About four years ago, Lori Hayter scoped out the empty front lobby of Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility (WHV) in Ypsilanti, Michigan. She, a volunteer, and Denise Harris, a Prison Fellowship® field director, had arrived at the facility with Prison Fellowship Academy® curriculum in hand.
It was Lori’s first time doing something like this. She wondered who else might be joining them, since the curriculum indicated they would have some helpers. “So, who are the other volunteers?” she asked in earnest.
“It’s the women,” Denise replied, speaking of the prisoners. “The women are the volunteers.”
Looking back, Lori says, “I sort of had an idea what I was getting into. But I had so much to learn.”
Comprehensive online training sessions prepared Lori to serve behind bars. Soon she had the knowledge, skills, and confidence to start facilitating Prison Fellowship classes with Denise.
“I feel like I get to watch God at work when I go in there,” says Lori. “[People] have this perception that we’re going to go in there, and we’re going to make something happen—we’re going to bring the Lord to them. But God is already at work there, and we get to watch Him, and that’s amazing.”
Lori and Denise on the left
Lori adds, “I just feel like that’s really freedom: Because of the power of Christ, you can see that you’re not imprisoned even though you are physically. Spiritually, God has set you free.” Lori is always amazed to see radical transformation on display. And it’s a group effort—an exchange of sorts. Not a group of volunteers swooping in to save the day, but a group of people walking alongside each other to seek Christ and grow together.
This, Lori realizes, is the radical truth of prison ministry. Whenever she walks through the gates of WHV, it’s clear that God is already there.
One day after the United Nations Security Council voted in favor of lifting the arms embargo on Iran, the ruling mullahs unveiled a ballistic missile that reportedly can reach the United States.
The headline of a report by Iran’s state-controlled Afkar News read in Farsi, “American Soil Is Now Within the Range of Iranian Bombs.” The report boasted about the damage that the Iranian regime could inflict on the U.S. By sending a military satellite into space, Iran now has shown that it can target all American territory; the Iranian parliament had previously warned [the U.S.] that an electromagnetic nuclear attack on the United States would likely kill 90 percent of Americans. The same type of ballistic missile technology used to launch the satellite could carry nuclear, chemical or even biological weapons to wipe Israel off the map, hit US bases and allies in the region and US facilities, and target NATO even in the far west of Europe.
For Iran’s ruling mullahs, compromises and appeasement means weakness. The more the international community gives the mullahs, the more the regime apparently feels empowered to pursue its malign behavior.
Iran is, according to the U.S. Department of State, “the world’s worst state sponsor of terrorism.”
End Times Biblical prophecy in Daniel 8 tells us that one of the major wars in the last days before the Antichrist appears on the world stage will be Iran (Ram of Daniel 8) will push west, north and south and this we see happening right now.
“I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; and no beasts could stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and magnified himself.” Daniel 8:4
Daniel 8 – Iran (Ram) pushing west, north and south.
IRAQ: When the post-Saddam Iraq held the country’s first free elections in 2005, Shia parties, most of which had had long-standing relations with Iran, rose to power. Ever since, Iran’s influence in Iraq has only grown — first as a counter-force to the American occupation and then as a security provider to the Iraqi government.
LEBANON& SYRIA: Iran funded Hezbollah controls Lebanon and the deployment of Hezbollah foot-soldiers in Syria is ominous.
ISRAEL: Increasing attacks by the Iranian-funded Hamas into southern Israel.
YEMEN: Iran controlled Houthi are even launching rockets at civilian targets,
With billions of dollars of revenue pouring into the pockets of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), they are becoming more empowered and emboldened to pursue their revolutionary ideals of anti-Americanism and anti-Semitism and to become the leader of the Muslim nations in the Middle East.
Iran’s dominance in the Middle East will be short lived. Daniel 8 tells us what comes next. I will reveal that in a future post or better still you can go to Daniel 8 and check it out for yourself.
Francis Chan, the Cornerstone Church founder said he believes God has given the Church an opportunity in the pandemic to grow and become “deeply intimate” with Him. Chan said he believes God is using the crisis to wake up Christians.
Chan questioned how effective the Church has been with religious freedom when compared to places like China where the Church is persecuted.
“When you look at the places where there is religious freedom and you compare those places to where there is not religious freedom, what have we done with the freedom? It’s just weakened the Church,” he said.
