Christianity for Today

The headlines continue to be that of the impact of the coronavirus upon our nation and our world.  As of yesterday, over 217,000 people have died around the world, with over 52,000 of those deaths occurring here in the United States.  We join with countless others who grieve for those who have lost family members and friends to this pandemic.  The separation that comes via death is always painful, yet it seems more painful during these days.  What a joy it is to know that because of the resurrection of Jesus, death has lost its sting; it has lost its victory (1 Corinthians 15:55). We are now beginning to see some governors reopening their states to once again reignite the engines of commerce and the economy.  There is a measured caution in most instances, but also a reliance upon the common sense of the citizens of those states to do what is best to maintain both the physical health and the economic health of those states.  I applaud those governors for their courage and their commit

As I begin this morning I want to give you an update on what is happening politically in Israel.  (By the way, today I should have been taking a boat cruise on the Sea of Galilee, visiting Capernaum and the Mount of Beatitudes and sharing a message at the Primacy of Peter.  All that was changed because of the coronavirus.   Those things will have to wait until next year.)  If you will remember, Israel held national elections in early March - the third national election within the past year.  Each election produced gridlock as no one party was able to secure a majority of seats within the Knesset, Israel's Parliament.  There are two major parties in Israel and dozens of lesser parties.  The Likud Party, that of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has been in power for the past decade.  The second major party is the Blue and White Party, under the leadership of former IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz.  Following the March elections, neither Netanyahu nor Gantz were able to form a coalit

To say we are living in unprecedented times is almost an understatement.  I know that I can never remember a time like this in my lifetime.  There have been other pandemics that have affected portions of the world, but never one that has engulfed the world as has COVID-19, or the Chinese coronavirus.  The consequences of this virus have been staggering in both loss of life, loss of livelihood, and loss of economics.  Over 130,000 people have died - at least that is the death toll up to yesterday.  Over 22 million Americans are now unemployed - pretty staggering when you consider that most of those people had jobs just four weeks ago.  And the financial costs worldwide mount up into the trillions of dollars.  One could almost say that this pandemic is of biblical proportions.  And you know, you would be correct. I read an interesting article yesterday on the Prophecy News Watch website titled, "A Day's Wage For A Loaf Of Bread."  The author of the article focuses upon th

The continuing story dominating the news is the COVID-19 virus and its impact upon the physical, emotional, mental, and financial health of people around the globe.  Hundreds of thousands have suffered the symptoms of this virus, with tens of thousands having died.  Millions of people have lost their jobs or had their work load decreased significantly.  Children have been out of school for weeks and, in most cases, they are trying to do school work via online learning.  That works for some, but not for others.  Many parks are closed - tennis nets are down, basketball rims have been removed.  In some states, swimming pools and beaches have already been closed for the summer.  I keep wondering what these kids are supposed to do all summer.  Staying inside is certainly not the best option.  I can see trouble brewing on the horizon for many of them.  Churches continue to discuss how to live with a new reality - that of social distancing.  What is that going to look like when we can meet to