Thousands Attend Priestly Blessing in Jerusalem's Old City

JERUSALEM, Israel – Thousands of Israelis flocked to the Western Wall Monday for the semi-annual priestly blessing – the Birkat Kohanim – filling the Western Wall Plaza to overflowing. Moses' brother Aaron first pronounced this blessing over the children of Israel recorded in the Book of Numbers.

"The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace." (Numbers 6:22-26)

The Western Wall, known as the Kotel in Hebrew, is the last remains of the retaining wall of Second Jewish Temple from the time of Jesus. The Temple was built on the plateau above, known as the Temple Mount to Jews. Today, two Muslim shrines – the al- Aksa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock -- occupy the Temple Mount, known in Arabic as the Haram al Sharif.

Israel Police beefed up security forces during the week-long holiday, with some 3,500 officers patrolling the city.

While Israel continues efforts to tamp down Palestinian incitement,Jordan ramped up its rhetoric, criticizing Israel for allowing expanded hours for Jews to visit the Temple Mount during the week of Passover.

According to Jordan's Petra state news agency, the Hashemite Kingdom called on Israel "to immediately stop such moves, deny entry to settlers and Israeli forces into the yards of the holy shrine and allow Palestinian worshippers to enter the mosque."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned last week that with the approach of Passover, "… all sorts of extremists will spread lies about our policy concerning the Temple Mount."

Tourists made up the bulk of the more than 1,000 visitors to the site on Sunday. Less than 200 were Israeli.

The Islamic Waqf, under Jordanian jurisdiction, oversees the day-to-day administration of the Temple Mount, while Israel is responsible for maintaining security there.

Last week, a 19-year-old resident of Bethlehem, who may have been recruited by Hamas, detonated a bomb on a bus in Jerusalem, injuring 21 people. Israeli doctors worked to save the teenage terrorist, whose legs were blown off by the bomb, but he succumbed to his injuries.

In the fall, the priestly blessing takes place during the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot), and in the spring, during Passover (Pesach), two of the three biblical pilgrimage festivals, which also includes Shavuot, the Feast of Weeks, 50 days after Passover.

REF: CBN News.

AFTER KILLER NEPAL QUAKE, GOD'S KINGDOM IS RAPIDLY EXPANDING. HERE'S HOW

"Before I don't have an idea about Jesus and the Christian people, but when I got attached to them, I felt that they are friendly and kind. They want to be around me and I feel I should follow their God, Jesus. I want to know more about Jesus."

On April 25, 2015, a 7.8 killer earthquake claimed thousands of lives and left millions homeless in Nepal. Although relief teams arrived almost immediately, recovery has been slow and it will take years to rebuild the country. (Screengrab via CBN News)

CBN Disaster Relief teams were among the first on the ground. Twenty-four hours after the quake, they were providing food, blankets, clean water, and temporary shelter for survivors. In the following days, the ministry brought medical help and medicine for remote areas.
 
The ruins of an 800-year-old Hindu temple reminds the Nepali people of the great tragedy that killed more than 9,000 people and left millions homeless.
 
However, it has given Nepal's Christian community the opportunity to demonstrate the love of God.

"The majority of the people in Nepal are Hindus and Buddhists and other religions," said Beni Karki of Compassionate Hands for Nepal, CBN Disaster Relief's partner in the recovery effort. (Screengrab via CBN News)
 
"After the earthquake many Christians went out and started helping people, and now (those people) are testifying, 'Your religion is the best because you love us, you care for us, and you come from far away to help us.'"
 
Krishna Man Tamang is living in a temporary shelter.
 
"My apartment was destroyed during the earthquake with all my belongings," he said. "I did not have shelter, bed, and even food. It is only through CBN that I now have a place to stay and where my family can be comfortable."
 
Krishna Man is Hindu, yet the love shown by Karki and the team has made him curious about the Christian faith.

"Now our focus will be rebuilding schools, community halls, livelihood programs for the communities for the families," Karki said. "We are in the process of getting into Nepal 30 interlocking brick presses for building their houses. Once we have them, we will have training for the people to help them build houses in the affected areas." (Screengrab via CBN News)
 
While physical recovery is slow here, spiritual growth and recovery have been strong.
 
