In the midst of difficult circumstances or trials God can seem distant. We wonder if He hears our prayers or cares about our heartache. The prophet Isaiah was no doubt at that point in his life when King Uzziah died in chapter six.

I cannot help but think it would have been a terrifying experience to have the Lord “depart” from you especially when at one time, the Lord was with you mightily.

How do you thank those who willingly place themselves “between their loved home and the war’s desolation”?

Last week President Obama made an interesting remark in the White House at the Nordic Leaders’ Summit Arrival Ceremony.

Ahhhhhh summer! What a wonderful time of year to rejuvenate your body, mind, and spirit. If you have a vacation this summer, make the most of it. Use your vacation time wisely. Try not to spend the greater part of it traveling, doing household chores, or even sleeping more than . . .

Any reader of the divinely-inspired record of early Christianity written in the book of Acts will note the attention given to numbers. Those who were saved in the days after the coming of the Holy Spirit were “added to the church.”

It’s a conversation I’ve had many times: High Schooler: I don’t know what I should do when I finish high school. Maybe I should go to trade school or university. Me: Have you considered attending a year of Bible college?

It was 1948. A young soldier had been released from the Army after World War II and intended to go to Columbia University on the GI bill. General Eisenhower had become the president of Columbia University, and this young soldier thought, “If it’s good enough for Ike, it’s good enough for me.”

I wrote these thoughts last month in the middle of our annual Faith Promise Missions Conference. This year, like most years, we were privileged to have a number of missionaries and fields represented in our conference. They are sharp, articulate people desiring to go the mission field and share Christ with the multitudes. The only thing holding them back is the financial resources necessary to go and be sustained on those fields.

Christians across America are frustrated. Some are discouraged. Some are fearful. Some are hopeless. Our culture is shifting before our very eyes, and there seems to be little to nothing we can do to stop it. We see the decaying morals and we sense the intolerance toward Christians growing around us.