FIRST, TODAY'S ESSAY:      
FastDomain Website Hosting

 

Our Homecoming

Our HomecomingGoing on 14 years ago, when my wife and I had decided to become Orthodox Christians, I began writing this essay called "Our Homecoming." It's been updated a few times since then: I added some things, improved the format, and fixed two "dead" links that had new web addresses. You'll notice the latest update is the same day as I'm writing this article. You can read it online and also download it for free as a 26-page PDF.

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit! Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!

Why on earth would an older Evangelical couple who had spent most of their working lives involved in foreign missions decide to become Orthodox Christians? Was it the "Stockholm Syndrome" that some captives experience while being held hostage or as a prisoner? A few people have suggested this syndrome to me. After all, we had been Evangelical missionaries to Russia for 17 years! But such syndromes fade away after several months of freedom, and we had returned to the U.S. in October 2007, becoming Orthodox in December 2008, not in Russia but in the U.S. where Orthodox Christians are less than 1% of the population. And now, after almost 14 years, we're still Orthodox. No, the "Stockholm Syndrome" doesn't fit us.

The word "orthodox" means "right praise" or "true worship" – like when people go to the orthodontist to have their teeth straightened, or to an orthopedic surgeon to have their bone structure corrected. So... what is "true worship" anyway? Allow me to quote just a few paragraphs from the above essay:

In Eph. 4:3-6 we read - "being eager to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as you also were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in us all." Many other Bible texts stress the oneness of the Body of Christ. The Eastern Church believes that "one body" means one visible, united Church. In contrast, Paul writes in Gal. 5:20 that "strife... divisions, heresies" are works of the flesh, right along with adultery, murder, drunkenness and gluttony, and he writes, "those who practice such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God" (v. 21). So strife and division are just as serious "mortal" sins as is heresy. When Western toleration is taken to the extreme that all viewpoints are equally acceptable and true, we've crossed the line into approving of theological and moral relativism, strife, divisions and heresies.

In the West, if we disagree with others in church, we often will simply start a new church, denomination or an un-denomination. But because strife and divisions are just as serious sins as heresies, the Eastern Church looks upon "sectarians" who split away from the Church as just as sinful as "heretics" whose doctrines may deny the Trinity (Molokans, United Pentecostal Church, Children of God, Witness Lee movement, etc.), even though they may have fairly orthodox doctrines, or deny the unique God-manhood of Christ (Arianism, Nestorianism, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons). And because the tsar or emperor was blessed by the patriarch or pope as the protector of the Church, the clergy could call upon state power to put down both "sectarians" and "heretics." The enforcement of Church teachings with state power gradually diminished in the West after the Protestant Reformation led to Western Europe's population being decimated by decades of religious wars, which finally caused the Austro-Hungarian Emperor to issue an Edict of Toleration. So it may not be such a tragedy that there has never been a Reformation in Russia: it may have been spared decades of religious wars. All of this at least partially explains why there is a lack of western-style "religious toleration" in the former USSR.

Jews, Christians, and Muslims all believe God is one, not many. But which one is the true God? That is our free choice. Religious freedom, however, includes the chance of being wrong. Historically, those who have claimed to know all truth absolutely have tended to force others to accept their beliefs. But ecclesiastical and doctrinal authority should not extend to all of society, only within that religious organization. There should be true religious toleration – but not syncretism – in today's multi-cultural society, because having one state-enforced religious confession brings only superficial unity at the price of insincere belief. True belief can't be forced, or else it leads to unbelief. President Eisenhower, when Americans were deciding to put "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance, stated the matter with secular clarity: "Our government makes no sense unless it is founded in a deeply felt religious faith – and it doesn't matter which one." No, it matters very much which one is true, but it is not within the domain of the state to tell its citizens which faith is the true one.

