These Are Some of the Reasons Support for Abortion is Plummeting – And They’re Good Reasons!
Posted on February 2, 2016 in Life by Nathan Cherry
Support for abortion is dropping. That is a fact certifiable across the country. You might not have known that by watching many media outlets that shower praise on groups like Planned Parenthood for their “courageous” work in killing unborn children. And our presidents wish that “God bless” the work and people of Planned Parenthood might give the impression that Americans support the world’s largest abortion merchant.
The truth however is that support for Planned Parenthood and abortion in general is falling. Planned Parenthood is more nervous each year as state legislatures pass more and wide-ranging pro-life laws aimed at stopping the bloodshed.
I came across an article at Ligonier sharing “18 Reason the Abortion Industry is Losing Support” and thought it was not only well written but acutely accurate. The reasons shared not only shine a bright light on the truth of how Americans feel about abortion; they counter the well-crafted media talking points we are bombarded with each day.
Take a quick look at these 18 reason for the decline in support for abortion and see if they ring true and give you reason to continue defending life. Continue reading…
#FreeSaeed Has Come True! Pastor Saeed Has Been Released!
Posted on January 28, 2016 in Religious Freedom by Nathan Cherry
It has been confirmed by multiple sources that US-Iranian Pastor Saeed Abedini has finally been freed from the Iranian prison he was held in for more than three years.
Sources including Christianity Today and his wife Naghmeh confirmed the release of Pastor Saeed as a part of a prisoner swap between the US and Iran. The United States released 7 prisoners and Iran released 4.
Pastor Saeed was first taken in 2012 while he was in Iran helping to build a government approved orphanage. He had been warned not to participate in house churches while Iran, but was given clearance to help with the orphanage. While on a bus he was taken, arrested, and sentenced to eight years in prison.
Pastor Saeed’s wife became a tireless warrior pleading for his release. She spoke with anyone that would listen, including religious and political leaders all over the world. Mrs. Abedini’s legal representation, The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), gathered more than 1 million signatures in its effort to secure Pastor Saeed’s release.
This is indeed a cause to praise God as He has seen fit to answer the prayers of many believers around the world. This is also a reminder that many more Christians are being held and tortured in Iranian prisons. And still millions of other Christians are in dangerous places around the world where their freedom and their lives are in jeopardy for simply naming the name of Christ. We must continue to remember those that boldly stand for the name of Christ though it could cost their freedom and their lives.
A statement from the above mentioned Christianity Today article accurately describes the joy and the continued responsibility Christians feel at this time:
“As ‘Christians around the world rejoice’ at Abedini’s release, Middle East Concern (MEC) reported that ‘Iranian Christians request our continuing prayer, asking that … other Christians detained in Iranian prisons will be encouraged and released soon.’ MEC previously noted how Abedini was only 1 of an estimated 100 Christians in Iran—which contains between 200,000 and 750,000 Christians—currently in prison for their faith. On December 21, Farshid Fathi, one noteworthy believer championed by Elam Ministries and Voice of the Martyrs, was released after 1,821 days in prison. By comparison, Abedini was imprisoned for 1,208 days. Iran’s previous highest-profile imprisoned Christian, Yousef Nadarkhani, was imprisoned for 1,062 days.”
Here’s Why More Than 700 Pastors Left Ministry – And What We Can Do to Help
Posted on January 27, 2016 in Uncategorized by Nathan Cherry
I spend a lot of time during my job talking about “market volatility.” It’s something people know exists, don’t quite understand, and have a lot of questions about. So I spend time explaining it, calming fears, and answering questions. As I thought about “market volatility” I was struck by a couple of articles that made me realize the pastorate is one of the most volatile markets in existence.
When we think of volatile markets we think of ups and downs, gains and losses. If you’re an investor you think of your account value and what the market does to your investment. When the market goes down you incur a loss that can take some time to recuperate. When the market goes up you see a gain that you want to protect. It’s easy to see how the pastorate is very much like the market in its volatility; ups and downs, gains and losses.
But while historically the market has always had periods of volatility – and that doesn’t look to end anytime soon – the pastorate doesn’t have to continue as a place of volatility.
A recent article at The Blaze shared the results of a study conducted by LifeWay Research. The study centered on the main reasons pastors quit the pastorate before retirement age. The study boiled the answers of 734 former senior pastors down to five main reasons: Continue reading…
West Virginia Lawmakers Want to Stop Unborn Babies from Being Ripped Apart. Here’s How You Can Help.
