Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13

Whose Image and Superscription Hath It? - Luke 20:24
Dec 7th, 2019
Morning MeditationF.B. Meyer
Categories: Commentary;Inspirational;Book Study

Our Lord more than once compared men to coins. He spoke of the woman who lost one piece of silver, and searched till she had found it. The analogy might be carried out in many particulars; for as the ore passes through the crucible, and many another process, before it is stamped with the image of the sovereign, so do souls experience many fiery trials ere they can receive and keep the impression of heaven's mint, which is the face of Jesus.

Whose image dost thou bear? - Is there a clear-cut outline of the features of Christ, so manifest that those who touch and handle you are irresistibly reminded of Him; or have the features of your King, which were once clear-cut, become effaced?

Whose is thy superscription? Is A. D. there? - the year in which you were born into the kingdom of God, the year of our Lord, the year of your eternal life? Is "Dei gratia" there? (By the grace of God). So that all the while those who know you magnify the exceeding riches of His love as manifested in you. Is "Christus Rex" there? (Christ the King). Are you absolutely Christ's - to serve and to obey? Is "Fid. Def." there? (Defender of the Faith). Do you keep the deposit of Christ's holy Gospel, as you look to Him to keep the deposit which you have committed to Him? Is the lion on the quarterings? - speaking of the strength of the Lion of Judah imparted to your soul. Is the harp amongst them? - indicating the subjection of every string of your life to His finger. Is the crown there? - indicating how absolutely you have placed the empire of your nature upon the brow of your Lord. Then weave together the rose of Sharon and the lily of the valley as the symbol of His reign.

School Boards are Steamrolling Over Parents to Implement the Lgtb Agenda
Dec 7th, 2019
CommentaryJONATHON VAN MAREN/BRIDGEHEAD.CA
Categories: Contemporary Issues

For those of you who have been following the ongoing brawls between school boards attempting to implement the LGBTQ agenda and the parents who are pushing back, this report by Cathy Ruse, a senior fellow for legal studies at the Family Research Council, is a must-read. 

It lays out precisely what is unfolding across the United States, how parents are trying to fight back, and how little power they actually have. The frustration and in many cases desperation felt by parents who simply want their children to get an ordinary education is palpable. From The Daily Signal, here are a few excerpts:

I live in Fairfax County, Virginia, which has the 10th-largest public school district in the nation, but I never focused on our public schools. My kids go to Catholic schools, and that was the center of our universe. I never focused, that is, until I heard that the Fairfax County School Board voted to let boys into the girls' bathrooms. The vote was 10-1. Was there only one sane person on the Fairfax County School Board? I had to find out. So I began attending school board meetings.

And there I saw moms and dads begging the school board to stop threatening their child's privacy and safety in intimate spaces and on the sports field. They pleaded with the board to stop the pornographic reading assignments. They tearfully asked board members to respect their family's religious beliefs.

These were my neighbors, fighting to stop their school board from playing sex politics with their children. This shouldn't happen anywhere in America. I resolved that it wasn't going to happen in my county, on my watch, without a fight.

Fairfax County, just outside Washington, is the second-richest county in America. But most parents here don't know that every year, beginning in seventh grade, their children will be taught lessons on "transgender theory."

How did this happen? It started with a vote in 2015 to add "gender identity" to the Fairfax County school system's nondiscrimination policy.

You can watch the vote on YouTube. Hundreds of parents, filling the room, occasionally shouting, trying to be heard. You can see the board chairman gavel them down and threaten to kick them out. You can see Ryan McElveen, the sponsor, scolding them, telling them they're on the wrong side of history.

And you can see board member Elizabeth Schultz, the bravest woman I know, raise her hand alone and vote "no."

Trans Pressure Groups Target Public Schools

All across the country, pressure groups are getting transgender mandates into public schools by targeting their nondiscrimination policies. Well-funded national groups such as the Human Rights Campaign, the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network, Gender Spectrum, Southern Poverty Law Center, and Advocates for Youth.

They claim students are being harassed and demand that the only way to make schools "safe" is to adopt the total transgender agenda:

- Open all private spaces to the opposite sex.

- Let boys compete as girls in sports.

- Cancel free speech by forcing the use of false pronouns.

- Teach children that some people are born in the wrong body.

The Fairfax County School Board rushed the transgender policy to a vote with no hearings, no impact study, no public engagement.

They claimed that trans-identified kids were being bullied, and that the nondiscrimination policy must be changed right away.

