Leap-year babies fight for recognition: The significance of your second birth

You don’t get to choose your birthdate. But if you had a
choice, you might want to avoid February 29.

So-called Leap-Year Babies have trouble at the DMV and getting library cards. They miss out on birthday specials that ignore their day. On non-leap years, Facebook won’t alert your friends when your birthday comes (or doesn’t).

On the other hand, you can divide your age by four when
telling people how old you are. Think of the savings on birthday candles.

Two apparently contradictory results follow, along with
biblical principles they illustrate.

The significance of your second birth

One: You are remarkably unique.

According to the US Census Bureau, less than 0.07 percent of the world’s population was born on a leap day. There are only 4.8 million of you on the planet. That sounds like a lot of people—until you realize that you could easily go your entire life without meeting one of them.

Your birthdate, however, is not the most unique thing about
you. While nearly five million other people share it, no one else shares your
fingerprints, iris pattern, the shape of your ears, and even your toe print.

What’s even more unique about you is the fact that you were made by God in his image (Genesis 1:27). He made no one else like you. No one else can replace you. He didn’t make you because he thought the world needs another human—he made you because he wants a personal, eternal relationship with you. That’s why his Son died for you and why he would die all over again, just for you.

Two: You are completely like everyone else.

While much is unique about our bodies, much is not. In fact,
we are 99.9 percent genetically similar to everyone else on the planet. No
other animal has a larynx like ours, hand and thumb design just like ours, or
brains like ours.

What’s even more common to us is the fact that we need a
second birth from the Creator who enabled our first birth. Jesus’ statement to
Nicodemus…

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Israelis Vote for Prime Minister in Unprecedented Third Election in a Years

Israelis Vote for Prime Minister in Unprecedented Third Election in a Years


Israelis will vote for the third time in a year to elect a prime minister.

According to CBN News, Israel is headed into its third election because the winning candidate has been unable to form a government in Israel’s 120-seat Knesset.

In Israel, President Reuven Rivlin chooses a leader to form a government. That leader has six weeks, but if he fails, another candidate has 28 days to try to form a government. Following that, anyone in the Knesset can try to form a government in a two-week window. If all of these efforts fail, Israel heads to another election.

Previously, both current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and challenger Benny Gantz have been unable to form a government by the deadlines.

Monday, some 4 million Israelis are expected to vote. In September’s election, nearly 70 percent of eligible Israelis voted.

Officials also said they were not worried about fears of the coronavirus affecting turnout.

“The corona thing is completely under control. Today we’ve taken all the precautions that are necessary, people can go and vote, with complete confidence,” Netanyahu said, after casting his vote in Jerusalem.

Some political experts are already predicting another stalemate, but leading up to the election, Netanyahu stressed the importance of voting. About 300,000 Likud supporters, the party that backs Netanyahu, did not vote in the last election.

“We’re two mandates away…

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PODCAST: Daniel Whyte III Preaches and Adapts Part 2 of an Article Written for a Magazine That He Owns Called the Torch (Now Called the Torch Leader) by His Late Younger Brother Mark Anthony White on the Day of His Homegoing Service Perfectly Titled “The Next Level”

Daniel Whyte III Preaches and Adapts Part 2 of an Article Written for a Magazine That He Owns Called the Torch (Now Called the Torch Leader) by His Late Younger Brother Mark Anthony White on the Day of His Homegoing Service Perfectly Titled “The Next Level”

TEXT: Hebrews 11:6

6 For he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.

TEXT: Romans 5:1-5

1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;

4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope:

5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

———-

My Younger Brother Mark Anthony White Has Gone to ‘the Next Level’ and was Laid to Rest yesterday, Saturday, February 29. Please Pray for His Family. Today I am continuing to preach an Article That He Wrote for One of Our Other Publications ‘The Torch’ (Now Called ‘The Torch Leader’) Some Years Ago Titled ‘The Next Level.’ Out of my immediate family, Outside of My Father Bishop Daniel White Jr., the Mark Anthony White That I Remember, Who We Called Tony, Was the Most Sincere About His Christian Faith, and He is Now in That Most Beautiful Place Called Heaven and His Days of Pain, Heartache, and Sickness Are All Gone. Please Pray for His five Children That He Left Behind, Tsciena White, Danari White, Talia White, Salomé White, and Mark White Jr.

