Former Megachurch Pastor Rob Bell – Christianity Irrelevant If It Continues Quoting The Bible

February 20, 2015 | LEONARDO BLAIR

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Former Mars Hill Bible Church pastor and best-selling author Rob Bell told media mogul Oprah Winfrey on Sunday that the American church is "moments away" from embracing gay marriage and thinks "it's inevitable."

Bell made the statement during a Valentine's weekend episode of Winfrey's "Super Soul Sunday" television show where he appeared with his wife, Kristen, to discuss marriage and their new book, The ZimZum of Love: A New Way of Understanding Marriage.

"Marriage, gay and straight, is a gift to the world because the world needs more not less love, fidelity, commitment, devotion and sacrifice," she noted.

Winfrey then tells the couple that she thought it was great that they made a conscious choice to include gay marriage in the book, and asked them why?

"One of the oldest aches in the bones of humanity is loneliness," replied Rob Bell. "Loneliness is not good for the world. Whoever you are, gay or straight, it is totally normal, natural and healthy to want someone to go through life with. It's central to our humanity. We want someone to go on the journey with."

His response then prompted Winfrey to ask: "When is the church going to get that?"

"We're close," he began, answering slowly before his wife interjected "I think it's evolving."

He then added: "Lots of people are already there. We think it's inevitable and we're moments away from the church accepting it."

Bell warned that if the church keeps resisting same-sex marriage it would "continue to be even more irrelevant."

"I think culture is already there and the church will continue to be even more irrelevant when it quotes letters from 2,000 years ago as their best defense, when you have in front of you flesh-and-blood people who are your brothers and sisters, and aunts and uncles, and co-workers and neighbors, and they love each other and just want to go through life," he said.

"There are churches who are moving forward and there are churches who are almost regressing and making it more of a battle," added his wife.

Read more at http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/2015/February20/205.html#ZFQvkWdGXXfx867l.99

Italy Fears ISIS Invasion From Libya

February 20, 2015 | Barbie Latza Nadeau

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Last weekend in Italy, as the threat of ISIS in Libya hit home with a new video addressed to “the nation signed with the blood of the cross” and the warning, “we are south of Rome,” Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi shuttered the Italian embassy in Tripoli and raised his fist with the threat of impending military action.

Never mind that Italy has only 5,000 troops available that are even close to deployable, according to the defense ministry. Or that the military budget was cut by 40 percent two years ago, which has kept the acquisition of 90 F-35 fighter jets hanging in the balance and left the country combat-challenged to lead any mission—especially one against an enemy like the Islamic State.

In fact, Renzi didn’t specify exactly who would wield that military might, and, two days later, when no one volunteered to lead the charge, he backtracked. “It’s not the time for a military intervention,” Renzi told an Italian television station Monday night and said the United Nations had to lead the way. “Our proposal is to wait for the U.N. Security Council. The strength of the U.N. is decidedly superior to that of the radical militias.”

Whether the time is right or not, there is no question that there is a palpable tension in Italy over the ISIS threat—Libya is just 109 miles away from the island of Lampedusa and 300 miles from Sicily—made worse by a 64 percent increase in illegal migrant arrivals by sea since last year.

In all of 2014, more than 170,000 people arrived from Libya and Turkey, the highest number ever recorded. Last weekend, as the embassy staff made their way to Italy on a mercantile ship, 2,164 migrants left the same Libyan shores en route to Sicily. The week before, more than 300 people were lost in the same seas as their rickety fishing boats capsized before rescuers could save them.

Anti-immigration politicians have argued for months that it would take little for jihadi fighters to infiltrate a migrant boat and effectively end up taxied into Italy by rescue ships and the Italian navy.

In a biting editorial in Il Giornale newspaper, owned by the Silvio Berlusconi family, Sergio Rame hypothesized that the recent influx was an attempt by terrorists to effectively “smoke out” the Italian navy into rescuing the migrants, in an attempt to lure the boats close to Libyan shores in order to launch an attack. The Italian government, which supports the rescue of migrants fleeing war, dismissed the theory.

