Christians are being encouraged to write to the diplomatic building on White Lion Street in north London and call for the release of believers imprisoned for their faith.
Kate Ward from Release International – which is behind the Pray 173 initiative – said: “That [the postcard] is sent off to [the Eritrean] government to say ‘we, as the Church in the UK, implore you to release those who are in prison.”
During the course of the summer and autumn months, 173 prayers are being issued by Release International to highlight the plight of persecuted believers in Eritrea.
Kate Ward explained the significance of that figure, saying: “There are at least 173 Christians in prison who have been held, on average, for more than ten years.”
Eritrea is among the top ten countries in the world where persecution against Christians is most severe, according to Open Doors.
The Christian organisation cites dictatorial paranoia and Islamic extremism as the main sources of persecution against believers – who comprise 2.7 million of Eritrea’s five million residents.
Release International, which serves persecuted Christians in 30 countries around the world, reports that thousands of people have been imprisoned for their faith in Eritrea since 2002.
Evangelical and Pentecostal churches have been outlawed there for the last 15 years, the organisation claims.
Samuel Rodriguez is the president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference. (Samuel Rodriguez/Facebook)
In the book of Genesis, God spoke creation into being in six days and rested on the seventh. In the book of Joshua, we read that the Israelites marched around the city of Jericho, also for seven days, and when they blew their ram’s horn, the walls of the city fell. The prophet Jonah survived in the belly of a “large fish” for three days, and in all four Gospels, we learn that Jesus Himself was crucified, buried and raised again in three days as well.
The Bible is full of stories that span mere days in order to complete incredible, impossible and often unimaginable things. And yet, in our pragmatism—or perhaps in our lack of faith—most of the church has given up such ambitious pursuits. Anything of consequence, say like asking God for the nations (Ps. 2:8), we’re told would take decades to accomplish, if it’s even possible in the first place.
But what if we truly began believing that we could ask God for more than what the world says is possible? What if we stopped relying on our own strengths and had faith enough to hear the words Jesus told us:
“He who believes in Me will do the works that I do also. And he will do greater works than these, because I am going to My Father. I will do whatever you ask in My name, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it” (John 14:12-14).
Or as C.S. Lewis famously wrote, “It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak … We are far too easily pleased.”
Tell that to Dominic Russo, Jedidiah Turner and the leadership of Mission.me.
Just a few months ago, Mission.me organized teams from 33 nations around the world to descend on the Central American nation of Nicaragua for a single, remarkable and impossible day—a day in which the NHCLC was privileged enough to participate. On July 23, 2017, I witnessed what will forever be known as the day that shifted the destiny of a nation by unleashing a movement of righteousness and justice. Thousands of business leaders, political leaders, church leaders, medical professionals, community planners as well as regular everyday children of God participated in the event which reached one-in-seven Nicaraguans with the Gospel. The entire day’s events were simultaneously broadcast on the country’s largest television networks and radio stations to countless more. This is how the soul of a nation is changed.
What’s perhaps more incredible is that every other year, Mission.me asks God for another impossible request. Before Nicaragua, it was the Dominican Republic, and before the Dominican Republic it was Honduras.
Asking God for the impossible is not just something some Christians are supposed to do. It’s not something to read about or to accept as biblical hyperbole. In fact, it’s central to what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ because he commands us to do so.
I don’t mean to oversimplify just how much work goes into 1Nation1Day. It’s an undertaking so massive that Mission.me knows at the onset it must rely on God to make all the pieces come together. Thousands of volunteers, partnerships and courageous leadership all play an important role. But here’s the exciting part for you and me: The most important ingredient is a willingness to say, “Here I am Lord, send me” and faith enough to believe that our good Father in heaven will answer “yes.” (see Isa. 6:8)
What if I told you we could reach 1 out of 7 Americans with the gospel in just a single day? Could we believe enough for racial harmony and political unity here at home as well? What if we asked God to give us an end to drug abuse, human trafficking or peace in Sudan? What if we had faith enough to believe God for our persecuted brothers and sisters in the Middle East suffering under the oppression of ISIS?
Each one of us is part of what the world believes is impossible to accomplish. Each one of us is invited to be a part of miracles like the one I witnessed in Nicaragua.
May we not be too easily satisfied. May we be a people who ask God for the impossible.
Rev. Samuel Rodriguez is president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference. He has been named by CNN and Fox News as “the leader of the Hispanic Evangelical movement” and Time magazine nominated him among the 100 most influential leaders in America.
