Dear friends & family in Christ in Australia and around the world, We're calling on all Christians to join us in urgent ongoing prayer for God's divine intervention regarding the…
Dear friends & family in Christ, 1) Unceasing prayer is still very much needed in the battle between Rise Up Australia Party, the Greens and Sex Party for the 5th…
9/4/2014 Albert Mohler – Charisma News
The evangelical world, joined by no shortage of secular observers, has been abuzz about the latest soundbite of note from the Pastors Osteen—this time offered by Victoria Osteen as her husband Joel beamed in the background. It is a hard video to watch.
In her message, Victoria Osteen tells their massive congregation to realize that their devotion to God is not really about God, but about themselves. “I just want to encourage every one of us to realize when we obey God, we’re not doing it for God—I mean, that’s one way to look at it—we’re doing it for ourselves, because God takes pleasure when we are happy. … That’s the thing that gives Him the greatest joy.”
She continued: “So, I want you to know this morning—Just do good for your own self. Do good because God wants you to be happy. … When you come to church, when you worship Him, you’re not doing it for God really. You’re doing it for yourself, because that’s what makes God happy. Amen?”
As you might predict, the congregation responded with a loud “Amen.”
America deserves the Osteens. The consumer culture, the cult of the therapeutic, the marketing impulse and the sheer superficiality of American cultural Christianity probably made the Osteens inevitable. The Osteens are phenomenally successful because they are the exaggerated fulfillment of the self-help movement and the cult of celebrity rolled into one massive megachurch media empire. And, to cap it all off, they give Americans what Americans crave—reassurance delivered with a smile.
Have you ever looked with holy eyes at some of today’s most popular Christian conference ads? It’s all about Apostle so and so and Prophet so and so, and for those who are not content with just one title there is Apostle/Prophet Dr. so and so—posters advertising special people and special programs, and how much they are all doing for the Lord.
I realize some of these things have their place, but in all of it, where is His face? Don’t you want to see Jesus? Doesn’t it disturb you when some mere mortal stands in the way?
The real truth about most men is this: They don’t really know their own hearts as well as they think. We are never as humble and submissive to God as we think we are. Even Paul near the end of his earthly life and ministry had to be broken so that he wouldn’t be puffed up with pride because of his many visions and revelations (2 Cor. 12:7-9). Who do you think you are?
Your only safeguard against pride is to keep on truly humbling yourself and not be self-seeking. Paul said of Timothy, “I have no one else like him” (Phil. 2:20, NIV) because he was not self-serving or self-seeking (v. 21).
The origin of every word and action determines its glory and purity. Holy roots mean holy fruits. A desire for gain outside of God’s will or even timing means you are worshipping a form of increase and success instead of God. It is evidence again that you are seeking your own glory and honor, and not the glory and honor of God. I call it unsanctified gain, which manifests in discontentment. Notice what true gain is: “Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content” (1 Tim. 6:6-8, NKJV).
Christian Aid Staff (Oct 31, 2014)
(Ghana)—Members of a ministry based in Ghana are fighting more than poverty, illiteracy and illness. A spiritual battle against discouragement rose to a new level when evangelistic success brought threats of persecution.
“It has been tough and discouraging these days, but we are still dependent on Him,” the director of the ministry said.
Along with health, water, education and micro-enterprise development programs, the ministry has been showing “The Jesus Film” in villages, and not without opposition. The organization complements the screenings and other evangelistic efforts with broadcasts from its radio station. It reaches 2 million listeners with a wide range of community service programming, such as agricultural advice, besides its Christian programming.
The director considered closing the radio station, however, as it could not keep up with costs and repairs: the transmitter developed serious problems; air conditioners in the transmitter room faltered; the radio mast was 50 meters short; there were persistent problems with the studio console, and a consultant concluded that reception was poor among many listeners.
