Smiling and Laughter

Bible Verse of the Day: Job 8:21

Job 8:21 (KJV)

21 Till he fill thy mouth with laughing, and thy lips with rejoicing.

Wisdom's Warning

Today's Scripture: Proverbs 2

Proverbs 2 (KJV)

1 My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee;

2 So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding;

3 Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding;

4 If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures;

5 Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.

6 For the Lord giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.

7 He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly.

8 He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints.

9 Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path.

10 When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul;

11 Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee:

12 To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things;

13 Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness;

14 Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked;

15 Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths:

16 To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words;

17 Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God.

18 For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead.

19 None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life.

20 That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous.

21 For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it.

22 But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.

Scripture Meaning

Promises to those who seek wisdom. (1-9) The advantages of wisdom. (10-22)

Verses 1-9: Those who earnestly seek heavenly wisdom, will never complain that they have lost their labour; and the freeness of the gift does not do away the necessity of our diligence, (Joh 6:27). Let them seek, and they shall find it; let them ask, and it shall be given them.

Observe who are thus favoured. They are the righteous, on whom the image of God is renewed, which consists in righteousness. If we depend upon God, and seek to him for wisdom, he will enable us to keep the paths of judgment.

Verses 10-22: If we are truly wise, we shall be careful to avoid all evil company and evil practices. When wisdom has dominion over us, then it not only fills the head, but enters into the heart, and will preserve, both against corruptions within and temptations without.

The ways of sin are ways of darkness, uncomfortable and unsafe: what fools are those who leave the plain, pleasant, lightsome paths of uprightness, to walk in such ways! They take pleasure in sin; both in committing it, and in seeing others commit it. Every wise man will shun such company. True wisdom will also preserve from those who lead to fleshly lusts, which defile the body, that living temple, and war against the soul.

These are evils which excite the sorrow of every serious mind, and cause every reflecting parent to look upon his children with anxiety, lest they should be entangled in such fatal snares. Let the sufferings of others be our warnings. Our Lord Jesus deters from sinful pleasures, by the everlasting torments which follow them. It is very rare that any who are caught in this snare of the devil, recover themselves; so much is the heart hardened, and the mind blinded, by the deceitfulness of this sin.

Many think that this caution, besides the literal sense, is to be understood as a caution against idolatry, and subjecting the soul to the body, by seeking any forbidden object. The righteous must leave the earth as well as the wicked; but the earth is a very different thing to them. To the wicked it is all the heaven they ever shall have; to the righteous it is the place of preparation for heaven. And is it all one to us, whether we share with the wicked in the miseries of their latter end, or share those everlasting joys that shall crown believers?

Scripture Application

Each day we walk through the Bible chapter by chapter making an application of our text to help us grow in the Lord. Many applications can be made from each day's text. Today we continue with the Book of Proverbs with Chapter 2. In our text today we see that wisdom is from the Lord and His Wisdom will keep us from a lot of heartache.

The Bible says that anyone who lacks wisdom should ask of God who gives wisdom liberally and abraideth not. In making application we have God's Words on the Pages of the Bible and Proverbs is full of God's Wisdom. If we apply the Bible's text to our lives - then we too will avoid the heartaches to come. How about you? Do you seek the Wisdom of the Lord? Let us learn from our text today and listen to the Word of God for His Direction for Wisdom's Warnings.

Iran Cracks Down on Christian Converts

Iran Cracks Down on Christian Converts, Sentences Believers to 10-Years in Prison

Authorities in Iran are increasingly targeting Christian converts with arrests and imprisonments, according to the New York-based Center for Human Rights In Iran.

"In less than two months, since June 2017, Judge Mashallah Ahmadzadeh of Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran has issued long prison sentences to at least 11 Christian converts and the former leader of the Assyrian Pentecostal Church in Iran," CHRI said in a report.

"Christians are recognized as an official religious minority in Iran's Constitution, but the state continues to persecute members of the faith, especially converts," said CHRI's executive director Hadi Ghaemi. "The state must respect its own laws and international obligations and allow Christians and all religious minorities full freedom of worship."

