The Master Storyteller: Adapted from ‘Seeing Jesus from the East’ by Ravi Zacharias

Christian apologist and author Ravi Zacharias, left, talks with associate professor Lenny Luchetti during the Society of World Changers induction ceremony Wednesday, March 30, 2016. (Jeff Morehead/The Chronicle-Tribune via AP)

The following is an excerpt from Seeing Jesus from the East by Ravi Zaharias and Abdu Murray, reprinted with permission from Zondervan.

From his parables to his conversations, Jesus sought to gently open up the heart of the listener. He knew how to pinpoint the real hunger in every life. Jesus’ message was for the whole world, but his method was clearly Eastern.

When we look at Jesus’ message, we must consider his method, which is part of the gospel story. He appealed to reason, to prophecy, and to testimonials. But the centerpiece of his method was how he told stories. 

In my travels around the world, I sometimes speak to the same audiences more than once. Without fail, people tell me that they remember my stories most clearly. The illustrations seal the argument.

But it is more than that with Jesus: he knows my story. And, he knows me.

An African American apologist, Lisa Fields, says that Christians need to fashion their arguments for the faith with the diverse histories of their listeners in mind. Fields believes her ministry is filling a gap. “‘I realized that [most] of the apologetics books I was reading were written by white men,’” she told Christianity Today. “I thought, ‘A lot of this material wouldn’t appeal to a lot of people in black churches because the illustrations aren’t relevant, and some of the issues aren’t as relevant. There needs to be a bridge builder.’”1

That interview suddenly turned on a light for me. African American history is a story that has birthed the arguments and questions of African Americans, not the other way around. That is why I believe a typical apologetic text doesn’t appeal to many in wounded or subdued cultures.

Suppose I were to…

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Falsely Convicted Man Performs on America’s Got Talent, Shares that Prayer and Singing Got Him Through

Falsely Convicted Man Performs on America’s Got Talent, Shares that Prayer and Singing Got Him Through


A wrongly incarcerated man is now enjoying his newfound freedom as he wowed judges with a soulful performance on America’s Got Talent.

Archie Williams, 59, had been convicted of rape 37 years ago even though forensic evidence against him was lacking, The Christian Post reports.

At merely 22 years of age, he was sentenced to life imprisonment at Angola state penitentiary in Louisiana, which is one of America’s deadliest prisons. 

“Freedom is of the mind, I went to prison, but I never let my mind go to prison,” Williams told show host Terry Crews on Tuesday’s AGT broadcast.

As “a poor black” kid, Williams lacked the financial capacity to defend himself against the State of Louisiana.

Nevertheless, he asserted that music and his faith allowed him to persist through life’s storms.

“When you’re faced with dark times, what I would do is I would pray and sing; this is how I got peace,” he said.

The singer was finally able to taste freedom in 2019 with the help from the Innocence Project, a non-profit legal organization that specializes in exonerating falsely convicted individuals.

In taking on Williams’ case, the Innocence Project was able to exonerate him after finding DNA evidence through fingerprint analysis.

The results showed that Stephen Forbes was the true culprit. Forbes had multiple counts of sexual assault.

Following his story, Williams…

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National Guard responds in Washington, DC: Three explanations for the crisis and Jesus’ solution that changes everything

I have never felt less qualified to write a Daily Article than I do this morning.

I am a white person who has never faced a single moment of racial discrimination in my sixty-one years of life. As a result, I cannot pretend to understand what it is like to be unfairly treated because of the color of my skin. 

I grew up in a middle-class community. As a result, I cannot understand what it is like to despair of a better financial future. 

I have never been treated unfairly by the criminal justice system. As a result, I cannot understand what it is like to fear the police and the courts. 

I do not own or work at a business affected by the violence of recent days. As a result, I cannot understand what it is like to see my dreams and future destroyed in response to a tragic death in Minneapolis for which I am not at fault. 

Fortunately, I do not write the Daily Article to offer my personal opinions. My mission is to help us interpret the news of the day in cultural and biblical context. This morning, I will draw on expert guides to help us do both. 

Three explanations 

As I wrote last week, the death of George Floyd on Memorial Day was a horrible tragedy. Our Father hates racism and demands that we value each other as he loves us (Genesis 1:28; Galatians 3:28). 

Last night, cities across America saw a sixth evening of mass demonstrations following Mr. Floyd’s death. The entire Washington, DC, National Guard was called in to respond to protests outside the White House and elsewhere in the nation’s capital. A tanker truck drove through thousands of people who were marching on a Minneapolis highway, though none of the protesters was injured. At least forty cities have imposed curfews. 

