According to The Christian Post, the man identified only by his first name, Ron, was trying to stop another man from stealing a pro-life banner outside of a San Francisco, California Planned Parenthood clinic. In the video of the attack, the man pushes Ron to the ground, saying “Old man, stay on the ground.”
When Ron continues to try to take back the banner, the attacker kicks him multiple times.
“San Francisco police are investigating the matter as an assault. Ron said it’s the third time the same man harassed or tried to steal the sign in a week,” NBC’s Bay Area affiliate reported.
The attacker was allegedly part of another assault on March 19 when he attacked two pro-life activists and threw their signs and flyers into the streets.
The Life Legal Defense Foundation is representing Ron, saying in a statement that the man is “afraid for his safety.”
“We are working closely with 40 Days for Life to make sure pro-life advocates in San Francisco and across the nation are protected and perpetrators are brought to justice,” a statement from the foundation said.
Shawn Carney, president of 40 Days for Life, said in another statement that “every person should be treated with kindness, love and respect, even those with whom we may disagree.
2 Corinthians 8:9 – For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich. (NIV)
God has made provision for Christians to enjoy provision through grace based on the finished work of Christ. The finished work of Christ is that Jesus Christ went to the cross and satisfied the demands of justice. Jesus died an innocent man and his death is credited to our accounts. When we accept God and Christ, our spiritual reality changes and the nature of sin is removed from us. It is on this platform of grace based on the finished work of Christ that guarantees the provision for us.
Grace means gift. It is something you can never work for. Financial provision or financial success for a Christian is a gift. Last week, we emphasized the fact that when provision has been made for you spiritually, you are now rich since Jesus took your place by taking your poverty in exchange for His riches. To translate this reality into physical reality there is a need to work. Work here signifies adding value, solving problems and meeting a need because money is a means for exchange of value.
Another way for the exchange of value is GIVING. This also follows the principle that ‘if value goes from you, value will come back to you’ as established last week. In Luke 8:1-3 we further see this principle in place. Jesus added value through healing people and casting out demons from their lives. In return, value flowed back from them to Him, in that they provided for His material needs.
In 2 Corinthians 9:6-10 (NLT) we observe that giving aligns with the law of money. To be able to give, we must be working; providing value for others. Ephesians 4:28 shows the complete cycle, where you see the two levels for provision described. The first one is by adding value through work. The grace of God rests upon our resources generated from honest work devoid of stealing or begging. Then there is the next level where you can have something to give to others. What you give determines what you get in return. Giving must be done willingly without being pressured or coerced. When you give value reluctantly it is proof that you are not expecting to get value back in return.
Let’s be aware that whatever it is you have, you got it on the platform of grace. It was a gift given you in the realm of the spirit before you got it in physical manifestation. If you got it as a gift, you must be willing to show grace to others as well. You have to let the cycle continue. Practice grace. Give some of what you have received as a gift.
In Prov 11:24-25 (NIV) we are motivated to demonstrate grace by being children of God, Our Father. If you have enjoyed grace from God, you should show grace to others especially those less endowed. You should take care of your spiritual and natural families too. In Romans 8:32, we see that giving is motivated by love. God also showed us grace through love by giving his best. Every human being is an extension of God. God’s word also instructs that we give to ministers of the gospel. Finally, be obedient to the voice of the Holy Spirit.
In Acts 4: 32, portrays that in the place where there is generosity, there is also great grace. Grace for giving is power.
Pastor Samuel Adeyemi is the Senior Pastor of Daystar Christian Centre, a fast growing, life changing church committed to “raising role models” based in Lagos. He is also the President of Success Power International
Your lifting will not come from abroad, it will come from within.
2 Kings 4:2 (KJV) And Elisha said unto her, what shall I do for thee? Tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thine handmaid hath not anything in the house, save a pot of oil.
This woman had oil in her house, but when Elisha asked her that question she told him she had nothing. Then suddenly she recalled, “except a pot of oil” And as the story goes, it was the oil in her house that she used to conquer that challenge.
What you need to come out of the challenge confronting you is not outside; it is within you. What will make you explode into a millionaire will not come from abroad; it will come from within you. So stop looking outside for help, start looking on the inside of you for your miracle.
It is time to look inward to find out what you have that will make you break forth. Your vision is what will determine your destination. It is what you are able to discover from the inside that you will recover on the outside. Until you see what God has made within you, you cannot make impact in your world. It is not the environment that makes the people; it is people that make the environment.
