Gospel for Asia: Entire Family Beaten for their Faith

Last night, a family of new believers sat down to eat dinner when a religious fanatic group suddenly entered their home and attacked the father, mother and three children.

One daughter’s hand was broken; their son fell unconscious; and the mother lost her hand, having it cut in two by her assailants.
The father and another daughter were also badly beaten. All five have been admitted to the hospital for treatment.

The persecutors are not finished, however. They are now searching for the family’s pastor, Chaarudatt, at fellowships and prayer meetings. Having heard the group’s plans, Pastor Chaarudatt has left the village.

This community has a well-known reputation for hostility toward believers, and attacks are consistently planned when pastors and missionaries visit.

Please pray for:
* Great healing, peace and faith for this family. Ask God to grant them joy amidst their suffering.
* Safety and wisdom for Pastor Chaarudatt and all other believers in the area.
* The religious fanatics to turn their hearts to Jesus Christ.

Source

Labor MP in UK: "Pornified" Society is Harming Girls

Young girls are being hit hardest by a "porn version" of sexuality which is sweeping our society , Labour MP Diane Abbott has said.

The MP, who is also a shadow health minister, says girls are being led to believe that "sexiness" is the most important quality in life.
She says parents should be put "back in control" and the high street needs a "detox".

It's time to tackle raunchy pop videos, and huge billboards featuring sexualised images of women, she said.
She also called for more family values in public spaces, to make Britain a family-friendly country again.

The MP for Hackey North made the comments on the online forum Mumsnet, where she warned of "a very specific form of sexuality that's being imposed, on children and adults: a porn version".

She added: "It's particularly damaging to young girls, in my view".
The MP commented: "And this has been made worse by fast-developing technology.
"I think this culture tells girls in particular that they are only valued as a sex object. It tells girls that the most important quality they need is 'sexiness'."
Diane Abbott also commented: "I think it has reached a point where we need to detox our High Streets, and make Britain a family-friendly country again".
She said: "I think we need to clear our public spaces of the worst elements of unrestrained markets - including addressing music videos that blare out at us, and our children."

She raised issues of online bullying including problems around 'sexting', "the huge billboards that have very sexualised images of women that loom over our public spaces, and the sexualised figures of women in films that are now commonplace".

The MP commented: "For me the key is putting parents back in control, and also putting open-minded family values back in our public spaces."
Before coming into Downing Street, David Cameron said children should be allowed to enjoy their childhood and be protected from increasing sexualisation.
However last month ministers were accused of failing to follow through on protecting children from online pornography, after a leaked document said work "can be scaled back".

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University Apologizes for Forcing Students to Stomp on Jesus' Name

Florida Atlantic University has issued a formal apology for a lesson in which a professor had his students write Jesus' name on paper and stomp on it.

“This exercise will not be used again. The university holds dear its core values. We sincerely apologize for any offense this caused,” the multi-campus institution said in a prepared statement posted on its website.

It continued: “Florida Atlantic University respects all religions and welcomes people of all faiths, backgrounds and beliefs.”
The institution also said that “no students were forced to take part in the exercise” and “that no student has been expelled, suspended or disciplined by the University as a result of any activity that took place during this class.”

Charisma News and various outlets reported that Ryan Rotela had been suspended for refusing to participate in the assignment during an Intercultural Communications class.

“I'm not going to be sitting in a class having my religious rights desecrated,” Rotela told WPEC. “I truly see this as I'm being punished.”

Though the instructor was supposedly trying to teach the students “a lesson in debate,” the FAU junior found the assignment to be offensive and insulting.
“I said to the professor, 'With all due respect to your authority as a professor, I do not believe what you told us to do was appropriate,'” Rotela, a Mormon, explained. “'I believe it was unprofessional and I was deeply offended by what you told me to do.'”

Deandre Poole, the professor who oversaw the class, is unaffiliated with FAU. He is also chairman of the Palm Beach County Democratic Party. According to the group’s website, he is a member of Lighthouse Worship Center Church of God in Christ, Fort Lauderdale, where he belongs to the congregation's usher board.
Included in the textbook, Intercultural Communication: A Contextual Approach, 5th Edition, trampling on Jesus' name is actually an entire lesson.

“Have the students write the name JESUS in big letters on a piece of paper,” a synopsis for the lesson reads. “Ask the students to stand up and put the paper on the floor in front of them with the name facing up. Ask the students to think about it for a moment. After a brief period of silence instruct them to step on the paper. Most will hesitate. Ask why they can't step on the paper. Discuss the importance of symbols in culture.”

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Are Evangelical Christians Now More Scorned Than Homosexuals?

