Is God’s Hand Still Protecting Israel?

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Is God’s Hand Still Protecting Israel?

As a young child, I often heard my mother say that we should pray for the peace of Jerusalem. She knew how important that was. She grew up in a large Moroccan Jewish family and immigrated to the United States in the early 1950s. Most of her 21 brothers and sisters immigrated to Israel. I’m proud of my heritage. I have generations of family members in Israel. I love the Jewish people. In fact, I’m making my eighth trip to Israel in September.

However, I am concerned. Does God still have His hand on Israel and the Jewish people? Will He ever let them go? Over the past several years, the Israeli people as a whole have become more and more secular, drifting away from the God of Israel. You might be thinking, wait a minute, we’re talking about God’s chosen people. Yes. But we all have the ability to drift away from the promises of God.

A writer for the online magazine Israel Today said, “For many decades, Israelis have been led to believe that the Israeli-Arab conflict is no more than a national struggle over territory and that it will be better for all if God remains in the background.” This of course is a lie. There is a glimmer of hope that this is changing.

I interviewed an Israeli Defense Forces soldier who was wounded recently in the war with Hamas. Sgt. Major Jeremy Gimpel told me that he is seeing manifest miracles and God’s providence once again over Israel. He said the protective shield over Israel right now is not so much the one that intercepts incoming rockets; rather, it is the protective shield from the prayers of people around the world.

During the war with Hamas, an Iron Dome commander explained that a missile was fired from Gaza, which could have killed hundreds of Israeli civilians.

The commander said, “We know where these missiles are going to land down to a radius of 200 meters.

“We fired two interceptor rockets. They both missed. This is very rare. I was in shock. At this point we had just four seconds until the missile lands. We had already notified emergency services to converge on the target location and had warned of a mass-casualty incident.

“Suddenly, Iron Dome (which calculates wind speeds among other things) shows a major wind coming from the east, a strong wind that … sends the missile into the sea. We were all stunned. I stood up and shouted, ‘There is a God!’ I witnessed this miracle with my own eyes. I saw the hand of God send that missile into the sea. If that Hamas strike had succeeded, it would have been the worst terrorist attack in Israel’s history.”

…. read more

– Original Article by Chrisma News

Is Suicide a Ticket to Hell?

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Is Suicide a Ticket to Hell?

The Bible describes two believers who committed suicide: King Saul and Judas. For sure Judas went to hell. Peter said about him in Acts 1:16-18: “‘Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through the mouth of David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus–he was one of our number and shared in this ministry. With the reward he got for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open, and all his intestines spilled out.”

This Scripture implies that Judas was not saved.

The other story is about King Saul. He was mortally wounded in battle, so to avoid torture he killed himself. From David’s words about Saul, it appears that Saul went to heaven. He says in 2 Sam. 1:23, “Saul and Jonathan—in life they were loved and gracious, and in death they were not parted.”

We know that Jonathan was godly, so if Saul and Jonathan were not parted in death, this would mean Saul is with Jonathan in heaven. I should also note that this passage may simply mean that they died together in battle, not necessarily that they are still with each other in death. At any rate, Saul killed himself only because he was trying to avoid torture, and he was going to die soon anyway.

The way I explain suicide is this: I tell believers to fear God enough not to take the risk. You could lose your soul by committing suicide, so it’s better to simply play it safe and trust God to make you happier. I lean to the idea that most cases of suicide lead to damnation. I wouldn’t bet on anyone going to heaven who committed suicide. I think the odds are against the person. Besides, suicide is the ultimate statement of unbelief. People commit suicide because they don’t have faith that God will help them, and we are saved by faith.

We have received many angry emails over my answer, usually because someone has lost a close friend or relative to suicide. Here is a sample email that represents many irate emails along with my response.

Reaction: I may be reacting in the flesh and you probably won’t even get this, but I cannot sleep until I write this. Maybe I should write it and then click delete. I have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ that I am so very grateful to have and grow. I lost a dear childhood friend today to suicide. He was an awesome athlete in high school. He was an awesome Christian who did not mind showing it to his peers. He was an All-American High School Honor Roll student. His entire family are Christians.

I was disturbed today, that my little sister said he is going to hell. I do not believe this. I do not believe the sure ticket to HELL is to commit suicide. My God is more loving and merciful than that to his people.

I am disturbed at your opinion about suicide, also. I do not believe it has a place on the net for those people searching for answers and comfort at a time like this. It is an opinion not an answer. No where in the Bible does it say suicide is a sure ticket to Hell. I cannot find anything in the Bible that says you go to hell for committing suicide.

