Bible App.

 YouVersion's Bible app sees record engagement over Easter.

YouVersion, the company behind the world’s most popular Bible app, has said that this Easter saw its highest level of engagement with scripture ever recorded.

CT.

Renewal.

Phew. Wow. Super!

 If God is all-knowing, how can man have free will?

By Sam Jones

, Op-ed contributor Sunday, April 19, 2026

If God knows everything you’re going to do, can you still be free?

It’s one of the oldest questions in philosophy. For centuries, theologians and skeptics alike have wrestled with the tension between divine foreknowledge and human freedom. If God already knows every decision you will make, are your decisions real? Or is the future already written — unchangeable, mechanical, and determined?

For many, this leads to a fatalistic view of history: that every action, every thought, every choice is merely the outworking of a divine decree. Foreknowledge, they assume, demands determinism. But that only seems true if you start with a false assumption about time and an impoverished view of God.

The dilemma collapses when you stop imagining God as a cosmic spectator watching a chronological timeline unfold. Because the God of the Bible is not bound by time — time is bound by Him.

The problem lies not in foreknowledge itself, but in our insistence on mapping God’s knowledge onto human temporality. We picture God like a being ahead of us on the timeline, peeking around the corner to see what we’ll do. But God is not ahead of us in time — He is outside of time, or better put, time is inside of God. He is not watching history like a surveillance reel. Time is not His limit. It’s His creation.

Foreknowledge doesn’t demand determinism when the Foreknower is not trapped inside the system. If time exists within God — rather than God existing within time — then His knowledge of the future does not erase our agency. He does not cause our choices simply by knowing them. He sees the whole canvas, but we are still brushing the strokes.

This is not merely philosophical — it is thoroughly biblical. Romans 8:29–30 reveals a divine sequence that cannot be ignored: “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.”

The order is clear:

1. Foreknowledge
2. Predestination
3. Calling
4. Justification
5. Glorification

This is not just theological trappings — it is divine logic. As Pastor Cary Gordon succinctly puts it: “God’s powers of predestination operate according to His foreknowledge. God’s foreknowledge does not operate subject to His powers of predestination.”

To reverse that order — to make God’s knowing dependent on His decreeing — is to collapse moral agency into mechanical fate and reduce the sovereignty of God to a caricature of control. But Scripture is not vague. It presents foreknowledge as the fountainhead from which God’s redemptive plan flows.

This is especially evident in Scripture’s treatment of redemptive history. The Bible does not treat time as a flat, forward-marching progression. It presents a view of time centered not on chronology, but on redemption. The cross of Christ is not merely an event within time — it is the axis of divine purpose. It is the center point of a redemptive structure that extends forward and backward.

Even in the act of judgment, God anchors time in redemption. As He cursed the serpent in Genesis 3, He declared: “He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.” This wasn’t just prophecy — it was the planting of a redemptive timeline. God wasn’t merely observing history from start to finish; He was initiating a story that flows from the cross outward.

Abraham, Moses, and the saints of old were saved by looking ahead to the cross, just as we are saved by looking back. God’s redemptive time flows from the center of His redeeming work, not from the beginning of the universe. This means salvation — and therefore moral agency — is not bound to the clock but to covenant. It isn’t determined by sequence, but by submission. Time in God’s story is teleological, not mechanical — it moves toward purpose, not fate.

When we understand time as teleological and not mechanical, we soon realize that time flows strongest from the cross and empty tomb. This is how we can obey Ephesians 5:16: “Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” Time can be redeemed when we place redemptive purpose within it. When we ignore the redemptive purpose of time, it certainly does become mechanical, unfolding our eternity toward Hell. But that isn’t the purpose of time. Time is not merely something that moves us forward — it reveals the redemptive work of God.

And here’s where the Scriptures go further than most philosophers dare. While God is omniscient, the Bible plainly records moments where God speaks as if learning, responding, or waiting. In Genesis 18, He says, “I will go down and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry.” In Genesis 22, after Abraham’s obedience, God says, “Now I know that you fear God.”

