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After Debates, OB/GYN Doctor Takes to Facebook: "No Medical Situation Requires Aborting or Killing the Baby in the 3rd Trimester"
by Steve Shultz, Founder The Elijah List and Breaking Christian News
Photo of Lawrance K. Koning
No Medical Situation Requires 3rd Trimester Abortion or Killing the Baby!-Dr. Lawrance K. Koning, MD, FACOG
From Steve Shultz (Founder of BCN News, The Elijah List)
I was stunned watching the debates to see how readily Hillary Clinton was to show approval of partial birth abortions right up until the time of the baby's birth. And I was thrilled to hear Donald Trump say with conviction, "THAT'S NOT OK WITH ME!"
In 1973, I graduated from Christian Academy with Larry Koning. Now he's Dr. Lawrence Koning, MD, and an OB/GYN specialist in Corona, CA. After watching the same debate last night, he posted a quote on his personal Facebook page which I share below.
This morning I asked Lawrence if I could share it with our readers. He thought about it only for a moment and sent back this message, "Do it!"
Dr. Lawrence Koning wrote:
October, 20, 2016: "As an OB/GYN physician for 31 years, there is no medical situation that requires aborting / killing the baby in the third trimester to 'save the mother's life.' Just deliver the baby by C-section and the baby has 95+% survival with readily available NICU care even at 28 weeks. C-section is quicker and safer than partial birth abortion for the mother."-Dr. Lawrance K. Koning, MD, FACOG
Lord, let there be more Godly physicians willing to go public with their convictions! (To Subscribe to the Elijah List go here.)
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While I personally don't celebrate Halloween, I'm not a killjoy on a mission to rob people of fun. (neepster/Flickr/CC)
Dabbling With the Dark Side? The Bible Clearly Condemns Halloween
Darkness is used in Scripture as a metaphor for evil to represent all that is sinful and satanic.
In contrast, light is a biblical metaphor for good to represent truth and all that is of God.
The apostle Paul instructed, "Therefore do not be partakers with them. For you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light—for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth ... And do not have fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness; instead, expose them" (Eph. 5:7-9, 11).
It's a tricky balance for Christians to be in the world without conforming to it.
Jesus prayed, "I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one" (John 17:15).
If we imitate the world, we lose our distinction; if we isolate from the world, we lose our influence. Christians need to engage the culture if we expect to make an impact.
It's perfectly fine for a boat to be in the water, but if too much water gets in the boat, now that's a problem. This brings up the question, "How should Christians treat Halloween?"
The origin of Halloween incorporated a mixture of Christian and pagan practices.
According to World Book Encyclopedia, "Halloween developed from an ancient pagan festival celebrated by Celtic people over 2,000 years ago in the area that is now the U.K., Ireland, and Northern France. The festival was called 'Samhain' (pronounced SOW ehn), which means 'summer's end' and it marked the beginning of the dark winter season and was celebrated around Nov. 1. In the ninth century, the Catholic Church established a new holiday—All Saint's Day, also called All Hallows. 'Hallow' means 'saint' or 'one who is holy.' The evening before All Hallows was known as All Hallow's Eve, eventually shortened to Halloween.
"About 200 years later, the church added All Soul's Day on Nov. 2, a day set aside to pray for friends and family who died. People made many of the old pagan customs part of this Christian holy day. Some put out food for their deceased ancestors, or left lanterns burning in the windows so that ghosts could find their way home for the night. In England, people went house to house 'souling,' asking for small breads called soul cakes in exchange for prayers or songs (thus the origin of trick or treating)."
While I personally don't celebrate Halloween, I'm not a killjoy on a mission to rob people of fun. I do not equate dressing up in a cartoon or superhero costume and collecting candy with devil worship.
Many believers boycott Halloween because of its dark elements. The downside is Christian kids feel like they are missing out. Thankfully, many churches offer alternatives such as trunk-or-treat or fall festivals that provide wholesome fun and safe candy zones to keep kids off the streets.
Some of what happens on Halloween is harmless fun, but anyone with any spiritual discernment cannot deny that there is a sinister side.
"Abstain from all appearances of evil" (1 Thess. 5:22). Sin, like art, starts by drawing a line somewhere! It's an odd contradiction for Christians to dress their kids up as creepy characters they try to teach them not emulate.
