Every year since July 4, 1776, America has observed "Independence Day", the day when the Declaration of Independence was adopted by Congress and the United States became an independent nation. Though I am an American citizen by birth, the Bible describes me as "born again to a living hope" (1 Peter 1:3). My true nationality and citizenship is not here, but "in heaven" (Philippians 3:20), because it is from there that Jesus will return to establish His kingdom in Jerusalem. My true home will not be...

Earlier I was reading this article on Voice of the Martyr’s persecution.com, a website dedicated to assisting the worldwide persecuted church. The article briefly described how a 30-year old Indian Christian was deported from the Maldives simply for possessing a Bible in his home.

Upon reading more articles from the site, I was struck afresh with the normalcy of suffering to the Christian life. The circumstantial ease of the West has contributed to a false understanding of suffering, persecution...

Undoubtedly we’ve all had a memorable teacher in our lives at one point or another, whether in school growing up, on the job, or at a later point on our life. Teachers, instructors, mentors, and tutors all serve a common purpose – to make the seemingly complex and difficult into something tenable, simple, and attainable, and then to see their students be successful in what they’ve learned.

In writing to Titus, the Apostle Paul spoke of a teacher that every Christian who has trusted in Jesus for salvation has available to them - the grace of God:

“For...

It’s clear that the Lord is stirring His church in ways like He never has before. When the top leaders in the missions movement like Loren Cunningham (founder of Youth with a Mission) and Mark Anderson say things like “the Great Commission will probably be completed in 10 years”, when extravagance of devotion to Jesus is becoming increasingly common among young adults all across the world, and when prayer rooms are springing up across the earth without any coordinated effort by one group or organization, our hearts should be alerted that there is truly...