These phrases are not divine gaps in God’s all-knowing nature. They are divine decisions to engage relationally within time. They reveal that omniscience is not surveillance. God’s power is not diminished by His restraint. He may choose not to know certain details in order to test, reveal, and relate without violating the moral agency of His creatures.

What the Bible is teaching is that God is so sovereign that even His knowledge is under His command. He governs His omniscience. He is self-sovereign in every area. God knows the end from the beginning.

Consider that a fruit of the Spirit is self-control. Self-control, simply put, is sovereignty over one’s being. We are to be able to bridle ourselves. God is not lopsided in His attributes; rather, He is all of them all at once. This means that His love is a just love and likewise His justice is a loving justice. This is true of His omniscience and sovereignty as well — they are relational, redemptive, and transcendent.

This understanding safeguards what both the Bible and your own soul already testify: that your choices matter. You are not a puppet in a pre-written play. You are a moral agent acting in real time, accountable to the One who both sees and judges. And that God — infinitely wise, infinitely good — can foreknow the end without forcing your decisions.

His knowing is not your undoing. It is the backdrop against which your freedom gains its value.

God’s sovereignty doesn’t cancel agency. It elevates it. And His foreknowledge does not nullify your choice. It gives it eternal weight. More than this, though, God’s foreknowledge and sovereignty are elevated in the presence of our legitimate moral agency. We do not elevate God — rather, it is His design and redemptive purpose that show off the pinnacle of His sovereignty.

Because while He knows the end from the beginning, He still says, “Choose this day whom you will serve.” And that choice isn’t a figment of your imagination. It is the weight of eternal destiny.

Pastor Sam Jones serves Abundant Life Christian Fellowship in Humboldt, IA as Senior Pastor. He married the love of his life, Sarah, in 2013; they have two sons, Thomas and Henry. He is most known for his teachings on the 4 spheres of delegated government and for being a voice for the pre-born. 

In addition to his Pastoral schedule, Pastor Sam is an avid podcaster and has been known to dabble in radio as well. His political commentary has appeared in dozens of news outlets across the country including The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, USA Today, and The Iowa Standard. 

Pastor Sam is the author of 5 Steps to Kill a Nation. He is also a co-author of Social Injustice, Church and State, and Enemies Within the Church Bible Study.

CP.

Birdie.

 

Lebanon.

View email in your browser DONATE Light in dark places Gospel witness in Lebanon In the midst of warfare and hardship a Release International partner in the Middle East is seeing the gospel of Christ bearing fruit. Our partner in Lebanon provides a haven for Christians and other minorities fleeing violence elsewhere in the region. While they provide food, clothing and bedding for those with nothing, they are also telling people about Jesus Christ. Only recently nine Alawites (a minority group that supported the former Assad regime in Syria) came to faith in Christ and were baptised. An Easter service, attended by more than 500 people, was led by a group of youngsters who our partner has been nurturing, and who have been sharing the gospel with thousands over social media. Our partner is a beacon of light shining in a dark place and attracting many. It is also a light beginning to shine further afield. Our partner told us, ‘All Christians are being persecuted throughout the Middle East, and in many places Christianity has been all but driven out. We are pushing back against the tide as we send people back into some of those countries, with former church members now working as missionaries in Jordan, Syria and other parts of the region.’ The work Release International partners do makes a real difference! Lebanon To find out more about Lebanon and the work Release International is supporting there, click the button below. LEARN MORE

Sickening Pensioner Persecution.

 https://www.aol.co.uk/articles/pensioner-given-criminal-conviction-over-075819546.html

2 Peter 3.

 8) But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9) The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

Birdies.

 

Nigeria.

NIGERIA: MODERN-DAY ‘JOB’ PERSEVERES DESPITE TRAUMATIC LOSS.

Posted: 2nd January 2025(Updated: 2nd January 2025)

Modern-day ‘Job’ perseveres despite traumatic loss.

