Donald Trump Inauguration Speech Transcript

 Donald Trump's Inauguration as the 45th President of the United States will take place on Friday, January 20, 2017. Trump will officially become the new POTUS after taking the oath of office at noon.

REUTERS/Shannon StapletonPresident-elect

 Donald Trump will be sworn in on January 20, 2017.

Trump's presidential inauguration speech can be watched on all major TV and social media channels - NBC, CBS, Fox, CNN, Twitter and YouTube.

Over a million people will be descending upon Washington D.C. to attend the inauguration to witness Trump being installed as the new president by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts.

Trump reportedly wrote the draft for his inaugural speech himself. Christian Post will post the full transcript and video of the historic speech once it's delivered.

 Here is Donald Trump's US election victory speech text in full:

"Sorry to keep you waiting. Complicated business.

"I've just received a call from Secretary Clinton. She congratulated us, it's about us, on our victory and I congratulated her and her family on a very very hard fought campaign. I mean, she fought very hard.

"Hillary has worked very long and very hard over a long period of time and we owe her a major debt of gratitude for her service to our country. I mean that very sincerely.

"Now it's time for America to bind the wounds of division. We have to get together.

"To all Republicans and Democrats and Independents across this nation, I say it is time for us to come together as one united people. It's time.

"I pledge to every citizen of our land that I will be President for all Americans and this is so important to me.

"For those who have chosen not to support me in the past, of which there were a few people, I'm reaching out to you for your guidance and your help so we can work together and unify our great country.

"As I've said from the beginning, ours was not a campaign but rather an incredible and great movement made up of millions of hard working men and women who love their country and want better brighter future for themselves and for their family.

"It will be a movement comprised of people from all races, religions, backgrounds and beliefs who want and expect our government to serve the people - and serve the people it will.

"Working together we will begin the urgent task of rebuilding our nation and renewing the American dream.

"I have spent my entire life in business looking at the untapped potential in projects and in people all over the world.

"That is now what I want to do for our country. Tremendous potential. I've got to know our country so well. Tremendous potential. It's gonna be a beautiful thing.

"Every single American will have the opportunity to realise his or her fullest potential. The forgotten men and women of our country will be forgotten no longer.

"We are going to fix our inner cities and rebuild our highways, bridges, tunnels, airports, schools, hospitals. We're gonna rebuild our infrastructure which will become, by the way, second to none and we will put millions of our people to work as we rebuild it.

"We will also finally take care of our great veterans who've been so loyal and I've got to know so many over this 18 month journey the time I've spent with them in this campaign has been among my greatest honours. Our veterans are incredible people.

"We will embark upon a project of national growth and renewal. I will harness the creative talents of our people and we will call upon the best and brightest to leverage their tremendous talent for the benefit of all. It's gonna happen.

"We have a great economic plan. We will double our growth and have the strongest economy anywhere in the world.

"At the same time we will get along with all other nations willing to get along with us.

"We will have great relationships. We expect to have great great relationships.

"No dream is too big, no challenge is too great.

"Nothing we want for our future is beyond our reach. America will no longer settle for anything less than the best.

"We must reclaim our country's destiny and dream big and bold and daring. We have to do that. We're doing to dream of things for our country and beautiful things and successful things once again.

"I want to tell the world community that while we will always put America's interests first we will deal fairly with everyone.

"All people and all other nations. We will seek common ground not hostility, partnership not conflict.

"First I want to thank my parents who I know are looking down on me right now. Great people. I've learned so much from them. They were wonderful in every regard. I had truly great parents. I also want to thank my sisters Maryanne and Elizabeth who are here with us tonight.

"And my brother Robert, my great friend. Where is Robert? They should all be on this stage but that's OK. And also my late brother Fred, great guy, fantastic guy. Fantastic family. I was very lucky.

"To Melania and Don and Ivanka and Eric and Tiffany and Barron, I love you and I thank you and especially for putting up with all of those hours. This was tough. This was tough. This political stuff is nasty and it's tough.

"... We have got tremendously talented people up here and I can tell you, it's been very special. I want to give a special thanks to our former mayor Rudy Giuliani who's unbelievable. Unbelievable. He travelled with us and he went through meetings and Rudy never changes. Where's Rudy? Where is he?

