“The Patriot Post (www.patriotpost.us/subscribe/ )”
Humor: Hillary Clinton
1 Reply
Daily Archives: April 27, 2015
April 27, 2015 Truth2Freedom Daily News/Commentary Collection
Christ is much more powerful to save, than Adam was to destroy. —John Calvin
Apr. 27, 2015
BLOOMBERG
The U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments on Tuesday in a historic clash that may legalize gay marriage nationwide.
In a closed-door meeting with Jewish donors on Saturday night, former President George W. Bush delivered his harshest public criticisms to date against his successor on foreign policy, saying that President Barack Obama is being naïve about Iran and the pending nuclear deal and losing the war against the Islamic State.
A majority of American voters say businesses should not be allowed to refuse services to gays and lesbians, even on the basis of religious beliefs, according to a Quinnipiac University poll.
Austerity programs enacted after the 2008 global financial crisis, featuring deep cuts in public spending, hurt women more than men and helped to reinforce rising income inequality, the UN said.
F-35 engines from United Technologies Corp. are proving so unreliable that U.S. plans to increase production of the fighter jet may be slowed, according to congressional auditors.
Amazon.com Inc. wants a chance to prove that a drone delivery service would be safer than the U.S. government thinks.
Deutsche Bank AG’s plan to cut costs by selling Postbank and shrinking the securities business is leaving investors cold as the overhaul pushes back targets that management has failed to deliver.
The Bank of Israel left its interest rate unchanged after cutting the benchmark to a record two months ago, amid expectations prices will start rising again.
U.S. car thefts with keys left inside jumped 14 percent from 2012 to 2014, reaching 44,828 last year, according to a study issued Monday by the National Insurance Crime Bureau. The actual number is probably higher because some people don’t admit their carelessness to police or their insurer.
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. has eliminated genetically modified organisms from all its ingredients, an unprecedented move for a national U.S. restaurant chain that may give it a marketing edge over fast-food rivals.
AP Top Stories
Shelter, fuel, food, medicine, power, news, workers – Nepal’s earthquake-hit capital was short on everything Monday as its people searched for lost loved ones, sorted through rubble for their belongings and struggled to provide for their families’ needs. The death toll soared past 3,700, even without a full accounting from vulnerable mountain villages that rescue workers were still struggling to reach two days after the disaster.
A week of heavy fighting between security forces and the Islamic State jihadist group in the Ramadi area of Anbar province killed 30 police, a top officer said.
New earthquake hazard maps signal a watershed moment: They show that fracking’s byproducts are clearly to blame for swarms of earthquakes plaguing several states.
Hundreds of farm workers exposed to a highly pathogenic strain of bird flu have been offered antiviral medication as a preventative measure in recent days, U.S. public health officials said.
Reclamation work in the disputed South China Sea, where China has constructed an airstrip and other structures on coral reefs, threatens to “undermine peace, security and stability” in the region, Southeast Asian leaders warned Monday.
Boko Haram gunmen massacred residents who tried to jump into Lake Chad seeking safety and burnt others alive after overpowering soldiers in a weekend attack in the restive region.
Kazakhstan’s long-serving President Nursultan Nazarbayev apologized on Monday for winning re-election with 97.7 percent of the vote, saying it would have “looked undemocratic” for him to intervene to make his victory more modest.
BBC
People living in the vicinity of the Calbuco volcano in Chile are trying to save their homes and their livestock after tons of ash rained down following two volcanic eruptions. The roofs of a number of homes and businesses collapsed under the weight of the ash and residents feared for their sheep and cows.
Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir has been re-elected with 94% of the vote.
France and Australia have condemned the death penalty as executions for three of their nationals loom in Indonesia. Earlier, Australia called on Indonesia to delay executing two convicted Australian drug traffickers until corruption claims were investigated.
EU leaders are in talks with Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko covering trade and peace efforts, as heavy shelling intensifies in the east.
An Israeli air strike has killed four militants armed with a bomb along the Israeli-Syrian frontier in the Golan Heights, the Israeli military has said.
Islamist rebels in Syria have taken over the key north-western town of Jisr al-Shughur.
Islamic State appears to have released a promotional video for its own health service featuring NHS-style branding and an Australian doctor. The video has not been verified but was being circulated by IS-affiliated social media accounts and bears all the hallmarks of previous IS productions.
WND
Montana’s governor has signed into law a bill that “would heavily diminish the effect of federal programs that militarize local police.” The bill, HB330, bans state or local law enforcement from receiving military equipment from the Pentagon’s “1033 Program.”
More than one-third of babies are tapping on smartphones and tablets before they learn to walk or talk, and by one year of age, one in seven toddlers is using devices for at least an hour a day, according to a study.
Top News – 4/27/2015
PLO’s Executive Committee meeting on Wednesday to redefine relations with Israel
The PLO’s Central Council is due to meet Wednesday to redefine its relationship and its economic and security cooperation with Israel, the Palestinian chief negotiator said Sunday.
Senior Turkish judge: New constitution for Turkey ‘an inevitable necessity’
Turkey needs a new constitution and all parties involved in drawing it up need to reconsider their demands and reach consensus, the newly-elected president of the constitutional court said on Monday.
Bush Bashes Obama: Naive on Iran, Losing to ISIS
In meeting with Jewish supporters, former president slams Obama for global ‘retreat,’ not knowing how to ‘kill ’em’ in war on terror. Former US President George W. Bush leveled rare words of sharp public criticism against his successor, … Barack Obama. “In order to be an effective president…when you say something you have to mean it,” Bush said. “You gotta kill ’em.”
If Greece falls, no one wants their prints on the murder weapon
“We’re going bust.” “No, you’re not.” “You’re strangling us.” “No we’re not.” “You owe us for World War Two.” “We gave already.” The game of chicken between Greece and its international creditors is turning into a vicious blame game as Athens lurches closer to bankruptcy with no cash-for-reform agreement in sight. Europe’s political leaders and central bankers and Greek politicians agree on only one thing: if Greece goes down, they don’t want their fingerprints on the murder weapon.
Desperate Nepalis flee capital as aftershocks spread fear
Thousands of Nepalis began fleeing the capital Kathmandu on Monday, terror-stricken by two days of powerful aftershocks and looming shortages of food and water after an earthquake that killed more than 3,700 people.
VOLCANIC PLUME, COLORFUL SUNSETS
European MetOp satellites have been monitoring aerosols blasted into the atmosphere by Chile’s Calbuco volcano on April 22nd. This 5-day movie shows a plume of sulfur dioxide spreading east from Chile to Brazil:
Set to begin, U.S. plan for Syrian rebels already mired in doubt
Hundreds of Syrian rebels are approaching the start of U.S. training to battle Islamic State, without knowing whether or how Washington would come to their aid…the proxy army could spark opposition infighting. The U.S. plan to train and arm a force that is expected to eventually total more than 15,000 troops…is a major test of President Barack Obama’s strategy of engaging local partners to combat extremists.
Chile’s Calbuco volcano covers town of Ensenada in ash
People living in the vicinity of the Calbuco volcano in Chile are trying to save their homes and their livestock after tonnes of ash rained down following two volcanic eruptions. The roofs of a number of homes and businesses collapsed under the weight of the ash and residents feared for their sheep and cows. Soldiers have been deployed to help with the clean-up.
America’s place in a multi-polar world
At a global conference a few years ago, former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers revealed that Americans would really prefer to be the G1. Not the G7 grouping of the biggest economies, or even the G3, but the G1 – where America would be the sole decision-maker. It may not be too surprising since the US has been the sole economic superpower for most of the post-war period.
Major US military law experts: IDF ‘contentious’ targeting complies with int’l law
Two leading US experts on the law of armed conflict have concluded that IDF targeting complies with international law even where it was “contentious” and that IDF positions “on targeting largely track those of the US military.” …the…conclusion of the report is to support the IDF’s approach almost across-the-board in the principles it brought to targeting during the war – principles at the core of the public debate over alleged war crimes.
