Billy Graham: Jesus’ Death and Resurrection Made the Cross a Sacred Christian Symbol

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Billy Graham: Jesus’ Death and Resurrection Made the Cross a Sacred Christian Symbol

Brazil (Photo: Reuters/Ricardo Moraes)

Christian Post Report – A demonstrator holds pencils in tribute to the victims of a shooting by gunmen at the offices of French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo, during a demonstration organized by the NGO Rio de Paz (Rio of Peace) in Niteroi, near Rio de Janeiro, January 8, 2015. Armed and masked anti-terrorism police swooped on woodland villages northeast of Paris on Thursday in a manhunt for two brothers suspected of being the Islamist gunmen who killed 12 people at the French satirical weekly.

Jesus’ death and resurrection made the cross an important Christian symbol, evangelical leader the Rev. Billy Graham explains ahead of Good Friday.

Graham’s elaborates on the significance of the cross in response to a question published in the Kansas City Star that asked:

I am a foreign student here, but I do not come from a Christian country. I am curious about your religion. Why do churches have a cross on top of them, and why do some people wear a cross? What does it mean? — R.V.

The evangelical leader notes that before Jesus’ crucifixion, the cross represented “an instrument of torture and death,” as it was the structure used to carry out the horrific practice of crucifixion.

Graham further explains that Jesus’ experience on the cross changed its meaning, because Jesus’ “death was different from every other death in the history of the human race, because by his death, he made it possible for us to be forgiven of our sins and go to Heaven when we die.”

He adds that Jesus was able to free humanity of its sins because He is God in human form, and it was God’s plan to sacrifice Him for our sins.

“[This is possible] first of all because of who Jesus was: God Himself in human form. Jesus was not just another great religious teacher; He was God in human flesh! And because of that, death could not hold him,” Graham explains, adding that Jesus’ death and resurrection was also part of God’s plan for mankind.

“God loves us, and because He loves us, He came to Earth in the person of Jesus Christ, and on the cross He became the final sacrifice for our sins,” Graham writes.

The Baptist minister expounded on the crucifixion in a post last September, explaining that Jesus paid for everyone’s sins when He died on the cross.

“[Only God] can forgive us and cleanse us from all our sins. Listen: You don’t have to bear the burden of your sins any longer because on the cross all your sins were transferred to Christ, and He paid the price for your salvation,” the evangelical leader writes.

When asked in June 2012 if Jesus’ death or resurrection is considered more important, Graham said that both events are of equal value in the Christian faith.

Graham compares the events to two wings of a plane, saying both are equally essential.

“Jesus’ death on the cross is important because without it we would have no hope of forgiveness or eternal life,” Graham wrote, explaining that the only thing that will keep Christians out of Heaven is sin.

“But on the cross all our sins were laid on Christ, and He became the final and perfect sacrifice for our sins,” the evangelical leader emphasized.

Graham added that Jesus’ resurrection is “equally important” because by it “Jesus proved that He was the Son of God who could take away our sins. More than that, by His resurrection He conquered death and Hell and Satan for us. Now we don’t need to fear death, because He has defeated its power over us!”

Source : Christian Post

British Lawmakers Vote Down ISIS ‘Genocide’ Amendment Amid Fears of Increasing Immigration

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British Lawmakers Vote Down ISIS ‘Genocide’ Amendment Amid Fears of Increasing Immigration

Iraq (Photo: Reuters/Stringer)

Christian Post Report – A woman and children react in a military helicopter after being evacuated by Iraqi forces from Amerli, north of Baghdad August 29, 2014. A home to around 180,000 people, mostly Turkmen Shiites, the small town of Amerli, north of Baghdad, is still holding out against repeated attacks by Islamic State fighters despite the fall of all the 34 villages surrounding it.

The upper house of the British Parliament shot down an amendment this week that would have forced the government to decide whether or not the Islamic State’s persecution of Christians and other religious minorities is a “genocide.”

According to the Catholic Herald and the Catholic News Service, the House of Lords voted down an amendment that would have required a High Court judge to determine if IS (also known ISIS or ISIL) is committing a genocide in the Middle East.

The proposal, which was an amendment to immigration legislation introduced by Lord David Alton, was shot down by a vote of 148 to 111.

Alton, a crossbench member of the House of Lords, had called on the British government to act swiftly to call IS’ atrocities against religious minorities a “genocide” after the United States Sec. of State John Kerry issued a genocide declaration last week. However, the British government has dragged its feet when it comes to making such a determination.

