NFL Player Torrey Smith Calls on Prayer Warriors for Wife in Midst of Pregnancy Complications

-
0
NFL Player Torrey Smith Calls on Prayer Warriors for Wife in Midst of Pregnancy Complications

<b>Christian Post Report</b> – 49ers Wide Receiver Torrey Smith with his wife, Chanel.” title=”<b>Christian Post Report</b> – 49ers Wide Receiver Torrey Smith with his wife, Chanel.” name=”png” src=”http://images.christianpost.com/full/94512/49ers-wide-receiver-torrey-smith-with-his-wife-chanel.png” class=”imgPhoto” width=”550″ height=”450″ /> <small class=(Photo: Instagram/Torrey Smith)

Christian Post Report – 49ers Wide Receiver Torrey Smith with his wife, Chanel.

Christian NFL player Torrey Smith opens up about his wife’s pregnancy complications in a blog post titled Prayers Up that he wrote on Monday.

Smith, a wide receiver for the San Francisco 49ers, detailed his family’s health scare, explaining that the recent experience and the strength of his wife encouraged him to share his news with the public.

The professional athlete shares that following routine testing for his wife’s second pregnancy, doctors discovered that she had a 1 in 25 chance of giving birth to a child with Trisomy 18, a genetic abnormality caused by an extra 18th chromosome.

As Smith explains on his blog, the condition can result in developmental delays and death for the infant, as well as endangering the health of the mother.

After receiving a phone call from his wife’s doctor, Smith says that he and his family were faced with an extremely difficult decision: to carry a child with Trisomy 18 and risk the infant’s death before or during birth.

“It was easily the hardest conversation I’ve ever been a part of. What do you do? Do you go forward knowing the outcome will be a miscarriage or death shortly after birth all while putting your life in danger? Or do you terminate the pregnancy?” Smith asks. “Anyone who knows me knows how I feel about abortions. I think that it should only happen in extreme situations … not because a couple was negligent in practicing safe sex.”

Although the circumstance is proving to be a very trying time for Smith and his wife, Chanel, the professional athlete explains that it also shows him the strength and courage of his “queen.”

“My wife is fearless waiting for the final test results. I never knew my admiration for her could grow any more than it did the day she gave birth to Torrey. My queen is the ____! She has been working hard trying to manage our charity basketball game, foundation, teaching little Torrey and working on her master’s degree. She is special!” Smith exclaims, referencing the couple’s first child, Torrey.

Ultimately, the couple received happy news, learning after subsequent testing that their baby did not in fact have Trisomy 18.

Smith clarifies that he and his family are not out of the woods yet, as there could still be another, unidentified issue with the pregnancy given the abnormal testing results.

“Truth be told, we have no clue what’s going on with our child. It could be absolutely nothing. I do know that we are ready for whatever may come and my wife is leading the way. The prayer warriors have been working for us and we appreciate it,” Smith adds.

“God wouldn’t put us in a situation that we couldn’t handle. We have been drawing strength from him and those around us. Now we are praying that our little fighter continues to grow and we can meet him. I’m praying for life, not for his health. A disability doesn’t make you unhealthy; it just means you may have different challenges. We all have challenges, and we are ready for ours that will soon come. Prayers Up for Kameron!”

Source : Christian Post

Archaeology Discovery: 93-Mile Wall in Jordan Dates Back to Pre-Roman Times

-
0
Archaeology Discovery: 93-Mile Wall in Jordan Dates Back to Pre-Roman Times

Pope John Paul II (Photo: Reuters/Pool/Arturo Mari)

Christian Post Report – Pope John Paul II stands on top of Mount Nebo, Jordan, March 20, 2000, where tradition says Moses first glimpsed the Promised Land.

Archaeologists in Jordan have announced that a mysterious 230 km (93 mile) wall discovered in Jordan likely dates back to the pre-Roman era.

The wall, named Khatt Shebib by locals, was originally discovered by plane in 1948, but archaeologists are just now beginning to study its construction and intricate details.

Recent photos taken by the Aerial Photographic Archive for Archaeology in the Middle East have revealed that the large wall actually consists of individual walls branching off into their own routes.

Other parts of the wall have double structures running parallel to each other, implying that they served an extra protection purpose.

David Kennedy, a researcher from the University of Western Australia who is overseeing the wall’s excavation, told Haaretz that aerial photography has played an important role in learning more about the ancient structure and dating it to pre-Roman times.

