Tim Tebow claims virgin status, but in a high-profile publicity stunt a controversial website is pledging $1 million to anyone who can prove she has slept with the Christian NFL superstar.

Two respected Biola University professors are helping Christians make sense of why Tebow is under such attack.

Ashley Madison, an online married dating service for “discreet encounters” that bills itself as the “most recognized name in infidelity” is offering up the bounty. The site glibly tweeted, “We’re just worried it might cost us millions!”

“Sports and sex (and of course, infidelity) go hand in hand,” said Ashley Madison head Noel Biderman in a statement. “If Mr. Tebow is indeed abstaining from adult relationships, I would encourage him to find a nice lady or two and enjoy his youth and fame as much as possible. I guarantee that no man of Tebow’s stature could survive a season in New York without succumbing to the temptations of the city.”

Ashley Madison’s offer is good through Tebow’s debut season with the New York Jets.

Biola professor Tim Muehlhoff says his first reaction on the $1 million bounty was to focus on how masculinity is socially constructed in often negative ways. He’s deeply disturbed by comments like “sports and sex (and of course, infidelity) go hand in hand.”

Why? Because, he says, as a culture we subscribe to a form of hype-masculinity that views virginity as a weakness. He points to the movie The 40-Year-Old Virgin, noting it implies that the worst state of affairs in which a man can find himself is being 40 and a virgin.

“A few years ago James Doyle studied masculinity in America and identified five traits that serve as a script for men: Don’t be female, be successful, be aggressive, be self-reliant and, most importantly, be sexual,” Muehlhoff says. “Tebow is attempting to rewrite this view of masculinity by challenging the idea that success is most important—for Tebow, God’s approval is more important—and that sex is imperative to being a man—again, obeying God’s directive to abstain until marriage trumps pre-marital sex.”

As Muehlhoff sees it, Tebow is threatening the status quo. Due to his popularity—he was recently included in Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world—Tebow is challenging America’s gender script for masculinity and Christianity.

Biola professor Erik Thoennes looks at the $1 million bounty this way: In an age when sexual promiscuity, abuse, disease, dysfunction, confusion, obsession and perversion abounds, we should admire and learn from the discipline, character and principled example of Tebow.

“Undisciplined, selfish, irresponsible self-gratification is ruining more than our economy; it’s destroying God’s good intentions for sex and the cost of that is devastating,” Thoennes says. “In an age when women are constantly objectified, evaluated, demeaned and abused—and marriage and sexual purity are mocked—we should all do our best to denounce this absurd publicity stunt.”

One person was killed and nine others were injured on Tuesday night after suspected Islamic extremists attacked a TV viewing center in a Christian area of Jos where a crowd had gathered to watch soccer.

At about 10:15 p.m. at the viewing center, one of many such establishments popular in Nigeria for watching soccer matches, the attackers drove past the site and threw an explosive device at hundreds of Christians watching the match, eyewitnesses told Compass.

Some 10 minutes after the bombing, security agents evacuated the injured to Janvak Hospital just a few meters away. Medical personnel at the hospital were treating four of them under strict supervision of police and other security agents. Plateau state spokesman Pam Ayuba reportedly said one person died in the blast.

Soldiers and police under the Joint Military Task Force charged with keeping peace in embattled Plateau state cordoned off the area around the establishment. Authorities have not ruled out members of the Islamic sect Boko Haram as suspects.

The bombing marks the second time in two weeks that the Christian area has been attacked. Boko Haram, which seeks to impose a strict version of sharia (Islamic law) throughout Nigeria, was suspected of a detonating a bomb a few meters from the center during Easter celebrations that injured five Christians. Various churches in Tudun Wada, Jos, commonly use the site as a base for evangelistic campaigns aimed at social venues in the area.

Christian and Muslim communities live in close but separate quarters of the Tudun Wada area of Jos, and the attacks have heightened tensions between them. The area comprises eight churches–Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) Bishara 2, Angwan Yashi, ECWA Good News Church, Assemblies of God Church, Redeemed Peoples Mission, Solid Rock Church, Deeper Life Bible Church, and Christ Way Baptist Church.

Suspected Islamic extremists bombed three TV viewing centers in Christian areas near Jos on Dec. 10, 2011. A few minutes into soccer match televised at Yangwava Television Viewing Center at Ukadum village, a bomb went off, killing 31-year-old Joshua Dabo. During the same game, bombs exploded at two other viewing centers in predominantly Christian areas of Jos, injuring at least 10 others, including four in critical condition and two in a coma.

Plateau state, in central Nigeria, has been especially volatile recently as it lies between the country’s predominantly Muslim north and Christian south. Nigeria’s population of more than 158.2 million is divided between Christians, who make up 51.3 percent of the population, and Muslims, who account for 45 percent. The percentages may be less, however, as those practicing indigenous religions may be as high as 10 percent of the total population, according to Operation World.

Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men, for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things. —Psalm 107:8-9

Intimacy with Jesus is the context in which the deep longing in our hearts for more of Him is progressively satisfied. People who are born again do not automatically have a sense of the nearness of God. Effective ministry produces a satisfaction that comes through helping others and being useful in God’s kingdom, but it is not the same as the satisfaction that comes from encountering God in our inner man. The Holy Spirit may give spiritual gifts to believers and release His power through us, but these things do not ultimately satisfy the desire in our hearts for more of God. When our spiritual hunger is not being satisfied, we will experience frustrating spiritual boredom and restlessness.

{ PRAYER STARTER }

You alone can satisfy the longing of my heart, Jesus. All I want is more of You. Let me live my life in intimacy with You.

Nothing but an intimate relationship with Jesus
will satisfy this inner cry birthed
by the Holy Spirit.

Rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. —Colossians 2:7

We show God gratitude by not only telling Him, but we show gratitude also by living a holy life. Never forget that we are not saved by being holy; we are holy because we have been saved. But because we are still sinners, we easily forget and become careless.

Gratitude is demonstrated furthermore by our giving Him one-tenth of our income. Now tithing was made legal under the law. We, however, are not under the law but under grace. We are not required to tithe as a condition to salvation. But God promises to bless those who do.

We show our thanks to God for saving us by sharing our faith with others. What if our gratitude to God were summed up entirely by our witnessing to others? What gratitude to God would you have manifested until now?

We thank God by the amount of time we spend alone with God. We reveal how important another person is to us by the actual amount of time we give to them. How much time do you give solely to God by being utterly alone with Him and talking only to Him?

We thank the Lord by discovering what pleases the Lord. This comes by experiencing two things: (1) walking in the light (1 John 1:7) and (2) becoming acquainted with the ungrieved Spirit of God (Eph. 4:30). When we discern what pleases Him, we know better how to please Him!

We show gratitude also by our church attendance. It is no small insult to God’s name when His people are not found regularly meeting together. “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching” (Heb. 10:25).

Excerpted from Just Say Thanks! (Charisma House, 2005).

An Israeli places a flower on a memorial engraved with names of fallen soldiers from the armoured corps after a ceremony marking Memorial Day in Latrun near Jerusalem on Wednesday. Memorial Day honors fallen Israeli soldiers since 1948, ahead of the the celebration of the 64th anniversary of the creation of the state of Israel.

Although she’s created a firestorm among believers in the past by suggesting that Jesus is not the only way, Oprah Winfrey is now boldly confessing Christ.

Twice during her “Oprah’s Lifeclass: The Tour” broadcast on Monday, Winfrey aligned herself with Christianity. Winfrey started by introducing the show to her Radio City Music Hall audience. The theme: “Spiritual Solutions.” The teacher: New Age guru Deepak Chopra.

“I am not talking about religion. I am a Christian. That is my faith. I’m not asking you to be a Christian. If you want to be one I can show you how. But it is not required. I have respect for all faiths. All faiths. But what I’m talking about is not faith or religion. I’m talking about spirituality,” Winfrey said.

Winfrey said her definition of spirituality is living life with an open heart, through love, and allowing yourself to align with the values of tolerance, acceptance, of harmony, of cooperation and reverence for life. She said she believes there is a divine thread that connects spiritually to something greater than ourselves.

“My favorite Bible verse—because I am Christian—is Acts 17:28. It says, ‘In God I live and move and have my being’,” Winfrey said. “And you want to know why I’m so successful? Because I knew that at 4 years-old … I wouldn’t be who I am today without a spiritual consciousness, without spiritual values and ultimately without spiritual love.”

Although some are still criticizing Winfrey, The Black Christian News Network (BCNN) is standing in defense of the sincerity of her confession:

“Now we know that some people are going to doubt Oprah’s profession of faith in Christ and some are going to say negative things about this because she has different people of different faiths on her show and so forth. But before you Pharisees say all of that, please understand that OWN is not a Christian network. It is a network for all people. OWN is Oprah’s business, and we as Christians know what that is like when you’re doing business in a secular world. So Oprah’s business side is going to be different, but it does not take anything away from her faith in Christ.”

BCNN thanked the likes of Stedman Graham, Tyler Perry, T.D. Jakes and others who wisely encouraged Winfrey and coached her on how to make her public profession of faith in Christ before the world.

“We believe that Oprah’s true ‘next chapter’ is to finish her life leading millions to the Christ that saved her,” BCNN wrote. “We want to encourage all Christians to pray for Oprah as she grows in her faith in Christ.”

The Air Force and its Secretary, Michael B. Donley, have created the most hostile “anti-religious” environment in the history of the United States military. So says the American Family Association (AFA).

Under Donley, the AFA argues, Air Force leaders have repeatedly caved to the demands of a small band of rebels who call themselves the Military Association of Atheists & Freethinkers (MAAF).

