Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13

U.S. Air Force Attempts to Dislodge IS Terrorists from Mosul Dam
Aug 16th, 2014
Daily NewsDebkafile
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

US bombers and drones continued striking Al Qaeda IS fighters in northern Iraq Saturday in an attempt to dislodge them from the Mosul Dam and Iraq’s largest power station – thus far without success..

Nasrallah: Islamic State An 'Existential Threat' to the Region
Aug 16th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah

AFP photo

Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah is greatly concerned about the Islamic State (IS), formerly known as ISIS.

A day after he said in a meeting with the Lebanese Druze leader that IS is planning “on expanding toward Jordan and Saudi Arabia”, Nasrallah said in a speech on Friday that the group is an “existential threat” menacing Lebanon and the whole region.

“The Lebanese need to be aware of this existential threat and the need to confront it,” Nasrallah said during the televised speech to mark the end of the 2006 war with Israel, according to the Daily Star.

“We must find true, realistic and serious means to counter this threat,” he added.

Nasrallah said IS is now selling oil and receiving funding from regional groups, adding that this “raises serious questions.”

“Therefore, let’s gather our forces and strong points to counter those threats,” he was quoted as having said.

Nasrallah said fighting the terrorist threat did not require “national consensus.”

“Logic, our religion, ethics and experience have taught us that if a society is facing an existential threat, the priority becomes to counter that existential threat and whoever fails to do so expose their people to danger and slaughtering,” he said, according to the Daily Star.

Nasrallah said supporting the Lebanese Army and supplying it with qualitative weapons was a primary and primordial requirement toward countering the looming dangers.

"The [IS] project does not have a future in our region," he said. "Yes, we have the ability to defend our country. Yes, we have the ability to defeat this project."

Nasrallah also claimed in the speech that there was a fresh conspiracy to redraw the map of the Middle East, headed by Israel and extremist groups, namely IS.

Nasrallah mocked the suggestion to expand the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon to include the borders with Syria in the east and the north to safeguard the country from the threat of terrorist groups, saying the peacekeeping force in south Lebanon was “barely capable of defending itself.”

Let the Headlines Speak
Aug 16th, 2014
Daily NewsFrom the internet
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Ukraine crisis: Rebel leader says Russian arms on way
A rebel leader in eastern Ukraine has said a convoy of military hardware is on its way to the region from Russia. Alexander Zakharchenko, self-proclaimed PM of the Donetsk rebel area, said 150 vehicles and 1,200 personnel were approaching their border. Russia has denied claims by Ukraine and Western reporters that military aid to the rebels is crossing over.  

Ebola crisis to last 'at least six months' - MSF
The outbreak of Ebola in West Africa will take at least six months to bring under control, medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) says. Speaking in Geneva, MSF President Joanne Liu said the situation was "deteriorating faster, and moving faster, than we can respond to". Earlier, the World Health Organization (WHO) said the scale of the outbreak appeared to be "vastly underestimated".  

Hamas threatens 'war of attrition'
Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan stated that the terms proposed in negotiations in Egypt thus far have been inadequate, reported Israel Radio on Saturday, and that the Palestinian people are ready for a "long war of attrition." In Lebanon a Islamic Jihad official said that the Palestinians would rather return from Egypt without a truce than sign a "disgraceful" agreement.  

Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei weighs in on Twitter about Michael Brown shooting
Talk about the pot calling the kettle racist. Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is using the mayhem in Missouri, which erupted after an unarmed black teen was killed by a cop, as an excuse to slam the U.S. “Racial discrimination's still a dilemma in US,” he tweeted Friday. “Still ppl are unsecure for having dark skins. The way police treat them confirms it.”  

Hezbollah leader Nasrallah sees Islamic State as growing 'monster'
The Hezbollah leader described the radical Islamist movement that has seized large areas of Iraq and Syria as a growing "monster" that could threaten Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and other Gulf states, according to an interview printed on Friday.  

Devil in the detail as Yazidis look to Kurds in withstanding Islamic radicals’ advance
Whether you approach it from the west, across the dry steppe of northern Iraq, or from the east, through the bare mountains of Kurdistan, Lalish shocks you with its sudden lush beauty.  

Security Council resolution sanctions against Islamist groups in Iraq, Syria
The UN Security Council on Friday adopted a resolution on sanctions against extremist Islamist groups in Iraq and Syria, in an attempt to cut off funding to these groups.  

Purported letter from inside Gaza tells of tunnel toil, Hamas cruelty
An emotional letter purportedly smuggled out of Gaza details one man’s harrowing participation in digging the tunnels that Israel blames for triggering the latest round of fighting and paints a bleak picture of life under Hamas control. The 30-year-old Palestinian to whom the letter is attributed describes accepting a cryptic job offer, then being taken in a windowless truck with five others to a building where they were forced to dig tunnels for long, gruelling shifts in stretches that lasted 10 days.  

