A New Era of Worship

The "Praise and Worship" Revolution

Contemporary Christian music is an interesting phenomenon. Few subjects have generated more conflicts than the kinds of music one should listen to or the kind of music best suited for church music.

Arguably the single biggest alteration in the life of the average Christian congregation within the last 30 years has been the sweeping change in the music that is played on during church service.

Where formal choirs  and vocal soloists along with organ and piano once held sway, a flood of guitars and “praise choruses” suddenly came rushing in during the 1980s. An irresistible, grassroots, pop-culture-driven force met the immovable object of tradition and sentiment, and the ensuing years saw no shortage of conflict and controversy as a result.

In telling this history, people often conflate the rise of “praise music” with the rise of “Jesus Rock” and its later avatar, “Contemporary Christian Music” (CCM).

While the Jesus People movement faded by the early 1980s, the impact of its musical innovations continued to reverberate throughout the Christian church. Hundreds musicians evolved into professional songwriters and “worship leaders” and created their own praise-and-worship publishing entities. Seminars and worship workshops crowded the landscape, and many churches across the continent replaced hymnbooks with overhead projectors and—by mid 1990s—big-screen video projectors.

A New Era of Worship

“It is clear that Protestant musical expression has irrevocably changed.”

“Worship Wars” have become a fact of life as traditionalists battle champions of the new music. But the existence of Christians who are constantly creating inspiring songs out of their convictions about God and Christ is both an amazing and unique thing  often resulting in separate worship services for the youth or the uneasy compromise of “blended worship.”

Once a well-meaning Christian leader said “Ahh, music is so overrated. We don’t need music in Church?  However, we need music and it’s important to offer worship and gratitude to God, not only through our thoughtful expressions and notes, but also through music. Consider this passage from Ephesians 5:15-21:

Do you notice how the Scriptures instruct us to worship? “With psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.”

With that, here are some of the current most popular Christian songs. May these fill your heart and mind with glorious, awestruck thoughts of our God and our Savior Jesus Christ.

Pride

A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you.  Pride will kill you, forever, and is the sin most likely to keep you from crying out to God in times of need.

As dangerous as pride is, it’s equally hard to spot. Satan fell because of his ambition to be equal with God. He desired to enter into the divine counsels and purposes, from which he was excluded by his own inability, as a created being, to comprehend the wisdom of the Infinite One. It was this ambition  that led to his rebellion in heaven, and by the same means he seeks to cause the ruin of man.

“Too Many People Spend Money They Earned..to Buy Things They Don’t Want..to Impress People That They Don’t Like.” ’- Will Rogers

Sin originated in self-seeking. Lucifer, the covering cherub, desired to be the leader in heaven. He sought to gain control of heavenly beings, to draw them away from God, and to win their homage to himself. Therefore he misrepresented God, attributing to Him the desire for self-exaltation. With his own evil characteristics he sought to dethrone the loving Creator.

“Through Pride We Are Ever Deceiving Ourselves. But Deep down Below the Surface of the Average Conscience a Still, Small Voice Says to Us, something Is out of Tune. ” ’- C.G. Jung

Had Lucifer really desired to be like the Most High, he would never have deserted his appointed place in heaven; for the spirit of the Most High is manifested in unselfish ministry. Lucifer desired God’s power, but not His character. He sought for himself the highest place, and every being who is actuated by his spirit will do the same.

“Proud People Breed Sad Sorrows for Themselves.” ’- Emily Brontë

We can’t conclude that we don’t struggle with pride because we don’t see pride in ourselves. Whenever pride and ambition are indulged, the life is marred; for pride, feeling no need, closes the heart against the infinite blessings of Heaven.

“It Is Better to Lose Your Pride with Someone You Love Rather Than to Lose That Someone You Love with Your Useless Pride.” ’- John Ruskin

Pride of heart is a fearful trait of character. “Pride goeth before destruction.” This is true in the family, the church, and the nation.

“All Men Make Mistakes, but a Good Man Yields When He Knows His Course Is Wrong, and Repairs the Evil. The Only Crime Is Pride.” ’- Sophocles, Antigone

Removing the Chains of Pride

How does one move from the chains of pride and self-obsession to the freedom of humble self-service?
  • A Harsh Spirit –  Those who have the sickness of pride in their hearts speak of others’ sins with contempt, irritation, frustration, or judgment.
  • Superficiality –  When pride lives in our hearts, we’re far more concerned with others’ perceptions of us than the reality of our hearts.
  • Defensiveness –  Those who stand in the strength of Christ’s righteousness alone find a confident hiding place from the attacks of men and Satan alike.  
  • Presumption Before God –  Humility approaches God with humble assurance in Christ Jesus. If either the “humble” or the “assurance” are missing in that equation, our hearts very well might be infected with pride.  
  • Desperation for Attention –  Pride is hungry for attention, respect, and worship in all its forms.
  • Neglecting Others -Pride prefers some people over others. It honors those who the world deems worthy of honor, giving more weight to their words, their wants, and their needs.    

Think of these as three facets as the jewel of genuine Christian humility

  • Who is the focus of your service?
  • Whose sin are you focused upon?
  • What is the focus of your joy, security, and contentment?

God’s people should be subject one to another. They should counsel with each other, that the lack of one be supplied by the sufficiency of the other.  

“Learn of Me,” Said Christ; “For I Am Meek and Lowly in Heart: And Ye Shall Find Rest unto Your Souls.” (Matthew 11:29)

Maybe more of us struggle with pride than we thought.  There’s good news for the prideful. Confession of pride signals the beginning of the end for pride.  

Search Me, O God, and Know My Heart! Try Me and Know My Thoughts! And See If There Be Any Grievous Way in Me, and Lead Me in the Way Everlasting! (Psalm 139:23–24)

In the end pride must die in you, or nothing of heaven can live in you.

Can I Be A ‘Part-Time Christian’ and Keep My Sinful Lifestyle?

Are you a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ or are you a Part-Time Christian?  Does your faith in Jesus go beyond a weekend service? Do you live a double life?