Direct from the school of, "Counter-Intuitive Thinking," I bring you this question: When it comes to the issue of same-sex marriage, are Evangelical Christians actually the ones more ridiculed than homosexuals?

In the media's narrative, you would think that homosexuals are the poor souls who have been banished by society like ugly stepchildren and are now rising to overcome incredible odds.

But what about today? Let's be honest: If you are a conservative evangelical who believes in the biblical definition of traditional marriage then guess what? You are one of the following: An outcast, a bigot, narrow-minded, a "hater" or all of the above. It's a different type of ridicule but it's still ridicule.

The tables have been turned. Evangelicals are now the ugly stepchild. In our American culture today, you can easily make the argument that it is harder to stand for biblical truth than it is to be a supporter of gay marriage in today's society.

Don't believe me? Ask Kirk Cameron or Tim Tebow who both have been endlessly ridiculed for stating mainstream biblical positions on marriage and other topics.

How about the comments by Chick-fil-A Founder Dan Cathy? Remember his comments in strong support for traditional marriage? He nearly had his head ripped apart by the mainstream media.

Meanwhile, politicians like former Sen. Rick Santorum have been labeled part of a "Jesus-eating cult" (Whatever that means). The list goes on. It happens all the time. Why? Just because evangelicals believe in the biblical definition of marriage? American society and culture may change but the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob does not.

Evangelicals shouldn't be surprised by any of this. The Bible clearly states that becoming a born-again believer and walking with Jesus will cost you something and you will be treated like an outcast. Luke 21:7 says, "Everyone will hate you because of me."

Matthew 10:22 exclaims, "You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved." And Luke 6:22 proclaims, "Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man."

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Gay Marriage Hearings in the US Show A Nation Deeply Divided

Emotions flew high Tuesday at the U.S. Supreme Court, where the justices took up the challenge to Proposition 8, California's 2008 voter-approved ballot measure that defines marriage as between a man and a woman.

After 80 minutes of oral arguments - some even questioning whether the case should be judged by this court - attorneys on both sides sounded conservatively optimistic.

"We don't know for sure what the United States Supreme Court is going to do, but we're very, very gratified that they listened," Ted Olson, attorney against Prop 8, said.
"A victory here for us means that this issue returns to the people and their legislatures and their elected representatives where the debate belongs," Andrew Pugno, with Protect Marriage Coalition, said.

But the tone outside the court was more resounding. Early this morning, activists met on the National Mall to march in support of traditional marriage.
"It's important to me and it's important to my children that the definition of marriage remains between one man and one woman," traditional marriage supporter Kathleen Abela said.

Old and young, they carried signs and walked hand-in-hand to the Supreme Court, where they clashed with protestors rallying for same-sex marriage.
"One woman, one man, no hate - we're just disagreeing," one traditional marriage supporter said.

Read more, here.

State Dept. Blasted for 'Cowardly Silence' in Pastor Saeed Abedini Case

The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) blasted the U.S. State Department for its lack of action in helping the case of American pastor Saeed Abedini, in particular for failing to appear at a congressional hearing on Friday.

The law group, who is representing Abedini's wife and two children back in the U.S., called out the State Department for an email it sent claiming, "We believe we are doing everything we can publicly and privately," when the department didn't even send a single person to the hearing on Friday.

Furthermore, Congressman Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) said that the State Department should be "utterly ashamed" of its "deafening and almost cowardly silence" over the pastor's case.
Abedini is currently serving an 8-year sentence in Tehran, Iran, after being convicted earlier this year of "endangering national security."

ACLJ has actively campaigned on his behalf, arguing that the real reason behind his imprisonment was his work helping underground Christian churches in Iran, where Muslims are the majority, and for building an orphanage for children.

Although the State Department and Secretary of State John Kerry had previously said that Pastor Abedini should be released by Iranian authorities, they failed to attend the congressional hearing on Friday, where the ACLJ brought up the pastor's case as well as the persecution many Christians in Muslim-dominated countries face.

"Saeed is a husband and amazing father," Abedini's wife, Naghmeh, told the U.S. Congress on Friday in an emotional speech. "The kids and I miss him terribly. Our kids hold onto the hope of seeing their daddy very soon."

Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission Co-Chairman Frank Wolf (R-Va.) had been told that Secretary of State John Kerry's office would contact him after the hearing, but as of Tuesday morning the ACLJ said they have heard no news of such communication.

"The State Department refused to send anyone to the Congressional hearing to stand up for Pastor Saeed," the ACLJ stated.
"When the U.S. delegation at the United Nations had the opportunity to present a statement about the state of human rights in Iran, in response to a U.N. report that actually mentioned Pastor Saeed's plight, the U.S. State Department was silent about Pastor Saeed's case."

