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.
Legendary actor and martial artist Chuck Norris was spotted in Israel this past weekend on an unannounced visit for unknown reasons.
Norris first showed up at a restaurant in Herzliya, where he was seen dining with Dore Gold, the former director-general of the Israel Foreign Ministry and a close adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Norris publicly endorsed Netanyahu in both the 2013 and 2015 national elections in Israel. He even did television spots encouraging Israelis to vote for Netanyahu. (see above video)
It was unclear if Norris would meet with Netanyahu on this visit. But he did come up on Sunday to Jerusalem, where he was seen praying at the Western Wall and touring the tunnels beneath.
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Palestinian terrorists operating out of the Gaza Strip fired a rocket into southern Israel on Monday morning.
The rocket landed in an open area south of the coastal city of Ashkelon causing no injuries or damage.
Israel’s Iron Dome anti-missile system detected the launch, but quickly calculated that the rocket would hit an uninhabited area, and so did not try to intercept.
In response, Israeli tanks opened fire an a Hamas base in northern Gaza, destroying it. Palestinian sources said there were no casualties on their side.
PHOTO: Hamas militants rally against Israel in southern Gaza (Flash90)
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"…looking unto Jesus, the
author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him
endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of
the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2, NKJV)
We all have asked the “What if?” questions. Usually they come
after a major tragedy in our life, or before a long anticipated event is about
to happen, and we start asking the question.
Our son was involved in a single car accident very
recently, resulting in the hospital ER and the ICU; with one surgery completed
and another yet to come. On top of that, no insurance was in place by him to
cover anything. No auto coverage except the bare bones, and no medical
insurance either. It didn’t take long for the “What if” questions to start
coming, both of those that came inwardly to our minds and the ones that came from
without, from others who heard of the tragedy.
After seeing the mangled 2009 Hyundai Elantra he had been driving,
just bought the week before, at its final towed location, the questions really
started to flow in my brain.
“What if he had hit that tree head on?”
“What if there had been a passenger on that side, which took the
major blunt of the horrible wreck?”
“What if another vehicle had been coming head on the other side of
the median which he had crossed over during that midnight moment, which
normally has much traffic on that city street?”
More and more they came, as further observations were made of Ben
lying in the hospital bed fully sedated, the vehicle and the tree.
But then there was the tree. We most certainly know of the other
tree, the one which our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ hung on, to save us from
the world which seeks to kill and destroy, and the eternal damnation hereafter
for those with no hope.
Paul put it this way, “If there
is no resurrection of the dead, then the Messiah has not been raised; and if
the Messiah has not been raised, then what we have proclaimed is in vain; also
your trust is in vain; furthermore, we are shown up as false witnesses for God
in having testified that God raised up the Messiah, whom he did not raise if it
is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised,
then the Messiah has not been raised either; and if the Messiah has not been
raised, your trust is useless, and you are still in your sins. Also, if this is
the case, those who died in union with the Messiah are lost. If it is only for this life that
we have put our hope in the Messiah, we are more pitiable than anyone. But the
fact is that the Messiah has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of
those who have died. For since death came through a man, also the resurrection
of the dead has come through a man.” (1 Cor 15:13-22, Complete Jewish Bible) So I am most grateful for the “what”
that did occur. I am most grateful that our son’s life was spared, to fulfill
the call on his life which began 37 years ago at birth. I am most grateful for
the uncertainties that will become certainties – being certain because His Lord
still has him in the palm of His hand, directing his steps along the way, using
His guardian angels to cover the missteps with their protection assignments on
that path.
Both Ben, Laurie and I and his family will face a lot of “what ifs”
in the coming days, but we are standing on solid ground that our Lord Jesus’
grace, provision and assurance will always be ours, as we keep our eyes fixed
on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith.
The “what ifs” have, and will yet to be, the completed “See what
the Lord has done.”
For this and all things we certainly give thanks to the Lord for
His abundant grace and His ongoing mercy and love daily in each of our lives.
You can be certain of that too.
Nowthink on this,
Steve Martin
Founder
Love For His People, Inc.
P.S.I would be most grateful if you'd
share this encouraging word with your family and friends. They might need it.
