All posts filed under: Main

Dinosaurs on Titan?

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The phrase “fossil fuels,” leaves the impression that oil and natural gas are derived from millions of years of dinosaur and plant decay. As a result of this, oil and gas are considered a non renewable resource, in other words some are sounding the alarm that one day we will run out. However, a few articles are portraying another side to this debate. The first involves an article entitled “Let’s Colonize Titan” published as a blog post on the Scientific American website. In it, the authors Charles Wohlforth and Amanda Hendrix were looking at potential habitable locations for humans in our solar system. They quickly eliminated the Moon and Mars because neither has the atmosphere needed to protect people from deadly Galactic Cosmic rays. Mercury is too hot. Venus’ atmosphere is too poisonous. The authors instead nominated Titan, one of the moons of Saturn. So why was Titan chosen? Well there are a couple of reasons. First it has a methane atmosphere that would protect us from those deadly cosmic rays and secondly it literally …

Godly angels intervened politically in the Book of Acts

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When we look at the Book of Acts and the formation of the early church, we are struck by two things. The first involved a powerful outpouring of the Holy Spirit as God moved in signs, miracles and gifts. But what often gets downplayed is the significant role that angels played in the early church. Angels broke Peter out of jail twice, and an angel led Philip to evangelize the Ethiopian Eunuch and directed Cornelius to contact Peter resulting in an outpouring of the Holy Spirit on a group of gentiles meeting at Cornelius’ home. But we also see angels actively involved in protecting the early believers from severe persecution by government officials. Perhaps the most significant of these was recorded in Acts 12 where we are told that an Angel of the Lord struck down Herod Agrippa who was considered the King of Judea: 21 On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. 22 They shouted, “This is the voice of a god, …

God knows your potential

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J.K. Dobbins, 21, is a star running back with the Ohio State Buckeyes and some consider him a potential Heisman Trophy winner which honors the most outstanding football player in college football. Though, Dobbins is not considered a leading candidate for the award, he is certainly in the conversation. During the game, Gus Johnson, who was calling the game on behalf of the Fox Sports network, made a startling announcement about Dobbins. Johnson said that there was a player on the Ohio team, whose mother had nearly aborted her child but changed her mind at the last moment. As the TV cameras focused on Dobbins, Johnson said: “J.K. Dobbins’ mom became pregnant when she was 18 years old, she went to see the doctor because she was thinking about aborting the baby, but changed her mind.” Gus Johnson, Fox Sports Johnson added that Maya later described J.K. as her “miracle baby.” Then as if to add an exclamation mark on Johnson’s statement, Dobbins went on to have the best game of his college career, rushing …

We Have To Talk!

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Here is a tell-on me scenario. If my wife and I have a meaningful talk every night for six months and miss a night, she says we never talk. If we talk one night in six months, I say we always talk. I can hear the head nodding on this one. Inter-gender communication is an interesting thing. Most men can sit together for hours and laugh and joke or say very little of significance. They have a great time and there’s no communication problem. I’ve heard women get together and laugh and cry and joke and share deep longings together. There is no communication problem there either. I deliberately exaggerated here to prove a point. It doesn’t matter what men talk about and it doesn’t matter what women talk about it, we both talk more freely with our own gender. In the beginning God created everything. First Adam, then Eve, were created. He out of clay of the earth and her out of his rib. These are interesting choices and clay can often turn as …

Should We Shun Other People?

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Years ago, when I was a younger and single man, I joined a singles group in my church. We were a friendly bunch, and one day a new member told us what was really bothering her. She had a terrible problem that would not go away, and her life was ruined. She was being shunned. Shunning means that someone is cut off from their community, and in extreme cases, all of their friends and neighbors refuse to speak to them or do business with them. If this sounds odd to you, we didn’t get it either. Being shallow city kids, we could find new friends, and we liked being free from rude and controlling people. And we could sleep in on Sunday. If we were shunned, we would need time to notice that someone had disappeared from our busy lives, and then we could decide if this was a problem or an opportunity. We were shallow. It took us some time to know that our friend was hurting. She had lived in a small town …