On a visit to Nigeria Release International’s Alex Smythe spoke to Christians who have suffered unimaginable horrors yet continue in their faith. Here one believer shares his powerful story.

How do you carry on after losing your wife, parents and all but one of your children – not to mention your home and all your possessions – in one brutal attack on your community?

It doesn’t bear thinking about, and thankfully we in the UK do not face that threat. However, it is all too common in northern and central Nigeria where for two decades Islamist terrorists such as Boko Haram and now more recently militant Fulani herdsmen have been terrorising Christians.

For Luka Abba, a Christian from the southern part of Kaduna state in northwest Nigeria there is no choice but to keep going for the sake of his one surviving child, Magnificent, who is living with the physical trauma of having been shot in the mouth.

Somehow the boy survived the raid in February 2022 in which his siblings, mother and grandparents were killed but he lives with the consequences of the violence: when we met him he was awaiting further surgery. (At the time of writing, our partner had been trying to secure the necessary treatment but it is either too expensive or not easily available in Nigeria.)

‘The attack started on my house!’

Luka, a member of the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) and a resident of Kagoro village in the Kaura local government area, described what happened that evening in February 2022; how he had gone for a stroll with others from the congregation when the attack occurred.

‘We went out and left our families at home but before we knew it we started hearing gunshots. When we called home we heard that it was my community that was under attack – and the attack had started on my house!

‘Fulani herdsmen came and surrounded our community with their pick-up trucks and motorbikes. They surrounded my compound and started firing. (We stay in the same compound with different houses as an extended family.) They killed my wife and my children, burnt my father to ashes and killed my mother.

‘And then destroyed everything because I was into farming – ginger farming production.’

Luka is a major ginger grower in the community and even provided loans to empower local small business owners.

When he arrived home he discovered exactly what had happened to his family. Only Magnificent had survived but he was in desperate need of medical attention.

Luka picked up his son and carried him on his back to the nearest clinic – an ECWA dispensary where the boy received first aid – but ‘his facial injuries were beyond what they could medically handle’.

While there Luka was told that animals had started to tamper with the dead bodies of his family, which he had had to leave in the village. Eventually he was able to find someone to help him move the corpses to a hospital mortuary.

Magnificent remains under strict medical supervision

Meanwhile Magnificent was referred to the national hospital in the capital, Abuja, but medical staff there said that his injuries were too severe and could not be treated in Nigeria.

‘They asked if I had money to fly out with the boy but I had nothing. Everything had been destroyed. Even now I haven’t reactivated my bank accounts because all my documents and information were burnt. I didn’t have enough money.

‘As God would have it, though, I managed to get the money and we saw the consultant who said we couldn’t stay in the national hospital because it was too expensive. He knew that I had been through a lot and promised to look for another hospital in his capacity as a consultant.’

Eventually he referred Magnificent to the Federal Medical Centre in Nasarawa state, where the surgery took place. The doctor was able to carry out the operation by connecting online for guidance from colleagues overseas.

Today Magnificent remains under strict medical supervision. He has facial disfigurement and his mouth has to be wired up until there has been sufficient healing. If the wires cannot be removed they will need to be serviced and cleaned regularly to prevent infection.

‘Recently we went back for a check-up and they asked us to prepare so they can perform [more] surgery. There were so many complications including the skin around his mouth being deformed.’

‘Everybody was traumatised’

On top of having to care for his son, Luka is dealing with his own trauma from that terrible night in which a number of communities were attacked and around 30 people killed. Thankfully Release International’s partner, Stefanos Foundation, has been able to help him practically with clothing, food and accommodation as well as providing trauma counselling.

As I speak to Luka it’s clear that there is no doubt in his mind that the Fulani attacks were religiously motivated.

‘It is an Islamic agenda because it is only Christians who were killed and churches burnt. If they find a Muslim house within the community they will not touch it – and they will not touch any of their families. They allow the Muslims to leave and attack the Christians.

‘They claim that the land in the communities is for them to graze their cows on so they are asking the farmers to leave the communities for them to be grazing there, which of course the people and the communities don’t accept.’

