Christians Deliver Hope as Syrian Civilians Risk Lives to Flee Last ISIS Stronghold

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Christians Deliver Hope as Syrian Civilians Risk Lives to Flee Last ISIS Stronghold


Christians Deliver Hope as Syrian Civilians Risk Lives to Flee Last ISIS Stronghold


The remaining ISIS stronghold is crumbling, and Syrian families are fleeing what remains of the Islamic State of Iraq’s dwindling territory. As women and children suffer on the road, the Christian group, Free Burma Rangers, have met them with aid and a message hope. 


The Islamic terror group has been cornered in the village of Baghouz by US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), CBN News reports. 12,000 people, many being ISIS families, have escaped the village and embarked on the road to the nearest refugee camp, several miles away.


Kurdish forces from the SDF have assisted with the evacuation, sending cattle trucks to Baghouz and transporting refugees to a collection point, where families are screened and former ISIS fighters are imprisoned. The rest are sent to the Al-Hol refugee camp.


The trek is dangerous. In recent weeks, 69 people, mostly children, have died on the way to the Al-Hol camp, according to the International Rescue Committee. The journey involves a walk of dozens of miles in the Syrian desert without food, water, or shelter. Former ISIS fighters continue to pose a threat as well.


The terror group is doing what it can to prevent Syrian families from leaving the conflict, closing off a pathway from which nearly 40,000 have been able to escape since December, a spokesman for the SDF told the Associated Press.


 “Despite the…

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Click here to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Christian Headlines.

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Rhapsody of Realities 26 February 2019 – Jesus Is God’s Blessing

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Rhapsody of Realities 26 February 2019 – Jesus Is God’s Blessing

Rhapsody of Realities 26 February 2019 By Pastor Chris Oyakhilome – Jesus Is God’s Blessing

Topic: Jesus Is God’s Blessing

Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities (Acts 3:26).

The Lord Jesus came as a blessing to the world, to save men and bring them into fellowship with Himself, but the people of the world didn’t accept Him. Even the Jews, through whom He came, didn’t accept Him, because He came as a man. He wasn’t what they expected; they weren’t expecting someone that looked as ordinary as themselves. But Jesus is by no means ordinary; He’s Himself God. Be that as it may, He didn’t come to the world as God.

Philippians 2:6-8 says, “Who, being in the form of God…made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men. And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” They expected a ruler, but because they were spiritually blind, they didn’t realize that the one who walked amongst them was the ruler of heaven and earth; the Monarch of the universe. They expected a Messiah, and He was the Messiah.

Jesus is all that the Jews and the world were looking for and more, packaged in one divine personality, but they didn’t recognise Him. He wasn’t packaged the way they expected, so they killed Him. The Bible says, “He came unto his own, and his own received him not” (John 1:11). But thanks be unto God! The ensuing verse 12 says, “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.”

If you’ve never been born again, it means you’ve not received Him; you’ve not accepted God’s blessing. Jesus is all the blessings of heaven personified; to have Him is to have everything. It makes no difference what you’ve been searching for in life; what you’ve been in need of; receive Jesus and your search, thirst, and pursuit of happiness, will be over. He’s the one-stop shop for everything divine; everything sublime; everything transcendent that you could ever need. He’s your life, your peace, your salvation, your prosperity, your wisdom, your righteousness, and your everything! He’s God’s blessing to you! Hallelujah!

CONFESSION
 Blessed Jesus, you’re the lover of my soul, and the personality of my deepest affection; you mean more than the world to me. I acknowledge you as God’s ultimate blessing to me, and I walk in the light of all that I am in, and to you. Amen.

FURTHER STUDY:
 Matthew 1:20-21; John 17:3; Philippians 2:9-11

1 YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN:
 Mark 7:24-8:1-13 & Numbers 1-2

2 YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN:
 Matthew 18:1-11 & Exodus 7

Click HERE to Read previous Messages

Rhapsody of Realities 26th February 2019 Devotional was written by Pastor Pastor Chris Oyakhilome (D.Sc., D.D.). President of Loveworld Inc. aka Christ Embassy Int’l.

