The largest Islamic organization in Britain is urging the government to ban evangelist Franklin Graham, who is scheduled to appear at an event in the country later this month.

Newsweek reports the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), the umbrella organization for hundreds of Islamic groups, has supported the calls from three members of Parliament and members of the public to deny Graham a visa for spreading what the organization calls “hate speech.”

The “hate speech” they refer to is Graham’s preaching against Islam as “evil” and as a “religion of war.” He’s also been an opponent against the movement for LGBTQ rights.

Graham, the son of the late Billy Graham, is to be the featured speaker at the Festival of Hope event in Blackpool, located in northwest England, on Sept. 21.

On the website Jihad Watch, writer Robert Spencer asks “Would anyone be calling for the banning of Graham from the U.K. if he had called Christianity ‘evil’?”

The MCB. in a statement to The Guardian. said: “In the past, the government has banned individuals whom they claim are ‘not conducive to the public good.’ Mr. Graham’s remarks are on record and clearly, demonstrate a hatred for Muslims and other minorities.

“We would expect the government to apply its criteria here. If it does not, it will send a clear message that it is not consistent in challenging all forms of bigotry.”

Spencer says the British government is already inconsistent. {eoa}

Click here to read the rest of this story from our content partners at CBN News.

This past weekend, I was praying for a friend, and as I did, I began to speak these words over her, “Father, give her beauty for ashes, just as Your Word promises.”

Immediately, the Lord spoke to me and said, “You can’t have beauty without ashes, and you can’t have ashes without fire.”

Ahhh. I realized God was showing me we often want beauty without ashes. That is simply not possible.

Isaiah 61:3 says; “To preserve those who mourn in Zion, to give to them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He might be glorified” (Isa. 61:3).

The word “beauty” means that He will beautify us with His glory. He will place His glory upon us. However, that comes after the ashes, not before.

1 John 1:8-9 says, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

We all have things in us that need to be purified. There is only one way to remove these things from our life, and that is through God and His fire.

Hebrews 12:29 tells us, “our God is a consuming fire.” It is His fire alone that will cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Malachi 3:2-3 says; But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire and like launderer’s soap. He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver;

Zechariah 13:8-9 says; ^“And it will happen in all the land, says the Lord, that two-thirds will be cut off and die, and one-third will be left in the land.
And I will bring this one-third left into the fire, and will refine them as the refinement of silver, and will test them as the testing of gold.

We see from Scripture that it is God who refines.

Silver is refined only one way, by fire.

Purification comes only one way. By being plunged into the heart of fire, the place where the fire is the hottest. And kept there until it is completely purified. Until it loses all resemblance of what it once was. This is what happens when we confess our sins to God, He is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse and purify us from that sin.

I want you to notice that the scripture does not say that God is like a forest fire or an incinerator’s fire. It says He is like a refiner’s fire. There is a difference.

A forest fire destroys everything in its path. An incinerator consumes completely. A refiner’s fire does not work that way.

The Bible says in Malachi 3; I the Lord do not change, therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed, you are not destroyed.

Our God is like a refiner’s fire. He refines, He purifies. He removes all the impurities. He burns them up and leaves the gold, or silver, intact.

It reminds me of brush fires. I have burned brush in my backyard. I usually have a large fire that takes hours or even overnight to burn. If I put the fire out too early, it leaves debris. However, most times I allow the fire to burn until there is nothing left but ashes. This takes time, normally I leave it burning all day and all night. This is what God does. He wants us to allow His fire to burn in us until it burns everything that is not of Him. Until the only thing left is ashes. Then and only then, He will turn the beauty into ashes. Then we will we walk in His glory.

After God showed me this, I did a lot of soul searching. I ask God to show me anything and everything that was hindering me from walking in His glory. I also asked Him to keep a fire burning in me continually, that all debris would be gone.

Yes, God does give us beauty for the beauty, the glorious crowning of His presence only comes after the ashes. The ashes only come after the fire–the consuming fire of God. As for me, I want to be a part of that remnant God spoke of in Zechariah when He said, “they will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘This is My people’ and each one will say, ‘The Lord is my God.”