"Governor Chris Christie folks, was unbelievable. Thank you Chris.

"The first man, the first Senator, the first major major politician and let me tell you he's as smart as you get, Senator Jeff Sessions. Great man.

"Another great man, very tough competitor, he was not easy, he was not easy, who is that? Is that the mayor? Ah, Rudy got up here.

"Another great man who's been a friend to me, I'll tell you, I got to know him as a competitor because he was one of the folks that was negotiating to go against those democrats, Dr Ben Carson. Where's Ben? Where is Ben?

"And by the way Mike Huckabee is here some place and he is fantastic. Mike and his family, Sarah, thank you so much.

"General Mike Flynn and General Keller, we have over 200 generals and admirals who've endorsed our campaign. They're special people and it's a great honour.

"We've got 22 congressional medal of honour recipients. We have just tremendous people.

"A very special person who believed me and I'd read reports I wasn't getting along with him - I never had a bad second with him - he's an unbelievable star. I said Reince (Priebus), I know it, look at all those people over there, is a superstar. But I said they can't you a superstar rites unless we win...

"He is the hardest working guy. Come up here. Where is Reince? Get over here Reince. It's about time you did this Reince. Come on, say a few words!

"Our partnership with the RNC was so important to the success of what we've done.

"So I also have to say I've gotten to know some incredible people. The Secret Service people. They're tough, they're smart and they're sharp and I don't wanna mess around with them I can tell you and when I wanna go and wave to a big group of people and they rip me down in my seat. They are a fantastic group of people.

"And law enforcement in New York City, they're here tonight. These are spectacular people, sometimes under appreciated unfortunately, but we appreciate them, we know what they've been through.

"So it's been what we call a historic event, but to be really historic, we have to do a great job. And I promise you I will not let you down. We will do a great job. WE will do a great job.

"I look very much forward to being your President and hopefully at the end of two years or three years or four years or maybe even EIGHT years you will say that that was something you were really very proud to do.

"Thank you very much. I can only say that while the campaign is over our work on this movement is now really just beginning.

"We're going to get to work immediately for the American people and we're going to be doing a job that hopefully you will be so proud of your President. You will be so proud.

"It's an honour. It's been an amazing evening, it's been an amazing period, and I love this country. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you to Mike Pence. Thank you everybody."

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NUPENG strike, refineries’ closure caused products scarcity – NNPC

Okechukwu Nnodim and ’Femi Asu

The current hiccups in the supply of petroleum products is due to the recent one-day industrial action by the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers and the shutdown of the nation’s refineries, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation has said.

Many Nigerians had complained of kerosene and diesel scarcity, with some Abuja motorists on Sunday forming long queues at filling stations.
Sunday PUNCH had exclusively reported that two out of the country’s three refineries were completely dormant in November 2016.

Explaining why there had been some problems with products’ supply across the country, the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, NNPC, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, told our correspondent on Sunday that things were already improving as the situation was being addressed by the corporation.

He said, “We issued a statement on Friday that one of the implications of the one-day warning strike by NUPENG was that there was no loading from various depots nationwide and that created a slight gap. Loading resumed immediately after the strike was called off and you know if tanker drivers don’t load in a day, the implication is that there may be hiccups here and there. But things are normalising.

“Secondly, the three refineries were down for a couple of weeks and they resumed production about a fortnight ago. They are producing enough diesel now in addition to what we are importing to complement indigenous production; likewise kerosene.

“Many filling stations are now selling kerosene, unlike what we had some 10 days ago, when the stations were not dispensing because the local refineries were not pumping the product. But right now, the three refineries have resumed the production of kerosene and many filling stations have started getting products and are dispensing.”

Meanwhile, the price of Nigeria’s largest crude oil export grade, Qua Iboe, has been slashed in a bid to woo buyers as many cargoes for February loading programme remain unsold.

The country’s oil differentials fell to their lowest in more than a year on Friday as surplus cargoes struggled to find outlets in a market oversupplied with light crude oil, according to Reuters.

