There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true. —Soren Kierkegaard. "…truth is true even if nobody believes it, and falsehood is false even if everybody believes it. That is why truth does not yield to opinion, fashion, numbers, office, or sincerity–it is simply true and that is the end of it" – Os Guinness, Time for Truth, pg.39. “He that takes truth for his guide, and duty for his end, may safely trust to God’s providence to lead him aright.” – Blaise Pascal. "There is but one straight course, and that is to seek truth and pursue it steadily" – George Washington letter to Edmund Randolph — 1795. We live in a “post-truth” world. According to the dictionary, “post-truth” means, “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.” Simply put, we now live in a culture that seems to value experience and emotion more than truth. Truth will never go away no matter how hard one might wish. Going beyond the MSM idealogical opinion/bias and their low information tabloid reality show news with a distractional superficial focus on entertainment, sensationalism, emotionalism and activist reporting – this blogs goal is to, in some small way, put a plug in the broken dam of truth and save as many as possible from the consequences—temporal and eternal. "The further a society drifts from truth, the more it will hate those who speak it." – George Orwell “There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true.” ― Soren Kierkegaard
“There once was a shepherd with 100 lambs, but one of his lambs wandered away and was lost. So, the shepherd left the 99 lambs out in the open field and searched in the wilderness for that one lost lamb.
He didn’t stop until he finally found it. With exuberant joy, he raised it up, placed it on his shoulders, and carried it back with cheerful delight!
Returning home, he called all his friends and neighbours together and said, ‘Let’s have a party! Come and celebrate with me the return of my lost lamb. It wandered away, but I have found it and brought it home.’”
– Luke 15:4–7 (TPT)
Reflection
We were all lost at some point, separated from our beloved Father God. Spiritually orphaned.
But we were called out of darkness into His glorious light. We were saved through the perfect work of Jesus Christ on Calvary’s Cross.
This Go Month we are praying for many souls to be saved!
But my heart also goes out to those we call prodigals. We all know or have them in our family or circle of friends. Sons and daughters raised in our homes, each on a path we pray will lead back to Him. And how we pray!
Chuck Girard once said, “Don’t shoot the wounded. They need us more than ever”.
In the hardness of our hearts, or a religious spirit, it’s easy to discount their wandering as a lack of faith or a false salvation. Or, dare I say it, unworthiness.
I believe many who have wandered from the institutional church walked away with heavy hearts. They were hurt or neglected by the system run by imperfect human beings, imperfect like you and I.
Coming from personal experience, our ‘sabbatical’ occurred when a paedophile infiltrated our home group. When we asked the leadership for help, well, it didn’t go well.
Did we lose our faith in God? As James Bond used to say of his martini, “Shaken, not stirred”.
It’s my humble opinion that the body of Christ has had many wonderful people’s ministries and contributions sabotaged by the work of the enemy. They may still have faith in Jesus – but not in man. Their faith could be a mere glimmer of light, needing the gentle fanning of the embers to bring forth the flame they once knew!
Can we commit to encouraging those we know who have fallen away? And with a hand offered in God’s love, help them up once more? This is no time for stray sheep to wander the hills all alone!
Perhaps we have seen a puppy who has been abused. It takes a lot of work to get them to trust and love again. Remembering this can be key to loving restoration.
We may find that prayer and love will unlock the heart barred, shut for years. Others will be so glad that you cared enough to reach out, they will literally jump into your arms in gratitude, restoration swift and sweet! Everyone will be different.
When a person walks away from fellowship, one of the most egregious wounds will be from the experience of being ‘shunned’. Often our churches allow people to drift and slip away, without any effort made of restoration. People are scared to get involved and risk the ire of leadership. How sad!
Some dear ones may never enter the walls of a church building again. Thank God for home churches and online Zoom meetings! Coffee and prayer! Be flexible and patient.
HE is.
Video
Prayer
Father, Your love and faithfulness is our firm anchor. Show us how to love as You love, to forgive as You forgive, and to remember the words often quoted, “There but for the grace of God, go I.” In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Author Bio
Leonie and her husband Ivan are songwriters, worship leaders, parents and grandparents. They have operated in lay ministry in cross-denominational settings for many years. Leonie writes poetry and lyrics and is an artist of great repute (according to her granddaughter, at least!). Both Leonie and her husband take a great interest in history, current events and politics.
Prayer Points and Purpose for GO Month 2024
To worship Jesus and give extravagant praise to God. 1 Chron 16:23–31.
To pray for revival, repentance and deliverance for Australia and for millions to find Christ. Acts 2:1–41.
To pray for five people by name to find Christ and share the gospel with those five in May. Matt 28:18–20.
We invite you to support this prayer campaign to multiply prayer in Australia for revival and see millions come to Christ. Every donation to the Canberra Declaration helps us promote prayer and make a stand for family, faith, freedom, life, and the good news of God’s love through Jesus Christ His Son.
20 Note the similarity to 10:12–13; the theme of this part of the address is repeated here for emphasis. You shall keep close to him—the language indicates a very close and intimate relationship. The same verb (dāḇaq) is employed to describe the relationship between a man and his wife. For further comments, see Deut. 6:13, which is similar, but slightly shorter, than 10:20.[1]
Ver. 20.—Reverting to his main theme, Moses anew exhorts Israel to fear Jehovah their God, and to show true reverence to him by serving him, by cleaving to him, and by swearing in his Name (cf. ch. 4:4; 6:13; Acts 11:23). Such reverence was due from Israel to God, because of the great things he had done for them, and those terrible acts by which his mighty power had been displayed on their behalf.[2]
10:20 The centrality of the Lord in the lives of his people is emphasised by the order of words in the Hebrew text. To bring this out the verse can be translated as follows: ‘The Lord your God you shall fear; him you shall serve; and to him you shall cleave; and in his name you shall swear’. The expressions are very similar to those already used in 6:13 and 10:12 (see commentary). The new idea introduced here in comparison with these other passages is that Israel had to remain in close relationship with the Lord. The Hebrew verb davaq is used in Genesis 2:24 of the relationship between husband and wife and has already occurred in Deuteronomy 4:4 as descriptive of the covenant bond. Here it replaces the concept of love used in verse 12.[3]
10:20fear … hold fast: True faith expresses itself in awe, submission, and deep commitment to God.[4]
10:20 cling to Him. The verb means “to stick to” or “to hold onto.” As a husband is to be united to his wife (Ge 2:24), so Israel was to cling intimately to her God.[5]
1 Samuel 14:3 — The High Priest’s Uncle Ichabod – we’ve met him earlier.
1 Samuel 14:6 — This is an incredible verse – the king’s son decides to go rogue. He invites his bodyguard, and the bodyguard isn’t afraid to die (1 Samuel 14:7). Is it faith in the LORD or just loyalty to his liege? Maybe just the latter but the bodyguard would see how God would provide! Can God provide?