Getting a grip on our value to God

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For years, I have struggled with this verse in the Bible: “Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.’” Matthew 16:24 I interpreted this verse to mean that if you saw someone in need, you were to drop what you were doing and take care of their needs first, even if there was something important you were doing. In other words, that other person’s need was more important than my needs, or the needs of my family. I thought living this way would make me a happier and more joyful person because back in my day JOY meant — Jesus, Others and You — in that order!  But years of functioning this way did not produce joy in my life and in fact it became ugly. Between working my part-time job that included shift work, caring for my family and serious health issues, I continued to step over my needs, and the needs of my family, to encourage and help …

It is time to just start doing it

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The Apostle John makes an interesting statement in his first letter. He says it is time to grow up and take responsibility for your faith. Now you are probably scratching your head and trying to recall where he exactly said that. Well, he didn’t exactly say it in those terms, instead John wrote: 27 As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things … 1 John 2:27 NASV We live in the day of superstar Christianity. Now don’t get me wrong, I am not against the mega pastors, anointed prophets, teachers and healing evangelists. There are a few that I enjoy listening to, and in fact I believe we need more of them. And I think this is the point that the Apostle John was trying to make. As believers, we have relied too much on the professionals to build the Christian faith. In the early church, they had their superstars like the …

What if?

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If you study the size and diversity of the DNA of our current human population, scientists using computer modelling concluded that humans must have evolved from thousands of ancestral couples. However, Dennis Venema, a Biology professor, challenged this notion in his book Adam and the Genome where he discussed a study by developmental biologist Ann Gauger and Swedish mathematician Ola Hössjer. The two scientists wondered how long it would take, using the same computer models, to have the same genetic diversity today if you started with just one pair of humans. As Venema explained in his book that had never been done before, because in the minds of most evolutionists, that was not the way it happened, so why bother studying such an alternative. So using the same computer model and generally accepted presuppositions such as population growth rates, Gauger and Hössjer started with one original couple instead of thousands. The results show that if the original couple shared some genetic bio markers, (meaning they evolved from a common evolutionary ancestor), it would have taken …

Jezebel’s Nasty

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This article is based on an interview I did regarding the spirit of Jezebel. The show is called “The Sound of the Trumpet”. Do you remember Jezebel who was married to Ahab in the Old Testament? She tried to destroy the prophets of God and the culmination of that battle was the confrontation of Elijah and the hundreds of Baal prophets. God proved who He was and the false prophets were killed (1 Kings 18). While she was a real person, the spirit of Jezebel that controlled her is also a real entity. This spirit is at work even today and has infiltrated many churches. This spirit is hard to recognize. The Bible says to look at the fruit to determine the state of the tree so let’s look at the fruits of the Jezebel spirit and compare that to the spirit of God as represented in Elijah. The spirit of Jezebel is still around. Spirits live a lot longer than humans and it is not until Jesus gets rids of them all at the …

La mentira del suicidio

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English version: Suicide’s lie Esta es la primera de una serie de artículos sobre la depresión. La depresión tiene raíces profundas mentales y físicas, así como una dimensión espiritual de gran alcance. A menudo se manifiesta con una sensación de estar fuera de sincronía con nuestro mundo, nuestra familia, e incluso a nosotros mismos. Y cuando estamos fuera de sincronía con el mundo se siente como que simplemente no encajamos. Empezamos a retirarnos de un mundo que nos parece que no le importamos, es hostil, o no tiene nada que ver con nosotros. Cuanto más damos un paso atrás, más difícil es parar. Oímos esa voz constante que ofrece la paz en un mundo sin paz hasta que en un momento, un momento desesperado, en el que el dolor de la vida nos abruma y no encontramos una salida en ese instante terminamos con nuestra vida. Nuestro dolor, que es tan profundo se transfiere ahora a los que nos aman. Nuestra pérdida alimenta el fuego de la culpa y la ira. La culpa es rampante …

