Normally, when the people of God allow the devil to get in the midst of a situation through pride, sin, and dishonesty, it becomes very convoluted and full of confusion and then it begins to unravel to the point where the former thing that probably was of God is not even recognizable and this is what has happened with the Redemption Church/Relentless Church debacle. As Relentless Church employee Jacob Johnson, who left Lakewood Church in Houston to join John Gray’s team in Greenville, basically said in the third video, God was in it in the beginning, but pride, sin, and dishonesty has brought it to this.

Black Christian News Network One (BCNN1) does not have the time nor the interest to give a blow-by-blow report on what we know is a devil-inspired, convoluted, unraveling mess. We have and do give initial news about such situations and one or two follow-ups. That is pretty much as far as we are going to go with it because after that you start getting into the weeds of foolishness.

Even though we disagree with some of the things that Larry Reid of Larry Reid Live says in his monologues and reporting, nobody, in our opinion, deals with the blow-by-blow reporting of these messy church situations like he does. Whether you love him, like him, or hate him, we believe we can speak for the respected Christian Post and Black Christian News Network One (BCNN1) that we have used some of his reporting because some things have gotten so out of hand in the church and so demonically ridiculous that somebody has to do the painful, nasty job that Larry Reid is doing, and when we can, we use some of his reporting because he uses credible sources such as court documents. In light of the Scripture, “judgment must begin at the house of God”, and because we have to be honest and transparent before a dying and lost world about the mess in the church, we have to recognize that there are some people who are actually called to do this kind of work and we believe that Larry Reid is called to do this. Now, some of the crazy things that he says regarding stuff that is gossip, regarding sex, and made-up curse words, we don’t support that, but in things where the devil has gotten in the midst of a church situation and it has unraveled, nobody is more gifted in explaining this mess in a blow-by-blow fashion than Larry Reid. So, we give you three videos that he has done over the last week dealing with this sad, unfortunate situation.

The reason why we are calling on Joel Osteen and T. D. Jakes to get involved in a public and out-front way is because this is going to be a mess that goes on throughout the year and maybe even beyond and it needs to end now. These two prominent pastors were there at the beginning laying hands on John Gray and agreeing with Ron Carpenter that this was of God. Now, they need to get involved at the end of this thing to shut it down. One of the sad things that has happened down through the past 30 years is when so-called “pastoral fathers” who basked in their sons’ gifting and talent, and even generated millions of dollars off their sons’ gifting, talent, and ability, but as soon as they mess up they pull back from them and we don’t hear anything from them because they follow the advice of their PR people who tell them, “This is the Titanic, don’t get near it,” when, in fact, we need to see those same “pastoral fathers” who basked in their sons’ glory, gifting, and talent and when the money was flowing in, when he foolishly messes up with pride, sin, and dishonesty to come and help him get out of a bad situation and hire him back where he came from. For the truth of the matter is, some gifted, talented young men are good at being a second man but not the first man. They are good at being a relief pitcher but not the main marquee pitcher. They are good at being a pinch hitter but not the main hitter. They are a good second man, but they are not equipped to be the first man even though everybody thought they would be.

What probably needs to happen at this point and what Joel Osteen and T. D. Jakes need to facilitate with the quickness is for Ron Carpenter to not only get his building back but get all of the people back who want to stay even the ones that came in under John Gray and for John Gray to humble himself and resign and to admit that he messed up with pride, sin, and dishonesty as he has admitted to Larry Reid, and move back to Houston or get a second man job position under T. D. Jakes. But whatever is the conclusion of this matter, it needs to conclude now because in the words of the crazy but gifted Larry Reid, “This is a whole mess.”

— BCNN1 Editors

All Content & Images are provided by the acknowledged source

A female high school runner has beaten a transgender competitor just two days after she and other students families’ filed a lawsuit to block athletes with male anatomy competing because they have an ‘unfair’ advantage.

Canton High School girl Chelsea Mitchell won the Class S 55-meter dash title on Friday with her time of 7.18 seconds. She beat Bloomfield High School student Terry Miller’s 7.20 seconds.

Mitchell also came first in the 300-meter dash, while Miller was 16th, and Mitchell won the long jump.

