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The Key to the Missionary’s Work (2) " He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world —1 John 2:2 " The key to the missionary’s message is the propitiation of Christ Jesus— His sacrifice for us that completely satisfied the wrath of God. Look at any other aspect of Christ’s work, whether it is healing, saving, or sanctifying, and you will see that there is nothing limitless about those. But— “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”— that is limitless (John 1:29). The...

October 15, 2014Memorial of Saint Teresa of Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church    Reading 1 Gal 5:18-25 Brothers and sisters:If you are guided by the Spirit, you are not under the law.Now the works of the flesh are obvious:immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry,sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy,outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness,dissensions, factions, occasions of envy,drinking bouts, orgies, and the like.I warn you, as I warned you before,that those who do such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God.In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,patience, kindness, generosity,faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.Against such there is no law.Now...

Recently I read “The Man the Networks Love to Hate” (1989), by Rev. Don Wildmon, founder of the American Family Association. It was an informative read, particularly in showing how those who oppose Christianity have been working over the years to get our society to where it is now. Below are some excerpts from it. The first excerpt is on secular humanism. Christian leaders like Jerry Falwell were beginning to talk quite a lot about it in the 80’s, but the media responded by calling it “the right’s new bogeyman” and conspiracy theory. Wildmon says he didn’t know much about...

Get Your Joy Back Today's Scripture “Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy.” (1 Peter 1:8, NIV) Today's Word from Joel and Victoria If the circumstances of life have taken away your joy, today is the day to get it back. You weren’t meant to live this life feeling drained, depressed and down. God wants you to be excited about your future and learn to enjoy each and every day. If you don’t make the...

The Key to the Missionary’s Work (1) " Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, ’All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations . . .’ —Matthew 28:18-19 " The key to the missionary’s work is the authority of Jesus Christ, not the needs of the lost. We are inclined to look on our Lord as one who assists us in our endeavors for God. Yet our Lord places Himself as the absolute sovereign and supreme Lord over His disciples. He does not say that the...

Frequently North Korean defectors in South Korea will look back on peculiar behaviors of parents and grandparents in North Korea and realize with great astonishment that their family members were actually underground Christians. JBM, one of our Underground Technology students, recently shared just such a story with us. Think on this as you eat your breakfast this morning and your children or grandchildren silently observe your behavior: My father studied medicine at [X] University in Japan. After he graduated, he opened a hospital in [NK city] and worked as a health minister in NK. My mother was a housewife. Because...

The Holy Father has been very good in lecturing priests and telling us what to do. We are to go out into the world and “make a mess.” We are to “smell like the sheep.” We are to welcome all with compassion, forgiveness and mercy. We are to be good and kind pastors who administer the sacraments with care and concern. We are to seek out the poor, castigate the rich, side with the unfortunate, heal the sick, support the immigrants and reach out to the lowly. We are to welcome the divorced and remarried, not judge those with same...

October 14, 2014Tuesday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time    Reading 1 Gal 5:1-6 Brothers and sisters:For freedom Christ set us free;so stand firm and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery. It is I, Paul, who am telling youthat if you have yourselves circumcised,Christ will be of no benefit to you.Once again I declare to every man who has himself circumcisedthat he is bound to observe the entire law.You are separated from Christ,you who are trying to be justified by law;you have fallen from grace.For through the Spirit, by faith, we await the hope of...

The upheaval in the manipulated and censored secret Synod Assembly is so great not even the rapporteur, Cardinal Peter Erdo, is able to vouch for what he signed and had published under his own name! When presenting the "Relatio post disceptationem" this Monday, Cardinal Erdo was asked by reporters about the scandalous paragraphs on homosexuality, homosexual unions, and the raising of children by homosexual "couples", that are in most aspects a 180-turn away from the 2,000-year-old permanent doctrine and practice of the Church, as taught even more strongly in the last two pontificates. Instead of explaining them, he refused to...

Set the Tone Today's Scripture “I will praise the Lord at all times. I will constantly speak his praises.” (Psalm 34:1, NLT) Today's Word from Joel and Victoria When you wake up in the morning, what’s the first thing you think about? What’s the first thing you say? Do you set the tone for success, favor and blessing? Yesterday may have had some hardships or some difficulties, but it’s a new day. We should be on the lookout for God’s blessings. The scripture tells us that the darker it gets in the world, the brighter it’s going to be...

Individual Discouragement and Personal Growth " . . . when Moses was grown . . . he went out to his brethren and looked at their burdens —Exodus 2:11 " Moses saw the oppression of his people and felt certain that he was the one to deliver them, and in the righteous indignation of his own spirit he started to right their wrongs. After he launched his first strike for God and for what was right, God allowed Moses to be driven into empty discouragement, sending him into the desert to feed sheep for forty years. At the end...

