Tag Archives: Faith

Nevada Teacher Bans Student Using John 3:16 In Assignment

A Nevada public charter school is under the microscope after a teacher refused to allow a student to reference John 3:16 in a project asking the students to describe themselves using a series of slides.

Mackenzie Frasier, a sixth-grader at Somerset Academy, is the daughter of a pastor and said she was proud of her Christian faith and its importance in her life.  She didn’t tell her parents about the incident until April when she discussed a leadership class assignment and said she was told not to use Christian references.

Her father, Pastor Tim Fraiser, wrote to the school asking for clarification on what his daughter had been told by her teacher.

“Can you please explain if this is true? Perhaps, she misunderstood you? Since I am certain you understand that this clearly infringes on my daughters/your students right to freedom of speech, I want to make sure we understand your instructions,” he wrote on April 29.

The school responded with a defense of blocking Christian expression from their school.

“When Mackenzie created the project with the expectation she would present the Biblical saying to the class, the matter became one of having a captive audience that would be subject to her religious beliefs. Had the assignment been designed to simply hand in for a grade, this would not have been an issue. Therefore, considering the circumstances of the assignment, Miss Jardine appropriately followed school law expectations by asking Mackenzie to choose an alternate quote for the presentation,” Assistant Principal Jenyan Martinez wrote.

The Liberty Institute is now involved in the situation and demanding the school allow Mackenzie’s Constitutional rights and to allow resubmission of the project with her Bible verse included in the presentation.

The charter school management company that runs Somerset Academy said they are investigating the situation.

“We consider the civil liberties of our students to be of utmost importance,” said Colin Bringhurst of Academica Nevada. “As such, we strive to comply in every way with the directives set forth by the U.S. Department of Education with regard to religious expression in public schools.”

Mackenzie told the Last Vegas Review-Journal she’s standing up for her rights to be a good example to her younger brothers.

MMA Fighter’s Ministry Helps Combat Vets With PTSD

An MMA fighter says he feels called by God to help the men and women of our armed forces who suffer from PTSD.

Chad Robichaux said that when he retired from the Marines after eight tours of duty in Afghanistan, he almost lost his family because of PTSD.  He then discovered “God’s blueprint” for life after his wife in a last-ditch effort to save their marriage contacted a pastor that Chad knew to speak with him.

The pastor showed Chad that God had a plan for his life that included overcoming PTSD.  Working together, they reconnected Chad with his family and saved his marriage.

In 2011, Chad felt led to take that healing he experienced and use it to help other veterans who were in the same situation he faced coming home.  WoodsEdge Community Church joined with him to form the Mighty Oaks Warrior Program.

“Through the mentoring I found that all the programs I have been through, all the pills, all the counseling, nothing had worked liked it did when I let Christ in my life and aligned my life with the life he intended me to live,” Robichaux told The Christian Post. “When something like this happens to you, you can’t help but share it. Here we are four years later and 710 guys later who experienced the same story.”

The program has now branched out into churches across the country with reports of huge success.

“Bring Jesus into the equation and watch them get set free,” said John Mizerak of Life Church in Virginia.  He noted that not a single suicide or divorce has taken place among the men participating in the program.

“Communities of faith need to really listen to the needs of veterans and offer a helping hand to veteran families, especially ones that are transitioning from a time of military service,” Ruth Frey, director of programs at the Washington National Cathedral in the District of Columbia said.

“It is also important for people of faith to advocate for veterans needs with their state and national legislators. As Christians, we are called to care for our neighbors and these are some of the ways we can live that out.”

“Brain Dead” Teen Girl, Revived Through Prayer, To Graduate High School

Doctors said the girl was brain dead and that her parents should take her off life support.

But God wasn’t done with Taylor Hale.

Hale was 14 when she fell off the hood of a car while hanging out with friends.  Her head hit the pavement and she was in a coma for six days.  Her brain sank part of the way into her spinal canal, a condition the doctors said was always fatal.

The doctors were wanting to harvest Taylor’s organs for transplants when Jeff Stickel came to the hospital.  Stickel, a family friend who felt God calling him to the hospital to pray for the girl, asked for permission from the parents.  The parents thought it was too late but allowed him to pray anyway.

Stickel laid hands on her neck and prayed for God to heal her.  The family thanked him and he left.

The doctors turned off the life support.

But Taylor kept breathing.

They reconnected the life support and as the day went on, Taylor’s brain activity increased.  Her eyes moved.  She made noises as if she was trying to talk.

Then she woke up from the coma.

“It was the hand of God at work,” her father, Chuck Hale said. “That’s the only thing that can explain it.”

Taylor needed years of therapy but can walk, talk and eat on her own.  She struggles with math but will graduate with her class and plans to go to college to study event planning.

