Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13

THE HOLY SPIRIT IS THE SOURCE OF SPIRITUAL STRENGTH. (Ephesians 3:16)
Oct 15th, 2019
Morning MeditationF. B. Meyer
Categories: Meditation;Inspirational;Book Study

There is no limit to the spiritual power we may receive and exercise. It is said of the Gadites that came to David, whilst he was in the hold, that the least was equal to a hundred, and the greatest to a thousand (1Ch_12:14). And this might be typically true of each of us. We might, like Micah, be "full of power by the Spirit of the Lord, and of judgment, and of might" (Mic_3:8).

There is one preliminary condition, however, which we must fulfil. We must be weak enough--willing to abjure the use of those sources of success on which others boast themselves; content that the thorn in the flesh, or the test of the stream, or the wrestle at the Jabbok-ford, should reveal our utter helplessness, that the power of Christ should rest upon us. When we are weak, we shall be strong. When we are worms, God will make us new sharp threshing instruments. When we are among things that are not, God will use us to bring to nought things that are.

Stunning Chinese Fossils Support Creation
Oct 15th, 2019
CommentaryBerean Call
Categories: Creation - Evolution

News reports reverberated with details from a fantastic new fossil site in southern China. The Cambrian remains supposedly represent some of the earliest creatures to have evolved on Earth, but two telling details show why these fossils fit better with biblical creation.

Researchers described in the journal Science the unique set of animals buried in black Cambrian siltstone layers. Cambrian rock layers are some of the lowest layers on Earth, and thus the earliest to get buried with fossils in them. These sediments bear secular age assignments upwards of 500 million years.

Seen through an evolutionary lens, these early layers captured the earliest animals to have supposedly evolved—the so-called basal life forms.

The study authors wrote, “The Qingjiang biota, however, is marked by high abundance and diversity of exceptionally preserved cnidarian fossils, which fills a major gap in knowledge of the morphology [body shapes] and diversity of Cambrian basal metazoans.” Cnidarians include jellyfish and sea anemones. Metazoan refers to any animal made of a variety of different tissues like jellyfish, hagfish, and people. But what do the authors mean when they speak of a major knowledge gap?

The “major gap in knowledge” points back to the challenge of the Cambrian explosion. In short, all basic life forms suddenly appear in their completed forms in these early rocks.

Evolution-inspired questions include: From what did the first metazoan evolve? As animals with some of the fewest tissue types, did cnidarians evolve into other life forms? If so, when? When and how did cnidarians evolve? Over a century of fossil studies has answered none of these evolutionary questions, leaving a major gap in knowledge.

The evolutionary story points to simple creatures with few tissue types that supposedly evolved into completely different creatures with new tissue types and whole new organs, organ systems, and body plans. Unfortunately, the only fossil information available to fill this stunning knowledge gap is the presence of regular old jellyfish. Rather than revealing a record of life rising from raw toward refined forms, we find…more jellyfish.

Another group of modern look-alikes found among the Qingjiang rocks include mud dragons of the phylum Kinorhyncha. These tiny worm-like creatures burrow through seafloor mud in search of algae, bacteria, and organic matter. Apparently they were doing that since the dawn of time. The team also found plenty of run-of-the-mill algae.

All these and other living Cambrian fossils like sea pens, entoprocts, and fully formed fish fill that major gap in evolutionary speculations with creation-friendly finds: God made each creature to reproduce in accord with its own kind, not to change between different basic kinds. No wonder we see so many unchanging animals from fossils to today’s animals.

Stable life forms point to Genesis creation according to kinds. Extinct animal fossils show no evolution either. Extensive rapid burial beneath ancient waters points to Noah’s Flood. That’s why biblical creation best explains the Qingjiang biota’s main features.

Let the Headlines Speak
Oct 15th, 2019
CommentaryFrom the Internet
Categories: Today's Headlines

Kurds announce deal with Damascus as Turkey pushes deep into Syria
Syria’s Kurds on Sunday announced a groundbreaking deal with Damascus on a Syrian troop deployment near the border with Turkey, as Ankara pressed a deadly cross-border offensive that has sparked an international outcry.

