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WATCH: James MacDonald Says ‘I Feel That My Heart is Ready’ Days Before Return to Pulpit at California’s Calvary Chapel South Bay
Founder of Harvest Bible Chapel in greater Chicago, James MacDonald, believes his “heart is ready” for what is expected to be an unusual return to the pulpit Sunday at Calvary Chapel South Bay in Gardena, California, just over a year after he was booted from ministry at his former church.
MacDonald, who announced his March 22 return will kick-off an eight-part series at Calvary Chapel South Bay, has been chronicling a 40-day preparation process on Instagram which he says has given him confidence in his readiness.
Alluding to the ongoing upheaval of daily life caused by the new coronavirus pandemic, MacDonald revealed in an Instagram update Wednesday that he did not expect to be preaching in an empty room but he is looking forward to engaging with believers online.
“Hey, I’m thinking about you today here in California. The church building is closed, there is very few people here. The bookstore is closed. The public services are closed. The 40 days of preparation that was gonna culminate with the beginning of my series this Sunday night in Romans 8 at Calvary Chapel South Bay, it’s gonna be streamed but there’s not gonna be anybody in the room,” he said.
On his deathbed, John Wesley famously said, “Best of all…God is with us!” – a timely truth that is is powerfully relevant today. Though we could not have anticipated the seclusion of these present days, we can encounter God profoundly and personally when we are alone. So, get ready…
“The service will be live. I still have to get the message ready. Things are just so much different than what we could have ever imagined when we started on these 40 days of preparation seeking to get ready. … I feel that my heart is ready now and I’ve been doing that work. I hope you’ve been doing it too,” he continued.
MacDonald further revealed that he expects to be teaching from Romans 8 starting with verse 1 which says: “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”
“We’re gonna be putting out some material to let people know about this fresh teaching coming from Romans 8. Really one of the most glorious chapters in all of the Bible. And I am locked and loaded as they say, very, very excited as I share starting in Romans 8:1 a verse that is so desperately needed and so frequently misunderstood or abused,” he said. “Man I can’t wait to get into that. I can’t wait to share that. I can’t wait to preach that, and I pray that it’s gonna find fruitful soil in your heart.”
SOURCE: Christian Post, Leonardo Blair
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Even Max Lucado Says ‘God is Talking to the World’ Amid Coronavirus Pandemic
Evangelical pastor and author Max Lucado is encouraging Christians to choose faith over fear and consider what God might be telling them as the novel coronavirus continues to spread in the United States and abroad.
“We’ve never lived in a time like this. This is unprecedented,” Lucado, pastor of Oak Hills Church in San Antonio, Texas, told The Christian Post. “Yet the Bible tells us that times have been bizarre before. You open your Bible and you read about pestilence, fears, dark times. The Bible is written for times like this.”
“I think this a time where we need to be feeding our faith,” he continued. “If you feed our faith, your fears will starve. If you feed your fears, your faith will starve. Our tendency is to feed our fears. We have to do intentional things to feed our faith.”
Choosing faith over fear amid the onslaught of negative headlines, The New York Times bestselling author said, begins with thought management.
“When I turn on the news this evening, I’ll hear somebody say things are getting worse. If I don’t guard myself, I’ll let that create a sense of anxiety that will fill my heart, and then I will purvey that to the world,” Lucado explained.
“We think that just because we have a thought, we have to think it. We don’t. We don’t have to receive it. There are lots of lies out there and falsehoods distributed right now, in the form of exaggeration, like, ‘We’ll never get through this’ and other overstatements. We need to guard against those things because they can suck us down.”
The Lucado Encouraging Word Bible author pointed out that in 2nd Corinthians, the Apostle Paul exhorts believers to “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”
“This means, we hear that thought, and then we pray: ‘I know it seems things are getting worse, but Lord, you are in control, and I’m not going to surrender to that. I give my fear to you,’” he said. “Instead of allowing anxiety into my heart, faith goes into my heart so that later, what I say is, ‘Things are tough, but I believe in a good God and He’s on the throne.’ I become one who purveys hope instead of fear.”
He encouraged every believer to ask: “‘Lord, what are you saying to me during this crisis?” God, Lucado stressed, is “talking to the world” through the global pandemic.
“I believe His message is both personal and global,” the pastor emphasized. “Some of us need to hear something individually. For example, I sensed the Lord was telling me, ‘Max, don’t depend on the economy.’ It could be that God is telling people, ‘Don’t trust entertainment for your fulfillment.’”