“The Decline Christianity Has Become Precipitous in Recent Years”

For the first time in recorded history, those declaring themselves to have no religious affiliation have outnumbered Christians in Britain.  Some 44 per cent of us regard ourselves as Christian, 8  per cent follow another religion and 48 per cent follow none. The decline of Christianity is perhaps the biggest single change in Britain over the past century. For some time, it has been a stretch to describe Britain as a Christian country. We can more accurately be categorised now as a secular nation with fading Christian institutions.  More than ever before, we have an obligation to act in a Christ-like manner. Not just in church, but everywhere.

“Don’t Be A Part-Time Christian Who Demands A Full-Time God”

As Christian we can’t put our faith on a part-time schedule; as being Christian is a full-time occupation.  If we don’t open our hearts to the Holy Spirit to purify and enlighten us, then our faith in God will be superficial.

“Sorry Christians, We Can’t Blame the Media Any More”

Do you know why Christians have a bad reputation today? It’s not because of CNN. It’s because of our own Facebook pages, Twitter feeds and YouTube videos! Every day, we confirm people’s worst suspicions about us. The gatekeepers are gone. With social media there’s no one filtering the information and there’s no one left to blame but ourselves.

“Jesus Has No Part-Time Disciples”

Jesus is the living word and truth that “came among us so that we could know it.  Jesus’ said it all. Deny self, take up the cross and follow him. Moreover, only in losing one’s life — the primary meaning of apollymi is to destroy — one may save it. And Jesus means it. Judgment, he says, involves “repaying” people according to what they have done. At this moment we are hearing Matthew’s voice: Salvation comes not to those who call Jesus “Lord,” but to those who do what he says.  It’s a matter of life and death.

“If I’m Wrong about God Then I Have Wasted My Life, But If Your Wrong about God Then You’ve Wasted Your Eternity”

So we face the chasm between Jesus’ call to discipleship and our own lives as part-time volunteers for the Gospel. Few Christians abandon everything for the Christ sake. Most of us simply fit our Christianity into the open slots on our calendars. But Jesus links the life of discipleship with his own path.

“Some Readers Hardly Need to Hear This News. Moment by Moment, Many of Us Are Constantly Mindful That We Fall Far Short of Jesus’ Standard”

Sadly exhaustion, burnout, tiredness, even breakdown are conditions that are all too common these days, not least among those involved in some kind of Christian ministry, whether full-time, part-time or voluntary.

Sometimes in striving to do our utmost for God, we can easily forget that there were many times when Jesus himself was willing to rest, to do nothing except wait for the Spirit’s prompting, so that he demonstrated the vital principle of ‘working from a place of rest’.

“Knowing and Doing What God Wants Is Simply Not Possible with Mere Human Effort — It Takes Divine Intervention and a Transformative Action of the Holy Spirit”

Take some time out to reflect on how you are living and working. Watch Jesus and see how he does it. Listen to what the Spirit may be saying to you deep within, at the centre of your being; and maybe, just maybe, God will give you some insights that will change your life and sustain your ministry over the long haul.’

If every Christian truly had faith in who they are in Christ, we would move mountains together.  The longer I live on this earth, the more I long for the new one.

Are We Running Our Christianity like a Business?

Because I was born and raised in the USA, my soul is steeped in attributes promoted by the business culture: efficiency, cleverness, and the ability to get what I want by pushing my way through.

After all, from kindergarten I’ve been taught that

  1. You can do anything, if you only want it enough!
  2. When you work smarter, not harder, you get ahead!
  3. Be confident  – a positive attitude is the attitude of a leader!

The Business of Christianity

And because I always prided myself on being a good student, I unfortunately mastered these lessons, to the point that, when I learned about God and chose to live my life with Him (I’m really trying to avoid the vague term, “came to Jesus”). I brought years worth of corporate teaching into the relationship which was fine, really, in the new church Christian culture I had entered, because the same business maxims I had internalized were here as well, only with different wording:

  1. You can do anything in Jesus as long as you have enough faith, and express it the right way!
  2. When you lead the right life with Jesus — rise early for Quiet Time, participate in church activities, attend Sunday School, join small groups, and pray with positive faith – you’ll get ahead!
  3. Faith never expresses doubt or negativity Faith BELIEVES! If you have chronic problems in your life, it’s because you don’t believe enough!

Obviously, this is a simplification, and the entire U.S. Christianity message isn’t limited to these three statements, but the substance is there: these are some rules to help you succeed, get ahead, or (to put it more spiritually), live the abundant Christian life.

Rules Become Laws

But these rules don’t work, really, because they have nothing to do with Jesus, His words, His love for us, and His incredible example (which He’s constantly, and gently, teaching us to follow) of trusting our Father in heaven. All cultures bring their unique aspects – both good and bad – into the Christian arena, and because the U.S. culture is strongly influenced by making money and getting ahead materialistically, these particular idols set themselves up on the raised dais, well disguised behind esoteric terminology.

The Statements Are True, Sort of, But with a Twist

There’s nothing wrong with hard work, brainstorming, and taking initiative – indeed, because we are made in our Father’s image, we share his love for creativity and joy. But it’s very easy to confuse hard work with busyness, brainstorming with cunning, and taking initiative with pushing others out of the way – all actions not remotely associated with Christ’s work on earth – or in heaven.

When Jesus expressed confidence, it was in the love of His Father; when He prayed, it was frequently in an isolated place,  in conversation with His Father and ours; when He chided His disciples for their lack of faith, it was not prelude to punishment; when asked to define the greatest, most important commandment, He emphasized love – for God, and our neighbor.

Faith, hope, love, trust – these are not attitudes we put on like a suit; they are attributes we develop when we become like the children in our Father’s household. And children, as any savvy CEO will tell you, are not cutthroat businessmen.

Jesus, Please!

Jesus never wrote a book, yet all the libraries throughout the country couldn’t hold all the books written about him. Jesus never wrote a song, but he is the theme of more songs than all song writers combined.

Jesus never founded a college or university, but all the schools together cannot boast of how many students he has. Jesus never practiced sociology, but the bible says he has healed more broken hearts then doctors have healed broken bodies.

Jesus never marshalled an army, drafted a solider or fired a gun, but no leader has had more volunteers who have under his order made army’s cease without a shot being fired.

