New party to challenge Poland’s Catholic church launched by gay atheist politician

Robert Biedron, 42, rose to prominence as the country’s first openly gay MP in 2011, elected as part of the ‘Your Movement’ party, a liberal, anti-clerical party.

In 2014, he became Mayor of the northern town of Slupsk.

On Sunday, he announced the name of his new party as Wiosna (Spring) and said he wanted to bring an end to deep divisions in Polish society.

In a bid to curb the influence of the Catholic Church, he said Wiosna would end tax breaks for the church, stop religious lessons in school, and guarantee access to contraception and the right to an
abortion until the 12th week of pregnancy.

The current governing Law and Justice party has close links to the Catholic Church and was recently in conflict with the EU over its appointment of judges.

Biedron told his audience at his party’s launch in the capital, Warsaw:

“We want no more Polish-Polish war, we want mutual respect and dialogue.

“These last years have been cold and gloomy. Instead of talks we got unending conflict, instead of common good, party interests, instead of empathy, growing enmity. May this change at last.”

Poland will hold both European and national parliamentary elections this year.

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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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Turning Your Church Outwardly Focused

I was hesitant to write this post.

Indeed, I could see church members using this post to advocate that the pastor needs to do more of the work of ministry like evangelism. I’ve heard similar words many times: “After all, that’s what we pay the pastor to do.”

Such words are shameful. Such words are unbiblical.

But I do have to challenge pastors and church leaders. In recent years I have noticed a precipitous decline in the amount of time church leaders spend doing evangelism or doing activities that have an outward focus.

And here is the reality: If the pastors and church leaders are not serious about reaching people with the gospel, you can’t expect the members to do so. Most pastors are spending less than two hours a week in outwardly-focused ministries, specifically evangelism. They have become so busy doing good things they neglect obedience to the Great Commission.

Here is my simple challenge: Commit at least five hours a week to evangelism and outwardly-focused ministries. Mark those five hours on your calendar like any other appointment. Make those five hours a priority. Do not come up with busyness and excuses that keep you from fulfilling your challenge.

This challenge should apply to all vocational ministers on staff. If you are full-time, commit five hours. If you are half-time, commit three hours (yeah, I rounded up).

Here are some suggestions for your five hours each week:

  • Take a non-Christian or unchurched person to lunch.
  • Write five handwritten notes to people who do not…

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

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Why the Rams’ Super Bowl loss matters today

As everyone who doesn’t live on Mars must know, the New England Patriots defeated the Los Angeles Rams to win Super Bowl LIII yesterday.

The game set eighteen records: It was the lowest-scoring Super Bowl in history. Tom Brady and Bill Belichick are now the oldest starting quarterback and head coach to win a Super Bowl. It featured the longest punt ever (though the ball rolled much of the way), the fewest touchdowns, and the fewest kickoff returns.

Critics are condemning the Rams and their quarterback today, but they did make it to the game’s biggest stage (albeit after a blown call against the Saints). However, the NFL gives out no trophies for second place.

Legendary driver Dale Earnhardt spoke for our culture: “Second place is just the first place loser.”

Do you remember who lost the Super Bowl last year? The Patriots. Two years ago? The Falcons. The year before? The Panthers. (I had to look it up.)

“A first-grader could have painted that”

In our culture, you’re a winner if you win and a loser if you lose. That’s because a secular culture, by definition, cannot consider spiritual truth. It can see only what it can see. A materialistic society measures success by materialistic means.

Philosopher Martin Heidegger claimed that you are an actor on a stage. You have no audience, script, or director. There is no past or future, only now. Courage is to face life as it is.

Works by Jackson Pollock look like paint dripped on a canvas because that’s what they are. Before you say, “A first-grader could have painted that,” know that one of his pieces sold a few years ago for more than $32 million.

When people view Pollack’s art they ask, “What does it mean?” He wanted them to ask a different question: “What does it mean to you?”

In our secular society, meaning is what you find in the moment. Today is all there is. So, if you win, you’re a winner. If you lose, you’re a loser.

A tightrope or your phone’s GPS?

God views…

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Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Denison Forum.

