Jesus Rocks Hard-Core Buddhist's World - SHANNON WOODLAND, JULIE BLIM/CBN CHARISMA NEWS

Jesus Rocks Hard-Core Buddhist's World

 9/21/2016 SHANNON WOODLAND, JULIE BLIM/CBN  CHARISMA NEWS

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"I just remember when I woke up each morning, I would smell incense seeping into my room. And there were statues of Buddhas. ... "

This was a normal day in the life of young Alex Chu. His parents were devout Buddhists and trained their children in the family religion.

"I wanted to honor my parents. However, there was never a personal relationship with any of the Buddhas. It was always at a distance."

Religion wasn't the only obligation that put him under pressure.

"Accomplishments, ambitions and achievements were essentially the non-negotiables, that which we strive for. My dad was very successful academically and professionally having two doctorates, including one from Harvard. Living in his footsteps was quite a bit challenging growing up. My mom always told me that she loved me. And my dad often times would love me by telling me that I could accomplish anything I put my mind to. "

Alex lived up to his parents' expectations and followed the Buddhist customs—but there was a cost.

"The pressure made me feel like I'm only OK if I get straight A's or if I'm at the top of my class. The feedback that I would receive often times from my studies would be, 'Oh, you got a 99 percent on this test. Well, it should've been 100.' That was just the way in which they would motivate to do better. And that was pretty customary for a lot of Asian-Americans growing up."

As he got older, he started to question his faith.

"And it wasn't probably till high school until I started to think on my own, and not only question my own faith, but am I going to take what the media says, what we hear on TV and watch as truth? Or am I going to be able to think on my own?"

Alex would eventually find the truth in college—but not in a religion or philosophy class. He witnessed it through the Christians in his dorm.

"They seemed very tightknit, very friendly. But even more so, there was a lot of joy on their faces. They didn't seem to have a lot pressure on them."

And he discovered something even more compelling.

"The unconditional love that is preached in the Christian faith. The relationship with God that you can have is something that was a surprise to me in many ways."

In his second year, he asked one of the guys if he could go with him to an InterVarsity Christian Fellowship meeting.

"For the first time, I heard about the grace of God."

But feelings alone weren't enough to convince Alex to abandon his parents' faith. He needed rational answers to his many questions.

"The problem of evil, or why does evil still exist in the world? I wondered about the historical reliability of Scripture and the inspiration of Scripture as well."

His decision hinged on the most important question of all.

"Who is Jesus, and is He who He says He is?"

So Alex joined a Bible study to find out.

"Well, what impressed me about Jesus in the Gospels was the authority with which He spoke, but also just the love that He had and compassion for all people. And so I had to discern that based off of how Jesus interacted in Scripture and His claims, and as I reflected upon it, I came to that conclusion that he was indeed the Son of God. And at that moment, I also prayed a personal prayer to God. And I was completely convinced that Jesus is the Son of God, that He died for my sins that I may have life eternally with Him. "

Now, Alex had to tell his parents he had become a Christian. It took years, but eventually they accepted his decision. After college, Alex worked as an engineer before he answered God's call to go to seminary. He also married Michelle, a Christian, and today he and Michelle are busy raising three children.  

"As an Asian-American that was always trying to seek approval and achieve things, it's meant everything to me to recognize that He loves me unconditionally and offers an eternal life with Him." 

Reprinted with permission from CBN.com. Copyright The Christian Broadcasting Network, Inc., All rights reserved.

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6 Warning Signs of Spiritual Danger - J. LEE GRADY CHARISMA MAGAZINE

Don't ignore the warning signs. You may need to examine your ministry's priorities. (Lightstock )

6 Warning Signs of Spiritual Danger

 9/21/2016 J. LEE GRADY  CHARISMA MAGAZINE

A desperate friend recently contacted me because he was worried that his son might be under the influence of a Christian ministry with questionable doctrines. The leader of the ministry preaches that any church that doesn't experience regular healings isn't following the true Jesus—and he suggests that only his small congregation has an inside track with God. Thankfully, my friend's son discerned something was off track.

Satan loves to pull Christians into unhealthy extremes. And immature Christian leaders sometimes allow youthful pride, greed or insecurity to suck them into toxic spirituality. The result is always a trail of wounded people. In my years of ministry, I've learned there are several clear signs that a ministry has veered away from the truth and into deception. Here are the most obvious:

1. Lack of spiritual accountability. Healthy leaders know they need to surround themselves with mentors and advisers who can question them if they step out of line. Proverbs 11:14 says: "In the multitude of counselors there is safety." But if you are following a teacher, prophet or apostle who has not submitted himself to any form of accountability, you are asking for trouble. Never align yourself with a Lone Ranger, no matter how fiery his sermons are. He will likely lead you off a cliff.

