Israel Shoots Down Iran-made Hezbollah Drone Over Syria Border

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A Patriot anti-missile battery is seen west of Jerusalem, during "Austere Challenge 2012", a joint Israeli-hosted exercise with U.S. forces October 23, 2012. (REUTERS/Ronen Zvulu)

A Patriot anti-missile battery is seen west of Jerusalem, during “Austere Challenge 2012”, a joint Israeli-hosted exercise with U.S. forces October 23, 2012. (REUTERS/Ronen Zvulu)

The Israel Defense Forces shot down an Iranian-made drone operated by Hezbollah on Tuesday afternoon after the drone entered the demilitarized zone along the border between Israel and Syria on the Golan Heights. The Israel Air Force’s aerial defense command fired a Patriot missile and destroyed the drone. 

The interception of the drone took place just hours before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was scheduled to speak to the United Nations General Assembly in New York. A large part of his speech is expected to be devoted to Israeli claims concerning Iranian military involvement in Syria.

The remotely piloted vehicle, intended for intelligence gathering missions, was identified as it took off from Damascus International Airport. It then flew to the southwest toward Israel. When the Air Force’s air defense control center identified the drone entering the demilitarized zone on the Golan, the IDF decided to shoot it down. Fighter jets were scrambled to the area, but did not fire at the drone.

The drone was intercepted by a Patriot missile fired by an anti-aircraft battery located in the Galilee. The drone fell inside Syrian territory in a region controlled by the Assad regime near the city of Quneitra.

The military said that this was not the first time Hezbollah used intelligence-gathering drones against Israel, but added that this time the drone was unusually close to the Israeli border.

IDF Spokesperson Brig. Gen. Ronen Manelis told reporters that the military will not allow terrorist groups to penetrate or come near to Israeli territory, in the air or on the ground.

The IDF will act severely and attack against any such actions, said Manelis, adding: “We will respond to every such attempt.” Manelis refused to say whether the drone mission was related to the recent attack in Syria, saying that the IDF “does not comment of foreign reports.”

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SOURCE: Amos Harel, Noa Shpigel, and Jack Khoury 
Haaretz

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What Most Christians Don’t Know About Grace — Charisma News

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    Notable Voices and the Week in Review: October 7, 2017

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    Earlier this week at ThomRainer.com:

     


    A Rural Pastor’s Warning About Megachurches — Jay Sanders

    We need to be very careful how we talk about other churches. I get it. There are megachurches that have abandoned the gospel and feel more like shopping malls than the body of Christ. But that isn’t the case with all large churches, not even megachurches. Yet, when we assume that it is, we participate in a form of soft persecution against the body of Christ, all the while assuming that our preferred brand of church is best.

     


    3 Signs of a Childish Christian — Eric Geiger

    I have recently been reading some of Andrew Murray’s classic works in the Legacy of Faith Library, which I highly recommend. Murray’s chapter on “carnal Christians” provides great insight on a childish Christian and how we can recognize this in our own hearts (I am taking these three points from Murray). A childish Christian…

     


    On Christian Platforming — Chris Martin

    A Christian who has an online platform ultimately is using a gift he or she has been given by God to build up others for the good of the kingdom of God. The Lord has gifted all of us in different ways. Some gifts receive more public attention than others—those who have the gift of teaching are often given more opportunities to platform that gift than people who have the gift of service or the like.

     


    How to Shorten and Sharpen Your Sermons — David Murray

    TED speakers are allowed a maximum of 18 minutes. The organizers have found it’s “short enough to hold people’s attention, including on the Internet, and precise enough to be taken seriously. But it’s also long enough to say something that matters.” Now, I’m not advocating for 18 minute sermons (most congregations have been trained well enough to listen for longer), but most preachers would benefit from being forced to preach an 18-minute sermon from time to time.

     


    3 Ways a Gospel-Centered Preacher Can Miss the Gospel — Cole Brown

    In recent years, there has been a rapidly growing interest in gospel-centered preaching. With the help of the internet and its resources, many preachers like myself have been transformed by the examples of Tim Keller, Art Azurdia, Anthony Carter, and countless others. We have come to believe, like them, that every sermon should faithfully connect that week’s text and theme to the gospel. Those of us who hold to this philosophy do so because it is consistent with Jesus’s teaching in Luke 24 and with the ministry approach modeled by the apostles throughout the New Testament. Yet, as with any philosophy, it is often easier to believe in theory than to implement in practice. Here are three ways those committed to gospel-centered preaching can unintentionally fail to preach the gospel.

