The newly passed 2020 omnibus budget will ensure that the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) receives funding for a further three years.

The USCIRF, which keeps tabs on violations of religious freedom across the world, was set to expire at the end of the month.

“Pleased to report that we have reached a bipartisan compromise on our bill to reauthorize the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) & it will pass this week,” Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio tweeted Wednesday.

Pleased to report that we have reached a bipartisan compromise on our bill to reauthorize the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) & it will pass this week. https://t.co/JlwiQyXPRV

— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) December 18, 2019

The $1.7 trillion spending bill was passed in the Senate Wednesday via a vote of 71-23 and will fund government programs through Sept. 30, 2020.

Not everyone was happy with the hastily agreed budget, however. Sen. Ted Cruz called it a “$1.4 trillion spending monstrosity [that] plunges our nation even further into debt,” according to the Texan.

“This ridiculous, rushed, end-of-year spending process, year after year, is an example of government of the lobbyists, by the lobbyists, and for the lobbyists,” he added.

President Trump is set to sign the bill shortly. “He’s very happy with…

So-called porch pirates can quickly ruin a family’s Christmas, but as one pastor in North Carolina discovered, they also can hamper a ministry.

Pastor Jeff Williams of West Franklin Baptist Church in Gastonia, N.C., was expecting three boxes of study Bibles delivered to his front door this month but found only two. When FedEx confirmed that the boxes had been delivered, Williams realized he had been the victim of a porch pirate – someone who steals boxes off front porches in hopes of finding high-priced items.

In this case, the porch pirates stole 24 study Bibles worth more than $1,000, WSOC-TV reported.

“We’re kind of curious as to what the folks thought when they opened the Bibles, and I would say this: If it’s something that you’ve taken and you’re not interested in, just bring them back.” Williams said. “Drop them off in the driveway because we need to get them out to folks who want them.”

Williams and his wife lead a ministry, Inspiration for Inmates, for individuals in prison. The ministry has personal meaning for the pastor. His daughter, who was addicted to meth, is serving a five-year sentence.

“To my surprise, Bibles are not readily available to each individual inmate,” the ministry’s GoFundMe page reads. “These ladies have to go to the library in the institution to read when their schedules permit and they may not have but a few moments to read. Having access…

A British court ruled this week that a woman was properly dismissed from her job after she posted several messages about transgenderism on Twitter, including the statement that “male people are not women.”

Maya Forstater, 45, lost her position at the Center for Global Development following a series of tweets in 2018, and subsequently filed a complaint with an employment tribunal. The think tank has offices in London and Washington, D.C., and chose not to renew her contract. 

Several of Forstater’s tweets criticized potential changes to the British Gender Recognition Act, including one that would allow people to self-identify with whichever gender they choose. Forstater argued that even if a biological man has a “Gender Recognition Certificate” that states he’s a woman, he remains a biological man.

Employment judge James Tayler, in a 26-page decision, ruled against Forstater.

“The Claimant’s position is that even if a trans woman has a Gender Recognition Certificate, she cannot honestly describe herself as a woman,” Tayler wrote. “That belief is not worthy of respect in a democratic society. It is incompatible with the human rights of others that have been identified and defined by the [European Court of Human Rights] and put into effect through the Gender Recognition Act.”

Forstater tweeted on Sept. 2, 2018: “I share the concerns of @fairplaywomen that…

The NFL quarterback who is the heavy favorite to win this year’s Most Valuable Player award says his Christian faith helps him stay grounded.

Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson has guided the Ravens to a league-best record of 12-2 and leads the league in several key categories, including passing touchdowns (33) and quarterback rating (81.3). The duel-threat Jackson also leads all quarterbacks in rushing yards (1,103).

Asked this week what keeps him humble, Jackson responded simply, “the Lord.”

“I give Him all his praise, the glory, the honor, because without Him I could have been doing anything,” Jackson said.

“I’ll be thinking about it, talking to Him throughout the day like, ‘Man, appreciate You. I thank You.’ Because, when you feel like you’re bigger than the Lord, that’s when all that success dies. It goes away. You have to let Him know He’s the reason you’re having that much success.”

Jackson also referenced his teammates, coaches and family.

“We’ve just got to keep going and let the Lord know he’s No. 1,” he said.

“What keeps you humble, @Lj_era8?” pic.twitter.com/SJRN6VB1JO

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) December 18, 2019

Jackson won college football’s Heisman Trophy in 2016 during a breakout season at the University of Louisville before being drafted by Baltimore.