Jesus is the central figure of the bible. The Old Testament talks about the Jesus that is to come and the New Testament talks about the Jesus that has come and is coming back.

Jesus is Under Fire in The Public Eye

However, whiles Jesus followers have numbered in the millions, his detractors are increasing by the minute. Not everybody believes Jesus is real, or the messiah. There are many who question the authority and legitimacy of Jesus.

Did he really turn water into wine? Did he really heal the sick? Did he really spit on the ground to make mud and rub it on a mans eyes to make him see? Did Jesus really walk on water and feed five thousand people with two fish and five lofts of bread? Was Jesus really God? Or was Jesus merely a good person who walked the earth and preformed good deeds?

The World is Full of Jesus Naysayers

We live in a world of Jesus Naysayers. Jesus doubters who are confusing Christianity, dividing churches and deceiving people.

Atheists are on the rise, in fact, according to the Pew Research Center (a nonpartisan American think tank based in Washington, D.C.) , the number of atheists in the US has doubled in the last seven years and this figure is rising fast. This is not limited to the US, but a worldwide crisis. The medium age of people turning to atheism is 34 years of age, which means most people who don’t believe are young people.

There is Power In The Name of Jesus

Despite all of this the church is called to preach that there is power in the name of Jesus to make disciples of people.

Raising G-Rated Kids in An X-Rated World

That’s why a foundation in Jesus for our young people is so important. We are raising G-rated kids in an X-rated world. That’s why an environment that is conducive to their growth, where Christian principals are promoted, fostered and the authenticity of Jesus is not questioned is now more important than ever.

The final outcome of our child-rearing is the combined result of four influences.

  • God—The Ultimate Influence
  • Parents—The Ordained Means of Influence
  • The World—The Unavoidable Influence
  • The Child’s Heart—The Overlooked Influence

I can think of no more urgent need in our urban context than to raise up a generation of children who love God and hate evil (Ps 97:10). Satan himself seeks to devour them. And what, do you ask, is God’s appointed means of grace to help your children? That answer is simple. It is you, God fearing parents.

To Seek and Save the Lost

But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. 2 Corinthians 3:18

It is by the Spirit that the heart is made pure. Through the Spirit the believer becomes a partaker of the divine nature. Christ has given His Spirit as a divine power to overcome all hereditary and cultivated tendencies to evil and to impress His own character on His church.

When the Spirit of God takes possession of the heart, it transforms the life. Sinful thoughts are put away, evil deeds are renounced; love, humility, and peace take the place of anger, envy, and strife. Joy takes the place of sadness, and the countenance reflects the joy of heaven. No one sees the hand that lifts the burden or beholds the light descend from the courts above. The blessing comes when by faith the soul surrenders itself to God. Then that power which no human eye can see, creates a new being in the image of God.

The Holy Spirit is the breath of spiritual life in the soul. The impartation of the Spirit is the impartation of the life of Christ. It imbues the receiver with the attributes of Christ.

The religion that comes from God is the only religion that will lead to God. In order to serve Him aright, we must be born of the divine Spirit. This will purify the heart and renew the mind, giving us a new capacity for knowing and loving God. It will give us a willing obedience to all His requirements. This is true worship. It is the fruit of the working of the Holy Spirit. By the Spirit every sincere prayer is indited, and such prayer is acceptable to God. Wherever a soul reaches out after God, there the Spirit’s working is manifest, and God will reveal Himself to that soul. For such worshipers He is seeking. He waits to receive them and to make them His sons and daughters.

Bear Grylls Shares The Heartbreaking Story That Led To His Faith In Jesus Christ

Edward Michael “Bear” Grylls was born 7 June 1974 and is a British adventurer, writer and television presenter from Northern Ireland. He is widely known for his television series Man vs. Wild (2006–2011), originally titled Born Survivor: Bear Grylls in the United Kingdom.

Bear Grylls May Be  known  for His Wild Ways  and Impressive  survival Skills, but There’s a Side to Him That Many Haven’t Seen.

Grylls is also involved in a number of wilderness survival television series in the UK and US and in 2009 was appointed the youngest-ever Chief Scout in the UK at age 35,  but there’s a side to him that many haven’t seen.

Bear Grylls is a born again Christian and if you happen to meet him in person, you’ll quickly learn that he’s unashamed to tell you so.  Whilst Bear  Grylls  doesn’t claim to be a perfect Christian, it was his deepest struggles in life which caused him to give his life to Jesus Christ.

When he was 4-years-old, Grylls’  family shifted to Bembridge village on the easternmost point of the Isle of Wight.  From an early age, the adventurous little tyke  learned to climb and sail with his father, who was a member of the prestigious Royal Yacht Squadron. But his curious ways and tendency to run towards  danger made him a handful.

Grylls said, “I behaved badly at school, perhaps in part because Dad was working very hard, and often late. My mum, as his assistant, worked beside him.  I remember once biting a boy so hard that I drew blood, and then watching as the teachers rang my father to say they didn’t know what to do with me. My father said he knew what to do, and came to the school at once. With a chair placed in the middle of the gym, and all the other children sitting cross-legged on the floor around him, he whacked me until my backside was black and blue.”

Bear  became a Cub Scout at the age of eight, earning a dan black belt in Shotokan Karate when he was eleven. He learned to skydive as a young teen, and also was one of the youngest in the world to scale Mount Everest at the age of 23, but  all the while, he  clung to his Faith in Jesus Christ.

“I had a very natural faith as a kid,” Grylls told Relevant Magazine. “As a really young kid, I never questioned God. I just knew God existed and it felt like He was my friend.”

Young Grylls’ adventurous spirit and wild heart didn’t make it easy on his parents — and he has an endless amount of escape  stories to prove it.  Unfortunately in  high school,  Grylls  came across several ‘believers’ that distorted his view of  Christianity,  and over time, Bear  abandoned his Faith.

“When I got to school it [Christianity] became a lot more religious and I thought, ‘I don’t like this,’” he told CBN. “It was all about church-going and people telling you not to smoke behind the bike shed. I thought, ‘If this is God, maybe I’ve got the whole deal wrong.’ So I kind of ditched my faith.”