A Freedom of Information Act request revealed there were no reports of harassment of trans-identified students. Not a single one.

No one wants to see a child in distress, especially a child suffering from sex confusion. But solutions such as dedicating private bathrooms or strengthening anti-bullying policies were shut down.

Because it's not about bathrooms. It's not about bullying. It's about forcing all children and families to change their behaviors, their speech, and ultimately their beliefs to conform to the new government-mandated social orthodoxy.

It's about power and politics.

Fairfax County public schools don't use the term sex education, or sex ed, anymore. They call it "Family Life." And beginning last year, they stopped using the terms "male" or "female" in the context of biological sex. Last spring, the school board voted 10-2 to remove the concept of biological sex and replace it with the term "sex assigned at birth."

"Sex assigned at birth" is a term pushed by trans pressure groups to support their agenda. You're not born male or female, someone assigns a sex to you. You can change it later. But students aren't given any information about the possible health risks and permanent effects involved in hormonal and surgical sex transition. The school board's curriculum drafters voted 12 times to exclude that information.

The transgender lobby group Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network, or GLSEN, celebrated the change. The group told The Washington Post that Northern Virginia public schools are used as "laboratories" for their transgender policies. What does that make students in the school system? It makes them lab rats.

Another new sex ed lesson voted in by the Fairfax County School Board last year involves a daily sex pill known as PrEP. Pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, is designed for a particular high-risk population: gay men with multiple sex partners of unknown HIV status. 

It's a controversial drug even in the gay community. Even with a 10% failure rate, it lowers the risk of infection enough to encourage some to abandon the use of condoms. Michael Weinstein, founder and director of the AIDs Healthcare Foundation, said PrEP "will cause a 'public health catastrophe' by triggering a dangerous increase in risky sex." 

80 Automatic Hours of Sex Ed

The Fairfax County School Board automatically enrolls every child in 80 hours of sex ed without their parents' permission. Think of the mischief that can be done in 80 hours. Think of all of the real education that's not being done in those hours.

Here are some examples:

- Sixth-grade lessons talk of "sexual partners."

- Seventh-graders get a lesson with 11 references to "oral sex."

- Beginning in seventh grade, students are taught their sex was assigned at birth and about transgenderism as a healthy sexual identity (a lesson repeated each year).

- Eighth-graders get a lesson with 22 references to "anal sex" and 20 references to "oral sex."

- Check out this fake abstinence message for eighth-graders: What are the benefits of abstaining from sexual activity "until in a faithful, monogamous relationship?"

- 10th-graders get lessons promoting abortion and getting an abortion without telling their parents.

- In another anti-abstinence message, for 10th-graders, students are asked to consider abstaining from sexual activity "until in a mutually monogamous relationship."

- By 11th grade, it's about choice: "individuals who choose to be sexually active."

- 12th-graders are told that whether "to be sexually active is a very personal decision."

Opting Out Isn't Easy for Parents

What may come as a surprise is that none of this is required by law. No federal or state law requires Virginia schools to amend their nondiscrimination policies to include transgender identity. The Fairfax County School Board did it because they wanted to. And because they could. Neither is sex education required. The commonwealth of Virginia leaves to each school district whether to teach it.

If a school district does decide to teach sex ed, the commonwealth gives broad guidelines that should be followed, including teaching abstinence before marriage. But the guidelines are a floor, not a ceiling. Even if Fairfax County can be said to meet the basic guidelines, they've gone far, far beyond them. 

In Fairfax County, opting your child out of sex ed is not obvious or easy. This is because of the sheer volume of material and because of the limited, sometimes deceptive lesson descriptions offered to parents--beginning with the name of the program itself.

How many parents really understand that declining to opt out of "Family Life" means that their children will get transgender sexuality lessons every year? How many immigrant families-who provide 50% of the school population-learn what their kids are being taught in time to opt them out? Even parents who discover the dangers of Fairfax-style sex ed in time to opt out their kids will find that their child is still getting sex-related lessons. 

For several years the school board has been shifting lessons out of "Family Life" into other classes such as health or history. This may defeat the "opt out" given to parents by the school board. But it certainly doesn't defeat the fundamental constitutional right that parents have to direct the education of their children.

Let the Headlines Speak
Dec 7th, 2019
Daily NewsFrom the Internet
Categories: Today's Headlines

REPORT: Trump and Netanyahu Finalize Pact to Be Military Allies in Gog and Magog
Debka File, an English language Israeli military intelligence news site, reported that the dialogue between Netanyahu and Trump was to finalize a military cooperation pact whose details were worked out during meetings between U.S. and Israeli generals in recent months. If true, this military pact would be a landmark.

