Imagine This: MercyMe Hit Now an Official State Inspirational Song - SHAWN A. AKERS/CHARISMA NEWS

MercyMe Lead Singer Bart Millard (MercyMe Facebook page)

Imagine This: MercyMe Hit Now an Official State Inspirational Song

4/20/2018 SHAWN A. AKERS/CHARISMA NEWS

"I Can Only Imagine" is not only a multi-platinum Christian song and a mainstream movie. Now it's been recognized as an official state inspirational song.

Thursday, Gov. Mary Fallin signed HB 3473 into law, declaring the words of MercyMe's hit as the official inspirational song for the state of Oklahoma. The bill passed unanimously through the state's House and Senate.

Bart Millard, MercyMe's lead singer, wrote "I Can Only Imagine." The band was formed in Oklahoma City. The crossover hit song has sold millions of copies. The song was first released as a track on the band's 1999 album The Worship Project.

The movie, released on March 16, 2018, has become the No. 3 all-time grossing Hollywood biopic film, earning more than $76.5 million to date, Tulsaworld.com reported.

"When I saw the movie, I was moved by the powerful message of hope and forgiveness," Oklahoma State Rep. Randy McDaniel said in a news release. "Seeing the film inspired me to take action to give this extraordinary song official state recognition and a permanent home in Oklahoma's musical landscape. .. It is truly uplifting to see everyone come together in support of this special honor."

Tulsaworld.com reported that the signed legislation will be presented to MercyMe in front of a Frontier City concert audience on Saturday, June 9.

The Oklahoma Film and Music Office shared this in a news release:

"After sowing roots in Oklahoma in the 1990s, MercyMe frontman Bart Millard wrote the hit single 'I Can Only Imagine,' drawing inspiration from his own life and relationships. The song gained mainstream recognition in 2003 and has since remained the best-selling Christian song of all time.

"The inspiring true story behind the crossover hit later became the concept for the film, allowing Oklahoma to serve as the primary location for the production.

"Representative John Paul Jordan, the House author of the bill, added, 'This song has its roots in Oklahoma and in the midst of these troubling times, what better time to focus on a song so full of hope? It represents our faith, our hope and where our peace can be found.'

"The film utilized the Oklahoma Film Enhancement Rebate Program administered by the Oklahoma Film and Music Office and created more than 340 local jobs throughout the production's nearly 270-day stint in Oklahoma, which included pre-production, production and post-production." 

Shawn A. Akers is content development editor for Charisma Media.

Recession 2016: In Some States, A Very Deep Economic Downturn Has Already Arrived - Michael Snyder THE ECONOMIC COLLAPSE BLOG

