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...

Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen me and yet have believed.” (John 20:29 NIV) How often have you heard someone describing a spectacular event say, “If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes I wouldn’t have believed it!” Recently in a magazine I saw an advertisement for a bed mattress. In order to convey just how luxurious and comfortable the mattress is the caption reads “You’ve got to feel it to believe it.”  Let’s face it, we live in a society where “seeing is believing.”  It just seems to be part of our human nature to want to experience things for ourselves before we are convinced of their validity.  That’s probably because so often we form opinions on things we hear about, and then find our whole perception being changed once we experience it for ourselves.  That’s what happened with Thomas when he first heard that Jesus has risen from the grave and is ali...

As Christ followers, we are daily aware of our privileged life as adopted children of the Most High God, but it is still very special and meaningful for us to celebrate Easter every year. It is a wonderful time of very specifically remembering and honoring what Jesus did for us through His death on the cross and subsequent resurrection. Here in America we live in an environment where we can freely live out our faith and publicly join together with others to joyfully celebrate Easter. Our government even recognizes Easter as a national holiday! In some parts of the world, however, Easter is not celebrated, and there are many who have not yet personally responded to the call to belong to Jesus Christ because they haven’t yet heard the Gospel message. Fortunately, people like you whose hearts are filled with Christ’s compassion for the spiritually lost have been generously helping The Tide ministry in our efforts to make sure all people everywhere have the opportunity to hear about Jes...

Reading: Luke 19:1-10 When men get desperate they do the unusual. Zaccheaus did! He left the office and the the business and went out to the place where Jesus was to pass by. He was quite determined, so as the huge crowd fought against him, to see Jesus Zaccheaus climbed up a tree! Before the day was over, he was the envy of ever one in the crowd-think, how would you feel if Jesus was having dinner with the tax collector! The Master knew that nay person that would make such effort to see Him would certainly be open and receptive to His teaching, and so Zaccheaus was. Zaccheaus found Him. He, like Moses in the desert, turned aside to see the Lord. To find the Lord you must take time and go where He is. He is in the scriptures. He is in the House of God. He is in the quiet devotional hour. Take time! Go where He is, climb the tree or get on your knees, and you will see Him, for He will surely pass by your way. Prayer: If youll come to my heart Lord, I’ll remove everything that is of...

Even though Nigeria holds the No. 14 spot on this year’s World Watch List for Christian persecution, positive developments are still occurring to help advance the Gospel and reach new believers.  The Tide ® shares the hope of Jesus Christ through radio programming in Nigeria and regularly hears reports from leaders in the country where the 70-year-old ministry works to spread the Gospel to unreached people groups. In Nigeria, leadership recently reported that radio stations in the African nation had raised fees for airtime. “To the glory of God,” the representative shared, individuals and organizations came forward with the necessary funds so the Gospel programming could continue. The Tide -aided ministry in Nigeria is also engaging in one-on-one counseling for those in need, as well as helping displaced families whose homes have been burnt down by insurgents from Boko Haram. They not only have no roofs over their heads, but also scarce food, water, clothing or medical care. “Ni...

Quiet Spirits Reading: 1 Thesselonians 4:7-12 Have you ever heard a sermon preached on this scripture? Do you remember it? Study to be quiet and to mind your own business. Boisterous and meddlesome persons create their own problems and stumble over their feet. Better stay out of controversies that have no answer. Don’t be joining riots to prove your point, or raise disturbances to get attention. It is far better to be quiet. Don’t talk too much. While there are many words there is no want for strife. “Mind your own affairs” is the way the Amplified version puts it. There is nothing much more obnoxious that I know, than a person with a pious look who thinks it their business to manage the a airs of everyone in the church and in the community. Let us submit to an honest examination by the Holy Spirit. A eddlesome spirit is hard to detect. Listen carefully to what the Lord may want to say. Prayer: Thank you Lord for showing me my heart. Make me gentle. Help me to be quiet, sweet,...

Reading: Acts 8:1-8 The early church grew by leaps and bounds. They soon filled Jerusalem with their doctrines. Persecution arose and they were scattered. Scattered, but not stopped. Scattered to witness and preach Christ. It is very evident that in the Jerusalem church, they were all witnessing Christians. They prayed that with all boldness they might give witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus from the dead. Philip and his family witnessed to Samaria. It was a very unlikely place, but God honored the word and many were saved and mircales were performed. There is an urgent need for witnessing Christians today. A good question to ask yourself is, “How much have I witnessed for the Lord in the last year?” Prayer: Lord, forgive me for failing to witness. Give me a new touch on my soul. Inspire me to witness and I shall try. I pray for Your help. Amen. Be on the look out for a new devotional ebook coming out soon! The post Be a Witness for the Lord appeared first on The Tide...

