IS IT COMPULSORY TO ATTEND A CHURCH?

Text: Hebrews 10:25
Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

It is becoming a culture for people not to go to church. Judging by the percentage of church attendees many years ago compared to what it is now, it is evident that there is an increasing number of non-churchgoers worldwide.

People have different reasons to justify their continual absence from church.

Some believe there are other ways to practice their faith aside from going to church, while some generally dislike religious gatherings.

A lot have preconceived notions about churches and pastors that put them off engaging themselves in activities relating to them.

Every reason a man has to not attend a church is definitely personal. It is always more about personal preferences and desires or personal feelings about the church in general.

But while it is respectable to leave everyone to their rights, it is pertinent to ask the question of what God wants us to do since it is never about us but mainly about what God wants from us.
Being a part of a church isn’t just important for us but also essential for our Christian journey.

In case of doubts or contemplations on how crucial going to church is, below are a few reasons to have a change of mindset and fix our hearts on attending a church.

There is a clear instruction on not neglecting the assembling together of believers. This coming together can only take place in the church. It is not how we feel; it is what God has stated for us. Hebrews 10:25

The church is a primary provision God has put down to keep man away from sin. When we are outside of the covering, we are susceptible to sin. We get hardened by sin. Hebrews 3:12 – 13

The church is where we gain access to the powerful Word of God. The church is where the Word is preached. And if we have hold the Word to any esteem, it would not be too difficult for us to show up in person to hear it read and preached.

We get encouragement in a gathering of believers. We get lifted while we get the chance to lift others – Hebrews 10:25b

We should go to church as a member of the body of Christ. The church is the individual person that cannot sustain on his own but can grow by coming together with other members. Romans 12:5

We go to church to exercise our spiritual gifts. Every believer, born of the spirit, has a gift given unto him for the growth and expansion of the kingdom by serving others and glorifying God.

We should go to church to train up our young ones. The moral and spiritual training the church offers are the ideal ways a child should grow up. Proverbs 22:6

Going to church is a way to showcase the love of Jesus to the world. The love of Christ is densely displayed in the church. A good platform to show it forth. John 13:35

We go to church because every part of the body is indispensable. The body of Christ needs every member to be complete. 1 Corinthians 12:21-22

The church on earth is the perfect display of what our future with God will look like; it will involve all His elect. Abstaining from God will in fact not do your potential in God’s promised eternity lots of favors. Revelation 21:3

God’s plan for us is much better than what we have for ourselves. His planting of the church is not for us to choose whether or not it is needed for us to be a part; it is so that we will be perfected in every sense.

If you love Jesus, you will love his body too.
Remember, Christ loves the church and gave His life for it (Eph 5:25).
If you love Christ, you will too.

Culled from: http://heavenlymission.org/blog_details.php?url=is-it-compulsory-to-attend-a-church?

Compassion: 145,000 Children Could Lose Sponsorship by Christmas



Compassion International is “weeks away from permanently withdrawing” from India, according to its testimony this week to a Congressional committee.

“What we’re experiencing is an unprecedented, highly coordinated, deliberate and systematic attack intended to drive us out,” the Christian charity’s lead attorney Stephen Oakley told the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday.

Compassion began working in 1968 in India, where today its 580 Indian-staffed development centers care for more than 145,000 children. That’s about 8 percent of the 1.9 million children assisted by Compassion worldwide, but also more than any other of the 25 countries where it works.

“This is a huge turning point in Compassion’s history,” US communications director Tim Glenn told Mission Network News. “We’re looking at a clear 8 to 9 percent of our ministry possibly being shut down all at once.”

Compassion sends about $50 million per year in humanitarian aid to India. That makes it the “single largest contributor of aid for children living in extreme poverty” in India, said committee chairman Ed Royce.

Yet, he said, Compassion “could be shut down because of Indian government regulators” in mere weeks.
Compassion International

The restrictions started in 2011, when India changed its Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) so that it could regulate NGOs it disagrees with philosophically, according to the committee testimony. The move was seen by many as another step toward Hindu nationalism since 2014, when the country elected as its prime minister Narendra Modi—the only person once banned by the United States because of alleged religious freedom violations.

Since then, attacks on Christians and Muslims have increased. India is now No. 17 on Open Doors’ list of countries where it’s hardest to be a Christian, up from No. 31 in 2013.

Then “in a secret order issued in February, India’s Ministry of Home Affairs [MHA] blocked Compassion from transferring funds to the development centers,” wrote Compassion president and CEO Santiago “Jimmy” Mellado for The Hill this week.

The Indian government did this by mandating that certain NGOs—including Compassion—receive approval prior to accepting foreign funds. “[But] after months of unsuccessfully trying to obtain prior clearance, we have concluded that the clearance process is fiction,” Compassaion stated on its website. “We have never been offered an explanation for this action in the nine months since the order was issued.”
Compassion International

India isn’t the only country seeking to restrict foreign NGOs. In April, China passed new regulations that would require its more than 7,000 NGOs to register with local police and find an in-country partner. China also banned NGOs from engaging in religious activity.