Iraq crisis: Yazidi villagers 'massacred' by IS
Militants in northern Iraq have massacred at least 80 men from the Yazidi faith in a village and abducted women and children, reports say. Islamic State (IS) fighters entered Kocho, 45km (30 miles) from Sinjar, on Friday afternoon, reportedly telling men to convert to Islam or die.  

Europe is in an epic depression — and it's getting worse
Economic growth in Europe came in at zero in the second quarter of 2014. That's better than being in recession. But it's not the growth that Europe — with its huge unemployment rate of 12 percent, or roughly 19,130,000 people out of work — needs.  

Tensions soar as Ukraine says destroys Russian armour
Ukraine said on Friday it had destroyed part of a Russian armoured column that entered onto its territory in an incursion that has sent cross-border tensions rocketing.  

Hacking Team is spreading government malware through YouTube and Microsoft Live
You don't have to click on a sketchy link to end up downloading malware. A new report from Citizen Lab's Morgan Marquis-Boire shows how companies can spread targeted malware by intercepting web traffic en route, sending malicious traffic from an otherwise friendly link. A company called Hacking Team has been using the tactics on traffic from YouTube and Microsoft's login.live.com servers, seeding innocent videos with surveillance software designed to track the target's activities online.  

Jesus Calling Devotional Bible? Putting Words in Jesus Mouth and in the Bible
Aug 16th, 2014
CommentaryWarren B. Smith
Categories: Warning

(author of “Another Jesus” Calling: How False Christs Are Entering the Church Through Contemplative Prayer)

One of the many spin-off products from Sarah Young’s best-selling book, Jesus Calling, is the Jesus Calling Devotional Bible. It is a New King James Bible filled with “messages” Young claims to have “received” from Jesus Christ. In the original Introduction to her book, Jesus Calling, Young describes the nature of these messages.

 My journaling had changed from monologue to dialogue. Soon, messages began to flow more freely, and I bought a special notebook to record these words. 1

I have continued to receive personal messages from God as I meditate on Him. 2

This practice of listening to God has increased my intimacy with Him more than any other spiritual discipline, so I want to share some of the messages I have received. 3

In the Introduction to Young’s Jesus Calling Devotional Bible, she describes the “joy of listening to Jesus with pen in hand”:

 After many years of writing in prayer journals—and then discovering the joy of listening to Jesus with “pen in hand” — I believe all of this more than ever today. 4

She describes the difference that this “listening to Jesus” has made in her life. She writes:

What has made the difference? The practice of listening to Jesus and letting Him speak to me. This practice has done more to increase my intimacy with Him than any other spiritual discipline. And the words of assurance and instruction that He has “spoken” to me over the years are what I have shared in my devotional books. 5

Young Believes that her “Messages” from “Jesus” Belong in the Bible?

Young’s personal “messages” from “Jesus” occupy some 250 separate full pages of her Jesus Calling Devotional Bible. Young claims that the placement of her messages and writings alongside Scripture is a “natural place” for them — and that she feels honored to have them there.

Since my writings are rooted in the infallible, unchanging Word of God, having them appear alongside the biblical text would seem to be a natural place for them. It is an honor to have devotionals from two of my books, Jesus Calling and Jesus Lives, included in this volume. 6

However, as I pointed out in “Another Jesus” Calling, many of Sarah Young’s “messages” in Jesus Calling are clearly not rooted in the “infallible, unchanging Word of God.” And now, a number of these problematic “messages” have been placed throughout the pages of her Jesus Calling Devotional Bible.

Take, for example, the bizarre account she reputedly received from Jesus regarding Abraham and Isaac. This “message” has been placed “alongside” the actual Genesis 22 account, with her “Jesus” purportedly describing Abraham as an idolater and son-worshiper:

Remember the extreme measures I used with Abraham and Isaac. I took Isaac to the very point of death to free Abraham from son-worship. Both Abraham and Isaac suffered terribly because of the father’s undisciplined emotions. I detest idolatry even in the form of parental love. 7

But this extrabiblical “message” from Young’s “Jesus” is blatantly unbiblical. In fact, her publisher, Thomas Nelson, has removed it from some recent printings of Jesus Calling and related products.  The original Abraham and Isaac August 23^rd “devotion” has been cut and pasted and toned down to now read Jacob and Joseph rather than Abraham and Isaac. As mentioned in a previous Lighthouse Trails post, Sarah Young and her Thomas Nelson editors have removed controversial materials from recently printed Jesus Calling items with no explanation, apology, or repentance to Young’s millions of readers.  However—at least as of today—this original Abraham and Isaac account can still be found—unbelievably—in Young’s Jesus Calling Devotional Bible.