The families of Mitchell, Selina Soule, a senior at Glastonbury High School, and Alanna Smith, a sophomore at Danbury High School, filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday seeking to block transgender athletes in Connecticut from participating in girls sports.

The Class S girls 55 meter state championship goes to Canton senior Chelsea Mitchell, who edged out defending champ Terry Miller of Bloomfield. #cttrack pic.twitter.com/aDL7ieIEsx

— Shawn McFarland (@McFarland_Shawn) February 14, 2020

The lawsuit centers on two transgender sprinters, Miller and Andraya Yearwood, who have frequently outperformed their cisgender competitors. The two seniors have combined to win 15 girls state indoor or outdoor championship races since 2017, according to the lawsuit.

The attorneys for Alliance Defending Freedom had asked the court to prevent the transgender girls from competing while the lawsuit moves forward.

No hearing date on that request had been scheduled Wednesday, the day before the state’s indoor track championships began.

The Connecticut Association of Schools-Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference says its policy follows a state anti-discrimination law that says students must be treated in school by the gender with which they identify and the group believes the policy is ‘appropriate under both state and federal law.’

Connecticut is one of 17 states that allowed transgender high school athletes to compete without restrictions in 2019, according to Transathlete.com, which tracks state policies in high school sports across the country.

Eight states had restrictions that make it difficult for transgender athletes to compete while in school, such requiring athletes to compete under the gender on their birth certificate, or allowing them to participate only after going through sex reassignment procedures or hormone therapies, according to Transathlete.

Yearwood and Miller have said they are still in the process of transitioning but have declined to provide details.

The three plaintiffs have competed directly against them, almost always losing to Miller and usually behind Yearwood. Mitchell finished third in the 2019 state championship in the girls 55-meter indoor track competition behind Miller and Yearwood.

‘Our dream is not to come in second or third place, but to win fair and square,’ Mitchell previously said. ‘All we’re asking for is a fair chance.’

They argue in the lawsuit that allowing athletes with male anatomy to compete has deprived them of track titles and scholarship opportunities.

‘Mentally and physically, we know the outcome before the race even starts,’ said Smith, who is the daughter of former Major League pitcher Lee Smith.

‘That biological unfairness doesn’t go away because of what someone believes about gender identity. All girls deserve the chance to compete on a level playing field.’

The lawsuit was filed against the Connecticut Association of Schools-Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference and the boards of education in Bloomfield, Cromwell, Glastonbury, Canton and Danbury.

It follows a Title IX complaint filed last June by the girls’ families and the Alliance Defending Freedom with the U.S. Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights, which is investigating the policy.

‘Forcing girls to be spectators in their own sports is completely at odds with Title IX, a federal law designed to create equal opportunities for women in education and athletics,’ nonprofit organization Alliance Defending Freedom attorney Christiana Holcomb said. ‘Connecticut’s policy violates that law and reverses nearly 50 years of advances for women.’

Yearwood, a senior at Cromwell High School, and Miller, a senior at Bloomfield High School, had issued statements vehemently defending their right to run in girls events.

‘I have faced discrimination in every aspect of my life and I no longer want to remain silent,’ Miller said. ‘I am a girl and I am a runner. I participate in athletics just like my peers to excel, find community, and meaning in my life. It is both unfair and painful that my victories have to be attacked and my hard work ignored.’

Yearwood said she also is a girl and has been hurt by the efforts to ‘tear down my successes.’

‘I will never stop being me!’ she said in her statement. ‘I will never stop running! I hope that the next generation of trans youth doesn’t have to fight the fights that I have. I hope they can be celebrated when they succeed not demonized. For the next generation, I run for you!’

The American Civil Liberties Union said it will represent the transgender teens and defend the Connecticut policy in court. Attorney Chase Strangio, deputy director for Trans Justice with the ACLU LGBT & HIV Project, said transgender girls also are protected by Title IX.

‘The idea that the law only protects the individuals with XX chromosomes as compared to individuals with XY chromosomes is found nowhere in the legislative history of Title IX, in any implementing regulation or in any other aspect of the interpretation of Title IX over the last 50 years by the courts,’ he said.