2. Overemphasis on money. You'd think we would have learned this by now, after so many American charlatans have conned people out of their life savings to build their mansions. But the charismatic church today is still vulnerable to the extremes of financial shenanigans. Godly leaders always call people to fund the work of the church and gospel outreach; unhealthy leaders, on the contrary, manipulate people in order to line their own pockets. Don't be charmed when a preacher makes outlandish promises about what will happen if you give to him.

3. An elitist attitude. All believers in Jesus are part of the body of Christ. Yet Christians who experience certain gifts or manifestations of the Holy Spirit are sometimes tempted to think they are superior. If they aren't careful, this subtle spiritual pride can morph into a dangerous elitism. Suddenly they are God's favorites, with special access to revelation that no one else knows and authority that no one else has.

Some ministries today claim to have inside information about end-times prophecy and the return of Jesus. In some cases they convince people to store up food and even guns to prepare for Armageddon. Back in the 1980s, a preacher named Charles Meade convinced many people to follow him to Florida, where his church taught that only those who aligned themselves with Meade's group would survive the last days. Don't let anyone suck you into this kind of cultic mindset.

4. A spirit of control among followers. A mature leader knows the members of his church don't belong to him. But there are insecure and untrained pastors who use manipulation and threats to keep their members loyal. True pastors don't have to constantly teach on spiritual authority to win their support of their flocks; but a controlling leader constantly emphasizes that he is in charge, and he demands total submission. This mindset can lead to serious spiritual abuse.

5. Constant talk of miracles with no documentation. There is a great hunger today in the body of Christ for the miraculous—and faith is rising for healing, prophecy and the full manifestation of the Holy Spirit's power. But in the rush to see God's power displayed, some people fall into the trap of hyping, sensationalizing or even faking miracles to get attention. This never bears good fruit.

In 2008, thousands of people traveled to Lakeland, Florida, to witness a "revival" that was supposedly marked by nightly miracles. Yet many of the healings (and even resurrections) that were announced from the pulpit were never verified—and the whole thing abruptly ended when the evangelist leading those meetings admitted to adultery. I hope we learned our lesson from Lakeland. God help us from ever repeating that tragedy.

6. Strange revelations that lack biblical basis. The apostle Paul warned us long ago that waves of deception would affect the church. "For the time will come when people will no longer endure sound doctrine ... they will turn their ears away from the truth ... " (2 Tim. 4:3-4). Never follow a preacher who claims "inside information" from God that no one else knows. Don't be mesmerized by his teachings—even if he claims that an angel gave him this information, or that he received it in a supernatural vision.

The test of truth is not how spooky spiritual something sounds, but whether it is in line with God's Word. Many false prophets can say, "God showed me this," but they are lying if their message contradicts Scripture. If something sounds really off when you hear it, don't ignore your gut feelings.

Don't be deceived. If you are a follower of Christ, you have been equipped with an internal alarm system that will warn you about any unhealthy teaching or ministry. Listen to the Holy Spirit, who is called the Spirit of truth (John 16:13). He can give you the discernment to know the difference between truth and error.  

J. Lee Grady is the former editor of Charisma. You can follow him on Twitter at leegrady. He is the author of several books including 10 Lies the Church Tells Women, 10 Lies Men Believe, Fearless Daughters of the Bible and The Holy Spirit Is Not for Sale. You can learn more about his ministry, The Mordecai Project, atthemordecaiproject.org.

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American Embassy Apologizes for 'Settler' Gifts - Israel Today

American Embassy Apologizes for 'Settler' Gifts

Thursday, September 22, 2016 |  Israel Today Staff

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Just in case anyone forgot, the American government does not like Jews living in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) and would never intentionally buy anythingfrom those who do.

This week, the American Embassy in Tel Aviv apologized for unwittingly including bottles of wine from a “settler” winery in gift baskets sent out ahead of Rosh Hashanah.

One of the recipients of those baskets was the ultra-leftist organization Peace Now, which made a stink over receiving wine made by filthy Jewish settlers.

The wine in question came from the Zion Winery located in Mishor Adumim, the industrial area of the large Jerusalem suburb of Ma’aleh Adumim.

Like the rest of the so-called “West Bank,” Peace Now views Ma’aleh Adumim as occupied Palestinian territory, and the American government agrees.