“Mapping it on the ground would be a huge exercise in view of its length, and in places it has been destroyed, so old aerial photographs are especially useful,” Kennedy told the media outlet.

As Haaretz reports, there have been numerous theories as to why the wall was built in the first place. Initially, researchers suggested that the structure was made as a defense fortress, but more recent studies have debunked this theory, arguing that the rugged terrain surrounding the wall would not make it an optimal area to protect in the first place.

Kennedy told Haaretz that he believes the wall was used as a border of some sort, possibly for farming or herding.

“I think the best explanation is that it was a demarcation of some kind, between a region of farming and that of herding,” Kennedy said, adding that the wall could have even served as a marker for where farming was possible in the otherwise barren landscape.

Aerial imaging of the wall also proves beneficial, as much of the structure is in disrepair, Kennedy wrote in an archaeology journal earlier in February along with Rebecca Banks, a research assistant at Oxford University.

“If we add the spurs and stretches of parallel wall, the total [wall length] may be about 150 km (93 miles),” Kennedy wrote in the Zeitschrift für Orient-Archäologie journal, as reported by LiveScience, adding that “even in [the wall’s] original state, it cannot have been much more than a meter (3.3 feet) high and perhaps half a meter (1.6 feet) wide.”

Kennedy added to LiveScience that along with serving as a demarcation, the wall likely served as a place of shelter for traveling hunters.

“Some [parts of the wall] may have been places of refuge — a secure place to overnight. Others may have been [used] as watch posts. Some, perhaps, [were] places in which hunters could hide until browsing fauna was close enough to try and bring down,” the archaeologist said.

According to The Examiner, Kennedy has studied another mysterious structure in Jordan, known as the “Big Circles” that measure 1,000 feet across.

The structures, which are man-made, were discovered in the 1920’s but have since been studied by Kennedy and his team. Their purpose and the date of their build remain undetermined.

Source : Christian Post

‘Allah Ordered Me’ to Behead 4-Year-Old Girl, Muslim Nanny Says

-
0
‘Allah Ordered Me’ to Behead 4-Year-Old Girl, Muslim Nanny Says

Gulchekhra Bobokulova (Photo: Reuters)

Christian Post Report – Gulchekhra Bobokulova, a nanny form Uzbekistan, is accused of beheading a child in Moscow on February 29, 2016.

A Muslim nanny from Uzbekistan who earlier this week beheaded a 4-year-old girl in Moscow has said that “Allah ordered” her to commit the murder.

BBC News reported that 38-year-old mother of three Gulchekhra Bobokulova admitted her guilt before reporters on the way to a Moscow court, though she is also being evaluated for mental problems.

Bobokulova is suspected of waiting until the parents of the little girl left their flat in the Russian capital before she killed and then beheaded the young child. Video footage later depicted the nanny walking around a metro station with the severed head in her hands, before she was arrested by police.

Footage also showed the woman shouting phrases like “Allahu Akbar” (God is great) and “I am a terrorist.” She later told reporters she was “ordered by Allah” to carry out the crime.

Other things she was apparently heard saying included “I hate democracy. I’m a terrorist. I’m your suicide bomber. … I’m going to die in a second” and “The end of the world is coming in a second. … I’m your death,” teleSUR reported.

Police have said that the woman also threatened to blow herself up after they asked her for identity documents.

Russian investigators are searching to see if anyone else was involved in the crime, but so far they are not treating it as a terrorism case.

Prosecutors said they believe Bobokulova had been “incited” to commit the crime, but did not say by who.

The woman had been working for the parents of the little girl for 18 months, and though she had a valid residency permit for Russia, she had no work permit.

Russian journalist Polina Nikolskaya, who witnessed the scene, told Reuters: “I was on my way to the metro station from home. She was standing near the metro entrance and caught my attention because she was screaming Allahu Akbar. I saw that she had a bloodied head in her arms but I thought it was not real. People in the crowd said it was real.”

Other reports in local media have said that the nanny was under the influence of unidentified drugs when she was walking the streets and yelling with the severed head.

Moscow residents have meanwhile been leaving toys and flowers at the Oktyabrskoye Polye metro station in honor of the girl, as well as outside the flat where she was murdered.

