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Sarah Jakes Roberts encourages Christians to ‘get more’ out of life, says God is bigger than fear

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Sarah Jakes Roberts encourages Christians to ‘get more’ out of life, says God is bigger than fear

Sarah Jakes Roberts preached a sermon encouraging believers to hold onto God’s promises and plans for their life in the midst of depression, anxiety, or fear.

Roberts, a New York Times bestselling author and the daughter of Bishop T.D. Jakes, preached a sermon Friday titled “Getting More Out of Life” at the Los Angeles-based nondenominational church, One: A Potter’s House Church, that she co-pastors with her husband, Touré Roberts.

Some Christians have an unhealthy belief that their circumstances cannot be changed, but “you’ve got to believe there is more,” she said, imploring congregants who have this mentality to alter their perspective.

“The issue that most of us have is that we’re in these circumstances, we’re in our lives, we’re in our communities, we’re in our relationships, and we have given up on the belief that there is something more connected to the moment we are standing in,” the 33-year-old pastor said.

“We fall into the thinking that there is perhaps something random or coincidental about the experiences that we have possessed. But the reality is that there is always something more connected to it. ”

Some Christians, Roberts said, have the wrong mindset and display an attitude of staying where they are most comfortable to avoid failing in life.

“Maybe my job at the moment at the grocery store is to be a light. Maybe my job when I’m at this facility that I work in is to make sure that I am helping them to create better strategies. What is ‘the more’ connected to this moment?” Roberts said.

“You got to believe that there’s more. Some of us do believe that there’s more; we just think that ‘the more’ is assigned to other people. That for us, we could just sit down and live in this trapped space because being trapped is better than failing at more.”

Typically, in situations when Christians convince themselves that they do not have the potential to do something more with their lives, Roberts said, they convince themselves that they do not believe that they are able to do any better, which stops them from fulfilling their potential.

Christians often miss opportunities to be in relationships, apply for job promotions, write a book or start a ministry due to fear.

“Believing in more is expensive. Believing in more requires vulnerability. Believing in more means I’ve got to be willing to take risks and to get it wrong,” Roberts said.

“I hear God saying that if you are ever going to discover ‘the more’ that God placed in you, then you’re going to have to believe that there is more. You’re going to have to begin to pull levers that you would have never pulled, have relationships that you would have never had … you’re going to have conversations and communication that you would have never had before because you believe that there is more.”

Roberts said she strives to apply to her own life the notion that there is always more.

“Anytime I finish preaching a message, I go back through my head and I think to myself, ‘What more could I have done?’ Because next time I get an opportunity to share the Gospel, I want to tap into ‘the more,’” Roberts noted.

“When I’m serving my children, when I’m serving my husband, I’m thinking to myself, ‘What more can I add to your life? What more can I do to make you feel seen? What more can I do to make you feel valued?’ Because I recognize that part of my posture in life is to believe in more. I believe in more. I’m not able to give up.”

Roberts explained that even before she began to pursue her dreams, she had a mindset that recognized her own self-worth and her potential.

“Even when I was depressed, as a teenager … when I dropped out of college, I still believed in more. I was waitressing at a strip club, still believing in more. I was going circling jobs in the newspaper because I still believed in more,” said Roberts.

“God I don’t believe that this is the end for my life. God, I don’t believe that the statistics are right. God, I’m going through a divorce but the divorce can’t go through me because I’m believing for more.”

In order to believe that “more” lies ahead in the life of a Christian, Roberts stressed that believers must begin to think outside of their circumstances.

“I’m trying to show you that there’s more of God’s Spirit in you than there is the spirit of grief, then there is the spirit of insecurity, then there is the spirit of doubt, then there is the spirit of worry. I’m not saying it’s not there. I’m just saying that God’s got more,” Roberts preached.

“I’m not saying that depression isn’t real. I’m just saying that God’s got more than depression. God’s got more than anxiety. God’s got more than fear. God’s got more than ego. God’s got more than pride. God’s got more. I know you got a lot on you. I know you got a lot of shame. I know you’ve got a lot of worry. But I’m telling you that God’s still got more grace. God’s still got more mercy. God’s still got more anointing.”

“I believe in God’s more.”

Earlier in the sermon, Roberts shared with the audience John 16:7, where Jesus tells His disciples that He is preparing to die. She noted that “Jesus had spent time with His disciples, He’s performed miracles, He’s healed the sick; the blind see, the lame walk,” but it was time for Him to face his fate at Calvery on the cross.

“This is what we would call a modern colloquialism — a plot twist for the disciples,” Roberts pointed out.

“The disciples thought they would be following Jesus and just being a part of Jesus’ ministry. But, Jesus had come to the point where He allows them into an extra layer. And that extra layer means their job is done in following Him. It’s time for Him to go to the cross. It’s time for Him to go be with His Father.”

The disciples, Roberts said, were left “holding exposure, experiences, but no leader as they had known it.”

“The disciples have experienced more, but now they are living in the threat that the more that they have experienced is going to be taken away,” Roberts said.

“Has anyone ever been there; where you finally are living in the more, but for some reason, you lose the job, you move to another city, someone passes away, and the more is being taken away?” Roberts inquired.

