Bone Thugs-N-Harmony Rapper Layzie Bone Praises God After Saving Diabetic Man’s Life

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Bone Thugs-N-Harmony Rapper Layzie Bone Praises God After Saving Diabetic Man’s Life

Layzie (Photo: Facebook/LayzieBone)

Christian Post Report – Rapper Layzie Bone praises God for helping him to save a Wyoming man’s life on May 16, 2015.

Grammy award-winning rapper Layzie Bone, of the ’90s hip-hop group Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, praised God on Facebook after being hailed a hero for helping to save a diabetic man’s life on Saturday.

The Jehovah’s witness, born Steven Howse, rushed to the aid of a Wyoming man, who was traveling from Casper to Riverton over the weekend, after witnessing the man lose control of his vehicle.

“We just witnessed a man, 24 years old, driving super erratically from Casper Wyoming to Riverton Wyoming,” Layzie, 40, wrote on Facebook. “We thought he was a drunk doing 60 mph when he spun out of control and did a complete 180 degrees.”

The “Tha Crossroads” rapper approached the disoriented man when his car finally stopped spinning and helped him regain consciousness by mentioning who he is. Upon learning that the man was a diabetic in shock, Layzie gave him some fruit and chocolate to help raise the man’s blood sugar level.

Still in a state of shock, the rapper thanked God for His “mercy, grace and forgiveness for 2nd chances” in a heartfelt post shared with his 200,000 Facebook followers after the encounter.

“Dear Lord, thank you for your mercy, grace and forgiveness for 2nd chances,” the rapper wrote on Facebook. “My heart is still racing. Again, thank you Jehovah for protecting this young man and thanks that we didn’t have to witness the worse.”

Fans applauded the post and immediately hailed him a “hero,” although the rapper said he only did what any good person would do.

“I’m not doing this interview to be no type of hero, like they put it,” he told Wyoming’s K2TV on Sunday. “I’m not that person. I genuinely care about people.”

Despite the horrifying experience, Layzie went on to perform a show that same evening.

“WHEW now let’s do this show. Be safe people Layzie loves ya,” he wrote.

Source : Christian Post

Assyrian Christian Children Forced to Watch ISIS Beheadings: ‘What Kind of World Is This for Kids to Grow Up In?’

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Assyrian Christian Children Forced to Watch ISIS Beheadings: ‘What Kind of World Is This for Kids to Grow Up In?’

Assyrian Christians (Photo: Reuters/Mohamed Azakir)

Christian Post Report – Assyrians hold banners as they march in solidarity with the Assyrians abducted by Islamic State fighters in Syria earlier this week, in Beirut, Lebanon, February 28, 2015. Militants in northeast Syria are now estimated to have abducted at least 220 Assyrian Christians this week, a group monitoring the war reported. The banner (R) reads, “We are not afraid of whom kills the flesh, we are not afraid of who destroys the stone. Assyrians and victorious.”

Assyrian Christians fleeing ISIS from Syria who’ve made it to Beirut, Lebanon, have said that their children were forced to watch beheadings and other atrocities carried out by the Islamic militants. Over 220 Assyrians remain in captivity, with ISIS demanding millions in ransoms, but there’s no one who has the ability to pay.

“Our children saw many beheadings,” said Jack Zayya, an Assyrian Christian refugee, according to World Crunch. “We were obligated to watch public executions. What kind of world is that for kids to grow up in? They were always scared.”

Zayya said that ISIS has destroyed his livelihood back at his hometown of Al-Hasakah in Syria, and has told Christians they must pay taxes to the jihadists or be killed.

“Kidnappings were about getting ransom from rich families or individuals at first,” he continued. “With Daesh [ISIS], though, there is no negotiating. We had to pay the jizya tax or die.”

When an ISIS sheik was appointed as emir of the Al-Hasakah area, the militants moved to remove and destroy church crosses. They banned Christians from wearing crucifixes, from driving or riding in cars, and ordered women to wear burkas.