Source : Christian Post

Selena Gomez Performs at Hillsong Church Concert; Says Relationship With God Is Greater Than Anything

-
0
Selena Gomez Performs at Hillsong Church Concert; Says Relationship With God Is Greater Than Anything

Selena Gomez REUTERS / Luke MacGregor

Christian Post Report – Actress Selena Gomez arrives for the “Louis Vuitton Series 3” Exhibition gala opening in London, Britain September 20, 2015.

While the mainstream media has typically focused on Selena Gomez’s romantic relationships, the singer is expressing the importance of a relationship with God.

The 23-year-old singer took part in Hillsong Church’s Young & Free Revival Concert in Los Angeles, California last week, where she sang her song “Nobody.” She let those in attendance know that she was there to glorify God.

“Tonight is more than a concert, it’s more than Hillsong, it’s more than me coming on stage, singing a song for you,” she told the audience, according to E! reports. “It’s about a relationship that is greater than anything, guaranteed.”

In a Twitter question-and-answer session last year, one fan asked the 23-year-old singer what the song “Nobody” was about.

“God,” Gomez answered simply. “Nobody is about Him.”

Gomez is a regular attendee of some of the Hillsong church branches across the U.S. She previously spoke to Breathecast about her favorite worship music coming from Hillsong United, the church’s worship music band.

One of the band’s singer-songwriters Brooke Fraser happens to be one of Gomez’s favorites. Fraser has written popular songs like “Hosanna” and “Soon” for the band.

“I love Brooke Fraser. She’s my favorite and I have the pleasure of knowing her and she’s incredible,” Gomez said. “I’ve always loved her music.”

Gomez also spoke about her love for Hillsong United as a whole.

“I love all of their worship, I’m a sucker for all of it,” she said.

While Gomez is a Christian, she has starred in movies like “Hotel Transylvania” that centers around the theme of monsters and vampires. She acknowledges to Breathecast that other Christians may not agree with her being part of this kind of movie, but she stands by her decision.

“Now for me I respect people (and) whatever boundaries they set for themselves. So I’m more lenient towards that. I am Christian, so I understand,” she said. “For me it’s just ultimately about what it is.”

The former Disney star has also been outspoken about her faith on social media in the past. Last year, the singer made sure to tell the world how great her pastors are.

“Proof that my pastors are cool,” the singer wrote on Facebook last year. “Words can’t describe how incredible they are. So grateful!”

Source : Christian Post

Voice of the Martyrs Launches ‘I Am N’ Campaign to Raise Awareness About Persecuted Christians Worldwide

-
0
Voice of the Martyrs Launches ‘I Am N’ Campaign to Raise Awareness About Persecuted Christians Worldwide

Voice of the Martyrs (Photo: Twitter/Voice of the Martyrs/I Am N)

Christian Post Report – I Am N is a campaign launched by Voice of the Martyrs designed to help raise awareness of persecuted Christians.

In an effort to raise awareness of persecuted Christians around the world, Voice of the Martyrs, a nonprofit that’s provided practical and spiritual help for persecuted believers since the 1960s, launched the I Am N campaign Tuesday.

I Am N kicked off with 24 hours of prayer for persecuted Christians, and a social media push that shared images of those who are suffering around the globe — all in an effort to help citizens of the world realize that Christian persecution isn’t simply something that happens “over there,” and to give the suffering a face by associating the names and faces of real people.

“When Christians learn about their brothers and sisters around the world, they’re inspired by that to stand with them … ” said Jason Peters, associate vice president of connection for VOM, to The Christian Post Tuesday. “We are their voice.”

Peters practices what he preaches, traveling the world to see and hear the stories of persecuted Christians and to provide assistance however he and VOM can. He knows firsthand that seeing the faces of those who are suffering only deepens a sense of connection and compassion for them, and raises an awareness that followers of Christ are one body. Peters illustrates that point with the analogy that an injury to a finger doesn’t affect the finger alone, but the body as a whole shares in the suffering.

“If you’re a follower of Christ, you’re my brother. It doesn’t matter if we know each other or not because we’re in the same family,” he told CP.

The I Am N campaign not only raises awareness of Christian persecution via social media, but VOM’s ministry partners Integrity Music and David C. Cook also offer an I Am N album, which acts as a soundtrack for the movement and features artists like Sons & Daughters, The Brilliance, Israel and New Breed, Lincoln Brewster, New Life Worship, WorshipMob, Rend Collective, and new artist Greg Sykes, to name a few. There’s also an I Am N book and curriculum available.

