JOY Magazine

1 min read

An animated video outreach called The Bible Project has been successfully reaching millions of people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ on YouTube. “We want people to experience the Bible as the unified story that leads to Jesus, a big meta-narrative t

JOY Magazine

2 min read

Nicodemus was as good a man as you could get in those days. He was a deeply religious man who was highly respected in his community and amongst his peers. If ever a man deserved to qualify for heaven, it was Nicodemus. He was a model citizen, a stron

Mornings with Jesus

1 min read

IT’S SOMETHING A PARENT PRAYS for. My husband, John, and I dropped off our daughter, Leslie, at camp when she was fourteen years old, and when we picked her up she was different. The messages and worship times at camp truly made a difference deep ins

JOY Magazine

3 min read

Garin was born and raised in Johannesburg. Today he lives in Alberton with his beautiful wife, Shetel. The couple has been married for just over 1 year. In 2012, a turning point occurred in the authors’ life after encountering the love of God through

JOY Magazine

3 min read

A‘believer’ is a child of God, born again by faith in Jesus Christ (see Acts 2:44); and an ‘unbeliever’ is someone who does not believe in Jesus. In the New Testament, the Greek word apistou is translated as ‘unbeliever.’ Its adjective form literally

JOY Magazine

6 min read

Greetings in the Holy Name of our Lord Jesus Christ. In your July issue of JOY! you asked what we are grateful for. I’m grateful for the fact that Jesus Christ saved me and my family. My third born son suffered severe burns on his body, and my last b

JOY Magazine

2 min read

Large crowds. Stadiums. Mass crusades. Millions of people. Loud speakers – perhaps this is what comes to mind when you think of uncle Angus Buchan, South Africa’s great evangelist responsible for the many It’s Time Prayer Gatherings and Mighty Men Cr

NPR

7 min read

Linda Kay Klein grew up a devout Evangelical Christian. She broke up with her high school boyfriend after being convinced the joy she felt around him made her impure.

JOY Magazine

4 min read

As Christians, we are called to be salt and light in society. We are called to be history-makers and world changers. We are called to be fruitful in our lives, to achieve much for the Kingdom of God. Our mandate on this earth is to go out into all na

Mornings with Jesus

1 min read

SHE ENTERED THE ROOM, WAVING. Her personality grated on my nerves. I didn’t like her and had no plans to love her. Sitting down beside me, she smiled. “Can we talk? I trust you.” She wanted to talk to me? Jesus’s words slammed into my thoughts, hitti

JOY Magazine

1 min read

According to a recent state of dating report from ChristianMingle.com, the largest Christian online dating site, only 13 percent of respondents said that they would not have sex before marriage. And, only 13 percent said that they would move in toget

The Atlantic

4 min read

The rapper’s Christian album is not a departure from his values but an intensification of them: boldness over coherence.

Mornings with Jesus

1 min read

I’VE BEEN MARRIED TO MY husband, John, for twenty-six years, but for many years I didn’t think that would be the case. My doubt was due to the fears and mistrust I carried into my marriage. I didn’t know my biological dad, and my stepfather was uninv

Mornings with Jesus

1 min read

Isaiah 12:2 (NLT) I HADN’T RECOGNIZED MY LOVE for and dependence upon a predictable, daily routine until I lost it. For two years prior, I’d habitually risen at 5:00 a.m., spent an hour at the gym, returned home to enjoy my quiet time with Jesus, a

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

JOY Magazine

2 min read

A seminary student turned in his copy of a sermon that he had written to his preaching professor for grading. At a later conference the professor told the student how impressed he was with his sermon, how well it was written, but that he was giving h

Chicago Tribune

3 min read

Sister Stephanie Baliga no longer runs for herself, but for her community and for God. So she was undeterred as the predawn thunderstorm rolled in. The thunder roared, the sky flashed a bright blue and the obliquely falling rain whipped across her gl

Mornings with Jesus

1 min read

“THE CLOCK WILL START WHEN I leave the room. You’ll have one hour to escape,” the game guide told us. I looked around at our group and the elaborate set and props surrounding us, my heart beating fast. Our youngest daughter worked at this new facilit

Mornings with Jesus

1 min read

THERE ARE DAYS THAT MY students frustrate me mightily. They can’t answer questions about material we’ve covered for several weeks or worse, they don’t do their assignments. They forget paper or pencils. They don’t write their names on their papers. T

Mornings with Jesus

1 min read

MY HUSBAND, GENE, AND I train and lead short-term ministry teams to Eastern Europe, where we host evangelistic family camps. As part of our morning routine, we break into small groups to discuss a Bible lesson based on the parables of Jesus. Team mem

JOY Magazine

3 min read

There are few encounters that Jesus has in the Bible that are more important than the one He has with Nicodemus. Perhaps that is why in John’s Gospel, this encounter is Jesus’ first extended conversation in the book. In it we find valuable lessons to

Mornings with Jesus

1 min read

MOUTHS PARCHED, STUMBLING FROM HEAT and exhaustion, both kings floundered in the wilderness with their armies. What started as a bold campaign to reclaim Moab’s tax now looked grim. Because of their roundabout route, the kings ran into a problem: no

Mornings with Jesus

1 min read

MY HUSBAND FILLS OUT OUR tax forms each year with organized files of receipts and computer spreadsheets. I try to stay involved, but my head throbs on the first page: subparagraphs; special exclusions; rules, and more rules. According to some sources

Mornings with Jesus

1 min read

OUR CHURCH HAS A COMFORT dog, Gideon, who visits shut-ins and others who need a lift. This morning Gideon helped teach the children’s message and demonstrated how well he obeys. His example showed me three truths that I can apply to following Jesus.

Mornings with Jesus

1 min read

I’M OFTEN PERPLEXED BY POLLS that ask, “Do you consider yourself a Christian?” For many people, that question is different than if asked, “Are you a Christ follower?” Not that Jesus pays attention to opinion polls or census results (although a census

Mornings with Jesus

1 min read

I’M GENERALLY CHEERFUL AND DON’T get cranky very often. When I do, it’s usually because I’m hungry. I get impatient and snippy at loved ones over the simplest things. All I know is when my stomach is growling, I growl with it. And I will eat just abo

Mornings with Jesus

1 min read

I STARED OUT THE WINDOW as my friend drove me home from cataract surgery, amazed at how easily I read words and numbers on signs that had looked blurry just hours earlier. Later, I gazed out my kitchen window, shocked at how sharp and clear the outli

Mornings with Jesus

1 min read

AT AN AUTHOR FRIEND’S BOOK signing in a library, I sat in one of the side chairs and observed her interactions with the crowd. In deference to the public library setting, my friend didn’t try to turn the event into a preaching opportunity. She talked

Mornings with Jesus

1 min read

“MAKE A U-TURN AND CONTINUE to the route,” my husband’s smartphone insisted. The GPS was angry with us because we’d pulled off the freeway to get gas. We appreciate the electronic map, but often our GPS misses the point. To reach our destination, we

Mornings with Jesus

1 min read

ONE OF THE NEW PROJECTS I took on this past year at my church was coleading a social justice study. We named the course “How Are We Called?” What I didn’t realize during the planning was that this seven-week class would work its way into my soul on a