Light Bearers Author

“The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; He will save, He will rejoice over thee with joy; He will rest in His love, He will joy over thee with singing” (Zephaniah 3:17). As I was thinking about this verse the phrase, “He will rest in His love,”

From an early age Jesus knew who He was. He was only 12 when Joseph and Mary questioned His whereabouts and He simply said, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” (Luke 2:49). Shortly after His

What is Relational Integrity? Relational = “concerning the way in which two or more people or things are connected” Integrity = “the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral

Nations had leagued together to war against Jerusalem. Fearful, King Jehoshaphat sought the Lord. Through a messenger God assured him of unconventional victory. How? Through praise. They “stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with voices loud and high” (2 Chronicles 20:19). Singers were stationed at the front of

The last book of the Bible speaks of a group of people who will follow God to the very end. He identifies them as the “remnant” that “keep the commandments of God” (Revelation 12:17). Is it an arrogant claim? How about another question—the remnant of what?

One of my favorite Bible verses of all time is John 10:10: “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (Jesus).

According to Scripture, what are our responsibilities to our governments? The answer is found in the Bible. Joseph and Mary set an example of complying with government census and taxes (Luke 2:1-5). Jesus affirmed their actions to the religious leaders by His command, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that

There's a controversy astir in the evangelical world nowadays about one of the fundamental beliefs of my own denomination, the Seventh-day Adventist Church. It’s not the Sabbath or the investigative judgment. It’s not even the state of the dead. It’s fundamental belief number nine which lays out the basis for what

Paul prays, “That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love” (Ephesians 3:17). Rooted and grounded are agricultural and building terms that describe Paul's desire for us to know God personally. Ephesians 1-3 lays out the plan of salvation as fulfilled in the

Each year Light Bearers Ministry sends containers of literature to developing countries all over the world. Each container holds about 2 million tracts and often includes Bibles and other inspired books like The Great Controversy and The Desire of Ages. The cost for these containers is covered by the large and small donations sent to

They are called the Minor Prophets because of their size, not their spiritual depth. Hidden in these little books of the Old Testament are found sublime pictures of God’s unrelenting love. That’s why this year we plumbed their depths to mine rich nuggets of God’s golden love that promises to keep our love alive in every crisis. Some 800

Has Jesus given eternal life to every person?  What we can say with biblical clarity is that the life and death of Jesus purchased temporal life for everyone. This is Paul's argument to the Athenians in Acts chapter 17: “God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that He is Lord of

As I moved through our publishing house today, checking the inventory, I felt a sense of urgency to get literature out the door. Things are changing. The world is changing. The ability to send gospel-filled containers around the world is changing. Great changes often happen quickly and without notice. In Christ’s time, John was preaching in

“But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons” (Galatians 4:4-5). Paul tells us that when the appointed time came, God arrived! God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law. When

I was a baby Christian, just a few weeks old, when asked why I still listened to rock 'n' roll music. My response was quick and defensive. I've given my heart to Jesus, I go to church instead of bars, so it really doesn't matter what music I listen to. End of conversation. And it was true. My life was consumed with Jesus. I went to church three

When it comes to spiritual things, do you know why we do what we do? The reason is this: “The flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another so that you do not do the things that you wish” (Galatians 5:17). We do what we do because the

ARISE Australia is five years old and each year has been a wonderful experience. The dedicated staff of the North New South Wales (NNSW) Conference and the workers directing the program make the impact of this 15-week Bible school tremendous. Here are the numbers: 48 students (including 3 last minute additions in week 12)

My 19-year-old daughter recently shared for our family worship some insights from a book she is reading for her university Bible class. When she finished, my mind went to the following scripture: "As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time" (Daniel

On October 31, 1517, a young Catholic monk named Martin Luther nailed the 95 Theses to the church door in Wittenberg, Germany. This single bold act set off a religious reformation that shook Europe and the world. Luther was later excommunicated by the papacy; a price set on his head. On October 31, 2016, leading up to the 500th anniversary of

Elihu exemplifies one of the major reasons why we might not listen to what someone has to say about God. Young and obscure, Elihu presents a testimony that carries little weight among many intellectual greats. This may be one reason why God has employed farmers, shepherds, fishermen and even children (the child Samuel) as messengers of inspired

This year flew by, but not without heaven making a notable impact on our world through your generous support of Light Bearers Ministry. “The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy!” (Psalm 126:3). Here are a few joyful highlights: Publishing 2016 saw 12 containers of literature (21 million pieces all together)

Job’s wife usually gets a bad rap. As we read through the story of suffering, we’re tempted to view her as an evil character, undermining the faith of her husband. Augustine even named her “the devil’s accomplice.” I wonder if this is a misunderstanding that begins with Job himself. Perhaps we’ve misinterpreted the communication

The first crisis I can remember experiencing came when I was four years old and fell backward into a swimming pool. I couldn't swim and my mom was in another country… it seemed. I was going down for sure, but after a heroic effort and what seemed like an eternity (but was really just a few brief seconds) I grabbed the rail and was safe again.