"We have seen churches being planted in the mountains and hills. The pastors are saying if the assistance was not there, the church would have been closed, but because of the assistance CBN and Compassionate Hands provided, through the Church, the community is working to protect the Church," Karki explained.
 
"These are challenging times in Nepal but it is the right time for God's Kingdom to be established in this country," he said.

REF: Breaking Christian News

Rick Warren Answers the Question: How Do You Forgive?

Saddleback Pastor Rick Warren addresses congregants as he recognizes the 25th anniversaries of service of Saddleback pastors Tom Holladay and Steve Rutenbar.

While the Bible tells Christians they need to forgive, the real work kicks in when determining how to forgive, Pastor Rick Warren writes.

Warren, who leads Saddleback Church in Orange County, California, wrote in an April 27 devotional that there are four guidelnes to follow when trying to forgive someone who has wronged you.

The evangelical leader points to the story of three extraordinary women, Elisabeth Elliot, her daughter, Valerie Elliot, and Rachel Saint, who ventured into the dangerous Huaorani tribe in Ecuador to forgive its members after they murdered their missioary husband and father, Jim Elliot and Nate Saint, along with three other Christian missionaries who were attempting to minister to the tribe members in 1956.

These inspirational women can teach fellow Christians about how to practice forgiveness, Warren says, adding that there are four main tenants they followed to achieve such a difficult task.

The first of step in forgiving is to "relinquish your right to get even," Warren contends, citing Romans 12:19 which reads: "Don't try to get even. Let God take revenge" (CEV).

Ultimately, Christians should not try to take matters into their own hands, but should leave things up to God.

Secondly, the best way to achieve forgiveness is to respond to evil with good. This is a true indicator of real forgiveness, Warren says, as it shows that you are able to pray for someone who has wronged you in the past.

To make forgiveness a habit, Christians should repeat their forgiving practices continually until it feels natural, the pastor explains, citing Matthew 18:21-22: "'How many times should I forgive someone who does something wrong to me? Is seven times enough?' Jesus replied, 'Not just seven times, but seventy-seven times!'"

Lastly, Christians can use the act of forgiveness to spread the Good News of Jesus, as it is through Him that they are able to practice forgiveness in the first place.

In a column posted in The Christian Post, Charles Stanley, pastor of First Baptist Church in Georgia and founder and president of In Touch Ministries, wrote that God wants us to forgive unconditionally.

"God's will is that we, as forgiven people, show mercy to those who wrong us — to the same degree that He forgave us in Christ. But the human tendency is to attach conditions when extending mercy. We think, I will forgive you only if you apologize. Or, You must fix the problem, and then I'll stop being angry. Or even, You must make restitution before I will let this go. That's not what our Savior did," Stanley writes.

"Depending on how much hurt we've experienced, we may require time and healing before we can truly forgive. But we are to remember that showing mercy is God's will. We're called to pardon those who have caused us pain. Through reliance on God's Spirit, we can become Christlike and forgive," Stanley added.


REF: Christian Post.

Despite Persecution, Christianity Grows in IRAN.

Local watchdog groups from Iran are reporting that as many as one million Muslims converted to Christianity are risking imprisonment or death penalty in Iran by worshiping Lord Jesus Christ as part of their house church movement.

Open Doors USA estimates there are approximately 450,000 + practicing Christians in Iran. Others surveys and reports estimate more than 1 million. They all face torture, imprisonment or the death sentence under Sharia law for not observing Islamic religious festivals and dress codes.

Thousands of persecuted Christians have fled the country, which saw Hossein Soodmand hanged in 2008 for following his faith in Jesus Christ.

According to Fox News, The Pars Theological Center is training some 200 Iranian Christians to become the next generation of Iran’s Christian leaders.

“Pars sees this as a real chance to train agents of change who would transform the Iranian society from the bottom up by fostering a grassroots development of the values of Jesus in an Iranian style,” as reported by The Christian Post.

“It is not anti-Iranian,” the source said. “It’s an Iranian movement. It’s a great, great number of Muslims turning to Christ.”

The persecution of Christians started in Iran in 1979 after Christians faced death and torture. Today, about 100 Christians are still in prison from under that time of rule.

Iranians don’t know that they’re doing the very thing that will produce more Christians. “They don’t know that Christianity grows amid persecution.

In 2010, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the underground house churches “threaten the Islamic faith and deceive young Muslims.”