Russia began cracking down on NGOs 10 years ago; since 2012, its NGO sector has shrunk by a third. In Ethiopia, foreign funding cannot be used for any efforts toward peace, human rights, advocacy, or conflict transformation. Peru and Brazil have further limited outside contact with people groups living in the Amazon jungle.

Unable to receive funds, Compassion cut back, limiting the hours of operation for its child development centers and serving snacks instead of full meals.

Then, last month, Compassion received two more blows. First, it ran out of money.

Second, “Indian bureaucrats refused to renew foreign funding licenses for Compassion and at least 24 other NGOs—severely disrupting our humanitarian work,” Mellado wrote.

The official explanation is that Compassion’s activities are “not conducive to national interest,” reported the Times of India. The number of NGOs allowed to receive foreign funding was slashed by a third, from more than 33,000 to 20,000, reported the English-language newspaper based in New Delhi.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch objected, saying the action “violates [the NGOs’] rights to freedom of expression and association.”

The “national interest” that the government has in mind seems to be strengthening the Hindu identity of the populous and pluralistic nation. About 80 percent of the country’s 1.2 billion people are Hindu; less than 3 percent are Christian, according to the latest census.

“In Compassion’s case, Prime Minister Modi’s government has since April blocked roughly $3.5 million in monthly aid to India’s most vulnerable children for, as far as we can tell, no other reason than that Compassion is founded on and demonstrates Christian values,” Mellado wrote.

“MHA evidently views Christian values as a threat to the national interest, particularly if those values are taught to the poor,” said Oakley.
Compassion International

It doesn’t seem to matter that Compassion’s focus is humanitarian, though it has faced accusations from Indian security agencies of funding conversions.

“Using the Indian government’s own numbers, just 4 percent of Compassion’s funds in India are used for moral and spiritual values education – values which transcend all religions,” said Oakley. “The remaining 96 percent is the routine but essential provision of food, medicine, clothing, school fees and related humanitarian aid to support tens of thousands of at-risk infants, children and youth living in extreme poverty.

“Simply put,” he said, “Compassion’s primary mission is to release children from poverty, not convert them.”

“We’re there to help the community and the children, and to help those families be successful,” Compassion spokesperson Becca Bishop told CT. “I hope they’re able to see that we want to support their culture, and not to break it down and make it more Western.”

Compassion’s warning that it will be forced to pull out comes after three years of government harassment—an $18 million tax bill, investigations into its “anti-national activity,” and intimidation of staff, Oakley told the House committee. If India does succeed in driving Compassion—and other NGOs it doesn’t agree with—from the country, “no plan or provision at all has been made to care for these children when we depart.”

So far, India’s government has offered mixed reactions to Compassion’s public hearings with the Congressional committee.

“We are ready to reconsider the case of Compassion International, the US donor, which was put under 'prior permission category' for alleged violation of [FCRA]," one senior Home Ministry official told India Today, an English-language news magazine based near New Delhi.
Compassion International

But a spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs told India Today that the hearing “appears to be based on limited understanding of India, its society, constitution and laws.

“There is a well-established legal framework for NGOs to conduct their operations in India. This is borne out by the presence of over 3 million NGOs in the country, one of the largest NGO networks in the world,” he told the news magazine. “India welcomes lawful operation of foreign NGOs in India.”

The courts may offer some hope. Amnesty noted that when organizations have challenged the Indian government on its actions under FCRA, “the courts have generally ruled in their favor.”

And four months ago, the Indian Supreme Court ruled that the Indian government’s response to anti-Christian mob violence that killed 100 and displaced 50,000 Christians in 2008 was inadequate.

But that will take more time than Compassion has, Oakley said.

“MHA knows that they can use the inefficiency and massive delays of the Indian bureaucracy as a weapon—forcing charities like Compassion to either accept their determinations, or spend years seeking redress in a painfully slow and often corrupt legal system,” he said. “In short, India’s Home Ministry is using those aspects of India’s bureaucracy, which are most in need of urgent reform, to systematically target NGOs with agendas and views that differ from its own.”

Compassion’s problems are “a symptom of a larger problem that is dragging India on a downward spiral,” wrote the Federation of Indian American Christian Organizations in a statement. “Social enmity and witch-hunt promoted by the BJP government in power against Christian or any other group has the potential to destabilize a nation more than they realize.”

But Compassion isn’t giving up hope. The charity is urging American politicians to support its efforts to help children in India.

“It is my hope that by bringing attention to this issue, 145,000 children will not be tragically denied services they desperately need,” said Royce during the House hearing. “And then, relations between the two countries will be even stronger.”

Compassion also seeks to mobilize more than 500,000 of its supporters.

“We’re asking people to pray,” Bishop said. “Prayer is amazing, and works miracles.”