Parliament in London (Photo: Reuters/Eddie Keogh)

Armed police stand on guard at the Houses of Parliament in London, Britain, March 22, 2016. Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron said he would chair a crisis response meeting following explosions in Brussels on Tuesday.

Alton said after the vote that the defeat of his amendment represents a “lamentable failure” by the legislative body.

“This should not have been a day for party whips and scaremongering arguments — such as being flooded with genocide victims — none of which brings Parliament credit,” Alton said in a statement. “This was a day when Britain … simply chose to look the other way.”

“When historians come to consider the lamentable failure of both parliament and government to speak and act they will surely conclude that we failed to recognize the crime above all crimes,” he added.

As the U.K. only accepts applications for asylum once refugees are inside the U.K., the measure would have also required the government to accept asylum applications from refugees outside the U.K., as long as they are among the religious minorities facing genocide at the hands of IS.

During the debate on the measure, which took place Monday, Alton explained that the amendment was an “opportunity to break the cycle of inertia,” when it comes to IS’ murders, kidnappings and sexual enslavement of of religious minorities.

Additionally, he said the amendment would have presented Britain with the opportunity “to close the gap” between the commitments the nation made in the 1948 genocide convention and the “reality of our actions.”

“We also have the opportunity to make a step change by moving beyond aerial bombardment to a consideration of justice, to demand that, under our commitment to the rule of law, however long it takes, we will bring those responsible for abhorrent mass executions, sexual slavery, rape and other forms of gender-based violence, torture, mutilation and the enlistment and forced recruitment of children to justice,” Alton was quoted as saying.

Lord Richard Keen, who opposed the amendment, said during the debate that a “genocide” declaration is not up to the British lawmakers to decide, but rather the international courts. He added that such an immigration policy would cause a “potential disaster” for Britain.

“The government believes that recognition of genocide should be a matter for international courts and that it should be a legal rather than a political determination. That remains the position,” he said.

The House of Lord’s failure to pass the amendment comes after the European Union announced in February that it adopted a resolution calling IS’ crimes against humanity a genocide.

Additionally, Pope Francis, the Iraqi and Kurdish governments and the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom have all deemed IS’ crimes to be genocide.

Follow Samuel Smith on Twitter: @IamSamSmith

Source : Christian Post

John Piper on Hearing the Voice of God

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John Piper on Hearing the Voice of God

John piper (Photo: Passion Conference)

Christian Post Report – John Piper, founder of Desiring God and chancellor of Bethlehem College and Seminary, speaks from the book of Revelation at the Passion 2016 conference Sunday morning, January 3, 2016, in Duluth, Georgia.

In 2006 gospel singer Tamela Mann debuted a powerful single called “Speak Lord” in which she urged God to speak to her with a word to address her need.

She crooned in the chorus:

Lord, please bestow on me
a word from Thee,
Lord, speak to me.

Lord, please bestow on me
a word from Thee,
Lord, won’t You please speak to me.

It has become a common practice in some Christian circles to hear believers, particularly those seeking spiritual direction, talk about hearing a “word from God.”

John Piper, chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary in Minnesota, says, however, that he is concerned about what he sees as the elevation of extra-biblical words over the voice of God in Scripture.

“The great need of our time is for people to experience the living reality of God by hearing his word personally and transformingly in Scripture. Something is incredibly wrong when the words we hear outside Scripture are more powerful and more affecting to us than the inspired word of God,” Piper wrote in recent op-ed on his website desiringGod.org.

Piper’s lament was inspired by an anonymously written article by a Christian professor entitled, “My Conversation With God”. The professor talks about hearing God for the first time telling him to give all his royalties from a new book toward the tuition of a needy student after being somewhat of a skeptic.

“What makes me sad about the article is not that it isn’t true or didn’t happen. What’s sad is that it really does give the impression that extra-biblical communication with God is surpassingly wonderful and faith-deepening. All the while, the supremely glorious communication of the living God which personally and powerfully and transformingly explodes in the receptive heart through the Bible everyday is passed over in silence,” wrote Piper.

Prior to making that point, however, Piper highlighted the first time he got a word from God, on March 19, 2007. Although he firmly believes he heard a distinct voice which he attributes to God, Piper pointed out that God spoke to him through recognized Scripture.

