CHRISTIAN NEWS FROM RAY
A free service of Jesus Christ is Lord Ministries
News selected and edited by Ray Mossholder
Friday, January 2, 2014
ENGLAND EMBRACES ISLAM
Britain will unveil a new Islamic Market Index on the London Stock Exchange Tuesday, January 7th.
Prime Minister David Cameron says London is the biggest center for Islamic finance in the West.
“I don’t just want London to be a great capital of Islamic finance in the Western world,” Cameron said in prepared remarks for Tuesday. “I want London to stand alongside Dubai as one of the great capitals of Islamic finance anywhere in the world.”
While it’s still relatively small, the Islamic investment market has grown dramatically in recent years and is expected to hit $2 trillion in 2014.
Islamic finance conforms to Sharia law in every way, which prohibits charging interest, speculation, or betting on futures.
Cameron also seeks to make Britain the first Western nation to issue an Islamic bond this year.
ABORTION CLINICS CLOSING DOWN
According to a survey by the pro-life organization Operation Rescue, a record number of surgical abortion clinics in the United States closed in 2013.
The group found that the total number of surgical abortion clinics remaining in the country is now 582. That is a 12 percent decrease in surgical abortion clinics in 2013 and a 73 percent drop from a 1991 high of 2,176.
According to the survey, 87 clinics stopped performing surgical abortions and 81 permanently shut down. But six clinics still sell abortion-inducing drugs.
The survey shows Texas has the most closures of surgical abortion clinics after an abortion law passed earlier in the year.
Pennsylvania and Maryland also saw shut-downs because of new abortion clinic safety regulations.
LIBERAL SUPREME COURT JUDGE HALTS OBAMACARE’S ABORTION LAW
Justice Sonia Sotomayor blocked part of the president’s signature health care law at the request of Catholic-affiliated groups from around the country just hours before it was set to kick in.
Several organizations, including the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Washington, the Catholic Diocese of Nashville, Catholic University, and the Michigan Catholic Conference, asked the justices to block birth control mandate part of the law until their arguments are heard.
The groups opposed the contraception mandate which forces religious organizations to provide health insurance that includes birth control and drugs that could induce abortions. Religious groups say the mandate violates their beliefs.
Sotomayor said the government has until Friday morning to respond to her order.
PRESIDENT OBAMA’S FORMER WHITE HOUSE PASTOR SPEAKS OUT
President Barack Obama’s former pastor-in-chief is sharing his thoughts on the controversial birth control mandate in Obamacare.
The mandate requires all employers, including many religious groups, to provide contraceptive coverage even for drugs that induce abortions.
Joshua DuBois, former director of White House Office of Faith-Based Initiatives, compiled some of the daily devotions he sent the president, in his new book, The President’s Devotional.
DuBois writes that in many instances he felt that he was the only person in the administration advocating for religious liberty.
DuBois said the devotions he sends to President Obama are all Christ-centered.
CHRISTIAN SINGING LEGEND DARLENE ZSCHECH
IN RECOVERY FROM BREAST CANCER
Christian recording artist and songwriter Darlene Zschech, best known for her many years of music leadership with Hillsong in Sydney, Australia, in December underwent breast cancer surgery. The malignancy was discovered after a routine mammogram on December 11. She was released from the hospital on Christmas Eve.
“Even though the past days have been very tough at times, the Holy Spirit has brought me endless comfort and the Word of God is literally holding me moment by moment,” she wrote.
“My husband and children have been heroic and I can’t thank my family enough for their love and support through this. Our church leadership team have anointed me with oil and prayed with unity and authority, a band of trusted friends have helped me prayerfully and practically,” she continued.
Zschech boasted about two miracles in her body she’s experienced thus far. She didn’t provide details about the miracles but declared that she’s confident there are more to come.
Please continue to pray for Darlene to have a speedy recovery.
CHRISTIAN SINGING LEGEND CARMAN TOLD HE HAS
ONLY A SHORT TIME TO LIVE
Carman Licciardello was diagnosed with multiple myeloma last Valentines day and doctors told him at that time that he had three or four years left to live. “Being a Christian for all these years you try to have an eternal perspective. I realized that our lives are just not how much time we spend here, but the quality of our time, because some of the people that have affected our lives the most have spent the least amount of time here on earth,” he said.
“It didn’t hit me like others might think it would, because I thought, ‘well, if I’ve done my part, if I’ve fulfilled my purpose, if I’ve run my course and this is how I exit then so be it,’ and, I started to actually make plans for wrapping up my affairs,” Carman said, trusting in his faith and the plan that God still has for him. Then he got a phone call from Sam Chappell, a lawyer he had worked with. Chappell urged him to “get some more music out there.” However, the problem remained that producing a new album is very costly. He had already announced on Facebook what the doctors had said, so he used Facebook again to find out what his fans would think of him making a comeback. He told them that if they wanted him to do it it would take a whole lot of money. When money came fast and hundreds a day were contributing to bringing him back, he had yet another need – the need for God to give him brand new melodies. He says, “Within days melodies started to come to me out of the blue.” His fans nearly doubled the amount needed to record and begin again.
