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Standing in support of Israel, Jews, and believers in all the nations, in the name of Jesus (Yeshua). Sharing biblical truth, encouragement, news and prophecy.
Thursday, May 22, 2014
What Is Celebrate America All About - The Details
John Kerry Gives Up on Peace in Israel
John Kerry Gives Up on Peace in Israel
“For the Lord your God is he who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.” (Deuteronomy 20:4)
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry boards his Air Force jet for a flight to Paris, France, after a day trip to Israel and a meeting in Jerusalem with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on September 15, 2013. (Photo: US State Department)
The Obama administration has given up when it comes to peace in the Middle East. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki confirmed in a briefing on Wednesday that the United States is no longer planning on presenting new initiatives for peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
According to Psaki, Secretary of State John Kerry has turned his attention to more pressing matters in the international arena.
“It remains in the hands of the parties to take – make the choice necessary if they want to resume discussions. Obviously, there’s a great deal going on in the world, and Secretary Kerry is focused on everything from Ukraine to South Sudan, all the issues we talk about in here every day,” Psaki said.
While the US is no longer planning on brokering peace agreements, Psaki stressed that it was “Still engaged with the parties” and that “at this stage we’re in, we’re clearly in a hiatus from the talks. Nothing has changed from that.”
The last round of peace talks took a downward spiral when Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas demanded more concessions from Israel without returning any guarantee of engaging in future peace talks with Israel.
Negotiations completely collapsed several weeks ago when Israel suspended all talks with the PA in response to a surprise announcement of a Hamas-Fatah unity agreement. The new agreement will make Hamas, a Gaza-based terrorist organization, part of a new, unified Palestinian government.
Israel stated that it would never negotiate with any Palestinian government in which Hamas, who vows armed and violent resistance against Israel, is a part of.
US envoy for the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations Martin Indyk is stepping down from his post and dissolving his negotiating team in light of the recent “failure” of peace talks, Maariv reported.
Kerry has appeared optimistic about kick-starting a new round of peace talks, meeting recently with Abbas in London in “informal” discussions to discuss terms. However, the secretary has admitted it is now time to take a “pause” from talks. Kerry told Israel and the PA that the road to peace now lies in their hands.
The Obama administration, realizing the failure of peace talks, has ordered Kerry and the State Department to refocus its efforts on other international matters. According to a report last week in The New York Times, President Barack Obama is stepping away from the peace process in order “to let the failure of the talks since in for both parties, and see if that causes them to reconsider.”
An anonymous official in the Obama administration told the newspaper that the president blames Israel for the failure of peace talks, citing new construction in Judea and Samaria as the main reason.
The report noted that Obama instructed Kerry and his team to turn their attention on the crisis in Ukraine, nuclear negotiations with Iran, and long-term American strategic shift to Asia.
Love For His People Editor's Note: YEAH!!! You can't divide the land the Lord God of Israel gave to the Jews. So quit trying once and for all!!!
Steve Martin
Founder
Love For His People, Inc.
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China Buys Control of Israel's Dairy Conglomerate
China Buys Control of Israel's Dairy Conglomerate
Thursday, May 22, 2014 | Israel Today Staff
China’s state-owned Bright Food Group on Wednesday completed its $2.5 billion purchase of a controlling stake in the Israeli dairy conglomerate Tnuva.
Tnuva controls over 70 percent of the Israeli dairy market. Following the deal, China now owns 56 percent of the company.
The sale has for months been vigorously opposed by members of the Israeli Knesset and the numerous farmers who make up the Tnuva conglomerate.
They argue that selling such a large and important Israeli supplier into foreign hands creates a food security risk for the Jewish state.
The truth is that a majority of Tnuva has been owned by foreigners since 2007, when British investment firm Apax Partners bought a controlling stake in the company. Then, too, Tnuva farmers protested, but most were convinced to sell their shares after Apax negotiated acceptable supply agreements.
Now, the Israeli farmers fear their new Chinese owners will want to renegotiate those agreements.
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Billy Graham: 4 Ways Christians Should Respond to the Spirit of the World
Billy Graham: 4 Ways Christians Should Respond to the Spirit of the World
When Rome was at the height of her glory and power, there appeared a disturbing sect called Christians. Because of a fire that burned within them, these people dared to be different.
In an era when immorality, lavishness and luxury were stylish, Christians refused to be defiled by the sensual practices of a disintegrating civilization. In a period when human life was cheap, they put a high value upon human beings, their souls and their destinies.
These Christians refused to be absorbed into the godless society of Rome. They had not heard of the rule that we hear today: "When in Rome, do as the Romans do." The Roman high tribunal initiated a drive to stamp out Christianity as a disturber of pagan unity.