With stories like  miraculously surviving  a  sinking mud-pit, and getting dismissed from prep school  for kissing the headmaster’s daughter; Grylls’ teenage years make  even the wildest teenagers appear to be god saints.

Reflecting back on his rebellious ways, Bear said, “I would explore all the forbidden areas of the school and grounds, and I knew I was faster and more agile than any of the security guards. One night, I attempted an ascent of the 120ft-high school library dome. Sir Ranulph Fiennes, a pupil before me, had conquered it by improvising a stepladder. I used the lightning conductor.”

At the age  16, Grylls  lost his godfather who had been like a second father. Overtaken with grief and not knowing where else to turn, Bear found a refuge in God.

“I remember wanting to pray, but not knowing how to,” he recalled to CBN.  Grylls climbed up in a tree and poured his heart out to God. “Will you be that friend to me that you were at five or six when it felt natural?” he asked.

Bear told  Relevant Magazine,  “It was no more complicated than that. And actually the amazing thing is that all God asks is that we sort of open the door and He’ll do the rest.  So often we kinda hide behind our yearning for love and acceptance with loads of complicated theological questions, and actually once that’s stripped away, what we really are is just somebody who wants to have that relationship with your Father.”

With a  renewed spirit and faith in Christ, Grylls  joined the ‘Territorial Army’ (Army Reserve UK) after high school and worked at the Special Air Service unit of the army for three years.  During a SAS skydive in 1996, Grylls survived a horrifying parachuting accident in Zambia. His parachute ripped at 16,000  ft, partially opening, causing him to free-fall and land on his back, but by the grace of God, Bear survived.

On 16 May 1998 just 18 months after his horrific accident,  Grylls achieved his childhood dream of climbing Mount Everest in Nepal and was later recognised in the  ‘Guinness Book of Records’  as the youngest Briton to climb Ama Dablam, a peak described by Sir Edmund Hillary as “unclimbable”.

Bear met his wife, Shara,  after he had finally recovered from his parachute accident.  It was love at first sight.  And from that moment forward, the two wild-hearted adventurers were inseparable.

Grylls  revealed, “I pulled out the ring from my butt cheeks,’ the TV personality explained during an episode of Piers Morgan’s Life Stories with a grin on his face. Despite the bizarre proposal, Shara said ‘Yes’.”

Grylls explained, “We figured that if [marriage] was the most important thing we were ever going to do, we should do everything we could to stop it breaking in the first place.  At our wedding, we asked our guests for their best marriage advice. We got some gems of replies but the best came from a couple who had been married for 50 years. It was also the simplest: ‘Never stop holding hands.’ That’s what Shara and I have always tried to do, both physically and metaphorically.”

But within a year of  their wedding, Grylls’  father – the most inspirational figure in his life – passed away at the  age of 66.

“Losing my dad when we had just got married was a really tough one,” he admitted in an interview with The Telegraph. “Suddenly it was like, ‘Bang! OK. How are we going to pay the electricity bill? How are we going to look after our mothers?’ I felt totally thrown in the deep end. It always felt too early. We had to lean on each other, and that was when our marriage really started.”

Despite all of his accomplishments, Bear Grylls considers his Faith and family his greatest joys.  He explained  that activities don’t have to be “expensive or fancy” — it’s more about spending quality time together. “Togetherness is what it’s all about,” he added.

Bear and Shara have three sons, Jesse, Marmaduke and Huckleberry — the last of whom was born on their Thames River houseboat.

“We’ve been married almost 10 years, and that’s been a great glue to our family, actually. I look back now and I think it’d be really hard without that faith together — that sustained us.”

Grylls’  hosted  eleven successful television shows, authored  several books, and accomplished  dozens of personal goals such as hiking Mount Everest, becoming the youngest Chief Scout ever (at the age of 34-years-old),  wrestling an alligator, and holding  the world record for the “Highest Open-Air Formal Dinner Party” — held in a hot-air balloon at 7,600m.

But despite his many achievements, Bear Grylls remains a humble  family man who honors his wife and trusts in  his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Christianity is not about religion, it’s about faith, about being held, about being forgiven. It’s about finding joy and finding home”¦ I’ve yet to meet anyone who doesn’t want to be forgiven or held or find peace or joy in their life.

“The simple things is what I try to keep my faith like: Jesus is unchanging and we are forgiven”¦  I for one, do not want to reach the end of my life in a perfectly preserved body. I want to come flying in sideways, covered in scars, beaten up and screaming: ‘Yahoo! What a ride!’” – Bear Grylls  

 

 

Marriage 2.0: Software Review

A newly married man wrote this to a computer *Data Analyst*

Dear Data Analyst

I am desperate for some help! I recently upgraded my program from *Girlfriend 7.0* to *Wife 1.0* following acceptance of the oath from the KJV Bible Instruction Manual and found that the new *Wife 1.0* program began unexpected Child Processing? *Wife 1.0* has also taken up a lot of space and valuable resources. This wasn’t explicitly mentioned in the _KJV instruction manual?

In addition *Wife 1.0* installs itself into all other programs and launches during systems initialisation at the start of each day and then it constantly monitors all other system activities.

Applications such as *”Boys’ Night out 2.5″* and *”Golf 5.3″* no longer run, and crashes the system whenever selected.

Attempting to operate selected *”Soccer 6.3″* always fails and *”Church 5.1″* and *”Shopping 7.1″* runs instead.

I cannot seem to keep *Wife 1.0* in the background whilst attempting to run any of my favorite applications. Be it online or offline.
.
I am thinking of going back to *”Girlfriend 7.0″*, but the uninstall button doesn’t work on this program and after reading the instruction guide seems to be prohibited by KJV Manual 9.0. Can you please help?

The Systems Analyst replied:

*Dear Customer,*

This is a very common problem resulting from a basic misunderstanding of the functions of the *Wife 1.0 program and a lack of understanding of the KJV Bible Instruction Manual*.

Many customers upgrade from _Girlfriend 7.0_ to _Wife 1.0_ after acceptance of the oath from the KJV Bible Instruction Manual thinking that _Wife 1.0_ is merely a *UTILITY AND ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAM.* This is not the case!

Actually, *Wife 1.0* is an _OPERATING SYSTEM_ designed by its *Creator* to run everything on your current platform. You must therefore review the KJV Bible Instruction Manual for daily guidance.

