Bishop angered by ‘outrageously disproportionate’ charges facing Stansted protesters

-
0
Bishop angered by ‘outrageously disproportionate’ charges facing Stansted protesters

They were arrested after cutting through Stansted Airport’s perimeter fence and locking themselves together around a deportation plane.

The Boeing 767 jet targeted by the group, operated by Titan Airways, was chartered by the Home Office to transport people from UK detention centres for repatriation to Nigeria, Ghana and Sierra Leone in March 2017.

 

Rt Rev Stephen Cottrell attended several of the court sessions as the campaigners defended their actions.

Following the guilty verdicts, Judith Reed, of the Crown Prosecution Service said: “These people placed themselves, the flight crew, airport personnel and police at serious risk of injury or even death due to their actions on the airfield.

“The CPS worked with the police to build a strong case which reflected the criminality of the defendants’ actions, regardless of their motivation.”

During the trial several of the protesters sought sanctuary at Chelmsford Cathedral.

CC

 

Defending their actions, Bishop Stephen said: “Deportation charter flights are a brutal way of forcing people out of the UK: Mothers, fathers, siblings and neighbours; people who are part of our communities, are being snatched away and forced onto charter flights in the middle of the night.

“Many of these people have lived in our communities for decades and have no current connections with the places to…

… Read More

—

Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Premier Christianity News.

قالب وردپرس

Kathie Lee Gifford to Leave the Today Show after More than a Decade on the Air

-
0
Kathie Lee Gifford to Leave the Today Show after More than a Decade on the Air


Kathie Lee Gifford to Leave the Today Show after More than a Decade on the Air


Outspoken Christian and veteran TV show host Kathie Lee Gifford announced Tuesday that she will be leaving the Today Show. 


After more than 10 years on the air, CBN News reports that Gifford has decided to leave NBC in April. A staff memo obtained by The Hollywood Reporter announced the news saying, “Kathie Lee is generously staying with us through the show’s next anniversary, April 7, 2019. We will have much more to share before then about our plans for that hour, which will, of course, continue to include Hoda.”


Gifford confirmed the report on the Today Show with her co-host Hoda Kotb. She said, “In 2008, I joined the Today show family intending to spend one year, but something unexpected happened along the way: I fell in love with a beautiful, talented, extraordinary Egyptian goddess named Hoda, and an amazing group of individuals who work tirelessly and joyfully at their jobs, many of them starting at midnight, creating an unprecedented four hours of live television.”


She continued, “I stayed year after year making a million memories with people I will never forget. I leave Today with a grateful heart but I’m truly excited for this new creative season in my life. Many thanks to all the wonderful people who made the years fly by.”


Kotb jumped in to tearfully thank Gifford for the time they have had together. She said, “The minute you stepped…

… Read More

Click here to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Christian Headlines.

قالب وردپرس

Seven Traits of Toxic Leaders

-
0

Seven Traits of Toxic Leaders

  1. They rarely demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit.
  2. They seek a minimalist structure of accountability.
  3. They expect behavior of others they don’t expect of themselves.
  4. They see almost everyone else as inferior to themselves.
  5. They show favoritism.
  6. They do not allow for pushback or disagreement and surround themselves with sycophants.
  7. They are self-absorbed.

Some highlights from today’s Rainer Report:

  • Toxic leaders keep great things from happening in a church.
  • Toxic leaders often avoid systems of accountability.
  • Strong leaders are not only surrounded by those who tell them what they want to hear.
  • Toxic leaders focus on three people: me, myself, and I.

… Read More

—

Click here to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Thom Rainer.

قالب وردپرس

ACLJ Urges Supreme Court to Take Case to End Abortion Based on Sex, Race, or Disability

-
0
ACLJ Urges Supreme Court to Take Case to End Abortion Based on Sex, Race, or Disability


ACLJ Urges Supreme Court to Take Case to End Abortion Based on Sex, Race, or Disability


The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) has filed a friend-of-the-court brief pushing the Supreme Court to review an abortion case out of Indiana.


The case, Box v. Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky (PPINK), deals with two provisions of Indiana law that were overturned by the lower federal courts. Humane disposal of the remains of aborted babies is called for in one provision, while the second provision bans abortions that are based on the sex, race, or disability of the unborn baby. The ACLJ filed the amicus brief on behalf of itself and parents from 44 families who gave birth to “children born with various disorders including Down Syndrome, Noonan Syndrome, Patau Syndrome, Turner Syndrome, Edwards Syndrome, Meckel-Gruber Syndrome, Potter Syndrome, spina bifida, and congenital heart disease, among others.”


The brief emphasizes the love each family felt for their unborn child, regardless of the diagnosis: “learning of these prenatal diagnoses did not change the love these parents felt for their children. Though many of these families ultimately lost their children, these parents do not consider that to have diminished the importance of the children’s lives. Indiana’s law protects children like theirs and recognizes that unborn children deserve protection from invidious discrimination.”


The state of Indiana is requesting that…

… Read More

Click here to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Christian Headlines.

