'I Will Not Forget My Sisters'; World Would Care More If Chibok Schoolgirls Were From Rich, Powerful Family, Says Malala Yousafzai

Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai said on the 300th day anniversary of the kidnapping of the Nigerian schoolgirls by terror group Boko Haram that the international community would be trying much harder to get them freed if they belonged to rich and powerful parents. The over 200 schoolgirls taken from the town of Chibok are believed to have been married off to jihadists.

"Nigerian leaders and the international community can and must do much more to resolve this crisis and change their weak response to date. If these girls were the children of politically or financially powerful parents, much more would be done to free them. But they come from an impoverished area of northeast Nigeria and sadly little has changed since they were kidnapped," Yousafzai said in a statement on Saturday.

"These young women risked everything to get an education that most of us take for granted. I will not forget my sisters. We cannot forget them. We must demand their freedom until they are reunited with the families and back in school, getting the education they so desperately desire," she added.

Despite the promises of the Nigerian army that everything will be done to get the girls released, there has been little progress on the issue since the kidnappings took place back in April 2014.

Boko Haram has captured several towns across Nigeria, leading to heavy clashes with the army, sometimes leaving entire villages decimated and burned down. The jihadists have often targeted Christians, killing entire congregations in a mission to establish an Islamic caliphate in the region.

Most recently the terror group has set its sights on the neighboring countries of Chad and Cameroon, where it has also engaged in heavy battles with the local armies.

The kidnapping of the schoolgirls drew some of the heaviest international outrage, however, starting the #BringBackOurGirls campaign, which has resulted in marches in a number of cities across the world.

Yousafzai, who survived an attack by the Taliban in Pakistan while campaigning for women's rights, has been aiming to support impoverished girls in Nigeria and other countries to get the education that they need.

"I will continue to advocate at the highest level, and support civil society to ensure that all children are able to access primary and secondary education. This is our mission," she added in her statement.

"Let's end this horrible saga now. Leaders must make sure the #BringBackOurGirls effort results in a real outcome: the return of the Chibok girls."

Parents of the kidnapped girls have often spoken out about their "indescribable pain" of having their children taken away from them.

Rebecca Yaga, the mother of one the Chbok girls that was taken by Boko Haram, said back in December:

"She used to tell me one day she will finish school and become somebody. She used to assist the younger ones with their homework," Yaga said about her daughter. "She loved studies. She used to fall asleep with her books in her arms."

The chairman of Chibok Community in Abuja, Tsambido Hosea-Abana, has said that the search for the girls continues, and that parents will not give up hope that their children will return.

"After 300 days, we still have hope that the girls will be rescued. We still have hope. We have not heard that the girls have been killed. We only heard that they have been married off to the Boko Haram members. As far as they are not dead, we are hopeful that they will be out when the Boko Haram have been over powered," he said, according toLeadership Newspaper.

10 Reasons Some Worship Leaders May Be Spiritually Bankrupt From Joseph Mattera

The past several years there has been no shortage of prominent contemporary Christian leaders denouncing Christ either with their words or their actions. One time I ministered to a young man involved in the gospel music scene, and he confided in me that he almost lost his faith because of what he experienced when he went on tour with a band. (He said other gospel music performers regularly propositioned him!)

That being said, as a pastor and trans-local minister for more than three decades, I have come to the conclusion that many involved in Christian worship seem to have a very superficial relationship with the Lord and His Church. (I thank God we have had a strong process for ministry involvement in our local congregation. Hence, we usually have worship leaders with a solid walk with the Lord.)

Also, I write this in the context as one who was a professional musician who served on the worship team of our local church for more than 25 years.

The following are some of the reasons I believe why many worship performers are spiritually bankrupt: (Based on my personal observation, not based on hard data)

How can you tell if your worship leaders are spiritually bankrupt? (Facebook)

1. Many are hirelings and not committed members to one church.

I have been shocked and dismayed to see how many large churches just hire out their worship team members, even if they are not committed Christians or committed to their local church. Consequently, when a gifted singer or musician first comes to Christ, they are sucked into a culture of play for pay and go where the dollars are rather than where the Lord is truly leading them.

2. Pastors do not enforce the same standards upon talented singers and musicians.

Many pastors turn the other way when it comes to the immoral or unethical behavior of their most talented musicians and singers. The reason for this is obvious: These performers help draw crowds into their congregation. 

