Tag Archives: Faith

In grieving Texas town, faith sustains those left behind

A member of the media walks inside the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs where 26 people were killed one week ago, as the church opens to the public as a memorial to those killed, in Sutherland Springs, Texas, U.S. November 12, 2017.

By Tim Reid

SUTHERLAND SPRINGS, Texas (Reuters) – Joe Holcombe and his wife, Claryce, lost eight members of their family in the Texas church shooting last Sunday, including their son, grandchildren, a pregnant granddaughter-in-law and a great- granddaughter who was still a toddler. But they are serene.

Chairs and roses mark where worshipers were found dead at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs where 26 people were killed one week ago, as the church opens to the public as a memorial to those killed, in Sutherland Springs, Texas, U.S. November 12, 2017.

Chairs and roses mark where worshipers were found dead at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs where 26 people were killed one week ago, as the church opens to the public as a memorial to those killed, in Sutherland Springs, Texas, U.S. November 12, 2017. REUTERS/Rick Wilking

“It’s just not a problem to us,” said Holcombe, 86, adding that he and 84-year-old Claryce believe their dead family members are now alive again in heaven.

“We know exactly where the family is, and it’s not going to be long until we’ll both be there,” he said. “And we’re really sort of looking forward to it.”

Chairs and roses show where Joann and Brooke Ward and others were found dead at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs where 26 people were killed one week ago, as the church opens to the public as a memorial to those killed, in Sutherland Springs, Texas, U.S. November 12, 2017.

Chairs and roses show where Joann and Brooke Ward and others were found dead at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs where 26 people were killed one week ago, as the church opens to the public as a memorial to those killed, in Sutherland Springs, Texas, U.S. November 12, 2017. REUTERS/Rick Wilking

The Holcombes were upbeat and full of good humor during a telephone interview, and they are not an exception in this deeply evangelical part of Texas.

What is so striking about relatives and friends of the 26 victims of the church shooting in tiny Sutherland Springs is that they all believe good will come from this act of evil and that their loved ones are now safe for eternity, and breathing again, with God.

Psychologists say such deep faith can help families deal with such a ghastly event. Even so, they warn that leaning too heavily on one’s religious beliefs can stunt the natural grieving period and result in post-traumatic stress later.

A cross with a crown of thorns and a Bible open to the book of Proverbs are seen at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs where 26 people were killed one week ago, as the church opens to the public as a memorial to those killed, in Sutherland Springs, Texas, U.S. November 12, 2017.

A cross with a crown of thorns and a Bible open to the book of Proverbs are seen at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs where 26 people were killed one week ago, as the church opens to the public as a memorial to those killed, in Sutherland Springs, Texas, U.S. November 12, 2017. REUTERS/Rick Wilking

“I can see potentially it could be some form of denial, a delayed traumatic reaction, and if you don’t have some kind of negative feelings, it can catch up with you,” said clinical psychologist and trauma expert Bethany Brand.

Gina Hassan, a psychologist in northern California, said Sutherland Spring’s faith was invaluable in the wake of the shooting, “but if it’s relied upon in a rigid way, then it’s going to be a problem down the line and come back to bite you later on.”

Local veterinarian George Hill, a relative of the Holcombes, said an evangelical belief in Christ was the only way to deal with such a tragedy.

“We haven’t lost hope,” he said. “They are not gone. They are just gone ahead. And we know we’ll see them again.”

He expressed faith that evil would not prevail. “It looks like evil won, but it didn’t,” he said. “Good is going to win.”

Pastor Mike Clements of the First Baptist Church in Floresville, a small city 14 miles from Sutherland Springs, is officiating over the funeral services for the extended Holcombe family on Wednesday.

The dead include Bryan Holcombe, Joe and Claryce Holcombe’s son, and his wife Karla. Their son Danny Holcombe was killed as well, along with his 18-month-old daughter, Noah. Crystal Holcombe, who was 18 weeks pregnant, was Bryan and Karla Holcombe’s daughter-in-law.

Also shot and killed were Emily, Megan and Greg Hill, three children from Crystal’s first marriage, which had ended with her husband’s death.

Under Texas law, Crystal’s unborn child is also being counted as a victim, making a death toll of nine for the family.

