Displaying items by tag: Praise

In Pakistan, false accusations of blasphemy are common and often motivated by personal vendettas or religious hatred. Imran was falsely accused of blasphemy and imprisoned for life. On 15 December the Lahore High Court acquitted him and released him, after he had spent over ten years in prison. The development came as a shock to Imran’s family. ‘It is a day of resurrection for us’, Naveed Masih, Imran’s brother, said. ‘God has heard our cry and we are very thankful to Him. It’s a Christmas gift for us.’

At a time of deep racial tension, two pastors - Derrick Hawkins, middle-aged and white, and Jay Stewart, young and black - have united their culturally segregated churches. The pair are leading the journey of racial reconciliation by example. In 2014 Pastor Derrick visited Jay’s church service and asked him to mentor him as he prepared to take over the role of senior pastor in his church. They began meeting and established a great friendship. In 2016, they decided to go beyond the norm and merge their completely culturally different ministries. 90% of African-American Christians worship in all-black churches. 90% of white American Christians worship in all-white churches. The pair believe God has a ‘better narrative of unity’, and want Christians to step out of their comfort zones and reflect the bride of Christ. Stewart said the risks of forming relationships with those who look different from you is worth the reward that comes from doing so.

14-year-old Mohammed, a Muslim street child without parental supervision, attended a local Sunday school for the entertainment and free food. Then he was challenged to receive Jesus. He said, ‘I waited until I got home, then at 3:00 am I said, “Lord Jesus, please help me. I am desperate, helpless, hopeless. I cannot take it any more. I need you.” Then within half an hour I slept, and I woke up in the morning excited. I took one of the many New Testaments from Sunday school and put it in my school bag and went to school and started telling people about my experience.’ He was thrilled that he had found the answers to his troubling questions, not where he expected in Islam, but in Christianity, and he boldly told everyone about Jesus. This turned more than a few heads. God had a plan for his life; to read his wonderful story, click the ‘More’ button.

Hollywood filmmaker DeVon Franklin and worship leader and Pastor Cory Asbury have teamed up to turn a worship song, Reckless Love, into a feature film. Based on Asbury’s difficult relationship with his father, the movie explores how that vital relationship impacted the singer’s personal view of God. Cory has worked with the Bethel Music Collective since 2015, and this song has been number one in Billboard's Christian Songs chart and is sung in churches globally. He was approached by Franklin, the Christian filmmaker behind Miracles of Heaven, Breakthrough and the animated Christmas film The Star. When he was asked to share his story he was hesitant. Franklin said, ‘Cory, what if this film is bigger than you and your story? What if it brings healing to your dad and dads all across the world?’ That question decided it.

The Agriculture Bill has now been finalised and received royal assent. The good news is the setting up of a trade and agriculture commission is to be included. Its purpose is to protect the UK's higher standards of environmental protection, animal welfare and food quality in farming and food production against imports produced to lower standards. The new legislation will bring substantial change in how farming and food production are supported; pray for our farmers as they adapt (Isaiah 28:24-29). See also

Gary Smith, one of the evangelists at a two-week outreach, writes, ‘Tonight was the last night of the crusade in Singida. The last two weeks have been absolutely incredible with thousands of salvations, miracles, and people filled with the Holy Spirit. I am rejoicing in all that the Lord has done. I’ve heard testimonies from bishops and pastors who are overjoyed as many new believers joined their church this morning. This is worth every dollar spent and every day away from family, to see people saved and planted into the local church. It’s not just making converts but to make mighty disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ! Hallelujah!’

After their son experienced a miraculous healing at the hands of Jesus, Bassam and his wife turned from their fundamentalist Muslim background and placed their trust in Christ. However, as a result Bassam and his family began receiving death threats, prompting them to flee from their home. In response, International Christian Concern stepped in to provide Bassam with a taxi business so that he could continue providing for his family with dignity. He expressed, ‘We prayed to God, but the answer exceeded our expectations. I wasn’t prepared for such a big blessing.’

Katy Perry went back to her Christian roots for her performance at the American Music Awards. The pop star was joined by country music star Darius Rucker to sing their duet ‘Only love’, but she began the performance with a short version of the hymn ‘As the deer’ that is based on Psalm 42:1: ‘As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God.’ Perry’s parents are pastors and started their daughter’s career as Christian artists. She got her big break in 2008 with a secular song. Then in 2018 she said, ‘My mum has prayed for me my entire life, hoping I'd come back to God. I never left him, I was just a little bit secular, I was more materialistic and more career-driven. But now it's more about spirituality and heart wholeness.’

The Archbishop of Canterbury has urged people to return to church on Christmas Day, as social distancing rules are relaxed over the festive period. Justin Welby said that people should not be put off physically attending worship on 25 December. He told BBC’s Newsnight, ‘Yes, of course they should go to church. Go to church online. Go to church physically. You'll find that far fewer people will be there, because we're keeping people two metres apart. Go to church, pray. Remember at the heart of Christmas is the gift of Jesus Christ, by God, to give us hope and life and a future. And it's that hope that's at the centre of Christmas.’ The archbishop added, ‘I will certainly be in church. That's one of the safest places going at the moment, and it will be permitted from the end of lockdown. But there will be very few people there.’

Praise God for the rescue of three teenage girls from online child sexual exploitation in the Philippines. They are receiving trauma-informed care from the city social welfare department. Also, a group of 13 women and men were struggling to rebuild life in freedom after being rescued. An NGO bought new bicycles for them and helped them set up small businesses delivering milk and cloth in their community - where they now earn steady incomes. Pray for more creative ways to support survivors long-term. Praise God that there have been over 100 convictions by government prosecutors for cases of online exploitation of children.