US Embassy officials explained that they bought the gift baskets “ready made” and did not directly choose the wine that was included. The Americans stressed that Washington’s official position regarding Jewish “settlements” had not changed.

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Terrorism That Hits Close to Home in Israel - JONATHAN FELDSTEIN CHARISMA NEWS

A Palestinian Arab terrorist was found and 'neutralized' in Standing With Israel Columnist Jonathan Feldstein's Efrat neighborhood last weekend. (Jonathan Feldstein )

Terrorism That Hits Close to Home in Israel

9/22/2016 JONATHAN FELDSTEIN  CHARISMA NEWS

This past Sunday I woke up early, very early. Not by choice, but because I was very jet lagged from my recent speaking tour in the U.S.

I turned on the news to see what happened overnight. Both the international English cable news and Hebrew Israeli news were reporting live on the terrorist bombing in New York. I was shocked, and my thoughts and prayers turned to the residents and law enforcement professionals.

Throughout the broadcast, I kept hearing sound of traffic, heavy vehicles, and sirens. They sounded close to home, but I wrote it off due to my exhaustion as background noise from the live broadcasts in New York. 

I was glued to the TV and news happening 6,000 miles away. Then I got the SMS from the security department in our town (Efrat, Israel). What was unfolding in front of me on TV, and in my front yard, was surreal. But you probably only heard about the news from New York.

Setting the stage for what was happening in my neighborhood, it had been a weekend of lots of violence in Israel. There were several stabbings and car rammings that continued into the new week for five days straight, as of this writing.

As I slept, under the cover of darkness, a Palestinian Arab terrorist was spotted entering my town from his adjacent town. Overnight, led by our volunteer rapid response security team and many soldiers, a manhunt began to find the intruder. I got wind of this all around 5:00 a.m. Residents were instructed to stay indoors until further notice. About an hour later, reports started coming in that the terrorist was found and shot. "Neutralized."

The terrorist was found in a neighbor's yard where he surprised a soldier, stabbing and critically wounding him. Twenty minutes later, dozens of neighbors would have passed that exact spot, many casually on foot, not quite awake yet, heading off to the early morning prayer service at my synagogue. Despite the soldier's serious wounds, a much greater potential tragedy was avoided. A miracle.

However, to be sure we were all safe, dozens of soldiers fanned out across my neighborhood, literally going door to door, looking under and behind anything and everything, to make sure that the one terrorist didn't hurt anyone previously, and that there weren't more terrorists. We were all still on lockdown. 

About an hour after that, as my oldest daughter was getting anxious that she was going to miss her ride to school an hour away, we got the all-clear. I drove her to her ride, and saw dozens more soldiers and military vehicles up the block blanketing our neighborhood. She made it and things started getting back to normal.

After the all clear, neighbors started coming out of their houses, talking together and comparing thoughts. It reminded me of the time a rocket from Gaza landed across the valley from our homes in the 2014 Gaza war, and resembled the Munchkins slowly coming out after Dorothy's house landed in Munchkin Land, killing the Wicked Witch.

We got the all-clear in time to get all the other kids to school, though they were understandably scared to walk to the bus. As I drove them, my 11-year-old son said he was nervous. I tried to calm him with the parental, "everything will be OK." But how could he not be nervous? And how could I be sure it would be OK? 

I was glad that he articulated it because overcoming fear like this requires first being able to affirm it. Many Israeli children carry traumas like these with them, so it was important to start the dialogue. Hopefully the increased security presence at all the schools that day was something that brought comfort, not something creating more fear and stress.

After taking him to the bus, I brought a cake to the soldiers still in our neighborhood. It was a really good one left over from our Shabbat. But it was morning, they had been up all night, and they needed and certainly deserved it more than I did. They spent the night watching my back figuratively, and I gave it to them to say thanks, and as to watch my waistline.

Now everything is back to "normal"—almost. The sounds of the heavy military vehicles and sirens were replaced by sounds of kids in the street and adults driving car pool and going to work. The one sound missing was that of the din of the heavy machinery grinding down the ancient Judean Mountains across the valley, excavating new neighborhoods in our town.

No Palestinian Arab workers were allowed in town that day. But by the next day, everything was back to normal with hundreds of Arab men carrying heavy tools coming to work right up the block. 

Later in the day, I realized that while the incident in our town was relatively minor, it comes in the context of yet another increased wave of violence, leaving many Israelis hurt, some severely. Looking at this through my son's eyes, I realized that our children carry a great burden.