The disciples, Roberts said, were filled with grief after hearing that Jesus needed to die.

However, later in her sermon, Roberts noted that despite foreshadowing His departure through death, Jesus still leaves the disciples with “something powerful to marinate on.”

“Jesus tells them that ‘though I am leaving, I’m sending you help and when it’s all said and done, you’re going to be glad that I sent you the help,'” Roberts said, paraphrasing the Bible verses.

“The disciples are already living in more. And Jesus says that when it’s all said and done, if you survive this sorrow, that even the more that you’re experiencing right now, is not going to be anything compared to the more that’s on the way, “she added.

SOURCE: CHRISTIAN POST

SOURCE: CHRISTIAN POST

Christians should ask God for grace instead of signs, wonders

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Christians should ask God for grace instead of signs, wonders

There is a trend in the body of Christ that is not healthy for the spiritual growth of believers.

Many these days are seeking miracles, signs, and wonders at the expense of their spiritual growth. Gospel preachers have concentrated so much on miracle crusades and meetings that even older saints have joined in to pursue signs and wonders. This trend has retarded the progression of many Christians and has permanently made them spiritual babies.

I have carefully looked at the Scriptures and observed that all the miracles that were performed by Christ and the Apostles were to demonstrate the power of God among unbelievers and new converts. Christianity is dynamic.  At the early-stage miracles are released by God to prove and demonstrate His power to us. But as we continue to grow, there comes a time that all we need is sufficient grace to navigate through the difficulties, challenges, persecutions, and reproaches that are associated with Christianity.

When I first came to Christ, I observed that as soon as I finished praying, I usually received answers, especially in areas of personal healing and provision. As I continued, I also noticed that the rate at which God answered my prayers was diminishing especially on matters that concern my comfort and well-being. At times I felt as if God has abandoned me. At a stage, I concluded that God was not interested in my comfort but wanted me to suffer for following Him. I then embarked on scriptural research and discovered that all I needed was sufficient grace and not miraculous healing and provisions.

Paul was a great instrument in the hand of God. He performed so many notable miracles, but was sick and never got miraculous healing. He cried to God for healing, but God never healed him. Rather, he gave him sufficient grace: “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. ’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me “(2 Corinthians 12:9). When Paul prayed for Trophimus’s healing without result, he left him and continued his missionary journey. “Erastus stayed in Corinth, and I left Trophimus sick in Miletus” (2 Timothy 4:20).

All these accounts do not in any way negate the healing ability of God but show that at some points quick answers to prayers become a scarce commodity and all we need to do is to ask God for His sufficient grace.

I know that God has solutions to all problems and challenges, but we should not be oblivious to the fact that it is His sole prerogative to answer prayers. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy (Romans 9:16). Understanding that our demands to receive urgent divine interventions at times are not met immediately by God, will help us to ask for His sufficient grace. In the case of Epaphroditus, he was sick unto death, but God had mercy on him and healed him (Philippians 2:27).

Most often, it is not about what we want, but about what God wants, and it is not about the intensity with which we aggressively make demands on God that matters, but His willingness to give us answers.

Truth is, not all miracles are from God. We are now living in the last days and there are so many false prophets performing notable signs and wonders. Some miracles are stage-managed to deceive gullible Christians. Those who follow signs and wonders are susceptible to deception by fake miracle workers. A mature follower of Christ is supposed to stand strong and resist such manipulations, but unfortunately, even solid Christians are being deceived because people want a quick fix for their problems through miracles, signs, and wonders.

Christians should understand that there are many challenges that God places in our lives to help us grow, and no matter what we do to remove such challenges, the will of God must prevail: “For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him” (Philippians 1:29). Jesus went to the cross, and it pleased the Father to crush His only begotten son for the remission of our sins. It was the will of the Father for him to die the most shameful death for our sake. The only thing that God did was to give him sufficient grace and strengthened him through the Spirit, to accomplish his mission here on earth.

Some of the things that we are asking God to miraculously remove from our lives are steppingstones that will catapult us into our divine destiny. A thorn in the flesh was programmed by God to keep Paul from being arrogant and remain humble throughout his ministerial career. “Even though I have received such wonderful revelations from God. So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud” (2 Corinthians12:7). If not for this thorn in his flesh, Paul would not have finished strong.

“Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God” (Hebrew 6:1). When a Christian moves from elementary teachings to start the growth process, all that is needed is no longer the faith to receive miracles but the sufficient grace to carry his cross in order to obtain his full spiritual maturity.

SOURCE: CHRISTIAN POST
SOURCE: CHRISTIAN POST

California church builds 6 cabins to house the homeless: ‘We’ve never built anything like this’

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California church builds 6 cabins to house the homeless: ‘We’ve never built anything like this’

A Southern California church is planning to house homeless people in six cabins on its property, an endeavor its pastor hopes will serve as a model for other churches looking to help people in need. 

Meridian Baptist Church in El Cajon is partnering with building group Amikas and social service provider Home Start to offer a safe environment to the local homeless community. By Memorial Day, the cabins are expected to be fully occupied. 

Pastor Rolland Slade told The Christian Post that the cabins will provide emergency housing for women and children, particularly veteran women with children. The plan is for residents to stay up to 90 days before rotating to permanent or transitional housing.  

