ISIS Murders 4 Members of Pakistani Christian Family on Easter Monday

The Islamic State terror group has claimed responsibility for an attack in southwestern Pakistan on Easter Monday when four Christians from a single family were gunned down while they were traveling by rickshaw in Quetta city.

CNN reported on Tuesday that IS has hailed a “covert unit” of its militants who “managed to target a number of the combatant Christians.”

The radical group says its fighters “shot them with a pistol, which resulted in the killing of four of them, and all praise is due to Allah.”

Police officials confirmed that armed men on a motorcycle opened fire on the family when they were returning home from a bazaar. A young Christian girl was also wounded in the attack, but unlike the other members of her family, namely her father and three cousins, she survived.

Provincial police official Moazzam Jah Ansari told Reuters that the incident “appears to be a targeted attack.”

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Source: Christian Post

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Call for better protection for Christians as Egyptian president re-elected

It’s reported Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has won 92 percent of the vote in preliminary results.

 

But his only opponent Mousa Mostafa Mousa won’t be too unhappy – having publicly backed Sisi to win a second term.

Just 23 million of the 60 million eligible voters turned out.

Release International, which campaigns on behalf of persecuted Christians around the world, says that while life is somewhat easier for Christians in the capital Cairo – believers in other parts of the country are under increased pressure from extremists,

Calling for action, Release chief executive Paul Robinson said: “While thousands of Christians have been driven out of countries such as Iraq and Syria, Egypt remains a bastion of the Christian faith in the Middle East, but that enclave is under pressure.

“Release International is urging President al-Sisi to protect Egypt’s Christians, treat them as equal citizens and grant them full religious freedom.
 
“Mr President, Christians should no longer be driven from their homes, their churches must no longer be targeted for shootings, bombings and arson, and their families must be afforded the protection of the state. Please intervene to prevent this epidemic of kidnapping.”

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

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Couple Remarrying After Divorcing 50 Years Ago Urge Husbands to Pay Attention to Wives

(Screenshot: Associated Press)Harold Holland, 83 (L), and Lillian Barnes, 78 (R), will remarry on April 14, 2018, after getting a divorce 50 years ago.

A Kentucky couple who divorced after 12 years of marriage in the 1960s will walk down the aisle again for good some 50 years later this month after finding faith and collectively losing several other spouses.

Harold Holland, 83, and Lillian Barnes, 78, got married on Dec. 24, 1955, according to the Lexington Herald Leader.

Their marriage ended in 1967 after having five children in just eight-and-a-half years.

“I think the fact that we had the kids so fast and he worked every day while I stayed home with the kids [was what caused the end of our marriage],” Lillian told The Christian Post from her home in Kentucky on Monday. “We just didn’t really have any time [for each other]. You grow apart whenever you don’t have the time to enjoy each other.”

Harold and Lillian weren’t Christians when they got married but shortly after they divorced they both began attending different churches.

“After the divorce I started going to church and he did too, and it’s been a journey,” said Lillian.

In the following years, Lillian married Ted Malin and had two more children. Ted died of a massive heart attack in 1986, according to the Herald Leader. She then remarried in 1988 to Arval Barnes and they stayed together until he died in January 2015.

Harold ended up marrying Maudie Corum, a widow with three children, in 1975. She died of liver disease in 2015.

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Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – The Christian Post.

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Is the Great Commission for Every Christian to Carry Out? John Piper Answers

(Screengrab via Vimeo/DesiringGod.org)Theologian, John Piper.

John Piper, founder and teacher of DesiringGod.org and chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary, has said that while every Christian is called to consider the Great Commission, not every church member has to fulfill it.

The “Great Commission” is a term used to describe Jesus’ call to evangelism in Matthew 28:18–20: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

In an “Ask Pastor John” podcast episode posted to the Desiring God website on Monday, a listener named David asked Piper his opinion on whether the Great Commission was meant for every individual believer.

“Do you think this command to reach the nations is better interpreted when we see it challenging the Apostles, church leaders, and even whole local churches? Or should we take this as a personal commission from Jesus given to every individual Christ-follower?” asked David.

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Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – The Christian Post.

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Christian family shot dead while celebrating Easter

According to the British Pakistani Christian Association (BPCA), four members of a Christian family were travelling to celebrate Easter with family in Quetta when two men on a motorbike opened fire on a rickshaw the family was on.

Four died and one girl is in critical condition. Quetta Police have already listed the attack as “an act of terrorism”. It’s been reported that terror group Islamic State has claimed responsibility. 

 

Since 2007 terror groups have fought to impose a strict interpretation of Islamic law in Pakistan.

The Christian charity said the country was on high alert at the time and authorities provided enhanced security measures to many churches during the Easter period.

Wilson Chowdhry, chairman of BCPA said the charity will provide assistance to the injured girl and her family.

“It is heart-breaking to think that this poor child, if she survives, will have lost her immediate family,” he said.

“Christians face a horrid time in Pakistan their lives are under constant threat from extremist terrorist groups and people in their community face severe prejudices that can lead to blasphemy charges.”

He urged the government of Pakistan to renew efforts to protect Christians and other minorities through changes in law and improvements to the educational system.

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

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Boy prayed to God while spending 12 hours stuck in sewer pipe

The boy was rescued after being swept away and spending more than 12 hours in the city’s toxic and maze-like underground sewer system.