The deplorable state of religious freedom in the Islamic world came to the fore in May when news of the arrest, imprisonment, and death sentencing of a pregnant Christian wife and mother on the accusation that she had left Islam for Christianity reached the world. On May 15, Meriam Ibrahim of Sudan was sentenced to flogging followed by hanging for apostasy after she repeatedly refused to convert to Islam.

Previously, we brought you “7 Words You Didn’t Know Had Christian Origins.” But, of course, Christians have contributed far more than just seven words to our language! So here are seven more words you didn’t know had Christian origins. 1) Goodbye “Goodbye” (also “goodby,” “good bye,” or “good-bye”), comes from the older English term “godbwye,” which is a contraction of “God be with ye.” (“God be with ye” = “godbwye”) The French (adieu) and Spanish (adios) words for parting ways are also related to commending the person to God. [There are 6 more at the link]

Catholic bishops meeting to discuss 'family issues' at a two week summit have said unmarried couples living together can be 'positive', and gay relationships and divorces must be welcomed. Displaying remarkably liberal attitudes for a Church famed for its conservatism, bishops meeting in the Vatican today also said that a couples' decision on the use of contraception should be respected.

October 13, 2014Monday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time    Reading 1 Gal 4:22-24, 26-27, 31-5:1 Brothers and sisters:It is written that Abraham had two sons,one by the slave woman and the other by the freeborn woman.The son of the slave woman was born naturally,the son of the freeborn through a promise.Now this is an allegory.These women represent two covenants.One was from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery;this is Hagar.But the Jerusalem above is freeborn, and she is our mother.For it is written:Rejoice, you barren one who bore no children;break forth and shout, you who were not in...

Getting into God’s Stride " Enoch walked with God . . . —Genesis 5:24 " The true test of a person’s spiritual life and character is not what he does in the extraordinary moments of life, but what he does during the ordinary times when there is nothing tremendous or exciting happening. A person’s worth is revealed in his attitude toward the ordinary things of life when he is not under the spotlight (seeJohn 1:35-37 and John 3:30). It is painful work to get in step with God and to keep pace with Him— it means getting your second...

Full Title: Alabama Pastor Confesses From Pulpit That He Has AIDS, Slept With Church Members Inside Building, Abused Drugs and Money A Montgomery, Alabama, Baptist congregation is reeling after their longtime pastor confessed at the pulpit a few Sundays ago that he has AIDS, knowingly slept with church members inside the building without revealing his status, and abused drugs and mishandled the congregation's money. The shocking revelation was confirmed by a WSFA 12 news report which noted that church leaders at the Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church relieved the offending pastor, Juan Demetrius McFarland, of his duties on Sunday. McFarland is...

(CNSNews.com) -- Archbishop Zbigevs Stankevis, who heads the Catholic archdiocese of Riga, Latvia, and is attending the ongoing Synod on the Family at the Vatican, said foreigners, including the U.S. government, are trying to impose a pro-gay agenda on Latvia and other East European countries. The archbishop also said that homosexual relationships cannot be condoned because they are unnatural and destroy “the identity of man and the identity of woman.” Latvia is a nation on the Baltic Sea that borders the northwest corner of Russia, and also borders Estonia to the north and Lithuania and Belarus to the south. Riga...

There are several things to realize about the Old Testament harvests and feasts. The three harvests (Exodus 23:14-17) parallel the Crucifixion/Resurrection, Pentecost/The Church, and Christ's Return (1 Corinthians 15:23-24). The seven feasts of these harvests (Leviticus 23) correspond to the Church's liturgical seasons: Advent, Christmas, Ordinary, Lent, Triduum, Easter, Ordinary. The harvest seasons can be classified as such: the first (Spring/Summer) gave grain, the second (Summer) gave grapes, and the third (Summer/Fall) gave olives, figs, and more. The first, of grains, was smaller in weight -- because the other harvests were water-dense -- but the biggest source of food, as...

October 12, 2014Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time    Reading 1 Is 25:6-10a On this mountain the LORD of hostswill provide for all peoplesa feast of rich food and choice wines,juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines.On this mountain he will destroythe veil that veils all peoples,the web that is woven over all nations;he will destroy death forever.The Lord GOD will wipe awaythe tears from every face;the reproach of his people he will removefrom the whole earth; for the LORD has spoken.On that day it will be said:"Behold our God, to whom we looked to save us!This is the LORD...