Recession 2016: In Some States, A Very Deep Economic Downturn Has Already Arrived Posted: 22 Feb 2016 Michael Snyder  THE ECONOMIC COLLAPSE BLOG Did you know that there are some U.S. states that have already officially fallen into recession?  Economic activity all over the planet is in the process of slowing down, and there are some areas of the country that are really starting to feel the pain.   In particular, any state that is heavily dependent on the energy industry is hurting right now.  During the years immediately following the last recession, the energy industry was the primary engine for the growth of good paying jobs in America, but now that process is completely reversing.  All over the U.S. energy companies are going under, and thousands upon thousands of good jobs are being lost. On Sunday evening, Bloomberg published an article entitled “The U.S. States Where Recession Is Already a Reality“. The following is an excerpt from that article… As economists size up the chances of the first nationwide slump since 2009, pockets of the country are already contracting. Four states — Alaska, North Dakota, West Virginia and Wyoming — are in a recession, and three others are at risk of prolonged declines, according to indexes of state economic performance tracked by Moody’s Analytics. The three additional states that are “at risk of prolonged declines” are Louisiana, New Mexico and Oklahoma.  What all of those seven states have in common is a strong dependence on the energy industry.  Last year, 67 oil and gas companies in the United States filed for bankruptcy, and approximately 130,000 good paying energy jobs were lost. If the price of oil does not go back up, this could be just the beginning.  It is being reported that a whopping 35 percent of all oil and gas companies around the planet are at risk of falling into bankruptcy, and the financial institutions that have been backing these energy companies are getting very nervous. Of course things could shift dramatically for oil and gas companies if World War 3 suddenly erupts in the Middle East, and that could literally happen at any time.  But for the moment the outlook for the energy industry continues to be quite dreary. Let us also keep in mind that the problems for the U.S. economy are not limited to the energy industry.  According to CNBC, corporate profits in the United States have now declined for three straight quarters, and this is the very first time this has happened since the last recession… With 87 percent of the S&P 500 reporting, total blended fourth-quarter earnings have shown a decline of 3.6 percent, according to FactSet. Assuming the trend holds up, it will mark the first time profits have fallen for three straight quarters since 2009. But the road ahead doesn’t get any easier. FactSet is now projecting that earnings will decline 6.9 percent in the first quarter, a stunning move lower over time considering that in September the expectation was for 4.8 percent growth. As corporate profits fall, layoffs are starting to increase.  Just the other day we learned that the number of job cuts in this country shot up 218 percent during the month of January according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas. It is starting to look very much like 2008 all over again, and I am convinced that it will soon be much, much harder to find work in America. Here are some more numbers that indicate that the U.S. is heading into a major economic slowdown… –U.S. exports were down 7 percent on a year over year basis in December. –U.S. manufacturing activity has been in contraction for four months in a row. –U.S. factory orders have fallen for 14 months in a row. –The Restaurant Performance Index in the United States has dropped to the lowest level that we have seen since 2008. –Orders for Class 8 trucks in the United States dropped by 48 percent on a year over year basis in January. But the mainstream media continues to try to convince all of us that everything is going to be just fine.  Earlier today, CNN ran an article entitled “U.S. recession fears fade after market rally“, and the Wall Street Journal published an article entitled “The U.S. Economy Is in Good Shape” that got a tremendous amount of attention. Well, if the U.S. economy is in such great shape, then why are some of the biggest retailers in the entire nation shutting down stores at a frightening pace.  The following list of store closures comes from one of my previous articles… -Wal-Mart is closing 269 stores, including 154 inside the United States. -K-Mart is closing down more than two dozen stores over the next several months. -J.C. Penney will be permanently shutting down 47 more stores after closing a total of 40 stores in 2015. -Macy’s has decided that it needs to shutter 36 stores and lay off approximately 2,500 employees. -The Gap is in the process of closing 175 stores in North America. -Aeropostale is in the process of closing 84 stores all across America. -Finish Line has announced that 150 stores will be shutting down over the next few years. -Sears has shut down about 600 stores over the past year or so, but sales at the stores that remain open continue to fall precipitously. Perhaps things look fine for the moment in New York City or Washington D.C. or San Francisco or wherever it is that these “reporters” write their articles. But for ordinary Americans that operate in the real world, the pain of this new economic downturn is already exceedingly apparent.  Here is more from Bloomberg… Dale Oxley doesn’t need to hear about rising odds of a U.S. recession to dread the future. For the West Virginia homebuilder, the downturn has already arrived. “Everyone is going to have to tighten their belts,” said Oxley, the 48-year-old owner of a Charleston-area construction company. “The next couple of years are going to be difficult.” Unfortunately for hard working Americans like Oxley, what we have seen so far is just the tip of the iceberg. We have entered a long downturn that is ultimately going to be even more painful than the last recession was. And everything changes if Saudi Arabia and Turkey get trigger happy and decide to invade Syria.  If that happens, it could very well be the spark that sets off World War 3 and a full-blown meltdown of the global financial system.

Demand for the Bible has Exploded in Iran, You Won’t Guess Where From - Israel, Islam & End Times

Demand for the Bible has Exploded in Iran, You Won’t Guess Where From - Israel, Islam & End Times  Dec. 13, 2015

THOUSANDS of Iranians are risking their lives to gain access to one of the countries most contraband items—the Bible; and they’re getting it from an unexpected source.

The monumentally popular YouVersion Bible app has officially topped 200 million installs across the globe, with developers announcing that the most popular verse in the app’s history is Romans 12:2.