Why Is Turkey in NATO Anyway?
Both sides have been repeatedly disappointed in the decades since Ankara joined the alliance. Is it time to call it off?

Project Veritas announces major undercover exposé of CNN next week
James O’Keefe, Project Veritas’s founder, announced what “may be the biggest story Project Veritas has ever broke.” An insider at CNN has come forward, O’Keefe said, having covertly recorded videos for months that promise to reveal what CNN has really been doing to – essentially – spin and fake the news. The revelations are scheduled to see the light of day next week. Things are looking very interesting. Stay tuned for developments.

Any Attempt To Divide China Will End In “Shattered Bones”, China’s Xi Warns
Xi said that “anyone attempting to split China in any part of the country will end in crushed bodies and shattered bones,” he told Nepal’s Oli, according to China’s state broadcaster CCTV.

It’s Middle East Mayhem As U.S. Pulls Out All Troops In Front Of Rapidly Advancing Turkish Army Leaving Syria In The Hands Of Erdogan And Putin
Here’s a little Bible Prophecy 101 for you: The Old Testament prophets all tell us that Syria in general is a major end times player, with Damascus being mentioned repeatedly in particular and singled out for ultimate destruction during the Battle of Armageddon just prior to the Second Coming. Also we read out Russia, China, Iran and Turkey as playing major roles. Care to hazard a guess which world superpower is absent from your end times scorecard?

At Yom Kippur, rabbi cites sins of Trump’s enemies
A rabbi is calling out the enemies of President Trump for their sins in the hope that “God will transform the darkness residing in their hearts, the toxin of TDS (Trump Derangement Syndrome), and they will be cleansed and spare Mr. Trump, and the country, further abuse.”

The upside of Trump’s pullout
We take Trump at his word that he is finished with Middle East wars; while understanding that Israel’s situation is unique at asking no special favors. No special favors except to stand at Israel’s side on the diplomatic front, as when the rest of the world, say, the UN, the EU, tries to vote Israel out of existence, as is their habit. The bottom line is that if Trump really means it, and he does, about keeping hands off, this would include any sort of interference between Israel and the Palestinian Arabs. That means no deal, no Deal of the Century. It has likely been scrapped.

Tunisia’s president-elect: Normalization with Israel is treason
Candidate Kais Saied said that the problem is not with the Jews and that Tunisians, including his father, protected Jews from the Nazis. He also said that anybody who normalizes relations with Israel, with which he said Tunisia is in a state of war, should be tried for treason.

Khamenei: Prepare against the ‘enemies’
Khamenei, on Sunday urged the country’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) to prepare against the “enemies”. The IRGC should continue inventing and building modern and advanced military hardware, Khamenei said,…

Trump swears allegiance to Israel as he decries endless Middle East wars
US President Donald Trump swore allegiance to Israel as he decried endless Middle East wars and defended his decision to withdraw US troops from the Kurdish area of northern Syria when he spoke Saturday night at the annual Values Voters Conference in Washington D.C.

Trump prepares to drop sanctions hammer on Turkey
President Donald Trump’s administration is set to impose economic sanctions on Ankara, potentially as early as this week, for its incursion into northern Syria, one of the few levers the United States still has over NATO-ally Turkey…the administration appeared ready to start making good on Trump’s threat to obliterate Turkey’s economy.

Assad’s army marches in on the Kurdish zone near the Turkish border
Syrian army units loyal to Bashar al-Assad entered the Kurdish town of Tall Tamr near the Turkish border on Saturday. The abrupt US withdrawal from the eight-year Syrian war, and the potential return of the Syrian army to the Kurdish-controlled northeast, are major victories for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his allies Russia and Iran.

Typhoon Hagibis: Japan deploys military rescuers as deadly storm hits
Japan has deployed tens of thousands of troops and rescue workers after one of the strongest storms in years hit, killing at least 23 people. Typhoon Hagibis made landfall south of Tokyo on Saturday, moving north and bringing severe flooding. Seventeen people are missing from the storm, public broadcaster NHK said.