You can easily use the social media icons below. Thanks! Steve
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Now Think On This - In the Year of our
Lord 02.04.17 - #274 – “The What Ifs” – Saturday 8:30 am
All previous editions of Now
Think On This can be found on this Blog, and on the
website: Now Think On This
Again, I would be most grateful if you'd
share this encouraging word with your family and friends. You can easily use
the social media icons below. Thanks! Steve
Pastor Jim and Lori talk about President Donald Trump being God’s wrecking ball. With special guest Lance Wallnau.
Quotes
It was the people of God that went to Washington to celebrate the mercy of God. And it was the people of the devil that came in order to fight it. – Lance Wallnau
I didn’t pick Trump because he was my favorite conservative. I picked him because the Lord said he’s anointed as a wrecking ball. – Lance Wallnau
What he is doing in the flurry of activity in his first days is making a statement of the nature of the kind of president he is going to be. – Lance Wallnau
Scriptures
James 2:17 KJV Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
Exodus 20:13 KJV Thou shalt not kill.
I Thessalonians 5:3 MEV When they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor upon a woman with child, and they shall not escape.
Matthew 10:41 MEV He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward. And he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward.
A draft executive order that President Donald Trump is reportedly considering would uphold the promises he made during the campaign to protect religious liberty for all Americans. (Reuters photo)
Liberals Outraged Over Draft of Religious Liberty Bill
Prior to President Donald Trump's appearance at Thursday's National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C., the liberal media and groups hostile to Christianity revealed a "leaked" draft of an executive order that would protect religious liberty in the U.S.
The White House has not confirmed the accuracy of the reports, but according to the leaked documents, the executive order contains the following action points:
Requires the entire federal government to respect all federal statutes and Supreme Court decisions regarding the free exercise of religion in that it does not merely protect the "freedom to worship"
Recognizes that "religious organizations" consists of more than just places of worship and religious charities, but rather all organizations operated by religious principles
Defines "religious exercise" as including "all aspects of religious observance and practice," not just those required by a citizen's particular faith
Instructs all agencies of the federal government to "reasonably accommodate" the religion of federal employees
Instructs the secretaries of health and human services, labor and treasury to grant relief to all organizations not exempted from the Obamacare abortifacient and contraception mandate
Requires that all citizens have the ability to purchase health care plans that do not cover abortion or subsidize plans that do
Prohibits discrimination against child welfare providers on the basis of organizations' religious beliefs
Instructs all agencies to provide protections and exemptions to all religious organizations that contract with the federal government or receive grants
Prohibits the revocation of nonprofit tax status to religious organizations that speak or act on the belief that marriage is the union of husband and wife, that a person's sex is based on "immutable biology," or that life begins at conception
Prohibits recognition of the revocation or denial of accreditation to an organization because of such beliefs
Instructs all agencies that they may not take adverse action against federal employees, contractors or grantees because of their speech about marriage outside of their employment, contract or grant, and that agencies shall reasonably accommodate such beliefs inside of employment, contract or grant
In the wake of the president's decision to let his predecessor's transgender protection order stand, this would appear to be a compromise "live and let live" order that would protect the religious liberties of those who disagree with the LGBT movement's agenda. But if you listened to what liberal groups like John Podesta's Center for American Progress had to say about it, you would get an entirely different impression.
CAP wrote the following about the draft order:
If the rumors are accurate, this executive order would legalize broad discrimination against LGBT people, women and their families by giving federal employees and any recipients of federal funds—including for-profit companies—free rein to discriminate against LGBT people and anyone who does not comply with their beliefs. And on top of that, the draft order directs every federal agency to gut protections for LGBT people—from executive orders to agency rulings and guidance.
Make no mistake: Trump's order could return America to a time when people could be denied federal rights and services any day in any place because of who they are or who they love. This would be the most extreme anti-LGBT action taken by a president in American history. While the White House remains vague about whether such an order will be announced soon, civil rights groups are staying vigilant. You should too.