After the attack on Kagoro, the villagers fled to a camp for the internally displaced. ‘Everybody was traumatised,’ said Luka.

Like other believers the events of that night had a huge impact on his faith; he questioned how God could have allowed this to happen to His children.

‘I began to wonder but the story that kept me, that helped me the most, was the story of Job, and I later named myself “Job of the Millennium” because of what happened to me. I came to a point where I reminded myself that I didn’t come into this world with anything, but, if I can touch anyone’s life while I am here and help them, that is what I must do. I believe that is why God spared my life.’

Inevitably Luka struggles with his feelings towards those responsible for killing his wife, Nancy, his children Sofia and Hope and his parents as well as injuring Magnificent, who was six years old at the time.

‘The pain is there. Left to myself and if I did not have a faith I would say these people should be destroyed – they are not worthy to live because they are like evil monsters. But as a Christian who reads the Bible I have to turn to Scripture which helps me overcome these thoughts. What I tell myself is: “May the will of God be done over their lives because I can’t give God direction over that.”’

He asks for prayer that God would intervene in Nigeria: ‘Pray about what we are facing and passing through in Nigeria – and for me and my surviving son personally. Pray that God provides where there is no way for us to take care of our loved ones, and that God would restore peace to the country.’

All photos © Release International 2025

Immersion in Scripture.

Dr Kiflu.

Arrest and background.

Dr Kiflu Gebremeskel, the chair of the Eritrean Evangelical Alliance, senior pastor and leading figure in the Full Gospel Church, has been imprisoned since May 2004. He was arrested in an early morning raid on his home in Asmara, the capital of Eritrea. Dr Kiflu was a mathematics lecturer who was faculty head in the University of Asmara until 1999, when he became a full-time pastor. He has never been charged with a crime or brought before a court. Dr Kiflu has been held incommunicado ever since his arrest. His wife and four children have not been able to visit him. It is believed that Dr Kiflu was held in prison with other leading Christian pastors, who were arrested around the same time.

Their arrests followed the increased repression of Christians in Eritrea. In May 2002, the government banned all religious groups except the Eritrean Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Lutheran churches and Sunni Islam. Christians from banned churches began to be arrested and incarcerated in appalling conditions in shipping containers, open-air facilities in military camps, pits in the ground and police stations – all without charge or trial. The ban was part of a crackdown on anyone seen as posing a threat to the government. The suppression followed a Pentecostal revival, particularly among young Eritreans in military service.

Family
Dr Kiflu is married to Elsa and they have four adult children – son Yosias, twins Hermala (daughter) and Daniel and youngest son Senai.

Dr Kiflu’s church continues to be banned in Eritrea and has been forced underground. Christians constantly run the risk of arrest whenever they try to meet together, and when arrested may be initially taken to a detention centre before being transported to one of Eritrea’s many prisons. Currently, there are an estimated 1,500 Christians imprisoned in Eritrea.

Latest News
News from inside Eritrea’s prison network is extremely difficult to obtain. However, Release partners in the country and in the UK have said that Dr Kiflu is alive and appeared to be in reasonable health when last seen.

Take Action
You can write a letter of encouragement to Dr Kiflu at his prison address below. When writing do not mention Release International and please ensure that you follow our letter writing guidance detailed in Reach Out.

Dr Kiflu Gebremeskel
Karchele Prison,
2nd Police Station,
Zone 7 Northern East,
Zoba Maakel,
Asmara,
Eritrea

Release Int.

Answered Prayers.

 Sun 19 Apr at 09:37

Wire Story

UK Breaks Ground on Massive Monument to Answered Prayers

UK Breaks Ground on Massive Monument to Answered Prayers - Christianity ... Yonat Shimron in Coleshill, England – Religion News Service After years of planning and fundraising, the roadside landmark shaped like a Möbius loop will represent a millio...

Yonat Shimron in Coleshill, England – Religion News Service

After years of planning and fundraising, the roadside landmark shaped like a Möbius loop will represent a million Christian petitions, brick by brick.