My son's response was normal. But then I wondered about his friend whose father died, and thousands of others who've lost a parent or sibling due to terror or other tragedy. I understood how the trauma of listening to the news or reading the morning paper could inflict a sense of fear and insecurity that adds to the trauma they have already suffered. Regular violence compounds deep-seeded trauma.

I developed a new appreciation for the work I do every day with The Koby Mandell Foundation, kobymandell.org, to heal the invisible scars of women and children who have lost a loved one. Healing from grief is not a finite process. Grief doesn't just stop.

And even when one is recovering, a stabbing in the Judean Mountains far away can open the wounds and set back the healing process. I am grateful for the opportunity I have to do what I do because the renewed and ongoing potential for terror attacks in Israel remains a daily reality. 

Organizations like The Koby Mandell Foundation are all the more critical when terror is in the news, even when it's quiet, or the terror attacks just aren't reported, because even invisible scars never quite go away. 

Jonathan Feldstein was born and educated in the U.S. and immigrated to Israel in 2004. He is married and the father of six. Throughout his life and career, he has been blessed by the calling to fellowship with Christian supporters of Israel and shares experiences of living as an Orthodox Jew in Israel. He writes a regular column for charismanews.com's Standing With Israel. He can be reached at firstpersonisrael@gmail.com.

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Want More Evidence of the Liberal Mainstream Media's Bias? - BOB ESCHLIMAN Charisma News

Praying for Donald Trump near Cleveland, OH

Want More Evidence of the Liberal Mainstream Media's Bias?

9/22/2016 BOB ESCHLIMAN  CHARISMA NEWS

Wednesday, Donald Trump met with pastors at the Cleveland Heights, Ohio, church of his friend and supporter, pastor Darrell Scott.

There were a lot of headline-grabbing moments—particularly one in which the pastors laid hands on and prayed for the Republican presidential nominee and another when he expressed concern over the previous night's shooting of an African-American man in Tulsa, Okla.—but you wouldn't know that by scanning the headlines. No, the mainstream media instead focused on a slip-of-the-tongue and a lie.

Don King introduces Donald Trump

While introducing Trump, former boxing promoter Don King was sharing a story that related to the subject of the event—better racial relations—when he mentioned advice he once gave to Michael Jackson. As he noted as he was relating the story, he told the audience he had originally used the "N-word," but replaced it in the church setting with "negro."

Except one time, when he briefly used the N-word before correcting himself.

The audience let out a collective groan, followed by a brief chuckle. Almost immediately, the liberal mainstream media put out the narrative that Trump laughed at a racially insensitive comment from a convicted murderer.

The video, however, tells a different story.

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When Bibi Disturbed Everyone's Dinner - Israel Today

When Bibi Disturbed Everyone's Dinner

Thursday, September 22, 2016 |  Israel Today Staff

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Patrons of the upscale New York City restaurant Harry Cipriani had their evening out rudely disturbed when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in town for the UN General Assembly, decided to dine there with his wife, Sarah, on Tuesday.

A number of other celebrities were at the restaurant at the time. An eyewitness told Page Six that 20 agents from the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) arrived before Netanyahu to secure the premises and take up positions around the restaurant. The Israeli leader arrived shortly after with an additional 20 bodyguards.

Harry Cipriani only seats about 100 people.

Those who witnessed the affair were somewhat bemused by the fact that 20 bodyguards accompanied Netanyahu to the bathroom midway through his meal.

Less amusing was how the Israeli agents took control of the restaurant and the hotel in which it is located, subjecting all who entered to pat-downs and metal detectors.

“He must be the most protected man in the world right now,” one eyewitness told Page Six.

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WATCH: A Few Words for President Obama regarding Israel - Ron Cantor MESSIAH'S MANDATE

WATCH: Obama: Israel cannot ‘permanently occupy, settle Palestinian land’ I am really grateful for social media. When President Obama uttered these ridiculous and historically inaccurate words, I was able to quickly go to Facebook and challenge them. By morning the video had been seen over 2,600 times and shared over 100 times. Still, that is nowhere near the reach that the President has, but we do what we can. I have studied the Israeli Palestinian conflict intensely since 1989 and the fact is that there is no such thing as Palestinian lands. Secondly, the only reason Israel controls the West Bank is because of the aggressive and billegerant actions of the surrounding nations. Had Jordan not attacked Israel during the Six-Day-War, we would never have taken the Old City of Jerusalem or the West Bank. And now that we have it as a buffer zone against our enemies why in the world would we give it back?  Ron Cantor Messiah's Mandate Watch the video.