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Rosie, who co-presents Inspirational Breakfast show every weekday morning with John Pantry, received a Jerusalem Award for the Under 25 year old category on Thursday night.
She said: “It’s slightly surreal when these things happen. I was sat with my family and there were lots of familiar faces in the crowd.
“You never quite know what to do when you go up on stage but I’m really delighted, really honoured and really grateful to have got the award.”
Rosie Wright with her mum, Debbie Wright
Staged in recent years at BAFTA in central London, the Jerusalem Awards is an annual ceremony which promotes top quality Christian radio and online broadcasting. It regularly attracts entrants from media organisations including the BBC.
Encouraging aspiring broadcasters to seize any opportunity which arises, Rosie added: “Just go for it. Talk to anyone. Email everyone. Ask people to go out for coffees. You get these jobs by pester power so, politely, pester.”
Awards categories in the Jerusalem Awards this year also included best short and long radio programmes, digital content, presenter, and Easter-themed programmes.
Asked what content judges looked at from her extensive portfolio, Rosie said: “Things around the US election, some of my ‘Taboo or to do’ features which have been really good fun, lots of breaking news stories which have been quite hard.
“It’s been a really challenging year for news, so also this time last year my visit to the Calais camp as the camp was evicted.”
Click here to listen to Premier’s Alex Williams speaking with Rosie Wright:
Evangelist Nick Hall says Sodom and Gomorrah weren’t destroyed because of their sin, but because the righteous could not be found.
And while many believers in America today compare modern society to that of the wicked biblical cities, the Pulse Movement founder says there is a remnant, and the country can be saved. Watch the video to see.
Jessilyn Justice is the director of online news for Charisma. Born and raised in a pastor’s family in Alabama, she attended Lee University and the Washington Journalism Center. She’s passionate about sharing God’s goodness through storytelling. Tell her what you think of this story on Twitter @jessilynjustice.
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Charles and Sara Rippey met in grade school in Wisconsin and were together ever since. They attended the University of Wisconsin and married in 1942 before Charles served in the US Army during World War II.
The couple celebrated their seventy-fifth wedding anniversary last year. Charles was one hundred years old; Sara was ninety-eight and had suffered a stroke. They lived together in their home in Napa, California.
This week, they died together.
After wildfires ravaged their community, one of their sons discovered their bodies. Charles fought through the intense heat and smoke and almost made it to his wife’s side. His son found their remains near each other.
“My father certainly wouldn’t have left her,” he told reporters. Only metal and porcelain survive in the charred remains of their home—coffee cups on a low sill, a porcelain tea set, and two metal chairs side-by-side.
The Rippeys are making headlines because their lifelong commitment to each other strikes a chord in our souls. We sense somehow that what they had is what we want. We know that there is more to life than what a fire can consume.
Richard Simmons III is founder and executive director of The Center for Executive Leadership. In The True Measure of a Man, he notes that we have shifted from a production economy to a consumer economy. As a result, we measure ourselves not by what we do but by what we own. Our work is a means to our wealth.
And in a culture driven by social media and instant celebrity, we measure ourselves by how others measure us. Simmons quotes professor Christopher Lasch, who observed that people “would rather be envied for their material success than respected for their character.”
Marcus Aurelius noted that “the true worth of a man is to be measured by the objects he pursues.” What “objects” should we pursue?
Remember Paul’s answer: “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ” (Philippians 3:8). Paul the Pharisee knew about God. Paul the Jesus-follower knew God.
How intimately do you know God today?
According to Jesus, there are only two priorities that matter: loving God and loving others (Matthew 22:37, 39). When we understand how deeply and passionately we are loved by our Father, we are freed from the need to justify our lives and impress our culture. We are freed to love the One who loves us and to love everyone he loves.
And we find a life purpose no fire can destroy.
In Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman is fired from his job and takes his own life. His older son explains why: “He had the wrong dreams. All, all, wrong.” His younger son protests, “Don’t say that!” The older son answers, “He never knew who he was.”
Do you know who you are? More importantly, do you know whose you are?
The Lord said: “I am bringing you another load of my mercy and grace.” (Getty Images/iStock/Getty Images Plus/TomasSereda)
Earlier this week, I felt overwhelmed by anxiety. The worry was mostly caused by financial pressure and by a nagging fear of failure. I tried my best to put into words my fears and frustrations, but my prayers were basically a series of groans.
So many doubts assaulted my mind: Will the money run out? Did I follow God’s plan correctly? Did I even hear God in the first place?
Then a clear picture popped into my mind, and I knew it was an impression from the Holy Spirit. I saw an aerial view of the street where I lived in the Atlanta suburbs during the 1970s. And I saw a huge semitruck parked in front of my house. I asked the Lord what He was showing me.
