Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13

What Keeps the Gaza Missiles Coming? Egypt Bids for a Truce. Netanyahu Undecided
Nov 12th, 2012
Daily Newsdebkafile
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel;War

The Palestinian missile offensive from Gaza was still going strong Sunday night, Nov. 11, after two days and more than 110 rockets - for a number of reasons, debkafile reports. For one, Hamas can’t bring all the Palestinian militias ranged against Israel under a single operational command center contrary to its claim. The most important groups, the Iranian-backed Jihad Islami, the various Salafi extremist factions - some associated with al Qaeda - and the Popular Front all cling to their independence of action. Any Hamas order to hold their fire, if it were given, would be disobeyed. This defiance is eroding Hamas’authority as rulers of Gaza.
Furthermore, Hamas and fellow terrorist group leaders believe Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is undecided about how to proceed in Gaza. They are counting on his being unable to bring himself to order a major military operation to cut them down to size and put a stop to the deadly cycle of a rocket barrage recurring every few days, year after year. And so the shooting goes on.

debkafile’s military sources report that Egyptian military intelligence chief Gen. Mohamed al-Assad entered the scene Sunday, Nov. 11 to try his hand at brokering yet another truce. He has his work cut out - not just to bring the Gaza government and Israel together, but also to line up the rival factions of Gaza in concurrence.
The Egyptian general knows from past experience that the best he can achieve is a tacit, fragile truce to which Hamas and Israel acquiesce silently on the principle of reciprocity: both sides must hold their fire and if the Palestinian go back to violence, the IDF will hit back.

Similar arrangements have rarely held up in the past beyond a few weeks at most. But this time, new elements have crept in. Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and his government, who until now stood in the wings of military activity, decided Sunday to pledge solidarity with the Palestinian missile jihad against Israel.
After all, the Islamist Hamas movement is dedicated by its charter to Israel’s destruction.
The view in Washington, which is involved in the chase for a truce, is that Haniyeh’s action promises that any ceasefire will be short-lived, measured in days rather than weeks. Gaza’s rulers are convinced they are well placed to exploit the Israeli prime minister’s irresolution as he goes into a campaign for reelection (on Jan. 22, 2013) by turning up the heat on Israel.
But Netanyahu has another kind of pressure to consider. The million-strong constituency of southern Israel may not let him get away with a temporary, fragile stoppage of the rockets that make their lives unbearable. They may make him pay for inaction at the ballot-box.
Netanyahu must also take into consideration that a major IDF operation in Gaza might risk igniting two more war fronts, should Hamas’ allies Syria and the Lebanese Hizballah come to its aid.
Regarding Syria, Israel fired a Tamuz guided missile 4 kilometers into Syria as a warning to Damascus that Israel would not tolerate ordnance from the Syrian civil war continuing to fall on Israeli Golan. It was a warning shot after a shell landed in Moshav Alonei Bashan.
debkafile’s intelligence sources reveal that Damascus send back through UNDORF peacemakers a message of reassurance that the spillover into Israel would stop. Israel was given to understand that the mortar position responsible for the stray shell landing in the moshav had been silenced.
Our military sources note that the battery may have been silenced but it was not pulled back. In fact it remains in the same position as before. Therefore, it stands ready to fire in the event of a decision in Damascus to resume firing shells into Israel. Netanyahu is keeping a weather eye on that sector, as well as the Gaza front.

Only ‘The Nuclear Option’ Can Work Against Iran, Former IDF Chief Says
Nov 12th, 2012
Daily NewsThe Times of Israel - Aaron Kalman
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

But, Dan Halutz tells the Sunday Times, ‘I hope Bibi is not mad enough to think about it’

Israeli leaders have concluded that conventional air strikes would be insufficient in curbing Iran’s nuclear program, leaving only a deployment of either tactical nuclear weapons or ground forces, according to a report in the British Sunday Times.

Western “defense experts” quoted by the report pointed at the Iranian Fordo facility, which is located deep underground near the city of Qom, as a site that was immune to conventional air strikes.

