‘Born to Win’ Movie Highlights a Teacher’s Quest to Find God

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‘Born to Win’ Movie Highlights a Teacher’s Quest to Find God
The inspirational drama “Born to Win” follows one man’s journey to find his faith as a teacher at a school for the physically disabled.<

“Born to Win” comes from the producer of the hit faith-based film “Faith Like Potatoes,” which sold over 2.2 million DVDs in 17 languages worldwide.

“Born to Win” is based on the true story of Leon Terblanche, a teacher at a school for disabled children, who found himself confronted with the question: “Where is God?” This sets him on a journey where he discovers that he has never been alone through all the hurt and brokenness of his past. Leon learns that no matter how broken you are, God is always the “only living hope.” The film shows how God turns the hurt, frustration and emptiness of a man into hope, faith and victory to inspire people to be the winners they were born to be.

The movie is targeting people who feel rejected or abandoned by their parents, with the message that no matter how broken you are, God is always our only living hope.

“I came out of ‘Born to Win’ a different man than what I was going into the film. Beyond the fact that this was my first feature film, playing the lead role, I underwent so much personal, emotional and spiritual growth that it will always be remembered as a turning point in my life,” Greg Kriek (“Momentum”) told Joy Magazine about his role as Leon Terblanche.”The movie left me no choice but to reflect on my own life on a level that I’ve never delved into before. Up until that point, even though I knew God, I was still riddled with self-doubt and wrestled with a lot of unanswered questions. It is safe to say that before we started filming, the words ‘Born to Win’ were merely words of a movie title to me, but in the end it turned out becoming God’s message to me. I learnt that even I was ‘Born To Win’.”

Theatrically released in South Africa in 2014 and recipient of the Golden Crown Award for Best Evangelistic Film in 2015 (ICVM), the inspirational true story is still currently ranked in the Top 10 Christian Movies sold in South Africa. “Born to Win” is currently at No. 6 at CUM Bookstores.

The moving film was written and directed by Frans Cronjé and features performances by Leoné Pienaar (“Break Away”), Nadia Beukes (“Mooirivier”), Cobus Venter (“Skin”), Marie Cronje (“Faith Like Potatoes”), Dorette Potgieter (“Citizen Verdict”), Anrich Herbst (“Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom”), Sylvia Mdunyelwa-Kobus (“Tula Tula”), Garth Collins (“Zulu”), Merlin Balie (“Break Away”), Tim Theron (“Mooirivier”) and Leandie Du Randt (“Semi-Soet”). “Born to Win” is a Frans Cronjé film in association with Ocean Avenue Entertainment.

“Born to Win” arrives on Digital HD Jan. 19 and DVD (plus Digital) and On Demand Feb. 2, 2016 from Lionsgate Home Entertainment. Visit the “Born to Win” website for more information.

Source : Christian Post

Willow Creek Church Campus Eyeing New 200,000 Sq Ft Worship Space

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Willow Creek Church Campus Eyeing New 200,000 Sq Ft Worship Space
Christian Post Report – A parishioner cries as he signs a song of worship in the 7,000-seat Willow Creek Community church during a Sunday service in South Barrington, Illinois, November 20, 2005. Institutions like Willow Creek and Houston’s Lakewood Church, each drawing 20,000 or more on a weekend, offer not just a vast, shared attraction but a path that tries to link individuals on a faith-sustaining one-to-one level beyond the crowd, observers and worshipers say.

A satellite campus of Willow Creek Community Church is looking to expand to a new presently vacant 200,000 square foot facility.

Willow Creek of Crystal Lake presented its plans at a concept review meeting on Tuesday with the Crystal Lake City Council.

Michelle Rentzsch, director of Community Development for the city of Crystal Lake, which is assisting Willow Creek, told The Christian Post about the current status and reception of the project.

“A traffic study is being finalized and then the church intends to submit for their zoning approvals in the near future,” said Rentzsch.

“This conceptual plan was reviewed by both the Planning and Zoning Commission and the City Council. Both boards had similar comments: excited about the project, planned uses, architecture, campus plan, etc. The project was warmly received.”

Founded in 1975 by Bill Hybels, over the span of four decades Willow Creek has gone from holding its first worship service in a movie theater to having eight church campuses which boast a total of about 20,000 regular attendees.

Last year, Willow Creek Crystal Lake outgrew its current 56,000 square-foot, leased facility and eventually found a possible 200,000 square-foot replacement.