     


    Don’t Use Your Theology as a Weapon — Michael Kelley

    When the foundations shake, we can return to what is true regardless of circumstances. We can know, for example, that the king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord. And we can know, for example, that Jesus is still the authoritative ruler of heaven and earth. And we can know, for example, that God is still, even now, working all things for the good of those that love Him and are called according to His purpose. We know these things. But may I offer an exhortation regarding these theological truths? Christian, don’t use your theology as a weapon.

     


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    Actor Tim Allen Finally Speaks About ‘Last Man Standing’ Sudden Cancellation

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    Actor Tim Allen Finally Speaks About ‘Last Man Standing’ Sudden Cancellation



    ABC’s sudden ‘Last Man Standing’ cancellation caught everyone off guard, including the show’s star, Tim Allen. And now, the actor is finally speaking out about the way the network handled the unexpected decision.


    In “The Last Man Standing,” Tim Allen plays a man outnumbered by his wife and three daughters. And according to Fox News, the show was the television network’s second highest comedy this season. It averaged 8.1 million viewers.


    When news of the ‘Last Man Standing’ cancellation hit, it surprised everyone — including the show’s star, Tim Allen!


    And the sitcom’s high ratings at the time of cancellation left many viewers and critics speculating that ABC discontinued it because of Tim Allen’s conservative views.


    As heated debates raged, ABC denied the accusations that Tim’s political views had anything to do with the cancellation. They released a statement saying:


    “We have actors on our shows who have all sorts of different political views. Tim Allen is a valuable part of the Disney/ABC family. He has been for a very, very long time. But Tim Allen’s personal politics had nothing whatsoever to do with it.”


    Instead, ABC cited the network’s decision to no longer air comedies on Friday nights as the reason the show got the axe. But fans aren’t buying it. And so it seems, neither is Tim Allen.


    While appearing on ‘Norm Macdonald Live,’ Tim opened up about his frustration over how the whole situation went down.


    “You couldn’t have handled this worse,” he said. “Not for me, because I’ll survive, but there’s 190 of us that worked there.”


    And despite the network’s insistence that politics played no part in their decision, Tim sees things differently.


    “I always wanted ‘Last Man Standing’ to be like Archie Bunker,” the actor said, referring to the controversial ‘All in the Family’ series from the ’70s. “Archie Bunker pushed boundaries, but Carroll O’Connor was not that guy at all.”


    However, Tim Allen does share conservative views, much like Mike Baxter, the character he plays in ‘Last Man Standing.’ And regardless of what the network says, Tim believes those views are what led to the sudden cancellation.


    “There is nothing more dangerous, especially in this climate, than a funny, likable conservative character,” he said.


    We’ll likely never know the full story behind the sudden ‘Last Man Standing’ cancellation, but we’re glad Tim Allen isn’t backing down on his beliefs, no matter how unpopular with Hollywood!


     


    WATCH: Tim Allen’s Thoughts On The ‘Last Man Standing’ Cancellation


     



    Article courtesy of GodVine.com


    Photo courtesy: Youtube/Norm Macdonald Live


    Publication date: October 11, 2017

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    Why Is It Good That Marriage on Earth Will End in Heaven? John Piper Explains

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    (Photo: Screen Grab via Vimeo/DesiringGod.org)Theologian, John Piper.

    Scripture states that marriages on Earth will come to an end in eternity — that is good news and even Christians who never marry should rejoice about this, says author and theologian John Piper.

    In an essay on published on Desiring God on Monday, the Reformed theologian said God’s purposes for His children are altogether better than the best Earth can offer. Not only will health take the place of sickness and joy replace sorrow, but “unimaginable, unending, ever-increasing ecstasies [will] replace the best of our most intense pleasures in this world.”

    In the coming age, God improves both the worst and best realities of this earthly life, Piper said, explaining that this is in keeping with the Apostle Paul’s words in Philippians 3:7 when he said, “Whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.” When one gains Christ, then, everything is better and will be better forever.

    Likewise, Paul told the church in Corinth, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, God has prepared for those who love him,” Piper noted, referencing 1 Corinthians 2:9.

    “If an infinite, all-wise, all-powerful Being loves us, and tells us that He has planned experiences for us in the age to come that exceed our ability to imagine, then we may conclude that these experiences will be inconceivably better than our best pleasures in this world for the simple reason that we can indeed imagine these.”

    What God has planned “will be even better than the best we can imagine,” he reiterated.

    Psalm 16:11 speaks of this, Piper added, which declares that in God’s presence there is “fullness of joy.” And the Hebrew for “fullness of joy” is literally “satiation of joys,” a “joy beyond which there is no more joy to be had.” Psalm 36:8 also speaks of the pleasures of God, the feasting on the abundance of God’s house. And in Ephesians, the riches of God’s grace are described as “immeasurable,” he noted. 

