‘A Living Martyr’: Daniel of the Year
Held in Turkey on charges of espionage and terrorism, facing a life sentence for doing the work of the church, American Pastor Andrew Brunson’s dramatic release was the work of high-powered diplomacy and prevailing prayer.
The first year of his imprisonment was full of fear and grief over the uncertainties. He suffered over separation from his family and from Christian fellowship. “If I’d been let out after the first year, I’d have been lying on the floor, curled in a fetal position with PTSD,” Brunson confessed. “The second year God... Continue Reading
Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation’s David Powlison Has Stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer
Powlison, the executive director of the Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation, has revealed following major surgery that he has stage 4 pancreatic cancer.
“I desire with all my heart that Psalm 112:6-7 will be formed at the very center of who Nan and I are individually and together. The sense of weakness and need is a gift from God. It makes us realize we need Him, we need all of His mercy to us, and we need people... Continue Reading
Pastoral Covetousness
Nothing will rob a pastor of joy as much as covetousness.
Ask God to give you joy when other ministries succeed. Ask God to free you from coveting their success. See their success as kingdom success, and remind yourself that we all work for the same master. There’s something in us that discounts our current circumstances: our lives, our location, our role, our life. We... Continue Reading
How to Respond When a Servant, an Elder, or the Preacher Struggles with Pornography
God’s Word does give us principles to guide us when a servant of the church stumbles into pornography.
Pray your church is a place where confessed sin is seen as a godly triumph. Yes, there should be consequences—especially if the sin is particularly severe and the servant is in a particularly public ministry. But don’t gloss over the fact God kindly brought it into the open. Your leaders now have the opportunity to... Continue Reading
Vincenzo Paravicino and the Valtellina Massacre
Vincenzo Paravicino was one of the many Italians who lived in today’s Swiss Canton of Grisons
“Paravicino’s family had been divided for some time. It was predominantly Protestant, but two of its members had moved to the Roman Catholic camp, leading the opposition. Fifty-five of his relatives arrived in Zurich, while sixteen died during the attacks or while they tried to flee.” Vincenzo Paravicino was one of the many Italians... Continue Reading
Reagan’s Challenge To His Dying Atheist Father-In-Law
Ronald Reagan wrote a personal letter to his father-in-law, a self-declared atheist, on August 7, 1982, concerned not only about his health but about his eternal destiny.
“…He owned nothing but the clothes on his back & he didn’t travel beyond a circle less than one hundred miles across. He did this for only 3 years and then was executed as a common criminal. But for two thousand years he has had more impact on the world than all the teachers, scientists,... Continue Reading
Richard Baxter’s Balanced Approach to Depression and Anxiety
What happens if someone’s symptoms and behaviors and wrongly attributed to willful and sinful decisions?
“Are psychiatric illnesses the result of sin or not? Are individuals to blame, or are they not responsible for their fate?” Lundy insists, “For the most part, we are left with the much more general sense that sickness and suffering in the world are distributed in ways that defy our comprehension.” Lundy points to Richard... Continue Reading
Christian Fire Chief Receives $1.2 Million for Violations of His Religious Liberty
Fire Chief Cochran’s victory reveals—once again—that freedom of religion and freedom of speech are often intertwined.
In December 2017, a federal district court recognized that the city of Atlanta’s actions were unconstitutional. The court struck down Atlanta’s policy that requires government employees to receive permission before engaging in free speech outside of their jobs, the very policy the city used to justify firing Cochran. The Story: A fire chief that was fired for... Continue Reading
You Are Worthy of My All: God’s Faithfulness in a Turkish Prison Cell
Lyle Dorsett and his wife Mary discuss their relationship with Andrew and Norine Brunson, and Andrew’s years in a Turkish prison.
During his time in prison, Andrew survived by reading Scripture, singing praises to the Lord and reading the books, many of which were Christian biographies. Some of us were able to get books to Norine and she would then act like a librarian for Andrew and would swap four books at a time in and... Continue Reading
A Mother’s Testimony
The following testimony was written by the wife of the Rev. Samuel Blair to her children on October 8, 1763.
Oh! the goodness of God in preventing me then, and at other times, when I had formed schemes to ruining myself. This, my dear children, I would have you carefully to ponder and beg for direction in before proceeding in such an affair in which your happiness for this world, if not the next, depends.... Continue Reading
