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.
Michael Brown: "Where Were The Protests When Millions Of Christians Were Being Slaughtered?" | 3 Things You Might Not Know About Jesus Christ | J.K. Rowling Lashes Out At Mike Pence With Bible Verse
Pastor Jim and Lori Bakker talk about how to unlock the authority we’ve been given as believers. With special guest Billye Brim.
Quotes
Hang out with the right people! The people that know God! – Pastor Jim
The Spirit of God is moving. – Pastor Jim
Don’t think everything’s honey and spice now. Because we’re in the final days. And there’s going to be a lot of shaking going on. – Pastor Jim
Scriptures
Ephesians 2:2 MEV in which you formerly walked according to the age of this world and according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience,
Ephesians 6:12 MEV For our fight is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, and against spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
Exodus 20:8 MEV Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.
Published by: Dan Calabrese on Monday January 30th, 2017
What does the Bible really say about taking in Syrian Refugees? Herman Cain Jan. 30, 2017
Not what the left, the media and quite a few Christians would have you think.
It's always problematic when you look to the mainstream media and other left-wingers for an understanding of what Scripture says. To listen to them, you'd think Jesus was concerned with little more than sending checks to the poor, installing solar panels on roofs and surrendering to any and all foreign enemies.
That's why it's been easy for those who only crack a Bible when they're looking for something to justify an agenda to claim that "Christian compassion" demands we take in Syrian refugees without regard for the potential threat of ISIS terrorists who slip in among the crowd.
Indeed, Scripture draws a clear line between the responsibility of the individual and the role of the state. Individuals are to forswear vengeance, leaving justice to earthly rulers as God’s “agents of wrath” who bring “punishment on the wrongdoer.” The state has an affirmative responsibility to protect its citizens, even to the point of bringing a sense of “terror” to those “who do wrong.” There is no contradiction between personally welcoming the “strangers” among us while our leaders endeavor to protect us from a genocidal terrorist force that uses refugee status as a shield and disguise to perpetrate brutal attacks against innocent civilians.
This is not to say that Scripture creates a paradigm of compassionate individuals and heartless governments. Throughout the Bible, entire nations — not just individuals — are condemned for injustice, including unjust treatment of the poorest and most vulnerable members of society. But to say that the only way to meet that standard is to open our doors to migrants when we know our enemy intends to plant terrorists within their ranks is once again to read far too much into Scripture.
French is quoting Romans 13, which lays out clear lines of responsibility for governments - particularly the imperative to protect the innocent from wrongdoers. Now that might seem to contradict Luke 10, in which Jesus teaches the importance of being a neighbor to someone in need, even if that someone comes from an enemy camp.
But there is actually no contradiction. As liberals often do, they take directives aimed at individuals in the Bible and try to make them the responsibility of the state. More than that, they insist that the only way the directive can be fulfilled is in the manner they prefer.
What was extraordinary about the actions of the Samaritan in Jesus' parable is that Samaritans and Jews typically would not associate with each other, yet in this case the Samaritan who found the Jew beaten alongside the road picked him up, tended to his wounds and brought him to an inn - where he instructed the innkeeper to look after him and even paid the bill. And yes, that is absolutely the sort of love and compassion to which we are called as Christians, even when we're talking about someone we typically regard as an enemy.
But it's important to recognize a couple of things. First, the Samaritan did not take the man into his own home. He paid the bill, but he did not in any way put himself at risk of harm from the man. Even more importantly, the Samaritan made a free choice of his own will to help the man.
What the left wants to do in the case of the Syrian refugees is use the power of the state to force an entire nation to welcome people into their midst without any effort to ensure that members of ISIS with evil intentions were filtered out. That's not compassion. That's national suicide. And if you think God wants nations to commit suicide, just skim through the Old Testament and consider the many instructions He gave to Israelite kings to attack foreign armies - even killing and plundering those they conquered. When it came to warfare, God instructed the kings of Israel to be pretty ruthless in dealing with their enemies.
The Syrian refugee situation is a tricky conundrum because there surely are many among the group who have no evil intentions and genuninely need help. America should want to help. But there are ways to do that without risking our own security. It would make more sense for them to be resettled in majority Muslim countries anyway, and we can do a lot of things to support that process.
But the responsibility of government is to protect its people from harm, and the government is well aware of the fact that previous terrorist attacks have been perpetrated by people who slipped in as refugees or asylum-seekers. Knowing full well that this one of the enemy's tactics, and doing absolutely nothing to prevent them from succeeding at it, is not "Christian compassion." It's a dereliction of duty.
