the Word of the Lord is made abundantly clear. In fact, He tends to be quite repetitive. The message seems to come up everywhere. Every sermon communicates it. Your time in God’s Word emphasizes it. Holy Spirit continues to remind you about it. God has such a word for you and I this year: I [More]

I hope you’re an involved dad. And I hope you recognize the difference you’re making for your kids. I talk and write about that all the time, but I’m not sure anyone can do it enough. Involved parents making a difference is the whole idea behind CASAColumbia Family Day—which is today, Sept. 23. This initiative was launched over a decade ago by CASAColumbia with the goal of getting families to eat dinner together on that day—and generally eat meals together more often. Studies have shown that when families make it a habit to eat dinner together, teenagers are less likely [More]