Faith Isn’t About Getting God’s Attention

-
0
Faith Isn’t About Getting God’s Attention

Faith Isn't About Getting God's Attention

Christian Post Report – In his latest book The Jesus Experience, Christian author and filmmaker Bill Myers attempts to reignite faith in older believers and help new ones avoid the traps of works-based Christianity through a narrative on how his walk with God was transformed when he finally realized he didn’t need to impress God with deeds and good behavior.
Myer’s begins the book by talking about his younger years and how he feared not receiving God’s approval with his life. He also addresses the idea of being a “good Christian” in your own strength and shoots it down by attributing spiritual growth solely to God.

The book examines the question of what God asks of believers and Myers points out that many Christians will address their faith, or lack thereof with doing more in the church or in the community, but all of that is empty if it’s done apart from abiding in Christ. To Myers, life is about saying yes to what God asks and not about setting out plans that sound holy or Christian and trying to carry them out. He says a believer’s purpose can only be found through deep relationship with the Father.

Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/the-jesus-experience-book-review-a-brutally-honest-christians-testimony-that-demonstrates-the-shortcomings-of-works-based-faith-140894/

Source : Christian Post

Out of the Mainstream? Time to Thrive, Christians!

-
0
Out of the Mainstream? Time to Thrive, Christians!

Out of the Mainstream? Time To Thrive, Christians!

Christian Post Report – Now that Christianity is strange to the larger American culture, Christians have an opportunity to reclaim the freakishness of the Gospel message, Russell Moore writes in his new book, Onward: Engaging the Culture Without Losing the Gospel.

“As American culture changes, the scandal of Christianity is increasingly right up front, exactly where it was in the first century. The shaking of American culture will get us back to the question Jesus asked his disciples at Caesarea Philippi: ‘Who do you say that I am?’ As the Bible Belt recedes, those left standing up for Jesus will be those who, like Simon Peter of old, know how to answer that question.

Once Christianity is no longer seen as part and parcel of patriotism, the church must offer more than ‘What would Jesus do?’ moralism and the ‘I vote values’ populism to which we’ve grown accustomed. Good,” wrote Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, in Chapter two.

In a Wednesday phone interview with The Christian Post, Moore explained that the Church in America can thrive, as the Church always has, when it is seen as abnormal or counter-cultural.

Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/russell-moore-why-christianity-can-thrive-now-that-its-not-normal-cp-interview-1-2-141070/

Source : Christian Post

Are You Ready for the Cultural Thunderstorm?

-
0
Are You Ready for the Cultural Thunderstorm?

Are You Ready For The Cultural Thunderstorm?

Christian Post Report – About 20 years ago, I was spending time with David Wilkerson in New York City when a storm unexpectedly broke out as we were leaving a building. Sure enough, in true New York fashion, there was someone right outside the door selling umbrellas, and as expected, pastor Dave bought one to keep us dry in the showers. In fact, just about everyone seemed to buy one as they walked outside into the sudden downpour.

I feel like that umbrella salesman today, except that for years now, I’ve been selling these umbrellas in the desert, knowing that a massive storm was coming and that soon enough, the umbrellas would become hot items.

What exactly do I mean?

After I spoke in Jerusalem earlier this week on our calling to take up the cross and serve the Lord by life or by death, an Israeli-born American missionary to the Muslims asked me why I did not appear more concerned about the U.S. Supreme Court’s disastrous redefining of marriage.

He knew I was grieved over it.

He knew that I expected hard times for the Church of America.

But he knew that I was full of optimism and confidence in the midst of the storm.

Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/feeling-like-an-umbrella-salesman-a-cultural-thunderstorm-141094/

Source : Christian Post

Bobbi Kristina ‘Deathbed’ Photo Sparks Fury; Father Bobby Brown Vows to Get Justice

-
0
Bobbi Kristina ‘Deathbed’ Photo Sparks Fury; Father Bobby Brown Vows to Get Justice

Bobbi (Photo: Reuters/Fred Prouser)

Christian Post Report – Bobbi Kristina Brown, daughter of the late singer Whitney Houston, poses at the premiere of ”Sparkle” in Hollywood, California August 16, 2012.