Former NFL quarterback Kurt Warner, who led the St. Louis Rams to a Super Bowl…

In an op-ed published Thursday evening by Christianity Today, the Evangelical magazine – founded by the late preacher Billy Graham – called for the removal of President Trump from office.

According to the Washington Post, upon publishing this op-ed, the Christianity Today website momentarily crashed from the volume of traffic on the site.

From Christianity Today’s editor in chief https://t.co/NVdQjg4odC

— Christianity Today (@CTmagazine) December 19, 2019

The op-ed, written by the publications Editor-in-Chief Mark Galli, starts off by citing its mission to help evangelicals interpret the news through the lens of their faith. The CT editor noted that while they typically steer clear of inserting their own opinions on political matters, in the case of this impeachment, they found it necessary. “We take pride in the fact, for instance, that politics does not dominate our homepage. That said, we do feel it necessary from time to time to make our own opinions on political matters clear—always, as Graham encouraged us, doing so with both conviction and love.

“We love and pray for our president, as we love and pray for leaders (as well as ordinary citizens) on both sides of the political aisle,” Galli wrote before highlighting the partisan nature of the impeachment process against Donald Trump.

“Let’s grant this to the president: The Democrats have had it out for him from day…

Donald Trump became the third president in U.S. history to be impeached Wednesday when the House of Representatives passed two articles along party lines, although his removal from office in the Senate is highly unlikely.

One article, on abuse of power, alleges he solicited the interference of a foreign government, Ukraine, in the 2020 presidential election. The second article, on obstruction of Congress, says Trump directed the “unprecedented, categorical, and indiscriminate” defiance of subpoenas issued by the House.

Trump joins Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton as the only presidents to be impeached. But like his predecessors, he likely won’t be removed from office during a trial in the Senate, which is controlled by Republicans. 

The U.S. Constitution requires a two-thirds vote in the Senate – 67 votes in the current body – to remove a president. Republicans have 53 seats. 

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Thursday criticized House Democrats for opposing Trump before he even took office. 

“[Impeachment] was the predetermined end of a partisan crusade that began before President Trump was even nominated, let alone sworn in,” McConnell said on the Senate floor. “For the first time in modern history, we’ve seen a political faction in Congress promise from the moment … a president election ended, they would find some way to overturn it.”

Senate Minority Leader…

A 23-year-old man in California has been charged with several felonies—including first degree murder— after he allegedly forced his pregnant ex-girlfriend to take pills at gunpoint that caused a miscarriage, according to the Christian Post.

A family member of the woman reported to police earlier this week that the man, Jagmeet Sandhu, broke into the woman’s apartment after she ended their 10-month relationship over her refusal to get an abortion. The man then forced her to swallow 11 unknown white pills while holding a gun to her head over the course of three hours. The woman became very ill and went to a hospital, where she was told she had miscarried.

“Officers conducted additional follow-up and were able to locate items during several search warrants that linked Mr. Sandhu to this crime further,” said the Public Information Officer for Bakersfield Police Department, Nathan McCauley.

In addition to murder, Sandhu faces five other felony charges, including first-degree burglary, assault with a firearm, and inflicting injury on a spouse or cohabitant, according to NBC News. Bakersfield also reported that he faces another charge of threatening with intent to terrorize. He has plead not guilty in court while being held on a $1 million bail.

The Alliance Against Family Violence said that situations of this type are common for many women.

“Unfortunately, women are…

A 73-year-old man who knows the painful chill of a Christmas without heat has paid off 36 families’ overdue utility bills.

Mike Esmond, a resident of Pensacola, Florida, remembers a Christmas 36 years ago when he and his three daughters celebrated the holiday without heat and power, according to the Pensacola News Journal. “That year, we didn’t have any heat and it was the coldest recorded temperature [in December] Pensacola has ever had,” Esmond said. “We had icicles hanging off our windows.” Temperatures dipped to a chilling 9 degrees in the tropical state.

But he found success later in life with his pool company, Gulf Breeze Pools and Spa. This year, when he saw that his utility bill would be due on Dec. 26, he was transported back to that cold day and decided to help other residents facing a similar situation. He asked the city of Gulf Breeze for a list of all the households with utility accounts that were past due and at risk of having their power and heat turned off. The city produced a list of 36 families, totaling approximately $4,600 in overdue bills.

“I wanted to do something that I felt would really help people at Christmas time who are trying to decide between paying bills and maybe having something cut off, or buying presents for their family,” he said.

The city wanted to reward the man’s act of kindness and sent out Christmas cards to the lucky 36…