The Iranian government has imprisoned many Christians. Pastor Farshid Fathi has been imprisoned since 2010 for what the Iranian government called “actions against national security.” Fathi had reportedly distributed Bibles printed in Farsi.

Another minister, Pastor Behnam Irani is imprisoned for “actions against the state.” He is to serve six years after preaching to a group of Christians at a house church.

REF : Christian Voice.

Billy Graham: Jesus Is a Uniquely Different Child of God.

Evangelist Billy Graham speaks during his Crusade at Flushing Meadows Park in New York, June 25, 2005. Graham, 86, has preached the Gospel to more people in a live audience format than anyone in history - over 210 million people in more than 185 countries. His followers believe that the New York Crusade which runs from June 24 to 26 will be his last live appearance.

While all Christians are children of God like Jesus, there is something exceedingly special about God's only son, the Rev. Billy Graham wrote in a recent post.

Responding to a question posted on the Kansas City Star, the 97-year-old evangelical leader explained that although God breathed life into all of us, Jesus is uniquely different than any other person who has ever lived.

It is wrong to think that "we're just like Jesus, and Jesus is just like us," Graham writes. "Jesus Christ is unlike any other person who ever lived — or ever will live."

What makes Jesus so different from the rest of us is "because he alone was both fully human and fully God," the Baptist minister explains. "On that first Christmas a miracle took place that we can barely imagine: God came down from heaven and became a man. Jesus wasn't just like God. He was God, in human flesh."

This lesson is especially important for our salvation, because we as sinners were saved when Jesus was crucified on the cross, Graham says. "It's possible only because on the cross Jesus Christ — who was without sin — took upon himself the guilt and judgment that we deserve."

It is through this gift on the cross that we are able to be welcomed into God's family for eternity, the minister concludes.

Graham is arguably the most well-known evangelical in the world, with his massive crusades and preaching through various media platforms resulting in over 3 million people responding to the call to accept Jesus Christ as their personal savior, according to his staff. He is also famous for his pastoral relationship to many U.S. presidents and meetings with international leaders.

A central emphasis in Graham's preaching is that Christianity is different from other religions in the world, and Jesus is the only true way to achieving salvation.

"Something distinguishes Christianity from all the religions of the world," Graham previously wrote. "Not only does it carry the truth of the redemption, by the death of our Savior for our sins on the cross, but it carries the fact that Christ rose again."

Jesus is the only religious leader in the world to have conquered death, Graham adds. "Christianity has no shrines to visit, no dusty remains to venerate, no tombs at which to worship. Many good men have lived, and still live, in the memory of those who knew them, but there is only one Man who conquered death — Jesus Christ — and He will live forever."

Graham's son, the Rev. Franklin Graham, has also spoken on the uniqueness of Christianity, but has warned that he fears Christianity is losing ground in the U.S.

Franklin recently launched his Decision America Tour to encourage Christians to become involved in the political debate ahead of the 2016 election.

"The only hope for this country is God and we have taken God out of the political debate, and we have taken him out of the public space, and I want to put him back in," Graham said in March when announcing his tour. "We are asking people to come to the capitol steps and we are going to all 50 state capitals and we asking people to join me."


REF : Christian Post

Jesus is the Only Way to Heaven, Says Preeti Krishnan – A Devout Hindu

She never expected to believe in Jesus but that was exactly Preeti did. It all happened when she was studying at IIM, Lucknow (one of India’s Premier Management Institute), the Lord is now the centre of Dr Preeti Krishnan’s life. “I came face to face with my sinfulness and my inability to pay for the wrongs I had done. I saw my need for a Redeemer… a Savior… and for the 1st time realized that only Jesus had paid the price for all the sins of the world! As quoted in preetis personal Blog.

It’s only after receiving Jesus into my life as my personal Lord, Savior, and King, repenting of and turning away from my old sinfulness that I have truly started living  and enjoying my everyday life,” she said on her blog. Preeti, as he describes herself, was a “devout Hindu… prayed to my idol-gods regularly like most Hindus in the country, I lived with the thought of ‘karma’ where, I would get what I deserve.” After she joined the Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow, she tried hard to get good grades. “My grades to me seemed low and hence I went low. I tried to appease my gods through chanting ‘shlokas’ to get them on my side. Nothing seemed to work,” she said. Something happened later. “One particular night, it was in August 2000, I sat late in the night reading shlokas.

