Twenty years after the Chinese government-run People’s Liberation Army opened-fire on thousands of unarmed student protestors and allowed armored tanks to roll over the crowds, killing hundreds, Christians are praying for a “new” China to emerge that respects democracy and religious freedom.

Tonight Christian leaders from the U.S. and China are gathering in Washington, D.C., for a prayer service aimed at remembering the victims of the June 4, 1989, massacre.

“China is at a crossroad,” said Bob Fu, an organizer of the prayer vigil and founder of China Aid, a Texas-based ministry that advocates for religious liberty in China. “We pray in unity that the international community will choose to stand in true solidarity with China’s freedom pursuers without any wavering so that a God-fearing, human rights- and dignity-respecting new China will emerge as a blessing to the whole world in the 21st century.”

Attendees, including Barrett Duke of the Southern Baptist Convention Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, will also pray that current and past Chinese officials would acknowledge the bloodshed that occurred, repent, commemorate the victims and compensate their families.

The two-hour service begins at 7 p.m. (EDT) and will be broadcast on Voice of China News. Chinese house church pastors will also participate via Skype and will pray for freedom of religion in the communist nation.

Although the Tiananmen Square massacre evokes painful memories, Chinese Christians credit it with the growth of the underground church movement, which some estimate to have as many as 80 million members.

Prior to the massacre, during which thousands of students participating in a 50-day protest for democracy were killed, Christianity had spread slowly through out the countryside mostly among uneducated people.

“Following the massacre, many educated people abandoned their trust in the Communist system and searched for other answers,” said Paul Hattaway, director of Asia Harvest, which supports China’s underground church movement. “This led to thousands of university students accepting Christ in the months following the massacre. Others who had not been touched by the gospel opened their hearts to the message of salvation. Today there are countless Christians in China among university graduates, professors, businessmen and women, entrepreneurs.”

Since 1989, Fu said the Christian Chinese population has gained 20 times the number of followers.

“When the so-called ‘people’s’ army started shooting its own people then that dream and that anticipation [of a perfect country and government] was broken,” Fu told Charisma. “So many said we gain heaven after losing the earth, and when hundreds of [weapon]less and peaceful [people] were killed by its own government, how much hope can you have for a temporary system structure or party without looking up to heaven to seek God’s help and the renewal in Christ Jesus?”

David Aikman, former Beijing bureau chief for Time magazine and author of Jesus in Bejing, said Tiananmen Square taught the Chinese church that its hope is in God, not government, and that awareness is now one of its strengths.

“A change of political institution is not enough to get a country moving in the right direction,” Aikman told Charisma. “You have to have a moral revolution at the heart of it, and I think that’s a very healthy sign.”

The role of gays in church life promises to be debated hotly this summer in the nation’s mainline Protestant denominations. The conflict, which comes as states wage legal fights over same-sex marriage, could well influence whether some of the denominations remain intact or splinter into smaller factions. In some churches, the hard-fought court battles over civil marriage for gay and lesbian couples run parallel to religious struggles that are strikingly similar and often just as heated.

An example of this has been in California, where last week the issue of same-sex marriage influenced separate decisions by the state’s Supreme Court and a regional diocese of the Episcopal Church USA.

Last Tuesday, California’s Supreme Court upheld Proposition 8, a state constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman. But the court also ruled that the estimated 18,000 gay couples issued marriage licenses in the state before the law took effect may remain legally married.

This past Wednesday, 61 Episcopal clergy of the Diocese of San Joaquin near San Francisco received letters from the bishop notifying them that they had been deposed from ordained ministry. The priests and deacons who received the notices had split from the Episcopal Church in 2007-disaffected by the liberal theology of the Episcopal Church, especially its permitted local blessing of same-sex marriages and its unsettled debate over the ordination of gay priests-and had realigned themselves with the more conservative Anglican Province of the Southern Cone in South America. The notices charged that they had abandoned the Communion of the national church.

In July, leaders of the Episcopal Church USA will consider proposals at their national convention in Anaheim, Calif., to sanction a religious rite for blessing same-sex unions and ease restrictions on the ordination of gay and lesbian bishops. If approved, the steps could further alienate theological conservatives, giving them reason to join four Episcopal dioceses and hundreds of parishes that split last year to form a separate church.

