Gunmen killed 24 civilians, including a church pastor, and kidnapped three others on Sunday in Burkina Faso, an official said. It was the latest attack against a religious leader in the increasingly unstable West African nation.

The mayor of Boundore commune, Sihanri Osangola Brigadie, said the attack occurred in the town of Pansi in Yagha province. The roughly 20 attackers separated men from women close to a Protestant church. At least 18 other people were injured.

“It hurt me when I saw the people,” Brigadie said after visiting some of the victims in the hospital in Dori town, 180 kilometers (110 miles) from the attack. The gunmen looted oil and rice from shops and forced the three youth they kidnapped to help transport it on their motorbikes, he said.

Both Christians and Muslims were killed before the church was set on fire, said a government security official in Dori who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak to the media.

Attacks have targeted religious leaders in the area in the past. Last week, also in Yagha province, a retired pastor was killed and another pastor was abducted by gunmen, according to an internal security report for aid workers seen by The Associated Press.

Extremist violence has dramatically escalated in once-peaceful Burkina Faso.

More than dozen people were killed at an evangelical church in last December, and back-to-back attacks targeted Protestant and Catholic gatherings last spring.

Analysts are concerned that attacks against civilians, including against Christians, are increasing “at an alarming rate,” said Corinne Dufka, West Africa director for Human Rights Watch. “Perpetrators use victims’ links to government or their faith to justify the killings, while others appear to be reprisal killings for killings by the government security forces,” she said.

More than 1,300 civilians were killed in targeted attacks last year in Burkina Faso, more than seven times the previous year, according to Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, which collects and analyzes conflict information.

The insecurity has created a humanitarian crisis. More than 760,000 people are internally displaced, according to the government.

Source: Associated Press via Christianity Today

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Bible teacher and author Priscilla Shirer announced that the surgery she recently underwent to remove a node from her left lung was “curative” and praised the Lord for His faithfulness.

“I am recovering well from the surgery,” Shirer announced in an Instagram post over the weekend. “My breathing is still pretty labored so I am working on my lung capacity and getting a little breath back here. But doing really good and recovering well.”

“The surgery was curative, praise the Lord, so I don’t have anything else to do in that regard other than recover.”

The Going Beyond Ministries founder said her family has been extremely grateful for the outpouring of support they’ve received following the death of her mother, Lois Evans, wife of well-known pastor Tony Evans.

Lois Evans died of cancer Dec. 30, 2019. Shirer is one of the Evans’ four children.

“Many of you know that we’ve lost quite a few family members recently, the most recent of which was our sweet mom,” Shirer said.

“Thanks for continuing to pray for us, for our family, as we recover from everything that has gone on,” the “War Room” actress concluded. “Every card you’ve sent, every gift you’ve sent, I’ve read them all, gotten them all, and I’m really grateful. Thank you all so, so much.”

Shirer’s initial announcement about the surgery said the issue was one her doctors had been monitoring. In January, she revealed that three years ago doctors discovered a small nodule in her left lung.

“Several pulmonary specialists and I have watched it meticulously since then. This past summer, it was clear that something surgical needed to be done as the nodule had begun to grow and show signs of dangerous irregularities,” she said.

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The deadly COVID-19 disease is still paralyzing China, shutting down entire cities, and health officials fear enough hasn’t been done to keep this novel coronavirus from becoming a pandemic.

The US mainland has only suffered minimal impact from the disease – mainly from people who visited the epicenter of the outbreak in China. But a large group of Americans has been directly affected after being stuck on a cruise ship in Japan where the coronavirus was spreading.

Now two charter flights carrying 340 Americans from that quarantined cruise ship have landed in the United States where they’ll remain quarantined but under better conditions. At least 40 Americans who tested positive are staying in Japan to receive treatment.

And The New York Times reports 14 passengers who were believed to have been well before they were evacuated from the ship Monday were found to be infected right before boarding the planes.  

Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health warned that if leaders can’t get control of the situation, it will be a pandemic.

On CBS News’ Face the Nation, Fauci said, “Technically speaking, the WHO wouldn’t be calling this a global pandemic, but it certainly is on the verge of that happening reasonably soon unless containment is more successful than it is right now.”