Despite an Indian tender absorbing several Nigerian oil grades, around 25 February loading cargoes were still looking for homes less than a week before the next loading programme was due.

Sellers slashed premiums for Qua Iboe to as low as 50 cents per barrel versus dated Brent, with traded values expected below that. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading around $55.45 per barrel.

 After the cuts, Oando and Trafigura managed to sell Qua Iboe cargoes for mid- and end-February loading, respectively. Litasco and Total purchased them at prices that traders said were below 50 cent premiums.

The unreliability of loading plans, with Qua Iboe exports delayed due to strike action late last year, also made buyers less keen to take it.

Bonny Light offers were scarce, but traders said its value was also under pressure along with most of Nigeria’s export programme.

Copyright PUNCH.
All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from PUNCH.

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Oyedepo lays curses on sponsors of violence in southern Kaduna

Founder of the Living Faith church, also known as Winners Chapel, Bishop David Oyedepo, has asked God to break-up Nigeria immediately if that is His will for the country.

Bishop Oyedepo also invoked God’s wrath on those behind the mayhem in southern Kaduna.

Oyedepo lays curses on sponsors of violence in southern Kaduna
Vanguard reports that during a ministration in his church, Oyedepo rained curses on those promoting the killings and destruction of properties in the northern state and in an area predominantly occupied by Christians.

The angry Oyedepo was quoted as releasing powerful curses during a prayer session saying: “God sent me as His apostle of liberation to this continent to stop it from decadence.

“I heard from God and He has proved it beyond measure. Therefore, every occultic root, every political root of this uprising is cursed today!

“All the northern forces that are sponsoring this uprising and killings, I decree the curse of God upon them.

“Lord, if it is your will to break up Nigeria, break it now!”

He told his members: “Come on, pray in the spirit everybody. Pray in the spirit; open fire, call down the Holy Ghost fire to descend on the camp of the enemy. Enough is Enough!

“If Nigeria wakes up, wait for the church to rise, there will be no more nation, what nonsense.”

“What demonic devils. What Islamic demons. If Nigeria waits for the church to rise, Nigeria will disappear as a nation.

“You mean God cannot protect people? What a mess!

“Every agent of destruction in Government today, call fire down on their head, call fire down on their head.

“Everyone sponsoring evil against the nation, let your fire fall on him!

“A Boko Haram agent was captured and they said he escaped. Everyone connected to his escape, fire consume them, consume them, consume them!

“Fire of the Lord consume them!

“I was even told from report that they were targeting this church. I said what? Even if I was asleep, if you see anybody here kill him! Kill him and spill his blood on the ground. I am saying that to you, what nonsense, what devil. You think our God is an idol?

“If I put fire on your tail to overrun the city, you will do it in one minute. What is that? What devil?

“I stand today with every authority on me, and I declare the Boko Haram camp cursed!

“I declare their collaborators cursed! I decree their sponsors cursed!

“I declare their collaborators cursed. I decree their sponsors cursed!

“Must the north continue to rule?

“What devils!

“God has anointed me to lead a revolution against the Islamic jihadist and as the Lord liveth and as the anointing of Jeru-Baal that’s on me, we declare them extinct in the name of Jesus! Amen!

“You catch anyone that looks like them, kill him!

“There is no reporting to anybody. Kill him! Pull off his neck! And we spill his blood on the ground. What nonsense.

“They said why should Christians say they could defend themselves, hold it! What stupid statement, why should Christians say they could defend themselves? So, they should watch for you to put a knife to their necks?

“You think we are dummies? What! What?

“All those zeros census they are fake. Where are the human beings?

“Where are they? We go around the place. Where are they?

“We’ve never had a successful census in this country. Where are they?

“Don’t mistake only those in politics as in power. The anointed in the Lord are the ones in power. By divine ordination, don’t mistake that.

“There was a king in the land but Elijah was determining the events of the nation.

“If i say it will not rain here for three years, it will not drop. What nonsense!

“Who born their mother, who born their father? They are too small.

“Come! Get excited and walk in confidence. Any devil that misbehaves around you will be slain by the fire!"

The congregation reportedly chorused ‘amen’. 

