Sunday, August 08, 2021

US STREET PREACHER ARRESTED IN LONDON SAYS SPEAKING TRUTH IS NOW A ‘HATE CRIME’

After facing arrest and detention for preaching that homosexuality is a sin, an American evangelist is warning that “things are getting very bad” in the United Kingdom and other Western countries, suggesting that the situation has deteriorated to the point where they are “becoming communist.” Ryan Schiavo, who describes himself as an “evangelist and missionary,” was arrested in London on July 22 for preaching that homosexuality is a sin. While Schiavo is an American, he spends a considerable amount of time in London and frequently ministers to British youth and others gathered in the public square. In an interview with The Christian Post, Schiavo recounted the events leading up to his arrest and warned about its implications for free speech and freedom of religion in the U.K. and Western civilization as a whole. “I was preaching the Gospel on the streets as I frequently do, but it was about a 30-minute message, and in the course of a long message I can touch on many topics that I believe are pertinent,” he said. “At one point, I talked about the issue of homosexuality and transgenderism. I said that homosexuality is a sin; I talk about how it’s destructive, and the damage the transgender agenda is doing to children right now in the schools because it’s being pushed on children at a very young age here.” Read the full story here

Monday, August 02, 2021

Needed Problems

Source: Unknown
Years ago, I wrote this aphorism: The messes in life are my best teachers; I don’t like them, but I need them. I could have called them problems, disruptions, adversities, or any other negative word.

I don’t like dealing with problems. I wish they didn’t interrupt my life, but I need them.

So do all of us.

We need them because the painful, unwanted, intrusive events in life push us to re-examine ourselves and to make changes. As long as we’re doing all right, we ignore the things we don’t like. It takes the heartaches and anguish to make us stop, ponder, and sometimes take action. 

Before I can accept those unwanted motivations, I’ve learned to ask myself one question. “What's going on inside me that makes me need this problem?” If those hard times had no purpose, I’d probably fall into despair. Just to ask the question acknowledges that the situation is bigger than my new disruption. 

Everyone won’t ask the question, and many don’t have the courage to listen for the answer. If we’re committed to growth, it’s a significant question, even if we don’t grasp the reason.

Here’s how I see this. My wise, loving God knows what I need to take the next forward step. By asking the question, I can make the most of those uninvited elements.

Even if I don’t get answers, I’ve stepped toward deeper understanding about life. I also know that I’m more open to embrace the adversities of life. 

By seeking to understand the hard times, or at least to accept them as nudges toward maturity, I become stronger and more able to handle the next situation—and it will likely be worse.

by Cecil Murphey

 

Saturday, June 05, 2021

The Parents' House

www.countryliving.com
It's the only house where you can go to dozens of times without an invitation.

The only house where you can put the key in the door and enter directly.

The house that has loving eyes that stare at the door until they see you.

The house which reminds you of your care-free days, stability and your happiness during your chîldhood.

The house in which your presence and look at your mother’s and father’s faces is for you a bliss and your conversation with them is a reward.

The house that if you do not go, the hearts of its owners will shrink, and if you hurt them,  they will be angry.

The house in which two candles were burnt to light up the world and fill your life with happiness and joy.

The house where the dining table is pure for you and has no hypocrisy.

The house that if the food time arrives and you don't eat, the hearts of its owners will be broken and annoyed.

The house that offers you all the laughs and happiness.

Oh children, find out the value of these houses before it's too late.

Lucky are those who have their parent’s house to go to!

Wednesday, January 13, 2021

40 WRESTLERS FOR CHRIST

Image: vectorstock.com
In the days of Nero, the Emperor of Rome, there was a band of elite soldiers known as the “The Emperor’s Wrestlers.” These men were the best athletes in the Roman amphitheater, and the bravest soldiers in all of the Roman army. They wrestled for the Emperor against all who challenged them. Before each contest they would stand before the Emperor’s throne and cry out,“We, the wrestlers, wrestling for thee, O Emperor, to win for thee the victory and from thee the victor’s crown.”

One year, in mid-winter, there was a rebellion waged in Gaul (modern-day France), the Emperor sent for his wrestlers and told them to go to Gaul to end the war that was raging on. This brave group of wrestlers left Rome under the command of Vespasian. 