It’s causing concern around the world. In Jerusalem, rabbis recently gathered at the Western Wall for special prayers to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

Roughly 760 million Chinese people, half the nation’s population, are under lockdown.

And the Chinese government claims the number of new cases has dropped to a three-week low, with the death toll set at 1,800 and more than 70,000 cases reported worldwide. But is the actual number much higher?

The Hudson Institute’s Gen. Robert S. Spaulding (USAF Ret.) said, “The greater concern just to this coronavirus alone is the secrecy and control of the Chinese Communist Party. This goes all the way back to December – didn’t really start coming out until January. By then the epidemic had spread.”

Chinese authorities now admit that President Xi was aware of the coronavirus outbreak nearly two weeks before he first spoke publicly about it and the government was still playing down its dangers.

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TEXT: Matthew 11:25-30

25 At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.

26 Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight.

27 All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.

28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

———-

St. Augustine said, “God has created us for Himself, and our heart cannot be stilled until it finds rest in Him.”

C.H. Spurgeon said, “How many of our sleepless hours might be traced to our untrusting and disordered minds. They slumber sweetly whom faith rocks to sleep. No pillow so soft as a promise; no coverlet so warm as an assured interest in Christ.”

Last week we looked at how all things have been committed to Jesus by the Father. Here are two more things we can learn from verse 27 of our passage.

Second, “no man knoweth the Son, but the Father.” We humans cannot understand God without help from God. Jesus’ statement that only God the Father knows God the Son is a condemnation of the “wise and prudent” people that we addressed in an earlier message. The unbelieving Jewish religious leaders thought they knew who Jesus was. When Jesus visited his hometown of Nazareth, many people there did not give him any respect because they knew his family and had known him as a child. They thought they knew His true nature. But only God knew the Son, and he only imparted that knowledge of who Jesus is to those who approach God with humble, childlike hearts. A.W. Tozer said, “The world by wisdom knew not God. The things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. God’s nature is of another kind from anything with which the mind is acquainted; hence when the mind attempts to find out God it is confronted by obscurity. It is surrounded with mystery and blinded by the light no man can approach unto. A consideration of this truth led some thinkers of the past to conclude that since it is impossible for man to discover God by means of any faculties he possesses, God must therefore remain not only unknown but unknowable. What these men overlooked was that when God desires He can and does reveal Himself to men. The Spirit of God is able to make the spirit of man know and experience the awful mystery of God’s essential being. It should be noted that the Spirit reveals God to the spirit of man, not to his intellect merely. The intellect can know God’s attributes because these constitute that body of truth that can be known about God. The knowledge of God is for the spirit alone. Such knowledge comes not by intellect but by intuition.” Our inability to understand Jesus without revelation from God is a cause to trust in Him.

——-

Now, if you are with us today and you do not know Jesus Christ as your Savior, allow me to show you how you can place your faith and trust in Him for Salvation from sin and Hell.

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.

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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Normally, when the people of God allow the devil to get in the midst of a situation through pride, sin, and dishonesty, it becomes very convoluted and full of confusion and then it begins to unravel to the point where the former thing that probably was of God is not even recognizable and this is what has happened with the Redemption Church/Relentless Church debacle. As Relentless Church employee Jacob Johnson, who left Lakewood Church in Houston to join John Gray’s team in Greenville, basically said in the third video, God was in it in the beginning, but pride, sin, and dishonesty has brought it to this.

Black Christian News Network One (BCNN1) does not have the time nor the interest to give a blow-by-blow report on what we know is a devil-inspired, convoluted, unraveling mess. We have and do give initial news about such situations and one or two follow-ups. That is pretty much as far as we are going to go with it because after that you start getting into the weeds of foolishness.