The post Rhapsody of Realities 26 February 2019 – Jesus Is God’s Blessing appeared first on Flatimes.

What’s the United Methodist Church’s Special Session About?

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What’s the United Methodist Church’s Special Session About?


What’s the United Methodist Church’s Special Session About?


(RNS) — You’ve probably heard the United Methodist Church is meeting this weekend in St. Louis, and that it has something to do with sexuality and a possible schism.


The special session of the United Methodist Church General Conference runs Sunday (Feb. 24) to Tuesday at the Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis. Saturday has been designated a day of prayer and preparation.


What is this meeting all about, and what are all these plans? Let us ’Splain…


Didn’t the United Methodist Church just have a meeting?


Yes, the General Conference — the denomination’s decision-making body — meets every four years. The last meeting was in 2016 in Portland, Ore.


Locked in a stalemate over petitions regarding LGBTQ inclusion — with rumors swirling about schism and one delegate fretting, “I believe we are confusing God at this point” — delegates at that meeting voted to defer all decisions on related legislation to a specially appointed commission. They also left the door open for a special session.


Currently, the denomination’s rulebook, the Book of Discipline, includes language that bars gay and lesbian members from ordination and marriage.


Now the 864 General Conference delegates, which include both clergy and laypeople from around the world, will gather to receive and act on a report from the Council of Bishops, based on recommendations from that specially…

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Home-schooled Christian family in Germany asked for proof of school attendance

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Home-schooled Christian family in Germany asked for proof of school attendance

The family judge who ordered the removal of the Wunderlich children from their home in 2013 has now requested proof of the children’s school attendance.

Home-schooling is illegal in Germany and it was decided in January at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) that moving the four children for three weeks to a children’s home was legal.

Dirk and Petra Wunderlich wanted to educate their four children at home so they could teach the Christian faith freely. The local family court took the view though that their non-attendance at school prevented them from being part of the community and learning social skills such as tolerance, assertiveness and ‘the ability to assert their own convictions against majority-held views’.

There were also fears that none of the kids were involved in any sports or music clubs and that they were living in a ‘symbiotic’ family where there were no other influences other than parental.

In August 2013, 33 police officers and seven youth welfare officers came into the home of the Wunderlich family near Darmstadt and took the four children, aged seven to 14 away

The authorities’ actions (not the legality of home schooling) were debated at the ECHR and it was decided the family’s right to privacy and a family life had not been violated.

A later assessment in 2014 established that the children were not being kept away from school against their…

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Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Premier Christianity News.

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“We Can’t Add Another Service! We Won’t Know Everyone.”

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Most pastors and other church leaders have heard this objection at one point or another. It might be a point of contention when the leadership suggests the addition of another worship service. Similarly, it might be the cry when leadership begins looking at the option of creating a new venue or adding a new site.

A pastor in our Church Answers community recently shared his frustration when a similar objection was raised because of the growth of the church. A church member really told him the church needed to stop growing because the longer-term members don’t know most of the new members.

Sigh. I guess we can start a new emphasis and call it “reverse evangelism.” Ask the newcomers to leave so we can maintain the integrity of our holy huddles.

There are so many problems with this attitude and argument. Let’s look at a few of them.

  1. The maximum most people can know well in a church is around 30 people. That number may double if you add casual acquaintances. Once a church’s worship service gets above 50 to 75 people, you can no longer really know everyone.
  2. Worship services are not the best venues for community. Church members connect so much better in groups like community groups, life groups, home groups, and Sunday school classes.
  3. This attitude is the opposite of a Great Commission mentality. The clear focus is inward, not outward. Jesus told us to take up His cross and follow Him. This attitude tells us to lean on our crutch and follow our whims.
  4. There are often unarticulated and…

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Click here to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Thom Rainer.

