How Might a Brother Consider His Anger as a Christian vs. an “Angry Black Man”?

November 04, 2015 – The Gospel Coalition – Tony Carter

I’m angry, and I don’t really care what they say (I don’t really care what they say) I’m angry, nobody better get in my way (nobody better get in my way) – “Anger Management” by Lecrae.

I grew up around angry men. My father, my uncles, my brothers all at some time or another demonstrated what is commonly known as the “angry black man” syndrome. Some were seemingly able to control it and didn’t get in to too much trouble. Others however (too many in fact), tragically hurt others and themselves out of anger. I have known my own share.

I recall (not so fondly) a few years ago having an argument with my wife over something frivolous. While I was busy making my point and demanding my rightness, she looked at me and said the words I have never forgotten, “Honey you are right, but why do you get so angry?” I have never forgotten those words. They cut me to the core. It was as if the Lord himself spoke them to me. And in one sense, he had. I pledged on that day to fight that sin head on.

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Prepare for Persecution: A Message From Billy Graham

Prepare for Persecution A Message From Billy Graham10/27/2015 Billy Graham

In the event of a national catastrophe, much confusion, terror and consternation would reign. What would the Christian do? What should our attitude be? Which way would we turn if the country in which we live were suddenly wrecked and all the props gone?

As a whole, our nation does not know what privation is. We do not know what sacrifice is. We do not know what suffering is. Suppose persecution were to come to the church in America, as it has come in other countries.

The immunity to persecution that Christians in our country have experienced in the past two or three centuries is unusual. Christ strongly warned Christians that to follow Him would not be popular, and that in most circumstances it would mean cross-bearing and persecution.

The Bible says that all who “desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” (2 Timothy 3:12). Jesus said that as the time of His return draws nigh, “They will seize you and persecute you” (Luke 21:12). We have no scriptural foundation for believing that we can forever escape being persecuted for Christ’s sake. The normal condition for Christians is that we should suffer persecution. Are you willing to face persecution and death for Christ’s sake?

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Chinese, Syrian Christians Tell Horrors of Persecution, Starvation and Torture for Refusing to Deny Jesus Christ

Believers take part in a weekend mass at an underground Catholic church in Tianjin November 10, 2013.

At a Religious Freedom Project summit Friday at the Catholic University of America, a Chinese evangelist told of how she was was forced to make Christmas tree lights and endured starvation, electrocution and beatings in Chinese prisons and “re-education” labor camps due to her refusal to renounce Christ.

Speaking at the conference organized by Baylor University, the largest Baptist university in the world, Chinese evangelist Sarah Liu, and Syrian Christian ministry leaders, Joseph and Hannah Sleman, gave their testimonies to the torture and persecution faced by Christians unwilling to compromise in two of the most hostile regions toward Christianity this world has to offer.

Liu, a born-again Christian who was baptized in 1991 in the dead of a winter night due to fear of a government crackdown, told of how she and ministry partners traveled through China’s Hubei province, going village to village, to spread the word of Christ.

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5 Birthmarks of the Christian: How to be Certain of Your Salvation

David Jeremiah – 27 July 2015

While the entire Bible stresses certainty and assurance, there’s one section of Scripture that stakes out this theme as its central focus—the letter of 1 John.

As we carefully read through 1 John, we notice a five-fold argument for the assurance of salvation—five of the birthmarks of the Christian.

The Birthmark of Confession

The first is the birthmark of confession, described in 1 John 5:1: “Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God.” Before you can have assurance of salvation, you have to believe and be saved. You have to confess Jesus Christ as Lord. Some people assume they are saved because they grew up in a Christian culture, or they have gone to church all their lives, or they have been baptized, or they have tried to live a good life. Yet they’ve never distinctly and personally confessed Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord.

The Bible teaches that we are sinners, separated from God by a sinful nature. We can never earn, buy, or climb our way into heaven. By our own efforts or goodness, we can never be saved. That’s why God became a man who lived a wholly righteous life, died on the cross, shed His blood for us, and rose from the dead. He paid our penalty, took our judgment upon Himself, and He offers us the opportunity to be born again.

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Washing Egypt With the Word of God: “Incredible Things Are Happening” in the Country These Days

Nicole James : Aug 26, 2015 : Operation Mobilization

(Egypt)—Ali*, a local worker, has one goal for his life: to wash Egypt with the Word of God. Before 2017, he hopes to distribute two million Bibles to Egyptian Muslims. He hands out Bibles by the carton-full, according to team leader Jared*.