ISIS has heavily targeted Assyrian Christians in the past year, and in February kidnapped over 220 of them from 35 different village in the Hasakah province. The terror group has asked for $23 million for their release, but Syrian Catholic Archbishop Jacques Behnan Hindo said in April that no one in the region has the financial ability to pay the ransom.

“Those of Daesh usually ask what they know they can get. In this case, the goal of getting $100,000 for each hostage would be completely unattainable, and they know it,” he said.

In another attack in the city of Hassaké in April, jihadists surrounded Assyrians for two days, but Kurdish militias managed to ward them off.

One refugee from the Al-Hasakah area village, who asked to not be named, revealed that close to 90 of his relatives from his wife’s extended family are among those held hostage by ISIS.

Lebanon has seen an influx of refugees, despite officially closing its borders earlier this year. Syrians are fleeing not only ISIS, but the ongoing civil war in their country, which is fought between the government of President Bashar al Assad and various rebel groups.

Members of Beirut’s Assyrian community have been helping other Assyrian families flee to Lebanon, and anticipate that more will keep coming.

“Of course, we’re in touch with the families that are still in Al-Hasakah,” Lebanese Assyrian Church Bishop Yatron Koliana said. “When they want to come, they send us their names, we send their names to the border and they are let in. Now the Lebanese army will not let a Syrian citizen into the country unless his name is on the list.”

A problem for the arriving families, however, is that they have little in terms of possessions other than what they could bring along with them, and are legally barred from working in Lebanon. This leads to problems in paying for healthcare, education and rental costs.

“The three biggest problems they face are sickness, education and a place to live,” the bishop added.

“For the time being, most families are dependent on donations to get by. Now we have the capabilities to continue because we have food and money donations, but how long will these last? This situation can’t continue for much longer. Another six months? Difficult. Another year? Impossible.”

Source : Christian Post

‘Justice Conference’ in Chicago Featuring Louie Giglio, Cornel West to Focus on Human Rights and ‘Poor, Vulnerable Kids’

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‘Justice Conference’ in Chicago Featuring Louie Giglio, Cornel West to Focus on Human Rights and ‘Poor, Vulnerable Kids’

Justice Conference Photo by World Relief

Christian Post Report – Folk artist Josh Garrels at the Justice Conference in Los Angeles, California

An annual conference focused on gathering Christians together to advance justice for the less fortunate is scheduled to take place in Chicago next month.

Known as the Justice Conference and sponsored by World Relief, the event will be held June 5-6 at the Auditorium Theatre and will feature notable speakers discussing issues pertaining to human rights and Christian ethics.

Those expected to attend and give remarks include Louie Giglio, pastor of Passion City Church of Atlanta, Georgia; Cornel West, social activist, author, and professor; Stephan Bauman, president and CEO of World Relief; and the Rev. Gabriel Salguero, president of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition.

“My hope is that we would highlight that justice is part of Christian discipleship. We are not activists, we are Christians called to ‘do justice’ as part of our followership of Jesus,” Salguero said in an interview with The Christian Post.

  • Tim Ghali, community life pastor at Grace Chapel church in Boston, Mass., shared this photo Feb. 22, 2013, of attendees listening to minister and activist Eugene Cho at The Justice Conference 2013 in Philadelphia, Pa.
    (Photo: Twitter/Tim Ghali)
    Tim Ghali, community life pastor at Grace Chapel church in Boston, Mass., shared this photo Feb. 22, 2013, of attendees listening to minister and activist Eugene Cho at The Justice Conference 2013 in Philadelphia, Pa.

Salguero, who participated in a previous Justice Conference held in Los Angeles and will be speaking in Chicago on “Resurrecting Children,” a theme focused on “defending the most vulnerable among us, namely poor and vulnerable kids,” added that his prayer “is that justice will continue to be a central part of Gospel-centered movements and churches.”