Twitter Censorship Confirmed: “Shadow Banning” Is Now Written Into The Platform’s New Terms
Critics have accused Twitter of censorship for quite some time now. But this time, it’s official. The company has admitted they will attempt to silence those critical of the ruling class.

Americans own 423M guns & 8.1B rounds of ammunition, latest data shows
Using the most recent data from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF’s) Annual Firearms Manufacturing and Export Reports (AFMER) to draw its conclusions, FITA’s report stated there are 422.9 million firearms in civilian possession from 1986 to 2018, along with an estimated 8.1 billion rounds of various firearms calibers and gauges. The report also noted that in a 25 year period between 1993 and 2017, the violent crime rate has dropped by 48.6 percent while firearms-related accidents have decreased by 68 percent.

Tens of Thousands Protest in France
Paris police fired tear gas at demonstrators Thursday as the Eiffel Tower shut down, France’s high-speed trains stood still and tens of thousands marched nationwide in a strike over the government’s plan to overhaul the retirement system. At least 87 protesters were arrested in the French capital by evening as the protests wound down, the AP reports. Unions launched the open-ended, nationwide walkout over President Emmanuel Macron’s centerpiece reform in the biggest challenge to the centrist leader since the yellow vest movement against economic inequality erupted a year ago.

NATO No Longer Serves American Interests
Quite simply, it makes no sense for U.S. taxpayers to subsidize the defense of nations capable of defending themselves. Shared interests will continue to justify military cooperation. However, the alliance as today constituted no longer serves American interests.

Why Is Trump Doubling Down on the Threat of War Against Iran?
“The Iranian regime keeps losing major constituencies in its revolutionary base,” said Hook, the State Department official in charge of Iran, at a Thursday press briefing. He claimed that the only base of support left for the Iranian government was a “handful of clerics.”

Iran’s ballistic missiles ‘can carry nuclear weapons’
The envoys’ letter referred to video footage on social media in April of the test flight of a new Shabab-3 medium range ballistic missile variant that was “technically capable of delivering a nuclear weapon.”

Anger at Erdogan’s ‘sea grab’ in the Mediterranean
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan faced growing anger on Thursday over Turkey’s “sea grab” in the Mediterranean. Ankara signed a maritime border agreement last month with the Libyan government in Tripoli that gives Turkey control over a vast area of sea stretching from its southern coast to North Africa. The Turkish Parliament approved the deal last night. The agreement gives Turkey lucrative rights to drill for oil and gas in areas that include the island of Crete’s territorial waters. Ankara says such islands are not entitled to territorial waters.

US raises fears that more than 1,000 protesters were killed by Iranian regime
“As the truth is trickling out of Iran, it appears the regime could have murdered over 1,000 Iranian citizens since the protests began,” Mr Hook said at the State Department.

Severe Threat Remains as Fires Rage in Australia’s New South Wales
Firefighters have endured a tough night battling blazes stretching from the NSW south coast all the way to the Queensland border, while another day of severe fire danger and Sydney smoke haze has been forecast. There were 96 bushfires burning across the state on Friday morning, with 46 uncontained and more than 2000 firefighters in the field.

Inspector General Ramps Up Investigations of FBI Employees
Open investigations of FBI employees by the Justice Department’s Inspector General (IG) have about doubled in recent years and, as far as available records go, there have never been so many investigations of this kind.

IAF, Special Ops complete joint ‘Game of Thrones’ drill in Cyprus
The commando and IAF’s international drill, aptly dubbed “Game of Thrones”, came to an end on Thursday on the island of Cyprus… Among those who participated were special ops fighters from the “Egoz” “Maglan,” and “Duvdevan” units, assault helicopter squadrons, transport helicopter squadrons, drone squadrons, one simulated enemy flight squadron, and the Special Rescue Tactical Unit (Battalion 669).

IDF tests new rocket propulsion system
Israel conducted an experimental test of its rocket propulsion system from a military base located in the center of Israel on Friday, the Defense Ministry said. Images shared on social media showed a projectile streaking through the sky. The launching, conducted in the early morning hours, was planned in advance and carried out as planned.

