The Adventures of Fuzzie the Rabbit

Christian Post Report – “Hold me up, and I shall be safe, and I shall observe Your statutes continually.”
— Psalm 119:117

My youngest granddaughter, Allie (short for Alexandra), has a little rabbit that her older sister, Rylie, named Fuzzie.

 

Fuzzie spends most of his time in a cage, though it is a large one. Seems like a cruel thing to do to a rabbit, but it comes down to how you look at things.Greg Laurie

When we get Fuzzie out for Allie she will squeal with absolute delight. And in her excitement she sometimes does not hold Fuzzie the rabbit in exactly the right way. She once picked him up by the head! But he is a resilient little guy and was just fine.

After one of these recent outings, I was returning Fuzzie and about three feet away he leapt out of my arms for the open door of his cage!

I think Fuzzie likes to be there.

For us, this seems like a confining place to put a rabbit. But judging by his actions, Fuzzie, an actual rabbit who lives in a cage, does not see it that way.

He does not see the cage as a place that keeps him imprisoned from the outside world but a place that keeps him safe . . . from Allie!

In the same way, we look at Gods’ Word, which contains absolutes. He gives us things we are to do and things we are not to do.

Some people don’t like those absolutes and commandments. They see them as a cage, keeping them from what they think they really want.

But when we come to realize that God’s rules and laws are not designed to “ruin our fun,” but to provide a place of safety and security, we find that instead of being confining and restricting, His commandments are actually very liberating.

Source : Christian Post

Kenyan President After Obama’s Gay Rights Message: ‘We’d Like to Focus on Other Issues … Not a Non-Issue’

Kenya (Photo: Reuters/Thomas Mukoya)

Christian Post Report – Members of the anti-gay caucus chant slogans as they march along the streets in Kenya’s capital Nairobi, July 6, 2015. The demonstration is aimed at U.S. President Barack Obama, who protesters fear will put pressure on the government to legalise same-sex marriage during his upcoming visit on July 25.

After President Barack Obama called for gay rights in Nairobi on Saturday, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta corrected his counterpart, saying homosexuality is a “non-issue” in Kenya and those rights cannot be “imposed” on the people of the East African country.

“For Kenyans today, the issue of gay rights is really a non-issue,” President Kenyatta said at a joint-press conference with President Obama at the State House in Nairobi on Saturday, according to Daily Nation.

In Kenyan law, homosexual acts are illegal and carry punishments of up to 14 years in prison.

Obama, whose father was Kenyan, said at the conference, “I have been consistent all across Africa on this. I believe in the principle of treating people equally under the law and that they are deserving of equal protection under the law and that the State should not discriminate against the people based on their sexual orientation.”

Kenyatta agreed that “Kenya and the United States share so many values; our common love for democracy, entrepreneurship and value for families.” But he went on to say, “There are other things that we do not share; our cultures, our societies do not accept. It is very difficult to impose on people that which they themselves do not accept. This is why I repeatedly say that for Kenyans today, the issue of gay rights is really a non-issue.”

The Kenyan president added, “We want to focus on other areas that are day-to-day living for our people – the health issues that we have discussed with President Obama are critical. Issues of ensuring inclusivity of women; a huge section of society that is normally left out of the mainstream of economic development.”

The key focuses include “what we can do in terms of infrastructure, education, giving them power and encouraging entrepreneurship,” Kenyatta said. “Once we have overcome some of these challenges, we can begin to look at new ones. As of now, the fact remains that this issue is not really an issue that is on the foremost minds of Kenyans and that is a fact.”

Standing next to Kenyatta, Obama at the press conference urged Kenyans to recognize “that there may be people who have different religious or cultural beliefs but the issue is, how does the State operate relative to people?”

The history of countries around the world suggests, Obama added, “when you start treating people differently not because of the harm that they are doing to anybody but because they are different, that is the path whereby freedoms begin to erode and bad things happen.”

Obama further said: “As an African American in the United States, I am painfully aware of the history of what happens when people are treated differently under the law. There were all sorts of rationalizations that were provided by the power structure for decades in the United States for segregation and they were wrong.

