Dear friends & family in Christ, You may click the following links to watch the 1st & 2nd segments of Rabbi Cowen from the Faith, Values & Politics Institute interviewing…
Wednesday, October 29, 2014 – By Peter Wooding Europe Bureau Chief for ASSIST News Service
Ever since Leading The Way began broadcasting Christian programming to the Arab world through its 24/7 satellite TV channel THE KINGDOM SAT, something miraculous has been happening.
Every week Muslim viewers are turning to Leading The Way’s dedicated follow-up teams to find out how they can know more about Jesus.
One such team member often ministering late into the night is Rahim*. Every week he corresponds with viewers from the Middle East and North Africa via Skype, Facebook, email, text messages, and in-person discipleship meetings, sharing the love of Christ with those who are hungry to know God’s truth.
Some are Muslims who want to know more about the Christian faith, while others have made the dangerous decision to accept Jesus as their Saviour and are in need of spiritual support as they face extreme persecution.
Rahim has faced violent persecution himself and can identify with those who turn to him for help. He was a devoted Muslim until the power of Christian radio helped him find new hope in Christ.
“I was raised in a Muslim family and I was very dedicated to Islamic practices. My father was happy at this time, but I was empty inside,” said Rahim.
He added: “One time when I was searching by radio, I listened to something that was talking about God, and afterwards I see this is Christian radio. This brought problems to me. For the first time I wanted more knowledge about Christianity.
Have you ever asked yourself as a church leader, do I worship something or someone other than God? It’s a great question to ask and a great heart check.
I’ll stick my neck out and suggest that you do have idols you worship instead of God. At least I do. Once you identify them and root them out, you’ll become a better leader.
You’re an Idol Factory
I get challenged about my personal and leadership idols every year when I read through the middle part of the book of Isaiah.
Chapter 44, for example, is all about the futility of worshipping idols, which in those days were mostly wood or stone carvings.
So what’s an idol today? You don’t need wood or stone to create one. An idol is anything that takes our focus and reliance off of God.
John Calvin was dead on when he said, “Man’s nature, so to speak, is a perpetual factory of idols.” Discard one, and you’ll simply create another.
8 Idols Church Leaders Still Worship Today:
The list could be much longer than eight because Calvin was right. But here are eight with which I struggle or have seen other leaders struggle. These are in no particular order because, well, any idol is bad enough to be No. 1:
1. Strategy. So I’m a strategy wonk. If you read this blog, you know that. I think many churches fail for lack of a clear, coherent strategy. I wrote in detail about how mission, vision and strategy interrelate here.
But strategy is no substitute for trust. As valuable as strategy is (and it is), no strategy is a substitute for trusting God. Strategy makes an excellent servant and a terrible master.
2. Skill. By all means, get better at what you do. Learn, listen, polish and perfect your skills. Skill alone can get you far, but the church is a supernatural thing.
God changes hearts. You can’t. I can’t.
Dear friends & family in Christ, 1) You may click the following link to listen to an excellent radio interview that RUAP National President Daniel Nalliah recently did on a…
People across the world are remembering evangelist Rev. Johnny Lee Clary, a former imperial wizard of the Klu Klux Klan who experienced a radical conversion to Christianity.
Clary, 55, died of a heart attack Oct. 21.
CBN spoke to the evangelist in 2011 about his journey to becoming a Christian after years of hating blacks and other minority groups. Watch his story below.
He said he felt compelled to give his life to the Lord after reading Luke 15, the story of the prodigal son.
“I finally got on my knees and said, ‘God, my life is screwed up. God, I’m in a mess. I need Your help,” he recalled. “I felt like a new person, brand new creation. I felt like I had had a weight lifted off my shoulders.”
In becoming a Christian, Clary learned how to love and live in unity with all people. He became the first Caucasian elder in the Church of God in Christ, a predominantly African-American denomination.
Oct 23, 2014 – Faith, Freedom, Homosexuality – Andrew Smith, Australian correspondent
CANBERRA – Gay activists in Australia have launched a furious campaign to convince Australian opposition leader Bill Shorten to pull out of speaking at the Australian Christian Lobby‘s national conference this weekend, and to pressure the hotel hosting the event to cancel.
While gay activists had previously achieved notable success in convincing politicians to withdraw from the World Congress of Families event in Melbourne in August, this case has a twist, in that Shorten himself personally supports gay “marriage,” and is so far refusing to back down.