“Wages were low, and the morale of the radio staff was so low that some staff members resigned,” he said. “Should we close the radio station down? Should we reduce the radio staff even more? With more than 90 percent of the 1 million folks in the metropolis and its surrounding villages being Muslims, it has become increasingly difficult to sell airtime to run the station.”
Income remained the same, as expenditures continually rose, he added.
“We have huge electricity bills, as the tariff was increased more than 80 percent,” he said. “We prayed and prayed for God’s intervention. We needed the Lord to do something for us to see He is still with us.”
One afternoon the radio station received a call from an imam at a village mosque about 25 miles away. He told a station staff member that after listening to the broadcast for a little more than a month, he and eight of his followers had given their lives to Christ.
Their conversion to Christianity, the imam added, had caused Muslims in a nearby village to come and beat them, as well as destroy some of their properties.
“It was a great disgrace to the communities to have a leader of a mosque turn to Christ,” the ministry director said. “This is an unpardonable sin. The parliament of the local communities came together and took the imam, trying to force him to change his mind. He sneaked back to the village, still holding on to Jesus Christ.”
Members of the radio station received threatening calls from Muslims upset about the conversions.
“Tension was high and some staff went into hiding,” he said, “but we kept on praying and praying and praising God. We kept this on a low key, so it would not turn into unrest.”
God gave them strength to persevere and members of the staff went to the village to help disciple the new converts.
The cloud of fear and pain has dissipated now, but there is still an uneasy silence.
The ministry’s micro-enterprise, educational, health, water and other social economic development programs have helped build bridges with other Muslims, leading them to put their trust in Christ, said a representative from Christian Aid Mission, which assists the ministry.(Photo via Christian Aid)
“Meeting real community needs opens the door for them to share the love of God on a personal level. It is so effective,” he said. “They have erected public toilets and water fountains and given them to the city. They operate about 10 schools and feed thousands of children weekly.”
The ministry’s social enterprises enable local evangelists to engage Muslims daily. Among micro-enterprise projects, one lends small amounts of cash to women so they can develop sustainable businesses to help take care of their families’ needs.
“This is the most forward-thinking missionary group that I have had the opportunity to engage in my life,” the Christian Aid Mission representative said. “The local director believes that there is dignity in work, and that every person deserves the opportunity to earn their own way. They have many projects on the drawing board, and even more in mind for the future, as God allows. His motto: Africans helping Africans to do missions in Africa.”
Two other Muslims, strong young men, have since called the radio station from another area and given their lives to Christ. They, too, are undergoing severe persecution.
“In spite of all the problems we face here, the Lord is calling His own, through our struggles and weak position, to His glory,” the indigenous ministry director said. “Pray for the Lord to give us wisdom and boldness to continue with our work, and that the Lord would provide the needed resources to run the radio station.” (more…)
October 29 2014 – b
Lagos – A coroner on Wednesday threatened popular Nigerian preacher TB Joshua with arrest if he failed to testify at an inquest into the deaths of 116 people at his church.
Oyetade Komolafe rejected arguments from Joshua’s lawyers that the televangelist should not be summoned because he did not directly witness the September 12 tragedy.
A total of 84 South Africans were among the dead when a guesthouse for foreign followers at Joshua’s Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) collapsed in Lagos.
Joshua, known to members of his church as “The Prophet” or “The Man of God”, has indicated that sabotage was to blame and linked the collapse to a low-flying aircraft seen in the area at the time.
“The court has the power to summon whoever it deems necessary to assist it,” Komlafe told the hearing in the city.
“The counsel should advise The Prophet to come. The church is not on trial. It’s not a matter of ego. Nobody is above the law. The court will be fair to all.
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.
Dear friends & family in Christ, 1) You may click the following link to read an excellent newspaper article with Casey Councillor Rosalie Crestani who has been formally endorsed as…
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.
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.
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.
Dear friends & family in Christ, "Happy 50th Birthday Pastor Daniel!" Would you please join with us to thank God for Pastor Daniel’s year of Jubilee as he turns 50 this…
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.