That scripture, which is both the most read and shared, reads as follows: “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Produced by Life.Church, an Oklahoma-based megachurch that has made a name for itself by streaming its services throughout the world, founders say that the tool is transforming lives, with increases of up to 1,886 percent in usage in places like Iran over the past two years.

“What God is doing through YouVersion is incredible — changing mobile devices into Bibles that people carry with them everywhere they go,” app creator and Life.Church pastor Bobby Gruenewald said in a statement. “As we see the magnitude of 200 million installs, what we’re really celebrating is what that number represents: countless moments of individuals transformed by their time in the Bible.”

The YouVersion Bible app has been downloaded over 200 million times.

Perhaps the most notable development is the locations in which use of the digital Bible is continuously thriving, with the most prevalent searches among users overall involving “marriage, love, faith, prayer and fasting.”

The exciting aspirations of Life.Church in taking the gospel to the ends of the earth.

The YouVersion Bible app, which allows people to read the Bible and connect with like-minded believers, has been installed among individuals in every nation on Earth, reported “triple-digit growth and beyond” in places like Cameroon, Iran, Suriname, Bulgaria and other locations, since hitting a 100 million download benchmark in July 2013, according to a press release.

The app downloaded by Iranians has gone up a staggering 1886%!!

The remarkable growth has expanded the initial offering of 12 Bible versions in two languages to 1,237 versions in 900 languages. Find out more about the YouVersion Bible app here.

Native American Tribes Defend Traditional Marriage

CBNNews.com

Tuesday, April 07, 2015

Months before the U.S. Supreme Court rules on the issue of gay marriage, Native American tribes have taken steps to defend traditional marriage.

Eleven tribes with a total membership approaching a million people will not recognize same-sex marriages.

Just weeks after North Carolina began issuing marriage licenses to gay couples, the state's Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians updated its law to prevent gay couples from having marriage ceremonies on tribal land.

Tribes that don't recognize same-sex marriage include the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma and the Navajo Nation.

Satanists Refuse to Bow, Want Believers to Sit in Lap of Lucifer - Jennifer LeClaire

The Satanic Temple unveiled its proposal for a monument it intends to erect next to a depiction of the Ten Commandments on the Oklahoma state Capitol grounds. (Satanic Temple)

Satanists Refuse to Bow, 

Want Believers to Sit in Lap of Lucifer

5/6/2014 JENNIFER LECLAIRE  CHARISMA NEWS

It appears satanists don’t give up so easily—and they are taking their latest cue from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Oklahoma with an homage to Satan that aims to inspire the masses to sit in Lucifer's lap.

Here’s the backstory: The ACLU last year filed a lawsuit representing Oklahomans challenging the constitutionality of the state's Ten Commandments monument. Listen to the anti-Christ argument.

"The monument's placement at the Capitol has created a more divisive and hostile state for many Oklahomans," says Ryan Kiesel, ACLU of Oklahoma's executive director. "When the government literally puts one faith on a pedestal, it sends a strong message to Oklahomans of other faiths that they are less than equal."

Here we go again. Secularists want the monument removed because, as Daniel Mach, director of the national ACLU's Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief, puts it, “No one should be made to feel unwelcome at their own state Capitol."

What’s surprising is that this largely anti-Christ lawsuit includes at least one Christian. Indeed, a Baptist pastor is looking for justice because, apparently, he feels like the government has trivialized the Ten Commandments' religious meaning by placing the monument in a political and secular context.

"To argue that the monument merely commemorates something historical rather than religious is a slap in the face to the many Oklahomans, like myself, who incorporate the Ten Commandments into our religious practice," says Bruce Prescott of Norman, an ordained Baptist minister and theologian.

Against this backdrop, the Satanic Temple, a New York-based satanist group, saw a door of opportunity. The satanists decided to fight for an homage to Satan that would stand next to the Ten Commandments monument and put an end to the strife. (Ironic, I know.) Now that monument is almost completed.

“The statue will serve as a beacon calling for compassion and empathy among all living creatures," says Lucien Greaves, a spokesman for the Satanic Temple. "The statue will also have a functional purpose as a chair where people of all ages may sit on the lap of Satan for inspiration and contemplation.”