Revelation 12, the centerpiece of the book, uncovers a central issue for Planet Earth—redemption from deception. Deception began in heaven, not earth, with the dragon who hoodwinked the third part of the angels from heaven with his tail or “lies” (Revelation 12:4; Isaiah 9:15). Deception number two is the old story of the Fall found in

My wife was often asked what she did while mothering our two children. “I am a mother,” was her natural response. “Yes,” was the reply, “but what do you do for work; what are you”? (As if being a mother were not a full-time job!). Even the dictionary definition for mother, "a female parent," seems stunted. Just the

Dear Abraham, Kill your only son. God. Let's face it—that's a tough Bible story to swallow. At face value, it assaults the very idea that God is love. Or does it? New Testament scripture offers insight into this Old Testament mystery. John, for example, recorded a parallel of God’s call to Abraham: "God so loved the

Coined in an advertising agency meeting for Nike, the "Just Do It" campaign launched in 1988. It was highly successful, as one of the top two taglines of the 20th century, being both "universal and intensely personal." Nike presented this advertising slogan as the center of "a tough, take no prisoners ad campaign." One of the campaign's objectives

"He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown…"(Daniel 11:41). James White believed this power, spoken of in the final verses of Daniel 11, to be the papacy supported by the United States. Prophetic and historic evidence, as well as current events, support his interpretation as never

The word obstinate has a bad rap. The dictionary definition is: Refusing to give up or let go; persevering obstinately Refusing to give up or let go. Persevering. Insistently repetitive or continuous. Some of us are obstinate all the time. All of us are obstinate some of the time. It’s possible to be

When I first came to Christ I knew very little about the Bible. I said a simple sinner’s prayer, experienced God’s boundless forgiveness and fell madly in love with Jesus. When I was confronted with the Bible evidence for the seventh-day Sabbath, Jesus’ words, “if you love Me, keep My commandments” sealed the deal. The love factor

In 2014 God blessed Light Bearers Ministry in a number of ways, one of which was the ability to send out an extra container of literature above our budgeted 11. Each container is filled with millions of tracts that make a huge impact in the world field. Here is a report we received from Kenya and the prison ministry of The King’s

My granny was very protective of spiders. Whenever she found one in our house she would gently pick it up, give it a kiss, and toss it out the nearest open window. As a little boy I was afraid of creepy, crawly spiders along with other things like stinging wasps and school bullies. Watching granny kiss and chuck spiders helped me with my spider

From year to year certain Bible verses speak to me, becoming favorites. This year it’s John 13:1: “Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour was come that He should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved His own which were in the world, He loved them unto the end.” It’s the last phrase that

Sometimes I forget the words of Christ in Matthew 25:40. I judge, I disdain, and I criticize my brethren in my heart (and with my actions). When I do this to the least of these my brethren I do it unto Him. During such times of stark spiritual failure I am especially thankful that God has more faith in us than we have in ourselves. God

This year marked the 30th Annual Light Bearers Convocation. Our theme was “Faith to Faith,” based on Romans 1:16-17: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to

“Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered” (Romans 8:26). The word “groaning” in this verse means “to voice a deep, inarticulate sound, as of pain, grief, or displeasure.” If there

Where is the United States in the End-Time Scenario? “When I look at Bible prophecy, one thing that is of great interest to me, and of great concern, is the absence of the United States. It is interesting to note that a number of nations are mentioned in the Bible that will be active in the last days… But the one nation that is

The Origin of Protestantism  “Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!” Thus ended Patrick Henry’s famous speech compelling Virginia to join the battle for

In February of 2012, I traveled to Guatemala to conduct a series of evangelistic meetings in connection with a shipment of over 1.3 million pieces of literature. When I arrived, the container that had arrived about six weeks before was already half empty. Approximately eight weeks later, the rest of the

We are living in desperate times—desperate, meaning a feeling showing, or involving a hopeless sense that a situation is so bad as to be impossible to deal with, like national debt, life-destroying typhoons, earthquakes, tsunami’s, war, terrorism, crime, economic and civil upheaval, and… unreliable political promises of peace and

Recently we published a small book on the humanity of Jesus Christ entitled, How Jesus Was Like Us. This book was written to both identify how Jesus Christ in His humanity is like us and how He is different. Here is a brief summary: Jesus came face-to-face with the root of

The 2013 Light Bearers Convocation is over, but the ripple effects are just beginning. The event was a huge blessing thanks in part to the hard work of various staff and volunteers behind the scenes and primarily to God for the outpouring of His Spirit. Jesus Only was this year’s theme. Like last year, Ty, David, Jeffrey and I

In 1929, the Italian Parliament ratified the Lateran Treaty settling the Roman Question and setting the stage for what some have since described as the healing of the deadly wound. Somewhere between that time and today, an idea developed that has since taken many minds captive. This idea was that from 1929 to the second coming of Jesus

Traveling all over the world from place to place to share the gospel as part of the Light Bearers Ministry team is especially rewarding when hearts are healed and lives transformed by the power of God. Many of you are reading these words because you attended a series of meetings in your area and now receive our monthly newsletter. The Mission

A group of people was sitting in the waiting area of a popular restaurant. They were hungry, eager for a table, and silently stealing glances at each other. Then in came yet another family with a small child. As the man went to register his name, the child standing in the middle of this group began looking at their hungry faces. He looked at one

I watched two cars almost collide as one turned into the other’s lane without seeing the car occupying it. The violated driver went ballistic—honking, yelling, and using inappropriate hand signals. Driving has to be one of the great revelations of human nature. Yet road rage is no longer “all the rage.” Enter air rage, bike rage,

It was my last night of cafeteria food. The next morning I would be leaving ICAP (ECAP) and saying “adios” to the hundreds of young people who had listened to me preach for the last 18 nights. A table of students motioned me over. I recognized two of the girls who had just given the special music. They shared their unsolicited testimonies

Someone sent me a recent article by John Piper, Reformed Baptist preacher and best selling author, titled, Fierce Tornados and the Fingers of God. The opening sentence was as terrible to me as the tornados themselves: “Why would

July 1, 2011 was a day of new beginnings for Light Bearers and ARISE. It was the end of two separate ministries and the beginning of one. And from that day to this, we have experienced unrelenting unity, fellowship, and synergy. One of the things I most appreciate about the ARISE team is their youthful enthusiasm for God’s work and how it