I Need a Job: Learn from the Blue Banana

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Do you need a job? Most of us feel the pressure to find a career and a good living, possibly with a house in the suburbs, and two cars in the driveway. There are many career counselors, and I’m sure they can give better advice than me, but I think we can all learn from the Blue Banana. This strange name comes from economics, and it is also called the backbone of Europe. On a map, it’s blob, maybe like the shape of a banana, and it gets colored blue on maps. Today it shows where the most people live and where the big cities are. From the north, it stretches from England, to Germany, and to the big cities in northern Italy. There are many important points between that I didn’t mention. RELATED: Blue Banana There is a spiritual lesson here. In history, this region is where the industrial revolution happened, and that explains why the big cities are there today. People live near the jobs. The industrial revolution taught the world how to …

The angel Gabriel announcing Mary's conception by Paolo de Matteis 1712. This was part of the Feast of Annunciation (Mary's conception) celebrated by some Catholics on March 25th.

Por qué el 25 de Diciembre fue elegido como el cumpleaños de Cristo

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English: Why December 25th was chosen as Christ’s birthday Hay mucho debate sobre por qué el 25 de diciembre fue elegido como el día en que nació Jesús. Hay poca evidencia bíblica que revele la fecha del nacimiento de Jesús. Lucas 2: 8 se refiere a los pastores en los campos que sugieren que el nacimiento de Jesús tuvo lugar en la primavera cuando los pastores estaban con sus rebaños durante el parto. Tal vez no por casualidad, Juan se refiere a Jesús como el Cordero de Dios (Juan 1:29). Clemente de Alejandría (150 DC – 215 DC), un maestro cristiano Egipcio, había citado el 20 de mayo y el 20 o el 21 de Abril como posibles fechas del nacimiento de Cristo encajando con la teoría de la primavera. Para el año 400 DC, el 25 de Diciembre junto con el 6 de Enero se consideraron las fechas para el nacimiento de Cristo, y el 25 de diciembre fue el principal candidato y el ganador final. La fecha de Diciembre se mencionó como el …

The struggle to shine

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For years, I struggled with an unbalanced view of the Christian faith. In the Gospels, Jesus promised that when we took on His yoke, it would be easy and light: Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest . . . For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Matthew 11:29 – 30 There are many things that can make a yoke a burden such as too much weight. Sometimes it becomes lopsided and the burden is distributed unevenly and it starts to wear on one side causing painful, chafing sores. I think many of us have an imbalanced view of the Gospel and because of that we have turned Jesus’ light yoke into a burden. The message of the Gospel is that we are all sinners and that Christ came to take the punishment for our sin. This is an incredible message of hope. But as important as this message is, if we only focus on this one aspect, it can cause an imbalance. …

Survey reveals religious freedom is important to Americans

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A survey conducted by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty in September and October 2019, revealed that the vast majority of Americans support religious freedom. In the survey, people were asked to rank their support for protecting religious freedoms on a scale from zero (indicating no support) to 100 (indicating full support) on multiple issues. According to the survey of 1,000 Americans, the overall average score of 67 indicated very strong support for religious freedom in the US. In particular, the millennials (aged 24 to 36 approximately) showed the highest support for religious freedom, and they also reported the highest rates of religious discrimination of any age group. One of the areas surveyed was whether people should have the freedom to disagree with same sex marriage. On this controversial cultural topic, 74% of people believed religious groups and individuals should not face discrimination or fines if they do not support same sex-marriage. Of the several issues addressed in the survey this opinion had one of the highest levels of support. This flies in the face …

Speak to your mountain

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In His powerful statement about faith, Jesus says that if we had enough faith we could cast a mountain into the sea (Mark 11:23). But the key was believing in our heart without doubting. But I think we are missing a second critical element in this verse. Jesus also said that we needed to speak to our mountains. It wasn’t enough to believe, we needed to verbally declare our faith. In other words, we can have all the faith we want, but without speaking nothing changes. There is power in our words. In Proverbs 18:21, the writer states that the tongue has power that can lead to life and death, my interpretation is faith or unbelief. Words make a difference. And I am not talking about what we say to other things or other people, I am talking about what we say to ourselves. Studies indicate that upwards of 70% of the thoughts we think in a single day are overtly negative or at least have a negative bend to them and considering that we …

Will a court ruling in India pave the way for rebuilding a third Jewish Temple in Jerusalem?

