Monday, November 3, 2014

Thousands Stand with Pastors Targeted by Houston Mayor

Thousands Stand with Pastors Targeted by Houston Mayor

WASHINGTON - Thousands gathered in a Houston church Sunday evening and many more watched online to defend the right of pastors to be free of government intimidation.
The gathering came after Houston Mayor Annise Parker, a lesbian, and fellow officials subpoenaed the sermons of five pastors.
Host Tony Perkins, head of the Family Research Council, told the crowd at Houston's Grace Community Church that more than 700 churches and 3,000 home groups had signed up to take part in the "I Stand Sunday" event via the webcast.
"I stand here today with you that I may speak, preach and teach on the issues that deal with society, the issues that the Bible speaks about," Pastor Hernan Castano of Iglesia Rios de Aceite, one of the "Houston Five" -- as the pastors have become known -- said.
Mayor Parker became upset with church-organized opposition to a pro-gay, pro-transgender city ordinance. In a legal move, she had called for local pastors' sermons to be subpoenaed.
Erik Stanley, a senior legal counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom, has been representing the pastors.
"These subpoenas are just one front in a rapidly developing conflict. And the philosophy underlying this conflict is that sexual liberty trumps everything, including religious liberty," Stanley said.
Another of the pastors' lawyers, Andy Taylor, told participants it's sad how far Houston officials have strayed from the spirit of the First Amendment.
"'I may not like what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it,' and that is what the First Amendment is based on, ladies and gentlemen," Taylor said, quoting Voltaire.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee pointed out an important truth about the Bill of Rights.
"It never, ever, ever told you, as a citizen, what you cannot do. Every one of the Bill of Rights tells the government what it can't do," Huckabee explained. "And it tells the government it cannot encroach on what your pastor says or what you believe."
After the outcry, Mayor Parker withdrew the subpoenas, but the pastors and their allies suspect the battle's far from over.
Duck Dynasty patriarch Phil Robertson knows about facing pressure while standing up for his beliefs. He admonished the Texans involved in this struggle to embrace the fight.
"It's been granted to you, Texas, to not only believe in Jesus, but also to suffer for Him," Robertson said. "Praise God for suffering for Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Let's get it on."
Dr. Rick Scarborough, with Vision America asked, "Isn't it just like God to give us Texans a chance to show the world what Texas pastors are made of?"
Dr. Ronnie Floyd, head of the Southern Baptist Convention, said the church has to shake off apathy and take the lead in getting the nation right with God.
"I say this to all of Houston and I say it to the church of America tonight: It is time for us to wake up from our slumber," he said.
Then Floyd asked people to get on their knees as he led them in a prayer of repentance.
Huckabee suggested one of the things Christians must repent of is political apathy.
"We have not just the right to vote. But if we love God, we have a responsibility to vote and to be the salt and light of our nation. And we have failed," Huckabee said.
"There are 80 million self-proclaimed evangelicals in America," the former governor explained. "Of the 80 million evangelicals, only half of them are even registered to vote. Of the half that are registered to vote, only half of them voted in the presidential election."
"And of those, only half of them will vote in an off-year election," he continued. "And we wonder why it is that we're seeing the kinds of things we're seeing in cities like Houston, Texas."
Another of the "Houston Five," Senior Pastor Steve Riggle of Grace Community Church, asked people to come to Houston City Hall at 11 a.m. Wednesday, November 5, to ask Mayor Parker to allow a vote of the city's citizens on the pro-gay, pro-transgender ordinance that led to this confrontation in the first place.
Todd Starnes, host of FOX News Radio, writes frequently about attacks on religious liberty in America. He suggested Houston pastors and parishioners need to be as strong as some of the students standing up for their religious rights in school.
Starnes cited Roy Costner of Liberty, South Carolina, who slated to give the valedictorian speech at his high school graduation. When he submitted his speech, school officials began blacking out large sections.
"And Roy Costner was told that he was not allowed to say anything about Jesus, and they marked that out of his speech," Starnes recounted. "They said 'Roy, you're not allowed to say anything about the Bible,' so they marked that out of his speech. And then they said, 'Roy, you can't say anything about Christianity in the speech.' And Roy told me the speech looked like an NSA document that had been redacted."
When graduation day came, school officials wouldn't let Roy carry anything to the podium and what awaited him there was the speech they'd approved.
"Roy Costner stood before that large crowd and he took that government-approved speech in his hands and he tore it in half and he asked the audience to rise to their feet and he said, 'Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.' Roy Costner, 18 years old, took a stand," Starnes said.
Perkins ended the evening with a command from Ephesians 6.
"In the end it simply comes down to one thing -- standing.  'Having done all, stand," Perkins said.
Watch CBN video: Houston Pastors

