People who have a grateful heart are always praising God. You often hear them say, “God is good!” They know that God is the reason for every blessing they get.

But there are those who look to God for blessings and when they get blessed, they just go on their merry way. Their hearts are captivated by the blessings instead of the One who has blessed them.

Jesus had an encounter with both these types of people when He walked into a village one day. Ten lepers cried out to Him, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” (Luke 17:13). Now, when you call out to Jesus for mercy, He always hears you. On another occasion, when two blind men cried out to Him, “Son of David, have mercy on us!” He took the time to give them their miracles (see Matthew 9:27–30).

So these 10 lepers cried out to Him for mercy. He stopped, looked at them and said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And “as they went, they were cleansed” (Luke 17:14). But only one came back and fell at Jesus’ feet, giving Him thanks. Notice the very sad words of Jesus that followed: “Were there not 10 cleansed? But where are the nine?” (Luke 17:17).

The other nine obviously knew that it was Jesus who had cleansed them. Yet, they did not bother to go back and thank Him. My friend, let it be said of you that when the blessings come, you remember to give God the praise, glory and honor, and acknowledge that He is the source of every blessing in your life.

Do you know that when the man came back to thank Jesus, he received the additional blessing of becoming whole? Jesus said to him, “Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole” (Luke 17:19, KJV). He was not just cleansed of leprosy, he got his missing fingers and toes back!

My friend, when your heart is thankful toward God, you position yourself for even greater blessings!

Credit: Joseph Prince Ministries

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A report from Axios values the deal at $400m (£330m), but Facebook would not confirm the final price.

In a blog post, Instagram’s VP of Products Vishal Shah said third party firms would still have access to Giphy’s library of GIFs and stickers.

But many of those sites including Twitter and Pintrest are direct competitors to Facebook.

A Graphical Interchange Format or GIF is an animated image or short soundless video that plays on a continuous loop without requiring the viewer to press play.

They are often used on social media or messaging app to convey an emotion or joke.

Mr Shah wrote Giphy’s animated images made “conversations more entertaining” and said its library would be integrated into Instagram and Facebook’s other platforms.

Giphy is one of the largest sites for creating these images and storing them. Its main competitor is Imgur.

Facebook said 50% of Giphy’s traffic already came from its platforms and half of that was from Instagram.

The purchase comes at a time when Facebook has seen increased users due to Covid-19 lockdown orders. But, in the months preceding the global pandemic the social media giant had been facing increased scrutiny from US regulators over antitrust concerns and that it had too much control over the social media space.

Source: bbc.com

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Most businesses in Italy, including bars and hairdressers, will be free to reopen after more than two months of nationwide lockdown measures.

Spain is set to relax its restrictions outside of Madrid and Barcelona, with groups of up to 10 people free to meet.

The measures follow consistent drops in the number of daily recorded deaths.

On Sunday, Italy recorded the fewest daily deaths since it entered lockdown in March.

It said 145 people had died with the virus in the previous 24 hours. This marked a significant drop from its highest daily death toll, which was more than 900 on 27 March.

In Spain, the daily death toll fell below 100 for the first time since it imposed its lockdown restrictions.

Restaurants, bars, cafes, hairdressers and shops will be allowed to reopen in Italy providing social distancing is enforced.

Catholic churches are preparing for the resumption of Mass, but there will be strict social distancing and worshippers must wear face masks. Other faiths will also be allowed to hold religious services.

But health officials have warned of the continued dangers of large social gatherings.

In Spain, a majority of people will have emerged from lockdown by the end of the week.

Outdoor seating in bars and restaurants will be allowed from Monday, as well as family reunions and meetings between friends providing no more than 10 people gather.

In Madrid and Barcelona, along with parts of the north-west, the majority of restrictions will remain in place, but some small shops will be allowed to reopen.

Elsewhere in Europe, Belgium is to begin reopening primary and secondary schools under strict conditions on Monday.

Portugal, Greece, Denmark and Ireland are among a number of countries which are also set to relax their lockdown measures.

Source: bbc.com

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…as you have believed, so let it be done for you…Matthew 8:13

You may have heard some people say, “How can I believe it when I don’t see it? If I can only see it or feel it, I may just believe that something is happening!”

