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The Miracle of Belief " My speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom . . . —1 Corinthians 2:4 " Paul was a scholar and an orator of the highest degree; he was not speaking here out of a deep sense of humility, but was saying that when he preached the gospel, he would veil the power of God if he impressed people with the excellency of his speech. Belief in Jesus is a miracle produced only by the effectiveness of redemption, not by impressive speech, nor by wooing and persuading, but only by...

Yesterday, Senate Democrats their bid to approve legislation to “overturn” the Supreme Court’s decision protecting Hobby Lobby and other companies from being forced to comply with the HHS mandate that compels them to pay for abortion-causing drugs for their employees. Republicans were able to sustain their filibuster against the bill atedcruz7nd prevailed on a 56-43 vote, with Democrats voting to move to a vote on the pro-abortion bill and almost all Republicans uniting to vote against it. During the debate, pro-life Texas Senator Ted Cruz let Democrats have it. “If you’re litigating against nuns, you have probably done something wrong,”...

Growing up in New Albany, Ind., during the 1950s, I never heard the term “domestic church,” but I knew what it meant. I knew it because my parents and my friends’ parents made their homes domestic churches, even before that phrase from our Catholic tradition was retrieved during the Second Vatican Council. I guess you could say that my childhood friends and neighbors were at home in church and in church at home. But what did it mean in practical terms that we experienced the family as a domestic church? For one thing, it meant that nearly every Catholic family...

The Southern Baptist Convention’s former top spokesman for moral concerns says the New Testament “is quite clear” that homosexuality and transgenderism are forms of moral rebellion. By Bob Allen Transgenderism is “the ultimate rebellion” against God’s created order, a former Southern Baptist leader said recently in a television interview. Richard Land, president of Southern Evangelical Seminary near Charlotte, N.C., made the comment June 26 on Newsmax TV during a discussion of Vice President Joe Biden’s declaration that protecting gay rights is a defining mark of a civilized nation and must trump national cultures and social traditions. Land, who served 25...

Both sides claimed partial victory in a ruling last week by a California judge involving a former transgender nursing student expelled from California Baptist University in 2011. By Bob Allen A California judge ruled July 11 that a Baptist university was within its rights to expel a transgender student for violating the school’s moral code but went too far in barring her from university-controlled businesses and services that are open to the public. Superior Court Judge Gloria Connor Trask ordered California Baptist University to pay 27-year-old Domaine Javier $4,000 in statutory damages plus attorney fees under the state’s Unruh Civil...

July 17, 2014Thursday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time    Reading 1 Is 26:7-9, 12, 16-19 The way of the just is smooth;the path of the just you make level.Yes, for your way and your judgments, O LORD,we look to you;Your name and your titleare the desire of our souls.My soul yearns for you in the night,yes, my spirit within me keeps vigil for you;When your judgment dawns upon the earth,the world’s inhabitants learn justice.O LORD, you mete out peace to us,for it is you who have accomplished all we have done. O LORD, oppressed by your punishment,we...

The Power to Make a Change Today's Scripture "I will praise the LORD at all times. I will constantly speak his praises." (Psalm 34:1, NLT). Today's Word from Joel and Victoria When you wake up in the morning, do you expect the goodness of God in your life? Do you set the tone of the day for success, favor and blessing? It doesn’t matter what happened yesterday, last week, last month or last year; today is a new day. This moment, you have the power to make a change in your life. Things may be bad all around you....

The Concept of Divine Control " . . . how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! —Matthew 7:11 " Jesus is laying down the rules of conduct in this passage for those people who have His Spirit. He urges us to keep our minds filled with the concept of God’s control over everything, which means that a disciple must maintain an attitude of perfect trust and an eagerness to ask and to seek.Fill your mind with the thought that God is there. And once your mind is truly...

A network of evangelical Christian clubs is expanding to Portland-area public schools this year, and a coalition of residents is already rising against them. The Good News Club has sparked fierce debate online since we published the story a week ago. This week, we're following up with a series of three Q&As. The first featured Katherine Stewart, a journalist and author whose condemning book about the Good News Club sparked resistance to the club among Portlanders. The second offered John Luck, the program manager at Child Evangelism Fellowship who oversees the network of clubs, a chance to answer some challenging...

In the wake of the Presbyterian Church (USA)’s recent decision to celebrate same-sex “marriages,” celebrity pastor John MacArthur of “Grace to You” has come out with some strong statements condemning “false churches” that abandon Biblical teachings against homosexual behavior. “They have no allegiance to the Bible,” MacArthur told The Blaze online news service. “You go back to every one of those seminaries … for a century [they] have been deniers of biblical authority, they have no relationship to scripture, they are the apostate church, they are Satan’s church.” While it seems clear MacArthur was implying that self-professed Christians who accept...

