CHINA: Family Visits Imprisoned Church Leader

By Stacy L. Harp | VOM

On July 13, the family of Uyghur house–church leader, Alimujiang Yimiti, was permitted to visit him for 20 minutes, according to China Aid Association. Alimujiang’s family was relieved to see him alive, as guards had repeatedly refused to allow them visits in recent weeks. During their meeting, Alimujiang confirmed that he had received his wife’s letters.

Ingredient in Grapefruit May Manage Type 2 Diabetes as Well as Two Current Drugs

Eating grapefruit could help treat diabetes, a study has found.

Naringenin, an antioxidant which gives grapefruit its bitter taste, can do the same job as two separate drugs currently used to manage Type 2 diabetes, scientists said.

Diabetes occurs when the body is unable to produce enough of the hormone insulin to properly regulate blood-sugar levels.

Mother’s Love Brings Newborn Son “Back to Life”

UK paper says: “Miracle mum brings premature baby son back to life with two hours of loving cuddles after doctors pronounce him dead.”

REPORTER’S NOTE: Although in the original report God wasn’t given any credit for working a miracle, we know that “every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights.” (James 1:17). The inspiring element here, I think, is the mother’s undaunted love in the face of a death verdict. That kind of love is also an element of faith that I, personally, need to hold fast to. Love never fails! -Teresa Neumann, BCN.

Graham, Christian Artists Get Youths Excited for Christ

By Audrey Barrick | Christian Post Reporter

Evangelist Franklin Graham concluded his monthlong Rock the River evangelistic tour on Saturday with more than 8,000 youths in Western Canada.

In New Orleans, Black Churches Face a Long, Slow Return

By SAMUEL G. FREEDMAN

NEW ORLEANS — Five minutes past 9:30 a.m. on a Sunday this month, which is to say five minutes past the time the worship service was supposed to start, Shantell Henley pushed open the front door of her pastor’s house in the Lower Ninth Ward. She entered the living room to find a gospel song playing on the stereo, two ceiling fans stirring the sticky air and 25 folding chairs for the congregants waiting empty.

Internet thieves steal $600,000 from Des Moines Diocese

By DAVID ELBERT

More than $600,000 has been stolen electronically from a Bankers Trust account belonging to the Catholic Diocese of Des Moines, the bank and diocese said Friday.

Churches are already building Big Society, Christians tell PM

By Charlie Boyd

The Evangelical Alliance has told Prime Minister David Cameron of the efforts that thousands of churches are already making to help realise his vision of a Big Society.

A letter delivered by the Evangelical Alliance to the Prime Minister this week showcased the results of its Square Mile initiative to equip churches in supporting those who are struggling within their square mile radius.

Has Jesus been ‘domesticated’?

By Chris Woodward

A Christian author and board-certified surgeon who helps on missions in Uganda and Kenya is suggesting that Jesus has been domesticated by Christians.

Dr. Harry Kraus, author of Domesticated Jesus, thinks many of today’s Christians are treating Jesus as a pet rather than as an example of the way God wants them to live.

“When I say the phrase ‘domesticated Jesus,’ what I mean is…anything that we do that makes him appear small and ourselves, in turn, big,” Kraus explains.

Presbyterian Court Rebukes Minister for Gay Weddings

By Lillian Kwon | Christian Post Reporter

A California minister was rebuked on Friday by a Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) court for performing same-sex ceremonies.

In a 4-2 vote by the Redwood Presbytery Judicial Commission, the Rev. Jane Adams Spahr was found guilty of representing the ceremonies as marriages, persistently disobeying church law, and violating her ordination vows.

Niger flooding displaces nearly 200,000, UN says

CNN– Heavy rains in Niger have displaced nearly 200,000 in recent weeks, the United Nations says, calling on donors and aid agencies to send shelter material, blankets and other supplies.

The flooding has displaced at least 198,740 people, according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

“Response in rural areas has been slow thus far,” the head of OCHA in Niger, Modibo Traore, told the agency’s news arm.