“I am unequivocal on this; if somebody is a law abiding citizen who is going about their business, going to their job and obeying the traffic signs and doing the other things that good citizens are supposed to do and not harming anybody, the idea that they are going to be treated differently or abused because of who they love is wrong.”

Source : Christian Post

Ciara Tells All on Russell Wilson Revealing Couple’s Celibacy to the World

Ciara and Russell Wilson (Photo: Ciara/Instagram)

Christian Post Report – Russell Wilson invites Ciara to Seattle Children’s Hospital.

Ciara Harris, the 29-year-old singer whose NFL player boyfriend Russell Wilson recently revealed some intimate details about their relationship, says she’s not upset with the Christian athlete for telling the world about their physical relationship, or lack thereof.

In an interview with “Access Hollywood,” the singer known as Ciara spoke about waiting “until the deal is sealed” to engage in any sexual activity with the 26-year-old Seattle Seahawks quarterback.

Wilson first made the announcement when he appeared at The Rock Church in San Diego on July 5 and told pastor Miles McPherson that God told him to lead Ciara in a vow of celibacy.

While Wilson’s announcement was mocked by some and met with criticism and questions from others, Ciara said she had no issues with it.

“It was an organic thing for him and I think he was just being honest about where we are,” Ciara said on “Access Hollywood Live” recently.

At an event for Austrian bread company Eat The Ball Tuesday, KIRO radio personality Rachel Belle asked Wilson if he had any regrets about detailing he and Ciara’s personal life.

“I don’t have any regret, no,” Wilson answered. “I’m a blessed man, I’m very, very grateful.”

In the Q&A session with McPherson at The Rock Church, Wilson described how he presented the idea to his girlfriend.

“I asked her ‘what would you do if we took all that other stuff off the table and did it Jesus’ way, no sex?” Wilson asked the singer.

Ciara told “Access Hollywood” that taking that vow with her boyfriend has been anything but easy.

“I think both of us look at each other and we’re like, whew,” the singer said. “But we take it one day at a time and keep it going with each other, and I’m really enjoying every day that we’re sharing.”

Wilson also spoke to “Access Hollywood” on a separate occasion earlier this month and revealed how he and Ciara met.

“[Ciara] is one of a kind,” he said. “A good friend introduced us when I was in LA at one point. So ever since, we’ve been talking every day. It’s been so good.”

Last month, Wilson invited Ciara to visit the Seattle Children’s Hospital where the pair met children who are battling cancer. While Wilson regularly visits the hospital, Ciara spoke about being touched by her experience there.

“Their bravery, will, and courage touched me in a way I can’t explain,” she tweeted about the children she met at the hospital. “I am thankful!

Ciara has her own child that she shares with hip-hop star Future whom she broke off an engagement with last year. Although she is not as vocal about her spiritual beliefs as Wilson, Ciara previously spoke about her son being the greatest gift that God has given her.

“Honestly, I feel like everything in life happens for a reason and my son has been the greatest gift that God has given me in my life. And he’s been the most game-changing thing that’s happened to my life, in a necessary way,” she said on Power 105.1 FM’s syndicated radio show, “The Breakfast Club” earlier this year.

Source : Christian Post

Lecrae Says Christians Should Build Relationships With People Whose Cultural Perspective Frustrates Them

Lecrae (Photo: YouTube/screengrab)

Christian Post Report – Lecrae presented during Passion 2015 on Jan. 16, 2015.

Grammy-award winning rapper and outspoken Christian Lecrae said on Thursday that Americans speaking on someone else’s culture without understanding or attempting to learn about their perspective frustrates him.

“America is full of different cultures, yet it baffles me when the people with cultural differences, who rarely interact with each other on deep levels, have so much commentary on the others cultural perspective,” said Lecrae on Facebook.

“I don’t have any Moroccan friends and I couldn’t imagine trying to understand their cultural outlook on the world without having meaningful relationships with them,” the rapper added.