I was reading the shlokas of one of my favorite gods….but every time I would close my eyes to chant, I would see a huge black Indian elephant charge towards me. I was psyched out! I tried again, once again I saw the tusker charge towards me. I was scared and thought that this was the end of me. My favorite god was also angry with me. I grew desperate,” she said. She looked for a way out. “I looked around for another god that I could try to please! I spotted my little blue Bible (Gideon’s – free… got it when I was in school).

I opened the Book and read. I don’t recall what I read, but in a matter of few seconds, I felt something tangibly flow right through me and lift off my burdens. I was saying “Hallelujah. Praise God!” These were phrases no one had taught me to say… but I was speaking them forth. I recall saying, “I am not afraid. Jesus is there,” she said. The Lord was working in her sister’s heart around the same time.  “She called me early next morning and told me very excited “Preeti, I am born again. I gave my life to Jesus. He is real and alive. My sins are forgiven.” Preeti sensed she had to read John 3 which she did. She read about being ‘born again’. When she went to church in Bangalore, the pastor spoke about being ‘born again’. Preeti accepted the Lord as her savior and she is happy that she is saved.

Billy Graham: Turning to Jesus Christ Is Life's Greatest Joy

Evangelist Billy Graham speaks during his Crusade at Flushing Meadows Park in New York, June 25, 2005. Graham, 86, has preached the Gospel to more people in a live audience format than anyone in history - over 210 million people in more than 185 countries. His followers believe that the New York Crusade which runs from June 24 to 26 will be his last live appearance.

Those who have yet to turn to Christ will find life's greatest joy if they do, evangelist Billy Graham writes.

Responding to a question posted to the Kansas City Star, Graham, 97, explains that there are two important reasons why people should make the decision to give their life to Jesus: in preparation for death and to find the joy only a relationship with Jesus can give.

The preacher begins his message by saying that shutting your ears and heart to God's call is the most "serious mistake you will ever make," because we never know when our time to face death and judgment will come.

Graham explains that although many people have convinced themselves that they'll never have to stand before God at the end of their life, that time will in fact come.

"[…] [D]eath is real, and so is God's judgment — but so too is God's offer of forgiveness and salvation through faith in Jesus Christ," Graham writes, referencing John 6:40 that promises eternal life for those who believe in Jesus.

Another important reason to pursue a relationship with God is the promise of joy such an experience will surely bring.

"Life's greatest joy comes from knowing Christ and following him. Listen: Jesus didn't come to make us miserable and squeeze all the joy out of life. Jesus came instead to fulfill our lives and make us into the joyous people God wants us to be," the evangelical leader writes.

Graham concludes his message by promising that one will never regret the relationship they form with Jesus, suggesting that choosing to do so is of the utmost importance.

The evangelical leader, who founded the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association in 1950, has warned before that although God is always open to forming a relationship with us, it is still possible for Christians to lose their salvation by continuing to live a sinful life despite claiming to believe in God.

To communicate this point, Graham cited James 2:26 in a 2010 post, which states that "faith without deeds is dead."

"If we live sinful lives, it may well mean that we haven't given ourselves to Christ after all, and we've even deceived ourselves into thinking we are saved when we really aren't," the evangelical pastor writes.

Although we as Christians may be lying to ourselves about our dedication to Christ, God will never turn his back on us, Graham adds.

"When we come to Christ, He comes to live within us by His Spirit — and He will never depart from us. And when we come to Him, God adopts us into His family and we become His children — and He'll never disown us or disinherit us," the Baptist minister writes.

"If He did reject us, it would mean our salvation depends on how good we are. But we can never be good enough, for God's standard is perfection. Our salvation depends solely on Christ, Who died to take away all our sins," Graham adds.

REF: Christian Post

Hundreds of Formerly Antagonistic Hindus Turning to Christ

Hundreds of Hindus who were fiercely antagonistic toward Christianity have been turning to Christ.

According to Breaking Christian News, the 2008 murder of Hindu leader Swami Lakshmanananda Saraswati sparked intense violence in the predominantly Hindu Kandhamal District in eastern India.

Radical Hindus spread the rumor that Christians were responsible for Saraswati’s murder, though non-Christian Maoists claimed to have killed him.