In the first part of this message, we saw that “without faith it is impossible to please God”. We must know in our heart that our heavenly Father is all that Scripture says He is. And further, by knowing these things, we rest in the assurance that our Lord always has our best interest at heart.

But what about those seemingly “crazy” detours that we’re forced to take? You know, those times when we are confident that we’re heading in the right direction when, out of the blue, something happens to hinder our stride. It is these times when we hold fast to that which we don’t see and wait for that which has yet to be manifested.

A look back at Hebrews 11:1 makes it clear to us that, among other things, possessing faith is essential for us to be able to walk honorably with the true, invisible God who has made us His own. This well-known verse asserts that our conviction consists of our confidence in the Lord, and that this same assurance is the proof of what we know to be true, all-be-it unseen.

But how can this be? How can we reach a point where we cease to have doubt about our ultimate well-being in any circumstance?

Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

A good starting place would be to accept from God’s Word that, by His Spirit, He has given us faith with which to believe in Him.

Romans 12:3 says, “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.”

I Corinthians 12:7 says, “But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.”

Once we have accepted this truth, we’ll need to submit ourselves to God’s “maturity plan” for believers which consists of inconvenient and oftentimes, painful trials. The reason for this method has nothing to do with sadism, but a lot to do with the fact that our Lord, sadly, doesn’t get our undivided attention until our personal agendas are interrupted. This can sometimes mean grave disappointment which, in turn, can mean emotional hurt. But what we, as believers, can hold fast to is that all people undergo some type of hardship in their lives, but we have the benefit of these experiences resulting in wonderful blessings at key points in our lives.

So, there is a point to this after all. God communicates the stages of His process in His Word:

Romans 5:1-5 says“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us”.

These truths clearly steer believers from accepting the humanistic notion that events that occur in our lives are often happenstance. Indeed, occurrences in the Christian’s life, even some of those which strike us as insignificant, have meaning. These occurrences serve as both minor and major contributions to our respective developments as productive servants of the most High.

THE GAIN OF PAIN

Verse 3 of the above text alludes to the tribulations or trials that inevitably enter our lives from time to time. They appear for a myriad of reasons such as: (1) tests of our faith, (2) adversarial attacks, and (3) sin. Nevertheless, our God is able to turn these adverse situations into great advantage for His children, if we trust Him. Such trials often bring with them difficulty and heartache, In fact, the Lord consistently impacts our sensitivities just enough to make us stop and, if we are wise, become introspective and examine ourselves for such things as priority (i.e., Who’s really number one in our lives?); purity (i.e., Are we ignoring some habitual sin in our lives?); purpose (i.e., Are we carrying out the duties that the Holy Spirit has convicted us to?).

WAITING ON THE LORD

Tribulation triggers the exercising of our patience. A new trial not only requires the endurance capacity that we presently possess but also that which only God, and not we, know that we have. This waiting can be the hardest part, and sometimes spiritually dangerous, as we tend to steer toward carnal comforts (eg.: unhealthy relationships, compulsive self-abuse, withdrawal from fellowship). Again, there is a fruitful purpose to this. James 1:3-4 states that “the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect (complete) and entire, wanting nothing.” We see here that the trials that God allows to impact our lives, force us to begin to rely on that which is not temporary and that which we cannot lose—the Lord Himself. We become complete by attaching the placentas of our souls directly to Him by feeding on His Word and by consistently praying. Our Lord wants us to tap into a direct feed as oppose to relying on indirect and occasional transmissions of His nourishment. It is good for us to remember that God’s schedule, no doubt, is very different from our own timetable. He contemplates the entire season, while we’re entranced with but a moment of a day.

