Perhaps the most famous story of fraud in modern history is that of New York stock broker Bernie Madoff. Madoff was one of the biggest names in finance in New York, and his 4800 clients were devoted to his fund as a remarkably solid performer.

Life can indeed be a perilous journey. John Newton’s famous hymn, “Amazing Grace”, speaks of "dangers, toils and snares" that he experienced firsthand. On one occasion, he was thrown from a horse, narrowly missing impalement on a row of sharp stakes.

In many Hollywood movies, there is a hero or heroine who comes to the rescue of others at the very end. Think of your favorite movie and identify the hero or heroine. It is almost always a human being. In contrast, the hero of Biblical stories is not the human actor but God himself.

How powerful is God? How far is his reach and how vast is his presence? These are questions that many people tend to ask. A prophet named Jonah put these very questions to the test several years ago.

A phrase has become quite common in several professions: “compassion fatigue”. Pastors or counsellors or nurses are reporting “compassion fatigue” in staggering numbers.