Has the Location of the Garden of Eden Been Found? [VIDEO] - Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz BREAKING ISRAEL NEWS

(Shutterstock)

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Has the Location of the Garden of Eden Been Found? [VIDEO]

By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz  BREAKING ISRAEL NEWS September 21, 2016 

“For Hashem hath comforted Tzion; He hath comforted all her waste places, and hath made her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of Hashem; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.” Isaiah 51:3 (The Israel Bible™)

It seems the entire globe has been fully explored and no secrets remain, yet no signs of Eden, its garden, or the flaming sword set to guard its entrance have ever been found. One unusual theory, put forth by a young woman who witnessed a remarkable phenomenon she believes marks the beginnings of a prophetic fulfillment, is supported by Biblical verse.

Samantha Siegel, a young American immigrant living in Jerusalem, first came to prominence two months ago when her video showing fish swimming in the sinkholes surrounding the Dead Sea went viral, garnering over 280,000 views. The video excited the public, who saw in it the fulfillment of the prophecy in Ezekiel quoted below.

In her recent video, Siegel suggests this phenomenon is the beginning of a drastic change in the Dead Sea that will turn it into a lush and fertile region. She begins by noting that the Garden of Eden was referred to in the Bible as a garden of God. In a leap of reason based on Biblical sources, she noted the plains of Jordan where the Dead Sea stands today are also referred to in the Bible as a garden of God.

And Hashem God planted a garden eastward…Genesis 2:8

And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of the Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before Hashem destroyed Sdom and Gomorrah, like the garden of Hashem… Genesis 13:10

Similarly, the Garden of Eden had every kind of fruit tree, and the Dead Sea is prophesied to be so in the Messianic era.

And out of the ground made Hashem God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food…Genesis 2:9

And by the river upon the bank thereof on this side and on that side shall grow every tree for food…Ezekiel 47:12

From these Biblical parallels, Siegel proposes that Eden and the Dead Sea are one and the same. Though it might be difficult for the average person to envision the Dead Sea, a salt lake devoid of life, as the fabled Garden, for Siegel, this comes naturally. After personally witnessing the improbable existence of life in the waters surrounding the Dead Sea, Siegel can easily envision in this the first signs of what she believes is the rebirth of the Garden of Eden.

As proof of her theory, she notes the four rivers of Eden, listed in the Bible as the Pishon, Gihon, Tigris, and Euphrates. According to her theory, the Pishon and Gihon could be the two sources of the Nile, southwest of Israel.

The Tigris and Euphrates are located in what is today Iraq, northeast of modern-day Israel. She describes these four rivers as encircling Israel with the center point being the Dead Sea and Jerusalem.

Rabbi Natan Greenberg, the head of Bat Ayin Yeshiva, was intrigued by Siegel’s interpretation, but noted that there is no Jewish source to support her theory. “For our purposes today, Eden was once a place but it transcended that, becoming a spiritual concept of geula (redemption) and tikkun (fixing) with no specific geographic reference,” Rabbi Greenberg told Breaking Israel News.

“Once it was in the physical world but now it is gone, and there is no return. That connection between the physical and spiritual is unattainable today.”

Rabbi Greenberg compared Eden to a mythical elven land in the “Lord of the Rings” series written by J.R.R. Tolkien. “It’s like Valinor, where the elves first came from. It became a myth, a place of high spiritual transformation and something to strive towards, but there is no return.”

Rabbi Avraham Arieh Trugman director of Ohr Chadash Torah Institute, also noted there was no source that suggested a geographic location for the Garden of Eden, but that does not detract from its relevance.

“Jewish history follows a cycle of constant states of exile and redemption,” Rabbi Trugman explained. “The first exile was from Gan Eden (the Garden of Eden) and it thereby forms the paradigm for exile for all of history. Geula is what is referred to as returning to the Garden – the full tikkun of the primordial sin and exile from the garden.”

The Garden does have present-day ramifications, according to the rabbi, even political overtones.

“According to Jewish tradition, the Garden of Eden is associated with the Land of Israel, according to the big borders – from the river of Egypt to the Euphrates,” Rabbi Trugman said to Breaking Israel News.

The borders of Israel are described several times in the Bible. When God promised the land to Abraham, specific borders were described allotting to his descendants a piece of land significantly larger than what was eventually conquered in the days of Joshua Ben Nun. These more expansive borders were based on the description of the Garden of Eden.

In that day Hashem made a covenant with Avram, saying: ‘Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates. Genesis 15:18

“The future geula is centered around Israel,” explained the rabbi. “But geula means a revelation of the primordial utopian state of the garden of Eden.”