The movement has already raised $5 million and all net proceeds from the sale of I Am N resources go directly to help Christians facing Islamic extremists, according to the campaign’s website.

Voice of the Martyrs(Photo: Twitter/Voice of the Martyrs/I Am N)Christian Post Report – I Am N is a campaign launched by Voice of the Martyrs designed to help raise awareness of persecuted Christians.

In addition to helping to raise awareness of Christian persecution by retweeting @VOM_USA or @VOMC’s evocative images, interested individuals can support the cause by visiting VOM’s website and purchasing an Action Pack to be distributed to Pakistan, Iraq or Sudan, or they can make a monetary donation.

Individuals can also make a contribution that requires no money at all through Adopt a Frontline Worker. “There’s no money [involved]. … We tell you their story and we give you their picture … and you pray for them. It’s that simple.”

The name I Am N thumbs its nose in the face of the so-called Islamic State. In the terror group’s efforts to gain recruits and eradicate Christians, IS militants travel throughout villages on a witch hunt for followers of Christ. Homes and businesses identified as Christian are marked with the Arabic letter “N,” which is short for Nazarene — a follower of Jesus of “Nazareth.” The Christians are forced to leave the village, convert to Islam, or die. Therefore, I Am N is a bold proclamation of one’s unwavering stand for Christ.

Founded in 1967 by Pastor Richard Wurmbrand, who himself was imprisoned for 14 years in Communist Romania for his belief in Christ, Voice of the Martyrs wants persecuted Christians worldwide to know that their brothers and sisters in Christ stand with them.

The organization operates based on Hebrews 13:3: “Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body.”

To learn how you can join the I Am N movement, or help in any way you can, go to i-am-n.com, or visit persecution.com.

Email me: [email protected]
Follow me on Twitter: @kevindonporter

Source : Christian Post

Did Candace Cameron Bure Lower Christian Standards for ‘Fuller House’?

-
0
Did Candace Cameron Bure Lower Christian Standards for ‘Fuller House’?

Candace Cameron Bure (Photo: Instagram/CandacecBure)

Christian Post Report – Andrea Barber, Jodie Sweetin, and Candace Cameron Bure pose on the set of “Fuller House”, 2016.

“Fuller House” made its season one debut on Netflix Feb 26. with 13 episodes that reunited most of the original “Full House” cast. The sitcom spin-off is receiving a lot of heat from evangelicals who were hoping Candace Cameron Bure’s Christian values would keep the show family-friendly.

“Fuller house” is centered around Bure’s character, DJ Tanner, who is a recently widowed mother of three boys. Her sister Stephanie offers to move in and help her raise her sons, and Kimmy, her best friend, also moves in with her teenage daughter Romona.

The 13 short episodes take viewers on a ride of family, motherhood, the party life and dating.

Although family focused, there is a lot of reference to alcohol and crude humor. Bure’s character is also eventually caught in a love triangle, which has the actress locking lips with multiple men quite often.

While perusing through Bure’s Facebook page, it’s evident that some of the actress’ fans are taken back by “Fuller House” and the heavy adult content.

“We were promised over and over again that this would be the ‘family friendly’ show that we loved in the original ‘Full House,'” one Facebook user wrote.

“‘Fuller House’ is disappointing. There were some good points, but sadly, they were overshadowed by the very ugly parts,” another added.

In episode 12 of the spin off, Stephanie and Kimmy deliberately share a girl-on-girl kiss, while earlier in the same episode DJ’s two love interest Matt and Steve also accidentally kiss each other. The same-sex affection has people up in arms.

“I waited a long time to watch this and I was so excited, but the gay/lesbian act scenes uh NO..the profanity used, and the lack of clothing on some were just a huge disappointment..If you’re going to state youre a Christian then you can’t live in a world of sin and act like it’s ok,” a comment on Bure’s social media read.

Someone else said, “Disappointed, only because I definitely can not watch it with my children. Clothing, drinking, it is just too much for us.”

Not everyone shared in the disappointment, however, with many celebrating the show and reminiscing about their childhood. These “Fuller House” fans also blasted the critical Christians for making everything in the show a big deal.

“I am not watching this show being judgmental and searching for DJ Tanner to be religious, I’m watching this for nostalgia, to see who the girls have become and watching a cast genuinely happy to reunite,” another commenter argued.