Don Greetham, stewardship pastor at Willow Creek Crystal Lake, told CP that they plan to perform “significant renovation” and “construction of some new portions of the building.”

“That will include a 2,000-seat adult auditorium as well as a student auditorium of 400 seats. And several other multipurpose buildings and rooms within the building,” said Greetham.

“City Council meeting went very well. Got some great feedback from them and they all seem very accepting of what our plans are for the site.”

Presently Willow Creek is incorporating the comments they received from the City Council and the Commission before officially submitting an application within the next few weeks.

When asked by CP about how the congregation will pay for the substantial construction and renovation, Greetham explained their financial plans for the work ahead.

“We’ve already raised a good portion of what phase one of the building plans will cost and we are going to be using those proceeds,” said Greetham.

“[We’re also] replacing our regular rental payments lease payments and facility costs at our current site with a responsible level of debt payment which is actually less than our current lease and facility costs.”

Source : Christian Post

1.5 Million Filipino Catholics Join Black Nazarene Procession Praying for Miracles

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1.5 Million Filipino Catholics Join Black Nazarene Procession Praying for Miracles
Christian Post Report – 1.5 million Filipino Roman Catholics marched the streets of Manila for the annual Black Nazarene procession, carrying a centuries-old life-sized statue of Jesus and praying for miracles, from Saturday morning through early Sunday.

Shoeless men and women carried the statue, called the Black Nazarene, through the capital city’s narrow streets, covering a distance of about 4.5 miles to reach the downtown Quiapo church, also known as the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene, at about 2 a.m. Sunday, according to AFP.

Filipino Catholics believe the statue of Jesus has mystical powers capable of miracles in their lives if they wipe a white towel with it.

“If family members get sick we would give them sponge baths with it [the towel or handkerchief]. That way we wouldn’t spend money on doctors,” a devotee, Dang Villacorta, was quoted as saying.

The Red Cross said at least one man died and 220 others were treated for wounds, dizziness and symptoms associated with low blood sugar, mainly due to exhaustion and as people in the crowd strived to get closer to the wooden statue of Jesus.

“The people reach out to it because they have a personal relationship with God,” Monsignor Hernando Coronel, the parish priest of Quiapo, was quoted as saying earlier. “They come to me and say the Lord has performed miracles for them. To the devotees he is for real.”

About 5,000 police officers and soldiers were deployed to secure the 20-hour procession, according to The Associated Press. Security personnel randomly checked bags for weapons, firecrackers and pointed objects, including umbrellas, which were banned.

The tight security was partly due to potential threats after the recent Paris attacks by the Islamic State terror group, also known as ISIS or ISIL.

About 80 percent of the population of the Philippines, which is one of the poorest nation of Southeast Asia, is Catholic.

The majority-Catholic nation has a high crime rate and the country’s southern parts are ridden with Muslim extremism.

It is believed that the statue, which is crowned with thorns and bears a cross, was brought from Mexico to Manila by Spanish missionaries on a galleon in Christian Post Report – 1606. The ship carrying the statue at the time caught fire, but the charred statue survived.

The statue depicts Jesus bearing the cross en route to His crucifixion. Many devotees of the Black Nazarene believe their poverty and daily struggles are connected to the Passion of Christ as represented by the statue.

Source : Christian Post

For Our Admonition… 2 – by Gbile Akanni

CM Editor
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For Our Admonition… 2 – by Gbile Akanni

I see you quietly pursuing money in ministry. I see how you preach so eloquently for fund raising and just casually dismiss the sinners with a wave of hands. You will stop sinners from going for genuine altar calls and counseling until you have collected their offerings. You kill the conviction of sin in their hearts in order to excite them to come and give “sumptuous offerings”…

Your excitement at the size of the crowd everyday and at every meeting is actually the “droppings!” The success of a meeting in your own estimate is that it pays off the bills incurred … you are the modern Thomas of our day. All this is a loud echo of your heartbeats: “let us also go and die with him.” What else would I say about what killed Demas – who left a glorious inheritance for Thessalonica – because “he loved this present world?” What about Esau who would have inherited Isaac, and Abraham and the covenants? He sold his birthright for a mess of pottage. Reuben exchanged his first-born position for a love affair with his father’s wife.

Judas Iscariot was one who had already obtained a part in this ministry. He was earmarked to sit along with the twelve apostles of the Lamb, on the twelve thrones of Israel, judging the nation of Israel in the millennial reign. He purchased a field with all these and fell headlong, his bowel scattered; he became a ridicule among men up till today.