I’m grateful for the people who fight for religious freedom. I’m grateful to have it. At the same time, I’m not really afraid of losing it because I look at how the church is flourishing and how it actually looks like the Church of Scripture where there is persecution. And again, I’m not saying I’m wanting that or desiring that. But what I am wanting is to see a pure Church where people are devoted, they’re serious and they understand what it means to really follow Jesus. Then we can really be a light to the world,” Chan explained.
“God does not put us in a situation where we can’t be deeply, deeply, intimate with him and growing with one another. Man don’t miss this,” he said, noting that it’s a great opportunity for parents to become more hands one with the spiritual development of their children.
In 2015, Michelle Higgins, a Black pastor and organizer, stood up before tens of thousands of people at a popular evangelical conference in St Louis, Missouri, and told them that, as she put it, “mission work was really an exercise in exporting racism, and that evangelicalism was a moral protection for white supremacy.”
Higgins criticized the pro-life movement as “a big spectacle” on Monday in St. Louis where 16,000 evangelical Christian students gathered together.
Today, her criticisms are gaining ground. “For the last five hundred years, Christianity has been influenced by Martin Luther’s effort to decentralize the church,” Lisa Sharon Harper, the founder of a progressive evangelical religious group freedomroad.us, told me. “For the next five hundred years, the principle effort will be decolonization.”
More important than how Harper and others conceive of the last 500 years is what they predict for the ensuing 500: decolonization. And this is necessitated because of what has happened over the past half-millennia (or, at least, since 1619), the global project of white supremacy: “mission work was really an exercise in exporting racism, and that evangelicalism was a moral protection for white supremacy.” There you have it.
These are arid and divisive ideas, ones that are infecting certain quadrants of American Christianity. Left unchecked, they will cause problems for Christian fulfillment of the Great Commission.
God is at work using individuals who are humble and committed to doing His work, His way. In the world’s eyes they are usually “nobodies” but in His eyes they are “somebodies”.
Take a look at this video and be inspired to step out as God intends for you to complete His mission where He has placed you.
noplaceleft.net is a movement of movements aimed at getting to no place left where Christ is not made known in our generation. Check them out for materials you can use for discipling people for Christ in your area of influence.
“Nah. I’m not going to call for peace. We’ve tried peace. For years. Y’all don’t understand that language. We are calling for a complete dismantling of American policing. It’s NOT broken. It was built to work this way. And mayhem is the consequence. You earned it.”
In a new episode of Fox Nation’s“No Interruption,” Tomi Lahren sat down with the president of Black Lives Matter of Greater New York, Hawk Newsome, who argued that his organization and others like it are justified in using destruction to call attention to their grievances with American society. “The riot is the language of the unheard,” said Newsome, who compared modern-day protests to The Boston Tea Party.
The quote “language of the unheard” is from Martin Luther King Jr’s “The Other America” speech, delivered in 1967 and 1968. In the speeches, King did not defend rioting but said it was the result of understandable anger.
“What if you throw a whole bunch of tea in the water and start a war?” Newsome continued at another point in the interview. “That’s what this country was built on.”
Lahren specifically challenged Newsome over recent anti-police protests in the New York area and, most notably, a Jan. 31 demonstration involving reportedly thousands of protesters who flooded transportation stations and hubs around New York City. The protests were reportedly organized by a collection of 30 grassroots groups called “Decolonize This Place.”
Protesters carried signs with slogans like “F— the Police” and “No cops! No fares!” NYPD Chief Terence Monahan said in a tweet that some individuals even attempted to “physically assault” police officers.
“There are a lot of black people who say ‘f— the police,'” said Newsome. “But the majority of the people out there who are saying ‘f— the police’, in these particular events, are white people.”
“You have to really start to ask why people say, ‘f— the police,'” he continued. “You really have to take away this fetish or the way that we fantasize policing and really look at it for what it really is.”
COPS GTFO
“From day one, black people’s interactions with the police had been negative,” argued Newsome, who says that the “institution of policing” is racist. “They started out with slave patrols,” he said, pointing to the federal Fugitive Slave Acts of 1793 and 1850, which allowed for the capture and return of enslaved people.
“The Fugitive Slave Act, where they would take black people, stop them in the street, ask them for their papers, if they couldn’t produce them they’d send them back into slavery,” he said. “Sometimes they sent free people back into slavery. The interaction between black people and police in this country has never been good.”
While Lahren said she disagreed with Newsome’s assessment of the police, she said she wanted to focus on the tactics of the movement.
“I’m not going to disagree with what you believe in… What I’m saying is this — when we’re talking about solving problems, the methods in which I’ve seen groups like Black Lives Matter advance their ills or societal grievances — when it turns into burning, looting in the streets, I don’t see it being productive,” said Lahren.