New South Wales bushfires: ‘Mega blaze’ warning near Sydney
About 100 bushfires are raging in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW), with the most severe forming into a “mega blaze” north of Sydney. More than 2,000 firefighters are battling bushfires, which escalated in intensity late on Thursday. Footage of one blaze on the southern fringe of the city showed firefighters fleeing as flames surged forward.

Iran developing nuclear-capable missiles, European powers warn UN
Three European powers have warned the UN that Iran is developing nuclear-capable ballistic missiles in violation of a Security Council resolution. A letter sent by the UK, France and Germany says Iran tested a Shahab-3 missile variant “equipped with a manoeuvrable re-entry vehicle” that could deliver a nuclear weapon.

Apple iPhone 11 Pro ‘can override location settings’
Apple’s flagship iPhone 11 Pro tracks users’ locations even when they have set it not to, a security researcher has discovered. Brian Krebs found that the phone collects data about a user’s position even if location sharing has been turned off in every individual app. However, the user could avoid being tracked if the entire system was set to never share location.

Israeli military says Hezbollah undeterred despite recent setbacks
A year after uncovering a network of cross-border Hezbollah tunnels, the Israeli military says the Lebanese militant group has beefed up its presence along the volatile frontier. Military officials say that neither the destruction of the tunnels, nor Hezbollah’s recent domestic problems, have weakened the group’s desire to prepare for renewed conflict with Israel.

OPEC nations, Russia look to cut oil output to lift prices
The countries of the OPEC oil-producing cartel and ally Russia were attempting…to finalize a deal to cut production in an attempt to support the price of fuel and energy around the world. The group is expected to prolong a cut of 1.2 million barrels per day that they have agreed on for the past three years. They are also discussing an extra cut worth 500,000 barrels a day…

2.8 million affected, more than 280 killed in heavy rains caused by exceptionally strong Indian Ocean Dipole, Eastern Africa
At least 280 people have died and over 2.8 million others have been affected by the unusually heavy rains, landslides, and severe flooding across Eastern Africa, the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported on Thursday, December 5, 2019. The extreme weather conditions are driven by exceptionally strong Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD).

At least 38 killed after series of landslides hit Cibitoke, NW Burundi
Officials in NW Burundi confirmed on Thursday, December 5, 2019, that at least 38 people died after heavy rains caused landslides in the country’s Cibitoke province on December 4.

At least 47 dead or missing after new wave of landslides hit Uganda
7 people are confirmed dead and more than 40 others are missing after a new wave of landslides hit Ugandaon December 3, 2019. Locals said at least 47 people were buried in Namasa and Naposhi villages in Bushika Sub-county, Naroko village in Bunabutiti sub-county, Bududa District and Bunagisa village in Zesui sub-county in Sironko district.

Typhoon “Kammuri” breaks coldest cloud-top temperature record
Typhoon “Kammuri” (Tisoy) — the strongest typhoon to hit the Philippines this year– has produced the coldest cloud-top temperature on record and may have gained a distinctive place in the history of tropical cyclones,

Huge boulders crash on houses in Les Mees, France
Huge blocks of rock fell on several houses in Les Mees village in the Alpes de Haute Province, France, on Monday, December 2, 2019. Firefighters were calling it a “miracle” that no one sustained serious injuries; instead, the event left an impressive view.

California Farmer Fights Government Claim That Dirt Is a Pollutant
No one told Jack LaPant that he could be in violation of the Clean Water Act for farming his own land.

Twitter Changes Terms of Service to Allow Pedophile Content, Including NAKED Children
“Artistic depictions of nude minors in a non-sexualized context or setting may be permitted in a limited number of scenarios e.g., works by internationally renowned artists that feature minors,” states Twitter’s new rule.

End Times Deceiver Kanye West Will Be The Main Event When False Teacher Joel Osteen Comes To Yankee Stadium For ‘Night Of Hope’ 2020 Spectacular In May
Well, we told you this was coming when we first started reporting on the the Kanye West deception back in October. We told you that a partnership with Joel Osteen was just a beginning, and that soon you would be seeing Kanye West and his phony ‘Sunday Service’ popping up everywhere.

Baltimore Mayor Tells WBAL TV That Females Are Abudcted by White Vans for Organ Extraction
Baltimore Mayor Tells WBAL TV That Females Are Abudcted by White Vans for Organ Extraction

LA County introduces electronic voting system to silently rig all future elections in favor of Democrats
As the 2020 elections approach and it becomes more evident that President Donald Trump will be reelected, Democrats are working to solidify their current political strongholds as though they are in any danger of losing them in the first place.