So religious toleration in society needs to be carefully framed something like this: "The state upholds freedom of religious belief, confession and practice, and cannot enforce only one or a few religious confessions. This does not mean, however, that the state supports the idea that all belief systems are equally true, that no belief system is ultimately true, or that only unbelief is true." Each person's right to believe does not make wrong beliefs right, rather, the freedom to choose inherently includes the possibility of making wrong choices. But we acknowledge that religion has historically played a leading role in forming society's laws and morals. Laws assume moral standards, so it is impossible to keep religion and morality private, because religious beliefs or the lack of them affect all of human behavior, both public and private. Therefore the state should encourage all citizens, including those with religious beliefs, to participate in the formulation of morals and laws.

Have you ever noticed what Phil. 4:4-7 tells us about Enthusiasm, Efficiency and Effectiveness?

Enthusiasm: Phil. 4:4 – "Rejoice in the Lord always! Again I will say, Rejoice!" The word "enthusiasm" comes from Greek "en theos" – "in God." If we try to find happiness in material things or merely human relationships, we will eventually be disappointed. But we can find true happiness, joy, only in God. We need enthusiasm in order to get anything done. Psychologists tell us that without a healthy emotional-volitional condition, people can't make rational decisions: emotionally flat or "labile" people simply flip-flop around: "Should I do this, or maybe that? I don't know, I just can't decide." Only the Lord can give us real joy, "en-theos-iasm," the emotional charge we need to get going in the right direction.

Efficiency: Phil. 4:5 – "Let your moderation be known to all men. The Lord is at hand." Some modern translations put "gentleness" in place of "moderation" but I firmly believe that "moderation" is the correct translation of the Greek word "epieikes" – simply look at the context, verses 11-13, where Paul writes about living a moderate lifestyle. Moderation or efficiency means to "lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily entangles us" (Heb. 12:1), not being overloaded with excess baggage. In order for cars to run efficiently, they should be kept tuned up, but first of all they must be built with a strong enough frame, yet as light as possible in order to get good gas mileage. Similarly, we should keep our bodies in shape, "tuned up" by sufficient rest and the right kind of exercise, but also shed those extra pounds that drag us down, make us tired and inefficient, and eventually cause breakdowns. We should also shed the extra baggage of too many material possessions: each added thing requires time and resources to maintain it, polish it, clean it, etc. Often, "less is more" – having fewer things gives us more time for what is really important: koinonia-fellowship or communion with God and with other people (1 John 1:3-7).

Effectiveness: Phil. 4:6-7 – "In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus." It's quite possible, you know, to have efficiency without effectiveness. Efficiency is doing things right, but effectiveness is doing the right thing. You've doubtless heard of the husband driving the family on vacation down the wrong highway. He was being very efficient, getting great gas mileage, but was on the wrong road. Being anxious about this, that and the other thing, chasing down every rabbit trail of worry and fear, "What if such-and-such? I'd better take care of it!" – such excessive anxiety, messing around with little secondary details that could just as well be left alone, wastes time and keeps us from doing the main thing, worshiping and serving the Lord. When I was a systems analyst, I learned the rule: "The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing." How can we avoid the rabbit trails and keep on the main track? "The peace of God... will guard your hearts (emotions) and your thoughts (reason)." The Greek word for "guard" is "phroureo" – "to be a watcher in advance." Like an advance scouting party or a lookout, the Holy Spirit knows in advance, beyond our understanding, what's coming down the road in the future, and He can guard and guide us in making the right decisions, if we listen to His voice and let Him guide us.

Is There One Right Way To Worship?

The right thing, the main thing is worshiping and serving the Lord, so what's the "effective" way, the right way to do that? Let's take a look at James 1:22-25. James, the brother of Jesus, writes, "But be doers of the word, and not only hearers, deluding your own selves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man beholding his natural face in a mirror; for he sees himself, and goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law, the law of freedom, and continues, not being a hearer who forgets but a doer of the word, this man will be blessed in what he does." So how do we worship and serve the Lord? By doing what the Lord says, not merely singing hymns, listening to sermons or reading the Bible, but by applying the Word of God to daily life.

