Mar 14 2016
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Why can’t God just make me stop sinning?

By Sodwana Bay

Whether you’ve been a Christian for one day or for one decade, you would still be in a position where you struggle with sin. And this could lead you to ask the question: “Why can’t God just erase sin from the world?” Skeptics will, of course, blame God because many perceive Him to be bigoted, self-centred, blood-thirsty and power-hungry. If you’re of this mindset then God bless you, but here’s a perspective that you may choose to ignore but one that seems more plausible. We all know that God is a God of justice and He desires justice, but we also know that God is a God of love who finds enjoyment in seeing His own people turn to him fully. As a parent, I know for a fact how much more fulfilling it is to see my 3-year-old daughter choose to obey my rules without me having to impose them compared to having to put her on a leash every single day of her life. In the same way, God desires for us to turn to Him fully of our accord. This is what we call free will. The reason why God put the tree that bore the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil in the garden was because He didn’t want Adam and Eve to ever feel that they had no other choice except to follow God. If He did not put that tree there, then He would have only proven that He was only hungry for power and control, which He is not. God is instead loving in nature and chose to create man with a choice. Sadly, many times, man has chosen his own way, which will lead only to sin and death. God did not create sin. He merely gave man the opportunity to make a choice for himself whether He would follow God or not. Would Adam have not sinned if the tree wasn’t there? I believe that he would have probably found another way to reject God if he really wanted to. Lucifer didn’t have to eat of a God-made tree to fall into sin, but he still found a way. So why can’t God just take away sin? Because if He had to remove it, He would have to remove our rights to make our own choices and that goes against His loving nature. It’s not God’s fault that we’re still sinning. It’s ours alone. Also, to remove sin would mean God would most likely have to remove good things that He created that we have used for the wrong reasons. For instance, we could ask God to remove our sexual desires so we can flee sexual immorality, but that would mean we would also be disqualified from the great gift that is sex in the context of His plan and will of marriage. But God, always gracious and loving, found a way to set us free from the bondage of sin even if we still existed in sinful and selfish ways. That is by sending Jesus to die on a cross for the forgiveness of our sins and so that we can continue to choose a life lived with Him today. God’s love and grace will surmount our stupidity and wrong choices, and we are blessed to have this opportunity to build a relationship with a God who did not force Himself upon us, but instead gave us a choice. I hope today, you can make the right choice of choosing God above all else.

Mar 14 2016
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Syrian pastor: ‘God is waking up a sleeping Church’, more people becoming Christians than ever before

By Sodwana Bay

  More people, including Muslims, are coming to Christ in Syria than ever before, as the five year anniversary of the civil war approaches, according to a persecution charity. “We’re in a big harvest. God is waking up a sleeping Church,” one pastor told Open Doors. “The Muslims coming to faith are ready to die for their new beliefs; that is a different kind of Christianity.” The war in Syria has devastated its population, with 7.6 million people internally displaced and 4.6 million refugees having fled the country. While the number of Christians officially in the country has decreased since the beginning of the war due to persecution, people – including Muslims – are still coming to faith in Jesus. “What attracted me is the loving environment of the church,” said one Syrian believer from a Muslim background living in Aleppo. In February this year a church in Damascus, Alliance Church, planted a new church close to Homs; a city once dubbed the “capital of the revolution”. While the recorded number of Christians in Syria has fallen – from 1.9 million before the war to between 600,000-900,000 now, the number of Christians secretly worshipping is unknown. New converts from Islam can face serious consequences for leaving their religion. “We [my wife and I] both became Christians,” a Syrian refugee in Lebanon told Open Doors. “My wife took her veil off, but people started to threaten us.” There are glimmers of hope on the ground in Syria. A church in Homs, alongside Open Doors, opened a furniture factory in February, which is now providing work for over thirty people and has already received orders internationally. The charity has also financed the opening of a new pharmacy, which enables people to buy medicines at a reasonable price and offers discounts for those who cannot afford them. “One of the needy women who received medicine for free burst into tears,” an Open Doors contact said. “We continue to live in Syria with hope that our country will heal from its painful outcomes. It will heal from its wounds and will regain peace soon,” said one Syrian church leader. “We, under the Lord’s grace and through his strength, have decided to stay and carry on.”

Mar 14 2016
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Photo of teenager praying for homeless man goes viral

By Sodwana Bay

  A photo of a teenage boy who prayed for a sleeping homeless man on the street has gone viral. A Baltimore police officer, Eric Gaines, shared the photo on Facebook when he noticed the boy praying on the pavement. In a caption, Gained wrote: “I watched as this young kid was walking pass, stopped and walked over to this sleeping homeless man; touched him and began praying over him… This was an amazing sight! I pray this kid becomes a leader amongst his peers, and continues on this path!! Not all Baltimore youth are lost!! I HAD to post this!!” A week later, the post has gone viral, with over 35,000 shares. “He walked over to him and just knelt down and put his hands down on his foot,” Gaines told the Baltimore Sun, describing the event. “I thought it was an amazing sight. I had to take a picture of it. It was extremely powerful.” The boy had been waiting for the bus, and if it hadn’t been for his friends holding it up, he would have missed it because he stopped to pray. Despite the post going viral, his identity remains unknown. “He didn’t do it for any accolades or any praise… I didn’t get a chance to say anything. I wanted to say something to him,” Gaines said. “But it was just as if he did what he had to do and left.”