SOURCE: Christian Post, Leah MarieAnn Klett
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‘This virus ain’t that serious’: The fallacy of relativism and urgency of truth
Young people are becoming seriously ill from coronavirus. According
to a new federal study, up to 20 percent of people hospitalized with the
disease in the US are between the ages of twenty and forty-four.
This is especially urgent news given that many young adults seem not to be as concerned about the disease as they should be.
One young man who is partying in Miami for spring break told a reporter, “If I get corona, I get corona. At the end of the day, I’m not going to let it stop me from partying.” Another said, “It’s really messing with my spring break” and added, “I think they’re blowing it way out of proportion. I think it’s doing way too much.”
Another told reporters that addressing hunger and poverty deserved more attention than the pandemic and added, “This virus ain’t that serious.”
I have written elsewhere about the urgency of battling this disease together by adopting the mindset that we are at war with the pandemic. In this post, I want to focus on the rejection of authority that is helping to spread the disease.
The fallacy of relativism and urgency of truth
President Franklin Roosevelt assured Americans during the
Great Depression, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” He
might say to the spring break partiers in the Washington Post article,
“The only thing we have to fear is the fact that you have no fear.”
Theirs is a generation raised on postmodern relativism and
its claim that there are no absolute truths. They have been taught to question
and challenge all authority, from the White House to their professors to the
law enforcement professionals on the Miami beach. In their worldview, truth is
what they believe it to be.
And they think their opinion that “this virus ain’t
that serious” is just as valid as the dire warnings coming from some of
the world’s top medical experts.
However, SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes coronavirus, is
not impressed with…
… Read More
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‘Could Be a Game-Changer’: Trump Announces 2 Possible Treatments for COVID-19
President Trump said Thursday he has instructed the Food and Drug Administration to speed up studies on two drugs he says could be a “game-changer” in the treatment of COVID-19.
The first drug, chloroquine (sometimes called hydroxychloroquine), is commonly used around the world to treat malaria and arthritis and has shown promise in other countries to treat patients who have contracted the novel coronavirus.
The second drug, Remdesivir, is an antiviral therapy that has been used to treat patients with Ebola but also has shown encouraging results on those with COVID-19. It was developed by Gilead.
Together, Trump said, the drugs show “tremendous promise.” Although neither therapy is a vaccine, they could nevertheless save lives during the months until a vaccine is found.
“I think it’s going to be very exciting,” Trump said. “I think it could be a game-changer – and maybe not. But I think it could be based on what I see; it could be a game-changer.”
Australian scientists using chloroquine in trials have said it could be a coronavirus cure.
FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn, speaking at the same press conference, announced a “large pragmatic trial” with chloroquine.
“That’s a drug that the president has directed us to take a closer look at, as to whether an expanded use approach to that could be done to actually see if that benefits patients,” Hahn said.
Remdesivir…
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Canadian Bill Would Jail Christian Parents Who Attempt to Discourage Their Child’s Same-Sex Attraction
A new Canadian bill backed by the prime minister would jail parents who attempt to discourage and change their child’s unwanted same-sex attractions or gender identity.
Bill C-8, supported by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, would make it a crime punishable up to five years in prison to “knowingly” cause “a person who is under the age of 18 years to undergo conversion therapy.” The bill applies not just to therapists but “everyone.”
The bill defines conversion therapy as a “practice, treatment or service designed to change a person’s sexual orientation to heterosexual or gender identity to cisgender, or to repress or reduce non-heterosexual attraction or sexual behaviour.”
The Campaign Life Coalition, a Toronto-based organization, says the bill is an affront to parental rights and religious freedom.
“If you’re a parent with a gender-confused child, you will not be permitted to help that child conform to his/her biological gender,” David Cooke of the Campaign Life Coalition wrote in an analysis of the bill. “… If you’re a pastor or church leader who publicly proclaims the power of Christ to transform homosexuals and transgenders, you may be arrested for ‘advertising conversion therapy.’”
The Trudeau government, he asserted, is “pushing to eradicate the Christian view of sexuality and gender from the…
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PODCAST: Whyte House Family Devotional Reading of Charles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening #62 with Daniel Whyte III
This is Daniel Whyte III, president of Gospel Light Society International with the Whyte House Family Devotional Reading of Charles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening podcast. This is Episode #62.