Congressman Franks also reminded fellow congressional leaders that the State Department is yet to respond to a bipartisan letter sent a month ago from more than 80 senators and representatives urging action on behalf of the Iranian-born pastor.

The law group, however, has expressed its thanks to the congressmen who did attend Friday's hearing and for their support in raising awareness for the imprisoned pastor.
In particular, they praised Chairman Wolf, as well as Reps. Franks, Chris Smith (R-NJ), Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.), Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.), and Raúl Labrador (R-Idaho) for "being a tremendous voice for religious liberty around the world."

Pastor Abedini, who has remained strong in his Christian faith despite the beatings he has reportedly received inside the notorious Evin Prison in Tehran, continues to receive support from concerned people worldwide, 540,000 of whom have signed an online petition calling for his release as of Tuesday morning.

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Netanyahu Invited to Russia to Discuss Mideast

 

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has been invited to Moscow by President Vladimir Putin to discuss the current crises involving Syria and Iran.

The letter, which arrived Wednesday morning, also congratulated the three-time Israeli prime minister on successfully forming a new government coalition for the third time.
The invitation requested that Netanyahu come to Moscow “for discussions” that are likely to also address the threat posed to the Jewish State by both situations.

Although Russia and Israel have stable diplomatic relations, Russia has also backed Iran for many years, having assisted in the completion of Tehran’s first nuclear reactor.

Moscow also has long prevented the United Nations Security Council from condemning Damascus for human rights abuses over its brutality towards protesters. Russia also blocked numerous U.N. resolutions that would have referred the regime of President Bashar al-Assad to the International Criminal Court at The Hague.

Nevertheless, over the past three months, the Kremlin has started to acknowledge that it is likely Assad’s days in office are numbered, and has quietly begun evacuating its citizens from the country.

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Syrian Christians Fleeing As Islamists Take Over

Islamic rebels have been taking over Christian villages in Syria and that leaves the Christians facing some tough choices.

Recently a Muslim group captured the Christian village of Yacoubiyeh.

Many residents fled, leaving behind empty homes, damaged churches and relics of their faith.

Some say they won't return until they see how the Muslim rebel commander treats minorities.

The commander says he will treat everyone fairly, but like many rebel leaders he makes his decisions according to harsh Islamic law.

There are reports of Muslim rebels murdering Christians and kidnapping others for ransom.

Christians make up about 10 percent of Syria's 23 million people.

Hungary Destroys All Monsanto GMO Maize Fields - Organic Connections

In an effort to rid the country of Monsanto’s GMO products, Hungary has stepped up the pace. This looks like it's going to be another slap in the face for Monsanto. A new regulation was introduced this March which stipulates that seeds are supposed to be checked for GMO before they are introduced to the market. Unfortunately, some GMO seeds made it to the farmers without them knowing it.

Almost 1000 acres of maize found to have been grown with genetically modified seeds have been destroyed throughout Hungary deputy state secretary of the Ministry of Rural Development Lajos Bognar said. The GMO maize has been ploughed under, said Lajos Bognar, but pollen has not spread from the maize, he added.

Unlike several EU members, GMO seeds are banned in Hungary. The checks will continue despite the fact that seed traders are obliged to make sure that their products are GMO free, Bognar said.
During their investigation, controllers have found Pioneer and Monsanto products among the seeds planted.

The free movement of goods within the EU means that authorities will not investigate how the seeds arrived in Hungary but they will check where the goods can be found, Bognar said. Regional public radio reported that the two biggest international seed producing companies are affected in the matter and GMO seeds could have been sown on up to thousands of hectares in the country.

Most of the local farmers have complained since they just discovered they were using GMO seeds. With season already under way, it is too late to sow new seeds, so this years harvest has been lost.

And to make things even worse for the farmers, the company that distributed the seeds in Baranya county is under liquidation. Therefore, if any compensation is paid by the international seed producers, the money will be paid primarily to that company’s creditors, rather than the farmers.

Source: PlanetSave.com

The Anatomy of an Attack on Christians in Pakistan

Did the attack occur just because he and his neighbors are Christians?

Kala Jee Allah Ditta is crouching on the remains of his home in the Pakistani community of Badami Bagh, near Lahore’s landmark railway station.

All that remains of the boundary wall is a jagged edge at each end.  Broken masonry is strewn around him, along with broken doors andcrumpled sheets of metal. The small, three-room home he shared with six other relatives is deeply charred.

The flames melted the blades of the ceiling fan, leaving the mounting device dangling awkwardly on its own. Below, broken bits of cups and plates are strewn across the floor. In a corner, a faint curl of smoke still rises from a pile of broken wood.

