In the following menu you will find newspaper articles which we found worthwhile to show you. Wonders, encouragement, things to know ...
Subvention for policemen who pray against crime.
An unusual manner to fight against crime: a Christian police association who believes in the power of prayer in order to catch criminals and to protect policeman against mischief, received £ 10.000 subvention from the British ministry of Home Affairs.The Christian Police Association (CPA), who state that it has 2000 members all over Great-Britain, believes that regular prayer meetings can help to decrease the crime rates and to encourage criminals to take a new start in their lives.This week the CPA launches the initiative CoAct, which is partially financed by the 10.000 pounds of subvention (approximately € 11.500). Their goal is to improve the relationship between local church communities and policemen, and to encourage congregations to act as "peace keepers" in neighbourhoods who are terrorised by the violence of gangs and by antisocial behaviour."We want that people pray for the police, for instance to solve crimes or to protect policemen. We want the Christian community and the police forces to interact", said Don Axcell, a retired police sergeant who is at the head of the CPA.A spokesman of the Cabinet said: "We gave CPA a once-only £ 10.000 to support the work the association is doing for more safety, against antisocial behaviour and for the containment of violence".
Advertising campaign about Jesus
From Wednessday 19 November on, sixty posters, each 20 square meters big, signed by Jesus from Nazareth, will colour the streets of Brussels and Flanders. This advertising campaign takes place on the initiative of the St-Paul foundation, thus bringing the message of the gospel in a new way to our notice.
Christophe Herinckx, director of the St-Paul foundation: "We are a foundation of faithful laymen out of the archdiocese Mechlin-Brussels, who makes the gospel known to the population in a new way and by way of modern means of communication. We are trying to reach a large public, particularly those who are searching for the meaning of things."
The St-Paul foundation was already responsible for a poster campaign in 2004 and in 2007, but this one was limited to the French speaking part of the country. The new campaign is exhorting people to reflect on values and the essence in their lives. That they are launching it in the period before St Nicholas and Christmas, in which the consumer so often is called to consume, is a coincidence. "At the other hand we deliberately did choose not to launch the campaign during the Christmas season, because then the attention is too much distracted. It was a long time ago we decided to have this campaign. Because of the financial crisis we were wondering if it would not be better to postpone the launching. At the other hand it is very important right in this period, in which the boundaries of the material things are so distinct, to focus the attention on the person of Jesus. Admittedly, people do still know the Christian values, but with our slogan "Whoever believes in Me will never thirst again" we want to focus right on the central message of our faith. It is the person of Christ Himself, the Son of God who became a man, who really can change our lives and is giving another orientation to our relationships." Read on www.kerknet.be
A lovely undertaking... and a good occasion to get to talk with people...
Ingrid Betancourt considers her release as a miracle.
The French-Columbian Ingrid Betancourt views her release as a ‘’miracle’’. In June she prayed to Jesus, and her prayer was answered. So she declared in an interview with the French magazine ‘’Le Pélerin’’.
‘’On 1st June I was listening to Radio Catholica Mundial and heard that the month of June is dedicated to the Holy Hart of Jesus. I prayed : Jesus, I have never asked anything because you are so great and I was ashamed to asked for something. But now I am going to ask something very concrete. I don’t know what exactly it means to dedicate oneself to the Holy Hart of Jesus but if you let me know this month when I will be released, I will completely belong to you. On 27th June one of the rebel leaders entered our camp, he said : ‘Get ready, one of you will possibly be released.’ My liberation happened in a totally different way, but it is a fact that Jesus kept his word. To me this is a miracle!’’ said Betancourt adding that she discovered the Bible during her captivity in the jungle. Source: Rknieuws.net http://www.rorate.com/nws.php?id=47239
Theo Borgermans Tuesday 8th July 2008.
From the redaction: for who doesn’t know who Ingrid Betancourt exactly is : Ingrid Betancourt (born in Bogotά, 25th December 1961 was member of the Columbian Senat, fighting tirelessly against corruption and for democracy. In the running for presidential elections of 2002 she decided start up talks with the Columbian guerrilla FARC. One week after she had a discussion with representatives of the FARC and had made an appeal to stop the abductions she herself was abducted 23rd February 2002! All the time she was held captive at an unknown location. She was in captivity for over six years!!!
