All posts tagged: God’s protection

We Almost Lost It All Last Week

Where I live, we are just recovering from some severe cold weather. Apparently, we were colder than the South Pole. The people who tell us about the weather like to tell stories about the weather, but in the middle of the cold spell, we nearly lost everything we have at home, possibly including our lives. This really happened. Last Sunday, we had a stay at home day. I like to go to church, but I had vehicle problems in the cold, and it seemed wise to stay safe at home. We had a boring day, but when we thought about going out, we just looked out the window and changed out minds. Late in the day, I asked my wife if she wanted to take a break and go out, and we were thinking about it. That’s when we heard the noise. I thought I heard the sound of a vehicle backing up outside. You probably know how a back-up alarm beeps many times. This alarm beeped too many times. It almost seemed like someone …

Ninja Jesus: Fight the Good Fight

Using the word “Ninja” and the name “Jesus” in the same sentence might seem wrong to some people, but don’t judge too quickly. There is a lesson to learn here. I was talking to a friend today, and I told him how I once had a stressful job, and I got the impression that I should find a new job. I found one, and a few days after I moved, senior management called a meeting and fired my old department. I learned about this months later. My friend was amazed, and he told me that someone must have been watching over me. I realized when he said it, that he was right. Some power kept me from the termination of my career, unlike many of my friends. Some power. Years ago, I read a news article from Belarus, where the government was evicting and closing a Pentecostal church. Someone wrote a comment in Russian, and I put the words in Google Translate, and I read this story; ‘Don’t close that church. When my little boy …

God’s miraculous protection from decapitation jolts actor back to faith

Kristoffer Polaha, 42, is an American actor who is known for his Christian faith. He has appeared in dozens of episodes of TV shows from Castle to CSI Miami, Hawaii Five-O and North Shore. He has also starred in several movies and has publicly stated he favors Hallmark movies, because he wants to be able to sit with his seven year old son as they watch shows. He stared in Hallmark’s hit Rocky Mountain Christmas. Though today a devoted Christian, it wasn’t always that way. And he recently shared his story on The Billy & Justin Show about God’s remarkable protection that brought him back to faith. In an article on Pureflix, Kristoffer said he grew up in a home with a Pentecostal mother and Catholic father and when he was 17 years old, he took a sabbatical from his faith. He was wondering if his success could be attributed to his faith in God or his own personal abilities and decided to test that by not praying for six months. He added: “That six …

Church in Germany Credit: Bernard Blanc/Flickr/Creative Commons

Bad News for Organized Religion

Where I live, we are a few days away from an election. A few night’s ago, we had a leader’s debate, with all the usual personal attacks and petty bickering. The reaction today is that no-one won the debate, and the voters haven’t changed their minds about how they will vote. It was all a required exercise before the vote, with no results. In all the arguments, there is a story about someone who preached a sermon at a Baptist church. I wasn’t there for the sermon, but apparently he talked about sexuality and morals, and he described some similarities between homosexuals, and pedophiles who molest children. I don’t know what he said, but someone found a record of the sermon, and noted that the preacher is a candidate in the election. That has produced angry demands to fire the candidate, and he has apologized. The debate last night included angry words about “homophobia” but I predict that preacher will win his local election by a landslide. People in his small-town region don’t have a …

Listening to God’s voice saved their lives

In an interview with Foxnews, two men on their way to a pastor’s conference stated that Jesus spoke to them saving both from imminent death. Jordan Cole and Kenneth Bryant were traveling the Ohio Turnpike on a trip from Montana to Philadelphia when the truck they were driving broke down. The men were in their Mudman Burgers (Food Truck), that is part of a nonprofit organization selling burgers in support of Potter’s Field that ministers to children around the world. Still in their stopped burger truck, Bryant was using the generator in the back to charge his cell phone while Cole remained in the cab. Suddenly both men were warned to get out of the vehicle. Cole said he heard a voice and Bryant received what he described as a vision. The two men immediately jumped out and seconds later a large semi truck veering out of control smashed into their vehicle, destroying it. Ohio State Police said that if both had still been inside, they would have undoubtedly died. In an interview with Fox …

California fire in August 2018 Credit: Forest Service. USDA/Public Domain

Church becomes a refuge in California’s devastating fire

The Baptist Press reports a remarkable story in midst of the catastrophic fires sweeping California. The fire, that started November 6, 2018, has resulted in the deaths of 42 people and the destruction of 7,000 buildings as of November 13. This makes it the deadliest fires in California’s history. The story involves the preservation of a church in the town of Magalia, a small town of 12,000 people, in Northern California, that became a refuge for 30 people. On November 9, with the fire sweeping down on the town, Doug Crowder, who pastors Magalia Pines Baptist Church, was with 30 residents of the community, including 4 members of the Church planning to evacuate the town. Though most of the town residents had already left, Crowder stayed behind to help those who were unable to flee on their own, including the homeless, elderly and disabled. As they were loading into their vehicles, the forest surrounding the town dramatically burst into flames. A small restaurant across the street also exploded and suddenly they were surrounded by fire. …

Sandy, second from the left, on his Nairobi adventure

I saw God in Nairobi

Many years ago, when I was a careless young man, I traveled to Nairobi, in Kenya, East Africa. I had relatives who worked as missionaries in the tea country, in the west of the country. If you know Kenya, they lived just west of Kericho, on the road to Kisumu. The drive from Nairobi, the big city, to Kericho is almost one day, with a few breaks. My relatives invited me to visit them in Kenya, and I jumped at the chance because it sounded like a great adventure. I stopped my university studies, which were starting to bore me, and a good friend agreed to travel with me. He was also bored with life. On the way to Africa, we had to change planes in London, so we took several weeks and bought railway passes and travelled anywhere that seemed interesting in Europe, with backpacks. This was all fun, including the time we got arrested for crossing the border into a communist country. They handcuffed us and then let us go after about an …