The Hartford Courant reported that the students didn’t interact before or after the race on Friday.

Mitchell put her win down to her own talent not the potential affects of the lawsuit on the athletes involved.

‘It’s definitely big because I’ve never beaten her before. I guess it’s just exciting,’ Mitchell said

‘I try to just clear everything out of my mind, this is just track, you know, it’s just running, just focusing on myself, not trying to think about anything else that’s been happening.’

Mitchell added that she doesn’t think her win will affect the case.

‘I don’t think it could go against, there’s still tons of girls that lose on a daily basis,’ Mitchell added.

Miller added about the defeat: ‘I clapped because, for me, I’m not a hater. When you take a win, you take the win. And even if you don’t respect me, I’ll respect you.’

Miller had consoled Yearwood before the race as she was disqualified over a false start. ‘It’s really important to me, because she didn’t throw a fit, she was disappointed,’Miller said. ‘It’s not about the win, it’s about us enjoying the sport.’

SOURCE: Daily Mail, Leah Simpson; The Associated Press

All Content & Images are provided by the acknowledged source

Taher, a Rohingya Christian pastor, and his 14-year-old daughter were abducted from their shelter in a refugee camp in Bangladesh on the morning of January 27. The previous night scores of men attacked 22 Christian families living in Kutupalong Camp 2 in Cox’s Bazaar. The attackers beat up residents, vandalized homes, and looted personal property in the sprawling Rohingya refugee camp. At least 12 Rohingya Christian refugees were injured and hospitalized following the attack. A makeshift Christian church and school were also smashed. After the attack the families relocated to a United Nations transit center and filed a police case against 59 alleged assailants.

The Benar News Agency and Radio Free Asia have reported that camp residents believe that the attackers are linked to the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), an ethnic Rohingya armed group. An ARSA representative denied and condemned the attacks on Christians, saying the assailants were harming the group’s fight for Rohingya rights.

Taher’s wife, Roshida, fears that her husband has been killed and her daughter abducted. She told Human Rights Watch that, “No one can give me any clear information, but my relatives told me that my daughter has been forced to convert to Islam and marry.”

SOURCE: Human Rights Watch, Brad Adams

All Content & Images are provided by the acknowledged source

Christian pastor and author Greg Laurie has tasted the bittersweet fruit that life has to offer. He has written 70 books, started a church, lost a son, become a grandpa, achieved national recognition in radio and media — all while never knowing his real father. The one constant throughout it all was his belief in God.

When Laurie spoke with Fox News in a phone interview to share his thoughts on faith, he mentioned the passing of basketball legend Kobe Bryant, to highlight what a profound effect his death had on ordinary people and how they should respond.

“Sometimes it takes a wakeup call to get someone’s attention,” he began. “Because you can have everything this culture offers — every toy, every possession, every accomplishment. But death comes to every person. And this was sort of a collective wakeup call to the whole nation when we lost Kobe Bryant. Someone who was so young and vibrant. People obviously had a connection to him, even if they were not a fan of the Lakers.”

Laurie said though tragic, Bryant’s death serves as a staunch reminder of life’s impermanence. This tragedy should inspire us to reflect on our own mortality and use those feelings to sort out what’s really important in life, he added.

“It’s just a reminder that you don’t know when life will come to an end,” Laurie explained. “Only those who are prepared to die are really ready to live. And I don’t suggest that as something morbid.

“Years ago, in another century, people would write a phrase over their legal documents which was ‘Memento Mori.’ That means, think of death,” he continued. “That was not meant to be depressing, that was meant to remind the person — no matter how much money you have in your account, no matter how successful you are, you’ll leave it all one day.”

The California native is an avid lover of Jesus Christ and credits his faith in God with helping him, and his wife Cathy, overcome the death of their son Christopher who passed away 11 years ago after a car accident. He was 33.

“I’ve always believed this and I’ve always taught this, but when our son died unexpectedly 11 years ago, it was just jolting,” he said.

“It was life-altering. It was in many ways, devastating. But the hope that we have that keeps us going is we know that our son is not only a part of our past but that he’s also a part of our future. And we have the hope that, as Christians, we’ll be reunited with our loved ones who have proceeded us to heaven. So I’m confident I’ll see my son Christopher again.”