My mind was flooded with memories of what God did in my life when I lived in that house in 1976. I experienced a divine intervention in the fall of that year, just weeks before I was to leave home for college. I was filled with the Holy Spirit that September, and my life was radically redirected. The Lord saved me from following my own selfish plans, and He put me on the right path.
I asked the Lord why He was showing me a semitruck parked in front of my house on Autumn Hill Drive. He spoke to my heart: “It was when you lived in that house in 1976 that I brought you a load of my grace and mercy.”
I immediately thanked Him for all He had done for me. I was reminded of Psalm 103:4, which says in the International Children’s Bible: “He saves my life from the grave. He loads me with love and mercy.”
But then I saw another picture in my mind, and this time, the semitruck was parked in front of the house where I live now. The Lord said: “I am bringing you another load of my mercy and grace.” And I was reminded of Ephesians 1:7-8 (MEV), which says we have redemption and forgiveness “according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished on us.”
Again, I had to pour out my heart in thanksgiving. God’s grace doesn’t just come once. His grace is not rationed in small quantities. The word “lavish” means “to cause to abound and overflow.” What happened at Calvary did not end there. He opened a fountain then, but it continues to gush today. He brings His grace to us in truckloads, and then He brings more!
Perhaps you have wondered if God’s grace toward you is running out. Maybe you thought He was tired of your mistakes, upset about your doubts or frustrated with your inconsistency. Maybe you wondered if you misheard His divine direction. Maybe you even worried that He had disqualified you.
You can be encouraged today. His grace never stopped. We have received “grace upon grace” (John 1:16) and “the abundance of grace” (Rom. 5:17). Jesus told the apostle Paul: “My grace is sufficient for you” (2 Cor. 12:9). God will supply you with all the grace you need if you simply humble yourself and acknowledge your need for Him. James 4:6 tells us that God “gives more grace” when we come to Him in humility.
As you ponder the miracle of abundant grace, remember this:
His grace delivers you from your past. You should thank God daily that you aren’t where you would be if you hadn’t met Christ. You might not even be alive today if it weren’t for His merciful intervention! Be grateful that He broke the power of sin in your life, forgave you for your many wrong choices and freed you from guilt. You are a walking miracle because of what Jesus already did for you.
His grace empowers you for the present. Even though you often feel weak, and you know you are a flawed vessel, God’s grace works through you supernaturally. His Spirit lives in you. His anointing is a precious treasure that flows out of imperfect saints. When Jesus told Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you,” He added, “for My strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9). Quit trying to be perfect; just relax, knowing that He is working in you.
His grace guides you into your future. We all reach moments when we feel we’ve hit a wall. Elijah saw God’s fire fall on Mount Carmel, but then he found himself in a cave of fear and depression. He even thought of ending his life. But then he heard the still, small voice of God again. He received such a fresh outpouring of grace that he outran Ahab and saw the promised downpour of rain.
This is not a time to give up. Spiritual warfare may be intense, and you may be painfully aware of your own flaws. But God’s grace is greater than the devil, his demons and your mistakes. Open your eyes, and you will see a truckload of grace heading your way.
J. Lee Gradywas editor of Charisma for 11 years before he launched into full-time ministry in 2010. Today he directs The Mordecai Project, a Christian charitable organization that is taking the healing of Jesus to women and girls who suffer abuse and cultural oppression. Author of several books including 10 Lies the Church Tells Women, he has just released his newest book, Set My Heart on Fire, from Charisma House. You can follow him on Twitter at @LeeGrady or go to his website, themordecaiproject.org.
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(Photo: British Pakistani Christian Association)Kashmala Munawar holds her left leg after suffering an injury to her right leg in a bomb blast at All Saints Church in Peshawar, Pakistan on September 22, 2013.
A young Pakistani Christian woman who lost her leg in a 2013 church bombing and is learning to live her life without her family in Australia is now trying to help persecuted Christians from her home country gain access to the refuge she has found.
In an interview with The Christian Post, 21-year-old Kashmala Munawar recalled the day her life changed forever. It was Sept. 22, 2013, when she was 17 years old. Twin suicide bombers killed 127 innocent people and injured over 250 others who were walking out of All Saints Church in Peshawar following a Sunday service.