Fighting escalates across Yemen, air strikes on capital Sanaa
Air raids, naval shelling and ground fighting shook Yemen on Sunday in some of the most widespread combat since a Saudi-led alliance intervened last month against Iranian-allied Houthi militia who have seized large tracts of the country.
Israel arrests Palestinian over Jerusalem car attack
Israeli police announced Sunday they had arrested a Palestinian suspected of deliberately ramming his car into three police officers in east Jerusalem following a day of clashes and deadly violence.
Israeli Airstrike Kills 4 Suspected Syrians Militants in Golan Heights
Israeli forces on Sunday killed four suspected militants whom it says were caught trying to plant a bomb in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Israeli military officials say they launched an airstrike on the militants near the town of Majdal Shams, close to the Israeli-Syrian border.
Capital Controls Arrive: Greece Begins Confiscating Deposits Of “Small Debtors”
If the “temporary” local government reserve sweep constitutes what we have branded “soft” capital controls, we now have the first evidence that the “hard” variety may have arrived because as Kathimerini reports, Greek debtors are having their deposits seized in lieu of payment.
Israel president marks Armenian massacre for first time
President Reuven Rivlin met Armenian community leaders Sunday on the centenary of the massacre of 1.5 million Armenians, the first time an Israeli head of state has marked the killings.
Top Headlines – 4/27/2015
IAF kills 4 terrorists who crossed into Israel from Syria and planted bombs
Report: Israeli strike in Syria was aimed at thwarting attack on strategic targets in Golan
Official: Palestinian operatives helped free Syria hostages
Ya’alon: Iran is currently seeking to smuggle advanced arms to Hezbollah
Israel to observe first UN nuclear meeting in 20 years in bid to foster Arab ties
Palestinian official skeptical about peace with next Israeli government
PLO’s Executive Committee meeting on Wednesday to redefine relations with Israel
Anti-Semitism rising again, Jewish leader warns 70 years after death camp’s liberation
Europe recalls the horror 70 years after Nazi camps liberated
European Jewish Congress gives Kiev Jews $100,000 for security
German police remove Israeli flag from soccer game ‘for fear of Palestinian violence’
At correspondents’ dinner, Obama jokes over Israel tensions
Human Rights Watch: Egypt’s trial of Morsi ‘badly flawed’
Turkey scrambles two F-16 jets on Syrian border
Islamic State suicide bombers kill Iraqi soldiers at Jordanian border
Car bombs, suicide attack kill at least 22 in Iraq
US Secretary of State Kerry to meet with Iran foreign minister on Monday
Saudi-led air strikes hit Yemeni capital, ships shell Aden-residents
Yemen militia make gains against Houthis in central city
Former U.N. envoy says Yemen political deal was close before Saudi airstrikes began
Malaysia foils attacks in capital by suspected militants
Three suspects held in French investigation into failed church attack
Russian Jews face ‘grave dangers’ if Putin is ousted, warns senior rabbi
Putin Vows to Keep Hold of Crimea in Documentary
Russia ponders raising retirement age in budget crunch
More central banks meet, but ability to pilot economies in doubt
George W. Bush, saying voters do not like dynasties, plans to stay off campaign trail
Maryland Dem: Baltimore rioters ‘mainly from out of town’
US unveils 6-year-old report on NSA surveillance
McCain renews push to have military, not CIA, manage drone strikes
5.4 magnitude earthquake hits near Santiago de Cao, Peru
5.3 magnitude earthquake hits near Nagarkot, Nepal
Tremors, aftershocks, strike India and Nepal sparking fears of further deterioration
Nepal Terrorized by Aftershocks, Hampering Relief Efforts
Nepal Earthquake Poses Challenge to International Aid Agencies
Relief efforts to find survivors intensify amid powerful aftershocks
Chile begins volcano clean-up under eruption threat
Colima volcano in Mexico erupts to 24,000ft
Sakurajima volcano in Japan erupts to 15,000ft
Officials Say Heavy Rains Kill 37 in Northwest Pakistan
Chipotle to Stop Serving Genetically Altered Food
Three New Avian Flu Viruses Leave American Scientists Scrambling For Answers
Measles vaccination mix-up leaves 15 infants dead in northern Syria
Scientists urge moratorium after Chinese ‘edit’ human embryos
France’s gay ambassador-nominee poses special challenges for ‘Who am I to judge’ Pope Francis
Will Bruce Jenner’s coming out make Americans more accepting of transgender people?
Marco Rubio To Brody File: There Is No Constitutional Right To Gay Marriage
Q&A: What’s at stake in Tuesday’s Supreme Court gay marriage arguments
The ‘NAR’-tional Day of Prayer?
Bill Ayers to Students: America’s ‘Game Is Over’ and ‘Another World’ Is Coming
Dear Churches in America: Prepare to Be Treated Like 1st Century Christians in Rome
Hillary: Religious Beliefs Must Be Changed For Abortion Rights
Jeb Bush thinks NSA spying is the ‘best part of the Obama administration’
Baptist Pastors Won’t Hear Ben Carson after Young Pastors Object
Sex club seeks Nashville blessing by vowing to be a church
N. Ireland officially recognizes pagan religion, Order of the Golden River
Just within the past few days, one of the most dangerous volcanoes in Chile erupted for the first time in 42 years and the nation of Nepal was hit by the worst earthquake that it has seen in 80 years. Even though the crust of the Earth seems to be shaking more violently than ever, most of the experts continue to assure us that what we are witnessing is “normal” behavior. But the cold, hard numbers tell a very different story. As I pointed out in a previous article, the number of volcanic eruptions that are happening right now is greater than the 20th century’s average for an entire year. Our planet appears to be getting more unstable, and that is not good news for any of us. In fact, it was recently reported that 150 million Americans live in areas that are prone to earthquakes. No matter how advanced our technology becomes, the truth is that we are still very much at the mercy of the forces of nature, and what just happened in Chile and in Nepal are clear reminders of this reality. (Read More…)
Daily Digest
April 27, 2015
THE FOUNDATION
“No people will tamely surrender their liberties, nor can any be easily subdued, when knowledge is diffused and virtue is preserved. On the contrary, when people are universally ignorant, and debauched in their manners, they will sink under their own weight without the aid of foreign invaders.” —Samuel Adams, letter to James Warren, 1775
TOP RIGHT HOOKS
Obama Joked at Nerd Prom While Baltimore Rioted
Once again, Hollywood celebrities and DC politicians gathered in Washington Saturday for the White House Correspondents’ Dinner — AKA nerd prom. It’s an opportunity for Nancy Pelosi to rub shoulders with the likes of Jane Fonda and for Barack Obama to further his agenda and take down political opponents by dishing out punch lines. This year, the dinner only showed how out of touch the two institutions are with the rest of the nation, because while attendees were slurping down Foraged Wild Mushroom Ragout and Seared Alaskan Halibut protests became violent in Baltimore over the death of Freddie Gray, who died because of injuries he received while in police custody.
While the baseball game at Baltimore’s Camden Yards went into lockdown because of protests outside, three big television networks — CNN, MSNBC and CSPAN — kept their cameras trained on the White House Correspondents’ Dinner because Obama was going to start his jokes soon. Never mind that the latest chapter in the debate over modern day policing was being punctuated by vandalized police cars and smashed storefronts an hour away.
Obama was once again selling the tired issue of “climate change,” trying to make it matter to everyday Americans. “I am determined to make the most of every moment I have left,” Obama said. “After the midterm elections, my advisors asked me, ‘Mr. President, do you have a bucket list?’ And I said, ‘Well, I have something that rhymes with bucket list.’ Take executive action on immigration? Bucket. New climate regulations? Bucket. It’s the right thing to do.” But as executive editor of the Washington Free Beacon Sonny Bunch pointed out in a piece titled “This Is Why They Hate Us,” no one except those inside the Beltway cares about nerd prom.