"Supernatural Doors - An Invitation to Heavenly Realms" by Kathie Walters


"Supernatural Doors - An Invitation to Heavenly Realms"
Kathie Walters, Macon, GA
The Elijah List

Supernatural Doors At the Airport

The first supernatural door was at the airport in Sydney, Australia. And the second one, well, I want to show you a picture of a door where something supernatural happened just recently.

Two years ago, I arrived at Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport. I fly in and out of Sydney quite often, so I know the airport well – like I know Atlanta. I had three large cases, two of them with books and CDs for my conference. When you bring books and CDs into another country, it sometimes takes 20 minutes (after standing in the line for 40 minutes) to explain what the books are for and that you are not part of a weird cult.
As I had flown all the way from Atlanta, I felt tired and didn't feel like getting in the long line or trying to give an explanation to the customs guy.

I was at the baggage claim area, and I had just gotten my three cases onto my cart, and I grumbled a bit to God, "Can't You get me out of here without all the lines?" A security lady then walked up to me. "Let me see your customs declaration," she said. I handed her the white customs form and she looked it over. She made a huge red line right across it, and I thought she was mad. "Go through the door in the corner over there," she pointed to the right hand corner of the baggage claim area. (Photo via Flickr)

As I said, I know the airport well, and I had never noticed a door there before. I thought, "They are waiting for me, and they are going to give me a hard time because I have three cases." I walked with my cart over to the corner and through the door expecting to see some stern-faced man waiting there. 

To my surprise, I was suddenly in the main terminal. I totally bypassed all the security! "Thank You, Lord!" I said. I was so happy!

Again... Another Airport Door Appears

I had meetings that week and the following week; I went to New Zealand as I always do. I had a great time in New Zealand, and returned to Sydney a couple of weeks later. I flew into the same international terminal and baggage claim. I was feeling happy, because although I had three cases (someone in New Zealand makes CDs for me), I knew which door to head for. Easy.

I went through the initial customs where they check your passport and then went to the baggage claim and gathered my three cases.

I wheeled my cart toward the corner to go through the door I had been through two weeks before. When I got to the corner, to my dismay, there was NO DOOR THERE at all.

I had no choice but to go and get at the end of a very long line of people going through the security, but I was not a happy camper at all. I complained to the Lord about it. "I don't know about that, making doors and then taking them away again. Now I have to get in this big, long line."

I stood there because I didn't have a choice. After about five minutes, a security man walked up to me; "You and you (he pointed to the lady next to me whom I didn't know), go through that door there." He pointed to a door straight ahead of us. We looked at each other and both walked through this door. We found ourselves in the main terminal. (Photo via Pixabay)

Afterwards I said to the Lord, "Why did You take away the first door and then make another door?" He didn't give me any great theological answer, "I am the door, I can do what I like," is all He said. 

But I thought about it afterwards: He can do what He likes and what He desires – He is the door, He is the key, He is the beginning and the end...He can make a way where there is no way, and make a door where there is no door! Simple really. Just need a bit of faith, which we have already been given. "To every man [is given] the measure of [God's] faith" (Romans 12:3).

ElijahList Prophetic Resources

It's a Heavenly Door and Invitation

I had just returned from Wales and England. We had a great time. I take a group to Ireland and Scotland every April, and Wales and England every October.

So, I just returned from the October tour. While we were visiting Bedford area, we went to the church where John Newton (author of the famous hymn "Amazing Grace") preached and is now buried – Olney Parish Church of St. Peter and St. Paul. John Bunyan, author of The Pilgrim's Progress, was imprisoned in Bedford for preaching without being "ordained." The famous politician and slave trade abolitionist, William Wilberforce, went to rest often at Moggerhanger estate in Bedford, too. Quite a grace history in Bedford.