The country’s largest Lutheran denomination, meanwhile, is scheduled in August to consider a long-anticipated statement on human sexuality that, among various elements, says that Christian tradition recognizes marriage as a covenant between a man and a woman.

Even as they acknowledge deep divisions over homosexuality, members of the member Evangelical Lutheran Church in America will decide at their meeting in Minneapolis whether they should enable local congregations to recognize same-sex unions and allow “practicing homosexuals” in committed relationships to serve in the ministry.

Other Protestant groups are embroiled in similar struggles, including the Presbyterian Church (USA) and the United Methodist Church.

Scholars are watching the Episcopalians and Evangelical Lutherans especially closely, seeing them as a gauge for other denominations. The experts are waiting to see if the intensified debate and turmoil leading up to the national conventions produces any consensus on issues that have long divided U.S. Protestants.

“What has been emerging for the last several years is becoming even clearer now: We’re on a trajectory toward the blessing of same-sex unions and the ordination of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people,” said the Rev. Jay Johnson, a professor of theology at the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, Calif., and director of academic research at its Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies in Religion and Ministry.

A recent survey of clergy from the seven historic mainline Protestant denominations found that most mainline Protestant clergy do not support legalizing gay marriage, even if they’re not required to officiate at same-sex ceremonies.

The Clergy Voices Survey, conducted by Public Religion Research, was based on responses by clergy from the United Methodist Church; Evangelical Lutheran Church of America; Episcopal Church; United Church of Christ, Presbyterian Church USA; American Baptist Church; and the Disciples of Christ. It asked questions on sexuality and the “the role of (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) people in the church and broader society” as well as theological questions on views on the Bible.

Only 33 percent said gay couples should be allowed to marry; 32 percent would allow civil unions; and 35 percent called for “no legal recognition” for same-sex couples.

Support for same-sex marriage grew, however, to 46 percent if laws specified that clergy would not be required to perform a religious ceremony in contradiction with their denomination’s teachings. Clergy were also asked to estimate how their views on gay and lesbian issues had changed in 10 years: 45 percent called themselves more liberal now, 40 percent unchanged, and 14 percent more conservative.

U.S. Christians also appear divided over homosexuality. One recent survey by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life found that 56 percent of all mainline Protestants believe it should be accepted by society. Just 26 percent of evangelical Protestants felt that way.

Few denominations have been as torn by the homosexuality in the church issue as the Episcopal Church, the U.S. branch of the Anglican Communion, a 77-million-member fellowship. Theological conservatives are a minority in the Episcopal Church but a large majority among Anglicans worldwide.

The conflict between church liberals and conservatives escalated in 2003 with the consecration of an openly gay priest, V. Gene Robinson, as bishop of New Hampshire. Amid pressure from traditionalists within the U.S. church and Anglican officials elsewhere, Episcopal leaders agreed at their last General Convention in 2006 to urge local church authorities not to consecrate any bishop “whose manner of life presents a challenge to the wider church.” Still, 700 conservative parishes in the United States and Canada defected last year and formed a new church affiliated with overseas Anglicans.

Now, as Episcopalians approach their July convention, dioceses around the country are submitting resolutions to ease restrictions on gay bishops and to authorize same-sex marriage blessings. The issue of blessings is now left up to local Episcopal authorities.

The convention’s host, the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles, has tried to send a message by approving a policy at its December convention that gives local priests permission to officiate at rites of blessing for same-sex couples.

“I think it’s about time we get about the business of having marriage equality in the church,” said the Rt. Rev. J. Jon Bruno, bishop of the Los Angeles Diocese. “I am waiting with bated breath to see what happens” at the Anaheim meeting.

Conservative Episcopalians argue that liberalized policies will not only alienate U.S. parishes but will also add further strain to the church’s troubled relationship with church leaders in Africa and elsewhere in the global Anglican Communion. This month, one of the communion’s worldwide leadership bodies affirmed its support for moratoriums on consecrating non-celibate gay bishops and on blessings for same-sex couples. The group was led by Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, the communion’s spiritual leader, who is scheduled to attend the Anaheim convention.