“The only way to finish off Iran’s nuclear program is by using the nuclear option,” said IDF Chief of General Staff Dan Halutz, the only named source quoted by the report. “But I hope Bibi [Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu] is not mad enough to think about it.”

According to foreign reports, Israel is in possession of a significant arsenal of nuclear weapons, including tactical weapons such as neutron bombs, along with long-range Jericho missiles to deliver them.

Israel also possesses GBU-28 bunker-buster bombs that could be deployed by the Israel Air Force’s F-16 bombers. However, according to assessments, these bombs would not prove sufficient to penetrate the Fordo facility.

Let the Headlines Speak
Nov 12th, 2012
Daily NewsFrom the Internet
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Why Obama is surely facing a second term riddled with scandal and upheaval
Now that the last election of his political career is behind him, President Barack Obama can concentrate on braking to avoid the fiscal cliff, re-staffing much of his administration and pausing to reflect on his long-term governing agenda. Then, of course, there is the still-sputtering economy, Iran’s nuclear ambitions, the aftermath of the stunning resignatioin of David Petraeus and enough other crises to justify a sign over the Oval Office reading, “Stress for Success.”

FBI Suppressed Petraeus Scandal to Protect President
FBI agents investigating CIA Director David Petraeus's affair were shocked when told by bureau officials that despite the national security implications, no action would be taken on their findings until after the presidential election: Only then would President Obama ask for Petraeus’ resignation. The White House claims President Obama and his national security advisors were first informed of the Petraeus' affair on Thursday, two days after the election.

Eagan Police Chief Troubled by Increase in Mental Health Calls
The growth in mental health calls in both in Eagan and countywide comes at a time when local crime rates are either plateauing or falling, Bellows and McDonald said. Both believe that the economic upheaval is the chief culprit in the trend. Substance abuse and even Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder among returning veterans could also play a role. “I anticipated that, as we saw the economy start to tank, that we would see more theft-related calls, even potential DUIs, things like that," Bellows said. "We haven’t seen that manifest itself, but the number of mental health calls has been going up, and that’s reflective of the stresses on both families and individuals."

Euro Leaders Face ‘Monster’ Problem of Greece
As the Euro group of finance ministers meet in Brussels on Monday to decide whether to grant Greece a further tranche of aid that could prevent imminent financial catastrophe for Greece, one economist has warned it could all be in vain and Greece will probably leave the euro zone in 2013.

It's coming! Obama plans massive amnesty wave
While the president did not specify what kind of immigrant he was referring to, many took his statement as an ode to a future amnesty program. According to Klein’s and Elliott’s book, progressive organizations behind White House policy have already crafted specific, second-term plans for Obama to issue amnesty to millions more illegal aliens living inside the U.S.

Detroit suburb sees murder spike since police layoffs
Since July, when the police force was cut in half, there have been 10 murders Violent crime in Inkster has jumped 311 percent from 2010-2011, according to MyFoxDetroit.com, citing the city’s website.

World cannot afford second Fiscal Cliff after Europe’s failed attempt
The story is by now well-known. Unless there is a deal in Congress by the end of the year, the Bush-era tax cuts and the payroll cuts will reverse automatically; extended jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed will be cut off; defence spending will be cut; so on. Everybody’s sacred cow is sacrificed. The combined austerity would be around $700bn over 2013, or 4.5pc of GDP.

Global row as UN body vies for internet control
The little-known UN body, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), is pushing to regulate the internet, and has suggested a range of reforms which would potentially stifle free speech and make users pay extra to use things like Skype and email. Australia and the United States have already signalled their concerns about the plan, which experts say could allow countries to shut down the internet if they felt sensitive information might be made public.

Ancient Roman Giant Found—Oldest Complete Skeleton With Gigantism
At 6 feet, 8 inches (202 centimeters) tall, the man would have been a giant in third-century A.D. Rome, where men averaged about 5 and a half feet (167 centimeters) tall. By contrast, today's tallest man measures 8 feet, 3 inches (251 centimeters).

