JOY Magazine

3 min read

I’ve had the opportunity to speak at several Christian conferences and churches on the importance of parents teaching their kids apologetics (how to make a case for and defend the truth of the Christian faith). When I speak, I often begin by asking t

60 Days of Prayer

1 min read

But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. JAMES 1:6 (NIV) IN DIFFICULT TIMES, when you ask for God’s help do you doubt that He is listening? When your faith

PEARL

3 min read

There are quite a number of people who yearn to live a life of meaning and value. We are embodied creatures with needs that defy rational understanding. The modest person, by and large, appreciates what he or she has. However, there is quite a depart

JOY Magazine

2 min read

Church leader, Nadhir*, is a 28-year-old former rapper from North Africa. Before he met Jesus, he led a self-indulgent lifestyle of drugs, drinking, and clubbing. Nadhir would still visit his local mosque in North Africa while indulging in these acti

Empire Australasia

1 min read

“We were not just going to give the fans some spy/assassins movie.” “My parents were evangelical Christians. They believed in demons, the rapture, all that stuff.” “I was thrown flat on my face, then he was on me. I just protected my ears, my eye

Mornings with Jesus

1 min read

FEAR IS A DREAM KILLER. Fear makes me think of all the negative outcomes that could happen if I do something out of my comfort zone: Somebody might not like it. I don’t know how to do it. People will talk about me. Or . . . it might not work. I weary

Mornings with Jesus

1 min read

IT’S EASY TO GO TO work or shop or do other activities and never let anyone know you are a Christian. Usually, folks will think you’re a nice person or a good employee, and you can just peacefully coexist through life that way. But that is not what J

JOY Magazine

2 min read

In difficult times like these with global uncertainty and a nation-wide lockdown, I like to pray and write down all the things that I am so grateful for. Firstly, I like to remember the person who led me to the Lord. The counsellor who, so carefully,

JOY Magazine

1 min read

Topics around relocation and immigration protocols routinely cannibalise conversations at braais and dinner parties. The truth is we all know someone in the process of moving overseas, but what is the true Christian response to emigration? Lennie de

Reason

5 min read

VER THE LAST 15 years, two growing groups of people have been drifting away from traditional organized religion. One is the “Nones,” the 25 or so percent of American adults who consider themselves religiously unaffiliated. The other—which overlaps wi

JOY Magazine

1 min read

As a former gym junkie, I am reminded of the ‘101’ of building a great physique – the first rule is to burn more calories than you consume. The second rule is to ensure that the fuel (food) that you feed your body is healthy, so that you can see grow

Mornings with Jesus

1 min read

I MEMORIZED THESE VERSES AS a child and always thought of them as two complete thoughts that sum up the Christian imperative. Love God. Love others. It was not until I became an adult that someone pointed out to me that third essential part: love you

POPSUGAR

4 min read

I knew from the beginning that my ex-girlfriend, L, was magic and her unique relationship to God made my experience of her all the more holy. What I never realized, however, was how much L's Christian faith affected me personally during our time tog

The Atlantic

5 min read

The Christian musician says she is unsure about the morality of LGBTQ relationships. Not all of her fans are prepared to accept that.

Mornings with Jesus

1 min read

AS I WRITE THIS, MY treasured business’s future is uncertain, my freelance writing jobs are intermittent, and we’re struggling to make ends meet. Why wouldn’t I worry? Yet Jesus said simply, “Don’t.” In this verse, Jesus pointed out a long list of co

Who Do You Think You Are?

2 min read

JANET BOSWORTH got in touch for help with her brick wall: Oswald George Jones Q I can find no trace of my ancestor Oswald George Jones after the 1881 census. He was baptised on 7 March 1858 at Christ Church, Cobridge, and married Sarah Ann Hambleton

JOY Magazine

3 min read

City Bible Church (CBC) opened its doors on the 21st of February 1993 in Bedfordview, Johannesburg. After seven years of establishing their first church, Pastors Errol and Debbie Mustafa embarked on a journey to start City Bible Church Jacksonville U

Mornings with Jesus

1 min read

I TEACH A LOT OF literature from the Victorian period, when the world was reeling from the publication of Darwin’s theory of natural selection. People were losing their faith en masse because they could not reconcile this new science with their versi

JOY Magazine

1 min read

In 2019, the Barna Research Group published a report, Reviving Evangelism, drawn from a study that looked at the experiences and expectations of Christians and non-Christians in America. What was perhaps most pertinent was the finding that “Christian

NPR

2 min read

Pew Research finds that more than 99 percent of the Republican members of Congress identify as Christian, as opposed to 78 percent of the Democrats. Only one member identifies as unaffiliated.

JOY Magazine

3 min read

We often hear things like “You were created for a purpose”or “There is a reason why you are here,” but how do we embrace this? How do these words from the heart of the Father become a reality in our lives? Maybe the world has a stronghold on you that

Mornings with Jesus

1 min read

ACKNOWLEDGING THAT MY FAITH CONTAINS endless paradoxes that I may never understand helps me in my study of the Bible. So does the reality of my life experience. Although none of my family members have raised a sword against me, there has been an unde

JOY Magazine

8 min read

I would like to congratulate Desiree Mansfield on her wonderful and insightful article in JOY’s Feb/Mar issue, “Are We Cursed Because Of Our Government’s Decision On Israel?” This is an article nearer the truth than most people will realise and sadly

JOY Magazine

2 min read

At least 49 Christians have died in six attacks since 28 April. The city of Kaya alone sheltered 82 pastors and 1145 Christians from 151 households, displaced from various parts of the north. In many cases it is men who have been killed, leaving wido

JOY Magazine

1 min read

Many celebrities, such as Kanye, come from families that are not Christian. Pray for their families to support them on this journey, and pray for God to work in their lives too. Pray that these celebrities remain steadfast in their faith, and that

Best Self Magazine

3 min read

Photograph by Sam Schooler — I’m often asked about spiritual surrender. For some people it can feel completely disempowering. In my own experience and in the work I do with others, I’ve found it to be quite the opposite. When it comes to spiritual su

The Art of Healing

1 min read

Belief consists in accepting the affirmations of the soul; unbelief, in denying them. George Eliot There are no sacred and unsacred places; there are only sacred and desecrated places. My belief is that the world and our life in it are conditiona

Tribune Content Agency Opinions

2 min read

So, it seems the church is shrinking. The mosque and synagogue, too, for that matter. Not that this is breaking news. It has long been known that the numbers of Americans who belong to religious organizations are dwindling. But last week, that declin

60 Days of Prayer

1 min read

The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” GENESIS 2:18 (NIV) THIS SCRIPTURE CONTAINS the first “not good” in the Bible. God wants us to live in fellowship with a community of others along lif

Mornings with Jesus

1 min read

I WAS RAISED IN A denomination that discouraged visiting other churches, so finding a faith community when I became a Christian eighteen years ago was a quandary. But once I overcame my inhibitions, exploring different denominations became interestin