Shine Global Network

When I was growing up, Madonna once said, “Jesus Christ was like a movie star, my favorite idol of all.”¹ Napoleon Bonaparte went further: “I know men, and I tell you Jesus Christ was not a man. Superficial minds see a resemblance between Christ and the founders of empires and the gods of other religions. That resemblance does not exist. There is between Christianity and other religions the distance of infinity.”² And then there was novelist H. G. Wells: “I am an historian, I am not a believer. But, this penniless preacher from Galilee is irresistibly the centre of history.”³ There has never been a human quite like Jesus. He…

A note from the author: After another weekend of devastating mass shootings across America and the senseless loss of dozens of lives, our hearts go out to the victims’ families, and our minds ask “Why?” and “What can we do?” As for “Why?,” these things are happening because as more and more people reject God and His ways, the foundations of society are crumbling. When David found himself in such a situation, he asked, “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (Psalm 11:3). As for “What can we do?,” the first and most important thing Christians can do, as David did, is to remember that we have hope…

Most wisdom says, “Take time and think things through. Be thoughtful about your decision. Take it slow.” Yet, there is one time when you should throw caution to the wind: it’s when you know God is calling you to do something. The other night my husband and I, sat on our bed. Somewhat unintentionally we entered a difficult situation. The more we talked, the more we knew God was calling us to radically change some things. The more we thought things through the more we realized it would require a complete change of approach. The more we pressed into the details the more we realized that to sit around doing the same thing…

Editor’s Note: Baby Grace from Little House on the Prairie has written a beautiful devotional based upon the beloved TV show. Enjoy this excerpt. Wendi and her sister, Brenda Weatherby, on the set with “Pa” Ingalls, Michael Landon. (Photo: Jackie Juchniewicz) * Season 3, Episode 13, “Quarantine” “The worst part about being sick, I think, is how sad it makes other people.” — Laura Ingalls Sickness is difficult, not only for the person with the ailment, but also for the caregivers who are filled with worry. When Laura is suspected of having mountain fever, her parents are beside themselves. Seeing their daughter suffer from her sickness causes them tremendous heartache, and Laura feels bad…

Aren’t they pretty rare? That’s what I used to think—but then I started my investigation into the miraculous. As I began researching this topic, my curiosity prompted me to commission a national scientific survey, which was conducted by Barna Research.1 What did we discover? Interestingly, half of US adults (51 percent) said they believe that the miracles of the Bible happened as they are described. The numbers, however, were lower among millennials (ages eighteen to thirty) compared to baby boomers (ages fifty to sixty-eight) by 43 percent versus 55 percent. Asked whether miracles are possible today, two out of three Americans (67 percent) said yes, with only 15 percent saying…