The Hindu radicals went on a rampage, destroying 300 churches and 6,000 homes, and displacing at least 50,000 people for months. Angry mobs also shot, burned, dismembered, beat, and raped Christians, in addition to making them undergo “reconversion” ceremonies, involving things like drinking water mixed with cow feces.

Many Christian were also persecuted for being part of lower castes in society.

Because of the severe persecution, many fled to the jungles, where more died from poisonous snakes or disease.

Recently, however, there are reports that those very jungles where many Christians died are becoming places where many Hindus are encountering the Lord.

"By God's grace we are holding evangelistic jungle camps everywhere the violence took place," said an indigenous religious leader. "It is God's doing. The violence took place almost everywhere in Kandhamal District. We held a jungle camp at one village church, and in 2008 that church building had been attacked, broken and set on fire, and the Believers had fled to the jungle for safety."

“They are happy to accept Jesus as their God and Savior and to live for Him in the midst of persecution. Thousands are gathering in the jungle camps in Kandhamal District to hear the living Word of God. People were happy and encouraged to live for Jesus and His kingdom,” he continued.

One woman, whose name is withheld for security reasons, was strongly opposed to Christianity and its people, but after she became disillusioned with Hinduism and other religions, she turned to Jesus because He miraculously healed her of an evil spirit.

"I was searching for this kind of life, and Jesus gave it to me. He is the only true and loving God,” she testified.

REF: Christian Headlines.

Muslim Man Intent on Killing Christian Family is Miraculously Converted

A Muslim man who was intent on killing Christians has miraculously encountered Christ and become a Christian himself.

Charisma News reports that Al-Rashid was the commander of a radical Islamic group that sought to bring all people and nations under Islamic rule.

Al-Rashid was especially angered by a report of a former Muslim who had converted to Christianity, become a pastor, and began spreading the gospel.

Al-Rashad decided to target Pastor Paul and his family, but God had other plans in mind.

Al-Rashid and his band of followers attempted many times to capture and kill Pastor Paul and his family. Their plan was to kill the pastor’s family members and force Pastor Paul to convert back to Islam.

"We attacked them several times," Al-Rashid recounted, "and miraculously they escaped."

They tried to ambush and kill the family at night, but saw what appeared to be soldiers surrounding the family’s house. Another time they tried to poison the pastor’s children, but the children survived. Still another time they tried to capture the family when the daughter was sick and being placed in an ambulance.

"I was watching with two others from an ambulance near the hospital to see his daughter's death. Our plan was to kidnap the dead body along with his family in our ambulance," Rashid recounts.

Then, something miraculous happened.

"I saw a ball of light came down from the sky and stand (sic) over the room where his daughter was lying unconscious," he says. The pastor’s daughter regained consciousness and stood up, healed.

Al-Rashid saw a hand reach down with a hole in it and blood flowing from the hole.

"I trembled with fear," Al-Rashid says. "I felt giddy and fell down. My friends moved me from there at once."

After this vision, Al-Rashid felt no peace. A shadow of a human face appeared with the same hand he had seen earlier and asked why Al-Rashid was “nailing Him.”

Ironically, Al-Rashid had a Bible in his house for the purpose of refuting Christians. He picked this Bible up and flipped it open to John 1:9-10 which says: "That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.”

Al-Rashid understood that the passage was about Jesus. Soon after, he surrendered his life to Christ.

"Jesus is the Prince of Peace. And He will give you peace. Accept Him as your Savior," he now tells others.

Al-Rashid now works with Bibles for Mideast, distributing God’s Word to those who are just like he was.

He also went to see Pastor Paul who embraced him as a Christian brother.


REF: Christian Headlines.

10,000 Pakistani Muslims Accept Jesus in One Night.

Revival in Pakistan: Pastor Anwar Fazal touching millions in Pakistan by sharing the Gospel in the Islam dominated country. Senior Pastor Anwar Fazal from Eternal Life Ministries (ELM) in Pakistan arranges a big Healing Crusade every Wednesday in Lahore, and thousands of People attend every week in Lahore. It is reported as the biggest Healing Meetings in Pakistan by far. Gospel will not stop, but it will go to the ends of the world.