1 Samuel 14:24 — While Saul had good intentions, his actions made it easier for Israel to commit a worse sin (1 Samuel 14:32). We’ve seen earlier that eating blood was forbidden for the Israelites!
John 7:45 — “Why have you not brought Him?” Jesus is superior to the plans and schemes of man. He willingly laid down His life.
Psalm 109:22 — Deliverance is available only to those who acknowledge they are poor and needy.
Psalm 109:27 — Deliverance is soli deo gloria (glory to God alone)!
Proverbs 15:6 — True treasure is found in the house of the righteous!
Share how reading through the Bible has been a blessing to you! E-mail us at 2018bible@vcyamerica.org or call and leave a message at 414-885-5370.
Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not. (Jeremiah 33:3)
God encourages us to pray. They tell us that prayer is a pious exercise which has no influence except upon the mind engaged in it. We know better. Our experience gives the lie a thousand times over to this infidel assertion. Here Jehovah, the living God, distinctly promises to answer the prayer of His servant. Let us call upon Him again and admit no doubt upon the question of His hearing us and answering us. He that made the ear, shall He not hear? He that gave parents a love to their children, will He not listen to the cries of His own sons and daughters!
God will answer His pleading people in their anguish. He has wonders in store for them. What they have never seen, heard of, or dreamed of, He will do for them. He will invent new blessings if needful. He will ransack sea and land to feed them: He will send every angel out of heaven to succor them if their distress requires it. He will astound us with His grace and make us feel that it was never before done in this fashion. All He asks of us is that we will call upon Him. He cannot ask less of us. Let us cheerfully render Him our prayers at once.
Strong geomagnetic storm reaches Earth, continues through weekend NOAA space weather forecasters have observed at least seven coronal mass ejections (CMEs) from the sun, with impacts expected to arrive on Earth as early as midday Friday, May 10, and persist through Sunday, May 12, 2024. The First of Several CMEs reached Earth on Friday, May 10 at 12:37 pm EDT. The CME was very strong and SWPC quickly issued a series of geomagnetic storm warnings. SWPC observed G4 conditions at 1:39 pm EDT (G3 at 1:08 pm EDT). “This is an unusual and potentially historic event. Clinton Wallace, Director, NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center
Biden’s Reckless Betrayal Of Benjamin Netanyahu And The Jewish People The Gog/Magog prophecy of Ezekiel 38-39 is remarkable for its absence of any nation, including America, coming to the aid of Israel as massive forces invade the Land. I could never have imagined, however, that a U.S. President would choose to protect an organization so barbaric and monstrous as Hamas at the expense of Israel
Hezbollah rockets ignite widespread fires across northern Israel Direct hits and multiple fires near Highway 90 and Kiryat Shmona following 35 rocket launches from Lebanon; 10 firefighting teams on site; IDF responds with extensive strikes in southern Lebanon, multiple destroying Hezbollah sites
Israel Strikes Eastern Rafah as Ceasefire Talks End With No Deal Israeli forces targeted areas of Rafah on Thursday, Palestinian residents said, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed US President Joe Biden’s threat to withhold weapons from Israel if it launches a major offensive in the southern Gaza city. A senior Israeli official said late on Thursday that the latest round of indirect negotiations in Cairo to halt hostilities in Gaza had ended and Israel would proceed with its operation in Rafah and other parts of the Gaza Strip as planned.
After Iran attack, will the US stand with Israel against Hezbollah? Statements from the Biden administration and its supporters before the Iranian attack have shocked Israelis as never before. Former House speaker Nancy Pelosi signed a letter written by antisemitic members of Congress calling to end the transfer of weapons to Israel. Biden called for an immediate ceasefire without an explicit linkage to the release of all the hostages, who are continually sexually abused.
IDF destroys terrorist launch sites in Rafah that were used to fire at Beersheba IDF soldiers of the 401st Brigade destroyed two launch sites in Rafah where terrorists had used to fire at Beersheba earlier on Friday afternoon, the IDF announced later that evening. After destroying these sites, secondary explosions were detected, testifying to the presence of additional weapons stored at the site.
House Democrats: We cannot undermine our ally Israel 26 Democratic members of Congress urge White House to deliver security aid to Israel, after the Biden administration cancelled a shipment over Rafah operation.
Biden reportedly delayed saying he withheld arms from Israel until after Holocaust speech “There seem to be two Bidens,” wrote Abe Foxman, director emeritus of the Anti-Defamation League, the one who “spoke at the Holocaust event, who flew to Israel during war against Israel” and who supported Israel militarily and financially,” and the “political Biden, who engages in party politics—telling Israel it has [a] right to defend itself—but we will tell you when and how.”
Rubio: Revoke visas for foreign university students who support Hamas “For those international students who defied university orders, and police instruction, in favor of acting on pro-terrorist views, this should result in immediate expulsion from their host institution and our generous country,” Rubio wrote on May 8. “No questions asked.” He wrote, “Let me be clear: espousing support for a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization is grounds for the termination of a visa and immediate removal from our country.”
David Friedman leads Jews and Christians in thanking Trump for rejecting Palestinian state Former Ambassador to Israel David Melech Friedman responded to a petition by Jews and Christians of the Keep God’s Land coalition and sent a letter signed by more than 400 Jewish and non-Jewish leaders, thanking President Donald Trump for rejecting the ill-named “Two-State Solution.”
New genome testing company helps customers weed out babies with imperfect genetics A burgeoning West Coast genome testing company is promising prospective parents “healthy babies” by helping them to selectively discard embryos that show any sign of predisposition to unwanted physical or mental conditions. San Francisco-based Orchid Health purports to have developed technology capable of sequencing more than 99 percent of an embryo’s DNA, allowing for the detection of an enormous array of potential disorders, predispositions to diseases, and birth defects.
