Today's category: DeathThe Evil BrotheThe Evil Bro? ? ? ? ? ? In a small town, there were two brothers who, over the course of many years, cheated, swindled, robbed and generally stole from everyone that they ever did business with.? ? ? ? ? ? The entire town and surrounding community reviled and despised these two brothers as everyone was aware of just how disreputable and dishonest they were.? ? ? ? ? ? One day, one of the brothers mysteriously died.? ? ? ? ? ? Although they had never attended church, the one remaining brother went to the local pastor and offered vast sums of money if he would come to the funeral and say the appropriate words, AND, a large bonus, but ONLY if he would - during the course of the eulogy -refer to his brother as "a Saint."? ? ? ? ? ? The pastor was troubled by the request, however, it was a very poor church and the church desperately needed repairs.? ? ? ? ? ? The Parishioners had heard about the pastor's dilemma and were curious as to what he would do.? ? ? ? ? ? The Funeral began, the church was packed, and the pastor started with the usual prayers and followed the rites and traditions as required by the churches teachings. In closing, after referring to the man in the box, he paused and turned to face the remaining brother.? ? ? ? ? ? He began, "As you all know, the departed was an awful individual who robbed, cheated, swindled and stole from everyone he ever did business with.? ? ? ? ? ? However, compared to his Brother, he was - "a Saint!"View hundreds more jokes online.Email this joke to a friend

The Arizona legislature has defeated a measure to that would repeal the state's abortion ban that protect women and unborn babies. On Wednesday, following two attempts to bring up the pro-abortion bill that would repeal the ban and allow killing babies in abortions. “The last thing we should be doing today is rushing a bill […]The post Arizona Legislature Defeats Measure to Repeal Pro-Life Law Protecting Babies From Abortions appeared first on LifeNews.com.