“There settled over me a wonderful reverence. A palpable peace came down. This was a holy moment and a holy corner of the world in northern Minnesota. God Almighty had come down and was giving me the stillness and the openness and the willingness to hear his very voice,” he wrote of the experience.

“This was breathtaking. It was very serious. It was almost a rebuke. At least a warning. He may as well have taken me by the collar of my shirt, lifted me off the ground with one hand, and said, with an incomparable mixture of fierceness and love, ‘Never, never, never exalt yourself. Never rebel against me,'” he added.

Piper charged that God is always speaking through Scripture and no extra-biblical words can go deeper than the ones found in the Bible.

“If you would like to hear the very same words I heard on the couch in northern Minnesota, read Psalm 66:5–7. That is where I heard them. O, how precious is the Bible. It is the very word of God. In it God speaks in the twenty-first century. This is the very voice of God. By this voice, he speaks with absolute truth and personal force. By this voice, he reveals his all-surpassing beauty. By this voice, he reveals the deepest secrets of our hearts. No voice anywhere anytime can reach as deep or lift as high or carry as far as the voice of God that we hear in the Bible,” Piper noted.

Contact: [email protected]; follow me on Twitter @leoblair

Source : Christian Post

United Methodist Regional Bodies Petition Denomination to Cut Ties With Pro-Abortion Group

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United Methodist Regional Bodies Petition Denomination to Cut Ties With Pro-Abortion Group

United Methodist (Photo: UMNS/Kathleen Barry)

Christian Post Report – Participants sing during the opening worship of the 2012 United Methodist General Conference held in Tampa, Fla., April 24.

Some regional bodies within the United Methodist Church are petitioning the denomination to approve the end of its relationship with a pro-choice advocacy group at General Conference.

The UMC Annual Conferences of Western Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Alabama-West Florida, Mississippi, and Indiana are among those that have petitioned the Mainline Protestant denomination to sever its longstanding ties with the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice.

John Lomperis, the United Methodist action director at the theologically conservative Institute on Religion & Democracy, as well as an elected delegate for the 2016 UMC General Conference, is among those calling for the denomination to sever its ties with the abortion advocacy group that previously told this publication it’s opposed to any restrictions on abortion, including during the third trimester.

In an interview with The Christian Post, Lomperis explained that he supported ending the ties between UMC and RCRC, calling the relationship “a scandalous betrayal of the God who creates and loves all people, regardless of race, gender, or age.”

“Other Mainline denominations have severed their past ties with RCRC and my fervent prayer is for the UMC to follow their good example,” said Lomperis.

March for Life(Photo: Reuters/Gary Cameron)(L-R) Pro-life supporters Marian Rumley, Taylor Miller and Sophie Caticchio from Minnesota listen to speeches at the National March for Life rally in Washington January 22, 2016. The rally marks the 43rd anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1973 abortion ruling in Roe v. Wade.

The Religious Coalition for Reproductive Rights was founded in 1973 and originally named the Religious Coalition for Abortion Rights.

“While our member organizations and individual supporters are religiously and theologically diverse, they are unified in the commitment to preserve reproductive choice as a basic part of religious liberty, and to be a collective, religious voice for reproductive justice,” states their website.

“We support access to sex education, family planning and contraception, affordable child care and healthcare, and adoption services, as well as safe, legal, compassionate abortion care, regardless of income.”

The UMC General Board of Church and Society and Women’s Division of the General Board of Global Ministries are both member groups of the RCRC, though neither they nor the denomination provide funding to RCRC.

Proponents of severing all ties to the RCRC have argued that the pro-choice views of RCRC conflict with the official position of the UMC on abortion, which among other things opposes late-term abortion except for certain circumstances and parental or legal guardian notification for minors seeking abortion.

“Our belief in the sanctity of unborn human life makes us reluctant to approve abortion. But we are equally bound to respect the sacredness of the life and well-being of the mother and the unborn child,” states the UMC.

“We recognize tragic conflicts of life with life that may justify abortion, and in such cases we support the legal option of abortion under proper medical procedures by certified medical providers.”

Supporters of the RCRC relationship note that the UMC was a “founding member” of the RCRC and that several diverse religious groups are also involved.

“[I]nternationally, the Religious Coalition is an accredited nongovernmental organization with the United Nations Department of Public Information which supports international family planning services in such areas as South Africa where the coalition works with churches on HIV/AIDS education and prevention,” stated a pro-RCRC resolution from a past General Conference.