Even though we disagree with some of the things that Larry Reid of Larry Reid Live says in his monologues and reporting, nobody, in our opinion, deals with the blow-by-blow reporting of these messy church situations like he does. Whether you love him, like him, or hate him, we believe we can speak for the respected Christian Post and Black Christian News Network One (BCNN1) that we have used some of his reporting because some things have gotten so out of hand in the church and so demonically ridiculous that somebody has to do the painful, nasty job that Larry Reid is doing, and when we can, we use some of his reporting because he uses credible sources such as court documents. In light of the Scripture, “judgment must begin at the house of God”, and because we have to be honest and transparent before a dying and lost world about the mess in the church, we have to recognize that there are some people who are actually called to do this kind of work and we believe that Larry Reid is called to do this. Now, some of the crazy things that he says regarding stuff that is gossip, regarding sex, and made-up curse words, we don’t support that, but in things where the devil has gotten in the midst of a church situation and it has unraveled, nobody is more gifted in explaining this mess in a blow-by-blow fashion than Larry Reid. So, we give you three videos that he has done over the last week dealing with this sad, unfortunate situation.

The reason why we are calling on Joel Osteen and T. D. Jakes to get involved in a public and out-front way is because this is going to be a mess that goes on throughout the year and maybe even beyond and it needs to end now. These two prominent pastors were there at the beginning laying hands on John Gray and agreeing with Ron Carpenter that this was of God. Now, they need to get involved at the end of this thing to shut it down. One of the sad things that has happened down through the past 30 years is when so-called “pastoral fathers” who basked in their sons’ gifting and talent, and even generated millions of dollars off their sons’ gifting, talent, and ability, but as soon as they mess up they pull back from them and we don’t hear anything from them because they follow the advice of their PR people who tell them, “This is the Titanic, don’t get near it,” when, in fact, we need to see those same “pastoral fathers” who basked in their sons’ glory, gifting, and talent and when the money was flowing in, when he foolishly messes up with pride, sin, and dishonesty to come and help him get out of a bad situation and hire him back where he came from. For the truth of the matter is, some gifted, talented young men are good at being a second man but not the first man. They are good at being a relief pitcher but not the main marquee pitcher. They are good at being a pinch hitter but not the main hitter. They are a good second man, but they are not equipped to be the first man even though everybody thought they would be.

What probably needs to happen at this point and what Joel Osteen and T. D. Jakes need to facilitate with the quickness is for Ron Carpenter to not only get his building back but get all of the people back who want to stay even the ones that came in under John Gray and for John Gray to humble himself and resign and to admit that he messed up with pride, sin, and dishonesty as he has admitted to Larry Reid, and move back to Houston or get a second man job position under T. D. Jakes. But whatever is the conclusion of this matter, it needs to conclude now because in the words of the crazy but gifted Larry Reid, “This is a whole mess.”

— BCNN1 Editors

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A female high school runner has beaten a transgender competitor just two days after she and other students families’ filed a lawsuit to block athletes with male anatomy competing because they have an ‘unfair’ advantage.

Canton High School girl Chelsea Mitchell won the Class S 55-meter dash title on Friday with her time of 7.18 seconds. She beat Bloomfield High School student Terry Miller’s 7.20 seconds.

Mitchell also came first in the 300-meter dash, while Miller was 16th, and Mitchell won the long jump.

The families of Mitchell, Selina Soule, a senior at Glastonbury High School, and Alanna Smith, a sophomore at Danbury High School, filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday seeking to block transgender athletes in Connecticut from participating in girls sports.

The Class S girls 55 meter state championship goes to Canton senior Chelsea Mitchell, who edged out defending champ Terry Miller of Bloomfield. #cttrack pic.twitter.com/aDL7ieIEsx

— Shawn McFarland (@McFarland_Shawn) February 14, 2020

The lawsuit centers on two transgender sprinters, Miller and Andraya Yearwood, who have frequently outperformed their cisgender competitors. The two seniors have combined to win 15 girls state indoor or outdoor championship races since 2017, according to the lawsuit.

The attorneys for Alliance Defending Freedom had asked the court to prevent the transgender girls from competing while the lawsuit moves forward.

No hearing date on that request had been scheduled Wednesday, the day before the state’s indoor track championships began.

The Connecticut Association of Schools-Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference says its policy follows a state anti-discrimination law that says students must be treated in school by the gender with which they identify and the group believes the policy is ‘appropriate under both state and federal law.’

