Here’s a quick rundown of the top stories on cn.mycharisma.com:
Why Are So Many Celebrities Suddenly Becoming Christians?
In recent months, a number of high profile individuals have made headlines by deciding to give their lives to Christ. So exactly what in the world is going on here? Is this the beginning of a new trend? I believe that these high profile conversions to Christianity are just a very small portion of a much larger picture.
All over the world, the great battle between good and evil that has been raging for thousands of years is reaching a grand crescendo, and people are feeling compelled to pick a side. We live in a day and age when it is becoming increasingly difficult to stay on the fence. Darkness is rapidly growing all around us, and those that do not want to be part of that darkness are reaching out for the light.
This week, Daddy Yankee absolutely shocked millions of his fans when he announced that he will be devoting his life to Jesus from this point forward…
Why My Sympathy for the Palestinians Is Growing
It is true that a recent poll indicated that 75% of Palestinians living in Gaza and the West Bank supported the actions of Hamas on Oct. 7. It is true that the people of Gaza chose to elect Hamas as their leaders in 2006. And it is true that an alarming number of Palestinians have no desire to see a two-state solution. Instead, they want an Israel-free Middle East, “from the river to the sea.” Yet in many ways the Palestinians are victims, and my strong support for Israel does not stop me from grieving over the suffering of the Palestinian people.
They have been victims of decades of bad leadership. Victims of lifelong anti-Israel propaganda. Victims of the aftermath of the Six-Day War in 1967.
Their leaders rejected a two-state solution under the Peel Commission in 1937, under the U.N. Partition Plan in 1947, and under subsequent arrangements through the decades. (For a powerful summary of the evidence, see Efraim Karsh, “Palestine Betrayed.”)
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Do You Believe in the ‘Immaculate Conception’ of Mary?
Since the Bible does not specifically speak of the immaculate conception of Mary, I have rarely encountered it, considered it or even postulated about it. Raised as an evangelical-Pentecostal Protestant, I was not accustomed to even hearing, let alone reciting, the Hail Mary (in Latin, Ave Maria) prayer.
Therefore I was somewhat surprised to recently read that the Catholic observance of this 1854 papal decree is celebrated annually among Catholics on Dec. 8 as a “reality of the Faith.” This caused me to pause and ponder what this seemingly foreign doctrine might mean to me and the present practice of our Christian faith.
The Mary Miracle
My friend and mentor Jack Hayford preached about the importance of Mary, the mother of our Lord, and wrote a well-received book, “The Mary Miracle,” (reprinted as “The Christmas Miracle.”) But it has been many years since I even reviewed it, let alone the novel dogma and extra-biblical, Catholic doctrine of Mary being born “without sin, from conception.” {eoa}
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