Evangelical Lutherans are weathering an equally emotional debate as they prepare for their Churchwide Assembly in Minneapolis, a gathering that many predict will expose deep divisions over homosexuality and biblical authority.

Denomination leaders will vote on a lengthy social statement-“Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust”-that has been eight years in the making and identifies marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Such statements are intended to guide church members in setting policy and forming judgments about social issues, officials have said.

Lutheran leaders also will consider a new policy that asks whether the church “should commit itself” to finding ways to allow local congregations, if they choose, to recognize “life-long, monogamous, same-gender relationships.” Another policy asks whether the church should find a way to allow gay people to serve in ordained positions. Current Lutheran policy bars “practicing homosexuals” from ministry.

Consensus has been elusive, a point readily acknowledged by those who developed the sexuality statement and ministry proposals. Lutherans Concerned/North America, a gay rights group, praised the sexuality paper for extolling the importance of committed relationships but criticized it for failing to include a marriage blessing for same-sex couples.

Conservatives, meanwhile, argue that any such shift in policy will alter fundamental biblical teachings about homosexuality. A coalition of Evangelical Lutheran members and congregations issued a letter last week to voting members of the upcoming Churchwide Assembly meeting, urging them to defeat proposals they believe would put the denomination at odds with fellow Lutherans in Asia and Africa.

“There are going to be some congregations that leave,” said the Rev. Mark Chavez of the Lutheran Coalition for Reform, a group that supports traditional Lutheran positions on marriage and other issues.

The power of choice that God has given to every person cannot be overestimated. How dramatically our right to choose affects the course of our lives! Naomi’s choice to return to Bethlehem-Judah would ultimately result in her personal restoration. Ruth’s choice to follow Naomi and serve Naomi’s God brought her to a wonderful destiny.

Orpah’s name means “stiff-necked or skull.” The decision Orpah made to stay in Moab reflected the inflexible, unyielding character described by her name and resulted in her death in obscurity—she was never heard of again. Such is the end of stiff-necked people. It is better to have a harnessed heart than a stiff neck.

Ruth’s name means “friend.” She proved her friendship to Naomi and to God by her willingness to leave all she held dear to follow Naomi and serve her God. This beauty of character is to be revealed throughout the rest of the narrative as Ruth gains a reputation in the whole city of Bethlehem-Judah as a virtuous woman.

Ruth’s treatise was a sevenfold declaration that revealed her heart’s determination. The key words in Ruth’s treatise were “I will.” These two words expressed the intent of her heart and formed the basis of her decision. As we observe Orpah’s tearful decision not to follow Naomi, we understand that Ruth’s choice was not based on emotion or sentiment, but on a decision of her will.

Decision itself is exhilarating and refreshing. Some people never know the joys and delights of walking with God because they do not choose to make decisions in favor of God, His Word and His ways. Decisive people are seldom the subject of continued despair; they are steadfastly minded. As we decide to follow God’s will, our decision will have wonderful results in our lives, as Ruth’s did.

The treatise of “I wills” made by Ruth consisted of seven elements: “Whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the Lord do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me” (Ruth 1:16-17, KJV).

This last “I will,” though not explicitly expressed, is understood, for Ruth was declaring in essence, “I will seal this treatise with a covenant. The Lord do so to me and more also if ought but death part thee and me.”

Ruth’s resolve is a classic for all of literature. As an expression of love and loyalty, these words cannot be surpassed. Here is supreme devotion; here is love to the uttermost, not only passionately expressed, but as history declares, determinedly fulfilled. The beauty of its form and the utter devotion of a genuine and self-conquering love has made Ruth’s vow one that never shall be forgotten. The secret of such love and loyalty is kinship in the matters of the soul and of eternity. There can be no true love, no lasting loyalty, without this kinship of soul and spirit.

Ruth’s vow has stamped itself indelibly on the heart of the church. Believers throughout history have followed her example in choosing to live, and die, for God alone. How many have gained their courage to face martyrdom from reading the testimony of Ruth!

