The wife of a pastor imprisoned in Iran for being a Christian says her husband’s ordeal has significantly strengthened her faith in Christ.
Naghmeh Abedini wrote for TrueWoman.com that she didn’t realize how selfish she had been with her life and her walk with Christ until her husband was jailed for simply being a follower of Christ.
“I finally learned how to fight my deceptive selfish flesh on a daily basis; every nag, tantrum, despairing thought, and fear,” Naghmeh writes. “Before Saeed was thrown into one of the world’s worst prisons, I struggled with fear and anxiety. More than anything, I was afraid of flying and speaking in front of people.”
Naghmeh says that on the day of her husband’s arrest, she felt the peace of God in a way she had never felt in her life to that point.
“The peace of God that surpasses all understanding covered my whole being, and I was freed of all fear. I no longer feared death of loved ones. I no longer feared the loss of finances or health. I no longer feared the future. I was truly free in Jesus,” said Naghmeh.
A church camp hosted by a South Carolina church ended up with a massive outpouring of the Holy Spirit that lead hundreds of youths to be baptized.
The summer camp of NewSpring church, which is called “The Gauntlet”, held baptisms for 733 teenagers in Daytona Beach, Florida. The event is in its 9th year and had over 3,000 middle and high school students for four days of experiencing God and developing fellowship with their peers.
“The thing that sets the Gauntlet apart is relationships,” NewSpring spokeswoman Suzanne Swift told The Christian Post on Monday. “Culture offers a lot, but the hope we have in Jesus coupled with the community that students build at the Gauntlet is what makes it different. Once students experience hope in Jesus they tell everyone about it.”
Pastor Perry Noble said that of the 733 who were baptized, 240 of them were teenagers who accepted Christ for the first time.
The church was quick to note they do not require the teens to be members of their church to be baptized, only to have accepted Christ as their Savior. They encourage all the teens to be involved in a local church in their home communities.
An Alabama megachurch has opened up a facility made of a bowling alley and six giant interconnected domes to the public as a community outreach.
Faith Chapel Christian Center near Birmingham, Alabama has opened the center they call “The Bridge” to the public after opening it last year for the 6,400 members of the church.
The church says the delay came in getting staff in place for the entire facility, which beyond the bowling alley has basketball courts, fitness center, banquet hall and more.
Pastor Michael D. Moore says the goal of “The Bridge” is to “bridge people from the world to the kingdom.”
“People may not want to come to a church, but they’ll come to a bowling alley,” he told the Christian Post. “People have needs other than spiritual needs. There’s a need for safe, clean, uplifting, family-oriented entertainment.”
Moore founded the church with his wife, his mother and a friend in 1981.
Brothers David and Jason Benham, who lost their HGTV show when anti-Christianists launched a campaign against them for their Christian beliefs, told a Washington, D.C. conference that Christians can speak boldly if they’re willing to lose it all.
“Freedom isn’t the ability to do get what you want, it’s the willingness to let go of what you have,” Jason Benham said. “When you are willing to release that back to God, what God has so graciously given to you, and you give it back to Him, then you have been set free. And on the foundation of freedom, you can be as bold as a lion.”
The brothers own a real estate company and were filming episodes for their reality show in May when HGTV announced the cancellation. The cancellation was attributed to anti-Christian activists that protested the brother’s traditional Christian views on issues such as abortion.
The brothers told the Christian Post that they don’t regret anything that has happened including the cancellation of the TV show because it allowed them to proclaim Christ to a wide audience in national media that reported on the cancellation.
The talk at the Faith & Freedom Coalition’s Road to Majority conference came as the brothers were given an award for their public stand for faith and Jesus.
David Benham told the Christian Post that unless Christians speak up and assert their rights in the public arena, more incidents like what happened to them with HGTV will take place in America.
The American soccer player who set the U.S. World Cup record for fastest goal scored in competition says that the sport has boosted his faith in Christ.
“My parents had started me in the sport to help me learn good people skills,” forward Clint Dempsey told Sports Spectrum. “Little did I know that the sport I loved and the skills I learned would later play a role in my relationship with God.”
