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The Key to the Master’s Orders " Pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest —Matthew 9:38 " The key to the missionary’s difficult task is in the hand of God, and that key is prayer, not work— that is, not work as the word is commonly used today, which often results in the shifting of our focus away from God. The key to the missionary’s difficult task is also not the key of common sense, nor is it the key of medicine, civilization, education, or even evangelization. The key is in following the...

The global face of Christianity has changed dramatically in the last one hundred years. So much so, that everything that seemed so permanent about “the way the world was” no longer holds. Information courtesy of PewForum, here’s where things stand:

October 16, 2014Thursday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time    Reading 1 Eph 1:1-10 Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,to the holy ones who are in Ephesusand faithful in Christ Jesus:grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,who has blessed us in Christwith every spiritual blessing in the heavens,as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world,to be holy and without blemish before him.In love he destined us for adoption to himself through...

Q. Does the Jewish temple need to be rebuilt before Jesus returns? A. With the constant turmoil always threatening stability in the Middle East, many Bible commentators are speculating louder than ever about whether the Jewish temple will be rebuilt in the months and years to come. Entire Christian ministries are established to assist in the building of the temple to hasten the return of Jesus. For many, such an event will signal the start of the final events of earth’s history. However, in the same way many Christians misplace the focus from spiritual Israel to the literal Jewish nation,...

Vatican City, Oct 15, 2014 / 11:17 am (CNA/EWTN News).- An incorrect translation into English of the original midterm report of the Synod on the Family may have spurred controversial interpretations of the document itself. The document's original version was written in Italian, which Pope Francis directed to be used as the official language of the synod. In prior synods the official language had been Latin, esteemed for its precision and lack of ambiguity. The point of controversy occurs at paragraph 50 of the relatio. The Italian original, after praising the gifts and talents homosexuals may give to the Christian...

Answer the Door Today's Scripture “...Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning.” (Psalm 30:5, NLT) Today's Word from Joel and Victoria Scripture says that joy comes in the morning. When you wake up each morning, God sends you a special delivery of joy. It comes knocking at your door. When you get up in faith and make the declaration that “this is going to be a good day,” do you know what you just did? You just answered the door. You just received the gift of joy that God sent to you. The problem...

The Key to the Missionary’s Work (2) " He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world —1 John 2:2 " The key to the missionary’s message is the propitiation of Christ Jesus— His sacrifice for us that completely satisfied the wrath of God. Look at any other aspect of Christ’s work, whether it is healing, saving, or sanctifying, and you will see that there is nothing limitless about those. But— “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”— that is limitless (John 1:29). The...

October 15, 2014Memorial of Saint Teresa of Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church    Reading 1 Gal 5:18-25 Brothers and sisters:If you are guided by the Spirit, you are not under the law.Now the works of the flesh are obvious:immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry,sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy,outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness,dissensions, factions, occasions of envy,drinking bouts, orgies, and the like.I warn you, as I warned you before,that those who do such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God.In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,patience, kindness, generosity,faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.Against such there is no law.Now...

Recently I read “The Man the Networks Love to Hate” (1989), by Rev. Don Wildmon, founder of the American Family Association. It was an informative read, particularly in showing how those who oppose Christianity have been working over the years to get our society to where it is now. Below are some excerpts from it. The first excerpt is on secular humanism. Christian leaders like Jerry Falwell were beginning to talk quite a lot about it in the 80’s, but the media responded by calling it “the right’s new bogeyman” and conspiracy theory. Wildmon says he didn’t know much about...

Get Your Joy Back Today's Scripture “Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy.” (1 Peter 1:8, NIV) Today's Word from Joel and Victoria If the circumstances of life have taken away your joy, today is the day to get it back. You weren’t meant to live this life feeling drained, depressed and down. God wants you to be excited about your future and learn to enjoy each and every day. If you don’t make the...