The woman with the issue of blood who came to Jesus could have felt the same way. For 12 long years, she had gone from one doctor to another, trying every conceivable cure they could offer. She not only grew worse, but ended up losing all her money to those doctors and their “cures.”

Then, something happened to her when “she heard about Jesus” (Mark 5:27). She started believing that He could and would heal her to the extent that she said, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well” (Mark 5:28). Acting on her belief, she made her way to Jesus and touched His garment. Immediately, her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was healed of that affliction. Jesus, her true physician, also pronounced her healed.

Beloved, God wants you to know that when you believe Him, you will see your miracle. What you believe Him for, you will receive.When a church member lost her wallet at a swimming pool, she prayed together with her husband, declaring their belief that God would restore the loss. One day later, not at the swimming pool but at her feet in the car, she found her wallet! She simply believed that God would restore her loss and she saw the restoration.

In another case, a lady who had skin cancer wore long sleeves all the time to conceal her condition from others. During one of our church camps, she went forward for prayer, believing God for her healing. After one of our pastors, Pastor Henry, prayed for her, she went back to her room, rolled up her sleeves and saw that all the cancerous scarring on her arms had disappeared! Her doctor later confirmed that she had been cured of skin cancer. She believed God for healing and saw it.

The world says, “Unless I can see it or feel it, I will not believe it.” But God says, “If you will believe it, you will feel it. Indeed, if you will believe it, you will see it!”

Credit: Joseph Prince Ministries

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o help you move forward in evangelistic conversations with atheists, consider asking one of the following four questions in the course of your conversation:

First, was there a time when you believed in God? God’s existence is evident to all men, even those who reject Him (Romans 1:19). An atheist must suppress the truth of God that is evident in nature (Psalm 19:1).  It is likely that there was a time when your atheist friend believed in God. Listening carefully and graciously about the event(s) that led them to change their mind is helpful for two reasons: You can understand the issues that led to their current unbelief, and the atheist reconnects (through their story) to a time before they suppressed the truth of God’s existence. 

Second, wouldn’t you like there to be a God? A person is more likely to accept evidence and arguments for things they want to be true rather than things they hope are not true. This question is simple, yet powerful. In evangelism, you are trying to tell someone about a loving creator who, despite our sin, graciously provides all that is needed for us to enjoy eternal life. Wouldn’t you like for that God to exist? Getting a person who doesn’t believe in God to admit that they wish God did exist is a helpful step in asking them to consider the reasons for His existence. 

Third, since becoming an atheist, has there been a time when you thought that God might exist? Christians are not the only people who can have a crisis of faith. Exposure to evil can make believers question their belief, and exposure to beauty and charity can make unbelievers question their unbelief. Asking this question is helpful because an atheist has probably gone through a time when they questioned their unbelief, and by inviting them to share that story of a time when they were tempted to believe God might actually exist, you can encourage them to reconsider the existence of God.

Fourth, what would you have to lose if God existed and you decided to trust Him? Seventeenth-century philosopher and mathematician Blaise Pascal famously argued that it makes sense to believe in God because what you stand to gain if He exists is far greater than what you stand to lose if He doesn’t. This argument (called The Wager) leads to a simple question: What do you have to lose? Jesus taught us to count the cost of following Him. There are losses in this life, but as the Apostle Paul point out, the suffering of this life does not compare the to the glory that is to come (Romans 8:18). 

Sharing the Gospel can be hard. Asking good questions helps. A good question invites someone to share more about what they believe so that you can wisely and lovingly respond to objections and direct them to Christ. God uses these conversations to open hearts and draw people

Adam Groza (Ph.D.) is a Vice President and Associate Professor of Philosophy of Religion at Gateway Seminary. His new book is Faith Wins: Overcoming a Crisis of Belief (New Hope Publishers, 2020).

Source: christianpost.com

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Nepal is actually home to one of the fastest-growing Christian populations in the world according to Jo Anne Lyon, the General Superintendent of the Wesleyan Church and founder of the Christian aid organization, World Hope International.

In an op-ed in The Christian Post, Lyon said she believes there are probably many reasons for the growth of Christianity, but she said it definitely makes sense in light of the constitution calling for religious freedom.