Newsweek cover depicts Obama as Napoleonic, calls GOP old, white, history
Newsweek, the magazine that once depicted Obama as "god of all things," released the cover of its Obama victory edition on Thursday, depicting the president as a conquering general complete with sword and uniform while portraying the Republican Party as "old, white" and "history." Newsweek apparently wasn't content with a racist message that discriminates against the elderly. Emblazoned on the cover is the caption: "The Obama Conquest."

Greeks protest again as leaders back further budget cuts
Greece endorsed a painful 2013 budget of spending cuts demanded by its international creditors, as thousands of demonstrators gathered in Athens to vent their anger at the government's handling of the financial crisis. The budget, which includes sweeping cuts to pensions, wages and social services, is the second of two crucial steps Greece has taken in the past week in an effort to persuade the International Monetary Fund...to release the next €31.3bn tranche of bailout funds.

Israel 'may launch ground invasion into Gaza'
Mr Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, said: "The world needs to understand that Israel will not sit idly by in the face of attempts to attack us. We are prepared to intensify the response." One unnamed senior Israeli government official, said: "A ground incursion is certainly not out of the question although we hope it won't come to that."

Greek suicide epidemic continues: Debt-strapped pensioner hangs himself
Crisis-bred suicides have become almost a daily occurrence in Greece over the last several months. Alexandro’s suicide follows the death of a 42-year-old man on Tuesday. The man apparently jumped from the fifth story of a hospital in Chania, Crete, after losing his job several days prior.

FM: Abbas doesn't represent anyone anymore
Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Avigdor Lieberman met with Israeli ambassadors to the European Union in Vienna on Friday and Sunday. In the meetings, Lieberman, ambassadors and senior foreign ministry envoys discussed the Palestinian bid at the UN to upgrade the status of the Palestinian Authority to a "non-member state" status.

Mohammed attends opening of Fifth Summit on the Global Agenda
Also present were Dr. Abdul Latif Bin Rashid Al Zayani, Secretary General of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf and Professor Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman, World Economic Forum in addition to a crowd of dignitaries, ministers, heads and managers of government departments and institutions along experts, politicians and decision-makers from more than eighty countries, including the UAE.

Syrian jet bombs area near Turkish border
A Syrian fighter jet on Monday bombed a rebel-held area near the Turkish border, killing at least six people and wounding a dozen others, while a rocket propelled grenade landed in Turkey, officials and witnesses said, An Associated Press video journalist saw the plane bomb an area around the Syrian town of Ras al-Ayn, some 10 meters (yards) from the Turkish border.

Shallow 6.8 magnitude earthquake strikes central region of Myanmar: 13 feared dead
The death toll from the 6.8-magnitude quake included four labourers on a bridge and two people killed in a monastery collapse in an area north of Mandalay, Myanmar’s second biggest city, the aid group said in a report. It said a further six people were killed in Sint Ku township in Sagaing region, while one died in Mandalay

UK troops 'may be sent to Syrian borders'
British troops could be deployed around Syria's borders in the event of a worsening humanitarian crisis, the head of the armed forces warned yesterday. General Sir David Richards, the Chief of General Staff, said that contingency plans for military intervention are being "continually brushed over" as Syria's civil war continues.

Invisibility cloaking in 'perfect' demonstration
Scientists have succeeded in "cloaking" an object perfectly for the first time, rendering a centimetre-scale cylinder invisible to microwaves. Many "invisibility cloak" efforts have been demonstrated, but all have reflected some of the incident light, making the illusion incomplete. A Nature Materials study has now shown how to pull off the trick flawlessly.

Japan economy contracts as global slowdown hits exports
Japan's economy contracted in the July to September quarter, as a global economic slowdown and anti-Japan protests in China hurt its exports, while domestic consumption remained subdued. Gross domestic product (GDP) contracted 3.5% from a year earlier. Compared with the previous three months, the economy contracted 0.9%.

Greece MPs approve new austerity budget amid protests
Greek lawmakers have approved the 2013 budget involving large spending cuts, despite mass public street protests. The budget was passed by 167 votes to 128. The move was a pre-condition for Athens to be granted a 31.5bn euro (£25bn; $40bn) EU/IMF loan necessary to stave off bankruptcy. In Athens, more than 10,000 people protested outside the parliament.