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Sir Cliff Richard wows crowds with church show

The 78-year-old performed a number of tracks in front of a relatively small audience for him at St James Parish Church during a garden party on Saturday.

According to the Daily Express, the Christian entertainer agreed to take part following a request from church wardens who are raising funds for the nearly-400 year-old landmark.

 

Pictured shared on social media showed him wearing a colourful short-sleeve shirt and cream-coloured trousers, and holding a guitar on a stage. Sir Cliff has been making visits to Barbados for 20 years.

 

The church of St James is close to Sir Cliff’s house in the Sugar Hill Resort on the west coast. The Daily Mail reported in December 2017 that Sir Cliff was putting the £6 million six-bedroom villa up for sale.

Postdlf/Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Postdlf

 

In December last year, Premier exclusively reported how Sir Cliff had thanked fans who had prayed for him during his legal case against the BBC.

 

Sir Cliff successfully sued the Corporation for breaching his privacy when it broadcast…

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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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Travellers could be welcomed onto church land under CofE plans

The proposals were contained in a new report which also claimed travellers had been shown “extreme levels of hostility” in society – and the Church was partly to blame.

It concluded: “Churches too have been part of this institutional racism in their failure to welcome gipsies and travellers into the full life of their communities.

 

“There is much anecdotal evidence of people being refused baptism, weddings and funerals and such things as churches cutting off the outside tap for the graveyard [to stop travellers accessing water].”

The report has been created by Church of England minority concerns advisor Dr Elizabeth Henry and backed by the Bishop of Chelmsford. It will be presented to the Church’s governing body later this month.

General Synod February 2018

 

If its recommendations are accepted by General Synod, Church institutions and individual congregations will be urged to invite housing associations to use their land for traveller accommodation.

Dr Elizabeth’s document also said that every CofE diocese ought to appoint a chaplain dedicated to the traveller community.

Sebastian Ballard/Wikimedia Commons/ https://www.geograph.org.uk/profile/18677

 

There has been a wave of trespassing accusations made against travellers in the UK during recent years.

Two years ago, Premier reported how travellers entered the grounds of a church in south…

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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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Mountain Mover By Michael Whyte – Mp3, Lyrics

This song talks and shows the supremacy of our God over all things in life. There is nothing He cannot do and will not do for His children.

The requirements are FAITH and BELIEVE that through and by HIM it is achievable and doable when you call on HIM.

Also the power of life and death is in your mouth and whatsoever you say in the name of Jesus will surely be done if you have the FAITH.

Mountain Mover By Michael Whyte – Mp3, Lyrics

Lyrics: Mountain Mover By Michael Whyte

Mountain mover
I call on You every knee
Will bow at the mention of Your name
Mountain mover
I call on You every tongue confess
You are Lord over all

It is written if I have a faith as small as the mustard seed I will say to the mountain be moved
Be moved be moved into the sea
And never be seen again
Never be seen again in my life

Chorus

If I climbed the mountain to the other side, the mountain will still be there
Yes will still be there
If I find my way around the mountain
The mountain will still be there
If I dip a hole through the mountain
The mountain will still be there
So I command you take yourself and never be seen again,never be seen again in my life
Mountain mover

Chorus

Be moved
Be moved
Be moved
In Jesus name.

Jesus Jesus Jesus!!!

Mountain Mover By Michael Whyte – Mp3, Lyrics

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Joyce Meyer Devotional 4 February 2019 — Excuses Excuses

Topic: Excuses Excuses [Joyce Meyer Devotional 4 February 2019]

Now you [collectively] are Christ’s body and [individually] you are members of it, each part severally and distinct [each with his own place and function]. — 1 Corinthians 12:27 (AMPC)

Moses made excuses when God called him to service. He said he wasn’t eloquent enough and could not speak (see Exodus 4:10).

Felix made excuses when Paul was speaking to him about righteousness and self-control. He essentially said, “Right now is an inconvenient time. Can you come back later?” (see Acts 24:25).

When God invites people into relationship with Him, many people come up with excuses when the truth is they simply don’t want to make the sacrifices required to follow Him. Even among those who are believers in Jesus, we still hear ample excuses for not serving Him fully.

