Wake Up, America: Advice from a Pakistani Christian

Charisma News –  10/3/2012 J. Lee Grady

 My friend Amir is a marked man. I can’t even use his real name because Muslim extremists in his native Pakistan want to kill him.

Last month while Muslims were burning churches and murdering Americans in the Middle East to protest a low-budget film about Islam, I spent a few days with Amir, who attends Bible college in the United States. Raised a Presbyterian, Amir’s belief in Jesus puts him in the minority in Pakistan.

Amir has seen anti-Christian violence erupt in his country many times. When he was a boy, a classmate boasted of starting a fire that burned an entire Christian town. In 2010 terror hit the city of Faisalabad when two pastors were accused of blaspheming Muhammad. Assassins shot and killed both pastors while police watched.

In August of this year a Christian girl in Pakistan was arrested and accused of desecrating a copy of the Quran—a capital offense under Islamic law. Later, after a Muslim cleric was arrested on charges of framing the girl, local Muslims continued to call for her death—along with anyone who defended her. One Muslim from the girl’s village was quoted by reporters as saying: “Pour petrol and burn these Christians!”

I interviewed my friend Amir to gain insight into how Americans should view this growing conflict. He put things into perspective with these three points:

1. Realize that God is moving in powerful ways in Islamic countries. Despite the violence we hear about daily, all the news is not negative. Muslims are coming to know Jesus—often because of supernatural demonstrations of the Holy Spirit. Amir’s family witnessed a miracle in 2005 when his younger sister was healed of total blindness. They began attending a Pentecostal church and now have helped plant three congregations.

Reports of church growth, conversions and evangelism campaigns are not aired on network television, but they are widespread—in Iran, Pakistan, Turkey and other Islamic nations. “It is true that a lot of Muslims want to learn about Christianity,” Amir says.

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Franklin Graham Evangelizes Nearly 100,000 in South Sudan

Charisma News – Bob Paulson – BillyGraham.org (BGEA)

“Hope for a New Nation” brought the gospel home to nearly 100,000 people Friday and Saturday at John Gerang Memorial Park in Juba, and the people received the message with joy.

Both days began in sweltering heat, with the sun beating down on the thousands in attendance. People found shade where they could, or used umbrellas or even a washcloth on their heads to fight the heat.

In spite of the heat, the 500-member choir sang for more than a half hour straight in a jubilant offering of praise to God that had many in the crowd swaying and dancing as well.

As the sun sank lower, offering relief from the heat, The Tommy Coomes Band and Dennis Agajanian also presented songs of praise. Then Franklin Graham preached from the Word of God: The story of Bartimeus the blind man on Friday, and the story of Zacchaeus the tax collector on Saturday.

These are simple stories of how God met people in their need, but God obviously drove the message into hearts. Both evenings, when Graham gave the invitation to receive Christ, people young and old alike ran forward to the platform. Over the two nights, more than 6,270 responded to the invitation.

As the inquirers were being counseled on Saturday, Bishop James Lagos Alexander, national coordinator for the Festival, said: “I think this is a great feeling. And it’s telling me that God is answering our prayers.

“And today, it’s wonderful. So God is reigning in this nation. God is blessing this nation. God is pouring in and bringing hope to this nation. And God’s Name will be exalted. And South Sudan is not going to be the same. God has visited us yesterday and tonight, and we’re not going to be the same. And the churches of this land are not going to be the same. Praise the Lord. May His Name be praised!”

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Denzel Washington Describes ‘Tremendous’ Experience With Holy Spirit

By Christine Thomasos , Christian Post Reporter – September 18, 2012

Cast members Ryan Reynolds (R) and Denzel Washington arrive to attend the world premiere of the film “Safe House” in New York February 7, 2012.

Denzel Washington, 57-year-old actor, may be known for many of his gangster roles in movies like “Training Day” but the thespian is also adamant about sharing his love for Jesus Christ.

In an interview with GQ magazine, Washington opened up about his Christian values, telling the publication that he made sure to read his Bible every day.

“I read from the Bible every day, and I read my Daily Word,” Washington revealed. “I read something great yesterday. It said, ‘Don’t aspire to make a living. Aspire to make a difference.'”

The Christian actor also told the publication about his experience with feeling the Holy Spirit during a service at the West Angeles Church of God in Christ.