Sitting in the lap of Satan? It’s all fine and good with the ACLU. Kiesel says, “Whether you choose to believe in a god, a creed, a code or simply to believe in yourself, your choice should be your own, not coerced or influenced by what the government wants you to believe."

I don’t believe the government should coerce anyone into believing anything. Jesus certainly doesn’t. But that doesn’t mean Christians should bow to Satan’s will—or sit in Lucifer’s lap—in Oklahoma or anywhere else.

Saints, satanists are rising. It’s an Antichrist spirit. I’ve been sounding the alarm on this for a while, and I’ll keep on sounding it. Let’s remember the words of John the apostle: “Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour” (1 John 2:18).

Jennifer LeClaire is news editor at Charisma. She is also the author of several books, including The Making of a Prophet. You can email Jennifer at jennifer.leclaire@charismamedia.com or visit her website here. You can also join Jennifer on Facebook or follow her on Twitter.

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Satanists Demand Equal Time With Jesus as Antichrist Spirits Rise - Jennifer Leclaire

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Satanists Demand Equal Time 

With Jesus as Antichrist Spirits Rise

12/13/2013 JENNIFER LECLAIRE Charismanews

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It’s hardly the abomination of desolation that Jesus warned about when He taught about signs of the end times (Matt. 24:15). But it’s nevertheless a disturbing sign of how hard antichrist spirits are pushing to push Jesus out of our minds.

Oklahoma recently decided to allow a Ten Commandments monument on the state Capitol’s lawn. This is the type of thing that typically puts radical atheist activists up in arms, with billboards and lawsuits aimed at removing any reminder of God and His Son from the public square.

But the atheists haven’t launched an attack—at least not yet. Instead, other antichrist spirits are rising up, demanding equal time to celebrate their religions. Indeed, Satanists and Hindus want Oklahoma to erect statues for their false gods.

“A Satanist group has petitioned to have its monument, with an interactive display for children, put up alongside the Ten Commandments. And this week, the Hindu organization applied to have a monkey god statue placed on the Capitol grounds,” Reuters reports. “Socially conservative Christian groups fought for years to have the Ten Commandments displayed at the statehouse, and the monument went up in 2012.”

Oklahoma City lawyer David Slane put it rightly when he told Reuters the legislature essentially opened a Pandora’s box. As it turns out, if the state refuses to allow Satanists, Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists—and God knows who else—to erect monuments on the property, they are violating the Equal Protection Clause.

I’d say it’s ironic how Satan is using legalism to push his antichrist agenda in Oklahoma’s government, but it’s more strategic than ironic. Oklahoma’s governing officials argue that they live in a largely Christian state with values and ideals that differ from Satanists. And that’s just why the antichrist spirits are circling. You won’t find antichrist spirits where Christ isn’t being preached, as the goal of the antichrist spirit is to replace Jesus, not merely have a statue next to His.

The antichrist spirit is rapidly rising in this hour, and you can expect to see more manifestations in the months and years ahead. The apostle John warned of this in his first epistle, noting, “Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour” (1 John 2:18).

And again, “Every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world” (1 John 4:3). And again, “For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist” (2 John 1:7).

Before the Antichrist, Satan, comes on the scene, we will see more and more antichrist spirits rising to push Jesus out of the mainstream. Like John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus’ first coming, these demonic forerunners have been voices crying in the wilderness for years, preparing the way for Satan himself with deceiving agendas that target the confused, hurt and lost.

Indeed, the antichrist agenda will become bolder, and it will grow darker in the days again. But like I said last week, despite the doom and gloom, Jesus is still Lord. Our job is to let our light shine, speak the truth of the gospel in love, and keep our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, so that we can rescue people from the kingdom of darkness and escape the prophesied great falling awayamong the saints.

Jennifer LeClaire is news editor at Charisma. She is also the author of several books, including The Spiritual Warrior's Guide to Defeating Jezebel. You can email Jennifer at jennifer.leclaire@charismamedia.com or visit her website here. You can also join Jennifer on Facebook or follow her on Twitter.

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