Bobby Brown has vowed to get justice for his sick daughter, Bobbi Kristina, amid reports that an alleged family member is shopping around a so called deathbed photo of her to media outlets.

Last month, the 22-year-old only biological daughter of the late Whitney Houston was moved to hospice care, five months after she was found unresponsive in a bathtub at her Roswell, Georgia, home just outside of Atlanta. On Friday, gossip website TMZ.com reported that someone was attempting to sell a photo of Bobbi Kristina laying in her bed at the hospice center for $100,000. It was allegedly taken by an extended family member.

“I’m just looking to get justice,” Brown told a TMZ in Los Angeles on Sunday when asked about the disturbing report.

Bobbi Kristina has reportedly deteriorated since being taken off life support in late June and one family source said recently that the actress “barely has any signs of life.” Her aunt, Pat Houston, previously said in a statement that the family is leaving her “in God’s hands now.”

Also on Friday, Bobbi Kristina’s aunt, Leolah Brown, blasted the person attempting to sell the deathbed photo of her niece as “evil” and said whoever is responsible will be revealed “in God’s time.”

“YOU will not do to my niece what YOU did to Whitney! … You people are far more evil than the world could ever imagine,” an enraged Leolah wrote in a lengthy Facebook post. “Yeah, the clock is ticking and I await for the day that is ALREADY HERE and soon to be revealed in God’s time!”

She added: “WHITNEY HOUSTON IS WORKING FROM THE GRAVE THRU ME! TRUST! I’m on a mission to make sure my niece gets justice by ANY means necessary!”

In June, Bedelia Hargrove, Bobbi Kristina’s court-appointed conservator, filed a civil complaint against her boyfriend Nick Gordon in Georgia’s Fulton County Superior Court. In the lawsuit he’s accused of physically abusing the socialite prior to the bathtub incident.

The lawsuit claims Bobbi Kristina had complained about Gordon to a friend prior to being found on Jan. 31 and that she made arrangements to meet with the person to discuss her relationship woes but never showed up.

“[Bobbi] had confided to someone that [Gordon] was not the man she thought he was and set up a time on Jan. 31 to meet with this person to further discuss this revelation,” the complaint states. “[She,] however, never made it to the meeting. Instead, on the morning of Jan. 31, [Bobbi] became embroiled in a loud argument with [Gordon] at her townhome.”

Following the altercation she was allegedly found unconscious at home.

“The loud argument ended and [Bobbi] was later found unresponsive and unconscious, face down in a bathtub, with her mouth swollen and another tooth knocked out,” the complaint alleges.

Gordon is accused of assaulting the socialite on multiple occasions by “punching her in the face, knocking out a front tooth, and dragging her upstairs by the hair.”

Earlier this year, Gordon denied assault allegations in an interview with talk show host Dr. Phil McGraw.

“I would never hurt anybody,” Gordon said.

Gordon is also accused of stealing from her while she was in the hospital, but he has maintained his innocence. The lawsuit is seeking a minimum of $40 million in damages.

“He feels — and we all feel — like Nick has been a scapegoat in this case,” a close relative of Gordon’s told People.com. “It’s scary for him, because he hasn’t done anything wrong. He is completely innocent.”

Police in Roswell reportedly launched a criminal investigation into Bobbi’s case in recent months amid concerns of “foul play” among her family members.

“I’m just waiting for whatever happens,” Bobbi Kristina’s grandmother, Cissy, previously told “Entertainment Tonight.” “We go to the hospital every day and pray and I talk to her because she can still hear and I rub her hand. We do what we can do. The rest is all up to Him.”

In 2012 Bobbi’s mother, Whitney, was found dead in a hotel bathtub in Beverly Hills.