The last two verses, 26-27, tell us – "If anyone among you thinks himself to be religious while he doesn't bridle his tongue, but deceives his heart, this man's religion is worthless. Pure religion and undefiled before our God and Father is this: to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained by the world." The Russian word for "religion" here is "reverence," which stirred my curiosity: what is the original Greek word? It is threskeia, which means ceremonial service of religion, various observances practiced by the Egyptian priests, such as wearing linen, practicing circumcision, shaving, etc. It is derived from threomai, to mutter forms of prayer, and often when it is used in the NT it often carries a negative connotation, but not always. If our religious habits and rituals, whether praying, fasting, singing hymns, preaching, listening to or reading the Bible, do not lead us into practical ministry to orphans, widows and other needy people and into leading a holy and pure life, that kind of religion is worthless. James apparently got his idea for this text from the Old Testament, Ezek.33:30-33, where the prophet Ezekiel says that people come to hear the words of the Lord simply for entertainment, just like listening to someone sing or play a flute, but they don't do them.

This James was the one who presided at the Council of Jerusalem, when the Apostles and Early Church were debating whether Christians must observe the Law of Moses, see Acts 15:5-21 especially 19-21, where he said, "Therefore my judgment is that we don't trouble those from among the Gentiles who turn to God, but that we write to them that they abstain from the pollution of idols, from sexual immorality, from what is strangled, and from blood. For Moses from generations of old has in every city those who preach him, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath." So the Gentiles didn't have to observe the whole Law of Moses, just basic morality and cleanliness, but the Jewish Christians could continue to attend the synagogue and practice its religious rituals. The heart of the issue isn't how to or whether to observe religious rituals or not, but to lead a holy and pure life, and as St. Paul adds in his description of this event (Gal. 2:9-10), "to remember the poor."

I hope these few paragraphs whet your appetite so that you'll read the whole essay and maybe even download the PDF to share it with others.

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit! Christ is among us! He is and ever shall be!

GO TO: Hosken-News Blog TO SHARE THIS ↑ ESSAY with your friends and to WRITE YOUR COMMENTS.

 

Keep our websites free! Support Agape Restoration Society via PayPal: click the "DONATE" button.
Also, please Share Our Vision with your family & friends.
And bookmark our Amazon Smile link to shop at Amazon!

 

NOW, THE NEWS:

 

SECULAR BIOETHICS THREATENS HUMAN DIGNITY, SAYS U.S. BIOETHICIST
from: BioEdge

secular bioethics threatens human dignity (17 July) Medicine detached from a transcendent dimension is increasingly a threat to human dignity, argues a bioethicist and theologian at Fordham University. In his new book Losing Our Dignity: How Secularized Medicine is Undermining Fundamental Human Equality, Charles Camosy predicts that the lives of millions of people with dementia will be at risk. Here are a few excerpts from an interview with the news website Crux:

"The central thesis of the book is that as medicine became secularized it rejected the idea that fundamental human equality comes from sharing a common human nature which reflects the image and likeness of God – and replaced it with a vision of the person which insists on their being rational, self-aware, autonomous, productive, etc. in order to be morally and legally valuable…

"If we stay on the current path there will likely be euthanasia of human beings with later-stage dementia in the near future. In some ways, the neglect this population already experiences isn’t much better than euthanasia – isolated from the rest of us and kept 'docile' with various drugs in what are essentially warehouses where they wait to die alone.

"But there's no principled reason why our secularized medical culture would stop with this population. After all, lots of disabled human beings aren't rational, self-aware, autonomous, and productive in the same way able-bodied human beings are. Why would we think that we won't eventually apply this horrific moral and legal vision to them?" [read more...]

COMMENTARY: As we learned of Nazi Germany's elimination of 'inferior' human beings in death camps and the Soviet Union's silencing of politcal opponents with psychiatric drugs and concentration camps, such secular, neo-pagan, and atheistic ideologies gravitate toward this devaluation of the intrinsic worth of humans as created in the image of God. We need to pray for a spiritual awakening of Christians in order to fight against this ethical and moral rot.

 

 

BELARUS: "TO PUT THE CHURCH IN ITS PLACE"
from: Forum 18 News Service

Archbishop Artemy of Grodno (23 July) As more human rights defenders are jailed, others protesting against election falsification and regime violence are also targeted. The Belarusian Orthodox Church has fired many priests including Archbishop Artemy of Grodno, who spoke of a "general purge" because "not all church figures support the existing regime." Among others targeted, Catholic priest Fr. Vyacheslav Barok fled to Poland. A public prosecutor claimed it is illegal to give Fr. Barok a copy of an official warning he was read. The regime tried to stop singing of the hymn Mighty God and organised instead a pro-regime "prayer day."