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Some are arguing a court case in India may set a precedent for building a third Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. The Temple Mount in Jerusalem, where the Jewish Temple stood before it was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD, now houses the Muslim Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa mosque. Jews have been demanding access to the site for decades and a group has even been created to pave the way for the eventual reconstruction of a third Jewish Temple on the location. Called the Temple Mount Project, it has already constructed much of the furniture needed for the Temple (everything except the Ark of the Covenant) and even ordered architectural drawings for a third Temple. All that is holding this back is that the Muslims control the site. However, the case in India is giving those desiring a third Jewish Temple renewed hope. The India Supreme Court recently ruled that a Mosque built in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh must be moved, because in the 1600s it was built over the site of an ancient …

Revisado por especialistas, estudio médico revela que Dios sana, incluso si usted no cree en la sanidad divina

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ENGLISH: Peer-reviewed medical study reveals that God heals even if you don’t believe in divine healing Un estudio publicado en una revista médica, Terapias Complementarias en Medicina , informa sobre la curación milagrosa de un niño cristiano de 16 años de edad. Incluso el título, Reporte de caso de la curación gastroparesia: 16 años con un síndrome crónico resuelto después de la oración de intercesión proximal , revela el papel clave que jugó en esta oración la sanidad divina. Es interesante anotar, que aunque sus padres cristianos creían que Jesús sanaba las personas en la Biblia, ellos no creian que Dios todavía sanaba hoy. ¿Entonces qué pasó? Despues de un par de semanas después de su nacimiento, este niño no identificado fue diagnosticado con gastroparesia. Esta es una condición donde el alimento no se mueve correctamente hacia el estómago y el tracto intestinal y como resultado se queda en el depositado en el estómago durante un período prolongado. Esto puede dar lugar a una serie de síntomas como náuseas y vómitos, dolor y distensión abdominal, falta …

No More Lies!

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In this series we focused on the lies depression tells us. To have victory over depression we need to counter those lies with the truth. In this last article in the series we are going to look at how to be set free from lying spirits and their allies in depression. Depression lies about both who we are and our value. The spirit of depression is a cruel master and like other cruel masters it relies on force and control to destroy us. Getting out from under this force and control is not an easy task. It can be a long, painful journey to freedom. Or it can be one of discovery and light. The traditional way out of depression involves medication, therapy, and support. I know because I used to be involved in this world. Exploring triggers and self-doubts takes a long time and there are many revelations that help along the way. Medication helps victims cope with symptoms of depression and can be essential in preventing suicide. Support that promotes growth and positive …

Sigue siendo El Pecado una cosa?

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ENGLISH: Is sin still a thing? Una de las palabras de moda que explica la sociedad moderna es la ‘tolerancia’. Se ajusta muy bien con sentimientos similares como “inclusion”,  ‘multiculturalismo’ y otros. Se tiene que ser tolerante.  Irónicamente, las personas tolerantes serán intolerantes si usted no lo es adecuadamente tolerante. Ellos le juzgaran a usted por juzgar a otros. “ Pecado “, es una palabra muy popular entre los viejos cristianos, pero claramente esta palabra no es tolerante, inclusiva o multicultural. Un pecado es algo que está mal, que debe ser condenado, y posiblemente perdonado. Esta idea es crítica y no encaja con el pensamiento moderno. Por lo tanto, sigue siendo el pecado una cosa? Tengo un trabajo que es nuevo para mí, y la semana pasada viajé y me quedé en un hotel de un pueblo pequeño. Mi habitación estaba limpia, pero los vecinos me daban un poco de miedo. Eran el tipo de personas que se quedan en hoteles en ciudades pequeñas. Un grupo era un equipo de motoristas que transportan muebles. Ellos …

Why Does God Let Cars Crash?