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Kirk Franklin: God Is Creative, So Why Shouldn't My Music Be, Too?

Kirk Franklin says he's dismayed that some people in the Christian community aren't open to him breaking beyond the boundaries of what they believe gospel music is supposed to sound like.

                                                                                         (Photo: Together 2016)
     Kirk Franklin prays at Together 2016, July 16, 2016.

"If I'm writing and doing music celebrating the Creator, who is the most creative being in the world — I mean, when you look at nature and when you look at all of the beautiful created things — why should I be limited in expressing myself? He's creative, so why shouldn't my music be creative, too?" Franklin questioned in an interview with The New Yorker. "But everyone in my community, and especially the consumers, they don't see it that way. Which is weird for me."

Franklin, the gospel music industry veteran who has broken the mold with songs like "Stomp," has written and composed some of the most well known songs in the industry.

Even though he's elevated his reach from that of a recording artist and composer to the head of Fo Yo Soul Records (RCA), the 46-year-old star still feels like some members of his community won't accept some of the music he has a desire to make.

"It makes you feel good when you do a song that, sonically, can fit right next to Drake," he said. "But our audience, they don't care. And it hurts that they don't care!"

While he maintains his Christian values, Franklin has made it no secret that he also enjoys mainstream music. Just last month, he let over 1 million fans on Twitter know that he appreciates the talents of singer Bruno Mars.
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"OK, I give in, the Bruno Mars album is dope. I guess he said somebody gotta do it," Franklin tweeted.

The message, however, garnered mixed reactions. One fan decided to speak up about Franklin's choice in music by asking, "secular music Kirk?"

Franklin responded by questioning if all of the social media critic's lifestyle choices were centered around their faith.

"Do you just wear Christian clothes or eat at Christian restaurants or just watch Christian television?" Franklin asked before writing, "love u bro."

While the exchange died down soon after, Franklin has publicly shared his affinity for other artists in the past. In 2015 he complimented Taylor Swift's musical talents when speaking to Hip Hollywood.

"I think she is an incredible songwriter," Franklin told Hip Hollywood about Swift.

Aside from the 27-year-old "Shake It Off" singer, Hip Hollywood reported that Franklin is also a fan of secular artists Kendrick Lamar, Adele and Justin Bieber. Last year, he collaborated with mainstream music artist Pharrell Williams who produced his song "123 Remix."

The gospel music singer and producer has worked hard to usher in new talent in the industry with his record label, and as host and executive producer of the BET gospel music singing competition, "Sunday Best."

"It's very cool to see people get excited about content that is still very vertical," he said in a previous interview with The Christian Post. "That's what I want to do and get involved in. I continue to try to push that agenda."

Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/kirk-franklin-god-is-creative-so-why-shouldnt-my-music-be-too-172954/#tACOjuQqJKZrfKZV.99

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Flora Nwapa’s 86th Birthday

• 
  Today is Flora Nwapa‘s birthday and Google celebrates it with one of its signature anniversary doodle.
  
  Flora Nwapa is Nigeria’s first female novelist. She was a close friend of Chinua Achebe who gave her her big break as a writer. Read the inspiring story here. Her most popular work is a Efuru, a dark, quirky love story set in a Nigerian village at the turn of the 20th century. She went on to write four other novels, short story collections, and children’s books. She also established Tana Press, a pioneering platform that created opportunities for women writers.
  
  Nwapa broke into the global literary scene at a time when African writing was largely male dominated. She, alongside women like Nadine Gordimer and, later, Bessie Head, opened the way for a generation of women to own and tell their stories.
  

  
  Flora Nwapa, Nigeria's first published female novelist and Africa's first internationally-acclaimed English-language female writer, held the spotlight for nearly her entire adult life. She was not only an accomplished author, but a publisher, public servant, and activist.
  From Nwapa's first novel, Efuru, published in 1966, to the establishment of her publishing company, Tana Press, Nwapa demonstrated an unwavering commitment to advancing and highlighting the women of Nigeria. Additionally, she used her books, and the books she published, to introduce Nigeria’s rich culture to a global audience.
  Nwapa served by day in the Nigerian government, becoming the first female Minister of Health and Social Welfare for Nigeria’s former East Central State in 1970. During that time, she worked to reunite children and their parents who were divided as a result of the Biafran War. Afterwards, she became Minister of Lands, Survey, and Urban Development, a position she held until 1974.
  Today’s Doodle pays homage to Nwapa, known as the “mother of modern African literature,” on what would be her 86th birthday.
  