You will not be able to purge *Wife 1.0* and still convert back to _Girlfriend 7.0_, as *Wife 1.0* was not designed to do this and it is impossible to _uninstall, delete or purge the program files from the System once it is installed. The KJV Bible Instruction Manual only permits one installation. There maybe one or two exceptions to this rule, but you do not meet the criteria.

Some people have tried to install _Girlfriend 8.0 or Wife 2.0_ but have ended up with even more problems. *_(See Manual under Alimony/Child Support and Solicitors’ Fees/)._* Plus the instruction manual clearly states whoever uninstalls Wife 1.0_ , except for sexual immorality, and installs another, commits adultery.”

Having *Wife 1.0* installed, I recommend you keep it Installed and learn to deal with the situation as best as you can. You will find that the more closely you adhere to the insttruction manual and operate in accordance with the authors example the better your experience will be.

When any faults or problems occur, whatever you think has caused them, you must run the………
*C:\ APOLOGIZE\ FORGIVE AND PRAY.EXE* Program and avoid attempting to use the _*Esc-Key_ for it will freeze the entire system.

It may be necessary to run *C:\ APOLOGIZE\ FORGIVE ME AND PRAY.EXE* a number of times, and eventually hope that the operating system will return to normal.

Although *Wife 1.0,* demands respect, love, and attention,*Wife 1.0,* can be very rewarding.

To get the most out of *Wife 1.0,* , consider buying additional Software such as *”FAMILY PRAYER TIME 1.0, Flowers 2.0″* and *”Chocolates 5.0″*,*”Attention 6.0″* and *”HUGS\ KISSES 7.0″* or *”TENDERNESS\ UNDERSTANDING and SHARE HOUSEHOLD DUTIES 10.0″* or *”even Eating Out Without the Kids 7.2.1″* _(if Child processing has already started)._

*DO NOT* under any circumstances install *”Secretary 2.1″* _(Short Skirt Version)_ or *”One Nightstand 3.2″*, as this is not a supported Application for *Wife 1.0* and the system will almost certainly *CRASH*. In addition this could disqualify you from upgrading to, HEAVEN .11.0.

PS’ When my relationship crashed, I took a hard look at the conventional wisdom. Then did a reboot and emerged with a partnership that was built to last.

*BEST WISHES!*

Yours,”
Systems Analyst.

*#To all husbands/ future husbands*

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Christian Expelled from University Over Anti-Gay Remarks Loses Appeal

Felix Ngole, a 39 year old devout Christian was thrown off a university course after branding homosexuality a sin on Facebook.

Felix Ngole, a 39 year old devout Christian was thrown off a university course after branding homosexuality a sin on Facebook.

Felix Ngole, from Barnsley in south Yorkshire, claimed that he was merely expressing a traditional Christian sentiment. Ngole was on a two-year Social Work Masters Degree course at  Sheffield  University in February 2016 after writing what the university deemed “derogatory” comments about gay and bisexual people on facebook.

Ngole, wrote during a debate on Facebook that;

“the Bible and God identify homosexuality as a sin”, and added  that “same-sex marriage is a sin whether we like it or not. It is God’s words and man’s sentiments would not change His words.”

He claimed that he was lawfully expressing a traditional Christian belief and claimed that university unlawfully prevented him from completing his postgraduate degree. But after reviewing rival claims at a trial in London this month, the deputy high court judge, Rowena Collins Rice, ruled against him.

Ngole said his rights to freedom of speech and thought, enshrined in the European convention on human rights, has been violated. His case was backed by the Christian Legal Centre, part of the campaign group for Christian Concern.

The university lawyers argued that Ngole showed “no insight” and said the decision to remove him from the social work course was fair and proportionate.”

They said the university had to consider his;

“fitness to practise as a professional social worker because  Social workers have considerable power over the lives of vulnerable service users and trust is a precious professional commodity.”

The judge was told Ngole had written comments during a debate about  Kim Davis, a state official in the US state of Kentucky, who point blank refused to register same-sex marriages. Ngole said he had argued that Davis’s position was based on the “Biblical view of same-sex marriage as a sin” and said that he was making a “worthwhile contribution” to an important public debate in which he was entitled to freely express his religious views. Ngole said   “I stand with Kim Davis”, a reference to the  Kentucky county clerk  who was jailed for refusing to issue marriage licences to same-sex couples.

Ngole plans to appeal the decision, adding:

“I am very disappointed by this ruling, which supports the university’s decision to bar me from my chosen career because of my Biblical views on sexual ethics.

The universities solicitor Collins Rice said:

“Public religious speech has to be looked at in a regulated context from the perspective of a public readership.

The judge added: “Universities also have a wide range of interests in and responsibilities for their students – academic, social and pastoral. Where, as Sheffield does, they aspire to be welcoming environments for students from a diverse range of backgrounds, they must expect to be inclusive and supportive of that diversity.”

Officials at the Christian Legal Centre Said the Decision Was Wrong and Would Have A “Chilling” Effect.

Andrea Williams, the chief executive, said:

“That whiles Mr Ngole is entitled to hold his Biblical views on sexual ethics, he is not entitled to express them. This ruling will have a chilling effect on Christian students up and down the country who will now understand that their personal social media posts may be investigated for political correctness.”

Britain Is No Longer a Christian Country and Should be Systematically de-Christianized, Panel Said

London Mayor Boris Johnson has said  £1.3tn of investment is needed over the next 35 years in order for London to retain its world class status

LONDON — Nearly two years ago, the “Commission on Religion and Belief in British Public Life” published a report on the role of religion in society. The paper made it clear that Britain is no longer a Christian country in any meaningful sense and should be systematically de-Christianized due to the decline of church-going and the rise of Islam and other beliefs.

Britain Is No Longer A Christian Country

The commission has attracted particular controversy because of the authority of those behind it. Patrons include Rowan Williams, the former Archbishop of Canterbury; Lord Woolf, the former chief justice; and Sir Iqbal Sacranie, the former general secretary of the Muslim Council of Britain.

“Britain is no longer a Christian country and should stop acting as if it is, a major inquiry into the place of religion in modern society concluded in 2015, provoking a furious backlash from ministers and the Church of England.”