In addition to those in Chicago, the Justice Conference will also be simulcast in several cities in the United States, as well as Hong Kong and Melbourne, Australia.

One place that will simulcast the conference will be Church of the Servant of Grand Rapids, Michigan, a congregation that’s also partnering to host the event.

Thomas E. McWhertor, director of constituency relations at World Renew and member of Church of the Servant, told CP about what led the congregation to be involved in the Justice Conference.

“Justice is a strong theme at our congregation, and has been for many years,” said McWhertor, who added that “when asked, it was an easy decision to agree to host.”

Other sponsoring organizations included “Association for a More Just Society, Partners Worldwide, Christian Reformed World Missions, and Christian Reformed Office of Social Justice.”

“We hope that attendees will be affirmed in their understanding that the Gospel is a call to bring God’s justice to all areas of life and work … and be encouraged to a bolder response to justice issues in their communities,” said McWhertor.

Source : Christian Post

The Three Cs of Life

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Christian Post Report – It was by faith that Moses, when he grew up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to share the oppression of God’s people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin.
— Hebrews 11:24-25

  • Greg Laurie
    (Photo: rever Hoehne for Harvest Ministries)
    Greg Laurie, senior pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, California and Harvest Orange County in Irvine, California, shares the Gospel with a sold-out crowd of 19,000 for Harvest America at the American Airlines Center and Victory Park in Dallas, Texas, Oct. 5, 2014.

What you decide to eat for lunch and what you decide to wear don’t have long-lasting repercussions in life. But there are other decisions that are very important, like whom you will marry and what career path you take. And the most important choice of all is whether you will follow Jesus Christ.

You could call it the three Cs of life: challenges, choices, and consequences. We face challenges every day. Sometimes those challenges will come in the form of an opportunity that we can take advantage of. At other times they will come in the form of a temptation that hopefully we’ll resist. Then we have the choices we will make. And then we have the consequences of those choices. If we have made the right choices, there will be good consequences. If we have made the wrong choices, there will be bad consequences.

We need to make the right choices in life because it can affect the entire course that our lives take. Think about people in the Bible who made certain choices. Moses made a choice to help his fellow Hebrews. He chose that over the riches and power of Egypt, and his choice saved a nation. Daniel’s choice not to compromise brought great hope and encouragement to so many, which set a course that affected their lives.

But then there were wrong choices that people made. Adam’s choice cost him paradise. Esau’s choice cost him his birthright. King Saul’s choice cost him his kingdom. Judas’s choice cost him his apostleship and his very life. Pilate, Agrippa, and Felix—all Roman leaders—chose wrong and missed eternity with Christ.

The choices of life are binding in eternity. You will make choices today that will affect you forever. You make your decisions, and then your decisions make you.

Copyright © 2015 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Bible text from the New King James Version is not to be reproduced in copies or otherwise by any means except as permitted in writing by Thomas Nelson, Inc., Attn: Bible Rights and Permissions, P.O. Box 141000, Nashville, TN 37214-1000

Used with Permission

Source : Christian Post

United Methodist Body Votes to Change the Church’s Position on Homosexuality by Allowing Clergy to Be ‘Practicing Homosexuals,’ Perform Gay Weddings

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United Methodist Body Votes to Change the Church’s Position on Homosexuality by Allowing Clergy to Be ‘Practicing Homosexuals,’ Perform Gay Weddings

Connectional Table (Photo: UMNS)

Christian Post Report – The Rev. Thomas Lambrecht of Good News addresses the Connectional Table in Nashville, Tenn. Standing to his left is the Rev. Walter B. Fenton, also with Good News.

A United Methodist body approved proposed legislation that would, among other things, allow clergy to perform gay marriage ceremonies and local conferences to ordain non-celibate homosexuals.

The Connectional Table voted 26 to 10 in favor of proposed legislation that would allow clergy to perform gay weddings without concern of facing church discipline or to be “openly self-avowed practicing homosexuals.”