Newsome claimed that destructive protests are rare, but he did not condemn them.
“For a country that drops bombs on people, for a country that incarcerates people, for a country that enslaves people — to criticize us for vandalism is preposterous,” said Newsome.
“I want to make sure I’m getting you clearly,” pressed Lahren. “It is OK to vandalize, to light things on fire and to loot businesses because the United States of America drops bombs on other countries, and because we have problems… people have grievances.”
“It is OK to act in that manner? And you co-sign on to that as the chairman of Black Lives Matter. You were saying that that is OK?”
“I think that it is a tool of white supremacy to say if you want freedom, then you get it by protesting peacefully,” said Newsome.
“Why is it a tool of white supremacy?” he concluded. “Because the white supremacists who built this country never earned anything peacefully. They did it through bullets and blood. And that’s the American way.”
Papua New Guinea have approved the construction of a Pillar of National Identity and Unity. It will replace the existing Totem Pole in Parliament House. The words on the pillar are God honouring and hopefully will present a challenge to other nations.
THE COVENANT – Covenant with the true God based on the Christian faith.
THE PEOPLE – We pay homage to the God of the Holy Bible who is our God.
THE CONSTITUTION – Mother Law generated and guided by the Eternal Word of God for the peace, order, and welfare of our people.
THE WORD OF GOD – The foundation, the Eternal Source of Wisdom, Principles and Moral Conscience.
PNG is truly a sheep nation and will be judged by God accordingly at the Sheep/Goat Judgement of nations. (Revelation 20)
The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; He frustrates the plans of the peoples. The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations. Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage! Psalms 33:10-12
The Great Sunni-Shia War (Daniel 8 Ram) will probably be the next prophetic event to take place. As such it will be an amazing opportunity to show an unbelieving world the truth of God’s Word and to present the good news of the Gospel of Christ. Mark Davidson, author of the book “Daniel Revisited – Discovering the Four Mid East Signs leading to the Antichrist” is my go to author on the signposts and I recommend his website http://www.foursignposts.com
The article, with the title “Mideast’s worst case: A ‘big war’ pitting Shia Muslims against Sunni,” shows that secular commentators are realizing what could potentially happen in the Middle East – a great Sunni-Shia War.
Hiwa Osman, an Iraqi Kurdish commentator, was even more blunt: “The whole region is braced for the big war, the war that has not yet happened, the Shiite-Sunni war.”
Up to now, two things drew Iran’s IRGC (Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps) to conquer and occupy the UAE. They were (1) its great oil production and reserves, comprising part of the one-fourth of world oil production that could be taken out by the IRGC, and (2) it is a relatively weak Muslim nation that would not stand in the way of the IRGC bringing its 1979 Shia Revolution to that nation.
We now have a third reason for the IRGC to invade and occupy the UAE. And the reason was uttered recently by the man controlling one of the two powers (horns) of the Ram, that is, the supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Tuesday September 1st, as he spoke to the heads of education in Iran, he said,
“The UAE betrayed the world of Islam, Arab nations, regional countries and Palestine itself. Of course, this betrayal will not last long, but the stain of this infamy will remain on them forever.” [emphasis added]
First, the UAE is accused of betraying Islam and all the Arab nations. Since the UAE (a Muslim nation!) is fraternizing with what the IRGC names as the Little Satan (the USA being the Great Satan), the UAE must be invaded so the Revolution can cleanse whatever is going on in the UAE. It was already a rather “backslidden” Sunni nation, but now it is becoming a squeakier wheel.
Second is the use of the phrase, “of course.” Of course, it is obvious that the UAE must be dealt with. Of course we, the Iranian regime comprising the two horns of the ram—will run out and take care of the UAE when we take care of the entire Muslim Middle East! Of course the Second Signpost is coming.
Third, apparently the UAE’s transgressions will not last long. What does this mean? The world would take this as just another “idle” threat from the supreme leader. Of course, to the student of the Signposts, it may very well mean the Second Signpost is not very far away.
Oscar Amaechina is the president of Afri-Mission and Evangelism Network, Abuja, Nigeria. He explains how the Nigerian church has failed to pursue the Great Commission and why.
The mandate of the Great Commission has been abandoned by Nigerian churches; we are no longer interested in advancing the kingdom of Christ to areas where Christ has not been preached. Western missionaries sacrificed their lives to give us the Gospel but we now merchandise it and all our churches are concentrated in cities and towns where offerings and tithes are large. This empire building and money making agenda in our churches have hindered the spread of the Gospel in Nigeria.