The Key to the Missionary’s Work (1) " Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, ’All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations . . .’ —Matthew 28:18-19 " The key to the missionary’s work is the authority of Jesus Christ, not the needs of the lost. We are inclined to look on our Lord as one who assists us in our endeavors for God. Yet our Lord places Himself as the absolute sovereign and supreme Lord over His disciples. He does not say that the...

Frequently North Korean defectors in South Korea will look back on peculiar behaviors of parents and grandparents in North Korea and realize with great astonishment that their family members were actually underground Christians. JBM, one of our Underground Technology students, recently shared just such a story with us. Think on this as you eat your breakfast this morning and your children or grandchildren silently observe your behavior: My father studied medicine at [X] University in Japan. After he graduated, he opened a hospital in [NK city] and worked as a health minister in NK. My mother was a housewife. Because...

The Holy Father has been very good in lecturing priests and telling us what to do. We are to go out into the world and “make a mess.” We are to “smell like the sheep.” We are to welcome all with compassion, forgiveness and mercy. We are to be good and kind pastors who administer the sacraments with care and concern. We are to seek out the poor, castigate the rich, side with the unfortunate, heal the sick, support the immigrants and reach out to the lowly. We are to welcome the divorced and remarried, not judge those with same...

October 14, 2014Tuesday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time    Reading 1 Gal 5:1-6 Brothers and sisters:For freedom Christ set us free;so stand firm and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery. It is I, Paul, who am telling youthat if you have yourselves circumcised,Christ will be of no benefit to you.Once again I declare to every man who has himself circumcisedthat he is bound to observe the entire law.You are separated from Christ,you who are trying to be justified by law;you have fallen from grace.For through the Spirit, by faith, we await the hope of...

The upheaval in the manipulated and censored secret Synod Assembly is so great not even the rapporteur, Cardinal Peter Erdo, is able to vouch for what he signed and had published under his own name! When presenting the "Relatio post disceptationem" this Monday, Cardinal Erdo was asked by reporters about the scandalous paragraphs on homosexuality, homosexual unions, and the raising of children by homosexual "couples", that are in most aspects a 180-turn away from the 2,000-year-old permanent doctrine and practice of the Church, as taught even more strongly in the last two pontificates. Instead of explaining them, he refused to...

Set the Tone 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, what’s the first thing you think about? What’s the first thing you say? Do you set the tone for success, favor and blessing? Yesterday may have had some hardships or some difficulties, but it’s a new day. We should be on the lookout for God’s blessings. The scripture tells us that the darker it gets in the world, the brighter it’s going to be...

Individual Discouragement and Personal Growth " . . . when Moses was grown . . . he went out to his brethren and looked at their burdens —Exodus 2:11 " Moses saw the oppression of his people and felt certain that he was the one to deliver them, and in the righteous indignation of his own spirit he started to right their wrongs. After he launched his first strike for God and for what was right, God allowed Moses to be driven into empty discouragement, sending him into the desert to feed sheep for forty years. At the end...

The deplorable state of religious freedom in the Islamic world came to the fore in May when news of the arrest, imprisonment, and death sentencing of a pregnant Christian wife and mother on the accusation that she had left Islam for Christianity reached the world. On May 15, Meriam Ibrahim of Sudan was sentenced to flogging followed by hanging for apostasy after she repeatedly refused to convert to Islam.

Previously, we brought you “7 Words You Didn’t Know Had Christian Origins.” But, of course, Christians have contributed far more than just seven words to our language! So here are seven more words you didn’t know had Christian origins. 1) Goodbye “Goodbye” (also “goodby,” “good bye,” or “good-bye”), comes from the older English term “godbwye,” which is a contraction of “God be with ye.” (“God be with ye” = “godbwye”) The French (adieu) and Spanish (adios) words for parting ways are also related to commending the person to God. [There are 6 more at the link]

Catholic bishops meeting to discuss 'family issues' at a two week summit have said unmarried couples living together can be 'positive', and gay relationships and divorces must be welcomed. Displaying remarkably liberal attitudes for a Church famed for its conservatism, bishops meeting in the Vatican today also said that a couples' decision on the use of contraception should be respected.