7 Things Endangering Peace More than Settlements, John Kerry - Ron Cantor

7 Things Endangering Peace More than Settlements, John Kerry Ron Cantor  Dec. 30, 2016  Messiah's Mandate In John Kerry’s angry rant two days ago, he confronted Israel in the strongest terms, claiming that Israel’s building neighborhoods and towns in historic Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) and East Jerusalem was endangering peace. But in truth, if Israel stopped building settlements tomorrow, these seven issues would still exist and we would be no closer to peace. Wake up Mr. Kerry, the only peace that Hamas and the PLO want with Israel, is one where Jews cease to exist in the Middle East. You cannot make a peace deal with the devil. The issues below are far more worthy of confrontation, than Israelis building on their historic homeland. 1. Terror Tunnels Presently Hamas is stealing 95% of the cement that is supposed to go to rebuild homes in Gaza to build Terror Tunnels. Dozens of tunnel diggers have been executed by Hamas so they can never collaborate with Israel regarding their locations (like that spineless terrorist, Bilal Razaineh, who is pouring out secrets to Israel, after his recent capture). This is how Hamas treats Palestinians; their own people—do you think for a Gaza-minute if Israel stops building neighborhoods, they are going to suddenly choose peace? These tunnels are for the purpose of killing Jews. They even plotted to tunnel into a kindergarten to murder the most innocent of Israelis. 2. Hamas’ rule over Palestinians is Brutal Here is just one story of hundreds. Ismail Halou, 22 was pumping gas in Gazatrying to earn a living. A black jeep pulled up and police blindfolded and kidnaped him. They took him to the station. His crime? Using hair gel! His head was shaved and his feet were beaten to a pulp. He could’t walk afterwards. It was the worse pain he’d ever felt. He could hear the screams of others being beaten. They took him home, and unceremoniously dropped him off. It was three days before he could walk. In addition, Hamas uses women and children as human shields. They shoot rockets at Israel from hospitals, schools and kindergarten. John Kerry mentioned Hamas four times in his 70-minute speech as a symbolic gesture, but his real target was evil Jewish neighborhoods. 3. Hezbollah has 120,000 missiles aimed at Israel The ISIS-like terror group claims to have more missiles than ever aimed at the Jewish state. And if John Kerry thinks they are ready and willing to disarm, if Israel stops building settlements, than he is more naïve than I ever dreamed. Islamists are not about peace, but sworn to Israel’s destruction. Israeli UN ambassador Danny Danon challenged the UN in July: “Let me be clear. Should Iran’s proxy, Hezbollah, make the miscalculation that it did in 2006, Israel will be ready to defend its citizens in the most vigorous and forceful way possible,” he stated. “We demand the removal of Hezbollah terrorists from southern Lebanon.” (jpost) 4. The Palestinian Authority is Pays Terrorists How can you be a partner for peace and sponsor terrorism at the same time? The P.A. pays monthly salaries to terrorists and their families to the tune of 140 million dollars a year. That is 10% of the yearly budget for the Palestinian Authority. This is a great incentive for a poor Palestinian to kill Israelis, if for no other reason, than to provide for his family. U.S. tax dollars are funding this in part, as the U.S. gives aid to the P.A. Where is Mr. Kerry’s outrage that the families of the murderers of 14-year-old Hallel Yaffa Ariel and Ezra Schwartz, both U.S. citizens, get monthly checks from the Palestinian Authority? In fact, there is no outrage. Mr. Kerry probably thinks little Hallel had it coming, as she lived on one of those evil settlements. 5. The Palestinian Authority Honors Terrorists On the one hand, The P.A. condemns terror, while the other hand’s fingers are crossed. If you are not pro-terror, you don’t name streets, public squares, schools and even soccer teams after “glorious” terrorists. But the P.A. does. “Muhannad Halabi was a 19-year-old Palestinian terrorist who killed two Israelis, Rabbi Nehemiah Lavi and Aharon Bennett, in a stabbing attack in the Old City of Jerusalem on Oct. 3. Halabi, who was eventually shot dead by Israeli police, also injured Bennett’s wife Adele and their 2-year-old son in the attack.” The Palestinian Authority honored the young man by naming a street after him. That is just one of scores of examples. 6. Paying IRAN 1.7 Billion Dollar Ransom If releasing five of the world’s top terrorists for the traitor, Bowe Bergdowl (and then inviting his perverted, pro-Islam father to invoke the name of Allah in the Rose Garden of the White House) wasn’t enough. Obama and Kerry paid the Ayatollahs of Iran 1.7 Billion in ransom money. Nothing encourages a kidnapper to continue to kidnap more than getting ransom money. But Kerry believers Iran’s police state, which routinely mocks the U.S. and calls for Israel’s destruction, can be trusted allies, while Israel is the new roadblock to peace. 7. Yelling at your Friend in Public John Kerry’s scolding of Israel publically in front of her mortal enemies does far more to encourage terror, than Israelis building a town. How encouraged must the leaders of ISIS, Hamas, Hezbollah and other Islamic terror groups be after seeing the animated and furious Kerry take off the gloves with Israel. Do you think they are more likely to carry out terror attacks after that or less? Kerry’s speech was more of an impediment to peace, than anything Israel is doing. Kerry says Israel is going to be isolated if we don’t stop building in the West Bank. Well, he is doing his best to isolate us. Is this not what was prophesied? Zechariah says that all nations will turn against Jerusalem. But for now, I am just excited that in 22 days we will have a new President in the U.S. who has been sending unprecedented signals that he will be the most pro-Israel President ever. I just hope that Obama and Kerry can behave themselves until then. And as this year comes to end, we are blessed that we have been able to pay every staff member and every bill, but that has left us with literally nothing left. We even had to empty our book fund. While we are happy to not be in the red, we could be so grateful if you could make a end of the year donation to Messiah’s Mandate. Thank you so much for helping us to reach the people of Tel Aviv! Go to www.StandWithMMI.org to make your donation. Or send your check to: Messiah’s Mandate c/o Maoz Israel PO Box 535788 Grand Prairie, TX 75053 Thank you so much! Our Tel Aviv based team sends blessings! Until all Israel is saved (Romans 11:26), Ron Cantor

