Happy Tuesday

Top 10 Ways to Invigorate Your Walk with Jesus as complied by Pastor Bill:

10. Write a letter to Jesus about your life. In the letter, talk to Jesus about the areas of your life that are bothering you. Write about how you'd like to grow and what attribute of His you'd like to see more clearly. Give the letter to a friend to mail back to you in three months. And then evaluate your progress based on what has transpired in your life since you wrote the letter to Jesus. Repeat process.

09. Take a fifteen minute praise walk. Thank God for everything you see. Take the opportunity to look closely at God's creation, praising Him for His creativity and the beauty of the world He's crafted. That tree, bush or grass. Perhaps the design of a hillside, valley or ravine. The ants, butterflies and birds. Celebrate the incredible creativity of Jesus.

08. Locate your favorite verses in your bible. Write them on a piece of paper and place them in presentation form. Perhaps colored paper and a special color ink. Take a child or grandchild to lunch and present the verses as a special gift. Describe in detail what each verse has meant to you and ask them to pass on to their children.

07. Make a list of every sin that continues to bother you. Pray and ask Jesus to forgive you. As you read down the list and ask for forgiveness take a black indelible marker and write FIRST JOHN CHAPTER ONE VERSE NINE over it. When you have completed this through the entire list --- fold it in half and then in half again and tear it into tiny little pieces. Then light the pile on fire.

06. Change the position in which you pray. Try praying on your knees, or face down, or standing with your face to the heavens and your hands raised in worship. As you do recognize that you are not only changing how you position yourself to pray but consider changing how you pray by adding compassion to your prayers.

Final part tomorrow

Prayer: Father thank you in advance for revealing to me how I can invigorate my walk with you, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen!

He Is LORD
He is Lord, He is Lord
He has risen from the dead
And He is Lord
Every knee shall bow
Every tongue confess
That Jesus Christ is Lord

You are Lord, You are Lord
You have risen from the dead
And You are Lord
Every knee shall bow
Every tongue confess
That Jesus Christ is Lord

Daily Smile:
Eight Levels of Joy

- Your metabolism changes so that you can lose weight by eating chocolate. 

- You realize that your kid's report card was really a bad dream. 

- Your computer actually crashes when the technician is there. 

- You bought Amazon.com 15 years ago -- and held it. 

- Steven Spielberg calls your boss looking for you. 

- You haven't put on weight -- your clothes shrank. 

- Your child calls from college just to say hi. 

- The IRS loses your name.


In The News:

Milwaukee Elementary School Has 'Gender Bender Day'

A themed dress day at a Milwaukee elementary school has some parents up in arms, National Review reports. Last week's "Gender Bender Day" at Tippecanoe School for the Arts and Humanities asked students to dress as a member of the opposite sex. "I think it's just teaching them the wrong lesson about gender," one parent told local Fox affiliate WITI. "If you're a boy, stay a boy. You shouldn't have something like that at school." Another parent said she was "speechless" about the school's decision; she, like some other parents, ended up keeping her son home from school that day. A school board member dismissed parents' concerns, saying they were "using the kids for political purposes." In an effort to appease upset parents, the school changed the name to "Switch It Up Day." WITI couldn't find many students participating in the themed day when it finally came last Friday; it appeared to be mostly teachers and other staffers.

Christian Pastor Murdered as Nigeria Declares State of Emergency

Nigeria continues to own the shameful title of being the deadliest place to be a Christian. In 2012, 70 percent of Christians murdered due to persecution were killed in Nigeria. This deadly fact is characterized by the brutal murder of northern Nigerian church leader Rev. Faye Pama Musa, who was followed home by suspected Boko Haram militants and shot. Rev. Faye Pama was likely targeted by the militants attached to the Islamic extremist group because of his outspoken criticism of Boko Haram's targeting of Christians and the discrimination against Christians in northern Nigeria. Rev. Faye Pama, 47, is survived by his wife and three children. Fearing further attacks, the pastor's family is unsure what to do or where to go next. Hours before Rev. Faye Pama was murdered, Nigeria's president Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in three of Nigeria's northern states, including the state where the pastor was killed. The state of emergency will allow the federal government to send more troops into the states where the emergency has been declared and use special measures to try to curb the violence being perpetrated by Boko Haram. Murder and insecurity continues to define the lives of many Christians living in northern Nigeria. Like the Rev. Faye Pama's family, thousands of Christian families have been devastated by the violence unleashed by Boko Haram as they attempt to establish a separate Islamic state where they can impose their strict interpretation of sharia law. Without effective action taken both by the Nigerian government and the international community, Nigeria is likely to continue to be the deadliest place to be a Christian in 2013.

GLAAD Continues Push for Boy Scouts to Allow Openly Homosexual Leaders

A prominent homosexual advocacy group is continuing its push to end the ban on openly gay leaders in the Boy Scouts of America, the Christian News Network reports. The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) states that while it applauds the recent vote to allow avowed homosexual youth as Scouts, it believes the remaining ban on openly homosexual leaders should be repealed. The organization has been using an online effort to prompt further changes in the Scouts. "The Boy Scouts of America voted to end its ban on gay scouts, which is a huge victory for gay youth," GLAAD wrote on its website. "But gay scout leaders ... are still banned from scouting. It's time to keep up the pressure! GLAAD needs your help to make sure gay parents and adults are also able to participate." However, others continue to express deep concerns over such policy changes. Rob Schwarzwalder, senior vice president of the Family Research Council, told reporters it was dangerous to place men that have sexual attraction toward those of the same gender in charge of juvenile boys. "As a father, I wouldn't want my sons to go on a camping trip with a teenage girl and stay in the same tent," he said. "Similarly, I think it's unwise to put boys or young men in a tent with boys or young men who are homosexual."

Religion Losing Influence, Americans Don't Want It That Way

More than three-quarters of Americans (77 percent) say religion is losing its influence on American life, while 20 percent say religion's influence is increasing, according to a new Gallup poll. These numbers represent Americans' most negative evaluations of the impact of religion since 1970, though similar to the views measured in recent years. Yet a separate question found much more positive views of the potential for religion to have an impact on the country, with 75 percent saying American society would be better off if more Americans were religious. Americans who attend church regularly and who say religion is important in their own lives are far more likely to say it would be positive for American society if more Americans were religious, but even so, more than half of those who seldom or never attend and close to one in three Americans who say religion is not important to them personally still say it would be positive for society if more Americans were religious.