Joshua Nicholas Blog

*Why should I attend church* Why should I attend church (more than 1-2x a month)?" The truth is that even on weeks when we're not volunteering at church, we play a crucial role. There's something significant about God's people gathered together with the intent of worshipping Him, learning from His Word, and pointing others to His gospel & grace. There's power in the numbers of God's people. By showing up, we're declaring that God's purposes that morning in church and in the lives of those who are far from Him are more important than anything else we've got going on in our life. His Presence is more important than our being tired, lazy, apathetic, worn-out, bored, busy, or any other excuse we might throw out. And when we do put God first in this practical way, we believe God honors that & works in our Presence. The truth is, we attend church not for ourselves, but because we care about the lost people that may be at church that day and w...

OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL DATE: MONDAY 23RD JULY 2018 THEME: REMOVE THE LOG, PLEASE. MEMORISE: Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal? Romans 2:21 READ: Matthew 7:1-5 1Judge not, that ye be not judged. 2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. 3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? 4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? 5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye. MESSAGE: Today, we will be reflecting on the subject of hypocrisy. In general terms, hypocrisy is the habit of pretending to be what one is not. Hypocrites especially pretend to ...

Mina (also called Menas) is regarded in Egypt as one of the great heroes of the Christian faith. The earliest depictions of Mina show him with two camels, suggesting that he may have been a camel driver. However, according to popular tradition he was an Egyptian soldier in the Roman army who served in Phrygia, Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey). During the persecution under Diocletian, Mina went to the mountains where he led a life of prayer and austerity. Then at the games in Cotywus he publicly announced his Christianity, which led to his arrest. Mina was brought before the ruler of Phrygia, beaten, tortured, and finally beheaded. His body was returned to Egypt for burial at a place near Alexandria in around 303 that was later named Abu Mina after this martyr. O Christ, the King of glory, who didst enter the holy city in meekness to be made perfect through the suffering of death: Give us grace, we beseech thee, in all our life here to take up our cross daily and fo...

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A suicide bomber carried out an attack near Kabul’s airport in Afghanistan on Sunday killing 14 people, and narrowly missing the country’s vice president who was returning home after living in Turkey for over a year, security officials said. Najib Danish, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry, said the blast occurred near Kabul International Airport shortly after the convoy of the controversial vice president had just left the airport. Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum, a former Uzbek warlord, and his entourage were unharmed, said Danish. Danish said that 14 people, including both civilians and military forces, were killed in the attack and 50 others wounded. The Islamic States group’s local affiliate claimed responsibility for the attack on its Amaaq News Agency website, claiming it had killed and wounded over 115 people. In a statement from the presidential palace, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani strongly condemned the attack. Dostum had been u...