A spokesman for the Australian Christian Lobby, which is a leading force in the country against redefining marriage, told LifeSiteNews that organizers of the conference are aware of Shorten’s position, but that rather than go the path of shutting down public discussion on an issue, the ACL’s position is to have open debate in the public space.
But despite the opposition leader’s support for their cause, gay activists deluged his office with about 100 phone calls in a single day, asking him to pull out of speaking at the conference, while he has also received continued pressure in the homosexual media.
Monday, September 22, 2014 – By Jeremy Reynalds – Senior Correspondent for ASSIST News Service
LONDON (ANS) — A major new translation of the Bible into modern Persian, launched in London Monday, marks a remarkable transformation for the church in Iran.
According to a news release from Elam Ministries, the organization behind the translation, at the time of the Islamic revolution in 1979, there were no more than 500 Christians from a Muslim background in the country. Now Iran is thought to have the fastest-growing church in the world.
“A very conservative estimate puts the number of Christians in Iran at 100,000,” said David Yeghnazar of Elam Ministries, speaking in the news release.
He continued, “The generally-accepted estimate is 370,000. Some believe there are 700,000, some over a million. Operation World puts the annual growth rate at 19.7 per cent. If that is the case, Iran will very soon have one million Christian believers.”
Yeghnazar believes there are a number of reasons why the church has grown so rapidly.
“The Iranian identity is not rooted in Islam and there is real disillusionment with the religion,” he said in the release. “The house church movement has emerged, allowing Iranians to go to Christian meetings easily and not risk all by going to a public church. New Christians have zealously shared the Gospel and Scriptures and there has been on-going prayer for Iran around the world.”
Dear friends & family in Christ,
Whether or not to participate in Halloween activities has been a big debate among the members of the Body of Christ. As believers, we have nothing to fear when the Holy Spirit is our guide. What does He have to say about this issue?
The Bible tells us not to “copy the behavior and customs of this world” (Romans 12:2, New Living Translation). But this verse should not be an excuse for us to shut the door on the world. We also need to let our light shine, as my family and I learned a long time ago—especially on the darkest day of the year!
For years my wife, Kim, and I would not turn on our porch light at Halloween. When persistent trick-or-treaters knocked on our door anyway, our family ignored them. We would not let our girls carve pumpkins or color Halloween artwork at school or go trick-or-treating.
Then one year the Lord spoke this scripture to our family: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16, New King James Version). We realized that God wanted us to reach out to our neighbors on Halloween night. So we changed our MO! We bought good candy, not the cheap stuff—you know, the kind that has bubble gum in it that loses its flavor as soon as you put it in your mouth. We got chocolate bars! And we began to minister the love of God to those who were participating in Halloween. We handed out candy to our neighborhood kids, gave them tracts, and asked them if we could pray with them about anything.
Halloween is a great time for us to get to know our neighbors. Streets are packed with parents and children. Paul said it this way: “When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some. I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings” (1 Corinthians 9:22–23, NLT).
As Christians, we walk every day in the burden-removing, yoke-destroying power of God (see Isaiah 10:27). If we close our door on our neighbors at Halloween, if we “turn our lights off,” we miss a big opportunity to remove burdens and destroy yokes from other people’s lives.
8/15/2014 Jennifer LeClaire - Charisma News The U.S. Navy instructed housekeepers to remove Gideon-placed Bibles from every hotel room on its military bases after it received a letter from the…
By Nicola Menzie , Christian Post Reporter – October 18, 2014
Hillsong Church pastor Brian Houston has issued a statement specifying his position on marriage and homosexuality after a news outlet reported that he “won’t take (a) public position on LGBT issues.”
The news report came after Houston brought up the topics of homosexuality and same-sex marriage at a press conference held on Thursday with New York City media, on the occasion of Hillsong Conference being held at Madison Square Garden.
“I encourage people not to assume a media headline accurately represents what I said at a recent press conference,” Houston says in a statement emailed to The Christian Post on Saturday.
“Nowhere in my answer did I diminish biblical truth or suggest that I or Hillsong Church supported gay marriage,” he adds. “I challenge people to read what I actually said, rather than what was reported that I said. My personal view on the subject of homosexuality would line up with most traditionally held Christian views. I believe the writings of Paul are clear on this subject.”
(Photo: The Christian Post/Scott Liu)
Pastors Brian Houston and Bobbie Houston of Hillsong Church appear at a press conference on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2014, at The Eventi Hotel in New York City. The press conference came on the occasion of the Hillsong Conference being held at Madison Square Garden from Oct. 16-18 in NYC.