“So in theory, within a year, we’d be able to have [about] 50 people go through … maybe more,” Slade said. “The cabin platforms are 20 square feet, and inside living spaces [are] 96 square feet for each cabin, having kind of like a porch to it so they can sit outside in a chair and enjoy the breeze.” 

So far, the pastor said his church is the only one involved in the project.

But Slade, who became the first African American elected as chair of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee in 2020, hopes what his church is doing will inspire other churches and faith communities to help homeless populations in similar ways. 

“You know, people have talked to me and said, ‘You know, pastor, you’re the only one doing this; why are you doing it?’ Well, I’m just crazy enough to think about it and to test the waters, so to speak,” he said. “But we’re writing the book. You know, we’re documenting all that we’ve done so that the next church that wants to do this, we can help them.” 

Meridian Baptist has served the homeless for “a long time” by hosting weekly dinners. Slade said seeing an Amikas demonstration cabin in the City Heights area inspired him to ask the organization to help build one on his church’s property. 

Initially, the church’s locality did not permit residential use. City council members’ involvement became necessary, and staff members were assigned to research what parameters were needed for the church to obtain an administrative zoning permit. The case was then assigned to the planning commission, which came up with the administrative zoning permit.

The used cabins are being built on unused property that the church had nicknamed “Tumbleweed Village” because of the weeds. According to Slade, obtaining a permit and building the cabins took almost three years.

“It’s been interesting because we’ve never built anything like this; the city had never built anything like it,” Slade said. “Our insurance company had never seen anything like this. So everybody’s kind of been learning, and that’s the good part about it. We have been learning, and we’re doing it the right way.”

The platform the sleeping cabins are being built on has been inspected and approved, and all six frames are up and awaiting inspection. Once the framing is done, Slade said the plan is to put in insulation and obtain an electrical permit so the cabins will have electricity. 

While he did not detail the number of volunteers helping to construct the cabins, the pastor said phone calls come in “every day” from people wanting to know about volunteer opportunities to assist in the construction. When volunteers show up, the church has them sign a waiver.

“I’m hoping that we’ll see a change in attitudes,” Slade said. “It’s going to be baby steps because people definitely have their opinions on why a person is living unsheltered.”

“I believe that in the 90 days that people are in our cabins the best thing the church can do is love them,” Slade added. “That’s what we’re called to do. That’s what we will do.”

Slade stated that the church is not trying to become a “social service provider.”

“We’re not trying to say, ‘Hey, you live in the village, you have to come to church,’” he continued. “My hope is that because we are doing a good job of loving them, they’ll want to be a part of the community, but they don’t have to be.”

Other churches and ministries have built tiny homes and structures to house the homeless, people recovering from addiction, or even medical patients. 

SOURCE: CHRISTIAN POST
SOURCE: CHRISTIAN POST

Franklin Graham criticizes Disney’s’moral failing,’ saying the firm has ‘gone too far’

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Franklin Graham criticizes Disney’s’moral failing,’ saying the firm has ‘gone too far’

Franklin Graham warned that Disney has “gone too far” in its submission to LGBT activists after it pronounced its opposition to a parental rights bill in Florida.

On Saturday, Graham, the CEO of Samaritan’s Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, took to Facebook to weigh in on the controversy surrounding Disney’s activism against the “Parental Rights in Education” law (House Bill 1557). The measure requires schools to notify parents about any healthcare services their children receive on campus. It also prevents educators from discussing topics related to sexual orientation and gender identity with students in kindergarten through third grade. While Disney is based in California, it operates the theme park Walt Disney World, in Orlando, Florida. 

Initially electing to remain neutral on the bill, Disney ultimately joined a chorus of LGBT activists and progressive groups in deriding the measure as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. Under pressure from LGBT-identified and allied Disney employees, a company spokesperson subsequently released a statement declaring that HB 1557 “should never have passed and should never have become law,” adding, “Our goal as a company is for this law to be repealed by the legislature or struck down in the courts.”

In the days following the company’s vow to lobby for the bill’s repeal, video footage obtained by the Manhattan Institute’s Christopher Rufo revealed Disney employees talking about their efforts to incorporate LGBT ideology into children’s programming.

This, combined with Disney’s advocacy against HB 1557, resulted in intense backlash from conservatives and many Christians, including Graham, who began his Facebook post by citing Disney’s activism as an example of how “LGBTQ activists are using corporations to force their agenda on the public.” 

Additionally, Graham insisted that “companies may want to take another look at what they are allowing to happen.” Public opinion polling conducted by the Trafalgar Group found that 70% of Americans are less likely to do business with Disney due to its creation of “content to expose young children to sexual ideas.” 

The political action committee Floridians for Economic Advancement asked Florida Democratic primary voters if they thought young students should “be taught about sexual orientation in the classroom by their teachers.” A majority of respondents (52%) responded either “definitely no” or “somewhat no” to the question, illustrating a contrast between the views of Democratic primary voters and Democrats in the state Legislature, who unanimously voted against HB 1557.

After remarking that “Disney has gone too far,” Graham proclaimed that “The people of Florida have revolted, and it’s going to cost Disney big time.” He specifically noted that “Disney had a special tax status in the state which they benefitted from in a huge way — but because they came out against the parents of Florida, the governor and legislators have revoked that status.”