Israel sees rise in opioid use, study finds The Israel National Institute for Health Policy Research recently published a study showing that Israeli patients who received high doses of painkillers tend to have higher mortality rates – similar to the United States. The findings are published against the backdrop of a series of data indicating a sharp increase in the use of painkillers in the country.
100 make decisions for Christ in aftermath of Hawaii wildfires Around 100 people professed faith in Jesus at worship services held in wildfire-ravaged Hawaii last week, the culmination of Harvest Christian Fellowship’s “Hope for Lahaina” outreach efforts to share the hope of Christ with a community devastated by the deadliest wildfire in the United States in over a century.
Archbishop Aguer: ‘Smoke of Satan’ has made the structures of the Church ‘unbreathable’ The progressive officialdom installed in Rome for slightly more than a decade continues its policy of “canceling” those who, with freedom of spirit, seek to serve Jesus Christ from orthodoxy and Tradition. What is meant by “canceling” is all forms of ignoring, conspiracy of silence, marginalization, prohibition to publish in the media and on social networks, and even the termination of the functions of those who do not “synodally” bow to Vatican ideologies and discretions.
One Health is embedded in WHO’s Horrific Pandemic Treaty; it must be stopped “Preventing” pandemics is one of the most lucrative areas in medicine. Sadly, this money has incentivised “preventative” research which frequently leads to disastrous leaks and suppresses effective solutions for the pandemics that emerge.
VIRAL DEBATE EXPOSES WOMEN’S TOXIC BELIEFS SAMANTHA KOCH When women were asked whether they’d rather be stuck in the woods with a bear or a man, they revealed something about themselves.
DOUGLAS ANDREWS At the University of Michigan’s graduation ceremony on Saturday, a handful of pro-Hamas graduates tried to ruin the day for the rest of us.
EMMY GRIFFIN If the school won’t do anything to hold the Jew-hating, anti-America, harassing protesters accountable, future students and employers will.
MARK ALEXANDER The propagation of “gun control” disinformation by the Demo/Leftmedia conglomerate is ramping up for this presidential election year, and so is Gavin Newsom.
QUOTES Spin Doctor “It made sense to go get [Osama] bin Laden.” —Joe Biden, who told Barack Obama it didn’t make sense to go get bin Laden Who’s Ready for More Taxes? “The president … is going to let the Trump tax cut expire.” —White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre What Could Possibly Go Wrong? “To strengthen America’s economy, we are also helping more people buy a home.” —Kamala Harris Lack of Self-Awareness Awards “There’s still more work to be done, including what we intend to do … in a second term, which includes affordable housing and making housing more affordable.” —Kamala Harris, whose administration made housing unaffordable in the first place “We must fight to make sure that we remain a democracy, not an authoritarian society.” —Senator Bernie Sanders (VT) “Propaganda is not education. … Anybody who is teaching in a university or anyone who is putting content on social media should be held responsible for what they include and what they exclude.” —Hillary Clinton (“Anyone who is producing a bogus dossier should be held responsible for what they include and what they exclude.” There, we fixed it.) Saying the Quiet Part Out Loud “It’s a little bit like back in the 1840s and the great exodus from Ireland. … It’s even a bigger influx now in terms of Hispanic voters, er, Hispanic citizens who want to become citizens.” —Joe Biden regarding illegal immigrants Stranger Than Fiction “Can you imagine a kid, two years old, saying: ‘Mom, don’t take me across the Rio Grande. It’s against the law.’ Give me a break. These have been model citizens.” —Joe Biden Non Compos Mentis “The U.S. government can’t go bankrupt because we can print our own money.” —Council of Economic Advisers Chair Jared Bernstein “The government definitely prints money, and then it lends that money by selling bonds. Uh, is that what they do? They, they, um. They, yeah. They, they, um, they sell bonds — yeah, they sell bonds. … There is no question that the government prints money and then it uses that money to, um, uh, uh, uh. So, um.” —Jared Bernstein Non Sequitur “Well I think that people have been through a lot since the pandemic, and you certainly saw President Biden take office and make sure that things really turned around pretty quickly.” —Jared Bernstein when asked: “More voters from Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin believe the economy was better under Donald Trump than it is now. Why do you think that is?” Moving the Goalposts “I’m not proposing that we’re going to be able to bring these prices down. That’s impossible.” —Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) The BIG Lies “Wages are rising faster than prices, incomes are higher than before the pandemic, and unemployment has remained below 4% for the longest stretch in 50 years. [W]e’re making real progress.” —Joe Biden “[Trump] has never succeeded in creating jobs, and I’ve never failed. I’ve created over 15 million jobs.” —Joe Biden “The plan we put in place is beginning to work. We’ve created a record 15 million jobs.” —Joe Biden “If you take a look at what the people have, they have the money to spend. … We’ve got to deal with [corporate greed].” —Joe Biden “No president’s had the run we’ve had in terms of creating jobs and bringing down inflation. It was 9% when I came to office.” —Joe Biden (It went to 9% well after he came to office and has averaged 5.6% under this perpetual liar.) “[Trump] and his MAGA allies in Congress were happy to give the very super rich a $2 trillion tax cut in his administration … that benefitted the super wealthy and the biggest corporations.” —Joe Biden “We cut the federal deficit by fighting to make the very wealthy and big corporations begin to pay their fair share.” —Joe Biden “Failed administrations, including my predecessor, failed to buy American.” —Joe Biden “Crime rates are down nationally. … We’ve also done much work to make communities safer.” —Joe Biden (“Unmentioned: The fact that a third of police departments, including in the biggest U.S. cities, stopped reporting crime data to the FBI in 2022.” —RNC) “Twenty-eight out of every 100 students in school speak Spanish — 28!” —Joe Biden “I was a professor at the University of Pennsylvania.” —Joe Biden Presidential Medal of Freedom Faux Pas “I congratulate the Presidential Freedom of Medal recipients.” —Joe Biden “Let’s give one more round of applause for this year’s Presidential Freedom recipients.” —Joe Biden Swampthink “The [tree of] liberty is watered with the blood of patriots — I mean, that’s a bunch of crap.” —Joe Biden Baghdad Bob “This is an administration that is committed to fixing the broken immigration system.” —Karine Jean-Pierre “Under this president’s leadership … violent crime is at a nearly 50-year low.” —Karine Jean-Pierre “No, [Biden] is not doing a ‘both sides’ scenario here.” —Karine Jean-Pierre when asked, “What do you say to those critics who say that he is trying to have it both ways — that he’s essentially, you know, trying to talk about both anti-Semitism and what’s going on with the Palestinians?” Moral Equivalence “There’s no place for anti-Semitism. There’s no place for Islamophobia.” —Biden campaign co-chair Mitch Landrieu Dumb & Dumber “If [the Israelis] go into Rafah, I’m not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah.” —Joe Biden “This may be Biden’s Vietnam. … Biden is putting himself in a position where he has alienated not just young people but a lot of the Democratic base in terms of his views on Israel and this war.” —Sen. Bernie Sanders, a “not particularly religious” Hamas-loving Jew and a Vietnam draft-dodger “It is important to understand why these protesters are out there. And they are out there not because they are ‘pro-Hamas.'” —Sen. Bernie Sanders (In other words, don’t believe your lying eyes.) “These young people seek a worthy cause: to end what may be the most brutal military operation for civilians in the 21st century.” —New York Times columnist Lydia Polgreen “All the organizers of all these demonstrations, I’ve talked to a lot of them. … And I have to tell you, they are the salt of the earth. They are kind and generous. They want to work with Jews. They want to live in peace.” —filmmaker Michael Moore “I also met with so-called pro-Israel students … just to hear about the anti-Semitism that they have experienced. And they told me: ‘It has been minimum. It has been overblown by the media. We have been uncomfortable but we don’t feel unsafe.'” —Congressman Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) (This is as believable as you claiming pulling the fire alarm was an accident.) “Some of my friends in the far Right have criticized my investing in the American agenda.” —Joe Biden “I’ve gone around the world literally, not figuratively, meeting with the leading architects of AI.” —Joe Biden (Clearly they’ve still got some bugs to work out when it comes to Joe…) Fearmongering “I’m going to ask the Justice Department and I’m going to ask the president to tell us what they’re going to do to protect this country against violence if [Trump] loses. I want to know about all of those right-wing organizations that he’s connected with who are training up in the hills somewhere and targeting, you know, what communities they’re going to attack.” —Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) Braying Jennies “Maybe Donald Trump will go away. Maybe he’ll go to jail. Maybe he will die. Not to be too morbid, but maybe — I mean, he’s not a young man.” —MSNBC’s Jen Psaki “I think to make a point, to prove a point, put [Trump] in a clink.” —”The View” co-host Sunny Hostin “We have two old candidates. One is, yes, old and effective. … The other is old and dangerous. I mean, why is that a hard choice for people?” —Hillary Clinton Village Idiots “As a kid, I’d say, ‘Hitler, it’s a nightmare, that never would happen.’ But now I see that it’s possible.” —actor Robert De Niro regarding leftist anti-Semite, pro-Hamas, Hitlerian campus goons Donald Trump “I believe we should leave [abortion] to the woman. … Even if it’s full term.” —RFK Jr. That’s Racist! “Right now we have, you know, young black kids growing up in the Bronx who don’t even know what the word ‘computer’ is.” —New York Governor Kathy Hochul Belly Laughs of the Week “In President Biden and our administration, you see competence. You see a steady hand. You see someone who cares about the American people. And we have gone about solving problems.” —Kamala Harris “When the country looks to Chicago this August, the unity and excitement of Democrats will stand in stark contrast to the chaos and extremism stewing in the GOP.” —Democratic National Convention spokesperson Matt Hill
They do it every year again, and we’re only just starting to fathom how much is all involved. Stem cells have something to do with it, but
“..how do the two antlers maintain their bilateral symmetry, such that they branch at almost exactly the same points while separated by many centimeters to feet apart? Don’t ask they deer. They don’t know.”
This isn’t quite Eric Liddell and Chariots of Fire, because, so far as I know, these athletes aren’t forfeiting because they are Christian. But their example is worthy of imitation, and that opportunity – to forfeit to the glory of God, in celebration of how He made us male and female – may present itself to our own daughters very soon.
Three to four thousand pro-lifers’ March for Life hit Ottawa this past Thursday, though you’d be forgiven for not knowing that if you only read mainstream news. True Northdid cover the event, and that shibboleth is why, if you haven’t already heard of them already, you might want to check them out.
As the linked article demonstrates, True North is willing to cover Christians, listen to them sympathetically, and quote them accurately (and even employs at least one or two), but this is a conservative, not Christian outlet. They covered the March, but didn’t really explore the heart of the conflict – they didn’t explain how the issue is between what God says about where our worth comes from – being made in His Image (Gen. 1:27) – and the non-explanation for our worth offered by those who say the unborn only have value if their mom wants them. That said, True North is still one of the better media outlets in Canada. And the price is right – you can sign up to their daily email newsletter for free.
…and they’re not the only one. CNN host Chris Cuomo, who was calling people crazy for not getting the vaccine, is now compassionately raising the issue of vaccination injuries.
What’s important to understand is that this reversal isn’t simply a matter of error – we all make mistakes – but showcases the arrogance of their original stand. When people then expressed the ideas the NYT and CNN are only allowing to be expressed now, these two media entities didn’t just differ, but advocated for those people to be fired and otherwise penalized, because to do anything other than be vaccinated was crazy. They couldn’t conceive they might be wrong. But for some, it now seems getting the vaccine was the wrong thing to do.
The point isn’t that the vaccine was bad, or that it didn’t help millions, maybe billions. The point is that there were inevitably going to be tradeoffs – there always are – and our political leaders not only didn’t discuss those tradeoffs, but ridiculed those who tried to. And penalized anyone who refused to do as they said. This, then, is one more reason we don’t want big governments. When they make mistakes it is on a grand scale, forcing everyone to join in with their mistake. The power to compel is one to use only with great restraint… but restraint isn’t a quality of the arrogant.
Check out the video below for Chris Cuomo vs. Chris Cuomo.
Since the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) H5N1 virus was first identified in humans in 2003, approximately 600 cases have been reported worldwide, with a laboratory-confirmed case-fatality rate (CFR) of 60%.