Like Ruth, we should resolve to pursue God to the end, casting our lot with the separated, sanctified people of God, cleaving to the eternal God of the Bible. Like Ruth we should enter God’s field and be willing to serve. Like Ruth, we should abandon ourselves to our glorious, heavenly “Boaz,” and stay at His feet until morning.

Adapted from the book From Our Hearts to Yours, copyright 2008, published by Charisma House. This book is a compilation of articles written by strong women of God that will cause you to see how much God really loves you, and empowers you to become a better mother, wife, woman and friend. To order a copy click on this link:

May 20, 2009 — According to the study by Hudson Institute’s Center for Global Prosperity (CGP), church donations to international relief organizations based in the U.S. jumped 17 percent from 2006 to 2007, with 74 percent of American congregations giving toward global aid agencies. The average church gave $11,960, and more than a quarter of those gave directly to programs in other countries for a combined $3.3 billion. Other means of church giving included short-term mission or service trips (34 percent of all congregations did this), as well as long-term development projects (30 percent) that contributed more than $1.4 billion to aid countries.

“Together, religious organizations and PVOs [private and voluntary organizations], including volunteers to international development causes, gave more in aid to developing countries than the U.S. government did in 2007,” said Carol Adelman, director of the CGP. “Religious congregations … are becoming major players in the world of international development, bringing new ideas, dollars and people to the table to help the world’s poor.”

So where exactly did all this money go? The CGP found the greatest areas benefiting from American goodwill were Latin America and the Caribbean (36 percent); Asia and the Pacific (29 percent); sub-Saharan Africa (21 percent); Europe and Central Asia (9 percent); and North Africa and the Middle East (5 percent). At least 34 percent of congregational giving went toward education, while 26 percent was allotted for health and medical projects.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) ruled last week that a group of ministers gathered for a series of public policy conferences surrounding 2006’s election season did not break any rules that would have put their churches at risk of losing nonprofit status.

Though based on a complaint filed against the Houston-based nonprofit Niemoller Foundation, the IRS decision has larger implications for every local minister, as it indicates that pastors cannot be penalized for speaking out or taking political action on moral issues-and encouraging their congregations to do likewise. Besides endorsing a specific political candidate or using ministry funds to support a political cause, pastors are free to become politically active “on behalf of moral values,” the IRS stated.

“Not only do pastors and churches have freedom, but now they know about it,” said Kelly Shackelford, chief counsel of Liberty Legal Institute, which represented Niemoller to the Dallas Morning News.

In 2005, Niemoller spent $1.2 million hosting a series of closed-door “Pastors’ Policy Briefings” for the Texas Restoration Project, a network of evangelical pastors involved in getting their congregations to the polls to vote for biblical values. The meetings included a handful of politicians, including conservative-minded Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who was up for re-election.

The Texas Freedom Network, a liberal group that fights against church-state connections, filed the complaint based on a specific 2006 conference, alleging that the event was a masked effort to get pastors to endorse Perry.

“This ruling is disappointing because it will embolden wealthy special interests who want to funnel money into nonprofits as a backdoor way to drag churches into partisan campaigns,” said Texas Freedom Network spokesman Dan Quinn reports the Washington Times. “We continue to think that using faith as a political weapon is sleazy, regardless of whether the IRS agrees that Niemoller violated its tax-exempt status.”

The IRS directed its decision specifically to Niemoller, which also funded a similar campaign in Florida to support the state’s amendment to ban same-sex marriage. But most conservative groups are trumpeting the verdict as a win for pastors and churches nationwide.

“This liberal attempt to intimidate pastors has backfired,” Shackelford told the Dallas Morning News newspaper. “It’s [their] nightmare-they accidentally caused the IRS to put it in writing. … It’s more than just a win because, thanks to the IRS letter, pastors now know they have the freedom to act as we always believed they had.”

May 15, 2009-– Just two days before Angels and Demons, the sequel to the blockbuster film The Da Vinci Code, hit theaters Friday, Westminster Theological Seminary launched a Web site designed to juxtapose the film’s facts from its fiction.

