Author: Shalem John

On a September afternoon in an Egyptian city, cars and donkey carts navigate around pedestrians crossing the streets. Locals purchase cuts of meat from a carcass hanging by the road as a dog jumps on top of a parked car for a better view. A quiet apartment on an adjacent side street provides a reprieve from the daily commotion. It also offers sanctuary for local Christians facing religious-based threats and violence. The apartment is among 20 safe houses Help for the Persecuted operates across the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia. Inside, Amira Butros shares over a glass of…

In 1981, an industry newcomer named Jubilant Sykes released his debut album, Number of the Lord, with Light Records, the same label as gospel legend Andraé Crouch. At the time, gospel music scholar Robert Darden was working as a music journalist in New York, and he remembers the day he listened to that album.  “This album was different. It was gospel, it was funk,” Darden said. But it wasn’t the style or instrumentation that stood out to him most—it was Sykes’ voice.  “At that moment, Sykes had the best voice in gospel.”  Sykes drew acclaim as a rising gospel star—praised…

God created man in his present human form and man is the crown of God’s creation. He is unique with special qualities and nature, when compared to other creatures. The climax of God’s creative work is man. Man can think, decide, choose, feel, respond, remember and learn from mistakes. So the study of the image and the likeness of man will enlighten more about man. It will enable one to learn more of the wisdom and the power of God in creation. 1. What is the image of God? The Bible teaches that God created man in His own image…