Today I say, burn God burn. May Your refiner’s fire burn everything in me that needs to be removed. May I awake in Your likeness, for you are my God and I am your people. {eoa}

Kim Potter is a writer and founder of A New Thing Ministries, which sends a daily teaching to over ten thousand people all around the world.

Her message is a message of hope. She speaks to the heart of women and men who have become discouraged and disappointed by the circumstances they may face in life, imparting to them the desire and ability to stand against all odds and see themselves as victorious and able to overcome every obstacle through God. She encourages people to press into God and discover that He is who He says He is. For additional information go to: .

Last month, a successful young pastor, Andrew Stoecklein, ended his life at age 30 after suffering from months of depression. He left behind a grieving wife, three young sons and a baffled congregation in Chino, California.

Just days before his suicide, Stoecklein preached a sermon at Inland Hills Church about the reality of depression among Christians. He used the prophet Elijah’s life to illustrate that even spiritual giants struggle with mental and emotional brokenness.

Stoecklein said in his Aug. 12 message that “we see mental illness on display” when Elijah hid in a cave and prayed that God would take his life. “Elijah, he pinpoints the pain,” the young pastor said. “He acknowledges that he is filled with anxiety and depression and suicidal thoughts. … Now that is something that we don’t like to talk about much, do we? Especially not the church.”

Stoecklein identified with Elijah’s weakness more than anyone realized. He suffered crippling panic attacks after his father died of cancer, and the leaders of his church insisted that he take a sabbatical because of his depression and anxiety. Yet no one, including his supportive wife, Kayla, had any clue he would end his life.

What’s ironic is that Stoecklein’s funeral was held just two days before National Suicide Prevention Day—which was instituted to raise awareness of mental illness in America.

The saddest aspect of this tragedy is how some Christians view suicide. Because we don’t talk about it enough, the church often is silent when it happens—or we give really bad advice to those affected by it.

The truth is that suicide is discussed in the Bible. Saul intentionally fell on his own sword, Samson pulled the temple down on himself, Ahitophel strangled himself and Judas hung himself. And the apostle Paul told the Corinthians that his trials were so difficult that he “despaired even of life” (2 Cor. 1:8c).

Here are three clear principles we must teach as we examine this neglected topic:

1. Suicide is not the unpardonable sin. I have been around legalistic Christians who insist that a person who kills himself automatically goes to hell. They base this belief on a narrow interpretation of 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 (NASB), which says, “If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him.”

If you dig deeper in that passage, and look ahead to the fifth and sixth chapters, you’ll see that Paul is not talking about suicide. He makes these comments

We live in a fallen world. Until Jesus returns in ultimate triumph over the grave, we will still have to deal with mental anguish, chronic depression, anxiety disorders, panic attacks and a myriad of other struggles. While the Holy Spirit certainly can give us the power to overcome these challenges, we will not know total freedom until we get to the other side of eternity. And if someone we love commits suicide, the Holy Spirit will give us the supernatural comfort we need to handle the pain and disappointment.

3. The church should be a safe place for people with mental illness. We should never make a fellow believer feel “less than a Christian” just because they struggle with emotional trauma or mental illness. Many believers are afraid to ask for help because they’ve been told depression reveals a “lack of faith.” So they suffer silently. Then, if they slip over the edge and kill themselves, everyone is surprised.

Pastor Andrew Stoeklein’s wife, Kayla, gave some solid advice when she spoke at his funeral last week. “If you are struggling, tell somebody,” she said. “The enemy wants you to feel isolated, unloved and worthless. I’m here to tell you that you are loved and valued more than you will ever know.”

If you are depressed, struggling with an anxiety disorder or thinking of self-harm, the best thing to do is seek help immediately. Don’t throw away your life. Don’t listen to Satan’s lies. God has a way out of your despair, but you can’t find it alone. Open your heart, be honest, reach out to mature friends and talk to a pastor or counselor. Run into your heavenly Father’s arms and discover His healing.

