Dear Church, Here’s Why People Are Really Leaving You

In his letter to the church, John Pavlovitz, a pastor himself says, Dear Church, Here’s why people are really leaving you .  It’s a thought provoking article. Of course, one of the first steps in reaching the lost is acknowledging that most of us Christians seek to follow a sin free life, but do still occasionally stumble. Unfortunately, those stumbling blocks that we fail to avoid are fodder for those who want to keep on sinning INTENTIONALLY and they use the stumbles as a shield for their purposeful defiance of the Lord. Nevertheless, we still need to realize that our stumbling blocks are stumbling blocks for those who may be watching our walk rather than our talk.

(H/T: Gerald Hughes/ Facebook)

Source:

ChurchPlants.com

It’s Christmas Eve: Time to Remember that Jesus is the Reason for the Season

Today is December 24th, the day before the Christian world celebrates the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus, who died to bear all of our sins.  Tomorrow is the day in which the very birth of peace and good will towards all men took place.  The ultimate act of good will took place as God became flesh and dwelt among men, so that we might one day become righteous like Him through the shedding of the blood of the Lamb.  Jesus took the place of the burnt sacrifices that had to be used to cover for man’s sin.  He gave it all, so that we might have it all.  This season is one in which we should forget all of the hate mongering that is being broadcast by the usual left wing Luciferian suspects, and focus what is most important, showing each other the love of Jesus that is present in our lives and sharing that good will with our fellow man, such as that which was shown by Thomas in Anaheim, California a few days ago.  The giving by those who have the least is always what is able to touch the heart more readily.  Indeed Jesus does stand for peace and good will towards men.

Those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God can overcome anything that the Prince of this World throws at them.

Photo Credit:  Tribulation.com

(H/T: Bible Gateway)

He Gave a Homeless Guy $100 and Secretly Followed Him to a Liquor Store — Which the Man Used to Feed Others Who Were Hungry

YouTube star Josh Paler Lin recently approached a homeless man standing by the 91 Freeway in Anaheim, California, gave him $100 and decided to secretly follow him to see how he’d use the money.Lin followed the man and saw him enter into a liquor store, and emerge with a black bag that he assumed contained liquor, but what he observed when he (Lin) continued to follow caught him by surprise. Thomas, the man that Josh helped, used some of the money to buy food for others in the park who were hungry.

Video Uploaded to You Tube by Josh Paler Lin

(H/T: Billy Hallowell/ The Blaze)

Fellowship of Christian Athletes Celebrates Sixtieth Anniversary

More than sixty years ago,Don McClanen sent an invitation letter to nineteen coaches and athletes.  Those receiving a copy of  the invitation letter were:

– Red Barber, sports announcer
– Dean Cromwell, USC track coach
– Glenn Cunningham, world mile record holder
– Alvin Dark, New York Giants shortstop
– Carl Erskine, Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher
– Otto Graham, Cleveland Browns quarterback
– Tom Harmon, University of Michigan Heisman Trophy winner
– Roe Johnston, All-American end, Navy
– Bob Mathias, Olympic decathlon gold medal winner
– Donn Moomaw, All-American linebacker, UCLA
– Clarence “Biggie” Munn, head football coach, Michigan State
– Bob Richards, Olympic pole vault gold medal winner
– Branch Rickey, Pittsburgh Pirates executive
– Jack Robinson, All-American basketball player at Baylor, Olympic team captain
– Louie Sanporenie, Olympic track star
– Amos Alonzo Stagg, legendary football coach, University of Chicago/College of the Pacific
– Dan Towler, Los Angeles Rams All-Pro fullback
– Doak Walker, Detroit Lions All-Pro halfback
– Bud Wilkinson, head football coach, Oklahoma

God placed a dream in the heart of this young basketball coach in Oklahoma (McClanen) to start an organization that would feature professional athletes professing their Christian faith in order to change the youth culture in America.  Since that invitation letter was sent in 1954, thousands of young boys and girls have come to know Jesus as their personal Savior as a result of the obedience of Don McClanen to God’s call for his life.

“To look back over 60 years and realize the athletes and coaches who have been shaped by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes is remarkable,” said Les Steckel, FCA President and CEO according to Christian Newswire. “We are so thankful for all who have helped FCA grow to where it is today and have encouraged young athletes to lead lives that are dedicated to Christ, both on and off the playing field. Athletics offers continual opportunity either to portray Christ or to elevate the world’s standards. By choosing to honor Christ, players and coaches impact not only their own teams but also all who interact with them, look up to them and even oppose them on the playing fields.”

Read more at FCA.org

(H/T:  FCA.org and Christian Newswire)

Some Parents Call School Assignment on Slavery `Inappropriate` and Demeaning`

Shayn Roby’s Take: Any time that the subject of slavery is approached among the African American population, there is potential for misunderstanding, confusion, and anger. The whole point of the assignment was in order for each student to feel the magnitude of the hard life that was imposed upon those who were held in the bondage of slavery.  The assignment was neither irrelevant nor inappropriate, but perhaps it would be wise to allow an alternative assignment to be substituted for those who feel offended..

Veritas Seminary Receives 500 Year-Old Rare Hebrew Torah Scroll

A gracious donation by Ken and Barbara Larson will enhance the ability of students at Veritas Evangelical Seminary to study scripture. . The seminary in now the proud recipient of an 500 Year-Old rare Hebrew Torah scroll. Veritas is an evangelical non-profit independent inter-denominational educational institution. They strive to offer each student the opportunity to learn apologetics, Bible, theology, and pastoral studies from some of the most knowledgeable evangelical scholars in the country.  They are located in the Logos building at 3000 W. MacArthur Boulevard on the campus of Calvary Chapel/ Costa Mesa (in the city of Santa Ana), California, although they have no official relationship with that congregation.

(H/T: Christian Newswire )

The Government Raid on Your Bank Account

Shayn Roby’s Take: It may be wise to have a little hard currency in a secret location in order to shelter the blow of the next major bank failure, as it appears that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation may (in the near future) no longer sufficiently protect the funds of account holders in financial institutions across the United States.

Lexington Libertarian

Confiscating the customer deposits in Cyprus banks, it seems, was not a one-off, desperate idea of a few Eurozone “troika” officials scrambling to salvage their balance sheets. A joint paper by the US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Bank of England dated December 10, 2012, shows that these plans have been long in the making; that they originated with the G20 Financial Stability Board in Basel, Switzerland (discussed earlier here); and that the result will be to deliver clear title to the banks of depositor funds.  

New Zealand has a similar directive, discussed in my last article here, indicating that this isn’t just an emergency measure for troubled Eurozone countries. New Zealand’s Voxy reported on March 19^th:

The National Government [is] pushing a Cyprus-style solution to bank failure in New Zealand which will see small depositors lose some of their savings to fund big…

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