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If there is a God, why do cars crash? Why do people crash their lives? A few days ago, I saw a nice young couple. In my opinion, they were a good-looking young couple, and very polite. The only problem was, he was in a wheelchair, and I guess that he was injured for life. His young wife worked hard to support him, and I think she is a hero, but I didn’t like what I saw. Some terrible accident ruined their happy life together. So, where was God? I have more than one friend who is close to me, with something very wrong in their lives. It’s painful to watch, and it is not easy for me to trust God for them. I also have a relative in a town where I work some times. People I talk to know my relative, better that I do. She is famous as one of the most messed up people in town. Those conversations are embarrassing. I have this nagging doubt that nothing will happen if I …

Balaam confronted by Angel of God by Gustav Jager (1808-1871): Wikipedia

La arqueología confirma la existencia de Balaam

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ENGLISH: Archaeology confirms the existence of Balaam A pesar de los mejores esfuerzos de los secularistas para desacreditar a la Biblia, la arqueología sigue confirmando que es de hecho un registro exacto de los acontecimientos históricos que tuvieron lugar en el antiguo Israel. Tal vez lo más curioso implica una excavación arqueológica que tuvo lugar en 1967, cuando los arqueólogos Holandeses descubrieron un texto antiguo en una pared en la ciudad Jordana de Deir Alla confirmando la existencia de un vidente llamado Balaam. Para aquellos no familiarizados con la historia, Balaam, un profeta pagano, quien fue contratado por el rey Balac de Moab para maldecir a Israel como nación. Balac estaba sentado en el otro lado del río Jordán preparado para realizar su primer intento fallido de entrar en la Tierra Prometida bajo Moisés ( Números 22 – 24 ). Sin embargo, cuando fue Balaam fue a maldecir a Israel, en lugar les bendijo diciendoles que sólo podía entregar el mensaje que se le habia dado. Aunque dispuesto a maldecir a Israel, Balaam finalmente dio al …

Your secrets hold you back

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Our secrets keep us in the dark and hold us back from truly being who God wants us to be. We can’t truly shine in the world when our secrets repeatedly drag us down and even restrict us from moving forward in our lives.  The shame and guilt wrapped around these secrets keep us in hiding. Sure, we can wiggle around a bit and shuffle forward, but then end up taking two steps backwards because the power of an untold secret or sin keeps us glued to one spot. This is why the Bible talks about confessing our sins to one another. Because what holds us back is the fear that others will find out and Satan uses that to keep us hiding in the dark: “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. “ James 5:16 NLT This verse says that even though we have confessed our sin to God, it is in our best interests to tell at least one person our secret sin …

It’s yours, so start using it

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There was a media story that recently caught my attention. At the end of October, Mexican police arrested 31 suspects in separate raids that allegedly belonged to the La Union Tepito drug cartel and then a judge promptly let most of them go. Beneath one of the houses was an underground labyrinth of tunnels, that also included what appeared to be drug laboratories. During the arrests they found several weapons, grenades and of course drugs. But what caught everyone’s attention was the appearance of satanic altar on the main floor of a house along with 42 humans skulls some of which were covered in blood. Four of the skulls were embedded in the altar. Authorities suspect these skulls were cartel murder victims. The wall behind the altar had several symbols painted on it including a pyramid with a hand on top of it and a goat head with a hexagram drawn between its horns. According to an article in the Daily Mail, people living in the neighborhood said gang members performed satanic rituals every three …

American Bible Society has shipped 8,800 Bibles as part of its pledge to supply a free Bible to Kanye West fans

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If there is a story from 2019, that proves the commonly spoken adage that God moves in mysterious ways, it has to be Kanye West’s conversion to Christ. Kanye West is arguably one of the world’s most popular singers and song writers. He has received 21 Grammy’s and is not only one of the most awarded singers of all times with 140 million album sales worldwide he is also among the best-selling singers as well. Shortly after his decision to believe in Christ earlier this year, Kanye started hosing church services across the country attracting large crowds. An altar call at a recent service in Baton Rouge, Louisiana resulted in upwards of 2,000 people publicly saying they wanted to receive Christ. As a result of this growing interest, the American Bible Society pledged to give a free Bible to the first 1,000 Kanye West fan requesting one by October 30, 2019. However, because of the unexpected interest, the American Bible Society is extending its offer of a free Bible to November 22, 2019, and at …

Moloch set up in front of Roman Colosseum: A sign of a growing spiritual conflict?

