THE RELIANT is an exciting adventure movie about the five children of survivalist Christian parents in Ohio separated from their mother and father when the social order collapses. The children hide in the woods from a man who is out for revenge against their father is a doctor who failed to save the man’s injured daughter at the hospital where the father works. As the days pass, the elder brother begins to doubt they can hide in the woods forever. He also begins to doubt the family’s strong Christian faith.
CONTENT:
Worldview: Very strong Christian, biblical, moral, evangelistic, and patriotic worldview, with many Scripture quotes, conversations about God, references to Jesus and the Gospel, two people lose their Christian faith but regain it and are baptised, prayers, hymn singing, four Christians witness to sceptics and nonbelievers, and a very strong defence of American liberty/freedom, especially the right to bear arms.
Foul Language: No obscenities and two light exclamatory profanities
Violence: Strong, light and sometimes intense violence includes several gunfights, man saves another man’s life by waving a gun at his attackers, man shot with an arrow, it’s implied that a deer is killed with an arrow so that its meat can feed a couple young adults and their younger sisters and brother who are on the run and hiding in the wilderness from bad guys, bad guys try to break into a car being driven away by a young adult trying to protect his three sisters and brother, people wounded or killed with guns and rifles, riots depicted, some fighting, deputies subdue a criminal, and an implied gun accident occurs off screen
“Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word.” Acts 8:4
We can see it played out in the death of Stephen. The religious communities’ rejection of Stephen, to the point of stoning him, caused the believers to run for their lives. If not for this rejection, Philip would never have ended up in Samaria. And what happened there? Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there.
“Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them. And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. For unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, came out of many who were possessed; and many who were paralysed and lame were healed. And there was great joy in that city.” Acts 8:5-8
A great revival broke out.The more the believers were persecuted, the more they spread out, fulfilling the words of Yeshua to start in Jerusalem, and then go to the ends of the Earth .
“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)
“Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went” (Acts 8:4).
And this Gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. (Matt. 24:14)
Of course, we can see it played out in the Middle East and Africa where the church is under intense persecution by the greatest antichrist spirit of all, Islam. On this website, on a recent post, “Church Grows Under Persecution” I record the story of the rapidly growing church in Iran. Check it out if you haven’t already done so.
May we be like Paul who said:
“Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.” Philippians 3:8-11
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30
When the weight of the world is closing in, transfer that weight to God. Resist the cultural push to hurry and do more; instead, slow down, spend more time with God and in His word.
Don’t fall for the great modern lie: The more you do and achieve, the more purpose you have. In his book The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry, Pastor John Mark Comer explains how he learned the hard way how to give in to Christ’s easy yoke.
In his early 20s, he was part of the team that planted Solid Rock Church, a Portland megachurch with multiple campuses. The church was an immediate success. Solid Rock grew by roughly 1,000 people per year for seven years straight. Then the church began to plateau—just as Comer began to burn out.
Pastor John Mark Comer of Solid Rock Church Portland Oregon
Comer distinctly remembers waking up one morning and thinking, I don’t think this is a healthy way to live—and I’m not practising what I preach.
“I was up there preaching about Jesus’ ‘life to the full,’ yet my life felt less and less like that,” Comer says. “I just felt more and more tired, on edge, always in a hurry and not present. It was difficult to hear God’s voice in the chaos and rush and busyness of life. To put a very long story short, I essentially had an early midlife crisis at 30 years old.”
The big existential question arose: “What has God called me to do with my life? Because I actually don’t think I’m made to lead a giant church like this. And it was the beginning of a new path for both Comer and Solid Rock church.”
After months of discussion by Solid Rock’s leadership team, the megachurch disbanded. Each site became its own independent church. Comer chose to lead not the largest of the sites—the one in the suburbs—but the little site in the heart of the city: Bridgetown. The church switched to an elder system that split up leadership responsibilities; Comer became “pastor for teaching and vision,” while co-elder Gerald Griffin became “pastor of staff and community.”
I feel like God is using me more than I ever have been used, even though our church is much smaller than the one I used to lead,” Comer says. “I think it’s a myth that more busyness equals more effectiveness. I find that the more I pare my life down and just do a couple of things to the best of my ability—and my ability isn’t even all that great sometimes—the more effective I become. Maybe I’m going deeper, not wider. At the time, it felt like I was sacrificing role, calling and effectiveness. But I think it’s turned out to be exactly the opposite.”
“If you live and have any kind of vocation that you do for a living—whether it’s church or something else—at some point you have to really make peace with both your potential and your limitations,” he says. “Recognise what you can do and what you can’t do, and make peace with that. Let go of comparison, let go of envy and let go of ambition, and just begin to do your work—not out of ego or striving, but really just out of love.”