Clinton Foundation Refiles Taxes as Media Grows Suspicious
On Sunday, the Clinton Foundation admitted it did not properly disclose which foreign governments donated to the organization while Hillary Clinton served as secretary of state. As a result, it is refiling taxes because of the “mistakes.” Acting CEO of the nonprofit Maura Pally issued a statement, saying, “So yes, we made mistakes, as many organizations of our size do, but we are acting quickly to remedy them, and have taken steps to ensure they don’t happen in the future.” This comes as liberal media organizations become increasingly suspicious of Clinton because of reports she favored foreign bureaucrats and oligarchs who donated to the Clinton Foundation during her time as madam secretary. This admission of fault from the Clinton Foundation is a way of damage control. If they own up to it and appear to fix the problem, then maybe they can move past the nasty headlines. But as the talking heads at The New York Times editorial board, ABC’s “World News Tonight,” MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” and CNN all said last week: These allegations are not about to go away. More…
Study Finds Significant Economic Effects of Immigration Surge
A new study from the Congressional Research Service discovered an interesting interrelation between depressed middle class incomes and increased immigration. The Washington Examiner reports that in 1945 the foreign-born population of the United States stood at 10,971,146, but by 1970 it slid to 9,740,000 for a net loss of 1,231,146 foreigners. At the same time, says the CRS, “The reported income of the bottom 90% of tax filers in the United States increased from an average of $18,418 in 1945 to $33,621 in 1970 for an aggregate change of $15,202 or a percent increase of 82.5% over this 25 year period.” In contrast, from 1970 to 2013, the foreign-born population blossomed from 9,740,000 to 41,348,066, a 324.5% increase. However, “The reported income of the bottom 90% of tax filers in the United States decreased from an average of $33,621 in 1970 to $30,980 in 2013 for an aggregate decline of $2,641 or a percent decline of 7.9% over this 43 year period.” There’s no question high-skilled emigrants who go through the system legally contribute positive economic effects. The issue is that our basically open borders has allowed the population of unskilled illegal immigrants to swell, which undoubtedly strangles the overall economy. Border security must be Congress’ top priority to fix the overarching issues affecting America’s middle class.
 |
FEATURED RIGHT ANALYSIS
The Wisconsin Left Tried to Criminalize Free Speech
By Arnold Ahlert
 |
Anyone still wondering how low the American Left will sink in pursuit of its agenda should turn their gaze toward Wisconsin. In a blatant attempt at political intimidation masquerading itself as legitimate investigation, police conducted a series of early morning raids at the homes of several Wisconsin conservatives. Dozens of armed officers showed up for pre-dawn raids with battering rams, swarming into houses and threatening the people inside with arrest if they didn’t cooperate, even as they seized personal property. And on the way out, the invaders gave every person they encountered the same warning: Don’t call your lawyer, and don’t tell anyone about what happened, because a gag order is in place.
How is it that people can be forced to remain silent even as police conducted large, noisy raids more suitable to taking down a drug kingpin right in front of their neighbors? Because law enforcement officials in Wisconsin are allowed to conduct John Doe investigations, defined as “an independent, investigatory tool to ascertain whether a crime has been committed and if so, by whom.” And unlike other investigations that require probable cause to pursue, John Doe investigations are conducted to establish the existence of probable cause itself.
Under the rubric of looking for campaign-finance violations, the investigations were initiated by Milwaukee district attorney John Chisholm, a partisan Democrat — whose wife is a teachers’ union shop steward — and a man determined to find anything that could undermine the political career of rising Republican star Gov. Scott Walker. Walker has thwarted Wisconsin leftists at every turn, winning three elections, including a recall effort, in just four years.
Chisholm’s undertook his first John Doe investigation in 2010, when Walker was Milwaukee County Executive. After three years, it netted all of six individuals who pled guilty to crimes ranging from stealing money from a veterans’ fund, and sending political emails on government time, to violation of state campaign finance laws and contributing to the delinquency of a child. Walker himself? Never even charged.
Undaunted, Chisholm launched a second John Doe investigation shortly after Democrats failed to remove Walker in the recall election in 2012, an act of naked revenge precipitated by the passage of Walker’s “budget repair bill” known as Act 10. Act 10 limited the collective bargaining power of unions — including the teachers union to which Chisholm’s wife belonged. The machination surrounding the passage of Act 10 included Democratic state legislators fleeing the state to prevent a vote on the issue, an effort to affect a liberal majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court for the purpose of overturning the law after it was passed, and the recall election.
The second probe, led by special prosecutor Francis Schmitz, targeted Walker and 29 conservative groups. Dozens of subpoenas were issued demanding documents related to the 2011 and 2012, campaign, all based on the theory that these groups had illegally coordinated their activities during recall campaigns of Walker and other Republican legislators targeted for supporting Act 10. National Review’s Rich Lowry aptly described what really occurred. “Walker’s opponents weaponized campaign-finance law, literally,” he explains.
One of those groups, Wisconsin Club for Growth (WCFG), and its founder Eric O’Keefe filed suit. In 2014, U.S. District Judge Rudolph Randa granted a preliminary injunction halting the investigation, and hammered prosecutors “for exercising issue advocacy speech rights that on their face are not subject to the regulations or statutes the defendants seek to enforce.” The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed the case on appeal, but not because they disagreed with Randa’s interpretation, but because the Anti-Injunction Act prohibited federal courts from intervening in a state criminal investigation based on the cited principles of “equity, comity, and federalism.” Circuit Judge Frank Easterbrook characterized the ruling as victory for states’ rights.
Nonetheless it remain clear O’Keefe’s rights were violated and Section 1983 of the U.S. Code allows citizens to be granted relief under federal law if their rights have been violated by state officials. Last Friday, the Supreme Court began deliberations to determine if O’Keefe v. Chisholm will be heard by the highest court in the land. The Wall Street Journal insists such a hearing is critically necessary because the theory of coordination, allowing “vast investigations to be instigated on the thinnest evidence” it is part of yet another leftist effort to undermine the Court’s 2010 Citizens United ruling that lifted unconstitutional restrictions on spending by corporations and labor unions. That would be the very same Citizen’s United decision that former IRS hack Lois Lerner was bemoaning at Duke’s Sanford School of Public Policy on Oct. 19, 2010 when she stated that the “Federal Election Commission can’t do anything about it; they want the IRS to fix the problem.”
The IRS decided to “fix” the problem by denying or delaying conservative groups’ tax-exempt status, and attempting to coordinate with the Eric Holder-led Justice Department to tamp down revelations regarding that scandal. Wisconsin Democrats chose to fix it by conducting two separate witch-hunts replete with dawn raids and gag orders. In a better world, lots of people would be getting disbarred and/or going to jail. In this one, the American Left will continue its attempt to criminalize speech with which they disagree — by any means necessary — until they are stopped.
Stopped from doing what? Try this, courtesy of National Review’s David French:
“As I finished an interview with one victim still living in fear, still shattered by the experience of nearly losing everything simply because she supported the wrong candidate at the wrong time, I asked whether she had any final thoughts. ‘Just one,’ she replied. ‘I’m hoping for accountability, that someone will be held responsible so that they’ll never do this again.’ She paused for a moment and then, with voice trembling, said: ‘No one should ever endure what my family endured.’”
Here’s hoping the Supreme Court agrees — in no uncertain terms.