Psalm 27:13 says “I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living”.

Romans 5:4a informs us of the result of patience. And it is that time which we can look back in our lives and be reminded of God’s faithful deliverances. It is the proof of the fact that, in Christ, we are overcomers; indeed, solid proof, as we are the ones who have been made victorious. In order for us to obtain this knowledge of both crutches, He disallows our spouses or other close friends from meeting our needs, no matter how well-intentioned they may be. Our favorite pastimes and hobbies often lack appeal during these times. Career goals strike us as meaningless. At the cost of our discomfort, our loving God is greatly blessing us to see what we should always see—at all times, sunshine or rain. He’s all we have. With each trial we see more and more clearly that our Lord can always be trusted.

God uses each tribulation to enhance our knowledge base so that when the next challenge comes along we have a genuine confidence, not based on some pretense of clairvoyance, but one solely based on our Father’s impeccable track record. In a nutshell, we take the sentiment expressed in a very popular spiritual, I Don’t Feel Noways Tired:
I don’t believe, He brought me this far to leave me

——-

My Brother Mark Anthony White and My Father Bishop Daniel White Jr. Are Now in Heaven and Would Like for Me to Tell You How to Get There.

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.

Daniel Whyte III has spoken in meetings across the United States and in over twenty-five foreign countries. He is the author of over forty books including the Essence Magazine, Dallas Morning News, and Amazon.com national bestseller, Letters to Young Black Men. He is also the president of Gospel Light Society International, a worldwide evangelistic ministry that reaches thousands with the Gospel each week, as well as president of Torch Ministries International, a Christian literature ministry.

He is heard by thousands each week on his radio broadcasts/podcasts, which include: The Prayer Motivator Devotional, The Prayer Motivator Minute, as well as Gospel Light Minute X, the Gospel Light Minute, the Sunday Evening Evangelistic Message, the Prophet Daniel’s Report, the Second Coming Watch Update and the Soul-Winning Motivator, among others.

He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Theology from Bethany Divinity College, a Bachelor’s degree in Religion from Texas Wesleyan University, a Master’s degree in Religion, a Master of Divinity degree, and a Master of Theology degree from Liberty University’s Rawlings School of Divinity (formerly Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary). He is currently a candidate for the Doctor of Ministry degree.

He has been married to the former Meriqua Althea Dixon, of Christiana, Jamaica since 1987. God has blessed their union with seven children.

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AOC Says Religious Liberty Advocates Are ‘Weaponizing Scripture’ to ‘Justify Bigotry’ against LGBTQ Community

AOC Says Religious Liberty Advocates Are ‘Weaponizing Scripture’ to ‘Justify Bigotry’ against LGBTQ Community


Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-D) said religious liberty advocates and the Trump administration are “weaponizing and abusing Scripture to justify bigotry,” according to the Washington Examiner.

In a House Oversight Committee hearing to discuss LGBTQ rights, Ocasio-Cortez called out those who use Scripture to take away rights from gay people. She also compared religious freedom advocates to white supremacists.

“It’s very difficult to sit here and listen to arguments in the long history of this country of using Scripture and weaponizing and abusing Scripture to justify bigotry,” she said. “White supremacists have done it. Those who justified slavery did it. Those who fought against integration did it, and we’re seeing it today.

“I feel as though if Christ himself walked through those doors and said what he said thousands of years ago, when he said we should love our neighbor and our enemy—that we should welcome the stranger, fight for the least of us, that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of the needle than a rich man to get into the kingdom of heaven—he would be maligned as a radical and rejected from these doors,” she said.

The Catholic freshman congresswoman continued her three-minute speech by declaring her belief that all people are holy and sacred.

“There is nothing holy about rejecting medical care of…

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PODCAST: Whyte House Family Devotional Reading of Charles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening #45 (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 #45.

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.”

Psalm 89:19 reads: “Then thou spakest in vision to thy holy one, and saidst, I have laid help upon one that is mighty; I have exalted one chosen out of the people.”