Jesse Hernandez had been playing with other children on wooden planks over an access portal to the sewer system during a family outing on Sunday at a Los Angeles park.

 

When a plank broke, Jesse fell about 25 feet and landed in fast-moving sewage, said Brian Humphrey, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Fire Department.

The other children immediately notified adults, who called 911, initiating a frantic and exhaustive 12-hour search of labyrinthine underground pipes using cameras propped on flotation devices.

Rescuers finally found Jesse after seeing images of handprints on a sewage pipe. A sanitation crew rushed to the area and opened a manhole.

“The first thing they heard was ‘Help!’,” said Adel Hagekhalil, assistant general manager of the sanitation department.

The crew lowered down a hose to Jesse, who was about 11 feet deep in the pipe.

“He caught on to the hose and was reeled back up,” Mr Hagekhalil said.

Rescuers gave him immediate medical attention, including hosing him down to get rid of the sewage and cleaning out his eyes and nose with sterile saline, Mr Humphrey said.

Jesse immediately asked for a mobile phone to call his family. A worker handed him a phone, and he called his mother.

The boy later told KNBC-TV that he was tired…

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

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Villanova beats Michigan: what the experts got wrong

The experts were right: favored Villanova defeated Michigan last night to win the NCAA men’s basketball championship. But they were wrong about how the Wildcats won their second title in three years.

Their best player wasn’t the best player in college basketball. Jalen Brunson has been named AP’s Player of the Year, the Oscar Robertson Player of the Year, and the Naismith Men’s Player of the Year. But he scored only nine points in last night’s game.

It turned out, a player who didn’t start the game dominated it. Donte DiVincenzo scored thirty-one points and was named Most Outstanding Player.

Market predictions were “pathetically wrong”

As the Danish proverb notes, “It is difficult to make predictions, especially about the future.”

According to the Wall Street Journal, last year’s stock market predictions were “pathetically wrong.” The day after the last presidential election, New York Times columnist Paul Krugman predicted, “We are very probably looking at a global recession, with no end in sight.”

It’s not that we’re worse at predicting the future than those who came before us. The World Economic Forum reminds us that Thomas Edison once expected alchemy to be perfected, so that “it will be an easy matter to convert a truckload of iron bars into virgin gold.”

The New York Times announced in 1920, “a rocket will never be able to leave the Earth’s atmosphere.” In 1949, Popular Mechanics predicted that “computers in the future may have only 1000 vacuum tubes and perhaps weigh only 1.5 tons.”

And in 1977, Digital Equipment Corporation founder Ken Olsen claimed, “There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home.” (To be fair, his computers were larger than many people’s homes at the time.)

“No one ever spoke like this man!”

I was reading in the Psalms recently and came upon this remarkable statement: “How great are your works, O Lord! Your thoughts are very deep!” (Psalm 92:5)….

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

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Should You Leave or Stay at Your Church?

Podcast Episode #420

SUBSCRIBE: iTunes • RSS • Stitcher • TuneIn Radio • Google Play • iHeart Radio

I have been asked this question several hundred times in the course of my ministry. Today, we cover the answers for it—because it’s not an easy answer.

Some highlights from today’s episode include:

  • No matter what metric you look at in churches, many of them are just not healthy.
  • I don’t like organ music because it reminds me of funerals.
  • One of the greatest points of resistance to change is in church music.
  • When you’re in ministry, you shouldn’t make any major ministry decision without praying with your spouse.
  • Just because you go from a church to a secular job doesn’t mean you’re out of ministry—you just have a new mission field.

The six considerations we cover are:

  1. The reason for the increased frequency of the question
  2. Have you and your spouse really prayed about the question?
  3. Is the pressing issue something you can adjust?
  4. Where will you go?
  5. What is the degree of pressure?
  6. Understanding the push and the pull

Episode Sponsors

Our friends at Vanderbloemen Search Group help churches and ministries build great teams by finding their key staff, but did you know they have a ton of resources around team building? Their newest addition is The Culture Tool, a free comprehensive staff engagement survey to help you build, run, and keep a great team. It’s brand new and still in beta, so check out TheCultureTool.com to be on the cutting edge of this new tool that will…

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

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Desmond Tutu pays tribute to Winnie Madikizela-Mandela

“She succumbed peacefully in the early hours of Monday afternoon surrounded by her family and loved ones,” Ms Madikizela-Mandela’s family said in a statement.

Ms Madikizela-Mandela was married to Mr Mandela from 1958 to 1996.

 

Mr Mandela, who died in 2013, was imprisoned throughout most of their marriage and Ms Madikizela-Mandela’s own activism against white minority rule led to her being imprisoned for months and placed under house arrest for years.

“She kept the memory of her imprisoned husband Nelson Mandela alive during his years on Robben Island and helped give the struggle for justice in South Africa one of its most recognisable faces,” the family said.

However, Ms Madikizela-Mandela’s political activism was marred by her conviction in 1991 for kidnapping and assault, for which she was fined.

She faced these allegations again during the 1997 hearings before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, a panel that investigated apartheid-era crimes.

AP Photo, File

In this Feb. 13, 1991 file photo, Winnie Mandela, centre left, wife of African National Congress leader Nelson Mandela, centre right, leaves the Rand Supreme Court after an adjournment of her kidnap and assault court case.

 

As a parliamentarian after South Africa’s first all-race elections, she was convicted of fraud.

Still, Ms Madikizela-Mandela remained a…

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

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