An anti-Christian organization is seeking to convince Congress to dump the Bible as part of their oath ceremony.
“On January 6, Congress will take the ceremonial oath of office, during which each member will solemnly swear, or affirm, that he or she will ‘support and defend the Constitution of the United States.’ While members are not required to swear or affirm on a specific text, or any at all, many choose to swear on the Bible,” the Secular Coalition of America said.
“This year, the Secular Coalition will seek to remind Congress that it was elected to support and defend the Constitution, not the Bible or any other religious text. We will be circulating letters on the Hill and lobbying in person to get as many members of Congress as we can to take the oath on the Constitution.”
It’s not the first time that an anti-Christian organization has tried to manipulate the oath of office for a Federal official; the anti-Christian Freedom From Religion Foundation did the same prior to President Obama’s 2012 inauguration.
A recent study showed that 57 percent of Congress identifies themselves as Christian and 31 percent as Catholic.
A disgraced journalist has published a piece smearing Christians that Newsweek has run on the cover of their magazine at Christmas.
The article, called “The Bible: So Misunderstood It’s a Sin”, was written by Kurt Eichenwald, a reporter who left the New York Times shortly before it was discovered he had given thousands of dollars to a source for a story he had written on child pornography. In the piece, Eichenwald smears Christians who follow Scripture.
“They are God’s frauds, cafeteria Christians who pick and choose which Bible verses they heed with less care than they exercise in selecting side orders for lunch,” Eichenwald wrote. “They are joined by religious rationalizers—fundamentalists who, unable to find Scripture supporting their biases and beliefs, twist phrases and modify translations to prove they are honoring the Bible’s word.”
Christian leaders across the country immediately responded to the hit piece timed to hit shelves during one of the most holy times of the year for Christians.
“Newsweek’s cover story is exactly what happens when a writer fueled by open antipathy to evangelical Christianity tries to throw every argument he can think of against the Bible and its authority,” Southern Baptist leader Albert Mohler wrote in an article entitled “Newsweek on the Bible: So Misrepresented It’s a Sin.” Oddly enough, Kurt Eichenwald’s attack on evangelical Christianity would likely be a measure more effective had he left out the personal invective that opens his essay and appears pervasively. He has an axe to grind, and grind he does.”
“But the authority of the Bible is not the victim of the grinding. To the contrary, this article is likely to do far more damage to Newsweek in its sad new reality,” Mohler continued. “To take advantage of Newsweek’s title—it so misrepresents the truth, it’s a sin.”
The YouVersion Bible app has released a list of the most searched Bible verses during the year 2014.
According to all searches, Romans 12:2 is the verse read more than any other:
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
The administrators of the program say that 164 million smartphone and tablet users around the world have downloaded the YouVersion Bible app. 87 percent of Christians worldwide who have internet access have been reached by the app.
Philippians 4:8 and Philippians 4:6 finished second and third in the list. The number four verse on the list, Jeremiah 29:11, was most popular in Canada, the U.K., Australia and South Africa.
The app’s creators hope to have the ability to reach all 6,901 languages in the world through a program called Every Tribe Every Nation.
Seven NFL players teamed up with Athletes for Charity to spread the truth of the Gospel during the Christmas season.
The Christian Post reports that Don Carey and Andre Fluellen of the Detroit Lions, Ryan Lindley of the Arizona Cardinals, Kawann Short of the Carolina Panthers, Kevin Pamphile and Alterraun Verner of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Reggie Walker of the San Diego Chargers bought Bibles and gifted them to others for Christmas.
This is the third years of the Bible giving event.
The players focused on the purpose of the event when asked about their participation rather than themselves.
“I believe that nobody has a greater or lesser platform in the eyes of God. That man who works at a factory that witnesses to his coworker, or that woman who works at a salon who prays for her customers, is just as important as I am,” Fluellen told CP. “God has blessed me with a gift, just as God has blessed everyone with a gift. We are all responsible for using that gift to show God’s love to others.”
“God placed us here for a reason. Use the time you have on this platform to spread His Word,” Verner told CP. “Being saved isn’t supposed to be exclusive to just us. It’s our job to be disciples and spread the Word to others.”
The Cardinals’ Lindley summed up the definition of success of the event.
“As long as one soul is touched and changed by what we do this holiday season, I will view this as a success,” Lindley told the Christian Post.
