Iraqi Christians flee village after violence

The town was only liberated from IS last year, with many only having returned recently to rebuild their homes.

However, violence broke out again last week, meaning many Christians in the town have been displaced to nearby Alqosh and surrounding areas. 

The conflict is between Peshmerga Kurdish forces and Iraqi forces. 

The Iraqi Christian Relief Council reported on Twitter that: “Kurdish Peshmerga have been shooting indiscriminately…to make it appear as though the Iraqi Army is injuring civilians”.

They added: “Three Christian children were caught in the crossfire and injured while playing soccer. One woman was also injured.”

The town’s inhabitants were told by a representative of the Iraqi government that they had “until sunrise to evacuate”, according to Fox News.

The Iraqi army were planning to forcibly remove Peshmerga from Telskuf – which is 19 miles north of Mosul in the morning.

It seemed they warned the town civilians as they wanted them out of the way.

Telskuf was freed from IS control in 2016 and rebuilt with $2 million (£151 milliion) of aid money from Hungary.

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New freedom of religion report urges government to stay accountable

The All-Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom of Religion or Belief launched the report on Wednesday, to mark International Freedom of Religion or Belief Day which falls on 27th October.

Entitled Article 18: From Rhetoric to Reality, it highlights that Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights hasn’t been taken seriously in several instances across the world.

It also underlines practical measures that the UK Government can take to protect the millions who are vulnerable to violence and discrimination.

Christian DUP MP Jim Shannon told Premier it’s time to stop talking about Article 18 and “make it a reality”.

He added: “We want to make it a critical priority they would establish a programme within the Foreign Commonwealth Office to ensure all their embassies are able to respond to persecution.”

The report compiled an extensive amount of persecution evidence across the world including the Eritrean Orthodox Church patriarch who has been jailed for several years, bombings at Egyptian Coptic churches, and the 800,000 Rohinyga Muslims and 120,000 Christians that have fled Myanmar.

In the foreword to the report Dr Ahmed Shaheed, United Nations Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Religion or Belief said: “Despite global commitments to promote and to protect freedom of religion or belief, the scale of violations remains enormous, with almost 80 per cent of the world’s population living in countries with “high” or…

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Joel and Victoria Osteen’s daily October 25, 2017 devotional Before Creation

Joel and Victoria Osteen’s daily October 25, 2017 devotional Before Creation

Today’s Scripture: “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world…” – (Ephesians 1:4, NIV)

Topic: Before Creation [Wednesday October 25, 2017]

Did you know that God chose you before the foundations of the earth? Before the worlds were ever formed, He knew you. And, He didn’t create you to be average. He didn’t create you to barely get by. No, He created you to excel! Not only has He chosen you, He has equipped you with everything you need to live and thrive in this life. He has deposited seeds of greatness inside every person. But in order to tap into those seeds of greatness, you have to believe this and act on it.

Too many people today are going around with low self-esteem, feeling inferior like they don’t have what it takes. But that is living a lie. And as long as we have a poor self-image, we’re not going to experience God’s best. In order to be all that God has called us to be, we have to see ourselves as chosen, valuable and victorious.

Today, meditate on this truth. Let it sink down deep into your heart. Let it build confidence and security in you. As you understand your value in the eyes of God, you’ll be empowered to live the life of victory He has prepared for you!

A Prayer for Today: “Father God, thank You for choosing me. Thank You for equipping me. Help me to see myself the way You see me. Show me Your ways that I may walk with You in confidence and trust all the days of my life in Jesus’ name. Amen.”

From Joel Osteen Ministries.


Nestle removes church crosses from food packaging

The world’s largest food and beverage company has been using a picture of the Greek Orthodox building in Santorini without the crosses on top of the famous blue domes of the church for its yogurt packaging.

This follows a number of other retailers photoshopping the Christian symbol from their products.

 

Lidl erased crosses from the same picture of the Church of the Resurrection on the Greek island from its Eridanous brand Greek-style yogurt – an in-house label which also includes a range of feta cheese, moussaka, and pistachio products, last month.

The controversy led to many people expressing their anger on social media and the UK’s most senior Orthodox Church figure encouraged church members to stop buying products from the German supermarket.

Customers also voiced their displeasure on the Lidl UK page, with some pointing out that the chain offers Islamic Halal meat products that feature mosques with minarets.

The firm told Premier on 8th September: “We are sincerely sorry for any offence caused by the artwork on our Eridanous product range and can confirm that we will be revising the packaging design as soon as possible.”

While Lidl claimed it didn’t intend to express an ideological or political stance with its products or product design, the firm told Premier that it would be “revising the packaging design as soon as possible” and apologised.
Nestlé have not issued any statements on the cross deletions.

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What my support for the Astros says about my soul

I grew up in Houston, Texas, where our hometown Astros were the lovable losers of the National League. Our team finished above .500 a grand total of three times before I left Houston to attend seminary. Since that time, they made the World Series once, getting swept by the White Sox in 2005.

I’d like to claim that I’ve been a faithful fan through the lean years as well as the good, but it’s not true. To be honest, I’ve paid more attention to my team when they were winning than when they were losing. My language was indicative of my transactional support: when the Astros were victorious, “we won.” When the team was defeated, “they lost.”

Now “my team” is back in the World Series, losing game one last night to the Los Angeles Dodgers. If they lose the Series, they’ll still be better than twenty-eight other Major League teams. Whether I’ll support them if they lose says more about me than it does about them.

Few relationships in our culture are unconditional. Marriage for many is a contract rather than a covenant, with divorce an ever-present option. Employees are changing jobs and even switching vocations more rapidly than ever before. Forty percent of Americans change their denomination or even their religion.

In a consumer culture, we are loyal to those who give us what we want.

Are you on an adventure with God?

Here’s why consumerism doesn’t work with God: he is the King of Kings, not a commodity we can control. We are subjects, not consumers. When we make the Lord of the universe a means to our end, we miss the purpose and passion Jesus intends for us.

In Wild Goose Chase, best-selling author Mark Batterson notes:

“If you would describe your relationship with God as anything less than adventurous, then maybe you think you’re following the Spirit but have actually settled for something less—something I call inverted Christianity. Instead of following the Spirit, we invite the Spirit to follow us. Instead of…

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