While in Gaul rumors spread to Rome that many of the Emperor’s Wrestlers had become Christians. When news of this reached Nero, the Emperor, he sent a message to Vespasian, and made this decree; “If there be any among your soldiers who cling to the faith of the Christian, they must die!”

It was in the dead of winter that Vespasian received the message while his soldiers were camped beside a frozen lake in Gaul. Vespasian assembled his troops and asked, “Are there any among you who cling to the faith of the Christians? If so, let him step forward.”

Forty soldiers instantly stepped forward two paces, saluted and stood at attention. Vespasian was stunned! He had not expected any to step forward. Vespasian said, “Until sundown I shall give you time to recant and to deny your faith.”

At sundown the soldiers were again assembled together and Vespasian asked: “Who still clings to the Christian faith, even if it means death?”

Again 40 soldiers stepped forward and stood at attention. Vespasian pleaded with them to deny their faith, but not one soldier would deny Christ.

Vespasian did not want these men he loved, respected, who fought side to side together, die at the hands of their fellow wrestlers, so he had them strip naked. Vespasian reluctantly said, “The decree of the Emperor must be obeyed, so you shall stand out on the frozen lake, exposed to the elements until you freeze to death. Should you recant and deny Christ, the fire will remain burning on shore, and by returning to the shelter of the fire, you will be denouncing Christ and you shall live.”

The forty soldiers stripped off their clothing, fell into four columns of ten each, and marched towards the center of the frozen lake to their death. But as they marched onto the ice, they chanted, “Forty wrestlers, wrestling for thee O Christ, to win for thee the victory and from thee the victor’s crown.”

All night long Vespasian stood by his campfire and watched those forty brave wrestlers out on the ice as they slowly succumbed to the elements. As they grew weaker and weaker, their chanting grew fainter and fainter, “Forty wrestlers, wrestling for thee O Christ, to win of thee the victory and from thee the victor’s crown.” 

As morning drew near, one wrestler, no longer able to stand the freezing cold, walked off the ice and came to the edge of the fire, renouncing Christ. Vespasian could hear faintly from the frozen lake, “Thirty-nine wrestlers, wrestling for thee O Christ, to win for thee the victory and from thee the victor’s crown.”

Vespasian, standing by the fire all night, was thinking. As he stood there God touched his heart. Vespasian slowly removed his cloak, helmet and armor and calmly walked down upon the frozen lake to join his men, and as he walked, he chanted:

“Forty wrestlers, wrestling for thee O Christ, to win for thee the victory and from thee the victor’s crown.”

Author Unknown

Thursday, December 10, 2020

Touched My Heart

In a telephone interview, the radio announcer asked his guest, a millionaire, "What made you happiest in life?"

The millionaire said: I have gone through four stages of happiness in life and finally I understood the meaning of true happiness.

The first stage was to accumulate wealth and means. But at this stage I did not get the happiness I wanted.

Then came the second stage of collecting valuables and items. But I realized that the effect of this thing is also temporary and the lustre of valuable things does not last long.

Then came the third stage of getting big projects. Like buying a football team, buying a tourist resort, etc. But even here I did not get the happiness I had imagined.

The fourth time a friend of mine asked me to buy a wheelchair for some disabled children. At a friend's request, I immediately bought a wheelchair. But the friend insisted that I go with him and hand over the wheelchairs to the children. I got ready and went with it.

There I gave these chairs to these children with my own hands. I saw the strange glow of happiness on the faces of these children. I saw them all sitting on chairs, moving around and having fun. It was as if they had arrived at a picnic spot.

But I felt real joy when I started to leave and one of the kids grabbed my leg. I gently tried to free my legs but the child stared at my face and held my legs tightly. I bent down and asked the child: Do you need anything else? The answer that this child gave me not only made me happy but also changed my life completely.

This child said: "I want to remember your face so that when I meet you in heaven, I will be able to recognize you and thank you once again" I realised that touching people's lives brings the ultimate joy. It leaves an impact on both lives theirs and yours.

Which stage of joy are you now?