People in Sutherland Springs are truly grieving, Clements said. But evangelicals accept Christ into their lives in a very real way, and because of that, their faith is incredibly liberating, especially at a time of such great tragedy.

Most fundamentally, he said, they believe people who have accepted Christ will go to heaven.

“It doesn’t get any better than this,” Clements said over lunch near his church. “There is nothing better than heaven when you are a believer.”

 

(Editing by Frank McGurty and Lisa Von Ahn)

 

The three wise men parade Madrid’s streets amid tightened security

Men dressed as the three wise men

MADRID (Reuters) – The three biblical wise men paraded through Madrid’s streets amid tight security on Thursday, the eve of Epiphany, which celebrates the day they are said to have visited the infant Christ with gold, frankincense and myrrh.

Melchior, Caspar and Balthazar, accompanied by hundreds of eclectic floats, handed out sweets to the thousands of children lining the Spanish capital’s main boulevard.

Madrid’s authorities deployed 800 police officers, some heavily armed, erected concrete barriers to block access to streets and curbed the movement of trucks after the December attack in Berlin on a Christmas market.

A Tunisian man killed 12 people in the Dec. 19 attack when he plowed a truck into a row of market stalls, leading other European capitals to ramp up security.

The Day of the Kings on Jan. 6 is a bigger day than Christmas for many in Spain. Children often wait until then to open their presents said to have been brought by the wise men and not Santa Claus, the traditional gift-giver elsewhere.

Every Spanish city and most towns hold parades featuring the kings, wearing robes, crowns and billowing beards, and Madrid’s is one of the largest.

In Catalonia controversy has been focused on the attempt by pro-independence organizations to politicize the parade in Vic, a town around 70 kilometers north of Barcelona, with the distribution of lanterns bearing the “estelada” flag, usually used by Catalan separatists.

(Reporting By Jesús Aguado; Editing by Angus Berwick and Richard Lough)

Congress remains overwhelmingly Christian as U.S. shifts

U.S. President Barack Obama (L-R), House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) bow their heads in prayer at the end of a ceremony commemorating the 150th anniversary of the 13th Amendment, which formally abolished slavery in the aftermath of the U.S. Civil War, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington

By Ian Simpson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Congress taking office on Tuesday remains almost as overwhelmingly Christian as it was in the 1960s even while the share of American adults who call themselves Christians has dropped, according to Pew Research Center analysis.

A report from the nonpartisan group said that 91 percent of lawmakers in the Republican-dominated 115th Congress described themselves as Christians, down slightly from 95 percent in the 87th Congress in 1961 and 1962, the earliest years for comparable data.

By contrast, the portion of American adults who call themselves Christian fell to 71 percent in 2014, the Pew report said. While Pew did not have numbers for the early 1960s, a Gallup survey from that time found that 93 percent of Americans described themselves as Christian.

“The most interesting thing is how little Congress has changed over the past several decades, especially in comparison with the general public,” Aleksandra Sandstrom, the report’s lead author, said in a telephone interview.

The biggest gap between Congress and other Americans was among those who said they have no religion. Only one lawmaker, Democratic Representative Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, called herself religiously unaffiliated. The Pew survey found that 23 percent of Americans described themselves the same way.

The percentage of Americans who have no religion has grown, but the portion of voters who said in exit polls that they have no religion is lower than the share of the general public, said Greg Smith, a Pew expert on the U.S. religious landscape.

“The political power of that group might lag their growth in the overall population,” he said.

Among the 293 Republicans elected to the new Congress, all but two identify as Christians. The two Jewish Republicans – Lee Zeldin of New York and David Kustoff of Tennessee – serve in the House.

The 242 Democrats in Congress are 80 percent Christian, but that side of the aisle includes 28 Jews, three Buddhists, three Hindus, two Muslims and one Unitarian Universalist.

The share of Protestants in Congress has dropped to 56 percent today from 75 percent in 1961, while the portion of Catholics in Congress has risen to 31 percent from 19 percent.

The U.S. population in 2014 was 46.5 percent Protestant and 21 percent Catholic, the Pew survey showed.

The survey was based on data gathered by CQ Roll Call through questionnaires and phone calls to members of congress and candidates’ offices.

(Reporting by Ian Simpson; Editing by Scott Malone and Grant McCool)

CHRIST IS BORN!!

Christ Is BORN!