There may be efforts to take Christ out of Christmas in this world, but we have within each one of us, individually, everything we need to keep Christ in Christmas. He is in our every moment after all! When we see others, we can choose to beam the love of Jesus into them as we say those words… “Merry Christmas! “ We can shine with His Spirit! It is up to our hearts to show that Christ is still in Christmas!
Nobody can take that from us. And nobody ever will. Continue reading →
Turkish officials are seeking an arsonist who attached a building that contained thousands of New Testaments and other Christian documents.
The fire was noticed at 7 p.m. on December 7th at the offices of Bible Correspondence Course in Istanbul, Turkey. The BCC was located in a multistory building that also housed the Kadikoy church.
BCC Turkey says that no one was injured in the blaze and because of the concrete construction of the building there was no structural damage. However, everything inside the building was burned to ash.
“I think whoever did it knew something about what happens up here, because they kind of knew to come on a Sunday afternoon, and that if they were going to have an opportunity where there weren’t going to be a lot of people around, that’s probably the one that was most likely,” Paul Weaver of BCC-Turkey said.
“I think the firemen were genuinely surprised that when they got there they didn’t find a bigger fire, and I call that providence,” he said. “I don’t know what else to call it because I would agree, I think it should have been a bigger fire than what they actually found.”
BCC Turkey officials say that multiple groups within the city have wanted to stop the group from distributing the Bibles.
The Guinness world record for the longest speech marathon has been broken by the Word of God.
Pastor Zach Zehnder of theCross Mount Dora in Florida broke the record with a 53 hour, 18 minute sermon. The pastor under took the quest to break the previous mark of 48 hours, 31 minutes to raise funds for a non-profit that helps addicts.
“The Idea was to break the Guinness world record for the longest speech ever and I’m a pastor obviously, and so I chose to speak on the Bible and kind of cover the entirety of the story from Genesis to Revelation,” said Zehnder to The Christian Post. “My goal of the whole sermon was to talk about God’s ridiculous commitment to his people, even though we give up on him that he never gave up on us and kind of trace that theme throughout.”
Zahnder had prepared 50 sermons for the event but only used 45.
The event raised more than $100,000 for a recovery house for Powerhouse Recovery.
Wycliffe Bible Translators USA has said that over 5.8 billion people worldwide now have access to God’s word.
“Last year, Wycliffe Global Alliance reported that 4.9 billion people could access at least part of the Bible in their first language. This year the number has grown to 5.8 billion,” Bob Creson, president and CEO of Wycliffe, told The Christian Post. “This represents tremendous progress toward our goal of starting a translation project in every language needing one by 2025.”
Creson said that advances in technology that increase the speed of translations have helped them.
“There are about 7000 languages in active use and at least one book of Scripture exists in almost 2,900 of these languages,” noted Wycliffe Global Alliance. “At least 1.3 billion people do not have the full Bible available in their first language. Over 634 million of these have the New Testament; others have portions or at least some level of work begun.”
“Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard, and gather its fruit; but in the seventh year, there shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a Sabbath to the Lord” (Leviticus 25:3-4). He also ordered the release of all debts (Deuteronomy 15:1).
Rabbi Jonathan Cahn has taught us the principles of the Shemitah through his book and through teaching us on the show. The Hebrew translation of Shemitah is “to release.” Here is the main thought I want you to grab from this writing: What you release this Shemitah year, will be released from you – when the Lord returns.
This Shemitah year is no ordinary Shemitah year. This year marks the end of a period of time that many believe immediately precedes the Second Coming of the Lord. We know that His coming is near because we are watching for it and we can see the signs, like the Bible says. Continue reading →
The man many call America’s Pastor turns 96 years old with a focus on heaven.
Rev. Billy Graham will be celebrating his birthday at home with family and close friends today while a brand new video from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association debuts named “Heaven.”
The video has a never-before-seen message from the powerful man of God filmed last year at his home.
“I know I’m going to heaven,” Graham says. “I’m looking forward to it with great anticipation.”
Graham has been struggling with deteriorating eyesight and hearing but staff says every day he begins with prayer, devotions and Bible study time.
“Although his physical condition keeps him homebound, he remains interested in current events and the ongoing work of the ministry that he began more than 60 years ago,” says Franklin Graham, his eldest son and president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. “Opportunities like My Hope and the Heaven film are ways that we can help my father to continue the work that God called us to do. Please pray for my father, and for those who will watch this film—that they too may know the peace found in Jesus Christ.”