    Sexual pleasure is but a precursor of what is to come, he said, and even those who never experience it in marriage are guarateed eternal ecstasies. 

    He added that while procreation is not the only purpose of marriage, it is precisely because of that specific purpose that marriage will no longer be needed, Piper explained. And God did not make marriage to last for eternity because its disappearance makes clear what has always been true — “that non-married people are the full beneficiaries of the greatest eternal joys.”

    “Marriage ends because all its pleasures are preludes and pointers to something so much better that the human heart cannot imagine,” Piper concluded.

    For those who never married, he advises: “The more you feel like you would miss it, the more you should rejoice that it will be replaced. With every taste or every dream, remember: this is only foretaste — only prelude.”

    Follow Brandon Showalter on Facebook: BrandonMarkShowalter

    Follow Brandon Showalter on Twitter: @BrandonMShow

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    Greece passes gender-change law opposed by Orthodox Church

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    The bill, with the backing of Prime Minister, Alexis Tsipras, was passed by 171 votes in Greece’s 300-seat parliament, enabling people over the age of 15 to legally change their gender on official documents without undergoing sterilisation.

    The Orthodox Church said in a statement that the change in law was “a satanic deed” and would lead to “the destruction of social cohesion and the spiritual necrosis of man”.

    Previously, those wanting to change their gender on official documents had to undergo sex-change surgery and medical tests.

    The change in law brings Greece in line with most EU member states.

    Wikimedia Commons

     

    During a debate on Monday, Mr Tsipras urged MPs to support the change.

    Speaking before the vote, he said: “We are on the side of those who have no voice, or whose voice is stifled.

    “What God is it that has us take decisions that push children into [situations of] bullying, humiliation and suicides?”

    However, the law change has also attracted strong criticism from conservative politicians who have said the minimum age of 15 is too young.

    This was reiterated by the Orthodox Church that said making it easier for people to change their legal gender “torpedoes the sacred institution of the family, contrasts with morality and common sense, and destroys man”.

    The Church has called for the bill to be withdrawn.

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    Hurricane Maria Destroys Puerto Rico, Cuts Off All Power, Drops 2 Feet of Rain

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    All of Puerto Rico has lost power after deadly Hurricane Maria swept through the island on Wednesday – with winds that blew the roofs off homes and flash floods that turned roads into rivers.  

    Leaving at least nine people dead in its wake across the Caribbean, Hurricane Maria blew ashore in the morning in the southeast coastal town of Yabucoa as a Category 4 storm with winds of 155 mph.

    While the eye of the storm has since moved off the island and weakened to a Category 3 hurricane, it’s expected to continue lashing the island of 3.4million with life-threatening winds, storm surge and rain through this evening.

    ‘Once we’re able to go outside, we’re going to find our island destroyed,’ said Abner Gomez, Puerto Rico’s emergency management director. ‘The information we have received is not encouraging. It’s a system that has destroyed everything in its path.’

    As people waited it out in shelters or took cover inside stairwells, bathrooms and closets, Maria – the strongest storm to hit the island since the Great Depression brought down cell towers and power lines, snapped trees, tore off roofs and unloaded at least 20 inches of rain.

    Widespread flooding was reported, with dozens of cars half-submerged in some neighborhoods and many streets turned into rivers. People calling local radio stations reported that doors were being torn off their hinges and a water tank flew away.

    Even before the storm, Puerto Rico’s electrical grid was crumbling and the island was in dire condition financially.

    Puerto Rico is struggling to restructure a portion of its $73 billion debt, and the government has warned it is running out of money as it fights back against furloughs and other austerity measures imposed by a federal board overseeing the island’s finances.

    Gov. Ricardo Rossello urged people to have faith: ‘We are stronger than any hurricane. Together, we will rebuild.’

    He later asked President Donald Trump to declare the island a disaster zone, a step that would open the way to federal aid.

    Click here to read more.
    Source: Daily Mail

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    Museum of the Bible Releases New Content Series on the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation — Charisma News

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    A statue of Martin Luther
    A statue of Martin Luther (schorschel1982/Pixabay/Public Domain)

    Join us on our podcast each weekday for an interesting story, well told, from Charisma News. Listen at charismapodcastnetwork.com.


    Traditionally, Oct. 31 is commemorated around the world as Reformation Day—the day that would change the course of Christendom forever—when Martin Luther wrote the 95 Theses in Wittenberg, Germany. Now, less than a month away from its highly anticipated grand opening on Nov. 17, Museum of the Bible will release a brand-new multimedia content series to mark the event that ignited the Reformation.