We can help and we should. But not by putting ourselves in jeopardy. If individuals are called by the Lord to take a risk and help a potentially dangerous person, then those individuals should trust the Lord. But for the leaders of our nation to decide that we all have to take that risk is neither scriptural nor moral. It's just plain wrong.
Police beat and detain a Pakistani Christian protester during a demonstration against Saturday's burning of Christian houses and belongings in Badami Bagh, Lahore, March 10, 2013. (Reuters (File Photo))
Court Clears 112 Suspected of Torching Christian Homes
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A Pakistani court acquitted 112 suspects in the 2013 torching of hundreds of Christian homes in the eastern city of Lahore over a rumor that one of the residents there had blasphemed, a lawyer said on Sunday.
In March 2013, more than 125 homes in Lahore's Josep Colony were burned by a mob of more than 3,000 Muslims responding to rumors that a local Christian man, Sawan Masih, had made derogatory remarks about the Prophet Mohammad.
No one was killed in the incident but there was widespread damage to the property of the mostly destitute Christians living in the neighborhood. Two churches and dozens of Bibles were also desecrated in the attack.
Defense lawyer Ghulam Murtaza Chaudhry said an anti-terrorism court in Lahore had acquitted 112 people accused of torching and ransacking hundreds of houses.
"They were acquitted by the court because of lack of evidences against them," Murtaza told Reuters. "The state witnesses could not identify the accused and their statements were also contradictory."
All 112 suspects were already out on bail.
A road sweeper in his late twenties, Sawan Masih told police after his arrest on blasphemy charges that the real reason for the blasphemy allegation was a property dispute between him and a friend who spread the rumor.
In Pakistan, conviction under the blasphemy laws can carry a mandatory death sentence.
Masih was sentenced to death in 2014, a decision he has appealed.
Critics of Pakistan's blasphemy laws say they have long been used by individuals and religious groups to settle disputes.
This month, the Pakistani Senate's human rights panel said it would debate how to prevent the country's blasphemy laws being applied unfairly, the first time in decades that any parliamentary body had considered a formal proposal to stop the abuse of the blasphemy laws.
Many conservatives in Pakistan consider even criticizing the laws as blasphemy, and in 2011 a Pakistani governor, Salman Taseer, was assassinated by his bodyguard after calling for reform of the laws.
His killer, Mumtaz Qadri, was hailed as a hero by religious hard-liners. Tens of thousands of supporters attended his funeral after he was executed last year and a shrine was built over his grave soon after his burial.
Hundreds of Pakistanis are on death row for blasphemy convictions.
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Here are ways you can more effectively evangelize to Jewish people. (Getty Images )
How You Can Provoke Jewish People to Jealousy
When thinking of how I can become more effective in bringing the gospel to the Jewish people, I am often reminded of the Apostle Paul's writings in Romans to stir the rest of us into Jewish witness and evangelism.
"How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?" (Rom. 10:14).
One of my dear good friends and brothers in Yeshua/Jesus, J.B. Bernstein, is a Messianic evangelist whose belly is filled with the fire of the Lord to bring the good news back to the Jewish people and of course anyone else who will listen.
He has written a new ebook on this subject to help enlighten and equip the rest of us, which can really help to make a difference in our Jewish witness and evangelism.
Here are some of his thoughts and a link below to his website to access the free ebook.
More next month from the land of Israel ... Grant Berry
Evangelist J.B. Bernstein
"I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid! But through their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make them jealous" (Rom. 11:11).
Romans 11:11 is a verse of Scripture that has not yet fully come into its fulfillment. On the contrary, up to this point; instead of loving the Jews, the ancient church persecuted them in its place and greatly misunderstood the plight of the Jewish people, ultimately misleading the rest of us. So, for the past 1,800 years, we have not yet come close to this calling.
However, as we draw closer to the Lord's return, all of this is about to change; as God re-focuses His heart and plans to restore His first-born, there is a new love for Israel in the air, and our Gentile family has a huge role to play out in their salvation. Now we must re-learn how to rebuild these bridges between Jew and Gentile in the family of God.
Can You See Yourself in a New Light?