? Temple Baptist Church - 4-14-2024Psalm 119:113-120? Introduction:? A.? Psalm 119 – The Magnification of the Word of God.? 176 verses broken down into 22 stanzas with each stanza containing 8 verses.? Each stanza begins with one of the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet with each verse of the stanza in Hebrew beginning with the correlating letter.? An Acrostic. A masterpiece that only God the Word could have given to us.? B.? SAMECH – infinity or infinite – also used for support or ladder – The 15th? letter of the Hebrew alphabet – its numerical number is 60 which represents completeness.? It is one of the two closed letters with the other being found in MEM in its final form at the end of a word.? It is circular in form with no beginning or end and protects that which is within.? C.? We understand that we live in a sinful world and in sinful times.? ? 1.? In my lifetime, I have seen the world changing in so many ways as it downwardly spirals into utter depravity.? As God's children, we try to abstain from all appearance of evil while living in the midst of it.? 2.? More than ever before, we need to realize that God holds our lives in His hands.? We have a promise of perpetual protection as we walk with God within the Word of God.? ? 3.? We need to make sure that we remain within the “hedge” that God has placed around us.? Through willful sin and willful ignorance, we often remove ourselves to some degree out of the protection of our Lord.? D.? In Jewish tradition, SAMECH represents one's inner journey.? Verse 113 begins with the words “I hate vain thoughts.”? ? These words show the importance of maintaining the invisible man as well as the physical man.? Proverbs tells us “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.” (Proverbs 23:7)? E.? While we can only see the outside, God is a Discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.? Who we are is what we are inwardly!? This 15th stanza shows the believer that there are Divine inner and outer protection available and this protection is found in God's Word.? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? F.? God affords the believer “layers” of protection that will help to keep one's heart and mind (1) Stable and therefore (2) Stayed upon the Lord.? Then there is the outward layer of protection afforded the believer.? 1.? ? Verse 113.? Our Spirit.? The Word of God protects our thought life.? The godly man's hatred of vain thoughts.? Vain – to no avail or worthless.? The most dangerous battlefield known to man is the struggle of good and evil thoughts.? The greatest wars are waged in the mind of the believer.? Inherently, man has a God given understanding of both right and wrong.? I heard it said that man does not have a problem knowing right from wrong.? The struggle is choosing right over wrong.? Here, we once again find the love of God's Law as the deciding factor in our thought life.? ? 2 Corinthians 10:3-5? For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:? (4)? (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)? (5)? Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;? 2.? Verse 114.? Our Surety.? God protects our temporal life.? The child of God is hated by Satan, the world.? God is our infinite Refuge during the hard times of life, but it is through God's Word that we find our sanctity and peace.? When everything is going wrong in life, everything we need is in our hand tonight.? Protection from temporal calamities and persecutions.? God's Word is our chamber of retreat where we hide and find safety both physical and spiritual.? It is in the Word of God that we hide while taking the “shield of faith” in our hands.? The Word of God? supplies us grace, strength, light, life, and comfort here, and for glory hereafter.? Psalms 9:9? The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.? 3.? Verse 115.? Our Sanctification.? God protects our interaction with the world.? The world is a constant distraction of God's people and the ultimate state becomes defilement.? Our protection is through the Word of God.? We that are saved are not only separatist, we are separated from.? In this verse, we see the desire of the godly to distance himself from those who do evil.? This does not speak of staying away from every sinner for the Bible says that we would have to leave this world to do so.? It means to stay away from those who have a pattern of life that is wicked.? “Evildoers” is a persistent condition.? The Power of the wicked:? Psalms 37:35? I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree.? 4.? Verse 116.? ? Our Stability.? God protects our feebleness in life.? The Word of God is the “Rock” upon which we stand.? Unmovable, unshakable, unerring, an anchor is an ever changing world.? Through the Bible, we can be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord according to 1 Corinthians 15:58.? Paul said, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”? Psalms 94:17-18? Unless the LORD had been my help, my soul had almost dwelt in silence.? (18)? When I said, My foot slippeth; thy mercy, O LORD, held me up.? 5.? Verse 117.? Our Safety.? God protects us in the perils of life.? We live in perilous times.? In the news, all we hear is about the dangers of living in the greatest nation on earth.? Because sentence against evil works is not executed, people have no respect for law and order.? ? Ecclesiastes 8:11? Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.? Proverbs 21:31? The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the LORD.? 6.? Verse 118.? Our Sinfulness.? God protects us in our temptations in life.? One of Newton's Third Law of Motion states: “? For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.”? Spiritually, though God is so often gracious to the sinner, with willful sin, for the most part it is followed by a willful judgment.? Their deceit is falsehood.? What they appear outward is not the reality of that which we see outwardly.? Hebrews 4:12? For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.? 7.? Verse 119.? Our Salvation.? God protects us from our enemies in life.? The Lord will take care of the wicked.? We just need to love and stay with the Word of God.? The wicked may seem to be on the winning side for a while but the justice of the Lord will be manifested.? Jeremiah 6:28-30? They are all grievous revolters, walking with slanders: they are brass and iron; they are all corrupters.? (29)? The bellows are burned, the lead is consumed of the fire; the founder melteth in vain: for the wicked are not plucked away.? (30)? Reprobate silver shall men call them, because the LORD hath rejected them.? 8.? Verse 120.? Our Submission.? Our protection, “safety is of the Lord,” is perpetually in the hand of God.? Life is still hard at best, but remaining in the will of God through the Word of God affords the child of God a perpetual protection.? Proverbs 19:23? The fear of the LORD tendeth to life: and he that hath it shall abide satisfied; he shall not be visited with evil.

By Dave DeCamp President Biden on Wednesday said he's considering a request from Australia to drop the charges against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who's being...Biden Says He's Considering Dropping Charges Against Julian Assange

A megachurch pastor apologized for what he characterized as "careless words" when he joked that women should do whatever their husbands want on their wedding night, even though he insisted that his remarks were taken out of context.

Have you ever asked yourself why you go to church? There are plenty of scriptures about meeting together, so, maybe it's out of obedience. Or maybe it's tradition, or maybe it's the fear of being accused of not being a good Christian. Maybe you go to church because it's something to do or it feels like a good thing to have some sort of faith-based support. Maybe you've formed good friendships, or you enjoy the programs churches have to offer. Maybe you like being part of a community of like-minded people. Maybe you've just always gone and so you continue to go out of habit or routine.? Everyone has their opinions about church, but does God have an opinion?Today, when churches almost everywhere are broadcasting online, does it really matter if you actually get dressed and head out on a Sunday morning or a Wednesday night? What about a Bible study, does that count? You can read the Bible alone and grow in your faith and you can pray alone and grow in your faith, and you can worship alone and grow in your faith. Yet each one of these faith actions has two sides: personal and inter-personal.? Most people are comfortable with reading the Bible and praying together, but worship is different. Why is that? People are sometimes less comfortable expressing themselves in worship when others are around than they are worshipping alone. But is one “better” or more spiritually beneficial than the other? Photo Credit:©GettyImages/CreativaImages