Monday, September 28, 2020

God Without Man

Courtesy: www.gulfbreezerecovery.com


When God wanted to create fish, He spoke to the sea.

When God wanted to create trees, He spoke to the earth.

But when God wanted to create man, He turned to Himself.

Then God said: "Let us make man in our image and in our likeness."

If you take a fish out of the water it will die; and when you remove a tree from soil, it will also die. Likewise, when man is disconnected from God, he dies. God is our natural environment. We were created to live in His presence. We have to be connected to Him because it is only in Him that life exists.

Let's stay connected to God. We recall that water without fish is still water but fish without water is nothing.

The soil without tree is still soil but the tree without soil is nothing. God without man is still God but man without God is nothing.

(Author Unknown)

 

Wednesday, March 25, 2020

A Modern 23rd Psalm by Halley Low



The television is my shepherd, I shall not want.
It makes me to lie down on the sofa,
It leads me to mindless waters,
It destroys my soul;
It guides me in the paths of immorality
For the sponsor's sake.

Yet, though I walk in the shadows of my
Christian responsibilities,
I fear no distractions
For the wide screen television mesmerizes me;
Its cable and remote,
They comfort me.
It prepares endless commercials before me
In the presence of my carnality;
It anoints my head with consumerism;
My coveting overflows.

Surely laziness and greed shall follow me
All the days of my life,
And I shall dwell in the vacuum
Of television land forever.

© 2004 Halley Low

Monday, December 02, 2019

In Every Language

Source: Unknown
He is born, the divine Christ child.
Play on the oboe and bagpipes merrily.
He is born, the divine Christ child.
Sing we all of the Saviour’s birth.
Through long ages of the past,
Prophets have foretold his coming;
Through long ages of the past,
Now the time has come at last.


Some carols are hard to pin down, and that is part of their charm! Once upon a time there was a popular “hunting tune” in the region of Normandy. It was already an old composition when it first appeared in print in 1862. To that tune some unknown wordsmith added the lyrics to “Il Est Ne, Le Divin Enfant,” and the completed carol made its debut in NoĂŞls Anciens fourteen years later.

However, there are many versions of the lyrics, and without an author’s signature, none of them can be proven to be the original.

In one version the birth of Christ is celebrated with oboes and bagpipes. In another the instruments are the oboe and the musette. “Gaily resounding pipe and drum” accompany the Nativity in a third version, and a fourth has the oboe vying with the bagpipes for the honor of proclaiming the birth.

The time we have waited for this momentous event might be “long ages of the past” or “four thousand years.”

Some versions mention the manger, the shepherds, and the star, while others focus more on what His blessed birth means to the world.

The hymn is sung at different tempos and with varying lyrics all across the world. There is even rumored to be a Native American version sung by the Mohawk people.

The heart of the hymn, whether it is “Il Est Ne, Le Divin Enfant,” or “He Is Born, the Divine Christ Child,” or (in Mohawk) “Rotonni Niio Roienha,” remains one of rejoicing that Christ was born for us.

This tremendous variety wrapped around the same essential message reflects well the people who sing it. Human beings come in a variety of shapes and sizes, using many different languages, but the central theme running through all those hearts is one of yearning for God.

So grab your bagpipes, oboes, pipes, drums, or whatever your instrument of choice is, and make a joyous noise because that divine Christ child—He is born for everyone!

Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. EPHESIANS 5:19


(From Silent Night: The Stories Behind 40 Beloved Christmas Carols, published by Barbour Publishing, Inc. Used by permission)

He is born, the divine Christ Child;
play the oboe and bagpipes merrily!
He is born, the divine Christ Child;
sing we all of the Savior mild.

1 Through long ages of the past,
prophets have foretold His coming;
through long ages of the past,
now the time has come at last!

2 O how lovely, oh,O how pure
is this perfect Child of heaven;
O how lovely, O how pure,
gracious gift to human-kind!

3 Jesus, Lord of all the world,
coming as a Child among us;
Jesus, Lord of all the world,
grant to us Thy heavenly peace.


DO YOU KNOW?
23 days in a calendar year equals to:
- 1,987,200 seconds
- 33,120 minutes
- 552 hours
- 3 weeks and 2 days
- 6.30% of 2019