The 2005 Da Vinci Code film, which claimed Jesus married Mary Magdalene and fathered a child with her, left many Christians and non-Christians questioning the existence of God and wondering whether the Bible could be trusted. Bible scholars expect director Ron Howard’s adaptation of Dan Brown’s 2000 novel Angels and Demons to have similar results.

“In Angels and Demons the focus is much more on the relationship between science and faith, science and Christianity, science and religion and where those two things meet,” said David Garner, associate professor of systemic theology at Westminster Theological Seminary. “[The movie] is the essential denial that Christianity is even relevant any longer because science has completely eclipsed the need for any sort of faith or religion.”

The film follows Robert Langdon, a religion expert played by Tom Hanks, as he uncovers a plot to destroy the Vatican. Leaders of the Catholic Church had massacred a group of scientist called the Illumnati in order to silence their claims that science, rather than God, has the answers to life. Langdon must stop the group from enacting their revenge and save the Vatican.

“This Web site [] will help individuals sift through the mix of fact and fiction woven into the novel and presumably the film,” said Bill Edgar, Ph. D., professor of apologetics at Westminster, which is based in Philadelphia. “By providing biblically sound facts and highlighting issues related to the intersection of religion and science that Angels & Demons presents, we hope to educate people and empower them to engage in conversation about the book and film.”

The Web site includes in-depth articles about key elements of the film’s claims, an interactive path of the Illuminati and answers to common questions that may arise from the film.

In 2005 Westminster launched a similar Web site, , to help answer questions that arose from the first film. The site drew 730,000 visitors the first month the movie released and is still ranked within the top 15 Web sites found when searching for the Da Vinci Code.

“Our aim with this new site is to follow the injunction of the apostle Peter, who encouraged the church to be prepared to gently and respectfully ‘make a defense’ to those who question the hope they have,” explained Peter Lillback, president of Westminster and a contributed to the new Web site.

While the site is intended to help Christians defend their faith, Garner said it may also serve as an evangelistic tool, noting that some people became believers as a result of the Da Vinci Code Web site.

“We’ve had many, many interactions with people that claim that they have come to faith in Christ because of that [Da Vinci code] resource,” Garner told Charisma. “And that has been really an exciting byproduct.”

Lillback said he hopes that Christians use the resource to more effectively engage the culture.

“Whether an individual chooses to see the Angels & Demons film, we trust this site will be a helpful resource and catalyst for people of faith to be better equipped to engage in spiritual conversation generated by this significant media and cultural event.”

Gov. John Lynch released the following statement today regarding same-sex legislation in New Hampshire:

“The gay marriage debate in New Hampshire has been filled with passion and emotion on all sides.

“My personal views on the subject of marriage have been shaped by my own experience, tradition and upbringing. But as Governor of New Hampshire, I recognize that I have a responsibility to consider this issue through a broader lens.

“In the past weeks and months, I have spoken with lawmakers, religious leaders and citizens. My office has received thousands of phone calls, letters and emails. I have studied our current marriage and civil union laws, the laws of other states, the bills recently passed by the legislature and our history and traditions.

“Two years ago, we passed civil unions legislation here in New Hampshire. That law gave same-sex couples in civil unions the same rights and protections as marriage. And in typical New Hampshire fashion, the people of this state embraced civil unions and agreed we needed to continue our tradition of opposing discrimination.

“At its core, HB 436 simply changes the term ‘civil union’ to ‘civil marriage.’ Given the cultural, historical and religious significance of the word marriage, this is a meaningful change.

“I have heard, and I understand, the very real feelings of same-sex couples that a separate system is not an equal system. That a civil law that differentiates between their committed relationships and those of heterosexual couples undermines both their dignity and the legitimacy of their families.

“I have also heard, and I understand, the concerns of our citizens who have equally deep feelings and genuine religious beliefs about marriage. They fear that this legislation would interfere with the ability of religious groups to freely practice their faiths.

“Throughout history, our society’s views of civil rights have constantly evolved and expanded. New Hampshire’s great tradition has always been to come down on the side of individual liberties and protections.

“That is what I believe we must do today.

“But following that tradition means we must act to protect both the liberty of same-sex couples and religious liberty. In their current form, I do not believe these bills accomplish those goals.