The report triggered a argument as it was condemned by cabinet ministers as “seriously misguided,” while the Church of England said it appeared to have been “hijacked” by humanists.

Remarkably, the overall decline of religion in Britain has coincided with the arrival of three million migrants who tend to have more religious belief than British Christians. In particular, the visual impact of Islam, most obviously expressed in the proposal for a 9,000-capacity ‘super-mosque’ in east London that was rejected by planners about 18 months ago, might give the impression that migration has brought a religious revival to Britain.

You Can’t Throw the Baby Out With the Bathwater

Inevitably, the question of what is to be done about our national Christian institutions will soon arise. Is it appropriate that we are still invited to swear on the Bible in court?

Down The Inquiry Rabbit Hole

The Commission on Religion and Belief in Public Life document said that faith schools are “socially divisive” and the selection of children on the basis of their beliefs should be phased out. The report claimed that the number of Church of England bishops in the Lords should be replaced with imams, rabbis and other non-other non-Christian clerics as well as evangelical pastors. The report also backde moves to cut the number of Church of England bishops in the Lords and give places to imams, rabbis and other non-other non-Christian clerics as well as evangelical pastors. It also recommended that the coronation service for the monarch ought to be overhauled to include other faiths and that thought for the Day on BBC Radio 4’s should include non-religious messages. And it recommended new protections for women in Sharia courts and other religious tribunals — including a call for the government to consider requiring couples who have a non-legally binding religious marriage also to have a civil registration. Most controversially, perhaps, the report also called for a rethink of anti-terror policy, including allowing students to voice radical views on campus without fear of being reported to the security services.

Some will find this sad, others as a sign of progress, but the greater majority will view it with indifference.

Educating The Public

Given all that, why do Christians in the country have so much political and educational power?

“England has an established Church. Its bishops sit in the House of Lords. The Queen is both head of state and also supreme governor of the Church of England. One of the monarch’s titles is Defender of the Faith.”

Because of this, Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith has told the Daily Telegraph that claims the UK was not a Christian country ignored “both historical and constitutional reality”, its not fact.  The Bible features heavily in the architecture and decoration of the Houses of Parliament, paying silent tribute to its significance in English jurisprudence. Most British law is ultimately derived from the codes of law within the Bible, of which the Ten Commandments is pre-eminent.

“The Equality of All People Before The Law is Another of The Bibles Legacies.”

In short the social institutions and safeguards, as well as many of the benefits people take for granted, were supported by the understanding of human life which was found within the Bible. In this sense, the foundations of Britain’s culture and society can truly be said to be biblical.

The report is dominated by the old-fashioned view that traditional religion is declining in importance and that non-adherence to a religion is the same as humanism or secularism.

Today, as people are facing ever more clearly the perceived threats of global war, the Bible, with its vision of man’s position within creation and responsibility under God to care properly for it, still has a major contribution to make to the future of all humankind.

 

 

Top 100 #Christian Hashtags on Godinterest

Most Popular Godinterest Christian Hashtags & Searches

A hashtag is a type of tag used on the Godinterest Social Networking Service that allows users to apply dynamic, user-generated tagging that makes it possible for others to easily find posts with a specific theme or content.  Users create and use hashtags by placing a pound sign  #  (colloquially known as the  hash character) in front of  a word or unspaced phrase. Searching for that hashtag will find each message that has been tagged with it.

Some faith leaders use trending topics or hashtags to build momentum around a certain conversation. The idea is that by pointing followers to a catchy hashtag, activists can spark conversation and rally supporters around a cause.

We  searched  Godinterest for top Christian hashtags and created a list of  the ones we’ve come  across. If you know of one that should be added here let us know in the comments below.

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  24. #instapray  (2,363)
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  33. #bibleverses  (1,802)
  34. #Jesusislove  (1,775)
  35.  (1,758)
  36.  (1,670)
  37. #teamjesus  (1,653)
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  40. #JesusFreak  (1,489)
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  46. #TopShot  (1,133)
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  48. #jesuslovesme  (1,045)
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  52. #repost  (980)
  53. #instagood  (978)
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  55. #verseoftheday  (873)
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  57. #instadaily  (856)
  58. #Saved  (848)
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  62. #godlywomen  (810)
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  64. #Godlovesyou  (805)
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  66. #biblestudy  (784)
  67. #WordofGod  (782)
  68. #OurDailyBread  (779)
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  70. #GodsNotDead  (743)
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  72. #Thankful  (738)
  73. #Bibleprophecy  (723)
  74. #christianliving  (695)
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  76. #repent  (678)
  77. #inspirationalquotes  (676)
  78. #Godfirst  (676)
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  80. #trustGod  (670)
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  82. #Endtimes  (656)
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  84. #ilovejesus  (649)
  85. #GodsWord  (648)
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  87. #photographershour  (633)
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  89. #beautiful  (617)
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  91. #godbless  (597)
  92. #follow  (589)
  93. #photooftheday  (586)
  94. #KingofKings  (585)
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  97. #followme  (581)
  98. #Godisnotdead  (567)
  99. #GodsGrace  (560)
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9 Inspirational Sayings from Dr. Benjamin Carson

Find out the mindset that transformed Ben Carson’s life, from a poor performing student to one of the greatest neurosurgeon in the world. Allow these quotes to inspire you to think bigger.

Read and be blessed.

  1. Sometimes you are unsatisfied with your life, while many people in this world are dreaming of living your life.
  2. A child on a farm sees a plane fly overhead and dreams of flying. But, a pilot on the plane sees the farmhouse and dreams of returning home. That’s life, enjoy yours.
  3. If wealth is the secret to happiness, then the rich should be dancing on the streets. But only poor kids do that.
  4. If power ensures security, then officials should walk unguarded. But those who live simply, sleep soundly.
  5. If beauty and fame bring ideal relationships, then celebrities should have the best marriages. But those who live simply, walk humbly and love genuinely!
  6. All good will come back to you!
  7. Man asks, “Where was God when Myles Munroe, wife and his associates were killed in a crash? He answers, “The same place I sat when John the Baptist my servant was beheaded. When Stephen my servant was stoned to death. When Paul my servant was murdered in Rome. The same place I sat when my only Son was brutally crucified, wounded, bruised and killed. I have not moved from my position.”
  8. I am the same. It is not the means of exit from earth that matters but the destination. Live simply. It’s all about God!
  9. If someone asks about your educational background, proclaim boldly that: Church is my college. Heaven is my university. Father God is my counselor. Jesus is my principal. The Holy Spirit is my teacher. Angels are my classmates. The Bible is my textbook. Temptations are my exams and overcoming Satan is my hobby. Winning souls for God is my assignment. Receiving eternity is my degree. Praise and Worship are my slogan.