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What the Oscars teach us about significance

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What the Oscars teach us about significance

In a surprise, Green Book won last night’s Academy Award for Best Picture. Rami Malek and Olivia Colman won for Best Actor and Best Actress in a Leading Role; Mahershala Ali and Regina King won for Best Actor and Best Actress in a Supporting Role.

For everyone who won an Oscar, last night’s ceremony was a pinnacle moment that will stay with them for the rest of their lives.  

For the rest of us, however, the transience of awards like last night’s Oscars is noteworthy. Who won last year for Best Actor? Best Actress? Best Picture? Who won the year before that?

We’ve already had the Golden Globes, the Screen Actors Guild Awards, the Critics’ Choice Awards, and the Grammys. Do you remember who won what? We could ask the same question about past winners of the Super Bowl, the World Series, the Stanley Cup, and so on.

There’s a reason our culture pays so much attention to short-lived successes.

“Wealthy, successful and miserable”

Richard Rorty was one of America’s most influential thinkers. The longtime Princeton and Stanford professor was a leading voice for the relativism that has captured our culture. He claimed: “There is nothing deep down inside us except what we have put there ourselves.” He added that “truth is what your contemporaries let you get away with.”

If we reject the supernatural, the only prism by which to see the world is the natural. And the natural cannot see beyond itself. Like rose-colored glasses that turn everything rose-colored, we assume that all we see is all that exists.

As a result, many live for the moment, for the accolades of the present, because, to them, that’s all there is. But this materialistic, secularistic way of living is not sufficient for our souls.

Nine previous Oscar winners later committed suicide. Robert Kraft, the owner of the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots, stands accused of soliciting prostitution in Florida. Jussie Smollett’s character has been cut from this…

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‘All of us have a moral responsibility to act’: Archbishop urges chocolate rethink

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‘All of us have a moral responsibility to act’: Archbishop urges chocolate rethink

The Fairtrade Foundation said many cocoa farmers in West Africa, where 60% of cocoa is grown, are living in poverty and unable to pay for essentials such food, medicine or schooling for their children despite the chocolate industry being worth £4 billion in the UK.

 

In a report to launch Fairtrade Fortnight, the organisation says farmers could live a decent life for £1.86 a day, the average price of a large bar of chocolate, and argues that living incomes are key to ensuring the future sustainability of cocoa.

It said women cocoa farmers had fewer rights than men and rarely owned land, therefore receiving even less of the profits, but worked in the fields and did the “lion’s share” of labour involved in bringing crops to market.

Fairtrade is raising the price it pays for cocoa by 20% in October.

But it said just 6% of cocoa globally was Fairtrade-certified and is calling for collective action from the Government, industry and consumers.

The Fairtrade Foundation is calling on the government to join the German government’s Living Income Task Force, make living incomes a priority for UK aid and incorporate living income into Government Business and Human Rights policies.

It is also urging chocolate companies, traders and supermarkets to commit to sourcing their cocoa on Fairtrade terms as a first step and committing to ensuring that cocoa farmers receive a living…

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Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Premier Christianity News.

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‘Don’t take my Bible’ – video of street preacher arrest goes viral

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‘Don’t take my Bible’ – video of street preacher arrest goes viral

A video also appears to show the man’s Bible being confiscated after officers in the north of the city accused him of “causing problems” and “disturbing people’s days”.

The clip, shared on Twitter, does not give any indication as to the nature of the man’s preaching.

 

The Metropolitan Police told Premier: “Police were called to Southgate Underground Station at 1.52pm on Saturday, 23rd February in response to concerns raised about a man’s behaviour.

“An arrest was made to prevent a breach of the peace. The man was then de-arrested and no further action was necessary.”

 

Lawyers at the Christian Legal Centre, which has previously defended street preachers facing arrest, said it was working to identify the man and potentially offer him advice.