The nationally syndicated radio host said he still sees Christopher in his dreams and is initially filled with joy to talk to him. He soon realizes, however, that it’s only a memory and that he’ll have to wait until the next life to actually communicate with him.

“I know a lot of other people who have lost loved ones have dreams about them and I’ve had dreams about my son,” Laurie said.

“And in the dream, I’m always in a place where he’s there. And I’m thinking to myself, ‘Wait you’re alive! ‘And in every dream, I’m so happy to see him and I talk to him. And I’m so sad because I know I’m going to lose him again. Because at some point I realize, I’m in a dream. It’s such a deep, internal desire for communication. But I think it’s also a little glimpse of being reunited with them one day again, as well.”

Laurie, who is senior pastor of several congregations, including Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, Calif., and Harvest at Kumulani in Kapalua, Hawaii, then spoke about the backlash against faith and Christianity in the public square, but remained convinced that those who denounce God out of a sense of rebellion will likely still seek his help down the road and still have a relationship with him.

“I think this is a challenge in every generation,” he said. “In my book ‘Jesus Revolution,’ when we looked at [Jesus’] time in history — in many ways, it parallels today. You had huge political turmoil. You had riots in the streets. It looked like culture was unraveling.”

There have been many moments throughout humanity that have caused us to question whether or not we are witnessing the death of God, Laurie continued. But what makes God so special is the ability to have a personal relationship with him that transcends earthly concerns and anxieties.

SOURCE: Fox News, Nick Givas

All Content & Images are provided by the acknowledged source

A Kalamazoo pastor was arraigned in Kalamazoo County District Court on a charge of assaulting a deacon at his church.

The Rev. Stricjavvar Floyd Strickland, executive senior pastor at Second Baptist Church, was arraigned Wednesday, Feb. 12, on one misdemeanor count of assault and battery stemming from a a Dec. 15 incident, according to court records.

A warrant for Strickland’s arrest was issued on Feb. 10, according to court records. Strickland posted a $500 cash bond with the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety Feb. 11, according to court records.

After arraignment on the charge, Strickland is due back in court for a pretrial conference Feb. 18.

Strickland spoke to members of the media following his arraignment Wednesday morning, calling the allegations “ludicrous” and saying he was assaulted first on the day in question.

“All that I did was try to prevent further assault,” Strickland said. “We look forward to defending my name in this case and prevailing in high fashion.”

SOURCE: MLive, Ryan Boldrey

All Content & Images are provided by the acknowledged source

The Atlanta Metro Baptist Association has severed ties with the First Baptist Church of Decatur over what it calls a “misalignment” of biblical standards.

First Baptist’s Senior Pastor David Jordan, though, thinks it boils down to the fact that the church has ordained gay deacons and is an LGBTQ-inclusive congregation at a time when the association has taken “a pretty hard right turn.”

“I don’t think anybody likes to be kicked out of anything, but in a way, we can feel good about it because we are being kicked out for a very worthy cause,” Jordan said. “It’s sad that people have this kind of mindset.”

The Clairmont Road church was notified of the action in a Jan. 31 letter from Atlanta Metro Baptist Association Executive Director Jimmy D. Baughcum.

The letter does not mention LGBTQ issues.

It says the church’s “misalignment with the qualifications of a member church by affirming, approving, or endorsing practices or behaviors that do not align with biblical standards as outlined in the Manual of Procedure adopted by the association in May 2019.”

Baughcum declined to elaborate.

“This is an association and church matter and I have committed to speak about it only with those within the church and faith community at this time,” he said in an email Thursday.

The letter also says that the Decatur church has not sent a representative or messengers to any Atlanta Metro meetings in the past two years.

However, Jordan, who came to the church from Charlotte, North Carolina, two years ago, said members have frequently volunteered at the association.

Jordan was visited by association officials last November.

The conversations started off on a good note, but the “tone quickly changed to basically you are in very clear violations of our bylaws. The wording was basically it’s your choice, you can either go quietly or we will vote you out. I told them that is your issue, not ours.”

He said the Atlanta-based association has been a good support system for churches through partnership in local missions, help for struggling churches and combining resources “but clearly we have a different vision of what a church should be.”

