Bridge of Grace

At the end of the month of January 2020, Turkish Lawmakers introduced a "Marry Your Rapist" bill in which a rapist can escape being punished for raping a girl under the age of 18 if the two get married.  If this law is passed it would legitimize child marriage, statutory rape, and would also pave the way for child abuse & sexual exploitation.  Though the "age of consent" in the nation of Turkey is 18, it is estimated that as it stands over 480,000 child marriages have taken place in the country over the past 10 years.  Studies show that in the nation of Turkey 15-32% of women are married under the age of 18, and nearly 38% of women report that they have been victims of sexual harassment or abuse.  The passage of this bill would only allow this disturbing trend to increase.   Unfortunately, this kind of law already exists in other nations.  In the country of Morocco, Article 475 of the Moroccan Penal code states that a Rapist my be exonerated ...

In the Liberian Village of Nyiela, the village was divided into two by a road that ran through the center.  The Muslim community lived on one side, and the Christian community lived on the other.  For many years, nobody in the village crossed the road to the other side.  Not for clean water, not for medical care, not even during the Ebola crisis.  Though the two communities lived together, they rarely spoke to one another.  God changed this.   In 2017, packages arrived to the village from Samaritan's Purse as part of Operation Christmas Child.  These packages contained gifts for all the children.  As preparations were made on how to bring the two communities together so the packages could be distributed, the organizers made the brilliant decision to close down the road dividing the communities and allow the children to come together for the first time and receive their gifts.   The Road that once Divided the Community of Nyiel...

For decades the Iranian regime has kept the people living in a state of fear and repression.  Religious minorities have been subject to constant persecution, whether they're Christian, Baha'i, or any minority Islamic sect.  Women have few basic human rights, if any.  Homosexuals have been legally executed simply for being homosexual, and dissidents of all walks of life have either been locked up or murdered.  In the last few months alone, the Iranian regime has killed well over a thousand protesters who want to be free of this despotic regime.   Iranian Political Prisoners Maryam Rostampour & Marziyeh Amirizadeh Speak in Washington DC Congressman Bill Johnson & Senator Ted Cruz vow to Stand with the Iranian People in their Struggle for Freedom Less than a year ago I personally met Iranian dissidents in Washington DC, some of whom were locked in the infamous Evin Prison for at least a year, often more, simply for their faith, or for oppo...

Under Sharia Law, there is no hope of there ever being equal rights.  Those who adhere to non-Islamic faiths or who belong to a minority Islamic sect are always subjected to oppression & persecution.  Sadly, not even the deceased are granted equal treatment.  In the nation of Iran, the grave of Pastor Soodmand, who was executed by the regime for "apostasy" in 1990, was recently desecrated.  Shortly after the Iranian Revolution of 1979, Pastor Soodmand converted from Islam to Christianity and began creating house churches to teach other Iranians about Jesus.  His network was eventually infiltrated and Pastor Soodmand was arrested.  After enduring months of solitary and torture, he was executed for the crime of "apostasy."   The Desecrated Grave site of  Pastor Soodmand The Iranian regime did everything they could to desecrate his memory.  They denied his family the right to give him a proper burial or even a tombstone....

In the nations of Europe, communities with large Muslim population have over the years set up Sharia patrols.  Their goal they say is to protect the Muslim community from attacks, and some have stated that the recent Mosque attack in New Zealand is proof of the necessity of these patrols.  Some do indeed agree what with the recent string of attacks on synagogues, churches, and mosques over the years that it may be necessary to provide armed security to protect the worshipers from harm. However, critics have also stated that some of the Sharia patrols are overstepping their bounds.  That they are going beyond protecting their houses of worship and are now working to enforce Sharia Law in the streets.  Throughout Europe it has been revealed that Sharia Patrols have beaten and harassed non-Muslim men for drinking alcohol and have harassed non-Muslim women for not wearing hijabs.  Reports have also revealed that Sharia Courts have been established to settle "c...

When one thinks of King David, we think of how as a mere boy he courageously slew the giant Goliath with a sling shot, but what many don't know about him is the the terrible mistake he made as King.  As King David followed the ways of the Lord, he and his Kingdom prospered, but as he was looking out over the city of Jerusalem, he witnessed the site of a beautiful bathing woman called Bathsheba.  As he watched, the sin of lust seized hold of him, and he ordered Bathsheba to come to him and they eventually engaged in relations with one another.  The fact that Bathsheba was already married to one of his generals, Uriah the Hittite, was irrelevant to King David, as he felt that as King, he was entitled to anything his heart desired ( Link to Bible Verse ). When Bathsheba found out she was pregnant with King David's child, the right think for King David to have done was to have confessed his sin both to God and to Uriah and seek repentance.  Understandably such a th...

When times of instability & uncertainty, grip society, people look for answers.  They seek the guidance of others, usually high  ranking members of their society, to inform them of the decisions that they need to make.   Unfortunately, people often come with conflicting messages.  When this happens, the populace often chooses to listen to those who give the message that they wish to hear, even if the evidence does not support their view.  Such was the case with the Prophet Jeremiah and the false prophet Hananiah. During the time of Jeremiah and Hananiah, the Kingdom of Judea was under the control of the nation of Babylon.  The Babylonian rule was repressive and many of the highest ranking members of the Kingdom had been forcibly deported to Babylon.  In this time of trial, the people were not sure if they should join with other nations and resist, or accept Babylonian rule and pray for better days to follow.  The Prophet Jeremiah plac...