Hong Kong protests: President Xi warns of “crushed bodies”
China’s President Xi Jinping has issued a stern warning against dissent as protests continue in Hong Kong, saying any attempt to divide China will end in “crushed bodies and shattered bones”. His comments came during a state visit to Nepal on Sunday, China’s state broadcaster CCTV said. Several peaceful Hong Kong rallies descended into clashes between riot police and protesters on Sunday.

Putin offers to help ease Gulf tensions before Saudi trip
Russia can play a positive role in easing tensions in the Gulf following a spate of attacks in the region, President Vladimir Putin said…before his first visit to Saudi Arabia in over a decade. He cited good Russian ties with Gulf Arab states and Iran in an interview…but said he had no reliable information about who was behind attacks on Saudi oil facilities…

U.S. forces say Turkey was deliberately ‘bracketing’ American troops with artillery fire in Syria
Turkish forces who launched multiple artillery rounds near a U.S. Special Operations outpost in northeastern Syria on Friday have known for months that Americans were there, according to four current and former U.S. officials, raising questions whether Turkey is trying to push American troops farther from the border.

Egypt’s president to meet with Ethiopia PM over Nile dispute
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said…he would meet Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in Russia to discuss a dispute over a hydropower dam that the Horn of Africa country is building on the River Nile. A long-running diplomatic standoff over building and operating the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam has heightened tensions between the two countries.

Starting where Nazis burned books, 10,000 march in Berlin against anti-Semitism
Thousands of people in Berlin protested against anti-Semitism on Sunday, four days after a German neo-Nazi attacked a synagogue in the eastern German city of Halle.

Pig News: ‘Hog Apocalypse’ Fears Over African Swine Fever
By official accounts, the pig contagion wreaking havoc across Eastern Asia has virtually skipped over North Korea, with a single outbreak reported there in May. But wayward feral pigs have stoked concern that Kim Jong Un’s reclusive state is hiding an African swine fever disaster.

Japan: Typhoon Hagibis death toll as high as 33; now a tropical storm
Helicopters, boats and thousands of troops were deployed across Japan to rescue people stranded in flooded homes Sunday, as the death toll from a ferocious typhoon climbed to as high as 33. One woman fell to her death as she was being placed inside a rescue helicopter.

California blackouts expose the total scam of solar panels: They don’t work when the grid goes down
Solar panels are largely a scam. And over the last week, thousands of solar panel owners in California are colliding with that sobering reality as they realize solar panels don’t work when the power grid goes down.

“It’s Not A Game When It’s Real-Life” – China’s Social Credit System
…each citizen is assigned 1,000 points and is consistently monitored and rated on how they behave. Points are earned through good deeds, and lost for bad behavior…

Pakistani Muslim mother tied her daughter to a bed and set her on fire as a “honor killing”
Pakistani Police says 18-year-old Zeenat Rafique was tied to a bed and set on fire by her mother and brother after she eloped against their wishes.its just the latest in a long line of so-called honor killings.

It’s Middle East Mayhem As U.S. Pulls Out All Troops In Front Of Rapidly Advancing Turkish Army Leaving Syria In The Hands Of Erdogan And Putin
Here’s a little Bible Prophecy 101 for you: The Old Testament prophets all tell us that Syria in general is a major end times player, with Damascus being mentioned repeatedly in particular and singled out for ultimate destruction during the Battle of Armageddon just prior to the Second Coming. Also we read out Russia, China, Iran and Turkeyas playing major roles. Care to hazard a guess which world superpower is absent from your end times scorecard?

BREAKING: DOJ IG Report Due Out Friday, Will Cover More Than FISA Abuse
Quick bit of breaking news just dropped. About a month ago, IG Horowitz announced he had finished his report dealing with the Trump-Russia investigation, which most assumed would only cover possible FISA abuse. Now we are getting word it’s coming out this Friday.

Central Bank Issues Stunning Warning: “If The Entire System Collapses, Gold Will Be Needed To Start Over”
“Gold is … the trust anchor for the financial system. If the entire system collapses, the gold stock provides a collateral to start over.”

