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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IHOP’s “Magnificent Obsession”—The Word of God

Aimee Herd : Oct 2, 2012 : Worship Musician! magazine

“Singing the Scripture; I was really connecting with God for the first time in my life. Six hours a day, eight hours a day, ten hours a day—connecting with Him. Then small things started to look small, big things started to look big; I started to see the way to impact society, and that you can’t do it without prayer or without the Presence of God. My whole ministry view changed, my world view and my music changed. There were times where there was literally no one [besides the worship team] in the room for hours.” -Misty Edwards, IHOP

Below are excerpts, reprinted with permission from an article that is featured in Worship Musician! magazine’s September/October issue. To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.

IHOP KCOn the outskirts of Kansas City, the acronym IHOP likely conjures up a different image in the mind than pancakes—one of passionate worshipers of Jesus deep in prayer, led by skilled musicians and singers, pouring their hearts out to God. That’s an accurate description of the main prayer room at the International House of Prayer, where music-based intercession has been lifted up, non-stop, for 13 years now. I spoke with three of the many worship leaders in the 24/7 prayer room about what it’s like to be a part of something that resembles the Tabernacle of King David, and about how that’s being shared with the rest of the world through their latest CD: “One Thing Live-Magnificent Obsession.” (Photo courtesy: IHOPKC/Worship Musician! magazine)

Aimee Herd: Misty, you’ve been at the International House of Prayer in Kansas City pretty much from the beginning of the 24-hour prayer and worship, right?

Misty Edwards: Right. It started in 1999 and I was one of the first of five interns.

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JUST 5 YEARS TILL ‘END TIMES’ COMMENCE?

Exclusive: Joseph Farah of World Net Daily explains so far dead-on prophecies of 13th-century rabbi

Several years ago, Ludwig Schneider, a German-language scholar, discovered an amazing prophecy dating back to 1217 by a scholarly and highly respected rabbi by the name of Judah Ben Samuel.

He was quite famous in his time as the initiator of the Chassidic Ashkenaz, a movement of Jewish mysticism in Germany. He founded a yeshiva in Regensburg and secured many pupils. Legend has it that, as a young man, he was an excellent bowman but knew little or nothing about daily prayers. But once he got serious about his faith, legend has it that he performed many miracles. It is also reported that he was given a prophecy about the exact year of Israel’s rebirth as a nation and its redemption.

So renowned was his work, the Bishop of Salzburg asked him to serve as his personal seer.

Because most of his writings were published so long ago – before the invention of the printing press – and in German, few copies have survived. But Schneider has a copy of Judah Ben Samuel’s prophecy about the nation of Israel and the messianic era and has translated the highlights of it into English and other languages for the magazine Israel Today.

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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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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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Christianity and the Dark Side — What About Halloween?

Monday, October 29, 2012

Over a hundred years ago, the great Dutch theologian Herman Bavinck predicted that the 20th century would “witness a gigantic conflict of spirits.” His prediction turned out to be an understatement, and this great conflict continues into the 21st century.

The issue of Halloween presses itself annually upon the Christian conscience. Acutely aware of dangers new and old, many Christian parents choose to withdraw their children from the holiday altogether. Others choose to follow a strategic battle plan for engagement with the holiday. Still others have gone further, seeking to convert Halloween into an evangelistic opportunity. Is Halloween really that significant?

Well, Halloween is a big deal in the marketplace. Halloween is surpassed only by Christmas in terms of economic activity. Reporting in 2007, David J. Skal estimated: “Precise figures are difficult to determine, but the annual economic impact of Halloween is now somewhere between 4 billion and 6 billion dollars depending on the number and kinds of industries one includes in the calculations.” As of 2012, that total exceeded $8 billion.

Furthermore, historian Nicholas Rogers claims that “Halloween is currently the second most important party night in North America. In terms of its retail potential, it is second only to Christmas. This commercialism fortifies its significance as a time of public license, a custom-designed opportunity to have a blast. Regardless of its spiritual complications, Halloween is big business.”

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Is There Such a Thing as Child-Friendly Horror Movies?

Charisma News – 9/30/2012 

They’re coming. Over the next few months, parents are going to see an onslaught of horror based movies that are aimed directly at their children. Paranorman, Frankenweenie and Hotel Transylvania may look like harmless humor horror for the harvest season, but they represent more than just the Halloween creep. These movies desensitize our children to even more satanic evil and violence that they will see on the big screen later in life.

Over the past few years, Ted Baehr and the Christian Film & Television Commission have been making inroads. The transformation of Hollywood toward a more God-respecting attitude has been seen in movies like The Blind Side, The Avengers, Pirates of the Caribbean 4: On Stranger Tides and Soul Surfer. For a brief moment we were able to see the positive trickle-down effect, but with any victory we must always expect the enemy to launch a counterattack.

Are these so called “kid-friendly” horror films really that bad for children? Movieguide, of course, can give you the best source of guidance so you are aware of the theme and content of a movie before you give your children the OK to see it. Even so, telling your child, “No, you can’t see that movie,” is never easy. For the culture-wise family, this new string of movies about to flood our theaters can sound like the drums of war.