While the proposal was passed by the Connectional Table, the General Conference, the denomination’s top lawmaking assembly, will determine if it becomes official policy when it meets next year in Oregon.

“If this legislation passes, clergy would not risk church trials or the loss of their credentials for officiating at same-gender weddings or, in some conferences, coming out as openly gay,” reported the United Methodist News.

“At the same time, the proposal notes that the denomination ‘historically has not condoned the practice of homosexuality and has considered the practice incompatible with Christian teaching.’ It also retains the denomination’s ban on using church funds ‘to promote the acceptance of homosexuality.'”

The Christian Post reached out to the Connectional Table, but due to scheduled meetings a representative could not return comment by press time.

John Lomperis, director of the United Methodist program at The Institute on Religion and Democracy, told The Christian Post that the Connectional Table proposal was a bad idea.

“This legislation would essentially replace the UMC’s current biblical policies on marriage and sexuality with the same sort of liberalized policies of denominations like the Episcopal Church, with similarly disastrous results,” said Lomperis.

“Thus, with this move, the Connectional Table has further committed itself to an agenda that would split apart our denominational connectional. But the majority of members have made clear that they simply care about ‘winning’ at any cost, no matter whose voices they exclude from the table …”

According to the UMC’s governing document the Book of Discipline, homosexuality is “incompatible with Christian teaching.”

The Discipline also says that clergy can neither bless gay weddings nor can non-celibate homosexuals be ordained.

At the UMC’s most recent general conference, held in 2012 in Tampa, Florida, a resolution introduced to change the Discipline’s language on these positions was voted down. But the controversy over the Mainline Protestant denomination’s position on homosexuality continued.

Last month, the UMC Commission on General Conference, which plans the general conference meetings, proposed a way to specifically handle proposed legislation, like that which was voted on in 2012.

Called a “Group Discernment Process,” if approved, the new method will involve sexual ethics petitions going through small group review before entering the usual committees.

Regarding the possible success of the Connectional Table proposal, Lomperis of the IRD told CP that “I do not at all expect this to pass General Conference.”

“People who expect General Conference to pass this either don’t understand our system well or else simply don’t get out much from their left-wing echo chambers,” said Lomperis.

Source : Christian Post

Millions of Records and Fans Later, It’s Still All About Jesus for Global Coalition of Empowered21 Worship Leaders

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Millions of Records and Fans Later, It’s Still All About Jesus for Global Coalition of Empowered21 Worship Leaders

Empowered21 (Photo: The Christian Post/Leonardo Blair)

Christian Post Report – Members of the Empowered21 Congress worship team rehearse at the Jerusalem Pais Arena in Jerusalem, Israel, on Tuesday May 19, 2015.

JERUSALEM — Two million people once showed up at a worship service to hear her sing live, but for popular Brazilian worship leader Ana Paula Valadao and a global coalition of worship leaders at the Empowered21 Global Congress in Jerusalem this week, nothing behind their magnetic music will be about them. It’s always about Jesus, they say, always.

They are perhaps some of the most popular worship leaders you have never heard of, primarily because for a number of them their following comes from Christian believers outside of the United States.

At a practice session for the worship leaders a day before their first public outing together on Wednesday night at the Spirit-empowered event billed “From The Ends Of The Earth” inside the Jerusalem Pais arena, the unassuming Valadao says she is hoping God ruins their plan.

“We can do nothing without the Holy Spirit in our lives,” she said when asked to discuss what this Spirit-Empowered movement is all about. “We depend totally on Him. Even as we sing and play our music, if His presence is not among us, is not moving freely among us, we rather not do it. So we even hope He ruins our plans and shows up in our midst with power, with His sweet presence breaking our hearts into repentance.”

The event, expected to run May 20-25, could result in the largest Christian Pentecost Sunday celebration in the Jewish nation’s modern history when numbers for the event are tallied on the weekend, according to Jeremy Burton, executive director for university relations and communications at Oral Roberts University.