Meanwhile, the Italian government said it is prepared to deploy 500 special anti-terrorism police to protect sensitive tourist sites in Rome.

What is disturbing is that something is drastically changing in the migrant-shuttling business, which has led defense analysts to warn that Italy has never been so exposed to an attack. For the first time since Italy started officially rescuing migrants in 2013—first through its now-defunct Mare Nostrum program and later through the European Union’s border control Frontex Triton mission—the smugglers, who usually melt in with the migrants, are armed and dangerous.

Last weekend, smugglers wielding Kalashnikovs fought the Italian coast guard rescue boat to wrestle back a smuggler ship after the human cargo had been rescued and the boat seized. They hauled the boat back towards Libya, presumably to fill it up again. The Office of Migration in Rome says there could be as many as half a million people in camps waiting to come to Italy and the unrest will push them out faster.

The Italian government said it is prepared to deploy 500 special anti-terrorism police to protect sensitive tourist sites in Rome.

The other major concern for Italy is its billion-dollar oil and infrastructure investment in Libya that began during the bromance between the now deposed and deceased Muammar Gaddafi and the now deposed and still very much alive Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi. At the height of their alliance, Berlusconi’s photo was emblazoned in Libyan passports as if he was a national treasure.

Italy’s ENI oil company was the first to develop the oil industry in Libya when oil was discovered there in 1959. For years, Italy fought international sanctions against Libya to keep its assets protected. Even now, Italy’s foreign ministry has ordered all Italian nationals to leave Libya, but nearly 100 remain to run the oil companies.

Upon his return over the weekend, the Italian ambassador to Libya, Giuseppe Buccino, told an Italian radio station that the situation in Libya was serious, but that not all of the country was in ISIS’s hands—yet.

He warned that befriending rebels in Libya who oppose ISIS was an equally dangerous game. “It is worrying that the logic that could prevail is that ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend,’” he said, “and that is a dangerous logic that can lead to a strengthening of the extreme terrorism in Libya.”

Read more at http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/2015/February20/204.html#l52YqOiO5S0bSCEs.99

How Believing In The Bible Can Get You Canned In Today's America

February 20, 2015 | David and Jason Benham

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If you want to get fired, sued or lose your business in today's America, stand with Biblical convictions.

In Oregon, our friends Aaron and Melissa Klein were found guilty of discrimination by the state just this week, and could face up to $150,000 in fines for not baking a cake for a same-sex wedding.

In Wisconsin, a 15-year-old boy was reprimanded and reportedly punished by his school for backing traditional family in adoption cases.

When we were fired by HGTV for standing by our Biblical beliefs about marriage and life, countless men and women in the LGBTQ community reached out to us in support. We had, and continue to have, healthy conversations, even though we disagree. And isn’t that the point? 

In New Jersey, a high school teacher was suspended for stating her Biblical beliefs about homosexuality on her personal Facebook page (while at home, off the clock).

In Illinois, a university professor was fired for saying that homosexual acts are “morally wrong.”

The list goes on, yet we can’t forget the grandmotherly florist in Washington State being sued by the Attorney General of Washington for refusing to provide flowers for a same-sex wedding (to a man, who by the way, she had faithfully served and befriended for over a decade).

Grandma (70-year-old Baronelle Stutzman) summed it all up when she said, "Little by little, they are stripping us of any thought we might have, or any difference of opinion. This is our religious freedom at stake."

You know what—Grandma is right. Our religious freedoms are at stake here. The “tyranny of tolerance” claims that the sexual rights of some are more important than the religious rights of others.

First of all, we must draw a distinction between those that identify as LGBTQ and militant gay activists. When we were fired by HGTV for standing by our Biblical beliefs about marriage and life, countless men and women in the LGBTQ community reached out to us in support. We had, and continue to have, healthy conversations, even though we disagree. And isn’t that the point? We’re Americans—we can disagree and still get along. We don’t steal the rights of dissenters. That’s when all intellectual, spiritual, and civil progress stops.

Yet this remnant of militant activists refuses to tolerate dissenters to their lifestyle choices. And unfortunately, they have the United States Government in their back pockets (not to mention the media and Hollywood).