Writing for Bloomberg Opinion, John Authers examines the way Americans are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, I believe his insights apply just as perceptively to the crisis unfolding across our country after George Floyd’s…

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Five Reasons You Need to Get Back in the Habit of Church Attendance

The transition is moving forward. Every week more churches are beginning the process and stages of opening the doors of the church facilities for in-person services.

We are back. 

I get it. The church never closed. The church is the people, not the building. Someone reminds me of those points daily. 

But the doors to the church facilities closed. The opportunity to gather for worship in-person closed. A lot has transpired over the past few months.

Now it is time to return to in-person gathered worship. Though this statement is admittedly not theologically precise, it is time to “return to church.” Why is it important to get back in the habit of regular and faithful attendance? Why should those connected to a local congregation make a new commitment to attend as regularly as possible? Here are five reasons.

  1. The Bible mandates we gather for worship. The writer of Hebrews is unequivocal: “And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near” (Hebrews 10:25, NLT). Gathering for worship is not an optional activity. It is not an occasional activity. It is an ongoing and regular commitment.
  1. The Bible emphasizes the importance of the local church. Think about it. After the four gospels, almost all of the New Testament is about the local church or directed to the local church. Throughout the New Testament, different local congregations met together and worshipped together. It is simply…

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Trump announces U.S. withdrawal from the World Health Organization – Urban Christian News

The U.S. has relied on its partnership with the WHO and other countries to share crucial data and information, including on treatments and potential vaccine development for the coronavirus, as well as other public health threats including HIV and Ebola. Experts cautioned the nation’s public health response to the coronavirus and other emerging diseases would lag without that international cooperation.

The American Medical Association, the nation’s largest physician group, urged Trump in the “strongest terms possible” to reverse the decision. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), the head of the chamber’s health committee, warned canceling U.S. membership could disrupt clinical trials for vaccines that will be in high demand around the world.

“Certainly there needs to be a good, hard look at mistakes the World Health Organization might have made in connection with coronavirus, but the time to do that is after the crisis has been dealt with, not in the middle of it,” Alexander said.

Trump last month temporarily froze U.S funding to the WHO while his administration was reviewing membership. The U.S has previously contributed over $400 million per year to WHO’s $4.8 billion annual budget, more than any other country.

Trump sent a letter earlier this month to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, threatening to make the funding freeze permanent if the organization did not make unspecified “substantive changes” in the next 30 days. Just 11 days later, Trump claimed the reforms had not been made and the U.S. would withdraw from the organization.

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Schools That Let Boys Compete in Girls’ Sports Violate Title IX, Trump Admin. Rules

Schools That Let Boys Compete in Girls’ Sports Violate Title IX, Trump Admin. Rules


A Connecticut statewide policy that allows biological boys who identify as girls to compete in girls-only sports violates Title IX, the Trump Department of Education has ruled. 

At issue is a policy by the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC) – the state’s governing body for interscholastic athletic – permitting transgender girls to compete in girls-only events without taking testosterone-suppressing hormones as required on the NCAA and international levels. As a result, two biological boys have won more than a dozen Connecticut girls’ state titles.

The Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR), in a May 15 letter that became public Thursday, ruled that the policy violates Title IX, a 1972 law prohibiting discrimination based on sex in education programs and activities. OCR was responding to a complaint filed by three female track athletes.

Female athletes are treated differently under the Connecticut policy than are male athletes, OCR ruled. 

“Female student-athletes were denied the opportunity to compete in events that were exclusively female, whereas male student-athletes were able to compete in events that were exclusively male,” the letter says.

By enforcing the policy and allowing biological males to win female-only events, CIAC “denied female student-athletes athletic benefits and opportunities, including advancing to…

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Christians Respond to the Tragic Death of George Floyd

Christians Respond to the Tragic Death of George Floyd


Christian leaders and well-known Christian celebrities are expressing sadness and calls for justice after the death of an unarmed black man in Minneapolis.

In an Instagram post, actress and author Candace Cameron Bure wrote that her heart was “wrecked.”

“Most of you come to my page for happy, uplifting and positive content. But tonight, my heart is wrecked over the racial injustice that has been happening for ages and continues to happen today,” she said.

The photo she posted with her message was a digital drawing of George Floyd, the man who died after a white police officer pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck. The picture Bure posted read #JusticeForFloyd.