“God can save people,” she said. “I’m always thankful to all the doctors and nurses and therapists who helped me get better, but God did most of the saving.”

Be Prepared Wherever You Go – What to Keep In Your Car

Proverbs 22:3 (NCV) The wise see danger ahead and avoid it, but fools keep going and get into trouble.

For the next couple of weeks, both Jim and I have decided to focus; really focus on being prepared for emergency situations. As you probably already know, I am someone that likes to be prepared for anything.  My family has teased me about it for years but guess who they come to when we are traveling and they need something that only I anticipated to pack?  For me, the security in knowing that my family is prepared for the unexpected is worth a little extra thought and just a little time.    Continue reading →

Journey to Morningside

Sometimes the answer is NO

Let’s begin this journey to Morningside with the question that many have asked me, “How did God call you to Media?”  I had gotten radically saved in high school…evangelizing every Saturday with my buddies, people were getting saved all over the place, even at my school. The Holy Spirit’s fire was with us wherever we were. I wanted to spread the Word of Jesus Christ more and more! Continue reading →

Denzel Washington Tells Graduates To “Put God First”

Oscar-winner Denzel Washington told graduates at Dillard University in New Orleans they need to “put God first” just like he has done in his own life because he knows that everything in his life has come through the grace of God.

Washington’s eleven minute speech often focused on faith.

He said that his wake up call to the way God has blessed him came through his mother.  He said that he had been talking to his mother about how big he had become in the entertainment world when he mother stopped him dead in his tracks.

“She said, ‘Boy, stop it right there,’” he recalled. “If you only knew how many people have been praying for you.”

He said that he was flunking college with a 1.7 grade point average when a woman in his mother’s beauty salon stood up and said that he would travel the world.   He said God was in control then as he is right now.

“Put God first,” he declared emphatically, evoking applause. “Everything you think you see in me, everything that I’ve accomplished, everything that you think I have—and I have a few things—everything I have is by the grace of God. Understand that. It’s a gift.”

He also remarked on the importance of not focusing on material things.

“You’ll never see a U-Haul behind a hearse,” he stated. “I don’t care how much money you make. You can’t take it with you.”

“I pray that you put your slippers way under the bed tonight, so that when you get up in the morning, and you have to get on your knees to reach them,” Washington said. “And while you’re down there, say thank you. Thank you for grace, thank you for mercy, thank you for understanding, thank you for wisdom, thank you for parents, thank you for love, thank you for kindness, thank you for humility, thank you for peace, thank you for prosperity. Say thank you in advance for what’s already yours.”

Learn to Love the Journey

I am constantly asked how I got to where I am today.  How did you get to Morningside?  How did you become the co-host of an internationally syndicated television program at 24 years old? Was it easy?  Did it happen overnight?  I want to say a resounding NO.  It did not happen overnight. Of the stories you have heard so far I feel like I have lived a pretty supernatural life.  I have always been sensitive to the supernatural realm and I listen to the Holy Spirit inside of me.  If He tells me to do something, I do it. Continue reading →

California Church Mobilizes $2 Million “Weekend of Service”

A California church mobilized members for a weekend of service that provided the community with over $2 million in billable labor hours and materials.

North Coast Church said their outreach benefitted over 100 locations in six cities in North San Diego County.

Pastor Larry Osborne told the Christian Post ahead of the event what kinds of things the church would be doing for the community.

“We’ll be making improvements at 50+ public schools, ranging from elementary to high school … We’re serving a wide cross section of organizations both secular and faith-based,” said Osborne.  “The other roughly 60 locations include everything from resource centers to homeless shelters, community centers, a hospital, city parks, veteran and senior housing, and other non-profits that serve the community.”

Osborne said the church focuses on small groups which allows them to serve multiple parts of the community at the same time.

“The Bible says that faith without works is dead. This is one way we can put our faith to work and show our community the love of Jesus with no strings attached,” said Osborne.  “We’re always trying to help our congregation understand that church is not something we simply go to. It’s what we are. There’s no better way to do that than to have a ‘Weekend of Service.’”

Tiny String of Faith

Romans 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

When you were a child did you ever fly a kite? There is something so magical about the bright colors dancing in a brilliant blue sky. I have never seen anyone flying a kite that did not have a smile on their face! There is joy holding on to that tiny string and seeing something so beautiful fly! Continue reading →

Lifted on the Wings of Prayer!

We recently had our Ready Now Expo and it was amazing!  Hundreds and hundreds of our loving partners joined us on Grace Street for the tapings of the Jim Bakker show.  As I was sitting on the set, waiting for filming to begin, I looked out on all of those beautiful faces.  Gratitude chills went up and down my spine.  I could not help but remember this past year and my battle with Hepatitis C and the outpouring of intercession and prayer from thousands of people on my behalf.  Wonderful people like those that were out on Grace Street smiling back at me. Continue reading →