Benjamin Solomon Carson Sr.  (born September 18, 1951) is an American neurosurgeon, author, and politician who is the 17th and current  United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, under the  Trump Administration. Prior to his cabinet position, he was a candidate for  President of the United States in the  Republican primaries in 2016.  Born in  Detroit,  Michigan, and a graduate of  Yale University  and the  University of Michigan Medical School, Carson has authored numerous books on his medical career and political stances. He was the subject of a  television drama film  in 2009.  He was the Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at  Johns Hopkins Hospital  in  Maryland  from 1984 until his retirement in 2013. As a pioneer in neurosurgery, Carson’s achievements include performing the only successful separation of  conjoined twins  joined at the back of the head, pioneering the first successful neurosurgical procedure on a fetus inside the womb, performing the first completely successful separation of type-2 vertical  craniopagus twins, developing new methods to treat brain-stem tumors, and reviving  hemispherectomy  techniques for controlling  seizures.  He became the youngest chief of pediatric neurosurgery in the country at age 33.  He has received more than 60 honorary doctorate degrees, dozens of national merit citations, and written over 100 neurosurgical publications.  In 2008, he was bestowed the  Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the United States.

Willow Creek Interviews Jack Welch, Former GE CEO

“Face reality as it is, not as it was or as you wish it to be." ’• Jack Welch

Jack Welch, the salty former CEO of GE, sat down for an interview with Bill Hybels, senior pastor of Willow Creek Community Church, for the 2010 Leadership Summit and served up more truth and wisdom in 30 minutes than most seminary classes give over a semester.

Known for his own brutal candor, Welch emphasized authenticity and candor in leaders.

“You’ve got to be yourself. You’ve got to be comfortable in your shoes,” he said. “You’ve got to not portray yourself as something other than what you are. People can see through a phony in a minute.” and “Nothing is worse than negative energy,” Welch stressed.

Meanwhile, the top 20 percent are those who are filled with energy and likable, who love to reward and celebrate their people, aren’t mean-spirited or cheap and aren’t afraid to have great people around them, he said.

The mean-spirited hide the good people. But the top workers don’t have a lot of envy.

“Envy’s a terrible thing,” he pointed out.  

Jack Welch impact on society has been no doubt been tremendous, but good deeds and riches do not grant you automatic access to the Kingdom of God.

“Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.”

In another interview with Dan Rather on the CBS program 60 Minutes, Jack Welch, the former CEO of General Electric, said that the most difficult question he was ever asked was, “Do you think you will go to heaven when you die?”

“Welch replied and said had been a really good person, had done a lot  of good things for others in his most influential years in the business world.”

Whilst Welch isn’t a Christian, he has now started attending First Presbyterian Church for the past several months after he was hospitalized for 104 days for a spinal infection called discitis.

When asked if the health scare opened him up to things of God, he said, “Maybe.”

 

7 Astonishing Abandoned Projects” Surreal Riveted Sea Forts Once Protected the Kent Shores from German Attack”

Westminster Cathedral

Abandoned projects including building, engineering and infrastructure development projects litter  the  whole of the world.

Most of them  were started  to  symbolise a  country’s  prosperity and vision but after years of abandonment, stalled development and  economic crisis, some of the world’s most amazing projects  have been  abandoned  and now  have come to  epitomise  national struggle.

From  Bangkok’s ‘Ghost Tower’ which was abandoned after the 1997 financial crisis to the Tower of David, here is a selection of some of the world’s  most famous  abandoned and incomplete projects in no particular order.

 

1. Bangkok’s ‘Ghost Tower’

article-2342077-1A546C8C000005DC-798_634x486

On stormy days debris from this unfinished and abandoned skyscraper rains down on the streets of Bangkok

A towering waste.  It’s called Bangkok’s ‘ghost tower’. This 49-storey  prominent unfinished skyscraper in the Thai capital city of Bangkok was destined to be a state-of-the-art office and residential complex, but has instead become a destination for urban explorers. Planned as a high-rise condominium complex, construction of the building was halted during the 1997 Asian financial crisis when it was 80% complete.

Now the 174-meter graffiti-covered building mainly houses squatters.

 

2. The “Tower of David”

A view from the atrium. The Tower has long been a symbol of Venezuela's failed hopes and dreams. Credit: Vocativ/Oscar B. Castillo
View of Tower A from The Atrium ground level area

Torre de David (The Tower of David) named after David Brillembourg, the tower’s main investor who died in 1993 has been  depicted as a haven for drug lords and assassins in the TV series Homeland, lauded as an experiment in social empowerment at the Venice Architecture Biennale and featured in countless articles and documentaries around the world.   In May 2014, the tower was also featured in the BBC World News documentary, Our World.

For eight years, the Tower of David a half-built skyscraper in downtown Caracas the capital of Venezuela. was  home to thousands of squatters who transformed the abandoned block into a  ghetto complete with grocery shops, tattoo parlours, internet cafes and a hair salon.

Construction of the tower began in 1990 but was halted in 1994 due to the Venezuelan banking crisis. As of 2016, the building remains incomplete.

This vertical ghetto  can be seen from almost every corner of this densely populated capital.

In 2014 Ernesto Villegas, the minister for the revolutionary transformation of greater Caracas, said all the tower’s residents would be relocated  to “dignified homes”. “This is not an eviction, but rather a relocation,” he told reporters. Villegas said several children had fallen to their deaths from the tower, which in some places is lacking walls or windows.

The newspaper Tal Cual reported that Chinese banks were interested in buying the tower and renovating it for its original use.