At one rally in Pakistan 10,000 Muslims accepted Christ in one night, and over the course of the week-long rally there were many miraculous healings and more than 150,000 Muslims were saved out of 200,000 that attended. The personage of Christ himself has been appearing to Muslims across the Middle East in the form of visions, proclaiming that He is indeed the King of King and Lord of Lords, and that He will soon be returning to claim His throne.

The Work that ELM church does, and the incredible feeling of hearing 10,000 Muslims shouting, “Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!” as they defy the certain death sentence imposed for those who leave Islam and accept Christ as their Lord and personal Saviour.

The number of Christians attending the meetings are very high. Generally Christians in Pakistan face persecution from the government and other officials. However, these brothers in Christ are persistent in their Faith in Jesus Christ. This short video is from 3 days Prayer Festival organised by ELM Pakistan shows the love these people have for Jesus. We pray that Pakistan would know that Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven.

Their Daily Broadcast in ISSAC TV is watched by thousands of Christians in Pakistan. It is by far the most watched Christian Channel in Pakistan.

REF: Christians Voice.

Greg Laurie: Ultimate Heaven or Hell Decision Is Made by You on Earth

Megachurch Pastor Greg Laurie shares the significance of Jesus' last words during a sermon at Harvest Church in Irvine, California, Sunday, November 1, 2015.

People must take control of their destiny as they determine where they will spend eternity, Pastor Greg Laurie writes.

Laurie, who leads Harvest Christian Fellowship in Orange County, California, wrote in a blog post this week that people have the ability to choose whether they will spend eternity in heaven or hell, and they need to start acting on this choice now, instead of waiting until it is too late.

The megachurch pastor compares the story of Lazarus, who was raised to heaven, to the story of a man "possessed by his possessions" who spent his eternity in hell, referencing Luke 16.


"The impossibility of crossing from one side to another, from a place of comfort 'to Abraham's side' (verse 22 NIV), where Lazarus was, to the place of torment, where this other man was, suggests that a person's eternal destiny is settled here and now and not in some future world. Some people think they'll work it out later. But they had better work it out now," Laurie warns. "The fact of the matter is that you determine now where you will spend eternity. There are no changes later."

Laurie adds that the "last thing God wants is to see you to that place called hell" because He loves you.

"That is why he took drastic measures by sending his own son to die on the cross in your place. He offers you pardon and forgiveness if you will turn from your sin and turn to him by faith," Laurie writes.

The pastor has warned about the reality of hell before, writing in May 2015 that while people enjoy picturing God in heaven, they have a harder time thinking of God as sending people to hell.

"People are selective in their belief about God and the afterlife. For instance, they like the idea that God is loving, but they do not like the idea of a God who would send people to Hell. They don't know how to reconcile this apparent contradiction," Laurie writes.

Although God is loving, people should have no doubt that hell really exists.

"Some might think Jesus would never have discussed such a thing as Hell. He is, after all, the personification of love and compassion. But it's because He loves us that He spoke about and warned of it often," Laurie writes. "The same Jesus who tells us of Heaven with all its glories also tells of Hell with all its horrors. He would never have said these things if they were not true. Most of the biblical teaching on the subject of Hell comes from Christ Himself."

Ultimately, everyone should be made aware of the dangerous reality of hell, Laurie continues, and they must also know that the only way to truly avoid hell is to form a strong relationship with Christ and follow His teaching.

The reality of hell "is why we want to do everything we can to warn our friends and loved ones about it," the pastor writes. "We need to tell them that God loves them and wants them in Heaven. And is only possible by putting your faith in Jesus Christ."


REF:Christian Post

Billy Graham: It's Never Too Late to Turn Back to God

Evangelist Billy Graham speaks during his Crusade at Flushing Meadows Park in New York, June 25, 2005. Graham, 86, has preached the Gospel to more people in a live audience format than anyone in history - over 210 million people in more than 185 countries. His followers believe that the New York Crusade which runs from June 24 to 26 will be his last live appearance.

Christians should never feel like it's too late to renew their relationship with God, the Rev. Billy Graham wrote in a recent post.

Graham, a Baptist minister and founder of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, made his comments this week for the "My Answers" portion of his website, writing that no matter how far you've turned from God, He has not turned His back on you.

The evangelical preacher uses the classic example of the prodigal son from Luke 15:11-32, explaining that although the son turned away from his family and attempted to live independently, he was welcomed back home with open arms and love by his father.