Source: http://www.divdel.com/blogs/2016/12/compassion-145000-children-could-lose-sponsorship-by-christmas/

Ure realy on Point Trump has started to lead:

https://www.yahoo.com/news/decision-day-america-long-lines-125817666.html

jaymejate:
BREAKING NEWS:
CNN, BBC and fox news just reported that Republican Candidate DONALD TRUMP is now leading in top cities like Abeokuta, Sagamu, Ijebu, Iwo, Gbongan, Modakeke, Ipetu-Modu, Ode-Aiye, Okiti-Pupa, Ilemowu, Erin Osun, Ikire, Igbotako, Orin Ekiti, Ikole Ekiti, Ikere Ekiti, Iyin Ekiti, Afao Ekiti, Ilupeju Ekiti, Ijebu-Ode, Ijebu Ife, Ijebu-Irawo, Ibefun, Ajah, Ajamgbadi, Iloko-Ijesa, Ibadan, Otan Aiyegbaju, Iwaraja, Ilesa, Ede, Ode-Omu, Omuaran, Elsie Iludun, Iragbiji, Mowe, Ibafo, Ifo, Ilaje-Ese Odo.....
And many riverine areas.....

koladebrainiac:
Lol

Its funny how we hail Jerrey Rawligns of Ghana for up Rich politicians n killed them all and condemning Buhari for arresting n retrieving stolen momey from Corrupt judges.

Dis no be corruption fight.
We has several report in d media That indite d chief of staff of collecting 500m to reduce mtn fine and nothing came up on This. Burantashi and Danbazzau case no record on Dat as well. So what are we really fighting.

Rawlins did not spare any one but rather eliminate dem all

Man Accidentally Marries His Granddaughter

A sixty-eight-year-old man in Florida and his twenty-four-year-old wife were looking through his photo albums three months after they got married. To her shock, she recognized one of her husband's children from his first marriage. That child was her estranged father, who expelled her from their house when she became pregnant as a teenager.

Her new husband was equally shocked. He explained that his first wife left him many years earlier, taking their children and moving to an undisclosed location. He was never able to find them. He eventually remarried but was divorced again. Years later, he met his current wife through a dating agency.

Though they were surprised to learn they are related, the couple vows to stay together. The wife explains: "Every couple is different and special in their own ways."

Read More on: http://www.divdel.com/blogs/2016/10/man-accidentally-marries-his-granddaughter-2/

Former Mozilla CEO, Shunned for Belief in Traditional Marriage, Launches New Browser

A software engineer and the former CEO of Mozilla (creator of the Firefox web browser), has designed a new browser despite being shunned for his belief in traditional marriage.

LifeSiteNews.com reports that Brendan Eich, the creator of JavaScript and the former CEO of Mozilla, has released a new internet browser called Brave.

Eichs is an adept computer engineer, but he was heavily shunned after it was revealed that he had donated $1,000 to California’s Proposition 8 bill.

Proposition 8 defined marriage as the union between one man and one woman and went against gay marriage.

http://www.divdel.com/blogs/2016/09/former-mozilla-ceo-shunned-for-belief-in-traditional-marriage-launches-new-browser/

For his support of the bill, Eichs was called a racist, Nazi, and inhumane. However, he did not back down on his beliefs and he has now returned to the tech scene with a newer, better internet browser.

First Baby with DNA of 3 Parents is Born



The “three-parent” procedure used to birth the first baby with DNA from three parents is under fire from critics for who say it is “playing God.”

The baby boy born using the technique was born this week to a Jordanian couple in Mexico. The mother, Ibtisam Shaban, has Leigh syndrome, a fatal disease that affects the nervous system, in her mitochondrial DNA. She had no symptoms of Leigh syndrome, but her first two children died to the disease at six and eight months.

According to Stream.org, U.S. Dr. John Zhang removed the nucleus and placed it in the shell of a donor’s egg, which contained healthy mitochondria DNA. Thus, the baby would have DNA from three parents.

“Even if these babies are born they will have to be monitored all their lives, and their children will have to be as well. We do not yet know the interaction between the mitochondria and nuclear DNA. To say that it is the same as changing a battery is facile. It’s an extremely complex thing.” Dr Trevor Stammers, Program Director in Bioethics and Medical Law at St. Mary’s University, said.

Others are worried that experimenting with DNA is “playing God.”

“These regulations would authorize the crossing of a rubicon for the first time,” said British MP Fiona Bruce, who chairs the All Party Parliamentary Pro-Life Group. “It would authorize germ line therapy… to alter the genes of an individual. This is something defined by the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights as effectively constituting eugenics.”

http://www.divdel.com/blogs/2016/09/first-baby-with-dna-of-3-parents-is-born/

Philadelphia Man Exonerated After Nearly 25 Years Behind Bars for Rape, Murder



The Philadelphia resident was just 20 years old when he was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for the rape and stabbing of a neighbor more than two decades ago. Wright, now 44, walked out of prison Tuesday with his arms raised in the air. He held hands with his attorneys and members of the Innocence Project, a nonprofit legal organization based in New York City.

“Unbelievable, unbelievable, man. Best feeling in the world, man. I never felt like this in my entire life,” Wright told ABC affiliate WPVI-TV in Philadelphia. “We did it, I mean today is our day.”

