FRANCE RIOTS: The day the lampstand fell
France is reeling from its worst rioting in modern history after nationwide protests over education and the cost of living spiralled into a wave of deadly, country-wide violence. The riots are not only political—they are spiritual tremors from a society that has attempted to keep the fruits of Christianity while cutting down the tree that produced them.
CANDLES IN THE STORM: Five celebrations from Syria
After days on the road through Lebanon and Syria, sitting with church leaders in lands marked by conflict yet alive with faith, we returned home with a single conviction: The Church in the Middle East is not defined by circumstances but by the Spirit who sustains it. In the shadow of war, we witnessed tensions that only the gospel can hold together. We witnessed a holy flame emerging from a broken frame — joy from grief, restriction to freedom, growth in decline, hope from uncertainty, destruction to beauty, and division transformed into harmony – like candles in the storm.
A SMUGGLER MEETS AN AYATOLLAH: greater love has no one
If there is still any doubt in your heart where your loyalty belongs in this season of hatred, this testimony should clarify it. This is not an opinion or a teaching. Just a testimony of a smuggler meeting an Ayatollah
CHRISTIAN MASSACRE IN GAZA: a call to prayer
If you confess that you belong to the body of Christ, and if you believe the Scripture that teaches, “If one member suffers, all suffer together” (1 Corinthians 12:26), then this call to prayer is for you — for your fellowship, your gathering, your community meeting freely in places where death and destruction are not the daily norm. This moment is not for spectators; it is for the body. It is for those who understand that Christian solidarity is not an idea but a responsibility.
JUSTICE IN AN AGE OF OUTRAGE: a Christian response
Christians deal with injustice by reflecting the character of Christ rather than the anger or agendas of the age. This past week made this challenge painfully visible. Across the world, people voiced anger at injustice: In Washington, D.C., 3,000 crosses were planted near the Washington Monument to highlight the murders of farmers in South Africa.…