At this time of year there is a tsunami of horror movies flooding the airwaves featuring vampires, witches, zombies, monsters, cannibals and savage serial killers. Hollywood and viewers, it seems, have an obscene obsession with and an insatiable appetite for gory violence.
You can't avoid being bombarded by the commercials even if you just watch news or sports. These shows glamorize evil and open the door to demonic influences. Some say it's all just fantasy or harmless entertainment, but, if what people watch doesn't affect behavior, then why do companies spend billions of dollars to advertise to them?
In Greek Mythology, Zeus gave Pandora a box and a key as a wedding gift with a note "Do Not Open." Curiosity overcame her and she lifted the lid releasing all the forces of evil into the world.
The point is there are some doors you really don't want to open.
"Leave no [such] room or foothold for the devil [give no opportunity to him]" (Eph. 4:27, AMP).
Don't open the door to sin's destructive influence. Slam the door shut in Satan's face!
Halloween is a showcase for witchcraft which the Bible clearly condemns (Ex. 22:18; Lev. 19:31, 20:6, 27; Deut. 18:10-14; Gal. 5:19-21), calling it an "abomination"—morally disgusting, detestable, despicable and abhorrent.
Contrary to popular belief, books and movies, there is no such thing as a "good witch." That is an oxymoron. How can someone controlled by evil forces be good?
Paul asked the Corinthians, "For what fellowship has righteousness with unrighteousness? What communion has light with darkness?" (2 Cor. 6:14, MEV).
Christians have no business dabbling in any form of witchcraft: horoscopes, crystal balls, séances, Ouija boards, Dungeons & Dragons, pentagrams, tarot cards, palm reading, spells, fortune telling, mediums, channeling, divination, sorcery, black magic and so forth.
There are only two sources of supernatural power—God and Satan. If something is not of God, where does it originate?
If you are involved in any of these practices, I urge you to repent of it, renounce it and ask God to remove it from your life. Don't gamble with your soul. Satan uses these and other ploys to deceive the masses.
What we need to know about our future is either found in Scripture or can be revealed to us by the Holy Spirit (John 16:13).
Like bugs drawn to a light to their own demise, man has an inexplicable, magnetic attraction toward evil.
Robert Rudolph said it well:"Open minds like open windows need screens to keep the bugs out."
The air may seem clean in a house, but the air filter catches many unseen pollutants. There are many false beliefs and deceptions floating around, but the Bible is our filter. Its radiant light helps us discern and dispel the darkness.
"God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all" (1 John 1:5). Friends, it's not worth the eternal risk of dabbling with the dark side.
Ben Godwin is the author of four books and he pastors the Goodsprings Full Gospel Church. His weekly telecast, The Word Workshop, airs on TV-16 and Charter Cable No. 10 on Mondays at 9 p.m. and Tuesdays at noon and live streams on TV16HD.com.
3 Reasons Why you should read Life in the Spirit. 1) Get to know the Holy Spirit. 2) Learn to enter God's presence 3) Hear God's voice clearly! Go deeper!
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Too often the policies and the narrative of the Obama administration represent a serious break from reality.
In an effort to convince conniving and violent enemies that we are peace-loving, as if that would make a difference to them, we sabotage the defense of our nation. Whether it is placing arbitrary limits on our military's use of force, telegraphing in advance to our enemies what we will or will not do to defeat them, or just plain political correctness in overdrive—we place the security of our homeland in great jeopardy.
Law enforcement, which now is usually our first line of defense against terrorism, is being held in check by an administration that is seemingly suspicious of law enforcement and ungrateful for the dangerous work they do in order to keep us safe. Reports indicate morale in law enforcement and in the military is at an all-time low. Intentionally or inadvertently, the Obama administration is sabotaging the defense of our country in at least two ways.
1. Ignoring the Nature of the Enemy We Face
If you believe the Obama administration's narrative, there is a threat out there, but it has nothing to do with Islam. Sure, there are terror organizations in the world. And there have been numerous attacks in the United States, as recently as the pressure cooker bombs in New York and New Jersey, the mall shootings in Minnesota, the Orlando and San Bernardino massacres, to name a few. And we still live, after all these years, in the poignant aftermath of the attacks of 9/11, in which over 3,000 people died.
But it is pure coincidence that the perpetrators of each of these attacks were Muslim and claimed to do their horrific deeds in the name of radical jihad. And incidentally, all of the groups taking up arms against the United States—ISIS, al-Qaida, al Shabaab, al-Qa'ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen, to name a few—the fact they are all Muslim is just coincidental, according to the Obama administration. How ironic that they all seem to yell "Allahu akbar" (God is great) when they attack. This is the ongoing narrative of the present administration.
It is a fact that most Muslims are peace-loving people who wish no harm to anyone. American Muslims are generally as patriotic as any other group of religious people in America. However, the fact is indisputably clear that our chief adversaries who continue to commit violent acts not only abroad, but here at home as well, all claim Islam as their faith. They also claim Islam is their motivation and their mandate for these acts of mayhem and murder. This is the reality in which all of us live.
It was under this administration that infiltrating and surveilling of specific mosques, university student centers and Muslim nonprofit organizations as potential centers of radicalization was stopped.
Under pressure from Muslim advocacy groups, training materials for the Transportation Safety Administration (TSA), the FBI and other federal agencies were purged from any references to Islamic terrorism or jihad.
At the ACLJ, we've filed a FOIA request demanding answers about this policy change that fails to prepare our defense and intelligence communities for the enemies we face. The pressure-cooker bomber in New York had been on the FBI's watch list and was even reported by his father for suspicion of being radicalized. Nothing was done because they did not want to appear to be singling out Ahmad Rahami just because he was Muslim.
The president refuses to even utter the words radical jihadis, because "jihad" is an Arabic term used in Islam and appears in the Quran. Meanwhile, the government warns us of the dangers of lone wolf attacks. These lone wolves are more than that; they are actually part of a wolf pack: Islamic jihadis. We are told if we "see something, say something." If only the Obama administration would follow their own advice and simply say something by naming the enemy whose goal is to destroy us.
But like the ubiquitous late night television commercials, we must say: "But wait! There's more." Our national defense is also put at risk by this administration in the following way:
2. Capitulating to Aggression by China and Russia
The Obama White House has barred the Pentagon from using a key phrase in references to China and Russia. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter and Admiral John Richardson, the highest-ranking sailor as Chief of Naval Operations, have often spoken of a return to "the great power of competition" when speaking of the aggressive and illegal grabs for power, influence and terrain committed by these two countries.
The president's hand-selected National Security Council (whose makeup I referred to in a previous post) has directed the Pentagon to strike that phrase from their speeches and to find a term that is less insulting and inflammatory. The administration believes that phrases like "great power competition" incorrectly implies that we are at odds with Russia and China.
Really? Are we not fundamentally at odds with China selling ballistic missile technology to Iran and claiming new territory in international waters? Do we not have fundamental moral differences with Russia which at this moment bombs innocent civilians, hospitals and aid workers in Syria, or who threatens the sovereignty and safety of Ukraine, as well as our NATO partners?
Are there not striking distinctions between the United States and Russia, which has harassed U.S. aircraft in international airspace and threatened to shoot down our planes in Syria? Bryan McGrath, a retired Navy officer and naval expert quoted in Navy Times, said: The (Obama administration's) "explanation is an exercise in nuance and complexity chosen by the administration to provide maximum flexibility, to prevent them from committing to a real structural approach to the most important national security challenge of our time."
The Obama administration objects to the Secretary of Defense's clear message who, speaking to the Economic Forum, stated: "We must demonstrate to potential foes that, if they start a war, we have the capability to win." Carter, in speaking of Russia and China, also said they have "a growing arsenal of high-end war-fighting capabilities, many of which are focused specifically on our vulnerabilities."
One of our chief vulnerabilities is a commander in chief who appears to be more concerned with not offending our adversaries and protecting his perceived legacy than the defense of our country "from all enemies, foreign and domestic," as he swore in his Oath of Office. Intentionally or inadvertently, his worldview and his timid response to those who wish us harm is sabotaging our national defense.
We deserve better. And our national security demands it.
3 Reasons Why you should read Life in the Spirit. 1) Get to know the Holy Spirit. 2) Learn to enter God's presence 3) Hear God's voice clearly! Go deeper!