Lecrae said he spent months traveling to Native American reservations and learned a lot about their culture after making friends with some of them and hearing about their experiences.

By building meaningful relationships with these Native Americans, he was able to understand their perspective.

“Everyone who lives in America (or is Christian for that matter) does not see everything the same,” Lecrae continued. “But if you find yourself upset at someone’s outlook … that may need to be the very person you build a relationship. But what do I know? I’m just a rapper.”

During the past few years, Lecrae has used his writing skills in both music and media to address race relations in the U.S. from a Christian perspective.

Last month, he penned an op-ed for Billboard.com where he discussed the June shooting at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, where nine black people were killed by lone gunmen Dylann Roof.

While Lecrae acknowledged that the families of the victims forgave the shooter publicly, he warned the church to be more pro-active in addressing the deeper racial tensions which led to the incident.

“Let’s not simply encourage the oppressed to be calm and act peacefully,” he said. “Let us in the words of Isaiah 1:17, ‘Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression.”

He also highlighted the spiritual battle raging within all mankind.

“There is a great antagonist, and it does not have black or white skin,” he continued. “It is the brokenness of humanity. May a love that miraculously mends our brokenness be the protagonist.”

During the Ferguson, Missouri, riots that were sparked by the death of Michael Brown, who was shot and killed by police officer Darren Wilson after Brown committed a strong-arm robbery, Lecrae spoke out against Christians who had no compassion for the black community.

“Regardless of your view on #Ferguson. If [you] have zero compassion for that community you are not loving your neighbor as yourself. These are my cousins, aunts, nieces, uncles, nephews, and our ethnic bond is strong,” Lecrae wrote on Instagram in August 2014. “It does not supersede my bond of faith but at times it feels like my eternal family could care less about my earthly family.”

He added, “I feel I’m only accepted if I perform well and don’t act like my ‘cousins.’ I am the same as them but the grace of God has granted me opportunities they didn’t get.”

He also commented on the officers who were working to control the rioters who were burning down family-owned businesses and residents’ cars.

“I pray for the families of the officers who haven’t seen their wives and kids for days. I have no ill will toward anyone I only want unity, equality, and love. Were it not for the compassion of people who didn’t look like me loving me I wouldn’t be all that I am today.”

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

Source : Christian Post

Bishop T.D. Jakes’ New Talk Show Aims to Help Viewers Navigate Daily Challenges in Life, Love and Family

T.D. Jakes (Photo: The Christian Post/Scott Liu)

Christian Post Report – Bishop T.D. Jakes speaks with The Christian Post in New York City on May 19, 2015.

Bishop T.D. Jakes is gearing up to bring his brand of inspiration to a new talk show where he expects to spark national conversations about socially relevant topics.

Jakes, the 58-year-old senior pastor of The Potter’s House church in Dallas, Texas, will host the hour long series set to first broadcast in select markets from Aug. 17 through Sept. 11.

“This show provides a great platform to expand conversations, to be encouraging, positive, uplifting and help people work through tight places in their lives,” Jakes said in a statement shared with The Christian Post.

Noonan Drachkovitch, executive producer of the show, spoke to CP about the impact she hopes
the series, “T.D. Jakes” will have on the world.

“We want to create a provocative and entertaining daily television series that makes a difference, inspires change and creates a national conversation around the challenges and topics that each of us face as we try our best to navigate life, love and family,” Drachkovitch told CP. “We believe T.D. Jakes’ personal journey and insight will help viewers transform and improve their lives and relationships.”

The one month preview of the show will be featured on four TEGNA media stations this summer, which will include WFAA in Dallas, WXIA in Atlanta, KARE in Minneapolis, and WKYC in Cleveland, according to Alexandra Jewett, the executive vice president of programming at Debmar Mercury.

Speaking about Jakes’ personality, experience and influence, Jewett said The Potter’s House pastor “brings immense wisdom and counsel to everyday situations but he also navigates life with great humor and joy, and has had a tremendous impact on so many.”

