16 Ways You Can Care for the Vulnerable This Year

The start of a new year is usually brimming with resolutions as to how we want to improve ourselves. Perhaps you desire to eat fewer carbs, spend less time at the office, spend more time at the gym, read more biographies, or take on a new hobby. While these are all worthy goals, as citizens of heaven, I think we should resolve to improve our pursuit of God’s kingdom on earth.

For the believer, our highest priority is to seek the kingdom of God (Matt. 6:33). As we do this, our values will begin to reflect God’s values. Russell Moore says in Onward, “The kingdom tells us what matters and who matters, and that the criteria for that is sharply different from the social Darwinist values of success, power, utility, or strength.”

Valuing the vulnerable

God values the vulnerable, and one of the ways we can be more like him is to care for the vulnerable ones around us. We were all vulnerable in our inability to save ourselves from God’s wrath. But God didn’t abandon us in our vulnerability; he had compassion for us. He sent his son. In the book, You Can Change, Tim Chester says, “Jesus was God getting involved with us.”

God values the vulnerable, and one of the ways we can be more like him is to care for the vulnerable ones around us.

God is with us. He is…

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‘Onward Christian Soldiers’ Should Not Be Taken Out of Hymnals, Says Popular Pastor Blogger

 

A Michigan pastor whose columns on the intersection of faith and everyday life has argued that hymns like “Onward, Christian Soldiers” should not be removed from hymnals.

Shayne Looper, pastor of the nondenominational Lockwood Community Church of Coldwater, wrote in a syndicated column published Saturday that “there is still a place in our hymnody for hymns and gospel songs that make use of military metaphors, like ‘Onward, Christian Soldiers’ or ‘Soldiers of Christ, Arise.'”

Looper argued in part that hymns with military metaphors were acceptable because the New Testament itself is full of such metaphors.

“Take, for example, the Apostle Paul. He repeatedly chose military metaphors to make important points regarding Christian living,” wrote Looper.

“He referred to his co-workers as fellow-soldiers, and in so doing evoked an image of the kind of all-for-one, one-for-all camaraderie that is characteristic on the battlefield, and ought to be in the churches.”

Looper also argued that military metaphors are also important because “Christians need to be reminded that they are part of something bigger, the advanced guard of a kingdom that is coming but has not yet been established.”

“They are on duty. The Christian life is not a walk in the park with the savior but a mission for…

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Mark Wahlberg offers his $1.5m fee to anti-harassment campaign

Wahlberg was met with outrage when it was revealed he earned the fortune to re-film portions of the film to erase disgraced actor Kevin Spacey while Williams reportedly received less than 1,000 dollars (£728).

Williams praised the move by Wahlberg and the talent agency William Morris Endeavours (WME), which said it would donate an additional 500,000 dollars (£364,000) to the initiative set up to help fund accusers of sexual harassment and abuse.

 

She also paid tribute to actor Anthony Rapp, who opened the floodgates for accusers to come forward when he alleged he was 14 when Spacey sexually harassed him.

In a statement on Saturday, Williams said: “Today isn’t about me. My fellow actresses stood by me and stood up for me, my activist friends taught me to use my voice and the most powerful men in charge, they listened and they acted.

“If we truly envision an equal world, it takes equal effort and sacrifice. Today is one of the most indelible days of my life because of Mark Wahlberg, WME and a community of women and men who share in this accomplishment. Anthony Rapp, for all the shoulders you stood on, now we stand on yours.”

Sir Ridley replaced Spacey in the lead role of J Paul Getty with Christopher Plummer less than two months before the film’s world premiere.

Spacey had become embroiled in the sexual harassment scandal engulfing Hollywood in the wake of Harvey Weinstein’s downfall.

An avalanche of claims…

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Elder Charged With Premeditated Murder in Pastor Wife’s Death .

Robert Harris (JOHNSON COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE)

We have an interesting story, well told, from .. . charismapodcastnetwork.com.


Robert Lee Harris Jr., an elder at a Kansas City area church, was charged with premeditated murder in his wife’s death.

His wife, Tanisha Stuart Harris, was found dead in a field last week.

The couple served at Repairers of the Breach Christian Center Kansas City, where Robert Harris was an elder and Tanisha Harris was an…

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Chicago March for Life Draws Record Crowd

Chicago March for Life Draws Record Crowd



The deadliest thing in the world is indifference,” proclaimed former Planned Parenthood director Ramona Trevino to the crowd of an estimated 6,000+ participants in Sunday’s 2018 March for Life Chicago. Indifferent was not a word to describe the largest pro-life gathering in the Midwest as enthusiastic people of all ages filled the Loop Sunday afternoon in below-freezing weather to decry abortion.


Trevino, the author of, “Redeemed by Grace,” was the keynote speaker among a dozen luminaries including Chicago’s Archbishop, U.S. Congressmen, Illinois legislators and a Chicago Bears owner.


