News

As Hurricane Sandy clears the East Coast of the United States, storm damage is estimated at between $20 and $50 billion. Communities from Atlantic City, New Jersey, to the east end of Long Island, New York are still trying to cope with floodwaters from the most damaging storm to hit the northeastern U.S. in recent years. As of Wednesday evening, more than six million people were still without power. The New York City subway system will manage only “limited” service on Thursday. The New Jersey Transit system is in what one official called “disarray,” with much of its service still suspended.

I remember seeing my mother sew a pouch in my father’s long johns with their life’s savings in it, when news of bank failure came many years ago. My father went to work carrying a shotgun. Why was all of this necessary? Are we talking about the good old United States of America?

Recessions, unemployment, mortgage defaults, bankruptcies, debt and poverty: these negative, economically-related terms appear in today’s headlines across the globe. Why? What’s wrong with the world’s economies?

If you asked my cousin about loyalty, he would tell you about manning a machine-gun post during World War II on a Pacific Island. During an attack by the enemy, his aide deserted him and he was left to fend for himself. He was horribly wounded, and though he lived to come home, his experience left him handicapped and bitter for the rest of his life. Will trials and betrayal do the same to you?

Nearly everyone has seen a rainbow. The beautiful, majestic, multicolored arc in the sky inspires awe and is a wonder to behold. But there is more to the rainbow than meets the eye. Beyond the elusive and transient image of this miracle of nature is a divinely inspired miracle that represents one of the first promises of God recorded in the Bible.