Amid a continuing crackdown on civil society after the August 2020 falsified presidential election, Aleksandr Lukashenko's regime is pressuring religious communities to support it. At the same time, the regime has sought to change prayers for Belarus' future – which many communities have organised since regime violence following the election – into pro-regime prayers. The regime has also sought to ban prayers for political prisoners.

The KGB secret police (which has retained the same name since the Soviet period) keeps political opponents or perceived opponents under close scrutiny. Among their targets are clergy and active members of a wide range of religious communities and initiatives, human rights defenders told Forum 18.

Since August 2020, the Belarusian Orthodox Church – the largest religious community in Belarus - has removed senior bishops and lower clergy seen as disloyal to the regime. The Church has also given the regime lists of priests who have supported protests against the regime, human rights defenders told Forum 18.

One of the clergy removed by the Orthodox Church was Archbishop Artemy of Grodno in June 2021. "This [removal from office] happened on the orders of the state," the Archbishop told Radio Free Europe, adding that "they considered it necessary to deal with me." He commented that the regime has been undertaking a "general purge" since the August 2020 election. "While they have a bit of quiet, there's time to put the church in its place a little. Because not all church figures support the existing regime." [read more...]

COMMENTARY: This is one more example of how the KGB manipulates the Orthodox Church and other religious groups: by removing those who are "unpatriotic" or "disloyal" and promoting those who are willing supporters of the state.

 

 

THE KREMLIN ACTIVELY INVOLVED THE RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH TO PROMOTE THE "ONE PEOPLE" THESIS
from: Religious Information Service of Ukraine

Alexander Shchipkov of the ROC (22 July) "Ukrainians-Little Russians and Russians – are one people that Russia is ready to protect by all possible means.” This is stated in the article on the ROC website [in Russian], by the first deputy chairman of the Synodal Department for Church-Society relations and mass media of the Russian Orthodox Church Alexander Shchipkov, released on the website of Nezavisimaya Gazeta.

The main representative of the Russian Orthodox Church says that “the Kyiv regime, having given birth to the Nazi law on indigenous peoples, which opens a direct path to the state genocide of Russians, has crossed the 'red line.'" He analyzes Vladimir Putin's famous article about Ukraine, explaining its theses.

The representative of the Russian Orthodox Church claims that “Ukraine is an empire. Both the Hungarian, Romanian, and Russian populations are by no means enthusiastic about the imperial policy of Ukraine, which decided to keep itself within the Soviet borders, but at the same time give power to the western Ukrainian ethnocracy, which does not represent the national majority. To put the former Ukrainian SSR in the Procrustean bed of a narrow mono-national doctrine – 'one country, one language, one nation,' it is necessary to carry out cultural and religious purges, and sometimes direct military genocide,” Shchipkov says.

He claims that ”for this purpose, the Maidan was held,“ and now ”forced de-Russification continues, that is, a war with the vast majority of the population of Ukraine." According to him, "Putin directly says that Ukraine is occupied, that it is under external control, that the elites have betrayed the people – the only Russian people, that the minority oppresses the Russian majority."

“Today, the Russian president speaks on behalf of the Russians, 'Novorossians,' and Lesser Russians. He recalls that Russia cannot afford to leave a part of its people without protection. This is a matter of historical national viability." [read more...]

COMMENTARY: This is the most brazen statement yet of rationalizing Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The blatant guilt-projection should be obvious to anyone with eyes to see: "state genocide of Russians" is actually state genocide of the Ukrainians, "Ukraine is an empire" is actually Russia trying to maintain control over its former empire, "one country, one language, one nation" is actually Russia's claim that all eastern Slavs ought to belong to this revived Russian Empire. Perhaps the most telling remark is "Russia cannot afford to leave a part of its people without protection" – actually, Russia can't afford to lose control over Orthodox Christians in Ukraine because Russia's state church would no longer be the largest Orthodox Church in the world. "Putin directly says that Ukraine is occupied, that it is under external control" – by Russia – is perhaps the statement most truthful of all.

