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.
Israel’s commitment to human life knows no bounds. When soldiers guarding the northern border with Syria last week were asked to permit entry to a seriously wounded Syrian man, they did not hesitate, despite the Ziv fact that the patient was a member of the Al-Nusra Front, an offshoot of Al Qaeda.
Israeli military doctors received the wounded man at the border, and after a security check to make sure he was not wired with explosives, transported the patient to Ziv Medical Center in the Galilee town of Tsefat (Safed).
A day earlier, the Israeli army had been asked by contacts on the Syrian side to open the gates to a pregnant woman in need of a caesarean section. Israel agreed, and sent army doctors and paramedics to await the woman at the border. But the woman ended up giving birth to a healthy baby on her way to meet the Israelis.
These are but a few of the more recent examples of Israel’s readiness to aid the the victims of Syria’s ongoing civil war, be they friend or foe.
A year ago, Israel Today interviewed Prof. Rafi Be’er, director of Rambam Hospital in Haifa, who said that at his hospital “we treat anyone who comes through the door. We check neither his nationality nor his religion. We have an obligation to save lives and to heal the sick.”
Later, Israel Today received permission from the army to speak to four Syrian terrorists being treated in Tsefat. In speaking to us, they had nothing but praise for the way they had been treated in Israel. When asked if Israelis would receive the same care in Syria, all four agreed: “That would be impossible. Muslims have no mercy, enemies remain enemies!”
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On this Mother's Day weekend and throughout the year, I give honor to my Mom, Lila Mae Martin Parker. Having raised eight kids, she is a remarkable Christian and example of one who has given her life for others.
Christian leaders around the country are deeply concerned about how the next Supreme Court ruling on marriage could affect religious liberty.
The court is expected to rule next month on whether same-sex marriage is a constitutional right.
Many faith leaders believe a ruling in favor of gay marriage could pave the way for discrimination against religious organizations and churches.
In a recent blog, Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, noted an exchange in oral arguments in theObergefell v. Hodges case.
When Chief Justice John Roberts asked Solicitor General Donald Verrilli if religious schools that provide married housing would have to house same-sex couples Verrilli responded that different states would likely work out the issue in different ways.
"Verrilli's answer put the nation's religious institutions, including Christian colleges, schools, and seminaries on notice - if a school cannot define its housing policies on the basis of its religious beliefs, then it is denied the ability to operate on the basis of those beliefs," Mohler said.
Other leaders are concerned that a court ruling in favor of gay marriage could pave the way for speech restrictions that would ultimately affect pastors.
"It means that what I preach from my pulpit, which is the Word of God, some of it will be deemed as hate speech," Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Leadership Conference, told CBN News.
"There's that potential that I will be deemed as a bigot, as an intolerant human being, and then we will have laws that will begin to discriminate against me because I am a Christian," he continued.
"This Supreme Court decision carries the potential of initiating a chapter of intolerance towards Christians and bigotry towards Christians in the 21st century," he warned.
Rodriguez also urges Christians to affirm the image of God in all people.
Meanwhile, Dr. Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, told CBN News that believers must be careful to avoid what he describes as a "siege mentality."
"I think our response has to be neither capitulation nor a sense of panic nor desperation," he said. "We need to recognize that marriage is resilient because no court created marriage. God created marriage and embedded it in the natural order so marriage is resilient."
WASHINGTON -- Abortion opponents are growing increasingly frustrated with the Republican majority in Congress they worked so hard to elect.
On Thursday, they marched on U.S. House Speaker John Boehner's office for a second time, demanding Congress start passing pro-life legislation.
They especially want lawmakers to pass a 20-week abortion ban. For this protest, they brought life-size models of 20-week old unborn babies.
They wanted to show Congress just how large and well-developed these children are that can still be aborted because Republican leaders in the House won't put a 20-week abortion ban up for a vote.
"Abortion is a scourge on our country. And at 20 weeks, children feel tremendous pain," Lori Hoye, with the Issues for Life Foundation, told CBN News. "And so we need to stop abortion at all levels. Twenty weeks is a good start."
"Protect America's children. Stand with America's children," protest leader Pat Mahoney, with the Christian Defense Coalition, shouted just before the demonstrators marched toward Boehner's office.
They banged repeatedly on Boehner's locked office door, but no one answered.
"This is not normal procedure," Mahoney said to the dozens of protesters and media members gathered around the door. "I've knocked on this door and gone in many times."
Mahoney said if Congress continues to stall, he and his fellow protesters will be back soon.
What's particularly galling to them about the failure of the pro-life majority now controlling Congress to take action is that poll after poll shows 60 percent or more of Americans want a ban on abortions after 20 weeks.
Have you ever heard God speak to you but what you thought you heard never came about? Or you got a prophetic word and the exact opposite happened? Maybe you stepped out in faith when you heard God and you ended up disappointed or you lost money?
