Makewaves

03/02/2026

Today, Jewish communities celebrate Purim as a joyful remembrance of their deliverance from a planned genocide in ancient Persia (modern‑day Iran), as recorded in the Book of Esther. At its core, the holiday remembers God’s hidden providence and protection, even when His name is not mentioned in the story.

Esther 9:1 — “On the very day when the enemies of the Jews hoped to gain mastery over them, the reverse occurred.”

Purim invites us to remember that God is the Author of great reversals, and we can pray for such a reversal in our own time for the people of Iran. For decades, they have endured oppression and deep restrictions on freedom. Many in the growing underground church—estimated by some surveys and ministries to be several hundred thousand to around one million Jesus followers—have faced intense persecution, including imprisonment, torture, and even ex*****on.

In the days of Esther, when fear was rising and darkness seemed to have the final word, God was quietly writing a different ending. That is what I am praying for the Iranian people today: an ending marked by protection, courage, and unexpected deliverance.

Photo: Persepolis, the ceremonial capital of ancient Persia, offers a glimpse of the empire’s former glory—a visual backdrop for the world of Esther and the first Purim.

01/27/2026

On Holocaust Remembrance Day, I’m thinking about the cost of forgetting.

Nearly 30 years ago, I walked through Buchenwald concentration camp in Weimar, Germany and read remarks in the guest book by visitors' who denied the Holocaust happened, stating it was a lie. Standing on the very ground where unspeakable suffering occurred, those words stunned me.

Years later at Yad Vashem, the documentation made something painfully clear: the Holocaust didn’t begin with killing—it began with propaganda. It began with a campaign to convince a civilized world that one group was subhuman. Eugenics was accepted as “science." It fueled and condoned the systematic targeting of an entire people group.

Last spring in Israel, I felt how fragile that promise of "Never Again" can be. The atrocities of October 7, 2023, were a horrifying reminder of how quickly hatred can rise again, and how easily loud voices distort or minimize the reality of evil. Isaiah warned of this long ago: “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil.” (Isaiah 5:20) That warning feels painfully relevant today.

History shows that some Christians courageously defended Jewish lives, during the Holocaust, but most remained silent. Casper ten Boom, who hid Jewish people above his watch shop and died in a camp, once said of the N***s, “I pity the Germans—they have touched the apple of God’s eye.” His clarity challenges us to chooses courage over silence.
“Never again” must shape how we see, how we respond, and how we live.

01/19/2026

Today we honor a preacher who refused to let injustice have the final word.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. didn’t set out to become a historical figure — he set out to be faithful. His courage flowed from his calling, his conviction from Scripture, and his vision from the Kingdom of God.

He believed, as Jesus taught, that God’s Kingdom breaks into the world through ordinary people who refuse to stay silent in the face of suffering.

Every believer carries the light of Christ into a world still wrestling with darkness — discrimination, division, exploitation, and the quiet injustices that wound our neighbors. Some waves are simple acts of kindness. Others require the courage to confront the giants of our day.

Dr. King showed us that faith is not passive. It is not silent.

It is a force that brings heaven to earth.

08/11/2025

YOU WERE MADE TO THRIVE!
“They will thrive like well-watered grass, like willows by streams of running water.” Isaiah 44:4

Click to watch the music video for “Scars In Heaven” by Casting Crowns!https://CastingCrowns.lnk.to/ScarsInHeavenID/youtube!catalogDownload the song now: htt...

02/11/2025

"The truth is the kindest thing we can give folks in the end."
Harriet Beecher Stowe, writer, abolitionist

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01/05/2025

"The bond of our common humanity is stronger than the divisiveness of our fears and prejudices." -Jimmy Carter, 39th president of the United States, Nobel Peace Prize recipient 1924-2024

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01/03/2025

Happy New Year Everyone! May God open windows of opportunity that lead to a rich life in 2025!
“Only those who have learned the power of sincere and selfless contribution experience life's deepest joy: true fulfillment.”
– Tony Robbins

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08/28/2024

Longing for more? An invitation to move from the shallow into deep waters ...