All I can add to Comer’s advice is to remind you of the truth of this Scripture”
The spirit of a man is the lamp of the Lord. Searching all the inner depths of his heart. Proverbs 20:27
The lamp requires oil (Holy Spirit) to function as the lamp of God.
Jesus made it possible for our heavenly Father to send the Holy Spirit to born again believers to be our counsellor, comforter and teacher. He will direct our paths and give us the wisdom we need to make good decisions minute by minute, day by day, month by month… Are we saying as Jesus did: “not My will but Your will be done” or are we grieving the Holy Spirit by quenching His work in our bodies. Remember our bodies are supposed to be the Temple of the Holy Spirit.
John Mark Comer’s story is similar to that of Francis Chan and will be that of many other pastors of mega churches that want to do the will of God in these last days.
“This is the first time in American history that free speech is in jeopardy,” Dennis Prager conservative nationally syndicated talk show host says.
In my opinion, Dennis is one of the most respected and influential thinkers, writers and speakers in America.
To expose this frightening battle in the USA, Prager and comedian Adam Carolla star in a new film that’s coming out this Friday calledNo Safe Spaces.
The documentary-style film features several cultural experts who shed light on the assault on free speech, particularly on college campuses. No Safe Spaces reveals that assault for what it is. And it’s no wonder—universities have become increasingly liberal over the years.
Prager said, “free speech is one of the few things all Americans virtually always agreed on. And it’s almost unbelievable, but almost half of Millennials don’t believe in free speech for ‘hate speech,’ which means they don’t believe in free speech because everybody thinks the other guy has hate speech.”
Prager is doing a great job with Prager University. It is not an accredited academic institution but provides videos on a wide range of political, economic and philosophical topics from a conservative view. Go and take a look http://www.prageru.com. Check out Evolution: Bacteria to Beethoven by Stephen Meyer.
Prager’s videos are making a difference, because the big left-wing social-media platforms are making it difficult for him to spread his content.
“We come out with a video a week,” he says. “We have over 400 of these five-minute videos. Four prime ministers of countries have given videos. Three Pulitzer-Prize winners [have given videos], and [these platforms] still put 80 of the videos on the restricted list, one with pornography. I have a talk on the Ten Commandments, and it’s lumped with pornography on YouTube.”
Why are YouTube and Google trying so hard to hide his videos? Prager said, “If it’s healthy, the left hates it. That’s the way to understand it.”
That’s why Prager believes the movie No Safe Spaces is so important right now. It is due for release in the USA in October 2019.
“The movie is very powerful,” Prager says. “You’ll laugh. You’ll cry. But even if it weren’t good, conservatives need to support movies that express our values. But it’s a great movie. Adam Carolla alone is worth the price of admission. … It’s extremely well-done. The people who brought you Dinesh D’Souza’s movies are behind this producing, and the writing is first-class.”
America is in the midst of a suicide epidemic, reflecting deeper problems that go beyond mental illness. Youth suicide has increased 56% in the last decade.
Suicide and homicide rates have increased in recent years among young people in the U.S., according to a new federal report. The suicide rateamong people ages 10 to 24 yearsoldclimbed56%between 2007 and 2017, according to the report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Suicide rates in general have increased in the U.S. across all ages and ethnic groups, rising roughly 30% from 1999 to 2016. In 2017, suicide was the second-leading cause of death among those ages 10 to 24,
Within the decade 2007 to 2017, suicide deaths increased from 6.8 deaths per 100,000 people to 10.6 deaths, with 2,449 more suicides in 2017 than in 2007. While the 10- to 14-year-olds had by far the lowest rate of suicides, that rate nearly tripled from 2007 to 2017.
Despite concern over the rising suicide rates, researchers aren’t sure of the exact causes. A rise in depression among adolescents, drug use, stress and access to firearms might all be contributing factors, experts say.
Some mental-health experts suggest that social-media use among teens might be fuelling the increase in mental-health conditions and leading to greater suicide risk, and some early studies have linked smartphone use to anxiety, depression and sleep deprivation among adolescents. The recent visibility of suicide in the media and online might also increase suicide death rates, experts say.
The reality is our culture denies that life has any transcendent meaning, or that God has sovereignty over life, so we can’t be shocked when people take that message to heart. Hope is the opposite of despair. If anything, the latest data reflect a nation in desperate need, not for escape, but the hope that is only found in Jesus Christ.
Reversing the deadly cycle
Christians find a message of eternal hope in the person of Jesus Christ, and the Bible is filled with verses that describe the hope we have in God.