The sons of Eli – Hophni and Phinehas – were being raised to replace their father and perpetuate a priesthood that their great grandfather secured by puncturing a sinner in Israel with a sharp javelin. They died in one day, and the ark of God’s covenant was taken away from their hands into the land of the Philistines; they led their father into a shocking death and left their wives widows without any notice. They left God’s ministry with a bad label “Ichabod” – no one came eagerly to the temple anymore. The offering of the LORD became contemptible. They used their flesh hooks to catch the best of the offerings, even before God’s portion was set aside, they recklessly, molested innocent ladies, wives of other men of Israel. They used their priestly anointing to exploit the brethren. You are well aware of these things that sent them to their early graves and you still walk on that terrain. You sit before the TV of this world and drink in all the junks! You hunt around like Esau, restless and untamable. Once “you spoil the ground” in a place, you move into a new location seeking ministry. You are the Thomas of our day; you have eloquently said to your friends and all who follow you … “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

Look at your heart today! What is your action saying to the brethren? Are you concluding that since these men stumbled, no one else can bear life unto the end? Have you said “Let us also go, that we may die with him?” This is the day when the Lord firmly declares “I am going to wake him up.” Be careful lest you die off, while our friend Lazarus who had died rises again! Be careful of the way you are going. All those who went that way went into death. They are dead while yet they live! They make empty noise but only transmit death and contamination to those who hear them. He is determined to wake his Church from all these ‘death’ and rottenness. Do not go the way of death anymore, otherwise you will not be part of what God is about to do in His church.

This is for your own admonition. Their stories were written lest you fall into the ditches that swallowed them up.

Though Thomas said this, it was clear that he saw his foolishness and ignorance early. He almost fell into the pit of unbelief but God helped him. He did not die with Lazarus. He saw him raised from that death. He must have listened more attentively to the Master. He asked questions more personally when he did not understand what the Master said. He would not even believe the story of Christ’s resurrection until he had seen Him by and for himself. He reached out his fingers to touch the nail prints etc. His last recorded voice in the gospel and possibly in the New Testament is “my Lord and my God.”

What a good way to end! He was one of the Twelve. He will sit on the Twelve thrones of Israel someday. Do not end up a casualty. Thomas left the garment of unbelief. He left the trade of trailing dead men. He pursued Christ who himself is the Resurrection and the Life. He asked for the way. Thomas said to Him:

Lord, we do not know where you are going and how can we know the way?.
John 14:5

It was to him that Jesus specifically granted that personal answer, which has become a great guidepost for all men who would follow the way of life today.

“I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh to the Father, but by Me.”
John 14:6

Do not just follow men, not knowing where they are going. Some are going to death, others are going to the dead to die with them, but you, follow the Way! Follow the truth, follow the Life! And when God points men to you, as disciplers, then obey the rule of scriptures:

“Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk as you have us for a pattern. For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you, even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly and whose glory is in their shame – who set their mind on earthly things.”
Phil. 3:17-19

“Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.”
1Cor.11:1

Islamic State Executes Christian Convert, Watchdog Group Says

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Islamic State Executes Christian Convert, Watchdog Group Says

Christian Post Report – Kurdish fighters from the People’s Protection Units, who are fighting alongside with the Democratic Forces of Syria, stand near the Tishrin dam, after they captured it on Saturday from Islamic State militants, south of Kobani, Syria, December 27, 2015. A U.S.-backed alliance of Syrian Kurds and Arab rebel groups, supported by U.S. coalition planes, captured a dam on Saturday from Islamic State, cutting one of its main supply routes across the Euphrates, an alliance spokesman said.

The Islamic State terror group reportedly executed a Bangladeshi man for converting from Islam to Christianity, a U.S.-based watchdog group has reported.

The SITE Intelligence group confirmed this week that IS militants executed the man in Jhenaidah, Bangladesh, for leaving Islam.

The man, who has been identified as Samir al-Din, was, according to the watchdog group, stabbed by Islamic State militants.

“Soldiers of the caliphate were able to eliminate the apostate, named ‘Samir al-Din’, by stabbing him with a knife,” the SITE group reported.

Hasan Hafizur, the police chief for the Jhenaidah district, told Reuters that local police are still uncertain about who stabbed a local man to death earlier this week.

“We are not aware of any claim from any terrorist groups. We are trying to nab the attackers,” Hafizur said, adding that the man in question had reportedly converted to Christianity but then switched back to Islam months later.

