Last month a pastor named Antione Ashley invited me to speak in his church in Deland, Florida, near Orlando. Ashley is only 33, but he has seen the Holy Spirit move powerfully in the past few years. When he began leading Arise Church two years ago, he made it clear that he wouldn’t apologize for the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

A Kansas middle school has decided to stop its participation in a popular Christmas program that collects toys, school supplies, and hygiene products for needy children after an atheist organization told the school such an effort was unconstitutional.

Liberty Middle School located in Pratt, Kansas was to participate in Operation Christmas Child, an annual program of the Christian nonprofit Samaritan’s Purse, an international relief agency led by Franklin Graham. The shoeboxes are filled with gifts and distributed by the charity to children around the world. In addition to the gifts, they receive a small booklet that tells of the gospel message of Jesus Christ.

Earlier this month, the Wisconsin-based Freedom from Religion Foundation (FFRF) notified the superintendent of the Pratt school district that a concerned staff member complained to them about the middle school’s Christmas project.

Cleveland, TN–Five Lee University alumni were recently named 2020 Dove Award winners.

With the Christmas season upon us, Jim Denison, co-founder of Denison Forum, pastor, author and digital-ministry leader, offers surprising insight on Christmas traditions and Santa Claus.

An unbreakable chain of prayer has been surrounding the nation’s election for the last several weeks as part of IPrayRadio.org. In that time, The Presidential Prayer Team captured and shared member prayers allowing anyone to listen and pray along. These prayers have surpassed two million listens as the people of America, and, indeed around the globe, have poured out their hearts to God on behalf of the nation and its leaders.

Church of God General Overseer Dr. Tim Hill and Michael Nations, founding director of The VITAL Initiative, will host a unique gathering for pastors via Zoom on Monday December 7, 2020 at 8:00 EST. All pastors are welcome, and the discussion will concentrate primarily on issues highlighted in the work of The VITAL Initiative, a ministry founded to benefit the pastor of the smaller congregation.

More people will die from diseases linked to lack of toilets and poor sanitation than from COVID-19 this year, Gospel for Asia, a leading humanitarian agency, has warned.

The international affiliate for the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), the European Centre for Law and Justice’s (ECLJ) office in Pakistan, the Organization for Legal Aid (OLA), has secured a big victory for a Christian family.
Waqar Masih, a 27-year-old Christian man, was shot four times by two Muslim men, Muhammad Shahbaz and his accomplice, Muhammad Qasim, for selling them stale betel quid called paan, an after-dinner treat that consists of betel leaves filled with areca nut, slaked lime and various other ingredients.

Waqar owned a snack and cold drink shop in December 2012. The defendants lived in another village about 4 km away and had been to his shop a few times. On Dec. 30, 2016, Muhammad Shahbaz and Muhammad Qasim came to Waqar’s shop and asked for betel quids. When Waqar asked them to pay, Shahbaz told him that the leaves were stale and they were not going to pay; instead, they insulted him, swore and left.

A few minutes later, both Shahbaz and Qasim came back and asked Waqar how a churha (a pejorative term for Christians) could treat them with such disrespect. Then Shahbaz and Qasim shot Waqar four times, with one bullet landing in his backbone. Waqar suffered serious injuries and was rushed to the hospital. Unfortunately, he was left paralyzed due to the injury in his spinal cord.

The police arrested both Shahbaz and Qasim, recovered the weapon and charged them with inter alia, section 324 (attempted murder) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). Our attorneys on the ground represented Waqar alongside the public prosecutor. In Pakistan, victims of crimes are allowed to have private attorneys represent them in addition to the prosecutors to make sure their interests are well-represented.

After a long trial which was recently interrupted by closures due to COVID-19, the court finally heard the final arguments. The court gave its decision on Oct. 28, 2020, noting in the judgment that “both accused committed the [crime] in furtherance of their common intention.” The court also found that Waqar Masih “sustained severe injuries” and “[a]s a result … became paralyzed and now is in a wheelchair.” The court further noted that “the [eyewitness] account is fully supported by the medical evidence. The motive has also been prov[en].”

The court held that the case has been proven “beyond any shadow of doubt against both the accused persons … and in [the court’s] view, the accused committed a very brutal act and attempted to [kill] Waqar Masih [over] a very petty matter, therefore, the accused Muhammad Shahbaz is convicted under section 324 PPC and is sentenced to seven years rigorous imprisonment” and the “accused Muhammad Qasim is convicted under sections 324 and 34 PPC and is sentenced to five years rigorous imprisonment.” Both defendants were sentenced to more imprisonment under other sections, but the magistrate ordered the sentences to run concurrently because a magistrate of his rank can only sentence up to seven years imprisonment. The court also fined both defendants 1,710,107 Pakistani rupees (approximately $10,663) to be paid to our client.

After the court announced its decision, we spoke to our client and his father. They both said they first give thanks to God for this decision and then to the ECLJ’s office in Pakistan for standing with them for over three years and fighting in court at every step.

At the ACLJ, we want to also thank all of our supporters, who, while they are behind the scenes and not in the courts with us, pray for us and support us so that we can represent our brothers and sisters around the world.

While this is a victory, we believe the punishment both defendants received is not adequate according to the crime. Waqar was paralyzed as a result of his injuries and may not ever be able to walk. Therefore, we are appealing this decision so that the sentences are ordered to run consecutively. If we win on appeal, Shahbaz will serve 10 more years, and Qasim will serve six more years.

(Source: ACLJ via Charisma News)

Cleveland, TN–The new clock and bell tower over Lee University’s South Campus Quad has been officially named the Darlia McLuhan Conn Forum and Bell Tower, according to a recent action by the Lee University Board of Directors. The naming honors the former First Lady of Lee, Darlia Conn, who led the university alongside her husband Paul Conn from Aug. 1, 1986 to Aug. 1, 2020.