I would like to encourage you to take your opinion of something unknown off the Internet. I think it is very damaging to those who have a personal relationship with God and those who I hope come to know him.

Ann

Tom’s Response: I sympathize with your grief, but it would be a mistake for me to tell people that they can make heaven and still commit suicide. God is merciful, and if people make heaven despite suicide, wonderful! But there is no Scripture to prove you can, so I believe it is best to fear God so much that you would never commit such an act. Peter says, “If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and sinner” (1 Pet. 4:18).

Committing suicide is not a sure ticket to hell, because there is no ticket to hell. It is the other way around: Jesus is the ticket to heaven. However, Jesus said many will say that He is Lord, but He will reply, “Depart from me.” Faith is not simply mentally agreeing to the facts of the gospel, but being changed by the gospel. And then one must continue in faith and not give in to unbelief. There is no “once saved, always saved” promise from God. Even if it were true that someone was saved, that does not mean that his or her salvation is “unconditionally secured.” One still must persevere and trust God to the end, not end their lives through suicide.

You said that my answer is “very damaging to those who have a personal relationship with God.” How could my answer damage someone’s faith?

Maybe what you mean is that someone like yourself who lost a friend through suicide will not be comforted with this article, because I refuse to license suicide as a gateway to heaven. For sure my answer won’t comfort you.

The article is meant to discourage suicide–not to comfort those who lost loved ones through suicide. I’m not thinking of you when I write this article but those who are contemplating this act.

I do understand your grief, but imagine if I told people that they could still make heaven and commit suicide. That message may be what they wanted to hear so they could be given a false sense of security that they will leave their unhappiness here and enter glory in the next life.

… read more

– Original Article from Chrisma News  … read more

Tom Brown is the founder and pastor of Word of Life Church in El Paso, Texas. He and his wife, Sonia, host a weekly television program, The Bondage Broker, available online.

 

UN Accuses ISIS Militants of unthinkable Violence against Women and Children

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UN Accuses ISIS Militants of unthinkable Violence against Women and Children

The United Nations has declared the highest level of humanitarian emergency in Iraq and has accused Islamic State militants of carrying out “barbaric” acts of sexual violence against women and teenage boys and girls belonging to Iraqi minorities…report by CP

U.N. special representative Nickolay Mladenov said that the declaration by the UN of a “Level 3 Emergency” in Iraq would “facilitate mobilization of additional resources in goods, funds and assets to ensure a more effective response to the humanitarian needs of populations affected by forced displacements,” BBC News reported on Thursday.

The Islamic State, formerly known as ISIS, has taken over significant territory in Iraq and Syria, capturing major cities, carrying out violent attacks on minorities, including Christians, and forcing close to 1.2 million people to flee their homes.

Militants have been accused by humanitarian organizations of violent acts such as beheading children and carrying out “savage rapes.”

“We are gravely concerned by continued reports of acts of violence, including sexual violence against women and teenage girls and boys belonging to Iraqi minorities,” Mladenov and Zainab Hawa Bangura, the special representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, said in a joint statement.

“Atrocious accounts of abduction and detention of Yazidi, Christian, as well as Turkomen and Shabak women, girls and boys, and reports of savage rapes, are reaching us in an alarming manner.”

Bangura and Mladenov added that close to 1,500 Yazidi and Christian persons may have been forced into sexual slavery.

The U.N. officials strongly condemned the targeting of women and children, identifying such acts of sexual violence as “grave human rights violations” that can be considered war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Kurdish officials have meanwhile warned that the situation for 150,000 refugees in Dohuk city is now critical.

The U.N. had estimated that tens of thousands of people, most from the Christian and Yazidi religious minorities, had also been in critical situation on Mount Sinjar, but U.S. forces conducted a brief mission that assessed that many had managed to flee.

The U.S., which last week launched airstrikes into northern Iraq against Islamic State targets, conducted its seventh airdrop of food and water on Wednesday, noting that it had delivered more than 114,000 meals and 35,000 gallons (160,000 litres) of drinking water to those trapped.

The World Health Organization has added that it is supporting the delivery of urgently needed services to those still trapped on Sinjar Mountain.

“The humanitarian situation of the civilian population on Sinjar Mountain is alarming due to the narrow corridors for transporting essentials such as medicines, food and water, especially with the soaring temperatures which are reaching up to 111 degrees Fahrenheit (44 degrees Celsius),” said Jaffar Hussain, WHO’s representative to Iraq.

The U.S. military has announced that it is sending weapons to Kurdistan to aid in its battle against the Islamic State militants. A Christian leader in the Middle East has said that although Christians in the region welcome the help, they believe it is “too late and not enough.”

“[President Barack] Obama needs to do more to slow down Islamic State and to stop [them] completely,” Munir S. Kakish, chairman of the Council of Local Evangelical Churches in the Holy Land, told The Christian Post in an email on Tuesday.

“Yes, they need to send more aid and stop IS both in Syria and Iraq. Stop them to the point of never again [carrying out] barbaric slayings of human beings. If they stop all those foreign groups, this means all the refugees that left can return to their homes. I feel very strongly that the West must move fast and with great power. Yet I feel it is late, but never too late to do the right thing.”

Original Post by Christian Post

The Truth Works, See the Truth, Know the Truth, Practice the Truth and Live in the Truth

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The Truth Works, See the Truth, Know the Truth, Practice the Truth and Live in the Truth

Christian Quotable Quotes

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The Truth Works, See the Truth, Know the Truth, Practice the Truth and Live in the Truth

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China planning to Introduce Own Christian Theology

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China planning to Introduce Own Christian Theology

China is planning to introduce its own brand of Christian theology. This is no doubt of great concern–not only to Chinese Christians–but to Christians all around the world.

According to a report from Christian Today, the state backed website shared word of the forthcoming announcement.

“The construction of Chinese Christian theology should adapt to China’s national condition and integrate with Chinese culture,” Wang Zuoan, director of the State Administration for Religious Affairs.

The comments were made at a seminar on the sinicization of Christianity in Shanghai, part of an event to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of the National Committee of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM), China’s state-run protestant church.

The article announcing the move included information about a five-year campaign to promote Christian theology in China that began back in 2013. The campaign “will provide theological guidance for church rostrums in China and will promote the positive and correct theological thinking with a range of publications, exchanges, discussions and evangelism.”

“This will encourage more believers to make contributions to the country’s harmonious social progress, cultural prosperity and economic development,” said Gu Mengfei, deputy secretary-general of the National Committee of the TSPM in the same article.

Donations of money don’t make people Christians. This sounds like an attempt on behalf of China to create their own ‘breed’ of Christians. It sounds like this Chinese Christian theology might be a far cry from what the Bible describes as believers in Christ.

Sadly this not only creates a falsehood for those new to Christianity, it also deprives those who are new to their faith from knowing the true love and grace of what it means to be a true Christian.

How do you expect Chinese people will take to this new Christian theology? Will this merely serve to create even more persecution?

Original Report by Kimberly Ripley | christiannewsandwire.com

ISIS Youth Vow to cause Mayhem In the USA via bombing

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ISIS Youth Vow to cause Mayhem In the USA via bombing

The Islamic group known as ISIS has had a serious impact on the lives of young people raised by ISIS members, as well as those infatuated with the group’s ideology…report by CP

“Everywhere our camera went, there seemed to be a young man eager to extol the virtues of the newly formed caliphate,” VICE Media’s Medyan Dairieh reported this week from the Syrian city of Raqqa, which has fallen into ISIS hands.

“I swear to Allah we will divide America in two,” the young boy said. “And we’ll destroy the enemies of the religion of them all, all who fight the Islamic State. We promise car bombs and explosives,” he added.

It’s the same rhetoric used by ISIS’ spokesman, Abu Mosa, who promised to take control of the White House and raise the flag of Allah over the building.

“We will humiliate [the Americans] everywhere, God willing, and we will raise the flag of Allah in the White House,” Mosa said in a video.

Elsewhere in Raqqa, a photograph of a 7-year-old boy holding the severed head of a man was posted to Twitter by his proud father and caused an international stir.

“That’s my boy,” Khaled Sharrouf captioned the photo. It was later removed due to public outcry but not before raising the ire of Americans and garnering the attention of Secretary of State John Kerry, who issued a statement condemning the photo.

It is “one of the most disturbing, stomach-turning, grotesque photographs ever displayed,” Kerry said on Tuesday. “That child should be in school; that child should be out learning about the future; that child should be playing with other kids, not holding a severed head and out in the field of combat.”

“For some reason, he (Sharrouf) thinks that getting his son to hold up a head is going to attract people to his cause,” Clarke Jones, an expert on the radicalization of inmates, told CNN. “I actually think it’s going to have a negative effect. I think it’s going to deter some of those who might have wanted to demonstrate their faith to a religion.”

ISIS is reportedly recruiting younger persons to fight against Christians and other minorities in order to establish the Islamic Caliphate. Not only is there fighting in Iraq, Syria has also been a specific target and Raqqa, a Syrian city, named as the capital of the Caliphate. Young men between the ages of 16 and 25 who are Sunni loyalists are reportedly targets of ISIS recruiters, and one father told the story of his son leaving to join the militant group.

“I don’t know what they told him,” Abu Raad told CNN from his home in Mosul. “Last week, my son came home and told me that he his leaving home and joining the Islamic State. We have heard nothing from him. My wife and I begged him not to do it, but he didn’t listen. He packed and left. My son dreamed of becoming a computer engineer. Now he’s just a terrorist.”

Original Post by Christian Post

Kurds Rescue stranded Yazidis from Mountain in Iraq

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The stranded Yazidi refugees trapped on Sinjar Mountain in northern Iraq are finally being rescued…report by CBN

They’ve been stranded for more than a week with little food and water after Islamic State fighters, also known as ISIS, forced them from their homes.

Now, Syrian Kurdish fighters have come to the rescue, carving out a pathway to safety for the Yazidis.

Weak and dehydrated, some of the Yazidis have made it safely to a refugee camp just inside Syria. Many needed immediate medical attention. One little girl’s feet blistered from the long, shoeless journey up and down the mountain.

“The situation in the camp is still kind of primitive,” said Maha Sidky, the head of Field Office for UNHCR in Qamishli.

“We are trying to improve it, to make it better, to increase the tents,” she explained. “Lots of people are without tents. Toilets need to be increased… for now the estimated number is 12,000 persons. ”

Some of the elderly fell on the mountainside while fleeing the Islamic State militants. They are being treated for broken bones.

The United Nations says as many as 150,000 more Iraqi refugees may arrive here within the next several days. A growing number of Iraqis – especially Christians – are seeking asylum in the West.

The new head of the Anglican Church in Australia, Archbishop Phililp Freier, says the Australian government should emulate France in granting asylum requests.

And Justin Welby, the Anglican archbishop of Canterbury, suggests the world can no longer turn a blind eye to the rising persecution of Christians.

“What is happening right now in northern Iraq, though, is off the scale of human terror that we’ve seen over recent years,” Welby said. “In a globalized world where even distant nations are our neighbor, we cannot allow these atrocities to be unleashed with impunity.”

Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel says the Pentagon will beef up its presence in northern Iraq.

“I recommended to the president, and the president has authorized me to go ahead and send about 130 new assessment team members up to northern Iraq, in the Erbil area, to take a closer look and give a more in-depth assessment of where we can continue to help the Iraqis,” Hagel said.

In Baghdad, it appears Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki is losing his grip on power.

Members of his own party and a growing number of military supporters are distancing themselves from his divisive rule. That could mean Iraq is heading toward a more inclusive government.

Original Post by CBN News

The Shedding of the Blood of Christians in Iraq Is Unfathomable

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The Shedding of the Blood of Christians in Iraq Is Unfathomable

The Salvation Army has joined the World Evangelical Alliance in calling on Americans to pray for the Middle East.

Both groups say Christians are suffering throughout the region and desperately need our prayers and action as they face ongoing violence and death.

“The shedding of blood of Christians in our area is going beyond human imagination,” Munir Kakish, chairman of the Council of Local Evangelical Churches in the Holy Land, said.

“Killing Christians just because they are Christian is not acceptable and should be stopped immediately,” Kakish said.

Munir, WEA ambassador to the Holy Land, Rev. Harry Tees, and Rev. Charles Kopp, chairman of the Evangelical Alliance of Israel were in Washington this week.

They joined CBN News Chief International Correspondent Gary Lane for a roundtable discussion about the causes of the persecution, the role of Christians in the Middle East, and ways to help them.

Original Post by CBN

Churches Open Doors to Refugees Fleeing ISIS

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Churches Open Doors to Refugees Fleeing ISIS

Where can you go when you’ve lost almost everything?
Throughout northern Iraq and Syria, the scourge of ISIS, the Islamic State, has forced thousands and thousands into a life without homes, jobs and family. While they face an uncertain future, churches are helping fill that void with help and hope…report by CBN News

Many of the churches in Erbil opened their doors, literally, to the many Christian refugees fleeing the advance of ISIS. They said they feel it’s part of the Church’s calling to provide refuge for families like these.

The Kurdsman Church transformed its building into a true sanctuary.

“The building is for the humanity,” Pastor Majeed Mohammed, who has opened the doors for both Christians and non-Christians, told CBN News.

“We wanted to show those people we don’t care if they are Christians, Yazidis, [or] Muslims. We don’t care about that,” Mohammed said. “They are human beings and they have been kicked out of their home[s] by ISIS. We wanted to show them that as Christians we love them and are very glad to have them here and save them.”

One man led a mini-exodus of several families to the Kurdsman Church.

“On behalf of all the people here, Pastor Majeed is really showing the love of Jesus,” he said.

Across town at Ankawa (Assemblies of God) Church, families who are now safe talked about the violent ultimatum they faced.

“We have been told by ISIS if we don’t convert to Islam either they will kill us or we will have to leave the city,” one refugee told CBN News.

For most, it wasn’t a choice at all.

“We prefer to die rather than convert to Islam,” he said. “God has created us as Christians so we don’t want to convert to Islam. The power of God keeps us and strengthens us to remain as Christians.”

Most will never return, like one policeman who escaped with his family and 10-day-old baby.

“I’m already wanted by the Islamic groups over there and secondly I’m a Christian,” he said. “As a minority, I’m also wanted by ISIS so we cannot go back there anymore.”

Most told CBN News they simply want to leave Iraq.

“This is the only way or the only solution for our problem because we cannot go back to our home and we cannot stay here,” he said. “We want to go out, even if they provided international protection.

We don’t want to keep staying here.”

Their long-term fate remains one of the major questions in this humanitarian crisis.

Original Post by CBN News

Chaplain Alliance Urges Navy to not Remove Bibles From Hotel Rooms

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Chaplain Alliance Urges Navy to not Remove Bibles From Hotel Rooms

The Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty has spoken out against the Navy’s recent decision to remove Bibles from Navy lodges and guest quarters, following a complaint from atheist group Freedom From Religion Foundation…report by CP

“A Bible in a hotel room is no more illegal than a chaplain in the military. They are there for those who want them,” said in a statement Chaplain Col. Ron Crews, USAR retired, executive director of Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty.

“There is nothing wrong with allowing the Gideons to place Bibles in Navy lodges, which it has done for decades at no cost to the Navy. Our service men and women are often away from home, sometimes for long periods of time. It’s perfectly constitutional and legal to allow the Gideons to provide, at their own expense, this source of comfort for service men and women of faith.”

The Navy Exchange Service Command apparently wrote an email to a Navy chaplain explaining that they are going to “remove all religious material from Navy Lodge guest rooms.”

The email added: “For those Navy Lodges with religious materials currently in guest rooms, the Navy Lodge general manager will contact the Installation Chaplain’s office who will provide guidance on the removal procedure disposition of these materials.”

The Gideons International has been placing Bibles in Navy rooms free of charge, much like it places copies in hotel and motel rooms nationwide.

The FFRF had filed a complaint with the military earlier this year and claimed the presence of the Bible “amounts to a government endorsement of that religious text.”

“FFRF is pleased to learn that NEXCOM has taken seriously its constitutional obligation to remain neutral toward religion as a representative of our federal government,” FFRF representative Sam Grover told Fox News’ Todd Starnes.

“By removing Bibles from Navy-run lodges, the Navy has taken a step to ensure that it is not sending the impermissible message that Christians are favored over guests with other religious beliefs or over those guests with no religion.”

Crews argued, however, that it is “tiresome to see senior military leaders needlessly cave in to activist groups offended by anything Christian.”

He added, “We sincerely hope that the Navy will reverse its decision as the Air Force did in 2012 after the public spoke loudly and clearly against this sort of censorship.”

Crews refers to the 2012 reversal by Air Force officials who decided not to abide by the request of the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers.

The Air Force had dropped a policy that directed housekeepers to make certain there were Bibles in guest rooms on Air Force bases, following MAAF’s complaint. Air Force spokesman Mike Dickerson clarified at the time, however, that while the checklist was being dropped, the Air Force would not be removing Bibles from the rooms.

“The Air Force has not directed the removal of Bibles from Air Force Inns lodging rooms at this time,” Dickerson said, according to The New American. “We continue to review the situation and weigh our multiple First Amendment responsibilities and obligations.”

Original Post by Christian Post

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