Displaying items by tag: Praise

June Perez slipped and fell hard on his right shoulder. After months of excruciating pain he was found to have a torn rotator cuff, and a nurse advised surgery,. June stubbornly refused even though the throbbing would not go away. ‘I’ve never suffered such agonising pain before in my life, like something or someone pulling continuously on a muscle and stretching without relief’, he said. Then while he was watching Christian TV the host announced prophetically that someone had a torn rotator cuff and that God was going to heal it. ‘As soon as she said, “God is healing you”, I felt heat hit my shoulder, I couldn’t help but cry, tears were coming out of my eyes. I didn’t feel the pain any more.’ Suddenly he could raise his arm, comb his hair, pull on T-shirts. He was instantly, miraculously healed by Jesus.

Two former drug addicts, delivered from their former vices, are now helping others find freedom. Rich Wal said, ‘For the longest time, I was in this never-ending cycle of drug addiction and alcoholism. I just couldn't step out of it. I was living a life of complete and total failure and desperation. It was so, so, so, bad; to the point where you overdose multiple times and you are literally welcoming death.’ Rich and his wife Shay now run Peer Solutions, a behavioural health facility in West Virginia, and minister to over one million followers on Facebook. By the time she was 25 years old, Shay had survived numerous overdoses and multiple suicide attempts. In 2015, after she was arrested on nine drug charges, she turned to God for help. To read their encouraging story, click the ‘More’ button.

On 15 February the Republican-led Senate in Arizona voted in favour of a bill to ban abortion after fifteen weeks of pregnancy. Senator Nancy Barto, who sponsored the bill, said, ‘The state has an obligation to protect life, and that is what this bill is about. A 15-week-old baby in the womb has a fully formed nose, lips, eyelids. They suck their thumbs. They feel pain. That’s what this bill is about.’ Democrats argue that any abortion ban would disproportionately affect low-income and minority women who are unable to travel to other states with no such restrictions. Doctors who violate the bill could face felony charges and lose their licences. At present, the bill moves to the GOP-controlled State House, which has previously ruled against abortion. If passed, it goes to governor Doug Ducey’s desk to be signed. In the past seven sessions, Ducey, who opposed abortion, has signed every abortion-related bill that has reached his desk.

A Swedish perpetrator involved in the online sexual exploitation of children has been found guilty. With the evidence collected and a videotaped interview with the survivor, IJM’s Philippines team successfully persuaded the Swedish court to find the accused guilty. The perpetrator was ordered to compensate the victim £20,000 and is likely to appeal. Please pray the conviction is upheld. Praise God that two young boys were brought to safety after escaping from bonded labour at a duck farm. They had been enduring increasing violence and managed to run away. People in the village brought them to local authorities, who took care of them and confronted the farm owner. Praise God for the compassion and proactivity of this community. Pray for the owner to be arrested and that the boys can receive the aftercare they need.

In Huntington, West Virginia, locals are brimming with excitement as people are being saved and baptised into the kingdom of Jesus by the hundreds in Temple Church, as Nik Walker preaches. A month-long revival has shaken the city, bringing hope to an area inundated with a lack of hope. Drug addiction has been paramount and suicide rates are unbelievable, but the gospel of Jesus Christ can change everything. People are seeing there is hope for them, and sense God's presence. They're experiencing relationship not religion; you can see it in their eyes. Over 300 students have given their lives to Jesus in three weeks, and 500+ baptisms have been performed. Nik has preached at nine high schools at the students’ request, with the approval of the administration. Temple Church said, ‘What is taking place is phenomenal in a time when many American schools are experiencing chaos and turmoil’.

Rashid Mohamed Salim was cornered and captured by local youths on 29 January in a village in the DRC. He was handed over to the armed forces and arrested. University-educated Salim was radicalised as a teen at a popular mosque in Mombasa. He has been linked with recruiting youth into terror groups in East Africa, and with various terrorist activities. A source said, ‘This young man is a great terrorist. He is a very big player in the activities of slaughtering Christians. We have been receiving pictures and short films of him cutting Christians’ throats. He captures them or has them captured by fellow-rebels, then takes pictures of the murders on his phone and publishes them as propaganda.’ Kenya’s anti-terror police put a $100,000 reward for his capture. He was captured on his way back to Kenya from Cabo Delgado where he had joined Mozambique’s IS group.

Justin Welby will conduct interviews on a new Radio 4 series, ‘Faith and morality’, which will run for six half-hour episodes on consecutive Sundays. He will discuss the balance of spirituality and life in the public eye with a number of high-profile personalities like Tony Blair and Stephen King. The archbishop said it would be ‘a privilege to spend time interviewing fascinating people from different backgrounds for this series. I relish the opportunity to be the one asking the questions rather than answering them. There are few better ways to get to know someone than to inquire and listen. I want to hear about people's lives, and the events and underlying frameworks that shape their views, and I'm extremely grateful for each person’s generosity in giving their time, honesty and vulnerability telling their stories.’

On 30 December, a Migaama New Testament was launched.  A Christian said, ‘This translated word has above all given a freedom to put into practice the word of God at any time. It has broken certain traditions - grudges, difficulties with forgiveness, and reconciliation. It has given us strength to resist in difficulties. It has transformed this resentful people to become Christian people full of love. Finally, this word has become a shield for the Christian Migaami people. They continually make use of this shield to face up to difficulties.’ The leader of the Migaami said, ‘The word of God translated into our language can change lives.’

Before Jesus ascended to heaven, he gave us the command to make disciples among all nations. Two thousand years later, there are still hundreds of unengaged, unreached people groups throughout the world. The South Asia project trains and supports pastors living closest to those unreached groups in South Asia - pastors who have committed to go and reach them with the Gospel. These indigenous pastors also receive small business training, so they will not become dependent on the North American church. In restricted countries, operating a small business is one way to open doors for the Gospel.

Why would an online television series about Jesus be breaking popularity records? It has no big-name stars or producers. The stories are ancient. Are viewers looking for hope amid pandemic uncertainty? Are they bored with working from home and turning to diversions their bosses cannot monitor? Maybe personal connection is driving all this. The episodes portray Jesus’ life with believable dialogue and characters whose genuine, heartfelt emotions - pain, confusion, fear, exhilaration, contentment, awe - help viewers relate these stories to their own struggles and joys. The producers also selected a unique distribution method: free of charge via online streaming. As of now, over 300 million people in over 190 countries have viewed it, and there are translations into fifty languages. A special Christmas 2021 episode was put on in a theatre to run for two days: it ran for 23 days!