Aside from his upcoming talk show, Jakes is seeking to make an impact at his MegaFest festival that will take place Aug. 19-23.The pastor previously spoke to CP about what people can expect from the festivities that will take place in Dallas.

“We’ve got concerts that they can come out and enjoy; we’ve got empowerment sessions and they can strengthen themselves and their career, so it’s one stop shopping,” Jakes previously told CP. “We’ve got something for all ages — teenagers, young adults. And particularly with so many single parents today, to have your values reinforced in your kids right before they take off to school, that’s a good thing!”

A number of high profile speakers are slated to participate at the event, including The Potter’s House’s first lady Serita Jakes, film mogul Tyler Perry who will appear as his famous character Madea, minister Joyce Meyer, Australian activist Christine Caine, Bishop Tudor Bismarck, R.A. Vernon and Archbishop Nicholas Duncan Williams. Since the event only takes place once every two years, Jakes spoke about the importance of making sure it is a life changing experience.

“Today, if you’re going to travel, you want to have a mega experience. And so, the whole MegaFest is a life changing experience,” he said. “We do alter calls, we work with people who are coming back to Christ, we have ministers to sharpen their gifts and skills. We only have it every other year, so we want you to be buzzing it for two years.”

For more information about Jakes’ MegaFest, please click here. For more information about how to become a part of Jakes’ live studio audience for his upcoming talk show, email [email protected].

Source : Christian Post

Pennsylvania Congregation Pays United Methodist Church $100K to Leave Denomination Over Homosexuality Debate

Wesley Church (Photo courtesy Chris Lenhart)

Christian Post Report – Wesley Church of Quarryville, Pennsylvania. In June 2015 the congregation decided to leave The United Methodist Church.

A congregation in Pennsylvania has voted overwhelmingly to leave the United Methodist Church over the growing debate that the mainline denomination is having regarding its position on homosexuality.

Wesley Church, a congregation in Quarryville that has an average weekly worship attendance of about 650, voted to leave the UMC after months of discernment.

Chris Lenhart, associate pastor at Wesley Church, told The Christian Post that leadership for the congregation saw a “considerable chasm forming between what Wesley believed and affirmed about the nature of God’s word and what the denomination believed and affirmed about the nature of God’s Word.

“The primary issue for us leaving revolved around biblical authority. Wesley Church believes and affirms that God’s Word is fully inspired and inerrant and fully authoritative on all matters pertaining to our lives,” said Lenhart.

“We were indeed disappointed by the, ‘peripheral’ decisions coming from the denomination, but saw them as symptoms of a greater issue.”

  • United Methodist Church
    (Photo: UMNS/Mike DuBose)
    Protesters for greater inclusivity in The United Methodist Church stand in silent vigil just outside the bar of the denomination’s 2012 General Conference on May 3, 2012, in Tampa, Fla.

In contrast to other mainline Protestant denominations, the UMC officially considers homosexuality “incompatible with Christian teaching” and forbids clergy from performing gay weddings.

The UMC also prohibits the ordination of noncelibate homosexuals and defines marriage as being between one man and one woman.

Despite the official rules, there is a movement within the UMC to change the rules as well as the language within the Book of Discipline.

Advocacy groups like Reconciling Ministries Network, Methodist Federation for Social Action, and Methodists in New Directions have lobbied for the changes, with measures being voted on at past General Conferences.

Some, especially those on the conservative side of the sexual ethics debate, have argued for a schism within the UMC, given the vast difference in opinion on sexual ethics.

Others, including most notably the Rev. Adam Hamilton, senior pastor of the megachurch United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, have lobbied for individual congregations to determine whether or not to follow the Book of Discipline’s position on homosexuality.

Regarding Wesley Church’s process to leave the UMC and become non-denominational, Lenhart sees it “as a grass roots effort within our congregation.

“We began the process with a straw-poll just to get an idea of the congregation’s heart regarding the matter. The vote came back overwhelming in favor, by more than 95 percent, of our leadership investigating a possible withdrawal from the denomination,” said Lenhart.

“After five months of prayer and regular meetings with leadership within our church and the United Methodist denomination, a settlement was reached.”