Have you thanked your wife lately for all of the wonderful things she does? (iStock photo)

7 Things for Which to Thank Your Wife

5/7/2014 ALLPRODAD.COM STAFF  CHARISMA MAGAZINE

We men can be notoriously bad at thanking people, starting with the person we love the most: our wife. Here are seven quick things we can thank our spouse for, one per day for the next week:

1. “Thanks for putting up with me and for loving me. I know I am not always easy to live with.”

2. “Thanks for all you do to provide good food for our family to eat.”

3. “Thanks for all you do around the house. You do a great job keeping things clean and organized.”

4. “Thanks for pouring your life into our children and making that tough but worthwhile investment.”

5. “Thank you for all the times you have prayed for me. Please keep it up!”

6. “Thank you for being wise with our finances to give our family a bright future.”

7. “Thanks for being you, for putting your family first, and for looking so gorgeous while you do it!”

All Pro Dad is Family First’s innovative and unique program for every father. Their aim is to interlock the hearts of the fathers with their children and, as a byproduct, the hearts of the children with their dads. At AllProDad.com, dads in any stage of fatherhood can find helpful resources to aid in their parenting. Resources include daily emails, blogs, Top 10 lists, articles, printable tools, videos and eBooks. From AllProDad.com, fathers can join the highly engaged All Pro Dad social media communities on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram.

For the original article, visit allprodad.com.

7 Things That Prove God Is Real by LEE GRADY, CHARISMA MAGAZINE

There indeed are answers for atheists' arguments 

against the existence of God. (iStock photo)

7 Things That Prove God Is Real

3/19/2014 J. LEE GRADY  CHARISMA MAGAZINE

When I was a journalist in my 20s, I needed to verify a fact about atheism. This was before the Internet age, so I phoned the Texas headquarters of American Atheists. Madalyn Murray O’Hair, the mother of modern atheism in this country, answered my call. Apparently she had a very small staff!

Her voice was gruff, and she sounded angry and cynical, even before I identified myself as a Christian. She answered my question and I hung up. Ever since then, I’ve felt intense sadness for people who deny the existence of God. Explaining her beliefs, O’Hair once said, “There is no God. There’s no heaven. There’s no hell. There are no angels. When you die, you go in the ground; the worms eat you.” What a sad way to view life!

I’m sure Mrs. O’Hair would be upset about the new Christian film God’s Not Dead, which opens in theaters this Friday. The film features Kevin Sorbo (who played in the 1990s TV show Hercules) as an atheist college professor who tries to force a Christian student (Shane Harper) to rethink his beliefs. The film releases at a time when atheism is growing in this country.