“What has happened at Disney is moral failure,” Graham insisted. “Walt Disney had a vision for wholesome family entertainment. He was committed to the family. The morals of the corporate leadership of Disney today are in the gutter, and they want to redefine family counter to God’s original design and flaunt sin.”

As Graham noted, the Florida Legislature recently passed a bill that will have the effect of abolishing the “independent special district” containing Disney World.

Florida state Rep. Spencer Roach explained that the Reedy Creek Improvement District enables Disney World to operate as its “own government,” making them “exempt from all county regulation and most state regulations.”

Roach reported that “under the law, Disney could build a nuclear power plant there and we couldn’t do a darn thing about it.” He classified the Reedy Creek Improvement District as an “aberration of the free market” since other theme parks such as Busch Gardens and Universal Studios do not have the same privileges that Disney does.

Graham praised Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Legislature for taking a “bold stand” before offering alternative activities for families to embrace on a visit to the Sunshine State as opposed to Disney: “I’m in Orlando right now with our Samaritan’s Purse Operation Heal Our Patriots military veteran couples and it is absolutely beautiful! I can tell you there’s a TON of fun things for families to do here other than supporting Disney.”

Graham is not the only faith leader to express concern about Disney’s LGBT activism. Former Bethel worship leader Sean Feucht held a rally protesting the company’s embrace of “perversion” in front of Disney’s headquarters in California and plans on having a protest at Disney World next month. 

SOURCE: CHRISTIAN POST
SOURCE: CHRISTIAN POST


Only Jesus can provide us with the victory we require

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Only Jesus can provide us with the victory we require

As expected, Emmanuel Macron won reelection in France’s presidential contest yesterday, defeating far-right rival Marine Le Pen.

However, there’s more to the story: Le Pen’s party received more support than ever before, and, as Reuters reports, many “only voted for [Macron] reluctantly to block the far-right from winning.” As a result, “protests that marred part of his first mandate could erupt again quite quickly.”

Closer to home, this headline caught my eye: “Hot, hungry alligators are taking lonely strolls in Florida.” Why is this story “closer to home” for someone who lives in Texas? My brother lives in Florida not far from where these alligators are roaming, which makes this news an existential concern for me.

Here’s another story I found interesting: a woman whose left leg was amputated below the knee due to cancer has completed 102 marathons in 102 days on a prosthetic leg. Why would she embark on such a staggering undertaking? She explained that running “helped me accept myself as an amputee.” It gave me a sense of freedom.

Let’s consider one more story: you probably heard that former world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson punched a man on a flight last Wednesday. This sounds like a boxer picking fights outside the ring. But we now know that the passenger he punched has a long criminal record. And a spokesman for Mr. Tyson explained that the man “began harassing him and threw a water bottle at him while he was in his seat,” precipitating Mr. Tyson’s reaction.

These stories make this point: There is often something we don’t know about people or events that puts them in a new light. This fact is more relevant to our souls and to our culture than we might imagine.

THE SOLUTION FOR “BESETTING” SINS

Jesus called his followers “the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14, my emphasis). The definite article points to the fact that Christians are the only “light” in the entire “world.” However, to be effective in the dark, our light must not be hidden (v. 15) and must “give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (v. 16). To “be the change we wish to see,” we must first be changed before God can use us to change others.

As a result, we know that we need to “be holy in all your conduct” (1 Peter 1:15) if we are to serve and represent our holy God faithfully (v. 16). We must “give no opportunity to the devil” (Ephesians 4:27) by resisting him (James 4:7) and refusing temptation (cf. 1 Corinthians 6:18).

However, many Christians face what theologians call “besetting sins” (cf. Hebrews 12:1 KJV), defined as sins “we continually struggle with and have a weakness toward.” These are temptations that we cannot defeat in our own strength.

What are yours?

The good news is that our omniscient Lord knows us better than we know ourselves (1 John 3:20). He therefore knows what we do not know and that explains the “besetting” sins with which we struggle. And he stands ready to guide us, forgive us, and empower us by his Spirit so fully that we are “more than conquerors through him who loved us” (Romans 8:37).

How can we experience such victory today?

“THE ONLY CONCERN OF CHRISTIAN WORKERS”

Our Lord promises, “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13, my emphasis). To this end, Oswald Chambers noted: “The only concern of Christian workers should be their concentration on God. This will mean that all the other boundaries of life, whether they are mental, moral, or spiritual, are completely free with the freedom God gives his child. ”

He warned us: “A worker who lacks this serious controlling emphasis of concentration on God is apt to become overly burdened by his work.” He is a slave to his own limits, having no freedom in his body, mind, or spirit. Consequently, he becomes burned out and defeated. There is no freedom and no delight in life at all. His nerves, mind, and heart are so overwhelmed that God’s blessing cannot rest on him. ”

By contrast, “Once our concentration is on God, all the limits of our life are free and under the control and mastery of God alone. There is no longer any responsibility on you for the work. The only responsibility you have is to stay in living constant touch with God, and to see that you allow nothing to hinder your cooperation with him.”