In the past, Bure has addressed critics who’ve bashed her for not being their idea of “Christian enough.”

“‘I’m too religious, I’m not Godly enough, I’m too thin now, I’m not very humble, I’ve had too much plastic surgery, My brother Kirk is a better Christian than me, I’m too worldly, I’m too conservative, I’m not modest enough, I’m a show-off.’ Those are just a few of the types of comments I get no matter what I share, what photo I post or what I say,” Bure said in a blog posted in 2014.

In the past, the California native delighted fans with her modest stance on “Dancing with the Stars” Season 18, after re-emerging back in the mainstream spotlight. “The View” co-host also regularly argues from a conservative standpoint on the hit ABC daytime talk show for which she regularly receives praises from her Christian fans.

Source : Christian Post

United Cry DC16 Calls on 30,000 Christian Leaders Go to Washington to Pray for America’s Future

-
0
United Cry DC16 Calls on 30,000 Christian Leaders Go to Washington to Pray for America’s Future

Easter sunrise service (Photo: Reuters/Jim Bourg)

Christian Post Report – Participants in an Easter Sunday sunrise Christian religious service stand on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, April 5, 2015. Organizers said a record crowd estimated at 8,900 attended the annual service in its 37th year.

Prayer is essential to the life of a believer, and this spring United Cry DC16 is an event that hopes to inspire 30,000 believers to come together to pray for the well-being of the nation.

Just as there is strength in numbers, there is strength in those who come together to pray and seek Christ, as evidenced by Matthew 18:20: “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”

That biblical principle is one of the driving forces behind United Cry DC16, a gathering intended to move people to pray for America’s future.

“Our nation is in crisis right now,” said the event’s founder, Lewis Hogan, to The Christian Post. “But my answer to that crisis is that we’re not without hope. Joel 2 is our response to the state that we find ourselves in right now, and it begins with prayer.”

Hogan believes that many of the country’s negative circumstances can begin to turn around when the nation’s spiritual leaders come together in unity and prayer.

He went on to say, “Only a united Church can help heal a divided nation. There is hope for America and prayer can make a difference.”

United Cry DC16 is Hogan’s brainchild. He’s been planning the event since January 2014, and presented DC16 last week at the NRB International Media Christian Convention in Nashville. “The last two years have been a season of praying, strategizing, and organizing for this gathering,” he explained.

As a result, United Cry DC16 is issuing a siren call to pastors, priests, churches, Christian leaders and believers — near and far — to converge upon D.C.’s Lincoln Memorial on April 9 for a “historic, multiethnic, multigenerational” seven-hour gathering to pray for the nation, and to seek God’s “forgiveness, blessing and spiritual awakening in America, and declare [that] the United States is, ‘One Nation, Under God.'”

Many faith and thought leaders will be in attendance, including Anne Graham Lotz, George Wood, Pastor Jim Garlow, Samuel Rodriguez, Doug Stringer, and Bishop Harry Jackson, to name a few.

The event’s website, unitedcry.com, states: “Calling 30,000 pastors to gather and pray for America’s future,” and that number has special meaning.

“The figure 30,000 is significant for a variety of reasons,” Hogan told CP. “One, according to the theory of the tipping point, 1 percent of the square root of any population can bring great change. In addition, there are roughly 300,000 plus churches in America. We are believing 30,000 pastors as a tithe of the churches. Furthermore, 2 Samuel 6 tells of David bringing the ark of the covenant back into Judah. When he did this, he chose 30,000 choice leaders, according to 2 Samuel 6:1.” Hogan continued, “We are believing that as pastors and leaders gather in this place of unity and humility, they will be in a posture to ask God to bring His presence to America in a mighty way.”

The date of the event is also significant in that it pays homage to April 9, 1865, the end of the strife of the American Civil War battle of Appomattox Court House, Virginia. The location is appropriately situated on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, and as President Lincoln once tried to unite a racially divided nation, one of the event’s main focuses will be repentance for racial division — and will be led by the daughter and niece of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Bernice and Alveda King, respectively.

Hogan said, “We are gathering, not to protest or complain about politics, but to honor our leaders and pastors by praying for them. We are coming with humble hearts and asking God to heal the spiritual condition of our nation.”

To learn even more about United Cry DC16 and its speakers, and to register for free, go to unitedcry.com.