In return for being allowed to keep their church property, Lenhart noted, Wesley Church agreed to pay the UMC $100,000.

With the conditions noted, the congregation then voted 97 percent in favor of leaving the UMC. As of June 5, Wesley Church ceased belonging to the UMC.

Lenhart told CP that since leaving attendance at Wesley Church has increased and that the congregation is now considered a non-denominational church.

“Our hope is that the United Methodist churches whom feel strongly about the inspiration of Scripture, biblical inerrancy and biblical authority would prayerfully consider what God’s will is for their particular church,” said Lenhart.

“We understand that God’s will for some of those churches may be to stay and fight from within, but it was clear for us, in our particular situation, that it was time to move on.”

Source : Christian Post

When Faith Wavers

Christian Post Report – Matthew 21:21

  • Dr. Charles F. Stanley
    (Photo: In Touch Ministries)
    Dr. Charles F. Stanley (File).

One of the main obstacles to effective prayer is lack of trust. If we believe God is who He says He is and will do what He has promised, why do so many of us habitually waver in our prayers? Instead of exercising bold faith, we come to the Lord “hoping” He will hear us and answer our requests, but we’re just not sure He will. With this kind of thinking, we cannot expect to receive anything from Him.

One reason we are so prone to doubt is that we fail to see God at work in our circumstances. We asked, and nothing happened. But the Lord is not some cosmic bellhop who jumps in response to our requests. He sees past, present, and future and knows the right time for every answer. His invisible hand is already at work on our behalf—arranging situations to accomplish His will, opening hearts, and preparing us to receive what He wants to give.

Another cause for uncertainty is ignorance. If we don’t know God’s ways, we will be disappointed in His response. All too often our prayers are accompanied by expectations of how He will work. When He fails to intervene according to our anticipated method, we start to doubt. But placing our faith in the Lord and trusting in His good and perfect ways gives us stability as we wait for His answer.

To overcome doubts, spend time in the Word to learn God’s principles and ways. Then you’ll begin to grasp what He wants to achieve in your life and how He goes about it. Examine your past from a biblical perspective—faith will grow as you see the unexpected ways He’s answered your prayers.

Used with permission from In Touch Ministries, Inc. © 2015
All Rights Reserved.

Source : Christian Post

Archbishop Justin welcomes Pastor Adeboye to Lambeth Palace

The Archbishop of Canterbury met and prayed with leader of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) today. 

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, welcomed the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) to Lambeth Palace today for a morning of prayer and conversation.

Archbishop Justin met with Pastor Enoch Adeboye, who is visiting from Nigeria, and his delegation, including Pastor Agu Irukwu, Chief Overseer of the RCCG in the UK.

They discussed possibilities for further collaboration between the Anglican and RCCG churches and communions, nationally and internationally. During the meeting the Archbishop and Pastor Adeboye led prayers for Christian unity and revival.

Afterwards the Archbishop and the Pastor spent time in private discussion and prayer.

During his visit Pastor Adeboye was also shown a selection of precious items from the Lambeth Palace Library, including works relating to the first black Anglican bishop, Samuel Ajayi Crowther.

In October last year Archbishop Justin was invited to address 40,000 people at the RCCG’s Festival of Light in London, where he called for Christians of different denominations to be reconciled in Christ and to be reconcilers in their communities and nations.

Source : Archbishop of Canterbury

Iran Executes Nearly 700 in Just Six Months, Including Religious Minorities Convicted of ‘Enmity Against God’

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani (Photo: Reuters/Ruben Sprich)

Christian Post Report – Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani smiles during a session at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Jan. 23, 2014.

A human rights group has recorded nearly 700 executions, including those of members of ethnic and religious minorities convicted of “enmity against God,” in just a little over six months in the Shiite Muslim nation of Iran, which put people to death even during the holy month of Ramadan.

In its new report, Amnesty International says Iran put to death 694 people between Jan. 1 and July 15, which is equivalent to executing more than three people per day.

