When Hercules Lost His Strength

Actor Kevin Sorbo had it all. His TV Series Hercules, had become the most-watched show, he was promoting his first motion picture and he was being hailed as the next action hero. Then, his life took a radical turn.

Find out what happened by watching the following video from CBN.com.

Forgiveness: The Power To Live In Freedom

By Gordon Robertson

It is easy to say we forgive, but hard to do. This is especially true if we suffered injustice or were hurt repeatedly.

Matthew 18:21-35 tells us how Jesus answers a question about forgiveness. Peter asks, Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times? He thinks he is being generous by offering to forgive someone so many times. But Jesus replies, Up to seventy times seven.

He then tells a parable about a king who is settling accounts.
See video below for the rest of the story:

Netanyahu’s Security Lite vs Khamenei’s $1 m UAV Reward to Hizballah

Ten days after Hizballah launched an Iranian stealth UAV into Israeli air space undetected,
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu unveiled his new security doctrine in a Knesset speech confirming elections on Jan. 22, 2013. He said that his light but firm finger on the trigger had given Israel seven years without war.

Iran’s leader Khamenei, in contrast, handed Hizballah a $1 m prize for the sending the spy drone in a blatant act of belligerence. He rewarded the Iranian UAV designers with a Porsche car each.

Read more, here.

Made Whole By Jesus

While Erin is alcohol free today, that hasn’t always been the case.

Erin

I recently sat down with Erin and asked what caused her to start dabbling in alcohol. She said it was in part wanting to be accepted by her friends, and that issue was compounded by a difficult childhood, which she said wasn’t good to begin with.

Erin said when her biological father abandoned them, she was left with her half sister and adopted mother.

She continued, “I was the constant reminder to my mother of the infidelity that took place in her marriage that led to the divorce, and the sad reminder to my sister of why daddy was no longer with us. I was always reminded of how misplaced I was, and how much my mom regretted keeping me.”

Erin said living in an affluent neighborhood didn’t help, either. “My sister and I were the kids no one else could play with, since we were the only ones in the neighborhood who didn’t have a dad around. My sister blamed me for her friends no longer coming around, and my mom for why her friends looked the other way. That’s why I got involved with the ‘outcasts’.”

The drinking continued in the military, Erin said, where to fit in, be cool and just cope, she continued to drink. When she got out of the military, she was in a bad marriage and continued drinking. That, she said, led to her being unable to fulfill her obligations to her children.

Continued...

Economy, Debates Reveal Obama, Biden Haven't Got What It Takes

This election should be about the economy -- the recovery is too slow and Americans are hurting. The performances of President Obama and Vice President Biden in the debates on the campaign trail tell us why.

Both say endlessly that they inherited a huge mess, but Americans have seen challenges like these before -- and with better leaders, they licked those more quickly.

When Mr. Obama took office, financial markets were in turmoil. Unemployment peaked at 10% in October 2009. 

Since, the Obama-Biden team has managed 2.2% economic growth. Unemployment is down to 7.8%, but only because millions of adults are stuck in part-time positions or have quit looking for work altogether. Factoring in those folks, the jobless rate is 14.7%.

Ronald Reagan inherited an economy reeling from soaring oil prices, double-digit interest rates and inflation. Unemployment peaked at 10.8% in November 1982.

When he sought re-election, the economy was growing at 6.3%. Unemployment was down to 7.3%, even though millions more Americans were looking for work. Eventually, it fell to 4%.

Ronald Reagan believed in American grit and imagination. He unleashed innovation by sweeping away needless regulations, while keeping those that made sense. He lowered tax rates by throwing out and limiting many deductions and credits; developed domestic energy resources; and fixed an overvalued dollar with the historic 1985 Plaza Accord, which substantially revalued the Japanese yen....Continued.

Thousands Rally For Pakistani Girl Shot By Taliban

Pakistani Christians pray for the recovery of 14-year-old schoolgirl Malala Yousufzai, who was shot last Tuesday by a Taliban gunman for speaking out in support of education for women, at the Sacred Heart Cathedral Church in Lahore, Pakistan

KARACHI, Pakistan -- Tens of thousands rallied in Pakistan's largest city Sunday in support of a 14-year-old girl who was shot and critically wounded by the Taliban for promoting girls' education and criticizing the militant group.

The demonstration in the southern city of Karachi was by far the largest since Malala Yousufzai and two of her classmates were shot on Oct. 9 while returning home from school in Pakistan's northwest.

The attack horrified people inside and outside Pakistan and sparked hope among some that it would prompt the government to intensify its fight against the Taliban and their allies.

But protests against the shooting have been relatively small until now, usually attracting no more than a few hundred people. That response pales in comparison to the tens of thousands of people who held violent protests in Pakistan last month against a film produced in the United States that denigrated Islam's Prophet Muhammad.

Read more, here.

Christian Artist Released After 136 Days in Iranian Prison

A Christian artist with an Islamic background, who had been transferred to the Central Prison of Mashhad immediately after his arrest, has been temporarily released.

Vahid Zarday

According to a story by Mohabat Christian News Agency, Vahid Zarday’s release occurred on Oct. 9, after more than four months in prison.  

The Christian convert spent 136 days in the notorious Vakil-Abad prison, where he was interrogated.

According to the latest reports, he has been temporarily released and is now awaiting his trial.   Mohabat News said Zarday was arrested by security authorities on May 26 of this year, as he gathered with his wife and other Christian converts in a house church to study the Bible and pray. He was transferred to Vakil-Abad Prison immediately after his arrest.  