March for Life Chicago Board of Directors President Dawn Fitzpatrick was pleased at the record turn out for the peaceful march to support life and call for an end abortion. “This March for Life Chicago drew people of all ages, from across the Midwest,” she said. “Some come singing, chanting and dancing. Some come quietly praying. They are from all walks of life, but they have one thing in common, they know that loves save lives and that abortion is one of our culture’s gravest ills.” Fitzpatrick added, “This March for Life for Chicago bears witness to the fact that killing a child in the womb is never an acceptable solution to any problem. We call upon religious, civic and community leaders to renew every effort to build a nation and culture dedicated to protecting life at every stage and…

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Pastor Who Planned to Retire From Day Job to Work Full-Time for God Killed in Crash With Wife

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(Photo: Facebook)Pastor Eugene Lyons.

A bivocational North Carolina pastor and his wife were killed about 200 yards from their church Sunday when an Amtrak train heading to Savannah, Georgia, crashed into their SUV.

Pastor Eugene and Dorothy Lyons, who led The Messiah Baptist Church, were killed in the crash reported just after 2:20 p.m. in the area of Nash and Railroad streets in Whitakers, authorities told WNCN.

The couple from Battleboro who are in their 60s reportedly drove their SUV around a lowered crossing arm and into the path of the passing train.

Whitakers Police Chief Darrell Cofield, who knew the pastor and his wife, said it is unclear why Dorothy Lyons who was driving went around the crossing arm, but a witness, he said, confirmed it.

“It bothered me because growing up here I’ve seen train wrecks before, it really touches close to home with people who [you] grew up with and know,” Cofield said.

The Christian Post reached out to the Lyons’ home and church for comment on Wednesday but no one was available.

(Photo: Twitter)Pastor Eugene and Dorothy Lyons in happier times.

Sharpsburg resident Kymari Garrett told CP that Pastor Lyons was a bivocational minister who worked alongside him at the QVC distribution center.

Lyons, he said, had spoken…

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Iranian pastor’s wife joins husband in prison

According to Christian advocacy group Middle East Concern, Shamiram Isavi Khabizeh, was also found guilty of “organising small groups, attending a seminary abroad and training church leaders and pastors to act as spies”.

Her five year prison sentence comes after her husband, Victor Bet-Tamraz, was sentenced in July 2017 for “acting against national security by organising and conducting house-churches”.

The couple’s son, Ramil, is also facing the exact same charges his father was imprisoned for.

According to World Watch Monitor, Khabizeh, who will appeal the sentence, was first detained in June last year, then released on bail after paying the equivalent of $30,000.

From left: Victor Bet-Tamraz, Amin Afshar-Naderi, Kaviyan Fallah-Mohammadi, and Hadi Asgari

 

World Watch Monitor said the family is among more than a dozen Christians who were given prison sentences of between 10 and 15 years for “acting against national security”.

Iran is 10th on the newly released Open Doors 2018 World Watch List, which ranks the 50 countries where it is most difficult to live as a Christian.

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El-Arish Copt Gunned Down by Three Gunmen Looking for Christians

El-Arish Copt Gunned Down by Three Gunmen Looking for Christians



International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that on the evening of January 13, 2018, three armed men killed a Coptic Christian named Bassem Attala as he was returning home from work. Bassem and his family were among the hundreds of Christian families who originally fled el-Arish last year after the Islamic State killed seven Copts. Bassem and his family had returned to el-Arish in August 2017 because they could not find employment elsewhere.

According to a priest at Mar Girgis Coptic Church in el-Arish, “On Saturday evening at about 9:00 p.m., Bassem and his brother finished work in their mobile maintenance shop, closed it, and headed home. While they were on their way, they walked with their Muslim friend; three armed men then forced them at gunpoint. First, the armed men asked Bassem to show the wrist of his hand to see if he was a Christian or not. When they saw a cross tattooed on his wrist, they said to him, ‘Are you Christian?’ He replied, ‘Yes, I’m Christian.’ They then shot him in the head, instantly killing him. After killing Bassem, they asked the Muslim friend and his brother to show them their wrists. When they saw nothing tattooed, they thought they were Muslim. They then asked them to leave “

Many of Egypt’s Coptic Christians have a small cross tattooed on their wrist or hand, a public symbol of their faith. Additionally, Christians dress differently and often live in…

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Climate change could seriously affect historic sites such as abbeys in Scotland

Weathers such as flooding and coastal erosion are partly to blame for making these places prone to damage.

Historic Environment Scotland report that Ewan Hyslop, Head of Technical Research and Science at HES, said: “Climate change poses a number of very real threats to Scotland’s historic environment, from an increased frequency of extreme and unpredictable weather events to rising sea-levels.”

Cambuskenneth Abbey is subject to coastal flooding and groundwater flooding and fluvial flooding (a river exceeding its normal capacity).

Inchcolm Abbey sits on an island in the Firth of Forth and is home to the best-preserved group of monastic buildings in Scotland. It ranks ‘Very High’ because of risk of coastal erosion, slope instability, groundwater flooding and coastal flooding

Other abbeys on the list include Dryburgh Abbey, Deer Abbey and Culross Abbey.

St Blane’s Church on the Isle of Bute  is one of the earliest Christian sites in Scotland and also records ‘Very High’ risk of slope instability. 

These sites will now undergo a priority assessment to identify mitigation requirements, including in-depth environmental studies, as well as site visits and collecting of staff observations on the ground.  

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