Oscar Amaechina is the president of Afri-Mission and Evangelism Network, Abuja, Nigeria. His calling is to take the gospel to where no one has neither preached nor heard about Jesus. He is the author of the book Mystery Of The Cross Revealed.
Our inability to reach the North with the Gospel and love of Christ is responsible for insurgency and terrorism in our country. While we were busy with selfish and prosperity messages in our churches and fellowships, the enemy went ahead of us with AK-47 and bombs and equipped our prospective target group with the instruction to wipe away Christianity from Nigeria. The Church today is now a sitting Church instead of a going Church. The true greatness of any church should not be measured by how many it seats but by how many it sends.
We have abandoned the going agenda and now engrossed so much with increasing the seating capacity of our churches. According to Roland Allen, missionary zeal does not grow out of intellectual belief nor out of theological argument but out of love. Lack of love is responsible for this criminal negligence. We have monopolized Jesus for so long; let us start sharing His love, mercy and saving power with others. He did not die to save us alone; he died to save all, including terrorists. In Mathew 24:14 Jesus said that He will not come to take the saints until the Gospel is preached to all nations of the world. I strongly believe that no one has the right to hear the Gospel twice while there remains someone who has not heard it once no matter the race, tribe or tongue.
The knowledge of Jesus has saturated the southern part of Nigeria while the northerners are Gospel-starved. The place of electronic media in evangelism cannot be denied but many churches and men of God have been deceived by the devil to replace the going agenda with the broadcasting agenda when the Word of God is preached on television and radio. Who do we really want to reach out to? Who are our target groups? Majority of the unreached in Africa continent do not have access to electronic media and the few that do, do not have any business with Christian programs and networks. The only veritable tool to be utilized in reaching the unreached is GO YE. Until we start going or sending missionaries to reach the unreached, the Great Commission remains an abandoned project.
It might interest you to note that about 64 million Nigerians have not heard about Jesus and we are comfortably building human kingdoms and empires. Churches have gone commercial. Gospels are now for sale. Multibillion properties are developed for sale. Banks, hotels, schools and universities are built to make money for the church and nothing is invested to reach the unreached. How many mission schools and hospitals do we still have in Nigeria? The bitter truth is that many of Nigerian pastors went through mission schools constructed and managed by Western missionaries with minimal payment or no school fees at all. Why can’t we extend this kind gesture to others and attract them to the saving power of Christ? Mission is not a ministry of choices for a few hyperactive Christians in the Church. Mission is the purpose of the Church and the reason for the existence of every Christian.
We have two options to the Kingdom tension in Nigeria: To aggressively pursue the mandate of the Great Commission and push the Gospel further North, or to remain in our comfort zones and show indifference attitude to the salvation of over 64 million Nigerians who are waiting for someone to tell them about Jesus. Whichever choice we make, there is a reward. We are supposed to go back to the drawing board and bring out missiological strategies aimed at reaching to the dying souls in the world for lack of the saving knowledge of Christ. Churches should go back to the old time religion and act like the apostles in the book of Acts.
I believe that many churches and pastors are not into mission because the brand of their religion is not worth propagating. How do we preach prosperity to impoverished naked people? It is obvious that seed sowing will never work in such environments because they do not have any offering, seed or tithe to give.
The Gospel is only good news if it gets to the people in time. We are supposed to do God’s business in a hurry because delay is dangerous. For how long will this project remain abandoned?
“In Him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of His glory. In Him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in Him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.” Ephesians 1:11-14
“The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.” Romans 8:16-17
These verses confirm that it is only those who repent, believein Jesus and His sacrifice on The Cross, they receive and are sealed with the Holy Spirit.
“And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever” 1 John 2:17
“If you know that He is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of Him.” 1 John 2:29
“He will render (repay) to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, He will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.” Romans 2:6-8
These three verses truly verify that it is only those that do the will of God and practise righteousness are granted eternal life.
“But, O Lord of hosts, who judges righteously, who tests the heart and the mind,…” Jeremiah 11:20 (ESV)
“For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried.” Psalm 66:10 (ESV)
“the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in Him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” 1 Peter 1:7-9
“Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.” James 1:12
Note: the above four verses makes it clear that God tests the hearts and minds of true believers.
Faith is what is so very precious to God. And that is why God has to test people to find out if they have genuine faith. That is the biblical truth of the matter.
LIVING ETERNAL NOW 