While we were at the Olney Church, we had sung "Amazing Grace" around John Newton's grave. I walked back to the front gate, and I passed a side door into the church. The door was a muddy brown color and surrounded by the grey stone arch design around the door. I stopped and took a picture of the door because I noticed a pattern on the door, but the door was not very attractive really. We got back on the little bus and went on with Michele Grandfield to the next place. Michele has a great ministry in Bedford called "His Fragrance Ministries."
On the bus I opened the picture app on my phone to check my pictures

I was totally amazed when I saw the brown painted door. It was an amazing blue color (right), and the grey stone around it was now pretty hues. 

I did not do anything to the picture in the way of color or anything like that. None of the other pictures I took had color apart from the actual color they were at the time. It was a cloudy day, so none of the pictures were bright. It's a heavenly door, and I believe it's an invitation to the heavenly realms – and a reminder that Jesus is supernatural, and the supernatural realm of the Holy Spirit is our inheritance. (Photo by Kathie Walters)

Come on in through the Heavenly Door (Jesus), and remember that He can make a door where there seems to be no door to go through, and He is the Way and the Truth and Life, nothing is too hard for Him. He loves you.

Kathie Walters
Good News Ministries

Kathie Walters is an international speaker who brings freedom to those who feel they have to "qualify." She also ministers in the supernatural and believes that the supernatural realm is for everyone.

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The End of Evangelical Support for Israel?

Americans in Israel Concerned About US Foreign Policy

Sarah Haber, 24 - American in Israel


Americans in Israel Concerned About 
US Foreign Policy


JERUSALEM, Israel -- Americans living in Israel are already voting in midterm elections. CBN News visited one center where Americans could turn in their ballots.

"We've helped them, informed them how to fill out their ballot," said Matt Solomon, director of iVoteIsrael, a group that encourages Americans living in Israel to register and vote in U.S. elections.

"We haven't chosen the candidates for them. That's their business," Solomon told CBN News. "But on the other hand we're here to lend a hand and help them participate in the election."

Americans in Israel have a unique vantage point --- living in a Western-style nation in the Middle East surrounded by enemies, which some say the United States often doesn't understand.

We asked Americans here why they're voting and what's important to them in the elections.

"First of all, I care about America. And second of all, I think that the elections are not only going to influence American citizens but also the entire world," said Sarah Haber, 24. Haber has lived here since 1997.

Jonathan Druckman, originally from Portland, Oregon, is finishing a master's degree in political science.

"Israel's security is important, the threat of a nuclear Iran and the more approximate threats. But I also care deeply about what's happening in the United States. So when I vote, I vote with the interests of both countries at heart," Druckman said.

Yaffa Brochin

"One of the most important things is to get a balanced government in the United States, to not have Obama calling all the shots," said Yaffa Brochin, originally from Chicago.

The "greatest concern" for Malka Kideckel "is the faltering relationship between America and Israel."

Some say those relations are faltering because President Barack Obama doesn't understand the Middle East or history.

"He's been very naïve with us thus far. He's been demanding concessions from us time after time and not demanding, not receiving anything in return from the Palestinians -- and the way he's reacted to the situation in Syria, the situation in Lybia, the situation in Iran," said Daniel Sturman, a father of three from New Jersey.

"I've made the joke many times that Obama never had any experience in foreign policy so he had the CIA send him a list of the countries in the world in the order of how friendly they are to the United States and then he hung it on the wall backwards by accident," Sturman added.

Kideckel said Israel has been a "true and trusted friend, ally to the United States and we've been true blue, we've been trusted, we've held back our fire in, we've held back defending ourselves in situations such as the Gulf War."

Brochin said the trouble isn't just about anti-Israel sentiments.

"This is about anti-Semitism," she said.

David Bogenreif is a Christian from Iowa who has lived in Israel for decades. He said relations are strained between Israel and the United States.