3. Often talented people get ahead without being deeply rooted in Christ.

Many people in this field find they get promoted, idolized and celebrated in their church merely because of their talent. Consequently, they have a superficial lifestyle and rarely see the need to die to self, seek God and allow God to penetrate their soul.

4. Gifted Christian performers are idolized in the church.

We, evangelicals, have created a culture of entertainment that empowers and promotes the most gifted among us. These very gifted singers and performers are admired and celebrated for their abilities in a way that is not different from "The Voice" or "American Idol." With all this adulation in the environment, it is no surprise that many Christian bands and performers are lifted up with pride and never mature in their faith.

5. The focus of worship is more about them than about Jesus.

The church usually puts talented singers and performers front and center during Sunday services. Hence, a service is largely judged by how good the band performed. This is the kind of setting that engenders man worship instead of Jesus worship. Worship leaders and performers often have big egos to match their talent and many subconsciously (and erroneously) think that the service is all about them.

6. They often don't sit under the Word after they perform.

I am amazed with how often I see many worship team members leave the service after they perform. I guess they think that the highlight of the service was their performance and everything else that ensues, including preaching, is a letdown.

7. They perform but do not worship from the heart.

When the pastor and congregation only care about the talent and effect of the worship experience, they perpetuate a culture of performance more than a culture of worship. Consequently, band members and singers will then focus more on performance than on worship. This result is band members programmed to equate worship more with performance than with drawing close to God.

8. They are overly sensitive and do not easily receive correction.

In my opinion, many in the music world are overly sensitive, ego-driven megalomaniacs. (I know, because as a professional guitar player for many years, I was or am guilty of this!) Folks like this are very competitive and have a hard time admitting they are wrong. This does not make it easy for a pastor to bring correction to them since their identity is rooted more in their ability than in their God.

9. They do not study the Word but rely upon performance sessions in church for their walk.

Many years ago I was shocked to realize that many of the worship leaders I got to know had no prayer life and rarely cracked open the Bible for personal study! Often they depended upon worship practice or the Sunday services to try to connect with God. It alarmed me that many worship leaders were not themselves worshippers!

10. They do not have a spiritually mature worship person leading the team.

All of the previous points mentioned could be dealt with if the worship leader held them accountable. Of course, this will only happen if the worship leader is not a diva but a real disciple of Christ. Leaders set the culture of a team, and if he or she is a spiritually immature "performer," then most likely the whole team will be more about performance than worship.

In conclusion, I pray pastors and leaders will have the courage to sit down talented but prideful, worldly worship team members, so that Jesus will once again be the center of our worship.

Joseph Mattera is overseeing bishop of Resurrection Church and Christ Covenant Coalition, in Brooklyn, New York, and author of numerous books including Ruling in the Gates: Preparing the Church to Transform Cities. Follow him on Facebook or visit him online at josephmattera.org.

Urgent Call for Intercession Over Franklin Graham

The enemy would like nothing more than to silence this mouthpiece for God who is confronting and pushing back darkness in our generation.

Billy Graham was a pastor to presidents and certainly addressed the moral slide in America as far back as the 1950s, but Franklin Graham seems to be wearing his dad's mantle on steroids. (Photo: BGEA/Charisma News)

The once prodigal son is not shrinking back from hot button cultural and political issues... Why is Graham so bold? Because he sees an Islamic storm coming against America [and]... he has strong discernment and enough boldness to go toe-to-toe with the principalities and powers that have targeted Christians for destruction.

"For Muslims, peace comes only through submission to Islam. When they speak of peace, they mean submission to their religion," Graham says. "Worldwide, tens of thousands of men, women and children have been slaughtered in the name of Allah, under the bloody flag of Islam."

Graham made it clear... that followers of a peaceful religion do not cut off the heads of innocent people in the barbaric fashion the world has watched recently [and] that believers in a peaceful religion do not kidnap 300 young schoolgirls as Boko Haram did in northeastern Nigeria in April and reportedly sell them to men to be sex slaves.

Men who practice a peaceful religion [he continued] do not detonate bombs on an American street during a marathon race to kill and maim innocent people. He said no one who belongs to a peaceful religion would even consider hijacking jet airliners and flying them into buildings occupied by thousands of innocent people beginning their workday, as happened in this country and in this city on 9/11.