The scene is depressingly reminiscent of an earlier tragedy. In 2009, a group of masked gunmen went door-to-door setting fire to homes and churches in a similar clustered and overcrowded colony of small, red-brick Christian homes in the town of Gojra, which like Badami Bagh is in the Pakistani province of Punjab.

They poured chemicals over 45 homes and three churches before setting them ablaze. The smell lingered for days – the same smell that remains pungent in Badami Bagh.
Then, as now, the attack was sparked by rumors of blasphemy – the bane of Pakistani politics and jurisprudence in recent years. Both times, the police failed to protect the Christians, or even stood aside. The sole mercy for the Christian residents of Badami Bagh is that they were able to get away the night before.

In Gojra, nine people were killed. The Badami Bagh incident, however, has its own set of local complications – including, it seems, the politics of a local steel traders’ election. Beset on several fronts, the Christians also fear that there may be forces trying to force them out in order to grab their property.
On Friday night, Kala Jee and the other residents area were told to flee.

“The police came and told us to go away,” he says. “A big, angry crowd had gathered on the main road. They had sticks and chains with them. We left and spent the next two nights with families that lived elsewhere.”

Once the community had been emptied of its residents, the crowd returned the next day, Saturday, looting, destroying and torching some 150 homes and at least two churches. On Sunday, the residents returned to survey the ruin.

According to the Christians, the conflagration was sparked, some days earlier, with a quarrel between two old friends. Sahwan Masih was a 26-year-old Christian who was popular in his area for his billiard table. During the day, he worked nearby, as sanitation worker for the municipal authority.
“When he would finish work at 3 or 4 in the afternoon,” says his younger brother, Sabir, “he and his friend Imran would sit together and drink together.”

Imran, a Muslim known in the area as both Mohammed Imran and Shahid Imran, had a barbershop on the main road, just opposite Masih’s home.
Last Wednesday, according to Sabir and others, as the two friends sipped some hooch brewed locally, the conversation apparently turned towards each other’s religions. It isn’t clear what was said. Accounts within the community differ.

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The Resurrection of Jesus Christ: Fact or Fiction?

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is either ...
the greatest event, or the greatest fraud — in history!
Did Jesus Christ actually rise from the dead?

Dr. Greenleaf, the Royal Professor of Law at Harvard University, was one of the greatest legal minds that ever lived. He wrote the famous legal volume entitled, A Treatise on the Law of Evidence, considered by many the greatest legal volume ever written. Dr. Simon Greenleaf believed the Resurrection of Jesus Christ was a hoax. And he determined, once and for all, to expose the "myth" of the Resurrection. After thoroughly examining the evidence for the resurrection — Dr. Greenleaf came to the exact opposite conclusion! He wrote a book entitled, An Examination of the Testimony of the Four Evangelists by the Rules of Evidence Administered in the Courts of Justice. In which he emphatically stated: "it was IMPOSSIBLE that the apostles could have persisted in affirming the truths they had narrated, had not JESUS CHRIST ACTUALLY RISEN FROM THE DEAD, . . ." (Simon Greenleaf, An Examination of the Testimony of the Four Evangelists by the Rules of Evidence Administered in the Courts of Justice, p.29). Greenleaf concluded that according to the jurisdiction of legal evidence the resurrection of Jesus Christ was the best supported event in all of history! And not only that, Dr. Greenleaf was so convinced by the overwhelming evidence, he committed his life to Jesus Christ! What changed his mind? What evidence did Dr. Greenleaf encounter that so drastically turned him around? What facts did he discover that he could not rationally ignore? In order to answer that, let's go back to that scene nearly 2,000 years ago. That eery night in the garden of Gethsemene, as a blood-thirsty mob came and arrested Jesus Christ. He was brought before Pilate, and there in plain view, Jesus Christ was spit upon, cursed, he was laughed at, whipped, beaten. He was branded a blasphemer. And He was sentenced to die by the most extreme, shameful form of capital punishment ever devised — crucifixion. Galatians 3:13 reads, "Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree". Jesus Christ died a curse. He died as a criminal. He died in open shame and disgrace. In the eyes of the world, Jesus Christ died a total disgrace! And there stood His apostles — in stunned unbelief. Here was their hope. Here were 11 men that had forsaken all and followed this man. They believed in this man for 3 years. Can you imagine what was going on in their minds? Didn't He heal the sick? Didn't we see Him walk on water? Didn't we see Him raise people from the dead? Didn't we see Him still the raging storm? And to end like this? THAT NIGHT, THERE STOOD 11 DEFEATED AND CONFUSED MEN! They had given up everything for naught. And then to die like He did. Beaten. Smitten. Humiliated. Guilty. Blasphemer. A complete disgrace! And Mark 14:50, says, "And they all forsook him, and fled".