TODAY AT PATRIOTPOST.US
- Perkins: SCOTUS ‘Is Not Going to Settle’ Same-Sex Marriage Debate
- Protests Over Death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore Turn Violent
- U.S. and Russia Point Fingers as Ukraine War Escalates
- It’s Time for Congress to Readdress the VA
BEST OF RIGHT OPINION
- Stephen Moore: How the Sierra Club’s Lexus Liberals’ Agenda Hurts Poor Americans
- Stephen Moore: Media, Environmentalists Were Wrong: How the Gulf Coast Roared Back After Oil Spill
- Tony Perkins: Sue Chef: Court Fines Bakers $135,000
- Larry Kudlow: Snarking Hillary Is Not the Way to the White House
- Jeff Jacoby: Death or Life for Tsarnaev?
OPINION IN BRIEF
Stephen Moore: “[B]illionaire Tom Steyer convened the uber-rich liberal donor base at the Four Seasons Hotel in Seattle — nice — to pontificate about how much they care about polar bears, the Arctic ice caps and rising sea levels. … A Gallup poll found in March 2015 that only 2 percent of Americans perceive the ‘environment/pollution’ as the nation’s ‘most important problem.’ And a Bloomberg poll last year specifically listing climate as a candidate for ‘most important issue’ found only 5 percent of Americans concurring. Polls also show the richer Democrats are, the more they care about climate change. Maybe that’s because green policies hurt the poor and working class — starting most obviously with opposition to modern drilling techniques such as fracking, and with blocking infrastructure projects that would create tens of thousands of high-paying union jobs. … No one on the left, least of all the donors who are funding the climate change scare campaign, seem to care about how the poor will cope with slow growth and higher costs. The Sierra Club’s Lexus liberals can afford a future with less growth, fewer jobs and higher costs for everything. The middle class can’t. Democrats have abandoned the financial interests of these Americans. Republicans really are the stupid party if they can’t win these disenchanted voters.”
SHORT CUTS
Insight: “There can be no security anywhere in the free world if there is no fiscal and economic stability within the United States.” —The Gipper
Non Compos Mentis: “It’s a very delicate balancing act. Because while we try to make sure that [the Baltimore protesters] were protected from the cars and other things that were going on, we also gave those who wished to destroy space to do that as well.” —Baltimore mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake (Regardless of whether her intent was to defend rioting, it will be interesting to see the mayor defend this regrettable remark on the campaign trail.)
Demo-gogues: “I’ve gotta give it to the citizens of Baltimore. I was there all day. It was very peaceful, all day, thousands of people. And then at the end there were a few people who said, ‘We’re gonna turn this city down [sic], we’re gonna close it down,’ and the next thing you know we had a few people mainly from out of town … start beating up on police cars and throwing all kinds of projectiles. But the fact is that, for the most part, it could have been worse. But again, this whole police-community relations situation … is the civil rights cause for this generation.” —Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD)
Race bait: “With an institution like American policing, that I believe is founded on anti-blackness, on slave patrols, there are things that are so institutionally ingrained in terms of how we police communities, that are anti-black. They may not say specifically in the language, in the words, that they’ll stop and target black people, but when you do this type of proactive policing … these disproportionately [affect] black and brown and poor communities. So, these things are not only racist, they are also classist.” —community organizer Cherrell Brown (Start with giving police a reason not to disproportionately patrol black communities that have disproportionate levels of crime.)
Village Idiots: “What the Clinton Foundation has said is that we will be even more transparent, even though Transparency International and others have said we’re among the most transparent of foundations. I very much believe that that is the right policy. That we’ll be even more transparent. That to eliminate any questions while we’re in this time, we won’t take new government funding, but that the work will continue as it is.” —Chelsea Clinton
Late-night humor: “It’s being reported that Google spent over $5 million on lobbying just during the first quarter of this year. You’d think Google wouldn’t really need to lobby politicians. All they have to say is, ‘We have your search history. Do what we tell you.'” —Jimmy Fallon
Semper Vigilans Fortis Paratus et Fidelis!
Managing Editor Nate Jackson
Join us in daily prayer for our Patriots in uniform — Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen — standing in harm’s way in defense of Liberty, and for their families.
“The Patriot Post (http://patriotpost.us/subscribe/ )”
|
Nepal Earthquake Death Toll Rises above 4,000 Posted: 27 Apr 2015 08:19 AM PDT
The post Nepal Earthquake Death Toll Rises above 4,000 appeared first on End Time Headlines. |
| Aadhaar world’s largest biometric ID system
Posted: 27 Apr 2015 08:13 AM PDT
The post Aadhaar world’s largest biometric ID system appeared first on End Time Headlines. |
| Mysterious ‘god’ cloud and lightning appear over Chilean volcano
Posted: 27 Apr 2015 08:07 AM PDT
The post Mysterious ‘god’ cloud and lightning appear over Chilean volcano appeared first on End Time Headlines. |
| America’s new LGBT envoy
Posted: 27 Apr 2015 08:00 AM PDT
The post America’s new LGBT envoy appeared first on End Time Headlines. |
| Top U.S. court appears on cusp of declaring right to gay marriage
Posted: 27 Apr 2015 07:54 AM PDT
The post Top U.S. court appears on cusp of declaring right to gay marriage appeared first on End Time Headlines. |
| US National Guard’s drills in public aimed at dealing with Domestic “Dissidents”
Posted: 27 Apr 2015 07:39 AM PDT
RT: The police in the US are accused more than ever now of militarization. A video has appeared online showing armed national guardsmen conducting exercises near a children’s playground in Virginia. We contacted the infantry brigade – here’s what they told us: coordination was made with the Staunton Police Department, these are freshers who are training on basic military subjects like drill and ceremonies, basic first aid, military courtesies and the guns they carry are replicas. What is wrong with it? Paul Joseph Watson: What is wrong with that is the fact that they are doing it not on base but in public. And we have to put this in the context of a spate of videoswhich have emerged in the recent weeks with not only National Guard but US Army troops in some cases working with police conducting these public drills which in some cases, not in this case but others, are based around crowd control and civil unrest. And the line they always give us that it’s designed for overseas combat, foreign operations. But if you then read the US Army’s actual manuals that they release, it’s clear that it’s for dual purpose, it’s for “dissidents” on US soil. So the media regurgitate this claim that all these drills are just foreign operations. Yet they are doing it in public, in plain sight, while privately in their own field manuals admitting that it’s to take on “dissidents within the continental US.” That’s why people are concerned about it and a lot of our audience is National Guard or former or current US military. They are concerned about these public drills. They didn’t enlist to police the US people which is a lot of this seems to be geared towards. MORE The post US National Guard’s drills in public aimed at dealing with Domestic “Dissidents” appeared first on End Time Headlines. |
| New Video Shows Tennessee Cops & National Guard in Riot Control Exercise
Posted: 27 Apr 2015 07:33 AM PDT
The post New Video Shows Tennessee Cops & National Guard in Riot Control Exercise appeared first on End Time Headlines. |
| Freak hailstorm pounds the southeast, causes widespread damage to homes and disables SES headquarters
Posted: 27 Apr 2015 07:05 AM PDT
The post Freak hailstorm pounds the southeast, causes widespread damage to homes and disables SES headquarters appeared first on End Time Headlines. |
| 3 Ways to Stoke the Fire of Personal Revival
Posted: 27 Apr 2015 07:00 AM PDT
The post 3 Ways to Stoke the Fire of Personal Revival appeared first on End Time Headlines. |
| America Is Ignoring God’s Clear Warning Signs
Posted: 27 Apr 2015 06:56 AM PDT
The post America Is Ignoring God’s Clear Warning Signs appeared first on End Time Headlines. |
Obama Says No To Israel’s ‘Right To Exist’ Clause In Iran Nuclear Deal Framework
A State Department official dismissed a plea Friday from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the Iran nuclear agreement include clear recognition of his nation’s “right to exist,” declaring negotiations are “only about the nuclear issue.”
State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf, in a terse response to a question about Netanyahu’s concerns, told reporters, “This is an agreement that is only about the nuclear issue” — a comment that indicates the Obama administration is not looking to enshrine Israel’s security into a final agreement.