Billy Graham’s daughter, Anne Lotz Graham described how her Christian faith has been an asset in her efforts to help those seeking peace, hope, and relief amid feelings of despair.
“My Christian faith in the foundation of my counselling theory and approach,” she told Faithwire. “Even though I work in a non-Christian treatment facility, I strongly believe that I am in a position to show acceptance, patience, and care to my clients in a way that hopefully helps them feel safe enough to work on their core emotional challenges.”
A great way to start the day. The lyrics are shown so you can join in and celebrate “There is power in the name of Jesus to break every chain binding you and your loved ones and those God calls you to minister to.
This is a concise expose of climate fraud. Please pass it around to everyone you know and your elected officials. The video is short, 13 minutes, but cuts right to the heart of the matter.
Sadly, the truth contained in Tony’s video will never overcome the emotion-fuelled political advantage of having a simple, taxable villain like CO2. No wonder politicians, media, academia, and the green energy industrial complex will protect this lucrative fantasy at all costs. Nevertheless, I recommend you watch the video and then you decide.
For the gospel did not did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit, … 1 Thessalonians 1:5
Missionary strategists have been reporting for some time that Iran is experiencing the most impressive surge of church growth on the planet. Elam Ministries in England says more Iranians have become Christians since 1979 than in the previous 1,300 years. Some organisations estimate that there could be as many as 800,000 to 1 million believers in the country.
The political, economic, and spiritual situation in Iran resulted in a deep spiritual hunger for truth. Iran may be a closed land, but the people have open hearts. Iranians today are seen as the most open Muslim people to the Gospel in the world. As Elam reported, more have become Christians since the revolution than the previous 1,300 years put together.
But Iran is also one of the most difficult places on earth to be a Christian because of persecution from the hard-line Islamic government. Believers are jailed and tortured. Churches are forced to meet in secrecy. Yet one ministry there has reported that so many people are being converted they can’t keep enough Farsi Bibles in stock to give to new believers.
Elam Ministries says Iranian churches typically have between eight to 12 members only. To stay safely off the radar, the small churches multiply quietly. But this method of small-group discipleship actually produces stronger Christians than a bigger church would. Elam also reports that many people make decisions for Jesus after watching Christian television broadcasts.
In May of this year, Iran’s intelligence minister, Mahmoud Mahmoud Alavi, gave a speech to Muslim clerics in which he publicly decried the alarming growth of Christian faith. He announced that mass religious conversion to Christianity is “happening right before our eyes.”
Iran’s revival is also gaining more attention because of the new film Lambs Among Wolves, Vol. 2, a documentary produced by Frontier Alliance International Studios. One unidentified church leader in the movie asks: “What if I told you the mosques are empty inside Iran? What if I told you no one follows Islam inside of Iran? Would you believe me? This is exactly what is happening inside of Iran.” If you have not seen Lambs Among Wolves Vol 1 & 2 then do so and spread the word amongst your Christian friends that these videos are great evangelism tools. Joel Richardson (Joels Trumpet and The Underground) works with Frontier Alliance and I am confident that I have promoted these videos on previous posts.
Every year more and more Christians are travelling to Israel to join the Jews in celebrating Sukkot or as it is better known to non Jews as the Feast of Tabernacles.
The two-thousand-year-old separation between the church and Israel must come to an end. It’s already beginning.
As in ancient times the destruction of Jerusalem sealed the separation of the two, so the restoration of Jerusalem in modern times has ushered in their reconciliation. It is the church’s Jubilean return.
Everything is returning to what it was at the beginning including the world to its pagan roots.
Exactly as prophesied the true church is separating from mainstream culture and the apostate institutionalised church that is compromising with the world and its increasing Godless values.
The following picture is from the Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) in 2013. Look at all the nations represented even back then. The next picture is from Sukkot 2015 when many more came exactly as prophesied.
This short presentation shows that the Jews realise that something special is happening here which can only be orchestrated by God.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison launches book on “The History of Prayers in Parliament” at the National Prayer Breakfastand the Governor General David Hurley gave the Prayer Breakfast Address.
Four hundred and fifty people attended the Australian National Prayer Breakfast in the Great Hall Parliament House Monday morning October 14th, 2019
The Governor General David Hurley gave the Prayer Breakfast Address. He made it clear that only with God do we have stability, certainty, simplicity and clarity. Without God, volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity are certain. He gave illustrations with Bible verses concluding with the words of Jesus “Into your hands I commend My Spirit” Luke 23:46
How blessed we are in Australia to have committed Christians filling the two most senior roles in the country. This was only achieved with much prayer. How good is it now, to have our nations leaders taking the lead at the National Prayer Breakfast.
LIVING ETERNAL NOW 