On July 6, the judge sentenced four Protestant Christian converts to 10 years in prison each "in a trial completely lacking due process," the group said, quoting Mansour Borji, the advocacy director of a London-based group, Article 18, which defends Christians in Iran.

The four converts - Yusif Farhadov, Eldar Gurbanov and Bahram Nasibov from Baku in the Republic of Azerbaijan, and Iranian national Nasser Navard Goltapeh - were arrested at a reception hosted by their Christian friends in Andisheh last June.

Prosecutors couldn't produce any evidence to show the converts had acted against national security, Borji said. Yet they were convicted of being "Zionist Christians" who "acted against national security with the intention of overthrowing the state in a soft war."

Iran Court Confirms 5-Year Prison Sentence for Christian Convert
Two weeks earlier, the same judge had given Christian converts Yousef Nadarkhani, Mohammadreza Omidi, Yasser Mossayebzadeh and Saheb Fadaie 10-year prison sentences for propagating house churches and promoting "Zionist Christianity."

The lawyers of these four Christians are preparing to appeal the verdict.

A ruling is still overdue for a decision on an appeal by Omidi, Mossayebzadeh and Fadaie against a sentence of 80 lashes each for drinking wine during a communion service.

The Christians were arrested May 13 during a series of raids by security service agents on Christian homes in Rasht.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani was recently reelected largely due to his promises to improve civil and political rights in Iran, Ghaemi said. "Yet we're seeing an increasing number of arrests of religious minorities, as well as activists, by the Intelligence Ministry, which is supposed to operate under him. … Rouhani must use all his authority to reign in the ministry and ensure it stops its trampling of citizens' rights."

The U.K.-based Christian Solidarity Worldwide has also criticized the government of Iran for persecuting converts.

"We are deeply disappointed by these excessive sentences, which are based on spurious charges and are clearly part of an intensified campaign of judicial harassment aimed at intimidating members of minority faiths," CSW's Chief Executive Mervyn Thomas said in a statement.

Thomas added: "We reiterate that the national security charges leveled in all of these cases amount to the criminalization of the Christian community for exercising the right to freedom of religion or belief, and that this is occurring despite the fact that the Iranian constitution recognizes Christianity. We urge members of the international community to extend the sanctions still in place against Iranian individuals to include members of the judiciary who are implicated in ongoing and severe harassment and persecution of religious minority communities."

Christians face severe persecution in the Shia Muslim country, including regular crackdowns and jail sentences due to their faith.

House churches are not permitted, and Christian converts are beaten and arrested for gathering to worship.






Cred: Christian Post

Algeria President gives Partial Pardon for Imprisoned Algerian Christian

Algeria- Algerian Christians are grateful that Slimane Bouhafs, imprisoned since September 2016 for blasphemy, has received a partial pardon.His three-year sentence was reduced by 16 months on July 5, the national day of Algeria, following a decree by President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, which provided clemency to several prisoners on account of good behavior in prison. As a result of the partial pardon, Slimane has nine months remaining on his prison sentence.

Family members have again requested his release. According to Slimane’s daughter Tilleli, this request will be considered on 18th July. Slimane was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment on 7th August 2016 (reduced on appeal to three years on 6th September 2016) after he posted information on Facebook which was considered blasphemous against Islam and the Prophet Muhammad.

Slimane was initially imprisoned in Sétif, then in Constantine, and for almost two months has been in prison in Jijel. A request by his family to transfer him to the prison in Bejaia, closer to their home, was turned down. With support from human rights activists, family members have consistently demanded Slimane’s release and condemned the arbitrary judicial process leading to his sentencing and imprisonment.

In October 2016 his family appealed to the President to pardon Slimane, whose health has deteriorated significantly since his imprisonment. According to Tilleli, Slimane has also suffered aggressive treatment from other inmates because of his Christian faith, particularly during his time in prison in Constantine. Tilleli comments: “My father is ill and we are worried about him.”






