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Showing posts from August, 2010

A Question of Faith

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Even before Barack Obama was elected President of the United States, people have questioned his spiritual beliefs. Controversy concerning this issue increased two weeks ago after the president spoke in support of a proposed mosque being built near Ground Zero in New York City. The president declared, “I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as anyone else in this country.” A recent poll revealed that nearly one in five Americans believe Barack Obama is a Muslim, though the President has repeatedly claimed to be a Christian. In response, more than 70 pastors and Christian leaders signed a letter saying the personal faith of public leaders should not be up for public debate. (The only name I recognized on the list was Bishop T.D. Jakes.) One paragraph from this letter reads… “President Obama has been unwavering in confessing Christ as Lord and has spoken often about the importance of his Christian faith. Many of the signees on this letter have

Planting Seed

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This past Sunday I presented the following question to a congregation in Illinois, “How many of you got saved after hearing the gospel for the very first time?” No one raised their hands. I counted upward but very few hands went up until I got to “five times.” Romans 10:17 says, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Some people need to hear the gospel several times before they recognize their need for salvation. One person who will attest to this is Nick Kinn, the evangelism pastor at Living Word Christian Center in suburban Minneapolis. Nick had five different people witness to him before he got born again the day after his 25th birthday. For over 30 years now, Nick has shared the gospel on the streets of numerous cities and countries. I have a similar testimony. Although I originally asked Jesus into my heart at a Young Life meeting in 1981, I quickly drifted away from Christianity. During the next ten years, God used several people to reach