Email me: [email protected]
Follow me on Twitter: @kevindonporter

Source : Christian Post

Tamera Mowry-Housley Prays Her Daughter Will Encourage Women

-
0
Tamera Mowry-Housley Prays Her Daughter Will Encourage Women

Christian Post Report – (L-R) “The Real” co-hosts Adrienne Bailon, Loni Love, Tamera Mowry-Housley, Jeannie Mai and Tamar Braxton

Tamera Mowry-Housley has been vocal about how much of a blessing her daughter is, and now the actress and talk show host says she wants to raise her child to bless others.

Mowry-Housley, the 37-year-old co-host of “The Real” talk show, is praying her 8-month-old daughter Ariah can be a champion for other women.

“This little nugget is an answer to my prayer. I will raise her to be a girls’ girl,” she wrote in an intimate Instagram post. “In the sense that we woman CAN be each other’s rock. Too many times now a days women are in competition with one other; side-eying, trying to one-up.”

Mowry-Housley said she wants to see her daughter encourage other people.

“It’s discouraging and sad. I will raise this beauty to be an encourager,” she wrote. “To be a lover. To be a blessing and to always be there.”

The Christian actress and wife of Fox News correspondent Adam Housley, previously took to Instagram to prayerfully reflect about some of her parenting goals for 2016.

“Time flies by so fast in the midst of the blissful chaos of parenting.This year I’m learning to soak in every sweet moment and take a picture of it with my mind,” she wrote. “Lord, thank you for the lil blessings you’ve given to me. Help me raise them according to your word and your glory. I’m so grateful for them and the family you’ve given me.”

The actress knows firsthand just how much prayer can impact things in her daughter’s life and revealed that one of her prayers concerning the infant has already come true.

“You have to watch what you pray for!” Mowry-Housley told People. “Ariah’s a big girl, but I love the fatness. I love to show off her rolls and I dress her in rompers for summer. She has the chubbiest legs!”

Ariah was born at 2:54 p.m. on July 1, 2015 with a weight of 10 pounds, 2 ounces and 20.5 inches, according to People magazine. She joins her 2 ½-year-old brother, Aden John Tanner Housley. The actress and co-host has not held back from publicly gushing about the joys of her baby girl.

“Those first four weeks, it’s like Groundhog Day — changing diapers and they lay there like a big blob. The moment you get that smile back though, it’s just all worth it,” Mowry-Housley told PEOPLE. “It makes me feel good as a mom, it’s been so great.”

After naming their daughter, the Housleys realized they had given her a faith-based name.

“It wasn’t until after we had decided on Ariah Talea Housley that Adam and I learned the origin and meaning of both names — they couldn’t be more appropriate for a family like ours whose faith is so very strong,” Mowry-Housley previously wrote on her website. “Both Hebrew names, Ariah means Lion of God and Talea means one who resembles the morning dew of Heaven. We couldn’t have found names with a better meaning if we had tried.”

Source : Christian Post

Will Tim Tebow Take Advice to Play in Canadian Football League?

-
0
Will Tim Tebow Take Advice to Play in Canadian Football League?

Christian Post Report – Aug 22, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Tim Tebow (11) throws during warm ups before a game against the Baltimore Ravens at Lincoln Financial Field.

Tim Tebow might be considering a move to Canada to pursue his dream of playing professional football.

Tebow, 28, won the Heisman trophy in 2007 as a University of Florida quarterback but has since struggled to find his place in the NFL. The devout Christian athlete last played in a regular season game with the New York Jets in 2012 before being picked up by the New England Patriots in 2013 where he was released before the regular season. He suffered the same fate with the Philadelphia Eagles last year.

Now, his former University of Florida coach Urban Meyer said he and Tebow are speaking about the QB playing in Canada.

“I was actually in a conversation with him about going to Canada … I think if there’s a right (opportunity) I think he’d probably do it,” Meyer tolf NFL.com last week..”He does have somewhat of an awkward throwing motion at times. I really thought the Chip Kelly experience (in Philadelphia) would be his opportunity.”

Despite needing some improvement with his throwing mechanics, Meyer said, “I really hope he gets his foot in the door.”

Myer is not the first coach to work with Tebow to mention the possibilities of him playing in Canada. Quarterback coach Steve Clarkson, who also worked with Tebow in the past, previously spoke about possible opportunities for Tebow in the CFL.