There was the apostle Peter, the one who boasted, just days earlier, "Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee." (Matthew 26:35) There he was that night, standing in the mob, defeated, confused, and hurt. Jesus was dead! He was crucified as a blasphemer! One of the women saw Peter and said, "you were one of them, you was with Jesus of Nazareth". The Bible says "he began to curse and to swear, saying, I know not this man of whom ye speak." (Mark 14:71) Three times Peter denied the Lord, cursing and swearing, "I know not this man".

"And they all forsook him, and fled!"
BUT SOMETHING HAPPENED!
Something happened to that small band of frightened and humiliated men. . . Less than two months later — they went back into Jerusalem boldly preaching, at the threat of death, that — JESUS CHRIST WAS ALIVE!

Listen to Peter in Acts 2,:

"Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs. . . ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain. . . THIS JESUS HATH GOD RAISED UP, WHEREOF WE ALL ARE WITNESSES."

What transformed these fearful and confused men into fierce, bold lions?

Acts chapter 4:18-19, reads, "And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye."

And verse 20 reads, "For we cannot but speak the things which WE HAVE SEEN AND HEARD".

What had these men seen?
What had these men heard?
What was it that beatings, threatenings, jail, torture and even death could not silence? In Acts 5, they put in jail and beaten — and verse 41 says "And they departed. . . rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name".

What had these 12 men seen that they would eventually die a horrible death for?
Friend, there's only one event in the history of this universe that could explain such a change.
THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST!
One theory suggests the apostles fabricated the resurrection. Two major problems: One, If the body of Jesus Christ was available, you'd better believe, the Roman authorities would have paraded His body for all to see. Christianity was spreading like a wild fire! And nothing could have quenched that flame quicker than the body of Jesus Christ!
An article, suggesting Jesus faked His death and resurrection, appeared in the prestigious British Journal of the Royal College of Physicians. The article makes the assertion, "the whole episode was planned by Jesus and his followers. . . that death would be feigned so that early removal from the cross might be secured."

Do you know the problem with that — if the resurrection of Jesus Christ was not true — there were 11 men that knew it!

Remember, friend — THESE MEN WERE EYEWITNESSES! They were there!

"Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were EYEWITNESSES. . ." Luke 1:2

"That which was from the beginning, which we have HEARD, which we have SEEN WITH OUR EYES, which we have LOOKED UPON, and our HANDS HAVE HANDLED. . ." 1 John 1:1

"For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were EYEWITNESSES of his majesty." 2 Peter 1:16

And these men went so far as seal their testimony with their blood! They died a horrible and martyrs death!

FOR A LIE. . .
KNOWING IT WAS A LIE!
There is no way, these 12 men could have all been deceived.

For this reason — these 12 men not only died for a lie — and here is the catch — THEY KNEW IT WAS A LIE!

If the resurrection of Jesus Christ a lie — THEY KNEW IT!
You can not find a group of 11 men in the history of this universe who forsook all, were beaten, were jailed and even went so far as die for a lie — KNOWING it was a lie!

IT IS IMPOSSIBLE!
Michael Green, principal of St. John's College, Nottingham, writes concerning the apostles, ". . . You could imprison them, flog them, kill them, but you could not make them deny their conviction that on the third day he rose again." Dr. Greenleaf wrote, "IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE that the apostles could have persisted in affirming the truths they had narrated, had not JESUS CHRIST ACTUALLY RISEN FROM THE DEAD!"

And then there's the man called Saul of Tarsus.
Saul of Tarsus thought Jesus was a false messiah, a fake, a blasphemer. And to exterminate Christianity totally, became his passion! The Bible describes him:

"As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison." (Acts 8:3)

"And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, . . ." (Acts 9:1)

Saul of Tarsus was one of Christianitys' most rabid persecutors. One day traveling the dusty road to Damascus, Saul burning with vengeance, with documents authorizing him to capture all the followers of Jesus. But on the road to Damascus something happened to Saul of Tarsus. . .

"And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest".

(Acts 9:3-5)

And on the road to Damascus, the greatest conversion in history took place! For Saul of Tarsus, among the greatest enemies of Jesus Christ, that ever lived — became the Apostle Paul — THE GREATEST CHRISTIAN THAT EVER LIVED!

What happened to this man?
What could so transform this man, that he completely dedicated his life to spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ? And was later beheaded at Rome in 67 A.D. for his faith in Jesus Christ.