The American Solidarity Party is a small but growing alternative to the Trump-Biden race.Charlie Richert would really like to stop voting for his dad.But in the last couple presidential election cycles, the 30-year-old attorney in Indianapolis has been unable to square his conscience with picking either the Republican or Democratic party nominee, so he’s resorted to writing in a name.“There’s no way I can escape having my faith inform how I vote,” said Richert, a nondenominational Christian who grew up Republican. “Unfortunately, we’ve been kind of stuck in a doom loop of candidates at the presidential level that I’ve just not felt comfortable voting for.”This year, he’s not drawn to alternatives like Robert F. Kennedy Jr. or Cornel West. “Maybe I’ll write in Abe Lincoln this year. Sorry to my dad, but a new name to write in would be fun,” he said.He recalls seeking to convince his classmates in an eighth-grade mock election that they should support Mitt Romney, but his chagrin with the Republican Party’s presidential nominee tracked with the ascension of Donald Trump.In a year when both major party presidential candidates are viewed unfavorably by a quarter of Americans, many find themselves less excited about the two options at the top of the ticket. But, like Richert, that doesn’t mean they’re ready to go for third-party options.The third-party candidates running in 2024 span the ideological spectrum, from independents Kennedy and Princeton University professor Cornel West to Green Party candidate Jill Stein. Then there are the more obscure party or candidate options—the Prohibition Party, Andrew Yang’s Forward Party, Maryland politician Jason Palmer, and that man in Texas who changed his name to “Literally ...Continue reading...

Hindutva ideology is crossing the border from India and making ministry more challenging for churches in the former Hindu kingdom.More than 15 years after Nepal officially became a secular democracy, the former Hindu monarchy may have a religious extremism problem, incited and aggravated by its closest neighbor.In an “alarming” development, Indian Hindutva ideology and politics have begun to spread throughout the country, as local experts and journalists report. This proliferation has resulted in a recent spate of attacks and restrictions on Christians reported within the country of 30 million.According to local sources, at least five separate incidents targeting Christians have been reported in March and April of this year.“The Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS) in Nepal is rapidly growing. Aiming to protect Hinduism, they degrade Christianity and badmouth us through social media and other sources,” said Kiran Thapa, who was arrested last month for praying for people in Kathmandu.In March, Thapa and several foreigners, all Christians, were visiting the Pashupatinath Temple, a religious World Heritage Site deeply venerated by local Hindus. When they entered the temple, they came across an elderly couple who were suffering with pain in their knees and back. The group offered to pray for them with the couple’s consent, and they subsequently reported that they were healed. More people then requested prayers from the group and reported being healed.“I had to request them to come one by one,” said Thapa.After two monks asked for prayer and then reported that they too had been healed of their physical afflictions, a policeman ordered the Christians to leave the Hindu temple for praying in Jesus' name. As they were leaving, a man with an immobile hand followed the group out. When the Christians prayed for him in the ...Continue reading...

The Virginia Society for Human Life (VSHL) applauds pro-life Governor Youngkin for vetoing two bills, SB15 and HB1539, that allowed abortionists and others abortion business providers to evade valid laws in other states. The effect of these bills would have been to place Virginia in a position of ignoring the right of other states to […]The post Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin Vetoes Four Pro-Abortion Bills appeared first on LifeNews.com.

Hindutva ideology is crossing the border from India and making ministry more challenging for churches in the former Hindu kingdom.More than 15 years after Nepal officially became a secular democracy, the former Hindu monarchy may have a religious extremism problem, incited and aggravated by its closest neighbor.In an “alarming” development, Indian Hindutva ideology and politics have begun to spread throughout the country, as local experts and journalists report. This proliferation has resulted in a recent spate of attacks and restrictions on Christians reported within the country of 30 million.According to local sources, at least five separate incidents targeting Christians have been reported in March and April of this year.“The Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS) in Nepal is rapidly growing. Aiming to protect Hinduism, they degrade Christianity and badmouth us through social media and other sources,” said Kiran Thapa, who was arrested last month for praying for people in Kathmandu.In March, Thapa and several foreigners, all Christians, were visiting the Pashupatinath Temple, a religious World Heritage Site deeply venerated by local Hindus. When they entered the temple, they came across an elderly couple who were suffering with pain in their knees and back. The group offered to pray for them with the couple’s consent, and they subsequently reported that they were healed. More people then requested prayers from the group and reported being healed.“I had to request them to come one by one,” said Thapa.After two monks asked for prayer and then reported that they too had been healed of their physical afflictions, a policeman ordered the Christians to leave the Hindu temple for praying in Jesus' name. As they were leaving, a man with an immobile hand followed the group out. When the Christians prayed for him in the ...Continue reading...