By Kami Klein

For Christians, Christmas represents the light of hope that we carry within us. The birth of Jesus and the tremendous acts of courage throughout the Christmas story, inspire us to have more faith, spread more love, forgive quickly and freely while making that extra effort to show compassion to others.    

The moment the song “Oh Holy Night” fills the air, that sweetness of faith wraps it’s arms around us and if we allow it,  no matter our differences, inspires us to show that light of Christ to the world.

The account of Jesus’ birth in the Bible shows the simple faith of shepherds in the field, willing to listen to an Angel!  They trusted what they heard from this Holy being and simply had faith.

The same is to be said for the Three Wise men who decided to blindly follow a star and listen when warned without falter.   It was Faith.

As we celebrate the birthday of our Savior, let us ask for the love of God to wash away any old resentments, fears and grudges.  Let us take that one simple act of faith and courage and live as Christ has asked us to and honor the man, the teacher, the Savior, the Son of God.

Christmas is not just a time for friends and family..Christmas is for ALL of humanity!

 

Luke 2:1-20 

The Birth of Jesus

2 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the entire inhabited earth should be taxed. 2 This taxation was first made when Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 And everyone went to his own city to be taxed.

4 So Joseph also departed from the city of Nazareth in Galilee to the City of David which is called Bethlehem, in Judea, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be taxed with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. 6 So while they were there, the day came for her to give birth. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in strips of cloth, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

The Shepherds and the Angels

8 And in the same area there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And then an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were very afraid. 10 But the angel said to them, “Listen! Do not fear. For I bring you good news of great joy, which will be to all people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign to you: You will find the Baby wrapped in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”

13 Suddenly there was with the angel a company of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest,    and on earth peace, and good will toward men.”

15 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see what has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”

16 So they came hurrying and found Mary and Joseph, and the Baby lying in a manger. 17 When they had seen Him, they made widely known the word which was told them concerning this Child. 18 And all those who heard it marveled at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESUS!

9/11: In the Face of Evil, the Best of Humanity

A firefighter emerges from the smoke and debris of the World Trade Center. The towers were destroyed in a Sept. 11 terrorist attack. U.S. Navy Photo by Photographer Mate 2nd class Jim Watson

On the morning of Tuesday, September 11th, 2001, one of the worst terror attacks in our nation’s history, nearly 3,000 lives were erased, 6,000 people injured, and our world as we knew it not only changed, but shifted. Americans trembled as we watched our feelings of safety and security crumble to the ground. Before that day, the thought of terrorism taking place in the United States seemed unfathomable.

As our faith was shaken and our spirits shattered, we turned to God. We gathered together, filling churches across the world. We prayed together, grieved together, and found comfort in God’s love. The flag was honored again, and we stood together as One Nation Under God, ready to defend the United States with everything we had.  The lessons from that day are embedded in history and in our hearts. But sadly, the churches are not filled as they used to be and our patriotism has weakened.

On September 11th, 2001 we witnessed the worst of humanity and also the very best. After the attacks, countless stories unfolded revealing extraordinary acts of courage, sacrifice, kindness, and compassion.

The crew on board the hijacked aircraft, who in the carnage and terror, found a way to communicate what had happened and gave valuable information to the authorities.

The husbands and wives who called their spouses and families from the towers, telling them goodbye. They then began helping others escape, leading them to the stairwell, calmly reassuring them, going back for more, and in the end, losing their own lives.

The 343 firefighters, 60 police officers and 8 paramedics that gave their lives to selflessly help others to safety.

The heroes at the Pentagon who pulled victims out, as they felt the heat and flames burning at their backs but never gave up.

The crew and passengers of Flight 93 that crashed down in a field in rural Pennsylvania, never reaching its intended target because they fought back against the terrorists.

The hundreds of people who protected total strangers, giving their own shirts off their backs to cover victims mouths so that they could breathe through the cloud of deadly dust.

Today, we remember The unknown stories of the families and friends who lost someone they loved and had the courage to put their lives back together with dignity, hope and faith in God.

Genesis 50:20  But as for you, you intended to harm me, but God intended it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many lives.

We must begin to fill our churches again. We cannot allow terrorism around the world to dismantle our faith.  

Please take a moment to pray today. Pray for the families of the victims that we lost on that tragic day.