Lomperis told CP that while past General Conference have failed to pass similar resolution to end the RCRC connection, “the vote margins keep getting closer.”

“In the 2008 General Conference, we came especially close, with a final vote of 48 percent voting to withdraw the UMC from RCRC. This vote was very suspiciously scheduled for a moment when over 100 largely pro-life African delegates were not present,” said Lomperis.

“The pro-RCRC side won in a 416-384 vote — 33 more delegates with a pro-life or even moderate stance on abortion would have swung things the other way.”

Source : Christian Post

Francis Chan Challenges Christians: Stop Idolizing Family, Put Christ’s Mission First

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Francis Chan Challenges Christians: Stop Idolizing Family, Put Christ’s Mission First

<b>Christian Post Report</b> – Francis Chan speaks to students at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta during the Passion 2012 conference on Jan. 4, 2012.” title=”<b>Christian Post Report</b> – Francis Chan speaks to students at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta during the Passion 2012 conference on Jan. 4, 2012.” name=”jpg” src=”http://images.christianpost.com/full/49918/francis-chan-speaks-to-students-at-the-georgia-dome-in-atlanta-during-the-passion-2012-conference-on-jan-4-2012.jpg” class=”imgPhoto” width=”550″ height=”450″ /> <small class=(Photo: Andrew Shepherd)

Christian Post Report – Francis Chan speaks to students at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta during the Passion 2012 conference on Jan. 4, 2012.

Many Christians have lost their edge — their radical, burning fire for Christ, says preacher and author Francis Chan, a firm believer that while family is important, the mission of the Kingdom of God should come first.

In a video message recently shared by ChurchLeaders.com, Chan says that after many Christians get married they place Christ’s mission on the back burner, spending their days in the bubble of relationships, children and the comfort of security. The preacher challenges married Christians to stoke the flames of their passion for Christ and his work, and to step out of their comfort zones to take more risks to further His Kingdom.

Chan, who’s been married to his wife, Lisa, for over 20 years and has seven children, asks, “Could I be an example of someone who’s married and has kids and is still thinking ‘Kingdom first?'” He adds, “Your mission with the Lord doesn’t end when you get married,” giving examples of how when people date, or get married, or have children their focus tends to shift from standing on the frontlines for Christ to pouring the majority of their time and energy into nurturing and protecting their relationship, family and security.

“… It’s not about going out in the harvest and being a worker [anymore]. It’s about ‘let’s protect our family now … let’s keep us safe. Let’s find some gated community and keep them all in our house — away from all the bad people.’ There’s no excuse for that.”

The preacher says that the mentality of only worrying about oneself and one’s family causes believers, and even their children, to miss out on life.

“That’s why so many of the kids, when they turn 18, they just ditch God altogether,” says Chan. “Because they didn’t see anything real in your life. They didn’t see that [sense of] adventure, and you didn’t put yourself in positions where God had to come through — and then [when] He comes through and your whole family is going, ‘Wow, that was amazing! I am never going to leave that God.’ No, you just create a little bubble for yourself … how is God even going to operate in that?”

Chan wants Christians to “surrender our lives” to take risks for Christ and to be examples of living by faith.

He knows a thing or two about stepping out on faith and taking risks. The Christian Post reported in 2010 how Chan and his wife left the security of leading their California megachurch to surrender to God and allow Him to send them anywhere and have them do anything.

The preacher is saddened by how some Christians often choose security over the uncertainties that may come with furthering Christ’s mission. “Not only are you missing out on life, but we are turning away our children by the droves because our lives are not the adventure that they see in Scripture, and they are not experiencing the Holy Spirit,” says Chan. “They’re experiencing like a Christian version of the American dream that’s watered down and we’re just making excuses for, really, idolizing our families rather than really putting Christ and the mission first.”

Follow me on Twitter: @kevindonporter

Source : Christian Post

Pope Francis to Wash Feet of Male, Female Refugees on Holy Thursday

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Pope Francis to Wash Feet of Male, Female Refugees on Holy Thursday

Pope Francis (Photo: REUTERS/Edgard Garrido)

Christian Post Report – Pope Francis waves to the crowd while arriving to celebrate Mass in San Cristobal de las Casas, February 15, 2016.

Pope Francis has announced he will be washing the feet of both male and female refugees on Holy Thursday.

Twelve refugees, both women and men, will be participating in the event tomorrow at an asylum center in Castelnuovo di Porto, outside of Rome.