Speaking to President Obama, he said, "Mr. President—no peaceful religion would tolerate, let alone practice, female circumcision, require a woman to have her husband's permission to leave her home and take up employment and restrict her ability to receive justice in the case of sex crimes. Mr. President—a peaceful religion would not condone and allow a father to drown a daughter in a swimming pool in front of the family in the name of family honor because she might have stayed out late in the evening with her boyfriend. Mr. President—why haven't the 3.5 million Muslims in North America rejected this gross, barbaric and despicable behavior by their fellow Muslims on American soil?" (Photo: BillyGraham.org)

IHOPKC's Mike Bickle last month called for Believers to support and pray for Graham as he has "boldly yet tenderly taken a Biblical stance in warning America in relation to Islam, gay marriage and several other important subjects."

I'm making an even more fervent call for intercessors to rise up and pray for Graham day and night. The enemy would like nothing more than to silence this mouthpiece for God who is confronting and pushing back darkness in our generation. Likewise, those who subscribe to anti-Christ agendas are raging against his voice. Saints, let's make it a priority to lift up Graham in prayer, wage spiritual warfare against the attacks on his life and bless his ministry.

Ebola Doc: I Held to Prayer 'Like a Drowning Man'

HOLDEN, Mass. -- West Africa's Ebola outbreak has killed more than 8,000 people, including close to 500 healthcare workers. The need for medical professionals remains critical and that's why Ebola survivor and veteran missionary Dr. Rick Sacra is back at work at ELWA hospital in Monrovia, the capital of Liberia.

 

CBN News spoke with Sacra, 52, at his home in Holden, Massachusetts, prior to his return earlier this month.

 

Just four months ago, he spent several weeks battling the deadly Ebola virus at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. He contracted it while volunteering in Liberia at the height of the outbreak.

 

Sacra and his wife Debbie remember what it felt like as the disease took over.

"I was just focusing on the Lord.  I tell you I hung on to the Lord's Prayer like a drowning man," he told CBN News. "I prayed through that prayer many times a day and just wept through it most of the time."

 

Debbie Sacra was unable to be at her husband's bedside because of the highly contagious nature of the virus. She remembers reading Scripture with him via Skype.

 

"You just learn to trust God more deeply," she explained. "You just learn to trust that He's in control and that He's really good."

 

The Sacras are no strangers to West Africa. They've served as missionaries to Liberia with SIM, the international Christian mission organization, since 1995.

 

Recently, family circumstances brought them home to Holden. Dr. Sacra has continued to serve, however, traveling back and forth several times a year.

 

Specially Equipped to Return?

As an Ebola survivor, Sacra believes he's perhaps especially equipped to return. Ebola experts think he's immune now to the deadly virus he once fought.

 

"They've seen situations in which somebody who had Ebola and survived was then exposed again and, you know, they've never had a case where somebody got sick again. So I think the idea of immunity is pretty well established," Sacra said.

 

Thomas Curtis is senior pastor at the Sacra's church, Holden Chapel, and a long-time friend and prayer partner. He said watching Sacra battle Ebola this last year helped to grow the congregation's faith and united several area churches in prayer.

 

He said members at Holden Chapel are excited that Sacra has returned to serve in Libera.

"It wouldn't make sense to us if he didn't because he's not that kind of person," Curtis said. "He's very brave. He's very humble. He's very giving."

 

Sacra will work for a month at SIM's ELWA Hospital. It became a model for other hospitals in West Africa during the outbreak as staff developed treatment facilties, screening processes, and other critical care medical services even as other facilities were shutting down.

 

Sacra's timing is strategic as West Africa desperately needs healthcare workers, even as the number of Ebola cases has declined in both Libera and Sierra Leone.

 

For years, the region has witnessed an exodus of medical professionals eager for better pay and working condtions abroad. That trend, coupled with the deaths of almost 500 healthcare workers during the epidemic, has crippled an already fragile system.

 

Sacra's vision is to return to Liberia full-time to train a new generation of family medicine doctors, equipped both to practice and to share their faith. The Sacras stand amazed at the platform they received this past year to share theirs.

 

"God has a way of doing that -- of taking something bad and turning it into something good," Sacra said.

 

http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2015/January/Ebola-Doc-I-Held-to-Prayer-Like-a-Drowning-Man/

Christian hip-hop artist Lecrae won a Grammy award Sunday (Feb. 8) for Best Contemporary Christian Song/Performance Sunday for his song “Messengers.” In his acceptance speech, the singer took time to acknowledge Jesus’ love and sacrifice.

 

"Love and respect to everybody out here because this is a celebration of gifts,” Lecrae said. “And there's so many people out here who are gifted, but obviously you can't celebrate gives without celebrating the giver of all gifts. So I want to celebrate Jesus for gifting us all with the gift of love and sacrifice.” 