This is not the first time the historic church, which has an active membership of about 700 people, has been at odds with a Baptist association.

The Georgia Baptist Convention in 2009 severed its 148-year relationship with First Baptist Church of Decatur after it called a woman, the Rev. Julie Pennington-Russell, as its pastor. The church is now part of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.

SOURCE: The Atlanta Journal Constitution, Shelia Poole

All Content & Images are provided by the acknowledged source

A fire swept through a Haitian children’s home run by a Pennsylvania-based religious nonprofit group, killing 15 children, officials said Friday.

Rose-Marie Louis, a child-care worker at the home, said that the fire began around 9 p.m. Thursday and firefighters took about 90 minutes to arrive. The orphanage had been using candles for light due to problems with its generator and inverter, she said.

About half of those who died were babies or toddlers and the others were roughly 10 or 11 years old, Louis said.

Late Friday afternoon, police raided another home also run by the Church of Bible Understanding and took away several dozen children in a bus over protests from employees.

The fire happened at the group’s orphanage in the Kenscoff area outside Port-au-Prince, the Haitian capital.

“It could have been me,” said Renadin Mondeline, a 22-year-old who lived in the home with her son, now 6, for about two years until she started making enough money as a street vendor to start renting her own place to live last year. “These little girls inside were just like my baby.”

Rescue workers arrived at the scene on motorcycles and didn’t have bottled oxygen or the ambulances needed to transport the children to the hospital, said Jean-Francois Robenty, a civil protection official.

“They could have been saved,”′ he said. ″We didn’t have the equipment to save their lives.″

The Associated Press has reported on a long-standing series of problems at the two children’s homes run by the Church of Bible Understanding.

“’We are aware of the fire in the children’s home in Haiti,” said Temi J. Sacks, a spokesman for the group, which is based in Scranton, Pennsylvania. “It would be irresponsible for us to comment until after all the facts are in.”

The Church of Bible Understanding lost accreditation for its homes after a series of inspections beginning in November 2012. Haitian inspectors faulted the group for overcrowding, unsanitary conditions and not having enough adequately trained staff.

Members of the religious group were selling expensive vintage building fixtures like banisters and chandeliers at high-end stores in New York and Los Angeles and using a portion of the profits to fund the homes.

The Associated Press made an unannounced visit to the group’s two homes, holding a total of 120 kids, in 2013 and found bunk beds with faded and worn mattresses crowded into dirty rooms. Sour air wafted through the bathrooms and stairwells. Rooms were dark and spartan, lacking comforts or decoration.

The Church of Bible Understanding operates two homes for nearly 200 children in Haiti as part of a “Christian training program,” according to its most recent nonprofit organization filing. It has operated in the country since 1977. It identifies the homes as orphanages but it is common in Haiti for impoverished parents to place children in residential care centers, where they receive lodging and widely varying education for several years but are not technically orphans.

“We take in children who are in desperate situations,” the organization says in its tax filing for 2017, the most recent year available. “Many of them were very close to death when we took them in.” The nonprofit reported revenue of $6.6 million and expenses of $2.2 million for the year.

SOURCE: The Associated Press, Even Sanon, Michael Weissenstein and Ben Fox

All Content & Images are provided by the acknowledged source

What was expected to be a “plug and play” transition from one church to another has become a contentious legal battle with millions of dollars at stake as Redemption Church moves to evict Relentless Church from property in Greenville.

Redemption Church, the Upstate-born megachurch founded by Pastor Ron Carpenter and relocated to San Jose, California, filed an application for ejectment against Relentless on Jan. 2, alleging Relentless has not fulfilled its financial obligations as a tenant of the property that Redemption still owns. But officials at Relentless, the newly formed church led by celebrity Pastor John Gray, have claimed that they have made all of their required monthly payments to uphold lease of the property.

Use of the 17 acres off Haywood Road, the 4,000-seat sanctuary and the fitness center next door will be determined by the court once arguments and responses are complete.

Redemption’s sole request to the court is that Relentless be ejected from the properties whereas Relentless’ counterclaim asks the court to enter judgment against Redemption and award actual and punitive damages.