قالب وردپرس

Tails wag at cathedral’s dog carol service

-
0
Tails wag at cathedral’s dog carol service

Hundreds of dogs of all shapes and sizes gathered with their owners in Christ Church Cathedral for Peata’s annual dog carol service.

 

The church was filled with the sound of barking as the therapy dogs took part in the service, which included Christmas hymns, prayers and even a pet blessing.

The Dean of Christ Church, the Very Reverend Dermot Dunne, invited the dogs and their owners to the altar where he asked God to watch over them all in the year ahead.

The annual service raises much-needed funds for the animal welfare charity, which sends volunteers and their dogs to visit people living at care centres, such as nursing homes and hospitals.

PA

 

Many of the people who benefit from the visits also attended.

Volunteer Gino O’Reilly attended the service with his two German Leonberger therapy dogs Dexter and Magic.

He described the atmosphere at the service as fantastic and said his two dogs had behaved very well.

PA

 

Mr O’Reilly has been volunteering for almost a decade, taking his dogs to visit people in hospitals, nursing homes, schools and colleges.

He said they always bring a smile to people’s faces.

“It’s just fantastic seeing the joy it gives people,” Mr O’Reilly said.

“It’s definitely rewarding, very rewarding.”

PA

 

He added: “Dogs can…

… Read More

—

Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Premier Christianity News.

قالب وردپرس

Are screens affecting our children’s brains?

-
0
Are screens affecting our children’s brains?

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has been studying the effect of screen time for children. The preliminary results are in and they’re not good.

The NIH report shows that nine- and ten-year-old children who spend more than two hours in front of a screen each day score lower on thinking and language tests. This is troubling since the average “tweenager” spends up to six hours a day on their tablet or phone.

In addition, scientists have found that children with daily screen usage of more than seven hours show premature thinning of the brain cortex. This is the outermost layer that processes information from the physical world. While it’s too soon to know with certainty that screen time usage caused the changes to the children’s brains, scientists will be monitoring this relationship carefully.

Are your children addicted to technology?

The NIH report is just one example of the growing effect of technology on our children. Another study related smartphone use by children to sleep deprivation and other problems associated with poor attention spans. This is alarming since two-thirds of children take their smartphones to bed with them.

One group of scientists found that the more time four-year-olds spent interacting with media, the shorter their sleep was at ages four and six. A study published by Harvard Medical School has shown that blue-tinged light emitted by devices such as smartphones and tablets suppresses the production of melatonin, a sleep-inducing hormone vital to good sleep.

Counselors warn that digital addiction is a growing problem. The compulsion to continue playing video games or using technology is escalating. China has identified internet addiction as one of its main public health risks. In some parts of Asia, digital addiction rates may be as high as 26 percent.

Among American children between the ages of eight and eighteen, around 8 percent could already be classified as addicted. A 2010 study found that children in…

… Read More

—

Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Denison Forum.

قالب وردپرس

Four killed as gunman opens fire in Brazilian cathedral after mass

-
0
Four killed as gunman opens fire in Brazilian cathedral after mass

The shooting occurred right after mass at the Metropolitan Cathedral in Campinas, a city about 60 miles north of Sao Paulo, according to Wilson Cassante, a spokesman for the archdiocese.

He said the officiating priest had left before the shooting began.

A spokesman for Sao Paulo state firefighters said four injured people had been taken to local hospitals.

Their conditions were not immediately known.

Mr Cassante said church officials did not recognise the gunman or have any ideas about his motive.

“It’s so sad,” said Mr Cassante.

“It’s hard to imagine the pain this has caused.”

Hamilton Caviola Filho, a police investigator, told news portal G1 that authorities had reviewed surveillance footage from inside the cathedral.

The gunman “came into the church, sat on a chair, with time to think, and then got up and starting shooting”, said Mr Caviola Filho.

The investigator also said that before shooting himself in the head, the suspect took a bullet in the ribs from responding police.

In total, the suspect fired at least 20 shots, said Mr Caviola Filho.

Images on Globo News showed paramedics taking bodies and injured from the church.

Firefighter Alexandre Monteiro told G1 that the four injured were in stable condition.

The motive was not clear.

Authorities have yet to release the name or age of the suspect.

While Brazil leads the world in total annual homicides, mass shootings are…

… Read More

—

Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Premier Christianity News.

قالب وردپرس

Joyce Meyer Devotional 12 December 2018 — Reenergize Yourself

CM Editor
-
0

Topic: Reenergize Yourself [Joyce Meyer Devotional 12 December 2018]

Therefore I always exercise and discipline myself [mortifying my body, deadening my carnal affections, bodily appetites, and worldly desires, endeavoring in all respects] to have a clear (unshaken, blameless) conscience, void of offense toward God and toward men. — Acts 24:16 (AMPC)

If you are worn out all the time, it will affect your spiritual life because you won’t want to pray, study the Word, or walk in the fruit of the Spirit. If you are no longer sensitive to other people’s needs, you aren’t hearing from God.

If you are this tired, it is time to reenergize your life. Prune away the things that wear you out; don’t try to do what you think everyone else is doing. Wait on God to lead you, and get the rest you need to enjoy your walk with Him.