Harf, for her part, suggested the talks are complicated enough already. “This is an agreement that doesn’t deal with any other issues, nor should it,” she said.
Obama administration officials have insisted all along that despite their public disagreement with Netanyahu over the Iran deal framework, the U.S. commitment to Israel’s security is unwavering. Further, White House spokesman Eric Schultz told reporters on Air Force One on Friday that the U.S. would not agree to any deal that would threaten Israel.
The Israeli prime minister, though, made the call for the “right to exist” measure during brief remarks early Friday. He blasted the Iran framework deal and said his Cabinet is uniformly opposed to it. He closed his brief address by demanding that any final agreement include “a clear and unambiguous Iranian recognition of Israel’s right to exist.”
The statement was prompted by reported statements from a top Iranian military official, who was quoted saying “erasing Israel” off the map is “non-negotiable.”
To that, Netanyahu said: “The survival of Israel is non-negotiable.”
Israel’s objections promise to be a major hurdle for the Obama administration as its representatives huddle with those from Iran and five other world powers in pursuit of a final deal by a June 30 deadline. source
The post Obama Says No To Israel’s ‘Right To Exist’ Clause In Iran Nuclear Deal Framework appeared first on Now The End Begins.
The Briefing
1) In aftermath of Nepal quake moral evil mixed with natural evil
Fear of aftershocks has Nepal on edge, Washington Post (Rama Lakshmi and Annie Gowen)
2) Power of Chile volcano eruption reminder of power and wisdom of Creator
Flights canceled as ash cloud pours from Chile volcano, Reuters (Rosalbo O’Brien and Anthony Esposito)
3) Oral arguments before Supreme Court great moral event of our age
Long courtship leads to high court’s altar for gay marriage, USA Today (Richard Wolf)
4) Cincinnati’s shift on gay marriage civic example of evaporation of moral traditionalism
Gay Marriage Case Caps Cincinnati’s Shift From Conservative Past, New York Times (Sheryl Gay Stolberg)
In other news…
Wake held in Baltimore for black man who died after arrest, Reuters (Shannon Stapleton)
Calm Restored in Baltimore as the City Awaits the Funeral of Freddie Gray, TIME (Josh Sanburn)
Bali Nine bribe claims a global issue warns Julie Bishop, The Australian (Peter Alford and Jared Owens)
No Evidence of Clinton Foundation ‘Quid Pro Quo,’ Republican Governor Says, Bloomberg BusniessWeek (David Knowles)
I am pro-abortion, not just pro-choice: 10 reasons why we must support the procedure and the choice, Salon (Valerie Tarico)
Bruce Jenner, Embracing Transgender Identity, Says ‘It’s Just Who I Am’, New York Times (Alessandra Stanley)
Bare branches, redundant males, The Economist
America: On a Collision Course with God
Jan Markell and Eric Barger talk to White House correspondent Bill Koenig about America’s collision course with God. Koenig has been a White House journalist since 2001 and shares insights in the third in our series of our Washington watch. Koenig connects some more final days dots and concurs with Franklin Graham that there is an “antichrist movement” in Washington now. He offers insights listeners will not hear other places. We use the mobile app at http://www.oneplace.com.
Access Programming Here or Here
Silent No More: George W. Bush Bashes Obama on Middle East
In a closed-door meeting with Jewish Donors Saturday night, former President George W. Bush delivered his harshest public criticisms to date against his successor on foreign policy, saying that President Barack Obama is being naïve about Iran and the pending nuclear deal and losing the war against the Islamic State.
Kings Of The North And South Update
Commentary by Jack Kelley
Over the past five years or so I have written several times about the middle eastern kings of Daniel 11 known as the kings of the north and the south. In these studies I’ve shown how these two kings will become prominent again in the end times as the Shiites (king of the north) and the Sunnis (king of the south) vie for supremacy in the Islamic movement. Before getting a look at what’s currently happening in this coming clash, let’s have a quick review of their origins.
A Nation in Trouble
Instead of preaching the way of the Lord, some are preaching the way of political correctness. And instead of growing their church spiritually, they have led their flocks away from God and watched their churches decline.
Now America is reaping the results of this sinful demise in moral character, and the anemic commitments made to our Lord and Savior. We have built wealth without building people spiritually.
Jonathan Cahn Addresses United Nations About Christian ‘Holocaust’
And now as we meet in the city of the bystanders of that crime, another crime is taking place outside our closed windows. Seventy years after the bystanders of Nazi Germany walked through the death camps of the holocaust, another stream of victims are being led to their deaths.
Again it involves a satanic evil of hatred, violence, and sadistic cruelty. And again it involves an innocent people marked for destruction—the followers of Jesus, known throughout the world as “Christians,” those who are taught, when struck, to turn the other cheek, when cursed, to bless, and when persecuted, to forgive those who oppress them.
New Christian Zionists Seek Distance From ‘Wild, Crazy Popular Apocalypticism
Many popular Christian books about the end times were based upon some dispensational-type teachings. In the 1970’s, for instance, Hal Lindsey’s The Late, Great Planet Earth was a best selling book, which led to a cottage industry of end times books. There were also popular fictional works, such as Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins’ Left Behind series, which have been made into films. A recent example is Pastor John Hagee’s Four Blood Moons. Christianbook.com currently has a “Prophecy & End Times” section with 1,458 works.
This pop-apocalypticism was also on display recently when former congresswoman and presidential candidate Michele Bachmann said on a radio show that the end times were near and associated that prediction with President Barack Obama’s foreign policy.
Christian Headlines
5 Things You Need to Know about the Earthquake in Nepal
‘A.D.’ can’t match ‘The Bible’ in ratings
Baptist Pastors Won’t Hear Ben Carson after Young Pastors Object
Nepal seeks help, death toll seen rising after devastating quake – SRN News
Ancient Pottery Shards Analyzed by Israeli Scientists Seem to Support Biblical Narrative
Can a robot copy sacred scriptures?
On The Ground At The Nepalese Earthquake
Actor Found Himself Doing Things That Violated His Christian Faith. Then, He Made a Promise to God That Changed Everything.
Religious Persecution in China Dramatically Worsened in 2014, Group Says
Catastrophic 7.8 Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Nepal
How God is Redeeming the Armenian Atrocites
Going with Jesus into Our Fears
Christians Thrown Overboard by Obama
How Christianity invented children
I’m Kimmy Schmidt, Minus the ‘Unbreakable’
Our Time is Short
“My Last Day” — the Jesus Anime
9 powerful minutes of animation that begins with a thief behind bars watching the scourging of Jesus, and it ends with the thief dying next to Jesus, and waking to see Him in a beautiful place.
Ready to start your new life with God?
Who do you think that I am?
With that brief question Jesus Christ confronted His followers with the most important issue they would ever face. He had spent much time with them and made some bold claims about His identity and authority. Now the time had come for them either to believe or deny His teachings.
Who do you say Jesus is? Your response to Him will determine not only your values and lifestyle, but your eternal destiny as well.
Consider what the Bible says about Him: Read more
Look to Jesus
Have you ever felt a little lost and wished there was a quick-start guide to your relationship with God? This is it!
30 Day Next Steps
John Beckett, a leading Christian businessman, has written a series to read over 30 days for new believers.
New Believers Guide
The New Believer’s Guide is a series of articles designed to show you how to walk in the new life Christ has given you— a life of faith and freedom.
Jesus Booklet
Jesus is the Savior of the world. Discover who Jesus is today in this series.
About Christianity
Know Jesus Christ and your life will be transformed
Truth2Freedom Blog Disclaimer
This post was originally posted on:
https://truth4freedom.wordpress.com
(Alternative News, Apologetics, Current Events, Commentary, Opinion, Theology, Discernment Blog, Devotionals, Christian Internet Evangelism & Missions Activist)
This blog is an aggregator of news and information that we believe will provide articles that will keep people informed about current trends, current events, discussions and movements taking place within our church and culture.