“Ali is not afraid, in any situation, to offer a Bible as a gift,” Jared said. Often, when one family member receives a Bible, other relatives come back to ask for their own copy.

A couple of times a year, Ali and Ibrahim*, another Operation Mobilization (OM) worker, partner with a local ministry. In a courtyard, event volunteers set up displays of used clothing to sell. When a local leaves the event, they receive a Bible.

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Baptist Evangelizer of Muslims in America Says Greatest Challenge Is Christians Are Afraid to Witness

By Michael Gryboski , Christian Post Reporter – July 17, 2015

Raouf Ghattas, pastor and founder of Arabic Baptist Church in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

A Baptist pastor in Tennessee whose young congregation is focused on evangelizing the state’s growing Islamic community has stated that the great obstacle to evangelizing Muslims is the American Church’s apathy on the matter.

Raouf Ghattas, founder and pastor of the Arabic Baptist Church in Murfreesboro, has sought to evangelize among the city’s growing Muslim population.

“Many are apathetic, afraid, or just not sure how to approach a Muslim in witness. We work to train churches and individuals in how to reach out to Muslims, but they still have to be the ones to be active,” said Ghattas to The Christian Post on Friday.

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What Is the Most Dangerous Threat to 21st Century Christianity?

7/10/2015 Larry Sparks – Charisma Magazine

Standing at this critical crossroads in the history of our nation—and yes, the history of our world—we must ask ourselves this honest question, “What is the most dangerous threat to Christianity in this hour? To the church? To your personal walk with Jesus?”

Powerless Christianity. A “faith” of rhetoric without demonstration will absolutely cripple the 21st-century church if we continue to move in this direction. Paul warned young Timothy about this, listing a number of attributes that would be prevalent in the last days. Among the list is this descriptive: “having a form of godliness, but denying its power” (2 Tim. 3:5). In other words, so-called Christians will talk the talk, but their words will be without substance because their lives are without demonstration.

In the words of the late, great revivalist, Leonard Ravenhill, “The world out there is not waiting for a new definition of Christianity; it’s waiting for a new demonstration of Christianity.” Deadlier than agendas and political movements, when we redefine what Christianity actually looks like and how it should be expressed, we live beneath our inheritance as Holy Spirit-inhabited followers of Jesus.

At the day’s end, what are we even inviting people into? Another religion? Another agenda? Another group? No. It’s a kingdom ruled by King Jesus, and it’s a kingdom of demonstration, power and supernatural transformation.

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Donald Trump Condemns ‘Great Assault on Christianity,’ Vows to Fight ‘War on Christmas’ if Elected

Leah Marieann Klett : Aug 26, 2015 : Gospel Herald

“There’s an assault on anything having to do with Christianity…” -Donald Trump

Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump recently defended his Christian faith and condemned the “great assault on Christianity,” vowing to fight the “war on Christmas” if he is elected.

“There’s an assault on anything having to do with Christianity,” Trump said on Yellowhammer Radio with Cliff Sims on Friday. “They don’t want to use the word Christmas anymore at department stores.”

“There’s always lawsuits and unfortunately a lot of those lawsuits are won by the other side,” the controversial businessman continued. “I will assault that. I will go so strongly against so many of the things, when they take away the word Christmas.”

In continuing his comments, Trump charged that he goes out of his way to use the word “Christmas.”

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Five reasons believers don’t walk in the power & authority of Christ

11/6/2014 Ché Ahn – Charisma News

  1. Sin. When we habitually sin, we come under Satan’s authority, and he has legal rights over us until we repent. That is why Jesus said, “‘The ruler of this world is coming, and has nothing on Me'” (John 14:30, NKJV). Jesus was without sin, so the devil could not get a foothold in His life.

James 5:16 declares, “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” This verse points out that authority is given to the righteous. Carlos Annacondia, an Argentine evangelist, once told me that he believes God gave him more authority when he became ruthless about his sin and the sin in his family’s life.

Along the same line, we have to be under authority before we can exercise authority. If we are rebellious toward our parents or the authority of our church, we won’t have much authority over the evil one.

  1. Ignorance. In Hosea 4:6, God declares, “‘My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.'” The Lord showed me that His people are being destroyed by the ignorance of their authority in Christ. Yet the Bible makes it clear that we are not powerless against the enemy.

