Month: July 2025

LOOK IN THEIR EYES: and tell them it’s fake

New rumors are now circulating that Gaza is just a performance—nothing more than a stage where blood is artificial and suffering is a calculated form of gaslighting designed to shame Israel. They’ve even coined a name for it: GAZAWOOD, a website dedicated to exposing what they claim is Palestinian propaganda, likening real anguish to film production. May God help us if we ever reduce genuine suffering to political strategy.

By Mike July 29, 2025 Off

GAZA: when opinions roar, compassion whispers

The question echoing in my heart this morning is painfully simple: How did we get here? How did we, as followers of Christ, become more obsessed with being right than with being compassionate? How did we move from weeping over starving children to arguing about who’s to blame for their suffering? How—in God’s name—did this happen?

By Mike July 28, 2025 Off

WATER: when did we forget?

This powerful reflection by Dr. Ezzideen Shehab—a 28-year-old doctor born and raised in Jabaliya, in northern Gaza—is more than just a story; it’s a window into the daily realities faced by so many. We believe Dr. Shehab would want his words to be heard far and wide. Sharing them is a small but vital act of solidarity. You can do the same: speak up for those whose voices are silenced, whose truth is kept from those who choose ignorance and indifference.

By Mike July 23, 2025 Off

SYRIA’S CRY, HEAVEN’S RESPONSE: In a world that turns away, we choose to draw near.

We have been inundated with heart-wrenching updates from Syria, shared by local pastors and dear friends from across the region. The news is devastating, and our hearts ache, consumed by sorrow as we cry out to the Lord for the people of Suweyda in southern Syria. The crisis has escalated into chaos, and civilians are being subjected to horrific acts of systematic extermination. And heartbreakingly, the Church has not been spared from the violence.

By Mike July 20, 2025 Off

REFRAMING PERSECUTION: Who Owns the Narrative?

Over more than four decades of walking alongside the persecuted Church, I’ve come to a sobering realization: for many Christians in the West, the story of persecution often centre’s more on the persecutor than the persecuted. We amplify the pain that fits our worldview and mute the cries that disturb our conscience. TAYBEH is a perfect example

By Mike July 10, 2025 Off

TRUTH INVERSION: in coversation

After publishing an article on the inversion of truth—and reflecting on how a prominent South African missionary raised questions on social media about narratives he considered fake news—I received a gracious response filled with pointed questions and comments. These remarks echoed sentiments I’ve often encountered among pro-Israel supporters: the tendency to conflate advocacy for the people of Gaza with being pro-Hamas or even anti-Semitic. The questions raised are legitimate, and I believe they deserve a thoughtful and measured response.

By Mike July 8, 2025 Off

TOUR DE FRANCE – Tour de life

On Saturday, 5 July 2025, 176 riders, representing 22 teams, lined up for the start of the 112th edition of the Tour de France. At a time when daily news is saturated with wars, nuclear threats, violence, anger and hatred, the TOUR DE FRANCE sporting event offers some ‘life lessons’ that can be extended to the spiritual ‘race set before us’ (Hebrews 12:1). Here are five lessons for the race of life and the journey of faith

By Mike July 7, 2025 Off

WEAPONIZING DOUBT: the toxic practice of truth inversion

When we talk about “fake news,” we usually refer to false or made-up news presented as truth. But an even more corrosive tactic is the opposite: presenting truth as “fake news.” That reversal doesn’t just deceive—it undermines the very idea that some things are knowable, trustworthy, or truthful. Once truth itself is treated as suspect, every story, report or expert analysis becomes fair game for dismissal. It places every heartache, hunger, and killing in Gaza under suspicion.  It corrodes compassion and is simply evil.

By Mike July 4, 2025 Off

WITNESSES FROM THE WARZONES: you are invited

Few experiences in life carry the transformative power of hearing firsthand accounts from the very heart of conflict. When someone who’s walked through shattered streets, felt the tremors of distant explosions, and met families rebuilding from the wreckage speaks, their stories cut through every layer of detachment. They pull us out of our comfort zones and plunge us into a reality that demands more than passive sympathy—it calls us to empathy, to prayer, and to action. YOU ARE HEREBY INVITED TO SUCH AN EVENT

By Mike July 1, 2025 Off