 

 

JURY AWARDS $125 MILLION TO FORMER WALMART EMPLOYEE WITH DOWN SYNDROME
from: Disability Scoop

Walmart fined $125 million for firing Down syndrome worker (19 July) Walmart has been ordered to pay a former employee with Down syndrome over $125 million after a jury found that the retailer failed to provide her with appropriate disability accommodations.

The decision from a Green Bay, Wis. jury late last week comes in a lawsuit filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on behalf of Marlo Spaeth who has Down syndrome and worked at a Walmart store for about 16 years.

Spaeth was always given positive evaluations, but was fired in July 2015 after having trouble adjusting to changes that were made to her longtime work schedule, the EEOC said. Spaeth asked Walmart to adjust her scheduled start and end times by 60 to 90 minutes and to restore her previous schedule, but the company did not, according to the federal agency.

After she was fired, Walmart rejected Spaeth’s request to be rehired, a decision the jury said was due to her disability or because of the need to provide accommodations. Such conduct violates the Americans with Disabilities Act, the EEOC said.

At the conclusion of a four-day trial, the jury awarded Spaeth $150,000 in compensatory damages and $125 million in punitive damages. But Randy Hargrove, a spokesman for Walmart, said that that the verdict will be reduced to $300,000, the maximum allowed under federal law. [read more...]

COMMENTARY: Thankfully, Marlo Spaeth will be compensated for being unjustly fired. It is astounding that, after her employment there for 16 years and always given positive evaluations, Walmart would fire her because she couldn't adapt to a change in work schedule.

 

 

REPRESENTATIVES OF UKRAINIAN COUNCIL OF CHURCHES MEET WITH G7 DIPLOMATS
from: UKRINFORM

UCCRO meets with G7 (12 July) Representatives of the Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations (UCCRO) and the diplomats of G7 countries have held a meeting to discuss the role of churches in a peacebuilding process, Ukrinform reports with reference to the UCCRO’s website.

The meeting was held at the invitation of British Ambassador Melinda Simmons in Kyiv on July 9. Among the participants were ambassadors and representatives of embassies of Italy, Norway, USA, Japan, Canada and some other countries.

"Religious figures shared with foreign diplomats the experience of church representatives in the Trilateral Contact Group for a peaceful settlement of the situation in Eastern Ukraine. In particular, they discussed the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, the issue of internally displaced persons, the need for more active involvement of the international community in restoring religious freedom and other human rights in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories of Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk regions,” reads the report.

The participants of the meeting also exchanged views on combating domestic violence. Diplomats stressed the importance of ratification of the Istanbul Convention. In turn, religious leaders voiced some remarks to the convention, stressing the need for practical measures to combat domestic violence. [read more...]

COMMENTARY: Churches have a significant role to play in the peacebuilding process. Russia's invasion and occupation of parts of Ukraine have been allowed to continue for too long: it's time to seek peace with justice.

 

 

MOSCOW PATRIARCHATE WILL SUPPORT RUSSIAN ATHLETES AT TOKYO OLYMPICS
from: Interfax-Religion

Interfax Religion (19 July) The Russian Orthodox Church is going to support Russian athletes at the Tokyo Olympics and be proud of their victories.

"I would like to address our athletes and say that the whole country and all of us will support you anyway, and regardless of what flag is hanging there, we know that you stand for Russia, and we will be proud of your victory," Metropolitan Hilarion, head of the Synodal Department for External Church Relations, said on the Church and World program on the Russia 24 TV.

The hierarch believes that support is especially important for athletes who play for their country and are deprived of the opportunity to see their national flag and hear the national anthem.

"I want to say that the Church will always be close to our athletes, with those who belong to the Orthodox Church. Naturally, we do not impose our religious values on anyone, there are representatives of different faiths among the athletes, but most of our athletes are Orthodox people for whom the support of a priest in this situation will be very important," the mepropolitan said.