The recent death of a woman in southwest China who had no contact with poultry signals a potentially alarming shift in the virus’s transmission dynamics, raising the specter of human-to-human transmission, according to a report by the Federation of American Scientists.
Health authorities in Guiyang, Guizhou province concluded that two patients, including the woman who died, did not have contact with poultry before showing symptoms of the illness. Currently, the public health community remains cautious as H5N1 influenza viruses continue to evolve and potentially gain the ability to be transmitted efficiently to humans.
The evolution of H5N1 over two decades necessitates an urgent and strategic response from the global health community. Scientific efforts are primarily focused on understanding the genetic shifts that facilitate the virus’s leap among species, aiming to forestall a possible pandemic. This has led to the controversial practice of gain-of-function (GoF) research, wherein viruses are deliberately engineered to be more potent or transmissible.
And of course, as we all know – a bunch of over-educated idiots cobbling together chimeric viruses that can better-infect humans may have led to the COVID-19 pandemic – as GoF research is fraught with ethical, biosafety, and biosecurity dilemmas.
The dual-use nature of this research—where scientific advances could potentially be misused to cause harm—places it under intense scrutiny. The debate is not just about managing the risks of accidental release but also about the moral implications of potentially providing a blueprint for bioterrorism. This precarious balance between advancing human knowledge and safeguarding public health was thrown into relief in 2012 when a moratorium was placed on H5N1 GoF studies following experiments that showed increased transmissibility in ferrets, an established model for human influenza transmission.
Biosafety risks include laboratory-acquired infections or accidental release of the virus, which are major threats for public health. In fact, last year, researchers around the world took the remarkable step of imposing a moratorium on “gain-of-function” experiments due to concerns about public health risks. The following provides answers to basic questions about the risks of this type of research, the status of the moratorium, and what steps are being taken to mitigate future public health risks. -FAS
This isn’t the first time scientists have policed themselves over security concerns. In 1974, scientists self-imposed a moratorium on recombinant DNA (rDNA) technology due to emerging bioethical concerns, resonates with today’s GoF debates. Like their predecessors, modern scientists are deeply entwined in discussions about the bounds and oversight of high-stakes research. In 1975, scientists at the Asilomar Conference on Recombinant DNA set out with a goal of considering whether to lift the voluntary moratorium – and if so, under what circumstances could the research proceed safely.
The moratorium was enacted by scientists and governments to protect laboratory personnel, the general public, and the environment from potential hazards that might be directly generated from rDNA experiments. During the conference, recommendations were established for how to safely conduct experiments using rDNA. The debate on potential biohazards was the primary focus of the conference, which is still a continued discussion in biotechnology today.
How many researchers/countries are involved in “gain-of-function” experiments?
The letter that announced the voluntary moratorium on H5N1 transmission research, published in Science and Nature, was signed by 40 leading influenza researchers from the United States, China, Japan, Britain, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, Germany, Italy, and Canada. Everyone, in some way, may be affected by “gain-of-function” experiments. The “gain-of-function” experiments have a plethora of stakeholders within the international community. In December 2012, the United States hosted the “Gain-of-Function Research on Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5N1 Viruses: An International Consultative Workshop.” This workshop integrated experts in various fields, including: influenza and other infectious diseases, bioethics, public health surveillance, biosafety, national and global public health, biosecurity, epidemiology, national security, agriculture and veterinary sciences, global public health law and those specifically involved with developing the WHO International Health Regulations and the Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Framework, and medical countermeasures to disease outbreak. While the purpose of the moratorium was primarily to take time to discuss risk/benefit analysis of gain-of-function experiments, another important consideration was how to educate the public and gain their acceptance for continued research.
What new steps are being taken to minimize the risk of H5N1 research to public health?
The RAC of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has called for additional precautions on H5N1 “gain-of-function” experiments that are conducted strictly in biosafety level 3 (BSL-3) laboratories, which have been used in recent studies on H5N1 transmissibility. The committee has rejected the option of restricting research to facilities designated as BSL-4 – the highest level of biosafety laboratories – because only a few laboratories around the world would meet this standard. Limiting H5N1 research to only these labs would slow the pace of discovery. Additionally, many experts argue H5N1 experiments can safely be done in BSL-3 with enhanced safeguards. Existing BSL-3 laboratory requirements include: powered air purifying respirators (PAPRS), donning a protective suit, wrap-back disposable gowns, double gloving, shoe covers, and a shower before exiting the laboratory. The recommended steps are aimed at reducing the risk of laboratory-acquired infections and the accidental release of the dangerous pathogens. The additional requirements devised recently by the RAC include: increased personal protective equipment (PPE), a “buddy system” for all personnel, maintaining baseline serum samples, providing a licensed H5N1 vaccine, and requiring personnel to avoid contact with susceptible bird species for five days after working with the viruses. The RAC also recommended proper training of lab personnel would be essential and recommended that personnel be required to sign a statement confirming that they understand the safety and incident-reporting requirements. Additionally, the RAC recommended that all incidents that have the potential to be harmful to personnel and/or the public be reported to institutional authorities immediately and to public health officials within 24 hours.
What are the recommended next steps for the United States concerning the recent moratorium?
Although the H5N1 international research moratorium was lifted in January 2013, the United States has yet to resume research involving gain-of-function experiments on the H5N1 virus and is currently designing a framework for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to make judgments about funding for this type of research. This framework will provide HHS’ funding agencies with guidance on how to classify potentially high-risk gain-of-function projects at the funding proposal stage and make determinations as to whether they are acceptable for HHS funding. For the proposals that are deemed acceptable for funding, the framework will also establish a basis for HHS’ funding agencies to designate any additional biosafety, biosecurity, and DURC risk mitigation measures that they will require of researchers.
With China’s February report of two new human cases of H5N1, the debate of moving forward with “gain-of-function” research remains of upmost importance for global public health. In light of the new cases, researchers are insistent to resume experimentation on the deadly virus in hopes to produce results for prevention or new countermeasures. But the dangerousness of the virus underscores the importance of prioritizing safety when carrying out this research, even if it means pausing for a moment to make sure experimentation does not inadvertently create more problems than it solves.
Malerie Briseno is a Biosecurity Intern at the Federation of American Scientists. She graduated from Georgetown University’s School of Medicine with a M.S. in Biohazardous Threat Agents and Emerging Infectious Diseases.