Charles Spurgeon was a prominent English Particular Baptist preacher. He was very influential among the Christians of various denominations during his age and even today, and is commonly called the “Prince of Preachers”. After some time of alternately searching for God and running from God, he had a powerful encounter which led him to give his life to Christ. Spurgeon was only 16 when he preached his first sermon and he began publishing books shortly afterward. At the time of his death, he had preached nearly 3,600 sermons and published 49 volumes of commentaries, sayings, anecdotes, illustrations and devotions. Spurgeon said, “encouraging thoughts are like honey to the heart”, and wrote this devotional in hopes that its uplifting messages for each day of the year would bring comfort and refreshment to our walk with God. He was inspired by Isaiah 50:4 which reads, “He wakeneth morning by morning. He wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned” and Psalm 63:5-6 which says, “My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips; when I remember Thee upon my bed, and meditate on Thee in the night watches.”
2 Samuel 18:23 reads: “But howsoever, said he, let me run. And he said unto him, Run. Then Ahimaaz ran by the way of the plain, and overran Cushi.”
Running is not everything, there is much in the way which we select: a swift foot over hill and down dale will not keep pace with a slower traveller upon level ground. How is it with my spiritual journey, am I labouring up the hill of my own works and down into the ravines of my own humiliations and resolutions, or do I run by the plain way of “Believe and live”? How blessed is it to wait upon the Lord by faith! The soul runs without weariness, and walks without fainting, in the way of believing. Christ Jesus is the way of life, and he is a plain way, a pleasant way, a way suitable for the tottering feet and feeble knees of trembling sinners: am I found in this way, or am I hunting after another track such as priestcraft or metaphysics may promise me? I read of the way of holiness, that the wayfaring man, though a fool, shall not err therein: have I been delivered from proud reason and been brought as a little child to rest in Jesus’ love and blood? If so, by God’s grace I shall outrun the strongest runner who chooses any other path. This truth I may remember to my profit in my daily cares and needs. It will be my wisest course to go at once to my God, and not to wander in a roundabout manner to this friend and that. He knows my wants and can relieve them, to whom should I repair but to himself by the direct appeal of prayer, and the plain argument of the promise. “Straightforward makes the best runner.” I will not parlay with the servants, but hasten to their master.
In reading this passage, it strikes me that if men vie with each other in common matters, and one outruns the other, I ought to be in solemn earnestness so to run that I may obtain. Lord, help me to gird up the loins of my mind, and may I press forward towards the mark for the prize of my high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
PRAY.
Thank you for listening to the Morning and Evening podcast. If you do not know the Lord as your Savior, here is how you can be saved from Hell and walk with the Lord morning and evening until you go to that wonderful place called Heaven when you die:
First, accept the fact that you are a sinner, and that you have broken God’s law. The Bible says in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”
Second, accept the fact that there is a penalty for sin. The Bible states in Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death…”
Third, accept the fact that you are on the road to hell. Jesus Christ said in Matthew 18:8: “Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire.” Also, the Bible states in Revelation 21:8: “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”
Now that is bad news, but here’s the good news. Jesus Christ said in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Just believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead by the power of God for you so that you can live eternally with Him. Pray and ask Him to come into your heart today, and He will.
Romans 10:9 & 13 says, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved… For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
If you believe that Jesus Christ died on the Cross for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead, and you want to trust Him for your Salvation today, please pray with me this simple prayer: Holy Father God, I realize that I am a sinner and that I have done some bad things in my life. I am sorry for my sins, and today I choose to turn from my sins. For Jesus Christ sake, please forgive me of my sins. I believe with all of my heart that Jesus Christ died for me, was buried, and rose again. I trust Jesus Christ as my Savior and I choose to follow Him as Lord from this day forward. Lord Jesus, please come into my heart and save my soul and change my life today. Amen.
If you believed in your heart that Jesus Christ died on the Cross, was buried, and rose again, allow me to say, congratulations on doing the most important thing in life and that is accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour! For more information to help you grow in your newfound faith in Christ, go to Gospel Light Society.com and read “What To Do After You Enter Through the Door”. Jesus Christ said in John 10:9, “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.”
If you accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior today, please email me at [email protected] and let us know. There is some free material that we want to send you. If you have a prayer request, please e-mail that to us as well, and we will pray for you until you tell us to stop.
God loves you. We love you. And may God bless you.