The annual event is meant to symbolize Jesus’ washing of the twelve disciples’ feet prior to his crucifixion.

As the Associated Press reports, since becoming the leader of the Roman Catholic Church in 2013, Pope Francis has been open about his desire to wash the feet of unorthodox recipients.

While in the past, the tradition has been reserved for male-only members of the Catholic Church, Francis has branched out and washed the feet of women and Muslims.

Earlier this year, Francis officially changed the Catholic law to allow men, women, girls and boys to participate in feet washing ceremonies.

There is also a possibility that Francis could wash the feet of non-Catholics during Thursday’s event, as the asylum center is home to a majority of non-Christians, the AP adds.

Archbishop Rino Fisichella, president of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization, announced the event in the L’Osservatore Romano newspaper.

“We can understand the symbolic value intended by Pope Francis’ visit to the CARA in Castelnuovo di Porto and his bending down to wash the feet of refugees,” the archibishop wrote. “His actions mean to tell us that it is important to pay due attention to the weakest in this historic moment; that we are all called to restore their dignity without resorting to subterfuge. We are urged to look forward to Easter with the eyes of those who make of their faith a life lived in service to those whose faces bear signs of suffering and violence.”

Fisichella added that because several of the asylum’s occupants are not Catholic, “this gesture by Pope Francis takes on even more eloquence.”

“It points to respect as the royal road to peace. Respect means being aware that there is another person beside me. A person who walks with me, suffers with me, rejoices with me. A person whom, one day, I may one day lean on for support. By washing the feet of refugees, Pope Francis implores respect for each one of them,” the pope added.

The pontiff announced in January that he had changed church rules to allow women and girls to participate in the foot-washing ritual, a move that was backed by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The USCCB said on its website that the decision to include both genders is “an understandable way of accentuating the evangelical command of the Lord, ‘who came to serve and not to be served,’ that all members of the Church must serve one another in love.”

Last Holy Thursday, the pope washed the feet of 12 prisoners, as well as a baby, at Rome’s main prison.

After washing and kissing each foot, Francis said in a speech that the purpose of the ritual is to show that Jesus’ forgiveness and purity is open to all people.

“Even I need to be cleansed by the Lord,” he said during the April 2015 speech. “And for this, pray during this Mass, so that the Lord also washes my filth also, so that I become more slave-like in the service of people as Jesus did.”

Source : Christian Post

Brussels Suicide Bombers Are Brothers; Key ISIS Recruiter, Bomb Maker Still Not Captured

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Brussels Suicide Bombers Are Brothers; Key ISIS Recruiter, Bomb Maker Still Not Captured

brussels bomber (Photo: Reuters/Belgian Federal Police)

Christian Post Report – A young man in a hat caught on CCTV pushing a luggage trolley at Belgium’s Zaventem airport alongside two others who, investigators said, had later blown themselves up in the terminal.

BRUSSELS – Belgium’s chief prosecutor named two brothers on Wednesday as Islamic State suicide bombers who killed at least 31 people in the most deadly attacks in Brussels’ history but said another key suspect was on the run.

Tuesday’s attacks on a city that is home to the European Union and NATO sent shockwaves across Europe and around the world, with authorities racing to review security at airports and on public transport. It also rekindled debate about lagging European security cooperation and flaws in police surveillance.

The federal prosecutor told a news conference that Ibrahim El Bakraoui, 29, one of two men who blew themselves up at Brussels airport on Tuesday, had left a will on a computer dumped in a rubbish bin near the militants’ hideout.

In it, he described himself as “always on the run, not knowing what to do anymore, being hunted everywhere, not being safe any longer and that if he hangs around, he risks ending up next to the person in a cell” – a reference to suspected Paris bomber Salah Abdeslam, who was arrested last week.

His brother Khalid El Bakraoui, 27, detonated a bomb an hour later on a crowded rush-hour metro train near the European Commission headquarters, prosecutor Frederic Van Leeuw said.

Both men, born in Belgium, had criminal records for armed robbery but investigators had not linked them to Islamist militants until Abdeslam’s arrest, when police began a race against time to track down his suspected accomplices.

That seems to have prompted the bombers to rush into an attack in Belgium after months of lying low, according to the testament found on the laptop.

At least 31 people were killed and 271 wounded in the attacks, the prosecutor said. That toll could increase further because some of the bomb victims at Maelbeek metro station were blown to pieces and victims are hard to identify. Several survivors were still in critical condition.