Christina England is currently a Masters Candidate from the University of Maryland School of Public Policy, specializing in International Security and Economic Policy. She is serving as a biosecurity intern at the Federation of American Scientists, overseeing its Virtual Biosecurity Center. She graduated from the United States Air Forces Academy as distinguished graduate, receiving her BS in Biochemistry.
Newly unredacted documents show that the White House may have been WAY more involved in the Trump classified documents scandal than has been admitted, and Joe Biden may be implicated too.
President Joe Biden faced a wave of pushback from GOP lawmakers in response to a post on the @POTUS X account that reads, “On my watch, when we make promises, we keep them. And we leave no one behind.”
Multiple Republicans challenged the president’s claim.
“All Joe Biden does is leave Americans behind.”
Rep. Andrew Clyde of Georgia fired back at Biden’s comments with a post that read, “…except the Americans you left behind in Afghanistan. …and the American hostages you’ve abandoned in Gaza. Despicable.”
“REMINDER: Joe Biden left Americans behind in Afghanistan. No amount of gaslighting can ever change this fact,” Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida noted.
“Afghanistan. Israel. Haiti. All Joe Biden does is leave Americans behind,” Rep. Lisa McClain of Micghigan declared in a post.
“This would be hilarious if it was not tragic. Biden has abandoned Americans around the world and wants you to forget about them. I never will. Remember in November,” Rep. Derrick Van Orden of Wisconsin tweeted.
— (@)
“There are Americans being actively held hostage by Hamas. Maybe sit this one out,” Sen. Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming declared in response to Biden’s comments.
“President Biden apparently wants us to forget Afghanistan. And he wants us to ignore what he’s doing right now—breaking America’s promise to Israel and leaving hostages (including American citizens) behind in Gaza. Voters will remember in November,” Sen. Katie Britt of Alabama tweeted.
A group of Democrats has smashed President Joe Biden for his decision to pause a weapons shipment to Israel and his threat to withhold more weapons.
The House Democrats led by Rep. Josh Gottheimer penned a letter to national security adviser Jake Sullivan on Friday where they expressed that they were “deeply concerned” about the president’s decision.
“We are deeply concerned about the message the Administration is sending to Hamas and other Iranian-backed terrorist proxies by withholding weapons shipments to Israel, during a critical moment in the negotiations,” the letter said.
“Seven months after October 7, the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the end of the Holocaust, Iranian-backed terrorist proxies continue to fire rockets and mortars into Israel and at Americans from all directions. At the same time, antisemitism is spreading globally like wildfire. We fear that public disputes with our critical ally only emboldens our mutual enemies, including Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and other Iranian-backed proxies. It also buttresses their agenda of chaos, brutality, and hate, and makes a hostage agreement even harder to achieve. Hamas still holds more than 130 hostages, including eight Americans, five of whom may still be alive,” the Democrat Congress members said.
“Just this week, Hamas fired multiple attacks at the Kerem Shalom Crossing, killing Israeli soldiers, forcing a temporary closure, and potentially preventing vital humanitarian aid from reaching innocent Palestinians. Stalling these shipments will allow terror groups to continue stealing humanitarian aid, ultimately putting innocent Palestinians at even greater risk. As the President confirmed after October 7, Hamas must be ‘eliminated entirely,’” the letter said.
“With democracy under assault around the world, we cannot undermine our ally Israel, especially in her greatest hour of need. America’s commitments must always be ironclad.
“We have a duty to continue to equip Israel with the resources she needs to defend herself and crush the terrorists who also seek to do America harm, free the hostages including the Americans, continue delivering critical humanitarian aid to innocent civilians in Gaza, and to stand by our democratic allies around the world. The President’s unyielding commitment to passing emergency supplemental funding for Israel showed the world our commitment. When we abandon these duties, we leave a vacuum of American leadership for our anti-democratic adversaries to fill,” it said.
“We would be grateful for a classified briefing about your decision and to better understand how and when the aid that Congress has authorized and appropriated for Israel will be delivered,” it said.
The signatories included Reps. Gottheimer (NJ-5), Golden (ME-2), Costa (CA-21), Davis (NC-1), Frankel (FL-22), Gluesenkamp Perez (WA-3), Gonzalez (TX-34), Horsford (NV-4), Landsman (OH-1), Lee (NV-3), Manning (NC-6), Meng (NY-6), Moskowitz (FL-23), Norcross (NJ-1), Pallone (NJ-6), Panetta (CA-19), Ryan (NY-18), Schneider (IL-10), Soto (FL-9), Stevens (MI-11), Suozzi (NY-3), Torres (CA-35), Torres (NY-15), Vargas (CA-52), Veasey (TX-33), and Wasserman Schultz (FL-25).
In an interview with CNN anchor Erin Burnett the president said he informed Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that if his nation’s military goes into Rafah there would be a stop on weapons from the United States.
“I made clear that if they go into Rafah — they haven’t gotten into Rafah yet — if they go into Rafah, I’m not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah, to deal with the cities, to deal with that problem,” he said.
“Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those bombs and other ways in which they go after population centers,” the president said.
“It’s just wrong. We’re not gonna — we’re not gonna supply the weapons and artillery shells used,” he said.
“I’ve made it clear to [Netanyahu] and the war cabinet, they’re not going to get our support if in fact they go into these population centers,” he said.
Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah is sounding the alarm about the massive interest on the nation’s debt.
“We’re so screwed. And glued. Also tattooed. Interest will top $1.1 trillion this year. That’s what decades of reckless, hegemonic rule by The Uniparty™️ does,” Lee tweeted.
“It’s time to clean house.”
The senator made the comments in response to a post by E.J. Antoni, “Research Fellow in the Heritage Foundation’s Grover M. Hermann Center for the Federal Budget,” who had tweeted, “Interest on the debt is going to the moon: Treasury now projects it will cost over $1.1 trillion during the current fiscal year.”
Lee sounded off about politicians who have been green-lighting massive spending measures.