Has God called you to be a leader? Ministry Today magazine is the source that Christian leaders who want to serve with passion and purpose turn to. Subscribe now and receive a free leadership book.
‘Sukkot,’ the Feast of Tabernacles, was the most joyous of the festivals worshiped in the Temple. However, according to the Talmud, on ‘Sukkot’ God judges the people for water and determines how much rain will fall from the heavens in the coming year. Given the fact that the Land of Israel is very dependent on rainfall, it seems that ‘Sukkot’ should be a solemn time and not one of joyous celebration. What then is the reason for such festivity? By making His people dependent on rainfall which comes from heaven, God ensures that they must maintain a close connection with Him at all times. It is the constant connection with the Almighty, by virtue of His children’s continued dependence on Him, which is cause for great celebration. In the same way the world is dependent upon God, there are countless people throughout the Holy Land dependent upon friends and neighbors to support them in their time of need. Meir Panim seeks to ease their struggle and make this Sukkot a truly enjoyable one.
An ultra-Orthodox Jewish youth walks next to a Sukkah during the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Mea Shearim. Sukkot commemorates the Israelites' 40 years of wandering in the desert and a decorated hut or tabernacle (in Hebrew, Sukkah) is erected outside religious households as a sign of temporary shelter.
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The excavation site in the Russian Compound. One can see the sling stones on the floor, which are tangible evidence of the battle that was waged here 2,000 years ago. (Yoli Shwartz, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority.)
Excavation Reveals Spot Where Romans Breached Jerusalem’s Wall 2,000 Years Ago
“And they burnt the house of God, and broke down the wall of Yerushalayim, and burnt all the palaces thereof with fire, and destroyed all the goodly vessels thereof.” II Chronicles 36:19 (The Israel Bible™)
Exciting evidence of the breaching of the third wall that surrounded Jerusalem at the end of the Second Temple period was uncovered last winter in the Russian Compound at the city center. The discovery was made in an archaeological excavation the Israel Antiquities Authority conducted in the location where the new campus of the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design is slated to be built. In the course of the excavation, archaeologists discovered the remains of a tower jutting from the city wall. Opposite the tower’s western facade were scores of ballista and sling stones that the Romans had fired from catapults at the Jewish guards who were stationed at the top of the tower.
According to Dr. Rina Avner and Kfir Arbib, excavation directors on behalf of the IAA, “This is a fascinating testimony of the intensive bombardment by the Roman army, led by Titus, on their way to conquering the city and destroying the Second Temple. The bombardment was intended to attack the sentries guarding the wall and provide cover for the Roman forces so they could approach the wall with battering rams and thereby breach the city’s defenses.”
A 2,000 year old jar as it was discovered in the field. (Yoli Shwartz, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority.)
The historian Josephus, an eyewitness to the war, provided many details about this wall. According to him, the wall was designed to protect the new quarter of the city that had developed outside its boundaries, north of the two existing city walls. This quarter was named Beit Zeita. The building of the Third Wall was begun by King Agrippa I; however, he suspended its construction so as not to incur the wrath of Emperor Claudius and to dispel any doubts regarding his loyalty. The construction of the Third Wall was resumed some two decades later by the defenders of Jerusalem, as part of fortifying the city and the Jewish rebels’ preparations for the Great Revolt against Rome.
Josephus described in detail the route of the wall that began at Hippicus Tower, which is now identified with David’s Citadel. From there the wall continued north to the enormous Psephinus Tower, which defended the northwestern corner of the city wall. At that point the wall turned east and descended toward the Tomb of Queen Helena, which is identified with the place known as the Tombs of the Kings.
A spearhead from the battle against Titus’ army. (Clara Amit, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority)
It seems that the new discovery has resolved a debate among researchers reaching back to the early twentieth century, as to the location of the third wall and the question of Jerusalem’s boundaries on the eve of the Roman onslaught led by Titus. According to the dig in the Russian Compound, we now have proof of the wall’s existence in that area.
The excavation findings will be presented at a conference entitled “New Studies in the archaeology of Jerusalem and its Region,” Thursday, October 27, at the Mount Scopus campus of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
From Steve Shultz (Founder of BCN News, The Elijah List)