Louis Zamperini was one of America’s greatest heroes—a World War II veteran, POW, Olympic runner and an evangelist. His harrowing story of overcoming the odds will be told through Pure Flix’s Unbroken: Path to Redemption, which debuts in theaters nationwide on Friday, Sept. 14.

Read Also: Top 12 Christian Movies: Must-See Films About Famous Christians

Zamperini’s son, Luke Zamperini, appeared on ‘s “Pure Talk” this week to share the finer details of his late father’s incredibly uplifting and death-defying journey.

“My dad’s story is full of great stories,” Zamperini said, going on to summarize the major benchmarks of his dad’s life. “Punk kid makes it into sports, athlete makes it to the Olympics, Olympian joins the military, soldier crashes at sea and survives for 47 days, famous American athlete picked up by Japanese and put into a prison camp.”

Watch Luke Zamperini share the details of his dad’s incredible faith journey below:

Some pieces of Louis Zamperini’s story were told in Angelina Jolie’s hit 2014 film Unbroken, but the sequel dives much deeper into his stunning conversion to Christianity—something that unfolded after most of the events shown in the Jolie’s film.

Luke Zamperini said that he initially wondered why Jolie and her team couldn’t fit his father’s astounding faith journey into the first movie, but came to learn the difficulty of condensing so much content into two hours of cinematic storytelling.

Unbroken: Path to Redemption will show Zamperini’s journey after he arrived home from the war, suffered PTSD symptoms and turned to alcohol—all struggles that unfolded before he accepted Jesus at a Billy Graham revival and experienced an incredible life transformation.

“My father was having these tremendously horrible dreams,” Luke Zamperini explained. “He was self-medicating with alcohol, he was getting in fights. He didn’t know where to turn.”

Read Also: 20 Bible Verses About Strength: God’s Word on Faith in Hard Times

Louis Zamperini’s wife, Cynthia, couldn’t take it anymore and threatened to divorce him “because there was no helping him.” But then something amazing happened.

“She got invited to a revival meeting in downtown Los Angeles,” Zamperini said, noting that his dad refused to go.

Cynthia came away from that Billy Graham event with a renewed perspective on life, telling her husband that the “newfound joy” in her heart meant that she wouldn’t divorce him—all on one condition: Zamperini needed attend a Billy Graham revival meeting with her.

Zamperini complied with his wife’s request, but ended up leaving the event frustrated, telling Cynthia, “Don’t ever take me to a place like that again.”

Somehow, though, she convinced him to go back a second time—and as he prepared to once again leave during Graham’s sermon, the evangelist’s words suddenly pierced his heart.

Luke Zamperini said that his dad had an instant flashback to his 47 days stranded at sea on a raft, recalling how he had made a promise to God, praying, “God, if you get me home from this alive I will seek you and serve you my entire life.”

Zamperini realized that he had failed to live up to that pledge after the war, and this realization changed everything.

“He just walked down to the stage, accepts Jesus,” Zamperini said of his dad, noting that there was immediate relief. “He felt this great weight lifted off his shoulders.”

Zamperini left alcohol behind and went on to forgive the Japanese prison guards who had abused and tortured him. And the dreams he had been haunted by for so long immediately vanished.

“He went home that night and it was the first night in almost five years that he didn’t have that dream,” Zamperini said. “And he never had it again the rest of his life.”

Read Also: 38 Powerful Bible Verses For Overcoming Life’s Struggles

The former Olympian and war hero devoted the rest of his life to spreading the Christian faith and helping youths, dying in 2014 at the age of 97.

Now, Luke Zamperini is hoping “Unbroken: Path to Redemption” leaves viewers with intense hope.

Find out more about the film here—and watch “Louis Zamperini: Captured By Grace.” {eoa}-

This article was originally published on Pure Flix Insider. Visit Pure Flix for access to thousands of faith and family friendly movies and TV shows. You can get a free, one-month trial here.