The Bakraoui brothers were identified by their fingerprints and on security cameras, the prosecutor said. A second suicide bomber at the airport had yet to be identified and a third man, whom he did not name, left the biggest bomb and ran out of the terminal before the explosions.

Belgian media named that man as Najim Laachraoui, 25, a suspected Islamic State recruiter and bomb-maker whose DNA was found on two explosives belts used in last November’s Paris attacks and at a Brussels safe house used by Abdeslam before his arrest last Friday.

Some media reported he had been captured in the Brussels borough of Anderlecht on Wednesday morning, but they later said the person detained was not Laachraoui.

Khalid El Bakraoui rented under a false name the apartment in the city’s Forest borough, where police hunting Abdeslam killed a gunman in a raid last week. He is also believed to have rented a safe house in the southern Belgian city of Charleroi used to mount the Paris attacks.

brussels explosion (Photo: Reuters/Yorick Jansens/Pool)

Broken windows of the terminal at Brussels airport are seen during a ceremony following bomb attacks in Brussels in Zaventem, Belgium, March 23, 2016.

“BLACK DAYS”

The Syrian-based Islamist group claimed responsibility for Tuesday’s attacks, warning of “black days” for those fighting it in Syria and Iraq. Belgian warplanes have joined the coalition in the Middle East, but Brussels has long been a hub of Islamist militants who operated elsewhere.

A minute’s silence was observed across Belgium at noon. Prime Minister Charles Michel cancelled a trip to China and reviewed security measures with his inner cabinet before attending a memorial event at European Commission headquarters with King Philippe, Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and French Prime Minister Manuel Valls.

“We are determined, admittedly with a strong feeling of pain in our stomachs, but determined to act,” Michel told a joint news conference with Valls. “France and Belgium are united in pain more than ever.”

Valls played down cross-border sniping over security, saying: “We must turn the page on naivete, a form of carefreeness that our societies have known.

“It is Europe that has been attacked. The response to terrorism must be European.”

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Source : Christian Post

Messianic Soldiers in ‘Spiritual Desert’ of Israeli Army Sharing Their Faith in Christ More Than Ever Before

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Messianic Soldiers in ‘Spiritual Desert’ of Israeli Army Sharing Their Faith in Christ More Than Ever Before

IDF Soldiers (Photo: REUTERS)

Christian Post Report – Caracal soldiers in the IDF on a 20k march in this May 2014 photo.

Messianic Jewish soldiers in the Israel Defense Forces are growing bolder and more open about their faith in Christ with their fellow soldiers and officers, a survey has found, despite daily challenges of living 24/7 around unbelievers and trials resisting the “pleasures of the world.”

The survey, released on March 1, was conducted by Kehila News Israel in cooperation with several local ministries that organize soldier conferences and Bible studies for the hundreds of Messianic soldiers currently serving in the IDF.

The results, based on the responses of 69 active duty IDF soldiers from a total population of several hundred Messianic soldiers, found that there is a clear openness about Yeshua (Jesus) in the army – as much as 96 percent said that their fellow soldiers know about their faith, in addition to 78 percent of their commanders and officers.

KNI said that the survey results showed that Messianic soldiers received a “largely supportive and pluralistic reaction,” from their fellow soldiers and officers, with 64 percent of Messianic soldiers receiving a “positive” response when they shared their faith; 22 percent faced an “indifferent” response, and only 14 percent encountered a “negative” response.

“Contrary to what older Israeli believers remember of their army experience, very few Messianic soldiers today face significant discrimination or persecution,” KNI reported.

The news agency pointed out that Messianic soldiers face big dangers alongside their fellow soldiers, such as terror attacks, but are focused on defending Israel and its citizens.

The Christian Post reached out to one former Messianic IDF soldier and one who currently serves in the army to get their reactions to the survey, as well as their experiences as believers in the army.

Daniel, who requested only his first name be used, now works at a Messianic congregation in Jerusalem with kids ages 10-12 and with youth 12-18. He is involved in ministry to soldiers through a volunteer group preparing conferences every two to three months.

Daniel told CP that he finished his army service a little over two years ago, and experienced various reactions to his faith.

“I do think it is important to know the difference between accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior and accepting people who believe in Jesus. The fact that more and more people are accepting Messianic people, doesn’t mean they accept Jesus into their lives,” he said.