The two megachurch pastors’ cases are built on several key agreements, listed below, that are in dispute. Further arguments were filed in court Friday, further cementing each side’s argument in the dispute.

► A transition agreement was signed by both Carpenter and Gray on Dec. 9, 2017, and it was included in court filings for the eviction case.

► Under the agreement, Gray would be appointed as the new senior pastor, president and chairman of the board of the Greenville ministries, including the sanctuary and The Imagine Center fitness center, effective May 13, 2018.

► Gray was promised full discretion to lead the ministry “in the vision God has given him for their future in propagating the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

► Gray would have discretion to select a new name for the Greenville ministry in consultation with the ministry board, “so long as the new names are not confusingly similar to ‘Redemption’ or any Redemption-related entities.”

► Redemption agreed to ensure $1 million would be in a savings account by the transition date.

► Redemption agreed to pay Gray up to $75,000 in moving expenses.

► Part of the agreement included a retirement package for Carpenter, granting Carpenter a $6.25 million retirement payout in annual payments of $250,000 for 25 years, along with a retirement property in The Cliffs residential community in Landrum.

► The agreement also allowed Carpenter to maintain access to the Redemption television studio space to use for Carpenter’s ongoing ministry endeavors as needed.

► The mortgage balance on the church’s sanctuary was $8,715,250. The monthly mortgage payment for the Redemption sanctuary would be $69,994.

► The mortgage balance on The Imagine Center was $3,720,649.48. The monthly interest-only mortgage payment would be $18,603.25 with an annual principal payment of $500,000.

► Redemption has said the intent of the agreement was for Gray to assume leadership of the Greenville ministry under a rebranded name and for the Greenville church to be responsible for all of the ministry’s mortgage debt.

► Instead of rebranding the Redemption ministry, Gray chose to incorporate an entirely new entity, The Relentless Church. Gray emphasized a desire to purchase the Greenville assets through Relentless, according to the complaint.

► Both parties agreed to the asset transfer agreement, but Gray refused to execute and deliver the agreements, Redemption’s complaint states, so Redemption rescinded its previous approval.

► Due to a failure to execute the proposed leases, Relentless has been occupying the properties on a month-to-month basis, according to the complaint.

► Relentless has been unable to pay the debt on The Imagine Center, and it has failed to relieve Redemption of its debt and operational costs for the sanctuary, according to the complaint.

► Redemption moved to evict, but Relentless has refused to vacate, the complaint states.

SOURCE: The Greenville News, Daniel J. Gross and Nathaniel Cary

All Content & Images are provided by the acknowledged source

Gospel Light Minute – Dustin Colquitt (#264)

He is an American football punter for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League. He played college football at Tennessee and was selected by the Chiefs in the third round of the 2005 NFL Draft. He is the Chiefs’ longest tenured player and is the longest tenured special teams player of any team. His career highlights and accomplishments include: Franchise record for longest punt (81 yards); Franchise record for games played by any position (238); Franchise record for seasons played (15); Franchise record for punting yards (50,393); Franchise record for punts (1,124); and 3rd most punts downed inside of the 20 in NFL history (462). He is a 2x Pro Bowler and a 2x team nominee for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award for co-founding and working with TeamSmile, an organization that offers free dental care to underserved children. Hailing from a family with a distinguished lineage of punters, referred to as “Football’s First Family of Fourth Down,” he joined his 2x Super Bowl-winning father and Super Bowl-winning brother by earning his own Super Bowl ring and forever being known as a Super Bowl champion when the Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers 31-20 in a comeback victory in Super Bowl LIV (54) in 2020.

Throughout his career, he has been active in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Athletes in Action, the sports ministry of Cru Ministries, using opportunities to profess his faith in Christ to football fans and anyone who will listen. While he plays for Chiefs Kingdom in the NFL, he lives for a greater purpose: to represent and enlarge God’s already victorious Kingdom on earth.

In a 2015 video for FCA, the longtime Chiefs punter said he believed “God put me in this position as a punter and in sports — professional football — because I think He wants something out of me to be able to share with other people. As a Christian, I think God has given me that platform to say, ‘Hey, I’ve allowed you to do a lot of things, and I need you to speak My Name. He always finds a way to put people, His people, in situations where He can spread His Word and spread His Kingdom.”