Proverbs 29:18a (KJV) Where there is no vision, the people perish
Nothing will change around you until you change your approach. You have to consciously apply a force to look inwards. Nothing will change around you until a change takes place within you. As a born again child of God, you are no longer among those without vision, because the Word of God says, “Ye are the light of the world”. You are to lead the uninspired ones.
When you lack vision, frustration and confusion sets in. But where there is vision, there is bound to be provision. God cannot give you a vision and you suffer frustration. No way!
Take your eyes off your location. Locations do not make people. Stop thinking that your lifting is in any nation. Your answer is where you are. You are God’s temple (1 Corinthians 3:16). There is something inside of you that will make you known to your world. God made you peculiar and distinct from every other person. Stop looking down on yourself. Never compare yourself with anyone. You are the best. You are not a misfit. It is time to break loose and restore dignity to yourself. Change begins from the inside.
Every revolution compels a change on what already exists. If you must make great impact in the world, you must take conscious steps to bring about a change. Give life a practical approach.
Say this prayer, “Lord, my eyes must no longer be blind. There is something within me that will enable me locate my destiny. Lord, show it to me in Jesus name-Amen”.
Do not mind where you are now, I declare that today will mark the beginning of your lifting! Where you are now will be the least place you will ever be in Jesus name – Amen!
God bless you.
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2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?
5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.
6 Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.
7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
9 Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?
10 Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?
11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?
12 Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.
13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
THE MESSAGE:
Have you ever been to a cave? The entrance to caves is usually narrow, requiring entrants to make personal adjustments to pass through them. The tour guide usually gives instructions to enable entrants fit into the door and other parts of the cave so that they can be safe.
Today’s reading advises us to enter through the narrow gate if we want life (verse 13-14).
Those who wish to heed to this advice are required to do the following:
(1) First, conduct a personal inward search into their lives instead of criticising others. The aim is to remove beams or impediments that will constitute an obstacle in their heavenly race.
(2) Desist from giving holy things to dogs which entails playing or jesting with spiritual things, marrying non-believers, discussing spiritual matters/problems in the Church with the wrong people. The result is that they will turn around and make a mockery of our faith (verse 6).
(3) Persevere in prayers (verses 7-8).
(4) Adhere to the golden rule which states that you should do what you want others to do for you (verse 12).
(5) Trust absolutely on the faithfulness and love of God (verse 11).
This truly requires a life of sacrifice.
Prayer: Lord help me to adhere to these instructions so that I can pass through the narrow gate of life in Jesus Name. AMEN
The government of Quebec has introduced legislation to ban certain public sector staff in positions of “authority” from displaying items such as a Christian crucifix, Muslim hijab, Jewish kippah or Sikh turban.
Notes accompanying the bill – entitled ‘An Act respecting the laicity of the State’ – said: “The purpose of this bill is to affirm the laicity of the State and to set out the requirements that follow from it.
“The bill proposes to prohibit certain persons from wearing religious symbols while exercising their functions.
“However, the prohibition does not apply to certain persons holding positions at the time the bill is introduced, subject to the conditions specified by the bill.”
The proposed law is expected to win enough support from politicians to become law.
Provincial governments in Quebec have sought in previous years to clampdown on religious symbols, in order to promote their vision of secular society.
The National Council of Canadian Muslims and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association say they intend to fight “by every means available” a secularism bill introduced by the Quebec government https://t.co/Sr4DqeSu3o
— Canadian Civil Liberties Association (@cancivlib) March 29, 2019
The Canadian Civil Liberties Association said it was joining forces with the National Council of Canadian Muslims to challenge “by every means available” the…
Hope can be fleeting for those in ministry—and even more so for those focused on revitalization. Today, we discuss six specific sources of hope for pastors.
Episode Highlights:
“Find your affirmation in ministry in what Jesus has accomplished for you and what He will continue to accomplish for you.”
“Pastors, if the only time you’re in the Word is for sermon prep, that’s a problem.”
“The Lord often uses relationships in our lives to encourage us.”
Learning brings hope when you go into things with your eyes open.
The six places we discuss are:
Acts 6:4.
In a peer community.
With a mentor.
By continuing to learn.
With an intercessory prayer team.
With a long-term perspective.