Threat-focused Iran launches 'biggest ever' air drills
Iran launched military drills across half the country on Monday, warning it would act against aggressors less than a week after Washington accused Iranian warplanes of firing on a U.S. drone. The maneuvers will take place this week across 850,000 square kilometers (330,000 square miles) of Iran's northeast, east, and southeast regions, Iranian media reported.

6.5-magnitude quake rattles Guatemala's coast
A 6.5-magnitude earthquake shook Guatemala's Pacific coastline on Sunday, just four days after a major quake killed dozens and left thousands without homes in the region. People fled buildings and homes in panic in cities along Guatemala's coast near its border with Mexico on Sunday, but there were no immediate reports of deaths or major damage. Locals were further panicked by four aftershocks with magnitudes ranging from 4.5 to 5.0.

Japan economy shrinks, recesssion looms
Japan's economy shrank in the September quarter for the first time since last year, adding to signs that slowing global growth and tensions with China are nudging the world's third-largest economy into recession.

Christian or Christ-Follower :Two Terms With Different Meanings
Nov 12th, 2012
CommentaryTime of Departing - Ray Yungen
Categories: Warning;Printed Newsletter

Christian or Christ-follower. It’s a distinction that is being made more and more today, and often the latter term, Christ follower, is replacing the former term, Christian. Even many Christian leaders are making the switch. But just what does it mean? Emerging church leader, Erwin McManus says his “goal is to destroy Christianity as a world religion and be a recatalyst for the movement of Jesus Christ.” In McManus’ book, The Barbarian Way, he talks about being “awakened” to a “primal longing that … waits to be unleashed within everyone who is a follower of Jesus Christ.” McManus says that the “greatest enemy to the movement of Jesus Christ is Christianity [i.e., Christians].” A video on YouTube.com called “Christian No More” (by Christian Community Church) exemplifies this view by portraying those who call themselves Christians as shallow church-goers who wear suits and ties, have Christian bumper stickers on their cars and prefer the King James Version. This belittling video is evidence that it is increasingly more popular to call oneself a Christ follower rather than a Christian.

Interestingly, most of the leaders who seem to be downplaying the name Christian and promoting the appropriation of the term “Christ follower” are contemplative spirituality proponents. One contemplative advocate, Rick Warren, had the term throughout his former pastors.com website. Lee Strobel refers to it in his book Case for Christ (Student Edition), and Wesleyan pastor David Drury has a Christ-Follower Pop Quiz on his web site to help determine if you are really a “Christ Follower.”

This theme of anti-”Christian” sentiment is not going to disappear any time soon. In emerging church leader and labyrinth promoter Dan Kimball’s book, They Like Jesus But Not the Church, the idea is that you can go for Jesus, but you don’t have to identify yourself as a Christian or part of the Christian church. This concept spills over into some missionary societies too, where they teach people from other religions that they can keep their religion, just add Jesus to the equation. They don’t have to embrace the term “Christian” (see The New Missiology).

So what’s the problem? So what if you want to be a Christ follower instead of a Christian. Well, the problem, when identified, will show you why the Spiritual Formation movement (which is promoted by Purpose Driven, Willow Creek, the emerging church, etc) is so dangerous and misleading.

Let us explain. If you have researched the teachings of contemplative authors, you may have noticed a common message. That message says: If you want to be like Christ, then practice these certain disciplines and you can be like Him. Chuck Swindoll bought into this when he wrote his book, So You Want to Be Like Christ: Eight Essential Disciplines to Get You There. But Swindoll exalts one particular discipline – the silence. In fact, he goes so far as to say you can’t become a deep, meaningful Christian without it. Beth Moore, in the pro-contemplative film, Be Still, says: “[I]f we are not still before Him [God], we will never truly know to the depths of the marrow of our bones that He is God. There’s got to be a stillness.” And this is what contemplatives teach. The one common thread woven throughout spiritual formation teachings is that the silence and being a Christ follower are practically synonymous. You can’t have one without the other. And of course, this silence is induced through meditative practices such as centering prayer, lectio divina, etc.