  She has now been feature on one of over 2000 doodles that Google has shared on its home page over the last few years. Google celebrates her work because it believes that Nwapa, in her life and in her work, “reflects [its]…love for innovation.”
  
  Her being featured on a Google doodle says a lot about Nwapa’s cultural influence and her status as a global icon. Even though we do not need Google to tell us how amazing Nwapa is, we are delighted that her life is being recognized on such a global platform.
  
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100% of Christians Face Persecution in These 21 Countries

WASHINGTON — One-hundred percent of Christians in 21 countries around the world experience persecution for their faith in Christ as over 215 million Christians faced "high levels" of persecution in the last year, a leading human rights watchdog group reports.

                                               

                                                                         (Photo: The Christian Post/Samuel Smith)
Open Doors USA CEO David Curry speaks at press conference in Washington, D.C. on January 11, 2017.


Open Doors USA released on Wednesday morning its 2017 World Watch List, which is the 25th annual ranking of the top 50 countries where Christians face the most persecution.

"2016 was the worst year of persecution on record with a shocking 215 million Christians experiencing high levels of persecution for their faith," Open Doors USA CEO David Curry asserted during a press conference at the National Press Club.

"It is worth repeating that nearly one in every 12 Christians today lives in an area or culture in which Christianity is illegal, forbidden or punished. Yet, today the world is largely silent on the shocking wave of religious intolerance," he continued. "The 2017 World Watch List and the information it represents presents one of the most complex and pressing challenges to President-elect Donald Trump and his administration."

According to a fact sheet provided by Open Doors, the organization documented as many as 1,207 Christians who were killed around the globe for faith-related reasons during the 2017 list's reporting period — Nov. 1, 2015, to Oct. 31, 2016.

However, that number is a conservative estimate since it doesn't include statistics from the list's No. 1 persecutor of Christians for the last 16 years — North Korea — and areas of Iraq and Syria. Additionally, there were likely many other Christian killings that went unreported.

The ministry also documented over 1,329 churches around the globe that were attacked or damaged.

"In the top 21 countries on the Open Doors World Watch List, 100 percent of Christians experience persecution," the fact sheet states. "Christians are a minority in all countries on the list, accounting for only 13 percent of the total population."

The top 21 countries on the list include in this order: North Korea, Somalia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sudan, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Yemen, Eritrea, Libya, Nigeria, Maldives, Saudi Arabia, India, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Kenya, Turkmenistan, Qatar and Egypt.

In North Korea, Christians are prohibited from practicing their faith and can be killed or jailed for simply owning a Bible. As the Communist Kim regime forces citizens to accept the cultic belief that the Kim family is divine, thousands of Christians have been killed and entire families have been thrown into torturous labor "reeducation" camps for practicing their faith or trying to defect.

Although little is reported about the persecution in Somalia, Curry said that no organized church is allowed to be established in the country and every citizen of Somalia is registered as Muslim despite what they believe.

"Small groups of Christians remain even though nobody knows the secret of their faith," Curry explained. "If their faith is discovered it means instant death, executed without trial and often on rumor alone."

Pakistan ranked as the fourth worst country in the world for Christians, which is the highest the Muslim-majority country has ranked on the World Watch List.

Christians in Pakistan are subject the public ridicule and are often accused of the capital offense of blasphemy by Muslims looking to settle personal scores. Additionally, hundreds of Christian girls and women in Pakistan are kidnapped, raped and forced into Islamic marriage. Police protection of the Christian community is inadequate and Muslim persecutors are often granted a level of impunity.

The fact sheet states that "Pakistan had the most overall violence against Christians."