At first, homosexual activists wanted acceptance. Then they wanted appreciation. Now they demand celebration. It's not enough to live and let live, these activists are now forcing their lifestyle choices on everyone, even if it means bullying a 70-year-old florist. We’ve shifted from religious freedom to forced acceptance in America.

The idea of forced acceptance infringes on our constitutional rights as Americans. As Alliance Defending Freedom succinctly states, the First Amendment guarantees that the government cannot tell its citizens what they can and can’t say or force them to express a positive message about something they believe is morally wrong.

My brother and I are perfectly okay with a gay owned t-shirt company refusing to make t-shirts that say, “Homosexuality is sin.” And we’re fine with a Jewish baker refusing to cater an event on the Sabbath. And we’d certainly agree with the gun range owner refusing to let self-identifying ISIS members practice shooting at his facility. These are their Constitutional rights as Americans. Thank God!

But what activists are asking is to flip the coin and make Christian companies that are asked to do something against their convictions, like support same-sex marriage or abortion, comply with whole-hearted enthusiasm.

Isn’t there a double standard here?

The question is not should we as Americans be involved in the battle for freedom, the question is: are you willing to stand with courage at any cost if and when the battle comes knocking on your door?

So before it comes to you, here are a few simple things you can do to prepare:

1. Make up your mind. Decide that whatever the cost you will stand for freedom.

2. Prepare yourself. Get informed—don’t be ignorant of the issues and your rights.

3. Join the conversation. Speak up. Don’t be silent.

4. Separate ideas from individuals. You can disagree with someone’s idea and not dislike them as a person.

5. Be kind. Love triumphs over evil; don’t demonize others.

6. Stand strong. Don’t back down. Our children are depending on us!

Thomas Jefferson once said, “Can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the Gift of God?”

Our liberties are God-given. And, as such, we must be willing to defend these freedoms no matter the cost. Now is the time for all Americans – regardless of our differences – to join hands in the greatest battle for liberty in our generation! It’s time to take a stand.

Read more at http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/2015/February20/201.html#rIhtp8EProqY6xUg.99

THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS (TSIDEKENU)

REF: Jeremiah 23:5-6 (NKJV), Romans 3:21-24 (NIV)

Behold the days are coming, says the Lord,

That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness;

A King shall reign and prosper,

And execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.

In his days Judah will be saved,

And Israel will dwell safely;

Now this is his name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS (TSIDEKENU) (Jer 23:5-6)

But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. (Romans 3:21-24)

COMMENT

Here the prophet Jeremiah is describing the millennial kingdom (1000 years) of the Lord Jesus Christ’s leadership in the current earth as we know it today. The kingdom will follow the dreaded battle of Armageddon when all the enemies of the Lord Jesus will engage him in a violent battle but will be defeated and eliminated. Jesus will “call fire from heaven”. It will be a nuclear war and the bible says their eyes will melt in the sockets before the bodies of the dead fall down. This will give way to the establishment of the millennial kingdom.

The millennial kingdom will be set up purposely for the benefit of the Jews. I hope we can recall the promises and covenants that God made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob but not all the promises have been fulfilled. It will be a special time for God to make real the promises and to reward all the Old Testament saints. They will be raised to life and witness the goodness of God when he will reward them and make them enjoy the millennial kingdom under Jesus as the Wonderful, Counselor and Prince of Peace whose government will be on his shoulders and will never come to an end. (Isaiah 9:6) The Jews will see Jesus whom they rejected the first time he arrived on earth as a baby and was laid in a manger. This time he will be as they expected and so they will receive him, bow down and confess that he is actually the Lord. That day, they will know the truth, and the truth will make them free.

God will begin to deal with his people the Jews. They will know they are actually the apple of God’s eye. The majestic Papa Abraham, the father of faith will be seen physically and admired by all. Starting from Isaac and his son Jacob with his twelve sons, grand-children and all the Jews brought back from the hiding place and from the dead; God will name all of them beneficiaries of what Jesus achieved on the cross of Calvary. They will all be shocked because they did not know God loves them that much.