Ironically, the Jesus Calling: 365 Devotional For Kids also keeps Abraham and Isaac in the August 23^rd account. However, Young—with help from others—has cleaned up the original account to make it more biblical. The new sanitized version, according to the book’s title page, originated with Sarah Young. It was adapted by a woman named Tama Fortner and then further edited by another woman named Kris Bears. And now gone is Abraham’s idolatry. Gone are his undisciplined emotions. And instead of having been a son-worshiper, now he is only in danger of worshiping his son. This carefully paraphrased, adapted, and further edited version of “Jesus’” original “message” now reads:

Abraham had waited so long for a son. When Isaac finally came, Abraham was in danger of worshipping his son. I tested Abraham, and—as hard as it was—Abraham trusted Me to take care of Isaac. And I did.8

With all of this cutting, pasting, adapting, and editing away of problematic words and passages—all in the name of “Jesus”—one cannot help wonder if this is Thomas Nelson’s attempt to stay one step ahead of unsuspecting readers and legitimate criticism. Responding truthfully and forthrightly about the many controversial questions surrounding Sarah Young’s inconsistent “Jesus” appear to be less important than preserving her #1 best-selling book Jesus Calling and its many related products—like the Jesus Calling Devotional Bible.

Other Problems with the Jesus Calling Devotional Bible

Other problematic “messages” contained in the original, unedited Jesus Calling can also be found in Young’s Jesus Calling Devotional Bible. Perhaps the most obviously unscriptural is how Young’s “Jesus” contradicts the Bible’s Jesus in regards to the last words Jesus spoke before ascending into heaven. In the Jesus Calling Devotional Bible, with Matthew 28:20 cited at the bottom of the page, Young’s “Jesus” states:

My final statement just before I ascended into heaven was: Surely I am with you always. That promise was for all my followers, without exception.

But these were not Jesus Christ’s last words. This Matthew 28:20 passage was uttered on a mount in Galilee (Matthew 28:16) while His last words were actually spoken later in Acts 1:7-9 on the Mount of Olives (Acts 1:12):

And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.  And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.

Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6), and the true Jesus does not contradict Himself regarding His last words before ascending into heaven or any other matter. Nor does He put forth untrue, disparaging remarks about Abraham and Isaac. While it is not the purpose of this article to catalog all the concerns that arise when reading Sarah Young’s Jesus Calling Devotional Bible, these two examples alone should be enough to keep any sincere believer far away from the Jesus Calling Devotional Bible.

Bible Warnings

For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him. (2 Corinthians 11:4)

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. (2 Timothy 4:3-4)

Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth? This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you. A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. (Galatians 5:7-9)

For many shall come in my name, saying I am Christ, and shall deceive many. (Matthew 24:5)

Endnotes

1. Sarah Young, Jesus Calling: Enjoying Peace in His Presence (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2004), p.XII in the original Introduction.
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid., p.XIII in the original Introduction.
4. Sarah Young (General Editor), Jesus Calling Devotional Bible: Enjoying Peace in His Presence (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc., 2011), p.V
5. Ibid.
6. Ibid., p.VI.
7. Ibid., p.37.
8. Sarah Young, Jesus Calling: 365 Devotions For Kids (Nashville, TN: Tommy Nelson, 2010), p.246
9. Sarah Young, Jesus Calling Devotional Bible, p.1237.

Israel Welcomes EU's Call on Gaza Groups to Disarm
Aug 16th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Hamas terrorist in Gaza (file)

Reuters

Israel’s Foreign Ministry welcomed on Friday the call by the European Union (EU) for terrorist groups in Gaza to disarm.

The EU’s call came in a statement in which the bloc offered to take charge of Gaza's border crossings and work to prevent illegal arms flows.

“Israel, like the foreign ministers of the European Union in their statement tonight, places great importance on the Egyptian initiative to achieve a long and steady calm,” said the Foreign Ministry’s statement.

“Israel welcomes the ministers’ repeated calls for the terrorist organizations in Gaza to disarm. A commitment to the principle of demilitarization, which will be implemented by an effective monitoring mechanism, will ensure that the situation changes fundamentally,” the statement added.

“As always, Israel will continue to maintain a dialogue with the European Union on these important questions,” it concluded.

The EU’s statement comes amid continued talks between the sides for a long-term ceasefire. The talks are mediated by Egypt which has reportedly offered an 11-point ceasefire plan to the sides.

An Islamic Jihad spokesperson claimed on Friday that a truce deal with Israel will be signed as soon the current five-day ceasefire ends next Monday at midnight.

Iran Says Deal By November is Unlikely
Aug 16th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif

Reuters

Iran's foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, said Friday that Tehran is unlikely to reach a final nuclear accord with world powers by a November deadline, The Associated Press (AP) reported.

The Iranian parliament's news website quoted Zarif as saying that even if a general agreement is reached before the deadline, the two sides will require more time to discuss details.