It was 17 years ago on a beautiful Tuesday morning like today that terrorists struck America in New York and Washington.

At the Pentagon and the site of the World Trade Center, victims gathered to remember the lost. President Trump is attending a memorial service in Shanksville, Pennsylvania for the victims of Flight 93.

The 9/11 attack kicked off a war that we’re still fighting today, and experts say the global threat posed by radical Islam is greater than ever.

Since that fateful September morning, Islamic jihadists have launched 33,767 deadly terror attacks.

Cliff May, president of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, tells CBN News, “The movements and ideologies that drove and justified that attack and the thousands of other attacks you name, that still remains very dynamic, very vibrant—a major force in the world.”

And these terror groups have hit targets nearly everywhere around the world since 9/11. From Iraq and Afghanistan to Finland and California, experts say Islamic fighters have shown that they are far from exhausted, discouraged or underfunded. {eoa}

For the rest of this story, visit our content partners at . Copyright The Christian Broadcasting Network, all rights reserved.

Actor Chris Pratt has repeatedly taken the opportunity not only to thank God, but to also encourage his fans to think deeper about their own relationships with the Almighty. Embracing a unique approach to discussing his Christian faith in public, Pratt has found a way to invoke God in difficult and unlikely venues without alienating critics of faith.

Read Also: Meet Chris Pratt’s Brother: An Army Vet, Cop & Incredible Artist

Pratt’s older brother, Cully Pratt—an artist, cop and Army vet—recently praised his famous brother on an episode of “The Billy Hallowell Podcast,” noting that Chris “stands behind everything he believes and values,” and that the actor wants to improve the world he lives in.

“He’s genuinely a good person and he genuinely cares about people and he genuinely wants to help and make an impact on the community and the world we live in,” Cully Pratt said. “He’s the type of person who, when he speaks, he is very well thought-out, but he doesn’t offend people. And I just respect that about him.”

Listen to Cully Pratt reveal some fascinating details about his famous brother’s faith talk:

At least two of Chris Pratt’s speeches have gone viral this year. During the summer, he wowed the crowd at the 2018 MTV Movie & TV Awards, speaking out about God, faith and prayer during a powerful acceptance speech.

“Nobody is perfect. People will tell you that you are perfect just the way that you are, you’re not! You’re imperfect. You always will be, but there is a powerful force that designed you that way, and if you are willing to accept that, you will have grace,” Pratt said. “And grace is a gift. Like the freedom that we enjoy in this country, that grace was paid for with somebody else’s blood. Do not forget it. Don’t take it for granted.”

Then he took another bold stand for God in August at the Teen Choice Awards, thanking God and encouraging young people to also turn to the Almighty.

“I want to thank God. I always do that when I’m up on a platform in front of a bunch of young faces,” Pratt said. “I love God, that’s my thing I love him! And you should too!”

Listen: Subscribe to “The Billy Hallowell Podcast”

It’s the approach to these proclamations, though, that is perhaps most intriguing. His brother, Cully, explained the brilliance of his brother’s moving addresses.

“He has a way about him to where he can speak in a way to where it doesn’t look like it was very well-versed or rehearsed,” Cully said, noting that his brother is talented at driving home a pertinent message.

Rather than being too preachy, the actor takes the time to think through how he approaches these subjects. Cully said that “you can’t tell people things that they don’t want to hear if they’re not willing to … slow down and listen to it a little bit.”

So, Chris Pratt takes the time to “stay funny and stay relatable,” while peppering in the truth he holds dear without shoving it “down people’s throats.”

It’s an approach that Cully has seen resonate, as he spoke specifically about the results of his brother’s MTV speech earlier this summer.

“I’ve had so many positive conversations with people who … are atheists or … maybe they don’t believe or they’re not Christian or … they have their own beliefs and that’s totally fine, but I’ve had people who say, ‘You know, I really, really enjoyed it because it came from a place it was genuine. It was authentic,'” Cully said.

Amid the chaos of the current culture, few people have as large a platform as Chris Pratt, so seeing his messages play out serves as an inspiration to many.