God will raise to David a branch of righteousness to reign, prosper and execute judgment. This is Jesus, the King who will rule from Jerusalem the city of his earthly father David. His rule fortunately, will be theocratic and not democracy. On earth, we know democracy (majority rule) and we hardly remember that the majority are not always right. The shortcomings of democracy, although it happens to be the best system of government, will be avoided because theocracy is the best system ever seen on earth.

In the millennial kingdom, elections will not be necessary; the king, like in all kingdoms on earth will not need to be elected. He will be king by virtual of his birth. He will command peace and justice for all. The UN, secret societies, MOSSAD and such bodies, will become irrelevant.  Benjamin Netanyahu (Israel Premier) will live in either Jerusalem or any other city in Israel without body-guards because insecurity will be a thing of the past. All enemies will have been eradicated. The wild donkey sons of Ishmael (Genesis 16:12) will be nowhere. The whole world’s weather will be warm days and cool nights i.e. good tropical climate. All residents of the entire world will take orders from King Jesus from Jerusalem. The command-post will in Zion.

The millennial kingdom will be a time of unprecedented prosperity. The words of Elder John the beloved in the short 3^rd letter of John verse 2, states the following: “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health just as your soul prospers”. This prophesy and many others will come true in totality. There will be no lack of anything. People will live for up to 1000 years and contrary to the will of Bill Gates and those busy reducing the world population, increase to millions upon millions will be witnessed. The Utopia imagined by Karl Max, Joseph Stalin of Russia, his Chinese brother Mao Zedong and the docile Fidel Castro of Cuba, will become a reality.  The real Canaan will be perceived on the physical earth.

Last year, I wrote and published an article entitled: “Jews have not yet arrived in Canaan”. What I meant is that not all the promises about Canaan have been fulfilled in totality.  The “land of milk and honey” will be fully experienced in the millennial kingdom. God has not yet finished with the Jews as the “know-it-all” Seventh Day Adventists would like us to believe.

Jews!! Don’t give up. You are still the apple of God’s eye. We, of the faith, love you because we know; there would not be Christianity, without the Jews.   We always pray for the peace of Yerusalem as commanded by the Almighty. (Psalms 122:6) SHALOM!!!!

GIVE THANKS IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES

REFERENCE: 1Thessalonians 5:16-18, Philippians 4:4-5

Rejoice always,

Pray without ceasing,

In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1Thess 5:16-18)

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say rejoice!

Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.(Phil 4:4-5)

COMMENT

The subtitle of today’s word can be summarized in the following way: “Instructions for holy living and peace with the Lord”. The words are rich and have real power that actually works. In faith I have often applied them in difficult circumstances and they have worked wonderfully to my advantage. I have experienced peace in bad traffic jam in Nairobi and have reached my destination still peaceful despite the lost time that may never be recovered.

In arguments, I hardly get annoyed if in the process, I pray silently for peace of mind giving thanks for whatever is happening. Immediately I pray, I then begin to experience some peace which cannot be explained. Thanks to the Lord Jesus, is a good defense mechanism and an exceptional weapon for spiritual warfare. The devil fears this weapon and quickly withdraws from whatever attack he may be trying to use to inflict pain or suffering. Following the success, then I am able to rejoice and give more thanks. As result, my mind is renewed and I am able to endure anything and I easily achieve my goals.

All the words of God, especially the written ones, are important for our living. The bible says the word of God is sharper than any double-edged sword and is able to penetrate even to dividing soul and spirit……. (Hebrew 4:12). The word works in our hearts just as Jesus himself does. Jesus is the word and the same word is him. Your word and you are one and the same. The court of law recognizes this. Imagine stating something in court and then change your mind and say you are joking. This kind of behavior will earn you punishment for committing crime of perjury.

It may be difficult or impossible to thank God for everything that may cause pain and suffering in life. May I request that you do a test to the word of God. The bible says in Malachi 3:10; “Test me in this, ”says the Lord…………

Take a step of faith and test God as his word says and you will prove God right in his promises. He will honour his word to all who are waiting, trusting him.