“What is great though is that a lot of people in Israel are starting to hear about Jesus and ‘Messianic people,’ and it’s great because seeds are being planted,” he added, noting that the growing number of openly Messianic soldiers now helps others to also share and live out their faith.

Daniel reflected that despite the growing acceptance, followers of Jesus will always experience challenges.
“If you don’t have challenges, you are probably doing something wrong,” he said.

He shared that some of the things he hears that kids are being taught in school are “amazingly far from the word of God,” and if those kids oppose such teachings, they also face challenges.

“We can see that from a small age, kids are being taught that homosexuality is ok, they are being taught more about evolution than about the Bible. The problem is that kids spend most of their day in school, being influenced by false teaching, if not from teachers, then from their friends,” he continued.

“How many hours are they influenced by the truth at home? Not enough, and this is a big challenge, for them, for the parents and for the church.”

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Source : Christian Post

ISIS Plans to Crucify Captured Catholic Priest on Good Friday, Online Rumors Claim

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ISIS Plans to Crucify Captured Catholic Priest on Good Friday, Online Rumors Claim

<b>Christian Post Report</b> – Father Tom Uzhunnalil” title=”<b>Christian Post Report</b> – Father Tom Uzhunnalil” name=”jpg” src=”http://images.christianpost.com/full/95168/father-tom-uzhunnalil.jpg” class=”imgPhoto” width=”550″ height=”450″ /> <small class=(Photo: Facebook/ Tom Uzhunnalil)

Christian Post Report – Father Tom Uzhunnalil

Christians throughout the world fear that a Salesian priest who was kidnapped during a deadly attack in Yemen earlier this month might be executed by Islamic State jihadists on Good Friday, following an unconfirmed online report from the Franciscan Sisters of Siessen.

Christian Post Report – Father Tom Uzhunnalil is believed to have been kidnapped by IS (also known as ISIS or ISIL) during an attack at a Missionaries of Charity-run retirement home in Aden, Yemen, on March 4. During the attack, the militants killed 16 people, including four nuns.

After the attack no traces of Uzhunnalil were found, but a neighbor reportedly witnessed militants taking the priest and driving away with him in a car.

Several posts on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook have stated that IS has not only tortured Uzhunnalil but also plans to execute and crucify him on Good Friday, a holiday meant to commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

Although the rumors have not yet been confirmed, a Facebook post by the South African-based Franciscan Sisters of Siessen on Sunday likely added to the social media frenzy.

“Was informed that the Salesian priest, Fr.Tom who was kidnapped by ISIS from the Missionaries of Charity Home in Yemen is being tortured and is going to be crucified on Good Friday,” the post states. “This calls for serious concerted prayers from all of us. Can we all pray 3 ‘I Believe for the conversion of people who are persecuting Christians’ & 3 Hail Marys for Fr. Tom.”

As Uzhunnalil is from Kerala, India, and has been serving the mission in Yemen for the past four years, a spokesman for the Salesian province in Bangalore said that the order has received “absolutely no information” about the allegations that Uzhunnalil will be executed, adding that “no one has claimed responsibility.”

“These are all rumors,” Father Mathew Valarkot told UCA News.

Although Sister Sally, a nun who survived the March 4 attack, claimed in her account of the incident that the attackers were men from IS, Valarkot reiterated that no one has yet to claim responsibility for the attack and added that the Salesians have constantly pressured the government for answers.

“When no one has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping, how do we know other detail,” he said. “But even today we do not know who has taken him and what their motives are because no one has claimed responsibility.”

Valarkot further urged “we need to be patient with the system.” He explained that an Indian Jesuit who was kidnapped by Islamic extremists in Afghanistan was released after nine months thanks to efforts from the Indian government.

In her eyewitness account, Sally told of how she witnessed militants killing fellow nuns and employees of the retirement home. She explained that the militants killed most of their victims by shooting them in the head and smashing their heads.

Sally also said prior to the attack, Uzhunnalil had told the nuns to “be ready for martyrdom.”

Although IS has not explicitly claimed responsibility for the attack, the group has claimed responsibility for a number of attacks in Aden, including the assassination of the city’s governor and a suicide bombing that killed 11.