Hindutva ideology is crossing the border from India and making ministry more challenging for churches in the former Hindu kingdom.More than 15 years after Nepal officially became a secular democracy, the former Hindu monarchy may have a religious extremism problem, incited and aggravated by its closest neighbor.In an “alarming” development, Indian Hindutva ideology and politics have begun to spread throughout the country, as local experts and journalists report. This proliferation has resulted in a recent spate of attacks and restrictions on Christians reported within the country of 30 million.According to local sources, at least five separate incidents targeting Christians have been reported in March and April of this year.“The Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS) in Nepal is rapidly growing. Aiming to protect Hinduism, they degrade Christianity and badmouth us through social media and other sources,” said Kiran Thapa, who was arrested last month for praying for people in Kathmandu.In March, Thapa and several foreigners, all Christians, were visiting the Pashupatinath Temple, a religious World Heritage Site deeply venerated by local Hindus. When they entered the temple, they came across an elderly couple who were suffering with pain in their knees and back. The group offered to pray for them with the couple’s consent, and they subsequently reported that they were healed. More people then requested prayers from the group and reported being healed.“I had to request them to come one by one,” said Thapa.After two monks asked for prayer and then reported that they too had been healed of their physical afflictions, a policeman ordered the Christians to leave the Hindu temple for praying in Jesus' name. As they were leaving, a man with an immobile hand followed the group out. When the Christians prayed for him in the ...Continue reading...

Hindutva ideology is crossing the border and making ministry more challenging for the church.More than 15 years after Nepal officially became a secular democracy, the former Hindu monarchy may have a religious extremism problem, incited and aggravated by its closest neighbor.In an “alarming” development, Indian Hindutva ideology and politics have begun to spread throughout the country, as local experts and journalists report. This proliferation has resulted in a recent spate of attacks and restrictions on Christians reported within the country of 30 million.According to local sources, at least five separate incidents targeting Christians have been reported in March and April of this year.“The Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS) in Nepal is rapidly growing. Aiming to protect Hinduism, they degrade Christianity and badmouth us through social media and other sources,” said Kiran Thapa, who was arrested last month for praying for people in Kathmandu.In March, Thapa and several foreigners, all Christians, were visiting the Pashupatinath Temple, a religious World Heritage Site deeply venerated by local Hindus. When they entered the temple, they came across an elderly couple who were suffering with pain in their knees and back. The group offered to pray for them with the couple’s consent, and they subsequently reported that they were healed. More people then requested prayers from the group and reported being healed.“I had to request them to come one by one,” said Thapa.After two monks asked for prayer and then reported that they too had been healed of their physical afflictions, a policeman ordered the Christians to leave the Hindu temple for praying in Jesus' name. As they were leaving, a man with an immobile hand followed the group out. When the Christians prayed for him in the ...Continue reading...