Source : Christian Post

WATCH: Kidnapped School Girl Chose Death Over Denying Christ — Charisma News

-
0
WATCH: Kidnapped School Girl Chose Death Over Denying Christ — Charisma News
Join us on our new podcast each weekday for an interesting story, well told, from Charisma News. Listen at charismapodcastnetwork.com.The Charisma Podcast Network is now live. Featuring a variety of programs including news, leadership, inspiring stories, women’s topics, sports, and even more.
Subscribe now for free!
Source : Charisma News

Mormon Church Tells Followers It Will Not Marry Gay Couples Despite Supreme Court Decision; Says Homosexual Behavior ‘Violates the Commandments of God’

-
0
Mormon Church Tells Followers It Will Not Marry Gay Couples Despite Supreme Court Decision; Says Homosexual Behavior ‘Violates the Commandments of God’

Mormon Temple (Photo: Reuters/Jim Urquhart)

Christian Post Report – The LDS Church’s Mormon Temple in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah, is seen Jan. 27, 2012.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sent an official letter to its followers on Sunday announcing that it will continue supporting marriage as a union between one man and one woman, despite the Supreme Court’s decision to legalize gay marriage in June. The church also noted that it will not be performing gay marriage ceremonies, and argued that homosexual behavior “violates the commandments of God.”

“Changes in the civil law do not, indeed cannot, change the moral law that God has established. God expects us to uphold and keep His commandments regardless of divergent opinions or trends in society. His law of chastity is clear: sexual relations are proper only between a man and a woman who are legally and lawfully wedded as husband and wife,” the church declares.

The letter from the Council of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles was written a few days after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down four state constitutional amendments defining marriage as between one man and one woman on June 26, which effectively legalized gay marriage across all 50 states. The message was sent out to Mormon churches across the country and read aloud during Sunday services.

The letter adds that Mormon officers “will not employ their ecclesiastical authority to perform marriages between two people of the same sex, and the Church does not permit its meetinghouses or other properties to be used for ceremonies, receptions, or other activities associated with same‐sex marriages.”

It further explains that the church believes that “Homosexual behavior violates the commandments of God, is contrary to the purposes of human sexuality, and deprives people of the blessings that can be found in family life and in the saving ordinances of the Gospel.”

The letter also tells followers that Jesus Christ “teaches us to love and treat all people with kindness and civility — even when we disagree.”

“We affirm that those who avail themselves of laws or court rulings authorizing same‐sex marriage should not be treated disrespectfully,” it reads.

The statement also informs readers that the Church has advocated for the rights of same‐sex couples in matters of hospitalization and medical care, fair housing and employment, and other matters, as long a they do not “infringe on the integrity of the traditional family or the constitutional rights of churches.”

The Mormon declaration follows days after another American denomination, the Episcopal Church, voted in favor of changing its rules on marriage to allow its clergy to perform same-sex weddings.

The Episcopalian General Convention decided last week to adopt new marriage writes where the terms “man and woman” have been replaced with “couple.”

Episcopal clergy have retained the canonical right to refuse to officiate at any wedding, however.