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Pr Daniel of CTFM & RUAP ministering in Gold Coast on Fri 23rd Nov and Brisbane on Sat 24th & Sun 25th Nov / CTFM Melbourne schedule change for this Sun 18th Nov

Dear friends and family in Christ,

1) Please pray for Pr Daniel who will be ministering God’s prophetic Word and sharing about RUAP at Holy Spirit Revival Meetings in Brisbane, QLD on Saturday 24th & Sunday 25th November. He will also be speaking at a RUAP public meeting in the Gold Coast on Friday 23rd Nov.

His itinerary is below and you may click on the brochure for further details.

6:30pm Fri 23rd Nov – Rise Up Australia Party Public Meeting at Southport Workers Club at 154 A Scarborough St in Southport (Gold Coast).

6:30pm Sat 24th Nov – Taking a nation for Jesus. This revival & healing meetings will be held at Neighbourhood Centre at Corner of Todds Rd & Ellis St in Lawnton (Brisbane). *Supper provided. 

9:30am Sun 25th Nov – Living Waters Christian Fellowship at Albany Creek Activity Hall at 696 Albany Creek Rd in Albany Creek.

6pm Sun 25th Nov – Lord of the Breakthrough at 7 Ashmole Rd in Redcliffe.

Please encourage your non-Christian and Christian family, friends, neighbours and others to attend these meetings.

2) Contrary to our recent email about Pr Daniel ministering at CTFM Hallam at both services this Sun 18th Nov, Pastor Conrad (guest speaker originally from Sri Lanka) will be ministering God’s Word in the miracle working power of the Holy Spirit at the 9:30am service.

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Continue ReadingPr Daniel of CTFM & RUAP ministering in Gold Coast on Fri 23rd Nov and Brisbane on Sat 24th & Sun 25th Nov / CTFM Melbourne schedule change for this Sun 18th Nov

Many pastors and hundreds of people gather at CTFM & RUAP meetings in the Gold Coast / Live webcast with Pr Daniel this Sun 18th Nov

Dear family & friends in Christ,

1) It is with great excitement and joy that we report that the CTFM & RUAP meetings in the Gold Coast over the last weekend were a great success with Pastor Daniel as the guest speaker.

Pr Daniel met with the QLD RUA Party State Exec and the members of RUAP Gold Coast branch on Friday night, just after he arrived in the Gold Coast. On Saturday morning, he addressed a Minister’s Breakfast at the Country Golf Club, organised by the RUAP branch in the Gold Coast. This Breakfast was attended by more than 50 church leaders from many denominations and churches, including a local Anglican Archbishop who opened the meeting in prayer.

As National President of Rise Up Australia Party, Pr Daniel challenged all present to rise up and ‘Keep Australia Australian’ for the next generation.

He said, “If we do not stand up now, we might not get another opportunity in our generation to make a stand to protect our Judeo-Christian Heritage to save Australia and keep it Australian!”

His address was well received with much excitement from all present. Many pastors pledged their support for RUA Party.

Pr Daniel also spoke on Saturday night, Sunday morning & evening at the Reach Out For Christ Church in the Gold Coast.

People from 10 different churches attended the meetings. Some of these Holy Spirit revival meetings had more than 250 people in attendance. People were mightily touched by the Word of God and the powerful personal life testimony of Pr Daniel and his family.  He also shared the vision God gave him to take Australia for Jesus by 2020.

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Continue ReadingMany pastors and hundreds of people gather at CTFM & RUAP meetings in the Gold Coast / Live webcast with Pr Daniel this Sun 18th Nov

Pr Daniel of CTFM & RUAP ministering on the Gold Coast on Sat 10th & Sun 11th Nov / CTFM Melbourne weekend schedule

Dear family & friends in Christ across Australia in this Great South Land of the Holy Spirit, 1) Please pray also for Pr Daniel who will be ministering God’s prophetic…

Continue ReadingPr Daniel of CTFM & RUAP ministering on the Gold Coast on Sat 10th & Sun 11th Nov / CTFM Melbourne weekend schedule

African American Christian Leader Message to Black Christians in USA

Dear friends and family in Christ, Please watch the following very important video message (3 min) from an African American Christian Leader to all Black Christians in today’s US Presidential…

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Defending Sudan’s Christians from Islamist Terror