Pray for the heroes of 9/11 and our military men and women who continue in the fight against terrorism and abroad.  

On this sad day, ALWAYS remember that God will NEVER, NEVER, NEVER leave you and He will NEVER, NEVER, NEVER forsake you.  -Deuteronomy 31:6

God Bless America.  

 

The 5 Principles of Faith

The days seem so dark right now don’t they?  Have you ever turned off the news because what is happening in the world seems so overwhelming? All day long we hear and see the hatred, the persecution, the intolerance and the falling away from a God that loves us so much!  Sometimes it is absolutely too much to bear. Sometimes the pain in my heart is so big I honestly don’t know if I can keep going.

But, God Always reminds me of my calling to bring His last day message to this generation.  This calling and the people standing with me is what keeps me going.

Recently Lori and I invited Dr. Don and Mary Colbert to the show.  Mary shared with us an incredible Word from the Lord. His command to Mary was, “I want you to teach my people the 5 principles of faith!” Mary is an amazing woman of God and these are 5 powerful, powerful points of Faith revealed! I cannot tell you about her experience as well as she can but I believe it is important for you to hear the Word that was given to her!

The first principle is, “Faith must be active.” It must be moving.  Remember; John 2:17 “So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.” You must become faith in action!

The second principle is, “Have the kind of faith that excites God.” With God all things are possible! For instance, partnership excites God.  He will do nothing without you. What you have with God is a partnership.   When you partner with another to do great things, like what you have done by partnering with our ministry, you are exciting God!  Which leads to the third principle; “Faith is the substance of THINGS” the action that we take to do the great things of God!

So the next principle that God gave to Mary was #5.  I am sure you are thinking, “But Jim, what about #4??”  Now this may look like it is out of order but with God NOTHING is in the wrong order.  He gave Mary #5 first, which means He really wanted us to pay attention to this one!

Faith Principle #5 is “Just remember, love is the propelling fuel behind faith.” You must walk in love, you must forgive, you must cast down any bitterness, hold no resentment towards any man.  As soon as something is done to you, you quickly forgive. Why? Because now you know that the fuel behind faith is love.  Faith worketh by love. And that means love the Lord thy God with all your heart, mind, and soul! Undeniably, He belongs to you, and you belong to Him! And in that process of love for God, loving Him with every cell in your body, you are then enabled to forgive people who know not what they do.

The last of the principles of Faith that God gave to Mary was #4: “See by Faith what you are Believing for.” She said it means to close your eyes and “see” what it is that you are in partnership with God to do.  Is this for healing, believing for a ministry or a job that you are praying for?  Be a visionary and “see” what you are believing God for.  From the depths of your spirit you must be able to see it, praise God for it, and keep praising Him, thanking Him for bringing to pass what you are seeing clearly in your heart and mind.

This is what PTL is all about now. “Prophets Talking Loud!” This is the platform for Prophets to speak what God has given to them!  Mary Colbert is a dear friend, and the experience she had with our Lord was beautiful!  She has never had this kind of a vision before. Here at Morningside, she was led to share something so special with all of you.  That is why God has blessed this ministry and has restored the PTL Television Network to be the “Voice of the Prophets”.

Love,

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Cambodians gather to pray for ‘killing fields’ dead

A man prays at the Choeung Ek memorial during the annual "Day of Anger" in Phnom Penh

(Reuters) – Hundreds of people gathered on Friday at one of Cambodia’s infamous killing fields to remember the two million people who died under the communist Khmer Rouge regime.

Officials and relatives laid flowers and gave offerings on the “Day of Remembrance”, once known as the “Day of Hatred”, and students performed a re-enactment of Khmer Rouge soldiers taking prisoners.

The 1975-79 ultra-Maoist regime killed a fifth of the population through execution, torture and starvation in a bid to turn Cambodia into a communist state. Dictator Pol Pot was toppled from power when Vietnam invaded the country in 1979.

“During my prayers, I said to those who were killed that nowadays the government cooperates with the Khmer Rouge court to try to find justice for all the victims so they might rest in peace,” Khmer Rouge era survivor Yi Kim Seur said at Choueung Ek, about 15 km (9 miles) outside the capital, Phnom Penh.

A hybrid U.N.-Cambodian tribunal has reached verdicts in three high-profile cases since it was set up almost a decade ago but new cases have faced resistance.