Read Also: Candace Cameron Bure Responds to Those Who Mock Prayer

Check out some of Cully Pratt’s phenomenal, faith-based art pieces here and take a moment to watch his brother’s passionate MTV speech about faith. {eoa}

This article was originally published on Pure Flix Insider. Visit Pure Flix for access to thousands of faith and family friendly movies and TV shows. You can get a free, one-month trial here.

Texas has a dramatic history when it comes to voting.

“Landslide Lyndon” Johnson, who went on to become America’s 36th president, benefited from blatant fraud to win his first Senate race in 1948. Following a runoff against a popular former governor, Johnson’s backers used recounts, corrections and phony vote-shifting to hand him an 87-vote primary victory.

Today, it isn’t so easy to simply fabricate thousands of votes. However, inaccurate voter registration rolls, brimming with the names of noncitizens as well as those who have moved away or died, open the way to error and fraud. That threatens the integrity of the vote in Texas and elsewhere.

A review of the presidential votes cast in Texas in 2008, 2012 and 2016 by the data analysis firm Votistics found a disturbing number of duplicate registrations and multiple votes. This means that inaccurate voter rolls are not harmless, forgivable mistakes.

According to Votistics, data provided by the Texas secretary of state indicate that 104,800 people appear to be registered more than once. That is, the list contains thousands of name/date of birth pairs. Of course, some cases could reflect unusual coincidences. But most are the same person. The State of Texas and county registrars have the information necessary to confirm duplicate registrations and remove the extra ones.

Votistics found that 2,159 of these “voting pairs” appeared to have cast ballots in the same election. The firm found another 272 cases of registrants who lacked fully matching middle names but also apparently voted more than once, as confirmed by data matching at various commercial sites that track personal information. While Votistics had no detailed information on these ballots, at least some of them were cast erroneously or fraudulently.

Moreover, 45,854 registrants appeared to have voted more than once in at least one general election according to the records provided by the Texas State Board of Elections. Texas also has a problem of the dead, or presumed dead, voting.

For instance, Votistics discovered that more than 3,000 of those who cast ballots apparently were older than the world’s oldest known person. Remarkable.

In 2016 alone, nearly 800 people above the age of 100 appear to have voted, most of them in person. Either the location of the Fountain of Youth is a few hundred miles off, or there’s a lot of voter impersonation going on. Regardless of whether these ballots were fraudulent, the secretary of state should lead a determined effort to fix election rolls across the state.

The problems are systemic. The American Civil Rights Union (ACRU) has been reviewing the role of inaccurate registration lists across the country. In Texas, 39 counties have more people registered than the number eligible to vote. One of the worst offenders is Starr County, with roughly 16 percent more registrants than qualified residents.

In 2014, the ACRU secured a consent decree with Terrell County, Texas, requiring officials to clean up their voter rolls by eliminating outdated and duplicate names. As a result, the analysis by Votistics showed the number of “surplus” registrants down markedly.

Now the ACRU has negotiated a comprehensive settlement with Starr County, where an election official admitted under oath that if he attended the funeral of someone he knew to be a registered voter and saw the dead body with his own eyes, he would not remove the person’s name from the rolls without an official death certificate. Is there any wonder why the rolls are in such a mess?

The problem of questionable voting is not limited to Texas. Pennsylvania has welcomed not just centenarians, but double-centenarians in the voting booth. Florida’s voter rolls have been swollen by the many noncitizens in the state. Estimates of the number of inaccurate registrations nationwide are in the millions.

Election offenses are not victimless crimes. For instance, limiting the ballot to citizens ensures that those empowered to decide the nation’s future have a substantial stake in the result. Every illegal vote cast, no matter how well intentioned, dilutes the votes of the rest of us.

Organized fraud is far worse. Although no candidate today likely matches the “success” of Lyndon Johnson, who would never have become president absent his 1948 theft, in close races, it doesn’t take many fake votes to change the outcome. Last fall, one of Virginia’s state legislative races ended in a tie, and that result determined who controlled the House of Delegates. The GOP held the seat when its candidate’s name was chosen by lot. Just one improper vote would have changed the work of the entire legislature.