Why was Christ chosen out of the people? Speak, my heart, for heart-thoughts are best. Was it not that he might be able to be our brother, in the blest tie of kindred blood? Oh, what relationship there is between Christ and the believer! The believer can say, “I have a Brother in heaven; I may be poor, but I have a Brother who is rich, and is a King, and will he suffer me to want while he is on his throne? Oh, no! He loves me; he is my Brother.” Believer, wear this blessed thought, like a necklace of diamonds, around the neck of thy memory; put it, as a golden ring, on the finger of recollection, and use it as the King’s own seal, stamping the petitions of thy faith with confidence of success. He is a brother born for adversity, treat him as such.

Christ was also chosen out of the people that he might know our wants and sympathize with us. “He was tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin.” In all our sorrows we have his sympathy. Temptation, pain, disappointment, weakness, weariness, poverty—he knows them all, for he has felt all. Remember this, Christian, and let it comfort thee. However difficult and painful thy road, it is marked by the footsteps of thy Saviour; and even when thou reachest the dark valley of the shadow of death, and the deep waters of the swelling Jordan, thou wilt find his footprints there. In all places whithersoever we go, he has been our forerunner; each burden we have to carry, has once been laid on the shoulders of Immanuel.

“His way was much rougher and darker than mine
Did Christ, my Lord, suffer, and shall I repine?”

Take courage! Royal feet have left a blood-red track upon the road, and consecrated the thorny path forever.

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.

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PODCAST: The Scripture & the Sense Podcast #430: Amos 3:5 (with Daniel Whyte III)

This is Daniel Whyte III president of Gospel Light Society International with The Scripture & the Sense Podcast #430, where I read the Word of God and give the sense of it based on an authoritative commentary source such as the Bible Knowledge Commentary or Matthew Henry Commentary. This podcast is based upon Nehemiah 8:8 where it says Ezra and the Levites “read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.” The aim of this podcast is that through the simple reading of the Word of God and the giving of the sense of it, the church would be revived and the world would be awakened.

Today we are reading Amos 3:5.

5 Can a bird fall in a snare upon the earth, where no gin is for him? shall one take up a snare from the earth, and have taken nothing at all?

________

That was Amos 3:5. Now here is the sense of it.

The Bible Knowledge Commentary reads:

Fourth, a bird does not fall into a trap unless a snare has first been baited and set. Nor, fifth, does a trap spring up from the earth unless something catchable has triggered it. A captured bird or wild animal usually means a trap was used.

____________

Thank you for listening to the Scripture & The Sense Podcast. Remember to read the Word of God each and every day and pray without ceasing to God for wisdom to understand it and apply it to your life. Most importantly, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Please stay tuned for a complete presentation of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ so that you can get your soul saved from Hell to that wonderful place called Heaven when you die. May God bless you and keep you is my prayer.

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Witnesses to the 'Uttermost Parts of the Earth:' Sharing the Gospel in Northern Siberia

YAMAL PENINSULA, NORTHERN SIBERIA – The locals call this place “Yamal,” which means “the end of the world.” And in many ways, it is. There are no roads here. People use frozen lakes and rivers to get around on reindeer or snowmobile.

The Yamal Peninsula sits in the deep, frozen Siberian tundra above the Arctic Circle – Latitude 70 degrees north. Longitude 70 degrees east.

The temperature here fluctuates between -30 and -60 degrees Fahrenheit. As I prepare to venture outside, I put on layers and layers of clothing.
 
It’s a little after 6:00 a.m. Peter Khundi, our Siberian guide, does last-minute checks on a snowmobile that has a sleigh attached. The sleigh is covered with reindeer skins. This is how we are going to travel into the tundra.   

The Dangerous Trek Across the Siberian Tundra

“I have to make sure we have enough rope and other emergency supplies in case we get stuck,” Peter says.

I ask him if this is dangerous. “Yes, it is,” he replies.