In early February, a cockpit atheist in Kadena Airbase in Japan contacted MAAF to ask why there was a Bible posted in Air Force lodging. The Air Force responded by removing Bibles from its list of items that are provided in approved lodging facilities. The AFA is concerned that this will eventually lead to the removal of Bibles from Air Base hotels or any hotel that does business with the Air Force.

The Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty is also concerned. Col. Ron Crews, executive director for the Chaplain Alliance, notes that military personnel have taken counsel, received comfort and been encouraged by biblical texts from Gen. George Washington until today.

“These Bibles cost the Air Force nothing, and their presence is legally legitimate,” Crews says. “Therefore, no reason exists for the Air Force to retreat in the face of the small anti-religious group that demanded removal of the books.”

Crews also noted that other faith groups have also provided religious materials, such as the Quran.

“While there is no requirement to have them in the checklist, why should they be removed because of the demands of a small activist group?” asks Crews. “They are provided free of charge as a service. No airman is required to pick one up or read it. The Bibles are merely there to use if desired.”

Of course, the Bible incident isn’t the only example of the Air Force creating an anti-religious environment for its airmen. In February, the Air Force removed the word “God” from the logo of its Rapid Capabilities office after receiving a threatening letter from the MAAF.

What’s more, last November the Air Force Academy dropped Operation Christmas Child after a single complaint from an atheist group. The Air Force apologized to the atheists and ordered chaplains to no longer use official mail to promote the charity. And last August, the Air Force removed Bible verses from a military course taught to nuclear missile officers—the ones who push the launch button, again due to MAAF pressure.

“Under Secretary Donley, the Air Force has become an easy target for atheists, because they know he and the Air Force will cave to their anti-religious, anti-Christian demands without a fight,” says Tim Wildmon, president of the AFA. “The Air Force has caved to every whim of anti-Christian zealots and Secretary Donley is content to allow every vestige of religious faith to be silenced.”

Click here to sign a petition to urge the Congressional Oversight Committee to investigate Donley for endangering the morals, beliefs and long-standing traditions of faith by taking his orders from a small group of atheists.

Chuck Smith may have surgery to remove cancer from his lungs. The Calvary Chapel movement’s founder has been receiving radiation and chemotherapy treatment.

“Yesterday I went to my dad’s appointment with the surgeon. He gave us the good news that the cancer is now confined to a much smaller tumor and it has disappeared from the lymph areas where it had spread. PTL!,” Janette Smith Manderson, Smith’s daughter, posted in the Facebook group Praying for Chuck Smith.

“The doctor would like to remove the middle lobe of Dad’s right lung, to remove all the cancer that is left, down to the last cell. However, Dad needs a few more tests to see if surgery is safe right now. If not, then there are other good options that we will pursue. Your continued prayers for God’s perfect will in each step of this journey mean so much to us. We are eternally grateful—yes, literally!”

Smith, 84, is senior pastor of Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa, Calif. He shocked his congregation in January when he revealed he was battling lung cancer. He is also widely known as the founder of the Jesus People Revolution in Southern California.

The Praying for Chuck Smith Facebook group has more than 8,100 members—and they are actively praying.

“We pray for Pastor Chuck every time we listen to his Bible CDs—which is almost every day! And on the days we miss, we keep praying! We love you Pastor Chuck!” wrote Linda Owen on the group page.

Smith opened the doors to Calvary Church in 1965. The first service had only 25 people. Today, nearly 10,000 people attend the Costa Mesa church weekly and Calvary Churches have spread across the United States and around the world.

Watch pastor Kenneth Ulmer teach on hearing the voice of God.

The arrival of evangelist Luis Palau is making headline news in landlocked Paraguay.

Palau’s arrival in Paraguay this week was announced in four out of five of the major national newspapers. Articles also carried word about the evangelistic festival set for Friday and Saturday.

It’s a significant opportunity for Palau and his son, Andrew. Although Paraguay is only 6 percent evangelical Christian, thousands of Paraguayans will gather for the festival. Moreover, Saturday’s events are being broadcast on a local, secular television network to the rest of the country. The gospel message could reach places it has rarely been heard or seen.

Recognizing the possibilities, the Palau team has wasted no time in Paraguay. Tuesday, Luis met with Paraguay Vice President Federico Franco. The two spoke candidly about the relevance of God and the Bible to leadership, the economy, and confronting the issues of the country. Palau also met with members of the Supreme Court at the Palace of Justice.

Between 900 and 1,000 people attended an afternoon gathering at a large local church on Tuesday, and more than 9,000 people attended the final event of the day. Luis spoke about leadership with the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Yesterday Palau and the team met with the mayor of Asuncion to spread the word about the festival through radio interviews and a women’s tea. Andrew hosted an event in Ciudad del Este.

The events of this week are both church-strengthening and church-growing. The two-day festival in Asunción will not only call many to Christ, but call centers will provide ways to receive follow-up from local churches.

Pray for the Palau team over these next few days. Pray that people who hear the gospel would not make emotional commitments, but eternal decisions to follow Christ. Pray that this might be the start or revival in Paraguay.