Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13

We do not despise God-given emotions
Nov 30th, 2014
Thought For The WeekA. W. Tozer
Categories: Commentary;Exhortation

Our emotions are neither to be feared nor despised, for they are a normal part of us as God made us in the first place. Indeed, the full human life would be impossible without them!

A feeling of pity would never arise in the human breast unless aroused by a mental picture of other's distress, and without the emotional bump to set off the will there would be no act of mercy. That is the way we are constituted and what I am saying here is nothing new. Every mother, every statesman, every leader of men, every preacher of the Word of God knows that a mental picture must be presented to the listener before he can be moved to act, even though it be for his own advantage!

God intended that truth should move us to moral action. The mind receives ideas, mental pictures of things as they are. These excite the feelings and these in turn move the will to act in accordance with the truth. That is the way it should be, and would be had not sin entered and wrought injury to our inner life. Because of sin, the simple sequence of truth - feeling - action may break down in any of its three parts.

The Christian who gazes too long on the carnal pleasures of this world cannot escape a certain feeling of sympathy with them, and that feeling will inevitably lead to behavior that is worldly. To expose our hearts to truth and consistently refuse or neglect to obey the impulses it arouses is to stymie the motions of life within us, and if persisted in, to grieve the Holy Spirit into silence.

But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad. . ..Matthew 9:36

Let the Headlines Speak
Nov 30th, 2014
Daily NewsFrom the internet
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Could loud boom heard over upstate New York be related to rumbling noise reported in the UK at exactly the same time?
A loud boom was reported by a number of people in upstate New York on Saturday afternoon at the same time as a similar noise was heard more than 3,000 miles away in the UK.  

Jerusalem bilingual Hebrew-Arabic school ablaze in suspected hate crime
The Max Rayne Hand in Hand School, which serves more than 600 Arab and Jewish pupils from throughout Jerusalem in the capital’s Pat neighborhood, went up in flames on Saturday night. Firefighters were working to prevent its spread to the rest of the school’s facilities as they brought the fire under control.  

Islamic State: Fighting intensifies in Syrian town of Kobane
Fighting has intensified in the besieged Syrian border town of Kobane, where Kurdish forces have been holding Islamic State at bay since September. IS militants launched at least four suicide attacks, with reports saying at least 25 people were killed. The first of the attacks was near the Turkish border crossing. It is thought to be the first fighting in that area.  

Pope and patriarch condemn Mid-East 'persecution'
Pope Francis and the spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians have condemned the treatment of many Christians in the Middle East. In a joint declaration, the Pope and Patriarch Bartholomew I said they could not resign themselves to a "Middle East without Christians". On a three-day visit to Turkey, the pontiff discussed divisions between Catholics and Orthodox Christians.  

Netanyahu indicates patience running out on coalition antics
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hinted at Sunday's cabinet meeting that his patience with the ongoing coalition crisis is ending, saying he will “draw conclusions” if the coalition in-fighting does not cease.  

Drug-Resistant Malaria Is 'Disaster in the Making,' Expert Warns
Professor Francois Nosten ran his finger over a map showing clusters of tiny dots — each marking a border village that make up ground zero for what experts fear will become the next global health emergency.  

Swiss voters to reject gold initiative: TV projection
Swiss voters looked set on Sunday to clearly reject proposals that would have forced the central bank to buy up massive amounts of gold and imposed strict limits on immigration, threatening close economic ties to the European Union.

Mubarak cleared: Egypt protests as ex-leader charges dropped
Egyptian police have used tear gas to disperse protesters angry that charges against ex-President Hosni Mubarak over killings during the uprising three years ago have been dropped. About 2,000 people massed in Cairo's Tahrir Square, the birthplace of the 2011 revolution. At least one person was reported killed in the clashes.  

Activists: ISIS Is Now Launching Attacks From Inside Turkey
Turkey's main Kurdish party on Saturday accused the government of turning a blind eye to—if not outright supporting—ISIS militants within its borders after suicide bombers attacked the town of Kobani along its southern border with Syria. The Turkish government vehemently denies the claims.  

Syria’s Assad regime cuts subsidies, focuses ailing economy on war effort
Syria’s economy is in a tailspin, and the regime of President Bashar al-Assad is increasingly struggling to find resources to quash the four-year-old rebellion, analysts say.  

China leader vows to protect territorial interests
Chinese President Xi Jinping said in a key foreign policy speech that the rising Asian nation would protect its sovereign territory, the Xinhua news agency reported, as it faces maritime disputes with several neighbours.  

Could oil collapse cause next credit crisis?
It's not just the Saudis who could get much poorer from the oil price free fall. Everyone could suffer if the collapse triggers a wave of defaults through the high-yield debt market, and in turn, hits stocks. The first to fall: the banks that were last hit by the housing crisis. Why could that happen? Well, energy companies make up anywhere from 15 to 20 percent of all U.S. junk debt, according to various sources.  

Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson Resigns, Hopes His "Resignation Will Allow The Community To Heal"
Days after Ferguson was torched by angry rioters following a grand jury verdict not to indict police officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Michael Brown, the policeman's lawyer announced moments ago that he has resigned from the Ferguson, Mo., Police Department.  

Death toll from Ebola outbreak nears 7,000 in West Africa: WHO
The death toll from the worst Ebola outbreak on record has reached nearly 7,000 in West Africa, the World Health Organization said on Saturday.

Khamenei Says Iranian Military Should Expand, Irrespective of Politics
Nov 30th, 2014
Daily NewsThe Jerusalem Post
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

DUBAI - Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Sunday the armed forces should increase their combat capability regardless of political considerations, in an apparent allusion to continuing nuclear talks with the West aimed at easing tension in the Middle East.

"Given our vast maritime borders and the enemy's huge investments in this area, our armed forces should continuously improve their (combat) readiness, irrespective of political calculations," Khamenei told a gathering of senior navy officials during a ceremony to mark the "Navy Week" in Iran.

Khamenei, who commands all branches of the armed forces in addition to other key centers of power in the Islamic republic, did not mention any countries by name but he normally uses "enemy" to refer mainly to the United States and Britain -- both of which have intervened in Iran over the past century.

Emerging Church Spreading By Seasoning
Nov 30th, 2014
Commentaryfbns@wayoflife.org. - David Cloud
Categories: Apostasy;Warning

In his blog this month, Brian McLaren says that the emerging church is growing in influence, "not by creating a new slice of the pie, but by seasoning nearly all sectors of the pie" ("More on the emergent conversation," BrianMclaren.net, Nov. 17, 2014). He is exactly right, and the "seasoning" extends even to many "fundamentalist" churches. What McLaren calls "seasoning," the Bible calls "leaven," and it twice warns that "a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump" (1 Cor. 5:6; Gal. 5:9). The church at Corinth and the churches in Galatia were being careless about error. They were entertaining it, countenancing it. They were "bearing with it" (2 Cor. 11:4). But if a small amount of error is countenanced, it will eventually leaven everything. This is why we have warned that most independent Baptist churches will be emerging within 20 years. Large numbers of them are entertaining error. They haven't capitulated, but they are playing with it. They are arguing, "But this is just a small thing; let's 'major on the majors.'" They are playing with contemporary worship music, which even in its most "conservative" form is a definite bridge to the one-world church of the Getty's and Townend's and Redman's and Kendrick's and Zschech's. Some are even playing with contemplative prayer, as we document this month in the report "Pensacola's A Beka Promoting Catholic Contemplative Mystics."

Abbas: We will Never Recognize Israel As a Jewish State
Nov 30th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

Mahmoud Abbas

Issam Rimawi/Flash 90

"We will never recognize the Jewishness of the state of Israel," Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas declared on Saturday.

Abbas’s statement came at a meeting of Arab foreign ministers and was quoted by Channel 10 News. At that same meeting, the foreign ministers announced their “categorical rejection of recognizing Israel as a Jewish state.”

According to Channel 10, Abbas said in his remarks at the meeting that the security coordination between Israel and the PA would be suspended unless peace negotiations resume.

He further said that he demanded that the United States and its Secretary of State John Kerry work together with him to create an outline to be submitted to the UN Security Council and which would pressure Israel to stop “settlement construction.”

"The situation in [Judea and Samaria] is dangerous and cannot continue. All indications are that the American mediation failed to complete the negotiations," Abbas was quoted as having said, adding that he plans to sign international conventions and treaties, including the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

Abbas is moving forward with plans  to turn to the Security Council with a resolution setting a deadline for Israel to “end the occupation”, a unilateral move that is in violation of the Oslo Accords.

The move has been accompanied by threats, with Abbas having recently threatened to cut ties with Israel if his latest unilateral move at the UN fails.

Even though the PA has reaffirmed several times it would be going through with the unilateral move, reports earlier this week said that the PA postponed submitting the resolution, in order to buy time in continuing to lobby for the required nine council members to vote for the move.

Abbas: There are Secret Agreements Between Israel, Hamas
Nov 30th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

Palestinian Authority Chairman, Mahmoud Abbas, said that he hold proof that negotiations are taking place and that there are secret understandings and agreements between Hamas and Israel. Abbas told Arab media outlets that there is full coordination between all statements made by Hamas and Israel respectively.

According to Abbas, negotiations with Hamas are easier for Israel than it would be to negotiate with him, contrary to reports that Abbas gives in easily and is easy to negotiate with.

Abbas: I Won't Give Up One Inch of 1967
Nov 30th, 2014
Daily NewsThe Jerusalem Post
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas said he will not negotiate over land with Israel, as well as accusing Israel of holding negotiations with Hamas, it was reported Sunday morning.

"I won't give up one inch of 1967; I have evidence that Hamas and Israel are conducting negotiations," Abbas said.

He continued by saying that Hamas is completely responsible for Gaza.

"The Palestinian Authority does not exist in the Gaza Strip. Hamas is responsible for the Gaza Strip."