    “Long before the internet, YouTube and social media, Martin Luther set in motion what can appropriately be described as a viral movement that transformed the very foundations of Europe, Western civilization and in many ways the entire world,” says Steven Bickley, vice president of marketing for Museum of the Bible. “Culturally, politically and spiritually, the 95 Theses is a pivotal point in history that led to, among other things, the rapid translation of the Bible into the heart languages of millions of people. Today that number is in the billions. This is part of the Bible’s remarkable journey, and it’s brought to life through this new multimedia series.”

    The Protestant Reformation was an important event in the history of the Bible, leading to new translations, different interpretations and innovations in Bible formatting and printing. The entire content series will be featured on a special microsite, museumofthebible.org/reformation which tells stories of the Reformation and how it was a catalyst for the new translations of the Bible into dozens of other languages.

    Content includes:

    ·      30-minute radio special/podcast

    ·      10 one-minute audio/video features


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    Pray for Rio Mimbres Baptist Church

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    Location: Mimbres, New Mexico

    Pastor: Jeremy Butler

    Weekly Worship: 11:00 AM, Mountain

    Fast Facts: Rio Mimbres Baptist Church was birthed in 1972 and is located in a Southwestern New Mexico community of about 750 people of which 90 percent are un-churched. Pastor Butler just celebrated his one-year anniversary at the church last Sunday. In that time, the congregation has started a Good News Club for children, grades 1-6, at the local elementary school and a monthly men’s breakfast on the second Saturday of each month. Last weekend, they participated in the community’s annual Harvest Festival and handed out more that 1,000 evangelistic DVDs and 200 copies of the Gospel of John as well as hundreds of personal evangelism tracts. Please pray for those who received the evangelistic material and for the follow-up process in the coming weeks.

    Website: Facebook.com/RioMimbresBaptist/


    “Pray for . . .” is the Sunday blog series at ThomRainer.com. We encourage you to pray for these churches noted every Sunday. Please feel free to comment that you are praying as well.

    If you would like to have your church featured in the “Pray for…” series, fill out this information form..

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    Open Heavens 12 October 2017: Thursday daily devotional by Pastor Adeboye – Obedient Children

    Open Heavens 12 October 2017: Thursday daily devotional by Pastor Adeboye – Obedient Children

    Topic: Obedient Children — Thursday 12, October 2017.

    Memorise: Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. – Exodus 20:12

    Read: Ephesians 6:1-3 (KJV)

    1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.

    2 Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;)

    3 That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.

    Bible in One Year: 2 Corinthians 1-3, Daniel 5:29-6:13, Hymn: Sing Hymn 16 – God Give Us Christian Homes!

    MESSAGE:

    Children are assets of the Almighty God entrusted to our care. We must therefore ensure that we do all we can to nurture them for the Lord and not for ourselves. We should strive to receive commendation from the Lord for our efforts in bringing them up as children He can be proud of. Raising children in today’s world is serious business. Unfortunately, we live in a world where parents have left to chance or entirely neglected the huge tasking of bringing up their children in the fear of the Lord. Many parents justify themselves by concluding that they are helpless, and they shift the blame of their own failures to the happenings in the society. In the time of father Abraham, there were also parents who did not bring up their children to follow the path of God, but for Abraham, his testimony was different. God said this concerning him in Genesis 18:19:

    “For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.”

    Coming up next: Open Heavens 13 October 2017: Friday daily devotional by Pastor Adeboye – God’s Watchman

    If you want to raise children who will be obedient to the Lord, you must be ready to start right from the beginning of the child’s life. That is what parenting is all about. It involves training and educating a child from the phase of infancy through to adulthood. If you carry out the job of parenting as unto the Lord, you will be well rewarded by Him. There are many parents who realise late in life that they have neglected their roles as parents. In order to make amends, some of them begin to make efforts at “repairing” the lives of their children, but at that point, they discover it has become a herculean task.

    Obedient children are godly children, committed to a life of honesty in all they do. Such children will never bring shame, reproach or embarrassment to the God of their fathers, because they have a deep understanding of the covenant upon which they have been groomed. There are parents today who have lost control of their children. Some other parents have turned their children into symbols of idolatry. They fear their children more than they fear God. May that not be your portion in Jesus’ Name. Obedient children must honour their parents. They must respect them irrespective of their status in society, if they want to live a life without regret. When their parents need their attention or help, they must be there for them. They must also be ready to submit wilfully to their instructions, corrections and rebuke. There are children who bring sorrow to their parents. On the other hand, children of destiny bring great comfort to everyone around them. Are you a child of destiny?

    Prayer Point: Father, let my children please You always, and grant me grace to care for my parents.

    Open Heavens Daily Devotional guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer’s Ministries.

    iOpenHeavens is the electronic version of the Hard Copy. The Open Heavens devotional application is available across all mobile platforms and operating systems: iOS, Android, Blackberry, Nokia, Windows Mobile and PC.