“I hope the fleeting moments of media praise—heaped on the heads of complicit politicians each time The Uniparty™️ passed a bloated spending bill—were worth the resulting devastation,” the senator tweeted. “I hope the earmarks that served as propellant for most of the spending—even as Americans repeatedly begged Congress to abandon earmarks—were worth crippling economic growth, mobility, and opportunity for hardworking families,” he continued. “I hope the warm and fuzzy feeling members of The Uniparty™️ had, all in the name of ‘getting things done,’ were at least enjoyed by someone while they lasted,” Lee added.
“It’s time to clean house,” he declared. “It’s time for a new approach in Washington—one that doesn’t pretend we’re drawing from an endless well. It’s about to become painfully clear that we’re not,” he concluded.
The Bible tells us that there’s nothing new under the sun. That certainly applies to theological liberalism, which the Church of Jesus Christ always has to guard against. But not because we’re afraid of disagreement or challenge. It’s because the very heart of what Jesus came to do is challenged when we redefine the Christian faith to make it palatable to modern tastes. I invite you to hear more.
Joe Biden is on record, on social media, stating that President Donald Trump “must” be impeached, at the time, because he withheld “congressionally appropriated aid” from Ukraine in exchange for a political favor.
Biden’s statement, from 2019, in fact, is, “President Trump withheld Congressionally appropriated aid to Ukraine unless they granted him a political favor. It’s the definition of quid pro quo. This is no joke—Trump continues to put his own personal, political interests ahead of the national interest. He must be impeached.”
Which is causing a problem now in that Biden has withheld congressional approved aid to Israel, to put himself in a better light.
President Trump withheld Congressionally appropriated aid to Ukraine unless they granted him a political favor. It's the definition of quid pro quo.
This is no joke—Trump continues to put his own personal, political interests ahead of the national interest. He must be impeached. https://t.co/puPgevx568
A commentary at Twitchy explained, “Biden once pledged full support for Israel but that support ended when [Benjamin] Netanyahu going full speed after Hamas angered some voters which could cost Biden a swing state in November. The White House is now kicking Israel under the bus by withholding aid that’s in a package Congress passed and Biden signed.”
The report continued, ” During yesterday’s interview with CNN’s Erin Burnett, President Biden admitted that the White House is holding back aid for Israel because Benjamin Netanyahu won’t help out his election campaign and avoid going into Rafah to placate the pro-Hamas wing of the Democrat Party.”
“The White House National Security Council sought to keep the decision out of the public eye for several days… until Biden could deliver a long-planned speech on Tuesday to mark Holocaust Remembrance Day.” https://t.co/Qn9Er7sfbv
Tony Evans taught that heaven needs earth’s authorization to intervene in the affairs of earth. There is evidence he is influenced by toxic doctrine similar to Word of Faith teaching, thus that statement isn’t merely a failure to be precise. Like Word of Faith theology, he has taught that you can speak peace to your organs and hormones so your body will function well. Like Word of Faith theology he has taught that you can refuse symptoms of disease and claim your healing, going so far as to say you can command it to depart. Finally, similar to Word of Faith theology he has taught that we’re not waiting on God for a miracle, God waits on us, because the miracle is already done. That was taught in a sermon titled Stop Blocking Your Miracle.
With all of that in view, it’s more believable that his statement about heaven needing earth’s authorization to act is evidence of bad doctrine leaking out, than it is evidence of a man with a Th.D. and Th.M, engaged in the rigors of the writing process, simply failing to be precise enough.
Explained
Tony Evans sounds very similar to Word of Faith heretics in his blog titled Holding God Accountable. He asserts that heaven needs earth’s authorization to intervene in the affairs of earth. Later in the this entry, you’ll see it looks like Tony Evans has been influenced by some bad theology that has Word of Faith overtones.
Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass. 1 Thessalonians 5:24
One of the most important things we can do as Christians is to pray according to our covenantal rights. But we often don’t do this because we misunderstand what prayer is.
Let me define prayer by first saying what prayer is not. Prayer is not simply talking to God. Instead, prayer is asserting earthly permission for heavenly interference. Prayer is earth giving heaven authorization to intervene in the affairs of earth as heaven has previously stated it would. That permission is granted based on your legal position and rights. That’s why it is essential to study the Word of God and to know the rights He has granted you through His Word.
If you’re being held in bondage by an illegitimate force in your life, cry out to God. Pray to Him for deliverance by appealing to Him based on your covenantal rights. God has a legal obligation to respond to you because you have a legitimate agreement with Him found in His Word.
Go through the Scriptures and read everything that relates to your stronghold and pray it back to God. When you do that, prayer is no longer just a spiritual exercise or something to check off of your Christian to-do list. Rather, prayer becomes a legal meeting where you and God get together in agreement on the same covenantal arrangement. Prayer becomes an act of holding God accountable, in the right sense of the word, to what He holds Himself accountable to: His Word.
Compare the quote from Evans with a quote from word of faith heretic Myles Munroe.
Myles Munroe “Yes. Let me define prayer for you in this show. Prayer is man giving God permission, or license, to interfere in earth’s affairs. In other words, prayer is earthly license for heavenly interference….God can do nothing on earth, nothing has God ever done on earth without a human giving him access….Always looking for a human to give him power of permission. In other words, God has the power, but you got the permission. God got the authority and the power, but you got the license. So even though God can do anything, he can only do what you permit him to do”
Tony Evans again Instead, prayer is asserting earthly permission for heavenly interference. Prayer is earth giving heaven authorization to intervene in the affairs of earth as heaven has previously stated it would. That permission is granted based on your legal position and rights.
Some may give Evans the benefit of the doubt because he appeals to covenant promises. Actually he calls them covenant rights. Those giving Evans the benefit of the doubt might argue that his language is imprecise. They would argue that Evans is merely saying we can rest on the promises of God, and bring them to God in prayer. Because God promised them, we can trust that God will do them. Some might even point to teachings from the Puritans.
If that is the case, Evans made an incredible gaffe that put him within the rhetorical realm of really bad company. His statements gravely diminish the sovereignty of God. The idea that God needs permission to do anything is unbiblical, and puts man on the throne, instead of putting God on the throne.
Saying to grasp the promises of God, rest in the promises of God, and pray the promises of God to God, based on covenant promises, is vastly different than precisely saying heaven needs earthly permission for heavenly interference. To read it as anything different is to do abuse to the english language.
The Puritans qualified their teaching on these matters with a robust doctrine of God’s sovereignty. A Puritan would never even come close to saying heaven needs earth’s permission for heavenly interference. Even the mere suggestion would cause them to recoil.