Bangladesh News reports that the man who was killed by the Islamic State was a local doctor who had been accused of “preaching Christianity” by the terrorist group.

Harun-or-Rashid, the coordinator for One Way Church Bangladesh, told the media outlet that the local homeopathic doctor was in fact attacked and killed due to his religion.

The church leader added that al-Din had been a Christian for several years, a claim that contradicts reports from local police.

“He was devoted to preaching Christianity. That’s why the militants killed him,” he said.

This is the latest in several brutal attacks carried out by the Islamic State against Christians and other minority groups in the Middle East.

Recently, eyewitness accounts indicate that 21-year-old militant Ali Saqr, killed his mother, Lena al-Qasem in Raqqa, Syria, after his mother asked him to stop following the Islamic State.

“His mother spoke with him and asked him to leave ISIS and leave Raqqa to go to a different area of Syria and Turkey,” Rami Abdulrahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told The Washington Post.

“After that he told ISIS and, 1-2-3, they arrest his mother,” Abdulrahman added.

The man’s mother was reportedly publicly executed by her own son in the Syrian city. It remains unclear if the execution was filmed, as the terrorist group has a history of filming its gruesome behavior.

The Observatory added in its report that the mother was executed for “inciting her son to leave the Islamic state and escaping together to the outside of Raqqa, and that the Coalition will kill all members of the organisation.”

Source : Christian Post

Pastor Rick Warren: Imagination Is Essential for Faith in Eternity

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Pastor Rick Warren: Imagination Is Essential for Faith in Eternity
In order to have faith in the promise of eternity, Christians must be able to believe things they cannot immediately see, Pastor Rick Warren says, citing 2 Corinthians 4:18 and Hebrews 11.

This ability to believe in that which cannot be seen requires imagination, Warren writes in his “Daily Hope” devotional on Thursday.

Warren, who heads Saddleback Church in Orange County, California, points to Hebrews 11, in which God encourages Abraham to look up to the sky and count the stars, saying that those stars represent the number of descendants he will have.

This, according to the megachurch pastor, is an example of how God encourages Christians to use their imagination to maintain their faith.

“The Bible says you need to focus on the things that will last — the things you can’t actually see with your eyes. So how do you focus on things you can’t see? You use your imagination,” Warren asserts.

For most eternal promises Christians need their imagination, he continues, as concepts such as the Holy Spirit and one’s soul cannot be readily seen.

“You can’t see the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, but they’re going to last for eternity. You can’t see your own soul, but it’s going to last for eternity,” Warren adds.

In a Friday post titled, Doubt Is the Enemy of Imagination, the Saddleback Church pastor argues that while Christians need imagination to maintain their faith, they might also be faced with doubt.

While imagination is vibrant during childhood, Warren writes that as Christians reach adulthood, their imagination fades and they get stuck in the “status quo.”

As adults face the pressures of real life and a possible mundane existence, they may allow doubt to creep into their way of thinking.

“Doubt and fear neutralize what God wants to do in your life. It takes courage to imagine. Do you know why most people don’t imagine? Because they’re afraid of failure,” Warren writes.

With doubt comes fear, Warren contends, and this combination can be toxic for maintaining a healthy relationship with Jesus Christ.

“Your imagination is either going to be governed by fear or it’s going to be governed by faith. That’s your choice. If you let your imagination be governed by fear, you’re going to go around being freaked out, stressed out, and worried all the time,” Warren explains. “When you allow fear to control your imagination, you live a miserable life.”

“Instead, decide that you’re not going to allow fear to dominate. Let your faith dominate. Trust in God. Then you can move forward in faith and allow your imagination to be filled with all kinds of possibilities, because all things are possible with God.”

Source : Christian Post

Flyleaf’s Kristen May Welcomes New Baby Boy in Successful Natural Birth

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Flyleaf’s Kristen May Welcomes New Baby Boy in Successful Natural Birth
Christian Post Report – Kristen May holding new born son Graham, January 2015

Flyleaf’s new frontwomen Kristen May and her husband welcomed their first child into the world three days after Christmas and the singer has shared every detail of the experience with fans on social media.

Graham Little was born on Dec. 28, 2015, to May and Brian Little. May described the pregnancy as the most challenging, yet gratifying, day of her life.

“Birth is way more of a primal experience than I ever imagined,” May wrote in a social media post the evening she gave birth.

She opted out of having her baby boy in the hospital or taking any medication during labor. She had Graham at home with the assistance of a pair of midwives, her husband and mother.