The 2000 presidential election was decided by 537 Florida ballots. Moreover, the 2016 presidential election turned on close races in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The contest could be even closer next time. Even without organized fraud, people who are not eligible to vote could end up deciding who governs America.

Keeping accurate voting lists is a local and state responsibility. Indeed, these governments have no more important responsibility than protecting the integrity of America’s democracy. When they fail to do their duty, groups like the ACRU must go to court to hold election officials accountable.

Texas has much important work to do, as do most other states. With the next election just two months away, they’d better get busy.

Ken Blackwell is a member of the policy board of the American Civil Rights Union.

With midterm elections looming on the horizon, House Republicans have introduced a package of bills that would, among other things, make their individual tax cuts permanent.

Under last year’s $1.5 trillion tax cut, the corporate tax rate was permanently lowered from 35 percent to 21 percent. Individual tax rates, however, were scheduled to expire at the end of 2025.

The law was written that way to accommodate budget rules so it could pass with just a simple majority since no Democrats supported it.

The new legislation would lock in tax cuts for both individuals and small businesses.

“Last year, we said goodbye to America’s old, broken tax code,” House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas, said while introducing the new bill. “Under our new system, we’re seeing incredible job growth, bigger paychecks and a tax code that works on behalf of families and American businesses.”

In addition to individual tax cuts, the legislation would also make other provisions permanent, like the increased standard deductions, rates for pass-through income, child tax credit and caps on state and local tax deductions. {eoa}

For the rest of this story, visit our content partners at . Copyright The Christian Broadcasting Network, all rights reserved.

This past weekend, I was praying for a friend, and as I did, I began to speak these words over her, “Father, give her beauty for ashes, just as Your Word promises.”

Immediately, the Lord spoke to me and said, “You can’t have beauty without ashes, and you can’t have ashes without fire.”

Ahhh. I realized God was showing me we often want beauty without ashes. That is simply not possible.

Isaiah 61:3 says; “To preserve those who mourn in Zion, to give to them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He might be glorified” (Isa. 61:3).

The word “beauty” means that He will beautify us with His glory. He will place His glory upon us. However, that comes after the ashes, not before.

1 John 1:8-9 says, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

We all have things in us that need to be purified. There is only one way to remove these things from our life, and that is through God and His fire.

Hebrews 12:29 tells us, “our God is a consuming fire.” It is His fire alone that will cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Malachi 3:2-3 says; But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire and like launderer’s soap. He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver;

Zechariah 13:8-9 says; ^“And it will happen in all the land, says the Lord, that two-thirds will be cut off and die, and one-third will be left in the land.
And I will bring this one-third left into the fire, and will refine them as the refinement of silver, and will test them as the testing of gold.

We see from Scripture that it is God who refines.

Silver is refined only one way, by fire.

Purification comes only one way. By being plunged into the heart of fire, the place where the fire is the hottest. And kept there until it is completely purified. Until it loses all resemblance of what it once was. This is what happens when we confess our sins to God, He is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse and purify us from that sin.

I want you to notice that the scripture does not say that God is like a forest fire or an incinerator’s fire. It says He is like a refiner’s fire. There is a difference.

A forest fire destroys everything in its path. An incinerator consumes completely. A refiner’s fire does not work that way.

The Bible says in Malachi 3; I the Lord do not change, therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed, you are not destroyed.

Our God is like a refiner’s fire. He refines, He purifies. He removes all the impurities. He burns them up and leaves the gold, or silver, intact.

It reminds me of brush fires. I have burned brush in my backyard. I usually have a large fire that takes hours or even overnight to burn. If I put the fire out too early, it leaves debris. However, most times I allow the fire to burn until there is nothing left but ashes. This takes time, normally I leave it burning all day and all night. This is what God does. He wants us to allow His fire to burn in us until it burns everything that is not of Him. Until the only thing left is ashes. Then and only then, He will turn the beauty into ashes. Then we will we walk in His glory.