“One reason I believe the Christian faith is burgeoning in Nepal is the Christian belief in loving your neighbor as yourself,” Lyon wrote. “As Christians, we’re taught to lead by example. When churches are bombed, we practice peace and prayer and when catastrophe strikes, we offer our hand to those in need, regardless of their faith.”

In a country of 28 million where Hinduism is the main religion, Christians in Nepal are significantly outnumbered. They comprise less than 1.5 percent.

The country is a secular state under a new constitution, and it technically upholds freedom of religion.

However, if someone tries to convert an individual from one religion to another, the constitution labels that a crime.

Christianity is also socially unacceptable, and Christians often are the victims of violence and oppression. For decades, followers of Christ in Nepal have battled unequal treatment and persecution.

“While reflecting on the growth the Wesleyan church has experienced in the country, I’m reminded of the story of a young woman living in rural Nepal, Binita,” Lyon said.

“She was inspired by the love of Christ and decided to stop practicing Hinduism and instead elected to become a believer in Jesus Christ. Despite facing intense stigma and rejection by her community, Binita began a church in her village, which was destroyed after the April 25, 2015 earthquake struck Nepal. She and her congregation were safe but they, along with other local villagers, were left without shelter and supplies to recover from the earthquake,” Lyon wrote.

Lyon went on to tell that a “Trek Team” with the Christian relief and development organization, World Hope International, assisted Binita and other villagers.

“Embodying the love of Christ, the Trek Team endured challenging backpacking through mountains and treacherous terrains along with road trips lasting over 18 hours to deliver over 2,000 pounds of relief supplies, including water filtration supplies and industrial strength tents to people like Binita in Nepal’s remote regions who had not yet received any assistance,” she wrote.

Lyon wrote that even though Binita was excluded by other Nepal villagers because of her faith, she remained true to Christ and even helped those who had ostracized her.

Eventually the love that Binita showed caused her community to welcome her.

“It’s love like this that helps to propel the Christian faith in countries like Nepal,” Lyon wrote. “It’s also why countries with greater religious freedoms are generally more peaceful, have greater degrees of gender equality, and also have more stable economies.”

Lyon hopes “true religious freedom” becomes a part of daily life in Nepal, “allowing people to love Christ and each other to achieve greater prosperity.”

“Let us pray for Nepal and for Christianity to spread its roots to other parts of the world,” she wrote.

Credit: http://www1.cbn.com

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 “The problem is I’m a Christian”, the German manager said. “That [in itself] is not a problem, but the problem is I think other people can have success too – it’s not about me. But if you ask me about Liverpool I would like to celebrate something each season”. After just two weeks as the new manager of Liverpool, Klopp already showed his willingness to speak openly about his faith in an interview with BT Sports: “I’m Christian, I have to say, and I believe in God”.

  “I AM IN SENSATIONALLY GOOD HANDS”

 In Germany, Jürgen Klopp won the Bundesliga twice with Borussia Dortmund. He also got to the final of the Champions League in 2013. In an interview with local newspaper Frankfurter Rundschau he said: “To be a believer, but not to want to talk about it – I do not know how it would work!” “If anyone asks me about my faith, I give information. Not because I claim to be any sort of missionary”.
“When I look at me and my life – and I take time for that every day – then I feel I am in sensationally good hands”, he added. “And I find it a pity if other people lack this sense of security – although they don’t know it, of course, because otherwise they would probably look for it”. In this interview he also discussed the struggles of playing football on Sunday mornings, when he was still a teenager, and how he understood that there was plenty of time throughout the week to grow in the Christian faith.

  “JESUS CHRIST IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PERSON IN HISTORY”

In another interview with a German media, Klopp said: “Jesus Christ is the most important person in history. For me, this is an easy answer”. He went on to explain why he believes in Christ. “This person comes into the world, and has a clear mission, which is not easy to accomplish at all”. “In the end [of his life], he took all the sins on himself and was nailed on a cross”. This why Jesus’ death on the Cross “was the greatest act that has never been achieved, because it changed everything”. “We don’t have to do it [paying for our sins] and this is a huge comfort”, he added.

Credit: evangelicalfocus.com

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