I hear so many of these stories in my Prophetic Life Coaching and from the thousands of people I meet each year. If this is you then you are not alone. A big attack of the enemy over the past several years has been to try to shipwreck people from hearing God and responding appropriately.
Lessons Learned in Hearing God
What I have learned about hearing the voice of God is that too often we try to limit or fine-tune the words we hear. Maybe you have heard God tell you to do something and then you try to follow it to the letter of the law?
Most of the time God is giving instructions and the end result may be a bit different but in the same ballpark. The Apostle Paul compares the Church to a "Body" and reality is that we are all living organisms and not machines. In most cases, hearing God needs to be more organic and not an exact "follow this or you will miss God mentality." In fact I hear about more people missing God by trying to get too focused and not let the "brush strokes of the creator" paint the bigger picture for them.
I am generalizing here. There can be times that God will speak to us with specific directions. But in my years of hearing God's voice I have found that we often have more freedom than we realize in responding to a prophetic word.
Do Something in Hollywood
When God called us to start a meeting in Hollywood in 2003, I took that as "Hollywood proper." We rented a conference room at the Holiday Inn off Hollywood Boulevard.
Hollywood itself is kind of trashy and touristy. The meetings did not do well at all. Then we moved the meeting to Culver City on the west side of Los Angeles and it took off great. But God said to start the meeting in Hollywood? Why did we lose money and have to move to a different city?
What I discovered is that Hollywood is not a "place" but an industry. Most of the original studios filmed movies (including the Wizard of Oz) in Culver City. I was trying to limit what I was hearing to a specific area. Usually exact city boundaries are not all that important to God. This happened several times throughout my life before I understood that God wants to partner with us instead of dictate to us.
Bigger Decisions Take More Confirmation
If God speaks to you to do something big or more radical, like change jobs, move, or make relationship decisions like marriage, then you will need several confirming pieces of revelation and not just one dream.
A good deal of the people I coach have taken a small amount of revelation and over-responded to it. One common thing they heard was that God said to "leave your job and trust Him." If this is the case be sure that God is giving you a plan on what to do and how you will make money.
Just "hanging out with God" is not wise to do without a specific plan. It can turn into the plan of the enemy to strip you of finances and get you discouraged. We are in a seven-year season of repayment, storing up and making money for the Kingdom. This is not a time to retreat. Of course this is a general word and it is still possible that God may call you to pull back to get a new vision.
Seeing More Clearly
People become afraid to miss God and so they start looking at too many details and this can cloud what He is saying. Often it is like understanding a parable or a dream. Less can sometimes be more beneficial.
1 Corinthians 13:9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part…
Don't Get Shipwrecked
Let God guide you through your decisions and avoid viewing Him as a dictator of His Will for you. Many people get shipwrecked because of the way they respond to how God speaks to them. Here are a few common pitfalls to our responses to hearing God:
No response: this is the most common pitfall. The task or assignment God had for you may be given to someone else if you don't do anything.
Over-interpreting: like my meeting "in Hollywood" (over-interpreting brings limitations and you often miss the freedom God wants to bring you).
Over-responding: gets you out of God's timing. Example: selling or buying things too soon, leaving a job or pulling back out of God's timing could bring financial ruin.
Look at the Big Picture
God is training us to be His sons and daughters, not robots. I wish I could give you all the examples of how often I seem to miss hearing God. But the more it seems that I missed hearing God, the more in tune I become with hearing His voice and learning to respond.
It's reminds me of the baseball player Babe Ruth who was the home run king. He was also the king of strikeouts. We need to be willing to step up to the plate right now!
Never Stop Learning
We need to step out and get into God's timing. Remember, hearing God's voice is a life-long process. You need to develop your ability and learn to discern. It takes trial and error, tracking how He speaks, trying things, and seeing what works and what does not. You will need to write down the things God is speaking to you. Go back to it and fill in more later as your understanding grows.
So have you experienced any of the things I am saying here? If so, be encouraged and learn from it. Ask God to speak to you today about your life, situation or circumstances and be open to the way it unfolds!
The Book of Ruth tells the story of the Moabite princess Ruth, who, through great self-sacrifice, finds her way to the ultimate truth of the Torah. She becomes the 'mother of royalty,' the great-grandmother of King David, and the ultimate ancestress of the Messiah who will come from this royal lineage. This Mother’s Day, show your mother you care by helping save a life in Israel and "Heart to Heart" will send a certificate telling her how much you love her and how much you love Israel. Receive a free PDF certificate that you may print and present to your mom.
The heart is about blood but also about love. A few dozen churches across the US are spreading the idea of expressing love to one’s mother via an expression of love to Israel.