Lawyers with the Innocent Project secured DNA evidence that showed Wright was not the one who committed the 1991 rape of his neighbor, 77-year-old Louise Talley. Still, the district attorney’s office in Philadelphia decided to take Wright’s case to trial again in 2014. On Tuesday, after deliberating for more than an hour, a jury found him not guilty, acquitting him of the rape and murder.

“We are extremely relieved that this very long nightmare is finally over for Mr. Wright and his family,” Peter Neufeld, co-director of the Innocence Project, said in a statement. “But it’s outrageous that he has been forced to endure a retrial to gain his freedom after DNA testing already proved his innocence.”

In a statement obtained by ABC News on Wednesday, Cameron Kline, spokesperson for the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office, said: “The jury made a finding and the District Attorney’s Office respects their hard work.”

“The District Attorney’s Office stands by its decision to retry Anthony Wright, based on the totality of the evidence,” Kline continued. “The verdict only shows that the jury did not find that his guilt was proven beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Wright narrowly escaped the death penalty at his original trial by a 7 to 5 vote of the jury. At the re-trial, DNA tests revealed that the clothing police had alleged was worn by Wright to commit the crime was actually not his and could not have been in his home as authorities had claimed, according to the Innocence Project. .....

http://www.divdel.com/blogs/2016/08/philadelphia-man-exonerated-after-nearly-25-years-behind-bars-for-rape-murder/

So when will He eventually die. lies every where

FriendChoice:


Colonel Sani Kukasheka Usman

Acting Director Army Public Relations

http://facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10157347105700026&id=547010025&refid=17&_ft_=top_level_post_id.10157347105700026%3Atl_objid.10157347105700026%3Athid.547010025%3A306061129499414%3A2%3A0%3A1472713199%3A7855241447608243010

SO U DEY ENCOURAGE PREMARITAL SEX BA. GO DEY WATCH U

Inspectahdeck:
Please if your hubby is on the fat side. With immediate action tell or advise him to reduce (through exercise).

Have you heard of booster a drink made of garlic, ginger etc. It helps and it isn't alcoholic.

Finally, never let him insect when he is anxious, delay pre-intimacy and always redraw when you notice he want to come, do styles that are less comfortable for him.

When courting didn't you notice this or you na they form christian?

In the interest of truth, I should first disclose the fact that Christian theologians are divided on this subject. Some—like Saint Augustine—believed that it is never permissible to lie. Others—like Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who had ample time to contemplate this issue from the perspective of a Nazi prison cell—held that under certain circumstances lying was not only morally permissible but morally mandated. Thus, Bonhoeffer advocated deceiving the enemy in circumstances of war, and he had no compunction about lying in order to facilitate escape for Jews facing extermination.

Furthermore, while the Bible never condones lying qua lying (lying for the sake of lying), it does condone lying in order to preserve a higher moral imperative. For example, Rahab purposed to deceive (the lesser moral law) in order to preserve the lives of two Jewish spies (the higher moral law). Likewise, a Christian father today should not hesitate to lie in order to protect his wife and daughters from the imminent threat of rape or murder.

Finally, there is a difference between lying and not telling the truth. This is not merely a matter of semantics; it is a matter of substance. By way of analogy, there is a difference between unjustified and justified homicide. Murder is unjustified homicide and is always wrong. Not every instance of killing a person, however, is murder. Capital punishment and self-defense occasion justified homicide. Similarly, in the case of a lie (Annanias and Sapphira, Acts 5) there is an unjustified discrepancy between what you believe and what you say, and so lying is always wrong. But not telling the truth in order to preserve a higher moral law (Rahab, Joshua 2) may well be the right thing to do and thus is not actually a lie.

For further study, see Norman L. Geisler, Christian Ethics: Options and Issues (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1989), chapter 7.

“The king of Jericho sent this message to Rahab: ‘Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, because they have come to spy out the whole land.’ But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. She said, ‘Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they had come from. At dusk, when it was time to close the city gate, the men left. I don’t know which way they went. Go after them quickly. You may catch up with them.’ (But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them under the stalks of flax she had laid out on the roof.)”
Joshua 2:3–6


http://www.divdel.com/blogs/2016/08/is-it-ever-morally-permissible-to-lie/

Qmerit:


Or even resign cause of that, and tell the people why he resigned. Until he was sacked he remember things like these.

You dont talk while eating. That is Politics for you. This is an indication that NO politician is a SAINT.

While some similarities exist between Islam and Christianity (they are both monotheistic religions, for example), their differences are clear-cut, significant, and irreconcilable. For this article, we will survey four key areas: the founders of the two religions, the contrasting views of God, the sacred literature, and the means of salvation. We will see that Islam differs from Christianity in each of those four areas.