Firstly, we need to remind ourselves that our Jesus is Jewish, as well as all of the apostles and prophets; that our Savior is the Son of David, the lion of the tribe of Judah and the King of the Jews. We need to begin to lay a Jewish foundation for the gospel that Jewish people may more readily receive.
I believe the time has come for Christians to finally be the catalysts God intends them to be and provoke Jewish people to such jealousy that they will run to and embrace their Messiah. What an amazing thought.
The question is: How can this get done? What does it look like? What will make Jewish people jealous of Christians?
How Can This Happen?
I believe the Lord has revealed how this can happen, and I am very excited at the prospect of the entire body of Messiah/Christ embracing, understanding and fulfilling their purpose to bring salvation back to the people who first brought it to them.
To make anyone jealous of what you have, it must be so great it's beyond belief. That means Jewish people need to see what you have is something so fantastic and appealing that they must have it themselves.
However, in order for Christians to truly provoke Israel to jealousy, there needs to be a change in the way we see ourselves. This calls for a paradigm shift in the Christian mindset. We do not want to change who we are as new creations in Messiah/Christ, but we need to see ourselves as wild olive branches that have been grafted on to the cultivated olive tree which is their tree ("their tree" meaning the olive tree is figuratively Israel).
This change of mindset will make our message so much more powerful in that our appeal to Jewish people will not be that they need to "become one of us" but rather that we have "become one of them!" This will open many Jewish hearts and is part of the truth that will set multitudes of Jewish people free.
If you desire to read more and become equipped to be the generation of Christians to fulfill Rom. 11:11 and to receive a free download of the e-book, Five Steps to Provoke Israel (the Jewish people) to Jealousy. Please click on this link. Once there, click on ebook.
Grant Berry is a Jewish believer in Yeshua/Jesus and author of The New Covenant Prophecy and The Ezekiel Generation. He founded Reconnecting Ministries with the specific focus to help the church reconnect spiritually to Israel and considers it vital to the kingdom of G-d in the last days. His message focuses on the unity, love and healing that the Father wants to bring between Jew and Gentile, yet clearly points out the differences and misunderstandings between the two groups. Now is the time to look more carefully into this mystery to make way for healing and reconnection in the Spirit. For more information, please visit reconnectingministries.org.
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“And God blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it; because that in it He rested from all His work which God in creating had made.” Genesis 2:3 (The Israel Bible™)
On Friday, Ivanka Trump and husband Jared Kushner hosted several of President Trump’s Cabinet members at the couple’s first Shabbat dinner in their new Washington, D.C. home.
Last Friday, the couple was busy celebrating Trump’s inauguration, making January 27 the first Shabbat evening the family spent at home. They marked the occasion by inviting an impressive group of advisors and cabinet members, including Trump’s Department of the Treasury pick Steve Mnuchin, Department of Commerce nominee Wilbur Ross, Strategic Communications Director Hope Hicks, and advisors Gary Cohn and Dina Habibi Powell.
All of the D.C. dinner guests were sighted and photographed entering the Kushner home on Friday night by the Daily Mail, which published the photos on Saturday. Jared Kushner is visible greeting his guests at the door.
Are millennials leaving the church? (Unsplash/Stefan Kunze)
Have Millennials Abandoned Their Faith?
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What's one of the fastest-growing religious identifications among millennials?
It's actually not a religion at all. It's "none."
Roughly a quarter of all Americans (23 percent), according to the Pew Research Center, call themselves "nones" or are not affiliated with any religion or faith. Just 10 years ago, a similar survey found that 16 percent said their religion was "nothing in particular"—a significant jump. And of these "nones," a large number are millennials, with more than a third of this young generation saying they do not identify with a faith.
To religion and culture expert, national radio host and authorDr. Alex McFarland (alexmcfarland.com), this is alarming. And he's addressing the crisis in his new book, Abandoned Faith: Why Millennials Are Walking Away and How You Can Lead Them Home, co-authored with apologist and evangelist Jason Jimenez. "Abandoned Faith" is available for pre-order now at alexmcfarland.com, with an official release date from Tyndale Publishing and Focus on the Family of March 1 (in stores March 7).
"There are many reasons why young people may become disillusioned with church, religious organizations or faith in general, such as mistrust, skepticism, rebelling against a negative experience, pressure from atheist or agnostic friends, or a variety of other influences," McFarland says. "But regardless of why they leave their faith behind, the real tragedy is that many millennials are heading into life without Christ. And we must find a way to bring them back into the fold. That's why this new book, Abandoned Faith, is so important for anyone who loves a millennial."