Fractured TrustDr. John GoetschThu, 04/11/2024 - 00:10 Every relationship is formed and perpetuated by an invisible link called trust. That binding link is forged through loving communication, meticulous integrity, and honest transparent motives.Trust is defined as “confidence, faith, belief, sureness, reliance, certitude, and conviction.” By its very nature, trust is generally built over time, yet it can be fractured instantaneously by a single word, action, or attitude. Though it's not impossible to rebuild trust, once it has been fractured, it's like a fractured bone—it doesn't heal immediately, and it has a huge impact on every aspect of one's life.? Our relationship with Jesus Christ is built on this trust factor. Most of us did not get saved the moment we first heard the gospel. It took some time for the Holy Spirit to gently draw us to the honest truths of God's Word as they were preached or shared with us. We listened to others share their testimonies of their confidence in God and eagerness to grow in their relationship with Him. We realized something was missing in our life, but we wanted to be certain that our faith was based on something concrete, real, and trustworthy. We recall the overwhelming assurance we received from God the moment our sins were forgiven and we became a child of God. Our trust then grew as we worshiped Him, obeyed Him, and served? Him.? Satan knows that the only way we can truly please God is with this whole-hearted trust and unwavering faith. “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Hebrews? 11:6). Because Satan knows this, he is wholly and completely set on fracturing our trust in God. Note that he is not content with a slight stress fracture of your spiritual pinky finger. He has a sledgehammer, and he wields it with every intent to break every bone in your spiritual being. “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8).How exactly does Satan go about fracturing our trust? Let's go back to the beginning. God provided a beautiful place called the Garden of Eden for the first man and woman to live. After placing them there, He gave them a commandment: “And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” (Genesis 2:16-17). This was a simple command, and in it God emphasized the freedom He was giving man: of all these trees “thou mayest freely eat.” God was in no way prohibiting man, but rather protecting him through His guidance and instruction.? When Satan enters the Garden in Genesis chapter 3 his strategy is quickly seen. He begins by planting a doubt in Adam's and Eve's minds about God. “. . . Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” (Genesis 3:1). He plants the thought in their minds that God is not trustworthy—that He is perhaps withholding something good from them and that He really does not have their best interest in mind. Satan then proceeds to suggest the opposite of God's words: “And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die” (Genesis 3:4). He is slandering the very character of God by challenging His holy integrity and the trustworthiness of His Word. Adam and Eve took the bait, and the entire human race plunged into sin. All because of a fractured trust!Now let's be honest: we are not looking at a myriad of trees in a garden trying to figure out what we can eat and what we cannot. But the subtle strategy of Satan never changes, and we must likewise guard against a fractured trust.? We clearly read in God's Word that God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1), but we entertain thoughts of perhaps other possibilities based on scientific theories.? We read that God made two genders—male and female (Genesis 1:27)—and we look in the mirror and know that we are one or the other yet wonder if perhaps we should choose the opposite.? We read that “marriage is honorable” and sanctioned by God (Hebrews 13:4), but we imagine we might be missing out on something by remaining faithful to our spouse.? We read that God founded, empowers, and protects the local church (Matthew 16:18), but we think we might be happier with less involvement or commitment.? Once we allow ourselves that sliver of doubt, uncertainty, question, fear, suspicion, or distrust—we are in trouble. We then begin to look at everything in God's Word through that lens of uncertainty.? So, what do we do when we have allowed Satan to fracture our trust in God? What do we do when we find ourselves with doubts that are subtly displacing the solid trust we had in? God?The answer is simple: we go back to the truth. We remind ourselves that it is never God who fractures our trust. “God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?” (Numbers 23:19). Indeed, we serve a God who “cannot lie” (Titus 1:2).? Jesus Himself is the truth: “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). Rebuilding trust in God is a matter of turning to Him in faith and getting to know Him as He is. “And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek thee” (Psalm 9:10).Just as it would be nearly impossible to walk a mile with two broken legs or to carry a heavy object with two broken arms, it is impossible to love God and live wholeheartedly for Him with a fractured trust. But when we turn in trust to God, we are blessed. “O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him” (Psalm 34:8).? ? Category Christian Living Tags Faith Christian Living

Disgraced American football legend and retired actor O.J. Simpson died Wednesday from cancer, his family has announced. He was 76.

The American Solidarity Party is a small but growing alternative to the Trump-Biden race.Charlie Richert would really like to stop voting for his dad.But in the last couple presidential election cycles, the 30-year-old attorney in Indianapolis has been unable to square his conscience with picking either the Republican or Democratic party nominee, so he’s resorted to writing in a name.“There’s no way I can escape having my faith inform how I vote,” said Richert, a nondenominational Christian who grew up Republican. “Unfortunately, we’ve been kind of stuck in a doom loop of candidates at the presidential level that I’ve just not felt comfortable voting for.”This year, he’s not drawn to alternatives like Robert F. Kennedy Jr. or Cornel West. “Maybe I’ll write in Abe Lincoln this year. Sorry to my dad, but a new name to write in would be fun,” he said.He recalls seeking to convince his classmates in an eighth-grade mock election that they should support Mitt Romney, but his chagrin with the Republican Party’s presidential nominee tracked with the ascension of Donald Trump.In a year when both major party presidential candidates are viewed unfavorably by a quarter of Americans, many find themselves less excited about the two options at the top of the ticket. But, like Richert, that doesn’t mean they’re ready to go for third-party options.The third-party candidates running in 2024 span the ideological spectrum, from independents Kennedy and Princeton University professor Cornel West to Green Party candidate Jill Stein. Then there are the more obscure party or candidate options—the Prohibition Party, Andrew Yang’s Forward Party, Maryland politician Jason Palmer, and that man in Texas who changed his name to “Literally ...Continue reading...

