Singer and songwriter R. Kelly has been an American music sensation since the early 1990s. He’s sold 30 million albums, and he’s worth $150 million. But now, millions of his fans are suddenly purging his music from their playlists and asking radio stations to “mute R. Kelly.”
While people in the United States are arguing about immigration, health care and President Trump’s wall, a once-prosperous nation 1,200 miles from Miami is imploding. It would be an understatement to call Venezuela a nightmare. The once-prosperous South American nation is now hell on earth.
I despise airplane turbulence. Even though I enjoy high-speed roller coasters, there is something about hurling through stormy skies in a commercial jetliner at 37,000 feet that turns my knuckles white. This is why I always ask for a window seat. Whenever we hit rough air and the seat belt sign flashes on, I feel safer if I can look outside.
During a recent trip to El Salvador, a pastor and I were talking about how much we both love Christmas music. We shared some of the songs on our personal playlists, and then he told me that his wife is especially fond of songs like “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” and “Let It Snow” because the church she grew up in discouraged members from celebrating Christmas or hanging any type of holiday decorations.
Last month, a Dutch man, Emile Ratelband, asked a court in the Netherlands to permit him to change his legal age from 69 to 49. He said he “feels 49,” and he said his doctor agrees that he looks young for his age. Ratelband complained that he has suffered from age discrimination—especially when looking for dates with women online.
This past Sunday night, a small miracle occurred in my hometown of LaGrange, Georgia. Christians from dozens of different denominations and ethnic backgrounds gathered at First Baptist Church—the biggest church in town—to thank God for His goodness and to intentionally shatter divisions.
I traveled to Israel more than 20 years ago. But this month, my wife and I took a 13-day trip there with a group of American friends. I’d already seen the typical tourist sites in Jerusalem, and honestly, I was not looking forward to standing in long lines to see Jesus’ tomb. (Sometimes the Holy Land can feel like a religious version of Disney World—especially on crowded days.)
Last Saturday at the Tree of Life Congregation in Pittsburgh, a man armed with an assault rifle and three handguns interrupted the worship service shouting, “All Jews must die!” He then killed 11 people, including a 97-year-old woman, Rose Mallinger. Her family fully expected her to live to be 100.
Laurie Cardoza-Moore, founder of nationally recognized “watchdog” group Proclaiming Justice To The Nations (PJTN), an organization which has remained continually active on the frontline confrontation of anti-Semitism for more than a decade, today issued a warning in the wake of Saturday’s tragedy in Pittsburgh.
There’s a fascinating account in the biblical book of Joshua that is quite relevant to people of faith as we approach the midterm elections. It also ties in with a famous Civil War account involving Abraham Lincoln. As we’ll see, the lesson from both is the same.