Islam and Christianity: Founders of the Religions

Islam was founded by an Arab merchant named Muhammed about AD 622. Muhammed claimed to have received a revelation from an angel of God, and, although he initially feared his revelation had come from Satan, Muhammed later claimed to be the last and greatest of all of God’s prophets. Muhammed had fifteen wives (although he limited other men to four wives apiece) and sanctioned the beating of wives (Sura 4:34). Muhammed was well known for spreading his new religion by force. He commanded, “Fight and slay the Pagans wherever you find them” (Sura 9:5), and he specified the proper way to execute an unbeliever was to cut his throat (Sura 47:4). Muhammed led raids against caravans to plunder their goods, broke oaths, ordered the murder of those who mocked him, and wiped out the last Jewish tribe in Medina—he killed all the men and enslaved the women and children. Interestingly, Muhammed acknowledged his own need to seek God’s forgiveness on occasion (Sura 40:55).

In stark contrast to the moral depravity of Muhammed, Jesus Christ was above reproach in every way (2 Corinthians 5:21). Jesus never married, He defended and honored women (John 8:1–11), and His law was “love one another” (John 13:34). Accordingly, Jesus never assassinated anyone, never beat a woman, never enslaved a child, never broke a promise, and never plundered a caravan. On the cross, when Jesus was mocked by those nearby, His response was, “Father, forgive them” (Luke 23:34).

Islam and Christianity: Views of God

Islam teaches that Allah, or God, is the sovereign Creator and Ruler of all that is. Muslims emphasize God’s absolute unity, which will admit of no division, and God’s will. In fact, the will of God is more basic to who He is than His love or mercy. God could choose not to be merciful, and He can choose not to love; thus, Allah’s mercy and love are not intrinsic to His nature but are choices He makes. More important than loving God—or even knowing Him—is submitting to His will. The word Islam means “submission.” According to Islam, God cannot be considered a “father” and He has no son. Allah does not love sinners (Surah 3:140).

Similar to Islam, Christianity teaches that God is the sovereign Creator and Ruler of all that is—but that is about where the similarity ends. Christians believe in one God who exists in three eternal, co-equal Persons (Father, Son, and Spirit) who share the same indivisible essence. According to Christianity, God loves because His very nature is love (1 John 4:—not just because He happens to choose to love. God’s essence includes the attribute of mercy, so divine displays of mercy are more than choices God makes; they are extensions of His character. God is knowable and desires a relationship with us based on love (Mark 12:30). Obeying God is important, but obedience without a relationship based on love is worthless (1 Corinthians 13:3). According to Christianity, God the Father has an eternal relationship with God the Son. God does love sinners (Romans 5:.

Islam and Christianity: Sacred Literature

Islam holds that the Torah (the first five books of the Old Testament), the Psalms, and the Gospels were given by God—with this caveat: Jews and Christians have corrupted God’s Word and therefore Bibles cannot be fully trusted. Muslims believe that God’s final Word, the Qur’an, was miraculously given to Muhammed over a period of twenty-three years. The Qur’an, which is perfect and holy, is divided into 114 chapters called suras. In addition to the Qur’an, the Muslims have the Hadith, a collection of Muhammed’s sayings, opinions, and actions as reported by those close to him.

Biblical Christianity holds that the Old and New Testaments of the Bible are God’s inspired Word and the only authoritative rule of faith and practice. The Bible warns against adding to God’s Word (Revelation 22:18); Christians reject the Qur’an as an attempted addition to God’s Word and as a document that contradicts the Bible in many ways.

Islam and Christianity: Means of Salvation

Islam teaches a works-based salvation and in this way is similar to other man-made religions. A Muslim must keep the five pillars of Islam: he must confess the shahadah (“there is no God but Allah, and Muhammed is his prophet”); he must kneel in prayer toward Mecca five times a day; he must fast during the daylight hours one month of the year (Ramadan); he must give money to the poor; and he must make a pilgrimage to Mecca sometime in his lifetime. Islam teaches that the day of judgment will involve a person’s good and bad deeds being weighed in a balance—so the standard for judgment is one’s own actions (Surah 7:8-9; 21:47). The Qur’an forbids anyone from bearing another’s burden of sin (Surah 17:15; 35:18) and pointedly denies the death of Jesus (or Isa) on the cross (Surah 3:55; 4:157–158). If you will be saved, you must save yourself.

Christianity teaches a grace-based salvation. A person is saved by the grace (the undeserved blessing) of God, through faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8–9; Romans 10:9–10). The standard for judgment is absolute perfection—the righteousness of Christ. No one can measure up to perfection (Romans 3:23), but God in His grace and mercy has given His Son as the substitute for our sin: “When you were dead in your sins . . . God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross” (Colossians 1:13–14). We cannot save ourselves, so we turn to Christ, our sinless Savior and the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2).

Islam and Christianity, having different beliefs on essential doctrines such as God, Jesus, Scripture, and salvation, are irreconcilable. Both religions cannot be true. We believe that Jesus Christ, as presented in the Bible, is the true Son of God and Savior of mankind. “Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (John 1:17)

http://www.divdel.com/blogs/2016/07/what-is-the-difference-between-christianity-and-islam/

APC - Association of Past Criminals.

This Na season film, lets see how it will end.