Ilan Rosen's beautiful view from Mount Arbel in the lower Galilee. Showing the amazing history of the Land, one can find caves dating back to the Second Temple period dug into the slopes of Mount Arbel, which were hideouts for Jews who fought against the Greeks and Romans.
Israel is already a world leader in the research, production and military integration of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Now, it is successfully integrating robots into its ground forces, as well.
At the International Ground Forces Conference held this week in Tel Aviv, Maj.-Gen. (res.) Eyal Ben Reuven revealed that just the week prior the IDF’s 7th Armored Brigade had become one of, if not the first ground force in history to train side-by-side with “advanced ground robotics.”
The general cautioned against getting too excited about robot armies taking the battlefield. “At this stage, robotics will not replace the human factor. …We see robotics as a supporting factor,” he said. “I do not expect to see battalions of military robots within a year. It will take time.”
At this point, the robots in question are referred to as an “advance guard,” and will be used to open corridors for attack in enemy lines. This is especially crucial in urban warfare, where booby-traps and hidden combatants have claimed the lives of many Israeli soldiers in the past.
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'The Holy Spirit Is Moving Through Our Locker Room,' Says NBA MVP Stephen Curry
Stepehn Curry, left, plays for the NBA's Golden State Warriors. (Reuters)
My dad may have been playing in the NBA at the time, but the best basketball games I remember from my childhood were the ones between my little brother, Seth, and me on our backyard basketball court in Charlotte, North Carolina. We'd play for hours and hours, oftentimes well into the night with the use of a bright stage light shining on the court, until our mom would yell out the window for us to come in. Those games would get pretty heated, but that was the norm for brothers as close as we were.
Our whole family was very close in fact, even when it came to school. My mom started a Christian Montessori school when I was in first grade, so we all went there together—Mom was in charge as the head mistress, our aunt was our teacher, and our grandmother was the cook. My brother and sister and I were blessed to have such great influences in our lives, and I can honestly say that my mom and dad were the best. They raised us to believe in God, and we were at church every Wednesday for youth Bible studies and every Sunday for services.
I remember it like it was yesterday, the day I gave my life to Christ. I was in fourth grade, and I recall hearing and understanding the gospel of Jesus Christ and walking down the aisle to give my life to Him. My parents continued to pour into my faith from that point on, making sure I understood the commitment I'd just made. Starting in middle school I attended Charlotte Christian School, which allowed me to hear the gospel on a daily basis. Looking back, my childhood was filled with the Lord's presence.
Wanting to follow in my dad's footsteps on the hardwood, I had my sights set on Virginia Tech during my high school years. Unfortunately, the Hokies and other ACC schools weren't interested. I was confident the Lord had blessed me with the talent to play the game, and I just wanted to go where He wanted me to be. That place became as clear as day to me once I met Bob McKillop, Davidson's head coach. He explained his vision for my career at Davidson and how he could help me achieve my goals. Plus, he was a man of God, so it was an added bonus to play for a leader who was grounded in faith. The entire recruiting and signing experience taught me about patience and seeking God's will, because He had a plan all along. I couldn't see it at the time, but I trusted He knew what was best for me.
During our Cinderella run to the 2008 Elite Eight, I knew the Lord was preparing me for a bigger stage to represent and be a witness for Him on the basketball court. I remembered my mom telling me from day one at Davidson that God puts His people in different areas of life so that they can reach more people for Him. I tried to use that time for His glory.
Then, in 2009, it was a surreal moment and a dream realized to be sitting in the green room with my family hearing my name called as the seventh overall pick of the NBA Draft.
Fast-forward to now—my fourth year with the Warriors—and my faith continues to be my driving force. God's blessed me with an awesome support system in Oakland, starting with my head coach, Mark Jackson, who is a pastor of a congregation in Southern California. It's rare to have such an outspoken believer leading an NBA team. We also have about 10 guys on our team who attend our pregame chapels and pray together before games.
The Holy Spirit is moving through our locker room in a way I've never experienced before. It's allowing us to reach a lot of people, and personally I am just trying to use this stage to share how God has been a blessing to my life and how He can be the same in everyone else's.
God's given me talents to play basketball for a living, but I still have to work hard to improve every day. I know that in the grand scheme of things, this is just a game that can be taken from me at any moment. But I love that basketball gives me opportunities to do good things for people and to point them towards the Man who died for our sins on the cross. I know I have a place in heaven waiting for me because of Him, and that's something no earthly prize or trophy could ever top.
There's more to me than just this jersey I wear, and that's Christ living inside of me.
Stephen Curry plays for the Golden State Warriors and was recently selected as the NBA's most valuable player.
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Have you ever heard God speak to you but what you thought you heard never came about? Or you got a prophetic word and the exact opposite happened? Maybe you stepped out in faith when you heard God and you ended up disappointed or you lost money?
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