Cred: Middle East Concern

Teens Record, Mock Disabled Man as He Drowns

Teens Record, Mock Disabled Man as He Drowns, But Will Likely Not Face Criminal Charges

COCOA, Fla. - A group of teenagers recorded a disabled man as he slowly drowned in a Florida detention pond earlier this month-swearing, laughing and calling out to him that no one was going to help him get out of the water.

“They were telling him they weren’t going in after him and that ‘you shouldn’t have gone in there,'” Yvonne Martinez, spokesperson for the Cocoa Police Department, told reporters “He started to struggle and scream for help, and they just laughed,” she lamented. “They didn’t call the police. They just laughed the whole time. He was just screaming … for someone to help him.”

The incident occurred on July 9, as Jamel Dunn, 32, went out for a walk following an argument with his girlfriend. Dunn used a cane as a walking aid, and for unknown reasons, he waded into the water.

Five teenagers, ages 14-16, who had been at the park smoking marijuana, saw Dunn enter the pond. However, instead of answering his cries for help, they turned on their cameras and began mocking him.“Get out of the water, you gonna die,” one called out. “We’re not going to help your [expletive]. You shouldn’t have got in,” another teen exclaimed. “Ain’t nobody going to help you, you dumb [expletive].”

Dunn soon went under the water, and one remarked, “Oh, he just died,” to which the youth broke out into laughter. They continued to watch the pond, noting that the man had not resurfaced. None of the teens called 911 or attempted to help him, but instead uploaded the footage to Facebook.

After Dunn’s girlfriend reported him missing, police found his body in the pond on July 14. A friend of Dunn’s soon also discovered the recording on social media and contacted authorities.
The teens were identified and questioned by police, but did not express any regret or sorrow.
“There was no remorse, only a smirk,” Martinez told Florida Today.


However, although police and prosecutors are horrified by the situation, they state that the teens will not likely face criminal charges as they cannot find any statutes that would be applicable.

“While the incident depicted on the recording does not give rise to sufficient evidence to support criminal prosecution under Florida statutes, we can find no moral justification for either the behavior of persons heard on the recording or the deliberate decision not to render aid to Mr. Dunn,” the office of Brevard County State Attorney Phil Archer said in a statement. “We are deeply saddened and shocked at both the manner in which Mr. Dunn lost his life and the actions of the witnesses to this tragedy,” it said.

Dunn’s sister has launched a GoFundMe page in an effort to raise $20,000 for his funeral expenses. He had two daughters, ages 11 and 6.







Cred: Christian News

Deeper understanding of God's grace

Bible Verse of the Day: 1 Corinthians 2:12 (KJV)

12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.

Prayer Requests

Today's Prayer Requests

Vera Bankston-Jones | FATHER GOD, Father never want to be a burden to anyone let alone myself. Yet when I call on your name you are there to say me from me and everything around me! Forgive me my sins and continuously bless me with your grace!....... Selah

Frances | Pray for me: I been diagnosed with MS and I rebuke this disease in Jesus name. Please help me through prayer for me to behealed in Jesus name amen.

vijay aggarwal | Plz pray for money in abundance for a comfortable life

gift ngosa | I need a break through in my life and family

Kevin Jeanes | Please pray for my friends Ryan and Luke who just left rehab early before there program was suppose to be over. Please pray for my recovery as well and anxiety spells. thank you so much!

Mikaela | I am putting my boyfriend before god. I need insight on how to put god first while keeping a happy relationship........ God Bless

Jesse James carter | Please pray for continued help keeping my sin at bay and to lead my family toward the light. Also we are in desperate need of finances. I was suspended from work because of my sins. Now my family is paying the price. We are being evicted  iday. And we have no where to turn. No food. Only a car on a donut and some faith. Please ask the Lord to give us strength to get through what I caused. I go back to work next week. Glory to him. But the landlord will not work with me. Eviction is filled. I know God will see us through. Im worried though. Pray for my faith. Thank you and bless you.