Here are some quotes from the book A Puritan Theology: Doctrine for life on these matters. Notice the stark contrast between the Puritan emphasis on God’s sovereignty and the rhetoric of Evans on heaven needing our permission.
We may still pray in faith, but in the faith of submission and not with definite assurance. In this type of faith, we believe we will receive an answer of good tidings, knowing that the good we receive will be determined according to what most glorifies the Lord and is best for us and those for whom we pray. In writing about the wisdom of God in fulfilling His promises in due season, Spurstowe also urged submissive praying.
He said, “It is good in prayer to have the desires winged with affection and to be like an arrow drawn with full strength, but yet there must be a submission exercised unto the holy and wise will of God, that so it may appear that we seek him in a way of begging, and not by way of contest; that we make him not the object only of our duties and ourselves the end, but him to be both the object and the end of every service which we give unto him.”62
Beeke, Joel R.; Jones, Mark. A Puritan Theology: Doctrine for Life (Kindle Locations 15841-15848). . Kindle Edition.
Even in such prayers for absolute promises, however, we must pray in submission to God’s will and wisdom. Praying for things absolutely promised does not mean prescribing to God when or how He must keep His promise. We must trust Him with the circumstances of time, means, and measure, for He has reserved these things in His own power.64
Spurstowe said, God has in his Word recorded [the promises], as so many discoveries of his immutable counsel and purpose, that thereby faith might have a sure ground to rely upon him in all exigencies, and to expect a relief from him, but the season and time of performance, God has reserved to himself, as best knowing not only what to give, but when to give; so that, believers, though they may plead to God his promise, must yet be careful not to confine and limit him to times which they judge fittest; but wholly to resign themselves to his wise disposal, to whom every creature looks, and receive their meat in due season (Ps. 145:15).65
Beeke, Joel R.; Jones, Mark. A Puritan Theology: Doctrine for Life (Kindle Locations 15860-15868). . Kindle Edition.
Tony Evans missed the robust nuance of God’s sovereignty in this matter. He appeals to rights, not promises, and precisely puts man in the position of giving God permission to act.
Psalm 115:3 But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.
An interpretation of Evans may assert he’s just appealing to covenant promises and our need to bring them to God in prayer. That assertion believes Evans didn’t intend to sound like a word of faith heretic, but was imprecise in his writing, and sounded similar to one accidentally.
Evans is an educated man, and it should be assumed he meant to say what he said. He sounded very precise. What he posted probably went through the rigors of the writing process. He has earned a Th.M. and a Th.D. He isn’t a bumbling social media theologian spewing off whatever pops into his head.
Given all of that, I think we have to assume he meant to say what he said. It comes close to abusing the english language to think he just wasn’t precise enough, and wasn’t communicating what he intended to communicate, given his robust education, the rigors of the writing process, and the like.
His view of God’s sovereignty and the place of man leaked out into his blog. What’s inside a person’s head leaks out into their writing. Someone with a robust doctrine of God’s sovereignty wouldn’t leak out the sentences he leaked out. Certainly not someone engaged in the rigors of the writing process who holds two very advanced degrees, and has proven he knows how to communicate what he intends to communicate.
There are other concerns about Tony Evans that make what he said above, look like he may actually have influence from Word of Faith teaching. Here are some quotes from his book Prayer for Victories in Spiritual Warfare.
“I speak peace into the organs and hormones that my body needs to function well.”
“I remove the curse of this illness and command it to depart in the name of Jesus Christ, my Lord. Satan, you may not have my body or any part of it. I refuse your symptoms of disease and claim bodily healing for the sake of my Lord and the ministry He’s given me.”
Speaking peace to organs, and refusing symptoms of illness are teachings much like you would find in the Word of Faith camp. This may indicate that his quote about heaven needing permission from earth was more than an imprecise statement. It looks like he has been influenced by bad theology.
Look below at part of his sermon titled Stop Blocking Your Miracle. It conveys the same idea that word of faithers teach, the idea that God is waiting on us to grab the miracle.
He says, “Thank you, Father, that you have already heard me,” which means whatever he’s getting ready to talk about, he has previously discussed. “God, you and I discussed this earlier.” Stay with me now.
We kinda get a hint of that discussion back in chapter 11, verse 2, “And the sisters sent word to Jesus, saying, ‘Lord, behold, he whom you love is sick.’” Lazarus. “But when Jesus heard this, he said, ‘This sickness is not to end in death, but for the glory of God, so the Son of God may be glorified by it.’” So, let’s look at what happened here. “I thank you, Father, that you’ve already heard and we’ve already talked about this.”
In other words, “When they sent word to me about the need of a miracle, you and me, Daddy, had a meeting, and in our meeting, when we discussed this, we agreed that when we saw faith, we were gonna do a supernatural work. You and I have already had this meeting. But even though you and I have had the meeting in the spiritual realm, they’re not gonna see what we agreed on in the physical realm until the bridge of faith is built so that my intercession for them becomes you bringing to pass what has already been agreed on.”
So, why is that important for you to know? That your supernatural miracle, whatever is in God’s will to do, has already been agreed on in the spiritual realm. That means you do not have to beg God to do something that is in his will to do.
It’s not you waiting on God, if he’s agreed to it. It’s him waiting on you to move the stone so he can let you see what was already previously agreed on. It’s called the intercession of the Son and of the Holy Spirit bringing into the physical realm what has previously been agreed on in the spiritual realm once faith has been exercised, even if it has to overrule logic and correct logic.
. . .
Again, Tony Evans has been influenced by some toxic theology, and it’s not likely his teaching on heaven needing earth’s permission is some kind of ooopsie-daisy. Rather it’s the product of his actual theology.
People should be aware of toxic teachings like those that are part of his ministry. Other aspects of his ministry may be solid. Rather than going to him for those helpful aspects, it is probably better to find that elsewhere so you’re not exposed to those types of toxic teachings.
Leonie and her husband Ivan are songwriters, worship leaders, parents and grandparents. They have operated in lay ministry in cross-denominational settings for many years. Leonie writes poetry and lyrics and is an artist of great repute (according to her granddaughter, at least!). Both Leonie and her husband take a great interest in history, current events and politics.
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