July 16, 2014Wednesday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time    Reading 1 Is 10:5-7, 13b-16 Thus says the LORD:Woe to Assyria! My rod in anger,my staff in wrath.Against an impious nation I send him,and against a people under my wrath I order himTo seize plunder, carry off loot,and tread them down like the mud of the streets.But this is not what he intends,nor does he have this in mind;Rather, it is in his heart to destroy,to make an end of nations not a few. For he says:“By my own power I have done it,and by my wisdom, for...

I am Fearfully and Wonderfully Made Today's Scripture "I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well." (Psalm 139:14, NKJV). Today's Word from Joel and Victoria David said in Psalm 139, “God, I praise You because You have made me in an amazing way. What You have done is wonderful.” Notice what followed David’s “I am.” He was not in pride but in praise to God. Now, that goes against human nature. Most of us think, “There’s nothing amazing about me. Nothing wonderful. I’m just average....

My Life’s Spiritual Honor and Duty " I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians . . . —Romans 1:14 " Paul was overwhelmed with the sense of his indebtedness to Jesus Christ, and he spent his life to express it. The greatest inspiration in Paul’s life was his view of Jesus Christ as his spiritual creditor. Do I feel that same sense of indebtedness to Christ regarding every unsaved soul? As a saint, my life’s spiritual honor and duty is to fulfill my debt to Christ in relation to these lost souls. Every tiny bit of...

Recently, an ambassador for the United States was sworn in on a Kindle version of the Holy Bible, prompting some to question if that was an acceptable decision. Suzi Levine, U.S. ambassador to Switzerland, was sworn in last month on a Kindle due to there not being a paper Bible immediately available. G. Brooke Lester, assistant professor in Hebrew Bible and director for Emerging Pedagogies at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, told The Christian Post that a swearing-in ceremony may prompt a question of symbolism. "We're used to seeing the Bible as a single, bound book, and that appearance achieves a lot...

The American Bible Society funds an annual “State of the Bible” survey, and this spring the Christian Post cheered some of their findings: “The Bible continues to dominate both mind space and book retail space as America’s undisputed best-seller.” According to the study, conducted by Barna, over 88 percent of American homes contain a Bible. In fact, the average is 4.7 copies per household. Now, I should note that a young non-religious friend once came home from school with a bright green Gideon’s New Testament that she later touted as a reserve of fine rolling papers, which may explain why...

SYDNEY, Australia – A judge in southeastern Australia has been partially suspended after he declared that the culture’s acceptance of homosexuality will lead to a normalization of incest. According to a report last week from The Sydney Morning Herald, Garry Neilson is a district court judge in Sydney, Australia. In a recent sexual assault case, Neilson suggested that an adult male may not have been in the wrong for having sexual relations with his younger teenage sister over 30 years ago. The 58-year-old man, known for legal reasons as “MRM,” has admitted to raping his sister in the mid-1970s when...

I am a former Wahabbi Muslim who was born into a Muslim family and was raised as a Muslim in Saudi Arabia. All of my life in Saudi I grew up as a very devout Muslim follower who adhered and applied the teachings of Islam into every aspect of my life. These teaching included the belief that Islam is the final religion on earth; that it is the only acceptable religion to God; that it is the way to Heaven; that those who do not accept Islam as their faith are doomed to go to hell and their work and...

July 15, 2014Memorial of Saint Bonaventure, Bishop and Doctor of the Church    Reading 1 Is 7:1-9 In the days of Ahaz, king of Judah, son of Jotham, son of Uzziah,Rezin, king of Aram,and Pekah, king of Israel, son of Remaliah,went up to attack Jerusalem,but they were not able to conquer it.When word came to the house of David that Aramwas encamped in Ephraim,the heart of the king and the heart of the people trembled,as the trees of the forest tremble in the wind. Then the LORD said to Isaiah: Go out to meet Ahaz,you and your son Shear-jashub,at...

What follows “I Am”? Today's Scripture “You will also declare a thing, and it will be established for you...” (Job 22:28, NKJV) Today's Word from Joel and Victoria Have you ever considered the power of the statement, “I am”? What follows these two simple words will determine what kind of life you live. “I am blessed. I am strong. I am healthy.” Or, “I am slow. I am unattractive. I am stupid.” The “I am’s” that are coming out of your mouth will bring either success or failure. All through the day the power of “I am” is at...

Suffering Afflictions and Going the Second Mile " I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also —Matthew 5:39 " This verse reveals the humiliation of being a Christian. In the natural realm, if a person does not hit back, it is because he is a coward. But in the spiritual realm, it is the very evidence of the Son of God in him if he does not hit back. When you are insulted, you must not only not resent it, but you must make...