A headline link on this blog post doesn’t necessarily mean that there is agreement or approval with all the views and opinions expressed within the headline linked article. Caution is also warranted with regards to the advertisements and links that are embedded within the headline linked article.
April 27, 2015 Truth2Freedom Daily Christian Blogroll Collection
Christ is much more powerful to save, than Adam was to destroy. —John Calvin
The Master of the World!
by Landon
1 Chronicles 29:10-12 “So David blessed the LORD in the sight of all the assembly; and David said: Blessed are You, O LORD God of Israel our father, forever and ever. Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth; Yours is the dominion, O LORD, and You exalt Yourself as head over all. Both riches and honor come from You, and You rule over all, and in Your hand is power and might; and it lies in Your hand to make great and to strengthen everyone!”
In these days of man-centered religion, verses like these have been ignored. The pulpits of our land preach a defeated God, a disappointed Christ and a defenseless Holy Spirit. Man has been deified, and God dethroned. Most preachers today hold to the theory that man is a free agent and the determiner of his own destiny. God has been relegated to the background.
The God most people believe in has benevolent intentions, yet He is unable to carry them out. He wants to bless men, but they will not let Him. The average churchgoer thinks Satan has gained the upper hand, and that God is to be pitied rather than worshiped. Modern preaching is so lopsided that when we mention God, people immediately think of a babe in a manger, or a dead man on a cross. Much Christian service is rendered to get God out of an embarrassing situation. The God of popular Christianity has a weak smile and a halo.
Complementarian Organizations and Where Women Belong
When we confuse parachurch organizations with the local church, we end up with a muddled mess. We can’t definitively answer a question of “where does a woman belong in a complementarian organization?” because applications about teaching and authority only make sense in context of a community that actually possesses authority. Some would say to simply “err on the safe side” and apply the dynamics of local church ministry to parachurch organizations. But doing this may actually minimize the significance of the local church the same way that calling a woman to submit to all men diminishes the significance of her submission to her own husband.
The New Reformation Study Bible is Out–and It Looks Great
It’s an honor to be a contributor because this new study Bible is packed with wonderful articles and essays from some of the top Reformed thinkers today. Included in this list is a number of professors from Reformed Theological Seminary (past and present): Guy Waters, Roger Nicole, John Currid, Sean Lucas, Mark Futato, Bruce Waltke, Richard Pratt, Willem VanGemeren, Knox Chamblin, Charles Hill, Dennis Ireland, Reggie Kidd, Simon Kistemaker, and Derek Thomas.
Martin Luther’s Definition of Faith
Because of it, you freely, willingly and joyfully do good to everyone, serve everyone, suffer all kinds of things, love and praise the God who has shown you such grace. Thus, it is just as impossible to separate faith and works as it is to separate heat and light from fire! Therefore, watch out for your own false ideas and guard against good-for-nothing gossips, who think they’re smart enough to define faith and works, but really are the greatest of fools.
The Ditches of Discipline
The Holy Spirit works in us to will and to do, but it seems his work of both motivating and enabling is deeply related to our earnest efforts to desire and do his will (Col 1:29). Instead of trying to find the starting point of the circle, let us simply remember that what Spirit-prompted flames of desire are present need to be fanned into flame by disciplined, dependent obedience.
The Sweet Direction of the Law
“In the first covenant, man was bound to do this in order that he might live (to deserve life); but in this [covenant of grace] he is bound to do the same (not [so] that he may live, but because he lives) to the possession of the life acquired by Christ and the testimony of a grateful mind (as the apostle in the same place exhorts believers to obedience).”
What Should the Church Say to Bruce Jenner?
The hope for Bruce Jenner, and for others like him, is not to alter the body with surgery or to flood their system with hormones. The answer is to realize that all of us are born alienated from what we were created to be. We don’t need to fix what happened in our first birth; we need a new birth altogether.
How Do You Know You’re Repentant?
Repenting people, typically, are zealous about casting off their sin. That’s what God’s Spirit does inside of them. When this happens, one can expect to see a willingness to accept outside counsel. A willingness to inconvenience their schedules. A willingness to confess embarrassing things. A willingness to make financial sacrifices or lose friends or end relationships.
A Love that Sharpens
To “love” someone, according to our society, is to affirm every decision they make and to applaud them just for being them. In fact, there is nothing more hateful, according to our corrupt culture, than to tell someone they’re wrong, and that they need to change in some considerable way in order to be pleasing to God. But this is precisely what love demands.
Gay Marriage, Part One – Church & Culture Blog
*Editor’s Note: As the Supreme Court prepares to hear arguments on same-sex marriage this week, the Church & Culture Team felt it timely to take a recent address by Dr. White on the matter and turn it into a four-blog series that will be issued Monday-Thursday of this week.
*****************
Today we talk about one of the biggest cultural issues of our day:
Gay marriage.
Some of you here today are gay. And you are anxiously awaiting what I’m going to say.
Well, first things first. Let me just say a few things to you.
Resources On Same-Sex Attraction
by Pastor J.D.
This weekend we looked at one of the toughest and most controversial questions of our day: what does the Bible teach about same-sex attraction? The video of that message will be up on our website soon, but in the meantime, I wanted to provide some resources to help supplement that message. I pray these help you think through how to share Jesus’ heart toward those in the LGBT community.
Here is a recent interview I had with Rosaria Butterfield, the (incredibly wise and scary smart) author of The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert:
Ben Witherington’s hard-hitting critique of Rachel Held Evans’ new book
by Denny Burk
New Testament scholar Ben Witherington has penned a fairly hard-hitting review of Rachel Held Evans’ new book Searching for Sunday., which landed on The New York Times
bestseller list last week. Witherington likes Evans personally and even affirms her as a “genuine Christian person.” He is generally sympathetic with some of her complaints about evangelicalism. Nevertheless, he comes down pretty hard on her affirmation sex outside of marriage. He writes:
I wish Rachel had continued her studies in a formal way and been better trained in Biblical interpretation and how to deal with difficult ethical and theological issues. I have seen what happens when Christian college kids come to seminary and realize in their first year of seminary that college has given them just enough reading and training to make them dangerous and half-baked when it comes to understanding the world, the flesh, and the Devil.
Rachel with her keen mind has overcome not only some of her context but some of her education, but it would have been so much better if she had continued that education, not merely by continuing to read, but by having good dialogue partners who are not just pastors, or peers. But alas, this apparently has not happened, and as result, she uses her blog and her books to promulgate her heartfelt convictions, even when, had she run them by some older and wiser professors of faith, she might have thought better of some of the things she has said and is saying. And of course, there are thousands out there in the blogosphere prepared to give the Amen to her pronouncements, thousands who resonate with and feel like her. That sort of affirmation is intoxicating, but it is not the approval of the one person who really needs to pass judgment on what we say— the Lord Jesus Christ.
That Jesus tells us plainly enough that there are only two options for Christians— chastity in singleness, and fidelity in marriage, with the latter clearly enough defined as the relationship between a man and woman (Mt. 19/Mk. 10), who alone have the possibility of sharing a one flesh union in Christ, because of course the image of God is male and female, not male and male, or female and female… There are two callings Jesus offers, and Paul affirms. Not three, four or ten…
… If we don’t believe the grace of God is greater than the power of our sinful inclinations, then we have given up on the power of the Gospel.
How the Prosperity Gospel Hurts Racial Reconciliation – Russell Moore: “You cannot reconcile people across carnal divisions with a gospel based on carnal promises.” So true.