Days after the birth May took to Facebook to detail her birthing process. Her message, in it’s entirety, can be read below.

One of the calmer moments in Graham’s birth story were the soothing moments in the birthing tub. I thought he may be born here but instead I ended up laboring and pushing all over the house. My body led me on a journey full of mountains and valleys, some bringing me to moments of hysteria. Graham had flipped ‘sunny side up’ with his head turned sideways, causing me more pain than I had imagined. I came to what I thought was the end of my strength a good handful of times.

In these moments I was encouraged to keep going. I was told I could do this unmedicated, naturally. I could give birth. My body knew what to do and there was plenty of room to bring this 7 lb 7 oz little adventurer into the world.

Labor continued for hours until I finally turned a corner and trusted my body. I remember a pivotal moment when contractions were so intense and close together, walking to the edge of the kitchen sink, slowly but finally very sure of what I was capable of, like it was just Graham and I and we were going to breakthrough this pain. I held onto the sink and squatted down with more concentration than I have ever had. I finally felt the urge to really push. I said to Graham, ‘come on, buddy, you can do it!’ And in that moment I heard a midwife say, ‘he’s crowning.’

The sweetest, most satisfying words I have ever heard. I held onto the sensation and when it was time, pushed again. ‘His head is out!’ they said. I could feel the energy of the room change. I could feel Brian behind me, fill with excitement and relief. And in the next few moments, our angel was born.

It’s true what they say, all the pain fades and the oxytocin high mixed with the greatest love you’ve ever felt, is present and palpable. I feel stronger than I’ve ever been, with a greater sense of purpose than I have ever known. I am in awe of birth and so very thankful for this experience. ‪#‎homebirth ‬‪#‎naturalbirth‬.”

Baby Graham has since taken over the singer’s Facebook feed. May posts pictures of her son’s every move, sleeping, stretching and being worn in a wrap.

May stepped in as lead vocalist of the multi-platinum Christian recording band Flyleaf in 2013. The album Between the Stars, was her first full-length project with the band and she has been pretty vocal about her transition time. She was working in a coffee shop when she received the call from the band to replace Lacey Sturm. May said some fans were supportive, some were not, but they gelled beautifully.

In addition to joining the band the new mom has released a solo album, Conversations, which she funded through a PledgeMusic campaign.

A fan on the Facebook page questioned why May was working on an album if she was with Flyleaf, to which the band responded, “Kristen is finding tons of inspiration now that she’s starting a new chapter as a mom to be and has been writing a lot of new material!”

Source : Christian Post

Pope Francis’ First Social Media Prayer Focuses on ‘Interfaith Unity’ With Buddhists, Muslims

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Pope Francis’ First Social Media Prayer Focuses on ‘Interfaith Unity’ With Buddhists, Muslims

Christian Post Report – Pope Francis prays during his visit to the Lutheran church in Rome, November 15, 2015.

Pope Francis shared his first monthly prayer intention on social media Wednesday, with the focus of the prayer being on “interfaith unity.”

The pope began his brief video, which was broadcast on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube, by suggesting that because the majority of the world’s inhabitants identify with some religion, this “should lead to a dialogue among religions. We should not stop praying for it and collaborating with those who think differently.”

“Many think differently, feel differently, seeking God or meeting God in different ways. In this crowd, in this range of religions, there is only one certainty that we have for all: we are all children of God,” Pope Francis continued in his minute-and-a-half video.

The pontiff goes on to suggest that “Only through dialogue will we be able to eliminate intolerance and discrimination,” adding that dialogue is “a necessary condition for world peace.”

“We must not cease praying for it or collaborating with those who think differently,” the pope adds.

The pontiff concludes his message by calling on Christians to “spread my prayer request this month: that sincere dialogue among men and women of different faiths may produce fruits of peace and justice. I have confidence in your prayers.”

As the pope speaks in the video, images of Buddhists, Muslims, Jews and Christians all worshipping at their respective holy places flash across the screen.

The pope shared his message on Jan. 6, known to Catholics as the Feast of the Epiphany.

The pope’s January prayer intention marks the first time this monthly practice has ever been broadcast on social media.

The Jesuit-led Apostleship of Prayer program announced earlier this week that it would be overseeing the sharing of the pope’s monthly messages on social media.

Jesuit Father Frederic Fornos, the managing director of the pontiff’s Global Prayer Network, said in an interview with Vatican Radio earlier this week that he hopes this new endeavor will inspire Christians all over the world to pray with the pope.