After God showed me this, I did a lot of soul searching. I ask God to show me anything and everything that was hindering me from walking in His glory. I also asked Him to keep a fire burning in me continually, that all debris would be gone.

Yes, God does give us beauty for the beauty, the glorious crowning of His presence only comes after the ashes. The ashes only come after the fire–the consuming fire of God. As for me, I want to be a part of that remnant God spoke of in Zechariah when He said, “they will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘This is My people’ and each one will say, ‘The Lord is my God.”

Today I say, burn God burn. May Your refiner’s fire burn everything in me that needs to be removed. May I awake in Your likeness, for you are my God and I am your people. {eoa}

Kim Potter is a writer and founder of A New Thing Ministries, which sends a daily teaching to over ten thousand people all around the world.

Her message is a message of hope. She speaks to the heart of women and men who have become discouraged and disappointed by the circumstances they may face in life, imparting to them the desire and ability to stand against all odds and see themselves as victorious and able to overcome every obstacle through God. She encourages people to press into God and discover that He is who He says He is. For additional information go to: .

Just hours before the Benton (Louisiana) High School football team ran onto the field last Friday, two students were ordered to remove a logo from the end zone because it included a cross, a Bible verse and the word “Christ.”

“You have to stand up for Christ no matter what (and we) just told the coaches we wouldn’t do it,” one of the students wrote on social media. “We ended up leaving the field and not helping them cover up the Scripture that was put on the field.”

The logo belonged to Christ Fit Gym, a faith-based gymnasium in nearby Bossier City, Louisiana. It included the words “Christ Fit Gym,” a cross and a Bible verse reference, 1 Timothy 4:8.

Owner Billy Weatherall tells me he paid the high school football booster club $3,500 to put his logo in the end zone for the 2018-19 football season.

“We have a signed contract,” he told “The Todd Starnes Radio Show.”

“I got a phone call from a school official Friday morning while I was having my quiet time and drinking coffee,” Weatherall said. “He said they were instructed to paint over the cross, and he was devastated about it.”

After he hung up the telephone and talked to his wife, Weatherall knew that he was going to have to take a stand.

“This is something I believe in,” he said. “This is what my faith is all about. This is something I cannot and will not compromise on.”

A judge granted a temporary restraining order to prevent anyone from removing the signs—but it was too late.

Attorney Ryan Gatti, who is representing Christ Fit Gym, told television station KSLA that he could not believe the school would tell students to remove the logo.

“Just let that sink in,” he told the television station. “They were told to spray paint over the name of Christ.”

The Bossier Parish School Board’s legal counsel advised the high school’s administration that the logo should be removed pending consultation with the court.

“The logo of the business included a cross and Bible verse and was painted on the football field yesterday,” the statement read. “A challenge to the logo was received from counsel for the plaintiffs in a pending federal lawsuit alleging improper endorsement of religion in the schools.”

Americans United for Separation of Church and State filed a federal lawsuit against the school district in February, alleging the district was promoting Christianity and proselytizing students.

Bossier Press reports the lawsuit alleges “widespread use of prayer on school property, during school events, in classrooms at all levels, at sporting events at graduation ceremonies, during awards assemblies and at student government meetings.”

It’s not exactly clear what kind of godless heathen complained about the gymnasium’s logo—but I’m not sure they have a legal leg to stand on. But it doesn’t matter because they picked a fight with the wrong Christian.

Weatherall tells “The Todd Starnes Radio Show” that he plans on fighting the good fight to have his logo restored.

“What would Jesus do? Jesus would not say this is OK. Jesus would not allow His name to be stamped out,” he told me. “I want to fight this fight.”

There are some mighty good people in Bossier City—and among them are Billy Weatherall and those two brave young teenage boys who stood up to those school officials.

“No matter what people say, you have to stand up for Christ even if it could get you in trouble with the school, or anyone else,” the young man wrote.