Leslie Hook, Published: July 11
Ma, whose ordination had been supported by both Beijing and the Vatican, made the announcement during his ordination ceremony on Saturday in the St. Ignatius Cathedral in Shanghai.
In a snub to the authorities, he said he would immediately quit his duties in the association to focus on his new role as auxiliary bishop of Shanghai, one of the largest dioceses in China. (more…)
Dr. Peter Hammond – July 2012 edition of JOY! Magazine.
The secularisation and paganisation of large sections of Europe is tragic. There are surprisingly dynamic pockets of spiritual vitality and life amidst the general atheism and heathenism, but the general picture in Europe is of spiritual decline.
Missionary Power House
In 1900, Evangelicals in Europe constituted 45% of the world’s Evangelicals. Now less than 4% of all Evangelicals in the world are in Europe. The 19th century was the greatest century of Missionary advance. It was a century of astounding inventions and of spectacular advances in technology. Many countries in Europe experienced dynamic Spiritual Revivals. Christian missionaries from Europe won whole tribes and nations to Christ, in the remotest regions of the globe. For over a thousand years, Europe had been Christendom, the heartland and stronghold of Christian civilisation. The 19th century has seen such staggering growth in numbers, productivity, power and wealth, that most would have imagined that Europe would have continued to dominate the globe for centuries to come. The optimism which had prevailed in the 19th century gave way to profound pessimism after the First World War.
Devastation
However, World War I shattered Europe. An entire generation of young men died in brutal trench warfare. 1914 marked the end of the greatest century of Christian advance and the beginning of what proved to be the worst century of persecution. The consequences of the First World War, continues to have far-reaching repercussions to this present day. Of the 60 million European soldiers who were mobilised from 1914 to 1918, over 9 million were killed, 7 million permanently disabled and 15 million seriously injured.
It sounds like one of the most unlikely alliances of recent years. Richard Dawkins, arch-atheist and scourge of the praying classes, has announced support for education secretary Michael Gove‘s plan to send free King James Bibles to every state school.
The proposal aims to help pupils learn about the Bible‘s impact “on our history, language, literature and democracy” and will celebrate the 400th anniversary of the authorised version’s publication, Gove said earlier this year. Church leaders have approved, but the plan has fallen foul of most non-believers. An online Guardian poll showed an 82% opposition, while the National Secular Society said the £375,000 proposal wasted money and favoured Christianity in multi-faith state schools. Nevertheless, several rich Tory party donors agreed to back the plan and the first Bibles were sent out last week, to the derision of secularists – with the exception of their most prominent and pugnacious recruit: Richard Dawkins, author of The God Delusion and critic of all things clerical.
As Dawkins reveals in today’s Observer, support for the Bible plan is justified on the grounds of literary merit and he lists a range of biblical phrases which any cultivated English speaker will instantly recognise. These include “salt of the Earth”, “through a glass darkly”, and “no peace for the wicked”. Dawkins states: “A native speaker of English who has not read a word of the King James Bible is verging on the barbarian.”
24th April 2012 - Jenny Stokes of Salt Shakers Someone took a video of a group of Muslims protesting at the recent Atheist Convention in Melbourne. The Muslims were chanting -…
Dear friends and family in Christ,
We’re posting the following report from Kirsten Jack in regard to the great success of the recent ‘Undeniable’ event at Federation Square in Melbourne on Sun 15th April.
Truly, Jesus is Lord over Melbourne, all of Australia and the Nations of the World!
Dear Friend,
We’re so excited to report about the ‘Undeniable’ event!
Praise God it was perfect weather, for a 7:30pm start at Fed Square. Around 2-3000 people turned up, with over 100 atheists from the Global Atheist Convention. A number of churches cancelled their Sunday night services to be there, and heaps of other churches, denominations and ministries were represented.
Our message to the city of Melbourne was that “we know God is real because He has changed our lives”. We had around 80 helpers in white t-shirts with the words “ask me my story”, who talked and prayed with people in the crowd. There were healings, deliverance, repentance and HEAPS of conversations and prayer with atheists and others. (more…)
Dear friends and family in Christ,
1) Below is an important article from Kirsten Jack regarding ‘Undeniable’ this Sun 15th 7:30pm at Federation Square in Melbourne for your prayer and participation if possible.
Let’s unite as the Body of Christ in Melbourne to publicly proclaim that God is real, alive and well, and that Jesus is King of kings and LORD of lords!