“The Legislature took an important step by clearly differentiating between civil and religious marriage, and protecting religious groups from having to participate in marriage ceremonies that violate their fundamental religious beliefs.

“But the role of marriage in many faiths extends beyond the actual marriage ceremony.

“I have examined the laws of other states, including Vermont and Connecticut, which have recently passed same-sex marriage laws. Both go further in protecting religious institutions than the current New Hampshire legislation.

“This morning, I met with House and Senate leaders, and the sponsors of this legislation, and gave them language that will provide additional protections to religious institutions.

“This new language will provide the strongest and clearest protections for religious institutions and associations, and for the individuals working with such institutions.
It will make clear that they cannot be forced to act in ways that violate their deeply held religious principles.

“If the legislature passes this language, I will sign the same-sex marriage bill into law. If the legislature doesn’t pass these provisions, I will veto it.

“We can and must treat both same-sex couples and people of certain religious traditions with respect and dignity.

“I believe this proposed language will accomplish both of these goals and I urge the legislature to pass it.

Below is the language Gov. Lynch has proposed for the same Sex legislation.

# # #

I. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a religious organization, association, or society, or any individual who is managed, directed, or supervised by or in conjunction with a religious organization, association or society, or any nonprofit institution or organization operated, supervised or controlled by or in conjunction with a religious organization, association or society, shall not be required to provide services, accommodations, advantages, facilities, goods or privileges to an individual if such request for such services, accommodations, advantages, facilities, goods or privileges is related to the solemnization of a marriage, the celebration of a marriage, or the promotion of marriage through religious counseling, programs, courses, retreats, or housing designated for married individuals, and such solemnization, celebration, or promotion of marriage is in violation of their religious beliefs and faith. Any refusal to provide services, accommodations, advantages, facilities, goods or privileges in accordance with this section shall not create any civil claim or cause of action or result in any state action to penalize or withhold benefits from such religious organization, association or society, or any individual who is managed, directed, or supervised by or in conjunction with a religious organization, association or society, or any nonprofit institution or organization operated, supervised or controlled by or in conjunction with a religious organization, association or society.

II. The marriage laws of this state shall not be construed to affect the ability of a fraternal benefit society to determine the admission of members pursuant to RSA 418:5, and shall not require a fraternal benefit society that has been established and is operating for charitable and educational purposes and which is operated, supervised or controlled by or in connection with a religious organization to provide insurance benefits to any person if to do so would violate the fraternal benefit society’s free exercise of religion as guaranteed by the first amendment of the Constitution of the United States and part 1, article 5 of the Constitution of New Hampshire

III. Nothing in this chapter shall be deemed or construed to limit the protections and exemptions provided to religious organizations under RSA § 354-A:18.

IV. Repeal. RSA 457-A, relative to civil unions, is repealed effective January 1, 2011, except that no new civil unions shall be established after January 1, 2010.

We are creatures of desire. We move and decide on the basis of desire. Desire is our inescapable motivation.

Jesus told His disciples in Matthew 6:24, “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate the one and love the other; you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money” (NLT).

Many times we say we want the presence of God, but we also want a lot of other things. We want riches and comfort, admiration and pleasure. We want to be esteemed by the world (at least our little world) and honored in heaven at the same time. Deep down, if we were honest, most of us would like to have God and a list of worldly things, too.

However, Jesus Christ is the most precious prize in life, and to know Him requires the giving up of all else.

Read Philippians 3:7-9 and Matthew 13:45-46. How is Paul’s experience confirmed by Jesus’ parable? What are you willing to give in exchange for knowing Christ?

· Are you willing to spend the time necessary to know His Word?

· Are you willing to surrender your own knowledge and opinions to hear His voice?

· Are you willing to obey what you hear?

· Are you willing to look like a fool? (See 1 Cor. 1:18-29.)

· Are you willing to be a child? (See Matt. 18:3.)

Make no mistake; Jesus never said it was easy to follow Him. To come to Him is easy because He paid the enormous price. The opportunity to know God is thrown wide open to all.

But to become His disciple, to live and abide in His presence, is to be under His rule, where He is all in all. Jesus said, “‘If you love me, obey my commandments'” (John 14:15).