The American Solidarity Party is a small but growing alternative to the Trump-Biden race.Charlie Richert would really like to stop voting for his dad.But in the last couple presidential election cycles, the 30-year-old attorney in Indianapolis has been unable to square his conscience with picking either the Republican or Democratic party nominee, so he’s resorted to writing in a name.“There’s no way I can escape having my faith inform how I vote,” said Richert, a nondenominational Christian who grew up Republican. “Unfortunately, we’ve been kind of stuck in a doom loop of candidates at the presidential level that I’ve just not felt comfortable voting for.”This year, he’s not drawn to alternatives like Robert F. Kennedy Jr. or Cornel West. “Maybe I’ll write in Abe Lincoln this year. Sorry to my dad, but a new name to write in would be fun,” he said.He recalls seeking to convince his classmates in an eighth-grade mock election that they should support Mitt Romney, but his chagrin with the Republican Party’s presidential nominee tracked with the ascension of Donald Trump.In a year when both major party presidential candidates are viewed unfavorably by a quarter of Americans, many find themselves less excited about the two options at the top of the ticket. But, like Richert, that doesn’t mean they’re ready to go for third-party options.The third-party candidates running in 2024 span the ideological spectrum, from independents Kennedy and Princeton University professor Cornel West to Green Party candidate Jill Stein. Then there are the more obscure party or candidate options—the Prohibition Party, Andrew Yang’s Forward Party, Maryland politician Jason Palmer, and that man in Texas who changed his name to “Literally ...Continue reading...

On an island where Buddhist disaster relief is prominent, Christians work with churches to care for children and families.When a 7.4 magnitude earthquake hit the east coast of Taiwan Wednesday morning, Carissa Wang, branding communication director of World Vision Taiwan, was on the Taipei subway on her way to work. She felt the carriage sway more than usual, and then it stopped at the next station as an announcement alerted passengers that service had ended due to an earthquake.Wang and her World Vision colleagues immediately began putting disaster relief protocols into action, assembling their emergency team and reaching out to local government officials to coordinate relief at evacuation centers. World Vision social workers also began to contact the 3,000 sponsored children and their families in the epicenter of Hualien to make sure they were safe and find out if they needed help.Wednesday’s quake was the worst to hit Taiwan in 25 years, damaging buildings and causing landslides. Images from Hualien, a city on the country’s east coast, showed a red brick building leaning at a 45-degree angle after its first floor collapsed. Large rocks tumbled down the side of mountains and blocked roads into the tourist destination of Taroko Gorge, trapping people at a hotel.Yet Hualien sustained surprisingly little damage for an earthquake of such magnitude. As of Monday, 13 people had died, and only one of them was killed due to building damage. Most of the others were hit by falling rocks. Ten people are still missing and more than 1,000 were injured.The low loss of life is attributed to Taiwan’s earthquake preparedness, as the government improved and reinforced building codes after a deadly earthquake in 1999 killed 2,400 people. Public education on earthquakes is widespread, and disaster relief groups are well-trained and respond quickly. ...Continue reading...