Second Corinthians 10:3-5 states, “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.”

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“As the President of Rise Up Australia Party, I call on all people to promote love and free speech, not violence of any sort.”

Daniel Nalliah the RUAP President stated from his office this morning: "I have and always will be an advocate for free speech and nothing will stop me from doing so.…

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March for the Babies in Melbourne- Saturday 10 October 2015 @ 1 pm

On October 10, 2008, the Victorian Parliament passed the Abortion Law Reform Act, one of the most extreme abortion laws in the world. This law eliminated all legal protection for…

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How One Arab’s Hatred for Israel Turned to Love: All Things Are Possible!

Charles Gardner : Jul 16, 2015 : Israel Today

Even Christians in Egypt are encouraged to hate Jews. In writing essays, for example, the more vitriol you could express against them the higher marks you would get.

(Israel)—[Israel Today] An Egyptian church leader now based in West London has told how hatred for their ancient enemy Israel turned to love through reading the Bible. (Photo via Israel Today)

Sameh Metry leads a lively 100-strong Arabic congregation in Ealing while at the same time serving as vicar of an English-speaking church in nearby St Hugh’s, Northolt. And he showed his keyboard skills as he led a high-octane worship session during a conference in Manchester aimed at building bridges between Middle Eastern followers of Jesus.

He was born into a Coptic Orthodox family in Upper Egypt and became a born-again Christian at 15.

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Syrian Christians Wed in Bombed-Out Church

Women of Grace ^ | July 31, 2015

More than 2,000 locals who were driven out of their hometown of Homs, Syria, returned on July 12 to witness a moment of sweet triumph as a young couple married inside the wreckage of their beloved church.

The Daily Mail is reporting on the bitter sweet story of Fadi and Rana, 28, two refugees of the years-long Syrian civil war, who met in a refugee camp. Fadi, a university graduate who was working at a pharmaceutical factory in the city before he was forced to flee, fell in love with Rana while they were both working for the U.N. Refugee Agency.

When they decided to marry, the two wanted the ceremony to be where they had always dreamed it would be – inside their hometown church, St. George’s, an Orthodox church in the Christian Hamidiyah section of Homs.

Unfortunately, when the couple returned to their old neighborhood, they found the church and almost every other building, reduced to rubble. Almost nothing was left of the beautiful St. George church except the old stone walls. Everything else, the roof, the ornate interior, the pews, were all gone.

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Study Finds American Evangelicals Stand Behind Israel

Study Finds American Evangelicals Stand Behind Israel; Here Are the NumbersBob Smietana/For Lifeway : Jul 27, 2015 : Charisma News

Slightly more than half of men (51 percent) say they support Israeli statehood, compared to a third (33 percent) of women.

A recent LifeWay Research study shows that American evangelicals remain among the strongest supporters of the nation of Israel. (Photo via YouTube)

Most believe God has plans for that nation, both now and in the future. And many of America’s preachers say Christians need to support Israel.

Those are among the findings of a LifeWay study of American attitudes toward Israel and the Bible. As part of the study, researchers conducted two separate surveys of 1,000 Americans, along with a survey of 1,000 senior pastors of Protestant churches.

“No piece of literature has had more impact on American culture than the Bible,” said Scott McConnell, vice president of LifeWay Research. “No country is more intertwined with the ancient Biblical narrative than Israel, and evangelical Americans see a contemporary connection with the nation.”

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‘Super blood moon’ odds ‘off the charts’

September 19, 2015- Posted on World Net Daily

The grand finale of the rare blood-moon tetrad will be a spectacular “supermoon” eclipse, the first in more than three decades.

And the scholar who discovered the correlation between a sequence of four blood moons and events in the history of the Jewish people thinks the extremely rare conclusion of the tetrad with a supermoon is a message from God to the nations of the world: Do not divide the land of Israel.

Pastor Mark Biltz of El Shaddai Ministries told WND the final blood moon of a series of four occurring on Jewish holy days in 2014 and 2015 is “a loud call to Israel and to the nations.”

The coming super blood moon will be seen in Jerusalem.

“The land of Israel belongs to the God of Israel and is on lease to them. They have no authority to sell or give away the land of Israel to another people, as it is their heritage,” he said.

The fourth blood moon comes as the 70th United Nations General Assembly moves to recognize a Palestinian state, which Israel sees as a threat to its existence.

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