October 23, 2012 By Mark D. Tooley 

The Church of England’s Archbishop of York continues to distinguish himself as a frequent fly in the ointment of political correctness by defending British culture and Christianity. Himself a Ugandan refugee from the horrors of Idi Amin, John Sentamu is thankful for the civilization that has protected and elevated him.  It’s perhaps no great surprise that a Church of England commission assigned to nominate the next Archbishop of Canterbury, who would be their church’s and the global Anglican Communion’s senior prelate, declined to nominate Sentamu.  Amid allegations of adamant resistance by some to the Archbishop of York, who is a strong and sometimes polarizing figure, the commission instead has so far failed in its duty and nominated nobody.   The Church of England is left dangling.  Almost certainly the Archbishop of York would provide greater leadership and clarity than the often left-leaning, poet intellectual who is currently the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Further evidence of Sentamu’s leadership emerged in an October 17 speech he delivered to the House of Lords in defense of the besieged and mostly Christian people of South Sudan.  The South Sudanese won their independence from the brutal Islamist regime in Khartoum last year after decades of vicious war in which millions perished.  Yet Sudan’s tyrants still threaten the south just as they continue to wage war against various Muslim minority groups in northern Sudan that don’t subscribe to Khartoum’s nasty brand of radical Islam.

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Why Do the Members of the Secular Media Hate Bible-Believing Christians?

10/26/2011 – Dr Michael Youssef

The clearest answer comes from a statement reputedly made by President Harry Truman during his 1948 presidential election campaign.

One of his supporters yelled out to him, Give em hell, Harry! Truman responded, I don’t give them hell. I just tell the truth about them and they think it’s hell.

That is precisely the reason why there is a war on Christians waged by members of the secular media.

Christians speak the truth about God s best for humanity as it applies to morality, laws and governing principles, but the secular media views these truths as hell.  Truth always feels like hell to those who reject, deny or hate the truth.

When Bible-believing Christians share that there is only one true God who is lovingly inviting people to believe in Him and receive His redemption or face His coming judgment, that is hell to those who view themselves as their own gods masters of their own fates. Many of these self-made gods control our media.

As gods, they want no competition. They reject the truth that God is God alone and that He will hold them accountable for mocking Him and His followers. Thus, the truth is hell to them, even before they get there. They express their hatred for God s truth by heaping venom on anyone who declares God s truth.

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Can the Islamic Faith Tolerate Criticism?

By Ken Connor , Christian Post Guest Columnist September 25, 2012

The violent response to an anti-Muslim movie has cast the subject of religious tolerance into the limelight. Is Islam a religion that can tolerate criticism? Can Muslims bear up gracefully when their religion is insulted? As I wrote last week, when it comes to Islam as practiced and understood in much of the Middle East, the short answer to these questions appears to be “no.”

As Pastor Brian Lee points out in his article “Freedom of Religion Requires Freedom to Offend,” to be a person of faith in America means being a person who is prepared to have his or her most cherished beliefs and convictions criticized, challenged, or ridiculed. Turn on your television or your radio, log on to your favorite social media website and odds are there will be content calculated to outrage and offend you. As Americans, we tolerate such indignities because we believe that free speech is a liberty that is fundamental to a free society. As the saying goes, “I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” To many in the Muslim world, however, this appears to be an utterly foreign concept. Having never lived in America, they assume that the American government regulates political speech and artistic expression like their own governments do. In their societies, there is no separation of church and state. The state is viewed as an instrument of their faith. Thus, they cannot understand why the American government would “allow” such offensive material to be produced, and they demand that the American government punish the offenders.

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Very important live webcast at CTFM this Sun 4th Nov @ 6:45pm / Pr Daniel of CTFM & RUAP ministering on the Gold Coast on Sat 10th & Sun 11th Nov / RUA Prayer Melbourne on Fri 2nd Nov

Dear friends and family in Christ,

1) Please pray and watch (if possible) a very important live webcast this Sunday evening 4th Nov, as Pr Daniel ministers the prophetic Word of the Lord titled ‘Prophetic Destination of Australia in God’s Plan for the Nations before His Return!’

Pr Daniel will be ministering God’s Word in the power of the Holy Spirit and praying for people on Sunday morning at the 9:30am & 6:30pm services at Catch the Fire Apostolic Centre, 23 Melverton Drive Hallam (Melbourne).

Please note that only the 6:30pm evening service will be broadcast live at www.reformationharvestfire.com beginning at 6:45pm (Australian Eastern Standard Time -AEST).

If you’re watching from outside of Australia, please note that the live stream time is AEST (UTC/GMT +10). Click the following link to find out the time difference from Melbourne, Australia to your part of the world.

http://wwp.greenwichmeantime.com/time-zone/australia/victoria/melbourne/

We would also greatly appreciate if you can promote this broadcast amongst family and friends.