On the other hand, Dr. Ryan Anderson of the Heritage Foundation wrote that the draft is "good policy and entirely lawful" and should be enacted in an article he wrote for The Daily Signal. He wrote that liberals shouldn't be concerned by the potential executive order:
Opponents to the executive order misrepresent the order by claiming it would repeal an Obama-era executive order elevating LGBT status to a protected class in federal contracts.
As bad and unnecessary as President Barack Obama's order was, this new order does not repeal it.
Rather, it protects the religious liberty rights of all Americans in very tailored ways that address problems of today.
It ensures that the government will not discriminate against beliefs that are under assault, and protects religious organizations' right to maintain their mission and identity in their staffing decisions and programming, while not losing the ability to partner with the government.
Kelly Shackelford, president and CEO of the First Liberty Institute, echoed many of those sentiments:
As a candidate, President Trump promised to support religious freedom for all Americans. Two specific pieces of legislation he said he would support are the First Amendment Defense Act and the repeal of the Johnson Amendment.
This executive order is very similar to the policy suggested in those two pieces of legislation, as well as fulfilling other promises the president made on religious freedom. By proposing this order, President Trump is simply following up on his campaign promises.
Through this order, President Trump is expressing a principle most Americans agree upon: the government should never use what people believe as a weapon to attack them or punish them.
If Americans agree on anything, it is that people have a right to disagree in freedom and without punishment. I am grateful President Trump is standing by his campaign promises to defend people of all faiths.
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At the turn of the year 2017, during our conference in Brazil, as we were praying, I sensed the Spirit of the Lord saying in my heart to "return to a new age of the acts of the apostles."
We have, for decades, looked to the book of the Acts of the Apostles as the pattern for ministry. As far back as 1984, we felt the Lord leading us to restore a Messianic Jewish apostolic team. At Revive Israel, we held Acts 1 as our leading vision to finish what the first apostolic team in Jerusalem started.
At Ahavat Yeshua, we held Acts 2 as our leading vision for the congregation in Jerusalem. At Tiferet Yeshua, we have seen the promise for the greater Tel Aviv area to be saved according to Acts 9 and to become a sending congregation like Antioch in Acts 13. At Tikkun International, we seek a cooperative unity with other apostolic networks based on the joint meeting of apostles and elders in Acts 15.
Most restoration-oriented ministries look to the book of Acts as a model for their work. But I perceived this word to "return to a new age of the acts of the apostles" to mean something quite different: not just a pattern, but an "age"—as mentioned in I Corinthians 10:11—"to us upon whom the end of the ages has come."
In Acts 2, the Holy Spirit was poured out in approximately the year A.D. 33. The apostle Paul reportedly was beheaded in approximately A.D. 67. The city of Jerusalem was destroyed in A.D. 70.
While John continued to live and write until approximately A.D. 90, the explosive work done during the time of the book of Acts was already finished. While apostolic revivals have certainly continued around the world, there was a relatively short window of time shortly after A.D. 30 and before A.D. 70 in which all of the "action" of the book of Acts took place.
What was the "end of the age" for Paul and the other disciples? In their generation, it was the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. There would be another "end of the age" at the Second Coming (presumably in our generation). There was a previous "end of the age" at the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. and another before that in Noah's time (2 Peter 3:5-10). There will be yet another at the end of the millennial kingdom (Rev. 20-21).
Yeshua, Peter, Paul and John—they all relate to a double "end," one in their own generation and the one about to occur soon (Matt. 24:3). For this reason, there is an overlap of prophecies when speaking of the end times. The first age of the apostles occurred right before the "end of the age" in their time. This new age of the apostles will happen right before the "end of the age" in our generation. Both involve the destruction of Jerusalem.
The first apostolic age took place shortly after Yeshua's ascending into heaven from earth. We are in the period shortly before His descending from heaven back to earth. A unique factor in these two time periods is the overlap of the international ecclesia and the Messianic community in Israel. Before A.D. 33 there was no ecclesia. After A.D. 70 there was no Israel. During that one generation, both the ecclesia and the remnant were in position. For the first time in 2,000 years, the coexistence of the two has come back into place.
We don't know exactly how to count the present window of opportunity. Did it start in 2000 and will end at 2040? Does it start now in 2017 and end sometime in this generation? I don't know.