Anglican clergyman and former chaplain to the Queen, Rev Dr Gavin Ashenden was among those expressing support for the evangelist online.

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Ex-spy agency chief ‘quit role after his support for paedophile priest emerged’

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Ex-spy agency chief ‘quit role after his support for paedophile priest emerged’

Robert Hannigan stood down as director of the spy agency in 2017 after less than three years in the post, citing “family reasons”.

The Mail on Sunday reports his departure followed the discovery that in 2013 he had given a character reference on behalf of a Catholic priest charged with possessing child pornography.

 

The priest, who was said to have been a long-standing family friend of Mr Hannigan, was given a non-custodial sentence and went on to offend again, the paper said.

Mr Hannigan’s involvement in the case was said to have been discovered during a major investigation into online chatrooms by the National Crime Agency.

Mr Hannigan told the Mail the priest had been a “close family friend” for 20 years and they had submitted a character reference to the court “in good faith” after he pleaded guilty to the offences.

GCHQ/PA Wire

 

“His subsequent criminal actions appalled us and have shown that our judgment was completely wrong,” he added.

“When I later became director of GCHQ, all the correct steps were taken in relation to my involvement in this case and this was verified by Government lawyers.

“This is a personal family matter. We will not be making further comment.”

PA Wire

 

However, SNP MP Pete Wishart said the case “reeked of a cover-up” and called on Theresa May to explain what…

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Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Premier Christianity News.

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Open Heavens for Teens 25 February 2019 – Weaknesses and Strengths

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Open Heavens for Teens 25 February 2019 – Weaknesses and Strengths

Topic: Weaknesses and Strengths [Open Heavens for Teens 25 February 2019]

Memorise: “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.” – Psalm 121:1

Read: Acts 17:28

28 For in Him we live and move and have our being; as even some of your [own] poets have said, For we are also His offspring.

Bible In One Year: Numbers 14-15, Mark 6:1-32

MESSAGE:

Every individual has their strengths and weaknesses. Your strengths and weaknesses should point you back to God. Your strengths should remind you that you are a beneficiary of divine grace and so you should not think that you are better or more intelligent than your mates who do not have the same strength. When you give glory to God for your strengths, He will sustain them. Your weaknesses should also point you back to God. Your shortcomings remind you of your limitations and lead you to the only One who is unlimited.

As a teenager, you must recognize your strengths early. It could be in a particular subject, sport or skill. Some people are very good at mathematics, some English, some are good footballers while some are fast runners. Some people are good at speaking to a crowd, some others are good at organizing programs.

Whatever your strength is, identify it and groom it through training and practice. Get someone who is better experienced in that field to train you or enroll in a formal class for it. Also, never stop practicing to get better. If you are not better today than you were yesterday, then you are not maximizing your strength.

Key Point:

Your strengths and weaknesses should always point you back to God.

Also Read: Teen Open Heaven Daily Devotional by Pastor Adeboye

Hymn 2

1. When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word,
What a glory He sheds on our way!
While we do His good will,
He abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey.

Chorus:
Trust and obey, for theres no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

2. Not a shadow can rise, not a cloud in the skies,
But His smile quickly drives it away;
Not a doubt or a fear, not a sigh or a tear,
Can abide while we trust and obey.

3. Not a burden we bear, not a sorrow we share,
But our toil He doth richly repay;
Not a grief or a loss, not a frown or a cross,
But is blessed if we trust and obey.

4. But we never can prove the delights of His love
Until all on the altar we lay;
For the favor He shows, for the joy He bestows,
Are for them who will trust and obey.

5. Then in fellowship sweet we will sit at His feet,
Or we’ll walk by His side in the way;
What He says we will do, where He sends we will go;
Never fear, only trust and obey.

Daily Devotional for Teen’s guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer’s Ministries.

The post Open Heavens for Teens 25 February 2019 – Weaknesses and Strengths appeared first on Flatimes.

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