The Olympic Games will be held in Tokyo from July 23 to August 8. Due to the sanctions of the World Anti-Doping Agency, athletes from Russia were banned from displaying their state symbols on it. At the upcoming Games, Russian athletes are accompanied by the official confessor of the national team, Archpriest Andrey Alexeyev. [read article]

COMMENTARY: In Soviet times, any Russian delegation traveling abroad would have a special KGB person accompanying them to ensure that nobody would defect to the West. Having an Orthodox priest to accompany this Russian Olympic seems a little strange.

 

 

OTHER NEWS HEADLINES:

 

BELARUS: POLITICAL PRISONERS' FREEDOM OF RELIGION OR BELIEF RESTRICTED
from Forum 18 News Service

PAKISTAN: HIGH COURT UPHOLDS 13-Y-O CHRISTIAN GIRL’S FORCED MARRIAGE & CONVERSION TO ISLAM
from Christian Persecution

STUDY DATA SHOWS THERE IS NO CHEATING OLD AGE
from Disabled World

BAPTISTS DECLARED EXTREMISTS IN "LPR"
from Religious Information Service of Ukraine

UNFOLDINGWORD INVITED TO JOIN ETEN BIBLE TRANSLATION ALLIANCE
from Mission Network News

MEETINGS WITH ORTHODOX BELIEVERS OF SOUTH-EAST ASIA IS A MOMENT OF TRUE FIRST-CHRISTIAN EXPERIENCE
from Interfax-Religion

DECR CHAIRMAN VISITS CATHEDRAL OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST OF RUSSIAN CHURCH OUTSIDE RUSSIA
from Russian Orthodox Church - Moscow Patriarchate

BEWARE OF THE ORTHODOX BOBOS
from Orthodox Christianity

HOUSE SPEAKER DEFENDS TAXPAYER-FUNDED ABORTION WHILE CITING CATHOLIC FAITH
from Eurasia Review

"HOME IS WHERE THE CARE IS": 2 MILLION ADULTS IN U.S. ARE HOMEBOUND
from JAHF

 

NOW, OUR VIEWS:

 

 

Christ Sending Out the Twelve

Christ Sending Out the Twelve

(Maybe you've read this before and you're wondering, "Why am I seeing this again?" But millions of other Christians haven't seen it! So please help us by clicking on the title above, then use the "share" buttons to share it with your social media friends. Thanks!!)

Jesus Christ showed and taught His followers how to heal the sick and care for the poor and brokenhearted, then He sent them out to do the same. It seems, however, that many Christians think - "I don't have the gift of healing, I'm not a great evangelist or a pastor, so I guess I'll just be an ordinary layperson, sitting in my cushioned pew, singing hymns and listening to sermons." Why do people think that way? And what should we do about it?

We've been conditioned by centuries of social pressure, for example, under the Moslems who in the seventh century conquered the Middle East, North Africa, Spain, parts of France, Italy, Russia, the Balkans and Hungary, and who at best consigned Christians to second-class "dhimmi" status and forbade them to have any social outreach - only Moslems were allowed to do that. Christians were limited to only hold religious observances within four church walls. At worst, Christians were persecuted and killed if they wouldn't convert to Islam.

Then in Western Europe, after driving the Moslems back and after several religious wars that decimated the populations, the various Edicts of Toleration reinforced the notion that people should stop fighting and show "tolerance" to those of other religious convictions, not pushing their religious beliefs on others.

But in the Christian East, shortly after the collapse of the Moslem Turkish Empire, in the 1917 Russian Revolution, Communism took hold and at best strictly limited the Christian faith to only religious observances within four church walls, they were forbidden to have any kind of social ministry: only communists were allowed to do that. At worst, Christians who wouldn't meekly comply were tortured and killed.

And in the West it's just a bit more subtle: the ever-expanding secular humanism under the guise of "democracy", "freedom" and "tolerance" exerts strong social pressure against living out one's Christian faith in the public square. Nowadays, if any Christian suggests, "We ought to be taking care of 'the poor, the maimed, the lame and the blind' like Christ did and taught His followers to do! - the standard reply is - "Oh, that's not our job: let the government do it." But government-managed "healthcare" doesn't care about your health, it's motivated by power and money: if the patient can't pay, shove him out the door. Don't think so? We've seen it happen!