Resources mentioned in this episode include:
Revitalize & Replant is sponsored by the North American Mission Board and ChurchReplanters.com. More than 10% of churches in North America are at risk of closing and the North American Mission Board is committed to reversing this trend by decreasing the death rate of existing churches while simultaneously increasing the birth rate of new churches. To learn more about what it means to become a replanting pastor or to explore resources for replanting and revitalization in your own church, visit ChurchReplanters.com.
Small Town’s Prayers in Jesus’ Name Come Under Fire
A small Ohio town is being criticized for opening its council meetings with prayer – with some of them being distinctly Christian prayers.
At one recent council meeting in Mount Sterling, Ohio, Dortha Ross, associate pastor of Mount Sterling Church of the Nazarene, prayed: “We are thankful that, God, you are our creator, and that you sent your Son, Jesus, as our Redeemer.”
The Columbus Dispatch reported that Councilman David Timmons ended another prayer by saying, “In Jesus’ wonderful name, Amen.”
Mount Sterling’s population is about 1,700.
Chris Line, an attorney with the Freedom From Religion Foundation, said the group may not file a lawsuit but that the prayers are troubling.
“If you’re giving a Christian prayer, and only a Christian prayer, that’s where you really get into problems,” Line told The Dispatch.
Mayor Billy Martin said he is “determined to have prayer at the opening of each meeting.”
But religious liberty groups say the prayers are permissible under the U.S. Constitution and are rooted in American history.
“The practice of opening public meetings with prayer is as old as our country,” Jeremy Dys, an attorney with First Liberty, told Fox News. “All Americans are free to pray (or not) before public meetings according to the dictates of their consciences.”
Earlier this week, a Republican Pennsylvania legislator…
Topic: From Sons to Servants [Kenneth Copeland Devotional 31 March 2019]
And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: And I will show wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke. – Acts 2:18-19
You and I are living in the most exciting days this earth has ever seen. All around us God is pouring out His Spirit in preparation for the endtime revival that will bring this whole age to a glorious close.
Some of God’s children are just standing by as spectators, watching Him work. Others, however, have become a vital part of it all. They’ve volunteered for service in this great end-time army. They’ve become what the Bible calls the servants and handmaidens of God.
Who are those servants and handmaidens? They are those who have committed themselves totally to their Lord. They are those who, instead of being content simply to be born-again children of God, have gone even further, stepping into servanthood out of love for the Father.
The servants and handmaidens of God are those who’ve said, “I want to be involved in what God is doing in this hour. I want to be His bondslave, available to do His bidding 24 hours a day.”
Those who make that powerful decision are experiencing the great outpouring of God’s Spirit that Peter spoke of in Acts 2. They are the ones whose Spirit-inspired words of prophecy and prayer are releasing the power of God upon the earth. They are the ones whose words are opening the way for the signs and wonders.
Do you want to be among them? You can be. God wants you to be. In fact, He needs you to be!
He needs those who will cut every cord that binds them to this natural world. He needs people He can call on in the middle of the night for intercession. People who will get up and do it no matter how tired they may be.
That’s the quality and depth of dedication servanthood requires. It’s a demanding role but its rewards are rich. Those who are willing to fill that role will be God’s mouthpiece here on the earth in these final days. They will be vehicles of His Spirit and of His mighty power. They will be key players in the Holy Spirit’s greatest earthly production.
Make a decision now to become one of them. Take the step of faith into servanthood today.
This message was written by Kenneth and Gloria Copeland, the leader of the Kenneth Copeland Ministries (www.KCM.org) that specializes in teaching principles of bible faith – prayer, healing, salvation and other biblical topics.
As I noted yesterday, discrimination is also escalating in America against those who affirm biblical morality. We are certainly not facing aggression on a level experienced by Jews around the world, but Jesus’ prediction for his followers is nonetheless true for us: “The world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world” (John 17:14).
It would be easy to abandon hope for our culture. But it’s always too soon to give up on the future because it’s always too soon to give up on God.
“Let this cup pass from me”
I led a study tour of Israel last week. On Thursday, our group spent a very moving hour in the Garden of Gethsemane. I read from Matthew 26, where Jesus pled with his Father, “If it be possible, let this cup pass from me” (v. 39).
Why did our Savior seek so fervently to avoid the “cup” that awaited him?
The physical torture Jesus faced would be horrendous. But the greater cost of the cross was spiritual: the Father would place the sins of fallen humanity on his sinless Son. For the only…
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