"It looks a bit difficult with the Iranian issues, the nuclear bomb, other political issues happening," Bogenreif said.

He also said there's trouble because current political plans don't line up with the Bible.

"I don't believe in a two-state solution," Bogenreif said. "The Land [Israel] was given to the sons of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the Jewish people."

And does God figure into the equation in the Middle East?

"Absolutely," Druckman said. "I'm not sure that we can see it so well, but I absolutely believe he does figure in. Faith for Jews but also for Christians is really important with all of the challenges we are facing today."

View Video: CBN News

Survey Shows Evangelicals Confused Theologically - CBN News

Dr. Stephen Nichols

Survey Shows Evangelicals Confused Theologically

new poll from Lifeway Research reveals that evangelicals have a significant level of theological confusion.
The survey, commissioned by Ligonier Ministries, shows a lack of orthodox views about God, salvation, and the Holy Spirit.
The good news is that nearly all evangelicals, about 96 percent, believe that Jesus rose from the dead. And 92 percent believe that salvation comes from Him alone.
Also, close to 90 percent believe that God is sovereign over all people and that the Bible is the word of God.
What are some of the most concerning heretical views some evangelicals hold? For more on this, CBN News spoke with Dr. Stephen Nichols, president of Reformation Bible College and a Ligonier Ministries teaching fellow.
Watch CBN News Video: Survey
Love For His People Editor's Note: My most recent NOW THINK ON THIS message asked the question, "No More Retraints?" As has been found in the survey above, American Christians in particular no longer know/believe what is black and white and Scripturally based, and thus cannot stand for what is right and wrong. Read below. 

Steve Martin
Love For His People, Inc.
President



No More Restraints?
- Now Think On This
by Steve Martin


“And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he will be revealed. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way.” 2 Thess. 2:6-8 NASU


The walls are falling down. Many of the restraints we formerly could count on, which have been holding back the onslaught of the evil one as they had been in place over the centuries, are no longer there.

Almost anything is allowed now, as people and governments are using all excuses to serve their own purposes. Often it is heard, “We must be sensitive to others”, or “stop pushing your own agenda or beliefs on us.” It would seem that all situations are ok, as there is no longer any fear of paying a price for sin, no matter how large or small. After all, some would think, no longer is there a need for accountability to anyone or anything having rules, regulations or set guidelines. We are “free to let it all go and do our own thing.”


According to many, there are no longer any restraints that would or should guide us anymore. The concept of sin went out the door decades ago. With a common misconception that one can be called a Christian by just saying you are one, the thought of a God who would judge people is labeled as old school. Why therefore need we adhere to the Ten Commandments or any Scripture? We took those down off the court room walls decades ago, after all.


There used to be a time when at least you could hear, even in mainline churches, good, solid teaching on standards, as they held the ground on what was permissible and what wasn’t. Now, due to the fear of political correctness or attacks from the other side, speaking Bible truth has been so watered down that young kids have no idea what really is right or wrong. The standards have been so lowered that what we once upheld and stood strong on have now been tossed aside, replaced by ungodly standards and immoral judgments. Deception abounds.


Even certain nationally observed days, with foundations from evil origins themselves, have become some of the most celebrated in our countries. Indeed, the ever increasing temperature rise in the frog’s captive water has gone up so high, whereby the “frog” is now being boiled alive, not even realizing the impending result. But death will actually result.


Parents raising kids are confronted daily with sound waves of how all the others are doing it, how it will be alright to give in a little, and why not to be so tough on allowing your kids to explore and try new ways. Weariness takes its toll on those attempting to hold the line, while struggling to stop the onslaught from coming into the home daily from every which way.


So what do we do? Give up and give in? Tell ourselves that the world is going to hell anyway, so just let it happen?


In speaking to those of us who are of the current parental generation, we are called upon by our Lord to stand, even as others around us would give in. We are the ones who must be the lighthouse to those who have lost their way. We must be the “Bible” to those who have never been instructed in the Way, or shown the Truth, or heard of the Life in Jesus Christ.