“To pray together with Pope Francis for these challenges will help a lot,” Fornos told Vatican radio.

Fornos also told CruxNow.com that he believes it is important for religions to take advantange of modern technology to communicate with every generation.

“In a world where everything pushes toward fragmentation, opposition and division, it’s more than ever necessary that religions and persons that hope for peace, brotherhood and solidarity mobilize together on common projects,” Fornos told the media outlet.

While the pope delivered his address in his native Spanish, the YouTube video was translated into 12 languages.

Source : Christian Post

John Piper Offers 7 Reasons Not to Play the Lottery

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John Piper Offers 7 Reasons Not to Play the Lottery

John Piper (Photo: Screenshot/DesiringGod)

Christian Post Report – Theologian John Piper explains what it means to give Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.

With January’s Powerball jackpot estimated at $700 million — the largest in U.S. history, according to ABC News — you just might be tempted to play.

In a post shared Tuesday on DesiringGod.org, Pastor John Piper, chancellor of Minnesota-based Bethlehem College & Seminary, discourages Christians from participating in lotteries, warning, ” … you should not gamble with your money this way.”

Below, the theologian outlines seven reasons why.

1. It is Spiritually Suicidal

Playing the lottery could jeopardize your spiritual wellbeing, explains Piper, who gets right to the point with a quote from 1 Tim. 6: 9-10: “Those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction … “

2. It is a Kind of Embezzlement

Just as “faithful trustees may not gamble with a trust fund,” you are a caretaker of your money, which belongs to God, says Piper. “Managers don’t gamble with their Master’s money. All you have belongs to God. All of it,” he writes.

“The parable of the talents says Jesus will take account of how we handled His money. They went and worked (Matthew 25:16–17). That is how we seek to provide for ourselves (1 Corinthians 4:12; 1 Thessalonians 4:11; Ephesians 4:28).”

3. It’s a Fool’s Errand

People enter lotteries lured by the possibility of winning big, yet their chances of hitting the jackpot are often very, very minute. “You take real money and buy with it a chance,” says Piper. “That chance is so infinitesimally small that the dollar is virtually lost. … The smaller amounts paid out more often are like a fog to keep you from seeing what is happening.”

4. The System is Built on the Necessity of Most People Losing

Piper likens lotteries to Las Vegas casinos “without any of the glamor and glitz,” saying “the ‘house’ controls the action; the players will all eventually lose.”

5. It Preys on the Poor

People in the U.S. with annual take-home incomes of $13,000 or less spend 9 percent, or $645, of their income on lottery tickets each year, according to a report from The Consumerist.

6. There is a Better Alternative

Piper says that Americans who play the lottery are being taught to be “fools” in that 21 percent of people surveyed by the Opinion Research Corporation felt that the lottery was a practical way to accumulate wealth.

“If the $500 a year that on average all American households throw away on the lottery were invested in an index fund each year for 20 years, each family would have $24,000. Not maybe. Really.”

7. For the Sake of Quick Money, Government is Undermining the Virtue Without Which it Cannot Survive.

Here, Piper quotes from the journal on religion and public life, First Things: “A government that raises money by encouraging and exploiting the weaknesses of its citizens escapes that democratic mechanism of accountability.”

Finally, Piper says that if you get rich from playing the lottery, don’t bring your winnings to his ministry.

“Christ does not build His church on the backs of the poor. Pray that Christ’s people will be so satisfied in Him that they will be freed from the greed that makes us crave to get rich.”

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

Source : Christian Post

The Little Sisters Have Their Day In Court

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The Little Sisters Have Their Day In Court

The Little Sisters Have Their Day In Court

Christian Post Report – Catholic organization Little Sisters of the Poor pleaded with the U.S. Supreme Court not to force it to choose between helping the poor and abiding by its faith, when it comes to obiding by the HHS birth control mandate.

“As Little Sisters of the Poor, we offer the neediest elderly of every race and religion a home where they are welcomed as Christ,” said Sister Loraine Marie Maguire, mother provincial of the Little Sisters of the Poor, according to Catholic News Agency.

“We perform this loving ministry because of our faith,” she added, but said that the group “cannot possibly choose between our care for the elderly poor and our faith, and we shouldn’t have to.”

Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/little-sisters-supreme-court-obama-admin-faith-poor-154358/#hCcGYtx51skzXWpU.99

Source : Christian Post

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