And leftists now push the idea that religious freedom means only the right to attend the worship service of your choice, not "the free exercise of religion" as the First Amendment clearly states. Do you see a pattern developing here? They want to take over the Social Ministry of the Church - see our six short courses that will help you break out of these cultural stereotypes!

How often have you heard, "Don't shove your religion down other people's throats!" and Christians being labeled as "intolerant" or "bigoted" or "haters" if they speak of or live out their beliefs in public? We've internalized these social pressures, accepting them as "normal" and even come to believe in them almost as religious dogma. We must break out of this "psychological box" that we've been shoved into, and reclaim the free exercise of our religion in society, as Christ commanded us to do.

You likely don't have the gifts of healing or exorcism. Perhaps you're not a great evangelist: you get real nervous if asked to speak in public. It's OK if you don't have those spiritual gifts. Remember Christ's parable of the ten talents, five talents and one talent? The person with just one talent buried it, so the Master took it and gave it to the person who had ten.

But actually, you most likely have ten talents already! What are those things attached to your palms? Ten fingers! You have ten spiritual gifts, called the gift of helps! Learn how to start using them, and perhaps the Master will entrust you with some of the greater gifts. Break out of the box!

 

 

The ongoing, low-level war between Russia and Ukraine has been going on far too long. As our above articles and headlines indicate, both sides are using religion as a justification for their positions. Pray with us for an end to the killing and restoration of respectful and peaceful relations between these two countries.

 

Our next free online (click →) Course: "Intro - Ministry to Handicapped and Poor" (← click) starts soon! So enroll today, before you forget!

 

In our above news headline MEETINGS WITH ORTHODOX BELIEVERS OF SOUTH-EAST ASIA IS A MOMENT OF TRUE FIRST-CHRISTIAN EXPERIENCE, you read about new believers in Asia experiencing Christianity the way early Christians worshipped. This week, I've been updating our www.Discover-Original-Christianity.info website so it will work with the latest browser standards. These days, many Christians in the West have the idea that in Original Christianity, believers had "spontaneous" worship, pretty much the same way most do today. (Actually, the pastor and "ministry team" spend hours each week choreographing the next Sunday's "spontaneous" service.) I was amazed to learn several years ago that the first-century Church used a liturgy in their worship. On our www.Discover-Original-Christianity.info home-page you'll see the Liturgy of St. James, composed by the Apostle James, "brother" of our Lord Jesus Christ. Check it out!

 

Make a "Quick-click" Donation via PayPal: PayPal.me/AgapeRestoration.
And bookmark our Amazon Smile link to shop at Amazon!

 

Prayer and Praise:   For a daily reminder to pray for the items below, go to My Daily Prayer Guide and click on the "H-N pr." link!

Sun. - Pray with us that many others will experience their homecoming to the fullness of the true faith, like we did almost 14 years ago... and still do!
Mon. - Ask the Lord to send a spiritual awakening so people will reject the secular bioethics that tend toward eliminating unproductive or unfit people.
Tue. - Pray that Christians in Belarus will stand against the government's removing the ''unpatriotic'' or ''disloyal,'' not willing supporters of the state.
Wed. - Intercede for the believers in Ukraine, where Russia uses military force to keep them in subjection to the Russian church and the Russian state.
Thu. - Thank God for Marlo Spaeth, who has Down syndrome, being awarded a sizable sum for having been unfairly fired from her job at Walmart.
Fri. - Praise God that various churches in Ukraine play a significant role in the peacebuilding process, after the seven-year-long war with Russia.
Sat. - Ask the Lord that Russian Orthodox believers at the Tokyo Olympics will truly receive the spiritual support they are supposed to be getting.

 

Who Are We?   Please remember to pray for Christians in Secularized Countries, and for...

  Your fellow-servants,

  Bob & Cheryl

  p.s. If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything.

 

 

This page may link to our Amazon and FastDomain.com affiliate accounts, so when you click on a link and buy something there, a small commission is credited to that account.