There is only one possible explanation — THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST!
Gilbert West and Lord Lyttleton, two Oxford students, believed Christianity was a "tale gone mad" and they determined to refute the Christian faith. Lyttleton resolved to disprove the conversion of Saul of Tarsus, and West would refute the resurrection of Jesus Christ. They figured a careful, rational, examination of the evidence would easily disprove the Christian faith.

But after examining the evidence — they both separately came to the opposite conclusion! Lyttleton concluded that Saul of Tarsus did, in fact, convert to the Apostle Paul through Jesus Christ. And Gilbert West concluded that the Resurrection of Jesus Christ was among the best established facts in all of history! West went on to write a book entitled, "Observations on the History and Evidences of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ".

Professor Thomas Arnold, former chair of history at Oxford, and author of the famous volumes, History of Rome, was skillfully educated in the study of historical facts. Professor Arnold, stated, "I have been used for many years to study the histories of other times, and to examine and weigh the evidence of those who have written about them, and I know of no one fact in the history of mankind which is PROVED BY BETTER AND FULLER EVIDENCE of every sort, than the great sign which God has given us that Christ died and rose again from the dead."

After investigating the evidence of the resurrection, Lord Darling, former Chief Justice of England, stated, ". . . there exists such overwhelming evidence, positive and negative, factual and circumstantial, that no intelligent jury in the world could fail to bring in a verdict that the resurrection story is true."

To deny the resurrection of Jesus Christ you have to close your eyes to the overwhelming facts of history.

And friend that's a very serious thing to do If Jesus Christ actually rose from the dead — what He said about "after death" is not something to take lightly!

And Jesus Christ warned of a place called hell — over and over! He mentioned hell eight times more than heaven! In Luke 16:23, Jesus described a man that had died, and Jesus said, "And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments,. . ."

Jesus said plainly — the man was in hell!

Jesus went on to describe the man, in verse 24, ". . . for I am tormented in this flame."

Friend, Jesus Christ believed in a place of fire and torment called hell!
What if Jesus Christ is Right?
Friend, I want to ask you the most important question you'll ever answer:

Have you ever received Jesus Christ as your Savior?
Not joining a church, not religion, not baptism, not good works, not sacraments — but trusted Jesus Christ and Him alone, as your Savior. If not, Friend you could be — one year, one month, one hour, one minute, one heartbeat — away from eternity in a lake of fire!

Revelation 20:15 says, "And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."

Friend, God does not want you to go to hell. 2 Peter 3:9 says, "The Lord is. . . not willing that any should perish. . ." Jesus loved you so much He died on a rugged cross, to pay for YOUR sin, and to keep YOU out of hell! Revelation 1:5 says, ". . . Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood."

Friend, don't EXIT this message, until you MAKE SURE you've received Jesus Christ!
I assure you — if you die without Jesus Christ — it'll be the biggest mistake you'll ever make!

DO NOT TAKE THE CHANCE!
Friend, If you've never been saved, don't wait another minute!

FRIEND, YOU CAN BE SAVED THIS VERY MINUTE!

It's simple to be saved ...

Know you're a sinner.

"As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:" Romans 3:10

"... for there is no difference. For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" Romans 3:23

That Jesus Christ died on the cross to pay for your sins.

"Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, ..." 1 Peter 2:24

"... Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood," Revelation 1:5

And the best way you know how, simply trust Him, and Him alone as your personal Savior.

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16

WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE SAVED?
Pray this prayer, and mean it with all your heart.

Just pray this simple prayer, and mean it with all your heart. Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, and unless you save me I am lost forever. I thank you for dying for me at Calvary. I come to you now, the best way I know how, and ask you to save me. I now receive you as my Savior. In Jesus Christ name, Amen.

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Damascus Countdown: Novel Depicts Iran Showdown

Author Joel Rosenberg has a knack for writing fiction that is chillingly close to reality, and he's done it again in Damascus Countdown, the third and final installment of his Twelfth Imam series.

Rosenberg's novels are entertaining, but he also has a track record of being quite prophetic in his fiction.

In Damascus Countdown, Israel has successfully launched a first strike on Iran, taking out all of their nuclear sites and six of their nuclear warheads. The result prompts the Twelfth Imam to order a full-scale retaliation.

The fictional U.S. President William Jackson threatens to support a U.N. Security Council resolution condemning the Jewish state for unprovoked and unwarranted acts of aggression.

How close is this fictional account to a real-world scenario? Rosenberg was on "The 700 Club," Thursday, March 7, to talk about his latest book and just how possible it is that things can play out in similar fashion in reality.

Israeli Defence: We Are Ready For Possible Hezbollah Conflict

REVIVIM - Wary of a spillover from the conflict in Syria, Israel is preparing to take on the Hezbollah militia that it suspects is getting advanced weapons from a distracted Damascus.