So what we are witnessing is countless teachers, authors and leaders telling people they can become like Christ through a method that can be learned. It teaches that anyone, not just believers, can practice contemplative prayer and become like Christ.

Now here lies the difference between a Christian and a Christ-follower. A person who is truly born-again has Jesus Christ indwelling him. Jesus lives inside that person. And it is His life in him or her that gives the power to become progressively more like Him (sanctification), as Paul said in his address to Corinthian Christians: “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord” (II Corinthians 3:18). The believer draws his strength and power from Jesus Christ (who indwells him), and he realizes his salvation and any good thing in him is from Christ; as the Scripture says: “Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:9).

But being born again or having the indwelling of Jesus Christ is not a prerequisite for the “Christianity” of today. Spiritual formation can be practiced by anyone. Jesus becomes a model or an example who can be followed and mimicked. For example, Ken Blanchard says Jesus is a perfect model to follow. That’s why he talks so much about leading like Jesus would lead. But Blanchard has shown time and again that he believes meditation is a key factor in becoming like Jesus.

While Jesus was and is a model, that wasn’t His primary mission. And when people refer to Him as a model, it is often because they see Him as a model for higher consciousness rather than the unique Son of God, Emmanuel (God with us) who came to die for us and be our Savior. And that’s what you find across the board in contemplative writings. Contemplative icons Thomas Merton and Henri Nouwen saw Jesus in this manner. This is why Nouwen said it disturbed him when he heard people say Jesus was the only way. He said it was his mission to help people find his or her own way to God (see Sabbatical Journey). That’s also why he saw India as a source for many spiritual “treasures” for the Christian.  In an eastern religion like Buddhism, Buddha was a model where his followers were imitators of him. But in Christianity the Spirit of Christ indwells us through faith. So Jesus becomes more than a model; He is a living presence in us. “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).

This is actually the heart of the whole spiritual formation movement. It supposedly teaches you how to be like Christ, but the power to do this doesn’t come from Jesus Christ living in you (in fact that isn’t a requirement, according to Richard Foster) – but the power to change has to come from somewhere. Where? It comes from meditation! So anyone at all, from any walk of life, from any religion, can be a “Christ follower.” But this does not mean they have Jesus Christ in them. The contemplative prayer movement is misguiding millions into believing that if they practice certain disciplines they can be like Christ, thus securing their spiritual well being. They may come to believe that they have a christ consciousness and are Christ like, yet they do not have the actual power of Christ within. That power can only come from the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit.

But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name (John 1:12).

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek (Romans 1:16).

For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God (I Corinthians 1:18).

This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come … Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof” (II Timothy 3:1,5).

The man who virtually wrote the book on the subject (Centering Prayer), Basil Pennington, made the point of what we are trying to say when he penned these words:

It is my sense, from having meditated with persons from many different [non-Christian] traditions, that in the silence we experience a deep unity. When we go beyond the portals of the rational mind into the experience, there is only one God to be experienced.

Another major contemplative promoter stated:

The new ecumenism involved here is not between Christian and Christian, but between Christians and the grace of other intuitively deep religious traditions.– Tilden Edwards

These two men have both been leaders of the contemplative prayer movement for decades. And it is important to note that evangelical leader Richard Foster endorsed Edwards’ book, Spiritual Friend, from which this last quote came (see back, Celebration of Discipline). Both Pennington and Edwards would call themselves Christ followers, following in the same spiritual path as Jesus Christ followed. But as you can see, both Pennington and Edwards do not accept the view that believing the gospel is a vital prerequisite for having a relationship with the living God. Otherwise they would not have said the above. With this mindset, the message of the cross is rendered useless. And so the question that we must ask ourselves is this: Will we, who have Jesus Christ living in us, call ourselves Christians? Let those of us who name the name of Christ, stand and say, yes, we will be called Christians.

For a complete analysis and documentation of contemplative spirituality and its infiltration into Christendom, we encourage you to read A Time of Departing.