Millennials, born between 1980 and 2000, constitute a group of more than 80 million individuals who are technologically astute, ethnically diverse, and culturally and vibrantly engaged. Yet they face high unemployment and massive debt. These characteristics, coupled with the fact that they comprise the largest number of religiously unaffiliated Americans, should be concerning to every parent, grandparent, pastor and potential employer.
Moved by these and other hard-hitting facts, McFarland and Jimenez interview in Abandoned Faith top Christian leaders who work with millennials and families. Their research and conversations shed new light on what Christian parents must do to reach their young adult children. Abandoned Faith also offers a strong voice of hope for parents, church leaders and others who serve the millennial generation.
McFarland, who speaks to more than 30,000 young people every year, says that teens, especially, tend to look to their parents, spiritual leaders at their church and teachers when it comes to life's biggest decisions. The media and their peers come in at the bottom of the list.
"From speaking with tens of thousands of young people over the years, I have learned that if they have just a few adults who will come alongside them and encourage them to grow in their faith, there's a much better chance they will remain in the church and rooted in Jesus long into adulthood," he said. "So one or two positive influences can make a world of difference in the faith—and life—of a young person."
Another part of Pew's Religious Landscape Study looked as reasons why "nones" were disconnected to a particular faith. Survey respondents provided hundreds of different answers, but many shared a few common themes, according to Pew.
About half of current religious "nones" who were raised in a religion (49 percent) indicate that a lack of belief led them to move away from religion. Others reference science, logic, common sense, lack of evidence or simply say they do not believe in God.
Another 20 percent express an opposition to organized religion in general, citing a dislike to the hierarchical nature of religious groups, the thought that religion is too much like a business and clergy sexual abuse scandals as reasons for their stance. A similar share (18 percent) say they are religiously unsure. A tenth say they were raised with a religious affiliation, and may hold certain beliefs, but they are not currently taking part in religious practices.
"Most of them simply say they don't go to church or engage in other religious rituals," Pew reported, "while others say they are too busy for religion."
McFarland's new blog at alexmcfarland.com features posts such as "It's the End of Celebrities Fawning over the White House as We Knew It, and I Feel Fine," "5 Strategies for Reaching Skeptics," "Pitch These 9 Fallacies Before Making Moral Choices" and "Don't Let Our Kids Be Eaten by Lions." Read more here.
Also serving as Director for Christian Worldview and Apologetics at North Greenville University (ngu.edu) in Greenville, South Carolina, McFarland is the author of Stand Strong America, The God You Thought You Knew: Exposing the 10 Biggest Myths About Christianity, 10 Questions Every Christian Must Answer, 10 Issues That Divide Christians, 10 Answers for Skeptics and the Stand series of devotions for teens. McFarland is an expert in the field of apologetics—the practice of defending the Christian faith in a world where faith in Christ is plummeting at alarming rates.
McFarland has spent years working with young people and takes their questions to heart. He has preached in more than 1,300 churches and has been featured at conferences such as the Billy Graham School of Evangelism, Focus on the Family's "Big Dig" and California's "Spirit West Coast," sharing the platform with Chuck Colson, Eric Metaxas, Josh McDowell and others.
Part evangelist, part apologist, part educator and part broadcaster, McFarland focuses on communicating the message of salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ. He co-hosts the daily, live radio program "Exploring the Word" on American Family Radio's Talk Network, heard on more than 125 stations across the country, and the weekly television show "Viral Truth," airing on the National Religious Broadcasters Network, which he co-hosts with Jimenez.
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“Thus saith Hashem: I return unto Tzion and will dwell in the midst of Yerushalayim; and Yerushalayim shall be called the city of truth; and the mountain of Hashem of hosts the holy mountain.” Zechariah 8:3 (The Israel Bible™)
By: Sean Savage
Aside from its centrality to Jewish peoplehood as the home of the ancient Jewish Temples and now the modern state of Israel’s capital, Jerusalem is also synonymous with Judaism for many Bible-reading Christians. As such, prominent pro-Israel Christian organizations are lining up to express their support for President Donald Trump’s promise to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and to hold the president accountable for his words.
Susan Michael, U.S. director for the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ), said Christians already understand that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel and would like to see the American government follow suit. In fact, ICEJ has had its own “unofficial” embassy in Jerusalem since 1980, a point that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu noted in his 2016 Christmas address.
