The Tide®

It’s that time of year now when those little yellow flowers start popping up here and there in my yard. Like so many other people, I’ll now be waging a continuous battle against the dandelions in my yard that will last the whole year from spring through summer and fall. Yes, I am making it sound like dandelions are my enemy, so what would you think if I told you I wanted to be like a dandelion?   You’d probably think I was crazy, but let me explain. I remember one particular spring day several years ago when my son and I were working at digging some stubborn dandelions out of a flower bed.   I had explained to my son the importance of getting the whole root out. As I dug down around one root I could see it getting narrower and narrower, but then I came to a point where the thin root was attached to a thick, leftover root from the previous year.   It was a perfect example to show my son how a dandelion from last year was able to come back because it had not been comple...

Christian persecution is finally getting due coverage in both faith-based and secular media. And part of the reason is the increasing awareness of the World Watch List from Open Doors USA, which lists the worst countries for persecution. Alarmingly, the South Asian nation of Nepal was not even included on previous lists, but this year is at No. 25—halfway up the list of 50. Nepal is one of the nations where The Tide ® produces and airs Gospel Christian programming for listeners in their own language. “Since October 2004, The Tide ministry has been producing and airing a weekly radio program in the Nepali language called ‘Prasasta Jivan’ which means ‘Abundant Life’ in English,” said The Tide Director Don Shenk. “This program has the potential to reach over 19 million Nepali speaking people with the message that Jesus came to give them abundant life. Then in 2013, The Tide ministry added programming in the Tharu language to help make disciples and plant churches among the Tharu p...

Reading: Colossians 3:12-17 Peace. Simply peace. Before you go on reading this, I want you to take a deep breath. In and out. Remember that each breath you take is from God. This passage in Colossians has so many great words to live by. Let them wash over you as you read them. Everyone in this world searches for peace. Unfortunately, most of them are met with no success. The reason being that true peace only comes from Jesus Christ. We as christians know that, but often find ourselves running ourselves ragged anyway. It’s finals season, and stress lurks around every corner. It can be hard to imagine a scenario in which you find any peace at all right now. But Jesus calls us to let peace rule our hearts. He is the Prince of Peace. He is asking us to let Him rule our hearts. The common misconception is that peace comes when nothing bad is going on. Let me be blunt about this; if Jesus can fall asleep and take a nap on a boat during a hurricane, He can give you peace during finals,...

Although Albania remains one of the poorest nations in Europe, the country threw off the shackles of communism in 1990 to embrace democracy, joined NATO in 2009 and is now a candidate for membership in the European Union, according to Christian Today .  The Tide ® has been producing and airing Christian programming in the Albanian language for several years, and has witnessed firsthand the change taking shape among Albania’s growing body of believers. Despite progress, Albania’s economy has remained stagnant in some areas, Christian Today further reported. Donkeys and carts are still common sights in rural areas, and 40 percent of Albania’s 3 million inhabitants are still employed in agriculture. Many people, especially the young, are choosing to start over in locations like Italy and Greece. “Albania seems to be on the cusp of great change, and many feel the time for evangelism is ripe and a significant window is now open to share the Gospel,” said The Tide Director Don Shenk. ...

I have counselled with many couples about their home problems. Frequently, they charge each other that “the first love has gone.” They live together, they work and eat together. They go away together, they may even attend curch together, but love has disappeard. Then work is drudgery and play is boring. Unhappiness is the result. The angel said to the church at Ephesus “I have seen your hard work and your patient endurance,” but, “you have le your first love.” Can you recall old days? When you loved to commune with God. When work for the Lord was a delight. When you anticipated the quiet hour, to read or pray. Remember the pleasure in listening to the ministry of the word? In all probability the routine of Christian service is kept up, but the warm motivating love has gone away. The angel threatened to remove the candlestick, unless there would be repentance and restoration. Let us ask the Lord for new love to be shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. Prayer: Lord,...

More than three years ago, The Tide ® began partnering with Radio 7 in Albania to produce and air Christian radio programs in the Albanian language. Radio 7 recently celebrated its 15th anniversary of reaching the people of Albania for Christ, partly through The Tide ministry’s program called “Sipas Fjales” or “According to the Word.” “Our partnership with Radio 7 since January 2015 has been wonderful,” said The Tide Director Don Shenk. “It is an honor to reach Albanian listeners with the Good News of Jesus through Radio 7, and we congratulate them for 15 years of service to the King—and pray for many more decades of reaching people for Christ.” Radio 7 reported that this verse from Psalm 126:3 is a reflection of the past 15 years in ministry: “The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.” Radio 7 began with a desire to follow the Great Commission to preach the Good News wherever Albanians live. Over the years, projects and outreach efforts have included...

Tests! There are many of them now a days. Tests at school, for driver’s license, civil service, selective service, and job applications. Paul calls for a spiritual checkup. “Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine.” Maybe you slipped. Prove yourselves, in that if you work a problem the right way, you can prove that the answer will be correct. Is your profess faith in Christ bringing the correct answer to life? Stop, look, and listen, for if you follow Christ in full obedience, then the result is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. Are these things present in your life? Is there peace and joy? Does the Holy Spirit control your life? Be honest when you look at yourself and make change where it needs to be. Prayer: Search my heart, O Lord! See if there be any wicked way in me. Show me where there is lack. Cleanse me from evil and quicken me by Your spirit. Help me to make corrections where needed. Amen. The post Honesty appeared first on The Tide .

Our missions team recently returned from Albania, where representatives conducted a Leader-to-Leader training seminar for pastors from across Albania and Kosovo. Traveling to Albania as part of the group was Director Don Shenk, who noted that Albania was once an atheist state and is now predominantly Muslim, but since 1998 Albania has legally allowed total religious freedom. Despite many mission organizations entering Albania, however, it is still estimated that less than 1 percent of the population are evangelical Christians. “The purpose of our visit to Albania was to encourage and resource pastors who are engaged in leading young congregations and planting new churches,” Shenk said. “Since 2015, The Tide ministry has been working with some of these pastors to effectively share the Gospel with Albanians in their own language in a culturally relevant context. After this wonderful time of training and outreach, we can now further encourage them to follow the leading of...