Paul de Vries

Latest

• 
  Dec 20, 2012

  Godlessness Fails, Again

  "Our experiment of godless society has failed. We have tried to run our government by godless policies. We taught our children a godless worldview. Our biggest mistake was subjecting hundreds of millions of people to this failed experiment for so long, without recognizing or correcting its failures."

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  Nov 27, 2012

  Hamas and Israel: Who Respects Palestinian Lives More?

  In the present Gaza conflict, we love all the Palestinian people and all the people of Israel at the same time. Tragically, the hate-filled policies of Hamas, the group that rules Gaza, are very destructive both to the people of Gaza (by using its own women and children as shields) and to the people of Israel (by viciously targeting its civilian population centers). In spite of some of the general media's efforts to gauze-over the Gaza realities, in this on-going mortal conflict there is no mor

• 
  Nov 22, 2012

  The Great Thanksgiving Test

  Are you a good judge of people's character? Do you know their true personalities? Can you discern what hides in another person's heart? Do you know whom you can trust?

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  Nov 21, 2012

  Thanksgiving: How the Holiday Is Celebrated in the Bible

  Perhaps the longest thanksgiving feast – and also the longest worship service – was the renowned dedication of the Lord's Temple built under Hebrew King Solomon's leadership.

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  Nov 9, 2012

  In Sandy's Wake: Biblical Perspective From a New Yorker

  God has three responses to Job's pleas, and each of these storm speeches of the Sovereign Lord are intensely relevant to us all in our present whirlwinds, our physical or spiritual storms. These pronouncements from the Lord are not soft "pastoral" responses; instead, they elevate our understanding and give significance to our sufferings.

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  Oct 30, 2012

  Marriage Miracle…and Madness

  Marriage is a miracle. With all the disappointments, distractions and dysfunctions in our sexualized world, to sustain a faithful, vibrant marriage truly takes a divine miracle every day – both to sustain our vital personal commitment and desire and to make the complex relationship of marriage work.

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  Oct 17, 2012

  Aren't We Really All Pro-Life?

  Very seriously, we adults make precarious life and death decisions every day. It is not only in those moments of major medical crises that we consider life and death. We consider the death-related decisions every time we eat, climb stairs, hear a good sermon, choose to ride with a friend, read the front page story of violent crimes, check the obituaries, watch the news from a war-front, or just cross the street.

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  Oct 12, 2012

  God and Election Day: Why Pray If You Can Worry?

  Although he was not educated, my father was wise. He never finished the 10th grade, yet he put together and constantly used a serious personal library for Bible-study and guidance in the Christian life. He also loved to give testimony to the redeeming work of the Lord in his and others' lives.

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  Oct 1, 2012

  Religious Oppression Wears Camouflage

  Some years ago I did illegal missionary work in Eastern Europe, behind the totalitarian communist "iron curtain," in East Berlin and in Rumania. Officially, the atheist, communist governments of Eastern Europe (generally from 1945-1990) all supported religious liberty. In one church where I visited, thousands met often for 3-4 hours, without working toilets. To survive, churches had to maneuver their way around or through these and other absurd restrictions and restraints.

• Sep 11, 2012

  Remembering 9/11: Extraordinary Stories From the Sidelines

  As many as 30,000 people who "should have been" in the WTC that morning did not come – detained by a whole host of unusual factors.