Israel believes the Lebanese Shi'ite guerrillas also stand ready to retaliate if it carries out long-threatened strikes on the nuclear sites of Iran, another Hezbollah patron.

Hezbollah fought Israel's far more advanced forces to a standstill when they last came to blows, in 2006, and rained more than 4,000 rockets on northern Israel. A UN-monitored ceasefire has largely held since.
But a senior IDF officer from the Lebanese front said on Thursday that tensions in Syria "had the potential to spill over and trigger a confrontation" with Hezbollah.

"We want to preserve the quiet, and we want the other side to know that if they take a step that necessitates we exact a price, they will pay dearly," the officer, who declined to be named, told foreign reporters while overseeing a simulated, regiment-strength battle with Hezbollah in a desert army base.

Israel is on the verge of being drawn in to the two-year Syrian insurgency.
21 UN peacekeepers were detained in Syria near the Golan Heights on Wednesday by fighters linked to the mainly Sunni Muslim armed opposition groups fighting to topple President Bashar Assad, who follows the Alawite faith derived from Shi'ite Islam.

Israeli UN Ambassador Ron Prosor has also written to the 15-member UN Security Council to complain about shells from Syria landing in Israel, warning it "cannot be expected to stand idle as the lives of its citizens are being put at risk".

Asymmetrical war

Iran's nuclear ambitions could also prove to be a flashpoint. Israel has threatened force to deny its arch-foe the means of making a bomb should international diplomatic alternatives fail. Tehran, which denies seeking nuclear weapons, has threatened wide-ranging reprisals if attacked.

The desert exercise reflected the enhanced training of IDF forces which, combined with the sabre-rattling of top brass, suggested an attempt to deter Hezbollah by warning that the next conflict could bring greater suffering for Lebanon.
"The way they behave will have repercussions on the population and infrastructure of southern Lebanon," the senior Israeli officer said, referring to Hezbollah's heartland where Israel suspects it has sown rocket launchers and gun-nests in Shiite villages.

In 2006, 1,200 people were killed in Lebanon by Israel, most of them civilians, according to the United Nations. Hezbollah killed 160 Israelis, most of them soldiers within Lebanese territory.
Though sworn to Israel's destruction, Hezbollah casts itself primarily as Lebanon's defender. It says its arsenal has been unaffected by the Syrian turmoil and that it is now capable of paralyzing Israel with long-range rocket strikes, if war erupts.

Asked if such a war would be more asymmetrical than in 2006, the senior Israeli officer said: "Yes. I don't in any way expect the casualty ratio to be similar. I want things to be as bad as possible for the other side and as good as possible for us."
He said Israel would try to give Lebanese civilians enough opportunity to evacuate - "such that I hope non-combatants will be significantly fewer than 40 percent (of casualties)".

Reserve soldiers drilled

Demonstrating Israeli plans to overrun Hezbollah-held ground quickly and suppress cross-border rocket salvoes, the troops who drilled on Thursday dashed across hillocks towards 10 mock guerrilla emplacements that had been raked with tank and machine-gun fire.

The exercise assumed around 100 Hezbollah fighters would face off against the 200 soldiers and Israel's heavier ordnance - an indication of the army's tactics of superior deployment.
The IDF soldiers taking part in the drill were all reservists, ages ranging from the mid-20s to early 40s, and trained to back up the standing army should it get bogged down on the Lebanese or other fronts.

One captain, who in civilian life is writing a doctoral dissertation on Balkan and Caucasus guerrillas, voiced a regard for Hezbollah that was more than merely academic.
"They have grassroots support and they fight on home turf," said the captain, who gave only his first name, Yiftach. Though he said he and his comrades were better prepared for war than in 2006, "Hezbollah worries me, to tell the truth".

The regiment's commander, Lieutenant-Colonel Yogev Bar-Sheshet, acknowledged Hezbollah had improved its capabilities.
But he added: "We train all the time for various possibilities, for scenarios. If we need to fight, be it tomorrow morning, or in another week or year, we will be the best that we can be and we will win."

Speaking to high school students last week, Israel's armed forces chief, Lieutenant-General Benny Gantz, appeared to acknowledge the dangers Lebanese civilians could face.
"Would it be better to be a citizen of the State of Israel in the next war or a Lebanese citizen in the next war? Better to be Israeli citizens," he said.

Source

Iran Orders Terrorists: Prepare For War

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has ordered all of the Islamic regime’s armed forces to prepare for war, WND learned Tuesday.
According to a source in the Revolutionary Guards intelligence unit, the regime believes Israel is on the verge of an attack, which could then draw America into the conflict.