I was never on the debate team in high school, so I’m not the best guy to take on evolutionist Richard Dawkins or comedian/atheist Bill Maher in a televised argument. Still, my faith in God is certainly not shaken when I hear these guys whining about how stupid or weak Christians are. They have a constitutional right to view life negatively. But if I had a chance to give them my reasons for believing in God, I would list these:

1. Babies. I watched my wife give birth to our four daughters, and last month I visited my new grandson. I’ve stared at little Hananiah’s cute face and tiny fingers—and the cleft in his chin that resembles mine. How can anyone deny the reality of God when they see a baby? The amount of information encrypted in one cell in the human body is equal to that of 1,000 books. The total amount of information stored in your DNA is 40 times more than that of the largest set of encyclopedias in the world. King David felt this sense of awe when he wrote, “You wove me in my mother’s womb. ... I am fearfully and wonderfully made” (Ps. 139:13, 14, NASB). Life is truly a miracle!

2. Thunderstorms. I love to sit on my back porch in Florida and listen to the rumbling of thunder. It reminds me of God’s majesty and power. The apostle Paul said creation was the best evidence of God’s existence. He wrote, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen” (Rom. 1:20). Nature is actually full of quantifiable miracles. Just consider the fact that the earth is the perfect distance from the sun to support life. If we were any farther away from the sun, we would freeze; if we were even slightly closer to it, we would burn up. It’s obvious God created this home for us!

3. Flowers. There are more than 400,000 species of flowers in the world, and most of them are not edible. Their job is to simply make the world beautiful. Did they just haphazardly evolve over time, or did a loving God create each individual shape and color scheme for our enjoyment? People who choose to deny God don’t spend enough time looking at tulips, snapdragons, orchids, lilies, lotuses or magnolias. This is why it’s really important to stop and smell the roses!

4. The Bible. Paul wrote that “all Scripture is inspired by God” (2 Tim. 3:16). The Bible itself is proof of God’s existence because He used 40 unrelated people over a period of 2,000 years to write His unique love letter to us. There is nothing like the Bible because it carries the same consistent message throughout all of its 66 different books. Atheists can laugh at this idea, but those who have read the Scriptures and experienced God through its pages know why it is the best-selling and most-translated book in all of history. (Fact: 100 million copies of the Bible are sold every year. Richard Dawkins’ The God Delusion has sold 2 million.)

5. The global spread of Christianity. Over the centuries, the gospel message has been vilified and ridiculed. Roman rulers threw first-century Christians to the lions, and 20th-century dictators sent believers to prison camps. It is estimated that 70 million Christians have been martyred since the church began—and 40 million of those were in the 20th century. Yet today Christianity has more adherents than any religion, and numbers are growing in many parts of the world. Our faith is spreading because it is the truth—and history shows that when this truth is mocked and scorned, it actually spreads faster!

6. Jesus. The most amazing thing about God is not that He exists, but that He loved us so much He was willing to send His Son to earth to save us from ourselves. Jesus was with the Father from the time of creation, and His arrival was predicted numerous times in Old Testament prophecy. Finally He interrupted history and came to live among us. His crucifixion is historical fact, and His resurrection was verified by hundreds of witnesses. The man who perhaps knew Jesus best—the apostle John—saw the risen Christ and touched His nail-pierced hands. He wrote, “What we have seen and heard we proclaim to you” (1 John 1:3). Jesus is not an illusive fairy tale. He is the living, breathing, touchable Son of God.

7. My personal friendship with God. Atheists may not be convinced that God exists after listening to a storm, smelling a hibiscus or reading the Bible. When I am asked to defend my faith, I don’t start an intellectual argument. I have to go back to the words of Paul in 2 Timothy 1:12: “I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed.”

There are many reasons I am convinced God is real (the existence of coffee alone proves that He loves me!), but the best evidence is how He forgave me, changed me and put unexplainable joy in my heart. And I can prove that.

J. Lee Grady is the former editor of Charisma. He now leads the Mordecai Project, an international ministry that confronts gender-based violence and oppression. You can learn more about his work at themordecaiproject.org or follow him on Twitter at@leegrady. He is the author of 10 Lies the Church Tells Women and other books.

God’s Not Dead opens this weekend. You can check out the movie trailer here.

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