Jews telling Muslims about Jesus

Being a Jew is a very good background for being able to share Jesus with Muslims - "as long as they don't know that you're Jewish" ☺. For MBBs (Muslim Background Believers) to be welcomed into Christian Arabic churches is difficult and often dangerous for the churches.

"We must provide a network of homes and places where new believers (MBBs) can be fed and sheltered, enjoying fellowship with their brothers and sisters in the faith ... And Jewish believers must welcome and edify their new brothers and sisters in the faith as part of'the universal ecclesia; if the Jewish people are not present in the churches, the churches will disappear."

(Martin Goldsmith and Judith Rood, Lausanne Consultation on Jewish Evangelism, LCJE Bulletin, September 2011)

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November 6th is Orphan Sunday

Orphan care in countries around the world is failing. For example, in Ukraine, when orphans grow out of the orphanage...

• 70% end up in crime -
• 50% of girls become prostitutes -
• 33% are homeless and unemployed -
• 30% commit suicide within 2 years -
• 80% of those who marry divorce -

On Sunday, November 6th , the Christian Alliance for Orphans is promoting Orphan Sunday. See their “Partnership Packages” that can help your church get involved with ministry to orphans this Orphan Sunday. Click on this video to learn more about the needs of these children:

(from the October 2011 newsletter of New Hope International, a member organization of the Christian Alliance for Orphans)

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Evolution is O for Five on Formation Theories

Evolution is striking out in finding workable formation theories: formation of stars, planets, our moon, life, and animals. Maybe its time for Evolution to retire from the game?

We are taught that atoms became galaxies and stars.” Really? How, indeed, considering that an evolutionist in Scientific American stated:

It might seem that star formation is a problem that has been solved. But nothing could be further from the truth. The birth of stars remains one of the most vibrant topics in astrophysics today.¹

They also describe “elements [turning] into solid, rocky planets,” but there are serious scientific problems with this idea of planet formation. In 2011, National Geographic News reported:

The more new planets we find, the less we seem to know about how planetary systems are born, according to a leading planet hunter.²

Well, at least it’s known how earth’s closest celestial neighbor formed, right? No—an evolutionary website reported in 2008:

The finding [of lunar water] calls into question some critical aspects of the “giant impact” theory of the Moon’s formation.³

Finally, there have always been serious challenges to the bizarre idea that over time inorganic nonlife became organic life. “The origin of animals is almost as much a mystery as the origin of life itself,” said one evolutionist.⁴

If people really want to know their origin, as well as the origin of the universe, they would do well to consult the written record of the One who was there “in the beginning.”

(Based on Frank Sherwin, From Rocks...to Brains, Acts & Facts, September 2011, Institute for Creation Research)

References (selected)

1. Young, E. T. Mysteries of How a Star Is Born. Scientific American, February 1, 2010, 34. See also Thomas, B. Distant Galactic Cluster Should Not Exist. ICR News. Posted on icr. org May 21, 2010.

2. Lovett, R. A. Three Theories of Planet Formation Busted, Expert Says. National Geographic News. Posted on news.nationalgeographic.com February 22, 2011. See also Asphaug, E. 2009. Growth and Evolution of Asteroids. Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences. 37: 413-48. See generally Spike Psarris’ DVD Our Created Solar System (available from http://www.creation.com/).

3. Moon water discovered: Dampens Moon-formation theory. Carnegie Institution news release, July 9, 2008, reporting on research published in Saal, A. E. et al. 2008. Volatile content of lunar volcanic glasses and the presence of water in the Moon’s interior. Nature. 454 (7210): 192-195.

4. Donoghue, P. C. J. 2007. Paleontology: Embryonic identity crisis. Nature. 445 (7124): 155.

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Charms, masks, crystals and beads: demonic power on display in the U.S.

A true testimony from a Christian worker: Having been a missionary in a country where witchcraft is an everyday part of life, I am very careful with what comes into our home, even while here in the United States. Charms, masks, crystals and beads all come under scrutiny.

A dear friend gave me a lovely black statue of a woman—her head slightly bowed, a baby in her arms, her young child standing close by. I thought this piece would complement a beautiful black wooden cross I own, so I set the mother facing the cross and went on about my business.

After awhile I realized the statue of the mother had turned. Without thinking, I repositioned her. Over the next couple of days I unthinkingly turned the statue around several times before a light bulb came on in my head―this statue is turning her back to the cross! I checked with the family to see if they had moved the statue, but no one had touched the piece.

That afternoon I discussed this enigma with my daughter, Megan. I again turned the statue to face the cross and asked Megan to tell me if it moved. We stayed in that room and soon Megan whispered, “Mom, it moved.” Without hesitation I took that statue outside and smashed it with a hammer, then threw the pieces into a nearby dumpster.

There are things made with man's hands that have dark meaning, especially if they were made in countries where witchcraft and sorcery are practiced. But we needn't be paranoid because Jesus has conquered the world!

(from WEC.Go Magazine, Fall 2011)

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Children should be sacrificed to not drain resources? Children ARE the resource

We all experience moments when falsehood slams against truth and just crumbles. Such a moment occurred not long ago at a United Nations conference.

At one point, an American diplomat, Laurie Shestack Phipps, spoke. She wondered how we could talk about family, but not be concerned about high birth rates in places like Africa. Don't we understand, she asked, that so many children put a strain on opportunities for women, on public services and on job creation? Why don't we address the need for family planning (meaning contraceptives) and reproductive health (code for abortion)?

Before I could say anything, another diplomat spoke up. She was Sarah Flood Beaubron, a UN representative from the tiny nation of St. Lucia. Here's what she said: "When I was growing up ... (our nation) was asked and pressured to reduce our rates of fertility. Over the last three years we have seen that we are now below replacement levels ... We have a population of 165,000 people approximately, and our resource is our people. We don't have gold, and we don't have oil, or anything like that. We are in a predicament, because we were asked and pressured and cajoled to decrease our fertility ... this is now a very urgent problem for our small country ... "

So there it was. The tired philosophy that children are a drain on resources, followed by the truth: children ARE the resource.

And because this startling viewpoint - that children are a burden on a world that would otherwise thrive - is so prevalent, we must be constantly vigilant. We must never waiver in our commitment to passionately, yet respectfully, engage those who say the answer to our world's problems is abortion.

(from Tom Minnery, Social Policy Team, Focus on the Family, October 2011)

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