Hundreds of ballistic missiles are ready to be launched against Israel and U.S. military bases in the region, the source said, and all terror groups that have long been positioned in Europe and America are ready to act should war break out.

While the regime has called last week’s negotiations held in Kazakhstan “a turning point” between Iran and the 5-plus-1 countries – the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council plus Germany – it is stalling for time to complete its nuclear weapons development, at which point it believes Israel and the West will have no choice but to accept a nuclear-armed Iran, the source said. However, regime officials do not believe Israel will wait it out and hence the preparations for war, he added.

WND reported exclusively on Feb. 28 about a warning by the regime’s armed forces deputy chief of staff, Brig. Gen. Masoud Jazayeri, that al-Qaida operatives will soon attack America and Europe, even as a second terror team sent by the Islamic regime is about to enter the U.S.

The deputy chief of the Revolutionary Guards, Gen. Hossein Salami, recently warned that the regime’s ballistic missiles could devastate the enemy and reach beyond the region.
“The range of our defensive capability expands thousands of kilometers beyond our borders,” he said.
Also recently, Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi talked of the use of unmanned aerial vehicles armed with explosives to be used against the enemy.

With two of its closest allies out of the picture – Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez dead and Syrian President Bashar Assad fighting for his life – Iran fears Israel and the West could launch a war not only to stop its nuclear program but also effect regime change, knowing full well that millions of Iranians who are suffering under its policies would join in to topple their government, the source said.

Regime officials have been talking of an imminent coming of the last messiah, advising loyalists to prepare the conditions for such an event. Shiites believe the 12th Imam, Mahdi, will descend to Earth at the time of Armageddon.
Recently, Ali Saidi, Khamenei’s representative to the Revolutionary Guards, told the forces that the Coming is close and that, “The fourth way (of bringing about the arrival of the Mahdi) is by preparing upheaval in the Middle East, and so long as there is not total upheaval in Middle East, then the Imam of the Era (Mahdi) will not arrive.”

Ayatollah Khazali, a member of the Assembly of Experts, the body that chooses the supreme leader, told the regime’s magazine Pasdar Islam (the Guardian of Islam) that the Coming is close and that all enemies of Islam will be destroyed.
“Rest assured that Israel will be destroyed,” he said. “America is also getting weaker every day… our revolution was the preliminary step for the Coming.”

The commander of the Basij forces, Brig. Gen. Mohammad Reza Naqdi, in a speech at Sharif University in Tehran, rejected bilateral talks with the U.S. and called any negotiations with America meaningless.
“As long as the U.S. refuses to give up support for the Zionist regime and avoids leaving the Persian Gulf, relations with the U.S. will not be resumed,” Naqdi said, according to Fars News Agency, a media outlet run by the Revolutionary Guards. “The U.S. today is at the peak of its enmity toward Iran.”
In a sign that time was running out, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday warned that Iran’s nuclear program is reaching “the red line,” a reference to the time when Israel might take action.

 

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'Shi'ite Terror Network Targeting Israelis Overseas'

The Jerusalem Post reports: “A global Shi’ite terrorism network made up of Iranian Quds Force operatives and Hezbollah continues to target Israelis overseas, the National Security Council’s counterterrorism bureau warned on Wednesday, ahead of the Passover vacation season.

Twenty-seven countries have been designated by the bureau as being under a travel alert of varying severity.
The Sinai Peninsula is designated as a place with a very high, concrete threat level, and the bureau is urging Israelis to stay away from the area due to a plethora of intelligence leads pointing to kidnapping plots and terrorist threats.

Turkey, Kenya, Nigeria and Azerbaijan have been classified under the ‘ongoing potential threat’ category, which is the third most severe warning type.

Dozens of terrorist attacks around the world have been thwarted this year, a bureau source said on Wednesday, adding that Iran and Hezbollah have clearly divided up attacks between them. In this way, Iranian agents target Israeli embassies and official state symbols – as they did in New Delhi in 2012 – while Hezbollah attempts to murder less protected Israeli civilian tourists – as occurred in Burgas, Bulgaria, last year, when a Hezbollah terrorist cell bombed a tour bus, killing five Israelis and a Bulgarian bus driver.

The source stressed that the travel alerts are based on information made available from Israel’s intelligence services, adding that some terrorist attacks have been abandoned by the plotters after alerts have been issued exposing the threat.
‘Shi’ite terrorism is a threat to Israeli citizens and Diaspora Jews. The threat is being sponsored by Iran and Hezbollah. Over the past two years, there has been an increased effort to carry out attacks,’ the source said. ‘We are identifying a systematic campaign operating with the greatest vigor... They are fully coordinated. It is one axis.’…”

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