Posted on January 26, 2016 in Life by Nathan Cherry
Lawmakers in West Virginia’s legislature are hoping to continue moving forward after last year’s powerful pro-life statement. When Gov. earl Ray Tomblin vetoed a bill that would outlaw abortions after 24 weeks – when it is well-known that unborn children can feel pain – the legislature overwhelmingly voted to override his veto and pass the bill into law. Now, they are hoping to accomplish a similar outcome with a similar bill.
The Unborn Child protection from Dismemberment Abortion Act (S.B. 10/H.B. 4004) seeks to make dismemberment abortions illegal.
In the wake of the undercover videos showing how Planned Parenthood daily tears unborn children apart in order to sell them for body parts, West Virginia lawmakers are seeking to ban the practice. The undercover videos, released by the Center for Medical Progress (CMP) shocked the nation as they showed various Planned Parenthood executives discussing their regular practice of tearing unborn children apart in order to harvest organs for sale.
Knowing that at least two abortion clinics are in West Virginia – one in Charleston and one in Parkersburg/Vienna – and that they are associated with Planned Parenthood; it is reasonable to assume that the barbaric practice is taking place in our state. While we claim that “Mountaineers are free” we are subjecting our most vulnerable and helpless citizens to a practice that isn’t even done to violent criminals in our prisons. In fact, it’s interesting to note that should such a practice be done to animals there would be a public outcry so quick and massive that the media couldn’t contain it. Continue reading…
How Would 1.5 BILLION Dollars Change Your Life? It Might Ruin It!
Posted on January 20, 2016 in Theology by Nathan Cherry
I’ll admit that I have watched with fascination as the lottery has ticked up to its highest jackpot in history. When it was at 900 million I thought it couldn’t go higher. Then it got to 1.5 billion and I was stunned.
What amazed me most was that someone, perhaps several someone’s would overnight go from their current financial position to being millionaires. Not just millionaires though, multi-multi-multi-millionaires. The kind that, with the right guidance, would never work or worry about money ever again.
I have never been tempted to play the lottery, I’m still not. Mostly because the logical side of my brain (which is roughly 80% of my brain) knows the odds are not in my favor and that it is a bad investment. I like good investments. But, nonetheless I watch with curiosity at the spectacle.
I can’t help but wonder how many of my Christian friends have decided to “just buy one” in hopes of winning. No doubt it is with the promise that they will tithe and feed a small nation that they justify their purchase of what they hope will be a life-changing ticket. (Cue “I’ve Got a Golden Ticket” from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory).
While we dream of how large sums of money would change our life we need to come face to face with the reality that at times our dreams are full of envy and idolatry; and we lack faith and thankfulness. This is easily seen in the definition of “large sums of money” from one country to the next. As people cross our borders in hopes of making $30,000 a year working I am reminded that there is a family living in a tent in Haiti. Continue reading…
Video: Planned Parenthood Breaks Federal Law to Sell Baby Body Parts
Posted on January 19, 2016 in Life by Nathan Cherry
A new video has been released by the Center for Media Progress (CMP) showing Planned Parenthood executives explaining how they alter the abortion procedure to harvest fetal organs. This might be surprising to some, but if you know anything about Planned Parenthood you know they will do anything for money.
Just to be clear, altering the abortion procedure is against federal law. And Planned Parenthood CEO Cecil Richards has repeatedly claimed that alterations do not happen. And yet, the video below clearly shows otherwise. CMP president David Daleiden made the following comment about Planned Parenthoods tactics:
“Planned Parenthood senior executives and medical directors told CMP investigators that Planned Parenthood’s abortion providers would be happy to alter their abortion procedures in order to harvest higher-quality baby body parts. The representatives with the most experience harvesting fetal organs, Planned Parenthood’s Senior Director of Medical Services Dr. Deborah Nucatola, and Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast’s Director of Research Melissa Farrell, indicated this already happens at their sites as a routine matter. When Planned Parenthood makes decisions about a woman’s abortion procedure based on what will serve its own tissue procurement needs, it is not treating her like a patient with rights and dignity, but like a harvesting pod. Continue reading…
What If You Showed Up At Church Sunday Morning and Heard This?