“We are one race, the human race. I pray for this country and the sin in all of us. I pray for God’s mercy. I pray for justice,” she said.

Candace Cameron Bure IG

CBN News reports that author and speaker Beth Moore wrote on her Twitter page, asking “fellow whites” to seek justice for all.

“Fellow whites who want Black Americans & PoC to receive equal justice & for egregious white supremacy to be dismantled, speak up. Don’t be fragile. You know what’s right,” she tweeted.

“What I’m trying to say to you is this: be brave. This is about human decency.  Dignity. Fairness. Rightness. JUSTICE.  Toughen up and accept you’re going to be disliked for something. Make it something that counts. Let’s be the generation the intimidators can’t silence or tire out.”

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President Trump Signs Executive Order to Prevent Social Media Censorship on Political Post

President Trump Signs Executive Order to Prevent Social Media Censorship on Political Post


President Donald Trump approved an executive order this week that asks federal officials to hold social media sites accountable for censoring some political posts.

According to The Christian Post, Trump said the sites are not a “neutral platform.”

“Today, I am signing an executive order to protect and uphold the free speech and rights of the American people,” Trump said at a briefing in the Oval Office. “Currently, social media giants, like Twitter, receive an unprecedented liability shield based on the theory that they are a neutral platform, which they are not.”

The 1996 Communications Decency Act Section 230 says that social media platforms are not liable for the content that people publish, including possibly defamatory posts. Trump’s executive order revises the 1996 act.

“My executive order calls for new regulations under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act to make it that social media companies that engage in censoring any political conduct will not be able to keep their liability shield,” Trump said. “That’s a pretty big deal.”

Trump said when social media sites decide to edit or remove postings, they are making “editorial decisions.”

“In those moments, Twitter ceases to be a neutral public platform and they become an editor with a viewpoint,” Trump said.

Under the order, Trump asks the Secretary of Commerce, the attorney…

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New White House Press Secretary Says God Put Her in the White House ‘For a Purpose’

New White House Press Secretary Says God Put Her in the White House ‘For a Purpose’


Having faith in God has been instrumental in the life of Kayleigh McEnany, from her upbringing to her present role as the White House press secretary.

“I believe God put me in this place for a purpose and for a reason like he does with each and every life,” McEnany said in an interview with CBN News. “We’re all here for a reason.”

While she was raised Southern Baptist, McEnany attended an all-girls Catholic School in Florida as a child. As a teenager, McEnany decided to surrender her life to God.

Then, in her 20s, as she began her professional career in New York, she started to struggle with loneliness.

“I was going through a hard time in New York and I was going to a great church in New York. I remember feeling very lonely,” she shared.

“It was when I first started my young professional life and I remember getting a call. I never answered numbers I didn’t know, but I answered that day, and it said, ‘hey, this is the Journey Church. We feel like we need to pray for you right now, how can we pray for you?’”

McEnany said that phone call was just what she needed to remember that God is always with her.

“It was in that moment I think my faith became even more real,” she added.

Now, as a mother, McEnany hopes to be an example of faith to her daughter Blake, who was born in late 2019.

“If I give Blake the same faith upbringing and relationship with Jesus Christ that my…

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Jesus Actor Says ‘The Chosen’ TV Series ‘Deepened My Faith Very Intensely’

Jesus Actor Says ‘The Chosen’ TV Series ‘Deepened My Faith Very Intensely’


The filmmakers behind the new biblical television series The Chosen have said they hope it helps strengthen the faith of viewers.

It’s already done that with one of the lead actors.

Jonathan Roumie, who plays Jesus in all eight episodes, told Christian Headlines his faith has grown since he started working on the project.

“It’s deepened my faith very intensely,” Roumie said. “And I think part of that is because I’ve been spending so much time with the character in prayer and with Christ. It’s something that has greatly impacted it in a very positive way.”

The series, which can be viewed on The Chosen app, launched in 2019 following the largest crowdfunding media campaign in history, with more than $10 million raised for 16,000-plus individuals.

Director and writer Dallas Jenkins picked Roumie for the role because the two had worked well together on a 2014 project, The Two Thieves. Roumie also played Jesus in that short film.

“The way [Jenkins] writes the scripts and approaches the [biblical] character in a fresh way kind of gives the rest of us a little more license to bring our own humanity to it in a way that hasn’t been seen before,” Roumie said.

Roumie acknowledged the difference in playing a standard character and playing someone who is the “Son of God and also human.” He prepared for his role in The Chosen, he said, with “a lot of research” that included…

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