Ana Paula Valadao (Photo: The Christian Post/Leonardo Blair)

Brazilian worship star, Ana Paula Valadao.

And Oral Roberts University President, William M. Wilson, who also serves as president and co-chair of Empowered21, agreed in an earlier statement.

“This is a pivotal moment in history for the global Spirit–empowered movement. … The Impartation service, which will pass the mantel of the global Spirit–empowered movement on to the next generation, is of particular significance. Our prayer is that this service will be a catalyst, igniting the hearts and minds of young people from around the globe with the fire of God’s love and power.”

Valadao and the team of worship leaders representing multiple countries and cultures include, Sidney Mohede, worship pastor at Jakarta Praise Community Church in Indonesia; Noel Robinson, itinerant worship leader from England; Jukka Palonen, Dove-award winning music producer from the U.S. and Europe; Christer Tepper, violinist; and studio musician, Mark Baldwin, both from the U.S. They were all brought together by Steve Merkel, senior director at Integrity Music, one of the sponsors of the event.

“So Steve Merkel is the producer who invited all of us and their purpose was to unite different nations together and gather people who are influencing their nation through worship. So I was invited to represent Brazil, and South America and I’m so excited to be a part of this amazing group of worship leaders from around the world,” explained Valadao.

Soundcheck at #Empowered21 #Jerusalem2015 at the beautiful Payis Arena in Jerusalem. Conference opens tonight at 7PM…

Posted by Sidney Mohede on Wednesday, May 20, 2015

These worship leaders don’t see themselves as performers or entertainers and that’s one of the reasons why it’s difficult for them to get distracted by the pitfalls of celebrity and stay grounded.

“I think because we are worshippers, not performers, we are not entertainers. We are not here to perform who we are. I think as worshippers, the longer we have been doing this, the more we understood that this is not about us. It’s about this Jesus who has saved us,” said Mohede who left the U.S. to minister in Jakarta in his early 20s.

“We are believers who want to be at a place like this because of the event,” explained Baldwin during rehearsal Tuesday.

They are all united by the belief that everything done for the Kingdom of God is much more effective when done through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit and they are pushing to expand this Pentecostal/Charismatic tenet supported by more than 640 million Spirit-filled Christians across the world.
According to Baldwin, the Spirit-Empowered movement is incredible because of its direct focus on the dependence on God’s spirit to achieve His will in the lives of believers.

He said he likes the diversity of the Empowered 21 conference and highlighted that it is what God’s church is going to look like noting that the gathering was unlike many churches in the U.S., where people usually worship in environments with others who look like themselves.

Robinson said, for him, the event is a “spiritual statement.”

“It is a real honor, I don’t think events like this, and I call it an event to start with, doesn’t happen every single week. It doesn’t happen every year…I think that we are entering a new season of the church and actually a gathering like this right in Jerusalem where Jesus is going to set his foot down is actually signaling to the world the intention of the church. The church is not running away from Jerusalem or Israel, the church is actually running to this place to make a spiritual statement,” he said.

A part of that statement said, Mohede is the unifying effect of God’s spirit among those who allow it to move.
“We are a body. It’s not just about one church, it’s about the church…and to be a part of this it’s like what Noel said, there’s gonna be something supernatural happening this week and we believe it with all our hearts or else we would not be here,” he said.

“To be here I know that we are investing in something supernatural, in the Kingdom of God and the body of Christ so I really expect the Holy Spirit is gonna do something mighty. It’s not even about our music or what we can do on the platform. I mean if the Holy Spirit wants to use us, brilliant, but if he just wants to show up and do whatever, it’s brilliant as well so it really is never about us,” he noted.

Empowered21 2015 Worship Team Discusses Event With The Christian Post from Leonardo Blair on Vimeo.