Designed to monitor foreign funding, more recently FCRA has crippled numerous organizations. Is it intentional?Christian ministries operating in India are continuing to lose the government’s authorization to legally collect foreign donations, in what is amounting to a devastating financial blow to many organizations.This March, Vision India, an organization that provides leadership training for Christian young people, was unable to renew its Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) license.“A week prior, the government conducted an enquiry, and a week later, refused the renewal,” said Vijay Mohod, director of Vision India.The then–prime minister of India, Indira Gandhi, introduced FCRA during the Emergency period in 1976, claiming there was foreign interference in domestic politics. The first FCRA required organizations intending to receive foreign contributions to register with the Ministry of Home Affairs. The subsequent iterations in 2010 and 2011 made this policy stringent, requiring organizations to renew their FCRA licenses every five years, among other new clauses, and its most recent iteration, passed in 2020 and amended in 2022, is even more restrictive. One clause, for example, requires all FCRA organizations to have their accounts at a specific branch of a bank and prohibits interorganizational grants.Theoretically, these five-year licenses are renewed based on an organization’s annual submission of reports, detailing the foreign funds received and demonstrating they were properly utilized for their stated, approved purposes. However, as Christian ministries have failed to see their licenses renewed, some leaders have questioned if the government has an ulterior motive.“So many organizations depend on foreign funding,” said archbishop Anil Joseph Thomas Couto, general secretary ...Continue reading...

Leaders extend prayers and lament road safety after 45 were killed on the way to Zion Christian Church in South Africa. Botswana will hold a national memorial service on Thursday for 45 people who died traveling to an Easter event in South Africa. An eight-year-old girl, Lauryn Siako, was the only survivor after a bus bound for Zion Christian Church crashed through barriers and fell 164 feet down a ledge last week.In the days following the deadly accident, pastors in Botswana have appeared on national television to pray and to comfort the grieving.“This tragedy calls us to come out of our sleeping moment and be ever praying and declaring the protection of God in any given situation,” said David Seithamo, the head of the Evangelical Fellowship of Botswana. “The nation should gather around to really support those that are grieving at this moment. When they mourn, we should mourn, but they should know that Christ remains our comfort.”The pilgrims from Botswana were among millions who travel each Easter to Moria, a town in northeast South Africa and the headquarters for Zion Christian Church (ZCC, pronounced zed-c-c), one of the largest African-initiated churches in the region. ZCC has churches across Southern Africa, including Botswana, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mozambique, and Malawi.The church has two branches, ZCC and St. Engenas ZCC. This year marks the 100th anniversary for the latter, and South African president Cyril Ramaphosa attended the celebration event. Though pilgrims also showed up at St. Engenas in 2023, this is the church’s first official pilgrimage event since the pandemic.Given the number of tourists usually packing the roads over Holy Week, the South African government had previously checked the capacity of drivers and the safety of cars.Siako told officials the bus was following two cars carrying ...Continue reading...

“We're not being political. We're just trying to get you what you need.”Palm Sunday looked different this year for a small majority-immigrant church in Fort Worth. For part of the service, the pastors invited an immigration lawyer to speak about what to expect if Texas enacts a new law that authorizes the state to arrest and deport migrants.“There is a lot of fear in our church in regard to this law and a lot of uncertainty. … What does it mean? How does it affect their cases?” asked Anyra Cano, one of the pastors.The congregation, mostly first-generation immigrants from Latin America, “knows they can come to us when they have those kinds of questions,” she added.Texas’ Senate Bill 4 (SB 4) comes as the latest salvo amid long-standing tensions between Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and the Biden administration over the nation’s immigration enforcement.Last year, over 2.4 million people sought to cross the US-Mexico border. Texas (like other Republican-governed states) has tried to respond by taking matters into its own hands. Abbott signed SB 4 into law in December, making illegal border-crossing not just a federal offense but a state crime.Currently, the bill is tied up in court—a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that SB 4 will remain on hold.The law would allow Texas police to question and detain anyone they suspect of illegally crossing the US-Mexico border. Though SB 4 doesn’t allow arrests in schools, places of worship, or health care facilities, even the possibility of brushes with police officers with deportation power has raised concerns for immigrant communities in Texas—and for the Christian leaders who serve them.Many of the attendees at Cano’s church do have some kind of status, albeit perhaps not a more permanent ...Continue reading...