Let’s face it. Monsters are cool. People love them. Who will ever forget the Star Wars cantina scene or the orcs from Lord of the Rings? Pixar’s Monsters Inc. is a fine example of a wholesome, kid-friendly monster movie, not because of the fear factor, but because of the “fear not” message.

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Romney Rising, Europe Panicking

Posted by Frank Crimi Bio ? on Oct 5th, 2012 

The European hope for an Obama second term is now flagging after Barack Obama’s disastrous debate performance Wednesday night against Mitt Romney.

As in the United States, Obama’s debate performance is being ruthlessly panned by European leaders, diplomats and media, many of whom were not only hopeful, but confident that Obama would easily win re-election.

Instead, that certainty has now been replaced by heightened angst, best expressed by the French paper, Le Monde, which wrote on its front page, “Where did the favorite go?: Obama fails his first televised debate against an incisive Romney.”

That Obama failure, according to European media accounts, is rooted in the President’s shocking lack of style, substance and commanding presence, a critique shared across both sides of the European media’s political spectrum.

In Britain, for example, the conservative Daily Telegraph wrote that Romney was “stunningly on top of his argument with a faultless command of detail and a confident fluency that made Barack Obama seem hesitant, defensive and occasionally evasive.”

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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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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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An Evangelical Landslide for Romney?

Mark Tooley

Although President Obama got only 26 percent of white evangelicals in 2008, according to exit polls, he got about 33 percent of young white evangelicals. The latter statistic inspired hopes by Democrats and liberal evangelicals for a generational shift away from social issues in favor of more liberal-focused causes. But a Public Religion Research Institute poll, pre-presidential debates, showed young white evangelicals choosing Romney over Obama by 80 percent to 15 percent. Hispanic evangelicals reportedly are not as strongly for Romney as they were for Bush, although they are much more pro-Romney than Catholic or non-religious Hispanics.Full-throttle evangelical support for Romney was not widely anticipated. Evangelicals do not see the former Mormon bishop as one of their own, as they did Bush. And Romney has not strongly emphasized social issues that energize conservative evangelicals. Many prominent evangelical leaders endorsed Rick Santorum during the Republican primaries.

But Obama administration policies favoring same-sex marriage, indirect abortion funding through Obamacare, and the HHS mandate compelling religious groups to offer contraceptive/abortifacient coverage have antagonized many evangelicals. Several evangelical schools have joined Catholic schools in litigating against the mandate. The Democratic convention’s awkward last minute restoration of God to the party platform likely did not help.

Now the most revered American evangelical seems to have virtually endorsed Romney. On Oct. 11Romney met with 93-year-old Billy Graham at his North Carolina mountain log cabin. Photos of the two with Graham’s evangelist son, Franklin, were released and widely published. Graham was quoted as telling Romney: “I’ll do all I can to help you. And you can quote me on that.” A statement from Graham afterward was issued.

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Innocence of Muslims made by Terrorists

Shoebat ^ | 9/25/12 | Walid Shoebat – Posted on Wednesday, September 26, 2012 by Ben Barrack

There is more to the story of Nakoula Basseley Nakoula than what we are told by the media. Court documents reveal that Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, producer of the movie Innocence of Muslims, partnered in a scheme with Eiad Salameh, my first cousin, a Palestinian Muslim from Beit Sahour in the Palestinian district of Bethlehem.

To prove my claim, I revealed Eiad Salameh long before this whole fiasco erupted—in 2008 and the first real reportage of Eiad and Nakoula was revealed on September 14th, 2012.

Now do I have your attention?

The narrative that circulates the media fails to answer crucial questions behind the mystery of this film.

For example, to date, no one has stepped forward or can confirm for certain that whoever holds an identity by the name of Nakoula Basseley Nakoula is that man’s true identity. In the Middle East, if a man by the name of Nakoula Basseley Nakoula indeed exists while being blamed for creating a mess of international proportions—which included the anger of over one billion Muslims—it would not be that difficult to find the entire family in Egypt, including brothers, cousins, aunts, siblings wife, wives, ex-wives, mistresses, pets and all. (more…)

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Millions of Youth Pray for Awakening on School Campuses

 9/26/2012 Charisma News Staff

Before the opening bell on Wednesday, millions of students from across the country gathered at their school’s flagpole to pray for their nation, their towns and cities, and their schools at the annual See You at the Pole (SYATP) prayer gathering.

“First, how stinking awesome is it that our kids, shy or bold, were coming together as one in Christ! Peer pressure didn’t stop them…,” Sarah Downing wrote on Facebook. “We had 3 girls at the pole this morning. Christ was glorified and the school lifted to our awesome God!”

The First Amendment guarantees students the right to pray on school grounds. During any non-instructional time—before or after school, in between classes, during the lunch hour or on the playing field—students may express their opinions verbally or in writing. Prayer is a form of speech, and therefore during non-instructional time, students have the constitutional right to pray individually or in groups.

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