In mid-March a mission team from The Tide ministry will be traveling to Albania to conduct a Leader to Leader seminar for pastors from across Albania and Kosovo.  Albania was once an atheist state and the population is now predominantly Muslim, but since 1998 Albania has legally allowed total religious freedom.  Despite many mission organizations entering Albania since it opened up in 1998 it is still estimated that less than 1% of the population are evangelical Christians. The purpose of our visit is to encourage and resource pastors who are engaged in leading young congregations and planting new churches. 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.  We now want to further encourage them to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit and to work cooperatively to build God’s Kingdom in the hearts of people throughout that region of the world. Ple...

A new report in The Christian Post finds that as Christian persecution continues to rise in India under the governance of a Hindu nationalist party, an evangelical group described 2017 as “one of the most traumatic for the Christian community” in 10 years.  The Tide ® has been sharing the Gospel in India for four decades, and reaches new and potential believers there in multiple languages. “With a population of over 1.3 billion people, India is very densely populated,” said The Tide Director Don Shenk . “Over 2,000 of the 2,295 people groups in India are still considered unreached with the Gospel. Multiple religions are practiced throughout India, but Hinduism is the largest religion there, and only about 2 percent of the population professes to be Christians. That means there are still over 1.2 billion people in India who don’t yet know Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior! And the fact that those who do believe in Christ are experiencing persecution gives us all the more ...

Reading: Psalm 46, Matthew 28:18-20, Rev 7:9-10 I have a tendency to take on large and complicated projects.  My longest-term project has been the renovation of the stone farmhouse that belonged to my grandparents.  Because my family and I are living in the house while we renovate it, we have to break the large job into smaller parts.  Some of them are easy to figure out, like adding a wall or taking down an old ceiling.  One of the hard jobs, though, has been building a new staircase.  Because this job is so complicated, I really didn’t want to tackle it – but this past December, it had to be done.  I began by measuring and drawing and then, as I focused on doing the next necessary part, I found that although it took time and attention, the staircase began to take shape. Scripture is clear that God will be exalted by all the nations (ethnic groups), and that a great multitude from all nations will praise Him.  It’s also clear that we have a part to...

We closed 2017 with a new political dispensation due to the resignation of former president Robert Mugabe. We thank God for a peaceful political transition. Although there was jubilant celebration in the streets at the time of his resignation, the living conditions have not improved. We have seen the upsurge in basic commodities such as food, utility costs and transportation for the past quarter. This has a negative impact on the everyday livelihood and needs of the ‘Amagugu Evangeli’ radio ministry and puts the majority of our listeners in distress. During this past quarter, the studio technician, Jonah, and our radio preachers attended to responses from 765 listeners who made contact through WhatsApp, texts and phone calls. Listeners request prayer and counseling on salvation and faith, marital problems and family matters, employment and economic issues, educational needs and sickness. Our main radio program has shifted in times from 11:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. every Sunday. We were ...

The African nation of Zimbabwe is experiencing very hard times, and its people desperately need the hope of Jesus Christ. According to a news story in Business Report , South Africa’s leading business-focused publication, the Republic of Zimbabwe is one of seven countries that could go bankrupt in 2018. Zimbabwe was in disarray last year following the resignation of former President Robert Mugabe. Even though his resignation made Zimbabweans jubilant, an estimated 95 percent of the workforce has been left unemployed, the outlet reports. “The people of Zimbabwe are in the midst of a great deal of strife,” said The Tide Director Don Shenk, who was born in then-Rhodesia. “Prices for food and health care are skyrocketing out of control, infrastructure is crumbling, and there are widespread shortages of cash and medicine. While people were celebrating the resignation of President Mugabe, their lives have not improved much, with uncertainty and unrest still prevalent.” Although small cha...

A Straight Road Makes Travel Easy Luke 3:3-16 Huge super-highways criscross the country. The high places have been brought down. The valleys have been filled. The crooked has been made straight. The way has been prepared for trade and commerce to flow into our cities. So the grace of God flows into any life when the way is prepared. The crooked must be made straight. Zaccheaus did, and the Master came to his house. The mountains of self-sufficiency must be brought down and the valley of neglect must be filled up, where such neglect has caused the corosion of the good soil of the soul. The rough must be made smooth. The stumbling blocks of doubt and unbelief must be tossed aside. Then the Lord comes to us in the full sweetness of His assurance. Lord, I ask of you, through the power of the Holy Spirit, prepare my heart for Your coming, so that my life will be enriched by Your fullness. Amen. The post A Straight Road Makes Travel Easy appeared first on The Tide .