Standing on the rock
Today we covered many news stories, including these headlines: Pastor: “I Love Planned Parenthood.” Calls Abortion Business a “Resurrection Ministry” Judge Seeks $135,000 Fine Against Christian Bakers for Declining to Make Cake for ‘Gay Wedding’ New Apostolic Reformation using Empowered21, Assemblies of God, to further agenda? Glenn Beck receives a “mantle” from a false prophet […]
Andy Stanley Removes Shame from Homosexual Sin
As a Christian man, I struggle with sin; “Struggle” being the key word. The apostle Paul spoke of the ongoing battle that is a part of every Christian’s life. We can draw comfort from his words, knowing that our experience is not unusual— that we are not failing as Christians because we are engaged in a fight.
I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. (Romans 7:21-23 NASB)
This struggle can sometimes wreak havoc in us mentally, spiritually, and even physically. As a help, we should “lean on” one another. As a man, I find it helpful to talk about my latest sins and temptations with other Christian men. In fact, the bible tells us we should do so in James 5:16, “Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.“
Seven Reasons Some Church Members Don’t Want Their Churches to Grow
It is highly unusual to hear church members say that they don’t desire their churches to be obedient to the Great Commission. Indeed, it is common for the members of a pastor search committee to tell a prospective pastor that they are looking for a leader who will guide the church toward growth.
And most church members do desire to see their churches grow . . . until the growth affects them. It is at that point they can become disillusioned and critical.
So what is it about growth that impacts some members negatively? Let me suggest seven reasons.
- Loss of familiarity. When a church is growing, it becomes a different church over time. The difference is not necessarily good or bad, but it’s not the same as it was in earlier years. Some church members grieve when they see their churches change. They miss “the good old days.”
- Loss of memories. I recently heard a poignant story from a lady whose church was demolishing the old worship center to build a new one to accommodate growth. She and her husband were married in the old worship center. She understandably grieved at the loss of that physical reminder of their wedding.
- Loss of comfort. Growth can mean that the closest parking spots are no longer available. Growth can mean that the traffic flow in the parking lot is more difficult. Church members can feel that their creature comforts are compromised by growth.
- Loss of power. New people in a church can mean that power bases are diluted. The growth can result in new influencers in the church. Some of the longer-tenured influencers may not like that.
- Loss of perceived intimacy. It’s a common response: “I used to know everyone in this church. I just don’t feel as close to members as I once did.” Indeed, growth can mean that all the members may not know each other as they did when the church was smaller.
- Loss of worship style. New members and attendees might have different worship style preferences. They often influence church leaders to make changes. Existing members may resent these changes. They might also start worship wars.
- Loss of worship time. Growth in the church may necessitate adding worship services or changing times of worship services. Some members may be frustrated that they have lost “their” worship time.
Obedience to the Great Commission often results in growth in the church. But growth in the church is not always received well by some members. Some of these members have an attitude that the church is there to serve them and to cater to their needs. Healthy church members understand they are to be giving and sacrificial members of the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12). They will rejoice when more members join the fellowship, and when more people become believers in Christ.
Have you experienced the phenomenon of anti-growth members in your church? How did it manifest itself? I look forward to hearing from you.
The post Seven Reasons Some Church Members Don’t Want Their Churches to Grow appeared first on ThomRainer.com.
The Daily Discovery (April 27, 2015)
Dear Bruce Jenner: Please Consider Your Children’s Emotional Well-Being – “America is watching intently as you seek to transition from man to woman. So are your daughters. As a daughter who watched her own father make the same choice, I plead with you to reconsider. My father’s revelation to me that he wanted to become a woman sent my life into a tailspin.”
Make Your Calling and Election Sure – “Why is calling here put before election, seeing election is eternal, and calling takes place in time? I reply, because calling is first to us. The first thing which you and I can know is our calling: we cannot tell whether we are elect until we feel that we are called. We must, first of all, prove our calling, and then our election is sure most certainly.”
Hall of Shame – Always follow your notes! – “Well, I just wrapped up giving four talk on the issue of the Charismatic Renewal movement. Things went pretty well (though as a speaker you never really know how things went; my self perception is always highly inaccurate), but I made one error big enough that I feel the need to point it out and offer some correction.”
Presbyterian Pastor: “I Love Planned Parenthood.” Calls Abortion Business a “Ministry” – “Life News reports on a pastor who loves abortion mill Planned Parenthood…”
Equipping Eve Episode 13: Life Verses and Labyrinths – “One website defines a life verse as “the scripture quote that seems to speak to you directly – the one that holds a personal meaning for you.” What is the danger of committing yourself to one “life verse” that has been divorced from its broader context? Also—what is a prayer labyrinth and are they biblical?”
SERMON:
John MacArthur – The Power of Persecution
VIDEOS:
Horrible Bible Studies
Gospel starts with “Go”
“If you alter or obscure the Biblical portrait of God in order to attract converts, you don’t get converts to God, you get converts to an illusion. This is not evangelism but deception.” – John Piper
The Six Tasks Of Daniel 9:24
Q. What 6 tasks did God assign Israel to do in preparation for the coming Kingdom? This was posted in an article 09/04/10.
Who’s Watching Us?
Q. In regards to the “cloud of witnesses” (Heb 12:1), and your oft-repeated assertions (to which I also hold) that in eternity, we will be able to visit the history of the world to watch events unfold before us, do you think that there are in fact saints around each of us today, from the “future”, watching our lives as we live? Could not I, in eternity, go back to visit myself as I type this, and then in fact as I type, my future “self” would be here with me?
The Kings Of the North And South, Follow up
Q. It never occurred to me that when the AC declares himself to be God in the Jewish temple, the Muslims would consider that blasphemy because they thought he was claiming to be Allah. I thought he would actually unite the Muslims because they thought he was the Imam. Whose armies will defeat the king of the north and the king of the south? I thought that would be Jesus returning with His saints.
Featured Blogs
Our Time is Short
“My Last Day” — the Jesus Anime
9 powerful minutes of animation that begins with a thief behind bars watching the scourging of Jesus, and it ends with the thief dying next to Jesus, and waking to see Him in a beautiful place.
Ready to start your new life with God?
Who do you think that I am?
With that brief question Jesus Christ confronted His followers with the most important issue they would ever face. He had spent much time with them and made some bold claims about His identity and authority. Now the time had come for them either to believe or deny His teachings.
Who do you say Jesus is? Your response to Him will determine not only your values and lifestyle, but your eternal destiny as well.
Consider what the Bible says about Him: Read more
Look to Jesus
Have you ever felt a little lost and wished there was a quick-start guide to your relationship with God? This is it!
30 Day Next Steps
John Beckett, a leading Christian businessman, has written a series to read over 30 days for new believers.
New Believers Guide
The New Believer’s Guide is a series of articles designed to show you how to walk in the new life Christ has given you— a life of faith and freedom.
Jesus Booklet
Jesus is the Savior of the world. Discover who Jesus is today in this series.
About Christianity
Know Jesus Christ and your life will be transformed
Truth2Freedom Blog Disclaimer
This post was originally posted on:
https://truth4freedom.wordpress.com
(Alternative News, Apologetics, Current Events, Commentary, Opinion, Theology, Discernment Blog, Devotionals, Christian Internet Evangelism & Missions Activist)
This blog is an aggregator of news and information that we believe will provide articles that will keep people informed about current trends, current events, discussions and movements taking place within our church and culture.
A headline link on this blog post doesn’t necessarily mean that there is agreement or approval with all the views and opinions expressed within the headline linked article. Caution is also warranted with regards to the advertisements and links that are embedded within the headline linked article.
Why God blessed polygamous men in the Old Testament.
