New Identity Magazine

THE SECRET SIN OF THE CITY

Nicholas Sowell — Mon, 24 Feb 2014 20:16:48 +0000

Photo Credit: Ira Gelb @ Flickr (CC) I’d be remiss if I didn’t start out with a confession; like many, I had no clue that there was such a thing as sex trafficking. Sure I’ve heard biblical stories of men working for the right to marry their wives, I’ve read history books of our nation’s poor choices in enslaving African Americans, and I’ve even heard stories of children and women being held…

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How To Use Your Change To Change The Lives of Others

Cailin Henson — Mon, 17 Feb 2014 23:11:41 +0000

Photo © www.Compassion.com Their mission statement is in response to the Great Commission and communicates that they desire to “release [children] from their poverty and enable them to become responsible and fulfilled Christian adults.” They accomplish this through four programs. One is the Child Sponsorship Program that supports individual children through a single sponsor.

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CLOTHED IN CULTURE OR CHARACTER?

Délice Williams — Mon, 17 Feb 2014 07:14:52 +0000

An old-fashioned word for a seemingly old-fashioned virtue, the word “modesty” doesn’t have much caché in American culture. Even in religious or Christian circles, the term sometimes smacks of school marms and Puritans, rigid dress codes and killjoys. In the most extreme cases, it conjures up images of Taliban-like sexism and the overzealous (and often violent) policing of women’s bodies.

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Redeeming Tragedy

Steven Butwell — Tue, 11 Feb 2014 21:17:28 +0000

Photos by Steven Butwell On May 20, 2013, a mile and a half wide EF-5 twister (five being the highest classification of tornado based on strength and damage caused) destroyed a majority of Moore, Oklahoma and claimed two dozen lives. I remember being at work and watching the tragedy unfold on television. Pointing at the television I said to our bartender, “God is going to send me there…

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DON’T FORGET ABOUT GOD

Sara Napier — Mon, 03 Feb 2014 17:12:00 +0000

Photo Credit: Jorge Quinteros @ Flickr (CC) The list included the songs “You Are Good” by Brian Johnson, “I Could Sing of Your Love Forever” by Delirious?, “Blessed Be the Lord God Almighty” by Bob Fitts and “Where You Go, I’ll Go” by Brian and Jenn Johnson. It was a Sunday morning in the early autumn. I had spent the morning on the road, traveling to a church in Lake Havasu, Arizona…

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Consuming Communion

Lindsey A. Frederick — Tue, 28 Jan 2014 17:52:18 +0000

Photo Credit: Alex Leung @ Flickr (CC) “You shouldn’t take it unless you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, and believe he died on the cross for your sins.” Check. “Then you need to examine yourself for unconfessed sins and ask for forgiveness.” She continued by telling me about a passage in the Bible where people became sick and died because they disrespected the sacredness…

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FOREVER FORGIVENESS

Sarah Donawerth — Mon, 20 Jan 2014 18:21:25 +0000

Photo Credit: Photo © Étienne Ljoni Poisson | Flickr (CC) @ Flickr (CC) “Forgive and forget” (Common proverb). “To err is human, to forgive, divine” (Alexander Pope). None of these clichés help the healing when someone is hurting at the hands of another. However, part of our Christian walk is changing our heart and letting go of the hurt that we feel. In this, we have the Holy Spirit to guide…

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CONSTANT GRATITUDE

Sarah Mariano — Mon, 13 Jan 2014 16:18:23 +0000

Photo Credit: Lou Murrey @ Flickr (CC) Lorrie Noel found out she had a brain tumor in August 2011. After more testing, she learned it was cancerous. Though the cancer had nestled into an inoperable place in her brain, stretching its deadly tendrils from this safe haven, Lorrie had inexplicable joy. Seasoned doctors wondered at her undaunted smiles, and nurses, hardened by daily encounters with…

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Does Your Form Determine Your Function?

Matthew Hamilton — Mon, 06 Jan 2014 16:20:41 +0000

This gap in achievement and earnings comes at a time when the idea of gender roles is in flux and the established norms of a man providing the primary source of income while the wife has stayed home to raise the children has gone from being the structure of the majority of homes to being merely a fraction of total homes. The majority of the homes with children now have two wage earners and a…

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WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE BLESSED?

Ramon Mayo — Mon, 16 Dec 2013 18:39:45 +0000

What does it mean to be “blessed?” What is a blessing? What does it mean when someone utters the phrase “God bless you?” Somehow this religious word has entered into our culture and is now found on the lips of pop stars when they talk about how they won a Grammy. Even for a seemingly undeserving act like a sneeze everyone in the room feels obligated to give you a blessing. So many people use it.

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