Despite all of the progress that Carman has made, his struggle is not over for him. He explained that multiple myeloma is a disease of the blood that starts in the bones. “Your immune system drops, that’s how we discovered what was going on because I kept getting colds and viruses and, whatever comes your way I caught. I have worked out constantly for years, running the treadmill, lifting weights, I’ve done it all. But I’m still vulnerable to getting a virus out of nowhere and whenever that happens it totally wipes me out,” he said. He explained that the relapses make him keep falling asleep when he doesn’t want to be sleeping. “So I go to the ER and they put me on an IV for about four hours and that gets me back up to normal. That happens every once in a while.”
Carman is one of a kind and if you find he’s doing a concert anywhere near you, bring your friends and pack the place out. Bring unsaved friends and you’ll see them transformed by Christ. Carman has never charged for his amazing concerts. Pray for God to perform a miracle and heal him completely.
AILING BILLY GRAHAM ONE OF AMERICA’S
TEN MOST ADMIRED MEN
The Reverend Billy Graham has once again been named one of the top ten most admired men in America.
Americans picked Graham for the 57th time in an annual Gallup survey.
Gallup, revealing the results of its “Most Admired Man” and “Most Admired Woman” lists for 2013 notes:
“Graham has appeared in the top 10 list far more often than any other man, making his 57th appearance this year. He has never finished first, a spot typically taken by the sitting president, but has finished second on numerous occasions. Ronald Reagan has the second most top 10 finishes, but his 31 such finishes are 26 fewer than Graham’s.”
Dr. Graham recently celebrated his 95th birthday and has been in and out of the hospital in recent weeks. His daughter Ruth Bell Graham says, “His vital signs are very good, he’s very strong, but his body is just wearing out, you know, it’s a lot of miles on that body,” she said.
Ruth Graham is also writing a book about forgiveness, lessons she says she learned from her father.
TIM TEBOW IS ON THE BALL AGAIN
Tim Tebow will go from playing football to talking about football on TV. The outspoken Christian quarterback has been hired to offer his analysis of college games on ESPN’s new SEC Network.
Even with this new job, Tebow still hopes to get back on the field. He reportedly has an agreement with the network to leave if he’s offered the chance to play.
In a statement the Heisman Trophy winner says, “While I continue to pursue my dream of playing quarterback in the NFL, this is an amazing opportunity to be part of the unparalleled passion of college football and the SEC.”
Tebow hasn’t played in the NFL all season. He was cut by the New England Patriots back in August. In the span of just over one season, he went from a national sensation who led the Denver Broncos to the playoffs, to a backup, to out of the league.
Tebow will make his debut during ESPN’s coverage of the BCS title game on January 6th.
RUMORS OF GOD’S DEATH HIGHLY EXAGGERATED
WASHINGTON – Decades ago, Time Magazine declared on its cover “God is Dead.” But today, a new book presents proof that for overwhelming numbers of Americans, God is very much alive.
Frank Newport, head of the respected pollster Gallup, has written a book called God is Alive and Well: the Future of Religion in America.
“We have well over 90 percent of Americans who in our survey questions say they believe in God,” Newport told CBN News. “So right there is evidence that, at least in the minds of the majority of Americans, God is quite alive.”
The pollster’s book delves into what Gallup has discovered doing more than 320,000 interviews in 2012 and with similar numbers in earlier years.
Some have declared this era a post-Christian age, but Newport said not according to Gallup’s data.
“Seventy-five percent up to 80 percent of Americans are Christians,” he stated. “Americans are religious and may actually become more religious in the years ahead.”
Newport did agree with his critics that faith can take a beating in one’s youth.
“Age 23 is the least religious age from 18 to death,” he explained. “If you do a graph, that’s the low point.”
But he said faith and church attendance pick up as Americans marry, have children, and age.
Newport believes as word of this gets around, it may make religion even more popular. And he has other reasons for seeing a bright future for faith.
For instance, those over 60 years of age are simply more religious, and baby boomers are beginning a senior explosion.
“I wouldn’t say based on a look at all of our indicators that we’re moving into a post-religious or post-Christian era,” he stated.
When it comes to American politics, Newport and atheist Rogers who is in charge of an atheist/agonostic organization both agree that more religious equals Republican, non-religious equals Democrat. “The delegates down at the Democratic convention wanted no mention of God put in their platform at all,” she said.
All these trends point to cross-currents in politics and life in America, where more than 90 percent of the people believe in God, but where one of the fastest growing groups is those who have no religion at all.
POLYGAMY DECRIMINALIZED IN UTAH
A federal ruling that decriminalizes polygamy in Utah is being criticized by the Southern Baptist Convention.
The recent decision declares that a Utah law forbidding co-habitation with another person violates the First Amendment.
But the Baptist convention’s top public policy official Russell D. Moore said “decriminalizing polygamy puts vulnerable women and children at risk.”
He also warned that “the ruling undermines the Bible’s definition of marriage as a the union of one man and one woman.”
Moore is president of the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC).