On an island where Buddhist disaster relief is prominent, Christians work with churches to care for children and families.When a 7.4 magnitude earthquake hit the east coast of Taiwan Wednesday morning, Carissa Wang, branding communication director of World Vision Taiwan, was on the Taipei subway on her way to work. She felt the carriage sway more than usual, and then it stopped at the next station as an announcement alerted passengers that service had ended due to an earthquake.Wang and her World Vision colleagues immediately began putting disaster relief protocols into action, assembling their emergency team and reaching out to local government officials to coordinate relief at evacuation centers. World Vision social workers also began to contact the 3,000 sponsored children and their families in the epicenter of Hualien to make sure they were safe and find out if they needed help.Wednesday’s quake was the worst to hit Taiwan in 25 years, damaging buildings and causing landslides. Images from Hualien, a city on the country’s east coast, showed a red brick building leaning at a 45-degree angle after its first floor collapsed. Large rocks tumbled down the side of mountains and blocked roads into the tourist destination of Taroko Gorge, trapping people at a hotel.Yet Hualien sustained surprisingly little damage for an earthquake of such magnitude. As of Monday, 13 people had died, and only one of them was killed due to building damage. Most of the others were hit by falling rocks. Ten people are still missing and more than 1,000 were injured.The low loss of life is attributed to Taiwan’s earthquake preparedness, as the government improved and reinforced building codes after a deadly earthquake in 1999 killed 2,400 people. Public education on earthquakes is widespread, and disaster relief groups are well-trained and respond quickly. ...Continue reading...

The book reminds us that life is unjust, but so is the gospel of God's grace.Life is unfair, and that is a problem.All humans seem to have an “unfairness radar” that goes off whenever we encounter senseless injustice. From trite examples provoking our frustration, such as someone cutting us in line, to those that deeply grieve us, like a young mother of three fighting terminal cancer, we mourn with an acute sense that the world is not as it should be. Or consider unfairness on a global scale, as the news barrages us with unrelenting reports of armed conflicts and natural disasters—as we struggle to register the staggering counts of individual lives upended or ended by relentless forces of harm.Last year, a terrorist attack by Hamas in Israel killed 1,200 unsuspecting people and made another 253 people hostages, followed now by over 31,000 reported deaths and an ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza. In the same year, a series of earthquakes in Turkey and Syria killed nearly 60,000 people, injuring and displacing millions more. This is not to mention the over 3 million COVID-induced deaths, which have been reported globally in the few years since the pandemic sent the entire world into a frenzy. And the fallout of these events will continue to reverberate throughout bereaved and unsettled communities for a very long time.We often cope with injustices by looking away and medicating with distractions, since sustained eye contact with misfortune is uncomfortable. Or we may—sometimes rightly, sometimes self-righteously—angrily blame the various parties involved, desperately trying to account for the unaccountable. We are gratified when any positive changes result, yet we are also aware of how powerless we are to reverse the diagnosis, divert the bullet’s path, or end ...Continue reading...

On an island where Buddhist disaster relief is prominent, Christians work with churches to care for children and families.When a 7.4-magnitude earthquake hit the east coast of Taiwan Wednesday morning, Carissa Wang, branding communication director of World Vision Taiwan, was on the Taipei subway on her way to work. She felt the carriage sway more than usual, and then it stopped at the next station as an announcement alerted passengers that service had ended due to an earthquake.Wang and her World Vision colleagues immediately began putting disaster relief protocols into action, assembling their emergency team and reaching out to local government officials to coordinate relief at evacuation centers. World Vision social workers also began to contact the 3,000 sponsored children and their families in the epicenter of Hualien to make sure they were safe and find out if they needed help.Wednesday’s quake was the worst to hit Taiwan in 25 years, damaging buildings and causing landslides. Images from Hualien, a city on the country’s east coast, showed a red brick building leaning at a 45-degree angle after its first floor collapsed. Large rocks tumbled down the side of mountains and blocked roads into the tourist destination of Taroko Gorge, trapping people at a hotel.Yet Hualien sustained surprisingly little damage for an earthquake of such magnitude. As of Monday, 13 people had died, and only one of them was killed due to building damage. Most of the others were hit by falling rocks. Ten people are still missing and more than 1,000 were injured.The low loss of life is attributed to Taiwan’s earthquake preparedness, as the government improved and reinforced building codes after a deadly earthquake in 1999 killed 2,400 people. Public education on earthquakes is widespread, and disaster relief groups are well-trained and respond quickly. ...Continue reading...

Taiwan suffered a 7.4 magnitude earthquake on Wednesday, the strongest to hit the East Asian nation in 25 years, resulting in at least nine confirmed deaths, hundreds of injuries and the destruction of several buildings.?

Ramming Attack Injures Four Police Officers In Central Israel A ramming attack injured four police officers, one seriously on Wednesday morning (3rd), near Kochav Yair located in central Israel.? Following ... Read MoreThe post News Digest — 4/3/24 appeared first on The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry.