NYC bans large gatherings, including Broadway shows: Why did God allow the Fall?

New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced Thursday that the state is banning all gatherings with five hundred people or more. This is an effort to reduce the spread of coronavirus, as the number of confirmed cases in the state has grown to 328, 112 of which are new.

For venues and gatherings under five hundred people, capacity will be slashed by 50 percent. The order impacts Broadway theaters in Manhattan at 5 p.m. Thursday and everywhere else at 5 p.m. on Friday. It does not impact schools, hospitals, mass transit, or nursing homes.

At the same time, all non-medical visitors will be barred from nursing homes. The governor explained that his focus is on cutting the density of people to slow the COVID-19 outbreak in order to ensure that there are enough hospital beds to accommodate the most severely ill patients.

Why did God allow the Fall?

Christians understand that coronavirus is just one
consequence of the first human sin. When the first humans rebelled against God,
all of creation was affected (Genesis 3:17–19). As a result of the Fall,
“the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth
until now” (Romans 8:22).

So, we understand that our broken planet is not God’s fault
but ours. There would have been no coronavirus pandemic in the Garden of Eden.

But here’s the prior question: Why did God allow the Fall?

In Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis asks about our
broken and rebellious planet, “Is this state of affairs in accordance with
God’s will or not? If it is, he is a strange God, you will say; and if it is
not, how can anything happen contrary to the will of a being with absolute
power?”

Lewis then answers his question: “But anyone who has been in authority knows how a thing can be in accordance with your will in one way and not in another. It may be quite sensible for a mother to say to the children, ‘I’m not going to go and make you tidy the schoolroom every night. You’ve…

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PODCAST: Whyte House Daily Devotional Bible Reading #106: Numbers 20, Psalm 40, and Romans 4 with Daniel Whyte III

This is Daniel Whyte III, president of Gospel Light Society International with the Whyte House Daily Devotional Bible Reading Episode #106. Where I read three chapters of the Holy Bible in the King James Version a day with my family as a part of our family devotions, to encourage you to read the Holy Bible in a year’s time. Today we are reading Numbers 20, Psalm 40 and Romans 4.

Dwight L. Moody said, The Bible was not given for our information but for our transformation.”

Harper Lee said, “The book to read is not the one which thinks for you, but the one which makes you think. No book in the world equals the Bible for that.”

Numbers 20
1 Then came the children of Is’-ra-el, even the whole congregation, into the desert of Zin in the first month: and the people abode in Ka’-desh; and Mir’-i-am died there, and was buried there.

2 And there was no water for the congregation: and they gathered themselves together against Mo’-ses and against Aa’-ron.

3 And the people chode with Mo’-ses, and spake, saying, Would God that we had died when our brethren died before the Lord!

4 And why have ye brought up the congregation of the Lord into this wilderness, that we and our cattle should die there?

5 And wherefore have ye made us to come up out of E’-gypt, to bring us in unto this evil place? it is no place of seed, or of figs, or of vines, or of pomegranates; neither is there any water to drink.

6 And Mo’-ses and Aa’-ron went from the presence of the assembly unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they fell upon their faces: and the glory of the Lord appeared unto them.

7 And the Lord spake unto Mo’-ses, saying,

8 Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aa’-ron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink.

9 And Mo’-ses took the rod from before the Lord, as he commanded him.

10 And Mo’-ses and Aa’-ron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?

11 And Mo’-ses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also.

12 And the Lord spake unto Mo’-ses and Aa’-ron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Is’-ra-el, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them.

13 This is the water of Mer’-i-bah; because the children of Is’-ra-el strove with the Lord, and he was sanctified in them.

14 And Mo’-ses sent messengers from Ka’-desh unto the king of E’-dom, Thus saith thy brother Is’-ra-el, Thou knowest all the travail that hath befallen us:

15 How our fathers went down into E’-gypt, and we have dwelt in E’-gypt a long time; and the E’-gyp-tians vexed us, and our fathers:

16 And when we cried unto the Lord, he heard our voice, and sent an angel, and hath brought us forth out of E’-gypt: and, behold, we are in Ka’-desh, a city in the uttermost of thy border:

17 Let us pass, I pray thee, through thy country: we will not pass through the fields, or through the vineyards, neither will we drink of the water of the wells: we will go by the king’s high way, we will not turn to the right hand nor to the left, until we have passed thy borders.

18 And E’-dom said unto him, Thou shalt not pass by me, lest I come out against thee with the sword.

19 And the children of Is’-ra-el said unto him, We will go by the high way: and if I and my cattle drink of thy water, then I will pay for it: I will only, without doing anything else, go through on my feet.

20 And he said, Thou shalt not go through. And E’-dom came out against him with much people, and with a strong hand.

21 Thus E’-dom refused to give Is’-ra-el passage through his border: wherefore Is’-ra-el turned away from him.

22 And the children of Is’-ra-el, even the whole congregation, journeyed from Ka’-desh, and came unto mount Hor.

23 And the Lord spake unto Mo’-ses and Aa’-ron in mount Hor, by the coast of the land of E’-dom, saying,
24 Aa’-ron shall be gathered unto his people: for he shall not enter into the land which I have given unto the children of Is’-ra-el, because ye rebelled against my word at the water of Mer’-i-bah.

25 Take Aa’-ron and El-e-a’-zar his son, and bring them up unto mount Hor:

26 And strip Aa’-ron of his garments, and put them upon El-e-a’-zar his son: and Aa’-ron shall be gathered unto his people, and shall die there.

27 And Mo’-ses did as the Lord commanded: and they went up into mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation.

28 And Mo’-ses stripped Aa’-ron of his garments, and put them upon El-e-a’-zar his son; and Aa’-ron died there in the top of the mount: and Mo’-ses and El-e-a’-zar came down from the mount.

29 And when all the congregation saw that Aa’-ron was dead, they mourned for Aa’-ron thirty days, even all the house of Is’-ra-el.

Psalm 40
To the chief Musician, A Psalm of Da’-vid.
1 I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.

2 He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.

3 And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord.

4 Blessed is that man that maketh the Lord his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.

5 Many, O Lord my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.

6 Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required.

7 Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me,

8 I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.

9 I have preached righteousness in the great congregation: lo, I have not refrained my lips, O Lord, thou knowest.

10 I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation: I have not concealed thy lovingkindness and thy truth from the great congregation.

11 Withhold not thou thy tender mercies from me, O Lord: let thy lovingkindness and thy truth continually preserve me.

12 For innumerable evils have compassed me about: mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up; they are more than the hairs of mine head: therefore my heart faileth me.

13 Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me: O Lord, make haste to help me.

14 Let them be ashamed and confounded together that seek after my soul to destroy it; let them be driven backward and put to shame that wish me evil.

15 Let them be desolate for a reward of their shame that say unto me, Aha, aha.

16 Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: let such as love thy salvation say continually, The Lord be magnified.

17 But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me: thou art my help and my deliverer; make no tarrying, O my God.

Romans 4
1 What shall we say then that A’-bra-ham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found?

2 For if A’-bra-ham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.

3 For what saith the scripture? A’-bra-ham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.

4 Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.

5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

6 Even as Da’-vid also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works,

7 Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.

8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.

9 Cometh this blessedness then upon the circumcision only, or upon the uncircumcision also? for we say that faith was reckoned to A’-bra-ham for righteousness.

10 How was it then reckoned? when he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision.

11 And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also:

12 And the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father A’-bra-ham, which he had being yet uncircumcised.

13 For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to A’-bra-ham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.

14 For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect:

15 Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression.

16 Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of A’-bra-ham; who is the father of us all,

17 (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.

18 Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.

19 And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sa’-rah’s womb:

20 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;

21 And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.

22 And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.

23 Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him;

24 But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Je’-sus our Lord from the dead;

25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

________

PRAY
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When I was a teenager I wanted to get wisdom and knowledge, so I set out the read the big family Bible that many families had in those days. But I couldn’t get past Genesis 2 before I got bored with reading the Bible. I found out later in life that you have to believe on Christ and get saved before you can understand the Bible. So here is how I became a Christian and how you can too:

First, accept the fact that you are a sinner, and that you have broken God’s law. The Bible says in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”

Second, accept the fact that there is a penalty for sin. The Bible states in Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death…”

Third, accept the fact that you are on the road to hell. Jesus Christ said in Matthew 18:8: “Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire.” Also, the Bible states in Revelation 21:8: “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”

Now that is bad news, but here’s the good news. Jesus Christ said in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Just believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead by the power of God for you so that you can live eternally with Him. Pray and ask Him to come into your heart today, and He will.

Romans 10:9 & 13 says, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved… For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

If you believe that Jesus Christ died on the Cross for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead, and you want to trust Him for your Salvation today, please pray with me this simple prayer: Holy Father God, I realize that I am a sinner and that I have done some bad things in my life. I am sorry for my sins, and today I choose to turn from my sins. For Jesus Christ sake, please forgive me of my sins. I believe with all of my heart that Jesus Christ died for me, was buried, and rose again. I trust Jesus Christ as my Savior and I choose to follow Him as Lord from this day forward. Lord Jesus, please come into my heart and save my soul and change my life today. Amen.

If you believed in your heart that Jesus Christ died on the Cross, was buried, and rose again, allow me to say, congratulations on doing the most important thing in life and that is accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour! For more information to help you grow in your newfound faith in Christ, go to Gospel Light Society.com and read “What To Do After You Enter Through the Door”. Jesus Christ said in John 10:9, “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.”

If you accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior today, please email me at [email protected] and let us know. There is some free material that we want to send you. If you have a prayer request, please e-mail that to us as well, and we will pray for you until you tell us to stop.

God loves you. We love you. And may God bless you.

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Could the Legacy of St. Patrick Help Heal Northern Ireland?

BELFAST – St. Patrick may be the patron saint of Ireland, but he did much of his ministry in Northern Ireland, so much so that he even asked to be buried here. But the view of who Patrick is and what he stands for is as divided today in Northern Ireland as the part of Belfast still divided by a wall between Catholics and protestants. 

While many nations celebrate St. Patrick’s Day enthusiastically, in Belfast it’s complicated, at least for many British protestants, who see Patrick as being hijacked by Catholics. 

St. Patrick: Embraced by Catholics, But Not by Many Protestants

“I think that for some, Patrick means probably two different things to two different groups of people,” says Johnny McKee, Lead Pastor at New Life City Church, which sits squarely on Belfast’s so-called ‘peace barrier,’ with part of its building in Catholic Belfast and part of it in protestant Belfast. 

“The Protestants don’t celebrate him,” McKee continued, “Because they view him as ‘green,’ as Irish, as Ireland, as Catholic, and the Catholics unwittingly celebrate him as Catholic even though he was neither for me Catholic nor Protestant.

Patrick May have Walked Through Areas that Would be Ravaged by “The Troubles” 

Local legend has it that Patrick walked Belfast’s infamous Shankill Road during his ministry. But later it would become a symbol of bloodshed and destruction in the time known as ‘The Troubles.’

30 years of fighting – between Catholics who wanted to join Ireland and protestants who wanted to stay British – left 3,500 people dead. A peace agreement was finally signed in 1998, and Northern Ireland is healing, but some communities still have a ways to go. 

Because all of Ireland was once a part of the United Kingdom, the red x-shaped cross in the Union Jack is the saltire of St. Patrick. But that doesn’t seem to impress the protestant British here.

 “We would like to think that what Patrick stood for could be a great unifier within our communities, but we politicized him and made him into a religious icon,” says Jack McKee, Senior Pastor of New Life City Church, who walks with the cross through Catholic and protestant communities of Belfast. He walks with former terrorists, now born again believers, who used to fight each other. and says Patrick could be a unifying symbol here.

He says Patrick’s message “was one of love and was one of hope that people on both sides would accept, but perhaps both sides wouldn’t genuinely want to hear what he has to say.” 

Patrick landed on the coast of Northern Ireland in County Down in the fifth century, and it is near the Cathedral of Downpatrick that his remains are believed to be buried.
 
But Irish historian Clive Scoular says the exact burial site near Down cathedral in Downpatrick is not known. “He’s not buried right here underneath that stone,” Scoular said, pointing at the huge rock carved with Patrick’s name, “but somewhere on this hill. If you can imagine this centuries ago, it was just one of the hills of Down. He was brought here in 461 and buried on this site.”

If Patrick Returned to Belfast Today, Would His Message Be Accepted?

Patrick, who ministered to violent tribes, would have had a heart for modern Belfast, parts of which are still plagued by hatred, drug abuse, and broken families. But how if Patrick returned today, how would his message of Christ be received? Pastor Jack McKee has tried carrying the cross on St. Patrick’s Day in Belfast and has felt the hostility. 

“And as I’m walking past [St. Patrick’s Day revelers] with the cross, one of them shouted, ‘You’re an f-ing idiot,'” McKee said, “And I thought to myself, that’s so ironic that on St Patrick’s Day, the idiot is the one carrying the cross.”

So, like parts of the new, peaceful, Northern Ireland, Patrick still waits to be rehabilitated, to become meaningful not only to Catholics but to Protestants, as well.

“As far as I’m concerned, Patrick was fully committed follower of Jesus Christ,” Jack McKee said, “Whether we call him ‘Evangelical,’ whether we call him ‘born again,’ Patrick was a totally committed follower of Jesus Christ, and promoted Jesus as Savior for all humanity.”

Source CBN

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Alabama Senate Passes Bill Banning Transgender Treatment on Children

Alabama Senate Passes Bill Banning Transgender Treatment on Children


Alabama’s Senate passed a bill last week that could make it the first state in the U.S. to ban gender-change therapy for children. 

The bill, known as the Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act, would establish criminal penalties for doctors who prescribe drugs “intended to alter the minor child’s gender or delay puberty.” It also would ban gender-change surgeries on minors and prohibit schools from withholding information to parents if a child perceives “his or her gender or sex is inconsistent with the minor’s sex.”

The bill passed the state Senate, 22-3, and now moves to the House of Representatives. South Dakota’s House passed a similar bill earlier this year, although it subsequently was killed by a Senate committee. 

Alabama state Sen. Shay Shelnutt, a Republican, said the bill is needed. 

“I just don’t think and others don’t think that kids should be given experimental drugs or surgeries that could have irreversible consequences for the rest of their life,” Shelnutt said, according to AL.com. “Kids are not fully developed until later in life. I think we can all agree that kids aren’t capable of making certain decisions until certain ages. And so, we want to just stop these procedures from happening in Alabama.”

The bill says the “long-term effects and safety” of “puberty-blocking medications” and “cross sex hormones” to children has…

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Trump Suspends Travel Between U.S., Most of Europe for 30 Days over Coronavirus Fear

Trump Suspends Travel Between U.S., Most of Europe for 30 Days over Coronavirus Fear


In a rare Oval Office video last night, President Trump announced that travel to most of Europe will be suspended for 30 days in light of the growing coronavirus threat.

“We made a lifesaving move with early action on China. Now we must take the same action with Europe,” the President said, according to the Associated Press.

The restriction includes 26 European countries, though not the United Kingdom. Americans who have “undergone appropriate screenings” will also be exempt from the restriction, as well as legal permanent residents or immediate family of US citizens. The US will continue to monitor its borders to determine if it’s appropriate to re-open them earlier.

In his speech, the President condemned Europe for not acting quicker and that the spread occurred by European travelers.

Though Trump indicated that travel to all of Europe would be suspended, Homeland Security later stated that the restrictions would apply only to those who have been to the “Schengen Area.” This area includes France, Italy, Germany, Greece, Austria, and Belgium—countries that have been hit the hardest with the virus.

The Trump administration is encouraging anyone who has traveled to Europe to “voluntarily quarantine” themselves for 14 days.

The announcement comes as country reels from the spread of the virus. States have canceled public events, including South by Southwest…

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Brazilian Official Tests Positive for Coronavirus Just Days After Meeting with Trump

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) – Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s communications director tested positive for the new coronavirus, just days after traveling with Bolsonaro to a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in Florida.
 
A statement from the president’s communications office on Thursday said director Fábio Wajngarten’s test results have come back positive, and that the presidency is adopting preventive measures to ensure Bolsonaro’s health.
 
Wajngarten joined Bolsonaro on a three-day trip to the U.S. and on Saturday was at the Mar-a-Lago resort, where he posted a photo of himself posing beside Trump. A video from the event also showed him standing directly behind both presidents as they addressed a crowd.
 
Wajngarten initially denied a report on Wednesday that he had been tested for the virus, saying on his social media account that his health was fine. He is now in self-quarantine at home, according to the statement.
 
The government also communicated with U.S. authorities so that they can take cautionary measures, the Brazilian statement said.

Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.  

 

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Rescuing Girls From Sex Slavery: 'We Can Do a Lot More Than We Think We Can'

Each year worldwide, hundreds of thousands of people are sold into sex slavery or forced labor. UN officials say human trafficking has now reached an all time high.  

So, what difference can one person make to stop the global human trafficking crisis?

Although Texas Pastor Troy Brewer knows there are limits to what he and his ministry team can do to rescue children from sexual enslavement with their efforts in Nepal, he knows people can always do more.

“We can do a lot more than we think we can,” he explained. “Everybody is like, ‘I can only do so much.’ Oh, listen. You can do so much more than that and the Lord knows our limits.” 

Brewer’s motto is, “Say yes to everything until you have to say no.”
 
He is senior pastor of OpenDoor Church in Burleson, Texas and hosts the daily syndicated radio program, Experiencing Real Life.

Brewer and his wife Leanna mortgaged their home seven times in order to come up with the cash needed to support their child rescue ministry. 

“Before our ministry started to grow and before we had ministry partners, it was literally she and I on our own doing this for years and years and years,” Brewer explained.
 
Today, through their ministry Answer International, the Brewers pay the debts of sex slaves in Nepal, India and Belize. The rescued girls and their children are provided food, housing, education and vocational training.

On this week’s episode of The Global Lane, Brewer said sex trafficking is depleting Nepal ‘of their girls’.

Many Nepali girls are trafficked to neighboring India. Each year in both countries, a total of 300,000 girls are forced into sexual slavery.

Brewer places ministry teams at the border crossings to keep an eye out for traffickers and their suspected victims.

“We are literally profiling people as they are coming across…and going, ‘why is that guy going with that young girl?’ Let’s talk to him,” the Texas pastor explained.

Rescuing the girls is difficult and often leads to confrontation with their traffickers.

“You have to get in their grill and say, ‘Hey, what’s going on here?'” explained Brewer. “And if they say none of your business… we blow the whistle, literally the police come. We have a very good rapport with the police in Nepal, they come, they separate the two, we talk to the girl to find out what’s going on.”

If the girl is being sold into slavery, Brewer’s team and the police must determine if the girl can be returned to her family.

“Many times with these little bitty kids you ask what is your mama’s name and they say ‘mama.’ So, they don’t know, and there is no infrastructure there to actually find their parent,” Brewer explained.

So, what happens to the children and their sex traffickers? Brewer discusses that and his latest book, Good Overcomes Evil.  Click on the video at the top of this article to hear more.    
 

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Finnish Parliament Member Faces 2 New Investigations over Christian Tweets

Finnish Parliament Member Faces 2 New Investigations over Christian Tweets


Police are investigating Päivi Räsänen, a Christian Parliament Member in Finland, for a 2019 tweet of Romans 24-27, which questioned her church for supporting a LGBT event.

According to The Christian Post, Räsänen has been a member of Parliament since 1995 and chaired the Christian Democrat Party. Police are looking into interviews she also gave to a television program and radio station on her beliefs.

The Alliance Defending Freedom, a US-based international law firm, is representing Räsänen and says this is not the first time she’s been investigated for alleged “hate speech.”

“The Prosecutor General initiated a second, third, and fourth investigation,” said ADF. “These concerned a pamphlet that Räsänen wrote more than 16 years ago outlining the official teaching of her own church on human sexuality, a television interview, and a radio interview. Despite the police previously concluding that no crime had been committed, the Prosecutor General re-opened the file.”

In 2018, Räsänen was interviewed on TV and discussed religious beliefs with the presenter. The next year, Räsänen answered the question, “What would Jesus think about homosexuals?” in a radio interview that stirred controversy.

“In a free society, everyone should be allowed to share their beliefs without fear of censorship,” said Paul Coleman, executive director of ADF International and…

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Harvey Weinstein Is Sentenced to 23 Years in Prison

Harvey Weinstein Is Sentenced to 23 Years in Prison


Movie producer Harvey Weinstein has been sentenced to 23 years in prison for committing third-degree rape and a criminal sex act.

The disgraced 67-year-old, who was convicted on the charges last month, appeared at the New York Supreme Court in a wheelchair Wednesday to face his fate. Bringing to an end one of the most high-profile legal cases of the last decade, Judge James Burke sentenced the producer to 20 years for first-degree criminal sex act and three years for the third-degree rape of a woman.

The two sentences are due to run consecutively, which means Weinstein is ordered to serve the 20 years first, followed by the additional three-year penalty. Speaking to Fox News, the former movie mogul’s lawyer noted that, given the length of the sentence, her client will likely die in prison.

“Even if at this juncture if they offered him a sentence that was concurrent, again I think with the number that has been handed down to him today, he won’t see the light of day especially given his health,” attorney Donna Rotunno explained.

In response to the verdict, Weinstein indicated that he felt the legal system had been biased against him. “Thousands of men are losing due process. I’m worried about this country,” he told the judge after hearing testimony from his victims.

His victims gathered bravely in court to make their voices known and confront their abuser.

“I hope that today in sentencing I do not…

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PODCAST: How the Lord is Leading Me to Pray During the Coronavirus Pandemic-Plague by Daniel Whyte III

Here’s how Daniel Whyte III will be praying during the coronavirus pandemic-plague:

1. Praying and asking God to be thorough with His church. 1 Peter 4:17 says, “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?” A. J. Gordon prayed, “Be thorough with me, Jesus; be thorough with me.”

2. Praying for Christians: 2 Chronicles 7:14 says, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

3. Praying that Christians would begin witnessing to the lost: Luke 10:2 says, “Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.”

4. Praying for the salvation of the lost: John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Romans 10:9-13 says, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

George Atkins wrote:

Brethren we have met to worship
And adore the Lord our God
Will you pray with all your power
While we try to preach the Word
All is vain unless the Spirit
Of the Holy One comes down
Brethren pray and holy manna
Will be showered all around

Brethren see poor sinners ’round you
Slumbering on the brink of woe
Death is coming hell is moving
Can you bear to let them go
See our fathers and our mothers
And our children sinking down
Brethren pray and holy manna
Will be showered all around

Sisters will you join to help us
Moses’ sister aided him
Will you help the trembling mourners
Who are struggling hard with sin
Tell them all about the Saviour
Tell them that He will be found
Sisters pray and holy manna
Will be showered all around

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Now, if you are with us today, and you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour, your first prayer needs to be what we call the Sinner’s Prayer. First, please understand that you are a sinner, just as I am, and that you have broken God’s laws. The Bible says in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”

Second, accept the fact that there is a penalty for sin. The Bible states in Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death…”

Third, accept the fact that you are on the road to hell. Jesus Christ said in Matthew 10:28: “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Also, the Bible states in Revelation 21:8: “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”

Now this is bad news, but here’s the good news. Jesus Christ said in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Just believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead by the power of God for you so that you can live eternally with Him. Pray and ask Him to come into your heart today, and He will.

Romans 10:9 & 13 says, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved… For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

If you believe that Jesus Christ died on the Cross for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead, and you want to trust Him for your Salvation today, please pray with me this simple prayer: Holy Father God, I realize that I am a sinner and that I have done some bad things in my life. For Jesus Christ sake, please forgive me of my sins. I now believe with all of my heart that Jesus Christ died for me, was buried, and rose again. Lord Jesus, please come into my heart and save my soul and change my life today. Amen.

If you just trusted Jesus Christ as your Saviour, and you prayed that prayer and meant it from your heart, I declare to you that based upon the Word of God, you are now saved from Hell and you are on your way to Heaven. Welcome to the family of God! Congratulations on trusting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour. You have done the most important thing in life. For more information to help you grow in your newfound faith in Christ, go to Gospel Light Society.com and read “What To Do After You Enter Through the Door”. Jesus Christ said in John 10:9, “I am the door, by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.”

God loves you. We love you. And may God bless you.

Daniel Whyte III has spoken in meetings across the United States and in over twenty-five foreign countries. He is the author of over forty books including the Essence Magazine, Dallas Morning News, and Amazon.com national bestseller, Letters to Young Black Men. He is also the president of Gospel Light Society International, a worldwide evangelistic ministry that reaches thousands with the Gospel each week, as well as president of Torch Ministries International, a Christian literature ministry.

He is heard by thousands each week on his radio broadcasts/podcasts, which include: The Prayer Motivator Devotional, The Prayer Motivator Minute, as well as Gospel Light Minute X, the Gospel Light Minute, the Sunday Evening Evangelistic Message, the Prophet Daniel’s Report, the Second Coming Watch Update and the Soul-Winning Motivator, among others.

He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Theology from Bethany Divinity College, a Bachelor’s degree in Religion from Texas Wesleyan University, a Master’s degree in Religion, a Master of Divinity degree, and a Master of Theology degree from Liberty University’s Rawlings School of Divinity (formerly Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary). He is currently a candidate for the Doctor of Ministry degree.

He has been married to the former Meriqua Althea Dixon, of Christiana, Jamaica since 1987. God has blessed their union with seven children.

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