Mar 14 2016
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White family massacred in Randfontein, South Africa

By Sodwana Bay

  A family of four, including a 9-year-old child, was brutally murdered between Wednesday 9 and Thursday, 10 March on a Randfontein farm in Rodora, Doornfontein, reports the Randfontein Herald, a local newspaper. According to Captain Appel Ernst, Randfontein Police spokesperson, the victims allegedly all sustained “blunt force trauma”. Ernst explained further the deceased’s family members included a 73-year-old man who allegedly was visiting South Africa after his family emigrated to the United Kingdom years back. The other victims were his son, 42, and the son’s 46-year-old fiancée as well as her 9-year-old daughter. Ernst said a family friend allegedly discovered the elderly man’s body after being asked to check on him following a concern from overseas family when he didn’t answer his phone. While police were conducting their investigation, they found his son’s fiancée in an incomplete building on the premises. They later also found the 9-year-old victim’s body in a shed. He was missing as well as the family’s Mercedes SUV. Through the help of a local security company, the vehicle was located in Greenhills. Later, an air search by the Air Wing unit flew above the farm when the elderly man’s son was found. Ernst said he was found at approximately 3pm on Friday, 11 March in a grove on the property. Randfontein station commander, Brigadier Mashole Jacob Manamela was on scene to convey his condolences to the family who had lost their dear loved ones. Ernst added the Randfontein Police are investigating multiple murder cases. She also calls on the community to provide any information they can regarding the murders.

Mar 14 2016
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Muslim embraces Jesus Christ and now even baptises new Christian converts after finding answers to his faith questions

By Sodwana Bay

As difficult as it is to be a Christian in places where majority of the people observe Islam, Shahid (not his real name) bravely defied the odds and served the God he loves. Shahid grew up as a devout Muslim in Libya. He was taught Islamic jurisprudence and he even memorised the Quran. However, things began to change when he turned 14 years old and tried to delve deeper into the teachings of Islam. “Islam was completely exposed with its hidden reality,” Shahid shared with Leading The Way. “Little by little, I had serious concerns about Islam.” Shahid questioned his family and friends, who simply told him not to question his faith. “They told me there is a verse in the Quran that urges Muslims not to seek answers to questions about some things, as it may hurt them if they know the answers,” he said. The doubt Shahid nursed never went away, and for more than four years, he struggled with his questions. He later decided to abandon his faith and become an atheist. “I got to a point when Islam had no more part in my life, and religion ceased to exist and Muhammad meant nothing to me,” he recalled. But thanks to the Christian ministry Leading The Way’s visit to the Middle East, Shahid was introduced to Jesus Christ. Finally, Shahid’s questions about faith were answered. “I learned about who Jesus is and how to be a Christian. We studied how to live with Christ, fellowship with Him, and be part of the church,” he said, adding that he “accepted Jesus’ salvation and got baptised.” It was not enough for Shahid to know about God, because He wanted to share the Good News to others as well. He is now helping the Christian ministry spread the Gospel and baptise converts to Christianity. Shahid’s story is one that has deeply inspired Leading the Way’s founder and president Dr. Michael Youssef. “He is a free man,” Youssef said of Shahid’s testimony. “Most importantly, he is free in Christ!”

Mar 14 2016
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Christians warned to beware of psychics who may claim to serve God but are actually going against the Scripture

By Sodwana Bay

Even though “clairvoyant Christian” Troy Griffin uses his powers to talk to the dead in order to help the police solve “unsolvable cases where tracks had run cold,” Charisma News senior editor Jennifer LeClaire believes that what he is doing is wrong. “The trouble with this type of prophetic ministry is that it violates Scripture. I have no doubt Griffin is talking to spirits—familiar spirits who know everything about the deceased person,” she writes for Charisma News. “Why these familiar spirits would cooperate in solving crimes, I do not know. What I do know is necromancy—which Merriam-Webster defines as ‘conjuration of the spirits of the dead for purposes of magically revealing the future or influencing the course of events’—is an abomination to the Lord.” The Bible passage Deuteronomy 18:9-13 says that it is an “abomination to the Lord” for any person to use “divination, or use witchcraft,” or become “an interpreter of omens, or a sorcerer, or one who casts spells, or a spiritualist, or an occultist, or a necromancer.” Griffin argues that his “psychic calling” is a gift from God, so he uses Christian themes in his readings. “Many of the readings I do for private clients are for people who have lost children to suicide or to other tragic events, and this has caused them to lose or doubt their faith,” he said. “They’re looking to repair their faith and my religious background plays a role in helping them on that journey.” LeClaire says Griffin’s statements are a “tragic deception” because Christians are not supposed to turn to psychics or prophets to get in touch with dead loved ones when they feel down, since the only one they should turn to is God. “Prophets are not supposed to get prophetic words from any other source but God, yet in this hour we are clearly seeing these and other troubling trends emerge among those who call themselves prophetic,” she says. She then warned Christians to “beware” of psychics, mediums, familiar spirits, tarot card readers, crystal ball readers, palm readers, and the like. “They may claim to serve God, but they are tapping into the spirit realm illegally and offering false comfort and fearful predictions that probably won’t even come to pass,” she says.