“Iran’s staggering execution toll for the first half of this year paints a sinister picture of the machinery of the state carrying out premeditated, judicially-sanctioned killings on a mass scale,” Said Boumedouha, deputy director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Programme, says in the report.

Executions are particularly dangerous in Iran, as trials there are deeply flawed, detainees are often denied access to lawyers in the investigative stage, and there are inadequate procedures for appeal, pardon and commutation, the group said.

American pastor Saeed Abedini has been in a jail in Iran for his Christian faith for two and a half years. He has sustained prolonged internal injuries due to beatings in the prison.

The surge in executions shows “just how out of step Iran is with the rest of the world when it comes to the use of the death penalty,” Amnesty says.

Even during Ramadan, Iran executed at least four people.

“The Iranian authorities should be ashamed of executing hundreds of people with complete disregard for the basic safeguards of due process,” Boumedouha says. “The use of the death penalty is always abhorrent, but it raises additional concerns in a country like Iran where trials are blatantly unfair.”

Many of those executed were charged with drug-related offences, but also included members of ethnic and religious minorities convicted of “enmity against God” and “corruption on Earth” including Kurdish political prisoners and Sunni Muslims.

Amnesty International didn’t specify the religious affiliation of those executed for religious offenses.

Pastor Saeed’s wife, Naghmeh, and American Center for Law and Justice had urged President Barack Obama to speak to Tehran about releasing the U.S. pastor before signing a nuclear deal. However, Saeed remains in jail.

Saeed’s family in Idaho celebrated their son Jacob’s seventh birthday in March — without the dad for the third straight year.

Saeed grew up in Iran before converting to Christianity at the age of 20. He later traveled with his family back and forth between Iran and the U.S. to meet other members of his family and for Christian work.

During one such trip in 2009, Saeed was detained by Iranian officials and interrogated for his conversion. While he was released with a warning against engaging in underground church activities, he was once again arrested in 2012 while working on a non-sectarian orphanage project.

Saeed was sentenced for endangering “national security,” but the punishment has clearly more to do with Saeed’s Christian faith, ACLJ says.

Source : Christian Post

ISIS Releases Video of Baby-Faced Child Soldier Shooting Accused Iraqi Spy

ISIS (Photo: Screenshot)

Christian Post Report – An ISIS child soldier who was shown shooting an accused Iraqi spy.

The Islamic State terror group has released a new propaganda video showing a baby-faced child soldier, dressed in black, shooting a suspected Iraqi spy in the head from point blank range, according to an anti-ISIS citizen journalism website.

The video shows the “accused,” dressed in orange, making a confession that he spied on the terror group in the Iraqi town of Al-Qa’im, Daily Mail reported, citing a report by the citizen journalism website, Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently.

The man seems to be under duress as he says he regrets being involved in the covert operation and urges the United States-led coalition to stop airstrikes in ISIS territory.

The child executioner, on the other hand, looks calm as he is shown loading his handgun, kneeling next to the man and the shooting him in the head. The boy continues to shoot the man even after he falls down and his body can be seen lying on the ground without any movement.

Islamic State, also known as IS, ISIS, ISIL and Daesh, calls its child soldiers “the cubs of the caliphate,” and is preparing them to be the next generation of terrorists.

The video also shows several children being indoctrinated in a classroom before they are trained to become terrorists. And shows them being kicked in their private parts by their trainer to “toughen them up.”

ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi recently banned the sharing of barbaric execution videos online, apparently so as not to offend fellow Muslims who might think the videos are scary for children.

The video was released in May.

ISIS is an offshoot of al-Qaeda and wants to establish a caliphate in the Levant region and beyond. It has gained control over large swathes of territories in Syria and Iraq. Its main targets include religious minorities, including Christians.

The terror group has executed more than 2,618 people, including 1,511 civilians, since last June, when it declared its “caliphate,” according to the U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which released the statistics last month.

The executions were carried out mostly by beheading, shooting or stoning. ISIS has also executed at least 139 of its own members for “exceeding the limits in religion and spying for foreign countries,” mostly after they were trying to go back to their homes.

Source : Christian Post