"Just as the father in Jesus' parable never lost his love for his son, so God has never lost His love for you. The proof is that Jesus Christ gave His life for your salvation. Don't let your pride, or anything else, keep you from Him any longer, but by faith put your life and your future into Christ's hands," Graham writes.

Graham wrote in another post from October 2013 that although God will always welcome us back into a relationship with Him, that doesn't necessarily mean that Christians should wait until the last minute to ask for repentance, as they never know when their time to enter eternity will come.

"We don't always know what God is doing in someone's life — His ways are often hidden from us. But we do know this: When someone truly turns to God — even after years of rebellion — God always forgives them and welcomes them into His family," Graham writes. "No matter how rebellious we've been, God yearns to welcome us home."

"At the same time, the Bible solemnly warns us not to assume we can leave our repentance to the last minute. The more we resist God, the easier it becomes to keep on resisting Him — until suddenly it is too late," Graham adds.

The Baptist minister also said in January 2016 that Christians never know when their time will come.

How do you know you will have the opportunity to repent to God? Graham asks.

"Look around you: how many people die each day without any warning? A fatal accident [...] a massive heart attack [...] even a violent terrorist assault—these and a hundred other events can unexpectedly cut life short and usher us into eternity. Or think of those with impaired memories who are unable to realize what is happening to them," the evangelical preacher says, closing with Hebrews 10:31: "It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."

Graham added in a post from earlier this year that although God will always welcome us back, turning away from Him does have its consequences.

"[…] [W]hy does God discipline us when we do wrong? Is it because He is an angry, vengeful judge who takes delight in seeing us suffer? No! God loves us, and He cares what happens to us — and He doesn't want us to destroy our lives," Graham writes. "What kind of parent would you be if you let your children do anything they wanted, no matter how dangerous or harmful?"


Ref: Christian Post

Pope Francis: Jesus Is the Only Way to Heaven

Pope Francis waves as he arrives to lead the weekly audience in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican, April 13, 2016.

Christians should only look to Jesus for Heaven, Pope Francis said during a recent mass.

The pontiff made his comments Monday while speaking from Casa Santa Marta at the Vatican, saying that only through Jesus can people go to heaven

"The Lord thus clearly says: you cannot enter eternal life by any entryway that is not the door – that is not Jesus," the pontiff said. "He is the door of our life – and not only of eternal life, but also of our daily lives."

The pope added that he who attempts to reach heaven by an alternative way to Jesus "is a thief and a robber."

"He who does not enter the sheepfold by the door," but rather goes a different way, "is a thief and a robber," the pope said, noting that "there is no other" route.

"Jesus shows the way forward: there is no other who can show the way," Francis said.

"Any decision I take, I take either in the name of Jesus, passing by way of the door of Jesus, or I take it a little – shall we say in simple language – through the smuggler's hatch [It. contrabbando]? We enter the enclosure through the door, which is Jesus," the pope stated.

The pope also stressed the importance of Jesus and eternity in a February 2015 homily, saying that all humans have a hunger that can only be satisfied through a relationship with Jesus Christ, who he described as the "bread of life."


"We all have this hunger […] It is the hunger for life - the hunger for eternity - that only He can satisfy because He is the bread of life" he said.

Along with looking to Jesus for eternal salvation, the Pope also spoke on the importance of the church in one's faith.

Francis said during a mass in May 2014 that God meant for us to live in a Christian community, rather than be isolated.

"Our Christian identity is belonging to a people: the Church. Without this, we are not Christians. We entered the Church through baptism: there we are Christians," the pope said. "A Christian without a church is something purely idealistic, it is not real."

"Jesus Christ did not fall from the sky like a superhero who comes to save us. No. Jesus Christ has a history. And we can say, and it is true, that God has a history because He wanted to walk with us. And you cannot understand Jesus Christ without His history. So a Christian without history, without a Christian nation, a Christian without the Church is incomprehensible. It is a thing of the laboratory, an artificial thing, a thing that cannot give life," Francis added.

The pontiff added at the time that just as it is difficult for Jesus Christ to be understood alone without the Christian religion, so it is equally difficult to understand a Christian alone without also taking into account the Church and their Christian brothers and sisters.


REF: Christian Post.