Chambers concludes: “God engineers everything; and wherever he places us, our one supreme goal should be to pour out our lives in wholehearted devotion to him in that particular work.”

“INVADE ALL MY THOUGHTS”

I plan to focus tomorrow on practical ways to “concentrate” on God so fully that we find victory over “besetting” sins and thus become catalysts for spiritual renewal in our broken culture. For today, let’s close by choosing to take these sins to Jesus in the knowledge that only he can give us the victory we need.

Commenting on Paul’s assurance that “we are more than conquerors through him that loved us” (Romans 8:37 KJV), Charles Spurgeon encouraged us to “take your sins to Christ’s cross, for the old man can only be crucified there.” If you are struggling with “your besetting sin,” he added, “you will never be delivered from it in any way but by the blood of Jesus.” He concluded, “You must be conquerors through him who hath loved you, if conqueror at all.”

To this end, I have found Scottish minister John Baillie’s prayer helpful and encourage you to make its words your own today:

Invade all my thoughts. Pervade all my imaginations. Suggest all my decisions. Make your home in the most secret place of my will and inspire all my actions. Be with me in my silence and in my speech, in my hurry and in my leisure, in company and in solitude, in the freshness of the morning and in the weariness of the evening; and give me grace at all times to rejoice in the comforting mystery of your companionship. 

SOURCE: CHRISTIAN HEADLINES
Invade all my thoughts. Pervade all my imaginations. Suggest all my decisions. Make your home in the most secret place of my will and inspire all my actions. Be with me in my silence and in my speech, in my hurry and in my leisure, in company and in solitude, in the freshness of the morning and in the weariness of the evening; and give me grace at all times to rejoice in the comforting mystery of your companionship. 
SOURCE: CHRISTIAN HEADLINES

‘My Jesus’ singer Anne Wilson tells why she’s on fire for God after brother’s tragic death

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‘My Jesus’ singer Anne Wilson tells why she’s on fire for God after brother’s tragic death

Capitol CMG artist Anne Wilson released her full-length debut album, My Jesus, this week. The compilation of emotional declarations comes from the young singer’s experience with tragedy and how God’s tangible presence got her through.

Raised in Lexington, Kentucky, Wilson, who grew up in a Christian home, said she didn’t really know the Lord until the seventh grade when a Bible teacher went to her school and explained the love of Jesus in a way that resonated with her.

What she didn’t know at the time was how much she’d soon be depending on her relationship with God to carry her through the next season of her life.

“I became a follower of Him and didn’t know just what would happen three years later. In 2017 my older brother, Jacob, passed away in a car accident at the age of 23,” Wilson said in an interview with The Christian Post. “That was such a hard season in my life. He was my best friend, and I loved him with everything in me.

“We were so close and he died tragically in a car accident and died on impact,” she continued. “So out of nowhere the police come to our house in the middle of the night and tell us the news. As you can imagine, it’s very devastating to receive news like that.” 

The tragedy of Jacob’s death was devastating for Wilson and her family but amid the heartache, they found comfort in Jesus. 

“Instead of turning from Him, we chose to walk closer to Him through that time,” she said. “So I became on fire for the Lord and we just chose to trust Him. We saw the Lord do a lot of really incredible things and [He] was just so faithful and kind to me and my family and it was such a sweet season.”

Upon hearing of her brother’s death, Wilson felt compelled “such a strong way” to sit at the piano and worship for the first time. Although she had played the piano her entire life she had never felt compelled to worship before. Her mother heard her singing and asked Wilson to sing at her brother’s funeral, which launched her music career.

“When he passed away, I just wanted to worship God and I found myself, instead of turning to medication or alcohol or something else, it was like I wanted to turn to the Lord for my medicine. When I needed comfort, or when I needed just to be comforted, [I’d] go straight to the piano and worship and sing,” the 20-year-old explained.

“I ended up making a YouTube video of the song that I sang at the funeral and posting it on YouTube,” Wilson added. That was what ended up going viral, and I met my manager from that video, and that’s how everything started. I started working in the industry and doing co-writes and really just processing all the loss of Jacob and what I had gone through with him, and then ended up signing a record deal in 2019 and started walking down the path of being a Christian artist. ”

Wilson described herself as being on “fire for God” and said others can follow suit by having their own personal relationship with God.  

“I think one of the most important things that my parents learned through this whole thing was, ‘We’ve raised Anne in this great Christian home but yet, she didn’t become a Christian until she found Jesus on her own,’” Wilson told CP. “For me, I had to get over myself; I had to start living for the Lord, I had to start seeking Him daily. It also got to a point where I realized I can’t continue to live for the world anymore and I don’t want to continue to walk down the path that I’m walking down, because I realized that was never going to get me anywhere but destruction.” 

“So I would just encourage young girls that are around my age or younger walking through this time. It’s really easy to fall into the ways of the world and give in to temptations, and to peer pressure, and to let the enemy lead you down that path. But for those that stand for truth, and when you stand in who you are as a child of God, and you pursue the Lord, you’re going to be blessed abundantly for that,” she added. 

Wilson acknowledged that following the Lord isn’t always a beautiful journey. However, she testified that God is present in every season of your life and “you’re never going to have to go a day or a second without Him.” She recalled being like everyone else “walking in a sinful life down a bad path until the Lord rescued me and gave me this hunger for Him.”

