Your Help Is Hurting: How Church Foreign Aid Programs Make Things Worse

Recently I interviewed Peter Greer via skype to talk about philanthropy, and why it often makes things worse. Peter is the President and CEO of Hope International, which is a microfinance organization. If you don’t know what microfinance is, then this is your opportunity to learn about it. I think it is probably the most important phenomenon in international philanthropy right now, and in economic development. Peter Greer and the work that he’s doing with Hope International is I think taking this idea of microfinance to a new level, so it was an honor to spend time with him.  Continue at Forbes

Satan Wants To Help You

Satan wants to help you—to help you sin. He is hell bent on taking you to hell with him. Thomas Books, in his book Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices, drew up a list of the devices Satan uses to draw you—yes you!—to sin. Here are six of them:

He presents the bait and hides the hook. Satan shows you the pleasure and the profit that may flow out of yielding to sin, but hides the wrath and misery that will inevitably result. This is, of course, exactly what he did with Adam and Eve: he displayed the benefit of eating that fruit, but hid all the cost. "There is an opening of the mind to contemplation and joy, and there is an opening of the eyes of the body to shame and confusion. He promises them the former, but intends the latter, and so cheats them."

He paints sin with the colors of virtue. Satan knows that if he were to present sin accurately, you would run away from it rather than be attracted to it. Therefore, he conceals sin behind the camouflage of virtue so you can more easily be overcome by it and take more immediate pleasure in committing it. When he does this, pride comes in the form of neatness, covetousness in the form of thrift, and drunkenness in the form of a good time. Whatever temptation you are prone to he will likewise dress up as a virtue.

He convinces you this is only a little sin. Satan tries to convince you the temptation you face, the sin you are drawn to, is just a small and a harmless one. He wants you to believe this is a sin you may commit without any great danger to your soul.    Continue at Tim Challies

Help For Hurting Churches in Dealing With Apostasy

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