Posted on January 14, 2016 in Life, Theology by Nathan Cherry
Suppose you went to church on Sunday morning to hear God’s Word and listen to a sermon or lesson intended to help grow you spiritually. You’re eager to know how God’s Word applies to your life today and how you can look through a biblical lens at the issues that permeate our culture. You sit eagerly waiting to hear the message God has given your pastor when the pastor begins by say he/she wants to discuss the biblical support for abortion!
That may seem far-fetched; as if there is no way any pastor would express support for something so obviously wrong. Right?
Unfortunately the reality that there exists members of the clergy that regularly teach God’s Word to those gathered in their congregation while also supporting abortion is true. Even sadder is that it is not one or two “rogue” or isolated pastors adhering to this lamentable position. In fact, according to a recent article, 53 pastors in the state of Texas alone support abortion: Continue reading…
These 9 Statements Used by Christians Need to Stop
Posted on January 13, 2016 in Theology by Nathan Cherry
One of the most striking features of this decade is the slow but certain death of cultural Christianity. By that I mean there was a time when you could say you were a Christian, spout off a few cliché “biblical” phrases, and people shook your hand and said “God bless you, brother.” But that time is coming to an end as we realize that many people have mistakenly believed they were Christians for one wrong reason or another.
Cultural Christians are becoming easier to spot due to their use of clichéd statements that have no foundation in Scripture. We’ve all heard these statements come out of the mouth of church-goers at one time or another. We’ve probably even said one or two ourselves.
Statements like “cleanliness is next to godliness” and “God won’t give you more than you can handle” have been used so often that many people believe they are biblical and can be found somewhere in the Bible. When you mention that such phrases are man-made and have no root in Scripture you will be met with confused looks and questions. But, like many things that came out of cultural Christianity, these, and other statements are simply…wrong.
A recent article listed “9 Unbiblical Statements Christians Believe.” As I read through the article I couldn’t help but recall conversations with friends that have used each statement. And, as one might expect, these phrases appear often on social media either as a post or as a response to a friend.
So what are some of the statements used often by Christians despite the fact that they are not biblical? The list includes: Continue reading…
What If You Could Watch Movies “However the BLEEP You Want”?
Posted on January 12, 2016 in Family by Nathan Cherry
Have you ever watched a preview for an upcoming new movie release that you thought looked really good? Then you learn the movie is rated “R” for “adult content” or “adult language” and your movie viewing hopes were dashed. You probably wondered, like many people, “Why do they have to put that language (or scene) in there?”
I can recall watching a movie with my kids not long ago. It’s an older movie, a really good movie, but I knew the movie had one word in it I didn’t want my kids hearing. One word. In a 2 hour movie. So I carefully prepared to mute the TV as that word approached. And…I missed it. I muted too early and before I knew it that one curse word came blaring out of the TV and my kids heard it. Then, of course, they repeated it because they’d never heard it before and thought it was funny. Lesson learned.
Many people enjoy watching movies but they don’t enjoy watching nudity or movies filled with four letter words. We get caught up in stories and characters but we dislike hearing foul language or seeing scenes of graphic nudity and sexuality. And many parents want to share specific movies with their kids but are concerned about a single word or scene. More than once we’ve wished there was a way to “edit” those things out of our movies.
Allow me to introduce you to VidAngel! Continue reading…
3 Stories About Life Worth a Few Minutes of Your Time
Posted on January 6, 2016 in Uncategorized by Nathan Cherry
Story #1: Speaker Paul Ryan: We’re Sending Obama a Bill Next Week That De-Funds Planned Parenthood
A bill is set to appear before President Obama which would defund the Planned Parenthood abortion business. This organization, the largest abortion merchant in the country, receives more than half a billion dollars every year of our tax money. The bill seeks to strip that funding. At times the House of Representatives has voted to defund Planned Parenthood, but efforts in the Senate stalled. This bill however has passed the Senate and is now headed to the House of Representatives where it is expected to pass.
The bill will be vetoed by President Obama but Speaker Paul Ryan is preparing for a veto-override vote in January. The article states:
“Following Obama’s veto, House Republican leaders will push for a veto override vote on January 26th. That vote would come just days after more than half a million Americans are expected to march for life in the nation’s capital and solemnly mark the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, which has resulted in the deaths of 57 million unborn babies since 1973. Both the House and Senate would need a two-third vote (67%) to override Obama’s expected veto. The House passed the bill in October on a 55% vote margin with virtually every Democrat voting against it.” Continue reading…