After a harrowing near-death experience in 2015, former NBA star Lamar Odom said he’s been saved. Odom says that Pastor R.A. Vernon of the Word Church in Warrensville, Ohio, helped him understand God’s salvation, according to the Christian Post.

“Nowadays I’m doing the best I can in walking with the Lord,” he said in an Instagram post. “Thanks to Pastor Vernon, I got saved at the Word Church this weekend.”

His girlfriend, Sabrina Parr, stood beside him at the service and later praised him on Instagram for his commitment.

“Nothing better than a man of God!” she said. “Keep pushing through life baby!! God willing I’ll be right here by your side!!!!”

Odom credits God for keeping him alive after he overdosed on drugs at a Nevada brothel in 2015. He was found unconscious and placed on life support. Doctors only gave him a 50 percent chance to survive. But the athlete rallied and is now back to good health.

As he recovered, he began to open up about his struggles to The Players’ Tribune in 2017 and credited his teenagers for encouraging him to go to rehab and stay sober.

“My daughter, Destiny, is 18. She’s beautiful and smart…When I was able to talk again, she told me straight up, ‘Dad, you need to get yourself help or I’m not going to talk to you again.’

“So I went to rehab, and in rehab…

Earlier this week, comedian Kevin Hart posted an emotional and inspiring video thanking God for saving his life after a devastating car crash.

“Basically, what you realize is that you’re not in control,” he says at the beginning of the two-minute video, according to Faithwire. “No matter how much you think you’re in control, you’re not in control. At the end of the day, it can all be over, man.”

In September, Hart was seriously injured after the car he was in careened into an embankment and slammed into a tree as reported by CNN. Both Hart and the driver were transported to the hospital for serious back injuries.

The accident has brought perspective to the comedian and actor. “When you’re moving too fast, and you’re doing too much, sometimes you can’t see the things that you’re meant to see,” he said. “After my accident, I see things differently.

“You know when God talks, you gotta listen. I swear, life is funny. Because some of the craziest things that happen to you end up being the things that you needed most. And in this case, I honestly feel like God basically told me to sit down.”

The video highlighted Hart’s determination to continue physical therapy in light of his accident. He also credits his family and friends for his recovery, but “more importantly”, God.

“I’m…

A Florida county’s placement of “In God We Trust” decals on patrol cars is an “inappropriate” inclusion of religion in the public square, an atheist group says.

The Brevard County Sheriff’s Office said on its Facebook page over the weekend that its new vehicles in the coming months and years would include a “patriot theme,” with an American flag on the side and the phrase “In God We Trust” on the back. The latter is the national motto. 

“To us there is no greater honor than to live in the greatest country in the world and serve as a law enforcement officer in Brevard County where our citizens love us, trust us and protect us just as much as we love, trust and protect them,” the Facebook post said.

But the Freedom From Religion Foundation – a coalition of atheists, agnostics and skeptics – is urging the sheriff’s office to abandon the plan and to remove the stickers. 

“Spending taxpayer time placing religious messages on patrol cars is beyond the scope of secular government,” Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-president of the group, wrote in a letter to Sheriff Wayne Ivey. “Further, in a time when citizens nationwide are increasingly distrustful of law enforcement officers’ actions, it is frightening and politically dubious for the local police department to announce to citizens that officers rely on the judgment of a deity…

President Trump’s nominee to fill a seat on the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals referenced his Christian beliefs Wednesday in defending charges he would be biased against LGBTQ individuals.

Lawrence VanDyke, who has represented both the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) – two groups often in opposition – was reacting to an American Bar Association report that said he “would not say affirmatively that he would be fair to any litigant before him, notably members of the LGBTQ community.”   

VanDyke was appearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is scheduled to vote on his nomination, the Hill reports. 

“I did not say that,” he said through tears. “I do not believe that. It is a fundamental belief of mine that all people are created in the image of God, and they should all be treated with dignity and respect.” 

VanDyke’s nomination has the potential to further transform the Ninth Circuit, which traditionally has been one of the more liberal appeals courts in the nation. Liberal groups oppose his nomination.

Democratic Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (Vt.) asked VanDyke about a 2004 op-ed in which the nominee wrote that same-sex marriage would “hurt families, and consequentially children and society.” VanDyke said his personal views would remain separate from his decision, The…

On Tuesday a federal judge in Alabama blocked the state’s near-total abortion ban.

According to the Associated Press, U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson issued an injunction to temporarily halt the Human Life Protection Act from going into effect. The law was set to take effect on November 15. 

Thomas issued the preliminary injunction after abortion providers filed a lawsuit challenging the law’s constitutionality. Thomas’ injunction will remain in effect until she can hear the case.

Along with her injunction, Thomas wrote an opinion noting that she believes the law contradicts the constitution.

She wrote, “Alabama’s abortion ban contravenes clear Supreme Court precedent. It violates the right of an individual to privacy, to make choices central to personal dignity and autonomy. It diminishes the capacity of women to act in society, and to make reproductive decisions. It defies the United States Constitution.”

As Christian Headlines previously reported, the Human Life Protection Act would nearly ban all abortions in the state of Alabama. The law – which was sponsored by Republican Representative Terri Collins – would classify abortion as a Class A felony and threatens anyone who performs an abortion with a sentence in prison of up to 99 years.  

The law does not make exceptions in the cases of rape or incest, though it does…