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At the end of September, people visiting the Colosseum in Rome were greeted by one of the most hideous idols of the ancient world — Moloch. The full-sized replica of the idol was the one used in the 1914 silent movie Cabira. The idol was installed as part of an exhibit on Carthage’s history called Carthago: The immortal myth. The idol, that was set up on September 27, 2019, will be displayed at the entrance of the Colosseum until March 29, 2020. The idol was particularly hideous because its was used to sacrifice live children. Life Site News, a Catholic-based news site, reported that the setting up of the idol at the entrance to the Colosseum was particularly disturbing because in 1749 Pope Benedict the XIV declared the Colosseum a sacred site to remember the thousands of Christians that the Romans slaughtered in the Colosseum. One Catholic family visiting the Colosseum were shocked to be greeted by Moloch. Alexandra Clark told Life Site News: “We were so excited the day we decided to go to …

‘Impostor Syndrome’: Are You a Total Fake?

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Did you know that Albert Einstein was a total fake? I don’t mean any disrespect, he was a fake, if you asked him. Albert Einstein called himself an “involuntary swindler.” Successful people often have feelings that tell them they don’t deserve their success. It’s commonly known as “Impostor Syndrome” and it explains a lot of our bad behavior. We don’t feel worthy, and we have this nagging feeling that we might be faking it, swindling the whole world. I once worked in a university, and one of our senior managers told us she had Impostor Syndrome. I didn’t understand, but I did think she was too much of a self promoter. At her level of senior management, everyone had a doctorate in something, and they seemed to live by boasting. I was one of the worker bees; my job was to make my boss look good, and not to promote myself. I once asked what it would take for me to become a tenured professor. I still remember the disdainful response, “We only hire from …

Balancing out the message of the Gospel in your life

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For so long I misunderstood the message of salvation and sharing it with another person has been difficult for me. I struggle with the right words to say even though I know them by heart, because I had things twisted and turned around in my mind.  The message of the gospel hadn’t balanced itself out in my life. I was putting too much weight on one truth and not enough weight on another equally important truth. Once I balanced it all out, it started making sense to me. I have been a Christian for many years and I know that God loves me and that Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross closed the gap between God and me.  But my life was riddled with insignificance and I fell short of loving, giving and caring for others the way I wanted too. I tripped over jealousy, comparing myself to others and a selfishness that tied me to the fear of not being good enough and the ensuing rejection that was guaranteed after my attempts to be included. …

Magic Johnson leaves LA Lakers to join Pentecostal church in ministering to African men

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Magic Johnson, 60, is considered among the great basketball players in the world. He played professionally with the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers from 1979 to 1991 and in 1996. In March 2019, Magic announced that he would be stepping down as President of Basketball Operations for the Lakers and becoming involved with the ministry of West Angeles Church of God in Christ (COGIC) a Pentecostal church in Los Angeles. In announcing this decision, COGIC’s senior pastor, Bishop Charles Blake, said that the two would be starting an initiative to help African American men lead successful lives. Part of this includes starting a center that will work with boys and families in the inner city. I was struck by this announcement, because I believe this is the heart of God. In Malachi, God says that He wants to restore the hearts of the father to their children and the hearts of their children to their fathers (Malachi 4:6). Children need fathers and I believe fatherless families is becoming an epidemic plaguing modern society. Larry Elder is …

Holy Spirit shows up at Kanye West concert/church service in Baton Rouge, hundreds believe in Jesus

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At the end of the Kanye West’s impromptu concert/church service in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on Friday, November 1, 2019, hundreds of people raised their hands indicating they wanted to accept Christ as their Savior. Kanye West is a popular American singer, songwriter and rapper and his conversion to Christ has certainly caught everyone off-guard. He has been holding Sunday services throughout the US. Kanye, who is married to Kim Kardashian, is considered by many as one of the leading singers of the 21st century. It is difficult to know how many people accepted Christ, but it is generally believed between 1,000 and 2,000 people in the concert of 6,000 raised their hands. The concert followed the release of West’s Gospel Album “Jesus is King” which topped the Billboard 200 Chart after its release on October 25, 2019. In an interview with Christian Post, American Bible Society’s Dr John Farquhar Plake said Kanye’s gospel album was Google’s number one trending search the week after its release and this is Kanye’s ninth album to top the chart. …