“Heaven and Hell finally clicked with me,” she said.

Wilson is the first female artist to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard Christian charts with her song “My Jesus,” which was also the longest-running No. 1 song on the chart for 2021. Her 14-song debut album of the same name is loaded with power-packed declarations. There are moments where the singer-songwriter talks back to the enemy, like in the song “Devil.” In another song, titled “Sunday Sermons,” she warns against the distractions that are trying to take people away from the church. 

Watching God “do what He did when my brother passed away, I did not want to write just the normal happy songs,” she said. “I wanted to be an artist. Even though I’m young, I wanted to speak to people walking through loss, walking through real-life situations. I wanted to write a song that was talking to Satan about the fact that we have victory in Jesus and that he has no hold over us. All those things that are in my songs, I wanted to stand firm in those truths and speak those, and I wanted my songs to reach all different age groups and all different walks of life.” 

Wilson’s songs were penned straight from her journals and showcase the different seasons of life. 

“Every song speaks to believing what the Lord says about you, rather than what the world says, and standing for truth, and really stepping up and not being lukewarm, not just calling yourself a Christian but actually being in love with the Lord and seeking Him that way,” the young musician concluded.

SOURCE: CHRISTIAN POST
SOURCE: CHRISTIAN POST

‘God’s Will Never Leads Where God’s Grace Cannot Survive’

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‘God’s Will Never Leads Where God’s Grace Cannot Survive’

“God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)

Let’s begin this Friday’s article with some good news: a twelve-year-old wood craftsman recently launched a raffle for one of his handmade bowls—etched with a blue and yellow ring, the colors of Ukraine’s flag—to raise money for Ukrainian children. As of last Friday, he had raised more than $109,000 for Save the Children’s Ukraine relief effort.

Some more good news: a city in Tennessee rejected an atheist group’s demand to remove crosses that had been in place since the 1950s. A Pennsylvania school board voted down a parent’s request to launch an after-school Satan Club. A United Methodist Church high court rejected an attempt to allow the ordination of non-celibate homosexuals. And churches in Poland continue to generate headlines over their sacrificial support for Ukrainian refugees.

“A SHIELD TO THOSE WHO TAKE REFUGE IN HIM”

Yesterday we discussed Yuval Levin’s profound article, “How to Curb the Culture War,” noting that God is calling us to be not culture warriors but cultural missionaries. What does this mean in practical terms?

Our first step is to embrace the sovereignty of our King.

As we have seen today, there is always good news in the news. God’s Spirit is alive and at work in our culture. Early Christians lived in a world far more immoral and opposed to their faith than our culture, yet by Acts 17:6 they had “turned the world upside down.” (In fact, our latest book, titled How to Bless God by Blessing Others, looks to those early Christians as a blueprint for how we can respond to our culture today.)

It is always too soon to give up on God.

Your Father has both a geographical and a chronological calling on your life. It is by his providence that you are living where you are and when you are. He would not have commissioned you to this place and time if he could not use you in this place and time.

God’s word to Joshua as he faced the Canaanites is also his word to us as we face our anti-Christian culture: “Be strong and courageous.” Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go “(Joshua 1:9). Scripture promises that our Lord is “a shield to those who take refuge in him” (Proverbs 30:5). We are called to “cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you” (Psalm 55:22).

What “burden” do you need to give your Father today?

“WHAT BOUNDLESS LOVE FOR MEN!”

I spent the summer of 1979 serving as a missionary in East Malaysia on the island of Borneo. It was a joyous experience in many ways, but persistent loneliness and occasional physical danger were challenging.

However, my pastor gave me a devotional book before I left, in which he inscribed these words: “The will of God never leads where the grace of God cannot sustain.” I found his wisdom to be both true and empowering. When I became especially discouraged, I did what countless missionaries have done across twenty centuries: I remembered the grace of God which I had received and was now called to share.

Cyril of Jerusalem was bishop of Jerusalem in the mid-fourth century. In his “Catechetical Lectures,” he comments on Paul’s statement in Romans 6: “We were buried therefore with [Jesus] by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life” (v. 4).

Cyril notes: “It was not we who actually died, were buried, and rose again. We only did these things symbolically, but we have been saved in actual fact. It is Christ who was crucified, who was buried, and who rose again, and all this has been attributed to us. We share in his suffering symbolically and gain salvation in reality.

“What boundless love for men! Christ’s undefiled hands were pierced by the nails; he suffered the pain. I experienced no pain, no anguish, yet by the share that I have in the sufferings he freely grants me salvation.”

What was your last sin he forgave? Your last prayer he answered? Your last need he met?

How will you pay forward the love you have experienced from him?

“THEN SHALL YOUR LIGHT RISE IN THE DARKNESS”

Vance Pitman was a megachurch pastor who resigned his position to help plant churches across the western US. He told an interviewer, “Too many church planters show up in cities thinking like pastors of churches rather than as missionaries, thinking about how to engage a city with the gospel. How do you begin to build relational bridges? How do you build opportunities to serve the city and build those relationships that allow for cultivating gospel impact in a city?