The Uniqueness of Scripture
One of the attributes of Scripture that we might not think about so much is the fact that it is completely unique. Scripture is the only clear, sufficient, necessary, authoritative, and perfect source of saving knowledge of our Triune God (Ps. 12:6, 2 Pet. 1:21, John 10:35, Rom. 3:4, 2 Tim. 3:15-17, etc.). John Murray stated this well in a lecture he gave to an Inter-Varsity Fellowship group in 1960:
“Apart from the Scriptures and the knowledge derived from them, we today would be in complete darkness respecting the content of our Christian faith. We must not deceive ourselves as to the darkness and confusion that would be ours if there were no Bible. We depend upon the message of Scripture for every tenet of our faith, for every ray of redemptive light that illumines our minds, and for every ray of hope against the issues of time and eternity. …
View original post 287 more words
Faithfulness to the Master (Luke 12:40-48)
Jesus has entrusted us, as His servants, to do His work and be obedient to the truth we’ve received. In Luke 12:40-48, He is telling us we are all to be managers of important resources. Some people do a good job and others are poor spiritual managers. In verse 35, Jesus begins warning His disciples to be ready for His return. Then, in verse 40, He says,
You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”
Peter asked, “Lord, are you telling this parable to us, or to everyone?”
The Lord answered, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their food allowance at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whom the master finds doing so when he returns. Truly I…
View original post 1,391 more words
GTY Blog: Shade for Our Children
Ephesians 6:4
Code: B150427
by John MacArthur
An old Chinese proverb says, “One generation plants the trees and another gets the shade.” Our generation lives in the shade of many trees that were planted by our ancestors.
In spiritual terms, we derive shade from our parents’ and grandparents’ ethical standards, their perceptions of right and wrong, their sense of moral duty, and above all, their spiritual commitment. Their ideals determined the kind of civilization we inherited from them, and our generation’s ideals will likewise shape tomorrow’s culture for our kids.
There’s no question that society is in a serious state of moral and spiritual decline. So the question that faces Christian parents today is whether we can plant some trees that will shade future generations from what may well be the blistering heat of anti-Christian values in an anti-Christian world. Are we planting the right kind of shade trees, or are we leaving our children totally exposed?
The Demise of Modern Society
It should be obvious to anyone who is committed to the truth of Scripture that our culture is rapidly disintegrating morally, ethically, and above all spiritually. The values now embraced by society are badly out of sync with God’s divine order.
In fact, the only taboo these days is holding to the absolute moral standards the Lord instituted in His Word. Lifestyles of promiscuity, debauchery, rebellion, and lawlessness aren’t merely tolerated—they’re celebrated. Selfishness, greed, and dishonesty are accepted and even expected.
And the standards for the family aren’t any better. Divorce is available on demand for any reason, or for no reason at all. Married women with children are encouraged to work outside the home. Entertainment, and television in particular, dominates home life. The genocide of unborn children is aggressively defended. Gender differences have been downplayed, suppressed, and—as much as possible—eliminated from public discussion. And homosexual marriage is aggressively promoted throughout the culture—to the point that anything less than celebrating it is viewed as bigotry.
In short, our society is waging an all-out war on the biblical standards for morality, and the family is one of the key battlegrounds.
Where Is the Church in All of This?
As the building block of society, the family needs to be protected and defended. But mere moral reform is not the solution for all that ails our secular society. This is not a rallying cry for Christians to be more aggressive in pursuing political action. Far too much of the church’s effort in recent years has been squandered trying to confront anti-family trends, such as abortion and homosexuality, through legislative efforts alone. Reform is no answer for a culture like ours. Redemption is what is needed, and that occurs at the individual, not societal, level. The church needs to get back to the real task to which we are called: evangelizing the lost. Only when multitudes of individuals in our society turn to Christ will society itself experience any significant transformation.
Meanwhile, Christian families have an obligation to plant shade trees for future generations of children. But, frankly, even in the church, the family’s condition looks pretty bleak.
Not that there aren’t positive signs. For nearly three decades there has been a tremendous preoccupation among evangelicals with the need to rescue the family. Christian bookstores are well-stocked with books on marriage and the family. Christian radio is also crowded with family-oriented programming. There is no shortage of Christian programs, seminars, and ministries devoted to the family and parenting.
Despite all the ink and air time such ministries have devoted to the subjects of parenting and the family, though, statistics still show that in general, Christian families are not in much better shape than the families of their non-Christian neighbors. Children from Christian families are not immune to the lure of drugs, gangs, promiscuous sex, and all the other evils plaguing the youth of today. By and large, Christian families are suffering from all the same woes as non-Christian families.
Something is clearly wrong.
Is It Biblical, or Just “Christian”?
Part of the problem is that many of the parenting and family programs being labeled “Christian” today are not truly Christian. Some are nothing more than secular behaviorism papered over with a religious veneer—an unholy amalgam of biblical-sounding expressions blended with humanistic psychology. Even some of the better Christian parenting programs focus far too much on relatively petty extrabiblical matters and not enough on the essential biblical principles. One book I consulted spent chapter after chapter on issues like how to make a chore list to hang on the refrigerator, how to organize your child’s schedule to limit television time, games to play in the car, and similar how-to advice. Such pragmatic concerns may have their place, but they don’t go to the heart of what Christian parents in a society like ours need to address. (That particular book actually had very little that was distinctively Christian, outside the author’s preface.)
Some Christian parenting programs seem to begin well but quickly move away from biblical principles and into other things. Those other things often receive more stress than more vital issues that are truly biblical. Parents who sign up for such programs demand detailed, heavily regimented programs or turnkey parenting systems that work right out of the box. So that is what the experts try to produce. The resulting lists of rules and how-tos quickly supersede the vital biblical principles. The lure in this direction is subtle but strong, and rare is the parenting guru who successfully avoids it.
What we desperately need is a return to the biblical principles of parenting. Christian parents don’t need new, shrink-wrapped programs; they need to apply and obey consistently the few simple principles that are clearly set forth for parents in God’s Word, such as these: Constantly teach your kids the truth of God’s Word (Deuteronomy 6:7). Discipline them when they do wrong (Proverbs 23:13–14). And don’t provoke them to anger (Colossians 3:21). Those few select principles alone, if consistently applied, would have a far greater positive impact for the typical struggling parent than hours of discussion about whether babies should be given pacifiers, or what age kids should be before they’re permitted to choose their own clothes, or dozens of similar issues that consume so much time in the typical parenting program.
Over the next few days, we’re going to closely examine those biblical parenting principles and others, and consider God’s design for the family, and how best to provide shade for your children by training them up “in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4).
(Adapted from What the Bible Says About Parenting.)
Available online at: http://www.gty.org/resources/Blog/B150427
COPYRIGHT ©2015 Grace to You
Physicist Victor Stenger debates William Lane Craig: Does God Exist?
This debate took place on March 1, 2010 at Oregon State University.
In this debate, Victor Stenger does affirm his belief that the universe could be eternal in his second rebuttal (1:02:30), thus denying the standard Big Bang cosmology. He also denies the law of conservation of energy and asserts that something can come from nothing in his concluding speech (1:33:50). He also caused the audience to start laughing when he said that Jesus was not moral and supported slavery. There is almost no snark in this summary. Instead, I quoted Dr. Stenger verbatim in many places. I still think that it is very entertaining even without the snarky paraphrasing.
The debate includes 30 minutes of Q&A with the students.
Here is the MP3 file for the audio.
Here’s the video of the debate:
Dr. Craig’s opening speech:
- The ontological argument
- The contingency argument
- The cosmological argument
- The moral argument
View original post 1,501 more words
Christ is both God and man
by Mike Ratliff
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1 NASB)
14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14 NASB)
If we listen to some today it is as if the Incarnation of Christ was to show Man how to live in such a way that there would be no war, no hunger, no sickness and that the Earth be recovered back to the pristine state of Creation. Was this His mission? If you go to any secular book store either such as Barnes and Noble or even Amazon.com and browse the religious/theology section you will find a large number of books that attempt to blend Jesus Christ into all religions or even non-religious causes. I…
View original post 1,281 more words
Truth2Freedom's Blog 