Our destination this morning is a four-hour journey deep into the wilderness to meet a nomadic family. Two hours into our journey, we stop briefly. It’s about 9:25 in the morning, and the sun has yet to rise. 

The sun shines only a few hours during the winter. When it does appear, normally around Noon, the sunrise is something to behold. 

“This is a special place,” Peter says.

Sharing the Gospel with One Family at a Time

Peter belongs to the largest nomadic tribe in Northern Siberia. It’s called the Nenets. He’s more than just a guide. He’s a Christian. And for the last few years, he’s been sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with his tribe and others who live here in the tundra.

“When I became a Christian, God gave me a new heart,” Peter tells me. “He also gave me a new heart for my people. I go out on my snowmobile meeting these nomadic families and telling them about the love of Christ.”

The Lifeblood of The Nenets – Reindeer

The Nenets are nomadic reindeer herders. The word “Nenet” means “child of a deer.” 

Reindeer are the lifeblood of the Nenets people here on the Siberian tundra because their meat and their hides fetch a lot of money in the villages.

“Our food, clothes, shoes, homes, our transportation – everything comes from them,” says a Nenets herdsman. “Without deer, we cannot not survive.”

And learning how to survive in the tundra begins at an early age.

“All my children were taught from a young age how to live in [these] harsh conditions. It is our way of life, but if you are not careful you can die out here,” says Ustinia Laptander of the Nenets Tribe.

The women take care of cooking, sewing clothes, and putting up the teepees. The men are hunters and care for the reindeer. 

When it comes to skinning the reindeer, the entire family is involved. The hide is used to make the teepees and clothes.

Blood and raw reindeer meat are often consumed for their vitamin content.  

“We use every part of the animal. Nothing is wasted,” says a nomadic man.

The Key to Evangelism in the Tundra: Friendship First

Peter is among a handful of evangelists reaching the Nenets people. He’s been visiting Ustinia’s family for a few weeks now.  

“He comes here to tell us about God,” Ustinia says. “We have good conversations.”

He’s supported by a local Siberian church and Russian Ministries, an organization focusing on spreading the Gospel in the former Soviet Union.

Peter says it starts with friendship evangelism.  

“I’ve brought presents for all the children today. Each box is filled with toys, school supplies, and a children’s Bible. We have to build relationships first,” says Peter.

Modern technology such as snowmobiles, cell phones, and generators have made life a little easier on the tundra.

“Before I had to rely on reindeer to get around. Now the snowmobile allows me to travel further distances to meet families,” Peter tells me.

There are no verifiable numbers, but Peter estimates some 500 Nenets people have accepted the Lord in recent years.  

“There are still thousands more who have yet to hear about Jesus,” he says.

So, for now, Peter continues to traverse the harsh landscape of the Siberian tundra in search of more people with whom to share the Good News of faith in Jesus. 

Source CBN

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False Accusations Seriously Disrupt Lives of Eight Acquitted Christians in India

False Accusations Seriously Disrupt Lives of Eight Acquitted Christians in India


NEW DELHI, February 28, 2020 (Morning Star News) – False charges against eight Christians acquitted on Feb. 19 of kidnapping and forcible conversion in central India have traumatized families and cost them jobs, sources said.

Schoolteacher Amiya Jal, one of the Christians arrested on May 22, 2017 for allegedly abducting and forcefully converting 59 children, was suspended from his job at a reputable school while he spent 103 days in jail unable to obtain bail, he said.

“Even after I was bailed out, my school did not take me back, and so I was jobless for more than two years,” Jal told Morning Star News. “In July 2019 I have joined a school but not at my terms, as I was still under trial when they appointed me.”

Before Jal and other Christian leaders and Sunday school teachers were arrested as they accompanied the children to a Christian summer camp in Maharashtra state, he had purchased a house. He had to make payments on it without any income, he said.

“I borrowed money and paid them, and today I am in much debt,” Jal said. “We have exhausted all our savings, but I am thankful that the case is over and that I have been declared not guilty. I praise God for His faithfulness and am sure that, like in the book of Job, God will restore to me what my family and I have lost.”