"Cities have been burned to the ground, people have been roasted alive, girls are increasingly being raped and forced into Islamic marriage in attempts by Muslims to gain a special place in Heaven through proselytizing in this manner," Wilson Chowdhry, chairman of the British Pakistani Christian Association, told CP on Wednesday. "Government and statutory authority inactivity have built a sense of impunity for crimes against Christians."

It's no secret that Christians have been direly persecuted in the Middle Eastern nations of Iraq and Syria, considering the rise of the Islamic State terrorist organization forced hundreds of thousands of Christians to flee their homes or risk being killed by the Islamic death cult.

As very few Christians remained in the Nineveh Plains of Iraq until Iraqi-coalition forces began a liberation effort there in October, there is serious concern that Iraqi Christians could become extinct in their ancient homelands if nothing is done to assure that they will be protected if they return.

                                                                          (Photo: The Christian Post / Samuel Smith)

Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., speaks at a press conference at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. on January 11, 2017.

While Christians continue to languish in displacement camps in Kurdistan and neighboring Middle Eastern countries, Congressman Chris Smith, R-N.J., told the press conference that the United States government has gone "AWOL" when it comes to helping displaced and persecuted Iraqi Christians.

Smith said he recently visited the U.S. General Consulate in Erbil, which he says is about a 10-minute drive from a major displacement camp where thousands of Christians are being housed.

"The United States government has not been helpful to the Christians that have fled Mosul in the Nineveh Plain. We have been AWOL when it comes to humanitarian aid," Smith said. "I went to a camp that I was told I couldn't go to because it was so dangerous. So, I went without the consulate general or the diplomatic security people only to find 6,000 wonderful families and clergy that were helping these people who are really on the edge, physically, with not even food, medicine and shelter."

"If it wasn't for the Christian community rallying for them, raising approximately $30 million, there would have been deaths and sicknesses. The camp is about 10 minutes max by car away from the consulate's office and no one had been there from the embassy or the consulate, except one who went almost before I went. Are you kidding?" Smith asked. "I had nine hearings on the genocide against Christians — nine of them. ... They left 70,000 Christians in Erbil with no help by the United Nations and the United States government."

Also speaking at the press conference was Knox Thames, the State Department's special advisor for religious minorities in the Near East and South/Central Asia, who was asked by The Christian Post to respond to Smith's complaint and answer why the U.S. government hasn't done more to help Iraqi Christians.

"I can speak to what we [the State Department Office of International Religious Freedom] have been doing. We met with the Christian leadership — Archbishop Warda [of Erbil] and [a bishop from] the Assyrian Church of the East — to hear those concerns. We have had conversations with USAID about how we can get resources to the Christian community," he responded. "But this is also in the context of incredible need and not enough resources and that has been the challenge that we have had to navigate. This is something that is very much on our radar screen and will continue to follow it across the transition."

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Joyce Meyer Celebrates 50 Years of Marriage With Husband Dave

 

Joyce Meyer and her husband, Dave, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on Sunday.

 

"Out celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary with our children!" Meyer captioned a photo she posted on Facebook.

Dave is the vice president of Joyce Meyer Ministries and has worked in full-time ministry for nearly 30 years. Meyer has often said that without her husband's wisdom and stewardship in finance and administration, Joyce Meyer Ministries wouldn't be what it is today.

 

 Last year, Meyer took part in a Love Your Spouse Facebook challenge where she revealed her love for her husband for seven days straight.

The Love Your Spouse challenge was created for married Facebook users to post one photo with their spouse each of the seven days to keep the celebration of love and traditional marriage alive.

On the first day Meyer revealed that no one had asked her to do the challenge, but in hopes of keeping love and marriage trending she wanted to join in by posting social media dedications to her husband in celebration of their union.

Forgiveness, emotional stability, loyalty and faithfulness are just a few of the characteristics Meyer listed to describe her husband in the first three days of her participation in the Love Your Spouse Facebook challenge. 

 

Last year, Meyer took part in a Love Your Spouse Facebook challenge where she revealed her love for her husband for seven days straight.

The Love Your Spouse challenge was created for married Facebook users to post one photo with their spouse each of the seven days to keep the celebration of love and traditional marriage alive.