The question that resulted in Houston’s remarks on homosexuality centered on how his church tries to remain relevant. In his response, the Hillsong pastor offered homosexual marriage as an issue that is a challenge for some churches. Traditional Christian teachings define marriage as a union between a man and a woman.
The Flaming Herald – 10/9/2014 Bert M. Farias
Are these popular ministerial personalities great in the sight of the Lord or only in the sight of man? Are they really known in heaven or only on the Earth? Are they God-anointed or self-appointed? Is it ministry they deliver or some subtle form of hype?
“Many who are great in the sight of the Lord are living in cottages and hovels, and are scarcely known, unless to a few neighbors equally obscure,” said William Jay.
Believers, especially Christian ministers, need a baptism of clear seeing and holy discerning. Our ministry marketing budget may be soaring high, but our perception can sometimes be so low. Our motives need refinement. The refiner’s fire is near the door. Will you open it? Can you see the narrow way to holiness? Or is all the smoke blocking your view?
Before me now I see the impression I saw months ago. There are two scenes. One is of a clear and sunny horizon lined with an endless row of people. The other is of a vast forest. Dense fog covers the forest, and out of the fog comes the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ, for the most part, is not found among the general populace. People have to really look to recognize Him.
Think about it. Our Savior was not born in a big metropolis, but in the small town of Bethlehem. And He grew up in the despised region of Galilee. He was not born in a palace where kings are, but in a lowly stable. The wise men had to really search and diligently follow the star to find Him. When Jesus entered into ministry, it is written that He had no place to lay His head (Luke 9:58). He did not have a ministry headquarters. He died a criminal’s death on a cross, naked and nearly alone. His grave was a borrowed tomb. His throne was an invisible one hidden from the multitudes of those who were healed and delivered through His ministry. He was called meek and lowly; certainly not the description fitting for a king. But today, ministry is so different.
Dear friends & family in Christ, 1) You may click the following link to read an excellent article about RUAP that recently appeared in the local media. http://journalnews.starcommunity.com.au/rise-up-rises/ 2) You…
The Economist ^ | 08/21/2014
SOUTH KOREA, a dynamo of growth, is also a fire with faith. This week Pope Francis will spend five days there, for Asian Youth Day and to beatify 124 early martyrs. About 5.4m of South Korea’s 50m people are Roman Catholics. Perhaps 9m more are Protestants, of many stripes.
Yoido Full Gospel Church’s 1m members form the largest Pentecostal congregation on Earth. Belief’s farther shores include the Unification Church, soon to mark the anniversary of its founder Sun-myung Moon’s “ascension”.
The late Yoo Byung-eun, the shifty and versatile tycoon behind the ferry Sewol which sank in April, killing 304 mostly teenage passengers, had also founded his own sect (and the website God.com, now in other hands); its followers hid him during Korea’s largest-ever police man-hunt.
All this is particularly striking, because Asia is mostly stony ground for Christianity. Spanish rule left the Philippines strongly Catholic, but Korea is less simple.
Dear friends & family in Christ, We're very pleased to announce tha Pastor Daniel has decided to join many other pastor & churches in cancelling Sunday evening service on 19th…
6/28/2014 Joyce Meyer – Charisma News
What does it mean to be led by the Holy Spirit? Some may refer to it as being filled with … or sensitive to … or anointed by the Spirit. It probably sounds really spiritual. But being led by the Spirit is actually a very practical part of living the Christian life. Simply put, to be led by the Holy Spirit just means to be obedient to Him.
The Holy Spirit does such awesome, yet practical work in the lives of God’s children. He is our comforter, counselor, helper, intercessor, advocate, strengthener and standby. He teaches us and guides us into truth—and He even brings the things we learn back to our remembrance as we need it.
And the best part of it all is that He lives in each of us. Ephesians 3:16 tells us that He enables us to be “strengthened and reinforced with mighty power in the inner man by the [Holy] Spirit [Himself indwelling your innermost being and personality]” (AMP).
He comes to live in our hearts when we’re born again, and then He teaches and guides us according to God’s plan and purpose for us. One of the ways He does this is by convicting us of the sins in our life. Much like a child does, as Christians, we learn what’s right and wrong as we grow in our faith. We may get by with things that are not right for awhile, but the time comes when we need to grow. I remember when I would go to church every Sunday and then spend most of the afternoon gossiping about the pastor or whatever I didn’t like about the service.