The Romans had a false notion that a person's conscience could be controlled by law, so they made it illegal to be different. All had to bow to Caesar. All had to conform to pagan custom. All had to behave like true Romans.
Nonconformists were threatened with death, and many chose death rather than to conform to Rome and to compromise their consciences.
A Roman Christian named Paul took up his pen and wrote a word for all Christians of all times: "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God" (Rom. 12:2).
Times have changed, but human nature hasn't. The pagan world is still trying to put its stamp of conformity on every follower of Jesus Christ. Every possible pressure is being brought to bear upon Christians to make them conform to the standards of the world.
The Apostle Paul urges Christians everywhere in all ages to be nonconformists as far as the world system is concerned. A true Christian, living an obedient life, is a constant rebuke to those who accept the moral standards of this world.
In our desire to make Christ known and to increase the influence of the church, we are prone to think that Christians and the church can be made popular with the unbelieving world. This is a grave mistake. Christ crucified is anathema to Satan, and the message of the Gospel is still a stumbling block and foolishness to the world. Our Lord warned His disciples, "If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you" (John 15:18). The Apostle John writes, "Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you" (1 John 3:13).
Christians may be shown a grudging respect at times, but if we are faithful to Christ, we will surely incur the wrath of the world. "Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution," says the Scripture (2 Timothy 3:12).
The Scripture teaches that popularity with the world means death. Satan's most effective tools are conformity and compromise. He is aware that one man standing in the midst of a pagan people declaring, "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes" (Romans 1:16), can move more people in the direction of God than thousands of insipid professors of religion.
We often ask ourselves, "How could the early disciples turn the world upside down when millions of Christians can't even keep it right side up today?" The answer is simple. They didn't conform their faith to the world. They had the truth, and they refused to water it down. They held a faith that would not compromise.
Because they dared to buck the tide of public opinion and be different, because they dared to believe when other people doubted, because they were willing to risk their lives for what they stood for, because they chose death rather than to live an empty life, the world took notice of what motivated these men and women. In due time, they turned the philosophical and religious world upside down.
The words of Paul, "Do not be conformed to this world," have tremendous significance and meaning for us today. These words cut like a sharp sword across our way of life. They are not comfortable words. They have the tone of the battle call in them. They separate the weak from the strong. But they are words of inspiration, and we need to hear them today.
First, we must not be conformed to this world mentally. The world—by its advertisements, its conversation and its philosophy—is engaged in a gigantic brainwashing task. Much entertainment is slanted to those who feed on violence, sex and lawlessness. It seems that some diabolic mastermind is running the affairs of this world and that his chief objective is to brainwash Christians and to get them to conform to this world. The world's sewage system threatens to contaminate the Christian's thought. Satan will contest every hour you spend in Bible reading or prayer.
However, above the din we can hear the voice of Scripture: "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 2:5). And: "Be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God" (Romans 12:2).
Second, we must not conform to the world physically. These bodies of ours are intended to be temples of the Spirit of God. We are not to prostrate them before the temples of Baal. We are to present them wholly to God as a "living sacrifice." Our dress, our posture and our actions should all be for the honor and glory of Christ.
Third, we must not conform to the world socially. The world attempts to absorb us into its secular society and to conform us to its earthly image, but Christ urges us not to conform. Clearly He says of those who believe in Him, "They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world" (John 17:16).
Jesus dined with publicans and sinners, but He did not allow the social group to conform Him to its ways. He seized every opportunity to present a spiritual truth and to lead souls from death to life. Our social contacts should not only be pleasant, they should be opportunities to share our faith with those who do not yet know Christ.
Fourth, we must not conform to the world spiritually. We are not to be conformed to the world's definition of what it means to be religious, but we are to make sure we have met God's requirements for discipleship.
No nation was ever more religious than Israel in the Prophet Isaiah's day. The Temple was filled. The altar ran red with the blood of sacrifice. The religious festivals were strictly observed, and the voice of prayer was heard in the house of God. But there was a lack of true devotion in Israel's worship. The nation was deteriorating morally. Speaking as God commanded, Isaiah said, "Bring no more futile sacrifices; Incense is an abomination to Me. The New Moons, the Sabbaths, and the calling of assemblies—I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting" (Isaiah 1:13).
Then Isaiah told them how they could be cleansed from their sin. He said: "Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil. ... 'Come now, and let us reason together,' Says the Lord. 'Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool'" (Isaiah 1:16, 18).
There are thousands of people who do not give themselves to Jesus Christ, because they have conformed to the world. They are afraid of being called fanatic, pious, puritanical or religious. A true Christian is a nonconformist.