"The culture prefers to keep people unthinking, unconscious, unaware, and unavailable to God, because people in this state are easily manipulated. The spiritual life is a constant invitation to go beyond the shallow and superficial offerings of this world and seek out the deep places. It is in these deep waters that the most wonderful spiritual experiences await us all." - Michael Kelly.

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08/28/2023

On this day in 1963 ...

"Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force." -

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

This speech was delivered byMartin Luther King on August 28 1963at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington.

07/31/2023

"Disease has no borders. In this small global village that we all share, we must care for our own children as well as our neighbors’, no matter how near or far, for we are all one people and neither geography nor prejudice should impede us." - Dr. Lior Sasson, Director of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery in 2018 when SACH became the first Israeli organization in history to receive the UN Population award.

As I have been engaging in Israel's culture of innovation, I learned about Save a Child's Heart organization, (SACH). This NGO was established in 1995 and has helped more than 6,600 children from over 65 countries travel to Israel for life saving cardiac care.

SACH treats children suffering from congenital and rheumatic heart disease. The families have little access to care in their own countries. The video is dated, but it conveys the best of humanity in how SACH shares life-saving innovation with neighbors, many of whom do not have diplomatic ties to Israel.

ube.com/watch?v=P7TVdPXM6jA

Save a Childs Heart House & Wolfson Medical CenterSummer, 2017

07/13/2023

Today's post continues the focus on how Israel innovation is making the world better.

The Grain Cocoon is a revolutionary social innovation that safely and reliably stores grain, rice, legumes, and spices and prevents bug infestation for years. Dr. Shlomo Navarro, the inventor, used a strong material called polyvinyl chloride that when sealed, traps bugs and their eggs inside depriving them of oxygen. The hermetic material blocks gas pe*******on (keeps water and air out). This is the same principle of hermetic storage found by archeologists who had unearthed ancient, buried clay vessels that still held grain.

Dr. Navarro is referred to as a modern-day Joseph, (who saved the ancient world from famine by storing grain during the plentiful years to prepare for famine).

Later, Dr Navarro in partnership with Jonathan Donahaye through the US-Israel Science and Technology Foundation created smaller bags to better serve the developing world.

Originally the Cocoon was at first marketed by an Israeli kibbutz specializing in plastics. Today, the bags, are now being marketed by a US company called GrainPro as GrainPro Cocoons ( https://www.grainpro.com )
Read more about Dr. Navarro's story here:
https://avijorisch.com/.../putting-a-ziploc-on-world-hunger/

A company headquartered in Concord, Massachusetts with Israeli roots is playing an important role in curbing global hunger, saving millions of people from malnutrition, and pulling farmers around the globe out of the cycle of poverty. Its invention is already doing great things, but much more can be...

07/05/2023

Today's post launches a series of posts that will focus on how Israeli innovations are making the world a better place.

The Grain Cocoon is a revolutionary social innovation that safely and reliably stores grain, rice, legumes, and spices and prevents bug infestation for years. Dr. Shlomo Navarro, the inventor, used a strong material called polyvinyl chloride that when sealed, traps bugs and their eggs inside depriving them of oxygen. The hermetic material blocks gas pe*******on (keeps water and air out). This is the same principle of hermetic storage found by archeologists who had unearthed ancient, buried clay vessels that still held grain.

Dr. Navarro is referred to as a modern-day Joseph, (who saved the ancient world from famine by storing grain during the plentiful years to prepare for famine).

Later, Dr Navarro in partnership with Jonathan Donahaye through the US-Israel Science and Technology Foundation created smaller bags to better serve the developing world.

Originally the Cocoon was at first marketed by an Israeli kibbutz specializing in plastics. Today, the bags, are now being marketed by a US company called GrainPro as GrainPro Cocoons ( https://www.grainpro.com )

Read more about Dr. Navarro's story here:
https://avijorisch.com/article/putting-a-ziploc-on-world-hunger/

A company headquartered in Concord, Massachusetts with Israeli roots is playing an important role in curbing global hunger, saving millions of people from malnutrition, and pulling farmers around the globe out of the cycle of poverty. Its invention is already doing great things, but much more can be...