“It’s time now to maybe just reconsider a different path to his ultimate dream. Tim might want to look to the CFL because he may have run out of options in the NFL,” Clarkson told USA Today in 2013. “Sitting is not an option for Tim. He’s ultra-competitive. He needs to stick to his strength, which is being in a competitive environment.

Since football seems to be a priority for Tebow, Clarkson spoke about the importance of the Christian athlete continuing to work on his skills.

“Anyone who wants to work on their craft the way Tim does, he just needs to give himself a couple of days and really decide, ‘Is this what I want to do?’ Clearly, football is still in his blood,” he said.

Tebow, who now serves as an ESPN SEC college football analyst, has spoken about his desire to play professional football again. Still, he recognizes the importance of not idolizing the game he loves.

“We choose to idolize certain things, and love certain things,” Tebow said while speaking at benefit for the Cancer Wellness Foundation of Central Alabama back in January. “I’m not saying it’s wrong to love sports, I love them as much as anybody. But do we choose to really see what matters?”

“

Source : Christian Post

Russell Moore to Pastors: Don’t Conduct Wedding Ceremonies for Couples Living in Sin

-
0
Russell Moore to Pastors: Don’t Conduct Wedding Ceremonies for Couples Living in Sin

Christian Post Report – Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, tells attendees at the June 14 SBC Pastors’ Conference at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio, “We’re not all inked, but we’ve all been scarred.”

Leading Southern Baptist ethicist Russell Moore is encouraging pastors not to perform wedding ceremonies for couples who are not Christians and those who are living in sin simply because members of their families belong to their church or their congregation is pressuring them to do so.

Moore, who is the president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, spoke at a conference on “The Church and Sexuality” that was held at the First Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, by the state’s Baptist and Southern Baptist leaders on Monday.

Alabama.com reports that Moore told the crowd of about 500 people that pastors cannot hold non believers and those already living in sin accountable to their wedding vows if they are already not living their lives by God’s design.

“You cannot marry anyone except believers and people under the authority of Jesus Christ,” Moore explained. “Unbelievers, you cannot hold accountable to their vows.”

Moore added that pastors need to be able to resist congregational pressures to perform wedding ceremonies that they know they shouldn’t conduct.

“It takes courage not to do weddings, to say, ‘I’m not going to do that,'” Moore said.

Moore expanded by providing a hypothetical scenario in which a deacon wants the pastor of his church to marry his daughter, who the pastor knows to be living in sin outside of marriage.

The pastor still has the obligation to refuse conducting such a ceremony even though it might put he or she at odds with the deacon, Moore said.

“You’ve got a crisis,” Moore added. “Think about what’s at stake. You have to have courage to do that [take a stand].”

During his keynote address, Moore touched on the “Christian sexual ethic” by implying that if a Christian chooses to overlook the sexual morality laid out in the Bible, it is tantamount to discarding Christianity.

“If we are a Gospel people, that means our interpretation of a Christian sexual ethic is not a matter of our choosing,” Moore said. “It’s a mandate that He has given to us. If we are able to discard a Christian sexual ethic, then that means we invented it, which means we should not only discard the sexual ethic, we should discard the Christianity.”

“The texts of the Christian Scripture are very clear,” Moore said. “Marriage is designed to be a Gospel tract. It is designed to point beyond itself to the union of God and His Church.”

Moore added that God purposefully designed marriage to be a lifelong and faithful union between one man and woman.

“Adulterous unions preach a different Gospel, that Christ is not faithful to his bride. That male-female, lifelong permanent union in marriage, all these relationships are intended to point to the Gospel of Jesus Christ,”
Moore continued. “They are to train us to recognize the Gospel when we see it.”

“God’s good design is resilient. There are going to be a lot of refugees from the sexual revolution, because the sexual revolution cannot keep its promises.”

Moore acknowledged that a number of people struggle with sexual temptations and added that churches should not shun and judge those people who have crumbled to the pressure.

“There is no sinner, no matter how respectable, that is not deserving of the full measure of the judgment of God,” Moore said. “There is no sin that cannot be atoned for at the foot of the cross. Our response to sinners should not be one of disgust or condemnation. Jesus came not to condemn the world, but that through Him the world might be saved.”

Follow Samuel Smith on Twitter: @IamSamSmith

Source : Christian Post