Sheggy13:




http://punchng.com/efcc-chair-magu-evades-questions-buratais-dubai-houses/

I tire my brother. he walked free because he is working for APC

eph12:
Before Buratai expose
Zombies - Buhari went to UAE to see the list of Nigerians who have houses there. Fayose et.al was fingered. They will all be exposed and dealt with. They are all yam eaters.
Wailers - Is it a crime to own property outside the country? Average business men have houses in Dubai.

After Buratai expose
Zombies - What is the crime in owning a house in Dubai? Buratai saved monthly to buy that house. He is innocent.
Wailers - You can't own a house in Dubai and not be corrupt. Buratai must be prosecuted and sent to prison.


I just tire for this country.

What abt burantashi and jafaru isa d yam eaters

dre11:



Oyegun: When Dasuki was sharing money from his ATM, he didn’t invite any APC member





https://www.thecable.ng/oyegun-when-dasuki-was-sharing-money-from-his-atm-he-didnt-invite-any-apc-member

Pharaoh Perished in the RED Sea.

Arthurwinner:
let them ask pharaoh of egypt

For the Fact that You are driving Bishop doesn't make you a born again xtian and a Candidate for Heaven.

Every man shall stand on the last day and give account of their deed whether it be good or evil.

If you confess and the church felt you should leave doesn't make the church faulty.

If others lied and they retained their JOB, the judgement awaits them.

So Go and find Job and stop this Yeye advert of your conversion.

Thanks

EdifiedCEO:



https://www.naij.com/883707-shocking-living-faith-bishop-david-abioyes-driver-converts-muslim-video-photo.html

Churches in China Forced to Surrender Tithes and Offerings to Government



Some churches in China are being forced to hand over their tithes and offerings to government authorities as China continues cracking down on Christianity.

According to Chinaaid.org., the government in China’s province of Zheijiang has enacted a new law which forces churches to surrender all their tithes and offerings to authorities.

“The government officials will interfere with church affairs, managing our donations and some large-scale projects. We have to obtain their (the government’s) permission if we would like to buy equipment or decorate the church. We will have to ask for permission for any expenses more than a few thousand yuan,” a source told China Aid.

China has been increasing its persecution of Christians and crackdown against Christianity in the last few years.

In 2014, China’s president Xi Jinping began a “Beautification” campaign called the “Three Rectifications and One Demolition” campaign. Authorities have used this campaign as an excuse to demolish hundreds of churches and crosses. A number of Christians pastors and human rights lawyers have also been arrested for refusing to comply with the authorities’ demands.

Chinaaid.org notes that this year’s annual report by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom ranked China among the “countries of particular concern” where “the governments either engaged in or tolerated ‘particularly severe’ violations of religious freedom.”

http://www.divdel.com/blogs/2016/07/churches-in-china-forced-to-surrender-tithes-and-offerings-to-government/

ChristianMingle Lawsuit Forces Site to Add Options for Gay Daters



ChristianMingle.com will open its 16 million-member site to gay and lesbian users following an anti-discrimination lawsuit.

According to a settlement approved by a California judge last week, the country’s most popular Christian dating site will offer options for same-sex matches, rather than limiting searches to “a man seeking a woman or a woman seeking a man,” the Wall Street Journal reported.

The plaintiffs in the case sued ChristianMingle in 2013 for violating a California civil rights law requiring “all business establishments of every kind whatsoever” to offer full accommodations regardless of a person’s sexual orientation (among more than a dozen other protected classes).

A spokesperson for ChristianMingle’s parent company, Spark Networks Inc., said in an email to CT that they recognize “this is a divisive issue and hope that the greater good of our mission is what people appreciate about us.”

ChristianMingle, known for its commercials promising to “find God’s match for you,” is the largest dating site owned by Spark Networks. The company brought in $48 million last year running niche sites including JDate.com, LDSSingles.com, CatholicMingle.com, and AdventistSinglesConnection.com, as well as sites for black, aging, and deaf daters. The settlement applies to a few other Sparks Networks sites.

ChristianMingle has already changed its homepage to ask users about their own gender and let them select their own search parameters.

“Like all other companies, we must abide by the laws that govern our state and nation,” said Michael Egan, Spark Networks CEO. “There is no greater agenda at hand here at ChristianMingle than uniting Christian men and women for the sake of finding happy and healthy lifelong relationships.”

While Spark Networks is not a Christian company, it relies on Christian advisors to “provide guidance and feedback.” Dallas-area Southern Baptist pastor Clayton Coates said his contributions to ChristianMingle and its affiliated Believe.com focused on a biblical understanding of marriage as between one man and one woman.

Coates told CT he stepped down from the seven-member board following the settlement decision. “As I am a Christian, husband, father of six … it hurts my Lord and it hurts my reputation … and the reputation of my church to stay,” he said.

California pastor and national advisory board member Bryan Loritts told CT he had no idea Sparks Networks would be offering same-sex matches until it came out in the news.

The 11-year-old site has not seen a decline in members or new registrations following the June 27 settlement. ChristianMingle profiles feature details about denominational affiliation and church attendance, but members represent a range of beliefs and practices. A 2014 survey found that 61 percent of users would have sex before marriage and 34 percent would be open to marrying outside the Christian faith.