Contact: [email protected]; follow me on Twitter @leoblair

Source : Christian Post

‘Scandalous’ to Push for Abortions on Girls Raped by Boko Haram, Say Pro-Life Nigerian Groups

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‘Scandalous’ to Push for Abortions on Girls Raped by Boko Haram, Say Pro-Life Nigerian Groups

Boko Haram (Photo: Reuters/Afolabi Sotunde)

Christian Post Report – A baby born in captivity to one of the women rescued from Boko Haram in Sambisa forest sleeps at a clinic at the Internally Displaced People’s camp in Yola, Nigeria, May 3, 2015. Hundreds of traumatised Nigerian women and children rescued from Boko Haram Islamists have been released into the care of authorities at a refugee camp in the eastern town of Yola, an army spokesman said.

The Foundation for African Heritage, a coalition of non-governmental organizations in Nigeria, has pushed back against suggestions by a United Nations organization that the pregnant women and girls rescued from Boko Haram be allowed to undergo abortions, which is illegal in most cases under local law.

Nigeria’s This Day Live reported that FACH’s Sonnie Ekwowusi described the suggestions to legalize abortion by the United Nations Population Funds as ‘unconscionable, inhuman and scandalous.’ He said that what the girls need instead is real healthcare, social welfare and counseling services that will help them be reintegrated and re-absorbed in the society.

Ekwowusi added that the women, kidnapped from various villages during Boko Haram’s raids, have suffered ‘unspeakable trauma, dehumanisation and violence’ at the hands of the Islamic militants, and it would be wrong to subject them to the ‘traumatic, violent-wrecking and life-threatening’ abortion process.

The pro-life group Society for the Protection of Unborn Children recently revealed that UNFPA has been pushing for abortions through its “counseling” outreach to the women, which it said was a cover-up term for abortion advice.

“UNFPA is one of the leading international groups promoting abortion in the developing world. It is sending huge numbers of reproductive health kits to displacement camps in Nigeria where women rescued from Boko Haram have been taken,” the group said, according to LifeNews.

“The term ‘reproductive health’ is used to cover a range of interventions including abortion. SPUC fears that these emotionally vulnerable, malnourished women will be pressured into aborting their babies.”

Hundreds of women and girls have been rescued from Boko Haram in the past month, as the Nigerian army continues pushing back the jihadist group that has terrorized the country for almost six years. As many as 214 out of 234 women and girls at the Malkohi camp outside Yola rescued from Boko Haram last month are visibly pregnant, reports said, with a number of them having been forced to marry their attackers.

Human Rights Watch researcher Mausi Segun pointed out that many of these women face being ostracized, taunted and branded “Boko Haram wives,” even those who were not raped while in captivity.

“These girls weren’t even touched (raped),” said Segun. “But Boko Haram is so despised [in the community] that anyone identified with the group shares some of that label, the slur.”

Ekwowusi added that FACH members will offer free maternity and rehabilitation homes for the girls to give birth, where they will also be able to give the babies for legal adoption if they choose so.

Others, such as Laolu Akande, executive director of the Christian Association of Nigerian-Americans, told The Christian Post in a previous interview that the Nigerian government should offer a comprehensive approach for how to reintegrate the rescued women and girls back into society.

“It’s a very precarious situation to have somebody raped. Many people can’t decide how they’re going to raise that kind of a child,” Akande told CP.

“You look at the child and then you remember the evil that was done to you, so [Boko Haram] were hoping that these children, who would be raised of these very nefarious pregnancies, not that anything is wrong with the children, but their plan and their strategy is to raise children that will continue their [evil].”

Source : Christian Post

Andrea McClurkin-Mellini and Husband Pastor Louis Mellini Miraculously Saved From Near Fatal Car Accident

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  • Andrea McClurkin Mellini
    (Photograph: eByrd Communications)
    Andrea McClurkin Mellini is a singer on the Camdon Music record label.