People who pray live more happily
People who go to church and people who pray live a life more happily than agnostics and atheists. According to British scientists who studied the relation between religion and a happy life, it is known for a long time that faith can be a personal bastion against grieve or lose. But at an economical congress at Coventry they stated that it even can be a “life insurance” against disaster. Believers cope more easily with setbacks, losses or losing their job. The scientists are surprised this aspect doesn’t get more attention. Believing seems not only to be a ‘weapon’ against stress, but also leads to political statements and therefore influences the evolution of social and economical structures.
Source: Het Belang van Limburg/RKnieuws, Wednesday March 19 2008
The gospel in Africa .
Do you sometimes wonder how the spreading of the gospel works in other countries? In Revival report (Opwekkingsverslag) of February of the German evangelist Reinhard Bonnke we read following astonishing data. By the end of January and beginning February Reinhard kept with its team five days of reunions in Port Harcourt, a city in Nigeria. During those five days more than 2,300,000 people came to listen to the gospel. 1,416,684 of them filled out a card in which they testified that they recognised for the first time in their life Jesus as their personal Saviour. Everyone of them was referred to a church in their surroundings. The second evening started ominous with enormous dark clouds that packed together above the open air reunion. Nevertheless thousands of people came. The reunion started in pouring rain (for those who know the African rains: incomparable to pouring rain in Belgium!). When the time had arrived for Reinhard Bonnke to preach, he couldn’t possibly start because of the constant violently pouring rains. What he saw, however, was near to incredible. More than 300,000 people stood soaking wet in pouring rain praising God and dancing. They continued to do so for more than one hour, until the rain eventually stopped. Then the office simply really started and ten thousands of them took Jesus in their heart. During those five evenings also thousands of spectacular healings happened. A woman came to testify how she had brought, five years ago, during a previous office of Reinhard Bonnke, her dead baby. While she stood there amongst the crowd, her baby came back to life. Her son of five stood now alive beside her on the podium.
Singing is healthy !
Recently we read the following article in a newspaper ( Moorsmagazine ) : According to scientists of the university of Frankfurt singing is healthy and reinforces the immune system. They examined blood samples of amateur-singers, who had given a blood sample before and after singing the Requiem of Mozart. By singing the level of immuno-globuline A and cortisol, two important factors for a good functioning immune system, had significantly raised.
Two weeks later another blood sample was taken. This time the church choir was not allowed to sing but had to listen to a recording of the Requiem. The blood levels of cortisol and imminu-globuline did not raise this time above the normal level. The scientists also noticed that the mood of the singers improved during singing.
N.o.t.r.: Not for nothing the bible advises us to sing for the Lord!
Good news in the school newspaper.
Sam Van Leemputten had been selected for the final of the Belgian championship school cross-country. He finished on the seventeenth place (of the 59 runners, Sam beingthe youngest! ). By this good result for the school Sam appeared in the school newspaper (650 copies! ). It is published once a month and Sam was interviewed for that occasion. In the article of the school newspaper we read, besides the presentation of Sam and his favourite sports and interests, the next part: “Beside sports Sam attends regularly to his church group where there is a type of youth movement. When we asked if Sam’s parents are strongly religious, we got a real miracle story. Sam told us that, when he was seven months old, the doctors diagnosed his father to suffer an incurable cancer. He decided to drop his chemotherapy and to search in his belief for his recovery. Successfully moreover. The cancer disappeared. Doctors, specialists and laymen were astonished. People with chronic diseases came to Sam’s father for advise. Thus a sort of a discussion group started to help people in the same situation. Although the doctors told Sam’s father to have a prognosis of at the most three years (this is a mistake: he only was told ‘a few months’!), he is still alive… fifteen years later! A remarkable story for an inconspicuous guy at first sight!”
And so the whole school and everyone who read the school newspaper knew about the healing story of Hugo! Spoken of good news…
Magazine Clinical Psychology
Here below you find a part of an article from the "Tijdschrift Klinische Psychologie" of December 2003, written by Patrick Luyten, working at the Catholic University of Leuven. The journal in question is a topic number around religion and spirituality.