Faced with a similar anti-discrimination lawsuit out of New Jersey, eHarmony launched a spinoff site for gay daters in 2009. Founder Neil Clark Warren later said the same-sex marriage debate “really damaged” eHarmony, which began in partnership with Focus on the Family, but distanced itself to reach a broader swath of users.

Advocates for traditional marriage consider the ChristianMingle lawsuit settlement an infringement on religious liberty, grouping the decision with broader societal and legal pressure on those opposed to gay marriage. Courts in multiple states have recently weighed whether Christian wedding vendors can refuse same-sex couples, and California lawmakers have proposed new restrictions designed to eliminate many existing faith and sexuality requirements at religious colleges.

Patheos blogger David Smalley defended ChristianMingle against the interpretation of the California anti-discrimination law, the Unruh Civil Rights Act, being applied in their suit.

“Since when can the government tell us what products or services we must offer to future customers?” he wrote. “Every atheist, every liberal, and every business owner needs to fight for ChristianMingle’s rights to offer the products or services they choose, even if we disagree with their practices or philosophy behind it all.”

Brandan Robertson, a blogger and former spokesman for Evangelicals for Marriage Equality, called the settlement “a huge win for LGBT+ Christians.”

Back in 2011, CT asked Christian relationship experts about whether evangelicals should embrace dating sites, and single Christians have since weighed in about the potential benefits and drawbacks of online dating on Her.meneutics.

http://www.divdel.com/blogs/2016/07/christianmingle-lawsuit-forces-site-to-add-options-for-gay-daters/

Arizona Church Raising Money for Church Plant with Beer and Tattoo Bible Conference

Apologia Church of Arizona is raising money for a church plant in Hawaii in an unconventional way. Charisma News reports the church is hosting a Bible conference that includes beer flights and an option to get a tattoo.

Church leader Marcus Pittman said in a video explaining the event, “This is actually a fundraiser for our Apologia Kauai church plant, so people of the church are donating to have another member of the church tattoo them so they can go to Kauai and we can plant a church there. So, it's pretty cool."

The website for the conference adds, “This ticket allows you to get a beer flight from Boulders on Broadway. All the proceeds from this benefit our Kauai church plant! Boulders is all about the food, craft beer, bike riding, rock climbing and adventure! With 30 draft handles and 70-plus bottles of craft beer. Bring a friend and check out our selection."

http://www.divdel.com/blogs/2016/07/arizona-church-raising-money-for-church-plant-with-beer-and-tattoo-bible-conference/

I'm a Christian Addicted to Porn : A True Life Testimony

The remains of the campfire were cold. And the labels on the bottles of Bud were bleached white by days in the sun. Whoever had camped out in the woods near my house was long gone. My friend and I picked through the debris they’d left behind. An abandoned hip-hop CD. A few empty baggies and bottles. And a magazine.

The cover was weathered and unrecognizable. I poked it open with a stick, scared of what critters might be calling it home now. Its dewy, wet pages flopped open. I saw a woman. And I saw her naked breasts.

Since I was only 7, I ran. I mean, girls had cooties. They were gross. They were things we chased at recess, but didn’t know what to do if we ever caught one. But I still remember that image. I was excited by it, but scared of it at the same time. I didn’t understand it and I knew I shouldn’t be seeing it.

And I knew I wanted more.

A few years later I got my chance. This time I didn’t run away. I was 13. I was at my friend Tyler’s* house. Tyler was my only friend with internet access. Almost every day, we played computer games for hours.

But one day we clicked on what we thought was a game to download, and our lives changed. It wasn’t a game, but a video. At first, we laughed as we saw the blurry, slow-moving image of a woman. We laughed nervously as if to say, “That’s so stupid. Turn it off.” But we didn’t turn it off. We watched it. Then I went home.

But Tyler went looking for more and showed me what he found. I didn’t run away this time. I didn’t want to keep looking. But I did. I was caught.......

http://www.divdel.com/blogs/2016/06/im-a-christian-addicted-to-porn/

Russia's Proposed Law: No Evangelizing Outside of Church

Evangelicals protest the law, which would severely limit where and how Christians share the gospel.



Christians in Russia won’t be allowed to email their friends an invitation to church or to evangelize in their own homes if Russia’s newest set of surveillance and anti-terrorism laws are passed.

The proposed laws, considered the country’s most restrictive measures in post-Soviet history, place broad limitations on missionary work, including preaching, teaching, and engaging in any activity designed to recruit people into a religious group.

To share their faith, citizens must secure a government permit through a registered religious organization, and they cannot evangelize anywhere besides churches and other religious sites. The restrictions even apply to activity in private residences and online.

This week, Russia’s Protestant minority—estimated around 1 percent of the population—prayed, fasted, and sent petitions to President Vladimir Putin, who will have to approve the measures before they become official.

“Most evangelicals—leaders from all seven denominations—have expressed concerns,” Sergey Rakhuba, president of Mission Eurasia and a former Moscow church-planter, told CT. “They’re calling on the global Christian community to pray that Putin can intervene and God can miraculously work in this process.”