Prayer Starter: Father, I ask for Your help to lead a healthy and balanced life. Show me areas that need changing. Help me to schedule enough time for rest, relaxation, and time with You. I don’t want to live worn out, but I want to be healthy—spirit, soul and body—so I can be led by You and be a blessing to those around me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

If you missed yesterday devotional, please click to read “Joyce Meyer Daily Devotional HERE’’

From Joyce Meyer’s Ministries.

The post Joyce Meyer Devotional 12 December 2018 — Reenergize Yourself appeared first on Flatimes.

TREM Devotional 12 December 2018 – You are a God to your World

CM Editor
-
0

Topic: You are a God to your World [TREM Devotional 12 December 2018]

“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound” Isaiah 61:1

We are not just Christians by name; God expects us to be Christians indeed. Who is a Christian? A Christian is a miniature Christ. A Christian is one who is like Christ in his or her world. So are you a Christian? Are you a representative of Christ in your world? If your answer is yes, then you should be able to declare our scripture for today with boldness.

The scripture in Isaiah 60:1 is not restricted to the Christians of old or restricted to Jesus when He walked as man on planet earth. No, it applies to you and me “… because as He is, so are we in this world”. Look at the last phrase very well. Many times believers act as if that scripture says: as He is, so we will be when we get to heaven.

Beloved, you do not need the authority of the believer in heaven, it is here that you need it. You do not need to lay hands on the sick in heaven, it is here that you have the sick. Everything Jesus died for is to enable us reign in life as Priests and Kings. So don’t settle for less.

The devil likes it when you walk in ignorance. He likes it when you cannot exercise your right and you are cowered to the ground because of ignorance. The devil likes it when you, the prince is walking on barefoot and the servants are on the horseback. He loves it when all you do is complain and murmur. Beloved, you have slept on your right long enough, it is time to arise and exercise the dominion mandate that He has given you. You are a god to your world. So rule and reign like the King and Priest that you are.

Further Reading: Isaiah 61:1-3; 1 John 4:15-19

Daily Bible Reading: Morning- Hosea 9-11; Evening- Revelation 3

“If you missed yesterday devotional click HERE to read TREM Daily Devotional by Dr. Mike Okonkwo’’  

Written by Dr. Mike Okonkwo; Is the Presiding Bishop of The Redeemed Evangelical Mission (TREM); a versatile man of God with over 30 years of dedicated service unto the Lord.

The post TREM Devotional 12 December 2018 – You are a God to your World appeared first on Flatimes.

Our Daily Bread 12 December 2018 Devotional – The “No-Secret” Secret

CM Editor
-
0

Topic: The “No-Secret” Secret [Our Daily Bread 12 December 2018 Devotional]

Read: Romans 7:14–25, Bible in a Year: Hosea 9–11; Revelation 3

I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. Romans 7:15

A coworker confessed to me that he didn’t think he was “Jesus material.” I listened as he described what he called his “comfortable, narcissistic” life, and how it didn’t satisfy him. “But here’s my problem, I’ve been trying to be good, even caring, but it isn’t working. It seems that the very things I want to do, I can’t do, and the things I want to stop doing, I just keep doing.”

“What’s your secret?” he asked me in complete sincerity. “My secret,” I answered, “is that there is no secret. I’m as powerless to live up to God’s standards as you are, which is why we need Jesus.”

I pulled out a Bible and showed him “his” quote as the apostle Paul expressed it in Romans 7:15. Paul’s words of frustration often resonate with both pre-Christians and Christians who find themselves trying to be good enough to deserve God but falling short. Maybe it resonates with you. If so, Paul’s declaration that Christ is the author of our salvation and its resulting changes (7:25–8:2) should thrill you. Jesus has already done the work to free us from the very things that have us so puzzled with ourselves!

The barrier between us and God, the barrier of sin, has been removed without any work on our part. Salvation—and the changes made by the Holy Spirit in the process of our growth—is what God desires for all. He knocks on the door of our souls. Answer His knock today. It’s no secret that He’s the answer!

See christianuniversity.org/NT225 for more study on the book of Romans.

Without Jesus, salvation and spiritual growth are both gifts beyond our reach.

INSIGHT
In Romans 7:14–25, Paul candidly shares his personal spiritual struggles as well as his deep confidence in Christ for help and hope (7:25). Romans 8 then unpacks that help and hope. The hopeful promise of “no condemnation” (8:1) is supported by the most extensive treatment of the Holy Spirit’s helping ministry (vv. 5–27) found anywhere in the Scriptures (outside of John 14–16). Paul’s confidence in Christ’s help and hope are not theoretical—they are provided by the indwelling Holy Spirit (8:11).
Bill Crowder

If you missed yesterday devotional, please click to read “Our Daily Bread Devotionals HERE”

This message was written By Randy Kilgore [Our Daily Bread Ministries.]

The post Our Daily Bread 12 December 2018 Devotional – The “No-Secret” Secret appeared first on Flatimes.

1...1,4881,4891,490...3,897Page 1,489 of 3,897