Source : Christian Post

Suicide Bomber Kills 6 at Church Sunday — Charisma News

-
0
Suicide Bomber Kills 6 at Church Sunday — Charisma News
Mock terrorist attack
Medical personnel respond to a mock terrorist attack to prepare for suicide bombers in their area. Suicide bombers attacked a church in Nigeria on Sunday, killing 6. (Reuters)
Join us on our new podcast each weekday for an interesting story, well told, from Charisma News. Listen at charismapodcastnetwork.com. A suicide bomber killed six people at a church in northeast Nigeria on Sunday at the end of a week in which suspected Boko Haram insurgents killed more than 200 people.The spate of bloodletting prompted renewed international outrage and French President Francois Hollande said he was ready to hold a summit with regional leaders to coordinate the fight against Boko Haram.The blast in Potiskum in Yobe state on Sunday came after an attack on the capital of neighboring Borno state on Friday, deadly raids in three towns during the week and suicide bombings along a highway.President Muhammadu Buhari said the murder of up to 150 Kukawa residents near Lake Chad on Wednesday by Boko Haram was a “heinous atrocity”. Several people who attended burials there, including a senior government official, said 147 bodies, including 22 children, had been interred.Also last week in Borno, about 50 people were shot dead in nearby Monguno, 12 men were killed in a raid on Miringa and two suicide bombers killed another 10 alongside a highway.The Defence Ministry said six suicide bombers had blown themselves up during the attack on the outskirts of Maiduguri on Friday, killing a soldier and “scores” of civilians.The army said it recovered a jeep packed with explosives after repulsing the attack.New president Buhari vowed to crush Boko Haram when he was sworn in on May 29. But the insurgents have stepped up their attacks, despite losing huge chunks of territory this year to soldiers from Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger.Buhari’s spokesman Femi Adesina said on Saturday that a multinational capability in place with the power to “devastate and decapitate” the insurgency would soon be set in motion.Adesina said Buhari was poised to defeat the insurgency but the government would talk if Boko Haram came to the table.”Most wars, however furious or vicious, often end around the negotiation table. So, if Boko Haram opts for negotiation, the government will not be averse to it,” he said.Boko Haram’s stronghold of Borno state in Nigeria borders Cameroon, Chad and Niger and soldiers from all four countries have taken on the insurgents this year.Buhari is due to visit his counterpart in Cameroon after the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and meets U.S. President Barack Obama on July 20, when Boko Haram will be high on the agenda. © 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.The Charisma Podcast Network is now live. Featuring a variety of programs including news, leadership, inspiring stories, women’s topics, sports, and even more.
Subscribe now for free!
Source : Charisma News

Meagan Good Calls for Prayer Amid Reports of Bobbi Kristina Brown’s Health Is Deteriorating

-
0
Meagan Good Calls for Prayer Amid Reports of Bobbi Kristina Brown’s Health Is Deteriorating

Meagan Good (Photo: Reuters/Gus Ruelas)

Christian Post Report – Actress Meagan Good takes part in a panel discussion of NBC Universal’s new series “Deception” during the 2013 Winter Press Tour for the Television Critics Association in Pasadena, California January 6, 2013.

As the health of the-late singer Whitney Houston’s daughter Bobbi Kristina deteriorates, Christian actress Meagan Good is calling on people to pray for the 22-year-old who’s being cared for at a Georgia hospice center.

Bobbi Kristina has been fighting for her life since she was found unconscious in a bathtub at the Georgia home she shared with her boyfriend Nick Gordon on Jan 31. Her aunt, Pat Houston, recently revealed that her health had taken a turn for the worse, which led to her family’s decision to put her in hospice care.

Now, the 33-year-old actress is taking to Instagram to pray for the ailing child of Houston and singer Bobby Brown.

“I pray a prayer for this precious young woman. … I urge everyone who has a kind heart to please join in with us with prayers lifted up. … I believe that prayer changes things,” Good, the wife of minister and Hollywood Executive DeVon Franklin, wrote on Instagram last week. “He already knows the desires of our heart, so He wouldn’t have us do it if it didn’t make a difference if aligned with His will. … I pray that Dad will work a miracle. His will be done over all.”

Good has previously spoken about her connection to Bobbi Kristina’s mother, Whitney Houston, after the singer died from a reported drug overdose in 2012. In a previous Los Angeles Times report, the actress said playing Houston in a film would be her “dream project.”

“Good said her dream project is a Whitney Houston biopic, which she had been discussing with the singer before her death early last year,” the LA Times reported in December 2013.

Speaking about her Christian faith, Good, who said she attends Mt. Rubidoux Seventh Day Adventist Church in Riverside and One Church L.A. in West Hollywood, told the LA Times that she and her husband believe: “both [Christianity and show business] can come together and one can be used to promote the other, using what we do in the business to promote the kingdom.”