Following a wave of Russian nationalist propaganda, the laws passed almost unanimously in the Duma, the upper house, on Friday and is expected to pass in the Federation Council, the lower house, today.

“If this legislation is approved, the religious situation in the country will grow considerably more complicated and many believers will find themselves in exile and subjected to reprisals because of our faith,” wrote Oleg Goncharov, spokesman …

http://www.divdel.com/blogs/2016/06/russias-proposed-law-no-evangelizing-outside-of-church/

Egypt: Christians Attacked after Vacant Building Rumored to Become Church

A Muslim mob attacked Christian homes in Egypt after rumors circulated that one of the homes was being turned into a church.

According to ChristianToday.com, a group of Muslims gathered around one of the houses, which was owned by Coptic Christian Naim Aziz, on June 17 and began chanting, “By no means shall there be a church here.”

"A great deal of fanatic Muslims gathered in front of the new house of my cousin, Naim Aziz, during its construction because of a rumor spread in the village that this building would be turned into a church," Christian resident Mousa Zarif told International Christian Concern (ICC).

Aziz, however, said the house was for his son. It was not going to be a church.

The mob destroyed construction materials and attacked Naim and his brother. Both men were injured.

"They also intercepted the car of Fr Karas Naser, the priest of the Holy Virgin and the Archangel Michael Coptic Church when he arrived at the village," Zarif said.

"They attacked him but some moderate Muslims intervened, rescuing him from their hands and getting him out of the car."

Police reportedly did not stop the activity, but did arrest six Coptic Christians, including Aziz and his brother. Six Muslims were also arrested.

The Christians were charged for holding prayers without permission and building without a permit.

"The police and government authorities in Egypt cannot allow these attacks to go unpunished because the victims come from a minority faith. It is unspeakable that the victims of these attacks were charged with crimes while the perpetrators continue to enjoy total impunity," said William Stark, ICC's regional manager for South Asia.

"It continues to show how Christians in Egypt are treated like second class citizens. We call on the Egyptian authorities to ensure that justice is served and that Christian communities like this be protected from further assault in Egypt."

http://www.divdel.com/blogs/2016/06/egypt-christians-attacked-after-vacant-building-rumored-to-become-church/

Congrats

abonema

Europe’s Third Largest Church Deciding Whether to Punish Pastor for Affairs

A pastor and founder of one of the largest Protestant churches in Europe has been asked to step down from his role after church leadership discovered his multiple affairs.

Sunday Adelaja, the pastor who leads the Embassy of the Blessed Kingdom of God for All Nations in the Ukranian capital of Kiev, admitted to affairs with some of his parishioners.

The parishioners also confessed the affairs to other pastors, according to the Council of Bishops of Christian Evangelical Churches of Ukraine.

“Pastor Sunday has always shared with the world that he is in a position to help minister to the world only because he himself has had his own share of trials including sexual trials, problems and victories,” the church elders said in a statement.

Then in April, Adelaja himself confessed to more than 200 pastors at a meeting. He was removed from preaching and other leadership duties.

The Spiritual Board of the Russian Union of Christians of Evangelical Faith said they worried that those close to him had covered up Adelaja’s affairs, but that he would enter a “season of recovery.”

Still, Adelaja’s Facebook, blog and website are still active, according to ChristianityToday.com.

In the wake of the news, a bishop with the church, Anatoly Belonozhko, announced he would be leaving the church.

Also in April, 11 evangelical leaders declared that Adelaja’s church has still not removed him from control and they “have turned away from the truth of the gospel.”

http://www.divdel.com/blogs/2016/05/europes-third-largest-church-deciding-whether-to-punish-pastor-for-affairs/

Our God is un Heavens and He dors whatever That pleases Him. Psalm 115:3.
He does things for us to fear Him.
Eccl.3:15

Decker:


It's funny how Christians contradict themselves and are still blind to their contradictions. How does a perfect being create a disordered and abnormal creation?
If God loves someone, then why does he create them with disorders and abnormalities? Is a remarkable and wonderful creation not supposed to be remarkable and wonderful? What's remarkable about having Asperger's syndrome?



Sigh. Another contradiction. If you are created in the image of God, then it means God also suffers from Asperger's syndrome.
And how come we are created in the image of God, but yet think, look and act differently? Does God have various images?




Instead of suggesting proper medical and therapeutical care, the OP is suggesting words of counselling from an ancient book. Smh. What has working out salvation with fear and trembling got to do with aiding someone with Asperger's syndrome?



Wow, so God creates someone with a disorder and he knows and understands what the person is passing through, yet, he doesn't want to take it away? Lol. For someone who is said to be all loving and all caring, he expresses the direct opposite of love and care.

Do you know what it means to know and understand what someone is passing through? Have you ever seen a child at the terminal stages of a critical illness? Even if you can't feel the pain of the child, at least you can see the look of sadness and hopelessness on the faces of his parents. If you had the power to help that child, won't you cure him? But yet, God supposedly has all the power, and knows and understands, but still doesn't give a hoot. God is really good.