Arrested at the Ratlam railway station in Madhya Pradesh state while accompanying the…

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Jack Welch, Former Chairman and CEO of GE, Dies at 84

Jack Welch, a railroad conductor’s son who became chairman and CEO of General Electric and led it for two decades, growing its market value from $12 billion to $410 billion, has died. He was 84.

Welch died late Sunday at home, surrounded by his wife, Suzy, and family, and his beloved dogs nearby. The cause of death was renal failure, his wife said Monday.

With a determination to win by busting up bureaucratic complacency, Welch earned two titles — “manager of the century,” and “Neutron Jack,” the latter for slashing tens of thousands of jobs. Under his leadership, GE became the world’s most valuable company, after Microsoft. Its fortunes later turned south.

While at the helm, Welch bought and sold scores of businesses, expanding the industrial giant into financial services and consulting. GE Capital Bank was founded seven years into his tenure. His acquisitions included RCA — then-owner of NBC — and Kidder Peabody, the brokerage that became entangled in an insider trading scandal.

He also streamlined the conglomerate’s bloated bureaucracy by giving managers free rein to make changes they deemed beneficial to the bottom line.

He invented the “vitality curve,” in which managers were ranked into three groups. The top 20% “A” group was “filled with passion, committed to making things happen.” The “vital” 70% “B” group was essential to the company and encouraged to join the A’s. Then there was the bottom 10% “C” group. “The underperformers generally had to go,” Welch said in his 2001 book, “Jack: Straight From the Gut.”

According to the book, “the workforce went from 411,000 to 299,000 during his first five years as chief. With such cuts, he acquired the derisive moniker named after the neutron bomb, which was designed to kill multitudes without destroying cities.

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Jim Denison on Responses to the Coronavirus and Opportunity for the Gospel

Jim Denison is the founder and CVO of the Denison Forum, a nonprofit Christian media organization that comments on current issues through a biblical lens. The views expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent those of BCNN1.

The first coronavirus death in the US occurred on Saturday, the second last night. Both patients were in Washington state and had underlying health conditions.

Two dozen new cases of the virus were reported over the weekend, bringing the total in the US to eighty-nine, up from sixty-five on Friday night.

As I will explain today, this is an unprecedented challenge to our nation and world. And it is therefore an unprecedented opportunity for the gospel.

This virus presents a global challenge unprecedented in my lifetime, because it shows the following three facts to be true.

One: Wealth cannot protect us.

The stock market just finished its worst week since the Great Recession of 2008, losing $3.6 trillion in value. According to one analyst, this crash “may have created a once in a lifetime buying opportunity.” By contrast, a CDC official warned that “disruption to everyday life may be severe” as the virus spreads in the US. If people are afraid to see other people, imagine the impact on churches, schools, offices, manufacturing, and retail.

Two: Medical science cannot stop the virus (so far).

A Harvard professor warns that “if a pandemic happens, 40 to 70 percent of people worldwide are likely to be infected in the coming year.” On the other hand, some think the virus will burn itself out in the summer heat. A middle position is that it becomes like the seasonal flu, only with a higher mortality rate.

Three: The epidemic knows no borders.

The World Health Organization warns that the virus could soon reach every nation in the world. Countries with communist governments, Muslim leaders, and democratic republics alike are susceptible.

Not in my lifetime have we seen such a holistic threat.

Hurricanes, tornadoes, and earthquakes affect specific cities and regions. Ebola was localized as well. The Great Recession affected different countries in different ways and was not a medical emergency.

So far as we know at present, this is a disease anyone can get. And it is therefore a disease everyone can get. We cannot depend on our wealth, current medical knowledge, or political structures to protect us.

As a result, the coronavirus is showing us what we should have known all along: we are mortals in desperate need of God. The virus is not changing the mortality rate—it is making it more real. We need God’s protection in the present and his saving grace for eternity.

One way God wants to redeem this pandemic is by using it to turn us to himself.

Source: Christian Headlines

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