Christian Post Report – Andrea McClurkin Mellini, gospel singer and sister to pastor Donnie McClurkin, is sharing how a miraculous encounter saved the lives of her and her husband, pastor Louis Mellini.

The Mellinis were driving in their car after midnight recently, when they noticed a car flying at them at a speed of what they estimated to be over 100 mph.

Andrea and Louis took to her Facebook page to recount the ordeal that took place when the couple was leaving church and an expressway was closed which led them to travel on a service road.

“I yelled and braced myself because I looked over and saw a car coming,” pastor Mellini said in the video that Andrea posted on Facebook. “It was right on us, going so fast that I totally went to the side and yelled ‘Jesus’ because I knew I was going to be the impact point. It was going to T-bone us.”

However, something miraculous happened and the car seemed to inexplicably pass behind theirs without a sound that could be expected from a fast moving vehicle.

“So the car did not hit us, number one praise the Lord. But, the car completely passed behind us,” Andrea said on the Facebook video that she made with her husband. “There was no sound, there was nothing. It was just a flash of light that passed behind our car.”

During the tumultuous event, the couple stopped the moving vehicle and said in unison ‘that car just went through us.’

“Honestly, for both of us to look at each other at the same time and say: ‘that car just went through us.’ I tell you, I’m not trying to be freaky, spooky or whatever, but God just did a miracle in our lives,” Mellini asserted in the shared video with his wife.

“I’m telling you, I’m freaked out a little bit because I’m not sure that just really happened. But it really happened and we just thank God, we just started praising God because I’d be dead right now.”

Andrea shared the message she took from the ordeal, which was to live for the Lord since the devil is looking to steal, kill and destroy lives.

“… If we weren’t living for the Lord, I believe that we would have gotten hit. I thank God for His angels. I thank Him for his hand of protection; I thank Him for not allowing my children to be orphans or go fatherless,” she said. “It was a miracle because what we experienced was extraordinary. Just live for the Lord, Jesus is coming back.”

Last year, Andrea released her debut solo album Higher, which she used to spread a message of hope and encouragement.

“God is still doing great things, and we need to encourage one another,” Mellini said in a statement obtained by The Christian Post. “We live in a crazy world. I want people to know that God loves them in whatever state they are in, no matter what they’ve done, or where they are, and that there is hope.”

Source : Christian Post

‘American Sniper’ DVD Sales to Raise $1 Million for Wounded Warrior Project

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‘American Sniper’ DVD Sales to Raise $1 Million for Wounded Warrior Project

'American Sniper' DVD Cover (Photo: Courtesy of Warner Bros.)

Christian Post Report – Warner Bros. released the Blu-ray/DVD combo package of “American Sniper” on May 19, 2015.

The Wounded Warrior Project, an organization that helps verterans and members of the U.S. Armed Forces who’ve sustained mental or physical injuries since 9/11, is expected to receive up to $1 million in donations from DVD sales of the Oscar-nominated film “American Sniper” that was released on Tuesday.

The Clint Eastwood-directed film, which is based on the book American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. History, and stars Bradley Cooper as Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle, is now available on Blu-ray and DVD. Proceeds from physical and digital sales will be donated to the Wounded Warriors Project from Warner Bros.

“One dollar of each purchase will be donated up to $1 million from April 21 [digital sales] through Dec. 31,” reads a Warner Bros. statement that was shared with The Christian Post.

The Wounded Warrior Project offers an array of programs to assist veterans, service members as well as their families and caregivers to ensure they receive the support they need. WWP also helps soldiers navigate through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense to obtain benefits and locate local community resources.

The multi-million dollar box office hit “American Sniper” tells the story of Chris Kyle who’s considered the most lethal Navy SEAL sniper in American history with a 160 confirmed kills.

Bradley Cooper and Sienna Miller in "American Sniper" (Photo: Courtesy of Warner Bros.)

Bradley Cooper and Sienna Miller portray Chris and Taya Kyle in the 2014 film “American Sniper.”