"Hence, it is unlikely to reach a final conclusion before a four-month span," he said.

Zarif said the talks could "quickly" reach a conclusion if world powers show "strong will." He said the other side has moved cautiously over the past few months but that the negotiations are making progress.

Iran and Western powers are trying to turn the interim nuclear deal reached in November into a permanent agreement.

The sides recently committed to a four-month negotiating extension through November 24, after they were unable to reach a permanent deal by a July 20 deadline.

The accord is aimed at easing fears once and for all that the Islamic republic might use its civilian nuclear program to build an atomic bomb, something Tehran has always denied.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who makes the final decision on all major issues, has lent support to the talks but expressed doubt they will lead anywhere.

On Wednesday Khamenei said the United States had only grown more hostile to Iran since the talks began, and that there was no point in holding direct negotiations with Washington.

Rouhani, meanwhile, has been a subject of criticism by hardliners in his country who are opposed to making a deal with the West.

This week, Rouhani fired back at his critics and suggested that they “go to hell”.

Hamas Rejects Egyptian Ceasefire Proposal, Threatens 'Long War'
Aug 16th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Hamas' leader in exile Meshaal

Reuters

Hamas has sounded a belligerent tone as negotiations for a long-term truce continue in Cairo.

In a message posted on his Facebook page, Hamas's "foreign affairs" chief Osama Hamdan said the Islamist terror group rejects the current Egyptian proposal, and pledged a "long war" of attrition against Israel.

"Israel must accept the demands of the Palestinian people or face a long war," he said.

Other Hamas officials issued similar statements over the course of Saturday.

Hamdan's Facebook message was posted not long before a message on the Twitter account of the "military wing" of Hamas, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, in which the group vowed to continue its armed "struggle".

Meanwhile, speaking to Al Jazeera, Hamas's Qatar-based leader Khaled Meshaal blamed Israel for starting the recent fighting in Gaza.

"This is a battle that we have not chosen to fight, it was forced upon us," Meshaal said. "It was the Israeli occupation that started the aggression. It brought the events that happened two months ago in the West Bank to Gaza for its own domestic calculations. It wanted to take revenge on Hamas and the Palestinian people in Gaza. We have defended ourselves."

Meshaal also added that his group wasn't interested in further temporary ceasefires, and demanded Israel give in to all of its demands.

"We do not wish to play the game of keeping the calm with the aim of wasting time. We want serious negotiations that lead to an end of the aggression on Gaza and granting the Palestinian demands."

Meshaal emphasized that Hamas was not willing to drop a single one of its demands, including the opening of air and seaports and the total lifting of all restrictions on imports into Gaza, which Israel has leveled in order to prevent the smuggling of weapons

Hamas Adopts Hard Line Ahead of Cairo Talks Sunday
Aug 16th, 2014
Daily NewsDebkafile
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Abbas's Fatah Declares a Return to Terror Against Israel
Aug 16th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Fatah's Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades

Flash 90

Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction, often touted internationally as a "moderate" alternative to Hamas, has declared its intentions to further increase its terror attacks against Israeli citizens.

A new video released to YouTube by Fatah's "military wing," the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, declares the unity of Fatah's various military branches, and announces a recent decision to strengthen Fatah's military activities.

Filming in what they term a "joint operations room" in Gaza, the Fatah terrorists are seen in the video proudly displaying three-barrel rocket launchers, anti-tank rocket launchers, assault rifles and portable communications devices.

One of the terrorists is filmed telling the camera that "the rifle" was and remains the only option to "free the occupied lands," and that Fatah has never abandoned the path of violent terrorism.

As demonstrated by the armed presence in Gaza, Fatah's Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades has reportedly taken an active part in the terror war being fought against Israel from Gaza, joining Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other terror organizations against Israel during Operation Protective Edge.

In Judea and Samaria, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades have likewise declared "open war" on the Jewish state.

The declaration has been followed by numerous Fatah terror attacks, including a shooting attack south of Bethlehem last Sunday, after another shooting attack the Sunday before in Neve Tzuf. On Monday, a wanted Fatah terrorist was killed by IDF forces near Shechem after he refused to turn himself in and opened fire on the soldiers.

While there has been a common perception globally that Abbas's Fatah is somehow more "moderate" and accessible as a peace partner than Hamas or other alternative groups, Fatah has been open about its goals to destroy Israel.

The group just last Sunday falsely claimed to have murdered 11,000 Israelis, and has likely called for the ethnic cleansing of Jews from Israel.

Fatah's position is in line with the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) charter of 1968, which calls for "armed struggle" and "armed revolution," declaring "armed struggle is the only way to liberate Palestine," and calling on local Arabs to "be prepared for the armed struggle." 

Following the charter, the PLO and Fatah were defined internationally as terror organizations, a status which was removed during the 1993 Oslo Accords process.