His name is Dustin Colquitt.

This is the “Chief of Sinners,” Daniel Whyte III, president of Gospel Light Society International, reminding you of what the Bible says, that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” like you and me. Just as Dustin Colquitt trusts Jesus Christ as his Saviour, may I encourage you to do the same. Here is how:

1. Accept the fact that you are a sinner, and that you have broken God’s law. The Bible says in Ecclesiastes 7:20: “For there is not a just man upon earth that doeth good, and sinneth not.” Romans 3:23 reads: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” In fact, I am the chief of sinners, so don’t think that you’re alone.

2. Accept the fact that there is a penalty for sin. The Bible states in Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death…”

3. Accept the fact that you are on the road to hell. Jesus Christ said in Matthew 10:28: “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” The Bible says in Revelation 21:8: “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”

4. Accept the fact that you cannot do anything to save yourself! The Bible states in Ephesians 2: 8, 9: “For by grace are ye saved through faith: and that not of yourselves: it is a gift of God. Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

5. Accept the fact that God loves you more than you love yourself, and that He wants to save you from hell. Jesus Christ said in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

6. With these facts in mind, please repent of your sins, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and pray and ask Him to come into your heart and save you this very moment. The Bible states in the book of Romans 10:9, 13: “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”

“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Dear friend, if you are willing to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, please pray with me this simple prayer: Heavenly Father, I realize that I am a sinner and that I have done some bad things in my life. For Jesus Christ sake, please forgive me of my sins. I now believe with all of my heart that Jesus Christ died for me, was buried, and rose again. Lord Jesus, please come into my heart and save my soul and change my life today. Amen.

If you believed in your heart that Jesus Christ died on the cross, was buried, and rose again, allow me to say, congratulations on doing the most important thing in life and that is accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour! For more information to help you grow in your newfound faith in Christ, go to Gospel Light Society.com and read “What To Do After You Enter Through the Door”. Jesus Christ said in John 10:9, “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.”

Remember, friend, Believe by faith. Share the faith. and Keep the faith!

All Content & Images are provided by the acknowledged source

Stephen Willeford was widely hailed by supporters of the Second Amendment as the model “good guy with a gun” in 2017, when he grabbed an AR-15 rifle and pursued and shot at a gunman killing churchgoers in Sutherland Springs, Texas.

Two and a half years later, the gregarious plumber has embraced the moniker Good Gun Guy Wille in speeches, church security training and now in a campaign for local county commissioner. If he wins, he wants to make Wilson County a “Second Amendment sanctuary” that would defy any restrictions state politicians might put on guns.

“I never had such a voice,” Mr. Willeford said. “Now people are willing to listen to me.”

He is one of three men in Texas touched by shootings at churches who are drawing on their experiences to run for public office in March’s Republican primaries.

Pastor Frank Pomeroy, who lost his teenage daughter and 25 other congregants in the Sutherland Springs church shooting, is challenging a popular Democratic state senator.

In North Texas, firearms instructor Jack Wilson was already a candidate for county commissioner when he took down a gunman Dec. 29 at the West Freeway Church of Christ.

They aren’t the first people to run for office after being involved in gun violence. But the Texas candidates stand out because they are using their experiences to boost gun-rights campaigns.

Mark Kelly, the husband of former Democratic U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and a former astronaut, is running in Arizona for the U.S. Senate as a Democrat, calling for greater gun control. Ms. Giffords was shot and six others were killed in a shooting spree in 2011. In Georgia, a Democratic gun-control advocate, Lucy McBath, whose son was killed in a shooting after an argument at a gas station, won a U.S. House seat in 2018.

J.T. Lewis, whose younger brother was among 26 killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012, is running for Connecticut state senate as a Republican. Mr. Lewis’s platform calls for greater school safety measures, including armed guards, and he supports expanding background checks for those who want to buy guns.

Harel Shapira, a University of Texas sociology professor who does research on guns and right-wing politics, said he isn’t surprised by the campaigns in his state.

SOURCE: The Wall Street Journal, Elizabeth Findell

All Content & Images are provided by the acknowledged source