Kaing Guek Eav, alias “Duch”, the head of the notorious Tuol Sleng prison where as many as 14,000 people were executed, received a life sentence in 2010.

Senior Khmer Rouge leaders Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan have also been handed life sentences.

(Editing by Patrick Johnston and Clarence Fernandez)

A Powerful Message from A Powerful Woman

In all my years in Christian television, I’ve never met a woman like Brigitte Gabriel.

I’ve had the chance to interview some exceptional people on my shows — politicians, entertainers  from all walks of life, and a multitude of preachers and prophetic voices — but I have never heard a story as powerful as hers. I talk about how our entire world can be turned upside down in an instant, how quickly we can lose nearly everything we know, and here is a remarkable woman who has lived through it all. Continue reading →

Rabbi Jonathan Cahn “Following God’s Heavenly Blueprint”

Whenever Rabbi Jonathan Cahn comes to Morningside, a unique peace falls over Grace street. The presence of the Holy Spirit embraces the audience and a calmness sweeps quietly from person to person. Rabbi’s voice has the ability to flow from his heart and into the listener’s spirit. There has never been a time when he has spoken here where he did not have a powerful message that God wanted us to hear. This time the words spoken over the crowd were powerfully personal.

Before God acts, he plans, and the Bible is a blueprint for the course of humankind and this world. We can see the movement of that blueprint throughout history but many wonder about the role that they play and for the purpose of their life. No one but Rabbi could make the answer feel so clear.

“The whole Book of Revelation is like a blueprint of what God is going to do. It talks about the lamb that was slain before the foundation of the earth. First it (the plan) is revealed then it comes. There is a pattern. If you have any question as to whether God has a purpose for your life I tell you this, God has a blueprint for the lives of ALL of His people. There IS a heavenly pattern to your life! “

Rabbi reassured the audience that God knows each and every one of us and that HE has had a divine plan for our lives all along. Many of us wonder how we will fulfill God’s plans for our lives? How do we do it?

According to Rabbi, the number one thing we can do to discover His plans for us is obedience to His Will. The more that you obey the Will of God, the more He will lead you into the destiny that is yet to come. Reading the Word of God and living by it is the second thing. The Word of God is the Will of God manifest, so the more you live your life according to the Will of God and the Word of God, the more the plans of God come to fruition. By living in the Word, you are following a general pattern of how you should live your life.

Another key to following God’s divine blueprint for your life is “living by faith”. Faith is what connects you to the will and the plans of God.

Rabbi continued by explaining that there is also something very sacred that will allow the plans and destiny of your life to be revealed.
“When God created the World, when he began the creation, the Bible says the Spirit of God was upon the waters. So, as He is creating, the ‘spirit of God ‘ is part of the act of creation. The spirit is the agent of God’s will. It translates the will of God into reality. The more you live your life according to the Spirit, by the HOLY spirit, the more the plans of God will be manifested.”

Living in the Spirit, moving to His Will, living in the heart of God, will lead you to the exact plan that God has for you.

Rabbi Jonathan Cahn knows God’s Word and creatively related story after story within the scriptures and in his own life regarding God’s Divine plan for ordinary people, just like you and me, whose lives became extraordinary once they bowed to the Will of God in their lives and captured the blueprint that God had drawn up for them.

Imagine how much is given from heaven that has not been received. Imagine how many times people have begun living the pattern of the divine plan for their life, feel they have messed up and then just quit? But God does not give up on us. And if we go off track HE has a plan to get you back. Rabbi assures and encourages us not to be afraid to live this life that God intended for us.

“He does have a plan for you. God placed every one of you for His purpose. You are fearfully and wonderfully made. You are His workmanship!. You were conceived to glorify God! You were made to glorify God! You have a destiny to enter into that blueprint that he prepared for you … you have been called … a high and holy calling! Dare to take the Higher Ground! “

God is asking us to have faith. All it takes is one step in obedience towards His loving will, which will immediately set us on the path to finding the pattern and plan that He has created only for YOU! Are you ready to fulfill the glorious plans He has for your life? It is entirely up to you to make that choice!

Our Prophetic Week DVD is now available containing every taping of the Jim Bakker Show with all of our amazing guests, as well as Morningside’s inspirational evening services including Rabbi Jonathan Cahn during Prophetic week 2016.