Source Black Christian News
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'The Worst of the Persecution No Longer Exists': Sudanese Christians See the Light After Years of Oppression
Sudan, a place that’s seen genocide, war, and persecution for as long as some can remember is finally coming out of the dark. The nation’s new transitional government is making real reforms that allow the Sudanese people to live and worship more freely.
On a recent trip to Sudan, American observers witnessed something that hasn’t happened in decades, Sudanese Christians worshipping freely without fear of persecution.
It’s a relief after years of suffering under Islamic Sharia Law.
“Christians in particular could see their places of worship destroyed, they would be arrested and there were charges of apostasy and blasphemy that were leveled because these are in the penal codes,” Dwight Bashir tells CBN News. He’s the director of outreach and policy at the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).
Last year President Omar al-Bashir was overthrown and now faces charges of genocide before the International Criminal Court.
The new transitional civilian government led by Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, is transitioning Sudan out of the dark.
“The worst of the persecution no longer exists. There’s no more attacking of churches,” Bashir says.
He recently traveled to Sudan with two USCIRF commissioners to meet with Hamdok and the delegation agrees it’s clear he’s intent on enacting real reforms.
The State Department has downgraded Sudan from a major violator of religious liberty to a watch list, but for Hamdok, change isn’t coming easy. Just this month he survived an attempt on his life.
“For him to succeed he needs to be protected. His cabinet needs to be protected. He’s brought in two Christians into his cabinet which would have been unthinkable just a couple of years ago,” Bashir explains.
Much work remains, like changes in zoning laws so Christians can build churches, along with other reforms that will allow the people of Sudan to worship more freely as their conscience dictates. However, for the first time in a long time there’s hope against many odds those changes are coming.
Presently Sudan is listed as number 7 of the world’s top persecutors of Christians on Open Doors USA’s 2020 WorldWatch List.
Source CBN
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Trump Adviser Paula White: 'God Is Your Resting Place' in This Age of the Coronavirus
Pastor Paula White spoke with CBN’s David Brody about how to conquer fear during this worldwide coronavirus crisis. White is President Trump’s spiritual advisor and close friend. This excerpt of the interview aired today on CBN’s Faith Nation show. Her advice is below.
“The enemy, what we call Satan, only has a few tools and one of those is fear. Then, the reason that he operates so much in fear, and it’s okay to feel afraid, it’s okay to be anxious a little bit, it’s not like we’re not human and don’t have real concerns – doesn’t mean we have to live by that fear.”
“Those of you that might not have a relationship with God, they’re looking at our lives (as Christians) and saying, ‘How are you so peaceful during this time? How is there a calmness? How is there not this panic?’ It doesn’t mean that we don’t use our brains. It means that we understand a few things: The Bible says for us to fight the good fight of faith. The Bible tells us we’ve not been given a spirit of fear but of love and of power and of a sound mind. Jesus said my peace I leave with you as if He willed us His peace.”
“God is your resting place. The Bible says some call on chariots and horses, but we’ll call on the Lord. When there are things that feel so out of control in our life, we need each other, we need encouragement. And most of all, we need to call upon God. There are people that are on the fence or people that are agnostic. There are people that don’t know what they believe, and are truly experiencing panic and phobias and terror and fright and fear and all the things that the enemy wants to bombard us.”
“But I’ve always said that the church has never been a museum for saints. It’s always been a hospital for those that are hurting. We are praying for our first responders and our medical doctors, for CDC, for our president, for everyone. Not everyone has health centers, some do and some have now become testing centers and are using the churches. We’re helping in all different ways.”
“But I think the greatest way we always can help as pastors is to offer true hope, and true faith. And faith is not, what we say, false evidence appearing real. We’re not denying facts. We’re saying, in the midst of this circumstance, in the midst of this pandemic, it did not catch God off guard. And this too shall pass. And God does have answers, and if we’ll sit and relax in him and calm down all the noise for a minute, calm down the chaos, I believe that God, as He has for thousands of thousands of years, delivered his people, has given them answers. It doesn’t mean everything turns out just the way you want.”
“Anyone who’s ever read my book knows if I had things the way they want, I would not have gone through all the literal chaos and hell I went through, but David, God arms, you know, you can go through a situation of crisis. But that crisis doesn’t have to get in you. And that’s not to minimize what we’re going through, because it’s very real. It’s very serious. But I do know, this too shall pass.”
Source CBN
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