2) Also for those of you in the Melbourne area, please note that our 9:30am and 6:30pm weekly worship services are on as usual this Sunday 15th April at CTFM Apostolic Centre, 23 Melverton Dr Hallam.
Dear Friend, I love God with all my heart. He is faithful, loving and powerful. But the Global Atheist Convention is coming to Melbourne in less than two weeks and they intend to make a mockery of our God. I don’t know about you, but I’m not OK with this!
There comes a point when something has to be done and it needs to be done loud!
Two men I know are making a public and loud stand – Pastor Dennis Prince and comedian Ben Price. (more…)
Mark Ellis : Mar 14, 2012 : God Reports
(Fort Thomas, KY)—Howard Storm and his wife Marcia are involved in missionary work in Belize. In excerpts from a God Report’s article, reporter Mark Ellis writes the following about an amazing spiritual experience that changed Howard forever. It reads:
In some near-death experiences, people report they were drawn toward “the light.” But in this horrifying near-death experience for an atheist art professor, he was drawn into the darkness of Hell, which dramatically altered the course of his life.
“I was a double atheist,” says Howard Storm, who became a tenured art professor at Northern Kentucky University by age 27. “I was a know-it-all college professor—universities are some of the most closed-minded places there are,” he notes. (Howard and current wife, Marcia/God Reports)
On the last day of a three-week European art tour he led, his group had returned to their hotel in Paris after a visit to the artist Delacroix’s home and studio. As Howard stood in his room with his wife and another student, suddenly he screamed and dropped to the floor in agony.
“I had a perforation of the small stomach, known as the duodenum,” he recalls. At first, Howard thought he was shot, and he glanced around the room to see if he could spot a smoking gun. As he writhed in pain on the ground, kicking and screaming, his wife called for a doctor.
“They said I needed surgery immediately,” Howard says. “It’s like having a burst appendix. I was told that if they don’t get to it within five hours, you’re probably going to die.”
Howard had the misfortune of a falling ill on a Saturday in a country with socialized medicine, and no doctor could be found. “French doctors do seven surgeries a week, and after they do the seven surgeries, they take the weekend off,” he discovered. (more…)
16 December 2011 - BBC David Cameron has said the UK is a Christian country "and we should not be afraid to say so". In a speech in Oxford on…
FAITH UNDER FIRE – World Net Daily – By Drew Zahn © 2011
A board of county commissioners in North Carolina is asking the Supreme Court for help: Its members don’t believe they should have to forbid volunteers from mentioning the name of Jesus in prayers offered before their meetings.
But the American Civil Liberties Union and Americans United for Separation of Church and State are standing by their victory in a U.S. circuit court decision that states even “a solitary reference to Jesus Christ” in invocations before the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners’ meetings could do “violence to the pluralistic and inclusive values that are a defining feature of American public life.”
Furthermore, wrote Judge James Harvie Wilkinson III in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals majority opinion, legislative invocations offered in Jesus’ name are inherently “sectarian” and thus should be censored lest they make some attendees feel “uncomfortable, unwelcome and unwilling to participate in … public affairs.”
What is Christianity’s role in the nation? Find out in “Christianity and the American Commonwealth”
But the board disagrees, and with the help of the Alliance Defense Fund is asking the Supreme Court to trump Wilkinson’s ruling. (more…)
Mark Ellis : Oct 5, 2011 : God Reports
“Before the coma I denied Jesus. I heard His voice in the coma. He taught me the real meaning of love. Now I’m His.” -Randall Hall
(Laguna Beach, CA)—Randall Hall was once a free-wheeling playboy who traveled the world, went through women like “potato chips,” and dashed around town in his Mercedes 500 SL convertible. Seven clothing boutiques from Laguna Beach to San Francisco provided access to beautiful women ready to lay claim to his indulgent lifestyle. Then he tried to move in on someone else’s girlfriend one night at a bar in this coastal enclave. The woman’s boyfriend savagely attacked Hall after he left the bar, which left him unconscious, lying face down in an alley with blood oozing from a cracked skull.
To save Hall’s life, doctors at Mission Hospital induced a coma and removed a portion of his skull to relieve pressure on his brain. After five surgeries and complications due to infection, doctors failed in their attempts to bring Hall out of the coma. He lapsed into a persistent vegetative state for two years. Over time, his body atrophied and curled into a fetal position. His doctor estimated that only 30 percent of his brain function remained. Hooked up to breathing and feeding machines, with no response to sounds or movement, doctors recommended they remove life support.