3. Mothballed Oil Rig

oil rig

Oil rigs definitely fall into the mega category when it comes to size.You might think of them more as structures than machines. The rig above is a  accomodation platform rather than an oil drilling rig, re-built in Belfast in the late 1990s. Mothballed as opposed to completely abandoned, the rig stands alongside the derelict area of the old Harland and Wolff shipyard.

This Patch of Wasteground Is Probably One of the Most Famous in Maritime History, Being the Construction Site of the Rms Olympic and Her Sister Ship  Titanic.

Today modern redevelopment is breathing new life.

4. The Maunsell Forts of the Thames Estuary

“Surreal Riveted Sea Forts Once Protected the Kent Shores from German Attack”

Rising from the water like rusty invaders out of H.G. Wells, the Maunsell Army Forts in the Thames Estuary built by the British Royal Navy are decaying reminders of the darkest days of World War II. These sea forts still stand today and are abandoned in the North Sea not far from the coast of eastern England. Standing as monuments for maritime explorers,  the forts are now in varying states of decay, but  are a historical portrayal of how the country protected itself against air raids. Attempting to enter them is probably ill-advised, if not illegal.

 

5. Project Babylon

A section of the Iraqi supergun from Imperial War Museum Duxford
A section of the Iraqi supergun from Imperial War Museum Duxford

Project Babylon: The Story of Saddam’s Supergun

Project Babylon  was a project with unknown objectives commissioned by the then  Iraqi  president  Saddam Hussein  to build a series of “superguns”. The Iraqi government engaged world-renowned artillery expert Gerald V. Bul   whose lifetime obsession was a the construction of a “Supergun,”.  The design was based on research from the 1960s  Project HARP,

In early April 1990, United Kingdom customs officers confiscated several pieces of the second Big Babylon barrel, which were supposedly disguised as “petrochemical pressure vessels”. Components, such as slide bearings for Big Babylon, were seized at their manufacturers’ sites in Spain and Switzerland. After the Gulf War in 1991, Iraq confirmed the  existence of Project Babylon, and permitted  U.N. inspectors to destroy the hardware. A section seized by UK customs officers is on display at The Royal Artillery Museum, Woolwich, London.

6. Sagrada Família

Sagrada Familia 02

The Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família is a large Roman Catholic church in Barcelona, designed by Spanish architect Antoni Gaudí (1852–1926). Although incomplete, the church is a World Heritage Site and has  been visited by the Pope. Inspired by Gaudí’s vision, and funded almost exclusively by the millions of tourists who flock to it every year,  today, the Sagrada Família is more than halfway done, with a estimated  completion date of 2026. The lead  architect is confident that it will be finished “  within the next  century.

7. Westminster Cathedral

Westminster Cathedral Front

It’s one of the most famous and beautiful churches in the world and is  by all accounts an architectural masterpiece, however, it’s never actually been completed.  Westminster Cathedral must also be one of the busiest churches in the United Kingdom.

How Lovely Is Your Dwelling Place, Lord God of Hosts…” Psalm 83

Work is still ongoing, supposedly. Work began in 1895, but apparently it’s been too expensive to finish decorating the mother church of literally all of England  and Wales.  However,  the unfinished  internal brickwork is amazing.

Westminster Cathedral is the architectural master-work of John Francis Bentley (1839-1902). Bentley was a Victorian church architect of great accomplishments.  It was to buildings such as Hagia Sophia, San Vitale in Ravenna and St Mark’s, Venice, that Bentley turned to for inspiration to prepare himself mentally and spiritually for the work of designing the Cathedral in 1894.

The whole building, in the neo-Byzantine style, covers an floor area of about 5,017 square metres (54,000 sq ft); the dominating factor of the scheme, apart from the campanile, being a spacious and uninterrupted nave, 18 metres (59 ft), covered with domical vaulting.

The Loss of Free Speech in the UK and How We Should React as Christians

Updated on 03.06.2017    Last week’s ruling by a magistrate’s court in Bristol, convicting two street preachers (Michael Overd and Michael Stockwell) of a public order offence, is just another example of the loss of freedom of speech for Christians in the UK.  The prosecutor argued that publicly quoting the King James Bible in modern Britain should “be considered to be abusive and is a criminal matter.”  During the trial, the prosecutor argued:

To say to someone that Jesus is the only God is not a matter of truth. To the extent that they are saying that the only way to God is through Jesus, that cannot be a truth.

The men were found guilty under Section 31 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 of using “threatening or abusive words or behaviour or disorderly behaviour within the hearing or sight of a person .  .  . and the offence was religiously aggravated.” Although last year British Prime Minister Theresa May said, “We must continue to ensure that people feel able to speak about their faith, and that absolutely includes their faith in Christ,”2  this is obviously not the case.

In many ways, being a Christian was like paddling downstream.   Most everyone and everything around you reinforced your faith.   But today is a much different day.   Here are today’s challenges.

In today’s world, it is a challenge to live a Christian life.  Our culture’s definition of free speech and tolerance now seems to demand silence for those who disagree.

The world, with all its religious diversity and moral complexity, is literally at our doorstep. Every moment of every day we are confronted with differing beliefs, values, and world views. The Bible is no longer an unquestioned authority and Christianity is losing its place as the dominant religion.

If a teacher were to read C.S. Lewis to  her class, she’d likely be fired from  her job and well if you tell people about Jesus, you are ostracised for being intolerant, a fundamentalist, or an extremist.

However, remember when the saint’s of God are in the fiery furnish and refuse to give up their faith people who have never seen God will see God in you.

How Should We Speak as Christians?

First, it is important to remember to pray and intercede for those in authority over us (1 Timothy 2:1–2).

Are Afflictions Wordless Prayers? | Walter Bright.

Christianity is not about status or fame or being in control of the culture, but about  living day by day under the Lordship of Christ.

I am so glad when it comes to talking with God, we have freedom of speech.  We come before Him and He knows what we are going to say, even before we have uttered the words. (Psalm 139:4).

Whatever else we may think about Christian faith, it comes down to this: “Follow me.

The only reason we live is to make God known.

But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:19–20)

This is a spiritual battle, one in which we must stand firm even in face of those who would seek to silence the gospel.

 

 

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