“Especially the last years one is submerged in this context by a multiplicity of literature - mainly of American signature - in which a far-reaching integration is argued between religion and psychotherapy. One not only devotes oneself to explicit working with religious/philosophical topics, but also to the use of religious symbols and rituals in psychotherapy (for example: prayer, meditation, forgiveness, bible exegesis,…). Moreover it does not concern an isolated number of therapists. On the contrary, it concerns publications in well-known journals and in handbooks published by the American Psychological Association. The enormous quantity of empirical research during the past twenty years into the relation between religiosity/spirituality and (mental) health has strongly contributed to that purpose. According to some authors the general tenor of these studies is clear: in contrast to what was always claimed, religiosity/spirituality has a positive impact on mental and also physical health. In the same direction empirical research shows that attention to religious/philosophical aspects in psychotherapy (and in certain patient groups the use of explicit religious techniques) has a positive influence on the effectiveness of psychotherapy.”
Note of the redaction: As Christians we have frequently the feeling that there is hardly moving something in this world. When in local and international professional journals the importance between religion and mental and physical convalescence is emphasised, you see nevertheless that a new era really comes…
Evangelize by means of chocolate spread !
Niel and Chiel-Jan provided us a fine newspaper article. Who buys chocolate spread of the brand ‘Bruno Fischer’ at the biological shop, can start his day with a bible text, thus the internet site of ‘The Dutch Daily’ communicates and you could also read in ‘Het Laatste Nieuws’. The manufacturer prints psalm 11 verse 7 on each pot of pasta. Underneath that stands a German phone number. Who rings, hears a tape with the next message in German: “This is Bruno Fischer Natural Foods. Do you want to know why we print bible texts on our labels? It is indeed uncommon to find bible texts on products. We are Christians and want strongly to draw the attention on God’s word because we experienced our Savior personally in our life.” Who gives his name and address, receives free information. According to us a particularly original way of evangelizing...
How react to criticisms ?
Professor emeritus Etienne Vermeersch, morality philosopher at the university in Ghent, made a remarkable comment in “Ter Zake” (a popular comment program on the Flemish television) of February 6th last concerning the controversial cartoons about the prophet Mohammed. He said that during the last 30 years he himself had attacked repeatedly and heavily the Catholic Church and Christianity. According to his own saying he never got another response to his attacks than “We will pray for you”. Now he pronounced himself concerning these cartoons, he got many of the most appalling reactions from the Islamic population among which serious threats. Apparently the response of the Christians has made quite a good impression on the man who has profiled himself as an anti-Christian.
Uganda: The aids miracle of Africa.
We read in Artsenkrant a remarkable article of dr. Dirk Janssens from Turnhout (Belgium) that appeared first in the magazine Knack. It said as follows: “The HIV (AIDS) - prevalence figure in Uganda, which was over 20% in 1991, now differs in a significantly favourable way with its relatively low figure of 6% in 2001, compared to other “condom friendly” African countries such as Botswana and Zimbabwe, with prevalence figures of more than 20% still. It seems that “the strength of the word” of the pope during his preaching in the Ugandan capital Kampala in 1992 “weighs” more than the uncountable tons of condoms which some scientists - not to dissatisfaction of the latex capitalists - propose as the only sanctifying factor in the fight against the spreading HIV."
What this doctor from Turnhout is less well informed about, however, is the miraculous evolution in Uganda by the prayer of the reborn Christians. Uganda suffered many years under merciless terror of Idi Amin and an Aids-epidemic. The church was continuously persecuted and its leaders were assassinated. Among this misery Christians prayed (in secret!) day and night to God. The consequence was an explosive church revival and a strong decline of the number of Aids patients (by much less new infections but also by the many miraculous healings of AIDS!!! ).
The current president is also a reborn Christian who officially dedicated his country to Jesus. A large part of his government now consists of reborn Christians. You can watch this splendid testimony of this change on the video “Transformations 2”. The prayer of a righteous person has great effectiveness (James 5:16 b) Who does pray for our country and our government?