Mohabat News said human rights activists say Vakil-Abad prison is described as “hell on earth.” The prison is also reported to be “very crowded, hygiene is poor, inmates are humiliated and group executions are conducted.”  Continued.

Muslim Brotherhood Taking Aim At Jordan

Following successful campaigns in Egypt, Libya and other Middle East and North African nations, the Muslim Brotherhood now is trying to destabilize and possibly overthrow Jordan’s government, according to reports.

The Saudi-owned news channel Al-Arabiya, citing leaked files, reported the embattled regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his allies have sought to destabilize neighboring Jordan by manipulating peaceful demonstrations there and turning them into deadly violence.

 

The leaks came amid rising political tensions in Jordan. Mass demonstrations in the capital Amman were sparked by a decision by Jordan’s King Abdullah to dissolve the parliament ahead of Muslim Brotherhood protests planned for Friday. Abdullah is calling for early elections.

International Christian Concern’s Middle East analyst, Aidan Clay, says the Muslim Brotherhood is one of the biggest threats to Jordan’s stability.

He said the move to dissolve the parliament as a gesture of compromise was politically risky for the king. The Muslim Brotherhood did not accept the move, Clay noted, considering it to be half-hearted.

Continued, here.

Turkish PM Slams UN Security Council Re: Syria Issue

ISTANBUL, Turkey -- Turkey's prime minister sharply criticized the UN Security Council on Saturday for its failure to agree on decisive steps to end Syria's civil war, as NATO ally Germany backed the Turkish interception of a Damascus-bound passenger jet earlier in the week.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan told an international conference in Istanbul that the world was witnessing a humanitarian tragedy in Syria.
"If we wait for one or two of the permanent members ... then the future of Syria will be in danger," Erdogan said, according to an official interpreter.

Russia and China, two of the five permanent Security Council members, have vetoed resolutions that sought to put concerted pressure on Damascus to end the conflict and agree to a political transition.

Erdogan called for a reform of the Security Council, which he called an "unequal, unfair system" that didn't represent the will of most countries.
He spoke as Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu met with Arab and European leaders amid growing tensions between Turkey and neighbouring Syria.

Davutoglu held talks Saturday with Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle and U.N. envoy on Syria Lakhdar Brahimi. He told reporters after the meetings that Turkey was prepared to use force again if it was attacked, just as it did last week when a shell fired across the border from Syria killed five Turkish villagers.

"If a similar incident occurs again from the Syrian side, we will again take counter action," Davutoglu told reporters, while stressing that the border between Syria and Turkey is also the frontier of NATO.

One week after the shelling, Turkey intercepted a Syrian passenger plane en route from Moscow to Damascus and seized what it said was military equipment on board.

Syria denounced the move as air piracy, while Russia said the cargo was radar parts that complied with international law.
The state-run Syrian news agency SANA reported late Saturday that Syria decided to ban Turkish Airlines flights from Syrian airspace.
Germany's foreign minister backed Turkey on Saturday, saying Berlin would have acted the same way if it believed weapons were being transported to Syria over its airspace.

"It's not just about weapons. Weapons need to be steered. Weapons need to be delivered," Westerwelle said. "These are all things that don't need to be tolerated."
But he cautioned the situation between Turkey and Syria could quickly escalate out of control.

"The danger of a 'wildfire' is very big," said Westerwelle, who also met briefly with Abdelbaset Sieda, head of the Syrian National Council opposition group. "If that happens, then this can become a devastating conflict for the whole region."

In Syria, activists said Saturday that army troops clashed with rebels on several fronts across the country, including in Aleppo, the largest city.
Amateur video posted online Saturday shows the aftermath of what is described as an artillery attack on a neighbourhood in Aleppo.

The video shows a large cloud of grey smoke pushing through a narrow street lined by apartment blocks. Residents then converge on a damaged building. "Is anyone in there?" one of the men is heard calling out as others try to put out small flames with pieces of cloth.

Eventually, rescuers are seen pulling at least two bodies out of the building. One has a bloody face, and another is carried away on a stretcher, amid shouts of "Allahu Akbar," or "God is Great.
The authenticity of such videos cannot be confirmed independently, since Syria imposes tight restrictions on foreign journalists.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an activist group, said at least two people were killed in the shelling.

Another amateur video posted Saturday showed the scattered, burning wreckage of what appeared to be an aircraft. Several gunmen stood near the debris, as civilians rushed to the scene. The narrator said video was shot in the countryside west of Aleppo.

Read more, here

Israeli Airstrike Kills Leader Of Al Qaeda In Gaza Strip

An Israeli air strike killed the Palestinian leader of an al Qaeda-affiliated group in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, Hamas and medical sources said.
Gaza Medics said a second militant was also killed in the strike. The after-dark attack targeted the two men who were riding a motorcycle in the northern town of Jabaliya.

The interior ministry of Hamas, the Islamist group that controls Gaza, said one of the men killed was Hisham Saedni, also known as Abu Al-Waleed Al-Maqdissi, believed to head the Jihadist Salafi group Tawhid and Jihad (One God and Holy War).
Sources from Tawhid and Jihad could not be reached to confirm that Saedni was killed. 

The group, rival to Hamas, has an Islamist ideology shared by al Qaida and sources have said that Saedni joined al Qaeda in Iraq at the beginning of the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.
In March 2011 Hamas detained Saedni for 17 months and had freed him in August. Continued, here.