However, the conditions of the book of Acts are lining up again as never before in history. The alignment between a revivalist, apostolic ecclesia in all the nations and a revivalist, apostolic Messianic remnant in Israel is now for the first time taking place. There was no opportunity for this alignment to take place in previous generations.
This is a speeding up of time for the nations, for Israel, for the church, for communications, for revelation, for revival, for persecution, for the completion of the great commission of Acts 1:8, for the outpouring of the Spirit on all flesh according to Acts 2:17, and for the restoration of all things as stated in Acts 3:21. The year 2017 represents a breakthrough, a "restart," for the apostolic and apocalyptic prophecies to take place.
Asher Intrateris the founder and apostolic leader of Revive Israel Ministries and oversees Ahavat Yeshua Congregation in Jerusalem and Tiferet Yeshua Congregation in Tel Aviv. Asher was one of the founders of Tikkun International with Dan Juster and Eitan Shishkoff and serves on the board of the Messianic Alliance of Israel and Aglow International. He and his wife and full-time partner in ministry, Betty, have a passion for personal prayer and devotion, local evangelism and discipleship in Hebrew and unity of the body of believers worldwide.
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One state's legislature is openly defying current federal laws that require them to provide Medicaid funding to abortion providers, particularly Planned Parenthood, by taking up a measure that, if signed into law, would fully defund the abortion giant.
Planned Parenthood operates 12 clinics in Iowa. But Senate File 2, which was slated to be debated Thursday afternoon, would remove it from the list of Medicaid-approved providers. The funds would instead by distributed to the dozens of community health clinics that do not perform abortions throughout the state.
Republicans have been keen to defund Planned Parenthood for several years, but Democrats controlled the Senate and prevented the measure from ever coming up for debate. Now that the GOP controls both chambers—and Gov. Terry Branstad (who is about to become ambassador to China) called on lawmakers to defund the abortion giant—the measure is likely to become law.
The measure "finds" $3 million in federal grants from other sources, which will be used to "backfill" the federal grant funds that will be lost by defunding Planned Parenthood.
Click here to watch the debate. There will be some additional pieces of intrigue to follow:
2018: With Branstad set to retire soon to take his new job in Beijing, a number of Democrats will be jockeying on this key issue to run against Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds, who succeed him.
Budget Woes: Iowa, which has a constitutional amendment that requires a balanced budget, faced a $100 budget shortfall that needed to be addressed by the General Assembly.
Schools: Iowa, which was once the U.S. leader in education, has been forced by budget cuts to reduce its support of local public schools, a measure that is on the Senate debate calendar alongside SF 2.
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WASHINGTON – On Thursday, President Donald Trump told thousands of faith leaders he would destroy a law that keeps pastors from speaking politically from the pulpit.
“I will get rid of and totally destroy the Johnson Amendment and allow our representatives of faith to speak freely and without fear of retribution. I will do that, remember,” he promised at the annual National Prayer Breakfast.
The Johnson Amendment was created in 1954 by then Sen. Lyndon B. Johnson. It limits the free speech of pastors, essentially threatening to take away a church or non-profit's tax-exempt status for endorsing or opposing a political candidate.
“It was the great Thomas Jefferson who said, ‘The God who gave us life, gave us liberty,’" Trump said. "Jefferson asked, ‘Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God?’ Among those freedoms is the right to worship according to our own beliefs.”
In an exclusive interview with CBN’s David Brody last week, the president also reiterated his commitment to repealing the Johnson Amendment.
“Oh, it’s a priority. Absolutely,” he told Brody and called it “a disaster for religion.”
The president is making good on one of his cornerstone campaign promises to evangelicals. In August, he went on the record with CBN’s Jenna Browder.
“Free speech is being taken away from people who are saying good things, not bad things," Trump said. "And if I can do that, I will have done a great thing for religion as a whole, and it’s so important to me.”
There’s already an effort underway in Congress to restore political speech to America’s pulpits. The Free Speech Fairness Act would restrict the enforcement of the Johnson Amendment but not get rid of it entirely.
*CBN neither supports nor opposes any candidate for public office.
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