Dempsey grew up in a Catholic family and had given up playing soccer because the family was struggling financially and his sister Jennifer was pursuing professional tennis. Then his sister suddenly died at age 16 from a brain aneurysm and it sent Clint into a spiral.
“I was faced with questions about why things happen and what role God played in it all. For a number of years, I struggled and put distance between God and me,” Dempsey said.
Dempsey returned to playing competitive soccer after his sister’s death and that return led to him coming back to Christ.
“In college, I joined a team Bible study. God’s Word brought me peace and a desire for a relationship with Him,” Dempsey said. “I found that questioning Him and searching for answers through Scripture helped me grow and gave me direction. Now my faith in Christ is what gives me confidence for the future. I know that through both good times and bad, He is faithful and will watch over me.”
Dempsey, now a married father of 3, became the first American to score in three different World Cup tournaments with his goal against Ghana.
The Prime Minister of Great Britain says that Christianity is now the most persecuted religion in the world and that his nation should be “unashamed” in standing up for the rights of Christians.
Prime Minister David Cameron, in a speech to a group attending an Easter reception, said that he believes his nation can play a leading role in stopping the persecution of Christians around the world.
“We’re seen as a country that is engaged internationally,” Cameron said. “We should stand up against persecution of Christians and other religious groups wherever and whenever we can, and we should be unashamed in doing so.”
The Pew Research Center says that Christians are the most oppressed religious group with persecution against them reported in at least 110 countries around the world.
Cameron also said there was a need to expand the role of faith and faith based organizations in the country.
“[We need] more belief that we can get out there and actually change people’s lives and make a difference and improve the spiritual, physical and moral state of our country,” Cameron said.
One of the stars of the hit reality show “Duck Dynasty” who appears in the upcoming Christian film “God’s Not Dead” is speaking out for Christians to stand up against the bullies who are trying to silence them.
“Don’t let someone bully you into not standing up for your beliefs,” Robertson said on Fox News’ “Faith & Fame.”
Robertson commented that with the success of their show, they have had to deal with thousands of angry people who have been trying to keep them from sharing their faith in Christ on the show. They have even had to stand up to the network that airs them, A&E, demanding they leave in the show segments where they pray, read Scripture or talk about their faith in Jesus.
“God and our faith is what sustains us,” Robertson said. “It’s what makes our life good.”
Robertson and her husband Willie have said their participation in the new movie “God’s Not Dead” has really strengthened their faith. They play themselves defending their faith to a reporter questioning Christianity. The movie follows a student who accepts a professor’s challenge to prove the existence of God.
Pope Francis released an 84-page “apostolic exhortation” yesterday which will form the official platform for his papacy.
The document calls for a renewal within the Roman Catholic Church and said that unfettered capitalism is “a new tyranny” that increases poverty and inequality.
The statement marked a stronger criticism of global economic system than in previous comments. Pope Francis said all world leaders should guarantee citizens dignified work, education and healthcare.
“Just as the commandment ‘Thou shalt not kill’ sets a clear limit in order to safeguard the value of human life, today we also have to say ‘thou shalt not’ to an economy of exclusion and inequality. Such an economy kills,” Pope Francis said. “How can it be that it is not a news item when an elderly homeless person dies of exposure, but it is news when the stock market loses 2 points?”
The Pope also called for the church to get outside of its walls and do the work of Jesus.
“I prefer a Church which is bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out on the streets, rather than a Church which is unhealthy from being confined and from clinging to its own security,” he wrote.
A new survey shows that 76 percent of America believes in the existence of a God and 38 percent of those surveyed said they do what God tells them to do.
Most of those who believe in God are also more likely to give credit or blame for weather and disasters to God rather than some excuse like man-made global warming.
The YouGov.com survey found that born again Christians are more likely to do something because God told them. Protestants were more likely to do something than Catholics by a result of 56 percent to 39 percent.
The survey was surprising in that the difference between Republicans and Democrats was not as wide as researchers had expected. The number of Republicans who complied with what they felt God say was 42 percent compared to 40 percent for Democrats.
When an Oregon church was tagged with Satanist graffiti this week, many people saw it as a hate-speech attack. Vandals placed an upside down cross and the number 666 on the side of the building.
The youth of New Vision Church saw it as an opportunity. Continue reading →