From the beginning, Hall was a rebel who dropped out of school and became a professional escort at 17-years-old. Drugs, alcohol, sex, and travel fueled his innate passions, but in his early 20s, he found Jesus Christ at Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa. “It lasted for about a year,” he recalls.
Then he fell back into his old lifestyle, which kicked into high gear. He was a prodigal powered by jet fuel. Hall believes God used the assault and subsequent coma to rescue him from his downward spiral. “I was a bad person,” he admits. “I always took other men’s women,” he says, a practice that led to the violent assault.
“I was going to hell if I died, but God saved my life,” Hall believes.
Posted: October 07, 2011 © 2011 WND
And the reactions have been flooding in.copy fortheir home. The new movie “180,” with its “power of truth” is turning out to be an abortionist’s worst nightmare.The intensely stunning new production from author, evangelist and street preacher Ray Comfort has drawn more than 600,000 views in just a few days, and hundreds more are purchasing a
“I watched this today – three times,” wrote Sonya Shirk. “Each time I was overwhelmed with the power of truth. I have shared this everywhere I can think of. I can’t begin to tell you how this video has changed my perspective.”
Added another poignantly, and to the point: “Your film just led a 17-year-old girl away from abortion.”
“I am very thankful for the Internet,” Comfort told WND. “It is so often used for evil, but in this case it is being used for good. In just 10 days 180Movie.com has had over 600,000 views.
Dear family & friends in Christ,
1) We at Catch The Fire were absolutely blessed last Sunday as we heard the powerful testimonies shared by the team which came from the Underground Church in China and the Back to Jerusalem Movement!
Although Brother Yun was not permitted to board his flight from Bangkok to Melbourne, due to a problem with his documentation, and was therefore unable to be at the meetings at CTFM, the Spirit of God moved most powerfully through Uncle Tang (Bro Yun’s Pastor), who has served the Lord for 30 years in China and still is!
The CTFM base was absolutely packed out for both services with around 750 people attending in total. The church sanctuary was so full we that we had to use the overflow room with projector screens. The people who gathered were mightily blessed through the amazing testimonies of what the Lord Jesus Christ is doing in the Underground Church in China.
Brother Yun is now expected to arrive this week in Melbourne and we prayerfully hope to have him minister at CTFM in Hallam (Melbourne)on Sunday 27th of Nov 2011 at the 9.30am service only. Please stay tuned in to CTFM email for updates and further details.
It was so exciting to hear that only around 30-40 years ago the Church in China was severely persecuted and quite small. However, as the faithful Christian believers cried out to the Lord, He heard their cry and sent a mighty Holy Spirit revival!
Uncle Tang said, “Suddenly one day, miracles started happening everywhere and thousands of people were getting saved.” Now, it is estimated that more than 30,000 people come to Jesus every day and 1 million people every month! Glory to God. They believe that the current conservative estimate of on-fire Christians in China is around 150 million people!
by Teresa Neumann : Jun 24, 2011 : Staff - The Daily Mail "It is incredible… I am not a religious person, but it is some sort of divine intervention."…
by Teresa Neumann-A BCN Exclusive : Jul 8, 2011 : BCN YouTube Page "Hell's not meant for us. That's why Jesus came. We're all meant for Heaven." -Matthew Botsford (Atlanta,…
by Teresa Neumann : Jul 5, 2011 : Josephine Vivaldo – The Christian Post
“When I was 5 years old I killed my pet rabbit. I still find it hard to believe that I changed this much. You wouldn’t recognize me.” -Bob Williamson
Bob Williamson used to be the sort of person some, if not many, Christians would write off as someone least likely to get saved. He was cruel as a child, became an alcoholic at 15, was a drug addict by the time he was 17, and at the ripe old age of 18 was labeled a clinical sociopath who had no conscience. He was also an atheist who practiced witchcraft.
According to a Christian Post report, today, at the age of 64, Williamson—author of Miracle on Lucky Street—is a successful businessman who runs a multimillion-dollar company.
The report of his testimony includes an account of his time in a hospital following a near-fatal car accident when he was in his 20’s. While there, he befriended an African-American nurse. “I thought that if there was a God,” said Williamson, ” He was mean and I didn’t want to do anything with Him because my life up to that point had been a total disaster and I blamed God.”