“Before I moved to Las Vegas, I didn’t think about my city. I thought about the church that I pastored and if the church that I pastored was doing good then I was doing good. But when God put me in a place like Las Vegas, I began to think about a city and to realize the real kingdom success in that city is not just more people going to church.”

How, then, do we engage our cities with the gospel?

Pitman explains: “It can be as simple as what some would call servant evangelism, where you look for needs in a community that you can meet and you begin to meet those tangible needs, not with an ulterior motive of sharing Christ but with an ultimate motive of sharing Christ. I’m not meeting that need so I can share the gospel with you—I’m meeting that need because God desires that need in our community to be met. But as I meet that need, I look for opportunities to let you know who Jesus is in my life.”

Scripture promises: “If you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday” (Isaiah 58:10).

How will you serve the “hungry” and the “afflicted” today?

I DON’T LOVE THE VIETNAMESE ANYMORE

I once heard a veteran missionary to Vietnam describe an especially difficult day. The weather was particularly hot and oppressive, and the people he sought to serve were resistant. He came home to discover that thieves had stolen every piece of furniture he owned except his couch, which was too large to fit through the door.

He collapsed on that couch and cried out to God, “I don’t love the Vietnamese anymore. You have to send me somewhere else. I just don’t love these people.” Around 2:00 the next morning, he said, the Lord spoke to him: “You’re not here because you love the Vietnamese. You’re here because I love the Vietnamese.”

That was the reminder he needed to continue in his calling.

SOURCE: CHRISTIAN HEADLINES

Magic Johnson’s Christian faith is ‘everything,’ he says, ‘God has truly blessed me,’ says the author

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Magic Johnson’s Christian faith is ‘everything,’ he says, ‘God has truly blessed me,’ says the author

NBA legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson says his faith in God was essential in carrying him through the valleys of his Hall of Fame career, including during the days and weeks after he was diagnosed with HIV and thought he was on death’s doorstep. NBA legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson says his faith in God was essential in carrying him through the valleys of his Hall of Fame career, including during the days and weeks after he was diagnosed with HIV and thought he was on death’s doorstep.

Johnson’s personal and public life are the subjects of a new four-part Apple TV+ documentary series, “They Call Me Magic.”

“Faith was everything. I always lean on my faith,” Johnson told media members this week when asked how his faith sustained him following his HIV diagnosis in 1991.

Johnson was raised Seventh-day Adventist.

“God has truly blessed me to come through a lot of challenges in my life, especially when I think about HIV,” Johnson said.

God, he added, was “always … there for me and helping me make the right decisions when I need to make tough decisions.” God “just blessed me with the best wife that a man could have in Cookie, and our children and grandchildren,” he added.

“So I lean on my faith all the time,” he said. “I will never stop doing that – loving the Lord, loving God. And I just thank Him every day for everything that He’s blessed me with.”

Although Johnson was the centerpiece of the 1980s Lakers dynasty in big-city Los Angeles, he grew up in a much smaller city, Lansing, Mich.

“I got my values” in Lansing, Johnson said.

He went to high school and college there. Johnson was drafted out of Michigan State.

His mother, Christine Johnson, still lives in Lansing.

“My mother is everything. I’m a mama’s boy. I love my mother to death – we’re tight., we’re close, “Johnson told media members. She’s a woman of huge faith. She’s very involved in her church. And she raised us all the same way – all the kids – to be involved in the church. And we’re all involved in our different ways. She has always prayed for me and has always been there for me. “

Johnson says he still enjoys going back to Lansing to eat his mom’s “famous sweet potato pie and apple pie” and to “sit back and just talk to her.”

“She has influenced my life to give back,” he said. “That’s the reason I give back so much is because of my mother. And I love her for that.”

They Call Me Magic is rated TV-MA and includes some strong language.

SOURCE: CHRISTIAN HEADLINES

Hundreds of parents applaud the school board for blocking the after-school Satan Club

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Hundreds of parents applaud the school board for blocking the after-school Satan Club

There will be no After-School Satan Club allowed at an elementary school in Pennsylvania.

The Northern York County School District board voted 8-1 against a parent’s request for the satanic club at Northern Elementary School in Dillsburg, the York Daily Record reports. 

Hundreds of people attended the meeting and erupted in applause when the board vote was taken.

The board listened to more than two hours of comments from concerned citizens and parents with a majority opposed to the club.

“Look at the range of our students the children suffering from mental health issues, suicide, anxiety, depression all these things are off the chart and my heart goes out to these kids,” one resident at the meeting said. “More than ever we need a God in this world and this proposal in the opposite direction (of God).”

Some residents said they understood parents’ concerns, but being able to form the club was a constitutional right.

The club was proposed by Samantha Groome, a local mother who was looking for a non-religious alternative to the Joy El Christian club that provided students with off-campus, faith-based activities during the school day, serving nine of the 16 school districts in the county, according to the York Daily Record.

Groome, who is not religious, told the newspaper she did not want her children to miss out on extracurricular activities like Joy El, but there were no secular alternatives.

There are currently four After School Satan Clubs currently in operation in the U.S. Those chapters are in Indiana and Ohio.