Kyle and his friend, Chad Littlefield, were tragically shot and killed by a Marine that the former was trying to help overcome PTSD while at a Texas gun range in 2013, shortly before the film went into production.

Kyle’s killer, Marine Eddie Ray Routh, was found guilty of capital murder in February. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Taya Kyle, his widow, was instrumental in the making of “American Sniper.” After her husband’s death she told the film’s screenwriter, Jason Hall, who had previously worked with her late-husband, that this film would now take on a whole new significance, and if it was going to be made, it had to be as accurate as possible, according to a special feature on the DVD.

Before he we killed, Kyle is said to have wanted to secure Clint Eastwood as the film’s director, and after his death producers made sure to get the award-winning actor and director to join the project.

“American Sniper” grossed $543 million worldwide, however, left-wing filmmaker Michael Moore appeared to be critical of the film, calling snipers “cowards” in a controversial tweet around the film’s release.

Taya Kyle responded to criticisms of her husband in an interview with People Magazine.

“There’s an inaccurate stereotype of these guys, that they love war,” Taya said in the 2014 interview. “I can promise you, they don’t love war. But they do love that fight for what they would say is justice for each other.”

Chris Kyle was raised Christian with a father who served as a deacon and a mother who taught Sunday school. He discussed his personal faith in Jesus in his autobiography and how it played a role in his job as a Navy SEAL sniper.

“I believe the fact that I’ve accepted Jesus as my savior will be my salvation,” he wrote. “But in that backroom or whatever it is when God confronts me with my sins, I do not believe any of the kills I had during the war will be among them. Everyone I shot was evil. I had good cause on every shot. They all deserved to die.”

Source : Christian Post

CHC Pastor Kong Hee’s Popstar Wife Sun Ho Claims Multi-Million ‘Crossover’ Project Was Meant to Serve the Church and Not Herself

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CHC Pastor Kong Hee’s Popstar Wife Sun Ho Claims Multi-Million ‘Crossover’ Project Was Meant to Serve the Church and Not Herself

Christian Post Report – Singer Sun Ho attending the Grammy Awards in this undated photo.

Sun Ho, the co-founder of Singapore’s City Harvest Church and wife of lead pastor Kong Hee, took the stand for the first time on Tuesday in the long-standing case against Kong and five other CHC leaders accused of misusing millions of church funds for Ho’s career. The singer claimed that the Crossover project was meant to serve the mission of the church, and not her own career.

The Straits Times reported on Tuesday that Ho, who has not been charged herself, said that the Crossover project was “always about the church.”

The six CHC members are being accused of funneling money into Ho’s career through sham bond investing in the management company called Xtron, which the prosecution says was operated by CHC’s leadership. The six accused face up to 20 years in prison if convicted of having misused the $19.2 million in church funds in question.

Kong has denied participating in such a scheme involving Xtron, and has said that church support for the Crossover project, which funds Ho’s music tours, is part of its mission to spread the Gospel and increase CHC’s presence.

Ho has stood by her husband and CHC’ leadership throughout the trial, maintaining the pastor’s and the church’s innocence.

Today Online reported that Ho was also asked while on stand about the documented “wild fluctuations” in her album sales figures.The prosecution claim that the figures were supposed to create the image that her music career was going strong. The popstar said that she was “under the impression” that her albums sold well and received platinum awards.

Ho also revealed that she had been working toward “sales of multi-millions” for a U.S. album because producers said they were confident in her, but the album was never launched.

CHC former investment manager Chew Eng Han, who is acting in his own defense, asked Ho how she could have possibly been under such an impression, when email correspondence between the popstar and U.S. producers clearly shows that her first five Mandarin albums could not have sold 4 million copies.

“If that was the case (that 4 million albums were sold), Xtron would not have been scrambling for money for the U.S. album. There was no way you would have believed that the albums sold 4 million copies,” Chew said.

Source : Christian Post