Focus

FROM PAUPER TO PRINCE TO PREACHER (July 2, 2016)

Mark Ellis newMark Ellis shares yet another good news report …

After his father was murdered his mother slid into drug addiction. In and out of shelters and foster care, Bryce Popken received the Lord at six-years-old and immediately began speaking in tongues and preaching the gospel.

‘Dad was an auto mechanic and ran his own business,’ he says. ‘Mom was a beautiful model and it was love at first sight. But dad had a problem with alcohol that consumed his life.’

When Bryce was 18-months-old his father and a friend got drunk, belligerent with one another, and began to argue over a property line. ‘One thing led to another and my dad’s best friend shot him eight times with a shotgun. (more…)

PARABLES – FAMILIAR STORIES WITH SPIRITUAL LESSONS

Harold HarveyHarold Harvey shares…

Metaphors, similes and parables are forms of speech that many people use every day in their communication with each other. The New Testament uses these forms of speech quite often with regard to its message.

In fact, I think it nigh on impossible to understand the word of God unless one is familiar with these speech forms because the writers of scripture used them so frequently. (more…)

COMMIT YOUR 2016 PLANS TO GOD

Carol Round 2016Carol Round shares meaningfully re 2016 resolutions…

The apostle gives good advice in 3 John 2: ‘Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.’

A New Year has arrived and with it the usual resolutions to lose weight, get in shape and quit smoking. Some look for quick fixes through crash diets, new exercise crazes or so-called ‘magical’ pills while others seek a solution through surgery, bringing with it a host of possible complications and side effects.
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GOD GIVES US ‘SECONDS’

Andrew CorbettAndrew Corbett challenges Christians, not just leaders, with these thoughts …

Generally I believe that a person’s past is the best indicator of his or her future. The general problem with generalities is that there are generally exceptions.

The reason is that history reveals that nearly every person who achieved anything of note had a past which bore little resemblance to their actual futures.

This is good news for people like me – I’m no exception – and perhaps it’s good news for you too. (more…)

RANDOM THOUGHTS OF A PHYSICAL BIOCHEMIST

Ron ChatlierScientist Ron Chatelier shares…

In some ways my life started when I was 14. When I was a teenager, the good news about Jesus Christ was presented in a very direct and clear manner. It was as simple as ABC…

A: Admit that you are a sinner and need God’s help.
B: Believe that Jesus is the Son of God, that he loves you and died on the cross to pay the penalty for your sins, and that he rose again from the dead.
C: Confess that Jesus is Lord, and then do what he says. (more…)

JESUS IS NOT INCREDIBLE!

Andrew CorbettAndrew Corbett challenges Christians, not just leaders, with these thoughts …

The one we follow expects people to follow us. This gives Christianity a leadership culture. If you are a follower of Christ, you must be leader. Whenever the church is at its strongest it is because it is led well.

Because leadership is a part of the fabric of Christianity and the church that Christ is building, Jesus’ followers will display Christ-like leadership in their homes, their schools, their clubs, their workplaces, and the marketplace. Christ’s leadership shows us that it is not about how many are following, but how they are led that matters. (more…)

HOLY SPIRIT INTERCESSION

Mike Shreve
Mike Shreve, evangelist, pastor and author, reminds believers of the Spirit’s work in the church…

According to 1 Kings 8:59, God maintains the cause of his people at all times. How? By the constant intercession ascending to him – flowing like a river from the Son of God and from the Holy Spirit.

Most believers know that Jesus is our high priest who ‘ever lives’ to make intercession for us (Heb. 7:25; Rom. 8:34). Few realise that the Holy Spirit also petitions the Father on our behalf. This is a sound biblical truth that we need to know. (more…)

MUSLIM PILGRIM FINDS JESUS IN MECCA

Charles GardnerCharles Gardner, Special to ASSIST, shares an inspirational testimony…

A Muslim man from Turkey went on a pilgrimage to Mecca in a desperate bid to get his life straightened out – and met Jesus!

A wife-beater who was addicted to alcohol, Ali Pektash was on a visit to the famous shrine when he fell asleep under the burning sun. Jesus twice appeared to him in a dream, telling him to leave the area and spread the gospel, and left a permanent mark where he touched him on the chest. (more…)

TRYING TO DISPROVE GOD, ATHEIST GENETICIST TURNED TO FAITH

Mark Ellis
Mark Ellis and associate Michael Ashcroft bring this testimony of a noted scientist finding God:

The current head of the National Institutes of Health, Francis S Collins, came to faith after he set out to disprove God.

‘I had always assumed that faith was based on purely emotional and irrational arguments and was astounded to discover that one could build a very strong case for the plausibility of God,’ he noted on CNN. ‘My earlier atheist’s assertion that “I know there is no God” emerged as the least defensible.’ (more…)