All posts filed under: z545

How one Nigerian Christian came to terms with the horrific persecution taking place in that country

Published by Dean Smith

There is a horrific persecution of Christians taking place in Nigeria by Islamic extremists. According to a report published by the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law, an estimated 8,000 Christians were killed in that country last year because of their faith, some in horrific ways. The non-governmental agency added that 50,000 Christians have been killed in that country by Muslim extremists since 2009. Along with this, over 18,000 churches and 2,200 Christian schools were set on fire. In a recent op-ed for the Christian Post, Oscar Amaechina, who serves as the president of Afri-Mission and Evangelism Network, Abuja, Nigeria, wrote about his personal struggles dealing with this horrific persecution of believers. “I have persistently asked God in the past why He would not protect His servants,” Amaechina wrote. “I expected God to arise and fight for the Nigerian Christians, but He remained silent.” “I wept profusely when I saw the video of how Lawan Andimi, the chairman of a local chapter of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), was beheaded,” he continued, …

Influential YouTuber explains his decision to delete videos and follow Christ

Published by Dean Smith

There has been a remarkable transformation in the life of a popular YouTuber, JiDion, who became a Christian probably sometime in 2023, Premier Christian News writes. He has over 7.7 million followers on his YouTube Channel and in October 2023, he deleted all his videos, except one. This meant 121 of his 122 videos were gone. Many of them had millions of views, with several exceeding 10 million. They were mostly prankster videos and his byline, before the deletion, basically described what he did. “I like messing with strangers…” JiDion wrote. JiDion deleted those videos because they conflicted with his decision to follow Christ. This decision comes complete with a new byline, “Retired menace. Full time follower of Jesus.” JiDion has since added two new videos, one of which explained his decision to delete the videos. “If I’m gonna truly give my life over to God, I gotta also take out the wickedness that I put into the world,” JiDion said. “As an influencer, I failed this generation horribly…I can’t be the way I was …

A river turns blood-red in Iran. Is it a sign of the end times?

Published by Dean Smith

Maybe it’s just a coincidence, but in the Apostle John’s vision of the end times, the prophet saw rivers turning blood-red as part of the judgment associated with the pouring out of the bowls of wrath in Revelation 16: Then the third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of waters; and they became blood. (Revelation 16:3-4 NASV) Most believe that the waters turning red is reminiscent of what took place when God turned the Nile into blood during Israel’s deliverance out of Egypt (Exodus 7:20). In other words, blood-red rivers speak of judgment. So like I said, it’s possibly just a coincidence that in the days preceding the launching of Iran’s massive attack on Israel on April 13, 2024, involving over 350 drones, ballistic, and cruise missiles, the country experienced blood-red water, Israel 365 News reports. “Iran’s Meteorological Organization is not known for its prophetic inclinations,” Adam Berkowitz explains in his article for Israel 365. “However, last month, it issued a ‘red warning’ for flooding in five western provinces as a new …

Greg Laurie suggests Iran’s recent attack on Israel was a fulfillment of Bible prophecy

Published by Dean Smith

There is no doubt that things are heating up in the Middle East, just as the Bible predicted it would at the end of days before Christ’s return. While I look at Iran’s recent attack on Israel with over 300 ballistic and cruise missiles and drones on April 13, 2024, as more of a sign of things yet to come, others believe it’s the fulfillment of Biblical prophecy. While I may not necessarily agree with them, they may have a point. In a recent article on Harvest.org, Greg Laurie pointed out that with the formation of the nation of Israel on May 14, 1948, in a single day (Isaiah 66:7-9), “the prophetic time clock began to tick.” “I do believe the attack of Iran on Israel was a fulfillment of Bible prophecy,” Laurie writes. “A sign of the end times, according to Scripture, is the Jewish people will be regathered together in their homeland… That was not just a sign, that was a super sign.” “The Bible had more to say. Not only will the …

Over 12,000 people were water-baptized in France on Easter Sunday

Published by Dean Smith

Despite reports that France is going through what is described as a period of ‘de-Christianization’, a remarkable thing took place in Catholic Churches across France on Easter Weekend as over 12,000 people were water baptized, CBN reports. The Catholic Church focuses on baptizing infants, who are baptized without making a faith commitment. However, the number of infants being baptized has been declining for several years, making what happened on Easter Sunday even more significant. This is because the majority of the baptisms, 7100, involved adults and the remaining 5,000 were between the ages of 11 to 17. In other words, they involved people making the conscious choice to be baptized. France’s Roman Catholic Church traditionally hosts adult baptisms at Easter, and the number this year not only set a record but was 31% higher than the number of water baptisms at last year’s event. Also, young adults are expressing a renewed interest in faith, as the number of people between the ages of 18 and 25 being water baptized rose from 23% in 2023 to …

Fiercer than the storm

Published by Guest Post

By Andrew Hopkins

A while ago, I was flying back home from a mission trip to the Philippines. It’s always exciting to see people come to Jesus and encounter His love. On the flight, we hit some kind of storm, and then came the turbulence. Heavy turbulence. I wish I could say I was God’s man of power for the hour and commanded the storm to cease…but that wasn’t the case. I was freaked out. I thought I was gonna die.

Can selling prophetic words lead to quenching the Holy Spirit?

Published by Dean Smith

The greatest fear that Satan has is encountering people who are filled with the Holy Spirit, because they have the power to heal and deliver people from Satanic oppression. When the Pharisees accused Jesus of casting out demons by the power of a higher ranking satanic being, Beelzebub, Jesus responded that He was actually casting out demons by the finger of God (Luke 11:20). Matthew, citing this same incident, provides further illumination by telling us that the finger of God is actually the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:28). Christ is the source of our spiritual authority and the Holy Spirit is the source of our spiritual power. So if Satan wants to strip believers of their power, certainly one effective way of doing this would be by compromising their relationship with the Holy Spirit. The Apostle Paul provides one example of how we can do this when he warns, “Do not quench the Spirit” (1 Thessalonians 5:19 ESV). According to Thayer’s, the Greek word, ‘sbennumi’, means ‘to extinguish, quench a fire or things on fire.” Literally, …