2) Please pray also for Pr Daniel who will be ministering God’s prophetic Word and sharing about RUAP at Holy Spirit Revival Meetings on the Gold Coast, QLD on Saturday 10th & Sunday 11th November.

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Continue ReadingVery important live webcast at CTFM this Sun 4th Nov @ 6:45pm / Pr Daniel of CTFM & RUAP ministering on the Gold Coast on Sat 10th & Sun 11th Nov / RUA Prayer Melbourne on Fri 2nd Nov

Rise Up Australia & Catch the Fire in Culcairn & Holbrook, NSW / RUA Prayer Melbourne

Dear family & friends in Christ,

1) We thank and praise the Lord Jesus for a mighty outpouring of His Holy Spirit in Culcairn & Holbrook, NSW over this last weekend, where Pr Daniel, along with a team from Catch The Fire Ministries, ministered the Word of God to many who gathered!

In Culcairn the population is only around 1200, but praise God more than 100 people attended the Sunday night meeting held at the Footy Club. There were so many people from different denominational churches present at the meeting. It was so exciting to see many children & youth come up for prayer as many responded to the altar call, and some gave their lives to Jesus!

We thank God for the many young men who were there from the Footy Club and were greatly excited to hear Pr Daniel speak about Rise Up Australia Party.

The place erupted with great excitement as they heard the RUA Party slogan to “Keep Australia Australian”!

Many also signed up for RUA Party membership and  around 1000 RUAP brochures were taken by the people to distribute amongst their friends and family.

Last Monday, Pr Daniel also travelled to Sydney to speak at a RUA Party meeting in Kellyville.

Visit http://riseupaustraliaparty.com/ for more info on Rise Up Australia Party.

2) Please pray and watch (if possible) the live webcast this Sun 4th Nov as Pr Daniel ministers God’s prophetic Word at CTFM in Hallam (Melbourne) at both the 9.30am & 6.30pm services.

Please note that both services will be broadcast live right here beginning at 10.45am & 7.45pm (Australian Eastern Standard Time -AEST).

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Continue ReadingRise Up Australia & Catch the Fire in Culcairn & Holbrook, NSW / RUA Prayer Melbourne

Can An Evangelical Christian Vote for a Mormon?

Dear friends and family in Christ, 1) Further to the email we sent last week about Christian Evangelical Leader Billy Graham endorsing Romney's (a Mormon) 'strong moral convictions' over Obama's…

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An Open Letter from a Former Muslim: Enough is Enough

9/21/2012 – Charisma News – Majed Eishafie

My name is Majed El Shafie. I was arrested, tortured and sentenced to die in Egypt after converting from Islam to Christianity. I managed to escape and with the help of the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees), I eventually settled in Canada from where I now fight for those persecuted around the world.

We have seen the news reports in recent days of Muslims protesting throughout the world, killing the American ambassador and three other Americans in Libya, over a film they claim insults their prophet. The filmmaker is in hiding, flags have been burned and trampled, and though it may not have been reported on the major news networks, Bibles are being burned and vulnerable Christians are being attacked in countries half a world away.

Many here in the West have been perplexed or alarmed by these events, especially after our soldiers risked their lives last year to support the people of Libya against Colonel Qaddafi’s forces. The irony is thick in that Ambassador Stevens in particular was keen to help the Libyan people rebuild and he took an active role in supporting their efforts. As a result, I feel compelled to speak out.

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Pleasing God First

7/1/2012 Joyce Meyer

Following the Holy Spirit’s leading can break the tyranny of people-pleasing

Do you make your own decisions? Or are you a people pleaser, allowing others to make decisions for you?

When I started in ministry, I had to decide if I was going to follow my heart or give in to the resistance and discouragement coming at me from other people who didn’t think I should do that. By God’s grace, I decided to step out in faith and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. But it wasn’t easy. A lot of my family turned against me, I lost most of my friends, I was asked to leave my church … it was a terrible time!

It was also a confusing time. I was just trying to do what I believed God was telling me to do and be what He was calling me to be—that was my sole motive.

It was a tough beginning, and there have been other challenges along the way, but I’ve never regretted being obedient to God. See, it would have been harder to miss God’s will and live an unfulfilled life than to face the struggles and live with the peace and joy I have now.

The key was learning how to follow God rather than the tyranny of being a people-pleaser.

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