Connecticut is one of 17 states that allowed transgender high school athletes to compete without restrictions in 2019, according to Transathlete.com, which tracks state policies in high school sports across the country.

Eight states had restrictions that make it difficult for transgender athletes to compete while in school, such requiring athletes to compete under the gender on their birth certificate, or allowing them to participate only after going through sex reassignment procedures or hormone therapies, according to Transathlete.

Yearwood and Miller have said they are still in the process of transitioning but have declined to provide details.

The three plaintiffs have competed directly against them, almost always losing to Miller and usually behind Yearwood. Mitchell finished third in the 2019 state championship in the girls 55-meter indoor track competition behind Miller and Yearwood.

‘Our dream is not to come in second or third place, but to win fair and square,’ Mitchell previously said. ‘All we’re asking for is a fair chance.’

They argue in the lawsuit that allowing athletes with male anatomy to compete has deprived them of track titles and scholarship opportunities.

‘Mentally and physically, we know the outcome before the race even starts,’ said Smith, who is the daughter of former Major League pitcher Lee Smith.

‘That biological unfairness doesn’t go away because of what someone believes about gender identity. All girls deserve the chance to compete on a level playing field.’

The lawsuit was filed against the Connecticut Association of Schools-Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference and the boards of education in Bloomfield, Cromwell, Glastonbury, Canton and Danbury.

It follows a Title IX complaint filed last June by the girls’ families and the Alliance Defending Freedom with the U.S. Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights, which is investigating the policy.

‘Forcing girls to be spectators in their own sports is completely at odds with Title IX, a federal law designed to create equal opportunities for women in education and athletics,’ nonprofit organization Alliance Defending Freedom attorney Christiana Holcomb said. ‘Connecticut’s policy violates that law and reverses nearly 50 years of advances for women.’

Yearwood, a senior at Cromwell High School, and Miller, a senior at Bloomfield High School, had issued statements vehemently defending their right to run in girls events.

‘I have faced discrimination in every aspect of my life and I no longer want to remain silent,’ Miller said. ‘I am a girl and I am a runner. I participate in athletics just like my peers to excel, find community, and meaning in my life. It is both unfair and painful that my victories have to be attacked and my hard work ignored.’

Yearwood said she also is a girl and has been hurt by the efforts to ‘tear down my successes.’

‘I will never stop being me!’ she said in her statement. ‘I will never stop running! I hope that the next generation of trans youth doesn’t have to fight the fights that I have. I hope they can be celebrated when they succeed not demonized. For the next generation, I run for you!’

The American Civil Liberties Union said it will represent the transgender teens and defend the Connecticut policy in court. Attorney Chase Strangio, deputy director for Trans Justice with the ACLU LGBT & HIV Project, said transgender girls also are protected by Title IX.

‘The idea that the law only protects the individuals with XX chromosomes as compared to individuals with XY chromosomes is found nowhere in the legislative history of Title IX, in any implementing regulation or in any other aspect of the interpretation of Title IX over the last 50 years by the courts,’ he said.

The Hartford Courant reported that the students didn’t interact before or after the race on Friday.

Mitchell put her win down to her own talent not the potential affects of the lawsuit on the athletes involved.

‘It’s definitely big because I’ve never beaten her before. I guess it’s just exciting,’ Mitchell said

‘I try to just clear everything out of my mind, this is just track, you know, it’s just running, just focusing on myself, not trying to think about anything else that’s been happening.’

Mitchell added that she doesn’t think her win will affect the case.

‘I don’t think it could go against, there’s still tons of girls that lose on a daily basis,’ Mitchell added.

Miller added about the defeat: ‘I clapped because, for me, I’m not a hater. When you take a win, you take the win. And even if you don’t respect me, I’ll respect you.’

Miller had consoled Yearwood before the race as she was disqualified over a false start. ‘It’s really important to me, because she didn’t throw a fit, she was disappointed,’Miller said. ‘It’s not about the win, it’s about us enjoying the sport.’

SOURCE: Daily Mail, Leah Simpson; The Associated Press

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