It is time to deal with excuses and start speaking truth. There is one truth none of us will be able to avoid: The day will come when every person will stand before God and give an account of his or her life (see Romans 14:12 On that day there will be no excuses!

Prayer Starter: Prayer Starter: Father, I want to love and serve You wholeheartedly without making excuses. Draw me closer to You and help me to step out into all that You have for my life. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

If you missed yesterday devotional, please click to read “Joyce Meyer Daily Devotional HERE’’

From Joyce Meyer’s Ministries.

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TREM Devotional 4 February 2019 – Is The Love Of God That Draws People

Topic: Is The Love Of God That Draws People [TREM Devotional 4 February 2019]

“We love him because he first loved us.” 1 John 4:19 KJV

The Church must begin to leverage on the love of God for her. It is the love of God that draws people to God, not His holiness! If you read the book of Luke chapter 5, where Simon that was later called Peter first encountered Jesus, you will notice that God first showed him love. Then eventually when Peter found out that this God he was dealing with is holy, he said to God: “depart from me.” He said, “go away from me.” The two of us can never agree. You are holy so stay in your corner. Don’t bother me. And Jesus said to him: Look, stop running from me, I have a greater purpose for your life. The holiness of God made him run from God.

When Jesus resurrected in Mark 16:7, He sent Mary to tell the disciples and specifically told her to stop over at Peter’s house to give him the good news. Simon had denied Christ thrice and now was feeling that he was finished. He thought it was all over for him and nothing could ever happen with him again. So when Jesus resurrected, He said “go to Peter and tell him it is not yet over with you. I will still use you to preach to many around the nations of the world.” As you read this right now, you may be thinking that it is over for you here. But in reality, you are about to start.

The worst thing you can do to yourself as a child of God is to count yourself out while you are still breathing. There is no situation you are in that cannot be turned around by Jesus. We serve the God that is a game changer. He will change your game! And so when Peter saw Christ in John chapter 21, and John told him that the person making barbeque at the seashore and preparing fresh hot bread is Jesus, he jumped out and swam to the seashore to go and meet Jesus because he has experienced His love.

Further Reading: John 21:5-14

Daily Bible Reading: Morning- Exodus 34-35; Evening- Matthew 22:23-46

“If you missed yesterday devotional click HERE to read TREM Daily Devotional by Dr. Mike Okonkwo’’

Written by Dr. Mike Okonkwo; Is the Presiding Bishop of The Redeemed Evangelical Mission (TREM); a versatile man of God with over 30 years of dedicated service unto the Lord.

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Seeds of Destiny 4 February 2019 Devotional – Healed By His Stripes

Topic: Healed By His Stripes [Seeds of Destiny 4 February 2019 Devotional]

SCRIPTURE: But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. Isaiah 53:5

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: The revelation of God’s Word is key to living in Divine Health.

In our previous studies, we saw that light is very essential to destiny fulfilment. In Deuteronomy 29:29, the Bible says, The secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.

This means, what is revealed is what can be possessed. Every inheritance which we are to possess in God is only accessed by revelation.

Therefore, revelation is key to living in abundant and sickness-free life.

Now, there are several Bible verses that show our heritage of Divine health. Our anchor Scripture is one of such passages. It is very clear from this passage that we are healed by the stripes of Jesus Christ on the Cross (Isaiah 53:4-5). This means that every beating, whip or stroke of cane that he received transferred a particular infirmity or affliction on him. Theologians pointed out that each of the thirty nine strokes of the cane represented different categories of afflictions and diseases you can think of. The only way to take the diseases out of Him and transfer them to you is to un-beat Him; and since He cannot be unbeaten, it means, you cannot be sick or afflicted anymore because He was beaten so you can live a sickness-free life. The Stripes on Him were fixed deposits. So, any sickness the devil is trying to send into your life was already taken by Jesus before you were born.

Beloved, the revelation of God’s Word is key to living in Divine Health; believe that every sickness has been taken out of your life by the stripe of Jesus and so, you cannot be sick. This revelation is key to living in perfect health.

Remember this: The revelation of God’s Word is key to living in Divine Health.