Living in God’s presence requires a holiness that is beyond us and that can be obtained only by our absolute surrender to Jesus Christ. The good news is: Whatever you lose is only a trinket compared with the vast kingdom of heaven you enter.

Jesus said, “If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it” (Matt. 16:25).

Our God lives in heaven. Therefore, to live in His presence means living from the heavens, with a heavenly perspective. The value of such is immeasurable; the value of intimacy with Christ cannot be matched. It is the purpose of our creation. However, He Himself warned, “The gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it” (Matt. 7:14).

KENN RENNER The number of real estate agents in the Austin, Texas, area has shrunk 30 percent since last year, reflecting a decrease in average monthly home sales in 2008 of more than 50 percent, according to Realtor Kenn Renner. However, after seeing his sales double the first two months over the same period last year, the head of Renner Realty is aiming for a 50 to 65 percent increase in 2009-he hopes to reach $20 million. Symbolizing his optimism is the early March listing of an $800,000 home that sold in four days, prompting the seller to remark, “This is a God thing.” “We surrender the whole business to Him,” says Renner, a member of Glory House Christian Center. “With the power of prayer and our model of doing things-people are looking for that. They want encouragement.” Though an independent agent for 25 years, Renner says last fall God directed him to become an affiliate of Keller Williams Realty. The Austin-based franchiser is now the nation’s third-largest residential real estate firm. Renner liked the priorities of co-founder/chairman Gary Keller: God first, followed by family and then business. “As a stereotype, [business owners] put business first,” Renner says. “It’s proven that God first is more biblical.” Though not a direct beneficiary of the federal stimulus bill, Renner says one provision of federal legislation adopted in February helped boost his business. The bill changed what had been a $7,500 no-interest loan to an $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers. The provision didn’t attract much attention from the news media-or Renner, until God told him to send out postcards to his tenants directing them to call him about federal housing assistance. “God said, ‘Get the word out,'” Renner recalls. “Nearly everybody who calls me has no idea about the $8,000 credit. Part of it is revealing what’s already there. It’s really being aware of the signs of the times. It’s a pretty exciting time.” Another step he took recently was adding a note to his Web site that for every home sale, Renner Realty donates $360 to Fullness in Christ Ministries, a Texas ministry founded by charismatic pastor Ras Robinson. That sum helps educate a child in Peru or the Philippines for a year. “It’s one of the ways I’m letting people know this is a Christian business,” Renner says.

DENNIS FEDORUK The current downturn is the third Dennis Fedoruk has weathered since he started The Brainy Baby Co. in 1995. However, thanks to increased direct-to-consumer products, his company’s sales more than doubled the first two months of 2009. Although he doesn’t expect that to continue, Fedoruk still forecasts an increase of 20 to 30 percent for the year. “There’s a certain amount of an evergreen nature to our business,” says the president of Brainy Baby, which produces videos, books and other products for toddlers. “It is children’s education; we have 4.5 million new babies every year; and people will spend money on educational products for their children.” Aside from such customary factors boosting sales, Fedoruk sees God’s signature written all over a healthy 2009. He talks about the phone ringing and bringing unexpected business or word of distribution into another country. Brainy Baby items can now be found in some 200 nations through sales outlets or video downloads. Although the company’s products are aimed at general markets, Brainy Baby is working on a faith-based line for release later this year. The new items will be one way the company can acknowledge the Father behind its prosperity. “God never fails,” says Fedoruk, who attends a nondenominational, charismatic church in a suburb of Atlanta. “I believe He is behind everything we do. We never worry; we just practice Matthew 6:33 [‘But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you’] and go about God’s business.” Although he believes a stream of negative media reports has magnified the public’s gloomy outlook, the executive says God has been teaching him to remain steady in today’s recessionary environment. Acknowledging that he could constantly worry if he let his mind “go wild,” Fedoruk says God has assured him that if he stays on the course He set without turning right or left, things will be all right. “If you’re doing what God tells you to do, you’re definitely beating a different drum,” he says of bucking the trend. “As believers, we know that. We’re not always beating the drum of popularity, but if you just stay focused on what you’re doing, God will see you through.”