France: More Death To Free Speech
“Defending someone who is accused of being a ‘racist’ implies the risk of being accused of being a ‘racist’ too. Intellectual terror reigns in France…”

Democrat Candidates Push Lgbt Activism Front & Center
Oct 15th, 2019
CommentaryMICHAEL BROWN/ASK DR BROWN
Categories: Warning

Don't blame me for writing yet another article on LGBT issues. Blame Beto. Or Booker. Or Biden. Or Buttigieg. Or Warren.

The Democratic presidential candidates are pushing this agenda, and quite aggressively at that.

They're the ones talking about what the Bible allegedly says and does not say about homosexuality.

They're the ones threatening our religious liberties.

They're the ones wanting to indoctrinate our children.

All we're doing is responding.

They're the ones telling us we don't have the right to our biblically based beliefs.

They're the ones pushing a radical, revisionist agenda.

They're the ones telling hundreds of millions of people that the explicit teachings of Scripture must be ignored and that the church (and synagogue) have been wrong on these issues for 2,000 years.

If you'd rather not read about this in the news every day, don't blame me. Blame them.

The Last 50 Years

But that's the way it's been for the last 50 years.

An aggressive agenda came knocking at our doors. At the doors of our children's schools and universities. At the doors of our places of business. At the doors of our courts. At the doors of our entertainment. At the doors of our social media. At the doors of our churches.

How could we not respond? How could we not push back?

I first became burdened to address LGBT activism in 2004, with this motto soon rising in my heart: "Reach out and resist," meaning, reach out to the people with compassion; resist the agenda with courage.

That meant that, as much as I cared for individuals and reached out to them with compassion, there would be fierce resistance as well. And immediately, it became clear to me that those who came out of the closet wanted to put us in the closet. It was not a matter of live and let live, of civil and respectful disagreement.

To the contrary, those who had the temerity to resist the goals of LGBT activism would be vilified and maligned in the strongest, vilest terms. These radical activists would tolerate no dissent, their unspoken mantra being, "We will intimidate and we will manipulate until you capitulate."

The Order of the Day

Sadly, capitulation became the order of the day.

Political leaders caved.

Social leaders caved.

Religious leaders caved.

We dare not offend the activists! We dare not be viewed as haters and bigots. "There are more important battles to fight," these leaders reasoned, "so we'll practice appeasement and live to fight another day.

But this strategy never works, since the more ground we surrender, the more ground we have to yield. The goalposts keep moving.

When it comes to the present state of LGBT activism, it is a presidential issue, front and center.

Democrat Candidates' Positions

That's why, in just the last week, Senator Cory Booker quoted the Bible to explain why it was wrong for a Catholic school to forbid the formation of LGBTQ+ groups.

Senator Elizabeth Warren joked that a man who opposed same-sex "marriage" would have a hard time finding a woman to marry.

Mayor Pete Buttigieg stated that, when it comes to opposing LGBT rights, despite the importance of religious liberty, "It's also the case that any freedom that we honor in this country has limits when it comes to harming other people."

Former Vice President Biden called for "passage of the Democrats' Equality Act; enforcement of civil rights laws; the monitoring of hate groups; and teaching children from an early age to accept same-sex couples and transgenders." (Remember: he's talking about teaching your children.)

And candidate Beto O'Rourke said emphatically (again, in the context of LGBT rights), "There can be no reward, no benefit, no tax break for anyone or any institution, any organization in America, that denies the full human rights and the full civil rights of every single one of us. So as president, we're going to make that a priority, and we are going to stop those who are infringing upon the human rights of our fellow Americans."

Stick With the Gospel?

And you want me to ignore this? To focus on other things? Just to "stick with the gospel" -- as if the gospel doesn't intersect with family, with culture, and with freedom?

We're supposed to ignore a man who could be our next president when he makes clear he wants to teach children from an early age that what their parents is believe is dangerous and untrue?

We're supposed to ignore another candidate who suggests that our religious liberties do not include the right to "harm" LGBT individuals with our beliefs?

We're supposed to ignore another candidate who wants to strip churches and ministries of their tax exemption unless they trash the Bible and embrace same-sex "marriage" (and more)?