On the first day Meyer revealed that no one had asked her to do the challenge, but in hopes of keeping love and marriage trending she wanted to join in by posting social media dedications to her husband in celebration of their union.

Forgiveness, emotional stability, loyalty and faithfulness are just a few of the characteristics Meyer listed to describe her husband in the first three days of her participation in the Love Your Spouse Facebook challenge.  

 

 

 

 

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Deaf Muslim Man Who Learns About the Gospel for First Time Leaves Islam for Christ

                              (Photo: Reuters/Joe Penney)

A man prays after mass at the Martyrs of Uganda church in Bamako, Mali, November 8, 2015.

According to Florida-based Wycliffe Associates, one of the world's leading Bible translation organizations,
a Muslim man referred to by the name Ayo recently left Islam and accepted Christianity after attending a Wycliffe outreach event hosted by one of their church partners in a country that hasn't been named for security reasons.

"I know God used my friend to invite me to church today," Ayo was quoted as saying, according to Wycliffe Associates' online blog. "I have never been to a Christian church before. I have grown up as a Muslim. I mostly go to the mosque with my family; I have to, since my family expects me to. But, as you know, there is nothing that I gain by attending the prayers."

Ayo, who is the only deaf member of his family, explained that the problem he encountered while attending services at a mosque was that nobody at his mosque could converse with him in sign language. He added that no one at the mosque "cares about teaching me."

"Today I felt at home. I understood everything going on here," Ayo added. "The approach to teaching God's Word has touched my heart. I have clearly seen myself in the life of the prodigal son. God touched me. I feel very much at peace."

Despite the fact that he can't hear, Ayo now knows that God loves him no matter what his weaknesses are.

"I have made up my mind to follow Jesus Christ, as taught today from God's Word," Ayo said. "I know God accepts me just as the father accepted the prodigal son when he came back home. Please pray for me. I know there will be much opposition from my family and friends."

According to the Deaf Bible Society, there are over 400 sign languages being used in the world today and over 70 million people use a form of sign language as their primary form of communication.

But only 5 percent of all sign languages have Bible translation programs in operation and only 2 percent of the global deaf population has been introduced to the Gospel.

Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/muslim-man-gives-life-to-christ-church-sign-language-translator-shares-the-gospel-172799/#UFyPjuGZxgw1iFde.99

According to Deaf Opportunity Outreach International, only one sign language (American Sign Language) has a complete New Testament translation and a vast majority of sign languages don't even have a single Bible verse translated.

Wycliffe Associates is doing its part to bridge the gap as it operates studios in Africa and Latin America to help translate the Bible into unreached sign languages. The Deaf Bible Society also provides access to video translations of Scripture in over 20 sign languages.

DOOR International runs programs that help train deaf leaders to share the message of Christ with other deaf people and has been working in sign language translation since 2006.

"Each deaf community has a unique sign language and culture of their own," the Wycliffe blog states. "It's our vision to see God's Word reach each of these languages for the sake of people like Ayo. Please pray with us that God would raise up deaf leaders to take on the challenge of translating the Scriptures for their communities."

Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/muslim-man-gives-life-to-christ-church-sign-language-translator-shares-the-gospel-172799/#UFyPjuGZxgw1iFde.99

According to Deaf Opportunity Outreach International, only one sign language (American Sign Language) has a complete New Testament translation and a vast majority of sign languages don't even have a single Bible verse translated.

Wycliffe Associates is doing its part to bridge the gap as it operates studios in Africa and Latin America to help translate the Bible into unreached sign languages. The Deaf Bible Society also provides access to video translations of Scripture in over 20 sign languages.

DOOR International runs programs that help train deaf leaders to share the message of Christ with other deaf people and has been working in sign language translation since 2006.

"Each deaf community has a unique sign language and culture of their own," the Wycliffe blog states. "It's our vision to see God's Word reach each of these languages for the sake of people like Ayo. Please pray with us that God would raise up deaf leaders to take on the challenge of translating the Scriptures for their communities."

Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/muslim-man-gives-life-to-christ-church-sign-language-translator-shares-the-gospel-172799/#UFyPjuGZxgw1iFde.99

 

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