ASSIGNMENTS:

  1. Ask God to open your eyes to see what happened on the Cross.
  2. Believe that you are made whole by His Stripes on the Cross of Calvary and walk in abundant health.

PRAYER: O Lord, I ask that You show me the details of the Word on the Cross of Calvary. I walk in perfect state of health from today and forever, Lord, in Jesus’ Name.

FOR FURTHER UNDERSTANDING, GET THIS MESSAGE”: ACTIVATING THE FORCE OF DIVINE HEALTH

DAILY READING: Exodus 19:16 to 21:21, Matthew 23:19 to 39, Psalm 28:1 to 9, Proverbs 7:1 to 5.

AMAZING FACT: When the Hippopotamus is upset, its sweat turns red.

TODAY IN HISTORY: 04/02/1789 – George Washington, the commander of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War was unanimously elected the first president of the United States by all 69 presidential electors who cast their votes.

QUOTE: The quality of truth in your spirit determines the immunity and security of your life and destiny. Culled from 22 LAWS OF LIFE by Dr. Paul Enenche.

DO NOT FORGET TO ATTEND: The Healing and Deliverance Service tomorrow by 9:00 am at the Glory Dome, Airport Road, Abuja. Invite your friends and loved ones.

Also Read: Click HERE to read Other Inspirational Messages by Pastor Paul Enenche “

Today’s devotional was written by Pastor Paul Enenche of the Dunamis International Gospel Centre (DIGC), headquartered at Abuja, Nigeria, with Pastor Paul and Becky Enenche, as the Senior Pastors. It is a power-packed arena where God’s Presence, Principles and Power are at work for the salvation, healing and restoration of human destinies and dignities

Flatimes Notice Board: Until you are born again, God ever abiding presence will never be with you. You must be born again to enjoy continuous victory. Please say the displayed prayer below in faith:

Lord Jesus, come into my life. I accept You as my Lord and Personal Saviour. I believe in my heart You died and rose from the dead to save me. Thank You Lord for saving me, in Jesus name Amen.

If you just prayed the prayer of salvation online please send your testimonies and prayer request to [email protected], 07026385437 OR 08141320204.

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Open Heavens for Teens 4 February 2019 – Whatsoever Things Are Pure

Topic: Whatsoever Things Are Pure [Open Heavens for Teens 4 February 2019]

Memorise: “So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth.” – Revelations 3:16

Read: Philippians 4:8

8 For the rest, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is worthy of reverence and is honorable and seemly, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely and lovable, whatever is kind and winsome and gracious, if there is any virtue and excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on and weigh and take account of these things [fix your minds on them].

Bible In One Year: Exodus 34-36, Matthew 23:1-22

MESSAGE:

For a thing to be pure, it means that that thing is completely of one form, such that nothing else is mixed in. God is not interested in two-timers. With God, you are either hot or cold; there is no staying in between. This is also how He expects us to think. God wants us to be focused in our thinking.

For instance, if you are reading your books, there should be no going on social media in between.

When it comes to spiritual matters, if you are for God, be totally sold out to Him. He said, “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” Isaiah 1:18

In the spirit, you are either pure white or pure red. There is no sitting on the fence. It is your choice which one you want to be, however He advises that you live holy and be white.

Key Point:

Decide to be for God and be completely sold out to Him.

Also Read: Teen Open Heaven Daily Devotional by Pastor Adeboye

Hymn 7

1. I am Thine 0 Lord, I have heard Thy voice,
And it told Thy love to me;
But I long to rise in the arms of faith
And be closer drawn to Thee.

Draw me nearer, nearer blessed Lord
To the cross where Thou hast died;
Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer blessed Lord,
To Thy precious, bleeding side.

2. Consecrate me now to Thy service, Lord,
By the pow’r of grace divine;
Let my soul look up with a steadfast hope,
And my will be lost in Thine.

2. Oh, the pure delight of a single hour
That before Thy throne I spend,
When I kneel in prayer, and with Thee, my God
I commune as friend with friend!

3. There are depths of love that I cannot know
Till I cross the narrow sea;
There are heights of joy that I may not reach
Till I rest in peace with Thee.

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.

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