Note that when Beto O'Rourke made his categorical and clear pronouncement, he was answering this question from Don Lemon: "Do you think religious institutions like colleges, churches, charities -- should they lose their tax-exempt status if they oppose same-sex marriage?"

And we're supposed to ignore all this?

Will You Join Me?

Sorry, but not a chance. The battle has been raging since the late 1960s, and the end game of the activists is clear: the Church must be silenced.

Don't deceive yourself with thinking that any other ending is in sight.

It's a matter of rewriting the Bible and rewriting reality (here, I'm speaking of radical transgender activism) or a matter of taking a firm scriptural stand, speaking the truth in love.

What will it be?

To be a sideline spectator is to be part of the problem. Neutrality is not an option.

But don't blame me. Blame the radical left that is pushing this agenda on the rest of us.

All we're seeking to do is hold our ground. Will you join me?

China's War on the Bible: If You Can't Ban It, Alter It
Oct 15th, 2019
CommentaryOHN STONESTREET/BREAKPOINT.ORG
Categories: Warning

A recent article at WORLD Magazine reported how the Chinese-language app called "WeDevote" recently surpassed 10 million downloads.

That number, as well as the overall success of "WeDevote," is even more remarkable given the back story, one that illustrates Beijing's ongoing war on the Bible.

"WeDevote" is a Bible-reading and devotional app known for its "aesthetically-pleasing" design and respect for copyright laws, a rarity in China. The month after its launch, China's biggest app store listed WeDevote as a "Recommended App" right on its homepage.

The Communist Party's crackdown on Christianity in recent years meant that both the app and its developers faced increasing government scrutiny. Eventually, they were given a choice: shut down the app or face jail time.

Well, a third option, transferring ownership of the app to a Hong Kong-based company, provided a temporary respite from the ultimatum, but the government has now banned "WeDevote" from Chinese app stores. Though the developers are actively seeking some kind of work-around, it's a struggle to get the app in the hands of users on the mainland.

The government's shut down of "WeDevote" is part of a disturbing trend. Last year, China banned online Bible sales. Of course, that doesn't mean Bibles are unavailable in China. Chinese publishers continue to print Chinese-language Bibles. Some are exported, of course, but plenty remain in China.

That's good news. The bad news is that soon, at least spiritually speaking, Chinese-language copies of the Bible may not be worth the paper they're printed on. According to the Guardian, the Communist Party has plans "for 'retranslating and annotating' the Bible," in order to "establish a 'correct understanding' of the text."

Is there any doubt this "correct understanding" will include reinforcing the primacy of the Communist Party? As one pastor told the Guardian, "The Chinese Communist party . . . wants to be the God of China and the Chinese people. But according to the Bible only God is God." The reality on the ground is that "The government is scared of the churches," and is cracking down on them.

Any attempt to control and re-write the Bible is a tacit admission by the Communist Party that it's failing to eradicate Christianity. It's way too late for that, of course. Depending on who you ask, there are between 60 and 100-plus million Christians in China.

Since they cannot eliminate Christianity, the Party's goal is to pervert it, creating a version of Christianity that doesn't threaten the Party's claim of ultimate authority. Anyone who believes that "only God is God" is a threat to the Communist Party and its leader Xi Jinping.

Such repression also reflects that the Party is concerned about its rule. As many experts have pointed out, China's stability rests on an implicit bargain: The Party promises economic growth and broad-based prosperity in exchange for the Chinese people giving up the kinds of political freedoms taken for granted in the West.

With the Chinese economy slowing down, the demographic legacy of China's "one-child" policy, the pervasive corruption and the ever-widening chasm between urban "haves" and rural "have nots," it's not clear the Party will be able to hold up its end of the bargain. More and more the Party is looking like yet another would-be "god" that has failed its worshipers.

We know, given China's tumultuous history, the sort of bloodshed and chaos that comes from disappointed worshipers there. We also know, given the inherently religious nature of human beings, that such dissatisfaction will only catalyze the growth of the Church and the spread of the Gospel.

That means we should pray that God's Word will prosper in China . . . and that God will protect all those who preach it.