Follow Samuel Smith on Twitter: @IamSamSmith

Source : Christian Post

Saddleback Church to Hold 57 Easter Services With Goal to Reach 50,000 People This Weekend

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Saddleback Church to Hold 57 Easter Services With Goal to Reach 50,000 People This Weekend

<b>Christian Post Report</b> – Pastor Rick Warren stands on stage at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif. The megachurch this month is launching three international campuses, one in Hong Kong, Buenos Aires, and Berlin.” title=”<b>Christian Post Report</b> – Pastor Rick Warren stands on stage at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif. The megachurch this month is launching three international campuses, one in Hong Kong, Buenos Aires, and Berlin.” name=”jpg” src=”http://images.christianpost.com/full/65368/pastor-rick-warren-stands-on-stage-at-saddleback-church-in-lake-forest-calif-the-megachurch-this-month-is-launching-three-international-campuses-one-in-hong-kong-buenos-aires-and-berlin.jpg” class=”imgPhoto” width=”550″ height=”450″ /> <small class=(Photo: Saddleback Church)

Christian Post Report – Pastor Rick Warren stands on stage at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif. The megachurch this month is launching three international campuses, one in Hong Kong, Buenos Aires, and Berlin.

Saddleback Church in Southern California, founded by best-selling author Pastor Rick Warren, is hoping to reach 50,000 people through a massive multi-campus Easter celebration this coming weekend.

Warren will deliver the Easter sermons for all 57 services offered at 16 campuses, including ten locations in Southern California, as well as international gatherings in Berlin, Hong Kong, Buenos Aires, and South Manila.

Those who cannot attend a service are encouraged to view one through the online campus.

The first service will take place at the church’s main campus in Lake Forest on Thursday, and Warren’s sermon will then be broadcasted to all other locations throughout the weekend.

Nebai Cherrick, the marketing coordinator at Saddleback, told The Christian Post on Tuesday that the goal of the megachurch is to reach 50,000 people over Easter weekend.

>In addition to the Easter services, several of Saddleback’s campuses are offering a variety of activities depending on the location.

One of the services on Sunday at the Lake Forest location will include a gathering outside so congregants may watch the “sunrise outdoors on Easter morning as you enjoy music and an inspiring message.”

At the Aliso Viejo campus, children will be invited to participate in an Easter Egg hunt following service on Sunday at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m, while at the Los Angeles campus, additional fun activities will be offered, including a photo booth, bounce house, cotton candy, popcorn machines, and snow cones.

At the church’s Rancho Capistrano location, congregants are invited to attend a free, 30-minute “Journey with Jesus” guided tour this Saturday, where they may view Christ’s death and resurrection through a series of art installations, beginning with His annointing and ending with resurrection.

Cherrick tells CP that as is typical of Easter Sunday mass, attendees will be invited to give their lives to Jesus during the service, and baptisms will be held immediately after.

The Saddleback worship band has also recently released a new EP titled “First,” the music from which will be performed live by each campuses’ own worship band over the weekend.

Warren is expected to launch his new “Miracle of Mercy” series this Easter, a new sermon series that he says may be the “most important, life-changing series he’s ever taught.”

As stated on the Saddleback website, the new series seeks to show Christians “how to receive God’s mercy and reflect his mercy to others.”

“God’s number one characteristic throughout the Bible is mercy. His mercy heals broken hearts, reconciles relationships, restores forgotten dreams, and refreshes tired souls. It’s the cure to every insecurity, worry, and fear,” the website says.

Warren also wrote a special pre-Easter message posted to Saddleback’s website that discusses the personal importance of his new series.

“Do you ever find yourself discouraged, or depressed, or defeated or maybe even devastated by the circumstances in your life? If so, let me take 90 seconds to encourage you about the pathway, the hope, the change, and the transformation that I’ve found in the Easter story of the Resurrection of Jesus,” he says in the video.

Warren goes on to say that the Easter season has special significance in his own life because three years ago, his youngest son, Matthew, committed suicide five days after Easter Sunday.

The pastor says it is through God’s mercy that he and his wife, Kay, along with their family, have been able to persevere through their suffering following Matthew’s death.

Warren adds that in light of this mercy, he will be introducing his new series, saying that Easter Sunday represents a day of “hope, joy and victory,” adding that the only way Christians will deal with their days of pain and suffering is through God’s mercy.

“When you come to Saddleback you’ll find a welcome hand, a warm greeting and smile, unconditional love no matter who you are, and the message of God’s mercy, and that’s going to strengthen you, it’s going to encourage you, and it’s going to transform your life,” Warren says.

Source : Christian Post

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