 

Christian Today reports Lecrae also thanked his family and label, as well as the Christian group KING AND COUNTRY who are featured in the song. 

 

Sunday’s win marked Lecrae’s second Grammy; his album “Gravity” was named Best Gospel Album in 2013. 

How You Can Walk Step by Step into a Brand-New Life

• (Courtesy of Joyce Meyer Ministries)

I have read that as much as 40 percent of everything we do is performed purely out of habit. A habit is something we do without even thinking. It's a behavior that is developed through frequent repetition. First we form habits…and then they form us. We are what we repeatedly do!
That's why it is so important to focus on establishing healthy habits. Bad habits are detrimental and keep us from enjoying all that God has for us. However, good habits add joy, peace and purpose to our lives.
Now, I'm not going to tell you that it's easy. If we're going to make a good habit and break a bad habit, there's going to be some effort involved. We will go through a time of trial. But we don't have to go through it alone…
It's very important to understand from the beginning that we need God's help to succeed. The number one mistake people make is that we try to change ourselves…we forget that we can't do it without God!
Jesus said that when He went away, He would send the Holy Spirit to help us. The Amplified Bible refers to Him as "the Standby" (John 16:7). I love that. God is always standing by in case we get ourselves into trouble and need a little help. He is our Partner – our Strength and Support – as we begin to establish good habits in our lives and break the bad ones.
Where We Start and Where We Finish
I used to have a habit of getting upset every time I didn't get my way. It was an automatic response – and I lived that way for many years until I finally decided to stop and allow God to help me in that area.
Today, I want to encourage you to make some decisions of your own. Think about the person you are right now and the person you want to become, and then jot down a few new habits that can help you get there.
Remember, one good choice is another step closer to your goal.
One Scripture I've found to be most helpful in this area is Romans 12:21. It says, Do not let yourself be overcome by evil, but overcome (master) evil with good (AMP).
In other words, don't dwell on your bad habits. Instead, put all of your focus and concentration on making good ones. Because when we think about all the bad habits we've got to try and undo, it zaps all of our strength. If we're going to make progress, we need to learn to focus on the positive!

Similarly, the Bible tells us that by walking in the Spirit, we overcome the flesh (see Galatians 5:16). The "flesh" is simply our human nature apart from God.
Do everything you can to consistently follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. Read the Word and meditate on it. Set aside time for prayer. Get around people who will encourage you to do what God's asking you to do. Don't give yourself the time or energy to do what your flesh is pleading with you to do.
If you make a quality decision to act, it will change your life. But you can't wait to feel like it. With God's grace, just set your mind to do it!
How Long Does It Take to Form a Habit?
Some people say it takes twenty-one days to form a habit. Others say it takes thirty days. So let's just say that anything you do (or don't do) repeatedly for a period of time becomes a habit.
I used to smoke many years ago. And when God started convicting me to quit, I didn't want to do it – and it was very hard for me to stop. In fact, it took several attempts to quit before I broke this habit.
When I reached the point of sheer determination to quit, the first day was bad. And the second day wasn't much better! I managed to make it to the weekend, but then Dave and I had an argument at a picnic and I ended up leaving by myself to go buy a pack of cigarettes. My plan was to smoke the entire pack.
You see, when we're trying to form a new habit, we usually reach what I call a "crisis point."
That day at the picnic, I reached my crisis point. After I got those cigarettes I sat there and thought, If I smoke these right now, I'll likely be doing it the rest of my life and I'm not going to do that. So I took every single cigarette out of the package and threw them in the toilet.
Every now and then, I'd still think: I want a cigarette. But after about thirty days, I could tell my desire to smoke had changed. I just didn't want to do it. And I've never smoked another cigarette again.
Taking That First Step
Some habits in our lives can seem overwhelming and impossible to change – especially if we have lived with them for a long time. But God will meet us where we are. When we are willing to take that first step, He honors our faith and gives us the grace to make the changes that we desire.
Things may not turn around overnight, but if you are diligent and determined to never give up, you will succeed…because together, one day at a time, you and God can do anything.

Joyce Meyer is a New York Times bestselling author and founder of Joyce Meyer Ministries, Inc. She has authored more than 90 books, including Battlefield of the Mind and Do Yourself a Favor…Forgive (Hachette). She hosts the Enjoying Everyday Life radio and TV programs, which air on hundreds of stations worldwide. For more information, visit www.joycemeyer.org.