I'm asking Christians everywhere to become committed followers of Jesus Christ—not conformed to the world, but conformed daily to the image of Jesus Christ. Why don't you, right now, give your life over completely to Jesus Christ?
Click here to read the original article at BillyGraham.org.
Iranian Woman Shares Journey of Faith in Jerusalem
Iranian Woman Shares Journey of Faith
in Jerusalem
Thursday, May 22, 2014 | Charles Gardner ISRAEL TODAY
A British-based Iranian woman brought up as a devoted Muslim has told a conference in Jerusalem how she became a Christian after an encounter with the God of the Bible.
She heard His voice as she watched a movie about Jesus, and later responded to His personal invitation spelt out in the Book of Revelation.
At the time Esther Esfahani was in the midst of divorce proceedings against her husband because he had become a Christian, but they were subsequently reconciled and her entire family is now following Jesus.
[Editor's Note: We have not used her real name for security reasons as the Iranian government not only persecutes Christians but has also vowed to destroy Israel.]
Esther was addressing a conference in Jerusalem called At the Crossroads aimed at deepening bonds of reconciliation between Arab and other Muslim-background Christians and Jewish followers of Jesus.
Delegates arrived from all over the Middle East and beyond - some at risk to their lives - to sample the hospitality of their Jewish brothers and be shown around some of the Holy Land sites.
Shortly after moving to England some years ago, Esther started a coffee shop and took on some Christian staff. But she left strict instructions that they were not to talk about their faith.
On her day off, Esther's husband, who worked elsewhere, took care of the shop, and one day she noticed a book about Christianity on top of the dishes. It turned out that her husband had decided to follow Jesus.
Speaking in Farsi, translated by her sister, she said: "I had this idea that if you're a Muslim and you accept another religion something bad will happen to you."
Two weeks later she saw a Bible in the shop. "I got so angry I kicked out the Christian staff and initiated divorce proceedings against my husband - we had been married 19 years."
She wasn't just a committed follower of Islam; she had actually taught the Koran. In Esther's own words:
"So I told him I could not be with him any longer if he was now a Christian. But the angrier I became, the calmer he grew. He was being so kind.
"So to prove Islam is better I started to read more of the Koran and wrote down what was either good or interesting. But then I discovered things that weren't so good, like all this about cutting hands and taking multiple wives. So I decided not to read it anymore, but still wanted to divorce my husband.
"So I went to inform my sister about this, only to find that she too had become a Christian! And a little later, when my husband was away, she suggested we watch a movie together.
"It was all about Jesus, and I was so angry that people opposed him when he had done so many good things.
"Then suddenly I heard a voice saying: 'You are just the same! You are watching this, but cannot believe it.' I looked around to see who was speaking, but there was no-one there.
"I subsequently got quite depressed because I didn't have any kind of relationship with God and after all these years was suffering at the hands of my husband.
"So when my sister took a shower, I secretly picked up her Bible and started to read it. Eventually I prayed: 'If you're real and alive, can you start speaking to me as you speak to them?'
"And that evening I opened the Bible at random (as Muslims do with the Koran) and it fell open at Revelation (the last book of the New Testament). My eyes were drawn to the words of Jesus, which said: 'Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.' (Rev 3.20)
"I was so afraid I was shaking. So I closed the book, but then opened it again at the very same place, at which point I just fell down and said, 'OK, you are God; I want to accept you!'
"Next day I was crying when I called my husband, who at first misunderstood as he pleaded for me to give him another chance. But I told him that, when he came home, I wanted to read the Bible with him and together commit our way to Jesus.
"By this time he too was crying as he thanked God for answering his prayers.
"When he returned, my heart had been totally changed and I was in love with my husband. My two sons noticed the difference in our lives and how Jesus had brought peace out of conflict, and now all our family are serving God in church."
Esther finished by praying for all Iranians and believes the gift of God her family has experienced is also available to all Muslims.
PHOTO CREDIT: Carino Casas, Christ Church
Charles Gardner is author of Israel the Chosen. He recently reported live from At the Crossroads in Jerusalem. His previous reports can be found here:
Arab & Jew Unite in Mideast Breakthrough
Peace in Our Time - in Jerusalem!
Muslim Goes to Mecca - and Finds Jesus!
Israel and Iran Pray for Each Other
From Baghdad to Jerusalem
Setting the Stage for the 'Isaiah 19' Highway
Peace in Our Time - in Jerusalem!
Muslim Goes to Mecca - and Finds Jesus!
Israel and Iran Pray for Each Other
From Baghdad to Jerusalem
Setting the Stage for the 'Isaiah 19' Highway
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