“I was just putting on my slippers and suddenly this big explosion happened. I got blind for a few minutes and after that, I saw my mom and I saw the people. They were crying and they were bleeding. So I started to cry,” Munawar told CP via WhatsApp. “One of my sisters, she was inside the church, she was telling me to get up. But I couldn’t. I told her, ‘I don’t have strength in my legs.’ She started to cry as well. Someone came and he was trying to pick me up to take me to the hospital. But he couldn’t, so he called someone else and they took me to the hospital.”
The injury to Munawar’s right leg was so severe that gangrene formed in one of her toes about a week after the blast and she had to have her leg amputated below the knee.
“They cut half of my leg,” she explained.
It wasn’t until February of 2014 that Munawar received the opportunity to travel to Australia and receive a prosthetic leg that was paid for by the Melbourne-based nonprofit Children First Foundation.
“The thing was, I went to the biggest hospital [in Pakistan]. They took me there and doctors they can’t fix my legs there. They don’t have the facilities,” she recalled. “But someone in the Pakistani community contacted the Pakistani community in Australia.”
Munawar and her mother traveled to Melbourne so that she could receive a prosthetic leg and learn to walk again. After four months in Australia, Munawar’s mother was pressured to return home and leave Munawar all by herself in a foreign land.
“I haven’t seen my family since I came to Australia,” Munawar told CP.
While she was learning to walk again, Munawar lived in farm house with other children sponsored by the charity. She explained that it took her about 10 to 11 months to learn how to walk again.
“There were other kids from other countries. Kids come from other countries to get treated if they can’t get treated in their own country,” she explained. “I don’t know about now but when I was living there, it used to be kids come and go. Sometimes there are like maybe six kids, sometimes 11, sometimes 15.”
In 2015, Munawar started going to school in Australia. She is now in her last year of high school and plans to attend university next year to pursue her interests in humanitarian work, social work and business administration.
Although she is looking forward to her life in Australia, Munawar would like nothing more than for her family members back in Pakistan to join her in Australia, as she continues to struggle with loneliness and getting used to life in that country.
Also she would love for her family to get out of Pakistan, which ranks as the fourth worst country in the world when it comes to Christian persecution, according to Open Doors USA’s 2017 World Watch List.
“The Muslim people don’t see us as human. Like, we are animals,” Munawar said of the treatment of Christians in Pakistan. “We are just nothing to them.”
“The best thing would be for my family to be here. I don’t want much for myself but I want my family to be here,” she continued. “Then, I will be more happier than I am now.”
Munawar told CP that she recently applied for a visa for her mother with the Australian government. However, that application was denied.
“The thing was, they were like, she can’t leave her underage daughters behind,” Munawar said. “They were saying, ‘We understand your daughter is disabled but thing is your can’t just leave your 11-year-old and 16-year-old daughters and come to live with her.”
Munawar isn’t waiting until she starts college to begin doing humanitarian and social work. She is now working as a director for British Pakistani Christians (Australia), a new offshoot of the British Pakistani Christian Association that looks to support Pakistani Christians resettled in Australia.
The BPCA submitted an ‘Approved Proposing Organisation’ application on Sept. 28 to the Australian Community Support Programme. If accepted, the organization would be licensed by the government to support humanitarian arrivals in Australia throughout their resettlement process by connecting them with local churches and helping them find them housing, schooling and employment.
Kailash Chander is alleged to have caused the deaths of Catholic schoolboy Rowan Fitzgerald and 76-year-old Dora Hancox by dangerous driving in Coventry in October 2015.
Mrs Hancox, a former foster carer from Nuneaton, and primary school pupil Rowan were both pronounced dead at the scene after the double-decker bus struck the side of a Sainsbury’s supermarket in Trinity Street.
Chander, from Leamington Spa, also faces two counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving, while bus operator Midland Red (South) Ltd has already admitted two health and safety breaches.
Former Leamington mayor Chander was not asked to enter a plea, speaking only to confirm his name during a 45-minute hearing at Warwick Crown Court.
Judge Andrew Lockhart QC granted Chander unconditional bail to provisionally appear at Birmingham Crown Court at a date to be confirmed.
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(Photo: Reuters/Chris Wattie)A candlelight vigil is pictured on the Las Vegas strip following a mass shooting at the Route 91 Harvest Country Music Festival in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., October 2, 2017.
Sixty-four-year-old Stephen Paddock opened fire on a country music festival in Las Vegas Sunday night, murdering at least 59 people and wounding over 527 others before reportedly killing himself.
Widely recognized as the worst mass shooting in United States history, the tragic events have elicited many reactions, some heartfelt and others inflammatory.
Here are seven reactions to the mass shooting in Las Vegas. They include statements from leading politicians, a prominent social commentator, and a now-fired CBS executive.
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