While the ruling does not legalize multiple marriages, it means polygamist families who live together cannot be prosecuted.
Meanwhile, Utah is taking battle against same-sex marriage to the nation’s highest court. On Tuesday, the state filed an emergency appeal with the Supreme Court to stop gay marriages.
Same-sex unions became legal in Utah when a federal judge struck down the state’s voter approved ban.
Nearly two-thirds of Utah’s residents are Mormons. The Mormon church says it stands by its support for traditional marriage and hopes a higher court will validate its belief that marriage is between a man and a woman.
UNITED NATIONS “TOO CHRISTIAN?”
Christianity dominates the United Nations and more diversity is needed to increase non-Christian representation in world peacemaking, according to Professor Jeremy Carrette, with colleagues from the University of Kent’s department of religious studies. Their researech has revealed that more than 70% of religious non-government organisations (NGOs) at the UN are Christian, and that there is historical privilege in allowing the Vatican a special observer status, as both a state and a religion.
The report, called Religious NGOs and the United Nations, calls for greater awareness, transparency and equality in the way religious NGOs operate within the UN, and more emphasis on religious tolerance.
The report also asks for greater understanding of how religions enhance and constrain human rights. It provides evidence that funding limits other religious traditions from establishing NGO work at the UN.
Islam, is represented more significantly through a collective of states (the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation) rather than civil society NGOs, which are dominated by Catholic groups, according to the report.
Asian religions, such as Hinduism and Buddhism, are under-represented and funding is a major issue in preventing their equal access, it said.
Carrette said: “It would seem there needs to be more of a ‘global goodwill’ to make the UN system work for all religions equally, and for religions to follow and share equally UN goals for peace and justice.
“The report highlights that while all religions are represented in some way in the peacemaking system of the UN, there are structural and historical differences that need to be addressed.
“It also shows that religions form an important part of international global politics and that in a global world we need to establish a new pluralistic contract for equal access for all religions to the UN system. This must also entail religious groups working towards the ideals of the UN, in terms of human rights, fairness and justice for all men and women.”
The report questions claims by the Christian right that new age cults run the UN , saying evidence suggests these are greatly misjudged and erroneous.
It also claims the number of inter-faith and new age NGOs is only 7.29% of the total of consultative status NGOs at the UN.
But despite their small size, some religious NGOs can have a far greater influence, the research suggests. Among the most active religious NGO groups are Catholics, Quakers and the Baha’i faith, which have some of the highest number of meetings with UN diplomats.
U.S. GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE NEEDS TO BE FREED
An abducted 72-year-old American in Pakistan says he feels “totally abandoned and forgotten.”
In a video released last Thursday, Warren Weinstein appealed to President Barack Obama to negotiate his release from al Qaeda. He was kidnapped more than two years ago from his home in Lahore.
“Nine years ago I came to Pakistan to help my government, and I did so at a time when most Americans would not come here, and now when I need my government it seems that I have been totally abandoned and forgotten,” Weinstein said during the 13-minute video. “And so I again appeal to you to instruct your appropriate officials to negotiate my release.”
Weinstein is the director for J.E. Austin Associates, a U.S.-based firm that advises Pakistani business and government sectors.
Al Qaeda has said Weinstein would be released if the United States halted airstrikes in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen. The group also demanded the release of all al Qaeda and Taliban suspects across the globe.
The White House has called for Weinstein’s immediate release but also refuses to negotiate with al Qaeda on the matter.
WILL FOREIGN CHRISTIANS BE GIVEN
MORE PROTECTION?
A measure that would help protect persecuted Christians is one step closer to becoming a law. A bill sponsored by Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., calls for the creation of a State Department envoy to focus on religious minorities in the Middle East and South Central Asia. The legislation has already passed the House and Wolf is calling on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., to bring it to the floor for a vote.
On the House floor last week, Wolf lamented the plight of Christians in the Middle East and called on the United States to stand with them.
The Virginia Republican recently announced he won’t be seeking re-election next year. He has been a strong advocate for religious freedom.
2014 – AN ELECTION YEAR
2014 is an election year with a whole lot at stake for whoever wins. This year also marks the start of the 2016 presidential campaign.
”If you are a faith-based conservative and you believe that Christianity has a major role to play in life and your values are derived from the Bible, you are the mortal opponent of at least half the newsmedia,” Newt Gingrich, former House Speaker, said at Clash of the Titans.
Conservatives, like former presidential candidate Michele Bachmann, claim the attacks from the left come straight out of the playbook for radicals.
“You identify whoever the person is, who’s giving voice to conservative goals and positions. You identify that target, you quote ‘paint’ the target, you freeze the target and you malign the target — you ridicule, mock, lie about them,” Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., said.
“And unfortunately, the people on the conservative side tend to take their cues from the left-wing media. And so conservatives will decide, ‘that person is toxic — I guess we can’t have anything to do with that person anymore,’” she argued.
“And so they’ll stop volunteering, they’ll stop donating, they’ll stop voting for them, they’ll stop being a part of that person,” she warned.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
You don’t have a prayer without prayer.
Friday, January 2, 2014