Weekly Brief: Died: Bible Scholar and Author Dr. R.C. Sproul; Better Than a Space Knight’s Force: May the Faith Be With You Bible; more news…

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Weekly Brief is your 1-minute smart and fast report to keep you informed of important Bible-related trends, statistics, articles, and pivotal happenings on the Web and at Bible Gateway. Forward to your friends and share with your followers to encourage them to subscribe.   Died: Bible Scholar and Author Dr. R.C. Sproul Theologian, author, broadcaster, and founder of Ligonier Ministries, Dr. R.C. Sproul, 78, died Dec. 14 surrounded by his wife, Vesta, and family in his hospital room in Altamonte Springs, Fla. Read More Sign up (and encourage your friends and followers) to receive in your inbox any or all three Bible Gateway free email devotionals by Dr. R.C. Sproul.   How to (and Why You Should) Live in God's Presence: An Interview with Ken Boa Why don't we intentionally experience God's presence more than we do? After all, he's everywhere and always with us. How do life's distractions drown out God's voice? How should we cultivate a life living in God's presence? Bible Gateway interviewed Ken Boa about his book, Life in the Presence of God: Practices for Living in Light of Eternity (InterVarsity Press, 2017). Read This Interview Become a member of Bible Gateway Plus and get immediate 24/7 access to the NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible Notes and other valuable Bible commentaries.   As in the First Creation, God will Re-Create You: An Interview with Nika Maples Do you desire to change or completely start over? How does the Genesis account of creation reveal a divine sequence applicable for us today? What lessons does the Genesis story teach about spiritual disciplines for abiding in Christ and staying in step with the Holy Spirit? Bible Gateway interviewed Nika Maples about her book, Everyday Genesis: Inviting God to Re-Create You (Worthy Publishing, 2017). Read This Interview Become a member of Bible Gateway Plus and get immediate 24/7 access to the King James Version Study Bible Notes and other valuable Bible commentaries. Take advantage of Bible Gateway's Deal of the Day   Browse exclusive discounts on the best Christian books, Bibles, studies, and more! Check every day for the Deal of the Day in the Bible Gateway Store. And sign up to receive our Deal of the Day newsletter! Enjoy Browsing Browse the Advent and Christmas Shop in the Bible Gateway Store.   Better Than a Space Knight's Force: May the Faith Be With You Bible The NIrV May the Faith Be With You Holy Bible helps young readers learn that it's most wise to apprentice with the Ultimate Master himself—Jesus Christ. Read The Sampler   See more Bible-related articles in this week's Bible News Roundup. See previous editions of Bible News Roundup and Weekly Brief.       The Year I Dreaded Christmas In this Blog post, Walter Wangerin Jr., author of Wounds Are Where Light Enters (Zondervan, 2017), reflects on his childhood memory of Christmas Eve 1955, as an example of how God's love breaks into our lonely moments in unexplainable ways. Read More The Enemy of Our Souls is Allergic to This Bread What does bread have to do with the salvation of our souls and the work of Jesus Christ? Read this brief devotional by Cynthia Ruchti, contributor to Mornings with Jesus 2018: Daily Encouragement for Your Soul (Zondervan, 2017). Read More Browse the New Year, New You section in the Bible Gateway Store. Grieving as the World Rejoices Read this guest blog post by Kristen Kill, author of Finding Selah: The Simple Practice of Peace When You Need It Most (Zondervan, 2017), that tells how God gives gifts—even in death. Even at Christmas. Grieving alongside rejoicing.... Read More Browse the Grieving Resources section in the Bible Gateway Store. 7-Day Bible Reading Plan for Christmas: Jesus is Born Use this 7-day Bible reading plan to help you focus on the meaning of Christmas; the coming of our Savior as a baby. Begin Now Discover the true joy of Christmas with this short-run free email devotional, Christmas Joy by Mel Lawrenz, in either English or Spanish. Happy Hanukkah—Know Why It's Important The purpose and traditions of Hanukkah are so intriguing, that Christians should appreciate this festival more than a passing acknowledgment of the season. Read About This Festival Zondervan Releases More than 60 New NIV Bibles, Now Available with Exclusive Comfort Print® Font 2K/DENMARK designed the new NIV Comfort Print® typeface "to serve one purpose: to contain the message of the Word of God." Watch this interview with the font designer, Klaus Krogh. Watch The Video Join the Because of Bethlehem Online Bible Study with Max Lucado Make this a Christmas you'll never forget with this Advent online Bible study! When you register today you'll get access to all four study videos with Max and the FREE download of the "Let Your Light Shine" Advent toolkit with daily Scripture readings as you countdown to Christmas. Join The Free Study Read the Bible Gateway Blog post, Because of Bethlehem: An Interview with Max Lucado. Plan Now To Read the Bible in 2018 Do you want 2018 to be the year you really get to know the Bible? Get a jump on your New Year resolutions right now by choosing the Bible Gateway Bible reading plan that's right for you! Select Your Bible Plan See the new Pastor Resources Page on Bible Gateway. Learn About the Bible with Bible Gateway Video Courses Select from such courses as "How to Interpret the Bible," "Cultural Context of Jesus' Life and Ministry," "Who Was Paul? An Introduction to His Life and Letters," and many more! Start Learning Get your questions answered with Bible Gateway's new Online Bible Learning Program. Spotlight: Scripture Engagement Bible Passages This feature in Weekly Brief is intended to help you become aware of one of several practices explained in our Scripture Engagement section. This week read: Scripture Engagement Verses — Share This Newsletter Online — Reading the Bible in multiple languages and multiple versions is always just a click away online at Bible Gateway and in print from the Bible Gateway Store, where you'll save money while supporting the ministry of Bible Gateway when making a purchase. [Learn about and download the free award-winning Bible Gateway App]

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Who is The Voice of the Martyrs?

The Voice of the Martyrs is a non-profit, inter-denominational Christian organization dedicated to assisting our persecuted family worldwide.

Our ministry is based on Hebrews 13:3:

Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body.

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Dallas Willard Daily Devotional, December 15, 2017

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Inward Rightness Inward rightness . . . is the decision and the settled intention, carried into practice, to become good, "righteous," on the inside—in the hidden dimensions of the self that make up human character—not just in action or outward behavior. This is what Jesus called going beyond the "goodness" characteristic of the "scribes (scholars) and the Pharisees." He said that "unless your goodness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter the kingdom of the heavens" (Matt. 5:20, paraphrase). "Entering the kingdom of the heavens," as here spoken of, is clearly not a matter of "making it into heaven" after death—though it takes care of that at the appropriate time. It is precisely a matter of being interactively engaged with the kingdom in your life now. That interaction is God's gift of himself to human beings elsewhere referred to as "the birth from above" (John 3:3, 5). You cannot earn this, but you do have to actively receive it. You do that by welcoming God into every dimension of your character and life, holding nothing back. It is to be total surrender. God is actually looking for people who will do this. He is seeking those who will worship him "in spirit and truth" (John 4:23–24). It will take some time to overcome the habits of deceit and manipulation that are rooted in the inward person, heart, mind, body. But to know Christ in the kingdom of God we must abandon ourselves to a total transformation of who we are on the inside, to taking on the character of Christ through living with him day by day and hour by hour. Only that is trust in Christ. From Knowing Christ Today: Why We Can Trust Spiritual Knowledge. Copyright © 2009 by Dallas Willard. All rights reserved. Used with permission of HarperCollins Publishers.

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