“Refuse to follow the devil. Stand strong in your faith. You know that your brothers and sisters all over the world are having the same sufferings that you have. 1 Peter 5:9


“So, brothers and sisters, stand strong and continue to believe the teachings we gave you when we were there and by letter.” 2 Thess. 2:15


I know I grow weary at times, with the frequent temptations, the short term victories of the ungodly, and the continuing battle to keep my mind on the Lord and His ways. But I know for the sake of my family, my grandkids, and others who are watching and listening, I, along with you, must hold the line. We must stand for truth, righteousness and accountability.


Be encouraged in the Lord’s strength. Spend the time daily to be uplifted by His Word, His answers to prayers, and His light that does shine in the darkness. Our promised reward awaits us in the end.


Now think on this,


Steve Martin
Love For His People. Inc.




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Now Think On This #163 - “No More Restraints?” by Steve Martin
Date: In the year of our Lord 2014 (10.29.14) Wednesday at 5:30 pm in Charlotte, NC


All previous editions of Now Think On This can be found on this Blog, and on our newest website: Now Think On This

White House Playing a Dangerous Game with Israel

White House Playing a Dangerous Game with Israel

No matter which party winds up controlling the House and Senate after next Tuesday's elections, we will hear the usual calls for bipartisan cooperation.
Many Democratic candidates are running in hyper-drive trying to distance themselves from President Barack Obama.
One area in which they could find some common ground with Republicans is to oppose the increasingly dangerous penchant of the White House and State Department to attack Israel, a country that is already under greater siege because of failed U.S. behavior in the Middle East.
In the past few months, Israel has withstood the terrorist kidnapping and murder of three teenagers, a rocket barrage from Gaza that triggers seek-shelter sirens for some two million Israelis, an incursion to stop those rocket attacks, the murder of an 8-month old American-Israeli baby who was hurled into the air when a terrorist driver plowed into a crowd at a Jerusalem train stop (as well as a tribute to that terrorist by members of Palestinian Chairman Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah party), and now the apparently nationalist shooting of an Orthodox Jewish figure on the streets of the Israeli capital.
And all of that happened as ISIS pursues its bloody quest to build a caliphate, Syria's regime kills hundreds of thousands of its own citizens and forces millions to flee, and Iran spins its centrifuges to build the nuclear bombs it craves, while the West yawns.
The administration's response: it allowed a "senior advisor" to tell The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is a "chickens***t" and a coward for not striking Iran and for not pursuing U.S. demands for further negotiations now with Abbas and other Sunni leaders.
More significantly, that advisor also seemed to welcome Iran's nuclear progress, while the U.S. foreign policy apparatus bears down on Israel for building apartments in Jewish neighborhoods in Jerusalem.
When asked by a reporter, "Is the administration trying to figure out who made those inappropriate and counter-productive comments," a State Department spokesperson, showing disdain for the subject, answered, "There are anonymous sources in all of your stories every single day. If we spent all of our time focused on that effort, we wouldn't be working on diplomacy."
Nearly 24 hours later, her boss, Secretary of State John Kerry, finally called the remarks "disgraceful, unacceptable and damaging," and said they did not reflect his views or those of the White House.
Earlier this year, Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon was forced to apologize for calling Kerry "obsessive" and "messianic"--not in a public interview, but in a private conversation. Ya'alon believed Kerry's plan for Israeli territorial concessions to the Palestinians would severely compromise Israel's security.
This past week, the administration refused to set up meetings for Ya'alon with Kerry and Vice President Joe Biden while the minister was in the United States.
If the White House and Foggy Bottom aren't held to account for their practice of benign neglect of the world's most dangerous regimes at the expense of Israel, this nation and all of its allies can expect to pay a much steeper price in chaos and disruption.
A few House and Senate Democrats, along with Republicans, have shown courage in raising questions about blanket U.S. funding of Palestinian and U.N. projects that almost certainly have terrorist connections, and about insisting on guarantees that the Obama team allow Congress to have a say in any nuclear deal with Iran.
They would do well to sound the alarm. It is virtually certain that what is happening in Tehran, Jerusalem, and Washington will move quickly up the priority list on the national agenda--and perhaps soon.
At that time, the question of whether our leaders can discern between friend and adversary could become a matter of life and death for many people.
Source: CBN News