Good also expressed her desire to portray Houston in a film duing an interview on “The Arsenio Hall” show where she spoke about her connection to the-late singer.

“I think she was a very misunderstood spirit. … I did know her. Not super, super well but my husband (DeVon Franklin) was the executive on ‘Sparkle’ and I got to spend a little bit of time with her there. … And she was an amazing person and I think very misunderstood,” Good said on the late night talk show. “I just feel like I get her and I would tell her story, I feel like, the way she would want it to be told.”

Source : Christian Post

Only Jesus Possesses Light of His Own, Pope Francis Says as He Begins Tour of Latin America in Ecuador

-
0
Only Jesus Possesses Light of His Own, Pope Francis Says as He Begins Tour of Latin America in Ecuador

Pope Francis (Photo: Reuters/Kevin Granja)

Christian Post Report – Pope Francis greets the crowd of faithful from a popemobile in Quito, Ecuador, July 5, 2015. Francis landed in Ecuador’s capital Quito on Sunday to begin an eight-day tour of South America that will also include visits to Bolivia and Paraguay. On his first visit as pontiff to Spanish-speaking Latin America, the Argentina-born pope is scheduled to conduct masses in both Quito and the coastal city of Guayaquil before flying to Bolivia on Wednesday.

Pope Francis started his nine-day tour of Latin America, his first as pontiff, on Sunday, arriving in Quito, Ecuador, where he said, “No one, save Jesus Christ, possesses his or her own light.” During his trip, Francis is likely to focus on poverty and inequality as well as reiterate his concern for the environment.

“I have come as a witness of God’s mercy and of faith in Jesus Christ,” Francis said in his prepared remarks at the welcome ceremony Sunday in Quito.

Children in traditional dress greeted the pope at the Mariscal Sucre airport, and shook hands with many of them.

“In Ecuador is the point closest to outer space: it is the peak of Chimborazo, which for that reason is called the place ‘closest to the sun,’ the moon and the stars,” the 78-year-old pope said, according to Vatican Radio. “We Christians identify Christ with the sun, and the moon with the Church, the community of the faithful. No one, save Jesus Christ, possesses his or her own light.”

The pope added: “May you never lose the ability to protect what is small and simple, to care for your children and your elderly, to have confidence in the young, and to be constantly struck by the nobility of your people and the singular beauty of your country.”

Departing from his prepared remarks, South America’s first pope told the crowd that concern for the most vulnerable “is a debt that all of Latin America has.”

Francis has said he wants a “Poor Church for the Poor.” And this is reflected also in his choice of countries he has visited. For example, he visited Albania and Bosnia in Europe before going to wealthier countries in the region.

“The point he wants to make … is his conviction that often those on the margins are the most receptive to the church, and he wants to give voice to those on the margins,” Austen Ivereigh, an expert on the church and author of a biography, The Great Reformer: Francis and the Making of a Radical Pope, told Los Angeles Times.

In Ecuador, Francis has only one scheduled private meeting, on Monday, with a nearly 91-year-old priest, the Rev. Francisco Cortes, at the Colegio Javier seminary in Guayaquil.

Affectionately known as Padre Paquito, Cortes walks slowly with a cane with a built-in flashlight and admits to a lifelong weakness for cigars, according to The Associated Press. “I don’t know why he set the meeting. We haven’t even corresponded,” The Associated Press quoted Cortes as saying. “I’m really just a Mr. Nobody,”

During his 13-hour flight to Quito, the pope greeted each of the 75 journalists traveling with the papal entourage, talking to them, Vatican Radio reported.

A Bolivian journalist gave him a batch of drawings from children of that country. “I love children’s drawings,” Francis was quoted as saying.

The pontiff will also travel to Bolivia and Paraguay over the next eight days.

Source : Christian Post

1...3,3563,3573,358...3,893Page 3,357 of 3,893