Satanic Temple (TST) co-founder Lucien Greaves told the newspaper his Satan Club program highlights what he believes are inconsistencies with the separation of church and state in America.

“What you can’t do is you can’t pick and choose between viewpoints, you can’t say that you’re going to only accept certain religious voices, but not others,” Greaves said. “That is religious discrimination.”

After the board’s vote, Greaves told the newspaper that TST will likely pursue legal action against the school district.

SOURCE: CBN NEWS

‘Trust in Christ for Eternal Salvation,’ says an elderly street preacher, after being charged with ‘hate speech.’

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‘Trust in Christ for Eternal Salvation,’ says an elderly street preacher, after being charged with ‘hate speech.’

An elderly pastor who was arrested by police last year for preaching on a public street in London has been cleared of all “hate speech” charges against him. He had been accused of a crime for teaching what the Bible says about marriage.

Pastor John Sherwood was acquitted by the Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court on April 7, according to his colleague Pastor Peter Simpson writing for the website Conservative Woman.

As CBN News reported in April of 2021, Sherwood and Simpson of the Penn Free Methodist Church in Penn, England, were preaching outside of the Uxbridge Underground Station, located in Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s own constituency, according to Breitbart.

After Sherwood’s arrest, Simpson described what happened to the preacher in an article for the Conservative Woman website.

Sherwood, who’s in his early 70s, was preaching to people on the final verses found in Genesis 1 of the Bible’s Old Testament.

“God’s design in creating mankind was to put human beings into families, headed by a father and a mother, not by two fathers or two mothers,” he said. “The distinction within mankind of just two genders, male and female, made in the image of God, constitutes the essence of God’s created order.”

Simpson said a number of police officers appeared and began telling Sherwood they had received three complaints about his preaching. An officer reportedly warned him not to make any “homophobic statements.”

After speaking to the police, Sherwood resumed his preaching, speaking on freedom of speech. However, a couple of bystanders in the crowd apparently shouted that his preaching was “homophobic” and “hate speech,” and the officers returned to the scene. 

One of the bystanders captured Sherwood’s arrest on video and posted it to social media. The video shows Sherwood standing on a step stool as two police officers are talking to him. Much of their conversation is garbled. However, one police officer who can be heard, asks Sherwood to come down, and the preacher answered him. Then the officer tells Sherwood he is “under arrest” and he needs to “come down.” Then three police officers are seen pulling Sherwood off the stool.

As one police officer is holding Sherwood’s arm, the preacher tries to pull his arm up. This seems to anger the officer who appears to stop himself from kicking the elderly man. 

This draws a response from the person who’s videotaping the incident, yelling at police, “You’re on camera. You’re on camera.”

Then two other officers step in to force Sherwood’s hands behind his back, treating him roughly as they put him in handcuffs. 

This dignified man of God, who is in his early 70s, was marched off to a nearby police car, as one of the helpers from my church cried out, ‘What has happened to us as a nation that a man can no longer preach from the Bible?'” Simpson recalled. 

The elderly pastor spent the night in a detention center located near Heathrow Airport and was not released until noon the following day, according to Simpson. 

Sherwood told Breitbart that during his stay in jail, he was questioned by officers about what he would do if he had a homosexual child.

“It is surely the task of police to ask questions about the specific alleged offense, not more general questions about why someone holds a personal view on an aspect of Biblical morality,” he said. 

Sherwood’s Trial Filled With Scripture

According to Simpson, Sherwood’s trial was “quite remarkable” because “there was so much Scripture quoted” during the proceedings.

“Pastor Sherwood was determined to impress upon the prosecution that everything that he ever preached was grounded in the final authority of God’s word, the Bible,” he wrote. 

The court’s gallery was filled with fellow Christians showing their support for the preacher who was willing to stand up for biblical truths in public despite the current climate in the UK of embracing the LGBTQ+ agenda as well as other woke, secular ideas. 

Preacher Sworn In Using Own Bible

Before giving his testimony, Sherwood made it a point to ask the judge if he could be sworn in on his Bible rather than following COVID protocols of reading from a card affirming he would speak the truth. His request was granted. 

“During his defense, Pastor Sherwood explained that at no time was he attacking or disparaging any individuals. “His motivation was only that his hearers, whoever they might be, might come to repent of sin and believe in Christ for eternal salvation,” Simpson wrote. 

Sherwood’s main point in his defense was his right to freedom of expression, as stated in Article 10 of the U.K.’s 1998 Human Rights Act. 

“Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority,” the act states. 

As CBN News has reported, this is not the first time Christian street preachers have had a run-in with London police. As we reported in February of 2019, preacher Oluwole Ilesanmi was wrongfully arrested by police when he was falsely accused of ‘Islamophobia’. The video of Ilesanmi’s arrest went viral on social media. 

The viral video of the incident showed police yanking a Bible from Ilesanmi’s hand while he was pleading, “Don’t take my Bible away.” All I wanted was for them to understand the Word of God. “

One month later, the Metropolitan police told CBN’s Faithwire that, after it became clear that Olu had done nothing wrong, he was subsequently “de-arrested” and no charges were filed.

Ilesanmi was later awarded around $3,100 by Scotland Yard in July of 2019 after an investigation into the incident. 

SOURCE: CBN NEWS

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